i^L .:^^^'^i^ii\'de APOCALYPSE, OR, REVELATION OF SAINT JOHN^, Crangiateti, (Sec. &c. THK APOCALYPSE, OR, REVELATION OF SAINT JOHN, WITH NOTES, CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, A DISSERTATION ON THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BOOK; IN ANSWER TO THE OBJECTIONS OF THE LATE PROFESSOR J. D, MICHAELIS, BY JOHN CHAPPEL'fvOODHOUSE, M. A. ARCHDEACOiJ OF SALOP, I!V THE DIOCESE OF LICHFIELD AND COVENTRY. In Prophetiis explicandis, semper patuit, ct patere debet, omnibus Dei honorem amantibus campus liber. Qui mi nimam vim verbis facit, qui confusa distin2,uit, qui historias apertas vaticiniis quam couimodissime uptat, plus semper apud aequos judices referet grutias. G Ron vs. LONDON: rrilNTED FOR J. IlATCIIARDj BOOKSELLER TO HER MAJESTY, 190, PICCADILLY, 13y J. Brfttfxl, Marshall Street, Golden Square. 1805. TO ISAAC HAWKINS BROWNE, ESQ. MP. F.R.S, IN MEMORIAL OF THAT TRIENDSHIP, WHICH, HAPPILY AND HONOURABLY FOR ME, HAS SO LONG AND CONSTANTLY SUBSISTED BETWEEN VS, PERMIT ME, WITH GRATEFUL AND AFFECTIONATE ATTACHMENT, TO INSCRIBE TO YOU THIS WORK, J. C. WOODHOUSE. THE INTRODUCTION, The Prophecies of the Apocalypse, though illustrated by commentators of all ages, have not been so successfully explained, as to afford general satisfaction. From the interpretations most commonly received, many of the learned have withholden their assent ; and doubts have been expressed, whether we are yet in possession of the fortunate clues to be derived from human sagacity or Divine inspiration ; or of the ne- cessary aids of learning ; or of the events in history ; which, at some future period, may be destined to ascertain the completion of these predictions. Under such circumstances, opportunity is fairly afforded for attempts to explain this mys- tical book by new methods of inquiry. And, while the rash precipitancy of the enthusiastic and unqualified interpreter is to be discouraged, indulgence will justly be thought due to those, who with pious caution, with laoorious investiga- tion. VlJl tion, and literary research, endeavour to explore its sacred recesses. To illustrate it in all its parts, to prove the completion of all its predic- tions, to exhibit it as that perfect evidence of the divine origin of our religion, for which it is per- haps intended, '' in the latter days," can only be the v/ork of time, and must employ the labours of succeeding generations*. Yet to inter- pret and explain, by scriptural induction, the symbols and language under which the events are presignificd ; to separate and assort the pro- phecies; to discriminate those whose fulfilment has alrieady taken place, and to point out their agreement with certain records of history, is a work which at any time may be reverently at* tempted, and is encouraged and indeed autho- rised in this divine book -f. But an additional circumstance has lately arisen, which should more peculiarly engage the attention of the Christian scholar to this sub- ject. The supposed obscurity of these prophe- cies, and the doubtful and discordant methods hitherto employed for the interpretation of them, together with some imagined difficulties in the evidences of the book containing them, have occtisioned some persons of eminence in litera-^ ture to question their divine origin. * Because many of these propliecie& seem to extend to the latest pfiriud of the world, and can only be interpreted confidently and surely by the assistance of the events fulfilling them. t Ch. i. 3. ii. 7, 11, 17, ^9. iii. 0, 13, 22. xiii. 9, 17. xxii. 6, 7, lO. The it The late distinguished Professor, J. D. Mi- cliaelis, in a work of great merit, and of general circulation *, has proposed this question, and assigned reasons for his doubts respecting it. It is noH', therefore, incumbent upon the learned Christian to inquire and determine, whether the Book of Apoca]>'pse has been justly placed in our canon of sacred Scripture ; whether it be entitled to that honourable station, by the ex- ternal and internal evidence v, hich can be pro- duced in its support. The author of the following v/ork, for the so- lution of his own difficulties, had engaged in this inquiry even before the publication of Michaelis's Introduction to tiie New Testament, bv Mr. Alarsh. Upon the appearance of that work, ho addressed to the learned editor a series of letters, in w^hich it was his endeavour to shew, by an appeal to antiquity (that which Sir Isaac Newton had asserted, and Dr. Lardner had proved to a considerable extent •^•), that no book of the New Testament is supported by stronger external evi- dence than this; and that the internal evidence in its behalf is much more considerable than has hitherto been supposed. These letters, having been received favourably by the learned, are now reprinted with corrections and additions, * Introduction to the New Testament^ by Jolin David Ml- chaelis, &c. chapter the last. t Sir I. Newton on the Apocalypse, ch. i. p. 249. Lardner's Credibility of the Gospel History, and, and, in another form (that of a Dissertation), are prefixed to the following work. Here this essay will be found to occupy its proper place; not only because some knowledge of the question is a proper introduction to the Apocalypse, but also because the subsequent Annotations on this sacred book will be found a proper sequel to the Dissertation; for in them will be continued those arguments in defence of the divine original of these Prophecies, which could only be begun in the former work. In them will be presented many indxiclions o{ internal evidence, ^Yhic\l the nature of the former publication would not admit*. In them it w^ill be attempted to shew, by an appeal to history, that many of these prophecies have received their completion; and, consequently, that the book which has recorded them is divine. Such are in part my motives for the present pub- lication ; in which, however, I should not have engaged, if a peculiar method of studying this Book of Revelation had not happened to present its prophecies to me in a new and original point of view, which I presume may be usefully com- municated to the students of the Apocalypse. In my earliest researches in sacred literature, after having perused, w^ith such critical attention as I could then apply, other parts of the Old and New Testament, I proceeded to the Book of Revelation. Here difficulties occurred, which See p. 64^ of the Dissertation. I felt XI I felt myself unable to surmount; and, upon inquiring for the best aids of notes and expo- sitions, these were described to me as numerous, and very discordant; and none of them as afibrd- ing general and entire satisfaction. Under such circumstances, I was not disposed to receive im- plicitly the deductions of any particular com- mentator, and it was impossible for me to form a judgment of my own, or to determine between the contradictor}' opinions of others, without en- tering into a wide and arduous field of criticism and of history. I soon perceived that the flight which then opened before me, was too daring for my unfledged wings ; I therefore resolved to decline these studies for the present, with the expectation of resuming them at some future period, w^ien more maturity of judgment, and some additional acquisitions in literature, mioht enable me to pursue them with better prospect of success. lu the mean time, I resolved to avoid the perusal of every book or treatise pro- fessing to explain these prophecies ; hoping to study them, when the proper season should arrive, free from prepossession in flivour of any system, unfettered by a predilection for any par- ticular mode of interpretation ''\ * I recollect to have kept tLis resolution so entire, as not to have read any book treating on the Apocalyptic Prophecies, ex- cepting the ingenious and elegant Sermons of Bishop Hurd on Prophecy. He was then my much-respected Diocesan ; and upon the subjects on which he has written so ably, he may- have given some bias to my thoughts. After j^fter an interval of many years, I found my- self at liberty from other engagements to pursue my original design ; and after some preparatory studies, began to read the Apocalypse unassisted by any of the commentators'^*. And without placing any presumptuous confidence on my sa- gacity, or my literary acquirements, of the me-^ diocrity of which I was fully conscious, I felt my- self not altogether discouraged, by the seeming difficulty of the attempt. For, if the Apoca- lypse be of divine revelation, it appeared to me, that an uniformity must be expected to sub- sist between this and other parts of sacred Scrip- ture ; and that the clue, for tracing and deve- loping its figurative language and meaning, would be safely and effectually derived from that source. If the same divine spirit, which dic- tated the preceding prophecies, were also the inspirer of the Apocalyptic Visions, a mutual relation must subsist between them ; and the light derived from the one must contribute most beneficially to the elucidation of the other. This then was the first principle, upon which I resolved to ground my method of investiga- tion ; — to compare the language, the symbols, the predictions of the Apocalypse, with those of former * After the annotations now published were finished in their first form, then the works of the commentators, accessible to the annotator, were perused ; some of them diligently studied ; and free use made of their stores for the purposes of addition or cor- rection. revelations ; Xlll revelations ; and to admit only such interpretation^ as should appear to have the sanction of this divine authority, A second controliiDg principle seemed neces- sary. For, as the language, symbols, and pre- dictions, thus interpreted by the assistance of Scripture, were to be applied afterwards to his- torical facts, a preliminary question seemed to occur ; — to what hind of history are they to be ap- plied ? To profane history, or sacred ? to the extensive and boundless mass of the Gentile his- tory, or, exclusively, to that of God's chosen people ? To assist me in answering this ques- tion, I had recourse to the preceding proj)he- cies of the Old and New Testament. How have we been authorised to explain these ? In what kind of history do they appear to have been accomplished t The answer was at hand ; — the history of the church of God. For, in this sacred history we find the divine prophecies prin- cipally, and almost exclusively, fulfilled. For whenever sacred prophecy is seen to deviate from this its peculiar object, it is in such in- stances only, wdierein the fortunes of God's peo- ple have become necessarily involved with those of heathen nations. Vv'hen the people of God were to become subservient to the four monar- phies, the character, and succession, and fates pf those monarchies were predicted: but the main object, continually kept in view, was their fleliverance from these successive yokes, by the superseding XIV superseding dominion of the Messiah. This su- preme and universal dominion, gradually and finally to prevail, appears to be the grand ob' jeet of all sacred prophecy : and revolutions of world iy power among the Gentiles, seem to be noticed only at those times, when they impede or promote it*. Therefore the prophecies of the Apocalypse appeared to be applicable princi- pall}', if not solely, to the fates and fortunes of the Christian church ; to the progress or retard- ment of that kingdom of the Messiah, which, when these predictions were delivered, had al- ready begun to obtain its establishment in the ^vorld. And I conceived myself obliged to adopt as a controlling principle of interpretation, that unless the language and symbols of the Apocalypse should in particular passages direct, or evidently require^ another mode of application, the predic- tions were to be applied to events occurring in the progressive kingdom of Christf, In * See Bp. Hurd on Prophecy, Serm. 2d and 3d. And the extension of divine prophecy to the nations, may be observed to take place in exact proportion to their encreasing connection with the Jews. First, Moab, Edom, Amaiek, the PhiHstines, &c. are noticed ; then Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, ^gypt, &c. ; after- • v/ards the four great monarchies; and lastly the Gog and Magog, the distant and barbarous nations. t There are discoverable in scriptural prophecy, and generally acknowledged by divines, two advents or comings of our Lord ; 1st, his personal appearance in the flesh ; 2dly, his progress to complete dominion, by the subjection of all his enemies. The first of these had already taken place when the Apocalyptic pro- phecies XV In the wide field of universal history, innumer- able events may be selected by the industry of investigators, seeming to bear resemblance to the figurative pictures of holy writ. Instances of wars, famines, conquests, and revolutions, may be separated from that infinite mass of in- formation, appearing to assimilate to images presented in prophecy. Some restriction is therefore necessary to guide investigation, and to serve as chart and compass, through such ex- tensive and difficult seas; and what can be deemed more proper than this principle, which derives its authority from the analogy of sacred Scripture ? A third controlling principle seemed also re- quisite, arising from a consideration of the nature and kind of that kingdom^ which had thus ap- peared to be the grand object of the prophe- cies. It is a kingdom, not temporal, but spi- ritual ; " not a kingdom of this world*,'' not established by the means and apparatus of worldly power and pompt, not bearing the ex- ternal ensigns of royalty ; but governing the in- ward man, by possession of the ruling princi- phecies were delivered. The latter therefore is the object to which we are principally to look, when we attempt to assort these predictions. Accordingly, the subject of this prophetical book will appear to be generally, the fates and fortunts of the Chris- tian churchy from the Ascension cf our Lord, and the preaching of his Apostles f to the great consummation of ail things, * John xviii. 36. i f « fji.sT66 X!jccii(Kr7)pyia-£us, Luke xvii. 20, pies; XVI pies ; " The kingdom of God," says our Lord, ^' is within you"^/' Such a kingdom may be m a great degree inde- pendent of the fates and revolutions of empires; aifected only by those changes in the political world which are calculated to produce the en- crease or decline of religious knowledge, and of pure profession and practice. Wars therefore, and conquests, and revolutions of vast extent, and of great political import, may be supposed to take place, even in the Christian world, without becoming the proper object of Chris- tian prophecy. The inhabitants of the Chris^ tian world may be subdued by a ferocious con-^ queror; the sufferings of the vanquished may be such as result from ferocious conquest ; the faithful servants of Christ may undergo their common share in this calamity, may suffer grievously in their property and in their persons: yet, in such times of general distress, if their religion be not denied them ; if they enjoy those consolations, which, under such afflictions, their religion is designed to bestow ; if, corrected by the awful visitation, not only they, but Chris- tians of looser practice, and the inhabitants of the earth in general, shall be seen to turn to their God, and allow to his purifying religion its divine influence on their hearts and lives :--f shall we expect that such a revolution should * Luke xvU. gl. be XVll be predicted as a calamity, as a ^voe ? Our Conception of the nature of Christ's kingdom, (the object of such prophecy,) will determine us to answer in the negative. But if such a con- queror, after having subdued the bodies of men, should proceed to extend his usurped dominion over their souls : should require them to re- nounce their allegiance to the heavenly King ; to deny their God and Redeemer ; — then will suc- ceed a conflict of another nature, and a resist- ance deserving the notice and interference of divine prophecy. Then will be employed those arms, which properly belong to this spiritual warfare* ; then w^ill the kingdom of God be truly advanced or diminished. I describe this imaginary concjuest, succeeded by such spiritual conflict, only as what may happen ; not advert- ing to any similar instances which have occurred. I mention them to shew with what previous notions I formed the rules of interpretation, for which I deem myself accountable. In adopting the rule now under considera- tion, I have been obedient to the direction of holy Scripture ; which has required a spiritual interpretation of its m3^steriest : they are not to be taken according to the bare letter J, nor in a carnal or worldly acceptation §. The warfare of the Christian kingdom, (the subject of these prophecies,) is not to be carried on by worldly * Eph. vi. 16. t 1 Cor. ii. 12—15. t 2 Cor. iii. 6. § John vi. 26—63. B arms XVIU irms and battles*; tliey, who entertain siicli notions of this religion, " know not what man- " ner of spirit it is of t-'' As the Captain of our salvation conquered by suffering, and re- fused the sword of Peter, and the legions of angels, ready for his defence:):, so neither by external force must his followers expect to pre- vail. The kingdom of God is not advanced by crusades ; nor is the sword of man employed successfully to seat the Messiah on his throne. / To obtain his destined dominion, Christ must reisn in the hearts and consciences of his far- extended subjects. His reign is advanced when Christian principles, when faith, and righteous- ness, and charity, abound. It is retarded when ignorance, impurity, idolatrous superstition, in- fidelity, and wickedness prevail §. A fourth general rule of interpretation has been also adopted in the prosecution of thi:^ work. Not to attempt the particular explanation of those prophecies zehich remain yet to be fulfilled. Few words will shew the reasonable foundatioa ^ John xviii. 35. t Luke ix. 55. t Heb. ii. 10. Matt, xxvil. 5S— 55r. § As the prophecies of the Old Testament, Interpreted car- nally by the Jews to designate a worldly conqueror, have beeii seen to lead that infatuated people into egregious error : so, in these days af superior light, when by experience, as well as divine direction, a spiritual interpretation is so clearly recommended and enforced, it seems extraordinary that any sober and well-in- formed Christian can look to any othey. of XIX of tliis rule, which I am sorry to observe so fre- quently transgressed* They shall be borrowed from Sir Isaac Newton ; " God gave these, and " the prophecies of the Old Testament, not to " gratify men's curiosity^ by enabling them to "' foreknow things ; but that after they were ful- ** filled they might be interpreted by the event, *' and his own providence, not the interpreter's, " be then manifested thereby to the world*/' Such are the principles, such the scheme of investigation, with which I have ventured to ap- proach this mysterious book. And although I cannot but be feelingly aware of the difficulty of the subject, and of my deficiency in the qua- lifications requisite to do justice to it; yet, the method I l>ave pursued, free from the preposses- sions which have \varped the operations of abler minds, has enabled me, I trust, to make some useful discoveries. It might operate more favourably to the cre- dit of my sagacity, if I were to publish only selections from the following work ; of those parts in which I may appear to have been most successful. Such has been sometimes my inten- tion. But I consider myself as acting more justly to the important subjects of investigation, if I lay before the public the result of all my inquiries. In those parts wherein I have had the least success, I may perhaps open a field for the success of others. * Sir I. Newton on the Apocalvpse, p. 251. B 2 ^Vith XX With tlie same view I have resolved to publfsli the result of my studies, in the form in which the investigations were originally written ; after that analytic method, which I found it necessary to pursue. They might be presented in a more abstracted and concise form, and in a more lu- minous point of view ; but in the present form, the reader will accompany every step of the in- quiry, and may thus more easily detect the error, or confirm the safety of the proceeding. Truth, in this important research, is, I hope, as it ought to be, my principal concern ; and I shall rejoice to see these sacred prophecies truly in- terpreted, though the correction of my mistaken should lay the foundation of so desirable a su- perstructure. To the candid correction of the learned reader I consign this attempt, trusting, that whatever may be its reception in the world, I shall not have reason to reproach myself with precipi- tancy unbecoming the sanctity of the subject; with narrow views, or party-prejudices ; with w^ant of moderation and of candour; which have disgraced too many writings of professed Christians^ THE new Translation now presented to the reader, was a necessary part and result of the plan pur&ued. For, as it was proposed to study the XXI the prophecies of the Apocalypse, by the guid- ance of their own internal marks and charac- ters, without that prepossesion which might arise from an acquaintance with the systems of other interpreters ; so it became necessary to avoid the perusal of translations, as wxll as of expositions; because a prejudice in favour of a particular mode of interpretation may be sug- gested by the translator. The original Greek was therefore to be studied by itself, and the meaning of the words and phrases of it to be ascertained. But to ascertain these in Eno-- lish idiom, was to produce a new English translation; which, in this case, beino; designed solely for the use of the annotator, was ren- dered as literally as the forms of the two lan- guages would admit. When the new translation had served this purpose, and when the notes en- grafted upon it were completed in their first form, it was then compared with the common EngUsh version, and thence received considerable acces- sion and improvement. For, as I am fully per- suaded that the best form of a new English ver- sion of the Scriptures will be that which shall retain the phraseology of the common translation, where it is not evidently faulty; so in revising my new version, and preparing it for general use, I was careful to adopt into it those expressions of the old version which appeared to represent the Greek original faithfully, and not inelegantly ; retaining those only of my own translation which seemed xxu seemed to conve}^ the meaning of the orighial with juster effect. The version, therefore, now offered to the pubhc may be considered as corrective of that which is inserted in our English Bibles. Yet, having been first moulded in an original form of its own, a forni derived directly from the Greek, it has thereby acquired this advantage ; that the servile uniformity cannot be imputed to it which Dr. Macknight alleges to have characteri;?ed all English translations of the New Testament prior to his own. Such uniform similarity, he observes, is almost inevitably produced by the method, which the translators have commonly pursued ; by their examining the steps of their predecessors, while they themselves were translating, and not after they had finished *. There is no book of the New Testament which more necessarily requires a revision of its text, and consequently a new translation corrective of the old one, than this. For it appears, from the accounts of inquiring critics, that the editors of the Greek text from which our received English version is taken, were in possession of very few ancient manuscripts of the Apocalypse. Erasmus possessed but one ; Stephens had only two ; and it is not made apparent that Beza had the means of consulting moref. Heqce, the dihgence of f Mackniglit's General Preface to the Epistles. t Michaelis's Introduction to the New Testament, c. x\u sect. 1^, and in othe? passages, svicceeding xxm succeeding scholars, by the collation of the re- niaming manuscripts (some of them of the first authority), has restored many original readings, which, by consent of judicious critics, have been received into the Greek text, and ought therefore to pass into translation. A Greek text, receiving these and assigning their authorities (and which, therefore appears to be the most perfect copy of the original yet printed), is that of Dr. Griesbach, Hvhich is accordingly followed in this translation. It has been attempted to translate it as closely and literally as the English idiom would allow ; a restriction which must be thought necessary in rendering a symbolical prophecy ; in which a very slight deviation may materially change the sense of the original. It has been the wish of the translator to express the very stamp and figure of the original, truly if not elegantly, and without bias toward any favourite method of explanation. The translation was begun and completed, in its first form, before any knowledge was obtained by the translator of the various modes of interpretation which have been devised by the learned. And in the subse- quent corrections, it has been his endeavour to preserve it pure from all tendency to prejudice and system. That this new version may be compared with the Greek, and also with the common Enghsh translation, of which it is corrective, they are all printed together. Those words are placed be- tween tvveen brackets, to which Giiesbach has prefixed his mark, denoting that they are prohahly to be expunged; and those are wholly omitted, which he has inserted in his interior margin, accounting them mdubit ably spur torn ^, Probable ellipsises, or such as the English idiom seemed to require, are supplied in Italic characters. The relatives who^ whom^ which, &c, are generally used in pre- ference to the relative that, which is 30 frequently employed in the old translation ; and thus an ambiguity is avoided, of which foreigners justly complain. But the word which is still retained, in preference to who or whom, when referring to the great God of Heaven, whose personality is far different from that of any of his creatures, an4 is therefore properly expressed by other terms -f. The translator has thought himself at liberty to disregard the common punctuation, and the re? ceived division by verses ; because they evidently appear to be of modern date, and are not seen in the ancient manuscripts ; and he has been guided to the sense of a passage by its context, * The Greek text is printed from the edition of Griesbach, Halee, 1777 ; but in this copy now printed^ no notice is taken of his marks referring to authorities in the margin, which could not be conveniently exhibited in this edition. Only those passages to which he has prefixed his mark ==, denoting that they are probably no part of the original text, are included in brackets^ after the manner adopted in Bower's Greek Testament. t The modern attempts to amend the translation of the Lord's Prayer, by substituting " who art in heaven" for " which art iix heaven/' are^ I believe^ not* approved by the judicious. rathey rather than by such recent and arbitrary restric- tions *. For the same reasons, and supported by the same authority, he has not confined him- self to the received division by chapters, but has portioned the book into parts and sections, as its internal structure seemed to require. The Apo- calypse was very little underwood when the di- vision of it into chapters and verses took place *j-. The authorities taken from books are generally referred to by exact quotation. In some in- stances such particular reference may seem wanting. For any such omission, this cause is to be assigned : — that the work was not originally , intended for publication ; and when that view- began to suggest itself, some of the books con- taining the passages quoted were gone out of the author's hands, and not easily recalled. Quota- tions, when in the learned or foreign languages, are commonly presented also in an Enghsh form, for the accommodation of the English reader, who will find few disquisitions in this work, which J]e may not understand. * See Clerlcl Ars Crltlca, p. Hi. sect. ]. ex. 7,9, and MU chaelis's Introd. to the New Test. ch. xiii. sect. 2, 3, &a + The Scriptures were divided into chapters in the xiiith cen-? tury; into verses in the xvith. See Michaelis's Introd, to the New Test. ch. xiii. sect, 9, 10^ 11. and the notes of his learned translator. A DIS^ CONTENTS DISSERTATION CHAPTER I. PAGE Of the Method pursued in this Enquirif ... 1 CHAPTER II. Of the Time, xvhcn the Apocalypse appears to have been written and published ..... G CHAPTER III. The Testimony of Irenceus and of other Fathers ^ in the Church before him; of Ignatius ; of Poly- carp ; of the Writer of the Epistle describing Po- lycarp's Martyrdom ; and of Papias .... 25 CHAPTER IV. The Testimony of Justin Martyr ; of Athena- goras; of 'the Churches in Gaul; of Melito ; Theophilus ; Apollonius ; Clemens of Alexandria ; and Tertullian . 44 B 6 CHAP- ( xxviii ) CHAPTER V, PAGE 'The Evidence against the Apocalypse during its first Century ; the rejection of it by Marcion, and by the Alogi ; their Objectio?is, so far as they ?xlate to external Evidence, eccamined . . 54 CHAPTER Vr. The Testimonies of Hippolytus and of Origen ; the Objections of Caius, and of Bionysius of Alex- andria, and of others preceding him. Animad- versions on the Conclusions of Michaelis, respect- ing this Evidc7ice 60 CHAPTER VII. The Testimonies of Gregory of NeocCesarea ; of Dionysius of Alexandria; of his private Opi- nion ; the Testimonies of other Writers in the same Century; of EusebiuSy and of the Writers in his Time, and after him; of the Reception of the Apocalypse at the Reformation ...... 70 CHAPTER VIII. The internal Evidence respecting the Apoca- lypse; from the Completion of its Prophecies; from its Correspondence in point of Doctrifie and of Imagery zvith other Books of Divi?ie Authoi^ity : Objections of Michaelis answered. True charac- ter of the Beauty and Sublimity in this Book ; Argument thence derived ; Comparison of the Apo- calypse xvith other IFritings of the same Age, Hermas and the Second Book of Esdras. Objec- tion arising from the Obscurity of the Book an- Severed . * , ^ . 89 CHAP- ( xxix ) CHAPTER IX. PAGE Of the internal Evidence respecting the Question^ whether the Apocalypse was written by St, John. Dr, Lardners Opinion; Opinions of others. Ar- guments of Dionysius of Alcvandria^ wider fvc Heads ; Answers thereto, and to the Objections of Michaelis, Enquiry whether John the Evan- gelist, and John the Divine, were by the Ancients accounted the same Person, Evidence, from a Passage in the Book, that it was zvritten by St* John. Recapitulation and Conclusion .... 107 E 7 A DIS A DISSERTATION, IN WHICH THE EVIDENCE FOR THE AUTHENTICITY AND DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE APOCALYPSE IS STATED; ANp VINDICATED FROM THE OBJECTIONS OF THE LATE PROFESSOR, J. D. MICHAELIS. DISSERTATION, &c CHAP. I. OF THE METHOD PURSUED IN THIS INQUIRY An the following pages I propose to review the evidence which has been adduced, for the au- thenticity and divine inspiration of the Apoca- lypse; to add thereto some collections of my own ; and occasionally to remark on those obser- vations of Michaelis*, which tend to invali- date it. This evidence divides itself into exiejiial and internal. The external is, that which is derived from credible witnesses, from the early writers and fathers of the church. The internal is, that which results from a perusal of the book. Michaelis appears to me an unfair reporter of the external evidence for the Apocalypse. He * In. the last chapter of his Introduction of the Nezo Testament, to the pages of which, as published by Mr. Marshy the figures at the bottom of these pages will be found to refer. seems seems to have approached it with prejudice^ a prejudice occasioned by the opinion which he had previously formed concerning its internal evidence. For, it appears from passages of his chapter on the Apocalypse, that he considered the prophecies of this book, as still remaining dark and unexplained. He professes that he does not understand them; he declares himself dissatisfied with the attempts of other writers to shew their meaning and completion ; and he esteems the contradictions of these interpreters to be more unfavourable to the pretensions of the Apocalypse, than even those ancient testi-^ monies, that external evidence, to which he attributes no preponderance in its favour. Now, as they who appear to themselves to have dis- covered, in the completion of the Apocalyptic prophecies, certain proof of its divine origin, (for a series of prophecy, punctually fulfilled, must be divine,) will be disposed to examine the external evidence with a prepossession in its favour; so he, who, by examining the internal evidence, has formed an opinion unfavourable to its pretensions, will enter upon the exami- nation of its external evidence with that kind of prejudice, which is visible in the writings of this learned divine. But, in our examination of the external evi- dence, we ought, so far as human infirmity may permit, to be free from any partiality ; and to lay aside, for a season, quv previous conceptions of the the weight of Its internal evidence. The two species of evidence, external and internal, should be kept apart; they should not be suf- fered to incorporate or interfere ; each should be considered at first with reference to itself onl}'-. After which separate examination, they may use- fully and properly be brought together, and be allowed their due influence upon each other. Such appears the proper method of proceed- ing in this inquiry, so as to lead to a fair and just conclusion. This method has not been usually pursued. The writers, who have presented us with the two kinds of evidence, have not kept them apart. When they treat, for instance, of the external evidence adduced b}" Dionysius of Alexandria ; when they state how far it appears, from his writings, that he considered the Apoca- lypse as an inspired book, delivered down to his time as such by the early Fathers of the Church ; they moreover produce, and under the same head, the criticisms of this writer on the style and manner of the book ; which consideration belongs to the subject of internal evidence. In the following pages, it will be my endea- - vour to keep these two species of evidence apart, until they have been separately considered, and may safely be suffered to unite. This method, so far as it can be followed, will tend to pre- vent the operation of prejudice, and to facili- tate the production of truth. I shall proceed, first, to the consideration of the external evidence, CHAP. CHAR II. OF THE TIME WHEN" THE APOCALYPSE AP- PEARS TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN AND PUB« LISHED. JLHE e:tfer7ial evidence, for the authenticity and divine inspiration of the Apocalypse, is to be collected from the testimonies of those ancient waiters, who, living at a period near to its pub- lication, appear, by their quotations or allu- sions, to have received it as a book of sacred Scripture. This was the test by M'hich the primitive church was accustomed to deter- mine the claims of all writings pretending to divine authority. All such writings were re- jected, as appeared not to have been received by the orthodox Christians of the preceding ages*, But to enable us to judge of the force of this evidence, as affecting any particular book, it is necessary to ascertain the time when the hook was written. For if it shall appear to have been written and published in the early period of the apostolic age, we may expect to find tes- timonies concerning it, from apostles, or from * Euseb. Hist, Eccl, lib. iii. c. 3. apostolical 7 eet with in the Apocalypse^ * See this proved by Micliaelis, in bis Observations on the 3 St Epistle to Timothy. t See more on this subject, In Vltrlnga, in Apoc. 1. 2. and L'Enfant and Beaiisobrc's Preflice to the Apoc. j also, Lardncr's Supplement to the Crcd. Gosp. Ilist. ch. xxii. wh^re passages from these books are quoted. X Acts iv. 13. 11 are such as seem not to have been used in the early period of the Apostohc times. Sunday is called the Lord's Day * ; and we find the same expression tmed by Ignatius -f*, and other writers of later date. In the early books of Scripture, it is called the first day of the week, or the first after the .]: Sabbath, &c, but never the Lord's Day. This opinion, therefore, that the Apocalypse ivas written in the reign of Claudius, cannot be received. The single testimony of an inaccurate writer of the fourth century, cannot be opposed to such external evidence as we shall produce in examining the remaining opinions; espe- cially when it appears so strongly refuted by in- ternal evidence §. II. By the second opinion, the Apocalypse is supposed to have been written in the reign of Nero. 1. Let us examine the external evidence by which it is supported ; namely a subscription to the Syriac version of the Apocalypse, which mentions that Revelation, as given " by God to ^' John the Evangelist, in the Island of Patmos, *' whither he was banished by the Emperor Nero/' * Rev. i. 10. t Epist. ad Magnes. Sec. 9. J fAi» ZxQQotluiy. Mat. xxviii. 1. § This first opinion would have deserved little notice, if it liad not been maintained by the celebrated Grotius, whose arga- nients, and the able refutation of them by D. Blondel, may be seen, abstracted by Lardner ; Svppkmcnt, ch. ix. sect. 3. Lardnci 12 Lardner has observed of this subscription, that it is not only without a name, but without a date. But Michaelis has shewn it to be probable, that the version to which it is attached was made in the sixth centur}^ ; and he intimates that this sub- scription might perhaps have been annexed to the more ancient Syriac version. It might per- haps^ also, have been added in later times. For of what authority are some of the subscriptions to other books of the New Testament, even those which are printed with the Greek text .^ They are anonymous, and without date, and, in some cases, are known to give false informa- tion*. What credit, then, can be due to this Syriac subscription, whose highest claim to au- thority is, that the version to which it is attach- ed, was written in the sixth century ? If we could admit the evidence, it would indeed be useful ; for it would immediately determine the main object of our inquiry. It would deter- mine " the Revelation to have been made by " God to John the Evangehst;" which being determined, no more doubt could remain con- cerning its authenticity, and divine inspiration. * In another passage of Michaelis's introduction he has obserr- ed, that " no subscription of this kind is entitled to the name of evi- *' dence ;" Ch. vli. sect. 10. p. 320 : which he has again asserted on good grounds ; Ch. xi. sect. 1. p. 14. Archdeacon Paley has shewn by probable arguments, that the subscriptions to six of St. Paul's Epistles contain false information, contrary to evi- dence fairly deduced from the Epistles themselves. Hortc PaulincE, ch. xv. But 13 But such externa] evidence is not equal even to that of Epiphanius, which, as standing alone^ and at such a distance of time from the fact ^ Michaelis has, with great propriety, refused to admit, 2. This opinion, hke the first, has no internal evidence, derived from the Apocalypse, in its favour. All that can be said is, that the inter- nal evidence thence arising is not so decidedly against it, as against the former opinion. The Christians at Rome, and, it may be, in some of the Roman provinces, were persecuted in the reign of Nero. But there is no evidence, that the Christians in Asia suffered at this time. And the arguments, used so successfully by Michaelis and others, to shew that the Apocalypse was not written in the reign of Claudius, will extend in some degree, to that of Nero. From the lime of Claudius to the end of Nero's reign, we count only fourteen years. The date of the First Epis- tle to Timothy is placed, by Michaelis, about ten years before Nero's death ; by Fabricius, Mil|^ and other able critics, much later. The Epistle to the Ephesians has certainly a later date. So that, it may still be doubted, whether the changes which appear to have taken place in the Churches of Lesser x\sia, between the date of these Epistles and that of the Apoca- lypse, could well be brought about in so short a period of time, as must be allotted to them, if we suppose the Apocalypse to be written in the times of Nero. But suppose this argument not to 14 to be insisted upon, to what will the concession amount? The question, in favour of the Apoca- lypse having been written in Nero's reign, will gain no internal evidence positively in its favour. It will rest on the external evidence above stated, the insufficiency of which must be apparent. III. A third opinion (as it is called) has been produced by those writers, who, having explained some of the Apocal3''ptical prophecies, as fulfilled in the Jewish wars, which ended in the destruc- tion of Jerusalem, are interested to make it ap- pear, that these prophecies were wiitten before the commencement of those wars. ]>ut to assert the Apocalypse to have been written before the Jewish wars, is the same thing as to attribute the date of it to the reign of Nero; for these wars began in the twelfth 3^ear of that Emperor*. The question, therefore, seems decided by the evidence already examined. But since the exa-^ mination of this third opinion, by Michaelis, has produced another evidence, and other arguments, it will be proper to notice them. A certain degree of external evidence is at- tempted to be derived from Arethas, who, in his Commentary on the Apocalypse, has endeavoured to explain some of its prophecies, as fulfilled in the Jewish wars; and he has certainly affirmed, that " destruction was not yet come upon the Jews, by the arms of the Romans, when he (the writer of the Apocalypse) received these prophe- * Josephus, de Ee'I, Jud. lib, ii. c. xh. 4. cieso" 15 cies." The earliest date assigned to the com- mentary of Arethas, is in the sixth century ; but there seems internal evidence in the work, which will prove it of later date. The empire of the Saracens is mentioned in it, as succeeding in Babylon to that of the Persians *. But the Sa- racens were not possessed of Babylon till nearly tiie middle of the seventh century. A writer of so late a date will be entitled to little belief in tiiis question, particularly if his evidence go no farther than to discover an opinion of his own, without proof in support of it. But, it is said, there is reason to believe that the opinion is more ancient than the period here referred to; for An- dreas Caesariensis, who v/rote about the year 500, though he does not adopt the opinion, mentions it as the opinion of some others. And Michaelis, who favours this third opinion, is disposed to be- lieve it derived from Hippolitus, or Irenaeus. But he has produced no evidence of the fact. It is merely a conjecture, resting on this unsure founda- tion ; " Arethas must have received this opinion from some author, who explained the Apocalypse before the times of Andreas Ca^sariensis; and who could this be, but Hippolitus, or Irenaeus ?'' Hip- politus would have been a valuable evidence, if any proof could be adduced of his having held fiuch opinion. The testimony of Irenreus would be yet more decisive, could it be procured. This, then, is the desideratum; and accordingly we shall * Com, In Apocal, cap. xxxvi, .find, 16 find, that attempts have been made to press Ire- naeus into this service. With what success, will be seen in our examination of the fourth opi- nion. IV. For, under the fourth opinion, we must produce the words of Ireneeus, which have been understood, by all the ancients, and by all the modern critics, until these days, to assert plainly and unequivocally, that the visions of the Apo- calypse were seen " toward the close of Domi- tian's reign/' If these words had been supposed by ancient writers to have been capable of any other meaning, or of such meaning as hath lately been attributed to them, the tradition of the Church would not have been so uniform. For, as Michaelis observes, '' almost all the ecclesiastical '' writers, who have spoken of the time zoheii the " Apocah/pse was written, have followed this ac- " count,*' namely, that it was written " toward the " close of the reign of Domitian" We have al- ready produced all the evidence which has an}' tendency to contradict this general testimony of the Church, and we have seen to what little it amounts. It is very far from sufficient for the purposes of those, who, wishing to apply certain prophecies of the Apocalypse to the times of Nero and his immediate successors, are driven to the attempt of establishing this necessary postu- latum, that " it was written before the times in which (they say) these prophecies were ful- filled.'' This is the true reason, (as Michaelis allows,) allows *.) why they have recourse to the testimony of Irenseus ; the importance of which, to the de- termination of this question, may be collected from the ardent desire of these writers to make his evidence support their sentiments; but will more fully appear, by considering his character and connections, and the time in which he lived. Irenaeus was born, according to his own ac- count, (as his words have generally been under- stood,) in the age immediately succeeding that, in which the visions of the Apocalypse were seenf. He was a Greek by birth, as his name and language import, and probably an Asiatic Greek, for he was an auditor of Polycarp J, who was Bishop of Smyrna, one of the seven churches, and who had been the auditor of St. John the Apostle, whom Irenaeus constantly affirms to be the writer of the Apocalypse §. And accordingly, when Irenaeus speaks upon such subjects as concern the external evidences of the Church, he appeals, for a confirmation of the truth of what lie has advanced, to Polycarp, and to others, * P. 524, 525. f The learned Dodwell has taken pains to shew, that Irenaeus was born in the year 97, the very year in which the Apocalypse will appear to have been published. But there is reason to sup- pose that he has tixed the birth of this father about ten years too soon. See Grabe's Proleg. ad Irenreum. t Iren. iii. 3. Euseb. H. E. iv. 14, lb*, v. 4, 19, 20. § Iren. lib. iii. 3, 4. Euseb. H. E. lib. iv. 14. 16. v. 4, 19, 20. Iren. iv. 50. v. 2(), 28, 30, 34, 35. Lardner, Supplement, p. 34S, 378. — Cave, Hist. Lit. art. Irena2us. who, 18 who, he 533-85 had seen the Apostle John, lie appeals also to the Asiatic Churches, in which he appears to have been echicated *. When re- moved from Asia into Gaul, w^iere, upon the martyrdom of Pothinus, he became Bishop of Lyons, he kept up a correspondence with the brethren of the Asiatic Churches, from whom he would continue to receive the most genuine in- formation then to be obtained concerning the Apocalypse. He was, in his own character, the most learned, pious, prudent, and venerable prelate of the age in which he lived f . He wrote largely in defence of the truth ; and it has been a prevailing opinion in the Church, that he sealed his testimony with his biood. Here then is a witness, far surpassing, in autho- rity and credibility, any that has hitherto been produced. Accordingly, his evidence has been received by the writers nearest to his time, and, with the very few exceptions which we have now produced, by the universal Churcli. And, until these days, there has not been the least doubt of the import of his evidence; no one has seen oc- casion to interpret his words, otherwise than * Tren. lib. Hi, 3. v. 8. Euscb. H. E. lib, Iv. 14. v. ^0. f It was principally by the wisdom, authority, and moderation of Irenaeus, that the furious Victor, Bishop of Rome, was kept iri order, and induced, rgi,rr.s u^-nw 9pv«y, to think of the things which make for peace, when a schism was about to take place between t)ie Eastern and Western Churches, occasioned by the dispute concerning the time of keeping Easter. — Cuseb. H. E. lib. v. 24. accof^iog 19 according to their obvious and received meaning — " that tlie visions of the Apocalypse were seen in the times of Domitian*. But since a novel interpretation of these words has been attempted, in order to press them into the service of a pre- conceived opinion, it will be necessary to produce them. Irenaeus, speaking of the mystical name as- cribed to Antichrist in the xiiith chapter of the Apocalypse, and of the difficulty of its inter- pretation, adds. SI Ss shi uvu(pavhv fv to) vvv kxi^c^ KVr 7^v\ljiy sco^uKOToc. Ovh ycc^ 'ur^o TxyoKKov %^ovov scjo^oc^'^, uXKoc c%yj^oy £7fi rvig r,ijifjs^ag ycvsagy 'zs'^og to Tc7^og 7'/ig Ao^i]iOiVoi> a^yj/jg : which may be thus hterally translated : — ^ But if it had been proper, that this name " should be openly proclaimed in this present " time, it would have been told even by him " who saw^ the revelation. For it was not seen '' a long time ago, but almost in our own age " (or generation), toward the end of Domitian's '' reign/' These w^ords are plain and unequivocal; no variety of interpretation of them arose during * Micbaelis, in anotiier part of his work, considers the testi- mony of Irenseus, so far as relates to St. John's writings, as of the highest authority. "Irenseus," says he, *' is not only the " most ancient writer on this subject, but was a disciple of Poly- " carp, who was personally acquainted with St. John. Consc- '' quently Irenseus had the very best information on this subject." Introd. vol. ili, ch. vii. See also his translator's judicious re- marks on the importance of Irenseus's testimony. sixteen 20 sixteen hundred years, in which they were read by the Church. And, indeed, the only doubt concerning them now is, *' what it is that Irenaeus " affirms to have been seen in Domitian's reign V* What does the verb seen refer to, and agree with ? What is the nominative case to the verb su^oc9i>}?^ Now, I will venture to affirm, that no Greek scholar, unbiassed by any favourite opinion, can possibly suppose that the verb scAj^^yJyj, "was seen,'^ can be referred to any other nominative than 'H A7roKaKv\l/ig, " 'I'he Revelation." — But it is not a matter wherein a critical knowledge of the Greek tongue is required, to enable us to decide. Plain common sense is to supply what is wanting. And no person, possessed of that valuable quali- fication, can read this passage, translated literally into any language, without perceiving that the thing represented to be seen in the latter clause, must be the same which was said to have been seen in the former. The same verb, used so nearly with a relative, must refer to the same noun. Otherwise, there is no dependence on common lano;uao;e : and we must, in all our writings, be driven to use the repetitions which are in usage among the lawyers; and Irenaeus, if he wGve to Avrite in modern times, must be instructed to say, after the word " Reve- *' lation,'' not '' It was seen/' but the " Afore- " said Revelation* was seen. But if the discovery of these modern critics had rested upon any solid or probable founda- tion, 21 lion, they would be agreed among themselves, not only in rejecting A7rcy.a7KV7r4jig as the nomina- tive to which the verb is to be referred, but in ascertaining the noun which is to supply its place. They are agreed so far as to perceive the neces- sity of rejecting the common and obvious inter- pretation, (because, this being admitted, their explications of the prophecies cannot stand); but they contend, among each other, about the me- thod of supplying the new interpretation. And, indeed, every proposition made by them, with a view to supply a new nominative to s^oo^k^jy,, is full of difficulty and absurdity. Michaelis seems to pass this sentence upon all of them but one, which refers sm^oc^vi to to ovoij^a^ and which, to me, appears as forced and improbable as any of the rest. What was seen? answer, the name was seen ! If Irenoeiis had intended this meaning, he would not have written sa'p^c^j? hwl-^^Kna^^n. Michaelis has suo-crested this ; and it is a sufficient answer. Yet this able critic is still inclined to favour this application of the verb, referring to ovojmoc to Titan. But this is to break all bounds of grammatical connection. And, to suppose, as this forced construction re- (juires, that Ireneeus understood the Emperor Domitian to be Titan and Antichrist, is to make Irenaeus contradict himself; for this father plainly tells us, that he understood not this prophecy ; and that, in his opinion, " it is better to wait the *• completion of it, than to guess at names, which " may seem to fit the mystical figures." Ire- naeus, 22 timiis*, therefore, considered the prophecy as not having been fulfilled in the times before him; nor is there any colour of proof for supposing, that he considered Domitian as a type of Anti- christ, or that there had been any partial com- pletion of the prophecy. Besides, the context of Irenaeus, if examined, will admit none of these novel and forced interpretations. It evidently re- quires the old and obvious acceptation. The object of Irena^us is to dissuade his readers from a difficult and presumptuous attempt to settle who is Antichrist, by applying, in the manner he had shewn, the Greek figures 66*6. And his ar- gument is to this effect : " The mystery was not " intended to be cleared up in our times : for if " it had, it w^ould have been told by him who " saw the vision.'' This implies that the vision had been seen lately. But, to complete the ar- gument, and to support the last clause of it, \vhich was not perfectly clear, Irenaeus adds — ^* for it was seen at no great dutance from our " own times/' In short, all these new^ interpretations are in- consistent and absurd, and have no support but wdiat is derived from the Latin translation of Irenaeus, wliich is allowed to be very imperfect -j-; and if it had been of greater authority, could only disclose to us the translator's opinion of the * Lib. V. Euseb. H. E. lib. iii, c. 18. f Grabe asserts and proves it to be barbarous and defective. Proleg. in Irenseum, meaning 25 meaning of the passage. But since we possess the original Greek, we must have recourse to the text as it stands there ; of which the learned in the present age are at least as good judges as this translator, who, if by using the words *' visum *' est,'' he intended to refer the verb to any other nominative than " Revelatio,'' has contradicted all the learned students of Irenaeus, from the ear- liest ages to the time of the present innovators. Of the observations of Knittel, to which Mi- chaelis refers us for information on this subject, I can say nothing, not having seen them. I have already been too diffuse on the subject. But the authority of Michaelis is deservedly great: and, it is necessary to shew at large, why an opinion, to which he inclines, ought not to be adopted. I collect, moreover, that Michaelis had observed no evidence, either external or internal *, of suf- ficient weight to obhse him to fix the date of the Apocalypse in the days of Nero, or before those of Domitian. Otherwise, he Avould not, in another passage, have been inclined to pro- nounce it " a spurious production, introduced " probably into the world after the death of Saint " John *,'' who lived beyond the reign of Domi- tian. * The German critics, who liave endeavoured to point out tlie accomplishment of the Apocalyptical prophecies in the Jewish wars^ and times preceding Domitian, have met with insuperable difficulties, as may be sufficiently seen in Michaelis's account, p. 513— 518. t P. 487. D The 24 The words of Irenseus, of this competent and unexceptionable witness, are therefore to be taken in that obvious sense which has been af- fixed to them by all the writers before our own times : and, thus taken, they determine the time when the Apocalyptic visions were seen, and published, namely, " toward the end of Do- " mitian's reign/' This is confirmed by the evi- dence of all the ancient writers, who are agreed (except in the few and unimportant instances which have now been produced to the contrary) that St. John's banishment to Patmos, where he saw the Visions, is of this date. Lampe has as- serted, and Lardner confirms the truth of the assertion, " that all antiquity is abundantly " agreed, that Domitian was the author of John's " banishment*/' Internal evidence likewise supports this con- clusion. For, in the three first chapters of the Apocalypse, the Churches of Asia are described as being in that advanced and flourishing state of society and discipline reasonably to be expected; and to have undergone those changes in their faith and morals, which might have taken place, in the time intervening between the publication * See Hegisippus apiid Eiiseb. lib. ill. c. 20, Q3. Tertulllan, Apol. c. V. Hieron. torn. x. p. 100, and other authorities ad- duced by Lardner, Supplement, ch. ix. sec. 5, who, with his usual judgment and candour, has most satisfactorily determined this question ; and also that the Apocalypse was not written till the end of Domitian's reign, of 25 of Saint Paul's Epistles, and the concluding years of Domitian. Domitian's death is related to have happened in September, A. D. 96. The Christian exiles were then set at liberty ; and Saint John had permission to return to Ephesus. But the Em- peror's death, and the permission to return, could not be known in Asia immediately. Some time must intervene, before Saint John could be at liberty either to write the Apocalypse at Ephe# sus, or to send it by messengers (now probably for the first time admitted to approach him) from Patmos *. We shall, therefore, place the date of the Apocalypse, as Mill, Lardner, and other able critics have placed it, in the years 96 or 97 : probably (for reasons now assigned) at the be- ginning of the latter. It could not be circulated through the Seven Churches sooner. V.^ — VI. I shall pass over the fifth and sixth opinions, mentioned by Michaelis, because they are supported by such slender evidence, that he does but barely notice them himself. And I trust there is less reason to refute them, after this review of the evidence, by which the fourth opinion is established. * There seems internal evidence in chap. 1. 9, that the i\po- calypse was written after the writer had left Patmos ; he says, sysvoiAm h rri y^jcrw, I z£;as in the island. D 2 CHAP. se CHAP. III. THE TESTIMONY OF IRENiEUS, AND OF OtifEIl FATHERS IN THE CHURCH BEFORE HIM, OJf IGNATIUS, OF POLYCARP, OF THE WRTTEK OF THE EPISTLE DESCRIBING POLYCARP's MARTYRDOM, AND OF PAPIAS* JoLATiNG ascertained the time iii which the Apocalypse was written, we may proceed to review the external evidence, which afl'ects its authority. For we shall now be enabled to ap- preciate such testimony, by considering its ap- proximation to the time when the book was published. In the examination of this evidence, Michaelis has chosen to begin with that of Eusebius. But Eusebius wrote at an interval of more than two hundred years from the time when the Apocalypse first appeared. In his days, doubts had arisen concerning the authenticity of the book — doubts which bad no foundation on any external evi- dence, but which had been suggested by some writers from a consideration of its internal marks and character. The subject appears to have been in debate among the Christian critics in these times. Eusebius hesitated where to place the^ 27 the Apocalypse ; whether among the undoubted books of the inspired Canon, or among those which were accounted spurious. He promises farther information when the debate should be concluded ; but we do not appear to have re- ceived it from him ^. I will begin, then, where we have more decided and authentic information ; from Irenaeus, whosQ competency to decide on this question we have considered. There are other testimonies, which, in point of time, are antecedent to this of Ire- naeus, but none so comprehensive, so positive, and direct. We shall review these with more ad- vantage, after the consideration of this important evidence. Irenj^us, the auditor of Polycarp, and of other apostolical men, who had conversed with St. John, had the best means of inforniation con- cerning the authenticity of the Apocalypse; and from the zeal which he shews, to discover the true reading of a passage in the Apocalypse (by appeal to ancient and authentic copies, and to the testimony of apostolical men), we may justly conclude that he took equal pains, and the same judicious methods, to assure himself concerning the writer of the book-j-. But Irenaeus, in many passages, ascribes this book to " John the Evan- " gelist, the disciple of the Lord, — that John who * Euseb. H. E. lib. iii. c. 24, 25. t Irenaeus, lib. v. c. 30. Euseb. H. E. lib. iii. c. 18. ^' leaned ^8 " leaned on his Lord's breast at the last supper'^/' There are twenty-two chapters in the book of Revelation, and Ireneeus quotes from thirteen of them, producing more than twenty-four passages, some of considerable length. The candid and judicious Lardner, after an examination of this evidence, says, " His (Irenoeus's) testimony for this '^ book is so strong and full, that, considering the " age of Irena3us, he seems to put it beyond all " question, that it is the work of John the Apostle " and Evangelist -j/' The testimony of Irenseus may be supposed to extend from about thirty or forty years after the date of the Apocalypse, to about eighty years after the same period, viz. the year of our Lord 178, when he is said to have published the books which contain this testimony J. But during this period of eighty years, other writers appear to have quoted, and acknowledged the Apocalypse. We w ill now, therefore, take a retrospect of their quotations and allusions, which will give addi- tional weight to the testimony of Irenseus; while, from a recollection of his evidence, theirs also will derive support. Ignatius is mentioned by Michaelis as the most ancient evidence that can be produced, respect- ing the authenticity of the Apocalypse. He lived in the apostolical times, and died by a glorious * Irenseiis, lib. iv. 37, 50, 27; t Cred. Gosp. Hist. art. Irenaeus. J See Cave and Lardner. martyrdom 29 Tiiartyrdom in the year 107, as some writers state, though others have placed this event a few years later. He is commonly supposed to have made no mention of the Apocalypse ; and this his silence amounts, in the opinion of Michaelis, to a rejection of the book. " If Ignatius," says he, '' had seen and acknowledged the Apocalypse " as the work of John the Apostle, he would " probably, when he w^rote his Epistles to the '* Christian communities at Ephesus, Philadelphia, " and Smyrna, have reminded them of the praises, " which, according to Rev. ii. 1 — 7- 8 — 11. iii. '* 7 — 12. their Bishops had received from Christ, " more particularly when he addressed the " Church of Ephesus ; because, in his Epistle to " that Church, he particularly reminds them of ^' the praises bestowed on them by St. Paul." The connection of idea and train of thought, expected from Ignatius upon this occasion, is indeed ?2flf?^r«/, but it is not necessary; so that the want of it w^ill not amount to any proof that Ignatius had never seen, or that he rejected, the Apocalypse. Ignatius was not a Bishop of any of the Seven Churches to which it was addressed, nor of any of the Churches in Asia properly so called, but of Antioch in Syria ; and his fami- liarity with so obscure and mystical a book, would depend much upon his own turn of mind, and bent of study. We know^ that many eminent divines of our own times have been very little conversant with the Apocalypse; and we know- that so that many of those, who are conversant with the bqpk, are Uttle inchned to quote it in their ser- mons and popular addresses ; for they appeal to those books of Scripture with which they sup- pose then* auditors most acquainted. Besides, we are to take into our account the peculiar circumstances under which this Father of the Church wrote his Epistles, which are the only remains of his works. He was a prisoner, upon travel, guarded by a band of soldiers, whom for their ferocity he compares to leopards *, and by them hurried forward, in his passage from Antioch to Rome, there to be devoured by wild beasts. In such circumstances, he would write at uncertain seasons, with frequent interruption, his train of thoughts necessarily broken ; and his quotations, depending probably on memory alone, would be inaccurate. From these causes it has happened, that the references of Ignatius to sa- cred Scripture, in his hasty Epistles, may be styled allusions, rather than quotations; and to many of the sacred books, he appears not to allude at all. The Epistle to the Ephesians is the only book expressly named by him. Of the Gospels, he only quotes, or even plainly alludes to, those of St. Matthew and St. John. And it will appear dubious, to those who examine the writings of this Father, v/hether the Acts of the Apostles, or any of the Scriptural Epistles, are either ind'abitably quoted, or alluded to by hirii,, * Ad Romaaos_, sect. v. except 31 except that to the Romans, the First to the Co- rinthians, to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philip- pians, and the Second to Timothy. But shall we affirm, that Ignatius rejected two of the Gospels, and fourteen other books of sacred Scripture, because no evident allusion to them can be found in these his hasty Epistles? No one ivill make this affirmation. The authenticity and divine inspiration of these books are sup- ported by other and sufficient evidence : and the conclusion which Michaelis invites us to draw, from the silence of Ignatius respecting the Apo- calypse, must appear rash and unfounded. It is in contradiction to the remarks of this able critic himself, in l]is observations on the same subject, in another passage of his work. For he tells us, after having first assigned the reasons on which he grounds his assertion, that " It is therefore " no objection to the New Testament, if it is so "seldom cited b}^ the Apostolic Fathers; and " even could any one be produced, who had not " made a single reference to these writings, it " would prove as little against their authenticity, " as St. Paul's never having quoted the Epistles " of St. Peter, or the Gospels of St. Matthew '• and St. Luke.'' But if this holds good, as ap- plied to the Sciiptures in general, it is peculiarly applicable to a book of mysterious prophecy, and of so late publication as the Apocalypse. And we cannot conclude even if it should appear that Ignatius has not mentioned the Apacalypse, nor alluded 32 alluded to it, that " it was unknown to him : " nor if it was known to him, that he did not ** believe it genuine ; nor yet, that his silence " concerning it amounts to a rejection of it/i This answer to Michaelis may be apphed, and I trust effectually, in case it shall be concluded that Ignatius " has passed over the Apocalypse in silence." But there are some passages in his Epistles, which may perhaps be admitted to allude to this sacred book. It may be thought, that if Ignatius had not seen the Apocalypse, he would not have used certain expressions, which he has employed in the following pas- sages. I shall present them at length, because they have never yet been produced. Rev. i, g, Ignat. ad Rom. ad fin. The text of the Apocalypse is here taken from the approved edition of Griesbach ; and it is a confirmation to be added to his supports of this text, that it was thus read by Ignatius. This expression, though the idea be quite scriptural, is to be found, I believe, in no other passage of the New Testament, but in this of the Apo- calypse only. Rev. xxi. 2. Ignat. ad Ephes. sect, 3, Tijv 'aoKiv Tv>v uytav onto ra ©ta A;9o< vxa zjulpos Here S3 Here the use of the word thkoo-^yi^svoi, following so immediately after the words YiToifLcca-uLsvoi and €>fy, and with such connection of thought and of imagery, affords reason to suppose, that Ig- natius had seen this passage of the Apocalypse. Ignatius appears to me to comment on St. John, referring this passage to the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, where the same images are used, and by a comparison with which it is bfest explained. A better illustration cannot be given of Ksx,o(r^rjiJLsyYiv t(a) av^pi avryjc, than in these parallel words of Ignatius, KSKoa-i/.yjiJi,syYiv sfjoKaig I)?cr« Xpzs"^. The One is the mystical ex- pression ; the other is its meaning, w4ien dis- robed of the figurative dress. Rev. xxi. 3. Ignat. ad Ephes. sect. 15. Kxi ixvioi Xaoi avlov sa-0'p>aci, xa/ avlos o Qeos Ivx v;/.sv avliv vxoi (fors, Xocoi) y.x(tivlos Efoit [xil' ocvluv, Gsos avluv. H sv ri(^iv, Gsos rt^uy. Both these passages seem to have reference to 3 Cor. V. l6. KocL sa-ou.oci oivjajv o Gfcog, Kcci ccvjoi icog, KOii v^zig sasa-^s ^jloi T^ocog : or from Jer. xxxi. 33. noci SToy.cci uvjag sig Qcov, kch ocvjoi so-ovjcci ULOi sig Kccov, or Jer. ixxii. 38. xunu-ovjui ^oi sig Koiov, nai syoo so-oixoci ocvjoig sig Gsov. or from Ezek. xxxvii. 23. Tioci e(ro{^oci u.oi sig 7\0(,ov, Koci iyui Kvpio^ so-ouLai av]oig sig Qeov. I have produced all these passages to shew in what degree Ignatius can be supposed to quote fronoj 34 from, or allude to each. The expression, in the first part of the sentence, may be taken from any, or all of them, as well as from this passage in the Apocalypse. But the peculiar turn and form of the latter clause is only to be found here. And I think it probable, that Ig^ natius would not have relinquished the form observed in the other quotations for this mode of expression, which is very peculiar, if he had not seen and remembered it in the Apocalypse. They are, indeed, the very same words ; only with that grammatical alteration which was ncr cessary to fit them to the circumstances ; that is, to the application which Ignatius makes of them to himself, and his readers. I submit the consideration of these passages to the learned reader, who may perhaps de^ termine, that Ignatius has not " passed over thq " Apocalypse in silence/' The next writer, from whom Michaelis ex-? pects evidence respecting the Apocalypse, is the old Syriae translator. He has taken consider- able pains to shew, that the first Syriae trans- lation is of great antiquity*. But, whoever has read the notes of his learned translator, upon this part of Michaelis's works, must be convinced that there is no sufficient evidence to shew, that the Syriae version w^as made before the fourth century ; because the first quotation from it is by Ephrem^ who lived in that pe- * Introd. vol. 1. part l» viod. 3& rlod '^. In this case, it cannot be admitted as- an evidence, belonging to this early class. Hermas, or the author bearing that namCj or the Shepherd, is not mentioned by Mi- chaelis. But Lardner has produced some pas- sages from this book, by which he was inclined to think, that Hermas " had seen and imitated *' the Apocalypse/' I have examined these pas- sages attentively, but can see no such particu- lar expressions, (such as we have observed in Ignatius) as wall lead me to conclude that Her- mas had seen this book. There are, indeed, images and descriptions, which bear some affi- nity to those of the Apocalypse; but the sour- ces, from which these w^ere probably derived, may be shewn in other parts of Sacred Scripture. There appears to me nothing either in the ima- gery or expression of Hermas which will prove that he copied after the Apocalypse. But the time, in which Hermas wrote, is supposed by Lardner and others, upon probable grounds, to have been before the conclusion of the first century; some name the year 75, others 92 -f; but, as this book was written at Rome, it is not probable that the author could, in any part of that century, have obtained a sight of the Apocalypse, which, as w^e have observed, be- gan to be circulated in Asia, only about the year 97- If Hermas had seen the Apocalypse, * Marsh's Notes to Mlchaells's Introd. vol. ^. ch. vii, sect. Q, t I'illemont, it 36 it is to be expected that his narration would have been strongly and unquestionably tinged with the imagery and appropriate expressions of this sublime book"^. If, then, Hcrmas wrote before he could see the Apocalypse, his silence is no evidence against its authenticity : but it is an additional proof, to be classed with those of the preceding chapter, that the Apoca- lypse was not published till late in Domitian's reign. PoLYCARP has not been cited as an evidence in the question before us. He is reported, by Irenaeus, to have written many epistles. But only one of these is come down to us. And this is so replete with practical exhortations, that there is little reason to expect in it any quota- tions from this mystical book. We have, how- ever, other reasons to conclude, that Polycarp received the Apocalypse as divine Scripture; because it was so received by Irenaeus, his Au- ditor, who appeals to him and the Asiatic Churches, over one of which Polycarp presided, for the truth of his doctrines. This apostolical man suffered martyrdom, about seventy years after the Apocalypse had been published. An account of this event is given in an interesting Epistle written from the Church of Smyrna, over which Polycarp had presided. In this * This seems to be the case In the Apocryphal Esdras. Com- pare 21 Esdras, ii. 42. — 47. with Rev. vii. Q. Also, vi. 17. 31. 58. V. 4. vii. 57. 58. ix. 38. x. 37. xi. 5. S2. Epistle, S7 Epistle, part of which is reported by Eusebius*, there seem to be some allusions to the Apo- calypse, which have escaped observation. And if the Apocalypse w^as received by the Church of Smyrna at the time of Polycarp's death, there can be no doubt but it was received by him, their Bishop and Instructor. In Rev. i. 15. In the Epistle, The feet of the Son of Man are The body of the suffering Martyr described is represented, Ofco/o; -yxKYJikiZcc^ta us tv KOC(jt.ivu T7£- Ovtc us cruf^ KXio^juvi)^ aX}C us ^vtros 'nvfu^iiQi' y,xt ccpyvfos bv koc^aivu zjvpuiASvm* That the wTiter did not use the word %ciXKo?u^uvoc, may be accounted for, by his having in view% at the same time, another passage of Scripture, 1 Peter, i. 7- where the Apostle compares the suffering Christians to " Gold tried by the fire ;" but why did he, after having used the word gold, omit the S/a 'zs-vpog ^okiijloc^ojjl-v^ of St. Peter, to substitute ev Kccijuycd 'nrvpcoi/.syoi ? why ? but be- cause he w^as led to it by this passage of the Apocalypse ? besides in Rev. iii. 18. we read also %pVO-lOV TJCSTTVpUJlXSVO]/ S7C ziTvpog, The pious and sublime prayer of Polycarp, at the awful moment when the fire w^as about to be lighted under him, begins with these words, Kup/5, 0 Gcog, 0 zs-cifjoKpoclc^p, They are the identical words in the prayer of the Elders, Rev. xi. 17- * H. E. lib. iv. c. 15. From 38 From these instances perhaps some confii-^ mation is derived, that Polycarp, and his dis-* ciples of the Church of Smyrna, received the Apocalypse. Papias belongs likewise to the apostolical age, and is said to have been an Auditor of St. John*. This Father is asserted by Andreas, Bishop of Caesarea, who wrote in the fifth century, to have given his testimony to the Apocalypse t ; and is classed by this writer in the list of those who are well known to have testified in its favour ; with Irenseus, Methodius, and Hippolitus. What writings of Papias had descended to the time of Andreas, we do not know ; but to us there have come down only a few very short fragments preserved by EusebiusJ. In these we have no mention of the Apocalypse. They treat of other subjects ; of the Gospels chiefly. And to two only, of the four Gospels, has Papias given evidence. Yet no one has doubted, for this reason, whether Papias received the other two. Yet, as Papias was then treating on the Gospels, it is stronger evidence against St. John^s Gospel, that he did not mention that Gospel, than that he omitted to mention his Apocalypse. The same is the case with the quotations of Pa- pias, from the Epistles of the New Testament. It is said by Eusebius, that Papias quoted from * Irenasus, lib. v. 33. Euseb. H. E. lib. iii, c. 3p. f Proleg. ad Apoc. t H. E. lib. iii. 39. the S9 the First Epistle of Peter and the First of John, and no other of the epistles are mentioned as quoted by him. Yet no notion has thence been entertained, that he rejected the other Epistles of the Sacred Canon. " He confirms these *' which he has mentioned," says Lardner*, " without prejudicing the rest/* Upon the same footing stands his silence con- cerning the Apocalypse. And this silencCj in these short fragments of his works, would be no evidence against it, even if we had no assurance that he received it as holy writ. But such as- surance we have, from Andreas of Csesarea-j-. Michaelis collects, from some expressions of Eusebius;]:, that Papias had no where cleared up * Cred. Gosp* Hist. art. Papias. *|- Michaelis is willing to suppose (p* 466) tliat Andreas had no proof of what lie asserts^ and that he concluded Papias to be an evidence in favour of the Apocalypse, merely because Papias ■Nvas a Millenarian. This is, at most, a conjecture, for the sup- port of which he refers us to what is afterwards said by him of Andreas, when he comes to speak of Gregory of Nazianzum» When we turn to that passage (page 490) which is designed to invalidate the testimony of Andreas by this argument, '* that he *•' who had falsely represented Gregory, as an evidence for the •* Apocalypsej may be supposed to have done the same concern- ** ing Papias ;" we find that, even by the admission of Miekadis, Gregory has quoted the Apocalypse in two passages of his writ- ings. Which quotations will be found (when we come to exa- jnine Gregory*s evidence) more than sufficient to counterbalance the circumstance of the Apocalypse not being mentioned in his Metrical Catalogue. Michaelis, at last, leaves the question un- decided. And so the testimony of Andreas remains unim- peached by him. Papias appears also by the testimony of And. Cajs. to have commented on the Apocalypse ; sttj T^t^ixson the text. See cap. xxxiv. Serm. xii, of And. Cjcs. J P. 464. the 40 the important question, " whether John the Pres- " byter, who also lived at Ephesus, was the writer " of the Apocalypse/' But how can we expect such determination from Papias, when it appears thiat the question was never agitated in his time ? Eusebius himself, in tlie fourth century, first started it. Dionysius of Alexandria, in the cen- tury preceding, had mentioned some other John as, perhaps^ the author of the book; but even he does not mention John the Presbyter, Nor is there any evidence that it was ascribed to any other than to John the Apostle, by any ortho* dox writer of the Church, during the first cen- tury of its appearance in the world. The Alogi, a sect of heretics, ascribed it to Cerinthus ; but no one of the orthodox, before the third cen- tury, (as far as we know) assigned to it any other than John the Evangelist. That Papias, therefore, never entered into the merits of this question, is of no disservice to the Apocalypse. On the contrary, that little is said by him, and by the ancient Fathers, concerning the writer of the Apocalypse, shews, that no doubts arose, in the early times, concerning the person who wrote it. All, who have spoken upon the ques- tion, have asserted John the Evangelist to be its author ; and they were not contradicted. But that the Apocalypse was unknown to Papias, our author attempts also to prove from another passage of Eusebius*; who, having * Lib. iii. c. 39. mentioned 41 mentioned that Papias had reported some doc- trines and parables of our Saviour, not contain- ed in the Gospels, but learnt by oral tradition, and among these some things that are fabulous, classes among the latter his Millenarian doc- trine, " That, after the resurrection of the dead, *' Christ will reign in person a thousand years "on earth/' " I suppose " adds Eusebius, " that "he acquired this notion from his inquiring " into the saying of the Apostles, and his not "understanding what they had delivered figu- " ratively/' From this passage it is inferred, that Papias was ignorant- of the Apocalypse ; " for why," it is said, " should he have recourse " to oral tradition for the support of these prin- " ciples, when the 20th chapter of Revelation " would, literally interpreted, have much better " suited his purpose?'' But this mode of prov- ing is somewhat like that which we have lately examined, which was found to rest only on a conjecture of Eusebius. For this rests only on a supposition of the same writer, equally unfound- ed. " I suppose/' says Eusebius, " that he ac- " quired his millenary notions from oral tradi- " tion :'' but there is no other ground for this supposition^ than that Papias had appeared to acquire some other information, and some other fabulous notions, by this method. But, if the 20th chapter of the Apocalypse, verses 4, 5, 6, literally interpreted, would, according to the confession of Michaelis, " have much better E 2 " suited 42 ** suited his purpose," why may we not, with equal reason suppose, that he found it did suit his purpose ? Certainly we can shew, in this chapter, a passage, which, literally taken, would be a groundwork for Papias's niillenary doc- trines; but neither Eusebius, nor Michaelis, were able to prove any such oral tradition re- ceived by Papias, upop which he could found his notions of Christ's millenary reign on earth. But Eusebius may be mistaken in this supposifmi, because he is evidently so in another, which is con- tained in tlie same passage. He supposes Irenaeus to have founded his Millenary notions on the tra- dition and authority of Papias : but Irenaeus hap- pens to have told us otherwise. For, in his fifth book against the heretics, chapters xxxii, xxxiii, xxxiv, XXXV, xxxvi, he rests this doctrine, partly indeed upon the tradition of the Elders, but chiefly on the promises of Scripture, which he quotes abundantly, producing also this passage of the i\pocalypse; " In the Apocalypse, and the Apo- calypse alone," (says Michaelis, speaking of the Millenarian system,) "is this doctrine discoverable, " if we take all the expressions used in the xxth " chapter in a strictly literal sense ; and this is " the chapter on which all the Millenarians of " modern ages have principally grounded their " opinions." And why, then, not Papias? To me, there appear to arise two powerful arguments in favour of the antiquity and diviue origin of the Apocalypse, to be derived from a consideratioQ ^3 consideration of the times of Papias. 1. The Millenary doctrines appear then first to have taken that form, agreeably to the xxth chapter of the Apocalypse, which, Uteralli/ interpreted^ would supply those notions. 2. If the Apoca- lypse had been written after the times of Pa- pias, after the times when he had broached these doctrines, and had not been a work of divine origin, the ingenious author of it, (who will be supposed, from this passage, to have favoured the Millenarian tenets,) would not have contented himself with that short descrip- tion of the terrestrial reign of Christ, which is contained in three verses of his xxth chapter. He would have enlarged on a topic so flattering to the Christians, in the manner used by Pa- pias, or his followers, and not have left the de- scription restricted to that brevity and obscu- rity, which bespeak a work published before these notions had prevailed. I may have detained the reader too long with what relates to the evidence of Papias : but it seemed to me to require a particular exami- nation; because Michaelis, when he sums up the evidence for and against the Apocalypse, still takes it for granted, that Papias knew no- thing of this book ; and considers this circum- stance as sufficient to balance against the express testimonies of the learned Origen^ a determined Anti-millenarian, in it§ favour. CHAP. 44 CHAP. IV. THE TESTIMONY OF JUSTIN MARTYR, OF ATHENAGORAS, OF THE CHURCHES IN GAUL, OF MELITO, THEOPHILUS, APOLLONIUS, CLE- , MENS OF ALEXANDRIA, AND TERTULLIAN. I SHALL now produce the testimony of a writer, who was contemporary with all those whom we have reviewed*. If any thing shall have ap- peared defective in any of their testimonies, such objection cannot be made here. The testimony which Justin Martyr affords is full, positive, and direct. He received the Apoca- lypse as the production of " John, one of the " Apostles of Christ/' He expressly names this John as the writer of itf. He appears also, from the testimony of JeromeJ, to have inter- preted some parts of this mystical book: although no work of this kind has come down to us. * It is probable that Justin Martyr was born in the fi: st cen- tury, and before the Apocalypse was written, and that he suffered Martyrdom about the middle of the second century. See Cave, Fabricius, Tillemont, Lardner. Euseb. describes him as o /aeT « laoKv Tuv ocnoaloXuv. lib. ii. c. 13. Michaelis says he wrote in the year 133, ch. ii. sect. 6. p. 32. f Dial, cum Tryphon. lib. vi. c. 20. i Catal. Script. Eccles. c. 9. Some 45 Some writers have supposed, from the words of Jerome*, that Justin pubhshed a commen- tary on the Apocalypse; but there seems not sufficient foundation for this opinion, since such a work is mentioned by no early writer of the Church. But it has, on the contrary, been too hastily concluded, that Justin wrote no other interpretation of the Apocalypse, than that which is to be found in the single passage of his Dialogue with Trypho, already referred to. But Jerome would not be justified, in calling him an interpreter of the Apocalypse, from this passage only, which contains a reference to Rev. xx, but no interpretation. It is probable therefore that, in some other work, now lost, he had at- tempted an interpretation of some parts of it, in the manner of Ireneeus -f*. If this be admitted as probable; the testimony of Justin, which is sufficiently clear and direct, becomes also more extensive. Athenagoras, who was contemporary with Polycarp and Justin Martyr, is admitted by Michaelis, from the allusion produced by Lard- nerj, to have been acquainted with the Apo- calj^pse. * Scripsit (Johannes) Apocalypsin, quam Interpretantur Jus- t'lnus Martyr et Irenaeus. f Some account of Justin's works, which are now lost, may be seen in Grabe's Spicileg. vol. ii. p. \QQ, % Cred. Gosp. Hist. art. Athenagoras. Michaelis 46 Michaelis has passed over in silence the evi- dence to be found in that valuable remnant of ecclesiastical antiquity, The Epistle from THE Gallic Chuuches, which relates the sufferings of their Martyrs about the year 177, eighty years after the publication of the Apo- calypse*. We are obliged to Eusebius for preserving a considerable part of this letter f, in which Lard- ner has remarked this passage, AkhKh^mv tw Apv/&) oVj^ uv v^ayyj. They ave the very words of the Apocalypse, ch. xiv. 4. and so peculiar in idea and expression, as evidently to be derived from no other source. I shall state more at large another passage observed, but not admitted as evidence by Lardner, because it niay be useful to make some remarks upon it, Rev.xxii.ll. Epistle. fvnotfx^u) ill ' Koci 0 5ixa3V z^oi'nacclu tit' (aliter leg. ^imhuOttIx.) Pan. xii. 10. * It must be remarked, that although this Epistle was written eighty years after the Apocalypse was published, the writer, who quotes from it, is an evidence of an earlier date. For the person chosen by the Church to write for them, would probably be no young man, but one of their venerable Fathers. Irenaeus has been supposed to be the writer, hut there is no propf of this, t Hist, Eccl. lib. V. c. 1. From 47 From this view of comparison we may per- ceive, that although in the first clause the writer referred to the Book of Daniel, in the second he adverted to the Apocalypse. The whole form and colouring of the passage are indeed taken from the latter, which sufficiently appear from the peculiar use of the word m : and liKociM^vilu}^ though expunged by Greisbach, is a reading of considerable authority, and, from this quotation, appears to have stood in the an* cient MSS. used by the Gallic Church. I shall add to these quotations one which to my knowledge has not been observed before. In Bev. i, 5. iii. 14. In the Epistle, Our Lord Jesus Christ is called The Martyrs give place to Jesus Christ, as «rpolo}oxo; ax ruv vtxpuv, toIqku tuv nnfuy. After the perusal of these quotations, we can entertain no doubt, but that the writer of these Epistles, and the Churches of Gaul who em- ployed him to write in their name, received the Apocalypse as divine Scripture. And their testimony is of the more importance in this in- quiry, because these Churches appear to have received their instructions in religion, and con- sequently their canon of sacred Scripture, from the Churches in Asia. Their connection with these Churches, at the time when this Epistle was written, is sufficiently apparent, from its being 48 being addressed " to the Churches of Asia and '' Phrygia*." And there appears to have been another Epistle from the Martyrs themselves of these Churches, with the same address, but upon another ecclesiastical subject, written at the same time. These were not letters from individuals to individuals, but from societies to other ecc5le- siastical communities. The Gallic Churches give account to the Asiatic Churches, as colonies to their mother country. We may collect also from names, casually mentioned in this Epistle, that the Gallic Churches had among them Asia- tic Greeks, men of the first rank and character, then teaching in Gaul, Attains of Pergamus, (one of the Seven Churches,) and Alexander, a P hry- gian. Pothinus appears to a be Greek name*f-; this venerable Bishop of Lyons was more than 90 years of age, when he suffered martyrdom, and therefore born ten years before the Apo- calypse was published. But it appears, from the evidences now produced, that the Gallic churches believed it to be a book of divine au- thority. We may add too, that they believed the Asiatic Churches to have received this book into their canon, otherwise they would not have quoted from it in a letter addressed to them. Ire- * Laodicea, one of the seven Churches addressed in the Apo- calypse, was situated in Phrygla. t The accurate historian Mosheim relates it as a fact that Po- thinus came from Asia; and produces his authorities. Eccl, Hist, Cent- ii. part i. ch. i. nseus 49 Tiaeus likewise the auditor of Polycarp, was a Presbyter of the Church at Lyons at this time, and succeeded Pothinus in the bishoprick ; and we have aheady made ourselves acquainted with his creed, respecting this book. Thus there is strong reason for concluding, that these Gallic Churches held the same canon of Scripture with the Asiatic; and consequently, that the Asiatic Churches, to whom the Apoca- lypse appears to have been addressed, received it as divine Scripture, and with Irenseus, as the work of John the Apostle. This will be confirmed by the article which follows. Melito, after some doubt and hesitation, is at last admitted by Michaelis, as a witness in favour of the Apocalypse; he is stated to have flourished about the year 170*, and probably might be living at the time the Gallic Epistle was received by the Asiatic Churches ; of one of which (of Sardis) he was Bishop f-. He was a Bishop of the highest repiiytation in the Christian world, ac- cording to the testimonies of Polycrates J, of Ter- tullian §, of Eusebius [|. He wrote upon the Apocalypse^, and was esteemed, says Tertullian, * Cave, Hist. Lit. t See what is said by Mr. Marsh on the subject of an Epistle being received at a place to which it was addressed, vol. i. p. 368. + Euseb. V. 24. § Cave, Script. Illust. II Euseb. H. E. lib. iv. 26. ^ Euseb. H. E. lib. iv, 26. Hierom. Proleg. 327. a Prophet 50 a Prophet by many Christians; probably, be- cause he had interpreted and applied the divine prophecies of this book, with some apparent suc- cess. His works are unfortunately lost. THEOPHiLUs,who was Bishop of Antioch about 90 years after the publication of the Apocalypse, appears to have written upon, and to have quoted from it, as of divine authority, in his treatise against Hermogenes*. This treatise is not ex- tant; but Lardner has produced one passage, from another work of his, in which he calls the Devil, " Satan, the Serpent, and the Dragon;'* which seems taken from Rev. xii. 9 1- Michaelis admits Theophilus among those who undoubtedly received the Apocalypse :{:. Apollonius is not mentioned by our author. But Eusebius, who speaks of him as a learned man, represents him also as supporting the Apo- calypse, by testimonies taken from it §. He suffered martyrdom about the year 186 j|, and is a valuable addition to our evidence. Clemens of Alexandria is admitted by Michaelis as an undQubted evidence for the Apo- calypse ^. He has frequently quoted from it, and referred to it, as the work of an Apostle. He was an inquisitive, and well-informed writer, and * Euseb. H. E. lib. iv. 24. t Lardner, Cred. art. Theophilus. X P. 467. § Euseb. H. E. lib, v. c. 18.21, II Lardner, art. Apollonius, H P. 467, having 51 having flourished within the first century after the publication of the Apocalypse, is an import- ant evidence in its favour. Tertullian wrote about the same time with Clement ; but his long life extended farther into the next century. Michaelis allows his evidence for the Apocalypse as undouhted; and it is certainly valu- able. He is the most ancient of the Latin Fathers, whose works have descended to our times. He quotes, or refers to, the Apocalypse, in above seventy passages of his writings ; and he appeals to it expressly as the work of the Apostle John. He defends the authenticity of the book against the heretic Marcion and his followers, by assert- ing its external evidence. He appeals to the Asiatic Churches, and assures us, that " though " Marcion rejects it, yet the succession of Bishops, " traced to its origin, will establish John to be its author *. In particular, it may be observed, that Tertullian has quoted Rev. i. 6, " Quia aa- " cerdotes nos et Deo et patri fecit,'' as a passage common in the mouths of the Laifi/ of his time f. This frequent and popular appeal to the Apoca- lypse, shews it to be a book much read, and generally received, in the African Churches of the second century. * Habemus et Johannls alumnas ecclesias : nam etsi Apoca- lypsin ejus Marcion respuit, ordo tamen episcoporum, ad Origi- nem recensus, in Johannem stablt auctorem. Adv, Marcion, lib. iv. c. 5. t Terlull. de Monog. cap, 12. We 52 We are now returned again to the times of Ire- naeus, whose single testimony appeared to have such deserved influence in setthng the question before us *. But the retrospect, which we have been able to take of the writers who preceded him, has added great weight to the evidence. Tor testimonies have been drawn abundantly from every generation of writers, through the first century after the Apocalypse was published. They have been produced from almost all parts of the Christian world: from Asia, where it made its first appearance ; from Syria ; from Italy ; from Gaul; and from the Churches of Africa, where it seems to have had an universal reception, and a more than ordinary circulation. I now present the reader with a sketch, drawn after the manner of Priestley's Biographical Chart, and those of Play fair's Chronology ; by which he may see, in one view, the MTiters whose testi- monies we have hitherto collected. He will hereby be enabled to estimate the force of that numerous, imbroken, concurring chain of evi- dence, which we have laid before him. Besides those writers already reviewed, he will see also, in the chart, the names of Hippolitus and Origen, * In a passage ofMichaelis, oh. xxvi. sect. 8. on the Epistle of Saint James, we collect the names of the ancient authors, whose testimony he esteems most decisive to the books of the New Testament. These are Irenseus, TertuUian, Clement of Alex- andria, and Origen ; hy all of whom we shall find the Apoca- lypse fully received as the writing of St. John. who Part of Century the tirlL C entur V th e le c ond . Part of Centurs' the thinl. ®.^7 S( fin/' ■//>/'// /f/Af/^fJ/U /k' 2J/9 Ao Ao j«r' A" 'm> ^o ,W\ O^e??? f//s ^/^^.r AfA u/iat/ora^ Tt7vAf /•/};■>/// ////' Ga/^/r C/t//rr/tr,f H^ri^/r/iy//// /~/t/^C'//f//-r// t>/^'Sf/i\7'///y ^//A {f/jpr)(_ I/f/Jpf)(v///.\ Po/ytyfr/' Ire. J/<'/a.' ^97 ///. v//// ^/// /•/! y • rhvV,, T^rfr/Jln 7 '/nf >/>/*// //s ^l/Jf'///^f/tfU.^ I X io|o F^ rra/an.\Jdr/an.\ Arit.I*. \ M.Ant.\Com\\\ 1 1 t I :i . _. . J-,...:^.-'^..: 53 wlio belong more strictly to the next century ; because in that century they chiefly wrote and flourished. But they lived also in this century. They are important evidences in favour of the Apocalypse. They carry on the testimony by a strong and regular concatenation to the middle of the third century after Christ; after which time, we can expect Httle or no accession of ex- ternal evidence, concerning any inspired book. The testimonies of Hippolitus, and of Origen, will be exhibited in a succeeding chapter.. CHAR 54 CHAP. V. THE EVIDENCE AGAINST THE APOCALYPSE DURING ITS FIRST CENTURY; THE RE- JECTION OF IT BY MARCION AND BY THE ALOGi; THEIR OBJECTIONS, SO FAR AS THEY RELATE TO EXTERNAL EVIDENCE, EXA- MINED. JBTaving reviewed the external evidence in favour of the Apocalypse, during the first cen- tury after its publication, it will be useful to pause, before we produce subsequent witnesses, and to afford opportunity of examining any testi- monies of the same period, by which its authen- ticity and divine inspiration have been denied. The examination of this evidence will soon be dispatched. For, wonderful as it may appear, there is not one writer of the pure Primitive Church, no Father, no Ecclesiastical Author^ who, during this period, seems to have ques- tioned its authenticity. Yet there was ground then for the same objections, which afterwards induced some persons to reject it in the third and fourth centuries. The Fathers, before the times of Caius and of Dionysius, could discover that the Apocalypse was obscure ; that it was to them no revelation ; that the Greek of it appeared different from 55 from that of Saint Johns Gospel ; but, notwith- standing these circumstances, which they were well qualified to appreciate, tliey received it with pious acquiescence as divine Scripture, communi- cated by the beloved Apostle; and the}^ delivered it as such to the succeeding century. Now, to what can w*e attribute this conduct, but to the powerful operation of that external evidence by which it was then supported ? The writers of the first part of this century had the opportunity of hearing from apostolical men, from " those w4io had seen the face of John," as Irena^us expresses it, to what author they ascribed the Apocalypse. In the latter part of the century, the tradition was still w^arm, depend- ing upon the living testimony of those who had seen apostolical men; and an inquisitive author could satisfy himself, from the narration of others, vipon what grounds of external evidence the book had been so universally received. It had been produced pz^6/ic/?/ into the world. It was to be found, not in the archives of one insignificant Clmrch, but of the seven flourishing Churches of Asia ; " This thing was not done in a corner." From the mode of its publication, it challenged observation, and defied detection. And we may suppose, that as none of the early Fathers ob- jected to the evidence, all were satisfied. They received and transmitted to others those prophe- cies, which they themselves could not understand. Under these circumstances, we may be more F surprised 56 surprised that so many of the ancient Fathers have quoted from the Apocalypse, than that some (and they are but few) have passed it over in silence. But although none of the orthodox writers of the Church seem to have questioned the authen- ticity of the Apocalypse, during the first century of its appearance, we have evidence that certain heretics rejected it. Of this number was Mar- cion*. But we know also that this daring Gnostic rejected or mutilated other books of sacred Scripture, which he could not otherwise render subservient to his wicked purposes!. The rejection of the Apocalypse by Marcioii is favourable to its pretensions. It is a proof that the book w^as in existence, and received by the Church, in those early times in which he flourished J; and that the doctrines contained in it, were such as opposed his impious tenets. The Apocalypse was rejected also by a sect, who obtained the name of Alogi ; but they re- jected also the Gospel of Saint John; and for the same reasons ; which, with these rash people, were not founded on any exceptions to the c.r- ternal evidence of these divine books, but princi- pally on their dislike to the word Logos, wdiich, * 1 ertulllan. adv. Marcion. lib. iv. cap. a. t Irenajiis adv. Ilrer. Tertullian. adv. Marclon. Epiphanius Hser. 42. Origeu cont. Celsum, lib. ii. c. 27. J MarcioQ came to Rome In the year 127, only SO years after the Publication of the Apocalypse. CavC; Hist. Lit, as 57 as used in this Gospel and Revelation, they re- fused to consider as of divhie authority ^^; but this objection, and also their ascription of the Apocalypse, together with the Gospel of St. John, to Cerinthus, ho^y weak soever the grounds on which they stand, are not to be considered here ; because they rest, not on external, but internal evidence -j-. Among these their objections to the Apocalypse, there is one indeed which our author has remarked to be of an historical kind ; which must therefore be examined under the head o? external evidence. It is this : The fourth epistle in the Apocalj^pse is ad- dressed to the Angel of the Church of Thyatira; but the Alogi, w^ith a view to convict the Apo- calypse of falsehood, declared that there existed no Church at Thyatira. The words, as delivered by Epiphanius, are observed to be ambiguous, and may denote, either that there was no Chris- tian community at Thyatira in the time of St. John, or none at the time when these Alogi made their objections:}:. If we ascribe to them the latter sense, the argument, as Michaelis justly observes, is of no importance. For if there w^as no Church at Thyatira in the middle, or toward the close of the second century, still there might have been at the close of the first. * Epiphan. Hser. 51, 34. f Michaelis has fully exposed and refuted this strange notion of the Alogi, p. 464. r 2 But 58 But let us meet the objection in its strongest force. Let us suppose it to be unecjuivocally declared, by the testimony of these Alogi, that there was no Church at Thyatira at the time of Saint John; at the time when he is affirmed to have addressed this Epistle to that place. Now these Alogi, who, when we come to examine their internal evidence against the Apocalypse^ will be found to support their cause by the most weak and absurd ar2:uments : who rejected the Gospel of St. John, and attributed it to the he- retic Cerinthus, merely because they disliked tlie word Logos, as applied by St. John to Christ ; are not very credible witnesses. Eye-witnesses they could not be, because they did not live in those times; and we can entertain but an un- favourable opinion of their fair and candid ap- preciation of the evidence of others, when they rejected the powerful external evidence, by which St. John's Gospel was supported, so soon after its publication, only because some passages of that Gospel seemed to oppose their favourite tenets. But admit, for the sake of argument, the fact which they wished to establish. Admit, for a moment, that not St. John, but Cerinthus was the v/riter of the Apocalypse. But Cerinthus was contemporary with St. John; and Cerinthus lived in Ephesus, and amidst the seven Churches*; and can we suppose it possible, that Cerinthus, ♦ Euscb. H. E. lib. Hi. c. ^8. SO 59 so circumstanced, should address an epistle to a society of Christians in that very region where he lived, when in fact no such society existed ? Nothing can be more absurd than the supposi- tion. To carry the argument a little further, the Apocalypse (if it could be proved a forgery) must have been written, says Michaelis, before the times of Justin Martyr, before the year 120*; that is, very near to the time when the ancients believed the Apocalypse, if genume, to have been written. A fabricator so circumstanced cannot be supposed capable of so gross a mistake ; and if such a mistake had been made, we sliould have heard of it from other, and earlier, ob- jectors than these Alogi ; and any fabricator of the Apocalypse must be supposed to have known, better than they, what Churches existed in Asia Proper, in the reign of Domitian. Persons who make use of such absurd arguments, and no other, deserve little attention. I may have be- stowed upon them too much ; but it seemed ne- cessary to examine, in all its appearances, the only external evidence which seems to have been alleged against the Apocalypse, during the first pentury after its publication. CHAP. 60 CHAP. VI. the testimonies of ilippolitus and of origen; the objections of caius and op dionysius of alexandria, and of others preceding HIM. ANIMADVERSIONS ON THE CONCLUSIONS OF MICHAELIS, RESPECTINQ THIS EVIDENCE. Jl NOW proceed to consider the external testi-^ inony which is obtained from Hippolitus and Origen, two great names in the ancient Chris- tian world, and both highly favourable to the divine authority of the Apocalypse. They have already had their place in the Biographical Chart, for reasons which have been already assigned. But I have kept apart the examination of their evidence, because I wished my readers to consider separately " the cloud of witnesses,'' who sup- ported the authenticity of the Apocalypse during its first century, in the times before any objection was made to it by any of those members of the Church, who observed the pure faith, and the pure canon of Scripture. In the times of Hippolitus and of Origen, £^ notion seems to have been adopted by some persons ia the true Church, that the Apocalypse w^^ 61 was not, what it pretended to be, the production of an Apostle. Dionysius of Alexandria, who wrote about tlie middle of the third century, says, " Some, before " our times'^, have utterly rejected this book ;" and he has been thought to intend Caius, an eccle- siastical man at Romef, who certainly ascribed some Apocalypse, and not improbably our Apo- calypse (though this matter has been much doubted) to the heretic Cerinthus J. But what- ever may be determined concerning the opinions of Caius, it seems clear, that before Dionysius wrote, that is, in the former part of the third century, some persons in the Christian Church had begun to doubt concerning the authenticity of the Apocalypse; to question whether it were the production of St. John, or of any apostolical, or even pious man; and to ascribe it, as the Alogi had done before them, to Cerinthus §. But it does not appear that they alleged any external evidence in support of these extraordi- nary opinions. They rested them on the basis of internal evidence only. " The Apocalypse," said they, " is obscure, unintelligible, and inconsistent, ^' and improperly entitled a revelation, It au- * Tms zy^o yii^uy. Euseb. lib. vii. C. 25. f So Euseblus calls him, H. E. lib. ii. c. 25. :|: Michaells has chosen to place these objectors in the second century, but on no solid ground of evidence ; for the first ob- jector, of whom we have any account, is Caius, and the earliest time assigned to him is A. D. 210. Cave, Hist. Lit. art. Caius. g Euseb, H, E, lib. vii. c. 24, ^' thorises 62 '* thorises notions of an impure, terrestrial mil- " lenniuni, unworthy of an Apostle of Christ. " But Cerinthus adopted sueh notions, and to *' propagate them the more successfully, he wrote " the Apocalypse, and prefixed to it the honour- " able name of John." All the arguments here used, excepting th.e aflirmation tliat Cerinthus is the author, (which has no proof vvliatever to su])port it*,) will be observed to rest on internal evidence, and there- fore belong not to tliis present inquiry. In a future chapter they Avill be examined. But I mention them in this place, because they pre- vailed in the times of liippolitus and Origen, v/hose testimony is now^ to be adduced. These two learned men had the opportunity of knowing and of considering all the arguments, which these novel objectors had alleged against the authenti- x:ity of the Apocalypse. We shall see what in-^ fluence they had on the minds of these able di- vines. HippoLiTus flourished early in the third cen- tury *j-, and probably lived and taught during a considerable part of the second: for he was an instructor of Origen, who was set over the Cate- chetical school in Alexandria, in the year 20£. He had been the disciple of Irena^us ; and, pro- bably, was a Greek by birth, for he wrote in * See this affirmation perfectly refuted by onr author, p 469. f One work of his is shewn to have 2^2 for its date. See Larcjncr, art. Hippolitus. Gieekj^ 63 Greek, and not improbably in the eastern parts of the Christian world, where his writings were long held in the highest esteem *. He is in all respects as credible a witness, as the times ia which he lived could produce. He received the Apocalypse as the work of St. John, the Apostle and disciple of the Lord |. Michaelis admits his evidence, and attributes to his influence and exertions, much support of the Apocalypse J. He could produce no new external evidence in its favour, but he probably appealed to, and ar- ranged that evidence which had gone before, and endeavoured to take away, in some measure, a popular objection to the book, by explaining parts of it; thus rendering it less obscure §. His studies qualified him for this office ; for, as Mi- chaelis observes, he commented on other prophe- cies. His genuine works, except a few fragments, appear not to have come down to us, but thej^ were read both in Greek and in Syriac for many ages. And it appears, by the evidence of Jerome and Ebed-jesu, that one, if not two of his books were written in defence of the Apocalypse. Mi- chaelis is inclined to believe that he left two * P. 479. t See the testimonies as collected by Lardner, who says, that " the testimony of Hippolitus is so clear in this respect, that no <' question can be made about it." Cred. G. H. art. Hippolitus. t P. 478. § What remains of Hippolitus in this kind, is to be seen in the Commentary of Andreas Czesariensis on the Apocalypse^ who professes to have followed him, works 6i v/oiks on this subject, one in answer to Caius, the other against the Alogi*. He says nothings ^vhich tends to invalidate the evidence of Ilip- politus in favour of the Apocalypse, but much to confirm it. Origex was born in the year 184 or 185, and lived to his 70th year. Of all the ancient fathers, he is generally acknowledged to have been the most acute, the most diligent, the most learned. And he applied these superior qualifi- cations to the study of the holy Scriptures, He studied them critically, with all that investi- gation of their evidences, and of the authen- ticity of the books and of the text, which is now become a voluminous part of theological studies. He was in a great degree the Father of Biblical learning. Such a man could not be ignorant of the objections urged by Caius and others, against the authenticity of the Apo^ calypse. He was inclined to allow all the weight of their popular argument against it, which was, that it encouraged the Millenarians: for Origen was a decided Anti-millenarian. He appears likevrise to have felt the full force of another of their objections. He acknowledged and was distressed by the dark veil, Avliich ap- peared to him to " envelope the unspeakable '' mysteries of the Apocalypset." But these * P. 479. t Sec a fragment of Origen, preserved In his works, and quoted by Lardncfa art. Orlgea. objections, 65 obiections, wlialever other influence thev niip'ht have in the mind of Origen, did not induce him to reject the book. He received it readily and implicitly. He quotes it frequently as " the " work of the Apostle John, of the author of ^* the Gospel of John, of the Son of Zebedee, of " him who leaned on the bosom of Jesus*.'' But to what shall we ascribe this decided conclusion of Origen, so hostile to his own prepossessions ? To what, but to the irresistible weight of ex- ternal evidence, which obli2:ed him to acknow-. ledge the Apocalypse as the undoubted produc- tion of John the Apostle ? No one, w ho has taken into consideration the v/eight of this evi^ dence (even as it now appears to us), and the superior qualifications of this learned and in- quisitive Father to judge of it, can ascribe the testimony, which we derive from Origen, to any other cause. And every candid person must be surprised and sorry at the cavilling questions ad-, vanced by Michaelis-j-, by which he endeavours to represent the wxll-considered and respectable evidence of Origen, as depending solely on the authority of his master Hippohtus, or (which is still more extraordinary) to be the result of that duplicity, which our author attributes (unjustly, * Euseb, H. E. lib. vi. c. 25. Orig. Horn, in lib. Jer. ; Com, in Job. p. 14 ; Com. in Mat. p. 4V7 ; Cont. Celsum^ lib. vi, t P. 48Q, aa 66 as we shall endeavour to prove) to Diony- ^iiis *. But from other passages it appears, that Mi- chaehs felt the force of Origen's testimony re- specting the Apocalypse. In these he acknow- ledges it to be " greatly in its favourf- ;' and so it will remain; for, the counterpoise to it, wdiich he has proposed, arising from the silence of Papias, has been shewn to have very little weight J, I shall now request my readers to review the Biographical Chart presented to them at page 52. They will there observe, that by the addition, which is made to the writers of the se- cond century, by the testimonies of Hippolitus and Origen, the evidence is carried down 150 years from the first publication of the Apoca- lypse. This evidence is abundant, (surprisingly so, considering the mysterious nature of the t Nothing can be more express and positive than the testimony of Origen ; even in his last work, his book against Celsus, when he had probably seen the objections of Dionysius. For Dionysius wrote probably before the rage of persecution came on in 250, which pursued him almost to his death, in 264 ; but Origen wrote his last work in 259, the year before he died : but whether or not Origen lived to see this book of Dionysius, he was doubtless acquainted with the arguments which it contains, respecting the authenticity of the Apocalypse, for they had i^exi, been many years current in the wprld. t P. 486. J In Chap, iii, book) I 67 book); it is constant and uninterrupted*. At no time does it depend upon any single testi- mony ; many writers testify at the same period ; and these witnesses are nearly all the great names of ecclesiastical antiquity f. To their evidence, which is for the most part positive and express^- no contradictory testimony of an external kind has been opposed. No one has alleged against the Apocalypse such arguments as these : — " It " is not preserved in the archives of the Seven " Asiatic Churches. The oldest persons in those " cities have no knowledge of its having been " sent thither : no one ever saw it during the " life of John. It was introduced in such and * It may be observed, that although many writers give their testimony, yet a very few witnesses may be selected, who can be supposed to have delivered down the evidence in succession, during the first one hundred and fifty years of the Apocalypse. For instance, these three, Polycarp^ Iren:eus, Origen ; or, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen. A long tradition has more cre- dibility attached to it, when it has passed but through few hands. t Every writer quoted by Lardner in the first volume, part ii. of his Credibility of the Gospel History, except two or three, of whom short fragments only remain, is to be found in our list, and this volume contains all the writers who gave testimony to a?/}/ of the sacred Scriptures, during almost the whole of the first century after the Apocalypse was published. Sir Isaac New- ion asserts truly, that '^ no other book of the New Testament *^ is so sti'ongly attested, or commented upon, as this.'* Sir Isaac Nev/ton on Daniel and the Apocalypse, part ii. c. 1. p. 219. such 68 " such a year, but it was contradicted as soon " as it appeared*/' Upon * These arguirents are candidly and judiciously suggested by Micliaellsj and he allows considerable weight to them. (p. 484.) But, in a note subjoined, he endeavours to invalidate them by observing, 1. That *^ only a few extracts from the writings of the an- cient adversaries of the Apocalypse are now extant, the writings themselves being lost." 2. That " the ancient advocates for the Apocalypse have like-^ wise not alleged any historical arguments in its defence/' To these objections we will answer shortly : 1. If the learned professor had allowed any weight to this kind of argument, when he reviewed the evidence of Igna- tms and Papias, he could not have pronounced their silence " as a dt'cisivt argument," against the Apocalypse. But there is a difference in the two cases, a difference, which is In favour of the Apocalypse. The short writings, or extracts now ex- tant,' may easily be supposed not to contain all, or perhaps any, of the testimonies which they bore to this book, which, from its mysterious contents, they cannot be expected often to have quoted. And if such testimonies were lost, they would not be renewed by subsequent authors, from whom all that we should have to expect would be such a general testimony as An- dreas Ctesarlensis gives of Papias, namely, that Papias bore evi- dence to the Apocalypse. But if in any of the writings of the ancient adversaries of the book, any such argimients as these suggested by Michaelis had been inserted, they could not have sunk into oblivion. A book asserted to be divine, yet having at the same time such internal evidence against it, as Dionyslus has produced, would be ever regarded with a jealous eye; and if the Alogi, or Caius, or Dionyslus, (and these are all the adversaries of whom we hear,) had recorded any such allegation against the Apocalypse, it would have been repeated and re- echoed by its adversaries through all the ages of the Church. But 69 Upon the whole^ the candid examiner cannot but perceive, that the external evidence for the authenticity and divine inspiration of the Apo- calypse is of preponderating weight; and that Michaelis is by no means justifiable in repre- senting it, when placed in the scale against the contrary evidence, as suspended in equipoise. It is a complete answer to the assertions of his third section '"^j to affirm, (and we now see that we can truly affirm it,) that the authenticity of the book was never doubted by the Church, during the first century after it was published : and that it was received with especial reverence, as divine Scripture, by the Asiatic Churches^ to w^hich it was addressed, and by their colo- nies. But if there Were any foundation for sucli allegations, Polyca]-pr and Mclito, bishops of the Seven Churrlies, would not have suffered the Apocalypse to pass in their days to Irenseus, as a work received by those Churches from Saint John. 2. On the second objection we may observe^ that where there was no contradiction, there most certainly needed no proof. The silent admission of the Apocalypse, by the early fathers, makes greatly in its favour. No controversy, shews no doubt. And how stands the evidence in the case of other acknowledged books of the sacred canon? Arc we expected to prove that all the epis- tles of Saint Paul were deposited in the archives of the respective Churches to which they were Vv-ritten ? Far otherwise : no such proof is made ; none such is reasonably expected. We shew that the epistles were undoubtedly received by the early writers of the Church ; this is proof sufficient ; and we have this proof abundantly for the authenticity of the Apocalypse. * P.4SG. ' * CHAR 70 CHAP. Vlf. THE TESTIMONIES OF GREGOPvY OF NEOC.ESA- REA ; AND OF DIOKlSIUS OF ALEXANt)lllA ; OF HIS PRIVATE OPINION; THE TESTIMO- NIES OF OTHER ^tRITERS IN THE SAME CENTURY, OF EUSEBIUS, AND THE WRITERS IN HIS TIME, AND AFTER HIM ; OF THE RE- CEPTION OF THE APOCALYPSE AT THE RE- TORMATION. Vt^ITH the last chapter I might have fairly closed all that need be said, to defend the au- thenticity of the x4ipocalypse, by external evi- dence. For what addition of historical testis mony can we require? what original documents are w^e likely to procure? or what weight of contradictory external evidence can we expect to encounter, in the times beyond those we have examined ? \yho, in these after-ages, can give lis information, which will bear comparison with that which we have already received ? or whom of the succeeding Fathers can v/e esteem equal judges with Hippolitus and Origen, whether it be of the evidence already pro- duced, or of the questions agitated in their times, tim(e&, concerning the authenticity of the Apo- calypse* ? Yet I shall pursue the subject, because it has been pursued further by Michaelis. It is, at least, curious, to know the sentiments of later Avriters on the external evidence ; though the same accuracy in examining them may not be required. Gregory of Neocaesarea, surnariied Thauma- turgus^ not mentioned by Michaelis, is supposed to have referred, in his Panegyrical Oration, to Rev. iii. 7. if not to Isa. xxii. 22. The ob- servation is Lardner'sf, who remarks also that Gregory, having been the pupil of Origen, and much attached to that great man, probably re- r:eived the same Canon of Scripture. DioNYsius, of Alexandria, was another pu- pil of Origen, and, like Gregory, a man of emi- nence. He received the Apocalypse as a divine prophecy, w4iich he represents to be dark in- deed and aenigmatical, and above his compre- hension, yet certainly divine ; and he says he could not dare to think otherwise of it^ since many of the brethren held it in the highest esteem+. He appeals to it, likewise, as contain- ing a divine prophecjs which he believes to have * Dr. LesSj in his History of Religion^ closes his evidence with Origen, and Mr. Marsh observes, that further testimony is unnecessary. See Introd. vol. i. p. SOl. t Cred, Gosp. Hist. art. Greg, of N. C. t Euseb. H. E. lib. vii. c.25. G been 72 been fulfilled during his own times, in the cha- racter and conduct of the persecuting Em- peror Valerian *. At the same time, it was the opinion of Dionysius, that the Apocalypse, though of divine origin, was not written by the Apostle John, but by some other John, an holy and inspired man. But where are the grounds of this opinion ? Are they historical ? Does he allege in their support any external evidence ? any tradition of the Church ? No. He gives his opinion as a conjecture formed upon the in- ternal evidence of the book, on certain peculia- rities of style and manner, which appeared to him discordant from those of Saint John in his Gospel and Epistles. These arguments of Dionysius wdll be con- sidered, when we examine the internal evidence, by which the authority of the book is supported or invalidated. It is our present business to report only the external evidence of Dionysius. And the amount of this is, that the Apocalypse was generally received, in his time, as a sacred pro- phecy, and by such men as he revered, and wished not to oppose ; that some persons had rejected it, and ascribed it to Cerinthus ; that he himself believed it to be a book of sacred au- thority, doubting, at the same time, whether it were properly referred to the Apostle John. It is the opinion of Michaelis, (and Lardner has afforded some occasion for it,) that, al- * Eiiseb. H. E. lib. vii. c. 10. though 73 though Dionysius professed in such strong terms his reception of the Apocalypse, as a divine book of Prophecy, yet he did not beheve it such in his heart. Dionysius has certainly affirmed such to be his behef in plain and positive terms ; and his practice was agreeable to his professions. For we have seen that he proceeded so far, as to explain a prediction of the Apocalypse as actually fulfilled. Now, if proofs were wanting of the sincerity and plain Christian honesty of Dionysius's character, this particular /dcf, that he appealed to the Apocalypse, as containing a prophecy which he believed to be fulfilled, would place beyond all doubt, that he believed that book to be inspired. But Dionysius was confessedly a man of an open, artless probity ; and Lardner celebrates him as such, adding, in his account of him, that he had at the same time (which is a usual accompaniment of such a character) an honest and excessive warmth. But the conduct which Michaelis attributes to him on this occasion, is that of a sly, captious hypocrite. Certainly, neither the general cha- racter, nor conduct of Dionysius, nor the facts which have now appeared before us, can in any degree warrant such a conclusion*. This * Michaelis has defended -his opinion, by arguments which appear to me unequal to the defence of it. He says, that Dio- nysius has assigned reasons for his not venturing to reject the Apocalypse, which are wholly devoid of importance. They did not appear such to Dionysius, nor will they, 1 think, to the G 2 gene- n This Father of the Church appears to me to have thought, that he was doing no injury to the generality of Christ' an readers. 1. '* He did not reject it, be- " cause many of the brethren held it in the highest esteem." Now, surely, this is a reason which must be allowed to have considerable weight on the mind of a modest and sensible man. The pupils of Iren^eus, of Tertullian, of Hippolytus, and of Origen, were still living. They had been taught by their mas- ters, and by tlie general tradition of the Church, to consider the Apocalypse as a book of divine authority : and they resisted the new-fashioned notions, derived from the Alogi or Caius, who ascribed it to Cerinthus, ^'^ avraUs, zealously. Dionysius was modest, and had a due deference to the opinions of such ilien, and he censures obliquely those who, in his time as in durs, delighted to run counter to the received opinions of the Church. 2. The other reason, which Dit>ny&ius assigns for not reject- ing the Apocalypse, and which our author deems also weak and wnimportant, is in answer to those who rejected it, because it \tras diificult to be understood. But Dionysius answers, that^ '* He, for his part, does not reject what he does not understand : *' that^ not being able to understand the Apocalypse, he sup- " poses it to contain a sublimer sense than his faculties can '* reach ; and to become, therefore, the object of his faith, " rather than of his understanding ; and that his wonder and '* admiration are iri proportion to his ignorance." Now, this argument, which may be accounted weak, and (from such a man as Dionysius) insulting, supposing him not to believe the divine inspiration of the book, will be found to carry wilh it a considerable force and efficacy, if we suppose him to believe it. Try it, by an application of it to other difficult parts of Scrip- ture, to the unfulfilled Prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Daniet Shall we reject these, and deny their divine inspiration, because we do not understand them ? Far otherwise. They have been delivered to us by our Christian ancestors, as of sacred authority : they are strongly supported by external evidence. We must wait 75 the Apocalypse, by assigning to it another au- thor, instead of St. John, to " some holy and *' heavenly inspired man." So far, at least, he might fairly think, that he was defending the book, by taking away the foundation of those objections to it, which arose from the dissimi- larity of its style from that of St. John's. And perhaps he might reason, that as the Apocalypse is not evangelical history, it may not necessarily require the evidence of an eye-witness of our Lord's life; that as it is not a book revealing doctrines and rules of conduct, it may not be necessarily confined to the pen of an Apostle ; but that some other holy martyr, some aposto- lical man (for the time of its date implied so much) might, like Daniel, or other Prophets of the Old Testament, be selected by the Spirit, to convey these visions to the Church. I do not wait the time of their completion with pious awe and pa- tience. We may not be able to understand them ; we may zDonder, but we cannot reject. Wouid the Jews, who lived before our Saviour's time, have been justified in rejecting the dark and aenigmatical, and, to appearance, contradictory prophecies, which represented him as a triumphal king and con- queror, despised and rejected of men, &c. merely because they did not understand them ? This argument of Dionysius is not, therefore, *' wholly devoid of importance." ft was that which influenced all the Fathers of the Church ; who, although they understood not the Apocalypse, received it on its external evi- dence with pious veneration, anvl delivered it to succeeding times. And it is our duty to follow their example, modestly and diligently to interpret what we can, and to deliver the re- mainder to be fqltilled and interpreted in futiu'e ages. sive 76 give this as a sound and authorized conclusion, but as such an one as may perhaps have satis- fied the mind of Dionysius, who certainly found a great stumbling-block in the style and manner of the Apocalypse, and yet appears by his pro- fession, and by his practice, to have received it as an inspired book. I have extended my observations, I fear, to an unwarranted length, in this attempt to re- concile the opinions of Dionysius. But I was moved to it by a desire to do justice to a cha- racter which stands deservedly high in Ecclesias- tical History; to exculpate an eminent Chris- tian Father, from the charge of setting an ex- ample, under which the late Mr. Gibbon might have sheltered his artful, disingenuous, and in- sulting attack upon the Christian religion. I shall return to my subject; first remarking on the external evidence collected from Dionysius, that whatever notion may obtain concerning his private opinions, it is at least clear, from his testimony, that the Apocalypse was generally received in his time, and in high estimation with those Christians whom Dionysius himself revered. " After the age of Dionysius,'' says our au- thor*, " the number of ecclesiastical writers, " who quote the Apocalypse as a divine work, " especially of the members of the Latin Church, " begins to increase. But as they are of less * P. 484. . ^' importance 77 " importance than the more ancient writers, and " I have little or nothing to remark on their " quotations, I shall content myself with barely " mentioning their names, and referring to Lard- " ner, by whom their quotations are collected K" Little more, indeed, can be done; to the weight of evidence already produced, not much can now be added ; nor can it be deemed to di- minish from it, if some writers of account in later times, influenced perhaps by the arguments advanced by Dionysius and by others, concern- ing the internal, have been backward to admit the external evidence for the Apocalypse. This book was received, as of sacred autho- rity, in the times of Dionysius, by Cyprian, and by the African Churches ; by the Presbyters and others of the Church of Rome, who cor- responded with Cyprian ; by divers Latin au- thors whose history is abstracted by Lardner; by the anonymous author of a work against the Novatians ; by the Novatians themselves ; by Commodian ; by Victorinus, who wrote a com- mentary upon it; by the author of the poem against the Marcionites ; by Methodius, who also commented upon it; by the Manichaeans ; by the later Arnobius ; by the Donatists ; and by Lactantius. All these evidences in favour of the Apoca- lypse are admitted by Michaelis, who expresses no doubt concerning any of them, excepting * See Lardner's Cred. Gosp. Hist, part ii, vol. ii. p. 777, &g» the 78 the Manichaeans, whose evidence, jn another passage, he seems to allow *. We now come to the testimony of Eusebius, w^hich may deserve a more particular attention. To this valuable collector of Ecclesiastical His- tory (which would otherwise have perished), we are indebted for many important testimonies of ancient authors in favour of the iVpocalypse, xvhich have already been produced. And by him we have been informed of all the objections which were made to it, by Caius and Diony- sius, which seem to have had a considerable in- fluence upon the learned Christians of Euse- bius's age, and to have occasioned some doubt among them, whether they should receive the Apocalypse into their catalogue of undoubted books of Holy Writ, or place it among those of less authority. Eusebius represents the matter as in debate, and not yet determined, at the time he wrote his Ecclesiastical History, He promises further information when the matter shall be settled by the testimony of the an-t cients; but it does not appear that he ever gave it. We may be enabled to form some notion of the nature of this debate concerning the Apoca- lypse, by attending to what Eusebius has de-? livered upon the subject. He has distributed into four classes all the books pretending tq * P. 521. a place 79 a place in the sacred canon of the New Testa- ment*. 1. Tlie Oi^oXoyii^svoif AmiJi by the pro- duction of any external and historical proofs. Eusebius produces only a conjecture^ ''perhaps " John the Presbyter was its author ;'' but what * The attempt, in modern times, is to mark it as a forgery, ^' a spurious production, introduced probably into the world after " the death of St. John," p. 487 ; but how totally unsupported bi/ external evidence ! weight 82 weight could be allowed to such a conjecture, unsupported by any historical evidence, and not given to the world till above two hundred years after the Apocalypse was written ? Eusebius, in- deed, seems to lay little stress upon it, for he adds immediately afterwards, " If it be not insisted .*' upon to be the former John,'' that is, John the Apostle. Upon the whole, we are not to be surprised that, in Eusebius's time, the claims of the Apo- calypse to its situation in the sacred canon, should meet with some opposition. Two hundred years had now elapsed since it had been published to the world; many of the authentic documents which supported its authenticity, had probably perished in the Dioclesian persecution * ; the prophecies which it contained were still dark and apparently unfulfilled -j-. ; they had been abused by the Millenarians ; the style and man- jier had been pointed out to be unlike that of St. John ; the criticisms of Dionysius had in- fluence with many; yet no one, however desirous, from these and other concurring causes, of in- validating the authority of the book, appears to have been able to produce any external evidence which might suit the purpose, ^ See the devastation made at that time in the records of the Church, as described by Eusebius, H. E. lib. viii. cap. C. f Epiphanius mentions the Alogi, as rejecting the Apocalypse, among other reasons, ^'» ra iv rrj xtra-AaXv^n QaBtus km aKolnvus et^ri^^iyx* (Haer. 51.) and he seems, in sqme measure, to ^dmit the reason- ableness of their excuse. It 83 It was received, after the times of Eusebius, by the Latin Churches, almost without exception. Jerome, the most learned and diligent inquirer of that century^ pronounced positively in its favour; and was followed universally by the Fathers of the Western Churches : and from him we learn the grounds upon which he received the Apoca- lypse, which he assigns to be " the authority of " the ancients *,'' that is, external evidence ; and he tells us at the same time, that he does not follow " the fashion of his times,'' that fashion by which some of the Greek Churches were in- duced to reject the Apocalypse. This fashion of the times seems to have con- sisted in a daring contempt of the testimonies of the ancient Church, and a ready acquiescence in those arguments which were confidently drawn from internal evidence. Yet, notwithstanding this fashion, which appears to have had consi- derable prevalence in the Greek Church, and. perhaps to have influenced those eminent men, Cyril of Jerusalem, and John Chrysostom, (neither of whom appears to have quoted the Apocalypse,) many of great name in the Greek Church appear still to have received it; and, in the fourth century, it is supported by testi- monies in this Church frona Athanasius, Basil, * Nequaquam hujus temporis consuetudinem, sed veterum auctoritatem sequentes. Hierom, Epist. ad Dardan. torn. ii. Epiphanius, 84 Epiphanius, Gregory of Njssa, and Gregory of Nazianzum *. Yet * Michaelis says, '^ Gregory of Nyssa places the Apocalypse " among the apocryphal writings;" but he omits to tell us, that, in the very same passage, this Father quotes Rev. iii. 15, as the work '^ of John the Eva7igelist.'' Hxao-a t« tvxyysXis'V luxwu ev KtroK^vipots 'zjpos THs rotertii^t' aiviyfAoiTos Ktyovros'^, If the Apocalypse were apo- cryphal in the opinion of Gregory, he could not attribute it to John the Evangelist, but he calls it apocryphal, because it was now accounted such by many of the Greek Church. There are books of the Old Testament which are called apocryphal by our Church; yet some of these have been deemed divinely inspired by our own writers. If such a writer should quote from such a book, for instance, from the Second Book of Esdras, and intro- duce his quotation after the manner of Gregory ; " I have heard " the Prophet Ezra, in the Apocrypha, say," we should conclude that he esteemed the Second of Esdras as the work of Ezra the Scribe, and an inspired writer in the Old Testament, the work of a divine Prophet. Somewhat of this kind has, I believe, hap- pened in our own times. The testimony of Gregory of Nazianzum has been accounted doubtful, and is considered as such by our author. The evidence which places this Father against the claims of the Apocalypse, is this, that it is not to be seen In his catalogue of canonical books. But, on the contrary, we collect from the representation of An- dreas Caesariensis, and of Arethas, in their respective commenta- ries on the Apocalypse, that Gregory received it ; and Lardner has produced two passages from his works, in which it is clearly quoted as of Divine Authority f . Surely the weight of evidence preponderates on this side. And I have some suspicion that the Apocalypse had a place originally in Gregory's Catalogue, but that it was erased from it by the zeal of some Greek Christians, * In suain Ordinal, t. ii. p. 1 44. f Sec them ici Ljudner's Cred. G osp. Hist. art. Greg. Nazianz. — *0 u¥, o »jv, 0 l^^ofxev'^, Kf 0 zjxvToK^atrup. These words of Rev. i. 8. are quoted by Greg. Naz. as spokea of the Soa. Orat. xxxv. edit. Morelli, p. 573. who 85 Yet it will easily be conceded, that many of the Greek Church, for some centuries after Eu- sebius, and probably upon the authority of those who in his time determined from internal evi- dence that the Apocalypse was not to be referred to his first class of sacred books, rejected the Apocalypse*. Of the Syrian Churches we have no satisfactory information, how early or to what extent they received the Apocalypse. In the fourth century, it appears by the testimony of Ephrem that it was received by them, and probably much sooner, since the translated works of Hippolitus, that who rejected the Apocalypse. In this Catalogue we read these words^ describing St. John, which may be literally translated, *' The great Herald, or Mes- ^' senger, who went to learn in heaven * ;" but where, or when, is it said that the Evangelist, St. John, ascended to heaven, to be divinely instructed, and to be the Messenger and Herald of Divine information ? No where but in the Apocalypse, where he is called thither by the heavenly voice, ocvx(^x u^t, Rev. iv. l. The zeal of a transcriber may have carried him to omit the passage, in, which Nazianzene mentions the Apocalypse : but this expression remains as it was written, and seems to indicate that such a pas- sage once existed, and that Gregory received the Apocalypse as the work of John the Evangelist. * It has commonly been urged, as a testimony against the Apocalypse, that it was rejected by the Council of Laodicea in 363. But Michaelis professes himself satisfied that the Catalogue of Sacred Writings annexed to the canons of that Council, has been clearly shewn to be a forgery, p, 489. 4>a that it should not be understood before the last age of I " the 104 The book of Daniel, which has our Saviour^'s seal to it*, must be rejected with the Apoca- lypse, if it be a sufficient objection to it, that it is yet in many places obscure. But with respect to the Apocalypse, Michaelis has helped us to some specious arguments, whereby to shew that the difficulties of the book have not yet been fairly encountered ; that the men, who have attempted to explain it,. have not been possessed of the necessary requi- sites f. To those who entertain this opinion, that " the prophecies of the Apocalypse have " not been satisfactorily interpreted," this might be a sufficient answer ; for by such persons a hope may be yet entertained that, as the failure in expounding the Apocalypse is to be ac- counted for, by the want of proper qualifica- tions in the expounders, this defect may in time be obviated. But the greater part of learned Christians who have applied themselves to the study of the Apocalypse, are not of this opi- nion. They are persuaded that a part of these prophecies have received their completion. But if that were not the case, if no such conviction were obtained; surely they would not be jus- tified in rejecting a book so authenticated as " the world ; and therefore it makes for the credit of the pro-! " phecy that it is not yet understood.*' Sir I. Newton on Pro- phecy, ch. i. p. 251, * Matt. xxiv. 15. t P. 605—511. divine. 105 divine, merely because they do not yet under- stand it. If such had been the rash proceed- ings of the Primitive Fathers of the Church, we should not at this time have possessed the book. But it has pleased divine Providence to preserve it to us, and, if we cannot yet understand it, it is our duty to deliver it to the studies of pos- terity. We cannot know what ages of Christianity are yet to come ; in what manner the predictions of the book may yet be fulfilled ; nor what portion of the Divine Spirit, or of human knowledge, may be yet granted to explain it. The prophe- cies, now dark, may, to future generations, be- come " a shining light,'' and the apocalyptical predictions, rendered clear by their completion, serve as an impregnable bulwark of Christian faith, during the later ages of the militant Church. Difficulties are found in the abstruser parts of every kind of speculative knowledge. Every study has its dark recesses, not hitherto penetrable by human wit or industry. These apocalyptical prophecies are among the deeper speculations in the study of divinity. And are we to be surprised, that man meets with diflS- culties here; man whose bold, prying insolence is checked in the paths of every science, by the incomprehensible greatness of the works of God ! We may, therefore, conclude, that no just cause has been assigned to induce us to reject I 2 the 106 the Apocalypse ; but that many good reasons, arising from internal evidence^ and concurring with the forcible arguments drawn from the testimonies of the ancients, require us to re* ceive it as a book of divine inspiration :— But whether as the work of John the Apostle and Evangelist, will be the subject of inquiry in the next chapter. CHAP. 107 CHAP. IX. OF THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE RESPECTING THE QUESTION, WHETHER THE APOCALYPSE WAS WRITTEN BY ST. JOHN. DR. LARD- NEr's OPINION ; OPINIONS OF OTHERS. AR* GUMENTS OF DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA UNDER FIVE HEADS; ANSWERS THERETO, AND TO THE OBJECTIONS OF MICHAELIS. INQUIRY WHETHER JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND JOHN THE DIVINE, WERE BY THE AN- CIENTS ACCOUNTED THE SAME PERSON. EVI- PENCE FROM A PASSAGE IN THE BOOK THAT IT WAS WRITTEN BY ST. JOHN. RECAPITU- LATION AND CONCLUSION, The next, and, I believe, the only subject remaining to be considered is, whether, if we admit the Apocalypse to be an inspired book, we are also to receive it as the writing of John, the Apostle and Evangelist, We have already seen it expressly declared to be such, by unexceptionable witnesses, who lived in or near to the times when it was first received by the Seven Churches ; who had ample means of information; and were interested to know from whom the Churches had received it. Such 108 Such were Justin Martyr, Irenaeus the disciple of Polycarp, TertuUian, Origen, and others who preceded them. This external evidence appear- ed of such preponderating weight to the candid and judicious Lardner, (who entertained no pre- judice in favour of the Apocalypse, which he appears to have little studied or understood*) as to have drawn from him this conclusion, twice repeated ; " It may be questioned, whether the '* exceptions founded on the difference of style, " and such like things, or any other criticisms " whatever, can be sufficient to create a doubt " concerning the author of this book, which was *' owned for a writing of John, the Apostle and " Evangelist, before the times of Dionysius and " Caius, and, so far as we know, before the most " early of those who disputed its genuineness -f*." But it is a part of our proposed plan to con- sidev these exceptions and criticisms. They arose in the third century, and are detailed in the writings of Dionysius of Alexandria ; and the objections are by him placed in so strong a light, that little has been added to them by subsequent critics. The answers to them that I have seen are those by Mill, in his Prolegomena to the New Testament; by Bishop Gibson, in his Pastoral Letters ; by Blackwall, in his Sa- cred Classics ; which, with those of other writers, * Supplement, vol. iii. p. 372. t Cred. Gosp. Hist. vol. iv. p. 733. Supplement, vol. iii. p. 364. have 109 have been abridged and presented to the pubhc» with useful additions, by Lardner, in his Cre- dibility of the Gospel History*'. I shall state the objections of Dionysius, as reduced by Lardner to five heads f. I shall subjoin to them, in a short compass, such answers as appear to me to have been satisfactorily produced, or I shall sub- stitute others ; and I shall note occasionally those objections of Michaelis, which have not yet been answered. I. " The Evangelist John has not named himself ^ " in his Gospel^ nor his catholic Epistle ; but the *' writer of the Revelation nameth himself more " than once." This argument appears to me to stand on very weak and untenable foundations : yet Michaelis has thought proper to repeat it J. Is it possi- ble for us to know, at this distance of time, with no historical information on the subject, what special or private reasons, then existing, occasioned an apostolic writer, either to disclose or conceal his name ? Thus far the answer is general : but let us enter more particularly into the charge. 1. " The Apostle who put his name " to the Apocalypse, has omitted to do so to " the Gospel,'' But was it usual for the Evan- gelists to put their names to their Gospels? Is any other Gospel published with the name of its * Art. Dionysius of Alexandria. t Part I. vol. iv. p 730. J P, 534. author^ 110 author ? Not one. It was not the apostolic practice : yet John, of all the Evangelists, ap- proaches nearest to a disclosure of his name ; he discloses by various circumlocutions, that he, the Apostle John, wrote that Gospel ; and this we know, fron) what he has delivered to us by such Gircumlocution, as clearly, as if he had expressly written his name*, 2. " But though ^' this answer may be satisfactory respecting St. ** John's Gospel, can we defend by it the same " omission in his Epistles ?" An epistle, in- deed, generall3^ requires the name of its author to be inserted ; and for thp.t reason, among others, the name of John is inserted in the Apocalypse, which is writteri in the form of an epistle. Yet there may be exceptions to this general rule ; and we see such evidently in the Epistle to the Hebrews, which is written withr out a name. But the omission, if such, in the three Epistles of St. John, need not be sheltered vmder this precedent. We may otherwise ac- count satisfactorily for their being published without his name. The two last Epistles are short letters, fami- liarly addressed to individuak1[ ; and the writer calls himself, not hy the name of John, but by the appcllfition of the Elder^ by which he was probably as well known, in the familiar confe-. * John xxi. 2C, &:c. xix. ^6. xii'u 23, &c. t See Michaelis, Iiitrod. ch. xxxii. sect. iii. rence Ill rence which he held with these his correspondents, as if he had written his name John. He was, in- deed, at the time he wrote these Epistles, the Elder of the Christian Church, not only far ad- vanced in vears, but the sole survivor of all his apostolic brethren. Such an appellation, in a private letter to an individual, amounts to the same as the writer's name. But what shall we say to the omission of his name in ti)e First Epistle .? Michaelis shall assist us to clear up this difficulty. He pro- nounces this writing of St. John to be '* a trea- " tise rather than an Epistle,'' and, therefore, gays he, it has neither the name of the writer in the beginning, nor the usual salutations at the end*. Therefore, in all these writings of our Apostle, the insertion of his name appears to have been unnecessary ; in the Gospel, because such had not been the practice of the other Evangelists ; in the treatise, because in that like- wise it would have been informal ; in the two familiar Epistles, because another well-known appellation supplied its place. But in the Apo- calypse, which is written in the epistolary farnty not to any individual^ but to seven Christian com^ munities^ and is commanded, by Him who gave the Hevelationy to be written and addressed to them-f, the Apostle could not do otherwise than prefix: ♦ See his arguments, at large, vol. iv. cb, X3?x. sect, ii. p, 400j, 401. t Ch. i. V. 11. bisi 112 his name. And when he had prefixed it, we can- not deem it surprising, that he should repeat it, in passages where he relates to them the wonder- ful sights which he had seen. For such a repeti- tion conveys this assurance; " Be not incredu- " lous, I John, whom you can trust, whom you "can safely believe, I John saw these things/' This same Apostle had before given them warn- ing not to believe every pretence to inspiration, but ^^ to try the spirits whether they are of God*.'" It was necessary, therefore, when he sent them this Revelation, to assure them that in receiving it they would not be deceived. He assures them, therefore, that he himself, the only surviving Apostle, the president of the Churches, whom they well knew by the name of John, had seen these visions. There was, therefore, no vain egotism in this repetition, as hath been vainly imagiiied ; it was necessary^ and to us of these later times it is a proof, that some person, df considerable weight and influence with the Churches, was the author of the Apocalypse ; but his name was John ; and who could this be, but John the Apostle and Evangelist? who, we are assured was banished to Patmos, where the visions of it were seen '\. IL The second objection is, that " though the * 1 John Iv. 1. t Hegesippus, apud Euseb. lib. lii. c. 20. 23. Tertullian. Apol, c. 6. Hierom. torn. x. p. 100. Lardiier's Supp. ch. ix. s. 5. '• urifer 115 " writer of the Revelation calls himself John, he " has not shewn us, that he is the Apostle of that ^' name'' Michaelis expects that he should at least have made himself know a by some such circumlocution as he had used m the Gospel, " the disciple whom Jesus loved/' In answer to this, it v/ill be sufficient to shew, that such addition to the name of John was totally needless. He wrote to the Seven Churches, and from Patmos, in which island he expresses that " he is suffering tribulation for the *' word of God, and the testimony of Jesus *' Christ/' All the Churches knew that he was then suffering banishment in that island, and they knew the cause of it, " for the word of God/' An Epistle, containing the history of a heavenly vision, seen by John in the island of Patmos, required no other addition. What John would write John alone, without other addition or ex- planation, excepting the great John, John the Apostle and president of all the Churches ? A private person would have described himself by the addition of his father's name, according to the custom of the ancients. A Bishop or Pres- byter would have added the name of his church; but John, the Apostle, needed no such distin- guishing mark or appellation. A fabricator of an Epistle, containing a revelation in St. John's name, would perhaps have added his titles of " Apostle of Jesus Christ," &c. or would have introduced some circumlocution in imitation of those 114 those in his Gospel ; but, from the expression, as it now stands, we derive a much stronger evi- dence that it is the genuine work of St. John*. III. The third objection is, " That the Reve- ** latiofi does not mention the catholic Ejnstley nor *' the catholic Epistle the Revelation" This objection Lardner has pronounced to be *' of little moment.*' Michaeli^ seems to have been of the same opinion, for he has not noted it ; if the reader think it deserving of an answer, he is referred to Lardner f. IV. Fourthly, it is objected, " That there is a ♦^ great agreement in sentiment^ expression^ and ** manner between Saint John's Gospel and Epistle; *' hut the Revelation is quite differefit in all these *^ respects^ without any resemblance or fimili-> ♦' tudc:' Michaelis repeats this objection J, and then * St. Paul, in the opening of his Epistles, has used generally,. not always, the term '* Apostle ;" but with him it was more ne- cessary than with St. John, who was confessedly such, having been numbered with the Twelve. St. Paul's right to the apostle^ ship, having been established more privately, had been doubted by some, which leads him to say, " Am not I an Apostle ?*' &c. (I Cor. ix. 1.) and, therefore, he generally asserts himself, ia his Epistles, to be an Apostle. Saint John had no need to use the term; his authority as an Apostle was undoubted : he, there- fore, calls himself by an humbler title, " A brother and compa- •* nion in tribulation ;'* so St. James, although an Apostle, mentions himself only as, ** A servant of God, and of the Lpr^. <* Jesus Christ." Jam. i, 1. t Vol.iv. p. 707. : P. 533, ^p4, 115 asks the question, whether it is possible that the author of the one and of the other could be the same person? Two methods have been taken to avoid the force of this objection, wliich has been derived from comparing the imagery, sentiments, and style in these separate works, all attributed to Saint John. 1st. It has been asserted that a pivphefical work of St. John, cannot be expected to have resemblance to his Gospels and Epistles. 2dly. The fact has been denied ; it has been asserted that this dissimilarity does not exist; that there is in the Apocalypse a strong resem- blance of sentiment and character, to the other written productions of St. John. I do not find that either of these points have been so clearly proved as to afford satisfaction to the learned. I will suggest another method of answer. In perusing the Apocalypse, I remark that the sentiments, the notions, the images presented in the book, are, in very few passages, those of the writer, (such I mean as had been digested in, and arose out of his arm mind,) but of that Holy Spirit, or of those heavenly inhabitants, who expressed them to him by symbols, or declared them by speech. The pen of John merely nar- rates, and frequently in the very Words of a lieavenly minister* " That which he sees and *' hears,'* he writes, as- he-is commanded ; (ch. i. 19.) 116 190 b^^ t^^y ^^^ ^^^ his own ideas from which he writes ; he relates simply, and with little or no comment of his own, the heavenly visions which he had seen. Even in those parts of the book, where we should most reasonably expect to meet with the sentiments of the writer, we per- ceive his mind teeming (as, indeed, was natural) with the newly-acquired images. He uses such at the very outset of his work, even in the Epis- tolary Address, which is full of those images which had been exhibited to him in the visions. The same are again seen at the close of the book. And, indeed, it is difficult to find many pas- sages wherein the writer has recourse to his ow7i sentiments^ and previous store of imagery. The whole of the second and of the third chapter, and a great part of the first, is de- livered in our Lord s own words, and therefore contains his sentiments, his doctrines, not those of the writer, who is commanded to write down the very words of the great Visitor of the Church. We have, indeed, other words of our Lord, re- lated by St. John in the Gospel, with which it may be thought that these words in the Apoca- lypse may be properly compared. Yet they do not seem to admit this comparison : because the character and office which our Lord is seen to assume in the Apocalypse, is different from that which he bore in the Gospel. He is now no longer the Son of Man, upon earth, the con- descending c^ompanion and instructor of his disciples ; 117 disciples; but the glorified King of Heaven, the Omniscient Visitor of the Churches, the Omnipotent Judge of mankind. And, in the remaining parts of the book, what does the writer present to us ? Not his own ideas and conceptions ; but " the things which shall be *' hereafter/' the symbols and figurative resem- blances of future events shewn to him in heaven ; and when he uses explanatory speech, it is in the words of his heavenly conductors. One of the fev/ passages in which the author of the Apocalypse seems to have written from his own previous conceptions is, perhaps, ch. i. verse 7. The sentiments and images which he employs, before he arrives at this passage, may all be traced to the apocalyptical source: they are derived from the sublime visions which he had so lately seen. With them his mind was filled ; with them even his salutation to the brethren abounds. But here he seems to speak from his for- mer store of Christian imagery. And, so speaking, it is remarkable that he is led to quote from Zech. xii. 10. and in the very manner which has been observed, by Michaelis and other critics^ to be peculiar to Saint John. Michaelis has noted the peculiar circumstances which attend this quotation, and he has allowed to them con- siderable weight* : but he was not aware that this is one of very few passages which can * See his note, p. 555. fairly 118 fairly and properly be compared witli ih^ former zmtings of Saint John, so as to deduce evidence whether that Apostle were the author. In al- most every other part of the book, it will be apparent to an accurate observer, that the writer draws not his sentiments and imagery from his own stores, but from the new and surprising scenes which he had been permitted to behold in heaven. But although, from the causes now assigned, we may think it improper to look for any nice resemblance in sentiments and ideaSf between the Apocalypse and other writings of Saint John; yet some similarity, in the mode and character of narration, may, perhaps, be reasonably expected. And this kind of similarity will be seen and ac- knowledged in the plain, unadorned simplicit}'', with which the Apocalypse, and all other pro- ductions of St. John, appear to be written. There is, at the same time, a difference, which seems to consist chiefly in that circumstance which Jortin has pointed out* ; that " the Apo- " calypse, like the Septuagint, follows the He- *' brew phraseology, using copulatives continu- *• ally t, whereas the Gospel, instead of mt, uses " Sf, or by, or is written oca-w'ieJcAjg" Such is^ in* deed, the principal difference of style to be ob- served in comparing the Gospel with the Apoca- lypse: but the attentive reader may perceive * Disc, on Christian ReL "f Km tiTTty 0 O^'f xat', &C» some 119 some passages in the Gospel, where the copula- tive Kcii is used almost as profusely as in the Apocalypse. They are those passages wherein the mind of the writer appears charged with su- blime or surprising ideas, following upon each other in a rapid succession. He then pours them forth, one after another, coupled only by the conjunction -nui. The same may be observed of the other Evangelists, and more frequently than of St. John. When these sacred wTiters relate wonderful events, following in quick succession, they continually repeat the copulative kolu But it will be sufficient to produce instances from St. John. In his fifth chapter, this Evangelist de- scribes the situation of a poor cripple, who for thirty-eight years had been expecting a cure from the waters of Bethesda. The circumstances are related calmly, and without any extraordinary use of the copulative %ui^ till we come to verse ninth ; when, the cure having been pronounced by our Lord, the surprizing events immediately follow in rapid succession; and the copulative is incessantly employed. Ka/ ^v^^toq sysvfjo vyivig 0 ocv9poo7rcg, kcci ViDS tov KpocSSocjov avjii, %ul zir?pi7ralct. Thus also at the raising of Lazarus, all proceeds calmly, and without the copulatives, until the great event ; but this is narrated, (ver. 44,) with Kcct, Kcci, Tiui *. This copulative style then ap^ * Other instances may be seen in ch. i. 8 — 14 — 20. iL IS — la. xiii. 21. xix. 1, 2, 3, 18. xx. 11, 14, K pears 120 pears to be used by the Evangelists, and even by St. John, to express events wonderful and surprizing, and rapidly following each other. But the Apocalypse contains a continual succes- sion of such events ; the copulative language therefore, continually used therein, may yet be the language of St. John. But whatever weight may be allowed to these observations, still there are many reasons which should deter us from forming any hasty conclusion, by comparison of style and manner, that the Apocalypse was not written by the writer of the Gospel. The history of its first publication is unknown to us ; it may have been written originally in Hebrew, and then the Greek translation would naturally retain much colour- ing of the Hebrew style; or the language, in which our Lord and his angels addressed Saint John in the visions, might be Hebrew^*; and then his Greek, being a direct translation, may be ex- pected to preserve the Eastern idiom, for he would probably translate closely, to preserve (as he is ordered) the words delivered to him* In short, many circumstances may have happened to occasion a difference of style, of which we are now ignorant. But of this at least we are assured, that a considerable lapse of time had taken place, between the writing of the Gospel * Our Lord, appearing to St. Paul, addressed him in tlie He- brew tongue, (Actsxxvi. 14.) probably the Syro-Chaldaic He- brew then in use with the Jews. and 121 and of the Apocalypse. A period of about thirty years had intervened. Such a circumstance is well known to make a considerable difference in the style of the same writer. Michaelis allows and has forcibly expressed it. (p. 352, 536.) But he alleges, and with good reason, (if we take it is a general observation,) that when there is this change in the style of an author, we naturally look for the bold, sublime, and per- haps, incorrect style, in his youth, and the gentler and more finished manner in his later years. And hence he collects that the Apocalypse, dis- playing bold imagery, with much fire of compo- sition, an oriental form of speech, and an incor- rect manner, might indeed be written by St. John some years before he wrote his Gospel ; but that he could not be the author of it late in life, many years after he had resided among the Greeks at Ephesus. The argument is specious ; but, I trust, the edge of it has been already taken off, by a consideration of the causes which will ac- count for the sublime imagery and animated manner of writing in the Apocalypse, where it differs from the calmer style of St. John. But I will suggest another cause, which, as it ap- pears to me, would not fail to produce a more warm and turbid style in the Apocalypse than in the Gospel, supposing them to be written by the same pen. The Gospel appears to have been written by St. John, after an interval of about thirty years K 2 from 122 fl'om the events which be relates. At such a dis- tance of time, the mind is enabled to look back with composure, and to represent with serenity, transactions which could not be narrated soon after they had happened, without warm and passionate expressions. It seems to be owing partly to this cause, that the Evangelist is seen to relate in so cool a tenour of style, in the Gospel, those sufferings of his beloved Lord which he had witnessed, and which, if related by him immediately after the events had taken place, could not have been told otherwise than with commotion and indignation. But the Apoca- lypse v/as written by its author immediately after he had seen the vision ; the impressions on his mind had no time to cool; his expressions kept pace with his feelings, and his style became Tivid and glowing. Many other causes, unknown to us, might ope- rate to produce a variety in the style of St. John. He might use an amanuensis, or corrector of his language, at one time, and not at another. For, a tradition prevailed in the ancient Church, that the Apostles in their writings had used amanuenses, and Jerome accounted for the ap- parent difference of style between the first and second Epistles of Saint Peter, by his having employed different persons in this office*. The Apostle John may have used an amanuensis, or a corrector of his Greek, in one of his works, and not in another. In the opinion of Lardner, * Tom. iv. p. 183. founded 123 founded upon sound reasons, to which Michaelis allows great weight, (though he is disposed to contend for a later dale,) St. John's Gospel was written about the yei^r 68. But at this period, Saint John being but newly arrived from Palestine, cannot be supposed (as Michaelis has observed*) to have written that fluent Greek in w^hich his Gospel is composed. He might therefore at that time have employed an amanuensis or cor- rector. But after thirty years residence at Ephesus, where the Greek was principally spoken, he might not feel the want of such as- sistance, and he might have written the Apoca- lypse in his own Greek ; a Greek tinged with the Hebrew idiom. This is only conjecture ; which I do not propose as any sure method of accounting for this difficulty; but as a probable means of shewing that this, or perhaps other circumstances unknown to us, may have oc- casioned a dissimilarity in this Apostle's language at so great a distance of time. But no difference of style, will justify us in denying St. John to be the author of the Apoca- lypse. The Fathers of the Church, who first received this work, might probably know the causes of this apparent dissimilarity. They were satisfied : and on such a point it is vain for us to dissent from them. And, in truth, this diffe- rence of style between the Gospel of St. John and the Apocalypse, nearly considered, is far ■^ Intrqducticn to the N. T. ch, vil. sect. 10. from 124 from being so much in its disfavom% as, at first view, we are apt to imagine. For it is such a style as St. John may have written, circumstances considered : but it is not such a style as an im- postor, an imitator of St, John would have writ- ten. Such an one would have gone to the Gos- pel and Epistles for his model of imitation. V. This observation may serve to introduce the fifth objection, which is stated by Lardner from Dionysius, and repeated by Michaelis*', " That the Gospel of St. John is elegant Greek ; but *' that the Apocalypse abounds with barbarisms and *' solecisms" For the same general answer may still be given, even if we admit the fact alleged. Various causes may have operated to produce this difference, many of them unknown to us, but Icnoron, perhaps, to the ancients of the se- cond century, who seem not to have objected to this dissimilarity. More than a hundred years had elapsed, from the first reception of the book by the Church, before any such objec- tions appear to have been advanced against it. But the attention of modern critics has tended greatly to lessen the force of this objection. For such irregularities, in point of Grammar, as are objected against the Apocalypse, are observed also in the Septuagintf, and in other writings of the New Testament ; and the Gos- pels and Epistles of Saint John are now so far fi'om being accounted that perfect Greek, which * P. 529, 530. t See page 530. Dionysius 125 Dionysius represents them to be ; that Black- wall (who in his Sacred Classics has attempted to vindicate the Scriptures from the charge of be- ing written in an impure and barbarous style) has found himself obliged to defend the Gospel and Epistles of this Apostle in more than forty passages, in some of which only he has suc- ceeded. But such vindication of the Holy Scriptures is unnecessary ; they must be allowed to speak ^ language of their own, *' not with the enticing *' words of man's wisdom*." They use, for the most part, an Asiatic Greek, plentifully mixed with Hebraisms. A pure Attic language would by no means give them greater credibility ; for in these days we should n^ot admit the appeal of Mahomet, and conclude them divine, because elegantly composed. Many of the expressions, which, upon this ground, have been objected to in the Apoca- lypse, have been shewn to convey the sublime meaning of the sacred inditer more forcibly and effectually, than a more exact and grammatical Greek -f. Of this character is (sctto S uv, kui o riv, vml 0 soxoif.mg%9 which cannot be so corrected into * 1 Cor. ii. 4, t This is observed by Michaelis, (Iiitrod. vol. i. part 1. chap, iv, sect. 3.) who says, *' The very faults of grammar in the Apo- ♦* calypse are so happily placed as to produce an agreeable ♦* effect." J Chap. i. 4. grammar 126 grammar as to express, with equal force, that sublime attribute of God, by which he fills eternity. The instances of irregularity, in point of gram- mar, produced from the Apocalypse by Bengel, and repeated by our author *, are all of one kind, and of a kind which is found in the Sep- tuagint, and in Greek translated from the He- brew. In these instances, the original (or no- minative) case, is used immediately after a word, which, having been expressed in one of the ob- lique cases, seems to require, in purer Greek, the continuation of the same oblique case-j*. This might happen, either if the text were translated from St. John's Hebrew, or if St. John had translated into Greek the Hebrew words of Jesus and of the angels J. The instances produced by Michaelis are taken chiefly from ancient MSS. of the Apocalypse, and are not to be seen in the common and * P. 529. . t Instance cli. I. 5. «7ro 'i*},oyQs koh ^§oy%s. lios* iVi^d on 1 Job. V. 8, he says, K^tr* T*' ©loXoyoK, wejl 130 well known, and celebrated in the fourth and succeeding centuries, by this appellation. Having thus afforded some answer to the ob- jections urged from internal evidence against the authenticity of the Apocalypse, I shall conclude with adding a positive evidence in favour of the notion generally received, that it was written by 3t. John. In chap. i. 13, he who is ordered to write the book, beholds in the vision " one like unto the Son of Man." Now, who but an eye-witness of our Lord's person upon earth, could pronounce, from the like- ness, that it was he ? St. John had lived familiarly with Jesus during his abode upon earth; and had seen him likewise in his glorified appearances, at his transfiguration, and after his resurrection. No other John had enjoyed this privilege. No other eye-witness of pur Lord's person ap- pears to have been living in this late period of the Apostolical age, when the visions of the Apo? calypse were seen. We may, therefore, I trust, fairly conclude, that to the impregnable force of external evidence, which has been seen to protect the divine claims of the Apocalypse, a considerable acquisition of internal evidence may be added ; or, at least, that this avenue, by which its overthrow has been so often attempted, is not so unguarded as its ad- versaries imagine. And the future labours of judicious commentators will probably add a con- tinual accession to this weight of evidence ; for, every 131 every prediction of this prophetical book, which shall be shewn to be clearly accomplished, will prove it to be divine; and, this being proved, there will then remain little or no doubt but that it proceeded from the pen of the beloved Apostle, to whom the early Fathers of the Church uniformly ascribe it. I shall conclude with examining the pretensions of the Apocalypse by the rules laid down even by Michaelis himself^ whereby to determine whether a scriptural book be authentic or spurious*. I. Were doubts entertained, from the first ap- pearance of the Apocalypse in the world, whether it proceeded from the pen of Saint John ? To this we are now enabled to answer, (see chap. iii. iv. v. of this Dissertation,) that no such doubts appear upon record in the true Church, during the important period of one hundred years after its publication ; but that all the ecclesiasti- cal writers of that time who speak of its author, attribute it uniformly to Saint John. If any persons held a contrary opinion, they were heretics, who appear to have assigned no plausible ground for their notions. II. Did the friends or disciples of the supposed author deny it to be his ? Answer, There is no such denial from Polycarp, Papias, Ignatius, &c. who appear all to have re- ceived it as divine Scripture. (See chap. iii. of this Dissertation.) * Introduction to N.Test, chap. ii. sect. 3, p. 27, &Co III. Did 132 III. Did along series of years elapse after the death of Saint John, in which the book was un- known, and in which it must unavoidably have been mentioned and quoted, had it really existed? Answer. No such period did elapse. Michaelis himself has allowed, that this book, even if forged and spurious, existed before the year 120, that is, within twenty- three years of the time which we have shewn to be that of its publication ; but even in this period we have seen it quoted and acknowledged, as appears probable, by the Apostolical Fathers. (See chap. iii. and v.) IV. Is the style of the Apocalypse difterent from that of Saint John in his other writings ? Answer. It cannot be denied that there is some difference, but it is a difference which admits of a reasonable explanation, as may be seen in the former part of this chapter. V. Are events recorded, which happened later than the time of Saint John ? Answer, No such events are recorded. Nor, we may add, are any events predicted, which oc- curred before the time when the book appears to have been written ; which is a case happening to pretended prophecies. (See chapter viii.) VI. Are opinions advanced in the Apocalypse, which contradict those which Saint John is known to have maintained in his otlier writings .^ Answer. The theology which it contains is found to be precisely that of St. John in his other writings; and the wild opinions of the Chiliasts, though 133 though they had probably their origin from a passage of this book, are to be attributed only to the rash interpretation of it by these visionaries. (See chap, viii.) Thus, bringing this prophetical book to the test proposed by Michaelis, — by the most success- ful opponent of its claims to a divine origin, we shall be obliged to confess its indubitable right to that place in the canon of sacred Scripture, which the ancient Fathers of the Church assigned to it, and which the reformers in the Protestant Churches have with mature deliberation con- firmed. END OF THE DISSERTATION, POSTSCRIPT* ►e©®®"^-®®©®* mNCE the preceding sheets were committed to the press, I have seen a work on the authen- ticity of the New Testament, translated by Mr. Kingdon, from the German of Dr. Less. In this pubUcation, fifty pages are employed in an attempt to discredit the authenticity of the Apocalypse. And since the otherwise ex- cellent Treatise, of which this attempt is a part, is likely to pass into the hands of many young students in Divinity, it may be Useful to offer some observations upon it. These may be presented in a small compass ; because there are few objections of moment ad- vanced by Dr. Less, against the Apocalypse, which have not been repeated by Michaelis, and already considered in the foregoing Dissertation*. * The latest edition of Less*s work was published in 1785; that of Michaelis, in 1788 ; (see the Prefaces of their Trans- lators;) consequently Michaelis had the opportunity of adopt- ing or rejecting the arguments of Less. * K I have 136 I have now, therefore, only to note and answer those observations and arguments of Less, which his learned follower did not produce. In page 143, Dr. Less objects to the Evi- dence of Thepphilus of Antioch in favour of the Apocalypse, because the work of this Father against Ilermogenes, in which he is said to have quoted from this Book of Scripture, is no longer extant. Answer. — But what scholar will hesitate a moment to admit, that Theophilus received the Apocalypse as of Divine authority, when he reads in Eusebius*, that in his time that work of Theo- philus was extant, m zi)}iich he had used proofs, or testimonies of Scripture, taken from the Apocalypse? Dr. Less himself has very properly supported the authenticity of the other Scriptures by the evidences of writings, now lost, but reported by Eusebius : (ch. i. sect. 3:) and Michaehs says, that the Apocalypse was undoubtedly received by Theophilus, as the work of Saint Johnf- In pages 186, 202, objection is made to the Apocalypse, because tlie relator represents him- self as in a trance during the exhibition of it. Answer. — The expression, eysvojjLTjv sv 'zirvsvi^ocTi, cannot propeily be translated, " I was in a trance.'' AVas Jesus in a trance, when viysTo sv tu> '^^ytvi/.ocTi, " he was led in the Spirit into the svilder- * Hist. Eccl. lib. iv. c. 24. t Introd. to N. T. ch. .\xxiii. sect. 2. p. 46?. ness ?" 137 ness ?" or David when, sv tu) ^vivi/.octi^ " he called Christ Lord *?" In page 197) the Author says; " How the Apocalypse was understood, after Christianity had ascended the imperial throne in the person of Constantino, is unknown." Answer. — Were not the commentaries on the Apocalypse by Andreas Ca^sariensis, by Arethas, by Victorinus, by Primasius, written during the period which the author here describes, after the exaltation of Christianity, and before that of the papal tyranny? From the Fathers also of the fourth and fifth centuries, many quotations may be produced, shewing in what sense they understood passages of this prophecy. In page 201, he asserts " this book to be " entirely different from all the other w^ritings, " not only of the New Testament, but of the " Old." Answer.— Thus he contradicts what he had asserted in page 187, " That many forcible ex- " hortations in this book are composed almost " entirely from passages of the Old Tcssament " and the Gospels." But neither of these asser- tions will be found strictly true. In page 205, he objects to " the mysterious ^' number*, a time, times, and half, and the " frightful beasts and monsters," as being un- scriptural. ♦ Matt. xxii. 43. Mark viiL 12. Luke i. 80 ; ii. 27, 40. See also John iv. 23. * K 2 Answer, 138 Answer. — Do we not read of the self-same numbers, and nearly the same beasts, in the Book of Daniel ? In page 206*, he represents the joy and triumph of the saints, upon the horrid punish- ment of their enemies, as irreconcileable with the charitable spirit of the Gospel. Answer.— It is the triumph of pure Rehgion over idolatrous superstition and tyranny, repre- sented allegoricaUy ; at which every true Christian must rejoice. In page 207, he objects to the passages where the writer of the Apocalypse describes himself as prostrating himself before the Angel. — A spe- cies of idolatry, of which, he says, no Jew, no Christian, much less Saint John, would have been guilty. Answer. — The objector seems here to contra- dict his former assertion, that the whole of the Apocalyptic vision was exhibited m a trance: but, setting aside this consideration, it will be seen, in the ensuing notes, that the conduct, which the writer of the vision attributes to him- self on this occasion, was natural, and agreeing with his situation, and that tliis description, with its attendant caution and reproof, so far from en- couraging angel-worship, has operated, as pro- bably it was intended to do, most powerfully against it. In page 208, he asserts that we are destitute of credible manuscripts of the Apocalypse, and 5 of 139 of versions of high antiquity, and consequently possess but a very uncertain text. Answer.— It is true that the Apocalypse, on account of its mysterious nature, having been less studied than other books of Scripture, has also been less copied. Yet the manuscripts of it al- ready collected, appear to be no less than forty- five. Of these, four are of high antiquity. The Codex Alexandrinus is one of these; seven more seem by their description to be of distinguished value. In the early fathers, are many and long quotations from this book. Michaelis, though he judged that the text of the Apocalypse was not so well ascertained as that of other Scriptural books, is far from repeating these extravagant assertions of Dr. Less. See Michaelis and Marsh, Introduction to New Testament, ch. viii. In page 236, Dr. L. ably defends the authen- ticity of the Scriptures in general, by the proof of their being quoted by the early fathers; and es- pecially by Justin Martyr, Irenceus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen. — But all these fathers have quoted the x^pocalypse. In pages 343, 344, he derives the safe trans- mission of the Gospel truths from St. John the Apostle, through Polycarp, Irenaeus, and Origen, by a cotemporary succession. — But have we not the very same safe transmission of the Apoca- lypse? Page 140 Page 214— 227? Dr. Less's chief confidence in opposing the pretensions of the Apocalypse is- derived from the authoritij of Dionysius of Alex- andria. Answer.— The arguments of this excellent fa- ther must be allowed all the weight to which they can possibly be entitled; and have already, I trust, been candidly considered. But the aiitho- rity of Dionysius, on a subject of historical anti- yyrJty, cannot be placed in competition with that ui iiis master Origen ; much less with that of Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp, or of Justin Martyr, who was probably cotemporary with St. John. And Dr. Less himself was clearl}^ of that opinion. For, in enumerating the fathers whose authority is essential to the testimony of Scrip- tural authenticity, he descends no lower than to Origen ; the boasted Dion^^sius is excluded. Be- sides, if the authority of Dionysius were allowed, his Tivsg 'sr^p '/?/xw;^ caniiot be understood to compre-- hend testimony of high antiquity. On the whole, it is to be lamented, that these two able and learned Germans have so rashly in- corporated into their valuable works of universal circulation, their prejudices against the authority of this well-authenticated book of the Sacred Canon. And it is to be wished, that the trans- lators from the German language would favour us with the most distinguished answers of the (jerman writers to these objections; with those of Chancellor 141 Chancellor Reuss and Dr. Storr; whicli would proi)ably enable us to settle this importa ^.t ques- tion, of the authenticity^ of the Apoca'yp'^c, \yith increased satisfaction. END OF THE rosTSCJlIPT. I CONTENTS OF THE NOTES. PART I., divided into ten Sections, contains d mr i. e. the then present State of the Christian Churches in Asia, as known by their Omnipresent Lord. — Chapters i. ii. & iii. PAGE Sect. I. Ch. i. 1—4. The Title of the Book - - 3 Sect. II. Ch. i. 4 — 9- Tbe Address or Salutation, and the Doxology prefixed to the Epistle - - - - 8 Sect. III. Ch. i. 9 — to the end. The Appearance of the Lord Jesus with the Symbols of his Power ; and the Commission given by him to Saint John, to write what lie beholds ---_---.---- 21 Sect. IV. Ch. ii. 1 — 8. ——The Address to the Church in Ephesiis ------------- 38 Sect. V. Ch. ii. 8—12. The Address to the Church in Smyrna -----------^- 54 Sect. VI. Ch. ii. 15—18. The Address to the Church in Pergamos -»--------,_ Qo Sect. Vlf. Ch. ii. 18— to the end. • The Address to the Church in Thyatira ----.---^ 69 Sect. VIII. Ch. iii. 1—7. The Address to the Church in Sardis -------------- 73 Sect. IX. Ch. iii. 7—14. The Address to the Church in Philadelphia --------- 85 Sect. X. Ch. iii. 14 — to the end. -- — The Address toi the Church in Laodicea ----,-^-- 90 PART ( ii ) PART 11. , divided into nine Sections, contains a ge- neral prophetical Sketch of d fxeXXet ysvea^ai^ fu- ture Events, under the six first Seals. PAGE Sect. I. Chap, i^^ The Representation of the divine Glory in Heaven -----_----- 95 Sect. 11. Ch. V. The sealed Book, the Lamb who opens it, and the Praises sung by the heavenly Choir 115 Sect. III. Ch. vi. 1—3- The opening of the first Seal - - - - 127 . Sect. IV. Ch. vi. 3 — 5. The opening of the second Seal - - - 1S5 Sect. V. Ch. vi. 5— 7. TTie opening of the third Seal 142 Sect. VI. Ch. vi. 7—9. The opening of the fourth Seal 151 Sect. VIL Ch. vi. 9 — 12. The opening of the fifth Seal -"..-- 164 Sect. VIII. Ch. vi. 14 — to the end. The opening of the sixth Seal ---- 168 Sect. IX. Chap. vii. TheSeahng of the 144,000, and the Presentation of the palm-bearing multitude be- fore the Throne -_-----•--_ 175 PART III., divided into seven Sections, contains the opening of the seventh Seal, and the six first Trumpets, and the Prophetic Commission to Saint John. PAGE Sect. I. Ch. viii. 1 — 6, The opening of the seventh Seal, and the Commission to the Angels with the seven Trumpets ------------ igs Sect. II. Ch. viii. 6—13. The four first Trumpets - 205 Sect. III. Ch. viii. 13. The Denunciation of the three Woes ---------__.. 003 Sect.lV. Ch.ix. 1-<13.~ — The fifth Trumpet and first Woe 226 Sect. PAGE Sect. V. Ch. ix. 13— to the end. The sixth Trum- pet and the second Woe --------- 250, Sect, VI. Chap. X. The little Book 274 Sect. VII. Ch. xi. 1—16. The Measuiing of the Temple, and the Witnesses -------- 283 PART IV,, divided into four Sections, contains the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, the Dragon, and two Wild-Beasts. FAGS Sect. I. Ch. xi. 15 — to the end. The sounding of the seventh Trumpet ---------- 304 Sect. Il.Ch.xii. 1 — 17.^— The\Voman and the Dragon, 309 Sect. III. Ch. xii. 18. xiii. 1— 11. The wild-beast from the Sea ------------- 307 Sect. IV. Ch, xiii, 1 1— to the end. ^The Wild-Beast from the Land, or false Prophet ------- 347 PART v., divided' into six Sections, contains the Lamb on Mount Sion, and the Proclamations or Warnino's. PAGE Sect. I. Ch. xiv. 1—6. The Lamb on Mount Sion, 375 Sect. II. Ch. xiv. 6 — 8. The first Angel proclaims, 379 Sect. III. Ch. xiv. 8. The second Angel proclaims, 3S0 Sect. IV. Ch. xiv. 9— 13. -The third Angel pro- claims ----------_.._ 331 Sect, V. Ch. xiv. 13. The Blessedness of those who die in the Lord proclaimed -----___ 334 Sect. VL.Ch, xfv. 14— to the end. The Vision of ihe Harvest and VLniage ---.^---- 335 PART VI., divided into five Sections, contains the seven Vials, and the Episode of the Harlot of Babylon, and her Fall. PAGE Sect. I. Chap. xv. xvi. 1. The Vision preparatory to the seven Viuls --- -- 339 Sect. ( iv ) PAGE Sect. 11. Ch. xvi. 2— to the end. The seven Vials, 394 Sect. HI. Chap. xvii. The great Harlot, or Babylon, 414 Sect. IV. Chap, xviii. The Judgment of Babylon, continued -------------- 44Q Sect. V. Ch. xix. 1 — 11. Exultation in Heaven over the fallen Babylon, and upon the Approach of the New Jerusalem ------.>--- 453 PART VII., divided into seven Sections, contains the grand Conflict, the Millennium, the Conflict renewed, the Judgment, and the new Crea- tion. FAG* Sect. I. Ch. xix. 11— -19. The Lord appears with his Followers for Battle and Victory ------ 459 Sect. II. Ch. xix. 19 — to the end. -The Conflict, and Victory over the Beast and false Prophet , - 462 Sect. III. Ch. XX. 1 — 4. The Dragon taken and confined -------------- 46a Sect. IV. Ch, XX. 4—7. The Millennium - - - 4(}T Sect. V. Ch. XX. 7 — 11' Satan loosed, deceiveth the Nations, and is cast into the burning Lake - - - 47I Sect. VI. Ch. XX. 11— to the end. The Judgment, 473 Sect. VII. Ch. xxi. 1— 9 The new Creation - - 476 PART VIII., in two Sections, contains the Bride, or New Jerusalem, and the Conclusion. PAGE Sect. I. Ch. xxi. 9— to the end; xxii. 1—6. The Bride, or New Jerusalem - 482 Sect. II. Ch. xxii, 6— to the end. The Conclusion, 492 TrtE APOCALYPSE, OR, revelation of saint john. With notes, critical and explanatory. %:^^ THE GREEK OF THE APOCALYPSE IS PRINTED FROM THE TEXT OF GRIESBACH'S EDITION j REASONS FOR WHICH HAVE :BEEN ASSIGNED IN THE INTRODUCTION. IN THE SECOND COLUMN IS THE NEW TRANSLATION. THE THIRD CON- , TAINS THE AUTHORIZED VERSION, PRINTED FROM OUR ENGLISH BIBLE. THE A P O C A L Y P S E, . &c, AnOKAATtIS '!»)- roTs ^iXois avTH a oti ysviaoxt Iv rdi- CCTIO'^ilKXS oix Ttf o-.^eAa ayra tw 2 "O^ l^Jua^lv^vitTZ Tov Ao'yoy Ta~ 0£a, x^ Ti^v (Accfl-j^ixv 'l>3«r« Xf/fa, &^ TO fi, XiyH Kv^ios 0 the Omega, saith the Lord God, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. ginning and the end- ing, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Ver. 4. To the seven Churches which are in Asia.] This book, being written in an epistolary form, begins, like other Apostolic Epistles, with a Salutation, followed by a Doxology. It is addressed to the seven Churches, "vvdiich are afterwards mentioned by name. They were situated in the proconsular province properly called Asia, which, at the time when the Apocalypse was Avritten, is reported by historians to have contained five hundred great cities. Of these, Ephesus, Smynia, and Pergamos, (being three of our seven,) long contested for the pre-eminence. And when a Heathen Temple was to be erected in this province, in honour of the Emperor Tiberius, and of the Roman Senate, eleven Cities contended for the possession of this Temple: and, among these, were five of the seven ; for Sardis also and Laodicea entered the hsts on this occasion *. They were certainly therefore cities of great account. The order in which they are here named is that pro- bably in M'hich they were visited by the Apostle Saint John, who, both before and after his banishment to Patmos, superintended them all, residing principally at Ephesus f. It is the order also in which epistles written by Saint John fiom Patmos would be most * Tacit. Annal. iv. 55. Gibbon's Hist. i. 60. Inscriptiqns upon medals still extant, and relating to this contest, may be seen in a note of Michaelis to sect. i. of the 20th chapter of his Introduction to the N, T. f Euseb, r.ccl Hist. hb. iii. c. 20. conveniently ]0 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 2. conveniently distributed through the Churches, by a messenger making a circuit of about three or four hundred miles, as may be seen in the most correct maps. These Churches of Asia continued their bond of Christian connection, long after the time when they were thus addressed by Saint John. For it appears, that when toward the close of the second century the contest about the time of keeping Easter grew warm between the eastern and w^estern parts of Christendom, Poly crates, who engaged in that controversy, '^ pre- *' sided over the Bishops of Asia*,'' And the famous Epistle from the Gallic Churches, written somewhat earlier, is addressed to the Churches of Asia and Fhry- gia. Nou' Phrygia lay contiguous to the province of Asia, of which it was sometimes accounted a part; and Laodicca, one of the s^ven Churches, was the capital of Phrygia |. The number of Churches to which the Epistle is addressed, is seven : the same number which we shall find frequently employed in this sacred book. For wc read in \to^ seven spirits of God, seven angels, seven thunders, seven seals, seven trumpets, seveii vials, se^'e7i heads of the D-ragon, of the Beast, &c. In which passages, as in others of holy Scripture, the number seven appears to represent a large and complete, yet uncertain and undefined number. Hannah, in her song, says, '* The barren hath borne seven,'' (that is, a great and indefinite number of) children J. God threatens the Israelites tliat he will punish them *' seven times;" that is, very completely and severely, * Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. lib. v. c. 24. t Ibid. lib. V. c. 1. + 1 Sam. ii. 5. Nume-^ Ch. I. 4—8.] APOCALYPSE. 11 Numerous are the instances in Scripture of such use of this number*. In its Hebrew etymology it signifies fuhiess and perfection f. Philo styles it rsXscr^po^og, the completing number ; and it is mentioned as such by Cyprian, who cites passages from the Apocalypse and other Scriptures, to shew the consiimmatio perfecta et legitima of this number :[:. By what means this number became so important to the Israelites, so representative of completion and universality, may be collected from their history. God had revealed to them, that his own great work of creation had been completed in seven days; and in memory thereof he commanded them to reckon time by sevens, seven days to the sabbath day, seven months to the sabbatical month, seven years to the sabbatical year, seven times seven years to the great sabbatical or jubilee year. And when, upon their en- trance into Canaan, it pleased God miraculously to deliver the city of Jericho into their hands, he ordered them to march round it seveji days, seven priests, with seven trumpets, preceding them : and on the seventh day, on which the walls fell, they were instructed to encompass it seven times §. As therefore the number ten came to be reckoned among all nations a perfect and complete number, by counting on the ten fingers * See Gen. ii. 3, iv. 15. xxxiii. 3. Lev. iv. 6. Prov. xxiv. 1^, xxvi. 25. Is. XXX. 26. Ezek. xxx. 9. 1 Kings xviii. 43. 2 Kings v. 10. Job V. 19, xlii. 8. Mic. v. 5. Estli. i. 11. Eccl. xi. 2. Dan. iii. 19. 2 Esd. ii. IS, 19. Tob. xii. 15. Mat. xviii. 22. Luke xi. 36, xvii. 4. t Daubuz, Etymol. Diet. X See also Cyprian. De Exhort. Martyr. De Spiritu Sancto. Test. ecjv. Judaeos; and Augustin. de Civitate Dei, lib. xi. cap. 30, § Gregory Nazianzene, alluding to this transaction, calls seven the pOXVerjul number. 'HXios /fa/^jvor, Kxt a-iKvvn iucny^ofAivriy xa/ lo^^avris avxy.oTrTO' /xEvoy, rtf^ yLocTxatiOfxtvx n^suv 'Ob^io^^ xiZi aaXTTivrwi v^^u-j tint a§i9/xu ^vyit/Air fX"^vTi» Orat. iii. p. 57 f edit. Pans. of 12 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § C, of man; so did the number seven, with those nations who preserved the memorials of divine revelation ; and these two numbers, seven and ten, multiplied together, are accordingly used to express the utmost indefinite number. '' Not only until seven times," says our Lord, *' but until seventy times seven *." But with the Jews, seven became the most important numler, being seen to enter into almost all their institutions f. In the eastern nations, less given to change, this use of the number seven has continued more prevalent than with us. The Arabians and Indians, between whicli nations was a great conformity of religious customs, had seven celebrated temples, and believed in seven heavens, and seven compartments of hell:j:. And in modern India we still find this maxim in common use : *'' A man's own mind will tell him more than seven '* sages that sit on an high tower §." It was through the nations of the east that the reverence for this number passed to the Greeks and Romans ||. According * Matt, xviii. 22. ■j- They had seven lessons, seven readers ; seventy (that is, ten times seven) composed their supreme council ; which Josephus afterwards imitating, appointed seventy elders in Galilee, and seven judges in icvery city. (Bell. Jud. xx. 5.) And, for the same reason, in the Roman Church, the number of Cardinal Bishops (the word Cardinal implying completion), was originally fixed at seven; so continuing until the reign of Pope xVlexander III. And the ecclesiastics of the Church of Rome w€re aware of this use and pre-eminence of the number seven, even so late as in the l6th century; for, in 154-7) at the Council of Trent, they defended the doctrine of seven sacraments, amongst other argu-)- liients, by that of the universality and superior digmti/ of the nunAer seven. (Padre Paolo, lib. ii.) X Sale's Koran, Prelim. Disc. § Tracts on Hastings's Trial. II Spencer, de Leg. Heb. lib. i. Varro on Weeks, in. A. GelUu9,lib, Ui, p. IQ. Clem. Alex. Strom. \^, to Ch. i. 4—8.1 APOCALYPSE. 13 to Pythagoras, who had studied in Egypt, in Phoenicia, and at Babylon, it is a number venerable, perfect, and accommodated to things sacred^. And here it may be observed, that it is not from any casual or arbitrary notion, that the number seven has been thus dignified. It is entitled to this distinction, from the natural order of things, which God was pleased to establish at the crea- tion. A day is a natural measure of time, and, multiplied by seven, forms that period of a week w^hich most con- veniently multiplies again, so as to form months and years. J. Scaliger has observed f, ** that the number ** seven is of all others the most fit to measure the ** courses of the sun and moon." Add to this, that a week, or seven days, appears to be a complete period, by other laws and provisions of Providence; since it will be found to measure, by its repetitious, more * Brucker, Hist. Phil. Crit, i. 1055. Jarablichus de Vit. Pythag.-— Grotius has produced proofs from Josephus, Philo, Tibullus, Homer, Hesiod, Caliimachus, and Luciaii, of an observance of a seventh day among the Greeks and Romans, or of a reverence of the number seven ; and from Philostratus, Dion Cassias, and Herodotus, of the account of time being numbered by weeks among the Egyptians, Indians, and the northern nations of Europe. M. Varro (as reported in Aulus Gellius, lib. iii, c. 10.) has produced some coincidences of the complete nature of this number, which shew at least that this notion of the number seven had passed to the Romans. 'Ha/oooy w.£V Jl*; -crff* aJJrjf XsyUf Tlpuros jv»3, rsT^acs te, xa< iQo/xoy U^ov m«p. Ka< 0/*»j^or, 'E^o^a^ij S' fiirtiru xaT»jXu0£v U^ov ig^a^* Na/ /u,>3y xxi ¥i.KXKty(.ocyps o 'usomrris y^acipsif *EC^ofA,2c^7) §£ er)y, X.XI 0/ inrvKTo wrrxvrx, Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. xiii. c. 13. Additional citations, fully confirming this, may be seen in Briant's Analogy, vol. i. p. 382 j and in Faber's Horse Mosaicae, vol. i. p. 344. t " Septenarium numerum accomraodatissimum esse solis et lunae '" rationibus." Canon. Isag. 95. exactly 14 Al»OCAt-YPSE. [PtI. §^. exactly tlian ally other number, the natural periods of gestation in animals, and of incubation in birds; which will easily be acknowledged in the instances of do- mestic fowls ; some brooding on their eggs three times seven days, some four times seven. The mea- sure of time by weeks, or by the intervention of the number seven, is therefore not altogether arbitrary ; it has a foundation in the nature of things ; and the dis- covery of this circumstance is a proof that the great Being who created the world in six days, and contem^ plated its perfection on the seventh, and, after this rule, established the number seven for the measure of time, acted in this circumstance with that providential order and harmony which characterize the rest of his works. Add to this, that when we find the first inhabitants of the globe in the practice of measuring time by this so perfect a number, which they could not have obtained by science, we must conclude that it was given to them by revelation. These observations will open the way for the right apprehension of the sense in which the number seven is used by the prophetic writers. It is used to express any large, complete, indefinite number. By the seven Churches of Asia, are implied all the Churches of Asia, and, it may be, all the Christian Churches in whatever situation or period of the world *. St. Paul, speaking of the events which happened to the people of God in the Wilderness, says, '' Now these things were our *' examples;" they were, as the original implies, Tuto/, types, or prophetical representations, *' written for our * It was understood in this extensive signification by the com" mentators nearest to the times of St. John, as reported by Andreas Cae- sariensis. To f^vcfliKov ruv acTTavrai^ji sKuXyio-iuv ct,ij.xivuv» Comment, in loc. *' ad mo- Cll. i. 4 — 8.] APOCALYPSfi, tS *' admonition *." The Jewish Church being removed, the Christian Church stands in its place, and is to apply to herself the same admonitions. And thus, in the present instance, the seven Churches of Asia being sunk in Mahometan superstition, their '* lamp-bearer removed," all the Christian Churches inherit the advice given, the threatenings denounced, the blessings pro- mised by their divine Lord. Ver. 4. Grace be unto you, and peace, &c.] The Saluta- tion in this epistle resembles those in other epistles of the New Testament; in almost all of which the inspired writer intreats " grace and peace from God the Father, *' and our Lord Jesus Christ." But the Godhead is here described with some additional expressions, not unscriptural, but presented in a new form, being such as naturally arose in the mind of the Apostle from tlie impression of the vision which he had then seen, and was proceeding to relate. Full of the images lately presented before him, he recurs to them even in this his intro- duction, and instead of saying, in the calm expression which otherwise he might have used, ^' Grace from *' God the Father," &c. he says, *' Grace from him *^ that was," &c. using the very forms of speech in which he had heard the Divine attributes described ia the vision. The description of God the Father, occurs under the same expression, ch. iv. 8, from which place it is evidently taken ; and is consonant to the great I AM of Exod. iii. 14. The description of God the Son is in like manner taken from the vision. He calls him- self f *' the faithful and true witness." He is so styled prophetically by Isaiah J; such he was eminently in the last scene of his earthly life, when ** before Pilate » 1 Cor. X. 6—11. t Ch. iii. 14. ; Ch. Iv. 4. *'he 16 APOCALYI'SE. [Pt. L §2, ** he witnessed a good confession*." Our Lord calls himself also in the same passage, " the beginning of *' the creation of God." He is styled by Saint Paulf, *' the first-born of every creature," and % " the first "fruits from the dead." But here he is ^/.^o intitled *' The Ruler of the kings of the earth." But such is the prophetic character of the Messiah in Scripture, and such he is eminently shewn to be in the sequel of this prophecy §. But in this salutation, grace and peace descend, by the prayers of the pious writer, not only from God the Father and the Son, but also from a third Power ; *' from the seven spirits which are before the ** throne." To underftand this expression, we must refer to chap. iv. 5. where, in the glorious representa- tion of the Deity, are exhibited '* seven lamps of *' fire burning before him, which are the seven spirits *^ of God.'* But in chapter iii. 1. God the Son de- scribes himself as '^ having the seven spirits of God;'' and when || he appears under the emblem of the Lamb, he is described as having '^ seven eyes, which are the '' seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth." But what can we account this universal, holy Spirit of God, proceeding from the Father and the Son, to be, but that which, in the plainer language of divine Scrip- ture is called the Holy Ghost ? The comment of Vene- * 1 Tim. vi. 1.3. tuv xaXrjv o^oXoyictv, the noble, honourable, excel- lent confession. The primitive Christians, who suffered martyrdom in the Gallic churches, considered the title of Martyr as appropriate to their Lord, and were unwilling to take it to themselves. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. v. c. 2. f Col. i. 15. t 1 Cor. XV. 23. § Ch. xviii. U. xix. l6. j| Ch. v. 6. rable Ch. i. 4—8.] APOCALYPSE. 17 rable Bede on this passage appears forcible and just, *' Unum spiritum dicit septiformem, quae est perfec- ** tlo et plenitudo*. So that this sakitation, divested of its prophetical form, and of that imagery which had been derived to it from the scenery of the vision, will be found equivalent to the epistolary and plainer language of Saint Paul, '' The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, *'and the love of God, and the fellowship of the '' Holy Ghost be with you f." But why, in this passage, is the general order of Scripture inverted ? Why is the Holy Spirit m.entioned before the Son ? This may in part be accounted for, from the impression remaining upon the imagination of the writer, after he had seen the vision. For in chap. iv. 5, where the symbol of the seven spirits was seen, it had appeared before the throne, closely con- nected with the glory of the Father, and previously to the entrance of the Son, under the emblem of the Lamb. Another reason inay be, that the character and description of the Son is reserved separately for the last, there to be longer dwelt upon; because he appears throughout the vision to be the prime agent, and the grand object of the whole prophecy ; he who, alone of the persons in the Godhead, has taken our human nature upon him, and visibly fought our battles against the common enemy. He is de- * *' The one Holy Spirit is here described as sevenfold, by which is *' intimated in prophetic language fulness and perfection." The most ancient commentators, as reported or followed by. Andreas Caesariensis, by Arethas, Primasius, and Victorinus, understood by the seven spirits and seven lamps of fire (ch. iv. 5,) the Holy Spirit, or the seven Charismata thereof, mentioned in Isaiah xi. 2. t 2 Cor. ^iii. 13. M scribed 18 AtOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 2. scribed to us here, 1ft, As in his suffering state ; when, having taken the lowly form of a servant, by his SLiiferings he bare witness to the truth, ^'dly, As the first fruits from the grave*; when, triumphing over sin and death, he obtained the victory for his faithful followers. 3dly, As King of kingsf ; when, fulfilling all the prophec^ies which predict the Messiah, he shall reduce all. nations under his easy yoke, utterly subduing all worldly tyranny and usurped do- minion. The two first of these offices and characters he hath already fulfilled ; the first during his earthly life, the second at his resurrection ; the last remains to be completed ; and is peculiarly the subject of the prophecies in this book;}:. Ver. 6. The Doxology, or Glorification, which in other of the sacred epistles is no unusual sequel to the Salutation, comes next in order ; but is more especial- ly addressed to the Son, as the grand agent in the vision. The love of Christ towards mankind, and the ablution of their sins by his precious blood, are topics celebrated universally in the New Testament ;^ but no- *- * 1 Cor. XV. 20. + 1 Tim. vi. 15. X For the change of case, which the Greek reader will remark iti ibis passage, •* ocno 'l*jo-« 9 y^ix^vSy' let him consult Grotius on Mark vi. 40. who points out such construction, not only in the scriptural, but also in the classical writers ; but this grammatical inaccuracy is more appropriate to the Hebrew-Greeks. And the occurrence of such in the Apocalypse, is so far from militating, as hath been re- presented, against the authenticity of the work, that it tends to establish its authority, by placing it upon the same footing in this respect with other books of the sacred canon. For, ungrammatical Greek, or at least Greek of impure idiom, will be found in most of ihem, though perhaps not so abundant as in the Apocalypse. where Ch. i. 4—8.] APOCALYPSE. 19 where more copiously than in the writings of Saint John. That he hath prepared for his faithful servants a kingdom, and appointed them priests unto God, though more immediately connected with the subject of this prophecy, are not novel ideas, but purely scriptural. A kingdom is proposed for the servants of Christ*, they are to reign with himf. And in Exod. xix. 5, God promises to Israel that by obe- dience, they shall become *' a kingdom of priests, a *' pecuhar treasure unto God above all nations, a holy " nation J.'' In Isaiah, ch. Ixi. 6, this promise is ex- tended to the Christian times and to the converted Gen- tiles, whom Saint Peter also calls an holy priesthood, a royal priesthood^; in which latter expression, as in the words of Moses, the two ideas of kings and of priests are brought together. In the Septuagint the words of Moses are rendered by BuiriXeicv 'U^a;l£viJ.ct, the very expression of Saint Peter, which is also to be found in some MSS. of the Apocalypse ; but the true text seems to be given by Dr. Griesbach from the Alexandrine and other ancient MSS. confirmedby the readings in the Fathers whom he has quoted ||. Ver.7. In this verse the prophet, enraptured with his subject, passes from the glorification of Christ, which he had delivered in the form of a prayer, to the de- scription of the awful event, when (as foretold in Scripture) he shall come in the clouds of heaven, in * Mat. XXV. 34f. Luke xii. 32. + 2 Tim.ii. 12. 1 Cor. iv. 8. vi. 2, S. I See also Deut. xv. 6. xxvi. ip. xxviii. 1. § 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9- \\ To which we may add, that the manuscript used by Tertullian in the second century, seems to have presented the same reading. Tertullian. de Mouoganj^. cap. 12. M 2 the 20 APOCALYPSE. [Pt I. § 3. ^he glory of the Father, to preside at the general judgment^. *^ They who have pierced him," are not only the Jews, who demanded his crucifixion of Pilate, but likewise all those who wound him by their ti^ansgres* sions, who ^^ crucify to themselves the Son of God ** afresh, and put him to open shamef.'* Ver. 8. In the same spirit of exultation he continues to set forth the supreme dignity of the Son of God, ascribing to him, as our Lord had done to himself in the vision:}:, those sublime attributes of the Father by M'hich he fills all eternity, and exercises all power§. This apphcation of the attributes of the Father to the Son, pervades all the sacred writings of the New Tes- tament, and is represented to be by communication, or inheritance. '' As the Father has life in himself, ^* so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. ^' I and my Father are one. I am in the Father and •' the Father in me. All things that the Father hath '' are mine. Whatsoever things the Father doetl>, '* these also doeth the Son likewise. The Father judg- *• cth no man, but hath committed all judgment to '*' the Son/' These are our Lord's words, as recorded hy Saint Johriy according to whom he M^as ^' in tht * See i)ah. vii. 13. Mat. xxiv. 30. Mar. xiii. 26. xtv. 62. bivt more particularly Zech. xii. 10. where these images occur. t Ileb. vi. 6\ In confirmation of the received opinion, that St. John the Evangelist was the author of the Apocalypse, we may observe, that c^iksyk^xY is the very word used by that Apostle in his Gospel, (xix. 37,) and is a word used by no other writer of th« New Testament. I Ch. i. ii. 13. § See Is. xliv. 6. Ivi. 15. Mic. v. 2, ^* begimiifigi'* Ch. i. 4—8.] APOCALYPSE. 21 ** bcginnmg,'' and **from the beginning with God*.*' The apostle to the Hebrews enforces .the same notion x)f our Lord's eternity, when he calls him " Jesns "Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for everf." He is x^lpha and Omega, the first and the last, the original Creator, and the final Judge, of the world; to whose illustrious advent^ and final triumph oyer his enemies (as being the g;-and catastrophe of the Apo- calypse) the propliet, who had already seen it exhi- bited in vision, exultingly adverts, even before he begins his narration. This was natural, in one who had seen such a vision, but it would not easily have occurred in a work of mere imagination and art. ♦ John i. 1. J3, V. 26. 1-9. 22. xiv. 11. xvi. 15, alsjo Col. i. iS. 17, Jleb. i, 2, 3, 8. 1 John v. 20, t lieb. xiii. 8. PART I. SECTION III. The Jppearance of the Lord Jesus with the Symbols of kls Poxver; and the Commission giveri by him to Saint John to write xvhat he beholds. CHAP. i. VER. 9 — to the end. 9 'Eyw lucf,yy%^y o cvrxo/ya;vof h r-^ 9 I John, your brother, an<} fellow-sharer in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the Island called Pat- njos, for tl^e word of 9 I Jphn, who also anri your brother, and com- panion in tribulation, and in the kingdom arjd patience of JesusChrist, was in the isle that is called Patmosj for tlje 23 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 3. fju'jy} ndrpiUf dice Toy Xoyov rS ©fa, x«< oi^ Try fji.a.plv- ^Iccv ''iviaa [X^;f5]. 10 'Eysvo^^v £v -nrvfu- fAOcii sv TV Kvpicm-^ 1 1 W/fy^, >.e7«£7*jj' "O ^XiTTeiff ypd,- ■J/Oy £J\u yivsa- Oxi yt-iix rxvrx, 20 To fA-jpo^iov rwv I'njx aff^i/Vi uv i^is Wi rtjs ^t^ixs ^Hy axl rxs ItiIx Kv^vla-s rxs Vfy- irxs' 01 ETflx afJf £f, x/yiXof ruv iiflx Ix- xXinaiuiv iiai' xxt Oct iirix Av^ytxif fTflgi sKX.?.riQiX( JiV/', voice as the voice of l6 many waters; And having in his right hand seven stars, and from his month a two- edged sharp sword coming forth ; and his countenance as the Sun shlneth in his 1/ power. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet, as dead ; and he laid his right hand upon me, saying [to 18 me] ^' Fear not ; I am ** the first and the " last, and he who *' liveth; and I was *^ dead, and behold I " am alive for ever ** and ever ; and I *' have the keys of " Death and of hell. 19 " Write therefore *' those things which " thou seest, even ** the things which *' g,re present, and ** which are about to 20 *^ be after these : The " mystery of the " seven stars which *' thou seest in my *' right hand, and ♦• the seven golden " lamp-bearers. The ** seven stars are the ** angels of the seven *' churches ; and the " seven lamp-bearers ** are the seven ♦' Churches." as if they burned in a furnace: and his voice as the sound of \6 many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars : and out of his mouth went a sharp two- edged sword, and his countenance xcas as the sun shineth in 17 his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead : and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me. Fear not ; I am the 18 first and the lust : I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death. 19 Write the things which thou hast &een, and the things which are, and the things which shall be here- 20 after, The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawctt in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches : and the seven candlesticks which thou sawcst are the seven churches- •^4" APOCALYPSE. [Pt I. § 3, Vcr. 9. I John, &c.] Who this John was, aiul why, and whither banished, may be seen in note, c. i. 1. His dignity, as an apostle, and as a prophet favoured with this vision, and honoured with this commission, was at all events considerable; but, in the spirit oF the Gospel, he calls himself only a brother, as his Lord liad called himself before liim *, and a fellow- sharer ill tlie afflictions wliich the faithful were then . sufiicring, under the persecution of Domitian. But to partake the sufferings of Christ, is to partake also his kingdom!, v/hich are here therefore emphatically united, Fo7^ the word of Cod and for the testimonij of Jesus. ^ The sense of this expression becomes clear, by com- paring it with chap. vi. 9, where the IMartyrs are re- presented as- having suffered lia roy T^oyov rs Qes y.cci ^ix ■^.:ifv^iciy VjV £;%oy, '' for the word of God, and for the *' testim.ony which they bare." John was, like them, a persecuted sufferer and confessor, in the Island of Patmos, to which he was banished for his adherence to the faith, and where he was favoured with this vision J. Vcr. 10. I nns in the Spirit.'] It is in vain to niquire the exact manner in which these sacred visions were communicated. The Jewish v/riters have said much upon the subject, but nothing which can satisfy a ra- tional and sober mind. So far however is plain from Ezek. ii. 2. iii. f24. 2 Cor. xii. 2. and other passages of Scripture, that the prophet commonly perceived the ijTipuise of the Spirit acting upon him in a sudden and extraordinary manner ; } et 30 mysteriously, that * John XX. 17. t 3 Tim. ii. 12. + Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. iii. cap. 18. Saint Ch. I. 9 — QO.] APOCALYPSE. 25 Saint Paul affirms that he could not tell whether it was *' in the body or out of the body," that he was present in the heavens. Saint John perceived this movement of the Spirit upon him, when the heavenly voice called to him. He represents it, as it struck his senses, coming from behind him, and thus affecting him with laiore sudden surprise; it was loud, and as of a trumpet, the signal of war ; it was fearful and alarming*. The trumpet was the voice of God, at the awful delivery of the Law from Mount Sinai, and so shall be again at the consummation of the world f . Ver. 11. See notes on verses 4 and 8. • Vcr. ]L\ Se^en golden lamp-bearers.'] These are ex- plained afterwards (v. 20. ) to signify the seven Churches, or the universal Church of Christ:]:. They are not the lamps or lights, but the bearers of them ; they are the instruments, on which the lights being suspended, illuminate the Christian world. Spiritual knowledge is frequently represented in Scripture, under the emblem of a light or lamp. Numerous are the instances; but see in particular ]Mat. v. 14, \5, and the parallel pas- sages, and Ezek. iv. 2. Agreeably to which, in Rev, iv. 5. seven lamps of fire are used to express the gifts of the Divine Spirit; but the receptacle of religious knowledge, the station from which it is communicated, is the lamp-bearer or candlestick ; and by this is de- noted the Church of Christ. So Irenaeus, who, allu- ^tjing to this passage, says, Ubique enim ecclesia prse- dicat veritatem, et ha^c est hTa^uxo; (aliter aisTu^viog) * Joel ii. X, Amos iii. 6. 1 Cor. xiv. 8» I 1 Thess. iv. l6\ 1 Cor. xy. 5%, I See note, ver. 4, Lucerna, 26 APOCALYPSE. [Pt I. § 3, Lucerna, Christi bajulans lumen*. From some pas- sages in Josephusf, it will appear, that the candle^ sticks of the Temple were seven, each distinct from the other ; but that the Romans, when they took possession of them, new-modelled them, to grace the triumphant entry of Vespasian ; forming them into one of seven branches ; which they certainly appear to have been originally. (Exod. xxv. 31.) But this alteration may have probably taken place. And it agrees with the representation in this vision, wherein our Lord is re- presented as walking in the midst of the seven lamp- bearers; which could not be so easily conceived, if they had been so many branches. Among the antiquities exhibited in modern Rome, is a representation of the seven lamp-bearers, or rather of the lamp-bearer with seven branches, which is to be seen on the Arch of Titus +. , * ^* For in all parts the Church preacheth the truth ; and this is th^ ** seven-branched lamp, bearing the light of Christ." Irenpeus, lib. v» c. 20. As the Church is the y^v^nx^ or lamp-bearer, so the illustrious characters who have adorned the Church, and given light to the world, are sometimes called the Ay;^wi, the lamps, or lights \ such, in the language of Saint John, was John Baptist: zkhws ^» o Xv^vqs l ^xtofjLzws M^y^ii (TTiX^ovTo;, And w£Tupwiu.£vo/, though in the perfect tense, does not seem to express burned, that is, the tire being extinct, but having been: in the act of burning so long as to have obtained a great degree of brightness So the context vhich has nearly the same signification. They executed the office of am- bassadors under Christ f ; and the Bishops, afterwards delegated by them, held the same kind of commission. For Saint Paul, mentioning under what name or title such heads of the Church, Titus and others, were to be received, says, *' They are the messengers of the Churches, (in the original it is ^t^os-IoXoi,) and the glory of Christ J.*' They held an intermediate and delegated office, between Christ, the Head of all the Churches, and that particular Church to which they were deputed by him or his Apostles. They were the imder-shepherds, to whom particular flocks were in- trusted, and from whom the Great Shepherd will ex- pect account. To such persons, in so intermediate and responsible an office, the injunctions of their Lord, the supreme Head, are addressed. As he walks in the luidst of the seven lamp-bearers, or seven Churches, so he possesses, and directs, the seven lights which are to be placed upon them. The lights which the Churches receive, are derived from him, and pass through his hand. These lights or teachers, and heads of the * AfyjXoj T8 ©ea or Kv§ia* t 2 Cor. V. 20. Eph. vi. 20. iCor. iv. 1. I 2Cor. iv. 1. Church, Ch. i. 9-*-20.] APOCALYPSE. 31 Church, are here represented under the emblems of stars ; by which, in the symbolical language of Scrip- ture, are signified eminent leaders in God's service. Under this symbol, Joshua, David, and others, and Christ himself, are denoted *, And it well accords to the distinguished presidents and conductors of the Christian Church, whose appropriate reward is an- nounced t, that '' they shall shine as the stars for ever *' and ever." And the removal of such teachers is re- presented in prophetical language, as the stars being removed, covered, darkened, and not giving their light J. Ver. \6, And from his mouth a two-edged sharp sword coming forth,] This is the weapon by which our Lord and his followers are to conquer at the last ; and therefore is again described in ch. xix. 15, 2L In an eminent passage of the evangelical Prophet, con- fessedly prophetical of our Lord, it is said, '^ He shall ** smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and witli ** the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked §." Agreeably to which, the *^ sword of the Spirit" is called by St. Paul, *^ the word of God || ;" and is the weapon with which, according to the same Apostle, even ** with the spirit of his mouth," the Lord shall destroy the man of sin ^. And the powers of this weapon are again described: *' The word of God is quick**, and ** powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword ff." * Num. xxiv. 17. Rev. xxii. \Q, Dali. viii. 10. 2 Mace. ix. 10. t Dan. xii. 3. J Ezek. xxxii. 8. Joel ii. 10. iii. 15. and in other passages. § Is. xi. 4. See also Is. xxx. 28, 33. xlix. 2, Job xii. I9, 21. Ps. cxlix. 6. II Eph. vi. 17. 51 SThess.ii. 8. 1 ** i. e. alive, Zm. tf Heb. iv. 12, ( These 52 ai^ocali^pse; [Pi. I. ^ 3. These quotations from Holy Writ cast considerable light upon the passage before us, and shew the nature of the arms, by which our Lord and his Churcli are to gain their victories ; not by the usual instruments of human warfare, but by the preaching of the word in evangelical purity and power. The metaphor of the sword, employed here to represent powerful speech, may appear bold; ** but," says Bishop Lowth, *' it is just ^, *' It has been employed by the most ingenious heathen '' writers, if with equal elegance, not with equal force, " It is said of Pericles, by Aristophanes f, A pud Diod. lib. xii, — his powerful speech Pierced the hearer's soul, and left behind Deep in his bosom its keen point infix'd. '' Pindar is particularly fond of this metaphor, and *' frequently applies it to his own poetry. Olymp. ii. '-' 160, 149. ix. 17." The SunJ] Our Lord has the stars, the lessc)^ lights^ the m.inisters of his word, in his hand, under his direc- tion ; but he himself alone shineth like the greater light, ^^ The Sun of righteousness, with sevenfold *' lio'htj." But as he is in glory, so shall be likewise hi? faithful servants after their resurrection. '•' They shall ''shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their '' Father §." Here ends the Apostle's description of this appear- ance of our Lord Jesus Christ; for such he undoubtedly is, from his account of himself, which follows in verse * On Is. xlix. 2. t S«e Cicero, Epist. ad. Atticum, xii. 6. : Mai. iv. 2. Is. XXX. 26'. § Mat. xiii. 43. the Ch, i. 9~-20.] APOCALYPSE. 3d the 18th, and which can belong to none of the angehc natures, but solely to the only-begotten So?i of God. It is also to be observed, that our Lord repeats, and applies to himself, all this description, in his addresses to the seven Churches, contained in the two subsequent chapters ; and in one of these passages he calls himself 6 ijiog Tov Qeov^ the Son of God, Now an angel, or even a good man, in the language of Scripture is called sometimes vio; Qes, a son of God ; but none except the only begotten, our Lord Jesus, is ever styled o \hoq r8 0f8, the Son of God. Ch. ii. 18. Add to this, that in the next verse, Saint John is described as prostrating himself before this Son of Man, and no reproof follows, as in ch. xix. 10, and xxii. 9, when he prostrates him- self to the angel. This shews the difference between an angel and the only begotten Son of God ; and unites, with other passages of Scripture in authorising the worship which the orthodox Christians pay to their Redeemer. Such was the opinion of the most ancient commentators, To tv^; OfOTvjrof t8 X^/q-8 e\L(^umTat t/^eye^og, ttVTS yu^ ^sKa to. a^j\Li:a.vTCL* , Ver. 17. As decuL] The effect here described is such as was to be expected from the conflict of passions in the breast of the Apostle, of surprise and delight, of fear and joy. For, it was the appearance of the Son of Man, who on earth had dignified Saint John M^th his peculiar love, but it was at the same time awful and alarming. lb. And he laid his right hand upon me,] The right hand is the hand of protection, and of salvation f, and of fellowship:}:, and the instrument of conveying spiritual gifts §. The touch felt palpably by the * And. Csesariens. in loc. t Psalms, passim. J P^Uii. 9, § Actsvih. 18. K Apostle, 54 APOCALYPSE. [Pt.I. §5, Apostle, is agreeable to that part of Scripture which represents our Lord, after his resurrection, as an object of feeling. This passage is sublime*: Mahomet per- ceived and has imitated it in his fictions : but his imi- tation is carried to a vicious excess ; the hand of God, touching the Prophet, is described to be cold-f. lb. Fearnot,'] The scenery accompanying the visions under the Gospel, is of a milder nature than that under the Mosaical dispensation, which was ushered in at Mount Sinai with so dreadful an apparatus, that none could dare to behold J. *' Fear not,'" is the comforting assurance to the Virgin, to Zacharias, to the Shepherds, to the Women at the Sepulchre, under similar impres- sions. lb. lam the first and the last,'] See the notes on verses 4 and 8. Ver. 18. The keys.'] To bear the keys, imports the same, both in Scriptural and Pagan antiquity, as to bear power and office. In chap. iii. ver. 7, our Lord is represented to have '* the keys of David;" to bear that power and office which were attributed to him by the Prophet Isaiah, in the very same words §. It is by these keys that he possesses the sole and exclusive right of opening and shutting to all eternity (|. * " Who can read, jf he reads without prejudice, the following ** address of Jesus to John, sinking to the ground through fear, and not *' be affected with the greatness of the thought and the expressions ? ** Fear not, &c. &c. v. 17, 18." Michaelis, Introd. to N. Test. ch. xxxiii. sect, x, t Prideaux, Life of Mahomet. Vie de Mahomed par Boulain- villiers, p. 356. I Heb. xii. 2 Cor. iii. 7, 8. § Is. xkii. 22. )i See Greg. Neocjes. Oratio Panegyr. p. 73. edit., Paris.; Bp, Lowth on Isaiah xxii. 22 ; and Juriin's Sermons, vol. iv,.36^. lb. Ch. i. 9—20.] APOCALYPSE. ^ S6 lb. HelL] By this word, in popular language, is com- monly expressed the Gehenna, or place of punishment, only : but this is not the true and proper sense of the Avord, the sense in which it is to be taken in this passage ; for the word Hell M^ill be found in our old writers to answer exactly to the Scheol of the Hebrews, and to the Hades of the Greeks. It is the general receptacle of the dead, the place of departed souls, whatever it may be, whether happy or miserable *. And therefore, though I had at first used the word Hades in my translation, after the examples of Bishop Lowth and of Daubuz, 1 afterwards restored this word from the old translation ; because, rightly under^ stood, it is fully adequate to represent the idea of the original: and why should we adopt foreign phrases, when our own language is competent to express what we intend ? Besides, we seem obliged to preserve, in our versions of the Scriptures, this English expression, in conformity with our principal creed, and with the third article of our national religion ; in both of which the word Hell is used ; and so used, is continually ex- plained by our catechists to mean the invisible mansion of departed souls. In the earlier forms of our language it was written Hele, being derived from the Saxon Helan, to cover. Death is a formidable foe, who kills the body ; but there is yet a more dreadful enemy, which attacks the soul, in those regions beyond the grave, where *' the '' worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Both are mentioned by our Lord, in Matt. x. 28, and he points out which is the most formidable. Both are * See- the learned notes of Grotiua on Matt. xvi. 18. Luke xvi. 23* xxiii. 4-3, and Scbleusner or Parkhurst on the word *Alrts, ^ a -frequently Sd APoCALXPSt. [Pt. I. § 3. frequently personifed in Scripture*; and both are addressed in that animated apostrophe, " O Death, ''where is thy sting! O Grave {cllv\), where is thy victory! •" The gates of death, which are opened by these keys, are frequently mentioned in Scripture ;]: ; and the gates of Hell (wvXat cf^s) by our Saviour^* And the same metaphorical expression is used by heathen autliors ||. The keys of these gates are in tlic possession of the Captain of our Sah^ation, who, by suffering death, triumphed over Death ^ ; under his banner, *' Death is swallowed up in victory." Thi^ conquest is represented as complete in 1 Cor. xv. and in the sequel of this book **. By this, Christ has obtained for his faithful followers a S3.fe passage through the gates of Death, and through the terrors of Hell, to that kingdom of glory which he has prepared for them. Under no consideration can our Redeemer be felt of greater importance to us, than as possessing the keys of Death, and of our future state of everlasting existence. Ver. 19. TVrlte, &c.] The Apostle is commanded to zvr it e fov the information of the Church; and the subject matter which he is to write is here divided (as indeed it naturally divides) into two parts ; 1st, the scene then before him, with the address to the seven Churches, revealing to them their then internal and real state ; 2dly, the events which were to happen to the Church in future. This same division occurs again in ch. iv. 1, where, the first part being dispatched, the; Prophet is invited to behold '* the things which are •* about to happen after these,'* Both are revealed by the spirit of prophecy, which was equally necessary to * Is. V. 14. Hab. ii. 5. t 1 Cor. xv. 5&. X Jobxxxviii. 17. Ps. ix. 13* § Matt. xvi. 18, II Horn. Iliad, ix. 31«. If Heb- ii. 14. •* Ch. xxi. 4, discover Ch. i. 9—20.] APOCALYPSE. 37 discover the real internal state of the Church then existing, as the events which were to happen to it in future. We may instance in the Church of Sar- dis *, which enjoyed the reputation of a living Church, a Church flourisliing in faith, doctrine, and practice; but she is discovered, by the spirit of pro- phecy, to be ** dead-\.'' Ver. 20. The mystery,'\ Mu^;i^/ov, in tlie scriptural language, generally signifies hidden and recondite knowledge ; such as is accessible only by the peculiar favour and revelation of God \, In prophetic language, as in this passage, and in ch. xvii. 7, it is used to sig- nify the meaning concealed under figurative resem- blances. So the stars are angels, and the lamp-bearers churches : for the explanation of which, as relating to the lamp-bearers, see the note, ver. 12, and as relating to the stars, ver. 16; in which latter note will be seen some of the reasons why the bishops or presidents of ♦ Ch. iii. 1. t Some commentators have supposed three divisions, as arising from these words of Jesus Christ ; namely, « li^is, to express the things which John had already seen ; a, t/o-i, the things which he was seeing, the present stat^ of the Churches ; L [kiKKu ymcrOxi, the things to come. But it will appear that John had already seen nothing but the beginning of a vision, which was then disclosing the a tiat, the present state of the Churches. The vision is one and the same ; the Son of Man, clothed with the same symbols, delivers the whole of it. And the word n^es, being used in an indefinite tense, m^y be understood as having relation to the whole scenery of vision which was then passing, and about to pass, before the Apostle ; and thus it may be fitly translated, " that ** which thou seest," and, with the o CKtinis of the eleventh verse (which has also an indefinite signification), understood to comprehend the two subsequent divisions. It is to be observed also, that the word uhs is applied in the next verse to the appearance of the Son of ^an, with the symbols of the stars, &q. which John was at that present instaqt beholding J and that in the verse next following (ch. ii. 1.) Jesus is described continuing to hold the stars, by the present partiqiple, k^utwu I 1 Cor, ii. 7. xiji, 2, xv. 51. Eph. iii. 3. v. 32, sa APOCALYPSE, [Pt. I. § 4. the primitive Church were called angels or messengers; and wb}^ consistently with the usage of the syniholic language in Scripture, they are represented under the emblem of stars. In Malachi ii. 7, the Priest of the Lord is styled Angel or Messenger of the Lord. And it appears from the accounts of the ancient Jewish synagogue (the forms of which were followed in the first Christian Churches), that the ruler of the syna- gogue, or at least the chief minister, was styled Shehach Zibbor, The Angel of the Congregation * ; and what the Sheliach Zibbor did in the synagogue, that the Bishop appears to have done in the primitive Christian Church f. The term angel, or messenger, instead of bishop, seems to have been in use principally, if not ej^clusively, in the eastern Churches. * Buxtorf, Synag. Jud. Vitringa de Syn. Vet. Prideaux, Con. part, i. book vi, t Introd. to N. T. by Beausobre and L'Enfant. PART I. SECTION IV. The Address to the Church in Ephesus, 1 T^ afyiXw rris sv 7W 0 K^xruv TBf £9rJa n^ipas h rr, fTiljt Kv^viuv ruiv lf% 0-«, 5^ TOV XO- /xov^iv 0-8, yij on a CHAP. ii. VER. 1 — 7. Unto the Angel of the Church in Ephesus, write; Thus saith he who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lamp-bearers ; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and that thou canst not endure evil men. And thou hast 1 Unto the Angel of the Church of Ephesus^ write, These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walk^ eth in the midst of the seven golden candle-^ 2 sticks ; 1 kno\Y thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear theni which are Ch. ii. 1— 7^] APOCALYPSE. 39 Ttff Xiyovrx! sxvli!S EiV/* )^ evptf XVTHS rxaxs Qioi, to ovo{/.x fJLH KOil HK tMTcl' 4 a3a-oy, >c Ta -BJfw- [ras^y], 5t^ x/v>5. O E^wy «f, (XKHa-OCTQ} Tl To ■BjyEy/xiZ Xf'yw T^r? lKK\y)(Ttxts' Ta? y<- i^mri ouTu avrta ^xym ex. T» |uXa T'7/s- ^(w5jf, 0 Ef/y £y T'f Tsxqx^ve.'\ It seems justly remarked by Grotius on this passage, that t^wIviv, as in John i. 15, has the force of ir^olsi^viv. Tertullian thus understood it, desertam dilectionem Ephesiis imputatj. The Church is accused of having forsaken that warm and extensive communication of charity which charac- terised Christianity in its infancy, and which in the days of Justin Martyr, and of Tertullian, is de- scribed to be its distinguishing ornament §. To fail in this, is to fall from primitive purity; and the fall is great; xoOfv f nTf ttIwx^; ; and the punishment threatened, naturally follows : for the Church, which is defective in Christian Charity, cannot long remain *' a shining light ;" her lamp-bearer is removed ||^ Ver. 6. Nicolaifans.] It is observed by Mosheim, that our knowledge of the sects and heresies of the first * 1 John iv. 1. t 2 John vi. Mat. vii. l6m X De Poenitentia, sect. 8. 5 Just. Dial, cum Tryphon. p. 254. TertulUaD, Apol. c. 31. p. 31. ]) 2 Esd. X. 22. century 46 Al'OCALYPS£. [Pt. I. § 4. century is very incomplete. And doubts have arisen, whether in the accounts given of the Nicolaitans, by Irena^us, TertuUian, Clemens, and others, they did not confound the Nicolaitans, mentioned in this passage, with another sect afterwards founded by one Nicolaus *. It appears from tlie testimony of these ancient fathers, and of Eusebiust, that the Nico- laitans, whom they describe, adopted principles which were afterwards held by the Gnostics, denyt ing the humanity of our Lord, and his real suffer- in o-s in the flesh. But these were no novel doctrines, the Nicolaitans of Saint John's time might have taught them ; for we find them mentioned or alluded to in Saint John's writings |. The same doctrines ar6 opposed by Ignatius in his Epistle to the Trallians, and Ignatius wrote at no great distance of time from the date of the Apocalypse. Polycarp, the next in succession, is seen to oppose in his Epistle the same errors. And the end of the age of Polycarp brings us down to the times of Irenasus, and of TertuUian, Clemens Alexandrinus, &c. And as these fathers agree in calling the heretics, who professed these tenets, by the name of Nicolaitans, there seems good reason for concluding that the Nicolaitans of Saint John*s time were such. Their history, though but slightly touched, appears (me and the same through the whole period of time, from the latter part of the first to the middle of the second century. But what^ ever we may judge by the evidence of their doctrines, the matter will appear clearer from considering what is delivered by the ancients, concerning the morals * Mosheim, Eccl. Hist. Cent. 1. cli. v. t Hist. Eccl. ch. iii. 29. X 1 John ii. 18, 19- iv. 2, 3 ; 2 John 7. and Ch. il. 1—7.1 APOCALYPSE. 47 and practices of the Nicolaitans whom they describe, and by comparing them with those mentioned in the Apocalypse. They describe the Nicolaitans as im- pure and profligate in their lives, and in comment- ing on those passages of Saint Jude, and of the se- cond Epistle of Saint Peter, which represent heretical leaders, '' like the Sodomites, turning the grace of "God into lasciviousness *," they assert that these nvere Nicolaitansf. The tradition of the Church call- ied them by that name ; and they were probaWy he- retics of the same kind as these mentioned by our Saviour, at a time intermediate between the date of these Apostolical Epistles, and of the writings of these ancient Fathers. It is of their practices th^t our Lord speaks with detestation, '* Thou hatest the woi^ks of ** the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." From this testimony it appears, that these Nico- laitans were impious in their doctrines, and impure in their lives %, The Christian Gnostics afterwards adopted many of their doctrines and practices, and are therefore said by the ancients to be sprung from them. The progressive history seems to be this. When the Apostles Peter, and Jude, and John, wrote their respective Epistles, there were some heretical teachers of this character, '* creeping unawares," that is, slyly and covertly, into the Church. When the Apocalypse came forth, they had increased, were em- bodied, and had acquired a name. Yet in that form, (and probably in consequence of our Lord*s dis- avowal of them in this passage and in ver. 15.) they made little progress : but afterwards, uniting to their • Jude 4, 7, 8. 2 Pet. ii. 2. t See these evidences in Whitby, in loc\ } Tlffi ufv 5o7/»a]of acriCeo-lolo/, in^ ^t Qm MC-eXye'Moi, CEcUtnenius. '* • principles 48 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. §4. principles of doctrine, and some of them to their practices (for all the Gnostics were not impure in their lives*) the pompous title of Gnosis, and its philoso- phical jargon, they swarmed over and corrupted a great part of the Christian world. It appears however from the testimony of Ignatius given previously to his martyrdom, at a period of ten or twenty years after these injunctions of our Lord were delivered, that this Church of Ephesus had profited much by his warnings; for, when the other churches began to be corrupted by the Gnos- tics, Ephesus was seen to flourish with a pure faith f. Ver. 7. He that hath an ear, &c.] It was usual with our Lord, when he was about to address himself to his auditors in figurative language, to bespeak their spiritual attention by a warning of this kind, " He *' that hath ears to hear, let him hear." In the pas- sage before us the language changes from plain to figurative; and the same notice is given. The ad- dress is now from the Spirit, or seven Spirits^, whose oflrtce it is to reveal mysteries, and *' to shew things to " come§;" and it applies not only to the Church of Ephesus, but to all the seven Churches ; and through them to the universal Church, in all ages and places \\. lb. To him that over come thJ] Being summoned in the words immediately preceding, to apply our spiritual ear to the symbolical language, in which the Holy Spirit addresses the Church, let us in the first place inquire into, and settle, the figurative meaning of the words conquer , victory, &c. as used in Scripture. The Christian is represented to be engaged in a dan- * Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iii. v. f Ignat. Epist. ad Ephes. sect. 9. Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. iii. 25. iv. 7. X See note, ch. i. 4. § John xvi. 13. (] Note i. 4* gerous Ch. ii. 1 — 7.] APOCALYPSE. 49 gerous warfare^ against a very powerful enemy. Our Lord, in St. Matthew, ck xiii. ^^, and Saint Peter, in his first Epistle, chap. v. 8, inform us plainly, that this adversary is the Devil, that ancient foe of man- kindj who attacks us sometimes by deceits and entice- ments, as he did successfully our first parents ; some- times by force and terror, as he did those of the first Christians, who were exposed to the fiery trial of mc?rtyrdom. The arms, which he employs against us, are the temptations, or terrors, of the world and of the flesh ; but these would not be so formidable, if they were not aided by the influence which he, as a Spirit, possesses over our Spirit; ** for we wrestle not," says Saint Paul*, ** against flesh and blood, but ** against principalities, against powers, against the *' rulers of the darkness of this world, against api- ''^ritual wickedness in high places." Wiierefore he exhorts us to take in our defence ** the whole armour ** of God," which he also describes Jigurativeli/, con- cluding that, ** above all, we should take the shield of *' faitli, wherewith we shall be able to quench all ** the fiery darts of the wicked one (ts ttovv^^s)." This combat, and these means of victory, are also set forth in various parts of Scripture, of which the following may be produced as instances; 1 Tim. vi. 12. 1 Thess. V. 8. Rom. xii. 12. 2 Cor. vi. 7. x. 3, 4, 5. xii. 10. 1 Cor. xvi. 13. 1 John ii. 13, 14. iv. 4. 5. v. 4, 5. 1 Pet. V. 8, 9. ii. 11. James iv. 7. Our Lord is de- scribed as having successfully fought this battle, a^ the periods of his temptation and of his final suffering, and we his servants can only expect success by follow- ing him, ** the Captain of our salvation," who has promised spiritual assistance to those who strive * Eph. VI. 12. a against 50 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 4. against the common enemy, — such assistance as shall enable them to overcome*. But with what arms did our Lord himself overcome? for with none other can his followers expect to conquer ; — not with the wea- pons of human warfare. When such were offered to him, previously to the grand conflict, '' put up thy *' sword," said he to the zealous apostle, who drew it in his defence, '' all they that take the sword," that rely on such arms in such a cause, " shall perish with " the sword," shall lose that victory, which is to be gained by other means. The means then used by the great '' Captain of our salvation," was meek per- severance in the cause of truth and righteousness, founded upon faith in his God; he conquered, he ''was made perfect, by sufferings!." Which words are explained in the 14th verse of the same chapter; " through death he destroyed him that had the *' power of death, even the devil, openly triumphing *' over him," in this very act J. It is for this reason, that our Lord, when preparing for this combat, in which he knew that by siifering he should overcome, calls his death his glorification §. In that last and de- cisive conflict in the flesh, with " the prince of this '' world II," as our L6rd then calls him, he overcame him by suffering ; and passing through the grave to heaven, he opened a passage for his faithful followers, leading them triumphantly into that kingdom, which he had prepared for them, and where '' he must ** reign," till all his enemies shall be finally subdued; until ''Death shall be swallowed up in victory^." Thus, as I have seen it expressed, with brighter truth * Luke X. 18. &c. f Heb. ii. 10. % Col. ii. 15, § Johnxii. 23, 28. xiii. 31. xvii. 1. also vii. 13. xii. \6. II John xii. 13. xiv. 20. H 1 Cor. xv. 24. 5^—57- than Ch. il. 1 7.] APOCALYPSE. 51 than Latinity, '* Victus qui saeviebat, vicit qui suf- '^ ferebat." *' The conqueror was subdued, the suf- '^ ferer conquered;" or, as, in more stately lan- guage, God the Father is represented speaking of the Son incarnate; '* I send him forth ** To conquer sin and death, the two grand foes, ** By humiUation and strong suff'rance*." It is the duty of every Christian to be ready at all times to fight this spiritual battle, under the convic- tion, that he is certain to triumph, if he be lawfully called to the conflict f , and have faith to follow his great Leader. For, to suffer in that cause is to triumph ; *' nay, in all these things," says Saint Paul speaking of such sufferings, '*weare more than coji- *' qicei^ors, through Him who loved us J." And this no- tion of conflict, battle, "cictory, Sec. will be found also to pervade the writings of the early Christians. In the martyrdom of Ignatius, published by Arch- bishop Usher, that martyr is called AfiAv^Tj^; aai yev- v&m (xu^lvg X^ijls, yicilcLirctlvi^ciQ tov d^iatoXov' ^ and in that precious morsel of Ecclesiastical History in the second century, the epistle from the Gallic Churches, the persecuting power is styled © uvlrAsiixsvog, the adversary, who :r^oyu|ULy«^f/, skirmishes before the battle ; but avliaWii v| %tfj^/? T8 0f8, the grace of God conducts the Christian force against him, and supports the martyrs, who are called yevmioi u^^^vflxi, noble combatants ||. Agreeably to these images, that ancient hymn of th6 * Par. Reg. i. 159. t 2 Tim. ii. 5. X Rom. viii. 37, '■ § Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. v. Pref. & c. i. II Euseb. H. E. lib. v. Pref. & cap. i. See also the same lan- guage in Minuc. Felix Octav. c. 37, t o 21 Christian 6^ APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 4. Christian Church, beginning with Te Deum, recounts the '* noble army of Martyrs." But besides this battle which every Christian has to fight individually, and on his own private account, against the great adver- sary, there is a more general and extended warfare, in which the followers of Christ are engaged in a bodi/, as the bodi/ erf Chrisfs Church. It is against the same arch-enemy, the devil, and under the same leader, Christ. For our Lord is represented as con- tinually presiding over the fortunes of his church : '* Lo, I am with yon, even unto the end of the *' world*." It is this warfare extended through all the ages of the world, which seems principally, if not solely, to be prefigured in the Apocalypse. The Devil and his worldly agents attack by seduction and corrupt doctrine, by terror and persecution ; the church re- sists, covering herself with the arms of her great Leader, ** the cincture of truth, the breast-plate of ** righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of *' the Spirit, and, above all, the shield of faith f. '^ Though she walk in the flesh, yet does she not war ** after the flesh, for the weapons of her warfare are *^ not carnal, but mighty, through God, to the pull- *' ing down of strong holds, bringing into captivity *' every thought to the obedience of Christ." Agree- ably to which words of Scripture in the language of the Apocalypse: '* He that conquereth," is "he *' who keeps the works of his Lord even unto the **end:J;;" he who, by the prevalence of faith, per- severes in the profession and practice of Christianity, when assailed by temptation or terror, is the faithful and victorious soldier of Christ. And to a church ♦ Matt, xxviii. 20. + Eph. vi. 14, &c. X See ch. ii. 26. where the expression may be thus paraphrased. of Ch. ii. 1—7.1 APOCALYPSE. S3 of this character, and to none other, is promised *' power over the nations," a spiritual, increasing do- minion. As to the passage immediately before us, it con- cerns the times a ei<7i *, the situation of the church at the time when our Lord addressed these warnings to it; when the Faith was assailed both by delusive teachers from within, and by heathen persecutors from without. Of the former of these, we have spoken f. The hostility of the latter had commenced some years before, in the reign of Nero, whose un- just edicts against the Christians had been renewed by Domitian a little time before the date of this prophecy. For, under this persecution, Saint John was banished to the Isle of Patmos, where he saw the vision :t^. That the seven Churches were actually under persecution at this time, and were not to be relieved immediately, may be collected from various passages of these addresses to them §. Ver. 7. To eat of the tree of Life, &c.] The Lord God is described to have planted a garden, or para- dise, in Eden, and to have placed in the midst of the garden the tree of Ife ; of which the fir^t created pair might eat, and by eating live for ever. Under this description is represented that immor- tality, to which, by obedience, the race of men might have attained in their primitive state, and which they forfeited by disobedience ||. For they listened to the seductions of their wily foe, and were overcome. But the *' Second Adam, the Lord from ** Heaven^," having condescended to undergo, in * See note, ch. i. 19. f Note, ch. ii. 6. X Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. cap, xi.s. § Ch. ii. 3, 10, 13. iii. 10. II Gen« ii, 8, 9. 1[ 1 Cor. xv. 22, 45. John vi. 51. xi. t25. the H APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 5, the behalf of fallen man, the penalty, ^vhich was death"^, man is hereby restored to his lost privileges. The tree of life is again placed within his reach, he may *' put forth his hand and live for ever." This advantage, which the Saviour of the world has re- gained by his own prowess, he bestows as a free gift or reward upon those servants of his who follow him faithfully in his victorious career f. A description of the tree of life will recur in ch. xxii. % 14. * Gen. ii. \7 • t See a copious explanation of the tree oflife, as signifying immortality, in Bp. Home's Sermons, vol. i. It was so understood by the author (of the 2d Book of Esdras, ch. viii. 32. which was probably written soon after this book of Revelation. See Gray's Key to the Old Tes- tament. PART L SECTION V. The Address to the Church in Smyrna. y^a-vJ/OK* Tade >>£- ye-t 0 zs^uros Kj o tayxros^ os sysvsia ^Xoca^piixv Ix. ruv AeyoiTby ''laoca'as ai- CHAP. ii. VER. 8 11. 8 And to the Angel of the Church in Smyrna, write ; Thus saith the First and the Last, who was dead and is alive ; 9 I know thy [works and thy] tribulation and thy poverty, (but thou art rich,) and the blas- phemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a syna- 10 gogue of Satan. Fear none of those things 8 And unto the Angel of the Church in Smyr- na, write, These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead, 9 and is alive ; I know thy works, and tribur lation, and poverty. (but thou art rich,) and I k?iow the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue 10 of Satan. Fear none Cli. il. 8—11.] 10 mA (poC5 a tjj^ (pt;Aa>c'/jy, BxXxn ^xXeTv aKXidxXov Ivuimoy r^v viMV lapxriKy (pxytTy e'l^uXoOvTx, 15h^ zjo^vsvaxt, Ov- rhrxs TTiv h^x^vtv ru)v t'iix.oKxirwv o- ibuOlblS. MiTXVOV COV BX* £/ Oe {JI.Y), £^- ^oixxf croi rxyvy avTuv h rn poix- yi(pov KsvKvtVf KXl llll TYiV ^j/^^OV liyo/xa y.xtvov yi^qxy^.- f^SVOV) 0 HOiti OlOSV ei (/.ri 0 XxiA,Ca.vuv, 14 tan dwelleth. But I have against thee a few things, that thou hast there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who ta tight Balak to cast a stumbhng-block before the children of Israel ; to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication : 15 So hast thou also those who hold the doctrines of the Nicolaitans in l61ike manner. Repent, therefore, or else I am coming unto thee soon, and I will war against them with the swx)rd 17 of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches: To him who overcometh, to him will I give of th*e hid- den manna ; and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which none knoweth but he who receiveth it. 14 eth. But I have a few things against thee, be- cause thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block befcre the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit forni- 15 cation. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nico- laitanes, which thing I 16 hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly ; and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 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 I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. Ver. 12. Pergamos.] A city of great account, enriched and adorned by a long succession of the Attalian Kings. The last of these, Attains Philo- nieter, bequeathed his dominions to the Romans, and it then became the residence of a Roman pro- consul. 64f APOCALYJ^SE, [Pt. I. § 6, consuL Pliny the elder, who wrote but a short time before the date of this Revelation, describes it as the most famous city in Asia*. A heathen metropolis Avould naturally become a central scat of corruptive doctrines and morals ; and in this sense it might be called ** the throne of Satan." It might also ac- quire this appellation from being the scat of the pagan persecuting government, whence issued the edicts and instruments of persecution ; and it appears that Antipas, the faithful martyr, was slain heref. It was also a grand seat of heathen learning, because its famous library of 200,000 volumes would neces- sarily attract the residence of the learned ; whence also from this place would probably be derived that ** philosophy and vain deceit," against which, as corruptive of Christianity, the apostle warns his disciples if. And the B«6v5, or depths of Gnostical learning, are ascribed to Satan, in the address to the Church of Thyatira §. So, in more senses than one, Pergamos may have been styled the ** Throne ** of Satan." It is described by modern travellers as containing at present from two to three thousand Turks, who have converted its best churches into mosques. Yet there are some few Christians remain- ing, to whom a priest sent from Smyrna, occasionally officiates. lb. Two-edged sharp sword,} With this instru- ment of power our Lord has been already described, in ch. i. 16, where see the note. The description is peculiarly proper in this place, because the supreme Head of the Church now appears against the '* Throne of * Nat. Hist. lib. v. c. xxx, t Ver. 13. I Coloss. ii. 8. § Ver. 24. '* Satan, '• Ch. ii. 12—17.] APOCALYPSE. 65 ^' Satan," against the seat of persecution, of corrupt morals, and of corrupt philosophy *. Ver. 13. Antlpas.l No account has been pre- served to our times, of this martyr ; but Andreas Csesariensis reports, that he had read the history of his martyrdom f. Vcr. 14. Doctrine of Balaam.'] . This Church is hitherto commended for its stedfast faith and perse- verance, even in times of great trial. But she had in her bosom some who taught impure doctrines. By- referring to Numb. XXX i. 16, and then to the whole 25th chapter of the same book, we learn that Balaam suggested to Balak the means, or stumbling-block, by which he decoyed Israel from their duty ; and that the sin which they committed, when fallen into this snare, was apostacy from their God, by joining in the heathen sacrifices with the dissolute women, who were employed to seduce them. Hence, by the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Jude, a defection from the true religion, when united with immoral and lascivious practices, is called, *' following the way, *' or error of Balaam :[:." Ver. 15. Nicolaiians,'] See note, ch. ii. 5. These were followers of the doctrine of Balaam, as the name signifies both in Hebrew and Arabic. See Mi- chaelis, Introd. to New Test. ch. xxviii. sect. 3. Ver. 16. / will war against them.'] Not against yoic the Church, but themy the corrupters of it. Yet, insomuch as many received these impure doctrines, and the rulers of the Church had not been vigilant to reclaim or eject them, all are called to repent. For the weapon with which their Lord threatens to * See the last note. f Comin. in loc. X 2 Pet. ii. 15. Jude 11. p attack 66 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 6, attack them, see note ch. i. 16, It is with this powerful sword that Antichrist shall be slain, and the enemies of the church shall be finally subdued*. The word of God, advancing in its purity, and gain- ing dominion ove^ the hearts and actions of men, shall in due time expel idolatry, infidehty, and the persecuting spirit of worldly policy and of insincere religion f. This '* word of God" is described as liaving a /ii^/w^ efficacy, *' sharper than any two-edged *' sword," penetrating into the inmost parts of man :}:; and it is represented as an object of terror to those of the brethren, who, from an evil heart of unbelief, shall apostatize from the living God §. And, in the subsequent verse, the whole congregation is directed to exhort each other daily, lest any of them be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Apply this to the Church of Pergamos, which the members of it might then have done, by having recourse to the same Sacred Scripture. Ver. 17. Hiddeii manna,'] This expression will be- come intelligible, by the perusal of the ^th chapter of Saint Johns Gospel from the 26th verse. Our Lord declares to the multitude, who followed him in the expectation of being miraculously fed, that he himself is the bread of life, the manna from heaven, which shall support those partaking of it to everlast- ing life : and when they could not, or would not, understand him in the spiritual sense which he in- tended, he tells them that he is to be understood in a figurative, and not in a literal meaning. ** It is * Is. xi.4. 2 Thess. ii. 8. Rev. xix. 15, 21. t Matt. xii. 36\ 37. John viii. 31, 37, 43, 47. xii. 47, 48. xr. 3, 7. Heb.i. 3. 1 Pet. i. 23, 25. X Heb. iv. 12. § Heb. iii. 12. '' the Ch. ii. 12 — I7.J APOCALYPSE* 67 '* the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth no- '^ thing ; the words that I speak to you, they are *' Spirit, and they are Life." The '^ hidden manna" is this bread of life in its spiritual signification, of Avhich the manna, free from eorruption, laid up in the tabernacle, was only a type ; namely, the benefits derived to the faithful followers of Christ by the offering of his body ; forgiveness of sins and ever- lasting salv^ation. In the midst of a figurative dis- course, our Lord presented his disciples with this plain interpretation : *' Verily, verily I say unto you, "he that believeth on me hath everlasting life; I '' am that bread of life*." He who through faith in his crucified Redeemer, follows him in his victorious career, unmoved by the temptations or threats of the enemy, is by his Lord's appointment entitled to this food of heavenly life. But this ** Life is hid *Mvith Christ in God|." *' It does not y€t appear '' what we shall be J." *' Eye hath not seen, nor ear ^' heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, *^ the things which God hath prepared for those that ** love him§." Such appears to be the hidden manna, namely, the ineffable joys of a blessed immortality. From the small remains of history, which are pre- served to us of this church, she seems to have re- membered these splendid promises of her Lord; for many of the Pergamenians underwent the fiery trial of martyrdom, at the time when Polycarp suffered at Smyrna 11 . Ver. 17. IVhite sto?2e.] Stones, ^^/vlCf)o/, calculi, were used by the ancient nations, as the names import, to calculate and to vote with ; and in criminal pro- * John vi. 47, 48. f Col. iii. 3. J 1 John iij. 2. § 1 Cor. ii. $. il Euseb. Hist. Cccl. lib. iv. c, 15. P 2 cesses 6s APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 6, cesses the white stone was the mark of acquittal, the black one of condemnation : — Mos erat antiquus niveis atrisque lapillis ; His damnare reos, illis absolvere culpa*. The white stone, presented to the conquering Christian, may be supposed to signify, *' well done, ''thou good and faithful servant'' But this white stone is inscribed with characters ; so were the %)/iiC|)o/ of the ancients. The letter 0 with the Greeks was the token of condemnation ; or, in a general sense, of disapprobation. So Persius ; Et potis es nigrum vitio pra^figere Thetaf, But on this zvhite stone, given by our Lord to his approved servants, was written a new name, which will be explained in the following note. Ver. 17. A nezv name, 'I By the custom of nations, from the earliest ages, a person raised to dignity was commonly invested with a new name or title, expres- sive of his deserts. Many instances occur in Scrip- turej. It is the promise of God to Zion, that, becom- ing the glory and the light of the Gentiles, *' she shall ^* be called by a new name, which the mouth of the " Lord shall name." He has promised also to the Eu- nuchs and Gentiles, who shall '^ keep his covenant, *' and love the name of the Lord, a place and a name '* better than of sons and of daughters, an everlast- " ing name which shall not be cut off §." Of this kind and nature is the new name or title, given by the Lord of Heaven to his elected servants. The * Ovid. Metam. lib. xv. 41. f Sat. iv. 13. J Gen. xli. 45. 2 Sam. xii.25. Dan, i. 7. John i. 42. Matt. xvi. 18. § Is.xlii. 1, 6. Ivi. 5, honour Ch. ii. 18 — 29.] APOCALYPSE. 69 honour which they shall receive at his hands, when their spiritual warfare is accomplished, is beyond con- ception, and can only be known by being enjoyed. PART L SECTION VII. The Address to the Church in Thyatira, CHAP. ii. VER. IS — to the end. xXiktIocs 7|?«\J/ov ■ Tu^s Xiyst 0 vlos t« ©£«, 0 i^MV T«? «(p9aA/x«y avrZ us <^Xoyx 'Sjvpos, xa< ot 'zso^ss avTti 'o(j(,oioi l^^xXKoXtCoivu}. OJ^a an roc Efj'a, >^ rm ayoL'rr'riv^ >^ t^v ^IXKOVIXV, 'ft, T-/)V 'SJifiv, y^ rviv vTio- (JLOvriv <7«, xl rai i^fx aa roc scT^xlx 'cyXiiovx rujv zjfu- 20 ruv' 'aAX' s^ij y.xix an on a,(p£'ts T^v yvvx7x.x an 'is- ^aQx, 77 XiynfTX sxvlriv zjpOyvriVy X, dtox7->L£i yL ziXxvoi raj lixHS tii?.>iSf 'Ujo^ysvcrxt x^ iwu)- 2 I Ka9vlx (pxyuv. Kal 18 And to the angel of the Church in Thya- tira write : Thus saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes as a flame of fire, and his feet like snielting brass. 19 I know thy works, even thy love, and thy service, and thy faith, and thy patience, and thy last works to be more than the first : 20 But I have against thee, that ihou sufferest thy woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess, and teach- eth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication, and to eat meats sacrificed unto 21 idols: And I have given her a time, that she might repent, and she v/ill not repent of 18 And unto the angel of the church in Thya- tira, write, These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are 19 like fine brass; I know thy works, and chari- ty, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works ; and the last to be more 20 than the first. Not- withstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou suf- ferest that woman Je- zebel, which called herself a prophetess, to teach and to se- duce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sa- crificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space 70 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 7. f)c ry,s iso^nlocs avTYiv lis >cX/»>?v, ;c; Tss- (/.oi^ivonias fjLiC cuiirv]! iU ^Xi'-^'iv fAiyaX'nvy lav (j^n IxsioiVQ-na-ccariv Ix. raiv SSI'ffwv ocvrrts' Kal roe, riKvtx, tx.vT7)S ec7roy.r£vu> Iv S'o;- veiru, j^ yvuj(70vla.i -SsSiaxi ai ly.y.'K'jica on lyu ti{jLt 0 xoc^oixs* Kj O'jjauj viJ,iv lyca-Tu nxloc roi s^ya, v^jluv, 24< ^Tijuv ^£ Xeyu, [ro/y] XoiiroTs ro7s ev Qiixlsi'^oi^y oiTOi itK '("/JiiTi rvjv ^i- da^Yiv ravrviVy oiri- v^s ax. tyvucrxv tec ^a.9y) t5 crixlxvcc, ojs XByaeriv' Ov ^aXu) Ip' v(A.ois 25 aAXo /3af©u. UXm 26 Ka< 0 v;xa)v, 5£a< 0 Tvjf a;v a^/ riXas Tot e^fjt f/ta, Soio-w alru l^scriuv Itti 27 TiDv IQvZ-Vf Keel 'C70i(j.xve7 xiiTHS jy -iaC^w ai^yj^S.' us roi aKBV'o rot. ks- ^acjjLiKoc avvlpi^slxif 28 'ns Kccyij slXvjfa 22 her fornication ; Be- hold, I cast her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her, into great tribu- lation, unless they shall repent from her 23 works ; And her chil- dren will I slay with death ; and all the churches shall know that T am he which searcheth the reins and hearts ; And I will give unto every one of you according to your 24 works. But unto you I say, unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as hold not this doc- trine, (whosoever have not known the depths of Satg.n, as they speak,) I shall put up- on you none other 25 burthen ; Only that which which ye have, hold fast until I come. 26 And he who over- cometh, and who keep- eth even unto the end my works, to him will I give power over the 27 nations, (And he shall rule over them with an iron sceptre, as the vessels of earthen ware are broken to pieces,) 28 Even as ,1 have re- ceived from my Fa- ther; and I will give to repent of her forni- cation, and she re- 22 pented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribula- tion, except they re- pent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death ; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts : and I will give unto every one of you ac- cording to your works. 24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, As many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak, I will put upon you none other burden. 25 But that which ye have alreadij, hold fast 26 till 1 come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works un- to the end, to him will I give power over the 27 nations: (And he shall rule them with a rod of iron : as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers :) even as I received of 28 mv Father, And I wi|l Ch. ii. 18— 29.] APOCAITPSE. 71 'SraJfa t5 'Sjxlpos Tov oc^fE^x roil la^u' uKHo-ocrUi r't ro OTvsy/xa Xiyn rxis give him the morning 2Pstar. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. give him the morning 29 star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Ver. 18. Thyatira.'] This v/as a considerable city in the road from Pergamos to Sardis*. Lydia, who at PhiHppi received the Apostles Paul and Silas, was of this place ; and being a person of consequence, and divinely called to receive the Christian Religion^, probably became the cause of estabhshing a Church here. So that, on this account, as well as because this address of our Lord is directed to the Church of Thyatira, we can give no credence to the notion which was holden by some persons in Epiphanius's time, (300 years after the date of this epistle,) that the church in this city was founded after the time of Saint John's seeing this vision. No Christians are at this time reported to be found in the remains of this city. .lb. Eyes as aflame of fire, &c.] Thus the Son of God appeared in ch. i. 14, where see the note, and the meaning of the word %«AxoA/€«vov. Ver. 19. Thy last xvorks to be more than the first.'] This is great commendation, and the reverse of the fault for which the Ephesians are reproved, (v. 4.) and of that lamentable state, described in Saint Luke, xi. 26. 2 Pet. ii. 20. to. eaxa^a %eii^ovci twv w^wlwi/, the last state worse than the first. Ver. 20. Jezebel.] This might be literally , a wo- Strabo and Pliny. t Acts xvi. 14. ma7i 72 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. <^ 7. man of great rank and influence at Thyatira, who seduced the Christians to intermix idolatry and heathen impurities with their religion. Such sedu- cers were in the church in Saint Paul's time * And the history of Queen Jezchel, that eminent patroness of idolatry, as delivered in the Books of Kings, shews that such a woman would he fitly represented under that name. But there is another sense in which it also may be applied; for, in symbolical lan- guage, by a woman is signified a city, a nation, a community, a church f . This passage is so understood by Venerable Bede, who explains the term Jezebel to mean :j: a synagogue of false apostles pretending to be Christian ; and it may signify a sect of seducers, like that described in verses 14 and 15 of this chapter; for the same doctrines are ascribed to both. In the comment of Andreas Bishop of Csesarea, written about the year 500, and containing the matter, as the writer professes, of more ancient commentators on the Apocalypse, of Irenasus, Papias, Methodius, &c. it is said, that the Nicolaitan heresy is here called Jezebel Jigur a tiveli/ ^, on account of its inipiet}^ and intemperance. See also the note below, ver. 24. Ver. 20. Fornication,'] The edict of the Apostles, (Acts XV.) forbids to the Gentile converts that which is here mentioned : l.Ho^veici, fornication, under which word are comprehended all those carnal impurities, which were common among the heathens, and even made a part of their sacred rites. 2. E/^wAaOuT^^, AKiffyvKxaTa t«v f/JwAwv, meats offered unto idols ; to partake of which, when declared to be such, was to partake of the * 2 Cor. vi. 14, &c, t See note below, v. 22, J Synagogam pseudo-apostolicam, quce se Christianam fingit. worship. Ch. ii. IS — 29.J APOCALYPSE. 73 worship. The two sins were nearly connected to- gether in the heathen institutions, and introduced each other. Ver. 23. Adultery,'] In scriptural language, nations and cities, and communities are frequently expressed under the emblems of women, virgins, &c. ; nor has this mode of representation been confined to the an- cient or Eastern nations. In our times and country, Britannia is personified, and is seen, as a woman upon our coins; as are Judcea, Rome, &c. &c. on those of ancient days *. The nation of Israel,, or the church of God under the Old Testament, is con- stantly represented under this symbol. In the times of her purity, she is a virgin; in her happy pro- spects, a bride; in her impure connections, a harlot. And, conformably to this figure, the great Being who especially protects her, was pleased to represent himself, as the husband who espouseth her\ and who, for her wickedness, divorces herf. For, by a con- tinuance of the metaphor, she is described as *^ treacherously departing from her husband," com- mitting adulter!/ with stocks, stones, and idols J ; but after chastisement and repentance, she is restored to favour and matrimonial distinction, and becomes fruitful in children, the multitudes of the Gentiles §. The reader may see this imagery produced into alle- gory, in the xvith chapter of Ezekiel. Agreeably to this, in the New Testament, our Lord, the head * See the plates in Montfaucon, or in Calmet*s Dictionary. t Jer. xxxi. 32. Is. xlix. 20, &c. liv. 5. Ixii. 1, 5. Hos. ii. 2. Is. liv. 7. I Jer. iii. 8, 9- 20. Ezek. xvi. 22. xxiii. 37, § Hos. ii. 7. 16. 19. Is. liv. 6. of 74 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. L § 7. of the church, is represented as the bridegroom, and her apostacy from him is called adultery*. Now, in the passage before us, adultery may be taken either in a literal, or in this its figurative sense; accordingly as we understand Jezebel to represent, either literally a woman, or figuratively a sect. If taken in the figurative meaning, (which seems most probable,) then her sons, to be slain, are the followers of her religious institutions ; and they, who commit adultery with her, are the Christians, who are seduced to her doctrines and practices, from the duty they owe to their Lord. Ver. 22. Bed.] The place which had been the scene of her transgression, is to be that of her pu- nishment. Taken literally, it will imply the pains of a sick-bed ; and to be tormented in bed, where men seek rest, is peculiarly grievous f. Or, in a figurative sense, to adopt blasphemous and impure doctrines and practices, may, and probably will, occa- sion great tribulation to an apostatizing church. Ver. 23. I will slay with death,] This is a Hebraism, denoting, by its repetition, the certainty of the event denounced. The equivalent expression in Genesis ii. 17, is translated, ^^ thou shalt ^wre/j/ die.*' Sickness and death are represented by Saint Paul, as punish- ments inflicted on the perverters of holy ordinances in the apostolical times J: or, QavuTo; may here signify, as it does evidently in ch. vi. 8, pestilence; and thus express the mode of death by which these rebellious servants of God were to be slain. * Matt. XXV. 2 Cor. xi. 2. Uom. vii. 4. Eph. v. 23, &c. Gal. ir. 26, &c. t Daubuz. See Psalm vi. 3. xli. 3. Job xxxii. 19. Is. xxviii. 130. X 1 Cor. xi. 30. Ver. Ch. ii. 18—29.] APOCALYPSE. 75 Ver. 24. The depths of Satan.'] Our interpretation of the word Jezebel in a figurative sense, seems to be confirmed. She had a doctrine, and taught deep mys- terious knowledge^ calling it perhaps with Saint Paul, Td ta^vi ra 0£8, the deep things of God*, but it is de- clared to be Td i^afivi '^« Xarciva, the depths of Satan. Traces of such philosophizing sects are to be seen in the writings of the apostles, and of the apostolical fathers. And the Gnostics, who dealt eminently in these ^a^viy thus afterwards entered and corrupted the church. Ver. 25. Until I come,'] See note, ch. i. 3. Ver. 27- Power over the Nations.] The expres- sions in this passage have near resemblance to those of the second Psalm, which are undoubtedly pro- phetic of Christ f. He is there declared, '^ a king ^* over the nations, even unto the ends of the earth." He shall ** rule over the nations with an iron rod," or sceptre, ** and break them to pieces, as a pot- ter's vessel :{:." But our Lord informed his disciples, that *^ he appoints unto them a kingdom, even as ■^ his Father had appointed unto him § ;" and the pro- mise is continued by them to their successors in the * 1 Cor. ii. 10. t See Acts iv. 24. I In this passage in the Septuagint, the word 'aoiixonvco is used, as well as in the Apocalypse. And the ancient Hebrew text probably agreed with it. (See Reeves's Collation of Hebrew and Greek texts, Ps. ii. 9«) This character, of shepherd of the people, was anciently attributed to good kings. Such was the i3oi^%v Xxuv of Homer. B)' such a character, did the great Cyrus desire to be distinguished. (Xenoph. Cyrop. lib. i.) It is frequently applied in Scripture to the Messiah, and occurs in that sense four times in the Apocalypse. So 'PuQoos is properly translated sceptre^ as in Heb. i. 8. See Schleusner, in voc. § Luke xxii. 29. John xxi. I^. Acts xx. 8. 1 Pet. iii. 2. church. 76 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 7. church. It is a kingdom of great power and glory, yet not after the fashion of this world; for it is neither acquired nor preserved by arms. It is not founded on worldly policy, over which it is destined to prevail. It is the ftone of Daniel's vision, which, cut out of the mountain without hands, breaks to pieces the kingdoms of the world, miraculously in- creasing till it fills the whole earth. '' And the king- *' dom and dominion, and the greatness of the king- '' dom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the ** people of the saints of the Most High, whose king- " dom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions *' shall serve and obey him*." Ver. 28. The morning star.] A star is a teacher f ; our Lord is eminently such ; and such heintitles himself in ch. xxii. 16. 6 ac-rvi^ d y^ay.'Ki^og nai o^^i^ivog^ *' the shi- *' ning and moming star." As such he was foretold in Numbers, xxiv. 17; and a star, in the eastern and morning quarter of the hemisphere, preceded his birth J. As this star, seen by the wise men, sig- nified to them \\\^ first coming ; so by the star, pro- mised in this passage, we must probably understand the signs denoting his second coming ; a know- ledge of '^ the mysteries of the kingdom of hea- *Wen§," and of its approach in power. Saint Peter, speaking of prophecy, whose office it is in part to reveal these mysteries, recommends us to attend diligently to this '' light shining in a dark place," imtil some clearer manifestation shall be reveal- ed ; f w? 8 ViiJ^e^ci hciuyaas •/.ui C)wfCpo^o^ CiVUTsKyi ^^ '^«^ Tar iTTix afspxi Oiocc an ra spfx, on ovoyM £%£'?, ori ^Wf, iCj yzy.pls £i. 2 r/vB yf^fofo/v, '/^ S'V^i^ov Ta XoiTToi, a fAsXXsi Si-VoOocvsTv' ts ya^ svpviy.ci o-» ra, e^fx 'C7£'7rXnfw//.£ya IvuTTiov rS 0£s /iA». 3 Mv^/>cov£y£ 5v, 'SJWS i"Xri2>xs J^ »3x»3-«f, >^ rripsT, >^ /aeIjcvo- v)Uov SUV av fA.ri as us kaetHios, '/^ a [jLi) yvoTj, tjoixi) cu^xv 'nqcij s'TTl as, 4 'AAA' £X^'^ oXiyx xix Iv 2apo£cr/v» OtOjJLXiX f V a »)t l/xoAvvav ra ifxxrix alruvy >c 1^5 ev Aevxors* ot< 5 oi^ioiilaiv. OviKuiv, eros t^zqiQx>.iirxi CHAr. iii. VEIL 1 — 6 1 And to the angel of the Church in Sardis write : Thus saith he who hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars. I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest, and thou 2 art dead. Be watch- ful, and strengthen the things remaining, which are about to die; for I have not found thy works per- fect before my God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. For if thou shalt not be watchful, I will come upon thee, as a thief; and thou shalt not know at what hour I shall come upon thee. 4 But thou hast a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments ; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worth V. He that over- 1 And unto the angel 1 of the Church in Sar- | dis, write. These things j saith he that hath the | seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest, and art 2 dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die : for I have not found thy works perfect before 3 God. Remember there- fore how thou hast re- ceived and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will coma on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will 4 come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their gar- ments ; and they shall walk with me in white ; for they are worthy, 3 He that overcometb, i the same shall be ! Ch. iii. 1—6.] APOCALYPSE. 9C K fc^ l^a.Ku-^l'U ro ovo/xa eivra Ik ty OfJioXoyv^iJ TO OOlfitToiTA/f T< To ©■vey/A« Xtys' T'«r5^ Cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment ; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life ; and I will confess his name before my Fa- ther, and before his G Angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. clothed in white rai- ment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Fa- ther, and before his 6 angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Ver. 1. Sardis.'] Sardis, situated on the Pactolus, the ancient seat of Croesus, and of the Lydian kings, was proverbially the seat of Riches. This city had suffered grievously by an earthquake some time be- fore the date of this vision ; but, by the bounty of Tiberius Caesar, had been restored to splendour*. Sardis possessed, from its natural situation, extraor- dinary means of acquiring riches. But riches are corruptive, and are apt to lead to that supineness in religion, and profligacy in morals, which in this epistle are so severely rebuked. Sardis is now no more than a village. An an- cient Christian church supplies the Turks, who in* habit it, with a mosque. The few Christians (if such they may be called) who still continue there, are represented to have neither Church nor minister. lb. The ^even Spirits of God.'\ See note, ch. i. 4. lb. The seven Stars. '\ See note, ch. i. 16. lb. Name,^ Character or reputation. lb. That thou livest, and thou art dead.] In the same figurative language, our Lord commanded his * Strabo ii. p. 931. disciples go APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 8^ (Iis.ciples to 'Met the dead bury their dead*." The word ve-A^oc, a dead body, is used in its metaphorical sense; '^ dead,'' ^s Saint Paul expresses it, 'Mn tres- '* passes and siiVs ; alienated from the life of God f.'^ The same metaphor occurs frequently in Scripture. A person living in the defilements of the world, iii whom the spiritual life in Christ hath httle or no vigour, is said to be ^' dead while he liveth ;" as, on the contrary, of him who meets death in the dis- charge of his Christian duty, it is pronounced, that *' he liveth, though he die:|:." '* The use of this me- *' taphor has been so common with the Jews, that, as '' Maimoiiides informs us§, they proverbially say, ** Impii ctiam viventes vocantur mortui, The wicked *^ are dead, even while they are alive; for he, saith " Philo II , who lives a life of sin, TfQvv^v.f tov sv^anLovu, " is dead as to a life of happiness : his soul is dead, * *' and even buried in his lusts and passions. And '^ because the whole Gentile world lay more especially *' under these unhappy circumstances, whence the '-' apostle styles them sinners of the Gentiles'^, it '^ was proverbially said by the Jewish doctors, Populi '' terrarum, I. e. Ethnici, non vivunt, the heathens *^ do not live**. " An attention to this use of the words death, die, dead, &c. in this figurative Ian- ^ guage of Scripture, will tend to illustrate many pas- sages otherwise obscure. Such are Matt. xxii. 32, iv, 6. Luke i. 79- .Rom. vi. 2. viii. 6. 2 Cor. I. 9, 10. iii. 6, 1 Pet. iv. 6. So likewise in the sequel of * Matt. viii. 22. t Eph. ii. 1, 5. iv. 18. \ John xi. 26. Matt. iv. l6. Rom. viii. 6", Eph. v. 14. 1 Tim. v. 6. 1 Pet. iv. 6. 1 John iii. 14. Jude 12. § More Nevoch. lib. 1. |1 Leg. Alleg. c. 1. IT Gal. ii. 15, ** Whitby on 1 Pet. iv. 6. thi Ch. iii. 1—6.] APOCALYPSE. 81 this prophetical book, where it is reasonable to expect that such words will be used in this their acknow- ledged metaphorical sense, as in this expression of our Lord to the Church of Sardis, w^hich serves as a clue to the rest. For the whole is his prophecy or reve- lation, given to him, and delivered by him*. We find also that the early M'riters of the church, who succeeded the apostles, applied these words in the same figurative meaning. In this acceptation Igna- tius uses the word death'\. In the persecution of the Christians under M. Aurelius, some had denied the faith* these are styled vfit^«, dead; but being afterwards enabled to profess their belief in Jesus, even in the face of torture and of death, they are then said to be restored to life. The passage is ex- pressive, and may be seen at length in Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. i. Tertullian has frequently used the words death and die in this figurative sense : Mortuus es qui non es Christianus J. Apostoli de mortuis vivos faciebant, hseretici de vivis mortuos faciunt §. Ver. 2. Be watchful.^ We are exhorted to the same watchfulness, connected with the metaphor explained in the last verse, in many other passages of Scripture. ** Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the deady'^ &c.« Ver. 3. Remember.^ The fault of Sardis was not heresy, or corruption of doctrine : it was negligence and supineness : she knew the will of her Lord, but * Ch. i. 1. t Epist. ad Trail, sect. 6. X De Carne Christi, sect. 2. § De Prase. Hairet. sect. 30. See also Cyprian s Epistles 10 & 27? where the same metaphor is used. U Eph. V. 14. Matt. xxv. 13. Q did 83 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 8. did it not. She is therefore called upon to remember the doctrines she had received, and to bring them into practice. '* And Avhat I say unto you, I say *' unto all," says our Lord, *^ watch." lb. A thief. 1 The coming of Christ, to take ven- geance on his enemies, is represented to be hk^ the approach of a thief in the night, when men, lulled iri security, awake suddenly to see their own ruin *. This consideration more especially affects the care- less and negligent, such as the Sardians are repre- sented to be. The words of Saint Paul may he ap- plied as the best possible comment on this text : ^* But '^ of the times and seasons, Brethren, ye have no need '^that I write to you, for you yourselves know per- *' fectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a *^ thief in the 7iight ; for when they shall say peace ** and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon *' them, as travail upon a woman with child, and ** they shall not escape : but ye. Brethren, are not in ^' darkness, that that day should overtake you as a *^ thief; ye are all the children of the light, and the *' children of the day; we are not of the night, nor *' of darkness ; therefore let us not sleep as do others, *' but let us watch and be sober f." Ver. 4. Names.'] We observe the same expres* sion used in the same sense to signify Christian per- ' sons, Acts i. 15. and again, Rev. xi. 13. They are those who have their names enrolled in the book of their Lord, who claim a citizenship in his new Jeru- salem J. We learn here, as from other passages of Scripture, that pure members of an impure church ♦ Joel ii. 9. ;Matt. xxiv. 43. Luke xii. 3.9, 40. t 1 Thess. V. 1 — 7. X See the note below, ver. 5. book of life* are Ch. iii. 1--6.] APOCALYPSE. 83 are kept separate in the eye of their Lord, and by him shall be considered as his own. lb. Xjiarments — whiteJ] By an easy and obvious n^etaphor^^, what raiment is on the body, its cover and ornament, such is the habit of practice to the soul. ** I put on righteousness, and it clothed me,'* says Job; *' my judgment was a robe and a diadem." Conformably to which method of speaking, the Christian is required ' ' to /;z^/ ^' the old man, to put ** on the new, to put on Christ f ;" Avhich expressions are explained by their context to signify, that he should *' be renewed in the spirit of his mind, and put *^ on the righteousness which is by faith." In this allegorical form of speech, our Lord describes his servants as invited to the M^edding of their great Master ; when one of them, appearing without a wed- ding garment, is sentenced to be cast into outer darkness. This garment is white, pure, free from stain of sin, made cleaUj as it is expressed not only in the Apocalypse but in other passages of Scripture, by the blood of the Lamb %. Sin defiles the soul, as earthly impurities do the bodily raiment; and there is no other means of cleansing, but propitiating blood ; not the blood of bulls and goats, for these were only typical, but the blood of the Redeemer, of the holy victim, slain, in the counsel of God, from the foun- dation of the Avorld. If we would be clothed in this raiment, in which alone we can appear pure and ac- • For the gradual formation of which, see 1 Sam. xviii. 4. 2 Sam. i. 24-. Is. xxii. 21. ixi. 10. Dau. v. 7. Luke xv. 22. xvi. I9. Also, Herodotus, Thalia, Ixxxiv. Xenoph. A nab. lib. i. t Eph. iv. 22. 27. Gal. iii. 27. X See 1 John i. 7- Ps. li. 7. Dan. xi. 35. I Pet. i. I9. Heb. xi. 15. Rev. vii, 14, Q 2 ceptable 84 APOCALYPSE. [Pt 1. § 8. ceptable before God, we must put on faith, working in us, by love, the best moral conduct ; agreeably to which explanation, this acceptable xvhlte garment is (in chap. xix. 8,) affirmed to be " the righteousness "of the Saints*.'' Ver. 5. White raiment.'] See the preceding note, to which we may add this observation ; that the expres- sion fv KevMoiQ is peculiar to Saint John ; see chap. xx. 12. where it is applied to the shining appearance of angels ; also Mark xvi. 5. croKyi Afuxv^, which in Saint Luke is expressed by fv e(T^vi}y* on (AiK^xv e- y^eis^vvxiA^tv, Kj It-/)- fvicrxs (AH rov Xoyov, Kj dx. vpyna-oj to 'Ivo- 9 (jt.x /xy. 'l5a, ^i^iij[A.i Ik ttos uvvxyuyyis T« o-i»Tixva rSv Ae- yov]ft;v ixvTHS 'is- ^as/«s slva;/, ><1 «>t £<- o-vord of my patience, I also will keep thee from the 7 And to the Angel of the Church in Phila- delphia, write, These things saith He that is holy ; He that is true ; He that hath the key of David; He that openeth, and no man shutteth ; and shutteth, and no man openeth : 8 I know thy works; behold, I have set be- fore thee an open door, and no man can shut it : for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my 9 name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan (which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie) ; behold, I 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 patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, 86 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. 4 9. rr)S OtKlifA.£VYiS oA»i-, 'asi^iaui tbj- koiIoi- y.tiv\as ETTi rvis yns. 1 1 ^'E^^o(/.xi rayy' xgoiret o £%«?, v, 'aoi'hau otvrov ri'Aov h Tw y«aJ T» ©EK fta, xa< I'lft; « iJ-'n l^eXOvi iTi' 7^ y^oi- T« ©£« /w,», xa/ TO rS ©eS /x«, T^s" xa/v«j h^HaxXny., ©£« fita, >^ TO OVO- yLOr /w,B TO xa/yov. 13 *0 Ip^^yv «?, a)t8<7a- ta;, t/ to isnZy.x XiyH roas IxxkY^' cloiis. hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole region, to try those who dwell 11 upon the earth. I am coming soon ; hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy 12 crown. He that over- cometh, him -will I make a column in the Temple of my God ; and out of it he shall never more depart ; and I will write upon him anameofmyGod, and the name of the city of my God ; of the new Jerusalem, v'hich cometh down out of heaven from my God ; even my new 13 name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon lithe earth. Behold, I come quickly : hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take 12 thy crown. Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he shall go no more out ; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, xohich is new Jerusalem, which co^ meth down out of hea- ven from my God : and I mil write upon 13 him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear w'hat the Spirit sj^ith unto the. Churches, Ver. 7. Philadelphia.] This city, in the times of Strabo, that is, npt long before the date of this vision, had been so often shaken by earthquakes, that it was in ^ great measure deserted by its inhabitants; which may in some degree account for the poverty of its Church, as described in this Epistle. And its poverty may also in some degree account for its virtue, which is so highly commended *. MeUto, an eminent Bishop of this see, and a Christian apologist in the second cen^ Strabo, ii, lib. xii, tury, Ch. ill. 7—13.] APOCALYPSE. 87 tury, appears to have written on the Apocalypse *. That such a man, in such a situation, so near to the time when the Apocalypse was published, should acknow- ledge it as- divine, by commenting upon it, is a strong argument for its authenticity. Unfortunately this work of his is lost. Philadelphia appears to have resisted the attacks of the Turks in 1312, with more success than the other cities I; but at length it fell under their domination. It still contains (probably as being the last which was subdued) more Christian families than most of the others. Modern travellers represent four Christian Churches standing in this place, and above 200 houses inhabited by Christians. lb. He that is holy.] This epithet belongs appro- priately to the Deity. He alone is holy J : the Holy One. But, by communication, the same epithet de- scends to the only begotten Son, who, as such, partaking the nature of the Father, is styled the Holy One^. lb. He that is ti^ue.'] This epithet, like the pre- ceding, is applicable only to the Father, who is /xovoc uXy^^ivog Qeog, the only true God (John xviii. 3.); but descends also to the Son, *' the express image of the *' Father," ** the Truth and the Life||." He is the true bread, the t7^ue vine, the true light, and is em- phatically denominated The True One^. lb. Key of David.] See note, ch. i. 18. Ver. 8. Opeiied door.] Our Lord has rendered the everlasting glories of his kingdom of easy access to the faithful and repentant: 1st, Because he has made * Euseb. Hist. Eccl. p. 147. t Gibbon, vi. 314. J Exod. xxviii. 36. Is. vi. 3. § Psalm xvi. 10. Mark i.24. Luke iv. 34. Acts iii. 14. jl John xiv. Q. If 1 John v. 20. atonement 88 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. §9. atonement for those sins which would otherwise pre- chule their entrance. 2dly, By granting to them spi- ritual assistance. 3dly, By supplying them with rules and directions, which he has illustrated by his own perfect example. Hence he has called himself the IFai/y the Door, no one entereth but through him. And against those who faithfully and diligently attempt an entrance through him, the powers of Hell shall not prevail. In Acts xiv. ^7, it is called, the ** door of ''faith,'' and is described as open to the Gentiles, through the mercies of God. Ver. g. Jews.] See note, ch. ii. Q. A complete tri- umph over these pretended saints is promised to this humble Church ; and probably it took place in those early times, of which so little history remains. But as this meek and faithful Church is a type and resem- blance of the pure Church of Christ; so, to that uni- versal Church, when it shall appear in its purity, after this type, the conversion of the whole body of the Jews seems promised ; which has been vainly, though often attempted by violence and persecution. Ver. 10. I will keep thee from the hour of trial^ This promise, in favour of the Church of Philadelphia, Avas probably fulfilled in some subsequent persecution, of which we have no special account. Ver. 11. I am coming soon.] See notes, ch. i. 3, iii. 16. lb. Crown.] See note, ch. ii. 15. Ver. 12. Column.] The ancient nations were ac^- customed to erect columns in honourable memorial of heroes. Such, in idea at least, were the columns of Hercules. Absalom, *' having no son to keep hi$ *^ name in remembrance," built a column to be called Ch. ill. 7—13.] APOCALYPSi. 89 hy his name *. The Christian conqueror is here pro- mised such an honourable memorial in God's temple, in his everlasting temple in heaven. Agreeably to this figurative language, the Apostles James and Peter are accounted columns of the Church (^arvKoi, Gal. ii. Q,) And the Alexandrian martyrs of the third century are called (yrvKoi rs 0f8, and also Attains of Pergamos, in the account of the martyrs at Lyons and Vienne in the second century f. lb. Nezv Jerusalem.'] The numerous prophecies, foretelling great and everlasting glory to Jerusalem, have not been fulfilled in the literal Jerusalem ; nor can be so fulfilled, without contradicting other pre- dictions, especially those of our Lord, which have denounced its ruin. They remain therefore to be ful- filled in a spiritual sense ; in that sense which Saint Paul points out to us, when, in opposition to *' Jeru- ■*' salem that now is, and is in bondage with her chil- " dren," he presents to our view " Jerusalem which is *' above, which is free, which is the mother of us all." This is the city which '* Abraham looked to; a building *' not made with hands, whose builder and maker is '* God J;" even the hea'venly Jerusalem^ whose splen- dour will be displayed in the concluding chapters of this book, * 2 Sam. xviii, IS. t Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. vl. c. 41. & lib. v. 1. I Gal. iv. 24—27, Heb. xi. 10—16. xii. 22—24. xiii. 14. PART 90 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. I. § 10. PART I. SECTION X. The Address to the Church m Lao die ca. 14 Yiott rZ ulyLXu rris fx.xXv)crixs Iv 0 (A-fcfivS 0 ZJl^ls Kf or/ »T£ vj^y^^oi^ fl, »T£ ^EfOS* o(f>EXoy l6*'0yrft)r, oT< ;^X/- ;Cfoy, «T£ {sro,-, 17"Ot/ XiycHs* "Or/ «r«9rX8T»3xa, -/^ a^f- o rxXuiTfu^^y Kocl « IXEs/vor, xa< Wiw- X05"i '/^ Ty(f)Xos-, >^ cot, ayoquaai zjaf fva 'aXnr'na-ris* xai t^arix >k£t/xa, 'lya, •BTf^/CaX*?, xa< jtA^ rns yvf^voTijiw cry* CHAP. 111. VER. 14 — 21. 14 And to the Angel of the Church in Laodi- cea, write: Thus saith the Amen, the faith- ful and true Witness, the Beginning of the 15 Creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot ; I would that thou wert cold or hot: l6So then, because thou art lukewarm, and nei- ther cold nor hot, I am about to nauseate thee out of my mouth ; 17 Because thou sayest that I am rich, and am grown wealthy, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. 181 counsel thee to buy of me gold purified ill the fire, that thou may'st be rich ; and white raiment, that thou may'st be clothed ; and that the shame of thy nakedness may not 14 And unto the Ang^^I of the Church of the Laodiceans, write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Be- ginning of the Creation 15 of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot : I would thou wert cold l6or hot. So then be- cause thou art luke- warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth : 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increas- ed with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretclied, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. 181 counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the iirCi that thou may est be rich ; and whit© raiment, that thou may est be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not ap- Ch. iii. 14 — 21.] apocaiypse. 91 9c MXXifiov ^yxP'" jp'Eyw oaras eav ?»<- XaJ, IXfyX** ^ '^*'' Jsyw* ^v)Xw5erov, Io8, sfTixa lirl rvv ^v- fXVj >c Xf«W* !«» 3ms (jt,Sf xaci dvoi^ip ffOfJLXi "CTfoj- cciroVf jc oft-TryiJcra; /xsT ay- Ttf, >^ avTOf /XeT f/A«. Tw xx9t'axi /iae? £- (X5 ly Tf ^OVU fASf vs xdyuj ev/Kva-Xf 5^ EKxQia-x fxsloi rS ^aclpos fjLS h ru -jpoyu xvru. O t- t/ to wvEv/xa XE3v] o/xoi©- ofxati .xXo^Ev t5 ^pova 0- ftC/^ O^XaSi (TfAX- 4t ^xyoivu. Ka* xy- xXofifV t5 Sf 0V8 ^^0- foi HKOffi riaax~ qzs' x^ \m riss ^f o- CHAPTER IV. 1 After these things, I looked; and behold, there was a door open- ed in the heaven; and the former voice, which I had heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, " Come " up hither, and I will *' shew thee the things *' which must happen 2 *' after these." And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a Throne was set in heaven; and upon the Throne one sitting ; 3 And He that sate [was] like in appearance to a jasper, even a sar- dine stone. And a radiance round about the Throne, like in ap- pearance to an eme- 4 raid. And roundabout 1 After this I looked, and behold, adoorwa* opened in heaven : and the first voice which I heard, was as it were of a trumpet talking with me ; which said. Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be here- 2 after. And immedi- ately I was in the Spi- rit ; and behold, a Throne was set in heaven, and one idt on 3 the Throne. And He that sat, was to look upon like a jasper, and a sardine stone : and there was a rainbow round about the Throne, in sight like 4 unto an emerald. And round about theThrone were four and twentjr 96 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § J. /xe'y8s Iv ifxoili'ois Xsv- xois* KOii sTTt ras X£(pxXix.s uvruv fs- Ik. t2 ^^ovh lyfjTo- ^tvovlxt a.f^a'Trxt k. ^fovlxi }cixi (p^vxr Xai E'TTTiX. XaixTTU^BS -vyv^QS KaioiJLivui t- vu'rriov T« ^^ov8, «'/ licri roc iifla. tjnv- 6 fAxla T« ©£«, Kai huTTiov t5 ^f ovs us ^y avaXai t5 Spo- va r£<7ax^x ^ux ys- (JiOvlx 0(p^xXfJl.MV £/>(,- 7 TTfoaOsv KXioiria: &SV, Kai TO ^oJoy TO tiypuTov ofA.oiov XiOvrty XXI TO QSV- Tspsv Cuoy 01A.010V yuaa^u, iL TO rpiTQv ^uioy t'yov re zj^oa- wnov us olvQ^wTros, «^ ro rirxplov ^uov 0(JI.OIOV XbIm ItTElw/^E- 8 VCD* Kxi ria-ax^x L,^Xy £V xaa £v au- Ta^y, Ep(;'5V ^vx zjle- pvyxs eI, xyxAoSfv iCj ic-u9sv ysy-aaiv l(pdxXjjiiiv' >y ata- 'Kxvaiv bx iy^t-jCTiv vifjiipxs K, vvyJos, Ai- yovrss' "Ayi^) x- the Throne wert twenty- four thrones, and upon the thrones twenty^bur Elders, sitting, clothed in white raiment; and upon their heads 5 crowns of gold. And out of the Throne pro- ceed lightnings, and thunderings,and voices; and seven lamps of iire burning before the Throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6 And before the Throne, as it were, a Sea, glassy, like unto crystal ; and in the midst of the Throne, and around the Throne, four living creatures, full of eyes, before and behind. 7 And the first living creature like a lion ; and the second living creature like a steer; and the third living creature having the aspect as a man ; and the fourth living crea- ture like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, having each of them six wings, are full of eyes, around and within ; and they cease not day and night, saying, " Holy, " holy, holy, the Lord " God, the Almighty, " which was, and which seats '. and upon the seals I saw four and twenty Elders, sitting, clothed in white rai- ment; and they had on their heads crowns of 5 gold. And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings, and thun- derings, and voices ; And thtre were seven lamps of lire burning before the Throne, which are the seven 6 Spirits of God. And before theThrone there was a sea of glass, like unto crystal : And in the midst of the Throne, and round about the Throne, ivere four beasts, full of eyes, be- 7 fore and behind. And the first beast was like a lion; and the second beast like a calf; and the third beast had a face as a man ; and the fourth beast wag like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and ihei/ were full of eyes within ; and they rest not day and night, say-p ing, Holy, holy; holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and 9 is to come. And when those beasts give glory, Chap, iv.] APOCALYPSE. 97 7<©-, «!<©- Kvpios 0 ©fofo zjavroK^ce.- TUp, 0 *JV, X.XI 0 UVy Q Kxt orxv 0'Jj(TU(Ti roc (^ua, ^o^xv xxi T//>t^y ?o zv^ixpifixv Uiiovas ru!V aluvuvy 10 TLsauvlxi 01 eIkoo-i ria-yx^is ^pi^v- rspoi huiriov t5 kx- Qvi^iVS £77/ T» ^^0- >«, Kx} ZT^OCTKVVrr WH yfv£^pt£v 5? rov 0£OK etvxi znoN a'/Siov, af/fov, (Metaphysic. lib. xiv. cap. viii.) — Zwov is any thing which has life, and in its highest signification may- be applied to Him who ^lone *' has life in Himself;" John v. 26". is Chap, iv.] APOCALYPSE. 107 is probably tlie text which was used by the writer of the Apocalypse*, Rev. iv. 6, 7, 8. 4. To ^^uroy o^oiov KsovTi, 5. To otvre^ov o(jiOtov ^oa^u, 6. To rpflov By^ov TO 'Sj^oaMTToy ws av- 7. To TBTX^roV OIXOIOV CCSTU 'UJETCUfJiEVU, 8. TsduapM Zu/x sv y.x&' Iv xvTu>y f^ov avx 'ofls^vyxs 1^. j9 Ka< xvx'rrxva-iv ax. s^aortv yifjii^xs kxi yvKToSj y^tyovTzs, 'Ay/or, a.yios, ayios Kv^ios o Qsos o zsxvTov.qxruD^ EzEK. Ch. i. 10. IsAiAii vi. 1. fis ofji,oicoy.x rta-a-ci^uv Zwa/v. 2. Ev rw (xsa■u^ — a-v^^s^o[ji.svuv, 3. O't vujlot uvTMv XXI it %«f£J avrav XXI It rqo^ot zsKftqus o^^a^/xwv. 4. n^oruTTov rS Asoyrof , 6, n^oa-uiTov xvO^coTTa* 7. n^Oa-ufTTOV XETH, 8 . 'E| Z77s^vyss TV Iv;, xa/ s^ zjls^vyss ru svt, Isaiah vi. 2. 9, Ka/ VKtxpxyev srspos frpos rov srs^ovy XXI sKtyov' AyioSf ay/or, aytos Kvpios 'LxQxuQ, 'TsXri^yis tjxa-x 4 yn Trjs ^o^ns civre, Isaiah vi. 3. From this comparison, (in which all the expressions of the writer of the Apocalypse, describing the '^living *' ci-'^atures," are contrasted with like expressions taken froii^^ the visions of Ezekiel and of Isaiah,) it jnust ap- pear, thac all these descriptions are derived from the same original, and that, whatsoever may seem to be the difference between the Seraphim of Isaiah, and the Cherubim c £ ckiel, it is here reconciled by their being brought into comparison with a third common measure, namely, the " living creatures" of Saint John's vision. I shall present to the reader some additional observations on the several passages, referring to them as numbered in the foregoing scheme. * See Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. on Matt. i. l.The 108 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § I. 1. The number of " living creatures" is the same as described by both Prophets; but Ezekiel ah'cady intimates the indistinctness of the vision, and the diffi- culty of expressing it by similitudes taken from earthly things ; for he says, cog o^oiuij^a^ as it were the likeness of four living creatures. 2. Here both writers concur in expressing this in- distinctness ; but in such a manner as to be useful to the explanation of each other. John says, '^ in the ** midst of the throne, and around the throne ;" as if he could not fix the exact station of these heavenly at- tendants. Ezekiel says, ^' in the midst;" and at the same time expresses the uncertainty of their position, by these words, they '' ran and returned, as the ap- ** pearance of a flash of lightning ;" like the aurora borealis, or northern lights, whose position seems ever moving, and whose exact station cannot be ascertained. 3. The abundance of eyes is the same in both writers, though not described exactly in the same manner. From both, it appears that no part of these heavenly ministers was without eyes. In Ezekiel's vision, they extended to the wheels, which appear to have been added in that vision for the purpose of making the throne moveable, In Saint John's vision, the scene is stationary; the wheels therefore are not necessary. The eyes, that wonderful part of animal creation, the inlets of knowledge and intelligence, are innumerable, and thus express an infinite superiority of understanding to any thing which is earthly. 4. 5, 6, 7. In both writers we see the resemblance of the same animals; but in Ezekiel, each cherub seems to have had the four likenesses in itself, and, together therewith, a general resemblance of the human form ; oy^oiu^ci fljvQ^wxa e%' avToig : they had that dignified ap- pearance iChap. i\\] APOCALYPSE. 109 ipearance which distinguishes man from other animals, Iresulting from his superior intelligence Tlie Cherubim, Isays Joscphus, were extraordinary living creature , of a figure unknown to man*. The resemblance to the animals was not exact, but somewhat like to them ap- jpeared, as the living creatures flashed upon the scene, " in the midst and around the throne f/' 8. In the vision of Ezekiel, the Cherubim had each four wings ; in that of Isaiah, and of Saint John, they have six. The propriety of this distinction is remarked by Grotius. The Seraphim of Isaiah, says he, have two more wings than the Cherubim of Ezekiel, because they are described to be more immediately before the presence of God ; and therefore each of them has *^ twain to cover his face," before such transcendant brightness. 9* Here also what was wanting in EzekieFs de- scription, is supplied by that of Isaiah. The Seraphim sing the praises of God without intermission. After this comparison with concordant passages' -of Scripture, we shall have little hesitation in determinino- the nature and species of these '' living creatures" of the Apocalypse. They are the same with those in Ezekiel and Isaiah; and Ezekiel has settled this point by declaring expressly that they are Cherubim, and that he knew them to be Cherubim ;{:. They are of the highest order of angelic beings, attending most * Antiq. lib. iii. c. 6. lib. viii. c. iii. 3. t The word Mocr;^oj sigaiiies in the Greek the progeny of a bull and cow ; not only in its tenderest years, while we call it a calf, but long afterwards ; and as it agrees best with the appearance of the vision, to suppose the majesty of the young bull or steer, and not the helpless awkwardness of the calf, the translation is altered accordingly. See Schleusneri Lexicon in voc. Moo-p^o^. J Ezek, .X. 2, 8, 15, 20. nearly IIO APOCALYPSE. t^t. II. § f nearly upon the Throne, and speaking thence with. the voice of thunder, which is the voice of God*, They are so near to the Throne, so intermingling with its dazzling splendour^ that human faculties must ftiil in attaining any precise and adequate idea of them. All nature appears linked together in gradational order. The chain, beginning from heavy and inert matter, ascends through the vegetable to the animal tribes, of which man is the highest, proceeding through Angels and Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, to the Throne of God. But the higher orders of angelic intelligences, who are nearest to the Throne, must necessarily be seen indistinctly by human apprehension. The opinions of commentators upon the ** four *' living creatures," have been variously divided. There is an ancient interpretation, derived in some measure from Irenaeus, and repeated by Athanasius, Victorinus, Augustine, Jerome, and others, that under these symbolic representations, The Four Gospels are de- signed t. Nothing but the antiquity of this notion can give it any weight or respect. In the Apocalypse^ offices and services are ascribed to the living creatures, which no hooks can perform. Nor could The Four Evcmgelists themselves be intended ; for Saint John, one of this number, was a spectator at the time. This * See ch. vi. 1, and note^ f Irenaeus argues that the Gospels are four in number, and there** fore perfect, bearing a certain analogy to the four quarters of the worlds and to the four principal Spirits ; seeming to allude to these four Che- rubim of the Apocalypse. The followers of Irenceus, observing this allusion or illustration, have attempted to establish it as a complete symbolical representation. Irenseus^ lib. iii. c. 11. See also Victorin; Comm. in Apoc. Rev. iv. Augustin. in Johan. Evang. Hieron. Prolog. in Comm. Matth. Epist. ad Paulinuro. strange Chap. IV.] APOCALYPSE. lit strange notion arose, perhaps, also, from another cause; that the tv/enty-four Elders had, with as little reason, been supposed to represent the twenty-four books of the Old Testament, By some later writers, the four living creatures are supposed to represent '' the people, or body *^ of the Church, as the twent3^-four Elders are supposed '* to represent its jninisters,'^ But this cannot be so; for the representatives of the priests would be entitled at least to as near an approach to the Throne, as the representatives of the people; who, if represented by the living creatures, are evidently the nearest to it ** Besides, as hath been shewn f, the body of Christian, people were afterwards introduced, and make no part of tlie present scene:}:. There is another interpretation of the four living creatures, which, as it appears to me, would scarcely deserve notice, if it had not been introduced by that * The living creatures are generally mentioned before the Elders, as first in dignity, and nearest to the Throne, of which indeed they make a part (ch. iv. 9. v. 6, 8, 11, xiv. 3.) : and if in ch. vii. 11, and xix. 3, the Elders are spoken of first, it seems to be with reference to their station ^s farthest from the Throne, and nearest to the Angels, who surround them outwardly; in this part of the narration the order is reversed throughout. t Note, ch. iv. 4. X The only plausible reason which I have seen assigned that the living creatures are not purely Cherubim, angelic attendants upon the Majesty of the Throne, is this, produced by Archbishop Newcome, in his note on Ezek. i. 10. " They cannot," says he, " always represent " Angels alone, because (Rev. v. 9.) they were redeemed to God by the " blood of the Lamb, and (ver. 11.) are distinguished from Angels," — But we must observe, that it is the peculiar office of the four living creatures to sing praises to God without ceasing, (ch. iv. 8.) praises not in their own name, but in that of others, of the universal Church. They unite their voices, therefore, with those of the Elders, whose song it is more peculiarly (ch. iv. 9, v. 8 — 14.) they lead m the beginning, and they conclude the last chorus with the emphatical Amen* able 112 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § L able expositor Joseph Mede, and, from the prevalence of his authority, been adopted by almost all our mo- dern commentators. They are supposed to signify the four camps, or standards of the camps, of Is- rael, of which standards there is no such account in Scripture, nor in the ancient Jewish writers Josephus, Philo, &c. The whole being derived, says Lowman, from an uncertain Jewish tradition*. I rest therefore upon this my interpretation obtained by a comparison of scriptural passages, that the four living creatures are simply Cherubim or Seraphim ; the most glorious and the nearest attendants upon the throne of God. They are said to be such by Andreas Csesariensis, who professes to give the sense of those ancient com- mentators whose works have not descended to our times f. In other respects, I am happy to accord with the ingenious and generally judicious Joseph Mede, who has shewn, that the scene of the Apocalypse, and of this august session of God and his church, 6 S^ovo? ti^s xfijQfJpa?, is the inner and most holy part of the tem- ple :J:. Or, to speak more properly, it is that theatre in lieaven, which was represented upon earth by the inner Temple-^ where God was supposed to have his local seat between, or among, the Cherubim. Hence, as we advance, we shall find the furniture of the tem- ple, the golden altar of incense before the throne, the ark of the covenant, the sea or laver, &c. These were originally appointed to be made after the heavenly pattern shewn to Moses in the mount §. Therefore * See Lowman's note on this passage. t Jerome saw this in the living creatures of Ezekiel, " Quadriga •* Domini, et verum Cherubim." Epist. ad Pauiinum. f Mede*s Works, p. 439. § Heb. viii. 5. 1 whea Chap. IV.] APOCALYPSi. 113' "when by revelation we are admitted to behold the glory of God, 'we must expect the scenery to bear resemblance. But additions are made to this scenery by the inter- vention of the new covenant through Christ, which will be remarked as they occur '^'. Ver. 9. Andivhen the Imng-creaturcs.'] The Che- rubim, as nearest to the throne, and whose ofiice it was incessantly to sing praise, begin the adoration ; then the elders, the redeemed from earth, now priests to God, commence their hymn. It is in unison with the Holy, Holy^ Holy of the Cherubim, and is a Crea- t ion Hymn ^ simple and sublime ! Of the same kind is the 148th Psalm, wherein the inanimate creation is called to give glory to God : *' Let them praise the *' name of the Lord ; — for he commanded, — and they *^ were created." We have now before us a splendid exhibition of the Deity, attended by his ministering Spirits, and which continues as the apparatus or scenery, before which the vision is to be exhibited. But the scenery is not yet complete. In chap. v. the Lamb, the ''Son of God, in his gracious character of Redeemer, takes his station " in the midst of the throne," and an in- numerable company of angels are seen to encompass the surrounding body of the elders and the living creatures, and are added to the chorus ; which re- ceives a further increase, when, (in chap. xiv. 1. XV. 2.) the innumerable company of the redeemed on earth are introduced by their Redeemer, and sing the new song before the throne. The whole represen- tation is wonderfully sublime, and must tend to exalt * See also Joseph! Antiq. lib. iii. c. 5. and Pbilo de Vit. Mos. V'bence it will appear that the Jews accounted the Holy of Holies the earthly abode of God, and the ti/pe of his seat in heaven. s religious 114 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § 1. religious devotion. One of the finest parts of the devotional exercises of our church, the beginning of that ancient and majestic hymn called Te Deum, seems to have been formed principally upon it. Vcr. 10. Fall clorvn.'] This is expressed in the Greek by the future tense, by the Vulgate in the imperfect, v/hich the French translators have followed. The English translators have given it in the present time, which may be allov/ed to stand, as expressing indefmitely v»'hat usuailif happens, and will ever continue to happen, in the church triumphant ill heaven. lb. Cast their croxvns.l No sooner had the Almighty ceas'd, b^it all The multitude of Angels, with a shout Loud as from numbers without number, sweet As from blest voices uttering joy; heav'n rung With jubilee, and loud hosannas fill'd Th' eternal regions : loxcly reverent Tow'rch cither throne they bow, and to the ground With solemn adoration down they cast Their crowns — — — — — P.^RADISE LOST, iii. 344 — 35'^. No voice exempt, no voice but well could join ]\Ielodious part, — such concord is in heuv'n, IB. 5ro. PART Chap, v.] APOCALYPSE, 115 PART II. SECTION ir. The Sealed Book; the Lamb xvho opens it; and the Praises sung by the heavenly Choir. 1 Kdti ii^Qy aTTi rriv vB liri rS ^pova Gsvj xoikaip^a.l'ta-fji.i- Tiov c^pxyTiTiv ETna.. 2 Kxi il^ov oifysXov ru [is-iv] «!<©- nvoT^xt TO ^iQx'iov, ^ XZaroti rxs cr^p«- 3 yT^ois oivrS ', Ka< ii'^£lS ijOvvsclo Iv TW ipxvaif «^e £71'' T^S' rvs 7>/J, ccvoi^ai to 4 at TO. Ka< lyw inXxiov -croAPva, ot/ »vo7^oit To ^iQxloVf iiTt ^Xeiruv uvro. 5 Kai SIS EK ruv 'ZJ£^ t Ca^is 'ST.^s.arCvrs^oi (Tnaov £vw7r/ov t» ipviSy i^ovlss 'iytx- fA80-aj'-5t'/x/a/L<,a.Twy) ar£i04> «< -cifPaEy- y^xL ruv uyicov. xxiyriVf Xsryovles. *A|<©- I'l XetCtiy TO. ^iCXt'ovj 7y a,vot^xi rus a-ip^xyi^as av- TB* 0T< la-(pa.lriff jA rjyofaarxs T'Z 0fw sj/x«5 Iv Tw «*/x,ai/ ?{^ yX'Jia-a-r)s >^ Aaa I beheld, [and lo] in the midst of the throne, and of the four living-creatures, and in the midst of tije elders, a lamb; standing, as if smitten for the sacrifice, hav- ing seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the sevea Spirits of God,, sent forth h>to 7 all the earth. And he came and received [the book] from the right hand of him who was sitting upon the 8 throne. And when he had received the book, the four living-crea- tures and the twenty- four elders fell pro- strate before theLamb, having each of them harps, and golden vials full of ineense, which are the prayers of the 9 Saints. And they sing a new song, saying, ** Worthy art thou to " receive the book, " and to opea its *' seals, because thou " wast sacrificed, and " hast redeemed us to " God by thy blood, ** out of every tribe, *' and language, and ** people, and nation ; 10" And hast made them lO: in the midst of the- throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it bad been slain, having seven horns, and .seven eyes, which are the sevew Spirits of God sent forth into all lh« 7 earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat lap- 8 on the throne. And when he had taken the" book, the four beasts-, and four a7id twenty elders fel> dowi-i before the Lamb, having every one of theix^ harps; and golden- vkil» full of odours, whici^ are tlie prayers of 9 saints. And they sung, a new song, sayings Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thau wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out "of every kindred, and tongue, and peo- 10 pie, and nation ; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on 11 the earth. And I be- held, and I heard th©^ Chap. V.J iTtoiTiu-xs xi/rtss ru j^ Units' ty (Sxa-i- ii 7^f. Kcii sloov, ~ y I \ ~ 1.2 Asyovhs ^cuv^ ij.i-' 'yoiXvi* "aI^qv s'T' to \siSity r-nv oiwo!,ixiy, jc ctAv'tov, 5^ o-o- f/av, -^ iV^-^v, -^ oo^xv, '/u wKoyixy. vpacv^y y^ Itti rrts yriSf 'fCj VTTOHXTM rr>s yns, K) fTTi rvis ^xXxfjcr/>s [a] l^iy ^ T« £v avToTs 'axvlx, rtKH ©■flty ^uyu as rvs . airnxs ruv xlwyuy. APOCAJ-YPSE. '* to our God "Icings *' and priests, and they *' shall reigii upon the 11" earth." And I be- held ; and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living-crea- tures and the elders, (and the number of them v.as myriads of myriads,and thousands 12 of thousands^) Saying with a loud voice, *' Worthy is the Lamb, *' which was sacriti- *' ced, to receive the " power, and riches, " and wisdom, and *' might, and honour, " an((l glory, and 13'* praise," And every creature which is in lieaven^ and on the .earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are therein, I heard say- ing, " To him that ** sitteth upon the ** throne, and to the *' Lamb, be the praise, *' and the honour, and *' the glory, and the " power, for ever and 14" and ever!" And the four living -creatures said ** Amen V and the elders fell pro- strate, and worshipped him who liveth for ever and ever. voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders : and the nua:iber of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thou- 12 sands ; Saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and w'is- dom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and 13 blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on tha earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing and honour, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for 14 ever and ever. And the four beasts said. Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. 118 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § 2. Ver. 1. A book.] The books of the ancients were generally skins of parchment, not reduced by repeated duplication, and bound together, as in modern days, but rolled up ; whence in Latin they are called volu- mina, volumes or rolls. Frequent mention is made in Scripture, of the *' roll of the book," and the book "when opened for reading, is said to be spread*. When closed, it is called '* the volume rolled up f." To a roll or volume of this form, a seal might be easily affixed, so as to conceal its contents J. And that this was the usual method, by which the contents of a book A\^ere kept secret, among the ancient Jews, is apparent from Isaiah xxix. 11. where " men deliver a *' sealed book to one that is learned, saying, Read this, * ' I pray thee, and he saith, I cannot, for it is '* sealed §." The prophecies delivered to Daniel concerning Christ's kingdom, which M^ere then dark, and only to be unfolded by additional prophecy, (such as is con- tained in this Revelation,) are said to be '' sealed ;1|" or, which is synonymous, to be ** closed, to be shut "up for many days." And in chap. x. 4. of this book, the prophet is commanded not to write cer- tain predictions which were uttered, but to seal them up; which evidently means that they were not to be disclosed at that time. * Ezek. ii. 10. f B/Ca/ov nXicreroixtyoii. Rev. vi. J In Josephus, Antiq. Jud. lib. xv. c. 6, Herod rolls and seals a letter. § The Jews are said to use such rolls of parchment in their Syna- gogues, to this day. — Such also was the custom with the Greeks and Romans; Horace addressing his book, as desirous of publication, says, Odisti claves, et grata sigilla pudico. (Ep. lib. ii. 20.) (i Ch, viii. 26, 27. ix. 24. xii. 4. ^, lb. Chap, v.] APOCALYPSE. 1 1,9 lb. Written within and without.'] Such also was the book of prophecy unfolded before EzekieP ; it was M^ritten '' M'ithin and without," that is, on both sides of the roll ; whereby is intimated the abundance of its important matter. Ver. 5. One of the elders saith unto me,] The dis- tinguished characters of the ancient church, prior to the Christian times, (whom I suppose to be repre- sented by the elders, see note ch. iv. 4.) had *' en- *' quired and searched diligently f," yet had seen but imperfectly the '^mystery of Christ, which had been ** for ages and generations J." They had felt the in- quietude, which Saint John now expresses, at the book being sealed, and that none should be found "worthy to open it. Therefore one of that body was a proper instrument of consolation to the lamenting prophet. lb. The lion xvho is of the tribe of Judah.] The lion is represented by the most ancient authors, by Moses and Job among the scriptural, by Hesiod and Homer of the heathen writers, as the most terrible of ani- mals. He has been accordingly regarded as the emblem of fortitude and strength. Under this de- scription, it pleased the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of the dying Patriarch §, to foretel the victorious superiority of the tribe of Judah ; which was »een to take place partially and typically, in the person of David and of his successors, but was to receive a more sublime and final completion in Christ. For David is declared |] to be a type of Christ : and in this sense, as well as on account of his pre-existence ♦ Chap. ii. 10. t 1 Pet. i. 10. | Col. i. 26, S Get), xlix. 9. II Ezek. xxxvii. 24, &c. Acts ii. 25. 30, &c. and 1^0 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. .11. ^ 2, and heavenly origin*, Christ became *' the root," as he styles himself, Rev. xxii. 16. at the same time that he was the offspring of David ; that root, of which all men must be branches, otherwise they cannot bear fruit f. Isaiah calls him '' the root of Jesse :[:;" inti- inating that David, the son of Jesse, Avas only a branch, of which the original stem was in Christ. '^ He shall grow up," says the same prophet, '' as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground, despised *' and rejected." — Yet, in this neglected tree, after- wards extending its wide branches, '' the birds of the *' air shall shelter §." So did he likewise fulfil the other emblematical character, in which the Prophets had taught the Jews to expect him. They expected him as a lion ; he came like a lamb, " like a lamb for " the slaughter," yet in fortitude, in power, in prow- ess, and complete victory over his enemies, he proved himself to be the very '' lion of the tribe of Judah.'* But, by what arms he ^' conquered," namely, by pious faith, and suffering virtue, see explained in notes, chap. ii. 7. v. 9- xii. 11, 12, * Ver. 6. In the midst of the throne.'] The cheru- bim were represented ||, to be '' in the midst of the " throne and around the throne ;" but the expression here is ^' in the midst" only ; .which is the inner and more dignified situation ; and in order that no doubt should remain concerning this station, it is added, " in the midst of the four living creatures and of the "elders." This is that exalted station of pre-emi- nence and glory, even *^ the bosom of the Father," to which the only-begotten Son of God alone ^aa • Mic. V. 2. Col. j. l6*. John viii. 58. t John xv. 1. 8, % Is. xi. 10. Rom. XV. 12. § Mutt. xiii. 3:^. H See note, chap, iv, 6, hav^ Chap, v.] APOCALYPSE. 121 have access; '* at the right hand of God, far above ** all principalities and powers," So in ch. xxii. ]. this throne is called '' the throne of God and of ths Lamb*:' lb. J lamb,] Our Lord Jesus Christ, for whom alone so supreme a station could be designed, is fre- quently represented under this symbol of innocence, led to suffer at the altar for the sins of mankind ; as prefigured in the daily service of the temple f. Under which description, attributed to Jesus by the Baptist, two of the disciples acknowledged him to be the Messias J. He appeals in the character of asuifer- ing victim ; the character which endears him, above all others, to sinful and mortal man ; and which, thoroughly considered, is found perfectly to agree and coincide with that more splendid description of him, in which he is styled, '^ the lion of the tribe of *' Judah." For, it was in this very lowly and suffer- ing form that he fought, and obtained the victory §. The prophecies of the Old Testament, describing the Messiah, sometimes as a despised sufferer, sometimes as an irresistible and triumphant conqueror, appeared dark and irreconcileable, until the event shewed the truth and consistency of both predictions; when ** the " Lord of glory" effected the salvation of the world under the character of an innocent, unresisting victim. That victim now appears, having received the deadly blow at the altar, still living, (as he says of himself, Jlev. i. 18,) by the power of his resurrection, as when ^ Jobni. 18, Matt, xvi, 19, Eph. i. 20, 21, Heb. i. 5. Rev.' in. 94. t Nam. xxvii. 3. John xix. 36, 37, 41. Eph. i. 7. v, 2. Heb. x. ^—22. 1 Pet. i. 19. 1 Cor. y. 7. I John i. 19, § See note, chap, ii. 7. he 122 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § 2. he shewed his mortal wounds to his disciples*; and thus '' he ever hveth to make intercession for us -f-." *^ The lamb died for no offence of his own, but " for the sins of others ; so did Christ. The lamb *' could not commit sin, by his nature ; nor Christ, *' by his perfection : the lamb was without bodily *' spot or blemish ; Christ was holy and undefiled : a "lamb is meek and patient; such was the afflicted and much-injured Son of God J.'* Ver. 6. Seve?i.] How this number became expres- sive of universality, fulness, and perfection, see note, chap. i. 4. lb. Hojms.] The horn, being commonly that part of the animal by which he asserts his power, was received by the eastern nations as the symbol of power. So pur Lord himself is called *^ a horn of salvation § ;** tbd!t is, the great power of salvation. By the seven " horns,'' attributed to the lamb, is signified that uni- versal and irresistible power which our Lord obtained, when, suffering death under this very form, of an in- nocent victim, he thereby vanquished the formidable enemy of man. " All poxcei%'' says he to his disciples (immediately after this conflict), " is given to me in " heaven and in earth |1." lb. Eyes.^ As the seven horns of the Lamb signify our Lord's omnipotence, so do the seven eyes his omnipresence. These seven eyes are described in Zech. iii, 9. iv. 10. to be " the eyes of the Lord, which *' run to and fro through the whole earth." They are in that passage said to be inscribed " on a stone,'* which is probably '* the precious stone, the head stone of * Luke xxiv. 2,^), t Heb. vii. 25. X Jortin on Eccl. Hist. i. 184. § Luke i. 6^9. || Matt, xxviii. 18. 1 - '' the Chap, v.] APOCALYPSE. 123 ** the comer," described m Is. xxvili. l6. 1 Pet. li. 6, 7. Luke XX. 17. Acts iv. 11. and therefore, being applied to Christ, appear to have reference to this de- scription *. Ver. 8. Fell prostrate,'] The majesty of the Son of God appeared clouded under the covering of the Lamb. So was it in the flesh, when he appeared as the son of Mary and of the carpenter. But his splen- dour breaks forth with astonishing effect, when he receives the book at the right hand of the Father ; and all the powers of Heaven, "- thrones and domi- •* nions, principalities and powers f," fall prostrate before him. Like this, probabl}'-, was the disclosure of the divine mysteries in Christ, to '* the principa- " lities and powers in heavenly places," of which Saint Paul speaks in Eph. iii. 10. lb. Harps,] The harps, as svell as the vials of in- cense, seem to belong to the elders only, not to the che- rubim, to whose form they cannot accommodate, and whose fio-ures were not seen distinctlv. Besides, the masculine smTlog directs this interpretation. The che- rubim were seen in such effulgent brightness, flash- ing before the throne J, as not to admit an exact ac- count of the place of their position, much less a minute inspection of them, as bearing- harps and vials. lb. Vials,] The (piuK^, 'vial, of the Old Testa- ment appears to have been a sort of patera, or bason, in which were deposited, before the altar, the offer- ings of meal, or of incense. It was distinct from the censer, on which the offering was presented, and which is called Kitavcalog §, ^v^siov, ^v(xicilyt^m, but never • SP3 Archbishop Newcome on Ezekiel. ■f Col. i. l6, J See note, iv, 6, j Rev. viii. (pixKvi, 124 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § 2.

,, see Parkhurst's Lexicon, and Daubuz, in loc. t Exod. XXX. 34. xxxvii. 59. Lev. xvi. 12» I Pj, cxli. 2. lation. Chap, v.] APOCALri>sE. 't^^ lation, observing that " the minds of Christians serve *^ as altars, whence incense is truly and intelligibly '* wafted to heaven, namely, prayers from apurecon- *' science;" which are the prayers of the saints. But as prayers, under the old covenant, could be offered only by the priests* ; so, under the new dispensa- tion, they are accepted only through the intercession of the great High Priest and Mediator, for whose mediatorial presentation they seem deposited with the elders of the church f, these prayers and pi^aises, (for the word Tpoc-fu^v) implies both,) ascend to God, ai incense, in the following hymns. Ver. 9. A nexv song.'] The covenant through Christ, and every thing appertaining to it, is called nexv in Scripture ; of which, innumerable instances may be seen in the concordances, under the word nezv. In the passage now before us, is disclosed the mystery of the Son of God appearing to suffer as a victim ; a mystery ordained before the foundation of the world, yet revealed only in the latter times \ ; which patri- archs and prophets saw but imperfectly, and angels themselves/' desired to look into §." It was wonder- ful and nexv, and the surprising benefits of it were extended beyond earth, '* to things in heaven\S^'' It is therefore celebrated in heaven, before its pro- gress on earth Js foreshewn ; and by ''^ 2, nexv song'' This song is a hynm to the Redeemer, in which all creation joins. The cherubim, as before, begin the * Numb. xvi. 40. f At the dedication of tlie tabernacle, the twelve dders or princes pf Israel ofiered each of them a golden spoon, full of intense. Numb, vii. 10. 14. Daubuz. X Matt. xiii. ^b, 1 Pet. i. 20, ^ 1 Pet. i. U. 1 Tim. iii. ;6'. 1 Cor, iv. % \ Eph. i. 10. sons: : 126 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. 11. § 2. song; the elders unite their voices, their harps, and their incense. Such praises we now sing to Christ, in the ancient hymn called Te Deuni. Such were sung in the early ages of the church, in the times im- mediately following those of this vision ; whereof the younger Pliny gives testimony in his famous letter to Trajan *. Such were sung in the succeeding times of Origen f. Such also in the days of Eusebius, who deduces the worship of Christ from the Hymns and Psalms of the Old Testament, through all the vene- rable fathers of the church, to his own times J. Ver. 10. Kings and ptiests.'] See note, chap. i. 6, €m TY^g yviQ is not m^er the earth, but upon the earth, in which sense it is used continually, This promise is fulfilled in chap. xx. 6. xxii. 5. Ver. 11. Myriads.'] So, an ^^innumerable com- *' pany of angels," in Heb. xii. 22 ; and in chap. i. 6. all the angels of God are commanded to worship him. The appearance of this innumerable company, in ad- dition to the heavenly band, is sudden, as described also in Luke ii. 14. Ver. 13. E*cery creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, aud under the earth, and on the sea, &c.] That is, the "whole creation ; for it is frequently enumerated, under this fourfold division by the sacred writers §. lb. The praise and the honour.] The common translation leaving out the article, which is expressed in the Greek, in this and other passages, has not attained the sense of the original, which implies not only that praise, honour, power, should be ascribed * Plinii Epist lib. x. 17. t Cont. Cels. p. 422. X Eccl. Hist. lib. v. cxxviii. His expression is grand : roy Aoyo» t» ©««, Tov X^i(7iov, v^'VH(Ti QtoXoyaviss. § Exod, XX. 4, 11. Ps. XXXV, 6» Phil. ii. 10. to I Ch. Vi. 1 — 2.] APOCALYPSi:. 127 to God, and to the Redemcr, in a general sense, but the particular and supreme praise, and the honour, and the power, which have been claimed by other gods '^ which are no gods/' (Isai. xvii. \9,) and by men, (Uke Herod in Acts xii. ^i2, 23.) but which be- long solely to the God of Heaven. PART II. SECTION III. The opening of the first Seal, 1 K«i flJoy, oT£ rtvot^i TO a^viov fxtxy Jx t)wv, >c, TOKHcrx Vfos IX. Tijv rzaax^uv 2 %» it, /Saette. Kcil Qnij.zv'^ Iw' xvrov t^wv To|ov* i^looQy) ccvTuJ fi'^av©-, K, i^r,K9e Viitu/Vf '/C, 'nx CHAP. VI. VER. 1 2 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals ; and I heard one of the four livhig - creatures say- ing, as a voice of thunder, <* Come and 2 " see ;" And I saw, and lo! a white horse; and he that sat upon him having a bow ; and a crown wa.s given unto him : and he went forth conquer- ing, and for to con- quer. 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts, saying, 2 Come, and see. And I saw, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth con- quering, and to con- quer. Ver. L As a voice of thunder.^ The voice of the Lord from heaven is frequently spoken of as '*a great, *' a terrible, a glorious voice ; even a voice of thun- '' der." 128 AP6CALYPSE. [Pt II. § 5. " der */' Of this kind was Ihe voice from heaven, described in John xii. 28. promising glorification to the name of Jesus ; when some of the auditors said, that *' it thundered, others that an angel spake to '^him." Such also are the voices of the cherubim, of the near attendants upon the throne f. Such was the voice of those heavenly ministers in Isaiah's vi- sion ; when '^ the posts at the door of the temple " moved at the voice of him that cried J." This aw- ful voice from the throne is in other passages described as the '* voice of many waters." And both these images are brought together, to express the same idea; '^ as the voice of many waters, as the voice of " many thunders §." lb. Cor/ie and see.'] This invitation, proceeding from the cherubim, who surrounded the throne, and are close to the place of exhibition, seems to shew that the prophet is to 'be fav^oured with a near in- spection of the images of future things. The call is- repeated at the opening of every one of the four first seals, and not afterwards; which seems to signify that these four seals, like the four sides of the throne, each of M-hich is guarded by a cherub, will be found to form of themselves an entire and and conipact his- tory II. As the Lamb breaks the seal of each separate roll, the sheet, thus set at liberty, unfolds, and dis- covers in a kind of painted delineation, (for ho\y otherwise could the colours be known?) the four horses in succession. 2. Lo! a white horse.'] The horse is a noble ani- mal, by the eastern nations used principally in war; * Ps. xviii. 15. xlvl. 6, Ixxvii. 18. civ, 7. t See note) ch. v. 6. X Is. vi. 4, § Rqv. xix. 6. J[ See note^ on number four^ ch. iv. 6. sa Cb. Vi. 1 — 2.] At>OCALYPSE. 129 so that ill Scripture a horseman and a warrior are synonymous terms*. The description of the war- horse, in the book of Job, is highly poetical and sublime -f. The white horse is a war-horse, for he carries his rider *' to conquer '' In a vision of the pro- phet Zechariah, (chap, i.) a person is seen *' riding on *^ a red horse, ('s^u^^o?, fire-coloured,) and behind him " were there red horses, speckled and white." These appear, in the sequel, to represent the progress of lieavely angels, in military array, sent forth through the nations, at the time of the Jewish captivity. The red horses, which lead the array, portend war and slaughter, such as had preceded the captivity. The white horses concluding the procession, denote, as the context shews %, the peace and happiness which were to follow. The speckled or parti-coloured horses were to express the intermediate transition. In the sixth chapter of the same prophecy, there is a similar exhibition of four chariots, drawn by red, by black, by white, and by parti-coloured horses ; which are explained to be ** the four Spirits of the heavens, *' which go forth from the Lord." And they go forth for the same purpose; ''the black horses, denoting *' mourning and woe, go forth to the north country," to Babylon, where the Jews were then in bondage: but *' the wliite go forth after them ;" the deliverance of the Jews, the restoration of their temple and religion followed under the victorious Cyrus. From this view of the application of the Scriptural imagery we may collect, that a man on horseback, exhibited in divine vision, denotes the going forth of some power in mi- litary array divinely commissioned, to effect changes upon the earth ; and that the character of the change . * Jer. 1. 42. vi. 22. viii. 1^. t Job xxxix. 19—26. | V. 11. T is 130 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § 3. is expressed by the colour of the horse ; the red or fire-coloured denoting war and slaughter ; the black, mourning and woe ; the white, victory and peace to God's people. To assist us further in the interpre- tation of the white horse, we have a passage in this book of the Apocalypse, (chap. xix. 11 — 17.) where a white horse is introduced with the very same ex- pression, 1^8 h%og Kev'Aog, ^^ Lo ! a white horse, — and " he that sate upon him called Faithful and True, and " in righteousness doth he judge, and make war. '* His eyes as a flame of fire, and on his head many ^' diadems, having a name written which no one '' knoweth but himself; and clothed in a garment ** dipped in blood ; and his name is called The Word '^ of God. And the armies which were in heaven " followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine '^ white linen, (and pure) ; and out of his mouth '^ goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite "the nations; and he shall rule them with an iron " rod, and he treadeth the press of the wine of the '' anger and [indignation] of the Almighty [God] ; *' and he hath upon his garment and upon his thigh " a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of *' Lords." It is impossible to doubt to whom this description appertains. The glorious rider on this white horse, is manifestly the only begotten Son of God. Whether he be the same in both visions; whether the Son of God be the rider of the white horse under this first seal ; we will proceed to enquire. And first let us settle our opinion concerning the ho7'se. This at least is of the very same description in both passages. He is simply '' a xvhite horse,'' and in both passages, as in those above quoted from the prophet Zechariah, he carries his rider, who '' iu righteousness judgeth and *' maketh Ch. VI. 1 — 2.] APOCALYPSE. 131 ** maketh war," to victory, and the consequence of such victory, — peace. This notion is Oon firmed by the con- text to all these passages : and the colour, white*, con- fines this horse to the service of the purifying Christian covenant. By the xvhite horse then is signified the pro- gress of a Christian power, militant for a time in " righteousness," and in the end appointed to victory, which shall bring lasting peace* He goes out, '* con- *' quering, and for to conquer." In chap, xix, becomes to this final victory, and then his rider is the Son of God, who now in person (that is, with a more ample manifes- tation of his over-ruling power") fights the battles of his Church. But under this first seal, which represents only the earlif progress of the Christian church, it is not so manifest, that the rider of the white horse is the same glorious personage. For he is destitute of the same glorious attributes. He has simply a crown and a bow. And the elders have crowns ; and crouais are promised to every victorious Christian f; and the bow is not a weapon, or ornament, peculiar to Christ. And yet he may be the same ; because there is a great difference between the humble and clouded beginning of our Lord's progress on earth, and his expected glorious appearance when he is to take ven- geance on his enemies. But we are not yet warranted to say that this horseman is the same, the Son of God. For his followers also are represented upon white horses. *' As the Father had sent him, so he sent them into *^ the world J." And therefore the progress of the white horse seems to be rather that of the Christian religion, in its primitive purity, from the time that its heavenly Founder left it on earth, under the con- duct of his Apostles. The divine religion goes out * See note, ch. iii. 4. t Ch. ii. 10. X John xvii. 18. T 2 crowned, 132 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § S. crowned, having the Divine favour resting upon it, armed against the attacks of its many foes, and destined to conquer at tlie last *. There is another prophecy of Zecliariah, which will afford light to this imagery of the wliite horse. I Mill give it in the trans- lation of Archbishop Newcome: *' But Jehovah God of Hosts will visit '• His flock the house of Judahy ** And will make them as his goodly horse in -war. " From him shall be the corner stone, from him the nail, '* From him the battle-botv. *' From him shall go forth every ruler together, *■ And they shall be as men who tread down ** The mire of the streets in war. " And they shall fight ; for Jehovah shall be with them: '* And the riders. on horses shall be confounded. 7ECH. X. 3 — 6.f The going forth of this Christian armament seems represented by the Avhite horse in this first seal ; its final success will be seen in the sequel of the pro- phecy. .Ver. 2. A boxv.'\ This was the weapon In ancient warfare, which was known to slay at the most con- siderable distance, with the greatest celerity, from a quarter least expected, and most difficult to es- cape. This weapon therefore, with its accompany- ing arrows, expresses figuratively the sudden and un- expected strokes of miraculous interposition, and is * That very ancient commentator Methodius understood by the first seal, the preaching of the Apostles, and he is followed in this no- tion by all the early writers. Sec Andreas CcKsariensis, Arethas, Vic- torinus, and Primasius, in locum. t Tertullian, after quoting some prophetical passages of Scripture, which represent the Messiah as a warrior, adds ; Sic bellipotcns et ^rnaiger Christus est; arma allegorica. Ad Jud. 218. so Ch. vi. 1 — 2.] APOCALYPSE. 133 so used in the Scriptures *. The progress of the Gos- pel M^as assisted by sudden and unexpected and mira- culous aid and deliverance. lb. And a crozvn xvas given unto him.] This is the crown of life, described in ch. ii. JO. (see the note) : our Lord's kingdom was not of this world. The crown is the reward of the faithful martyrs, who in the three first centuries fought and conquered in the cause of Christ. " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will ^ire "• thee a crown of Iife|." Ver. 2. He zvent forth conquering ^ and for to conquer.'] Two periods of time seem to be here de^ signated. The first, when the Christian religion, preached in its purity by the Apostles, succeeded against human opposition, overcame the powers of darkness, and established itself in the world; ** he *' went forth conquering :" The second, when, after a long period of warfare, during which this religion is corrupted, deformed, ^nd almost annihilated by the arts and machinations of the enemy, it is at length seen to regain its primitive freedom and purity, and its " crown is established in righteousness:];," in an " everlasting kingdom §." These two periods are plainly distinguished in the visions of Daniel. The first is that of the stone, representing the Church of Christ in its infantine state; when it begins to con- quer, by smiting the idolatrous kingdoms which are established in worldly power ||. The second is that of the mountain^ when this '' stone becomes a great *' mountain, and fills the whole earthy." The latter period is represented in the sequel of the Apocalypse**. In the present passage it is only alluded to ; for the * Psalms, passim. Lam. ii. 4. iii. 12. Pleb. iii. 9. t Rev. ch. ii. 10. J Is. xxxii, i, § Dan. ii. 44. vii. sr. II Dan. ii. 34. H Ver. 35. ♦* Ch. xix. 11, &c. nrinrinal 134 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § 5. principal object is, to represent the religion of Christ as going forth in its original purity. Its heavenly colour is as yet unstained by worldly corruption. It appears pare now, and pure it must be, when it shall conquer at the last *. '* So long, and so far, as Christianity was planted ^* according to this standard of its great x'\uthor ; in " plainness and simplicity of incorrupt doctrine ; and ** in meekness and humility, love and charity, in ''practice: when Christians continued stedfastly in ''the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship; — when the " multitude of them that believed, were of one heart " and of one soul, and great grace was upon them " all, (Acts iv. 32, S3) ; then did their light shine " forth indeed before men, and cause them to glorify " the God of heaven. Then was the Gospel truly *' and conspicuously, like a city upon an hill, a light " to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of God's *' people, It was the praise^and wonder of those who " beheld its blessed effects, and might have been the "joy of the whole earth. Had Christians continued *' to walk worthily of the vocation wherewith they were *' called, — the Christian church estabhshed upon this " foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus *' Christ himself being the chief corner stone, might " in its whole building, fitly framed together, have " grown up into one holy temple in the Lordf." I have thus quoted from a learned and accurate writer, well versed in the history of the Christian Ch .rch, a draft or picture, (given nearly in the words of Scripture,) of what I conceive to be the period re- presented under the first seal, * Gbap. xix. -f Clarke's Sermons, vol. iii. p. 312. Its Ch. vi. 3 — 4] APOCALYPSE. 135 Its commencement is to be dated from our Savi- our's Ascension, when he gave his final commission to the disciples, to go forth with his doctrines to the world. The time of its duration cannot be so pre- cisely ascertained ; because the change in the church from original purity to corrupt morals, worship, and doctrine, was gradual. But it may be affirmed, at least as a general position, that the Christians of the three first centuries, exclusive of the heretics, were of this character, although too many exceptions may be found in their history to this general description. PART II. SECTION IV. The opeimig of the second Seal. CHAP. vi. VER. 3 — 4. O K«< ore TiVOlh tV)Tf ^(W8 Xsloylos* "Ef %«. 4 Kax f|?AflevaAA®- avTov loo9in avrZ >^xQiii rviv tl^rivriv [a.'TTo] Tvis yns, Kf 3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living-crea- ture saying, " Conie !" 4 And there went forth another horse, fire- coloured ; and to him that sate thereon, to him was there given to take the peace of the earth, and that they should slay one another : and there was given unto him a great sword. 3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the se- cond beast say. Come, 4 and see. And there went out another horse that was red : and power was given to him that sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one an-. other: and there was given ULt J him a great sword. Ver. 136, APOCALYPSE. [Pull. § 4. Ver. 4. Another horse.] The second seal being broken, another sheet, or roll, unfolds, and another representation of a horse and rider appears ; but the colour, and consequently the character, is changed. lb. Fire-coloured.] In the Greek, tu^^o^, from wu^, fire. This colour is said to be compounded of the yellow-red, E^vOo;, mixed with the dusky, cpaisg *. It is applied to horses by the classical writers : A^if* To^yoi T< ysvot(As9x ; rot zjroXE(xifa.i The ano*el who leads the host to war amono: the nations, is mounted on a horse of the same colour '^. This is also the colour of the dra^ron, the ancient serpent, the devil, who comes xvrathfully to war against the saints <§. lb. To take the peace of the earthy and that they should slay one another : and there was given unto hhn a great sxvord.] Our Lord established his religion in peacefulness, and commissioned it to conquer, or pro- sper in the world, by peace ||. And yet he foretold, very remarkably, that peace should not altogether ensue. '* Think not," says he, " that I am come to * Plato, Timaeus, ad finem. t Theocriti Idyll. 15. 1. 51. — This kind of colour in horses, if that which we now denominate bright or golden-bay, would be properly expressed by the term flame-coloured: but, as ^yf signifies fire itself, rather than the flame of fire, the word 'cyv^qos may be thought to denote a deeper tinge, somewhat like our bright chesnut. And \ prefer the woT(\ Jire-colouredy as agreeing best with the vengeful character which pervades this seal, and which is commonly expressed in prophetical language under the image of fire, I nv^^osy Zech. i. 8. § Rev. xii. 3.g. 17. || Luke ix. 55. '* send Ch. vi. 3 — 4.] APOCALYPSE. 137 *' send peace on the earth ; I came not to send peace, ** but 2iSZvord*f which Saint Luke, in the parallel passage t, calls ''division.'' In which sense also he declares that he is '' come to scmijire on the earth J." Not that it was his wish or intention, as the com- mentators have observed, fnat such direful and anti- christian consequences should arise; but he foreknew such effects necessarily arising from the corrupt pas- sions and prejudices of sinful men. Such a scene was to follow the first age of Christianity distinguished by the pure practice of the Christian virtues, Avhen a fieri/ zeal, without knowledge, or at least without charity, should instigate the professors of this peace- ful religion to destroy peace ; and Christians, divided among themselves, should persecute and slay each other. Such a scene, it is well known, did follow. And the prophecy of the second seal, under this fire- coloured horse, according with that of our Lord, in the use of the same figures, (fre, sxvord, take peace from the earth, men divided so as to kill each other,) seems plainly t3 point to the same period of time; a time, when the heavenly religion, which, under the first seal, had proceeded fv Ksvy^ol;, in white array, be- came so degenerate, as no longer to appear zvhite. She assumed the angry, intolerant, persecuting hue of the f re-coloured dragon. Neglecting charity, •* which is the bond of peace," from dissentions and controversies she was hurried into tumults and wars, in which (horrid to relate !) Christians weue known to murder each other. But whence are we to date this disgraceful change ? May we fix its commencement from the end of the second century ; when the western rulers of the church, and the wise and moderate Ire- Matt. X. 34. t L"ke xii. 51e X Luke xii. 49. n^eus, 138 APOCALYPSE, [Pt. II. § 4. nseus, were seen to interjDose, and exhort the furious Bishop of Rome to cultivate Christian peace * ? The Jiery and intolerant character which marks this seal, was indeed somewhat visible in these partial transac- tions : but the hue from white to fire-colour, changed gradually. The persecuting hand of the common enemy for some time restrained this factious and un- charitable spirit within decent bounds ; and although, previous to the Dioclesian persecution in 302, there were shameful divisions among the Christians, which Eusebius mentions with a becoming mixture of indig- nation and tenderness f, yet the change cannot be re- presented as complete (so as to produce the general and mutual slaughter, which characterises this seal,) till a later period. But, when the Roman empire became Christian ; when a Christian Emperor bore the sword; (with which in the imagery of this seal the Christian power seems invested;) when, reheved from the ter- rors of pagan persecution, the Christians became pos- sessed of civil power ; their animosity increased. Worldly prosperity is corruptive ; and instead of those halcyon days of peace and happiness, which the Church promised to itself from the acquisition of power ; history is seen to date from this period its degeneracy and corruption J. This degeneracy was first manifested in the mutual enmities and feuds of the Christians ; which were so notorious in the fourth century, that a contemporary author reports of them, (with some hyperbole perhaps, for, he was a pagan,) that ** their hatred to each other exceeded the fury * T« t-ns s/^*jy»jf ving for temporal poxver and dominion. At the first '* beginning of the mijstery of iniquitij, tlie builders ''of hay and stubble on the foundation of Christ, " went no farther than to censoiiousness and un- " charitableness towards their bretlnen. Against whom " Saint Paul argues; Why dost thou judge thy brother, " or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? We *' shall all stand before the judgment-seat, of Christ. " But in process of time, as water, at a further dis- " tance from the fountain, divides itself continually " into more streams, and becomes less pure ; so when " men had once departed from the simplicity and " purity of the doctrine, and from the charitableness *' of the Spirit of Christ, their hatred and animosities " against each other increased continually, till they "literally fulfilled that remarkable prophecy of our '* Saviour, in which is contained a most severe re- *' proof of those corrupters of the Gospel of truth and " charitv, who he says would arise in following ages. 142 APOCALYPSE. [Pt II. § 5. *' lam come to sendjireofi the earth, Lukexil. 49. And, ^^ Think not that lam come to send peace on earth: ** / came not to send peace, hut a sword: for I am " come to set a man at variance against his father, '^ and the daughter against her mother, and a ma}is *'foes shall be they of his ozvn household: Matt. x. ** 34. Nay, even that description wiiicli he gives of *' the persecution which the Jews should bring on '* his disciples, the time comet h, that whosoever kil- " LETH you, will think that he doethGod service ; even ** this, in time, came to be fulfilled by one Christian^ *' (so they still called themselves,) it was fulfilled, I *'say, by one Christian upon another^' ."^ * Clarke's Sermons, vol. iii, 312 — 315. PART II. SECTION V. The opening of the third Seal,- !) Kaif ors wo<^8 Tr,t rpiTvjv a^pa.y7^oc, TiKua-x t5 Tpira ^ua XiyoKT©-' "'Efy^H. [K^iyoiTos* "E^^w. S [Kat eIoov] Kj 7J fltyTor? ro?^») Xei/xy,, dvx'nava-uvloe.i In ypovcv, E6/f 'StXio^u- 6ucrt >c 01 yui^^aXo/ •yTwv j^ o< x^sX^Qi eivTuVf 01 fAiXkovrts dTroxJemaOxt us '^ avrou CHAP. vi. VER. 9 — 11, 9 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw, under the altar, the souls of those that were sacrificed for the word of God, and for the testimony which 10 they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, " How long, ** Sovereign Lord, the " Holy One and True, " dost thou not judge, " and avenge our blood *' upon those that dwell 11'' on the earth?" And there was given unto theni white raiment ; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a time, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren should be completed, who were about to be slain, even as they had been. 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 which they 10 held. And they cried with a loud voice, say- ing, How long, O Lord, Holy and True, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on 1 1 the earth ? And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-ser- vants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they werCj should be fulfilled. Ver. 9. Under the altar. ^ We are not informed whether the altar here mentioned, is the golden one of incense which makes part of the scenery in ch. viii. and Cb. vi. 9— 11.] APOCALYPSK. 165 and has its proper place before the throne ^ , or, the brazen altar of burnt sacrifice f. The former belongs more appropriately to the scenery ; but the latter seems more fitting to the action represented, in which the martyrs are sacrificed. For, at the golden altar v>^ere offered only- incense and prayer; before the brazen one, the victims were slain. This uncertainty occasions some difficulty, which may perhaps be removed, by supposing the action of this seal, as of the four pre- ceding, to be represented graphically in picture. Then, though the golden altar may be still supposed to stand in its place, in the scenery before the Throne, yet the brazen altar may also appear delineated upon the roll of the book when opened by the Lamb. For on the unfolding of the fifth roll, this additional altar ap- pears, and the martyrs are seen under it, and voices are heard to accompany their expressive gestures, as they hold up their hands in prayer. lb. The Souls.'] 'II '4^u%vj, the soul, is that vital part or principle of life in man, which, by the favour of God through Christ, they who kill the body cannot destroy:):. The martyrs (for such they are), although slain by persecutors *' for the word of God, and the '' testimony which they held," are '' alive unto God," their ^' souls are not left in hell § ;" they are deposited in *' their proper place || :" they had suffered as victims * That is, before the Ark and Mercy^seat, which was the local seat of the Divine presence in the Temple. See Exod. xxx. xxviir. xxxi. xl. 5 J 2 Chron. iv. 19; Luke i. 11 ; Heb. ix. 4. 7. f The word ^vaixs-yi^tov may be used to signify either of these altars ; see Luke i. 11. Matt. v. 23. Rev. xi. 1. The expression W;atr»f)y>) oKri eysvETO us 13 r^-V^t* Ka< ot »$-£- pes tS a^avS 'iTTscrccv fis Tm ym, us aiKri ^aWst TiSS Ikvv^Hs avrrtSy l%o {xtyuhu Ida-vsw-tt (TSiOfxiv^' K.ai 0 i^xvos v.irz'/u- fta-On us ^»c A^v £/- A/SE. [Pt. II. § 8. fall, like a leaf from a vine, or a fig from its tree. And yet Idumea is mentioned by the prophet as the par-' ticular object of vengeance : such seems to be the typical completion, and primary application of this prophecy : but it has evidently a more sublime and future prospect, and in this sense the whole world is its object : and using the same symbols and figura- tive expressions with this prophecy of the sixth seal, with those of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and above all, sixteenth chapters of the Apocalypse, and with others of the Old and New Testament, it must, with them, be finally referred to the great day of the Lord's vengeance for its perfect completion. The sixth seal appears to exhibit a general descrip- tion of this great day ; and is illustrated by many preceding prophecies, which, having a primary re- ference to the destruction of God's enemies in Ba- bylon, iEgypt, Jerusalem, &c. have evidently re- ceived their partial accomplishment, yet as evidently look forward to a more full and glorious consum.ma- tion. They are not become a dead letter ; they unite in pointing to some grander object, which all such prophecies describe; even the universal and final over- throw of the enemies of Christ. And they encourage us to look with cjertain assurance to the completion of the predictions in their Jinal sensCy since we have already seen them fulfilled typically. As our Lord, in foretelling the destruction of Je- rusalem, made use of the expression of former pro- phets, and thus directed their application to events then to come, involving in the same prediction the ven- geance to fall, not only on his enemies in that siege, but at *' the end of the world;" so, this propjhecy of the sixth seal, published after the destruction of 1 Jerusalem, Chap, vil,] APOCALYPSE. 175 Jerusalem, yet containing the expressions of these former prophets, together Avith those of our Lord, seems to give clear indication of a more full and per- fect accomplishment of all these prophecies. Additional light will be cast on this prophecy (which, like the other seals, is to be considered as only a general sketch and outline) by subsequent vi- sions in this book, which cotemporize with it, and were so understood by Cyprian in the third century ; who referred them, together with this prediction of the sixth seal, to their grand and final accomplish- ment at the end of the xvorld *. * Cyprian, ad Novat. Ilaer. i. PART II. SECTION IX. The sealing of the Hundred-and forty four Thousand^ and the Presentation of the Palm- bearing Mul^ titude before the Throne. Kai yiilx raZrx ilooy riaaxexs u3 avTo7s oi'^i)i7)(ra,{ rriv *y7iv JO rriv •^a.'Ka.cr- 3 cav, hiyuv" M'n tc'^iiciiaviit rriv yr,v, fjt.virs rr,v 'j^Aao-- travf (A/liri rd oev- ^^ot, oi^is 5 (T(ppx- Ta ©£« "n^uv £7r< Ta/v I^SIUTTUV aVTMV. a^tOfji^oy ruv IcrOfo,- Tsa-a-iXfd.KOyl't ria- ^pccyi(T(A.hot 1)1 zja- iTos 'l«- ia(p§oiyt(TiAhoi' Ix 9 t*.i^ot, Mfic» ravrac tJooVf >c «o« o^A©- taoKvs, 01 oiptOiA.rxTixi ai/TOv ti^eis ri^vvxlo, Ik -Kjav/oj iQvus Kf (pvXuh i^ Kxuv iy yXufraZvy l>"a/rsr . huTTiov t3 S^ovs ><^ vrept'oiQXriiJihtii ro- Aas- hivxAs' yZ j /xsyaAyj, AE^ovl«y* *H a-Jhpix llKa* tscKviss ot oifys- Aoi £r>i>i£!T:jt« xvxAw iTtKTOV cvwTr/oy t5 twelve thousand seal- ed; of the tribe of Jo- sephj twelve thousand sealed ; of the tribe of Benjamin,twelve thou- 9 sand sealed. After this I beheld, and lo ! a great multitude, which no one could number, from all nations and tribes and people and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clo- thed in white robes, and palm-branches in lOtheirhands; And they cry with a loud voice, saying, " The Sal- *' vation be ascribe *' ed to our God who " sitteth upon the '* throne, and to the 11'' Lamb!" And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living-crea- tures, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped 12God, Saying," Amen! *' The praise, and the " glory, and the wis- " dom. and the thanks- *' giving, and the ho- " nour, and the power, " and the might, be " unto our God for ** ever and ever 1 A- of Zabulon zyer^ealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph ivere sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin zuere seal- ed twelve thousand. 9 After this I beheld, and lo, a great mul- titude \v-hich no man could number of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and be- fore the Lamb, cloth- ed with white robes, and palms in their 10 hands ; And cried with a loud voice, say- ing, Salvation to our God which sitteth up- on the throne, and un- 1 1 to the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders, and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped 12 God, Saying, Amen : Blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanks- giving, and honour, and power, and might be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto 178 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. 11. § 9. truTiiX atvTo/y, h^ ^iv' 13 tvKoyix jc TU1 ouamuVf A^»v« 13 Kai dimi^tdn eis Ix. ta;> ZT^tcrQvli^Wj Tdyuv i*.(ii' OuTOi 3t3fr, n'vss et(Ti, i^ IJkuoQsv wXfiay; Kotl u^viKX xvru' Kv^is f6,«, ail Qi^as. Kat BiVS (JiOf OvToi Txs ^oXa-s ccvruv, 5C IXwKOcyxv [roXas^ a.vTuv\ h rZ xlyua^i i.jrS k^vis. Aix T«To c.Viy lvu>7rsov t« %oy8 r« 0£ej j^ Xxlfsvaan^ avru ij- rw vaw aclru' >c o ^foy», (7x>jy5cr£< jtt' eraa-iy trij e^l S;- "^■na-aaiv ct/, «^£ fii «T£'(7»j £77' awraj l7xat!/:it,a* "Ot; to oi'fviov TO ava. fji.sa'ov ISmenl" And one of the elders spake, say- ing unto me, " These, *' clothed in white " robes, who are they, ** and whence came 14" they?" And I said unto him, " O my *' Lord, thou know- " est/' And he said un- to me, " These are they " who are come out ** of the great tribula- *' tion, and have wash- *' ed their robes, and ** have made them " white [their robes] *' in the blood of the 15" Lamb : Therefore " are they before the *' throne of God, and " serve him day and " night in his temple ; " and He that sitteth " on the throne, shall " have his dwelling 16" over them ; They ^* shall hunger no *' more, neither shall " they thirst any more ; " nor shall the Sun *' srike on them, nor 17" any burning; Be- " cause the Lamb, *' which is in the midst *' of the throne, shall " rule them like a " shepherd, and shall *' lead them unto " fountains of waters ** of life ; and God me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and whence came they ? 14 And I said unto him, Sir,thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribula- tion, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 1 5 Therefore are they be- fore the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple : and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among 16 them. They shall hunger no more, nei- ther thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any 17 heat. 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. Chap, vii.] APOCALYPSE. 179 TB ^^ova 'nott/.otn'i avTis^j 5^ o^riYncret etvriis im ^c^^s -STJjyaj v^Jircov' >^ i^xMi->lei 0 QS0S Oav Jax^Doy 0.970 ruy o and * Rev. xxi. 22. + Rev. v. 10, | Judg. xvii, § See Mede's Works, p. 455. |i De H^eres. lib. v. cap. ZO, IT Gal. iii. 28. Col. iii. H, ♦» See note, ch. iii, 4, 5. ft Levit, xiii. 40. victory 188 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. § p. victory. They ascribe their Salvation to God and their Redeemer. And the heavenly angels close around them, and rejoicing at their redemption *, unite in a chorus of praise. Ver. 13. JVho are they, and whence came they ?] To assist us in answering this question, and in determining Avho are the persons composing this multitude of palm- bearing Saints, we have an heavenly Interpreter ; from whom we learn, that '* they are come out of the ** great tribulation," fx i-v^g ^Kri/eag rTig fxeyccKvig : not, as it is generally translated, *' out of great tribulation," but out of the great tribulation, that particular tri- balation, for which such preparation was made by the ministers of God's wrath, in the beginning of this chapter, and from which the sealed only are enabled to escape f. Yet it may be said, this multitude fs not of the one-hundred-and-forty-four thousand, who alone are described as sealed. But, observe the re- mainder of the description. They are said by the elder to *' have washed their robes, and made white ** their robes in the blood of the Lamb." And what is this, M'hen rendered by plain language, but that, through faith in their Redeemer, they are purified from sin? Which is only another mode of expressing that they are sealed as Christ's property ;{:. Therefore the whole body, taken together, first of the one-hundred- and-forty-four thousand, then of the great multitude from all nations added to them, seems to express the whole Christian Church, from the time of Christ to the great and last day. It is the New Jerusalem, as described in ch. xxi, which has its foundation on the * Luke XV. 10. •f- So Tertullian appears to have read and understood it, iii the second century ; ** ex Hid pressura magna,*' Scorpiace, sect. 12. X See note, ch. vii. 2. Twelve Chap, vii.] apocalypse, 189 Twelve Apostles. So, to compose this assembly we have, first, the Judai-Christian Church, which was the first-fruits ; then, the Gentile Churches which were received into it. And, as we are expressly in- formed by Saint Paul *, that the pious Christians, who, previously to the last day, shall be buried in the sleep of death, will not be postponed to those who are caught up alive to meet their Lord, so we may properly suppose this great multitude to contain also those that sleep in Christ. And thus it is the com- plete collection of the redeemed from earth, of all ages and nations; who, adhering to their allegi- ance and duty, shall escape out of '' the great ** tribulation," which is the pecuhar burthen of this prophecy. The terrible calamities of these latter days are by our Lord represented under the very same terms, '^Xr^ig y^syciK'Ai ''great tribulation f," and after describing them he assures us, that he shall *' send ** forth his angels, and gather together his elect, from ^^ the four xvinds, from the uttermost part of the earth "to the uttermost part of heaven J." These four winds are in this prophecy described as devastating that earth, from which the sealed^ in the words oi this Prophecy, and the elect in those of our Saviour, are to be delivered, and collected unto his presence, as is here represented. I-t was from a justly founded expectation of this signal deliverance, that the Apos- tles (who appear not to have known the particular time and season of this visitation, concealed even from angels §) exhorted the faithful disciples, as their Lord had done before them ||, to lift up their heads, * 1 Thess. iv. 15. t Matt. xxiv. 21. Mark xiii. Ip. 24. : Mark xiii. 27. S Matt. xxiv. 36. Acts i. /• {| Luke xxi. 28, and 190 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. II. ^ 9* and look with joyful expectation to these clays of vengeance, knowing themselves not to be appointed to wrath, but to Salvation, whether they be found among the dead or among the living, at that aM'eful hour*. Ver. 15. TherefWey &c.] The remaining part of this chapter contains a figurative description, very simple and very interesting, of the future happiness of this redeemed multitude. But the interpretation of it is so obvious, to those who are in the least degree acquainted with the language of Scripture, that I shall content myself with referring to some of the principal passages of the Old and New Testament, where the same figurative language is applied in the same manner. lb. Serve Jiim, &c.] Ezek. xxxvii. 23. 28. Psalm xvi, cxl. 13. Is. xxxii. i/. Ivii. 15, Ixv. Ezra ix. 8. John xiv. 23. Eph. iii. IT. 2 Cor. iv. 1(). 1 John iii. 24. Ver. 16. Hunger— thirsty &c.] Is. xxxii. 2. Ixv. 13, xlix. 10. Ezek. xxxlv. i.h}. John vi. 14, ^5, Ver. 17. Like a Shepherd.] Is. xl. 11. xlix. 10. Psalm xxiii. 1. Ixxx. 1. Jer. xxxi. 10. And see note, ch. ii. 27. lb. Tear.'] Is. xxx. I9. xxv, 8, I Let the reader now compare the happiness of this palm-bearing multitude, as here described, with that of the inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem, in ch. xxi. 14; and he will probably determine the two pe- riods to be the same. Of none other but of happi- ness in heaven can it be alBrmed, (as is affirmed of * 1 Thess. V. 1. 12. 2 Thess. id. 1. 17. James v. 7, 8. 1 Pet. iv, 13. 2 Pet. iii. 12, 13. both Chap, vil.1 APOCALYPSE. 191 both these,) that pain, and sorrow, and hunger and thirst, shall then be no more, under the reign of the Lamb, who *^ shall wipe away every tear from ** their eyes." Joseph Mede observed this synchro- nism*; but has applied it, as I am inchned to think, improperly, to an earthly millennium, or reign of Christ and his saints on earth. The expressions of perfect fehcity in both passages are by much too exalted to bear application to any thing possible under the present constitution of things. They can be fulfilled only in heaven ; or in an heaven upon earth (which is much the same thing) succeeding to the destruction and regeneration of the present globe j*. Having thus formed, upon the scriptural grounds above stated, this notion of the application of this prophecy, I found myself, when I came to read the exposition of some eminent commentators, little dis- posed to subscribe to their opinions, which represent this seventh chapter of the Apocalypse as containing ** a description of the state of the church in Constan- tine's time; of the peace and protection that it ** should enjoy under the civil powers, and the great *^ accession which should be made to it both of Jews and '^ Gentiles X-'' Now the history of this period, faith- fully related, informs us, that although the Christian Church was delivered from persecution, and ad- vanced in worldly consideration and power, yet did it acquire no real accession of worth, dignity, or exaltation, by its connexion with the imperial throne. Nay, from that very time, its degeneracy and cor- * Clav. Apocalypt. pars ii. syn. vii. f See notes, ch. xxi. t Daubux, Bishop Newton, 6cc, &c, ruption 592 APOCALYPSE. [Pt 11. § 9. ruption are most indubitably to be dated. From that period, worldly power and riches became the objects of its leaders, not purity and virtue. Many entered the Christian Church, and obtained its honours and dig- nities, by base dissimulation of their principles, to please the emperor, and recommend themselves to his favour*. And the consequent extension of the Christian Rehgion among the heathen nations was, as Mosheim observes, in name ^ not in reality^. The worldly professors of Christianity in this century were so far from fulfilling the prophecy, by '' wash- *' ing their robes white," and by htmgfed and con- ducted by the Lamby that they appear rather to have assumed the hue of another leader ^ the fire-coloured dragon, and to have greedily sought from him those worldly riches and that power, which^their Lord had refused at his hands J. This grand enemy of the Christian Church, the devil, had begun his attack upon her, first, by the terrors of persecution. He failed in this attempt : the blood of the IMartyrs became the seed of the Church. He then changed his mode of operation. He beguiled the Christians with the promise of worldly power and splendour : and it was from this succesful mode of corruption, that he was at length enabled to ^^xqAwq.^ Antichrist ;— — — -^ *«. — , — Captique dolis — — Quos neque Tydides nee Larissaeus Achilles, Non anni donm^re decern, non mille carina3 ! iENEiD. ii. ]96^- • Easeb. de Vit. Constant, lib. iv. c, 54. t Eccl. Hist. cent. 4. % INIatt. iv. 9, I Thus Satan sped, and fix'd his artful reign Where ten years' persecution rag'd in vain. The last great persecution under Dioclesian continued almost ten years. Quotations Chap, vil.] APOCALYPSE. ^9S Quotations might easily be inultiplied from co- temporary authors, and from learned and judicious writers of later date, to shew by their testimony, that this is the true history of the Christian Church in the fourth century. I shall content myself with a few. Gregory of Nazianzam will be allowed to be a most unexceptionable witness, both as to character, and as to the time in which he wrote ; about the middle of the fourth century. This writer, speaking of the Emperor Julian, says,* " It was not long before this (power of injuring '' the Christians) was afforded him against us, by ** the abounding wickedness of the many, and by *' the prosperity of the Christians, verging, as one " may say, from the highest pitch to a contrary '' change, and the power, and the honour, and the '* plent}^, by which we were become insolent." Then, after asserting the danger of prosperity, and support- ing his assertion by quotations from Scripture, he continues; " For having been exalted when we were *^ meek and moderate, and by degrees advanced, so *' as to arrive, under the Divine conduct, to so great *^ a figure and multitude, when we were fed up we '* kicked, and when we were enlarged and set at liberty " we were reduced and narrowed : and that glory and *^ power, which we had acquired in persecutions and '' afflictions, we lost In prosperity." Jerome vv'rote at * Ov zjoXv TO tv (M(7u, nxi rsivrr,v uioxcriv ayrw xaS' vi^.cuv, ^ 'Uj>.'njv^Miiaip rxis 'sjpo- czv^^olIs txv ocyluv "tuavrMv Itti to ^v- GtX TO hulTlCV T« 0 xaTrvi J Ti^/ vt'p,i»- CHAP. viii. 1 — 5. 1 And when be opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were half an hour. 2 And 1 saw the seven Angels who stood be- fore God , and to them were given seven trum- 3 pets. And another angel came, and was stationed at the altar, having a golden cen- ser : and there was given unto him much incense, that he should ofler, with the prayers of all the saints, upon the golden altar which was before the Throne. 4- And the smoke of the incense ascended with the prayers of the saints, from the hand of 1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there w^as silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2 And I saw ^he sevea angels which stood be- fore God ; and to theni were given seven trum-» 3 pets. And another an- gel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer ; and there was given uijto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar which was before 4 the throne. And the smoke of the incense ivhich came with the prayers of the saints, Ch. viii. 1 — 5.] ArocALYPSE. W9 fMcruv rxis Wfo- wivy^xis ruv ocyiuv Ik. XJ^ifos t5 aifys- ^Uf fvuirtov Ta ©sa. y£A©- Toy Xi^avuj- Toy, >c lyt(Mi(rtv av- Toy «x T8 zuvpos Ta Afy Ey (TE«r/ixor. the angel, before God. And the angel took the censer, and filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast to the earth ; and there were voices, and thun- derings, and lightnings, and earthquake. ascended up before God, out of the an-- 5 gel's hand. And th« angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth : and there were voices, and thunderings, and light- nings, and an earth- quake. Ver. 1. There was silence in heaven, as it were half an hour.'] Upon the opening of each of the former seals, a significant action had innnediately commenced. Under the four first seals, voices^ from heaven, from the place of representation, had invited the Prophet to ^^ come and see." With the fifth seal, the voices of the Martyrs had been heard. The opening of the sixth seal had been directly followed by a representation of action the most tremendous, ac- companied and explained by voices, during which the prophecy seemed to extend even to the great and last day of recompense. Now, upon the opening of this seventh and last seal, no voice is heard, no representa- tion immediately ensues. An aweful silence suspends the gratification of curiosity. After a solemn pause, preparation is made for a new kind of exhibition ; the seven angels come forth. This silence in heaven has been supposed to express, or at least to allude to, that custom of the Jews, whereby they joined their ^i/ew/ prayers to the offering of the incense. But this silence takes place before the time of incense; before the angel takes his station at the altar. 200 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 1. altar. And there is an intervening action between the silence and the offering of incense, namely, the pro- cession of the seven angels; each of whom is presented with his trumpet. This silence, therefore, though it may bear a certain degree of allusion to the temple- service, and may even be supposed to continue during the service which follows, seems to be exhibited for another purpose ; to denote, as it appears to m.e, a change, in the mode, or in the subject of the prophecy ; to dis- unite the succeeding scene from that which had gone before ; to unfold a new chain of prediction. The connexion, which bad hitherto united the seals, is broken; the seventh seal stands apart; and then pro- duces a ne\7 method of representation, and a new series of events, to which the silence in heaven, and the offer- ing of incense, are preparatory. But if a new series of events is to be exhibited, whence are we to expect that it will-take its date? Under the sixth seal, preceding this which contains tlie trumpets, the rapid sketch of the Christian history was brought down to the last great day of recom.pense. Where then are we to expect that tliis renewed history will begin r From the earliest times of Christianity, or, to speak more properly, from the period when our Lord left the world in person, and committed the Church to the guidance of his Apostles. From this time, the first seal takes its commencement; from this also the first Trumpet. This is the beginning, settled by the agreement of divines, of the second ad vent of Christ, the proper subject of the Apocalyptic Prophecies. Ver. 2. The seve;^ angels.] These are not the com- pany of angels employed under the preceding seal ; for they vftYtfour. And this seems to afford an additional argument, that a new kind of representation is to be expected. Ch. viii. 1 — 5.] apocalypse* 201 expected. Seven is a number expressive of universality, or completion *. The Jewish writers seem fond of enu- merating seven principal angels. But the writings, in which they are described, are, I believe, of later date than the Apocalypse, and the notion was probably de- rived from this passage f- lb. Seven trumpets.'] The use of the trumpet among the people of God, and its symbolical meaning in this passage, will be explained under verse 6. Ver. 3, 4. And another angel came, and xvas sta- tioned at the altar ; &c.] This is expressly said (ver. 3.) to be " the golden altar, which was before the throne." Upon this altar, which stood before the Mercy-seat (the local seat of the Divine glory in the Temple), was to be offered no strange incense J; no strange fire§; by no strange priest || : but incense, offered thereon by the legal priests, was as an atonement for the people ^y who accompanied this offering with their prayers **. For it was the custom of devout people to ofler up their prayers in the court of the Temple, while the priest was burning incense within ; as may be seen at large in Luke i. 9, 10, 21, 22. The angel, therefore, seems to represent a lawful priest ; and the incense, added to the prayers, a mode of ottering, or form of worship f I, probably the Christian; for, the incense, the means of presenting the prayers unto God, is given from heaven to the angel or officiating priest ; is ac- companied by the prayers oHhtsaintSy who are certainly * See note, cb. i. 4. t Tobitxii. 15, on which see Jortin's Remarks, i. 113 ; Gray's Key to the Old Testament, art. Tobit ; Mosheim, Hist. Eccl. i. 17^. X Exod. XXX. 9, 38. § Levit. x. 1. \\ Numb, xvi, 5[ Numb. xvi. 4^. ** Psahn cxli. 2. Luke i. 10. ft See note, ch. v. 8. Christians ; gOS APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IIL § 1. Christians; and ascends before the throne; which implies that it is accepted by the Ahiiighty *. This character can belong to no other than the true Reh- gion t- The proper priest of the Christian ReHgion, the only High Priest, is our Great Intercessor and Mediator, the Lord Jesus. Yet, powerful reasons may be assigned, to shew that the officiating angel, in this passage, is not this High Priest. For, first, he has no distinguishing attributes, such as mark this high priest in ch. i. \3y &c. He is simply styled an angel, — an- other angel, that is, one of the same rank and descrip- tion \vith the seven. Secondly, this office of burning incense, under the Mosaic dispensation, was not con- fined to the high priest ; subordinate priests might offisr it: and the office was generally discharged by the priests of the twenty-four courses. Zacharias, who, in Luke i. ^' burns incense with the prayers of the people, ** was of this description. And, thirdly, under the Gos- pel dispensation, we find this function of offering spiritual incense, committed to the Christian priesthood -in general J. So that this angel may be supposed to represent the Christian priesthood in general, as exer- cised in subordination to the Great High Priest. This religion is of heavenlij origin and institution ; and the smoke of its incense, or worship, ascends from the hand of the priest " before God." Ver. 5. And the angel took the censer, and Jilled it from the fire of the altar, and cast to the earth; &c.] A question seems to arise upon this passage ; what did the angel cast to the earth? Our translators have in- serted the pronoun it ; *' cast it to the earth; by which we must understand the censer. But this construction * See Acts x. 4. t I^al. i, 11. 1 Pet. ii. 5. ^ Rom, XV. 16. 1 Pet. ii. 5. is Ch. viii. 1 — 5.] APOCALYPSE. 203 is by no means warranted by the original *\ But if the censer were not cast to the earth, its contents must have been : and what were they? To answer this ques- tion, we are to observe the method in which the angel .,seems to have proceeded. He offered the incense, most probably, not upon the censer, but upon the altar ; the golden altar ; the altar appropriated for that use ; as he is expressly appointed to do, in the third verse. And if it seem an objection to this supposition, that the smoke is said to ascend from the hand of the angel, it may be answered, that so it would, if, as may seem probable, he took the incense from the censer, and with his hand applied it to the fire upon the altar. The smoke would then ascend from his hand, almost in contact with the fire. It would be only in the same manner, ''from his handy'' if the incense were burned upon the censer. But the censer seems to have been, in this case, only the receptacle of the incense; for the angel came forth with the censer in his hand ; and thoz the incense was given to him. He had no vial, which was the usual receptacle f. The angel, therefore, seems to have taken the incense from the censer, and to have burned it upon the fire, which was on the altar. He now reverses the mode ; he first takes the censer, and then the fire from the altar, which he applies to the censer, in which was the remainder of the incense: and the fire and the incense, thus burning, he casts to the earth. But the incense, thus burning, as we have before remarked, means the Christian worship and Religion ; pure and heavenly in its nature and origin ; but, sent down to the earth, and mixing with the passions and worldly designs of men, it produces signal commotions, expressed in the prophetical language by .f' K«; E^aXcv £is r^v yviv, f See note, ch. v. 8, on the word Vial. ^* voices, 204 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § I. '' voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and earth- *' quake." Or, if it be, as it may perhaps be, that the fire alone is cast to the earth, (the incense being ex- hausted,) the interpretation will be nearly the same. For our Lord has declared, in the same kind of figura- tive language, that in sending forth his holy Religion to the earth, he had cast j^7*e thereon ; — -ujv^ viaOov ^aKstv etg Tviv yviV — it is the very same expression '^ : and this fire he afterwards explains to signify divismis and con- tention -j". Thus, in the representation before us, the Christian Religion begins in peace; and pure incense:}:, rendered effectual by the Saviour's atonement, and accompanying the devout prayers of the Church, is offered for a time; till, mingling with earthly cor- ruption, with human passions and prejudices, it becomes the instrument of discord and violence. But this is only a general, symbolical, preluding view of the subject ; the heresies, divisions, commotions, which, under the name of Christianity, miserably afflicted the Christian world, and almost banished true Religion, are to be more especially developed in the sequel of this seal. The significant action now exhibited, pre- pares us for the kind of history which is to follow. And it seems to confine our interpretation of the sequel^ to the history of the Christian Religion, thus producing commotions upon the earth, * Luke xii. 49. t See Grotius and Whitby, in loc. X Mai. i. U. PART Cll. viii. 6 — 12.] APOCALYPSE. 205 PART III. SECTION II. The four firs t Trump e ts. 01 tyovlss TiXS aiTia, cav {xvTaSf fvcc o '537^ a; T©- laocX- 'fficrs, ;Cf lytvilo yji.- ^OCCpC ■>^ TTvq iJ.lyA'y- pt.ivx ev oc'i'ixocri, ?c (QXyiQil t'ts rr,y yriv' f^ TO r^i'roy r^s yY,S KXTSKti-n, >C TO xal£xa>9, y.x\ zjois $ rjxavj, Kai o ^£y- fxlyx njv^i Kxioy.i- wv £^Xrj9ri SIS rriv ^xAxaaxv K, iyi- ysro TO rclrov Tins ^aXxacms, mixx' ^ Kxici'^sOxn TO rpi- Toy Tuv iili(TiAxrci>v ruv £v rrt ^x'>.xjX/a, >^ TO r/j/- rov TA/y «s"£f wv' I'va c"/.oli(rOr) TO r^trov (AVI (pxiv-f) TO Tflrov 4liTriS, KXt ^ VV^ 0- (AOiUi. fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the springs of waters. 1 1 And the name of the star is called theWorm- wood; and the third part of the waters be- comes wormwood ; and many of the men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. 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; so that a third part of them should be darkened, and the day might not shine, as to the third part of it, and the night like- wise. fountains of waters : 11 And the name of the star is called Worm- wood : and the third part of the waters be-^ came wormwood ; and many men died of the waters, because they 12 were made bitter. And the fourth angel sound- ed, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the 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. Ver. 6. And the seven angels, who had the seven trumpets, prepared themselves to sound.] The formei^ part of this chapter having prepared us for a new kind of representation, in which we may expect to find the history of those commotions which followed the descent of Christianity upon earth ; wg will in the next place observe, with what propriety they are severally introduced by the sound of Trumpets. Trumpets wer^ in use among the Israelites for several purposes : first, for assembling the people*, or their leaders f; or. Numb. X. 5, 3. t lb. X. 4. secondly, CL viii. 6—12.] APOCALYf>SE. 207 secondly, to express joy and exultation on solemn festivals * ; or, lastly, to give signal when the camp was to move, or the host to go forth to battle f ; on which occasion, the trumpets were to " sound an alarm^* after a manner not used on other occasions j:. It was the signal of hostile invasion § ; it was fearful : — *' Shall ** the trumpet be blown in the city, and the people *' not be afraid |j ?" Of such kind we may account the seven trumpets of the angels. They are not the trum- pets of the new moons and feast days ^ ; there is no joy and festivity in them ; they are not for the quiet and peaceful calling of the assembly ; they sound an alarm ; an alarm of war ; and woe ! woe ! woe ! ac^ companies their notes (v^er. 13.): they foretel to the Church of Christ the invasions of its enemies, and are so many signals on the approach of each antichristian foe. And from the preparatory vision, in which incense and fire from the altar in heaven, are cast down to earth, producing violent commotions, we have reason to ex- pect that Religion, or the pretence and abuse of it, is intimately connected with this warfare. This expecta- tion will be confirmed by our observing, that the re- presentation under every trumpet appears to have some reference to, or connection with, the preparatory vision. At the sounding of almost every one of which, some- what is seen to fall from heaveii to earth, as the in- cense and fire had fallen, and to occasion the commo- tions which ensue. Ver, 7. A7id the first soutidecL] The prophetic his- tory of the four first trumpets is dispatched in few words, containing ftw images; so that much //^r//67//i/r ♦ Numb. X. 10. . t lb. x. 5, &c. + Deut. x. § Jer. iv. 5, 19, 21. vi. 1; 17. II Amos iii. 6, ^ Psalm Ikxxi. 3. 5 information 208 "^"^APOCALYPSE, [Pt. III. § is aptly represented by hail and fire, mingled with Hood ; on the bursting forth of which, theweak in the faith fall away. 2. The Gentile persecution, arising from the pagan religion, which is fitly designated by a • Col.i. 12, 13. 2 Cor. iv. 6. 1 Thess. v. 4, &c. 2 Tim. i, 10. Heb.x. 32. James i. 17* 1 Pet. ii. ^, 1 John i. 5, &Q. ^ Acts vii. 54, &c. viii. 1. burning Ch. viii. 6 — 12.] apocalypse. 219 burning mountain. 3. The corruption of the Waters of Life, by the earliest heretics, and by injudicious teachers. 4. The consequent faikire, in part, of that bright and glorious light which originally beamed from this Revelation. The symbols do not appear to me to warrant a more especial interpretation of them. The difficulty which attends them, arises from the paucity of the matter, and the short compass in which it is expressed. The means of interpreting them which I have ventured to apply, have been derived from com- paring similar passages of Scripture ; and by consider- ing, that these four first Trumpets must be supposed to sound the signal of the same kind of attack, and against the same object, as the three last. Now, as these three will be found to represent the invasion of the Christian Church by Antichristian foes, we have reason to con- clude that the preceding trumpets foretel a similar history. Some additional light has been obtained from the preparatory vision *, which seems to restrict the commotions contained under these Trumpets, to reli- gious causes. If Religion, descending from the altar in heaven, had not mingled with the passions and pro- jects of men, these commotions would have had no place in history. The greater part of the modern commentators, following Joseph Mede, have supposed these prophecies fulfilled in the ravages committed by the Gothic barbarians on the provinces of the Roman Empire. But I have as yet been able to perceive no plausible reason, produced either by Mede or his fbl- iowers, to shew why the prophecies of the Apocalypse in general, why the seals, or why the four fii*st Trum- pets in particular, should be understood to relate to the history of the Roman Empire, Mede says, indeed, at * Chap, viii. 1—6, his 220 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 2. his entrance upon the explanation of the Seals *, that, '' as Daniel in the Old Testament both presignified the '* coming of Christ, and arranged the fortunes of the '* Jewish Church by the succession of the empires ; so *' the Apocalypse is to be supposed to measure the *' Christian history by the means of the Roman Em- *' pire, which was yet to be remaining after Christ." The conjecture is good; and as such will be acknow- ledged in its proper place. For, in the course of the prophecy, that beast of the Prophet Daniel (or> one nearly resembling him, and plainly representing the remains of the Roman Empire) will appear. But before the symbols under which the prophecy is expressed, are seen clearly to indicate the Roman Empire, why are we to expect that the prophecy should relate its fortunes f? The subject of these Divine visions is of superior importance : — the fates and fortunes of the Christian Church : non res Romanae perituraque regna J : and the Roman Empire seems to be only so far noticed in them, as it necessarily became connected with the Church of Christ. The learned writer above quoted, * Quemadmodum enim in V. T. Daniel, secundiim imperiorum successiones, turn Christi adventum prassignavit, turn Ecclesiaj Judaicae fata digessit; ita rem Christianam Apocalypsis, Romani, quod adhuc post Christum superfuturum esset, imperii rationibus admetiricensenda est. — Works, p. 44>1. t There is a period of the Roman Empire, even its latest period, pointed out by the Prophet Daniel in his Sacred Kalendar (so Mede calls it), when the Empire, divided under its ten Kings, will be inter- mixed with the fortunes of the Christian Church. This history will appear displayed in its proper symbols in the sequel of the Apocalypse; but hitherto no such symbols have appeared ; nor do they appear be- fore the production of the little book, ch. x. J See Bp. Hard's Sermons ou Prophecy, p. 45. was Ch. viii. 6 — 12.] apocalypse. 221 was aware, that the fates of the Roman Empire were beneath the dignity of this sacred book. For, having dispatched that part of his work which he supposes to contain them, '' We now proceed," says he, " to an- ^' other, and much the most noble prophecy^ because it ** co7itains the history of Religion and of the Church*,^' Another judicious obseivation of the same commenta- tor will be usefully applied to this enquiry. He ob- serves that the Trumpets should be interpreted as being all of one kind and nature, or, as he expresses it, homo- geneal; ** to make some of them warlike invasions, *' and others to be heresies, is to bring things of too *^ differing a nature under one name 'f." After having supposed the four first Trumpets to represent *' warhke ** invasions on the Roman Empire," he clearly saw, that the remaining Trumpets must not be interpreted as containing the history of Christian heresies; and there- fore he laboured to shew that the Roman Empire was the object of attack in all the Trumpets. This labour he would perhaps have spared, if he had not already explained the four first Trumpets to be so many attacks on that Empire ; and therefore found himself obliged to exhibit a consistency, when he proceeded to inter- pret the rest. For, certainly, the great apostacy occa- sioned by Mahomet (which Mede understands to be contained under the fifth Trumpet) will be found to have attacked the Christian Religion yet more hostilely and extensively than the Roman Empire. It over- tlirew, or fatally corrupted, this Religion in the Roman Empire, wherever it subverted that Empire ; and, moreover, was fatal to Christianity in the wide and extensive regions of the Eastern World, which had never been subjected to the Roman dominion. ♦ Mede's Works, p. 477. t lb. p. 595. But 222 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. HI. § 3. But if the Trumpets are to be all homogeneal, let us have recourse to one of them, M'hose character and interpretation arc placed beyond dispute ; in the appli- cation of which, all interpreters must agree: and then let us bring- the prophecies under the other Trumpets to that settled standard. The seventh Truinpet ! what does it announce ? Most clearly, the victory obtained by Christ and His Church, not over the Roman Empire, but over the powers of Hell, and of Antichrist, and a corrupt world; over the Dragon, the Beast, the false Prophet, and in process of time (for the seventh Trumpet continues to the end), over Death and Hell; *' for he must reign '* till he hath put all things under his feet." If then, under the seventh Trumpet, the warfare of the Chris- tian Church be so clearly represented (and in this all writers are agreed), what are we to think of the six ? How must they be interpreted, so as to appear homo- geneal ? Are they to be accounted, with Mede and his followers, the successive shocks, by which the Roman Empire fell under the Goths and Vandals ? Homage- neity forbids. They must^ therefore, be supposed to contain the warfare of the Christian Church. And this warfare may be successful under the seventh and last trumpet, when it had been unsuccessful before, yet the homogeneity be consistently preserved. For, the question is not concerning the success, but concerning the warfare. And the Trumpets may be deemed ho- 7?wge?2ealj if they all represent the sa77ie zvarfare (viz. of the powers of Hell, and of the Antichristian world, against the Church of Christ), whatever may be the event ; and whether it be carried on by the violence and persecution of open enemies, or by heresies and corrupt doctrines ; for heresy, which leads to apo- stacy, is a most dangerous assault upon the Church. The Ch. viii. 13.] apocalypse. 323 The irruption of the barbarous nations of the North, upon the declining Empire, is of great importance in civil history. It occasioned a signal revolution in power and property, and produced wonderful effects on the manners, customs, and laws of Europe. But although it took crowns from kings, and property from rich laymen, and overwhelmed multitudes in slavery, its disastrous influence was small, or of no permanency, on the Christian Church. That Church had already- degenerated, through ignorance and conupt worship ; but it retained its property, and power, and the number of its subjects : nay, it greatly increased all these ; for the conquering nations forsook their p^gan creed for the religion of the conquered *. * Mosheim, Cent, vi, part i. — Gibbon narrates the number of the barbarous nations which had become Christian before the age of Charlemagne ; and remarks that the Christians were then in possession of all the fertile lands of Europe, which had been seized by these warriors. (Decline of the Roman Empire, ch, xxxvii. p. 532, 4to.) PART III. SECTION III. Denunciatio7i of the Three If^oes, CHAP. viii. VER. 13. ixlf tixi rots Koioi- 13 And I beheld, and I heard ( eagle } one < ° , > ^ angel ^ flying in the space be- tween heaven and earth, saying, with a loud voice, " Woe ! '* woe ! woe 1 to those 13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying, with a loud voice, Wo, wo, wo to the inhabiters of the earth, by reason of the other voices of 224 At»OCALYPSE, [Pt. III. § 3, " who dwell upon the '' earth, from the re- *' maining voices of " the trumpet of the " three angels, who are " yet to bound !" the trumpet of the three angels which arc yet to sound. Ver. 13. J72d I beheld, and I heard one ^^^f^^A Jlijlng ; &c.] Griesbach has admitted the word ubth {eagle) uito the text, and seems to produce powerful authorities for the admission. But the received reading, AP/fXa {angel) seems also supported by good authorities; and internal evidence will appear decisive in its favour. The two Avords have resemblance in Greek character, and might be confounded by transcribers. I prefer the word angel, because, in the scenery of the Apocalypse, the action is almost en- tirely and exclusively administered by angels. And in ch. xiv. 5, the Prophet sees '' another angel flying in '' the space between heaven and earths To what former angel docs this other angel refer, but to this of the eighth chapter, who is the only one before described as flying ? And it is in the same " space between *' heaven and earth." And this angel of the xivth chapter is followed by others, all of them aiigels, no eagle. I remark also the application of the word hog, one, to this angel or eagle, whichsoever it may be. If , it be to be applied to an eagle, why does the Prophet say one eagle ; why not an eagle ? for no eagles had been mentioned. But there is a propriety, if it be an angel, in spying one angcly because many angels had been, and ^\ ere then, employed in the action. The cohort of seven angels were then standing forth with their trumpets. lb. Ch. viii. 13.] apocalypse. 2^5 lb. In the space betxveen heax/en and earth,'] The (jLea8^etvvi(xcc appears to have been one of the cardinal points in the Chaldean astronomy, opposed to the hypog^eum^: but in this passage, it seems simply to mean the intermediate space between heaven and earth, as they appeared in this vision; the one extended above, the other below f. lb. IVoe / woe! zvoe I] The Divine messenger, at the command of God, leaving heaven, and hovering over the earth, proclaims three woes, or dreadful cala- mities, to happen to its inhabitants, under the three remaining Trumpets. No greater calamity can happen to the sons of men, than the corruption, the rejection, the loss of true Religion. Under the four preceding Trumpets, an hostile invasion of the whole Christian Church, in its fourfold division, had taken place ; but the view of its effects had been hitherto general, and representative of few particulars. The warfare snow exhibited more plainly and openly ; and Antichrist will soon stand confessed. In the apostolic times, in the times when this vision was exhibited (and the four first Trumpets seem to have their date from those times, ch. i.). Antichrist already was said to be come J; the mystery of iniquity did then work §, *^ and waxed ** worse and worse ||." So, under the four first Trumpets, the storm seems increasing ; but the calamity is as yet described only in general terms, previous to a more particular exhibition. Now it advances to its ma- turity, and most desolating effects, by three distinct and particular explosions, under the three last Trumpets. * Brucker, Hist. Crit. Philos. i. 139. t See note, ch vii. 1. X 1 John ii. 18, 22. iv. 3. 2 John 7. § 2 Thess. ii. 7. II 2 Tim. iii. 13. What is thus expressed by the Sacred writers, has always been understood to signify the beginnings of Antichristian power. BB PART 225 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 4. PART in. SECTION IV. Tltejifth Trumpet, and first JVoe. 1 Ka/ © taiyLttl^ ay yfX©' ta-a-Kiria-t, ^ v^avH 'at'niux.ora, lis T>jv 7«V i^ loo- Bn ccvru V xAek tb (^^lizios rrts a^vcrva. 2 Koci nVOI^E TO } ayT<*rj, I'va /A*j a^iXflo-wo-* Tov ;^of- Toy rris fpis, K^f ■Tsray p^Xwfov, tfol ths O'vQpilymiSf o\'- TX hat, (Satravia- 6Zcrt fjLxvas 'crivrt' xal o ^ota-xviariMS ^vruv us ^xaetvKT- fAOS CTKO^mSf OTOCV sKtlvMS (^'Klna-tia-iv o» avOfufroi Toy ^ava- Toy^ x«< « /x*) svpy)- araa-iv airov' Kj Itci*- BvfA.-n(rtia-iv tifroOx- Sayaloy «■»•* oti/ru/v* 7 Ka* Ta 9(^01 u(ji,oilx rZv UK^i^wv ofAotx ttrvois vTotfjt.ixcrfji.i- vois sU ZJoXtfjiOv' ty «7ri rais xtipaXa? avTuv us ^sipxvoi ^f yo-o?, >c ra -STf o- ciaitx avr&9 us 8 wwy, Ka» el^ov T^t^ois us r^ly^xs yvvxiKuVf >y ooovles avTuv us XeovIuv 5- 9 vxy. Kai fTj^oy vw- focxar o-/§»}f Sj* xa< yuY xvruv us (^uvr) a^fAxruVf 'tTntuy tioKKuy r^i^ovruy 10 us v6Xs(ji.or. Ka/ jp^^o-iy a^ais h^oUs CKG^TrmSf j^ xevl^a f)v fv rxTs is^uTs av- ruv' xal -n l^saix tivTuv o^iwto-xt rits to kill them, but that they should be tor- mented five months : and the torment of them is as the torment of a scorpion, when it 6 striketh a man. And in those days shall the men seek death, and shall not find it ; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from 7 them. And the ap- pearances of the lo- custs were like horses prepared for battle : and upon their heads, as it were, crowns of gold ; and their faces as the faces of men : 8 And they had hair, as it were, the hair of women ; and their teeth 9 were as of hons. And they had breast-plates, as it were, breast- plates of iron. And the sound of their wings as the sound of chariots, of many horses lOrushing to battle. And they have tails like to scorpions ; and stings were in their tails. And their power was to injure the men five 11 months. They have over them a king, the angel of the bottomless deep J his name in He- B B 2 they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months : and their torment was as the tor- ment of a scorpion, when he striketh a 6 man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it ; and shall de- sire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7 And the shapes of the locusts tcere like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces -were as the 8 faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the 9 teeth of lions. And they had breast-plates, as it were breast-plates of iron ; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses 10 running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails : and their power •was to hurt men five 1 1 months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of 228 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 4. avrHiv ^xaiXia, tov tra' ovofjLK ttvrZ *E^f«lV< 'Ataoowv, ovofAX «%« Alio'K- 12 XjJwv. 'H ««« i5 /x/a a7n5X0£v' ver. See notes, (ch. iii. 12. ii. 12. iv. 4. vi. 2.) These imposing enemies of the true faith, have crowns, not of gold, but, as it were of gold : (see Matt, xxiii. 27, 28.) they deceive under the appearance of the Chris- tian Religion. • r The face of man giv^en to an ani- mal, implies a reasoning power in that animal ; — Os homini sublime dedit, coelumque tueri Jussit. — These deceivers impose by a show of reasoning and by the specious elo- quence which is human. Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Church of Smyr- na, written about the time when ' I the gr^at Gnostic heresy began to f Bochart, on Joel ii. where it is said of them, *^ WkQ Jiorsemen " shall they run." Ray, on Insects ; quoted by Bp. Newton. prevail, Their faces as the faces of men. Ch. ix. 1—12.] APOCALYPSE. 235 prevail, calls these deceivers ^vipia iv0p«TOiu,opCp«, wild-beasts with the appearance of men. (Patres Aposto- Llici, sect, iv.) " They possess the arts of allure- ment. The hair of the women, Their hair, as of j among the Eastern nations of Zi;o?n€n, \ antiquity, was long ; which was accounted effeminate in a man. L(l Cor. xi. 14, 15.) f Yet under this effeminate allu- ring appearance, they devour and destroy. (Joel. i. 6. Psalms Ivii. 4. Iviii. 6, Ezek. xix. 6. xxii. 25. 1 Pet Lv. 8. Hab. xi. 33.) The natural locust has a breast- plate, or coat of mail: these symbolic locusts have defensive armour, to <( repel the weapons of controversy, — such Scriptural opposition as the orthodox Christian would bring ^against them. Their attack is powerful and alarming ; with the furious noise of \ great host, they overbear all be- fore them. (Joel ii. 5.) Their teeth, asof . lions^ C They have breast- plates, as of iron. Vcr. 9. The soimdT of their wings is as the sound of cha- riots, of many horses rushing to battle, ^ ' As by the appointment of the Creator, the face belongs to man only; so the tail is peculiar to brutes : and thus the more brutal passions scorpions,andstings\ and appetites seem to be here em- Ver. 10. They have tails like to in their tails. ployed, as an instrument of seduc- tion. The dragon acts by the same instrument, S3* APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 4 Their power is to instrument, the tail, (ch. xii. 4).; ' ' The sting of death is sin, " (1 Cor XV. 56). f The continuance of these anti- christian invaders is during five months. Ver. 11. Lastly, Thcj/ have over the7n a king, the angel of the bottomless deep. injure the men^ Jive 'i months, or 150 days ; that is, in prophetical language, (see note, ch. ii. 10.) 150 years. The king, or leader of this war-l fare, is not one of the scorpion-lo-' custs, one of their own earthly stock and nature ; they have super^ natural assistance and direction:; the evil angel, who had embittered the waters, and opened the infernal abyss, being himself their king . With respect to the name ApoUyon, Hisname in Hebrew ^ observe, that Judas Iscariot is called is Abaddon, in the Greek ApoUyon, that is, Destroyer, by our Lord d vhg rvjg ctTcoKeiag, thcp son of perdition or destruction, after Satan had entered into him, (John xvii. 12). And the heresies de- scribed hi ^ Pet. iL which by thej best commentators are supposed to! be of the Gnostic cast, are styled After this comparative view of the figurative lan- guage of the text, we may proceed to observe, that, as swarms of locusts, under the Old Testament, are used to signify armies devastating the Holy Land, the heritage of God, the Theocracy under which the Is- raelites enjoyed superior blessings and protection : So, under the New Testament, such an invasion, led by an evil angel, from the depths of hell, must be un- 5 derstood Ch. ix. 1—12.] APOCALYPSE. SM ^erstood to have for its object, the Christian Church, the heritage of Christ. The object of attack, then, seems clearly ascertain* ed. But of what nature are the assailants? Do they attack the Church with arms ? or with more formida- ble weapons, — with corruptive doctrines? The figura- tive expressions here used, may, in many instances, imply either. But that part of the description which represents the '* sealed of God," the faithful and true Christiai*s, as unhurt by their stings, seems to point out decisively, that the invasion is not by arms lite- rally understood. In no invasion of the Christian Church by arms, has it been known, (nor indeed can it be consistently supposed,) that the sealed, the sincere servants of God through Christ, should escape. Upon such trying occasions, they die nobly, as mar- tyrs, or at least undergo patiently their share of the common calamity. But suppose a base corruption of Religion, engendered in the depths of hell, and pro- mising worldly greatness, and pleasure and power, to attack the Christian Church; — in such case, the pro- phecy now before us might be exactly fulfilled. The sealed, the true servants of Christ, would reject the proffered allurements, would adhere to their ancient faith ; vyhile the worldly and nominal Christians would be captured in the snare. For this reason, (as well as because in the progress of our enquiry it will be found so best to accord,) under the symbol of the scorpion-locusts, , we are to look for a swarm, not of armed men, but of teachers of corrup^ doctrines. In the early times of the Church, many notions, corruptive of pure Christianity, were engendered by fanatical and wicked heretics. But the authority of the Apostles and of apostolical men prevented, for a time, their successful propagation. Yet their in- crease iSS APOCALYPSE. [Pt III. § 4 crease and prev^alence were foretold by the Holy Spirit * ; and, these holy men being now removed, they swarm through the Christian world. Such heresies were pre- ordained, to prove the Church; the sealed, the pure and faithful followers of their Lord, were to escape the contagion f. And, in the corrupted, they do not utterly destroy the life, the spiritual life which is in Christ X; for, the Divine evidences of the Gospel were in those early times so clearly established by recent miracles, were so palpable and convincing, as not to be withstood, or denied, by those who made enquiry. But these heretics corrupt and debase the faith which they acknowledge, by the addition of their own philosophical dreams and superstitions. Now, the first szvarm, the first multitudinous host of corrupters, recorded in Christian history, is that of the Gnostics § . Their seeds and beginnings are observable in the first century, even in the apos- tolic times ||. Cerinthus appears to have imbibed the Gnostic doctrines, and also the Nicolaitans ^, But heretics of this description Avere not successful in cor- rupting the Church during its first century. Euse- * 2 Cor. xi. 13. 14; 1 Tim. vi. 3, 4, 5, 20, 21 ; 2 Tim. iii. 13 ; 2 Pet. ii. 1, &c. t 1 Cor. xi. If); 2 Thess. ii. 13. iii, 3. I See notes, ch. iii. 1. vi. 8. § " The first great heresy, which as a gangrene did overspread and " consume much of the beauty, glory, and vigour of the Christian *' Church, was that of the Gnostics." Gale, Court of the Gentiles, pt. iii. b. ii. sect. 7i II Tris ylzv^ui^oi^a yvcoas'^^: the very name under which it is attacked by Irenaeus; 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21; Col. ii. 8, 9, 10; 1 John ii. 18; Epist. Polycarpi. IF Euseb. H. E. lib. iii. c. 28. Mosheim, i. 11(5. 117. Whitby on 2 Pet. ii. See also note, ch. ii. 6; p. 45. J bius Ch. ix, 1^ — 12.] APOCALYPSE. 257 bius says expressly, that the attempts of the heretics against the purity cf the Church, had little success in the apostolical times ; and he dates their prevalence from the times of Ignatius's martyrdom, the latter days of the emperor Trajan, or the beginning of those of Adrian *. The same author has preserved for us a fragment from the works of Hegesippus, who lived ia the times of Adrianf ; and he says, that, '* until those ** times the Church had continued a pure and incorrupt « Virgin ; for, that those who attempted to corrupt ** the wholesome canon of Evangelical doctrine, had *' hitherto remained in obscurity. But when the sa- *' cred company of the Apostles was departed, and " the generation of those who were thought worthy ** to hear their divine preaching w^as gone, then the *^ conspiracy of impious deceit had its beginning; — ** then to the preaching of the truth did they dare " boldly to oppose their knowledge falsely so called XJ* Clemens Alexandrinus, speaking of the Gnostics, as- serts that they were not a pestilential heresy before the times of Adrian \. Ireneeus, a nearer witness of those times, after describing the doctrines of the Gnostics, as derived from Simon Magus and Menan- der, to Saturninus, Basilides, and Carpocrates, speak- • Eccl. Hist. lib. iv. c. 7. iii. SG, f Lib. iii. c. 32, X fEv^rnvfjiov yvua-i¥, the term used by Irenaeus, in his treatise against the Gnostics. Tvc^o'ts is true knowledge, and is thus applied by the Sacred writers, and by the fathers, to express divine knowledge. And therefore yvus-iMs means a well-informed Christian. (See Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iv. and vi.) Hence the Gnostics were not allowed by the orthodox, the name which they impudently assumed : but to them they attributed the ylyev^c^wfjLov yvua-iv mentioned by Saint Paul, (1 Tim. vi. 20). In the next century, when this folly was gone, a fraternity of monks took the name of Gnostics in its proper and good sense. Socratis Hist. Eccl. lib. iv. c. 23. § Strom, hb. vii. 17. viii. 27. ing 238 ai»ocaly:^se. [Pt. III. § 4, ing of the two last, says ; ** their impure followerjJ ** are not to be numbered,— springing up like mush- " rooms:" and thus he certifies the time of the grtat pestilential irruption *. Epiphanius, quoting from Irenaeus, observes, that they burst out of the earth together at one time, like mushrooms, the lurking- places of many scorpions f. In short, by the united and prevailing testimony* of the fathers, it appears that the Gnostics did not be* ^in to swarm over the Christian Church before the period mentioned by Eusebius ; the end of Trajan's or beginning of Adrian's reign. Internal evidence may be collected confirming this account. Ignatius, (at the time of whose martyrdom, the Gnostics are described by these fathers as beginning to swarm,) in his epistles, written at this period, represents the lea- ders of this enormous heresy as A^fipoJvjyJo/, still work- ing covertly. He describes the Church of Ephesus as happily withstanding their impressions: but in his passage to Rome, he finds the heresyarchs busily em- ployed in corrupting other churches J. Polycarp lived to a later period, when the vast irruption had taken place. This apostolical bishop was frequently assailed by these heretical doctrines ; for Irenseus, when a boy, remembered him in that situation, stopping his cars, and moving from the place where he heard these Gnostical blasphemies, (as he says, was custo- mary with him,) and exclaiming, O gracious God, * Velut k terra fungi manifestati sunt; — etenim non est nuraerum dicere eorum, qui secundum alterum et alterum modum exciderunt ^veritate. Iren.lib. 1. c. 21, 22, 32, 33. iii. c. 4. t Cont. Haer. lib. i. 31. See also Tertullian de Prose. Haer. c. 30r Cypriani Epist. 75, the letter of Firmilian to that father. X Ignat. Epist. ad Ephes, 7; 8, 9 ; ad Smyrn. 5. to Ch. ix. 1 — 12.] APOCALYPSE. 239 to what times hast thou reserved me, to undergo all this * ! Thus, although ecclesiastical history has preser- ved but few original documents belonging to the times of which we enquire, (for they perished in the Dio- cletian persecution) ; yet there is abundant proof of the period when the grand Gnostical irruption took place. It burst forth in Asia and Africa at nearly the same time. Saturninus, followed by Cerdo, and by Marcion who afterwards corrupted Italy, by Barde- sanes, Tatian, Severus, and their multitudinous dis- ciples, spread the poison over the east. While Basi- lides in Africa, followed by Carpocrates, Valentine, &c. overran the rest of the Christian world. Nume- rous churches and communities of these Gnostics con- tinued to flourish, and to bring scandal on the Chris- tian name, through that century and the better half of the next. But in this their progress, they were vigorously opposed by the orthodox and pure Chris- tians; by Justin Martyr, Iren^eus, Tertullian, Cle- mens Alexandrinus, and Origen; and in their wild philosophy, by the Platonic philosophers under Plo- tinus ; at whose death, in the year 270, they will be seen to have been almost entirelv sunk and srone. — So that, taking all these accounts together, we find evidence, that the duration of the Gnostics, as a prevailing heresy and pestilential swarm, (for, it is in that view only that, consistently with the symbols, we are to consider them,) was about 150 years, the period foretold f . The ♦ Euseb. H. E. lib. v. 20. t The exact time of the rise of the Gnostics having appeared to occasion some dispute in the literary world ; it may be proper to add • few more words on this 5ubject»-«-The learned have been generally agreed. S40 APOCALYPSE. [Pt III. § 4. The Gnostics are represented to us, by the fathers, as deriving their religious principles from the Nicolai- tans; agreed, by the testimonies of the ancients, (such as we have above I reported,) to refer the rise of these heretics to the beginning of the second century. But Bishop Pearson, in his Vindiciob Ignatianoe^ attempted to shew that they were of earlier date. He was answered in a very satisfactory manner by Dodwell, (Diss. i. in Irenaeum). The learned and judicious Mosheim, having given a particular atten* tion to this subject, has perfectly reconciled these contending opinions, by observing, that the Gnostics were lurking in the Church in the first century; but that it was not before the second century that they burst from their obscurity into open day : — ** Certisque ** ducibus adscitis, stabilem sibi formam, certasque leges praescribe- " bant.'* (Com. de Rebus Christian, ante Const. Mag. Sasc. i. sect. ix.) And again; qui, (scil. Gnostici,) quum primo rei Christianae seculo sine luce et gloria vixissent, paucisque discipulis usi fuissent, Hadriano imperante, audacius rem suaro agere incipiebant, atque per varias provincias paulatim familias satis nuraerosas colligebant, col- lectasque omni contentione roborare, ornare, ac amplificare stude- bant. Deficiebant ad hoc genus hominum plurimi Christianorum, sanis antea sententiis deditorum, partim eloquentia quorundam fanati cd ; partim pietatis quara nonnulli prae se ferebant, magnS, specie; partim etiam securius vivendi, et liberius peccandi desiderio, cui aliqui eorum favebant, allecti. (Sasc. ii. sect. xli. See also Mosheim*s Eccl. Hist. cent. 11. c. 5. sect. 4.) The learned are now, I believe, gene- rally agreed, that this is the true state of the question. Le Clerc had incautiously referred the times of Saturninus to the first century ; but Mosheim has, in the same work, shewn this to be by mistake. (Saec. ii. sect, xliv.) He adds, that it is beyond all doubt, that all he numerous and important sects of the Gnostics flourished in the middle of the second centurijy and that the chief of them had their origin not long after the beginning of that century, " non diu post initi^ " seculi exortas esse." Upon these authorities we shall appear fully justified in placing the rise of the Gnostics as a prevalent pestilential heresy, at or before the year 120. In the I7th of Adrian, anno 133, Basilides was living at Alexandria, (Euseb. Chron.); in 127 Mar- cion came to Rome, (Iren. lib. iii. c. 4.) and there began to broach his false doctrine ; and the leading teachers of these doctrines continued. CIl. ix. ] — 12.] APOCALYPSE. 241 tans*; but as carrying their mischievous notions etg tty.pov, to the utmost excess. To the wildest dreams of ♦ See note, ch. ii. 6. Clem. Alex. Strom, iii. 4.''25. Epiphan, Haer. 25. continued, says Clemens Alexandrinus, to the times of the Antonincs. (Strom, vii. ad fin.) So much for the rise of the Gnostics* Their continuance, as a prevalent pestilential heresy, cannot be so accurately ascertained ; because their decline was gradual, and not, like their rise, by a sudden burst. But after the same manner as the question con- cerning the rise of these sects is properly confined to their appear- ance as a general/j/ prevalent j)estileiitial heresy^ and is not ati'ected by Gnostical principles having been previously professed by someday Christians; so, the enquiry concerning the termination of this heresy is to be governed by the time, when these heretics appeared no longer in such mnnhers, aSy fidJilUng the prophecy , darkened the face of the Church. When they no longer appear in this character, the period we seek is arrived ; and we have no occasion to pursue their remains, a few stragling Gnostics, in whose times the Gnostical influence on Christianity was reduced to a still lower state than that in which it was seen previously to the grand irruption under Saturninus and Basilides. Now it is clear from the writings of Irenccus, Tertullian, Clemens Alexandrinus, and of Plotinus, that the Gnostics continued to flourish in the times of these writers ; which will be found to continue through the second century, and beyond the middle of the third. And after these times, we do not find that the champions of the Church had much occasion in their writings to oppose the doctrines of the Gnostics, or that they mention them as a sivarming prevailing heresy. The history of the Church at the end of the third century is indeed imperfect ; many of its records having perished in the Diocle- tian persecution: but in the beginning of the fourth century, vvhen the Church, delivered from persecution, held frequent and general councils, and condemned the doctrines and opinions of the prevailing heretics ; we hear little or nothing of those of the Gnostics. Hence it may be concluded that they were no longer formidable to the Church, and hence Mosheim and other ecclesiastical enquirers have observed, that the philosophy, whi^h sprang up in the Church in the third cen- c c tury 242 APOCALTPS£. [Pt. III. §4, of visionary and fantastic philosophy, derived from the oriental schools, which they incorporated with the tury with Origen and others, ad absurda harum sectarum commenta profliganda et funditus evertenda sufficiebat. (Mosheim de Rebus ante Const, sa^c. ii. See also Eccl. Hist.) Yet it must not be concealed, that the same learned author has observed in another passage, that the followers of Marcion were not entirely eradicated before the fifth or sixth century. And the method which this judicious writer has taken (as above represented) to reconcile the jarring opinions con- cerning the rise of the Gnostics, must in this place be tised to re- concile his own opinions concerning their continuance. The Gnostic* were extinct, as a prevalent pestilential heresy ; but from their ashes, yet warm^ doctrines of a similar cast were seen, now and then, to blaze forth : but these v/ere soon extinct again, and never acquired any thing like that universal domination, described by historians to have taken place in the second century ; which they have hence de- nominated the Gnostic age. The Manichaeans incorporated some Gnostic principles into their doctrines : but this sect was never nume- rous. (Libanius, Epist. ad Priscian. ; Lardner, Cred. vol. viii. 37, 57, 156.) Yet, in the page of history, it seems to have obtained a cele- brity, equal, or perhaps superior, to that of the Gnostics. This cir- cumstance is to be attributed entirely to the numerous writings which have come down to us from the age of the Manichaeans, while so fesT have descended from the Gnostical age. (August, cent. Faust, c. 20. 22 ; Lardner, Cred. vi. p. 38. 56. viii. 37.) The Priscillianists, in the fourth century, were also said to have sprung from the Gnostic ashes : but Gibbon calls them a recent sect : (Hist, of Decline and Fall, ch. xxvii.) and Lardner, upon good reasons, which he assigns, doubts of this origin attributed to them. (Cred. Gosp. art. Priscil- lianists.) He says also, that they would have been little known or regarded, but from the violent and inhuman methods used to extirpate them. (Cred. vol. ix.) Excepting in these instances (which appear of a doubtful character, and by no means exhibit the Gnostical sects as continuing to darken and disturb the Christian world,) very few re- mains can be found of these heretics, beyond the time allotted to them in the prophecy. Yet, Epiphanius says, that in his times, in the fourth century, there were some relics of them. And this may be allowed, without impeaching the application of this prophecy to the main Ch. ix. 1 — 12.] APOCALTPSE. S45 the doctrines of Christianity, rejecting or corrupt- ing any part of the Sacred Writings which op- posed main body. When an army has marched through a country, and only some stragling parties belonging to that army remain behind, the army may be truly said to be gone. And a few locusts may remain behind, (than which nothing is more common in natural his- tory,) when the swarm, the great body, has disappeared, and may properly be affirmed to be no more. But further to shew that the remains of the Gnostics, after the time specified, (about the year 260, or 270,) were very inconsiderable, I shall add a few additional authorities, all taken from writers of those times. Celsus, the Epicurean Philosopher, who is supposed to have written his book against the Christian Religion about the times of Antoninus Pius, when the Gnostics had already put forth their grand ewarm, mentioned many sects of them under various denominations, which in the year 252, when Origen wrote his famous answer to that book, were so entirely gone, that this learned Father professes an utter ignorance of them. And he blames Celsus for ascribing to the Christians the strange dreams and inventions of these heretics, in par- ticular of the Ophiani, who, he says, in his time, had altogether dis- appeared, or were very few indeed. (Origen. cont. Cels. lib. vi, p. 293.) Origen is said by Eusebius, to have converted many of the Gnostics. (Eccl. Hist. vi. 18, 20.) This able and active Father flou- rished in the times when they were rapidly declining, and returning to sober principles. Some of his early works were written against the Gnostics. But from his last production, the work already quoted, written about the year 252, we perceive the Gnostics to be sinking into disrepute, if not entirely sunk. Of the Simoniansy he says in one passage, he does not believe ihirti/ are to be found in the world : (Cont. Celsura, lib. i. p. 44.) and in another place, that there are none left. (lib. vi. p. 282.) The Simonians certainly were Gnostics; all of whom were comprehended by some writers under this generic name. Cerdo and other distinguished Gnostics are called so by Ire- naeus; (Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. iv. c. 11.) who, together with Tertul- lian and Eusebius, derives all the Gnostics from Simon, (Iren. lib. 1, 20. 30. 33. ii.; Pref. iii. c. 4. ad fin. TertuUian. de Animd, 325. Euseb. H. E. ii. 13. iv. 70 c c 2 The 244? APOCALYPSE. [Ft. IIL § 4. posed their tenets, many of them added, as might be expected, tlie most immoial and indecent practices. The particulars of these it is not necessary to ad- duce ; they may he collected from Irenaeus and Ter- tullian ; from Plotinus also, the Platonic Philosopher, Tiie Platonic Philosopher, Fh^tinus, flourished in the former part of the third century, and wrote against the Gnostic philosophy; and in the latter part of that century, his disciple Porphijri/ published his works. In his preface to that book, by way of explaining the matter of it, he says, '* e/ t/iat time there were many Christians, not only of " the conniion sort, but heretics, deriving their notions from the an- *' cient philosophy." ^Vhy does he say there uere at thai time, such philosophical Christians (in other terms Gnostics), but because they were not to be found at the later period when he wrote ? And he wrote after the death of Plotinus ; which happened in 270. In the times of Cyprian, who died a martyr in 258, the Crnostics were returning into the body of the Church. Among the numerous heretics, to be rebaptized, are mentioned Valentinians and Marcio- nites, who were certainly Gnostics. (Cyprian. Epist. 7^-) Eusebius wrote his history in the former part of the next century, lie describes Manes, the founder of the iNIanichceans, as " collecting " false and iinpious doctrines from aa infinite number of heresies, which " had been a long time extinct.*' And there can be no doubt, but that he intended those of the numerous Gnostic tribes. (Euseb. H. E, lib. viii. c. 31.) He mentions, in another passage, the mariner in which these sects arose one upon another, and, taking new and vari- ous forms, perished, (Eccl. Hist. lib. iv. c. / •) In these times of Eu- sebius, and of the Emperor Constantine, the Valentinians and Mar- cionites are once mentioned, among the subsisting heresies by another Ecclesiastical Historian, (Sozomen. lib. vi. c. 32). But, about 50 years afterwards, when the Emperor Gratian excepted all such pernicious heretics from the general toleration, they are no longer remembered. (Socrates, v. c. 2. Sozomen. vii. c. I.) Thus the grand swarm of Gnostics passed over and was gone, about 150 years after its in- vasion of the Christian world, leaving a few scattered locusts behind ; who, occasioning little trouble and alarm, are seldom mentioned by the ecclesistical writers ; and, in another century, are heard of no more, who Ch. ix. 1 12.] APOCALYPSE. 245 wlio wrote successfully against their extravagant te- nets; from other writers who lived after this raee had passed over, from Theodoret, Clemens Alexandrinus, and Epiphanius. The English reader may obtain a general notion of them from JNIosheim's History of the Second Century, chap, v.* From the account now deduced, first, of the Scrip- tural import of the figurative language of this Trum- pet, and, secondly, of the character of the Gnostics, and their period, as extracted from cotemporary wri- ters, it may already appear, that in this first general and extensive apostacy, the prophetic representation of this Trumpet was fulfilled. But it may be satis- factory to descend to particulars. In ver. 1, the '* star " fallen from heaven," called afterwards the *' king" or leader of the locusts, ** the angel of the bottom- *^ less pit," '' the destroyer," has been already shcAvn to be Satan, or some distinguished minister of that fallen angel. Now, the ancient writers of the Church, and her historian Eusebius, ascribe the introduction of the Gnostic heresy to the agency of the Devil (d (j.i(Toy.aXog Aeciij.uv\ who, having, as he says, attempted in vain to overthrow the Church by external persecutions, attacked it internally by his agents, by professed Christians, leading some of the faithful eig /JuQov oLi:oXeicig, to the deep of destruction ; in which expressions, we have a remarkable coincidence both with the oi^ig'm of this woe, *' the pit of the bottomless deep," and with the name of the Leader, Apollyon '\, He repre- sents * Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iii. 2, 3, 4. Epiph. Ilaer. 23, 24, 2r. 31, 32. iii. 6\ Fragra. Agrip. Castor, in Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. iv. c. 7. + In another passage of the same historian, the Gnostical philo- sophy is called rot xiteifot pvSo» : and Irenxnis speaking of the Carpo- 3 cratians, 246 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 4. sents this attack also as a warlike invasion, calling the leader woAefiwIalof, which agrees with the descrip- tion before us, and with the alarm by the trumpet *, Justin Martyr is also represented by the same author, as ascribing this invasion to diabolical operation f. In ver. 2, what can express so forcibly the dark, and perplexed, and uncomfortable philosophy of the orien- tal schools, which, mixing with Christianity, so ob- scured and debased it, as these dark fumes, arising from th© infernal deep, and obscuring the Sun ? In describing the invasion of the Gnostic heresy, the historian makes use of nearly the same figures ; com- paring the Churches of Christ to the most resplen- dent luminaries before that attack § ; by which he intimates that their splendour was darkened. In verses 3 and 4, a swarm of locusts arises with the smoke. Now, the resemblance of the Gnostic teachers to such a swarm, in respect both of their numbers, and of the mischief occasioned by them, is so striking, that historians, who did not entertain the most distant thought of applying to them this prophecy, and merely related what they found record- ed in the annals of those times, have described them in the very same terms by which the scorpion-locusts are described in this vision. Such is the relation of the learned Jacob Brucker, who, in his critical His- tory of Philosophy, after speaking of a sect of orien- tal philosophers in the first century, adds ; * ' and ** when many from that sect had betaken themselves cratxans, an eminent sect of the Gnostics, says, d. Satand praemissi sunt. — Again ; Amarum et malighum principis apostasiae serpentis vcnenum porrigentis eis : (lib. i. 30.) ♦ Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. iv. c. 7. 11. t Lib. iii. c, 26. J Eccl. Hist. lib. iv. 7» "to Ch. ix. 1 — 12.] APOCALYPSE. 247 *' to the Christian Reh'gion, and had preposterously ** attempted to unite their precepts to it, hence there *' arose those swarms of heresies^ which, priding *' themselves in the name of Gnostics, like winged ** insects, xvent flying through all the churches of Asia '* and Africa, and contaminated the simplicity of the ** most holy Religion with the most absurd nonsense : *' and, continuing their progress to the Jews also, ** and even to the Gentiles, miserably corrupted the ** national Philosophy of both of these; invented ** wild and monstrous notions, confirmed and increased ** a wide-reigning fanaticism, disseminated multitudes *^' of spurious books, and corrupted the whole xvorld ** with the very worst doctrines *." This learned author laments'):, that an accurate knowledge is not now to be obtained of this wide- spreading mischief; very few fragments remaining of the writings which concern the Gnostics. But if no more were known, than what this studious enquirer has presented to us in the above-cited passage, we should want little to convince us, that the marks and characters of them, as delivered in history, corre^ spond most exactly with those of the scorpion-locusts under this Trumpet. * Exque ea secta plures, cvlm ad Christianam religionem se con- tulissent, prseceptaque sua cum h4c praeposter^ conjungere conati essent, exorta esse ilia haeresium examina, quae Gnosticorum nomine superbientia, muscarum instar, per omnes Asiae atque Africae eccle- sias pervolitarunt, et nugis ineptissirais simplicitatem sanctissimae Re- ligionis contaminarunt. Ad Judaeos quoque et ipsos Gentiles pro- gressa, doraesticam utrorumque Philosophiam misere corruperunt, sententiarum monstra excogitarunt, fanaticism am lat^ regnantem confirmarunt et auxerunt, librorum spuriorum segetes disseminarunt, pessimisque doctrinis totum commacularunt orbem. (Brucker. Hist. Crit. Philosoph. torn. ii. p. 6390 . ^^''''- la 248 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 4 In verses 3, 5, and 10, the locusts are described as having the tails, the slings, the poxver of scorpions* We have already seen tliat scorpions, in Scriptural lan- guage, are represented as a part of the poM^er of the infernal enemy, being nearly related in character and description to the race of serpents. Now Eusebius, giving an account of the rise and progress of the Gnostic heresy, ascribes it to some serpent-like poxver*' : and again he compares the concealed mis- chief of that sect to that of a lurking reptile f- And TertuUian, in his treatise intitled Scorpiace, (that is, antidote against the scorpions,) directly compares the Vaientinians, and other Gnostic teachers, to scorpions; and he instances the points of resemblance, in the dangerous poison of a little and contemptible animal; in their infinite kinds and varieties, all armed in the same manner with ^ tail, and produced by heat. And then speaking of the hot persecution which had raged against the Christians; — Tunc (says he) Gnostici erumpunt, tunc Valentiniani proserpunt, tunc omnes martyriorum refragatores ebulliunt, calentes et ipsi, offendere, figcre, occidere J. These quotations will tend to shew, that those Christian writers, who lived in, or nearest to, the times of the Gnostic heresy,* conceived of it in such a manner as to represent it * 0(pic,^v>s ns ^vvocijus : Eccl. Hist. lib. iv. 7. t 'Ep'Trda ^(xviv cc^iQ- 17 {JI-OV OCVTUV. Kxi iiTus iiQoy ras "it- 'TtHS Iv TYi O^xa-Bl, Kj Tas- x.x9v)(/Aviis lii etvTMV, tyovlxs vai- vxicivOivaSf iC ^si'M- ozis' >c x'l •At(pxKxi Twv m'nu't 'I's y.s- (pxXxi Xso^iov, j^ iK Tu>y r^Tajv k- 'my.ruvOrta-xv ro r^irov rvv xvO^u- jc ly t5 y-XTiv^, Kj t5 S'E/'a t5 txwo- the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "" Loose the four an- *' gels, who are bound- " en at the great river 15" Euphrates," And the four angels were loosed, who were pre- pared for the hour, and day, and month, and year, for to slay the third part of the iGmen. And the num- ber of the troops of cavalry was two my- riads of myriads : and I heard the number of 17 them. And l^us I saw the horses in the vi- sion, and those who sate on them having breast-plates of the colour of fire, of hya- cinth, of brimstone. And the heads of the horses like heads of lions ; and out of their mouths issueth fire, and smoke, and brim- 18 stone. By these three plagues were slain the third part of the men, by the fire, and the smoke, and the brim- stone issuing from 19 their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails; for, their tails are like serpents, sixth anoel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great 1 5 river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third 16 part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen woere two hundred thousand thousand : and I heard the number of them, 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat oa them, having breast- plates of fire, and of jacinct, and brim- stone : and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoak, 1 8 and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoak, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their 19 mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails : for their tails zrere like unto ser- 254 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 5. 1^ (jLeiruv xvTuv, H avruv sfiVf axt h tou$ H^oils oivruv* act yxf a^ut avTuv OfAOtXl 0^£0"<», £;^»- CXl XM^iXXotS' K^ « avrais othaafft' 20 Kxi ot XoiTTol rwv dvQ^UVUV o'l'tiK XTtt- xioivOvo-av sv roTs %fXtiyxTs rxvrxi^t i fAflsvona-xv Ik rm tfyuv rm ^si^mv auruVf \'vx /x^ larf o- iF}wmo''jja't rx oxt- lAWXj jc rx fi^ft/Xa rx y^vvSiy Kf rx affyf «, Kf rx xaX- XfiC) xxl rx XiQivXf Kxi ra ^i\4vXf X Srt ^XtTTttv ^vvixlxt, «ri axaeiv, 5re 21 'cnptTfxltTv' Kxi s fAfltVOHIirXf «X Tft/K ^ovuv xlruvy art IX ruv (px^fAXiutZv avruvy BTf fx r^f ijofHtxs xvruiy an Ix Tft/K KhtiAfuxruv uvruv. having heads: and with thera they injure. 20 And the remainder of the men, who were not slain by these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, so that they should not worship the dae- mons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. 21 And they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their forni- cation, nor of their thefts. pents, and had heads, and with them they 20 do hurt. And the rest; \ of the men which were ' not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and i brass, and stone, and of wood ; which nei- ther can see, nor hear, 21 nor walk; Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their < sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. Ver. 13, <§*c.] Upon the sound of the sixth Trum- pet, a voice, proceeding from the four horns of the altar, and addressed to the angel, commands that he should '* loose the four angels, then bounden at the ** great river Euphrates,'' who were appointed for this precise Ch. ix, 13 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. 255 precise time, ** the hour, and day, and month, and ** year ;'* and for this purpose, ** to slay the third part '' of the men." The altar is the golden one, the altar of incense*, which makes a part of the scenery in heaven, standing before the Throne, as, in the earthly temple, before the Mercy-seat, which represented the local residence of God f. Upon the four horns or projecting angles of this altar, under the Mosaic law, atonement for the sins of the people was made J. From this sacred place, from the four cardinal points thereof, is issued a decree of destruction against a third part of the Christian Church. For, by the moi is to be under- stood the Christian men. In Acts xv. 1 7. ot y.etlaKm'KOi Tujv avdfojTwv, are the remnant or residue of the Is- raelites ; — and thus also in this chapter (verse 20,) ot TiOiTot Twv av^wTwv are plainly the residue of the Chris- tia?i men; as also in chap. ix. 4, the men who have not the seal of God, are the nominal Christians. And the sins and offences of the Christians must have been great at this period, when the altar, which, as Bishop Newton observes, is ** their sanctuary, calls ^' aloud for vengeance upon them." The voice com- ing from the altar which was before the throne, is as the voice of God, who permits, and had decreed this destruction ; yet, coming from the altar, and not from the throne, somewhat more seems to be in- tended : religion seems intimately concerned. The angels who lead this assault on the Christian Church, are four, in concordance with the four horns of the altar, whence the decree and permission proceeded. We are to account them evil angels, like those of the * See note, ch. vi. p. f See notes, ch. vi. 9. vlii. 3, I Exod. XXX. 1 — 10. PrideJiux, Con. i. 141, d'C. 5 bottomless Q56 AFOCALYPSE, [Pt III. § 5, bottomless deep ; for why, otherwise, were they bounden ? They appear to have been engaged in such destructive warfare aforetime, at the river Euphrates ; but their progress had been arrested, their activity restrained ; now they are again loosed to devastate the Church. But what are we to understand by Eu- phrates? In Scriptural language, ''War upon Eu^ " phrates," is against the King of Assyria *, whose capital city Babylon, on that river, was the grand seat and receptacle of idolatry, the formidable enemy, the insidious corrupter, and at length, by the Divine ap- pointment, the scourge and corrector of the Ancient Church f. The Jews, corrupted by the arts, and then subdued by the arms, of Babylon, were de- tained in a long captivity ; from which they return- ed to their native soil, so entirely weaned from ido- latry, that, prone as they had been to this strange propensity, before their sufferings in that idolatrous city, *' they were strongly and cautiously, and even '' to superstition, set against it afterwards J." Ido- latry never again reared its head in the Church, till the Church had been for some ages Christ ian. That time was now come : for under this Trumpet, the Church is described as idolatrous and desperately * 2 Kings xxiii. 1 Esdras i. 25 — 27. t Jer. li. Prid. Con. book ii. art. Babylon. Whitby's note on iPet. V. 13. — Upon Euphrates, at the time this prophecy was de- livered, stood the ruins of Babylon, whose ancient walls inclosed a park ; the country surrounding, was still called Bahyloiiy and the Nestorians soon afterwards had a patriarch of EHbylon^ which, as Gibbon observes, was an appellation successively applied to the great cities which lose in the neighbourhood of Babylon; to Seleucia, Ctesi- phon, and Bagdai. This shews how connected was the name of Babjj- Ion with the reigning city on Euphrates, X Prideaux, Con. i. 389. 425. 5i3, wicked : Ch. ix. 13 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. 257 wicked ; as will appear evident by referring to the 20tb and 21st verses. And it is not surprising that -srAviyft/, corrections, should issue from this quarter, where they appear to have been kept in readiness, even from the times when they had been so success^ fully applied to the punishment and correction of the Church. These ministers of wrath had been permitted to lead the Assyrian troops against the idolatrous Jewish church, and to carry it into captivity. But on the repentance of the sinners, their agency was re- strained. They now come forth with a new commis- sion against the idolatrous Christians ; not to lead into captivity, but to slay one third of them. And, as is the punishment, so is also the effect of it, different from that of the former chastisement; the offenders are not all slain, and the remaining church is not re- claimed from its idolatry. The above is a general view of the character of this Trumpet : but since the swarm of invaders under the fifth Trumpet, and the army of assailants un- der the sixth, appear to have a certain assimilation, as well as a certain difference, of character, which, compared together, may cast useful light on both ; let us bring them into one view. — D D FIFTH 258 APOCALYPSE. [Pi. III. § 5. FIFTH TRUMPET. 1 . A swarm of scorpion- locusts. 2. The leader, a star fallen, a fallen angel, the destroyer. 3. They arise from the pit of the bottomless deep, under cover of darkening smoke. 4. Their commission is not to slay, but to tor- ment, the unsealed, who wish to die, but cannot ; and these are the unsealed only. 5. Their continuance, five months. 6. Their cliaracter : — They hav€ tails and stings and power as scorpions; are like war-horses in ap- pearance ; have crowns as of gold ; faces as of men ; hair as of women ; teeth as of lions ; breast-plates as of iron ; come in smoke ; with the noise of war- chariots ; wound Avith sting and tail. SIXTH TRUMPET. 1. An army of myriads of cavalry, 2. Their leaders, four angels, who had been bounden at Euphrates, but are now loosed at the com- mand of one voice, and that from the altar. 3. They come from Eu- phrates, where they had been bounden. 4. To slay the third part of the men. 5. Their appointment for the hour, day, month, year. 6, The horses of the troops of cavalry have tails of serpents with heads on them, with which they in- jure. The heads of the horses like heads of lions. From their mouths issue fire, smoke, and brimstone, by which they kill. And the riders have breast- plates of fire, smoke, and brimstone. 7. Their Ch. ix. 13—21.] APOCALYPSE. 269 FIFTH TRUMPET. SIXTH TRUMPET. 7. 7. Their attack is of the nature of a wAv^y^i, or stroke of correction upon the ido- latrous and wicked, but produces no repentance or amendment in those who survive the calamity. I proceed to offer some observations on these passages, thus brought to comparison, in the order in which they stand ; referring to the numbers prefixed to each. 1. A swarm of locusts and an innumerable army of hostile invaders, are in Scripture used metaphori- cally for each other *. Yet there must be some diffe- rence in the present instance ; otherwise they would both have been described under the same name, whether it be of locusts, or horses for war. This difference is pointed out afterwards ; the locusts are said to be like war-horses ; (v. 7.) The other are war- horses. The attack under the sixth Trumpet has therefore more real warfare in it, than that of the fifth ; which only resembles warfare, being metaphori- cally such. 2. The leaders of both invasions are of the same description, angels; under the fifth Trumpet, one fallen angel ; under the sixth, four ; certainly wicked angels, why otherwise had they been bounden ? The difference is four instead of one ; which seems to imply f, that the devastation is to be more dread- ful and complete. 3. The angel of the fifth Trumpet leads his in- vaders from the grand seat of all impurity, from the * Joel iu ^ t See note, ch. iv. 6. D D 2 depths g60 APOCALYPSE, [Pt III. § 5. depths of hell*. The assailants of the sixth come from Euphrates ; where had stood Bahylon, the grand source of corrui>tion to the ancient Church, and which was the instrument applied by the Almighty to punish, and to restore her. This passage compared with the two concluding verses of this sixth Trum- pet, will shew, that, under this invasion, idolatry, as well as other kinds of wickedness, is to be punished ; which does not seem to be the case under the fifth Trumpet, where there is no allusion to this sin. 4. The sivarm of locusts is commissioned to tor- ment, not to kill ; and the unsealed only are the ob- jects of their rage. The armies of ca'calry kill one- third part of the Christian w^orld : and there seems no return to life, as in Zech. xiii. 8. they are totally cut off from God*s people t- 5. The swarm of the fifth Trumpet is appointed for a certain period of continuance ; after which, its ravages may be supposed to end. The armies of the sixth for a certain determined time of commencement^ against which they were kept ready : vfloifxuafjisvoi ei; tv\v tei^ecv. This sense of the construction will appear mani- fest by consulting similar passages in the Greek, viz. Job xii. 5. Psalm xxi. 31. Prov. xxiv. 27. Ezek. iv. 7. 2 Tim. ii. 11. Yet, by the addition of the words, *' day, viojith, year,'' more may be implied than the commeticement, to express which, the word hour alone would have been sufficient. But even if a continu- ance be implied, it is not a determinate one, like that of the fifth Trumpet ; the duration may be long, but the time is not ascertained. 6. The locusts of the fifth Trumpet are like horses for war. The assailants of the sixth are horses. One ♦ Compare ch. xx. 2. t See notes, ch. iii. 1. vi. 8. set Ch. IX. 13—21.] APOCALYPSE. 26l set of invaders wounds with the tail ; the other with the mouth and tail. The locusts have the teeth, the horses the heads, of lions. The crowns of gold, the appearance of men, the delicacy as of women, are wanting to the invaders of the sixth Trumpet, who seem to prosper hy terror more than by persuasion. But both come on with the din of war ; both have terrific breast-plates ; one army comes on in smoke, from the bottomless pit ; the other destroys by smoke, and by fire and sulphur, which are described in Scrip- ture as produced from the same source *. The ar- mour of these assailants agrees with their weapons ; being: — Their armour i nrv^ivus ) of C vxaivOivas > of f hiuhis > of brim- Their weapons ( ix lav^os } fire, ( sk kxttvu ) smoke, ( ta 3«» 5 stone -f-. 7. The attack of the fifth Trumpet is not ordained, as that of the sixth is, to be a plague, or punish- ment, upon the idolatrous, and such an one as should produce no amendment. From this comparison it will appear, that the points * See Is. XXX. 33, Rev. xiv. 10. xix. 20. xx. 10. xxi. 8. t This comparison will shew the sense in which ixxivOms is used, namely, to express that black and blue smoky colour which would arise from the burning brimstone on tlire iron armour : for, the hyacinth, vxMvQms of the ancients, appears to have been a dark co* lour with acserulean tinge, such as we see on violets, — Kxi TO /ov [jLtXxv £»]<, ytxi a. y^xtr'tx vatKtvOos. Theocrit. Idtll. X. 28. After which Virgil says, Et nigriE violae sunt — — — Ec. x. 35. By^'*f» in the figurative language of Scripture, violence, war, and devastation, are denoted, (see note, ch. vi. 4.); by smoke, dark con* fused doctrines, clouding the light of pure revelation, (see note, ch. ix. 1 — 12. p. 196.) i ^^^ brimstone, in union with these, implies their infernal origin. Seech, xix. 20. xx. 3, 10. xxi. 8. d in 262 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 5. I in which the visions under these two Trumpets agree, and resemble each other, are these : Both represent invasions on the Christian Church ; by an innume- rable host of assailants ; in formidable power ; and proceeding from the sources of infernal iniquity ; under the leading and direction of evil angels ; and gaining an ascendency over the men, by applying to their sensual and brutish passions. They differ in these points. First, as to the body, which is the object of attack. In the fifth Trumpet, "we have only a general description of its iniquity ; but that under the sixth Trumpet, beside this general description, has a particular character, — it is idola- trous. Secondly, the assailing power : in the one, it attacks like an army ; in the other, it is an army. The one is appointed for a certain season of continue ance ; the other for an appointed period of commence- ment, or, if of continuance, for an undetermined time. The one is seductive, as well as formidable ; the other overbears by terror and force. The one torments the nominal Christian, but hurts not the sincere and sealed • the other destroys and annihilates one-third of the body attacked. The one injures by the tail ; the other by the mouth and tail. Lastly, the invaders under the sixth Trumpet, and under that only, are described as instruments of correction and pu- nishment upon the wicked and idolatrous ; by which, however, they who survive the calamity are not re- claimed. In our attempts, therefore, to assort this prophe- cy, we must endeavour to fix our eyes upon some great calamity (for it is a woe) which has happened to the Christian Church ; first, by a multitude of invaders, who are known to have attacked it, not only Ch. ix. 13 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. 2G3 only by false doctrines and seductions, as under the fifth Trumpet, but also hy arms : secondly, at a time ^vhen the Church had relapsed into idolatrif, and was generally corrupt; and when the altars of Religion were so ill served, that from the altar in heaven ven- geance was demanded upon them : thirdly, when so large a part of the body as oiie-third was separated from the Church ; and in such a manner as to lose their spiritual life in Christ, calling no longer upon his name : fourthly, when the residue of the Church, which witnessed, and seemed itself exposed to, this dreadful visitation, continued unrepentant, corrupt, and idolatrous, as before. Before we proceed to apply all these circumstances, in their order, to events in history, it will be useful to ascertain that which belongs more especially to the second of these heads ; the time when this calamity took place. It was in a corrupt period of the Church, when the altar of Religion called for vengeance; when ido- latry in particular was a reigning vice, (verses i^O, 21). Now it is impossible to fix this stain upon the Church in the early periods of it ; in the fourth cen- tury indeed, and perhaps in some small degree in the third, we may acknowledge the seeds and beginnings of a corrupt and idolatrous worship ^. Yet the pro- gress of this evil was slow and gradual; and it was a long time before it could justly be said to have amounted to that general prevalence described in the £Oth and 21st verses. This character is not ' fairly and generally applicable to the Christian Church, be- fore the sixth century. But toward the end of the * Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. viii. c. 1. Mosheim, cent. iv. ch. 3. Cyprian.de Laps. p. 170. Sir Isaac Newton on Prophecy, l^^, 202. 2^7- sixth ^64i APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 5. sixth and the beginning of the seventh century, the measure of this iniquity became full. And at that time, history records a dreadful invasion of the Chris- tian world by numerous armies, assailing it at the same time by corrupt doctrines and by the terror of their arms; witli such success as to cut off from the hope and comfort of Christianity, and from the com- munion of the Church, so large a body of Christians, as may fairly be accounted one third part of the whole ; yet leaving those parts of the Christian Church which remained, idolatrous and unrepentant. Under this description, I shall easily be understood to intend the invasion of the Mahometan Saracens, whose numerous armies, famous for their cavalry, beginning their destructive progress early in the seventh cen- tury, soon overran, and subdued not only to their arras, but to their corrupt doctrines, a great part of the Christian world ; thus fulfilling that which is predict- ed in verses 16, 17, 18, 19, and comprized under the first head proposed. 2. The time, in which they burst forth upon the world, is that already ascertained, and accords with verses 20, 21, of the prophecy; from which verses it is plainly inferred to be a very corrupt, and, in particular, an idolatrous time. All historians are agreed in describing the dreadful cor-' ruption, and idolatry of the Church at the time of the Saracene invasion, and especially of that Eastern part of it, Mdiich chiefly sank under the calamity. And to this corruption of the Church, and to the unchristian divisions and animosities accompanying it, they unanimously ascribe the success of Mahomet and of his followers, accounting this calamity to be a punishment, which the Church had justly de^ served, Ch. ix. 13—21.] APOCALYPSE. 065 served *. 3. The success attributed to these armies of cavalry, under this Trumpet, expressed by their slaying one-third part of the men, that is, of the Christian world, seems likewise fully completed in this irruption of the Mahometans. By the terror of their arms, and by their arts, imposing on the vanquished nations their newly-modelled religion, (which, although it acknowledge Jesus as a prophet, rejects his media- tion and atonement,) they separated from the great body of the Church one- third part of it; which, re- * See Mosheim*s Eccl. Hist. cent. vii. parti, ch. 2 & 3. Amm. Marcell. i. 21, Sale's Preliminary Discourse to the Alcoran, p. 44, 45, 51.& 214. Vie de Mahom. par Boulanvilliers, p. 219, &c. Pri- deaux' Life of Mahomet, preface. Ockley's Hist, of the Saracenes, vol. i. p. 20, 160, 223. Ricaut's Ottoman Empire, p. 187. — A mo- dern writer, who has had access to the Eastern originals, as well as to these authorities, has concisely and eloquently displayed the origin and causes of the Mahometan success : " If in surveying the history of " the sixth and seventh centuries, we call to our remembrance that " purity of doctrine, that simplicity of manners, that spirit of meek- *' ness and universal benevolence, which marked the character of the " Christians in the Apostolic age; the dreadful reverse which we here *' behold, cannot but strike us with astonishment and horror. Divid- " ed into numberless parties, on account of distinctions the most *' trifling and absurd, contending with each other from perverseness ; " and persecuting each other with rancour, corrupt in opinion, and ** degenerate in practice, the Christians of this unhappy period seem *' to have retained httle more than the name and external profession *' of their Religion. Of a Christian Church scarce any vestige re- ** mained. The most profligate principles and absurd opinions were ^* universally predominant : ignorance amidst the most favourable ** opportunities of knowledge ; vice amidst the noblest encouragements *' to virtue ; a pretended zeal for truth, mixed with the wildest ex- ** travagances of error; an implacable spirit of discord about opmions ** which none could settle ; and a general and striking similarity in the ^' commission of crimes, which it was the duty and interest of all to ** avoid." White's Bampton Lectures, p. 60, nouncing 266 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 5. nouncing the name of Christ, and denying his sole power of salvation, became dead to his redemption, forfeiting the spiritual life obtained for them by him *. The kingdoms subdued by the IMahometans, if examined on the maps, will be found to compose a full third part of the then Christian world ; but some of these regions were not Christian, when subdued by the Saracene arms, and are therefore not to be taken into the account. Some, as Spain and Portugal, after years of conflict, were recovered to the Christian name. In all the parts of the Mahometan dominions, there have been, and still are, many Christians; but among the Christians we find scarcely any Mahome- tans. These circumstances being taken into conside- ration, it will appear to be fairly represented as a general position, that one-third part of the world which was once Christian, was cut off from Christi- anity by the Mahometan invaders. And the balance appears to have continued nearly the same, even from that time to the present. — It is a remarkable coin- cidence, that when the Mahometan arms, in the fifteenth century, overturning the Eastern empire, made such additional acquisitions to Ishmaejism ; the Christians began to extend their religion to distant chmates, and preserved this balance by the addition of many millions, who call upon the name of Christ in the new world |, 4. The historians represent the ♦ See notes, ch. iii. 1. vi. 8. t *' By the industry and zeal of the Europeans, Christianity has *' been widely diffused to the most distant shores of Asia and Africa; " and, by the means of iheir colonies, has been firmly established *' from Canada to Chili, in a xcorld imknoun to the ancients," Gibbpn, Decline, &c. ch. xxv. p. j3j. remaining Ch. ix. 13—21.] APOCALYPSE. Q67 remaining parts of the Christian Church which esca- ped this plague, as continuing corrupt and idolatrous. This fact is so well established in ecclesiastical his- tory, that it seems to need no confirmation. The remains of Christendom, after the Mahometan domir nation had taken place in one part, continued im:^ pure and idolatrous in almost all other parts, until the purifying period of the Reformation. In my notes upon the fifth Trumpet, some reasons were assigned, to shew that the prophecy therein contained, cannot be properly applied to these Mahometan devastations, which I have suf)- posed to be prefigured under this sixth Trumpet, And in this application of it, I am at no great dis^ tance from the general notion of modern commen- tators ; for almost all of them apply the sixth Trunin pet to the devast;itions of the Turks, or of the Tar- tars, who were also Mahometans. The application of this prophecy to some of the Mahometan irruptions is indeed so obvious, that it is admitted by Michaelis; who, dissatisfied with most other interpretations of the Apocalypse, has observed, that this prophecy *' may be very well applied to the irruptions of the Sa- *' racens, the Turks, and the Tartars =^." It may per- haps be justly applied to all of them ; for, all of them have the same character, as opposed to the Christian Church; they are all Mahometan. And if the Maho- jnetan character is so strongly impressed upon this pro- phecy, that it may fitly be applied to the later dcvasta- pons of the Mahometans, it will not be thought ex- traordinary, if it should be found applicable, ecn- ^vith a superior degree of propriety, to their first * Jntrodvict. to the N. T ch. xxiii. gect. 7. jrrand 258 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 5. grand and fatal irruption. For my own part, I can discover, in the interpretation of those commentators, •who apply the sixth Trumpet to the Turkish Mahome- tans, only three instances in which it may appear more applicable to them, than to their predecessors in this warfare, to the Saracene followers of Ma- homet; they are these: 1. That by which the four angels are supposed to represent the four governments, into which the Turks are said to have been originally distributed. 2. That by which the fire, smoke, and brim- stone, are interpreted to signify the guns and gun- powder used in the Turkish armies. 3. That by which the *' hour, day, month, year," are understood to express a certain continuance of time, applicable pe- culiarly to the Ottoman period. Now it seems to jne, that none of these instances of interpretation are fairly established, but that all of them will be found to rest on weak and fanciful foundations. And if this can be shewn, it will then be allowed, even by the followers of Joseph Mede, that as there is no- thing remaining in the prophec}'^, Avhich restricts it peculiarly to the Ottoman Mahometans, it may be applied, with equal if not greater fitness, to the Sara- cene founders of that domination. I. Joseph Mede, the ingenious deviser of this scheme, which represents the four angels to signify four Sultanies, or governments, has admitted no simi- lar kind of interpretation respecting any other pro- phecy. The angel, who leads the host of the fifth Trumpet, he asserts to be a fallen angel, even Satan himself*. And it may be questioned, whether an angel is used, in the prophetical language of Scrip- * Clavis Apoc. par. ii. s^'n. iv. ture, Ch. ix. 13— 21.3 APOCALYPSE* 2()9 ture, to represent a kingdom or government, or even any earthly leader. But if this licence should be al- lowed, still the history of the Turks will not be found such as to warrant this application of it. The Quater- nion of Turkish tribes, which Joseph Mede finds seated at or near the Euphrates, has its date from the year 1080; which will be found, unfortunately for this scheme, neither to reach in antiquity to the origin of the Turks, as a powerful nation, nor to their first irruption upon Christendom, as narrated in his- tory ; nor yet to accord with the time of their suc- cessful attack on the Eastern empire, in the fifteenth century. Mede confesses, that the four governments did not remain perfect and complete, but that they had undergone many changes, and were united under one leader, Othman^ long before the time in which they are supposed to be prefigured in this Trumpet. But the warfare of the Turks upon the Christians will be found to have begun htfore these four sultanies are said to be established. Early in the eleventh century did they attack Christendom with immense armies, when the Grecian provinces on the Euxine Sea, and a great part of Asia Minor, were wrested by them from the Christians *=. But the Turks were a great nation, long before any of these times. Seated upon Mount Imaiis or Caf (whence they deduce their origin), they were known in Roman history six hun- dred years before the age of Othman. They were then able to muster four hundred thousand soldiers ; and, during two centuries, became formidable to the three great empires surrounding them, to the Roman, the Persian, and the Chinese f. We must therefore ♦ Gibbon, Hist. ch. Ivii. Mosheim, cent. xi. ch. ii. t Gibbon's Hist. Decline and Fall, ch, b1 , 04. 4-2, conclude, 570 APOCALYFSE. [Pt. III. § S, conclude, that the application of the symbol of the four angels, to the four sultanies or governments, leading the Turks to their invasion of Christendomj has no fair and legitimate foundation. The Turks were not divided into four nations, nor seated on Eu- phrates, at the time of their irruption in the fifteenth century ; nor was this their original seat. And if to be there seated, can give a claim to the application of this prophecy, the Saracene Mahometans will be found to possess this claim in an equal or superior degree. For, powerful tribes of the Saracens *, were seated in Mesopotamia adjoining to Euphrates, at the time when this apocalyptic vision was seen. They there touched upon the boundaries of the Ra- man and Persian empires; and made devastating in* cursions on each t- About the year 378, their armies spread desolation in the" East ; and afterwards were employed by the Romans against the Goths f. Again, in the seventh century, the Mahometan Saracens were in early possession of Euphrates, having turn- ed their victorious arms thither in the fourteenth year of their Hejirah. Cufah, seated on that river, became the residence of the Caliph Ali ; and Bagdat, built in 76'iy by the Caliph Almansor, ten leagues from the site of ancient Babylon, was for many centuries the capital seat of the Mahometan domi- nion §. If therefore it were a necessary part, to the com- pletion of the prophecy, that the invading armies * Called by the Greek and Latin writers of the first century, SceniteSf because they dwelt in tents, but afterwards Saracens^ from the Arabic, Sarak, a robber. Amm. Marcellin. lib. xiv, 4. •)• Strabo, lib, xvi. p. liop. Phnii Nat. Hist. vi. 26, 28. X Socratis Hist. Eccles. hb. iv. c. 36. Sozomen. lib. vi. c. dS. § Ockley's History of the Saracens. should Ch.ix. 13 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. 271 should come from Euphrates, this will appear fulfilled in the Saracene invaders, more truly and completely than in the Ottoman Turks. And if, to answer to the symbols of the four angels, four distinct nations, or armies of invaders, are to be expected, I would suggest to the consideration of the learned reader, whether four distinct periods of successful Mahome- tan invasion, and by four diiferent nations, may not be found to present themselves in history. The first, by the Saracens, which in the seventh ai d eighth centuries subdued to the Mahometan laws, Syria, Palestine, Persia, Armenia, iEgypt, the States of Barbary, and Spain. The second under the Mahometan Turks Maymud and the princes of the Seljuk dynasty, when in the eleventh century the extensive regions on the Euxine Sea, India, Anatolia, and Asia Minor, were conquered. The third by the Mogul Tartars under Timour, or Tamerlane, in the fourteenth century, when in widely extended regions of the East, in China, Tartary, and a great part of Asia, Christianity was eradicated, not only by authority and persuasion, but by the utmost efforts of persecution, to make way for the Mahome- tan creed ♦. The fourth by the Ottoman Turks, in the fifteenth century, when the Eastern Roman empire fell to them, with its dependencies. I do not propose this four-fold division as per- fectly examined and arranged ; esteeming it no neces- sary part to the completion of the prophecy : but if such a kind of fulfilment should be thought needful, * Mosheim, cent, xiv, part i. ch. i, it 272 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 5. it appears probable, that it will be more easily dis- covered in the history of all the Mahometan inva- sions, than in that single one by the Ottoman Turks, which has been exclusively applied to this prophecy. II. The smoke, fire, and brimstone of the sixth Trumpet seem inconsistently understood, as expres- sive of the guns and gunpowder used by the Turks in the fifteenth century. Smoke from the bottomless pit, (ch. ix. 2.) under the fifth Trumpet, is applied by Mede and his followers to signify the darkening le- ligion of Mahomet*. And, in prophetical language, it will certainly admit that application, as well as to the dark confused doctrines of the Gnostics. This is fair and legitimate interpretation ; and, by referring to ch. xix. 20. XX. 3. 10. xxi. 8, it will appear, that in the pit or lake, whence the smoke ascended, were fire and brimst07ie. When therefore under the sixth Trumpet, w^e meet with smoke, fire and brimstone^ united, our interpretation should be uniform. These, issuing from the mouths of the invaders of the Church, must, if interpreted consistently, be stated to repre- sent corrupt, infernal, destructive doctrines. And these are applicable to the Saracens, in common with other Mahometans. But to understand them as sig- nifying great guns and gun-poxvder, seems to be a force upon prophetical language, unworthy of the respectable names, which have countenanced the in- terpretation. It is not of Mede's devising ; I have found it in commentaries more ancient. III. The hour, day, month, &c. are applied to signify a contimcance of time, answering to the con- tinuance of the successful warfare of the Ottoman • Mede's Work?, p. 4^)7. Turks. Ch. ix. 13—21.] APOCALYPSE. 273 Turks. But it has already been shewn, that the original language will not admit of this construc- tion. Or, if the construction could be admitted, even then it would not be found to answer the purpose of the commentators : for the continuance of time to be measured, is that, during which the evil angels contmuc to slay the third part of the men*. But this period is surely, in continuance, so long as the Maho- metans continue to alienate from the Life which is ifi Christ, the third part of the men, or nations, which were once Christian. The Mahometan woe or plague is not yet come to its end ; but the measure of con- tinuance proposed by Mede and his followers, reaches only to the year 1672 t- I must now leave to the learned and judicious investigator to determine, whether the prophecy of the sixth Trumpet do not appear to be more fitly and perfectly fulfilled in the great original irruption of the Mahometans, (comprehending perhaps also their subsequent inroads,) than in the later and more partial one by the Ottoman Turks. The interpreta- tion now proposed will be found, not only to accord more accurately with the symbols exhibited in the vision, but also to bring the prophetical narration to that precise period, which is seen to open in the eleventh chapter, where the prophetical history, after a previous exhibition in the tenth chapter, proceeds. In that, and the ensuing chapters, the famous period of forty-two months, or 1260 days or years, comes * See verse 15. t About that time it may be allowed that the belligerent power of the Mahometan nations became less formidable to the Christian world. But which of these nations is yet become Christian ? which of them has yet renounced the destructive doctrines of Mahomet ? E E into S,74f APOCALFPSE. [Pt. III. §6. into view. And this, in the apprehension of almost all the commentators, had its beginning many cen- turies before the victories of the Ottoman Turks ; pro- bably from those of the Saracene Mahometans. If therefore the sixtli Trumpet be understood to begin ^\ith this first Mahometan invasion, it will stand in its proper historical place. So beginning, it may be supposed to run through the whole period of 1260 years, and to contain all the successful warfare of the Mahometans on the Christians. It is not to the na- iioii, but to the religion, to M^iich, prophecy seems to advert. And all these invasions seem nearly of the same character. 1 K.CCI tloo'» aK'Kov rxQx'no^lx Ik t5 r> J^is Itti rr,s ke- ({)x}^s avrti' tC} TO ts^oj-wTTov uvra us 0 7)\i0if iy 01 'CjoOes aira us s'v^oi "^v-. 2 foi. Kxi £%w» |y rv %f^ rcc h avrrt, yCf T^y 3"a- Aao-o-av xa* rx h CcilT^f OTi X^^ovos 7 «x cT/ ffa/. 'AAAa Iv Ta^f Ttyiiqxts T^s (^uwts t5 Iboo/Aa «!y£X», OTc ;^6;f{ afysAs t» tr-i/Toj Itt^^ T^Jf ^fij- ..}\aacrns yCj I'm rris 5^. V^i'. Ka< scTrriXQov -' «Tfof Toy afysKov, ^iyojv a.vraj ouvxl Kxi Xiyti fx,oi' uvro' Kj iJix^otvsT era Trjy )to.oi' Av <7£ tsacKiv \vacx.i sTTt Xac- APOCALYPSE. ** the hand of the an- *' gel, who standeth " upon the sea and " upon the land." 9 And I went to the angel, saying unto him to give me the little book. And he saith unto me, " Take, and " eat it up ; and it ** shall imbitter thy " stomach; but in thy " mouth shall be sweet 10 "as honey/' And I took the little book from the hand of the angel, and ate it up. And it was in my mouth sweet as honey ; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was 11 imbittered. And he saith unto me, " I'hou " must prophesy again ** before many people, " and nations, and lan- " guages, and kings." Xivai 'CJo7^>,o7s, [Pt. III. § 5. the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which stand- eth upon the sea, and 9 upon the earth. And I went unto the an- gel, 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^ but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 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 honey : and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was 11 bitter. And he said unto me, Thou mast prophesy again before many peoples, and na- tions, and tongues, and kings. III the 13th verse of the viiith chapter, three grand woes, three disthict periods of successful attack upon the Church, by, the Antichristian powers, are an- ^ nounced. Chap. X.] APOCALYPSE. 277 noil need. The first of these immediately takes place, and is afterwards described as past*; and the second follows: but this, though it begins, like the first, with an hostile invasion, does not end in like manner. No period (as, in the first, of 150 years) is assign- ed for its continuance ; and when the description of the invasion seems to be finished, no like notice is given, that the woe is ended; on the contrary, it seems to continue till the seventh Trumpet sounds ; then, and not till then, it is declared to be gonef. The prophecy had now begun to appear as drawing to its close ; the seventh and last Trumpet was expected. But a new and enlarging scene opens under the sixth Trumpet, and before the end of the second woe. The famous period of forty- two months, or 1260 days, is now presented to view. The usurped domi- nion of the Mahometans, disclosed in the sixth Trum- pet, is continued throughout. But there is another Antichristian usurpation, which belongs to the same period, and Avhich is to be produced, as cotem- porary with it. Ver. 1 — 3. Another mighty angel ; &c.] The su- blimity of this passage made an early impression upon the poetical mind of Sir William Jones : and '* at a " period of mature judgment," says his biographer, " he considered it as equal in sublimity to any in the *^ inspired writers, and far superior to any that could *' be produced from mere human compositions :[\" This angel, although displaying superior glory and power §, is not our Lord Jesus Christ, who appears in this part of the vision, not as an angel, but as the Lamb. * Ch. ix. 12. t Ch. xi. 14. X Lord Teignmouth's Life of Sir William Jones, 4to. p. 14. § See note, ch. i. 14, \6, (Ch. £78 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 6. (Ch. xiv. i.) he is described to • be another angel. Such another angel had been before seen officiating in the presence of the Lamb *. He is an angel of the highest dignity, invested with a most important com- mission ; to convey to Saint John, and to the Church, a large amount of prophetical information. For this purpose, he holds in his hand a little book ; not little in respect to its contents, which are of the highest importance, but with a view to the purpose for which it was designed ; to be eaten and digested by the prophet. The book is open, unsealed ; by our Lord's merits it had become sof ; for, it was pro- bably a part, or transcript, of the larger sealed book; because it comes under the opening of the sixth and seventh Seals, which are part of the contents of that book. It may be the same also with that part of the prophecy of Daniel J which was in his time sealed for a very distant period ; a period which will be seen to have relation to these times of the apocalyptic visions. Ver. 2. And he set his right foot upon the sea ; &c.] In the scene before the prophet, the heavens, containing God's throne, and his altar, and surround- ing ministers, are above. The earth is beneath, not hanging like an orb or ball §, but extended in a plain, and containing the divisions, before marked, of land, of sea, of rivers. The angel descends from heaven above, and takes his station on the earth, placing one of his gigantic feet on the sea, the other on the land 1|. The Eastern nations, expressed by the divi- sion of the landj had been hitherto the principal scene of action under this Trumpet. The angel's • Ch. vii. 2. and again viii. 3, ■} See note, ch. v. 9. I Dan. xii. 4. 9- S Cicero, Somn. Scip. |} See note, ch. viii, 7. placing Chap. X.] APOCALYPSE. ^79 placing one foot on the sea, seems to intimate that the Western nations of the Gentiles *, are to be an ob- ject of the remaining prophecy. And this is also ex- pressed in ver. 11 : he is ^* to prophesy before many *' people, and nations, and languages, and kings." It may be observed also, that the first, the right , or principal foot of the angel descends upon the sea, which seems to imply that the part of the Christian world, represented by the sea, is now to be principally concerned. Ver. 4. The seven thundei^s,^ The whole Prophecy is delivered under seven Seals, seven Trumpets, seven Vials |. In this passage, a particular prophecy, or perhaps seven distinct prophecies, are uttered by seven voices, loud as thunder, aweful, and terrible as that of the lion-like voice of the angel wdiich introduces them. But whatsoever intelligence the prophet might receiv'C from this Divine communicatiop,, he is for- bidden to disclose it. Thus, events of great import, belonging to the history of this Seal and Trumpet, are not revealed in this prophecy. What these were, it is certainly difficult, and may be presumptuous, to conjecture. But we may safely collect from this transaction, that many important events, perhaps re- corded in history, are not disclosed. And we obtain herewith an additional confirmation of the notion al- ready suggested, that this sixth Trumpet contains a period of long continuance. Ver. 5, Lifted up his right hand.] The angel takes a solemn oath, in a form of Scriptural antiquity J. This mode of swearing has descended even unto our own times and nation, being still used in Scotland, • Note, ch. viii. 8. t Note, ch. i. 4. I Gen, xiv. 22. Deut. xxxii. 40. Ezek. xx. 5. Is. Ixii. 8. and 280 APOCALYPSE. [Pt III. § 6. and there allowed, by act of parliament, to those dissenters who are styled Seceders *. Ver. 7. That time shall be no more, &c.] The original language as used in the writings of the Old and New Testament, will not admit of the transla- tion given by Daubuz, Lowman, &c. ; mz. "' the ** time should not be as yet;" which would otherwise tend greatly to clear the obscurity of this passage. I will cast upon it what scattered light I can collect. The whole passage, expressed in the seventh verse, taken together, has a plain reference to happy times, which are expected with the seventh Trumpet, and which have been promised with glad tidings under the Gospel. These times are mentioned as the y^ai^oi avci'slyv^ecagj '^ the times of refreshing ;" %povoi oLiioy-eilaqU' ffsug zjavluv, *' times of restitution of all things, which *' God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy *' Prophets since the world began f." There is a great similarity in the two passages. The same times are likewise mentioned in Acts i. 7. and in both these places, as in this of the Apocalypse, the word xpovo; is used without that prepositive article which expresses a particular designation of time. And yet our translators have found it necessary to give that article in the Eng- lish, (the times, the seasons,) as the sense seemed to require it. It may be questioned then, whether xP^^o;, in this passage of the Revelation, without the article, may not be so translated and understood : and whether the time, which is not to be under the sixth Trumpet, may not be expected under the seventh. The attempt * Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy, 4to. p. 159. The solemn league and covenant in the time of Charles I. had been taken after this manner. t Acts iii. 19. 20. to Chap. X.] APOCALTPSE. 281 to interpret the passage in this manner will be assisted by considering what the '' 7nystery of God is;'' — com- pare it with 2 Thess. ii. 7; — the '^ mystery of iniquity ,'' which appears plainly, from the context, to be the triumphant working of Satan. And therefore the mystery of God appears to be, (that which arrives also under the seventh Trumpet,) the triumphant reign of godliness. Compare also Dan. xii. 6 — 13; where the angel takes the same kind of solemn oath, refer- ring to the same period of time which is named by the angel under this Seal, *^ a time, times, and half," reaching *' to the time of the end^." There was an obscurity then; Daniel ** understood not:" and the passage before us is yet obscure : but we see enough, to fix our attention on the final establishment of the Messiah's reign. At the same time, it seems to be intimated, that there will intervene a long and bus}^ scene of action, under the remainder of the sixth Trumpet, before this can be completed f. Ver. 8 — 1 1. Go, take the little book; — take and tat it ; &c.] In this passage, Saint John receives com- mission as a prophet^ in a form nearly resembling that by which Ezekiel was commissioned as a prophet to the Jews. The roll, or book, (for it is the same thing J,) upon which the prophecy is written, is de- livered to each prophet, with a command to eat it. * Dan. xii. 7. 9- t I have translated \riKicr^y\ by the English ir as finished; and yet, I question whether we might not be authorized to translate it as if it were expressed by the other reading rsXea-Qrij which is rejected by Griesbach, and is properly rendered by the old translators should be finished ; because I find BTsXea-Ov in ch. xv. 1, clearly, from its context, expressive of time yet to come ; and in this instance also now before us, it appears so ; and therefore seems to be used as rcXsa-Ov, J See note, ch. v. i. To 283 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. §5, To eat it, that the contents m^-v be completely pos- sessed by him internally, that, by digesting them, he may become as '* the living oracle of God." Both these prophecies contained *' r£;oe," and were unpleas^ ing to both prophets ; yet had seemed pleasant to the mouth on the first reception. To gratify curiosity with what is contained in the womb of time, has its de- lights : but so many bitter things are found written therein, that we must confess that it is by a kind dis- pensation of Providence, that man is ignorant pf fu- turity*. But why this new commission to the pro- phet } He was sent originally to the seven Churches in Asia ; wherefore this new designation, ** Thou *^ must prophesy again before many people, and na- " tions, and languages, and kings ?" Observe then, that, before the conquests of the Mahometan inva- ders, the seven Churches were situated near the centre of the Christian world. From the period of the Ma- hometan apoGtacy, they were no longer central in any sense. They lost their consequence; '* repented not '^ of their idolatry and wickedness ;" and in succeed- ing irruptions, they fell a prey to the victorious enemy. "Their lamp-bearer was removed," accord- ing to the threatening of their Lord f. But as Chris- tianity receded in the East, before the arms and doc- trines of the Mahometans, it spread and enlarged in tlie West. A new scene, and a new audience, have now therefore their commencement. The Gentile na- tions of Europe, (the sea, on which the angel places his first foot,) come into view ; those ten kingdoms, into wliich the remains of the western Roman empire were divided. And the period of this prophecy will be seen, in the next chapter, to be 1260 years. * Compare Eaek, li. 6—10. iii. 1—4, 14. xxi. 6. Eccl'us xl. 30. ^ Ch. ii. 5. Ch. Xi. 1 — 14.] APOCALYPSE. 283 PART IIL . SECTION VII. The Measuring of the Temple ; and the Witnesses, 1 K«' l^o9*j /xo< xaAa- Xtyuv* " Ey tt^xif i^ fWTf*j<7-oy Toy vocov t5 065, id TO ^y- a-iocsin^tov, ycou ths 'Sjpoa-KVvHvta.S h oiv- 2 Ta>. Ka.1 rviv aCXvty rvv e^co9iv t5 vaS alrv>v fXETfvia-riii on l^oQrj rois sQvsa-t' >c TV)v zjiXiv rriv aytacv ztccIvkthiti (j-n- yixs rea-ax^oiKovloi S bvQ' Ka* 0'jj(T'j} rois cvC KOtlsaQUt TiiS «^0p»J OCVTUIV' }^ f7 Tts avTtiS ScAf CHAP. xi. VER. 1 14 1 And there was given to me a reed like unto a rod, saying: " Arise, " and measure the *' Temple of God, and " the altar, and those " who worship there- 2 " in : And the court " on the outside of •' the temple cast out, *' and thou shalt not " measure it ; for it " is given to the na- *' tions ; and the holy " city shall they tread " forty - two months. 3 '- And I will give un- *' to my two witnes- " ses ; and they shall '' prophesy a thousand '' two hundred and " sixty days, clothed 4 " in sackcloth. These ** are the two olive- " trees, and the two '' lamp-bearers which ^' are standing before '' the Lord of the 5 " earth. And if any *' one shall wish to " injure them, fire " cometh out of their " mouth, and devour- And there was given me a 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 which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not ; for it is given unto the Gen- tiles : and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give/?ow€runtomy two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thou- sand two hundred and threescore days, cloth- ed in sackcloth. These are the two olive-trees, and the two candle- sticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire pro- ceedeth out oT their mouth, and devourelh their enemies : and if any man will hurt them, he must in this 284 aOlX.-flS'Xly HT'jJ oil ocvTov ATtoyAayorivxi, 6 OvToi '^ynyiv e|8- yri vilos rds 'nf/.e- fXS TVS ZTfop-nklXS avTuv' y^ l^HO-ixv ta, sU az/Aa, y^ ZTxIci^ai Tv.v yvv Iv xts eoiv ^s.'kh<7ua-i. 7 Kaf oTay ri>Acru(7i rr/v yux^rvfiav av- TMV, TO S)7^/oV TO ava-ojtJvov ex Tr/f aQva-aa vsoiriazt 'zso- Xa/u-ov /xEJ' avTcov, )^ VDtVia-Sl XVTHS, 5C OtTTOytlsVci avTHS' S Kat TO zaiSiixx avTojv iiTi rY,s 'isXaisixs TKSoKiLiJS TVS (xsyiUXvsy vris XXXiiTOtl TSVSVfJiX- TlKCtlS ZOOOjAX X^ Atyvrrlosj oVS >c o Ku^/oi^ avTajv l^xv- 9 c'^^^ir,' Kx\ /5?.eV8- Ciy £>C TkJV XXUV >C^ c vifjuQ-v, TunvfAX (^ojris ex. ra ©£« £<<7'^Xct£V STT tcvris' ^ 'i»)0'fl5y aii' rov ipxyov h T-n vs(p£XTp ' xa« I9eupv)(7xv xv- T«J 0/ 1^9^01 xlr ojv 13K«« Iv £>i£/v»J T'jJ »(»<'( '' o/^a tyeveio (retafjios fj.tyxSf XXI TO oe- KxloV TVS zyoXtMS i'rrea'ey xxt xttb- itla.y9r,(rav iv rw an. xii. 7. ; Dan. iv. 25. xi. 13. § It will be seen plainly under note, ch. xii. 14, that the period of 12^0 days is exactly the same with the time, times, and half; be- cause they are indiscriminately applied to the selfsame period of history. which Ch. xi. 1 — 14.] APOCALYPSE. 291 which may perhaps be supplied by to Uvsvfj.ec |u,y, or, as it stands in Acts ii. 17, IS, dzo m UveviJLsilog /xa: I will give to my two witnesses a portion of my Holy Spirit. This is the necessary supply to be given, in order to make them prophets. They are here called Witnesses, Mafiv^eg^ Such is the title of those who, having been instructed in the saving truths of the Gospel, are enabled to testify them be- fore the world ; and, unawed by the fear of suffer- ings, to seal the testimony with their blood. Such a witness was our Lord himself "^ ; such were his Apos- tles f; and such confessors of the pure faith are pro- mised to the true Church during the period of 126'0 years, in which the Gentiles are to tread the courts of the Christian Church in ignorance and impurity. Such witnesses are to appear in small numbers : for, two is the smallest number next to unity : and this number, to bear effectual testimony, was required under the Law J. The ofBce of these witnesses is to be mournful ; which is fully implied in their funeral garb of sackcloth §, and the period of their continu- ing to exercise this office, is the same which we have before noted, — 1260 days; that is, 1260 years. But the life of one man will not ordinarily fill above the twentieth part of this space of time : we are there- fore led to expect a succession of such prophets or martyrs, but few in number at one time. Ver. 4. These are the tzvo olive-trees, and the txvo lamp-hearers; &c.] The character of these witnesses is further expressed by their being called *' the two * Ch. i. 5; 1 Tim. vi. 13. + Luke xxiv. 48. Acts i, 8 ; ii. 32 ; iii. 15 ; v. 32; x. Sp. \ Deut. xvii. 6; 2 Cor. xiii. 1 ; Matt, xviii. l6. § Note, ch. vi. 12. F F 2 *^ olive* 292 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 7- '' olive-trees, and the two lamp-bearers, which stand *' before the Lord of the earth." We have aheady learned, from infallible authority*, that the \\j%Mictiy the lamp-bearers, represent the Churches of Christ. But the seven Churches had forfeited the privilege in this corrupt and idolatrous period. And the newly converted Gentile Cliurches were not permitted to bear the holy Light : for, they are excluded from the inner temple and the altar, where the lamp- bearers properly stood. The office of bearing the Christian Light, before the Lord of the earth, is therefore committed to the tivozviitiesses. The true light of the Gospel is exhibited by them, and commands atten- tion, though seen through mists of suiTOunding igno- rance and superstition. They are called also *' the *' two olive-trees." The olive was a sacred plants permitted to grow up, even in the temple. This figurative resemblance had been applied before to such prophets, who are described as two olive-trees spon- taneously producing the golden (the pure) oil ; and, after this description, are said to be ^' the two " anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole '* earth t." Pure Religion therefore, which is not to be found among the Gentiles at large, who frequent only the outer courts, is to be seen here with the witnesses : for, here is the inner temple ; here are the lamp-bearers; the sacred olives, in the presence of God. Ver. 5. 4' 6'] These witnesses are also to be en- dued with that power of the prophets, expressed in ♦ Ch. i. 12. t Zech. iv. 11—14. These are usually understood to signify Zoro- babel and Joshua, the lights and ornaments of the ancient Church after the Babylonish captivity. Holy Ch. xi. 1— U.] APOCALYPSE. il93 Holy Writ; '* I will make my word in thy moutli " fire," says the Lord to the prophet Jeremiali, ** and "this people wood, and it shall consume them*." They are to prophesy in the power and spirit of ]\Ioses and Elijah, at whose command the rain was suspended, and the waters turned into blood f. Ver. 7. ^ 8.] But at the time appointed for the period of their prophesying, at the end of the forty- two months, or 1260 days, the wild-beast, who is to ascend from the great deep, and who is more parti- cularly described afterwards J, shall overcome and slay them ; and shall prosecute his victory with such bar- barous ferocity, as not to permit to tl>eir remains the usual privilege of burial. Their dead bodies, like those of the massacred Jews under Sennacherib §, are to he exposed in the streets of the great city ; of that idolatrous, corrupt communion, of which So- dom, and iEgypt, and Jerusalem in its most de- generate days, stained with the blood of Jesus, were expressive types. Ver. 9. 8^ 10.] And the persons who belong to this wicked city, consisting of " many people, tribes, '* and nations," that is, of the Gentile world, shall behold the dead bodies three days and an half, and re- joice over them. But, at the end of this period, the prophets rise from the dead, by the power of the Spi- rit; and are received into heaven, as their prototype Elijah, and perhaps Moses, bad been before them jj. To * Jer. V. 14, See?ilso Isa. X. 17, 3ci.4; Jer, i. 9. 10; Hos. vi. 5; % Tht:ss. ii. 8. + Kxod. vii.20. Jumes v. 17. X Ch. xiii. § Tob. i. 18—24. |{ Tlie spurious gospel, under the name of Nicodemus, represents Enoch and Elijah as destined to undergo literally what is figuratively fortlold 294 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 7. To proceed to the application of this prophecy : we are not to expect a literal accomplishment. For first, that would be contrary to the mode of inter- pretation, to which we are in general directed by the highest authority : by our Lord himself and angels, who, in explaining the *^ mystery'' of the stars, the lamp-bearers *, the wild-beast, his heads, his horns -f, teach us to look for a hidden and allegorical meaninfj. Secondly, such an explication becomes necessary m this particular prophecy : for, the dead bodies are represented as lying ** in the streets of the great ** city which is called spiritually Sodom, and iEgypt, *' where also their Lord was crucified." Now it is plainly, in a spiritual sense in which we are to un- derstand the words Sodom, ^gypt, and Jerusalem ; — they are used metaphorically. And further, the great city which is called Sodom, ^gypt, and Jerusalem, cannot be all of them, and therefore must be inter- preted to signify some great society, or body of men, which h like them all ; resembling those famous com- munities in the peculiar wickedness of each; and in rebellion to the most high God ; for such is the cha- racter of them all. As Jerusalem, in its degenerate days, is by the prophets called Sodom and Gomor- rah X ; so the great city, in which the witnesses pro- phesy and suffer, is called after the name of all the above mentioned communities, because resembling all. Thirdly ; the time of the accomplishment of this foretold of the witnesses in this part of the Apocalypse. That rela- tion is plainly borrowed from this passage. (See Evang. Nicodemi, c. 25.) And some of the Fathers, among whom is Tertulhan, seein to have taken up this notion. (Tertullian. de Animd, sect. 50.) * Ch. i. 2, ^ Ch. xvii. J Isa. i. 9. 10. prophecy Ch. xi. 1 — 14.] APOCALYPSE. ^gi prophecy seems well ascertained : for, although doubts may arise concerning the exact commencement, and consequently the close of its period ; yet the main part of it is plainly seen to occupy many centuries of the most degenerate and idolatrous periods of the Christian Church; at a time when the Gentile world, the European nations, professed the Christian Reli- gion, but not in purity; a time cotemporary with the reign of the wild-beast*; a period of 1260 years; a considerable part of which, at least, is now past. Yet, during this period, Ave cannot remark in history, that any such literal accomplishment has taken place. Nor, (fourthly,) can we expect such literal ac- complishment : because in other instances, the ac- knowledged types under the Old Testament have not been thus Uterallif fulfilled in the Gospel. John the Baptist is said to come " in the spirit and power of ^' Elias t ;" nay, to be that very prophet:}:; yet, con- formably to the spirit of meekness which belongs to the Gospel, he performed no avenging miracles ; he called down no fire from heaven to consume his ene- mies. He knew by the Holy Ghost, and better than those disciples who intreated their Master for this fire§, ^' what manner of Spirit he was of" He knew, that ■ ' the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but ''mighty, through God, to the pulling down strong ^' holds II." Thus, in a spiritual sense, the prophecy may be accomplished in the witnesses, without (1.) hteral lire; without (-2.) the hindrance of literal rain; or (3.) the conversion of the waters literally into blood. * Ch. xiii. t Luke i. l/. X ^^^tt. xi. 4. Mark ix. 13. § Luke ix. 54— 57. 11 2 Cor. x. 4.. The 29^ APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 7. The first may be deemed essentially fulfilled, if their enemies, the enemies of pure Religion^ are in many instances dismayed, confounded, frustrated, and sub- dued by the heavenly words of their mouth. The second, if the rain from heaven, which, spiritually interpreted, is the blessing from heaven upon the growth of true Religion *, is evidently suspended during their prophecy. The third, if in the contest, their enemies, instead of the peaceful enjoyment, expected to accrue from the overthrow of the wit- nesses, be found to have that peace troubled and dis- comfited, and blood and slaughter to be poured on their own lieads. Add to this, that the death of the witnesses is also to be taken in a spiritual sense. Such interpretation agrees best with the succession of wit- nesses, which, as before observed, must necessarily take place in so long a duration of time. They do not all die, and again arise from the dead ; but if their religion and the power thereof be hrst extin- guished, and then raised again, the prophecy seems to be accomplished f. We are then to look beyond the literal sense ; and fixing our attention on the period of history, to * Psalms Ixviii. 9; Ixxii. 6, Isa. Iv. 10. Hos,vi. 3, t The prophets Moses and Elijah typify, in their history, that of the two witnesses. These t\vo prophets tied to the wilderness before the face of idolatrous kings. In a time of general depravity, they preserved, and at length miraculously restored, the light and preva- lence of true Religion. They seem, both of them in their own per- sons, to have been exempt from death, or to have beeu raised ii^i- mediately beyond its dominion. They both appeared at the trans- figuration,-—types of a glorious resurrection. Whatever is attributed to the wiiiiesses, may be found prefigured in one, or other, or both, of these emineni prophets. But that winch the prophets did Htcralbh the witnesses perform only in a borrowed and spiritual sense. which Cll. xi. 1 — 14.] APOCALYPSE. 297 ^vhich we seem directed, we cannot but remark a long succession of ages, commencing with the times when the western Gentiles flowed into the Church, and possessed the outer courts of the temple; when on their ignorance and superstition a corrupt and ambitious clergy began to raise the papal hierarchy, substituting pagan ceremonies and unauthorised ob- servances in the room of primitive Religion. These, in history are called the middle ages ; intervening be- tween the bright period of Grecian and Roman lite- rature, and the restoration of learning in the four- teenth century ; between the days of primitive Chris- tian knowledge, and the return of it at the Reforma- tion. They are marked in ecclesiastical history by increasing ignorance, superstition, corruption, and by papal usurpatioti. But the progress of these foes to true Religion, and to the happiness of- mankind, was opposed and retarded by the professors of a purer faith. ^' God did not leave himself without ** a xvitness,'' There arose in various parts of the great Christian republic, and at various periods, pro- fessors, and preachers of a purer religion ; of a re- ligion formed upon the precepts and promises revealed in that Sacred Book, which it was the constant en- deavour of the ecclesiastical usurpers to keep out of sight. A successive train of these, though thinly §cattered, was seen steadfastly to profess pure Re- ligion, and, in defiance of the papal thunder, to hold up to admiring Christians the light of the Gospel, and the true worship of the Temple. Although be- set with difficulties and dangers, from the civil and ecclesiastical powers, now united to suppress them, they stood their ground with a confidence and energy, which could arise only from 3uch a cause ; the cause of 59S APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 7. of truth, cherished and supported by the Spirit and power of God. If they suffered, their enemies suifer- ed also, — were frequently discomfited in the conflict, and enjoyed at last a dear-bought and only tempo- rary victory. Of the witnesses, in the early part of this his- tOTj, wc have received but imperfect accounts : and these come down to us in a very suspicious form, being transmitted chiefly in the writings of their enemies. What therefore is said in their praise, we may admit; of other parts we may doubt. It ap- pears probable, that the Valdenses, so early as in the seventh century, had retreated to the valleys of Piedmont ; there to profess and exercise a purer re- ligion than was permitted to them elsewhere* In the eighth and ninth and tenth centuries, the pro- gress of popery was vigorously opposed ; and private masses and pilgrimages, and the adoration of images and pictures, and other superstitions, and the doc- trine of transubstantiation (now first broached), were clearly shewn, by many learned w^riters, to be con- trary to true Christianity f. From the time of Pope Gregory VII., in the eleventh century, we see this light of Truth more frequently beaming forth, and with increasing lustre. In the twelfth century, it was widely spread by the zeal of Peter Waldus and of his followers. In the thirteenth century, the Inquisi- tion M'as established to extinguish it J, and crusades * See Mosheim's Hist, cent, vii. part 2. ch. ii. sect. 2 ; also cent, x,ii. part 2. ch, v. sect. ii. note ; and the authorities there produced. t Usserius de Christianas Ecclesiae successione et statu, AlHx's Remarks on the Ancient Churches of the Albigenses, and of Piedmont. Bp, Newton's Dissertations on Prophecy, vol, iii. pp. 150 — 160, of the octavo edition. X Mosheim, cept. xiii. part ii. ch. v. were Ch. Xi. 1 — 14.] APOCALYPSE, 2P9 were levied against those who received it. In the fourteenth cent?jry, our WicklifFe caught the light, and deHvered it to many followers. John Huss and Jerome of Prague died martyrs to the cause in the succeeding century; and it shone forth among their disciples, in many parts of Europe, till the Inquisi- tion, v/ith fire and fagot, and by obstinate perseve- rance, seemed at length to have obtained the object of so much bloody persecution ; to have extinguished the light of pure Religion : so that at the commence- ment of the next century, the Roman pontiff appear- ed to enjoy his usurpation in tranquil security *. The witnesses were heard no more ; pure Religion appeared dead with them ; their enemies enjoyed a temporary triumph. But suddenly, to the astonishment and con- fusion of the papal world, they behold this heresy (as they termed it) revive, *' a spirit of life from *' God enters into it, — it stands upon its feet;" — it becomes immortal, and leads the way to heaven. Thus the revival of pure Religion in spirit and in power, placed by the Reformation beyond the reach of its enemies, seems expressed by the resurrection of the witnesses. Thus, in more early times, our Lord's Religion had appeared extinct and buried with him ; but after three days, with him it rose again ; was rekindled in the faint and sunken hearts of his disciples ; by whose preaching it was spread rapidly through the nations, disclosing universally, and in its purity, a knowledge of the true God and of a heavenly Redeemer. The 1260 years preceding the Reformation, were strongly marked by a gradual corruption, and by the darkened face of Christianity : but the light of * Moshcim's Hist. cent. xvi. ch. 1. sect. 1 ; ch, ii. sect. 1. genuine 300 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. III. § 7* genuine Religion was seen frequently to beam tlirough the prevailing mists of supei*stition ; to beam at in- tervals, and for a short time ; and, many periods arc pointed out by commentators, when this true lights overclouded, broke forth again at the end of three years and an half*. These seem to be so many partial and particular resurrections of pure Religion, again to be buried and lost for a time. Such a dark period preceded the reformation preached by Lutlier, " The ** rulers of the darkness of this world f, *' l^ad then apparently extinguished the light of Evangelical Re- ligion ; but while they were enjoying their triumph, the holy light rekindles ; it rises, as it were, from the dead; by Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, Zuin- glius, and their followers, the Gospel of Christ is produced to the w^orld ; is perpetuated, by the art of printing ; becomes the rule of worship and of duty, and points the true way to Heaven. Ver. 13.] But this important change could not take place without great commotions. In propheti- cal language, ** there was a great earthquake J." The ecclesiastical edifice of papal Rome was shaken to its centre ; among the reformers, some injudicious and guilty excesses, some folly and fanaticism, were seen to disgrace so good a cause §. The appeal of the di- vided Christian world was to the sword ; and war was accompanied and followed by religious persecu-*- * Answering prophetically to the three day* and half foretold. See them collected by Bp. Newton, Dissert, on the Proph. vqI. Ui, 140—146. Svo edit. t Eph. vi, 12. \ Note, ch. vi. 1^. S Plistory has recorded such, in the war of the peasants in Ger- many ; in the excesses of the Anabaptists at Munster j in the History of the Reformation in Scotland. tion. Ch. xi. 1 — 14.] APOCALYI^SE. 301 tion. In the earthquake, says the prophecy, ** the *' tenth part of the city fell." This can be no other than a tenth of '' the great city" before mentioned, (ver. 8.) corrupt, after the abominations of Sodom, of iEgypt, of Jerusalem in her most degenerate days; con- taining, at the same time, *' the Gentiles," (ver. 2.) ; containing ''many people, and tribes, and languages, and nations," (ver. 9.) who tread the Lord's courts, pro- fess his religion, but are not admitted to the interior of his temple, (ver. 2). This description comprises the whole visible community of the Christian Church, afterwards divided into many cities*. In this *' great *' city," the edifices are shaken, and a tenth of them h seen to fall. Most of these buildings were " the *' work of men's hands;" the foundation indeed was Christ and his doctrines. But on this foundation f strange edifices had been erected, by the ignorance and pride of superstition : many such are shaken by the reformation, and fall. Yet all such buildings are not thrown down in this earthquake. *' Baby- *' Ion the great," a conspicuous part, at least, of thi^ great city, will be shaken again, and fall utterly. (Ch. xvi. 19. xviii. 22. f) In this '* earthquake there were slain names of men '^ seven thousand." Seven, in prophetical language, is an indefinite number ; otherwise so many thousand would seem to bear but a small proportion to the im- * Ch. xvi. 19. t Described by Saint Paul, 1 Cor. iii. 10—13; Rom. xt. 20; Eph. ii. t20. X The great city is certainly more than Babylon, and seems to com- prehend her ; for in ch. xvi. 19, the great city is divided by the earth-- quake ** into three parts, and the cities of the nmions fall, and Ba- ** bylou the great is remembered before God.'' mensc 302 APOCALYPSE. [Pt III. § 7. mense population of so great a city. The Reforma- tion, of the sixteenth century, though infinitely he- neficial to the interests of true Religion and Huma- nity, was not attended with the same saving effects to all professed Christians. Liberty, in some pro- duced licentiousness ; in some, fanaticism ; in some, perhaps, infidelity. But to the much greater part of the Christian world it proved highly salutary. ** They be- ** came afraid, and gave glory to the God of heaven." Many nations withdrew themselves entirely from the corrupt, idolatrous worship of the church of Rome; and modelled their religion after the word of God and the practice of the primitive ages. And even they who adhered to the papal communion, incited by the example of the Protestants, began to cultivate, if not in their formularies, yet in their lives and practice, a less impure and corrupt religion. Some nations, acknowledging the papal name, have been enabled to shake off a considerable part of the papal yoke; to renounce the authority of the Court of Rome in their civil concerns ; and a prospect is thus opened of their entire delivery from this audacious usurpa- tion *, Such is the interpretation, which had presented itself to me, respecting the prophecy of the Wit- nesses; and it has received considerable accession from the commentators whom I had afterwards op- portunity to consult ; whose notions in general accord with those now delivered. Yet, upon a calm review, I must confess myself not very confident of com- plete success. All the symbols of the prophecy, espe- ciaUy in the latter part, will not be found to be ful- filled so completely in the history which we exhibit, • Mosheim, cent. xvi. part i. sect, 3, Ch. xi. 1 — 14.] APOCALYPSE. 303 as should reasonably be expected. And therefore I am inclined to agree with Bishop Newton, that the final conflict of the beast with the witnesses, their death and resurrection, 77iay be yet to come. The 1260 years, beginning from the Saraceiie invasion, are not yet elapsed ; and in a prophecy, of which parts only are yet fulfilled, there must remain difficulties. Ver. 14. The second woe is past ; kc.'\ The second woe appears, from this passage and its context, to be under the sixth Trumpet ; and to be included in the period of 1260 years, which contains the greater part of the Mahometan and Papal times. But where is the third woe? Certainly not under that Trumpet; for it is here stated to "^ come, when the second zvoe is ended''' But this woe ends with the completion of tlie sixth Trumpet : for^ immediately after this declaration, that the third xvoe is coming, the seventh Trumpet sounds. The times, in which we now live, seem to be those of the latter end of the sixth Trumpet. I fear therefore that we must be led to conclude that the third woe or last dreadful conflict, in which the Christian cause shall suffer, is yet to come. More, will be said on this subject^ when the prophecy, wliich seems to foretel it, shall be explained *. t gee note, ch, xvi. 13,, towards the eiid. PART r 304 ] [Pt. IV. § I. THE APOCALYPSE, &c. PART IV. SECTION L The Sounding of the seventh Trumpet. CHAt*. xi. VER. 15 — to tlie end, Kj lyivovlo ^uvce.) lAiyoiXai Iv ru ^poiyZj XefovTBS* 'E- tS Ky^/« i)/x5», >Cf t5 XftT^ uvryf k, ^aa-tXsva-it lU r^s aiuvxs Tui aiuvuy. loKoci ot e'lKOO't re(7- CXftS VJ^iffCvTI^Oi •i huvtov Ttt &ZU ^povss awTwK, iiTt- 0-uv ««■« ri w^o- CA/va alruVf kxi «r^oa£Xvr*j(7o>(o d^^xTTxi -Z ^uvxi iy ^^ovlxi y^ Cil(T(MS JO ^uKx^X f/Ayxhyi» '^ thy wrath is come, " and the season of the *' dead, for judgment ** to take place, and ** to give the reward " to thy servants the *' Prophets, and to the ** Saints, and to those " v/ho fear thy name, " to the small and to " the great; and to ** destroy those that " destroy the earth." 19 And the Temple of God was opened in heaven, and the Ark of his Covenant was seen in his Temple. And there were light- nings, and voices, and thunderings,and earth- quake» and great hail. 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 prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and should- est destroy them which 19 {^ ett/ «•«$• xE^a?>aj «t'- Ta o;v 0A*3V, IQXviOY) bU TVjV yr,v' TCf ol oc.9yBXoi avTU l^BI XVTtS XOsCXyiQriaav, Kai yjKnarx (puvv)v iKiyx- X»3V £V Tw H^XvZj hiyaa-xv' "A^i iys- brought forth a male- child, who is about to rule as a shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has there a place prepared of God, that they should there nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty 7 days. And there was war in heaven; Mi- chael and his angels for to fight with the dragon; and the dra- gon fought and his 8 angels, And prevailed not ; neither was their place found any more 9 in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, that ancient ser- pent, who is called the Devil, and Satan, who deceive th the whole world ; he was cast down to the earth ; and his angels were cast 10 down with him. And r heard '4 loud voice in heaven, saying ; *' Now is come the " Salvation, and the *' Power and theKing- " dom of our God, and <* the Rule of bis A- of iron : and her child was caught up unto God, and ^ohis throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three- 7 score days. And there was war in heaven ; INIichael and his angels fought against the dra- gon, and the dragon fought and his angels : 8 And prevailed not, nei- ther was their place found any more in 9 heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, call- ed the Devil and Sa- tan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was Cvjst out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with 10 him. 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 Clirist : for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day 11 and night. And th?y Chap. xH.] APOCALYPSE. Vila v) a-Miv^iOij >c, >3 Xcix T« 0Ea vi^iovf 3^ >J l^HO-lx T« Xf^ra aJra* %rt xxlsC\-n9r) 0 Kxlviyujp rut a,0£X(puv yift.MV, o xa/>jyo(Oft/v avruv tVjJTfJOV t5 ©£» TJ/AoJv VfAS^XS XXI 1 J yv>dw. Kai xvrol Iv/>c^y «x vyxTTvi- xvrZv ocx£' ^•*" .1 2 vara. A/a raro iu^p^xma-Qi 01 a- fflevo/ -/C 01 Iv xvroTs erxrtvtimi . Ovxi r^ yn Kj rf. ^xXdi(^ £j^&v1:<;v rrjv /xaf- tv^'ixv 'l»9cr». might cause her to be carried away by the 16 river. And the earth helped the woman : and the earth opened its mcuth, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his 17 mouth. And the dra- gon was enraged a- gainst the woman, and wen^ away, to make war with the remnant of her ofl^pring; those who keep the com. mandments of God, and hold the testiniony of Jesus, up the flood which the dragon cast out of his 17 mouth. And the dra- gon was wroth with tl.e woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the com- mandments of God, and have the testimo- ny of Jesus Christ. Yer. 1. A great sign — in heaven.'] The word av^yjem is used liere to signify a type, a symbol, or figura- tive representation ; and occurs in tlie same sense in other parts of Scripture *. The verb <7iipivho can be entitled to this character, unless the true sons of the Christian Church ? The mother therefore is the Christian Church. She is represented as arrayed in the most pure and splendid light; the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, those acknowledged symbols of pure knowledge, and of dignity, are employed to adorn her. The lustre of her attire ; the elevation of her throne, expressed by the second luminary being her footstool ; her crown, not of diamonds or rubies, but of the stars of heaven ; all imply the greatness of the personage, and her high acceptation with the King of Heaven. In the vision of Joseph*, which displays the future glories of the patriarchal family ; of that family which was then the Church of God ; in which all tlie nations of the earth were to be blessed ; the same symbols are employed. The Sun, the Moon, ^he twelve Stars, represent the then infant Church. In her original purity, she was thus splendid ; and when purified from her corruptions, she will again appear in splendour f. Ver. 2.] But pure and splendid as she appears, * Gen. XXX vii. 0* t Ch. xxi. &c. The reader is referred to the following passages of Scripture, in which the Sun is used as an emblem of the Church : — Judg. V. 31 ; Psalm Ixxxix. 36" ; Isa. xxx. q6; Mai. iv. 2 ; Matt. xiii. 43. The twelve stars seem to allude to the division of the Church under twelve Patriarchs, and afterwards under twelve Apostles. (and Chap, xii.] APOCALYPSE. 315 (and such she was in the patriarchal and prophetic times, compared with the idolatrous nations surround- ing her,) she is not complete, until she can produce that seed, promised t^ the woman from the earliest times, Avhich was ordained "■ to bruise the serpent's *^ head.'* She is now represented as labouring with this momentous birth. And such was the situation of the Church from the time of Adam, the hrst man, (to whom the seed was promised,) to that of Christ, the second man, ''the promised seed," ''the Lord from " heaven." The Scriptural writers express, under the same images, the earnest and unsatisfied desire of the ancient Church to possess the promised seed*. Ver. 3. Ajiother sign in Heaven.'] As the Church of God had been represented by symbols in the two last verses ; so are now her enemies. And first that ancient enemy who assailed her, in the days of our iirst parents, under tlie form, of a serpent '\, For this dragon is expressly asserted to be the same, ** the " ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan J." He appears in great worldly power, such as is attrir buted to him in other parts of Scripture, where he is * Mich. V. 2, 3. Rom. viii. 22. + Gen. iii, + The devil, A/acoAo? being his name in Greek, Satan in Hebrew. See below, ver. 9. and ch. xxii. 2. This was seen clearly by the most ancient commentators, 0 \xy.uy 0 (Aeyx^, x. t. K. 0 hx^oXos hi. The same infernal agent seems also to have been specified by iMelito Bishop of Sardis one of the seven churches; who, in his \^ork upon ihe Apo- calypse, treated in particular concerning this opposer of the Church. For the title of the book (which is the only part of it now extant) was, ^E^< T« Aia'ooXu KOii Tjjy aTTOnaXv^rxs 'l^'ayv«. Euscb. Hist. Eccl. lib. iv, c. 26. Moreover, in a passage of Theophilus, bishop of Anlioch in 168, which is quoted by Lardner as alluding to this passage of the Apocalypse, the Devil is called " Satan, and the Serpent, and the " Dragon." (Cred. Gosp. art. Theophilus.) called 316 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. § 2. called '' the Prince of this world, the God of the '* world, the Piince of the power of the Air*.'* This power is here expressed by (I.) his size, Avhich is great: (G.) his colour, M-hich is fiery f- (3.) his heads, which are seven ; a large, complete, indefinite num- ber X • '^"^^ these heads are so many mountains, or lofty seats of strength % : for, as in ch. v, the seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb denote his infinite extent of power and of knowledge ; so, the seven heads, or mountains, of the dragon express an im^ iiiense command of worldly power ; such as he offered to our invincible Lordj|: (4.) his ten horns: for, horns are ever emblematical of strength ^; and ten, as well as seven, is a large indefinite number, becoming so by a different mode of calculation **. But the use of the number tm in this place, seems to have a fur- ther reference, even to those passages of the Apoca- lypse, and of the prophet Daniel, wherein are to be seen just so many kings or kingdoms, inimical to the Church of Christ, and promoting the interests of the adversary. The dragon is to have great sway among the kings of the earth, whom he beguiles by the offer of that >vorldly power, which was lejected by the Son of God. This interpretation is further confirmed by observing, (5.) that his heads are crowned with diadems hke those of eastern potentates f|. And, lastly, * John xii. 31. 2 Cor. iv. 4-. Eph. ii. 2. t See note, ch. vi. 4. X See note, ch. i. 4. § Sec note, ch. xvil. ch. viii. 8. ]| Matt. iv. 9, 5r See note, ch. v. 6. ** See note, ch. ii. 4. tt The diadem was the crown, or mark of kingly power, adorning the eastern nionarcbs. It was commonly a broad fillet, or turban^ richly set with jewels. The radiated crown was not worn by the Greek inonarchs till about the second century. (Pinl.trton on Medajs, vol. i, p. 173.) his Chap, xii.] apocalypse. 317 his tail, his ignoble and brutish part*, drags after him, as with a nett, a third part of the stars of heaven. This may denote the original apostacy of those angels, wlio, corrupted by their rebellious leader, *' kept not their first estate J;" or, it may sig- nify the artful machinations, by which he made the ministers of Religion subservient to his designs § ; or, it may be understood to express both these apostacies ; for the arch-iiend has succeeded in accomplishing such rebellions both in heaven and on earth. Ver. 4. c^^ 5.] Thus arrayed in formidable power, the infernal spirit is prepared for the occasion, ** seek- *^ ing to devour' that offspring who is ordained '' to *' bruise his head;'' but *' whose heel/' whose less vital part, he is permitted for a time to attack suc- cessfully i|. Such success docs not satisfy his destruc- tive rage; he aims at the total overthrow, the utter extinction of the seed, by whom the race of men is to be saved from his envenomed jaws. — For, the male- child now born is evidently our Lord Jesus Christ; v.'ho is not only, the only- begotten Son of God, but the Jirst'born of the Churchy which is called after his name^; for which right of inheritance, it was necessary that he should be a inak. To hhn alone belongs the description, *' the great Shepherd of Is- *' rael, who is to rule all the nations with an iroa *' red**." This is tlie Divine Shepherd's crook, dread- ful to the enemies of the fold, iind to the disobedient of the flock ; but a sure protection to the ^' sheep, * See note, ch. ix. i — 12. t o"'"?"* I Jude 6\ § See note, ch. i. l5. i| Gen. iii. 16. IT Rom. viii. 29. Col. i. 15, 18. Heb* xii. 25. ** See note, ch. ii. 27. also Matt. ii.6. Rev. .xix. \5i vii. 17. Isa. xl. 11. Psulm xxiii» '' who 318 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. §2. *' who obey his voice*." From the whole tenour of Scripture, and from internal evidence taken from the prophecy t, this character and description is that of our Lord, and can belong to none but him. He is now represented to be in imminent danger from the jaws of the dragon ; who, having to contend only with a helpless woman, and her new-born infant, seems assured of success. And thus did it appear to ''the rulers of the darkness of this world," when they seized and crucified the Lord of Life. But then, as here represented, he *^ was caught up to God and '^ to his throne." He was raised from tlie grave, and ascended into heaven, for this very purpose, '* to sit " upon his throne, at the right hand of God :}:.'* Ver. 6. J?id the xcoman fled into the wilderness; &c.] By referring to Isa. xli. ip, 20; Ezek. xix. 30. XX. 35 — 39; Hos. ii. 14; it will appear, that the word xvilderness denotes a place, bare of sustenance, where food, miraculously given, is necessary for the support of life ; but where such miraculous support, united with the correction which is the effect of a desolate and perilous situation, produces admirable fruits of re- ligious improvement. Religion abode with the Is- raelites, in their tents in the wilderness, during forty years of miraculous preservation. She fled again to the Avilderness with the prophet Elijah, was there mi- raculously supported, and thence was restored to the land from which she had been driven §. Thus the Church of Christ, (for after the birth of the pro- mised seed, the woman is become such,) persecuted by the devil and his agents, flees for refuge to ob- scure retreats ; and is there miraculously preserved * Johnx. 3. 14. \G, f Cb. ii.27; vii. 17; xix. 15. ; Acts ii. 30. Heb. viii. 1. § 1 Kings xvii. xviii. during Gbap. xii.] apocalypse. 319 during the time appointed, — 1260 years; which ac- cords exactly with the period of the xvitnesseSy who, in mournful garbs, execute their prophetic office: but of this accordance more will be said elsewhere *. It is sufficient in this place to observe, that by diffisrent shocks under the preceding Trumpets, iu which Satan is the prime agent, pure Religion had been almost driven out of the world. And during the same centuries, in which she has been seen desolate with the Witnesses f, she had existence only in some retired situations, where with difficulty she kept her- self from annihilation, or, to speak more appositely, was miraculously preserved. Ver. 7. And there was xvar in heaven. ^^ This pas- sage, beginning with verse 7, and ending with verse 14, should be read (as it appears to me) in parenthesis. Reasons will be produced in commenting on the 14th verse. A transaction, which had happened long be- fore the history related in the present scene, but strongly connected with it, seems to be introduced. And therefore the word iyev^lo might be translated *' there had been," being used in the same sense as in Matt, xxviii. 2, where Archbishop Newcome has pointed out the propriety of this translation ij;. This parenthesis contains explanatory matter of great im- portance ; and seems to have been exhibited in a se- parate scene. For, the conflict between the dragon and the woman in the wilderness is suspended, while the battle in heaven is described ; and is afterwards resumed, exactly where the narration had been broken off. We learn from it, that previously to the conflict with the Church of God upon earth, the same arch- ♦ Note, ch. xiii. 5. t Cli. xi. 1—15. X Harm, of Gosp. p. 154. fiend 520 APOCALYPSi:. [Pt. IV. § Q. fiend and his angels, had carried on a conflict in heaven. It is the same conflict which is alluded to in Jude 6. & 2 Pet. ii. 4. In this warfare against heaven, he is defeatedy and, with his followers, utterly expelled from the mansions of the hlest* But he is still permitted, for a season, to exhibit his rage on earth. This war in heaven is to be understood in a spiritual sense, as well as the war upon earth. The tempter seduced the spirits above from their happy state of obedience to the divine laws. The leading angel who, in the pro- phetic language of Scripture, is said to fight against Satan in behalf of the Church, is called Michael ; the import of whose name is JVIio-Uke-God f He is by some commentators represented to be the Messiah him- self'|\ This can scarcely be allowed ; hut he certainly fights under the banner of Christ ; for who can be said to have overcome Satan in heaven, but the Messiah, who, before the foundation of the world, accepted the office by which he was to he overcome J? And as Christ is the head of the Church, not only on earth, hut in heaven, whither the poM^r of his creation and of his redemption is said to extend, and where angels and principalities are subjected to him§: so there appear to be two rebellions against his power and name ; the one in heaven, the other on earth. Both are comprehended in Miltons sublime poem. Ver. 14. To the xvomaii xvere give?i two xvings of the great eagle ; &c.] To be borne on eagle's wings, signifies, (as will appear by consulting Exod. xix. 4. * ro'TTos UK sv^iOnj Dan. ii. 35. Rev. xx. ii. t Mede's Discourses. t Compare Dan, xii. 1. Luke x. j8. §Eph. i. 10; iii. 15. Phil. ii. 10. Col. i. l6. CO. Isa. Chap, xii.] apocalypse. 321 Isa, xl. 31. Vsalmxci. 4.) 'divine, miraculous deliver- ance. Who can pursue the eagle through the air and take from him what is committed to his charge? This verse, compared with the sixth, at the end of which the parenthesis is supposed to begin, will be found to contain nearly the self-same information, varied only in expression. VER. 6. 1. *' The woman fled into *' the wilderness: — ^. ** Where she has there, *' a place prepared of ''God:— That they should " there nourish her a *' thousand two hun- ** dred and sixty ^^days." VER. 14. 1. ^'That she might flee '' into the wilder- *' ness.' 2. '*To her j5/«ce," to con- vey her to which she has ^' given to her '* two wings of the ** great eagle." 3. " Where she is nourish- " ed there a time and " times, and half a " time, from the pre- *' sence of the ser- '' pent.'' 1. The expression in the first clause is the same, varied only by the use of another mood and tense, rendered necessary by the new context. 2. The second clauses have only this difference, that the miraculous deliverance is pointed out in one, as consisting in the divine security of the place ; in the other, from the divine conveyance to it ; both are effected by the same miraculous succour, and in the same place, H H 3. It 522 APOCALYPSE, [Pt. IV. § e. S. It has been already shewn*, that the 1^50 days, and the time, times, and half, are exactly the same period. Thus, comparing these two passages, we mu«t acknowledge the parenthesis which disjoined them: the history contained in which, being now delivered, we are again brought to the same place, whence the narration had digressed, to the coirflict on earth be- twetn the dragon and the xcoman, Ver. 15. JVater like a river.'] Overwhelming ca- lamity is often represented as a torrent, or flood of Water, bearing down all before itf, from which, however, the favour of God deb vers his servants. Such a flood the adversary now raises against the Church ; the floods and waves of worldly power, stirring up the madness of the rulers and of the peo- p e, (which is expressed by the same imagery, in Psalms Ixxxix. 9 ; Ixv. 7. J) against the cause of true Religion. Such were the persecutions under the heathen emperors ; but the whelming torrent did not prevail against the Church of Christ. Remarkable instances occur in history, wherein Christianity, on the point of being utterly annihilated, Mas delivered by the unexpected interposition of earthly power, and the political movements of earthly potentates. There is a memorable instance of this in the time of the Diocletian persecution, Avhen the Christian Religion, apparently overwhelmed by its enemies, obtained a wonderful deliverance from the extraordinary proceed- ings of Constantine §. Modern history presents many * Note, ch. xi. 2. f Psalm cxxiv. Is. xvii. 12. Jer. xii. 5. X See also Rev. xvii. 15. where the waters are explained by the angel to signify ^' people, and multitudes, and watious, and laa-. |uages." § Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib.x. c. v. such Chap, xii.] APOCALYPSE. 3£3 such occurrences, as may be seen in Bishop Newton's Dissertation on the Prophecies *. But perhaps these more properly belong to the warfare, which the drsLgon is to wage against the rest of the of spring of the wo77ian. And the floods are to be referred to the early persecutions of Christianity, prevented from destroy- ing her by the favour which the Christians enjoyed with all people |. Ver. 17. The remnant of her offspring,^ Christ is the first-born ; the first-fruits of the Church J ; and first only among brethren § ; for to his faithful ser- vants he hath given the privilege of being joint-heirs with him. Such are they, *' who keep the command- •' ments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus;" Christians in faith and in practice. Against these, during the season permitted to him, the arch-fiend makes war; and this war is now about to be descri- bed. He succeeds for a time: but in the end, the Church must prevail. Such was the original designa- tion of Divine Providence by prophecy; — *^ thy seed '* shall possess the gate of his enemies :||" and in ch. vi. % the Church goes out conquering, and /or to conquer^ The time of this warfare, carried on by the dragon against the rest of the offspring of the woman, by the devil and his agents, is to be dated, as it appears to me, from the days of the emperor Constant ine; when the arch-enemy, having tried in vain to overwhelm the Church by his torrents of worldly power, began to proceed against her by a more covert and sure me- thod; began to corrupt her by the splendour and riches, which she was now permitted to enjoy : and * Vol. iii. Svo edit. p. 217. t ^^cts ii. 47. X Col. i. 15. 1 Cor. XV. 20. Ileb. xii. 23. § Rom. viii. 29. II Gen. xxii. 17, H H 2 thus 324 APOCALYPSE. [Pt IV. § 2. thus did he succeed in producing her most success- ful enemy out of her own bosom. This becomes the subject of the next chapter. On consulting the writings of the commentators most approved in this country, I find, that by the dra- gon is generally understood the pagan and persecuting power of hnperial Rome, But, I trust, a few obser- vations will shew the fallacy of this notion. Where an interpretation is expressly given in the vision, as in ch. i. 20 ; v. 6, 9 ; xvii. 7. &c. ; that interpretation must be used as the key to the mystery, in preference to all interpretations suggested by the imagination of man. Now in the 9th verse of this chapter such an interpretation is presented ; the dra- gon is there expressly declared to be '* that ancient ** serpent," (a^%«io?, o aV «^%vj,) called '* the Devil;" known by the name of ^m^oKog in the Greek, and of Satan in the Hebrew; *^ who deceiveth the whole " world." Here are his names, and his acknowledged character. No words can more completely express them. No Roman eniperor, nor succession of em- perors, can answer to this description. The same dragon appears again in ch. xx. ^. and, (as it were, to prevent mistake,) he is there described in ihe*very same words. But this re-appearance of the same dra- gon is in a very late period of the Apocalyptic his- tory; long after the expiration of the 1260 days, or years ; and even after the wild-beast and false pro- phet, (who derive their power from the dragon du- ring this period,) are come to their end*. And the * Ch, xix, 20. "* dragon Chap, xii.] apocalypse. 3^5 dragon is upon the scene long after these times, and continues in action even at the end of another long period, a period of a thousand years*. He there pursues his ancient artifices, *^ deceiving the nations," even till his final catastrophe, in ch. xx. 10, when the warfare of the Church is finished. Can this dra- gon then be an emperor of Rome ? or any race or dynasty of emperors ? Can he be any other than that ancient and eternal enemy of the Christian Church, who in this, as in all other Scriptural accounts, is represented as the original contriver of all the mis- chief which shall befall it ? In this drama, he acts the same consistent part, from begianing to end. He is introduced to early notice, as warring against the Church f ; as possessing a seat, or throne of power, in a great city inimical to the Christians J; as the author of doctrines corruptive of Religion, which are called *' the depths of Satan.'' The evils brought on the Church under the Trumpets, particularly the third and fifth, are ascribed to him. In the suc- ceeding conflicts, the Church is attacked by his agents; by the wild-beast and false prophet §, who derive their power from him ; and at length he him- self is described, as leading the nations against the camp of the Saints ||. Nothing appears more plain than the meaning of this symbol. The only ap- pearances which may seem to favour the application of it to Imperial Rome are, the seven crowned heads, and the ten horns of the dragon. But the number seven is of great universality : and although seven heads, or seven mountains, are in another prophecy * Ch. XX. 7. t Ch. ii. 10. 13. X Ch. ii. 24. S Ch.xiii. 11 Ch.xx.9. applied 326 APOCALYPSE. fPt. IV. § 2. applied to Rome in a particular sense, which may pro- perly designate that city ; yet, they have a much more extended and general signification, expressive of the immense influence of Satan in the councils of this world. In a particular sense also, the seven moun- tains and ten horns of the latter Roman empire are fitly attributed to Satan, because during the period of 1260 years, and perhaps beyond it, he makes use of the Roman empire, its capital city, and ten kings or kingdoms, as the instruments of his successful at- tack on the Christian Church. Joseph Mede, when he had no favourite hypothesis immediately in view, clearly saw and acknowledged the obvious interpretation of this symbol ; and, in one of his learned sermons, has justly described the parties engaged in this spi- ritual conflict: 1. Satan, and his angels; 2. the wo- man and her seed * If the Roman emperors are at all concerned in this warfare, it is only as sub- ministrant agents of this arch-enemy of the Church, The dragon therefore appears to me, as he did to Venerable Bede, eleven centuries ago, to be *' Dia- '* bolus, potentia terreni regni armatusf." The worldly agents, whom he principally employs to carry on the warfare thus begun, will be described in the ensuing chapter. "* Mede's Works, p. 235. i Bedae Com. in loc. ; — ^^ the Devil, armed with the power of *^' worldly dominion/' PART Ch. xiii. 1 — 11.] APOCALYPSE. S€7 PART IV. SECTION III. The JVild-beast from the Sea. CHAP. X ISKsc* IfoSrtv lit) T^» 1 cms. Kixi eJoov Ik rvis ^acXuaayis ^nfi'ov cx-- fxCaTvevy 'iy(ov ni^x- € n \ s ■> \ imlx y^ siri ruv xe- puruiv avra ^skx OlOlO'nfJl,xixf KXt ETTl Txs xsipxXois ocvra S xs. Kxi TO ^v^t'ov 0 Si ooVy riv oy^oiov tsxp-' nvra us a^Kiy^ Kj to 5-o/xa ayra us fo/xa }<.ioy\'^' XXI z^uy.iv UVTf I O^anUV T75V ^vvxfJLiv ayrS, xxl To» ^^ovov «yT», xxl s^aa-i'xv (AsyoiXinV' 3 Kai fxtxy Ix. ruv Xt^xKuV UVTH US jcr!y l)s ^u- yxlov' axi v 'aXfiyr, t5 ^xyxTa acvra l^s^xmvSy)' iC, lOxv- iTtiau T» ^rifiH, Tf ^pacKOvli, art t^w- xtn T^y l^aaisiv t* ii. 18. ciiAl'. l8 And I was stationed on the sand of the sea. 1 And I saw a wild-beast rising up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon his ten horns diadems, and upon his heads names of blas- 2 phemy. And the wild- beast, which I saw, was like a leopard; and his feet as those of a bear; and his mouth as the mouth of a lion : and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great au- 3 thority. And I saw one of his heads as having been smitten unto death, and his deadly wound was healed. And the whole earth wondered after 4 the wild -beast. And they worshipped the dragon, because he had given the power to the beast, and they wor- shipped the beast, say- ing; '' Who is like xiii. 1— 11. I 1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea,havings-;ven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of 2 blasphemy. 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 alien : and the dra- gon gave him his pow- er, and his seat, and 3 great authority. And I saw one of his heads, as it were wounded to death ; and his deadly wound was healed : and all the world won- dered 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 to make 5 war with him? And 32S APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. § 3. y^iyovrts' lis ofAttos tZ ^vj^Iu'y Kxi Tts lo oSj) avTu <)0^(x. iS^oSv} alru l^saioc. rscrcra^ocKovltx, ovo. 6 Kal »)V0<|£ TO fo/xa fxiav ZT^OS TOV ©£0V, ^Xaa(pyi{Ariff(Xi to o- vo/AOt avrS, yq try c-mrnt «yT«,[j^] Tsy 2v T« H^atui ani^yZv- 7 rxs, Kacl llo9i^ ocv- ru tsoASf/i.ov ^oiria-oii y.vcc ruv uyiuv, ty vixricoci airis' xon IJdSi? aiiru l^arxtx 8 Xaov x«< yXwaaocy XXI iQvos. Ka< ta^oarKVYficmam al- Tov zjoims 01 xo^oi- xbms Im TVS yvSf Ijy « yiy^wnloci ro Zvo^x Iv TW ^IQXiU T09S- ^w/yy TS ap;« t5 Icrtpxy (Aiva, aiio xxIx^oXtis xoa-^a. E/ T/y ty^tt asy axa- 10 auru, EJ Tts xty- l/LxXualav crvvayu. tis aty^xKuaixv tmuyst* s'l TIS £v " unto the beast, and " who is able to make 5 " war with him ?" And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphe- mies: and there was given to him power [to continue in action] forty - two months. 6 And he opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blas- pheme his name, and his tabernacle, [and] those who dwell in 7 heaven. And it was given him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. And power was given to him over every tribe, and people, and lan- guage, and nation : 8 And all who dwell on the earth shall wor- ship him; they whose name is not written in the book of life of the Lamb, which was sa- crificed from the foun- dation of the world. 9 If any one have an ear, 10 let him hear. If any one leadeth into cap- tivity, into captivity he goes. If any one shall slay with the sword, he must be slain with the sword. Herein is the patience there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blas- phemies ; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two 6 months. And he open- ed his mouth in blas- phemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in hea- 7 ven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and, to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell up- on the earth shall wor- ship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the 9 world. If any man have an ear, let him 10 hear. He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity : he that killeth with the sword, must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of saints. Cll. Xiii, 1 — 11.] APOCALYPSE. 3^9 osi avrov sv (Aet^pn- pec dnoKrcty&rivxi' y.xi fi 'zsItis TUT) ayluv. and the faith of the Saints. Ver. 1. And 1 was stationed on the sand of the sea.^ 'Ec«6tiv, not equ^Vij appears to be the true reading^. The scene is now changed, and the Prophet is so stationed as to behold it. It had been removed from the earth and sea, where the angel of the tenth chapter had begun to disclose the fortunes of the Church in the western kingdoms of the Gentiles; it had been removed to Heaven, to shew the prime mover of all the warfare. Both the combatants were of heavenly extraction, and had fought in Heaven. These conflicts therefore were first described; and the scene was changed to accommo- date to them. But the battle, which had been begun in Heaven, is now continued on earth; and is to be brought to its conclusion under the seventh Trumpet. Therefore before the final conflict, wherein the heaven- ly Leader will again appear, the combatants on earth are also to be exhibited; first, those who continue the warfare on behalf of the dragon; then, those who engage on the part of the woman, or Church. Ac- cordingly, the scene is again opened upon earth, and at the brink of the sea; because a formidable agent of the dragon, or satan, is to arise from that quarter -f. lb. And I saw a wild-beast i^ising up out of the sea.^ The sea, in prophetic language, signifies in general the heathen world J; numerous 4Xid powerful * See the lect. var. in Griesbach, f Ch, xi. T, X See note, ch. viii. 7. 8. armies 530 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. § 5. armies of the Gentiles, marching against the people of God, are figuratively represented by the stormy zeaves of the sea*. Thus the ascent of the wild-beast out of the sea seems to signify his rise in xvorldly power, and probably also from the western gentiles, who are more especially represented under this symbol. The four wild-beasts of the prophet Daniel, representing so many successive tyrannies which overran the earth, are de- scribed, all of them, as ascending from the sea. There is a very striking resemblance between the wild- beast of the Apocalypse and those of this Prophet. It will be useful to exhibit them together: and it will be done most effectually in the Greek. The trans- lation of Daniel into that language appears to be very close to the original, as given in Mr. Wintle*s version. 9o^O(, XccKHv Dan. vii. 2 — 15. 1. Clg Ksocivoc* (orig. a lion.) 2. A^iilog- 3. lioc^^uKig* ■4. ( Gyjptov ' — i(r%vpov TtTc- pi(r(rcug, (poQspo)/ kui £}c9oc^Sov, ol o^ovjig C(v]8 o-i^vjpoi" %, T. A, AsKoc (oa^iKag" Rev. xiii. 1 — 18. xix. 20. xx. 4. 'AvfSa/voj/ Ik TTig BuKuvhen, shewing^ to him " all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory ** of them ; all these things," saith he, '' will I give ** thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship mef." Who- ever, to attain worldly eminence, relinquishes his trust in God, and deviates from the path of the Divine laws, withdraws his allegiance from God, andtranfers it unto the devil. — And this allegiance may also be transferred to the agents of the devil ; to the powers of this world, who promote his infernal interests in opposition to that heavenly kingdom, which we daily pray for, and which we are bound daily to promote. . lb. IFko is like unto the beast ? zvho is able to make war with him ?] The battle to be fought with the beast, who proclaims and enforces idolatry, is of a spi- ritual nature J. They who, giving up their faith in God, worship after the ordinances of the beast, are ♦ See more on this subject, in notes, ch. xvii. S. t Matt, iv. 8, 9. X See note, ch. ii. 7. overcome Ch. xiii. 1 — 11.] APOCALYPSE. 8S9 overcome by him : but every faithful Christian, who adheres " to the word of the Testimony, loving not his *' life, even unto death, overcomes him by the blood ** of the Lamb*." Ver. 5. Blasphemies. 1 These shall be considered when we take into view the assistant beast and false pro- phet, who enabled the first beast to blaspheme to the utmost excess. See note below, ch. xiii. 5. 6. 7. lb. Pozver [to conti^iue in actio7i]fortij-txvo months,'] Hotvidcii, applied to time, signifies to continue, as in Acts XV. 33; XX. 3; to continue, during this period, in his evil practices against the Church. This being the last time in which the period of forty-two months is mentioned, presents us with the proper occasion for taking it into more minute consi- deration, together with the other concurrent periods of the same duration. There are three of these periods mentioned in the Apocalypse; and it has been already shewn that they contain the same duration of timef. This will appear still more evident, by the following scheme : I. A time, and times, n and dividing: of time. p«. During this period, the Saints, or times and laws, are given into the hand of the little horn, or king, Kai^ov mi nxi^si ncit vjixiffv J rising t^t cji have so?jie common coincidence; they are all contained under the sixth Trumpet, a and d exliibit the same history,, told by different prophets, rU. that of the antichris- tian Ch. xiii. 1~1I.] APOCALYPSE. 341 tian oppressor expected to arise out of the Roman empire, after its division into ten kingdoms, b and^ contain the same history, — the nourishment of the woman in the wilderness, which, for a particular reason, is repeated^. But the beast, represented in a and d, receives his power from the dragon f, who is certainly ilescribed as cotemporary with the woman ; and makes war against her seed, the seed of the woman in the wilderness, the saints. Therefore a and d, and b andj^ contain histories, some parts of which at least are of the same perio^l. Again ; any one, who reads ch. xi. 2, 5, with attention, must perceive that c and e are pur- posely brought together, in order to shew that they contain the same period, but e, in some of its parts, is certainly cotemporaiy with a and d; with the times of the beast. For the beast of a and d slays the wit- nesses of e. And thus all of them appear to cotem- porize in some parts of their coVirse. But, that they agree and coincide in all their points ; that they syn- chronize, as Mede expresses it, in every part of their periods, so as to have the same beginning, middle, and end, will not be so easily admitted. But, to render this examination less difficult, we may begin with reducing the six periods to four. For, (1.) « and d may safely be pronounced to be the self- same period ; viz, the time during which the antichris- tian oppressor is permitted to act against the saints. The history is the same, but given in different expres- sion, yet q,mounting to the same duration, by two dif- ferent prophets J. (2.) b and^ evidently set forth the same history and time; viz, the nourishment of the * See note, ch. xii. 14. + Ch. xiii. 2, 5. X The forty-two months of Saint John are exactly equal to three years and an half, the time, and times, and half a time, of Daniel. See note, ch. xi. 2. xii. 14. woman 342 APOCALYPSE. [Pt IV § 5. •woman in the wilderness. We are therefore enabled to reduce the sir periods to four: — 1. the period of the continuance of the beast ; a and d: — 2. that of the con- tinuance of the woman in the wilderness; b and /; — S, that of the Gentiles continuing to tread the holy city ; c : — 4. that of the witnesses continuing to prophesy in sackcloth ; e. This is what Joseph Mede has intitled, nobilis iste quaternio vaticinioruin, aequalibus temporum intervallis insigniam *; whose periods he has endeavoured to exhibit as synchronizing in all their parts. His first attempt is to shew the synchronism of the time of the beast, (Oy b,) with that of the woman in the wilderness, {b, fy) upon this ground, that their times begin together, and consequently must run together throughout. But the proof of their beginning together does not appear free from objection. They begin together, says he, from one and the same point of time ; namely, when the dragon is overcome and cast down to the earth. Now, if this be the point of time, from which the sojournment of the zvoman in the xvilderness is to be dated, yet it can scarcely be that of the commencement of the beast's reign. For there is an interval, full of action, between the fall of the dragon and the rise of the beast; namely, that in which the dragon pursues the woman, casting after her torrents of water : and it is not till after he has in vain tried this method of destroying her, that, enraged at his disappointment, he raises up the beast to war against the rest of her oifspripg|. That the beast and the woman are cotemporary in some parts of their periods, is very probable ; and it is pro- bable likewise, that their beginnings are not far distant Clav. Apoc. p. 419. + See ch. xii. 13—1/ ; and ch. xiii. 1. from Ch. xiii. 1 — 11.] APOCALYPS*:. 543 from each other,— so that from M'hat has hitherto ap peared, they may he the same : — but this has not yet seemed to admit of complete demonstration. The synchronism of the beast with the prophecy of the witnesses seems Hkewise defective in proof. These, says iVIede, are both brought down to the same period of consummation, at the end of the sixth Trumpet. But, if the period of the witnesses be allowed to end with the sixth Trumpet, it is otherwise v/ith the period of the beast, v/hose warfare against the Church is par- ticularly described under the seventh Trumpet ; when, together with the false prophet, he is taken and slain *, Besides, nothing is more manifest, than that the beast does not come to his end at the same time with the witnesses; for the witnesses are slain hy him; and when they are slain, \\\QyJinish their prophetical office ; as is expressly declared in ch. xi. 7. Add to this, ;diat the earthquake and fill of one tenth of the city, TVhich concludes the prophecy of the Avitnesses, and also the sixth Trumpet t, cannot be the same with the great slaughter and total victory under the seventh Trumpet J; when the beast is destroyed. The syn- chronism therefore is defective of proof §. The * Ch. xix. 19. t Ch. xi. i Ch. xix. § This attempt of the ingenious author of the Clavis Apocalyptica to synchronize these periods, seems to me conclusive in very few stages of it. He appears to approach near to the truth, in many instances; but the proofs are not positive and satisfactory. The prophecies do not seem to supply the means of that strict demonstration, which he has attempted: and, one proof failing (as we have seen in these first propositions), that which is built upon it must fail also. There is one passage in this able divine's commentary, from which it may be collect- ed that he did not always conclude the termination of the beast's career to be exactly synchronal with the termination of the prophecy of the witnesses. He plainly asserts the one to belong to the sixth, the other to the seventh Trumpet. (See his Works, pages 490, 49 1.) And his method 3A4i APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. <^ 5. The four grand apocalyptic periods are involved very mucli together, and before the final completion of them all has taken place, it may not be in the power of man to settle the times when each of them had its com- mencement. But, for the reasons above assigned, I am inclined to conjecture that the period of the beast may be found to derive its beginning somewhat later than that of the v»'oman in the wilderness ; and to receive its termination somewhat later than that of the witnesses. His times seem rather later than either of theirs. And it may perhaps be found, that those of the woman and of the >vitnesses are the same ; with which the other remaining period, that of the Gentiles treading the holy city, seems also to accord. Commentators seem to have been too adventurous in fixing the exact com- mencement of these periods, which appear to be in- volved in a purposed obscurity, which the event only- can clear. But it may be probable, that the 1260 years of the Gentiles; of the woman in the wilderness, and of the witnesses; will come to their conclusion, before the antichristian reign of the beast is seen finally to cease. And this is all that I dare advance concerning prophecies which are yet fulfilling. Verses 5, 6, 7. And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphejnies ; &c.] It will be useful to observe, that in Daniel vii. 8. 20. 25, the fourth, or Roman beast, does not obtain '* his mouth ^' speaking great things," (they are the very same words used by both prophets,) nor open his mouth for blas- phemy, until he has produced the little horn, that is, after he has produced the ten kings. So in the Apo- method of solving this diflficulty, must be thought defective: for, surely, the end of the beast is \ns final confinement in the lake of fire, ch. xix. 20, and not his imagined expulsion from the city of Rome. calypse, Ch. xiii. 1 — 11.] APOCALYPSE. 345 calypse, it is not in the first period of the beast's pro- gress that he exalts himself so superbly, and becomes an object of worship. This exaltation is accomplish- ed for him by the intervention of the second beast, his minister in iniquity, whose office and actions are de- scribed in the subsequent part of this chapter. But in this description of the first beast, ch. xiii. 1 — 9, we may discriminate his gradual progress ; 1. under verses 1 & 2, the Roman tyranny under its pagan persecuting emperors, to whom the apostate Christians literally offered incense: — ^ *. his wound at the accession of Constantine : — 3. his recovery, and the great admiration of him in his new form: — 4. his additional power and increased dominion, when, after his division into ten kingdoms, the little horn of Daniel, the false prophet, springs up in him ; when the harlot directs the reins f. The period of 1260 years seems to be that of his renew- ed life, and of his increased dominion, displayed in verses 5, 6, 7- [*' They who dxvell in Heaven^'"^ are not only the heavenly inhabitants, literally speaking, but the faithful Christians on earthy whose " conversa- '* tion is in Heaven ;'' whose '* building" and home are there; who account themselves "strangers and pil- '* grims upon earth:]:." Ver. 8. Book of Life.'] See note, ch. iii. 5. Ver. 9. If any one have an ear ; &c.] See note, ch. ii. 7. Ver. 10. If any one leadeth into captivity; &c.] After the fearful picture exhibited of the victorious power of the beast, a comfort is derived from these * Ver. 3. t Ch. xvii. X Heb. xi. 9. 13. Eph. ii. 6. 19. 1 Pet. i. 1/. They are opposed to " those who inhabit the earth," and who are said to worship the beast, ch. xiii. 3. 8. xvii, 8, words; 346 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. § 3, words ; which contain an assurance from the Almighty, that the wicked shall not finally prosper. The cause of iniquity sometimes flourishes during a long period, and under various instruments: but the individuals employed to promote its reign, have no lasfmg enjoy- ment or prosperity. They suffer in their turn the evils which they introduce, and inflict on others. This great truth in the providential government of God, is exem- plified by Dr. Jortin, in the sufferings and deaths of the most noted persecutors *. We have seen it exempli- fied in our own times, during the progress of the French Revolution. The individuals who chiefly dis- tinguished themselves in overturning legal government and promoting persecution, oppression, a beastly do- mination, and the overthrow of Christianity, have en- joyed but a precarious and short-lived power. We have seen most of them cut off in the midst of their ambitious career, or consigned to misery in a distant wretched colony. The saints must be patient; the great day of re- compense will surely comef. — '* Fear not, little flock; 'Mt is your Father's good pleasure to give you the ^'kingdom J." And it is the oiiice of the Messiali " to lead captivity captive §." * Remarks on Eccl. Hist. vol. iii. pp. 24()— 322. t ^eb. x. 3^. I Luke xii. 32. § Psalm Ixviii. 18. ICph. iv. 8. PART Ch. xiii. 11—18.] apocalybse. 347 PART IV. SECTION IV. The Beast from the Land, or false Prophet. CHAP. xiii. VER. 11 — to the end< i 1 Kai i%v «XXo "rrts yriSy xxl il^t xs^atiat ovo tixoix eipvla/* jc i}mXh us 12 l^uKuv, Kxl rr,v i^tta-t'av t5 zs^ura ^v^tti xsua-otv 'BJoiu xatloiKti^xs Iv fxiiT^i J»« 'afocrxwh<7U(Ti TO ^ftqm TO 'uj^u- Toy, tt f0£f aWJvSij 19 1 3 air a, Ka« vsoiii (T^tTot (jnyciXUf iva Kj tjv^ 'Ojoi'n xaia- Qalvziv Ix t5 «fay5 tis T^y yriv, eywiriov 14 ru* dv9fu'Truy. Ka< -roXaya rtis xoio;- x»yW !''»■' T^y 7^^ i^ofi» aJrw tuOi^crat/ huTim TB ^»!f/a* Asywy ToFy xa)oix«'- o-^y I'm Tins yns^ ijotria-xi ilxovx rf wXr^T^n r-ni /*«- 1 1 And I beheld another wild-beast, coming up out of the land. And he had two horns like a Lamb, and he spake 12 as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the pow- er of the first beast before him; and cau- seth the earth, and those who dwell there- in, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was 13 healed. And he doeth great wonders ; so that he even maketh fire to come down from hea- ven, upon the earth, 14 before men. And he deceiveth those who dwell upon the earth, by the wonders which were given him to do before the beast ; say- ing to those who dwell on the earth, to make an image to the beast, who hath the wound of the sword, and did 15 live. And it wis given 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as 1 2 a dragon . And he ex- erciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth, and them which dwell therein, to wor- ship the first beast, whose deadly wound 13 was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from hea- ven on the earth, in 14 the sight of men. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means of those mi- racles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, say- ing to them that dwell on the earih, that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, 15 and did live. And lie 348 15 Kxt scoQy) avraj immt T« ^'/jpla, "vx coot oiv Lv.', TufQa-ycv- V/itJuai ~r,v six-OiX T« C>)f/a, 'lysi ccnoyJxv- 16 ^ua-i. Vixi zjotsT 'znx^^xs, rks {x.ixpiis y^ ras [/.syxKus, -^ TtiS 'SjKaCiUS KXl Ttts islu^aSf Kxt riis sXsvGs^as y.a,i TW ^t'Aas-, 'I'vx cZ-atv cc.lrc7s ^a^x^ux srrt "rris X^'P^^ avruv rr,s ce^ixs, vv f97i TUV {JLiiuTTUV XVTUV. 1 7 Ka< 'lyx fjLV) rts ovvnixi dyo^xa-xi v) sy(ujv TO yjxpx^y.a^ TO ovoixci TB ^ripia^ ♦) Toy a^i^ijiOii rt; 18 oyoixxios avri.'flh 75 ao(^ix l^-i)/' 0 j'^t'v v£v, \J/>iO<(7aT&; Toy a^iOlJLOV TB ^'/J^lU' im It'i Kf 0 d^i9[A0S tCrCry yJ-S ' APOCALYPSE. him to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should even spealc ; ^nd he should cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast 15 should be slain. And he causeth all, both the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the freemen and the slaves, that they should give them a mark upon their right hands, or upon their foreheads. 17 [And] that no one might be able to buy or sell, but he who hath the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his IS name. Herein is the wisdom ; let him that hath understanding, calculate the num- ber of the beast: for it is a number of a man ; and his number is 666. [Pt. IV. § 4. had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast, should be 16' killed. And he cau- seth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in 17 their foreheads : 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 IS name. Here is wis- dom. Let him that hath understanding, count the number of the beast : for it is the numberofamaiji; and his number is six hun- dred threescore and six. Ver. il. Another xdld beast— out of the land] 'H 7V1, tlicland*, in opposition to y^ 'baKcitTtret, the sea, signifies tlie Israel; the peculiar people of God; the * See note, ch. viii. 7, Jews, Cb. xiii. 11—18.] apocalypse. 349 Jews, so long as they continued such; but, after the Divine rejection of them, the Gentiles; who now, during the 1260 years, tread the courts of the Lord's Temple*. Tliis beast therefore ariseth from among the professed Christians. He is of the kind foretold by St. Paul ; '^ grievous wolves, not sparing the flock ; ^^ also o^ your oxvnselves shall men arise, speaking per- *' verse things f &c. t Thus also Saint John describes antichrist 6^ v/xwv — «AA' obn i^ v^y^m : — he is a Christian in pretence, but in fact an enemy to the faith:}:: and he propagates new doctrines, and seduces or forces others from the ancient faith §. This is the spirit of antichrist which began to shew itself even in St. John's days, but was to be manifested in full growth at that later period, which seems foretold in this passage of tlie Apocalypse. lb. He had txvo horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.~\ Horns signify power, and two horns two branches, into which that power is divided ||. They are of the same beast; a power of the same kind ; but exercised in two separate divisions or kingdoms. They are made to appear like the liorns of a lamb, profess- ing to be that spiritual power which belongs to the Lamb, and is peculiar to his kingdom ; to the kingdom of Christ. Tliey are, in short, ecclesiastical pozvers. But though their outward seeming be such, not such is their reality. This beast is no lamb, — he is the very wolf in sheep's clothing, foretold by our Lord^; after which passage the venerable Ignatius calls false prophets and deceivers in the Church Avko/ ciioiric^ci. Tins beast * See notes, ch. ii. 9; vii. 4; xi. 1. t Acts XX. 29, 30. Phil. iii. 2. : 1 John ii. 18, I9. § 1 John ii. 24, 25, 26 ; iv. 2, &c. 2 John 6, 7. )) See note, ch. v 6'; xvii. 12. H Malt. vii. 15. xiii. 22. is 350 ' APOCALYPSE* [Pt. IV. § 4. is by Saint Jolm styled the false prophet* ; and the ancient Fathers universally understood him to be the leader of the great antichristian apostacy f- He puts on the garb and outward appearance of a pure servant of God : but M hen he speaks and brings to light his doc- trine and his decrees, the difference becomes manifest. Our Lord '' spake as never man spake," with divine energy united to gentleness and tender affection ; he spake '' comfortably to his Jerusalem." Not so this ecclesiastical wild-beast; — like the voice of the little horn in Daniel:}:, his voice is blasphemous ; it is exalted " against the Lord, and against his Anointed."— It iy of his predecessor the dragon. — '' Ye," says our Lord to the Jewish ^j//?ocnVe^, *' are of your father xht deml\.^* Ver. 12. And he exerciseth all the pozver of the first beast; &c.] This second beast, the ecclesiastical power, divided into two branches, exerciseth all the power of the first beast; that power which has been already described as given to him by the dragon, with whose voice he speaks. But this, as was before ob- served IJ, is not in the early times of the beast's power ; not during the pagan Roman empire; but after he had received his deadly wound ; which mark of his chronology is twice repeated ^. The power which he receives from the dragon, and exercises under the first beast, whose armour-bearer he is therefore called by Irenaeus**, has already been described. It is a power * Ch. xvi. 13; xix. 20; xx. 10. t Irenaeus, lib. v. 25. Augustin. Horn. ii. in Apocal. In tbe Synops. S. S. attributed to Athanasius, a kind of abstract is given of the Apocalypse : and in this the second beast is called the anti-christ, OS t)'i o Aviix^h-os, which seems to have been the prevailing notion with the Fathers. | Dan. vii. 20. Ch. xiii. 4, 5. § John viii. 44. jl Note, ch. xiii. 5, 6, 7 1[ Ver. 12. & 14. ** Adv. Hrer. lib. v. cap. 28. of Chap. xiii. 11 — 18.] apocalypse. 551 of great extent*; opposed against God, and true Religion f ; idolatrous and tyrannical :{:. Being a false prophet §, he possesses himself of an ecclesiastical authority, and adds the influence, with which the sanc- tions of Religion seem to invest him, to the civil power which he obtains and exercises under the Roman beast. Thus armed with tv/ofold authority, he employs it in the support of the power which he has obtained ; and to secure reverence and obedience to that power, he sets it up as sacred. Ver. 13. And he doeth great wonders ; cS:c.] The opposers of Moses, the servant of God, performed lying wonders in iEgypt ||. This false prophet endeavours to personate the servants of God, and, like them, to per- form miracles ; like Moses and Elijah, to *' draw down *' fire from heaven i7i the sight of men,'' He is suc- cessful in the delusion, and is generally received as a prophet of God. Under the sanction of Religion, he establishes an oppressive domination, hostile to true Re- ligion; and which true Religion is calculated to de- stroy. Ver. 14. It is the image and resemblance of the ancient tyranny, in the times of the C^sars, by which those, suspected to be Christians, were required, at the penalty of their lives, to offer incense to the pagan emperors. By investing this tyrannical usurpation with the sanctions of sacred authority, he renders it the ob- ject of the world's foolish idolatry. And where obedi- ence and worship are refused, they are then enforced by terror and by arms. All orders and degrees of men are enrolled, and marked as slaves of this tyranny %, The * Ver. 7, 8. + Ver. 5, 6. | Ver. 4. J Ch. xvi 3. 1! Exod. vii. 12, 22. If The custom of receiving marks on the forehead and right hand, 552 APOCALYPSE. [Ft. IV. § 4^ To those who withhold the decreed worship and obedi^ ence, the common privileges of Hfc are denied ; they are oppressed, persecuted, and slain. The atncient Ro- man tyranny denied to persons, suspected to be Chris- tians, the privilege of buying and seUing, unless they would sacrifice to idols *. This revived tyranny, the living image of the old one, does the same. The future existence and success of such an hypo- critical, blasphemous^ and cruel povver, has been fore- told in other passages of Scripture. The little horn of Daniel came up like this. Upon theforrmr beast, upon the old'established civil poxver ; came rooting up other branches of this power, to make way for his own domi- nation. He is '^ divers from the other horns;" he is not merely a cfr// power; ^* he has eyes, as the eyes of *' a man," and '' a mouth speaking great things;'' and ** he wears out the Saints of the Most High," who are given into his hand during the very same period of time which is assigned to the first beast of the Apoca- lypse, all whose power is exercised by this second beast f. as badges of servitude, is very ancient. Moses seems to allude to it in Deut. vi. 8. Such a mark was inflicted on the conquered Jews by Ptolemy Philadelphus. (Maccabees.) Irenieus relates, that the Gnostics were accustomed thus to mark their disciples. Both believers and infidels, according to the koran of Mahomet, are to be marked respec* tively on their faces, previous to the last day. (Sale's Koran, p. 105.) Jn riindostan, some casts are yet marked in the forehead. A curious ac- count of these marks, and specimens of their forms, may be seen in the Voyage of Fra. Paolino da San Bartolomeo to the East Indies, chap, \iii; also chap. i. toward the end. See likewise Augustin. torn. xi. p. 538 ; " signacula oris, et manuum, et siniis." Likewise see Spencer de Leg. Heb. lib. ii. c. 14-. * Euseb. Eccl Hist. v. c. 1. vi. c. 41. Just. Martyr, quoted by Bp. NewtoH, iii. p. 244. t Dan. vii. 8. 20. 21. 24. 25. See them compared, notej ch. xiii.5. This Ch. xiii. 11 — 18.] apocalypse. 353 This prophecy of Daniel may have been fulfilled ti/pl- cally, and in its primary sense, in Antiochus Epi- phanes * ; but that in this persecutor, the prediction was not finally completed, we may affirm upon the au- thority of an apostle. For St. Paul, who Hved after the times of Antiochus, teaches the Christians of his time to look to a future accomplishment of this prophecy ; to expect a faUing away from the faith, a signal cor- ruption, and even apostacy, in the leading powers of the Christian Church ; when ''the man of sin, the son of per- *' dition, shall be revealed," whom he describes in words to the same effect with these of Daniel and St. John ; *' Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is " called God, or that is worshipped, so that he is as God ; ^' sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he *' is God ; even he whose coming is after the working " of satan, with all power, and signs, and lying " wonders f." It may be useful to bring these several prophecies into one view ; so that the comparison of them may be more nearly exhibited. Their relation to each other was observed by so early a commentator as IrenaeusJ. — ♦ See Wintle, on Daniel vii. &c. f 2 Tbess. ii. 3, 4, .9. . X Lib. V. c. 25. 2^, K K Dan. 364' APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. § A. (n 2^ S rv "o •V 111 3- b -Oi 5 3- 5f *• ° § §1 30 ^ - ^ ?5" S- 30 o t- fe "* « >»« *^ f%Aj ''U* ri^ o 2 ,=^ • « t- » « « § ^ . ^ o •«• O U» ^ "^ >^ i Ch. xiii. 11 — 18.] APOCALYPSE. S55 • =^ Q ll -o g § ^ ^ ^t> 2 b « g ;§. « ST 5=- tt 5" b « w^ ^ ^o >r » jr t* U5 <^ b JO 00 3 S 3 ^ ^ v;: § . § o» » v^ I 3? « Va ?< -. ^ « >. 3 o» ^ 5^ ^ '^ ^ *^ ^ ^ 7^ . fe S^ 3- 3 ^ ^^ ^ ^ vS V) u> 5 ** b o 'I' Si- =r S*^^ ^ »JU § -i o si i_ 5.^ "5 ^ CH 3- '^ ^ •>* '^ 1^ b and pretending to a vicarial power from him, and producing out of its own body media- tors and intercessors in opposition to him. The doctrine of Po-"^ pery, though it affect to be Christian, is in many respects *' car- " nal, worldly, devil- *' ish;* and its edicts ^ have been enforced by the sword of the civil power, under the di- rection of the eccle- siastical. J REV. on. XHl. MAHOMETISM is a Chrutian apostacy, formed upon the basis of true Revelation, and t of the'N professed by nations which were formerly in the pale of the ^Christian Church. is one of the powers into which Antichrist is divided, usurping the redeeming and media- torial power of Christ, which is annihilated under this system, or transferred to the u- surping false prophet. has two horns like a la7ub : speaks like a dra- soil : L r The doctrine of Ma- homet, though it as- sume an heavenly ori- gin, is not heavenly, but " carnal, worldly, " devilish,'^ and has been enforced by the sword. The object of Po-->| pery has been to ac- qu i re civil power ^wh ich the Popes have effect- ed to a vast extent, and transmitted to their successors. 1 2 Exerciseth all ^the power of the-^ first beast ; &c. : L L 2 ,' Mahomet made use of ecclesiastical influ- ence to obtain civil power, which he com- bined with it, and transmitted to his suc- ^ cessors. POPERY. 372 APOCx\LYPSE, [Pt. IV. § 4. POPERY. Popery has been ^ promoted by pretend- ed miracles, so that the civil power, exercised by the Popes over kings .ind their subjects, has been believed to be au- thorized by divine com- mission, and has been revered accordingly. J itEV. CH. xm. 13— U Doeth great wonders, ma- king fire come ^down from heaven's in the sight of men to cause them to worship the becst : MAHOMETISM. Mahomet persuaded men that his Koran was a divine iaw, brought down from heaven miraculouslt/, and thus he gave a rehgious sanction to his civil power. The Popes have erected a civil empire of vast extent in Chris- tendom. It is the very image of the ancient Roman tyranny, which persecuted the infant Church ; but more for- midable, because it is believed to have the sanction of Divine ap- pointment. The power in such hands is re- vered as sacred. 15 Makes an image of the beast, to which he givess life and speech : Mahomet and his; successors have erect- ed a civil empire of great extent like the Roman, a cruel op- pressive power, perse- cuting true Religion, and by an apparent sanction from heaven. Their numerous sub- jects revere their go- i^vernnieiJt as sacred. The intolerance and persecuting spirit of Popery is notorious. The professors of other religions have been murdered by millions. And the Christian world was for ases compelled to receive the mark and name. 1 16—- 17 Causes those who refuse worship to the beast to be slain, and prohibits them from buying and**" selling, unless they have the mark or name of the beast; &c. r The intolerance and persecuting spirit of the M ahometans, by which I hey have denied, to all but Musselmans, the common privileges, is well authenticated in history, as are the grievous sufferings of the Christians under their sway. Such Ch. xlii. Jl— -18.] APOCALYPSE. 373 Siicli is the agreement ])etween Popery and Maho- nietism ; and so exactly do they both fulfil the ])VO- phecy of the second apocalyptic beast. But still, there is a great and remarkable difference between these two apostacics. The IMahometan, though it acknowledge Christ as a Prophet, divinely born and commissioned, and as such expects him to return again before the end of the world ; seems practicallif to forget him, and to be as it were lost to his name ; dead to the life which is in Christ. The papal apostacy, though in works it deny Christ, iand in many in- stances has so corrupted liis holy Religion, that it can scarcely be known as such ; yet in name acknow- ledges him as supreme Lord, and calls itself ex- clusively the Christian, the Catholic, or universal Church. This difference seems to supply us with the reason, why these two branches of Antichrist, when they come to be treated separately and particularly in the visions of the Apocalypse, are exhibited in a manner so different. The JMahometan branch, hav- ing sprung up rapidly into power; having by open force, as well as art, possessed \\^^Vi suddenly of em- pire, and continued in the possession of it many ages, apart from the professed Christian Church ; so its rise and extension, and ail their effects, are represented at once under the sixth Trumpet ; and are not often noted afterwards, excepting in this its conjunction with the papal horn. But the papal branch required a more particular description. It grew up gradually and covertly ; stole silently into power, and without much conflict. To the pure and reformed Church, (which is to win her way to victory U t^ S^^p/ij, out of the body of the beast in which she is enveloped,) this branch is to be exhibited specially in all its as- sumed 374- APOCALYPSE. [Pt. IV. ^ 4. sumed grandeur and artifice ; and comfort is to be afforded against its terrors. For this reason, the pa- pal horn is again produced to view, under the sym- bol of the great harlot, the corrupt Babylon *. With this branch of Antichrist, the battles of the Church are principally to be fought. As in the Apocalypse, so in the Prophecies of Daniel, the blow of the stone strikes this part of the beast ; the toes and legs of the image; the AYestern, the European Roman em- pire ; that blow, which is to break the whole of An- tichrist to pieces ; when the stone itself will become a great mountain, a kingdom of everlasting righte- ousness, and fill the whole earth f. Ver. 18. The number of the beast.'] I have not been able to devise any plausible interpretation of this number. The verse which contains it being wanting in some of the MSS., I had entertained some suspi- cion, that it did not belong to the true text ; but it appears upon enquiry, to be genuine. The early com^ ment of Irenaius upon it, appealing to ancient MSS. for the genuine reading, (ad fin. lib. v.) stamps it with great authority. And I do not find that any of the commentators since his time have produced any more probable conjectures than that of this Father. The word Lateinos was first produced by him : and modern commentators adhere to itf. Others com- pute the number of the beast from the time of the vision, seen by Saint John in Patmos ; and thus bring the 66G years to the year of our Lord 756, or 758, when the Pope obtained his temporal power. I con- fess myself far from satisfied with any of the methods hitherto produced for solving this difficulty. * Ch. xvii. f Dan. vi. X See Bishop Newton, &c. on this passage. PART [ 375 ] T H E APOCALYPSE, &c. PART y. SECTION I. The Lamb on Aloiint Sioih 1 JSlAI tt^ov, Kxi ids TO a^vtov i^/i- XtiS tTfl TO OqoS Xiu/v, Kj (Jt,sC aJrS ixaiov rscra-x^XKov- AiccJss", 'iyjiaxi to ovo^x xvru, '/^ TO OVO(JiX T« -CTiti^OS" auT« yzy^xiJi^ivov Itii TaJv {xzImttuv WJ ((>UVV)V VOXTUV ■woXXiDy, ;c wi^ i^uvvv ilj ipwv'i iiv ri/.ii(TX us xiQxfuluv xiOa^t^ov- ruv Iv TxTs KtOx^XiS 3 xvruv. Katovlos 01 vtyo^xaiJisvot xtto 4 Tiis y5;>". Ouroi ti~ atvy 01 (jisloi yvvxi- xu>v da liJ.oXvyQr)(TXv' UTOl IITIV 01 XKOKo- BuvlsS Tf oc^Vl'u OTTtf av uTTxyn' arot ■/lyo- PX(t9v}7XV {STTO TU'J ru ©if tC. TaJ olpviu' b Kxl Iv raj rofXS^l xuruv ityr^ sv^iQ-/) yx^ ticriv. dred and forty - four thousand, the redeem- ed from the earth. 4 These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins ; these are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth ; these were redeemed from among men, a first^fruit unto God and to the Lamb ; 0 And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are spotless. redeemed from the 4 earth. These are they which were not defiled with women ; for they are virgins : these are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth : these were redeemed from among men, being the first- fruits unto God, and 5 to the Lamb. And ir^ their mouth was found no guile : for they are without fault before the throne of God, Ver. 1 — 4. The Lamb — on mount Sion, and with liim, — &c.] The seventh Trumpet had already sound-" ed, and a general vie\r of its blissful effects, in re- storing the kingdom to the Messiah and his followers, had been afforded * The conflict is now to be ex- pected. But before the battle takes place, the battle- array is to be viewed. The enemies of Christ and of his Church, the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, have been exhibited in the two last chapters. 13ut *' when tlie enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spi- '* rit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him, *' and the Redeemer shall come to Zion f." During the alarming progress of the antichristian powers, the Christian forces are not idle and unemployed. The vision proceeds to exhibit their efforts to cheeky Ch. xi. 15, t Isaiah, lix. 19. 20. and Ch. xiv. 1—5.] APOCALYPSE. 377 and at length finally subdue, the enemies of the Church. The Lamb * appears upon Mount Sion, up- on the place of true religious service f; the site of the heavenly Jerusalem ; the seat of the throne of the Messiah J. He comes attended by his Church ; by the hundred-and-forty-four thousand, who had been sealed as ** Israelites indeed §." He comes in the likeness of his suffering state, leading his followers to conquer by suffering ||, not yet by his vengeance. This then appears to be the true, persecuted, and suffering Christian Church, which throughout the reign of the dragon, beast, and false prophet, refuses to worship the image, and receive the mark of the beast. These are marked holy unto God ; the pre- cious price of Redemption has not been paid for them in vain^. And ** there is joy in heaven," on be- holding their array. The voice of Deity from the throne, awful and sublime**, acknowledges them; the heavenly chorus breaks forth into songs of praise and exultation. They sing "a new song ft?" the song of the Lamb, a song mysterious, unfit for im- pure and worldly ears %% ; in which those only can be initiated who are pure and faithful : and the delights of the heavenly harmony are unutterable; *' none know- *'eth, but he that receiveth it§§." Ver. 4, 5. These are they, xvho — &c.] Here fol- lows a description of that pure Church, which alone * See note, ch. v. ^. t See note, ch. viii. 8. X Psalm ii. 6. Heb. xii. 22. Isaiah ii. 23, &c. ; xi. 9, 10; Ivi. 7. ]Ezek. xvii. 22, kc. ; xx. 40. JNIicah iv. 1, 2. Luke iii. 5, 6, § See notes, ch. vii. ]| Note, ch. ii. 7. IT 1 Cor. vi. 20. ** See notes, ch. i. 14. vi. I. ft See note, ch. ii. 17* ; iii. 12, Jt 'ff| ^jCuXo/. §§ Rev. ii. 17. Christ '57^ APOCALYPSE. [Pt. V. § .1. Christ acknowledges for his own, during the usurpa- tion of Antichrist. 'H yvvvj signifies generally a mar- ried woman ; the crime committed with such is adul- tery ; which may he taken, in a literal sense, to re- present in general all the defilements of the flesh; or in a metaphorical sense, a woman is a Church, or congregation of religious persons*; which, keeping itself pure from idolatry, is styled a Virgin ; but, de- filed with such abomination, is denominated Harlot or Adulteress. " They called," says Hegisippus, " the *' Church a Virgin, when it v/as not corrupted by *Wain doctrines f." Every part of this description may be found applied in other places of Scripture : — 1. by Saint Peter; '^ they have escaped the corrup- '^ tion that is in the world through lust;]::" 2. by our Lord ; '^ follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth," that is, ** take up their cross and foiloza him ^ :*' 3. by Saint Paul ; are redeemed, *' bought with a price |1: " 4. by Saint James; ** a kind of first fruits of God's *^ creatures^:" Lastly, ** speaking no deceit," ** blame- * Mess before God**." And this description agrees nearly with that of the Prophet Zephaniah : "I will •* leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor ''people, and they shall trust in the name of the "Lord; the remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, '* nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. They shall feed and lie ' down, and none shall make them afraid ||." * See note, ch. ii. 20. f Euseb. Hibt. Eccl. lib. iv. cap. xxvi. : 2 Pet.i. 4. § Matt. x. 38. II 1 Cor. vi. 20. IT James i. 18. *♦ 1 Pet. ii. 22,; ill. 10. 2 Pet. iii. 4. Phil. ii. 15. Luke i. 6, f\ Zepb. iii. 12, 13. PART it €h. xiv. 6, 7.] APOCALYPSE, S79 PART V. SECTION II. The first Angel proclaims. 6 Koi) tl^oy a>^ov a-y^zKov 'CJtrufJi.ivov 'XPVTX liix^yiXtoy etiuviov, svoclyiXlo'cci Ttff KOcloiKuvlcics £7r* iGvos ^ (pvKviV 7^ yhZaa-xv -/^ Xxov* 7 Asyuv £v ^uvvi (X£- yxKv)' ^oCrjWe Toy 0£ov, tC oItz avru JS^lav, on ^xSiv r) aura' tL zjpoax.wri- coiie Tu 'njoirKTxvli TOV iS^XVOV Kj rriv yviv >^ T^y ^xXxcT- a-xv vCf 'Cjyiyxs y§a- TUV, CHAP. xiv. VER. 6, 7' 6 And I saw another apgel flying in the space between heaven and earth, having an everlasting Gospel, to preach good tidings to those that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and language, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice ; " Fear God, *' and give him glory : ** for the hour of his " judgment is come : " and worship him who " created the heaven, " and the earth, and " the sea, and the *• springs of waters." 6 And I saw another an- gel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judge- ment is come: and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the foun- tains of waters. The character of the true, faithful, Christian Church having been exhibited, its history now begins to be generally set forth ; while solemn warnings, and instructions, and encouragements, most useful to the faithful during the times of the beast, are delivered. And first an angel, flying in mid-heaven *, proclaims * See note, ch. viii. 13. the 580 APOCALYPSE. [Pt, V. § 5; the Gospel, as an everlasting rule of faith and of conduct. It has been the endeavour of the anti- cliristian powers to corrupt, or secrete, this Gospel*, which is to lead all nations and languages to the knowledge and worship of the Almighty Creator. So the progress of the Reformation seems here to be prefigured, which, from its first dawnings, ever ap- pealed to the everlasting Gospel as the sole rule of faith, and preached the restoration of Gospel worship in opposition to the reigning impurities and supersti- tions. Ver. 7. Judgment, '] See note, ch. xi. 18. * Maliomet and his followers have corrupted, — the papal hierarchy have secreted it. PART V SECTION III. The second Angel proclaims. 8 Ka< ukXos afyaXoi- ri)to^ad>jcrE, Xsyuv' (AsyxXtij [o't<] tK TTis Tso^viixs acv- CHAP. xiv. VER. 8. 8 And another angel fol- lowed, saying ; " She " is fallen ! Babylon, ** the great BabyloUf *' is fallen ! [for] of " the wine of the rage *' of her fornication ** she hath made all ** the nations to drink." 3 And there followed another angel, saying. Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Another Cb. Xiv. 9 — 12.] APOCALYPSE. SSI Another angel follows, proclaiming the fall of '* Babylon, that great city," which had intoxicated, seduced, and corrupted the nations with her impure religion. This city, and her fall, will be more par- ticularly represented in chapters xvii. and xviii. It is sufficient in this place to observe, that this is one very formidable horn of the second antichristian beast, the false prophet; the fall of which is here propheti- cally anticipated, for the comfort and encouragement of the suffering Church, engaged in opposing her. And the progress of the Reformation seems still to be generally described : for, the purer Christians, the Albigenses and Valdenses, in the twelfth century, pronounced the church of Rome to be this very ** Babylon ; the mother of harlots, and abomina- ** tions of the earth *." From this discovery is to be dated the beginning of her fall. * See Mede's Works, pp. 517. 72^. &:c. Thuan. Hist. lib. vi, cap|. l6. Bp. Newton's Dissert, vol. iii. p. 268. 8yo, PART V. SECTION IV. The third A 71 gel proclaims. ^ Kfiti Tf/raj afytXos CHAP. xiv. VER. 9 — 12 9 And a third angel fol- lowed them, saying with a loud voice : ** If " any one worship the " beast and his image, *' and receive a mark ** upon his forehead, 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and bis -^n^age, and receive hh, mark in his forehead, or in 382 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. V. § 4. tS (/.elwuii .ccvt5, 1 0 «vt5, Kai Oivros ^lelact Ik tS o'i'vh T» ^v/xa T» ©£«, •riTDf/ )C ^e/w IvuTTlOV ruv ay/wv a'yj'Xwv >^ huTtiov t5 «^v/«. 11 Ka» 0 xaTTvoj t5 ^xfftxvta-fAa ixvruy nvxQa'im lis oclufvots aiuvuf ^ »)c E%a- o» oy.oiov v'lf a,)i9^u- TTti, «p^wy Itti rr)S xif aXijj avTu T£(px- yov ^vaav, >^ iv r^ 1 5 o^v. K«i aKXos afysXos 1^vi\9ev Ik r5 »«», x^oc^uv h fjit- yaXri ^uv^ ru xx- Qr)[jt.ivu sTTi rris n- ^i'K-ns' TiiyL^Qif TO o^iitxyov aa, xx) ^i^iTov' ort vXOe [o"o/] V u^x t5 ^EgitTxi* or/ i^-n- faiv9ri 0 ^tpt(T[JiQS Tns 0 xxBrifjisvos eTft TY.v je^eAtjv to S^ETravov 1 7 Ka< a^AoJ oifytKos i^ri^9ev ex T« 7a« c^wy »c xi/Tos d^E- 18 'Travail o^w. Kxt tiXXoi oi.ysKoi elijX- 6«jf ex t5 ^vcr/atrri- 14 And I looked, and lo ! a white cloud; and upon the cloud one sitting, like the Son of Man ; having upon his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp 15 sickle. And another angel came forth from the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud ; *' Send forth *' thy sickle, and reap ; *' for the time of [thy] " reaping is come; for ** the harvest of the '• earth is become " ripe." And he who was sitting upon the cloud, cast his sickle upon the earth, and the 17earth was reaped. And another angel came forth from the temple in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came forth from the altar, having power over the fire ; and he M M 14 And I looked, and be- hold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud 9ne sat, like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand 15 a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap- for the time is come for thee to reap ; for the harvest of the earth is 16 ripe. And he that sat on the cloud, thrust in his sickle on the earth ; and the earth was reap- 17 ed. And another angel came out of the tem- ple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharp 18 sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire ; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the APOCALYPSE. [Pt. V. § 6. l.pcovYicrs ycfxvyy) jw,e- TO OpE^OCVOV TO o^v, XiyMv' nifji^l/ov CTH TO ^^fTravov TO o|yj ;^ T^yyraov Ttfi- ^or^vxs r~ns ccfjiTTsXy rr>s yris, on Yjx.pt'Xa'ixv ai r*- !.[) ^vXxi avrr)s. Ka< t'-^xXiv 0 x[ytXos TO opsTrxvov avrS sh rnv yviv, jc Jt^u- 7)?CrE TrV a.{JI,7TBX0V T^s- 7^?, K^ bQxXsv SIS Tnv Xrivov T« vt///.a t5 ©£a Toy SO/At'yav. Kai liTx- rriOv) V X'/i)ils i^ioOsv T^s -zooXaa-'i", axi E^vXObv xlfAX Jx TVS XvjvS Oi.^Pi ruv yx- ?JVU>y TMV 'I'Tl'TTUt a'no <)X^luv •^(^iXtuv i^xaoijwv. called out with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, say- ing; " Send forth thy *' sharp sickle, and ga- " ther the clusters of *' the vine of the earth, " for her grapes are 19 ^' fully ripe." And the angel cast his sickle to the earth, and gathered the grapes of the vine of the earth, and cast them into the great wine-press of the wrath ■20 of God. And the wine-press was trod- den on the outside of the city; and there came forth blood from the wine-press, even unto the bridles of the horses, for the space of a thousand six hun- dred furlongs. sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the 20 wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-press, even unto the horse- bridles, by the space of a thousand a7id six hundred furlongs. Times of persecution, siicli as have been now repre- sented under the antichristian powers, are times when tlie faith and virtue of Christians are tried by the severest tests. Many are they, '' who gladly receive '' the word, but in time of persecution fall away." Now such methods of God's Providence separate the good seed from the tares*. But the time of harvest and vintage, represented also in the Old Testament t, is a * Which our Lord and his Angels are represented as doing, in Matt. 5viii. 41 . Mark iv. 29; where the word ^pETrxvoy is also used, t Jer.li.-33. Joeliii. 13. Is. Ixiii. 1— 7. 3' time Ch. xlv. 14 — 20.] APOCALYPSE* 587 time not only of separation of the good from the M'icked, but also of the final punishment or destruction of the latter, expressed by the act of burning the tares and chaff; and also by the bloody and furious appear- ance of him who, stained with the juice of grapes, tread- etli the wine-press ^. The imagery of both harvest and vintage are brought together in the prophecy of Joel ; which seems to give, in a short and abstracted form, the same picture as this passage in the Revelation. " Put "ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get " you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow : — ^^Jor, their wickedness is great '\,'' This final venge- ance of the Almighty upon his enemies, is evidently not yet accomplished. But such a general view of '' God's righteous judgments" was proper to accom- pany the warnings and encouragements delivered in this chapter ; in which is also generally displayed the successful warfare of the Lamb and his followers. '^ V^^hdit particular events are signified by this harvest '^ and vintage, it appears impossible for any man to *' determine; time alone can with certainty discover: *' for, these things are yet in futurity ; only it may be '^ observed, that these two signal judgments will cer- '' tainly come, as harvest and vintage succeed in their '' season, and, in the course of Providence the one will " precede the other, as, in the course of nature, the 'Murvest is before the vintage; and the latter will " greatly surpass the former, and be attended with a ** more terrible destruction of God's enemies. It is ** said, ver. 20, that the ' blood came even unto the '' * horses' bridles;' which is a strong hyperbolical way *' of speaking, to express vast slaughter, and effusion * Gen. xUx. 11. Psalm Ixiii. 1 — 7. Lam. i. 15. -^ A>3»o» lret%a-t» t Joel^. 13. M u 2 '' of 388 APOCALYPSE. [Pt V. 6. ** of blood; a way of speaking not unknown to the ** Jews; for, the Jesuralem Tahnud, describing the ** woeful slaughter which the Roman Emperor Adrian '^ made of the Jews at the destruction of the city of '* Bitte7\ saith, that the horses waded in blood up to the ** nostrils. Nor are similar examples wanting even in " the classic authors ; for, Silius Italicus, speaking of ** Annibal's descent into Italy, useth the like expres- ** sion ; the bridles flowing with much blood*." * Bp. Newton, Dissert, iii. p. '267. 8vo edit. IH'AIIT [ S89 ] THE APOCALYPSE, Sec. PART VI. SECTION I. The Vision preparatory to the seven Vials, CHAPTER XV. & CHAP. XVi. VER. 1. 1 KaI tJSov «XXo dlyiXus etrioi, ty(pv- Tus rjXyiyas iTrra. rocs la-^dras, or/ fv avTxTs ir(Xs(T9ri 0 ^VfJLQS T8 ©£8. •^ Kxi i]^ov us 3a- \xo THs Yi}iu>ylxs ex. Ta 3»?f /a j^ £x Tijy £^ Ix T«af;5^5 T8 uvofxaros avm^ If aJraj £7r< t^v 3a- Aaao-av rrv IxXtrnvj h'y^ovlxs KiOoipxs T8 3 0J«. Ka< a^acT* rr* J^r/V M'MO-eus SaAa Ta 0£8, >^ rv>v oJo^v T8 davits, Xiyoviss* Mty^tvs tuv 4 ■< . , >• T/^ a TO oyo^a (TUf oTt 1 And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and wonderful : seven angels having the seven last plagues : for in them was completed the wrath of God. 2 And I saw, as it were, a sea, glassy, mingled with fire, and those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name, standing upon the glassy sea, having harps of God. 3 And they sing the song of INIoses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb; saying, " Great and " wonderful are thy " works, O Lord, the " Almighty God ; just " and true are thy ways, »*King of 5^'>»'«>"i[ *' Who shall not fear, " [thee] O Lord, and " glorify thy name, for " thoa alone art holy I 1 And I saw another sign in heaven great and marvellous, seven an- gels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the 2 wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass, mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victoiy over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, fit/iri over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the 3 harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying. Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lf)rd, and glo- rify thy name? for thou only art holy : for 390 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 1. C^ £>C TYiS ^VVX- {XSMS avr-d' >c} hqhs 7)')vvxlo bIosaOeTv els Tov vxov, ixvpi rs- >v£cr0a;(7/y cct stPix J afyiXuv. Kxl >)X«- crx (pmvis (j.Byci,?.ris Ik Ta'vaa, Xiyuaris 7o7s tipia d^'yiXots' 'XTruytlsf K) lity(^iix]{ rois iijla, (pixXxs Tfe ^viA.fiTS ©t« bIs " For, all the nations " shall come and wor- *' ship thee ; for thy " righteous judgments '* have been made ma- 5 " nifest." And after this, I looked, and there was opened the temple of the Taberna- cle of the Testimony 6 in Heaven. And the seven angels, who had the seven plagues, came out [of the tem- ple] clothed in pure, resplendent linen, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles. 7 And one of the four living-creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden Vials, full of the wrath of God, who liveth for 8 ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no one was able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels should be 1 completed. And I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, " Go, and pour out " the seven vials of the " wrath of God upon " the earth." all nations shall come and worship, before thee; for thy judg- ments are made mani- 5 fest. And after that I looked, and behold, the temple of the ta- bernacle of the testi- mony in heaven was 6 opened : And the se- ven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, cloath- ed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with gol- 7 den girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels, seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for everand 8 ever. And the temple was filled with smoak from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the tem- ple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. 1 And I heard a great voice out of the tem- ple, saying to the se- ven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. Ch. XV. & XVi. 1.] APOCALYPSE. 391 Ver. ]. Another sign 171 heaven — seven angels ; &c.] The scene of the vision continues the same, heaven and eartli in view, and the angels, who are the actors, pass- ing between both. The present exhibition is preparatory. Such a general representation had preceded the seven Seals, and the seven Trumpets; this precedes the seven Vials. We are now in the midst of the warfare carried on by the Church of Christ, under his auspices, to re- sist the formidable efforts of the combined enemies. It is a silent warfare, operating chiefly in the human heart. But heaven is now seen interposing visibly to repress the pride and arrogance of the antichristian usurpers. And as seven angels, by sounding the alarm, had foreshevv^n the several shocks of battle, which the Church should sustain from her enemies : so seven angels, by pouring forth seven Vials, express the vengeance of the Almighty, poured out on the trium- phant worldly powers, checking their career, imbitter- ing their success, and finally overwhelming them in destruction. They are to be accounted, as the word -zjXvjyv) expresses, so many blows or strokes ; visitations of Divine Providence on unrepentant sinners. Such fell on Pharaoh and the hardened i'Egyptians, who, persisting in their obstinate opposition, were overwhelmed in the lied Sea. The number seven implies a complete visita- tion*. '' When I begin, I will also make an end, saith *' the Lord f." So, with the last of these Vials, '' the '^ wrath of God will be completed." And it is in allusion to this completion, that they are called ^* the " last plagues;" for they do not seem to extend to the very last times o^ final judgment, but to end with the beast and false prophet finally and completely subdued; with whose action thciefore they seem cotemporary. Note, ch. i. 4. t 1 Sam. iii. IC. Ver. 392 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. ^ 1. Ver. 2. A sea, glassy, mingled with fire; &c.] This glassy sea has been already displayed as standing before the throne of God*, M^iere it was seen to repre- sent the purifying blood of the Redeemer; the price of human redemption, in which alone the vestments can he washed white ; by which alone the Christian can be presented pure before God. But the Redeemer has two characters, conformably to the offices assigned him on earth; the one of meekness, in which he came to siiff'er ; the other of exaltation, in which he returns to reign, and to pour out vengeance on his enemies. We are now arrived at that point of the prophetic his- tory, in which this vengeance begins to be poured out. We therefore see the glassy sea mingled with fire; its -waves flashing flame; symbolically expressive of anger and vengeance f. Here we see collected, as in an ap- propriate situation, those who, during the usurpation of Antichrist, had contended for the faith ; and suffering, had gained that victory, which is only to be acquired ** by the blood of the Lamb J. " The purification of the priests for the service of the earthly temple was in the brazen sea ; these, who are to minister before the God of heaven, are purified by the heavenly sea; by the blood of the Redeemer. And many of them, having poured out their own blood in his cause, and after his example, now begin to enjoy the triumph which was promised them under the fifth Seal §. They are now to be " avenged." lb. Of the beast.'] in t8 Sv)p/«, ^* not," says Dr. S. Clarke, over the beast, hut fro?n out of the midst of the beast : for, by this expression is implied, not only their conquest, but the difiiculty of it, by a few persons, ad- * Cb. iv. 6. + See note, ch. viii. Y. X Ch. xii. 1 1 ; vii. 13. 1 John v. 4, &c. § Ch. vi. 9 — 13 ; where see the note. hering Ch. XV. XVi. 1.] APOCALYPSE. 393 hering stedfastly to the true Religion, in the midst of idolatrous and corrupt nations. Ver. 3. The Song of Moses.'] These holy sufferers no longer cry under the altar for the delayed vengeance of their just God*. The promised tiaie is come f. They now see, as they express in their song, — their triumphant song, hke that of Moses after the d estr u c tion of Pharaoh :{:, the great and wonderful works of God, who has led them to victory by suiferings ; subduing the proud arm of flesh, and bringing all nations to an acknowledgment of his just and wonderful power §. The nations had been early invited to worship in the nmne of Christ ; they had forsaken their ancient idolatry, and had come to. his courts : but the Temple was shut ; there was none to teach them the truth '^ as it is in Jesus." A great part of the nations, who have been turned from their idols, through the operation either of the papal ot mahometan religions, do not even now worship in truth. But when the final vengeance upon the beast and false prophet, which is here promised, shall be com- pleted, the Temple will be opened, and the nations shall ** worship in the beauty of holiness," '' with anholy wor- *'ship." This seems to be the reason, why the nations are introduced in this song, (v. 4) ; and for this cause I prefer the reading £0vwv before that of cj/wvwvin this verse. It seems supported also by the best authorities ||. Ver. 5. Tlie temple of the tabernacle of the testi- mo7iy.'] The holy place, the local habitation of the Almighty, was tluis called ^. There the cloud and the glory appeared, when the Lord zvas xvrath with the congregation**. Ver. 6. Clothed in pure resplendent linen.] ** The *' fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints ff.'* The ♦ Ch. vi 9, &c. t Luke xviii. 8. X Exod. xv. § Compare Psalm Ixxxvi. 8, 9, 10. || See also Jer. x. ?. IF Num. i. 50. 53. ** Num. xvii. 42. ft Ch. xix. 8. 5i)4 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 2. external habit agrees with the internal purity; the angels have the same kind of raiment as their Lord*. Ver. 7. One of the four living creatures. ^^ See note, ch. iv. 6. The Vials of the wrath of God are given to the angels by one of those ministering spirits nearest the throne; by the cherubim; which implies, that they come immediately from the Divine presence. lb. Vials.'] The wrath of God is represented in Scripture as ''poured out-f.'' Frequently the cup of God's w-rath is mentioned ; — the (PinKviy vial, was a bowl, or cup, (for which see note, ch. v. 8.); and was used also to pour from, (see 1 Sam. x. 1). Ver. 8. The temple was filed with smoke.'] The presence of God, especially when he is wroth, is com- monly represented as such J. And at the dedication of the first temple, when the presence of the Lord, *' as a "cloud, had filled the house of God," the priests could not stand to minister §. * Ch. i. 14. t Is. xlii. 25 ; Ezek. vii. S ; and Psalms passim, t Js. vi. 4. Exod. xix. 13; &c. § 2 Chron. v. 13, 14. 2 Kai a'W^?^S«v 0 'CJfu- xaxov Kj z:ovy>^ov its riss av9^'l"7riis ras iypvlxs TO yJc^a.'ii/.iK sJxow aiiTti 'wfooT' PART VL SECTION II. The seven Vials. CHAP. xvi. VER. 2 — to the 2 And the first went, and poured out his Vial upon the land: and there came an evil and grievous sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon those who wor- shipped his image. end. 2 And the first went, anc poured out his via upon the earth : and there fell a noisome anc grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and vpon them which wor- 3 shipped his image. And Cll. xvi. 2 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. S95 ^siiTi^os [:x7£/.'jj eiVTu Eli T'/jv va- ectfAX Is vsjij-S* xa' a.TFtOxvtv Iv rri jx 4 Xxcra-n. K*» o t^/- roj l^iX^^ "^^^ ^'"'~ A)jv a^T» us ras zjolxixiis iL ilS TXS tuvjyxs Tuv voxruv' 5 K) lyhslo x'nj-x, Ka< nx-HiTx Ta dfyiXa rvv v^druvXiyovlos' AUxIOS £1, 0 UV, KXi 0 riVf 0 cxTioSy on 6 rxvrx'iKqivxs,"Ori aifj^x uyiMv tCj zj^o- (pr,\uv l^B^SXV, KXl ai^x avTois boukxs 'lJisT)!' oi^ioi U7i. 7 Ka/ -nyiiia-x t« ^y- a-ix^vjpi'a >Jyovi<^' Na/, Ku^ie, o Qsos 0 'ZuXvloK^xru^yXATj- 9ivxi yCj oUxixi XI 8 K^la-Eis an. Kxi o (^xX-nv ayrS sTn rov '•nXiov' ;y £do9*3 xvrf y.xvyix\i'jxi ras xv- 9 O^uTfUslvzTV^i'.Kai laxvixxliaOriaxv ot ciiOpUJTlOl iCxI:fJ.X (JiB- yxj Kxi Ir^KxaC^- (XVI3-XV 01 XvO^UTTOl TO ovo(jia ra 0£a t5 rocs 'CiXnyxs txv~ 3 And the second [angel] poured out his Vial upon the sea : and there came blood, as of a dead carcase ; and every living soul died 4 in the sea. And the third poured out his Vial upon the rivers, and upon the springs of waters : and 5 there came blood. And 1 heard the angel of the waters, saying ; ** Righteous art Thou, *' which art, and which " wast,The Holy One! " in that thou hast ex- *' ecuted this judg- 6 " ment: For, the blood " of saints and of pro- " phets they have poLir- " ed forth : and blood '* thou hast given them ** to drink ! they are 7 " worthy ofU." iVnd I heard a voice from the altar, saying ; " Even so. Lord, the " Almighty God ! True " and just are thy 8 ''judgments!" And the fourth poured out his Vial upon the sun : and it was given to him to scorch the men with fire: and the men were scorched with great 9 heat: And the men blasphemed the name of God, who had the the second angel pour- ed out his vial upon the sea ; and it became as the blood of a dead man : and every living soul died in the sea. 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus: 6 For they have shed the bk)od of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink ; for they are 7 worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say. Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy j udge- 8 ments. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun ; and power was given unto him to scorch men 9 with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blas- phemed the name of God, which hath pow- er over these plagues : and they repented not 10 to give him gloiy. And the fifth angel poured 396 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 3. ^yvxi alru 00^X1, ahri Ivl Tov %^ovov t5 ^vi^ta' ^ eylvslo ^ $x^ia)v taJv XTTo xvxloXiov vtXia, 1 J K:s:/ elooy Ix t5 fo'/xali^ t5 o^a- xovl<^, '^ Ix. tk fo- ^aJ\^ Ta ^-fi^'m, TCf zx rS s'oy^xr^ Ta vJ/sv^oTT^o^rjTe, %jviv^ciix rpix djisi- Gx^x us ^xrfxypi' 1 4 EiVi yaf 7snvu.a\x dxiiJioviujv tsoLtivrx cvif^sTxy [a, sKTro- ^BVilxi'\ Itti Tiss /3a- ■trtKliS TY)i QlKHlA-ivYiS cXv};, crvvxyxytiv ftVTHS lis zjoK^ixov rris vfjiipxs sxsivris Tr.s ixcya'/sTfiS tS power over these plagues ; and they did not repent for to give 10 him glory. And the fifth poured out his Vial on the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became dark- ened : and they did bite their tongues from 11 the suffering: And they blasphemed the God of Heaven from their sufferings and from their sores ; and re- pented not of their 12 works. And the sixth poured out his Vial upon the great river Euphrates : and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be 13 prepared. And I saw from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the wild- beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs : 14 For they are spirits of dtemons, working won- ders [which go forth] upon the kings of the whole region, to gather them together for the battle of that great day of the Almighty God. 15 (Behold, I come as a out bis vial upon the seat of the beast ; and his kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues 11 for pain. And blas- phemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and repented not 12 of their deeds. 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 might be prepa- 13 red. And I saw three unclean spirit* like frogs co7ne out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false 14 prophet. For they are the spirits of de- vils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day 15 of God Almighty. Ber hold, I come as a thief. Blessed u he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they l6see his shame. And be gathered tliem to- Cll. Xvi. 2 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. 0«5 tS ZJOcyloKfu^ l^xi US ytXinriris' ^x- J^ rr}^iuv ra, ;^ar/a avrSj Yvx (A.ri yvfjL- *os xutpitixi-^, XOCl lo fA.o(n>rriv xlr^. Kai avvyjyxysv xIths iis Toy roTTon Toy xaXs- l/^aysJJwy. Kai o ^tOiXr,y aiiTH tis Toy ^A-v^ fxsyaXr} oittl aVo T« Sfo'yy, As- iysvovto (^uvxl xxi ^^ovlui iy a^^acTTxi' Xj a-sia-fj.os iyivelo (/.syxsjol^ iSKsyi- TTOt tyivoylo Itt] ttjs t^os HTu fxiyxs. l9Kai syivelo 17 zji\is 9J fAiyuK'n f.\s Tfi'x /As'f »?, >^ XI -CToAe/J TaJy fSvA/y tirti/xv;(Tav 0/ Xv9^UfrOl TOV ©£0V OtVTViS or^o^fa. APOCALYPSE. hail, weighty as a ta- lent, falleth from hea- ven upon the men. And the men blas- phemed God from the plague of the hail : for, great exceedingly is the plague thereof. fPt. VL § 2. The seven Vials bear a certain analogy to the seven Trumpets : and, that this may the more conveniently be seen, the following comparative abstract is given : THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. 1. Upon the la72d; hail, fire, and blood ; a third of the trees, and all green grass burnt up. 2. Upon the sea; a burning mountain; a third part of the sea becomes blood; and the third of the crea- tures die. 3. Upon the rivers and springs; a burning star, wormwood, falls, and many die of the embittered wa- ters. 4. Upon the sun, moon, and stars; the third of which is darkened. THE SEVEN VIALS. 1. Upon the land, afflictive to the worshippers of the beast. 2. Upon the sea ; as the blood of a dead carcase ; every soul dies. 3. Upon the rivers and springs, blood ; a just judgment and retalia- tion on the murderers of the saints. 4. Upon the sun ; the men are scorched with great heat, and blaspheme, and repent not. 5. The i Cil. xvi. 2 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. S99 (D J a; 5. The bottomless deep opened, smoke mid darkness, and scor- pion-locusts injure the men unsealed, five months. 6, Four angels, loosed from Euphrates, lead the cavalry who slay the third of the men; the rest are unrepent- ant. The prophecy of the times of the Gentiles, and of the witnesses, during 1260 days, is opened under this Trumpet. 7. The grand conflict of the dragon, beast, and false prophet, with the Lamb and his followers; in r the course of which the seven Vials are poured out. 5. Upon the throne of the beast, darkeninghh king- dom ; they blaspheme, and repent not. 6. On the great river Eu- phrates, which is dried up to prepare the way of the eastern kings. Frogs, spirits of de- mons, working won- ders to gather the kings of the whole world to the battle of M the great day. 7. Into the air; " It is " done !" an unparallel- led earthquake divides the great city into three parts ; cities of the na- tions fall ; Babylon re- membered; islands and mountains are no more ; great hail ; men con- I tiime to blaspheme. The notes on chapter viii. 6, 7, &c., will shew the probable meaning of the terms Land, Sea, River, Sun ; as used in both the Trumpets and the Vials. But in the explanation of these, and such-like terms, there is a certain distinction to be observed when we apply them to the different passages: for, under the Trumpets, the iittack 400 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 2. attack is upon the Christian Church; under the Vials, upon the oiemies of that Church. For it is clear, from the first Vial to the last, that the anger of the Lord is poured out, not on the Church, but on its foes. The iirst Vial falls expressly on the worshippers of the beast ; and the third is declared to be a just retaliation on the murderers of the saints ; the fourth falls on unrepentant blasphemers ; the fifth is poured on the throne of the least ; and the last on the corrupt cities and Babylon. Therefore the laJid^ and sea, and waters, and heaxienly luminary, on which the four first Vials fall, are not to be accounted the xery same, against which the Trum- pets sounded warfare; but a land, sea, &c. bearing just analogy to them. Those, under the Trumpets, are the land, sea, &c. oi \}i\^ Christian world: Those under the Vials, of the antichristian. For the antichristian world has its divisions, as Alede has observed, which will an- swer to those of the Christian world. If the Land, of the Christian world, signifies the ancient worshippers of God, there are also tlie ancient worshippers of the beast. If the Sea, among Christians, represent their distant Gentile converts; the worshippers of the beast have also their Sea, the newly acquired converts to their superstitions or infidelity. Both Christianity and antichristianity have their rivers aiid springs of Doc- trine, and their Lights, By this kind of analogy, it seems probable that the Vials, especially the four first of them, are to be interpreted. If the pure Christian Church has been seen to suffer in its several parts and divisions, by the seven- fold warfare of its enemies, those enemies shall not enjoy a joyful and bloodless victory; the Providence of God will interfere; and they will suffer by corresponding strokes, justly pro- portioned. But, though each Vial may seem to answer to Ch. xvi. 2 — 21.] APOCALYPsi. 401 to eacli Trumpet; either in the part or division at- tacked, or in the effect of the attack; yet in point of time, they do not seem to range exactly against each other: each corresponding Trumpet and Vial does not appear to belong to the same period of history : for, the liistory under the Vials is confined (as before shewn) to the times of the beast ; while the Trumpets appear to have an earlier date and origin. Indeed, all the Vials seem to have their rise out of one of the Trumpets, namely, the last ; and therefore may be supposed to be confined to tlie Instory which that Trumpet compre- hends. That Trumpet docs indeed look so far back, as to the conflict of the dragon with the infant Church; but only by way of prelude; and in order to lay the foundation of the main subject of the prophecy, namely, the conflict of the antichvistian beast with the Church, The vials seem to run the whole length of this impor- tant warfare. The four first Vials, like the four first Trumpets, are of so very short and general a description, as not to encourage or justify a very minute application of them to particular passages in history *, They will be found to liave been genei^ally fulfilled. The first produces a noisome sore on the worshippers of the beast. This plague derives its figurative descrip- tion, from the boil and blain inflicted by Divine venge- ance on the ^Egyptian persecutors of the ancient Church f. As they, in their impious attempts to oppose tlie God of heaven, felt his Almighty hand grievous upon them, to controul and punish ; so, in the early attempts, made by the antichristian powers under the beast, to stifle pure Rehgion, they had difificulties to encounter, where they least expected them ; and which ♦ See note, ch. viii. 7. t Exod* ix« 10.. X N were 40^ APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. ^ 2. were to be surmounted only by tbcir omhi suiferings. God did not permit tbem to enjoy during that genera- tion their expected triumph. The second Vial produces blood, which, mixing with the sea, corrupts it. Blood, in Scriptural lan- guage, is a pollution and abomination ; and from a dead carcase, heinously such * The sea, the isles, the dis- . tant nations of the anti christian M'orld, those who by terror or force were made converts, (as were some of the nations of the north to popery, of the south to mahometism,) forsaking their idols, worship the God of Heaven ; — but not in purity ; — -so polluted is the wor- ship, as not to save, but to destroy by spiritual death. Under the second Trumpet, which corresponds in some respects with this Vial, a third part dies ; that is, a third of the Christians. There is a considerable part, who by the Grace of God escape spiritual death. Here, all die ; and so also under the rest of the plagues ; but the seal- ed Christian is not touched by these visitations. — Thus also under the plagues of ^Egypt, " they, who fear the ** Lord," have the privilege of escape f. The third Vial is discharged also upon the waters : not upon the sea; but upon those waters which feed both land and sea; upon the sources of comfort, especially of religious comfort, to both J. These sources of spiritual nourishment become blood \. Instead of the " living *' waters, flowing out into everlasting life|l," they who reject, oppose, or oppress the Christian Religion, generally receive in the lieu thereof a burdensome and uncomfort- able yoke of superstitious folly. This has been ever the case with Christian apostates, and particularly so in the * Lam. iv, 11. Lev. v. C. Numb. v. 2. t Exod. ix.4. CO, 26'; x. 23. : See note, ch. viii. 10. II. § See the preceding Vial. || John iv. 10; vii. 37, 38. great Ch. xvi. 2—21.] AP0CALYP3E. 403 great apostacies, the Mahometan and the Papal. There may he alhision likewise to the blood shed by these cruel fanatics, who in their bigoted rage slew millions of the saints ; and then turned their arms upon their own bretliren, wallowing in blood. The bloody wars, which raged between the Saracens and Turks and Tartars, and between the popes and western emperors ; between the parties denominated Guelphs and Ghibelines ; and the deadly contests between the two great antichristiau divisions, the Papal and Mahometan, in the crusades, seem to have amply fulfilled this bloody prophecy. The fourth Vial is poured on the great heavenly luminary, the Sun*. A similar stroke under the cor- responding Trumpet, had produced darkness and igno- rance. But there is a further progress, insomuch as the deprivation of the light of true Religion produces also religious feuds and animosities which are found to rage most bitterly in the persecuting party, ever most defi- cient in the knowledge and practice of what is good and true. The fifth angel pours his Vial on " the throne of *^ the beast ;" on his chief seat of empire and dominion. Pergamus, at the time of tlie vision, was declared " the ** throne of satanf:" and satan, or the dragon, gave his throne to the beast :};. But at this period, the beast, by the ministry of the false prophet, had greatly ex- tended his dominion, and his capital seat was elsewhere. He had now a vast two-fold empire; under the two horns of antichrist. But '^ his kingdom becomes ** darkened." During the antichristiau reign, there has been a long and dark age; an age of deplorable igno- rance and superstition. The fanatical disciples of Maho- met, at their fust outset, forbade the cultivation of all * See note, ch. viii. 12, t Ch. ii, 13, ; Ch. xiii. 2. if N S learning, 40-4^ APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § e. learning, except tliat which is contained in the book of their false prophet. The papal usurpers encouraged only monkish dreams and lying legends, and scholastic quibbles; and prohibited the free and general use of the fountains of knowledge; the Sacred Scriptures. This operated not only as a great hindrance to the cause of Christianity, (represented under the corresponding- Trumpet,) but also as a 'srXvjyv^, an inflicted punishment upon the wicked authors and abettors of this spiritual ignorance; men who " loved darkness better than " light, because their deeds were evil." For as *^ they " who love silver, shall not be satisfied with silver* ;" so they who love darkness, cannot be satisfied therewith. It recoils upon them, and torments f . The sixth Vial is poured out on the great rivet' Euphrates, which is dried up, to prepare the way of the kings, who come from the east, or sun-rising. Euphrates is the river on which stood Babjjloiy the enemy and corrupter of God's ancient Church :}:. And as Babylon is used, symbolically, to represent the corrupt Christian, or, to speak more justly, antichris- tian Church; so Euphrates may represent that region : or, having been the grand boundary, in ancient times, between those countries generally connected together * Eccl. V. 10. t We have before us a modern instance of this truth. The extuic- tion of Christianity in France, so far as it could be accomphshed, wa* the most unwise policy which its infatuated rulers could have devised; that which afforded them the greatest embarrassment, and involved them in the utmost danger. To this cause is to be attributed the most formidable of their rebellions ; and so far as their mad devices took place, they undermined and eradicated in the minds of the subjects those principles which render them most governable. — This was writ- ten about the year 1795. J Note, ch. ix. 3.. by Ch. Xvi. 2 21.] APOCALYPSE. 405 by a reciprocation of interests, and the more remote nations to the east, and being also the limiting line of tlje Roman empire, it may hkewise be used to denote tliat Mdiich separates and })revents an union in religion betNvecn the now eastern and M^estern worlds. The kin2:s and tlieir nations were destined bv the oriirinal counsel of God, declared by liis propliets* to flow into the Christian Church. This prophecy, in the western licmisphere has been most v/ondcrfully fulfilled: but the eastern nations remain idolatrous, or immersed in mahometan superstition. And it is this superstition, settled upon the w hole range of tlie modern Euphrates, which seems to be a principal impediment to their con- versions. But this is not all ; there is another Eu- phrates, another Baby lo}i, which impedes. Not only this eastern branch of Antichrist, but his western' horn also, more particularly denominated Babijlon'\, is found to |)lace great obstacles in the xcay prepared for these kings and nations to pass over to the Christian Church. The Indian ]\Iahometans are described by modern writers to be a kind of Christian heretics, most averse to the Romish superstition ; and till that super- stition shall be in a greater degree removed, it is said there are little hopes of converting many of them to the Christian Church J. This enmity of the Mahometans to the papal religion is so great in the east, that there are said to be treasures of Christian manuscripts among them, copies of which might be obtained, if the owners could be assured that the copyists were not of the same party aa the Pope§. '' The writers of the Romish *' communion, by endeavouring to defend their own - Is. ii. 2; Ixvi. 12. 18, 19, 20; xlix. 23. Mic. iv. I. t Ch. xvii. X Sir \Vm. Jones, Asiatic Ke&earches. ^ Nieburgb's Truvels, vol. i. p. 100". *' idolatry 406 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § C. ** idolatry and superstition, have rather contributed to ** the increase of that aversion, which the Mahometans *' now entertain against the Christian Religion*" Hence it appears that Antichrist, in both his horns or branches, (one of which is now seated on the EuphrateSy and the other is scripturally known by the name of that Babylon which was formerly seated there,) occa- sions impediments, wliich must probably be removed, before the eastern nations with their kings can flow into the Church of Christ. In the prophecy of Daniel, (ch. vii. 12.) a continu- ance in life is assigned to the three first beasts, or em- pires, after the fourth, or Roman empire, shall be sub- dued to the Messiah. Accordingly the eastern nations, beyond the pale of the Roman empire, ^re the latest converted to Christianity. But the difficulties will be removed; their conversion will take place; and ''theie ** will be one fold and one vShe])herd," These observa- tions may perhaps afford some light to the prophecy contained under the sixth Vial; which must remain in- A'olved in some obscurity, till the time when' it comes to be fulfilled. This prophecy appears not only to bear some analogy and relation to that of the sixth Trumpet, but also to be in some degree cotemporary with it; with that part of it which runs the course of the 1260 years, to the end of the Gentile period f. Ver. 13. Andlsazafrom the mouth of the dragon, &c., three unclean spirits, as it werejrogs.] Under the sixth Trumpet, as hath been before remarked, the prophecy stretches beyond its primary object, (the armies led by the angels from Euphrates,) into the \^60 years, the period of the Gentiles, even to the end of it :};. * Sale's Koran, Preface, p. viii. + See note, ch. x. 1. X Note, ch. X. 1. Thus Cll. XVI. 2 — 21.] APOCALYPSE. 407 Thus also the sixth Vial, having discharged its plague upon Euphrates, opens a wider field, preparatory to the final wrath of the seventh Vial. The dragon, the beast, and false prophet, are now seen to act witli united force, each contributing to the common cause, *' against the ** battle of the great ¥ pOiXwiAoi- ilJoy rr>* yvyxinx y.i^\iHar»% Ik tS x'l- f/Lxt^ ruv ayiMVy KX1 Ik ra «<- fj.xl^ rui¥ ftajf- » » ». * l^xviAxaa, louiy «y- T^v, ^atv/y^a: f/Ayx, 7 I' XI livi (j,Oi 0 oly y?^©-. £^ixri{Ox'j- {*,xcx^ ; iy;6 o-oi i^iJ TO fAWS^f 7j oXiyov at'Tov 1 1 ^si {jLcTyxt. Kat ro ^Ttpiov, 0 ^Vf y^ «x sTij }q auros oy^oli £f/, jc EX rwv iijla hi) ^ sU ATTuXuav 12 t'TTaya/, Ka< ra oj'xifc y.ifx\Uf ot, jjoar, 0£X5s ^xcri- 0ua-i'Kilx^ ut^u tXx- Cov, uKTC l^aaixVf ws paviXihy ixi'xv u^xy Xaf/.Ca,yt!ai To/ (Aixv yvuixYiv 1^80"', 5C, TT/V OyyJC- /x.^ ry;» l^aaixy 14 ^/^oao-iv. Ot/ro/ 7^i[j.rta'U(Tif >c TO fzf- y 5. J "in the book of life, *' from the foundation " of the moun- tains, on which the 10 woman sitteth. And there are seven kings : five are fallen, and oue is, and the other is not yet come; and wlien he cometh, he must continue a short space. J 1 And the beast, that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and go- eth into perdition, 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest, are 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 14 unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them : for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him, arc call- ed, and chosen, and 15 faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sit- teth, are peoples^ and Cbap. xvli.] APOCALYPSE. 417 i^ sQvn )^ yXuaraai, 1 6Ka» TO. ^Exa Kspxlx, a B't^es ?c TO ^rj^iovf itrot fA.iJ- aovrxi oi Xoyot t« IS ©£». Kxi ■^ yvvrj, jjy E;^ey, eV'v n zsoXts V /!A£y«X»7 *3 £X,^<7X ^xa-tT^elxv Itt* ruv 0zTi>^swf TVS yr,s. *' and the Lamb shall " overcome them, (for " he is Lord of lords, *^ and King of kings) ; ** and they who are " with him, C£(lled, " and chosen, and 15" faithful." And he saith unto me ; *' The '^ waters which thou " didst see, where the ** harlot is seated, are " peoples, and multi- *' tudes, and nations, l6" and languages: And ** the ten horns which " thou didst see, and " the wild- beast, these *' shall hate the harlot, *' and shall make her " desolate and naked ; 17** And shall eat her " flesh, and burn her " utterly with fire: for, " God hath put into ** their hearts to per- ** form his counsel, and ** to perform one coun- " sel, and to give their " dominion to the " beastjuntil the words '< of God shall be ac- IS" complished. And " the woman whom ** thou didst see, is the *' great city which hath '* dominion over the " kings of the earth." multitudes, and na- tions, and tongues. l6And the ten horns which thou sawest up- on tlie beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her de- solate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their king- dom unto the beast, until the words of God 18 shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of th^ earth. O O Ver. 4IS AtocALypsE. [Pt. VI. § 3. Ver. 1. One ^f the sexen angels ; &c.] This vision seefns in some measure to be detached and separated from the rest. The scene is changed to a wilderness, for the purpose of its exhibition ; and it appears like a sort of episode. Yet the matter of it will be found to be of high importance; it will be found to ex- plain may passages in the preceding prophecy, but especially those of ch. xvi. 19, where Babylon is mentioned as '' remembered,'" To exhibit this con- nection, the angel, who attends upon the prophet and explains this vision, is one of the seven who had been employed to pour out the Vials. This separate vision is therefore intitied by the angel, " the judgment of *' the great harlot," who appears in the fifth verse of this chapter to have the name of Babylon, So, this Section, taken too-ether with its continuation in ch. xviii. and xix. 1 — 11, will be found to contain the Vial or plague upon Babylon : but first, she is described. She is called " the great harlot," and '* the great *'city*." These two names, in prophetical language, have the same meaning. A city, or kingdom, is frequently represented under the symbol of a woman. Babylon, ancient Babylon, is so represented |. And when it is the object of the prophecy to express the idolatry and corruptive wickedness of the city^ she then appears as an harlot :[. All the imagery belonging to this form of speech, may be seen in complete allegory, in the six- teenth chapter of Ezekiel ; where a forlorn female in- fant, under the fostering hand of Providence, grows up, and becomes " exceeding beautiful," and *' pro- '* speis into a kingdom f but afterwards degenerates into an "idolatress and harlot §." The same imagery • Ver. 18. i- Isa. xlvii. 1—6. X Isa. i. 21. § See more on this topic, in notes, ch. ii. 20. 22 ; xii. 1^. appears Chap, xvii.] apocalypse. 419 appears again, in cb. xxi. of tlie Apocalypse ; v/here, to Babylon, the harlot^ is opposed the New Jerusalem^ the Bride, I his corrupt city> now exhibited, liad acquired her greatness and celebrity under the cha- racter of harlot ; for her power over the kings and iniiabitants of the earth, is described as arising from her fornication with them ; she is represented as be- guihng them to drink of " the cup of her fornica- *'tionsr' and leading them, intoxicated, through all the impurities of her idolatry, to that extreme mad- ness of iniquity, when she wallows in the innocent blood of saints and martyrs ^. Possessing, by this influence, the riches of the kings, she appears array- ed in vestments of the utmost splendour. Purple and scarlet, the distinguishing regal colours in the ancient world, are employed to adorn her. She is decorated with gold and precious stones. She " sits *'upon many waters;" which is afterwards explained to signify, (as indeed it generally signifies in pro- phetic language f,) that she has dominion over manij Jiations. She has a mysterious name ; a name lenig- matical ; y.vqv,eas^t and directs his steps, he is so covered and disguised ; by her abominable cup the kings and nations of the earth, Vf'ho should oppose his reign, are so intoxicated; that he is suffered to come up unknown, unacknow- ledged; and, directed and abetted by the harlot, to exercise all his former oppression. He is the samCy though he does not appear such : '^ He was, and is "not, though he is*." Yet, the admiration and worship with which the beast is honoured in this his disguise, though general, is not universal. The seal- ed Christians, whose names are written in the book of Life, though few in number, are awake to their duty ; discover the deceit; reject the cup of the har- * These words of the angel, describhig the beast, " Pie was, and " is not," &c. appear to me in no wise applicable to the tjTanny seated at Rome at the time of the vision, when the angel spake them. Iliis was the time of the Emperor Domitian, when a cruel persecu- tion raged against the Church, when Saint John himself was actually suffering banishment in Patmos, " for the word of God and the testi- *' mony of Jesus." Such a time can in no wise agree with the repre- sentation, that the beast " was, and is not." It is therefore probable that the time in which the beast is said to have been, and not to be, &c., is the time when he ariseth again after his wound, to exercise dominion under the direction of the harlot. This time was not ar- rived when Saint John saw the vision in Patmos : but though future in this sense, it was present in another, as belonging to the vision then under exhibition : for, the beast was then present in exhibition before Saint John, and in the act of re-ascending to power. , This will appear more probable to those who read forward from this passage to the end of the 8lh verse, where the admiration of the inhabitants of the earth is spoken of as future ; and yet this admiration is fixed upon the same object, — the beast which was, and is not, &c, lot. Chap, xvii.] APOCALYPSE. 42d lot, and the mark of the beast; abjure the idolatrous worship required; and many of them sacrifice their lives in the cause of Truth. Ver. 9. Herein is the mind having wisdom.'] By comparing this expression with similar passages*, it will appear to contain a call to the observant Chris- tian, engaging him to attend diligently to the marks (x^^tiyiJicila) of the beast and harlot, which are now an- nounced by the angel, in order to assist the detection of them when they shall appear. In the first place, we are informed, that the seven heads of the beasts are so many mountains, on which the woman, who directs the power of the beast, is seated. But moun- tains have been found to signify eminent seats, high stations, of power f. But, in ver. 1. of this chapter, the woman is said also to be seated ^' 07i many wa- ters ;" And tliese were ascertained, by the explanation of the angel, to signify ** people, and multitudes, and ** nations, and languages J." Thus presiding over these nations, she is afterwards said, in plainer language, " to ** have dominion over the kings of the earth." From a comparison of these passages, it will therefore appear, that the seven mountains express that widely extended power and dominion, which this re-ascending beast was to exercise under the direction of the harlot. But these seven mountains, by the interpretation of the angel, appear to have an additional significa- tion;— '^ they are also seven kings; five of them have *' fallen ; and one of them is ; the other is not yet *' come ; and when he is come, he must remain a little : ** and the wild-beast which was, and is not, even he ** is the eighth, and is of the seven." I quote this <^ Ch. xiii. 10, IS. xiv. IC. t See notes, ch. i, 4. viii. 8. { V'er. 15. passage, 430 APOCALYPSE. [Pt, VI. § 3. passage, lo shew what we are to expect under the name of kings. For the beast himself, upon his re- vival, is to be one cf the kings : therefore, from what he is known to be, some conjecture may be formed of the nature of the rest, who are here styled kings. Now, it has been clearly seen that the seven-headed beast is a tyrannical and oppres>ive power; and in particular, that power which formed the Roman do- mination, which is still the same beast, under what- ever form of government it may be exercised. But this power, though it may be administered bij a king, cannot itself be litei^ally a king, that is, a man exer* cising supreme authority. So in the interpretation of the word king, as used in this passage, we must look for some other meaning ; for such as may not exclude the beast from bearing it. In this research^ we obtain assistance from the eighth chapter of the prophecy of Daniel; where, by comparing verse 17, with verse :^3, it appears, that the word kings is used to signify kingdoms, or forms of government. The beast before us has seven heads ; seven mountains ; seven seats of eminent power ; seven kingdoms, ^t forms of government; yet not all existing at the same time, but suceeding to each other. Fur, five of them are represented to have fallen ; one, the sixth, to be then existing; anotlier, the seventh, to be not yet con^e ; and after a short continuance to be suc- ceeded by an eigluh and la>>t ; even by the whole beast himself, representing such a kingdom, or form of government. In attempting to point out these seven kingdoms, or forms of government, it will be useful to begin with the sixth ; with that which M'as exist- ing at the time when the angel described them. This was the power imperial; for at that time one man, 3 D^mitian, Cliap. xvli.] APOCALYPSE. 431 Domitiaii, under the title of Emperor, exercised the supreme authority, uttering oppressive edicts against the Christian Church. But can we trace back the forms of government, which succeeded each other under the Rom.an domination, so that they may fairly appear five, preceding the imperial form ? Kingly, Consular, Dccemviral, are confessedly three distinct forms of government, established by three separate revolutions. And the balance of power, continually changing, and verging at one time in favour of the patrician or aristocratic, at another of the plebeian or democratic scale, have probably produced two other distinct forms of government. Such indeed we find recorded in the Roman history, as exercised under Dictators, and Military Tribunes*. These appear to be the five heads, which were fallen, at the time when the angel spake. The sixth or imperial head, was then existing ; and continued to exist till the year 475 ; when it terminated with Augustulus, the last emperor. To this imperial form succeeded the government set up by the Gothic conquerors, when, after a short time, a magistrate, with the title of Exarch, presided in Rome. But in the dark ages, which were now commencing, the beast begins again to appear. He had disappeared under the auspices of Constantine; now he revives; and the civil power of the empire passes into hands in which it becomes idolatrous, blasphemous, tyrannical, and oppressive to true Religion. This was the time when the false * These, as Bp. Newton observes, are the five forms of govern' ment antecedent to the imperial form, enumerated and distinguished as such *' by those who should best know, the two greatest Roman *' Historians, Livy and Tacitus." Livii lib. vi. 1. Tacit, Annal. lib. i. sub initio. prophet 43i APOCALYPSE. [Pf. VI. § 3, prophet of the xilith chapter began to exalt the power of the beast : when the harlot directed the reins and exhibited him as an object of terror and ad- miration. Thus he became the eighth form of go- vernment : and in this form, he exceeded all his pre- decessors in cruel and exterminating warfare against the saints. The popes, and their agents in the cor- rupt church, made use of the civil power of the kings to persecute and destroy those who dared to profess a creed or worship, other than they had authorized. Ha- ving, uttered their decrees against such persons, they delivered them to the secular arm, which at their in- stigation was ready to apply the fire and faggot. From the time that the reigning powers of Europe were willing to enforce the decrees of persecution at the call of a corrupt, domineering religion, is to be dated the reign of the beast, as an eighth head. It is not, strictly speaking, a head of the beast ; for the heads were seven ; and were all fallen ; but it is the revival of a tyrannical, persecuting power in their place. It is a form still more beastly, subsisting after the seven heads were gone. It is the whole beast, or the perfect image of him, revived, by the false prophet, by the harlot. Ver. 12. And the ten horns which thou didst see,- are ten kings; &c.] This beast, like that in the viith chapter of Daniel, has ten horns ; which are also explained to represent ten kings or kingdoms. They are not described as having existence in the early days of the beast's power; but as succeeding to a share of dominion with him afterwards, " one and ** the same hour;" that is, during a space of time,^ the commencement and duration of which seem not to be determined. But the warfare in which they are to Chap, xvii.] APOCALYPSE. 433 to unite their forces to that of the beast, against the Lamb and his followers, takes place toward the end of the beast's reign, when they are mustered to the battle of the great day, by the agency of the evil spirits *. That these times are the same, we may collect from the similarity of the relation. In ch. xvi. 4. xvii. 14. and xix. [6. 9, the same Avords are repeated; — ^* The Lamb shall overcome them; — King *' of kings, Lord of lords." But the ten kingdoms, or their successive rutes, although for a time in- toxicated by the harlot, and made subservient to her exaltation, shall in the end oppose her usurped do- minion ; *' shall hate her, and shall make her desolate " and naked ; and shall eat her flesh, and burn her *' utterly with fire." Her gaudy ornaments shall be stripped from her by the agency of those, Avho shall enrich themselves with her spoils, and finally reduce her to that complete destruction, which is expressed hy the operation of firef. Yet this hostility between the kings and the harlot, does not seem to proceed from any virtue in them, but from worldly avarice and ambition. They covet her power and her riches; and this change in their conduct seems to take place from the time when they awake from their intoxica- tion. They who had been the means of exalting the harlot, become the instruments of her fall, * Ch. xvi. 4. + This destruction is particularly displayed in the following chap- ter. See also, Jer. xiii. 22 — 2/. Ezek. xvi. 39 ; xxiii. 29. Hos. ii. 3. Mich. i. 6 — 12. Nah. iii. 4 — 5. Lam. i. 8 ; iv. 21 : which passages will afford light to the imagery here used, which is not unfrequent in the history of other ancient nations. See Tacitus de Mor. Germ. c. xix. where the woman convicted of adultery, is described as turned out of doors, stripped naked. P P Having 434; APOCALYFSE. [Pt VI. § S. Having taken this view of *• the great harlot^' who, like the little horn of Daniel, is seen seated among the ten kings or kingdoms, into which the latter end of the Roman beast, the western part of the Roman empire, was divided ; who sitteth supreme over many nations, directing the civil power, cor- rupting by idolatry and impure religion, and rioting in the blood of Saints and Martyrs ; whose mystical name is Babylon, the mother of harlots, and of the abominations of the earth ; v/ho, though she cor- rupt and intoxicate the rulers of the western nations, is at length deserted and destroyed by them ; who is, lastly, that great city which had dominion, at the time of the vision, over the kings of the earth; — we shall find Httle difficulty in applying it to history. Rome, seated on seven mountains, and ruling over the kings of the earth, is clearly the scene on which the harlot acts her part. This is the city called by the fathers of the Church, in nearly the same ex- pression, Tvjv ^xjiKevdJUv Z70>.iv, T>iv zjoXiv (^ajiKida*, It has been observed, that on an ancient coin, Rome is symbolically represented as a ivoman seated on a lion'f. And this picture of her was so well known, and found to be so consonant to this prophecy, that the fa- thers, from Tertullian to Augustine, generally un- derstood Rome to be designated under the emblem of this harlot j. Modern interpreters could do no * See Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. ii. c. 13.— She is Babylon; Saint Peter, as it were, by the direction of the same Holy Spirit, fixes this title upcn her. See 1 Pet. v. 13. with the notes of Whitby ; also Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib, :i. c. 15. with the note of Valesius upon the passage. f Vitringa, p. Jo?- X Babylon, apud Joannein nostrum, Romanaa urbis figura est, proindii et magna?, et regno superbac, et sanctorum debellatr-icis. Tertull. ad%-. Jud. p. 217. 5 Otherwise Chap, xvii.] apocalypse. 435 otherwise than follow them. All are generally agreed, that this prophecy is of Rome, But a question arises ; whether this eity, so designated, be the pagan and imperial, or the modern and ecclesiastical Rome. The writers of the church of Rome have contended that she is the former : and they have received con- siderable assistance from certain Protestant divines ; from Grotius and Hammond. But the attentive rea- der, perusing the comments of those learned writers, will find great deficiency of correspondence between the symbols, and the objects in history which they have supposed them to represent. Pagan Rome be- came Christian, before the beast, as exhibited in this vision, was completed in his seven forms of govern- ment, and had divided his power among the ten kings. Pagan Rome did not beguile and corrupt, but compel and destroy. She permitted, as Bishop Newton observes, the conquered nations to continue the religion of their ancestors. Instead of corrupt- ing others, she was herself corrupted by foreign su- perstitions. The Babylon of the Apocalypse is a church, or religious society : for she stands opposed to the New Jerusalem, She is a corrupt church, op- posed to the pure one ; and this cannot be said of Pagan Rome. So, the harlot on the beast stands also contrasted to the xvoinan in the xvilderness. They are both of them Churches ; — but one of them is an apostate church ; not the modest, pure, suffering Church, which was seen in the wilderness ; but that proud, gaudy, drunken, bloody, corrupted, and cor- rupting society, whose antitype can be found no- where in history but in the papal hierarchy. Pagan Rome therefore, though seated on the beast, can, by no just interpretation, be deemed the harlot. Besides, p p 2 the 436 APOCALYPSE. [Ft. VI. ^ 5. the beast, on which Pagan Rome was seated, is not the identical beast on which we have seen the harlot. It is indeed the Roman empire; but not in that period, which has been clearly discriminated in the beast carrying the harlot. This is the Roman empire in its last stage ; when it appears divided into ten toes ^ ; into ten kingdoms. No such division is seen in history while Rome continued pagan. It is that period of the beast, when having received an appa- rently mortal wound, by Christianity having become the religion of the empire, he is again restored to life; and adding the sanctions of religious, to civil power, domineers over the pure Christian Church. This interpretation is not new : it is that, in which almost all the Protestant commentators have con- curred. If I have added any thing to the evidence by which it is established, it is by pointing out the diiference of the beasts, represented in the xiiith and xviith chapters; the one extending his dominion over tlie v/hole Roman empire, eastern as well as western ; the other confined to the western dominion, and its ten kingdoms ; the former producing the lamb-like beast, the false prophet, or antichrist entirCy that is> having two horns, one springing forth in the Maho- metan or eastern, the other in the papal or western, apostacy; the latter, being a part of the former, bears only one horn of Antichrist, yet that the most eminent. For, the western horn of Antichrist, appearing in the very centre of that part of the world, which bore the Christian name ; which styled itself the Catholic Church ; wliich denied the title of Christian to any who should dare to dissent from its. decrees; requiied a more particular description. That •* Dan. ii, 4^. description Chap, xvii.] apocalypse. 437 description has been now examined; and the cha- racters presented to view, can apparently accord with no other than papal Rome. The false prophet, as represented with his tzvo horns, may appear to bear as strong a resemblance to the Mahometan, as to the pa- pal apostacy * : but this horn or branch now repre- sented under the symbol of the harlot, belongs exclu- sively to the papal usurpation. The arguments which are used by the Romanists to evade this application of the prophecy, are of little weight. Those produced by some eminent Protes- tants, by Grotius and Hammond, have been fre- quently and most satisfactorily refuted : nor do there remain at this time any which may seem to require notice, excepting that, which has been triumphantly advanced by Bossuet, the eloquent Bishop of Meaux. — The woman (says he) must of necessity represent pagan, and not Christian Rome ; for, to accord with the former, she is properly named as a harlot ; but to agree with the latter, she should have been called a faithless spouse, an adulteress |. — To this objection Bishop Hurd, with equal acuteness has answered, that the term adulteress could not be applied to Babylony which had never entered into marriage contract with the Deity. And yet Babylon, he observes, on ac- count of her enormous idolatry, was the fittest of all types to represent the corriq^t Roman church. But the answer does not yet appear to take away the force of the objection. It seems necessary to shew, that the term harlot is here applied to papal Rome * Indeed it very strongly expresses both : see notes on cb. xiii. p. 298. t L'ApocalypsC; &c. par Messire J. B. Bossuet, EvequS de Jleaux. with 43g APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. §3, with strict propriety y and according to the just ana- logy of Scriptural language : and that the name of adulteress would 7iot be more proper. And this, as I conceive, it is not difficult to shew : for, we can produce other churches, which had undoubtedly as fair a claim, as the church of Rome can pretend, to be called the betrothed, the espoused of God ; which yet upon their apostacy, or idolatrous defection, have, in the language of Scripture, been denominated har-^ lots. Such were the churches of Judah, and of the ten tribes in Samaria, whose legitimate claim to the title of the betrothed, or espoused, will not be disputed. These churches were undeniably in that very situa^ tion, in wliich the Bishop of Meaux represents the Church of Rome to be, when he asserts that on ac- count of that situation, the name of harlot, and of Babylon cannot zv it h propriety be applied to her. And yet in Scripture, these churches are denominated harlots, when idolatry is laid to their charge. Their crime is called zvhoredom 3.nd fo7yiicatio?i, veiy seldom adultery *, And thus, that term which, in the mouth of Divine Wisdom, was properly applied to the es- poused Churches of Judah and of Israel, when re- bellious and apostate, is certainly applied v/ith equal propriety to the Church Christian, when she appears in the same character ; when she is convicted of the same crime. And a reason may be assigned, why such apostate Churches are described in Scriptural lan- guage under the name of harlots, rather than of adul- teresses. When they forsake God, he disowns them ; they are no longer esteemed as married ; they are considered as '' put axvay,'' by that great Being who * See Isaiah i. 21; Ixiv. 5 — 8; Ixii. 4. 5. Jer. iii. throughout; xxi. 32. xvi. throughout; Ezek. xvii. Hos. ii. had Chap, xvii.] apocalypse. 439 had conferred upon them the title of Spouse. In the language of Scripture, he has '* given them a bill of ''divorce*" Such appears to be the precise case of the idolatrous church of Rome ; she forsook her Lord, when she attached lierself to the beast and his image ; she rebelled and apostatized ; and in such a state, if the Holy Spirit were to call her abomina- tions adultery^ it would be to oxvn and to honour her more than she deserves. She is no longer the adul- terous wife ; she is the divorced castaway, and con- sequently the harlot. The prophecy therefore in this passage, as in all other parts of it, is strictly appli- cable to Papal Rome ; to Papal Home in her high zenith of insolence and dominion, when she had the command of worldly power in the ten European king- doms ; for it is then more especially that she could be said to ride the beast, and intoxicate the kings. In our days, that proud period of her exaltation is well nigh passed. She now appears in a state of weakness and decline. The kings, the powers of Eu- rope, have begun to '^ hate her,'' to strip ber of her ornaments, and to expose her nakedness and shame f. * See Jer. iii. 8. Isa. 1. 1. — This also appears to be the case with Tuv '^vvxiKOi era 'li^ccCvX, in this very book of E.evelation, ch. ii. 20 — 23 : the term implies, that she is a wife, yet she is said ijopvtva-xi, to act the harlot ; whilst those who are corrupted by her, are represented as (/.oi^svovlss [ji.eT xvrnsy as committing adultery with her. t In my remarks on this chapter, I have not found it necessary to enter into a detail of those numerous particulars, in which this pro- phecy has been found to quadrate with the apostacy and corruptions of the papal church. The reader will find this abundantly supplied by al- most all the Protestant commentators. Joseph Mede very ably led the way, by proving the apostacy of this church, (Mede's Works, p. 6"23.) and he has been followed by many learned writers, even to our own times; who have with great felicity demonstrated the ccr- riiptions of this hierarchy, concording with the symbols of the pro- phecy . 440 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 4. PART VI. SECTION IV. The Judgeinent of Babylon continued. 1 Vixi (metoc, rxZrx n6ov aXXov afyj^ov xxla^ou'vovlai ex. ra (^gs ly, rr.i avTY,s ItTXHTrtrrxv. 4 YLsci Tiy.aa-x aX>.r,v (pUVTiV SK Tti i^xyy, >.iyu(Tai' 'EIeASete CHAPTER XVIII. 1 And after these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great power : and the earth was enlightened by his 2 glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying ; " She is fal- " len ! the great Ba- " bylon is fallen ! and " is become an habi- " tation of demons, " and a station of *' every unclean spirit, ** and a station of " every unclean and " abominated bird ; 3 " Because all the na- '' tions have drunken *' of the wine of the *' rage of her fornica- *' tions ; and the kings " of the earth have *' committed fornica- " tion with her; and " the merchants of tlie *' earth have become " rich from the abun- " dance of her inso- 4 " lent luxury." And 1 And after these things. I saw another angel come down from hea- ven, having great power: and the earth was lightened with his 2 glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of de- vils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every un- clean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her forni- cation, and the kings of the earth have com- mitted fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are wax- ed rich through the abundance of her de- 4- licacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying. Come out of her, my people, that ye be not par- Chap, xviii.] ^tf, "ifx fJLr, crvyaoi- rtxfs ocvrvSf y.xi IK Tuiv 'cjXriyu!V 5 Cjjte* "Ort ly.oKKr,. Qy)tTxv avrr,s at a.- lAX^Tixi ccyji TB WJcrsv 0 &EOS rex, a^lAYtlAXTX avTrif. 6 ^Atto^ots avryi, us Kf avry) uiri^xy.evy ^ h'rr>.'Ji(Txre avrf, ^iTiXoc xxloi TO. i^yx etiiTris' tv Tw ti7o/n- f /w, w sKi^xcrSi xg- pei(Txre ayrvj S<- 7 ttXSv. "0(73; loo^X' nw sxvm k^ ss'fn- ylxae^ ToaSroy Jere avTTJ ^X^XVitTlXOV iCf tBivd^* on h rri icx^ix xvrr.s Xiyii* Kx^vpt^xt p«- fflXKTffXy y^ X^?^ tSto fy /x'^ ^^^^ Yt^UfTtv XI tsX-oyscu xvrtiSy ^iTiXT^ ^ ■0{»9^ yc. Xtixos' K) h r^vpi x.xrx- xxvQ-na-tTxi' on ^cryjjPiiS Kvg/©- 0 ©£ W 0 K^tyXS XVTYiV. 9 Kxi xXxv<7ov}xi K- xo\ffOvrxi tTT aiirrj 0/ ^xa-iXiis rns yijy, 0*1 (jifT xvrr,s zsop- APOCALYPSE. I heard another voice from heaven, saying ; " Come out other, my *' people, that ye be not " partakers of her sins, ''• and that ye receive " not of her plagues : 5 " For, her sins have " reached up unto " heaven, and God *' hath remembered 6 " her iniquities. Ren- " der unto her even as " she herself has ren- *' dered, and repay her " two-fold, according " to her works ; in " the cup in which she *' hath mingled, mingle ** unto her two-told. 7 " So much as she hath ** glorified herself, and ** wantoned in luxury, " so much give unto " her torment and sor- " row; because in her " heart she saith, I am *' seated as a queen, " and am not a widow, *' and sorrow I shall 8 " never see. There- " fore in one day shall ♦* her plagues come, *' death and sorrow ** and famine ; and " with fire shall she *' be utterly burned ; " for mighty is the " Lord God who hath 9 '* judged her. And the " kin^s of the earth 44 i takers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues ; 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remem- bered her iniquities. 6 Reward her even a-; she rewarded you, and double unto her dou- ble, according to her works : in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. 7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sor- row give her : for she sailh in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see 8 no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and fa- mine ; and she shall be utterly burnt with fire : for strong is the Lord God who jud- 9 geth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burnUig, 10 Standing afar off for the fear ai her tor- 442 APOCALYPSE. [Ft. VI. § 4. aocvriSf orxv ^Xi- 10 Trfy, *A7ro (jiXK^l- TOV fo^OV t5 /3«- yovlfs* Ovxij »«/, 5» tffoXij *j fjieyaXr) BaCvXuv, « 'WoA/j 19 Icryntfoiy on (jao. v^a. rjXQsv v n^io-is 1 1 cry. K«/ o< l'//,7ro- ^o< T^^ 7^s xAa/- diiTnt on TOV yojM,ov a-vru/y ti^sis afo^a^E/ ^/Sa T//^ ^t^^" yx^irHf Kf ^vcT' x) (r/s^iy.a, k^ kox- x/v8* H^ tZJ«y |:^A3y ^y/Voy, /^ t:7«y a-y.zv' rtfAiulixTii, iy X^^' x5, i^ (ri^ri^a, >^ \6 l/.xfy.ufH. K.«i Ki- vai{A.uvoVf )^ aiJLxixoy 1^ ^V(A.ixiJi.atlx, )^ fcyfov, ;^ XlCxvotf JC Oivov, k1 k'Acciovj V.XI ae[Jl.tOX\lV, )tXl o-r-oy, H^ XT»5>>J, J^ rSflQxix' y^ i'TTTTA/V; ^ fl^UIV, H^ CUJPiX- Twv' >c \J/yp^as- av- 14; OpviTuv* Kxi -a " shall bewail and la- ** ment over her, (they ** who have commit- " ted fornication, and *' wantoned in luxury " with her,) when they " shall behold the " smoke of her burn- 10'' ing, Standing afar " off for fear of " her torment; saying, " Alas ! alas ! that *' great city, Babylon ! " that mighty city ! " for in one hour is " thy judgement come. 11" And the merchants *' of the earth weep " and lament over her, *' because no one buy- '* eth their merchan- " dize any more ; Mer- 12'* chandizeofgold,and " silver, and precious " stone, and pearl, and " fine linen, and pur- " pie, and silk, and " scarlet,andallkindof " sweet-scented wood, '* and all furniture of " ivory, and all furni- " ture of the most " precious wood, and " of brass, and of " steel, and of marble; 13" And cinnamon, and " amomum, and o- " dours of incense, '* and aromatics, and " frankincense, and ** wine, and oil, and ment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for in one hour is thy judgement come. 1 1 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth her merchandize any 12 more: The merchan- dize of gold, and sil- ver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and of fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and ail manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most prd* cious wood, and of brass, and iron, and ISmaxble; And cinna- mon, and odours, and ointments, and frank- incense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves; and souls of men. 14- And the fruits tiiat thy soul lusted after, are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly, are departed from thee, aud'tiiou shalt find them no 15 more at aU. The m^r- Chap, xviii.] as T^s "^v^YiS as : vjxvlx roi Xcrra^x 1 5 f >)ir>)f avr«. 0< £/x,7ro^o; TBTwv ol ayrrfy, aw* (axx^q' 6iv 5'»iyoyl(aH, S<^ Toy i^o^ov tS /3^ tci^uaw 17 yxptroits. Ot< ^/^ ftjfje ^fr>- iu,«9jj 0 too-St©- 'ZcrX5T3-* xa; wa^ 0 i^ri roTTov -i«;Xc'a;y, xa/ vayTiK/, xai o(Toi Tvv ^oiKx'Jcroiv TTwes Tov K5t7rv5y Twi- tsvfuatus XV' ^TiS, hiyoiiii' Tt's i>yi.olx T'ji tsoKti rn KZpX\XS XVTWVy Kj APOCALYPSE. *' fine flour, and corn, " and cattle, and ** sheep ; and of horses " and chariots, and " bodies and souls of 14'* men. And the har- " vest of the fruits of ** the desire of thy ** soul is departed " from thee ; and all *' the dainty andspleu- *' did things are pe- ** rished from thee, ** and never, never ** more shalt thou find 15" thera. The dealers ** in these things, who ** have been enriched ** by her, shall stand " afar off for fear of *' her torment, weep- *• ing and wailing, 16" [and] saying, Alas ! *' alas ! that great city, *' which was arrayed " in fine linen and *' purple and scarlet, ** and richly adorned " with gold and pre- *' cious stone and *' pearls! for in one " hour so great wealth " is made desolate. 17" And every pilot, " and every one who *' sailethby th place, " and sailors, and *' whosoever occu- ** py ihe sea, stood 18" afar off, And cried " out, beholding the 443 chants of these things which were made rich by her, shall stand afar otf, for the fear of her torment, weeping, and 16 wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, ihat was cloath- ed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, 17 and pearls: For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every ship- master, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, 18 stood afar oi^', And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What citi/ is like unto this 19 great city ? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weep- ing and wailing, say- ing, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea, by reason of her costliness : for in one hour is she made 20 desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. 444 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 4. ttf zysvQ^vtsi, Xiyov- Tts' 0-Jx;, Hxi, v> h *7 lirXtiTviaav mcivres s; s^ovres TO, wXoWf IV T>J ^aXcc9Y)(7crxi Ba^vXiiv ^ (ji.BydX-0 'croXiSj XXI i (ji,r> fjmanxuiv /C avXyiTuJv ■Kj aaXiTi^uv « yi^'n dxticrQri £v a-oi en. fC/ zjxs rs^vi'rv}! •crdaT.s tiyj-ns « IjJn it^sOn h (TOi in' x^ (pujwi fji-vXH is [Art aKHa^y) h aoi 23 sVr Yioc\ <^ws Xl-^- ©■oi £Ti* K^ ^ojyyj wix^iii x^ vvfj.(pr,s « /x^ xy^aa-Qvi ev c-oi I't/ or; o< i^Tioqoi *^ smoke of her burn- 19" ing, saying, What " city like to that " great city ! And they " cast dust on their " heads, and they cried " out, weeping and *' wailing, saying, Alas! " alas ! that great city, " by which all who ** possess ships in the " sea were enriched, *' by reason of her *' costliness; for in one *' hour she is made 20" desolate. Rejoice " over her, O heaven, <^ and ye saints, and " apostles and pro- " phets, because God *' hath avenged your '' cause upon her." 21 And one mighty an- gel took a stone, like a large millstone and cast into the sea, say- ing, " Thus violently "shall Babylon, the " great city, be hurl- " ed, and shall never 22^' be found more : And " the voice of harpers " and musicians, and *' of pipers and trum- " peters, shall never be *' heard in thee more ; '* and never shall '' craftsman, of what- " soever craft, be found " in thee more ; nor 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying. Thus with vio- lence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22 And the voice of har- pers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard rxo more at all in thee ; and no crafts- man, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more! in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all 23 in thee; And the hght of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee ; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth ; for by thy sor- ceries were all na-c 24 tions deceived : And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. Chap, xviii.] APOCALYPSfi. 445 CH ria-xv 01 i/.zyt * Psalm cxxxvii. Jer, 1, 15 — 17, 29 ; li. 24. 49. t Ch. xvii. 1(). are Chap, xviii.] apocalypse. 449 are woes on the Chris an Church; this, if it be a woe, is a woe upon its enemy and persecutor; over whose fall we are invited, by the angel, not to lament as for a woe, but to rejoice as on deliverance*. The third woe is announced, but is never described. It comes secretly. It may perhaps be seen, felt, and ac- knowledged, before the final fall of Antichrist ; be- fore the 1260 years are expired. lb. 7/2 one hour.] This is repeated three times in the course of this prophecy of the judgement on Ba- bylon; and is generally understood to signify, that the desolation of Babylon shall come suddenly. But this does not agree with the present appearance of the event, as exhibited in history. Babylon seems to de- cline, and wear away gradually ; according to the prophecy of Daniel, ch. vii. 26. See. Mr. Wintle's translation, agreeing with the Greek of the Septua- gint, ** to be wasted and destroyed unto the end." *' In one hour^'' seems to mean, in one uninterrupted period of tijne, whether it be of longer or shorter con- tinuance ; it is not said in one moment, in one point of time. Ver. 11. The merchants — &c.] The lamentation of the kiiigs shews the extreme height of worldly power to which the mystical Babylon had arrived; the mourning of the merchants, her extreme wealth and hLvury. As Babylon, of the ancient world, was her type for power and dominion, so was Tyre for mer- cantile riches f. The enumeration of the articles of trade by which this Babylon is described as making an iniquitous profit, has something in it very peculiar and striking. It proceeds by a climax, or gradation, from ♦ Ver. 20. | See Isa. xxiii. Ezek, xxvi. xxvii. xxviii. Q, Q one 450 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VL § 4. one article to another, till it rises to the bodies, and then to " the sviils of men J' Can we avoid recalling to memory the purgatory, the penances, the commu- tations, the indulgences, made saleable in the corrupt papal church ? Ver. 12. Fine linen.'] It is not necessary, respect- ing this passage, to determine the contested point, whether C^v^aog was used to signify linen, or cotton. It is plain from the context, as also from Lukexvi. 1<), that it was the apparel only of the rich ; and so it is here coupled with purple, scarlet, silk, &c. which were certainly the distinguishing habits of the opulent. Silk, at the time this Revelation was delivered, was a very rare and dear commodity, being then the pro- duce only of China*. Ver. 17. Every pilot — &c.] Here is presented a third company of mourners, of the same kind with those who lamented over the ancient maritime Tyre f. That these should be so affected, shews the extent of influence which the mystical Babylon had acquired in distant nations ; for she corrupts wheresoever her bane- ful commerce can be extended. The reading i%i totov, restored by Griesbach, seems to be of great authority; in confirmation of which it is observed, that in tlie Vulgate, the word locum w^as antiently read, which lias been changed to lacum ^, It does not howe\'cr appear to aflbrd an appropriate sense ; and therefore, many attempts have been made to amend the reading ; but it is not very material ; for the context shews how it is to begeneially understood, namely, of those who sail in ships. 1 suspect iin totov to be a technical, maritime phrase; but have translated it as if writ- * See Gibbon, Hist. ch. xl. where the history of silk is-collected. i Ezek. xxvii. 32. J Father Simon. ten chap, xvii!.] apocalypse. 4Sl ten €irt To^ TOTTov .- in the sense in which the ^thiopic version seems to have rendered it. Ver. 20. Rejoice over her, O heaven ; &c.] The same rejoicing is announced upon the prophesied fall of the ancient Babylon*; and her eternal desolation is represented under the same imagery f. ** But what *' reason had the Christians to rejoice over the calami- " ties brought on Rome by x\laric or Totiias ; in which ** they themselves were the principal sufferers ? And *' how were these calamities any vindication of their " cause, or of the cause of true Religion '|. ?" Ver. 21. ^ st07ie — &c.] Thus also the ancient Ba- bylon, condemned never to rise again, is described as sinking, like a stone, in Euphrates §. Ver. 22. The voice of harpers,] Here, the cheerful noise heard in a populous city, '* the busy hum of *' men," is poetically described. There is resem- blance to the great poet's description of a joyous city II . But so entire and final is the destruction of Babylon, that these shall be heard in her no rnoi^e for ever. The prototype of this description is to be seen in Jer. vii. 34; xvi. 9; xxv. 10; xxxiii. 2. But Rome, as Bishop Newton observes, has never suffered this utter desolation. She has often been captured and plundered by the enemy ; but she still remains (says he) a joyous city, the resort of strangers, de- lighting Europe with her music, and her arts ^. I shall not pursue the learned Prelate in his endeavours to prove that modern Rome is to be destroyed by fire, literally understood. Fire, in prophetic language, implies utter destruction ; and it is the corruption, the * Jer. li. 48. t Jer. li. 64-. X Bishop Newton, Dissert, on Propb. vol. iii. p. 317. § Jer. li. 6:^, 64. |1 Hum. Iliad, lib. xviii. 4^0 IT Dissert, iii. 317. Q Q 2 superstition, 452 APOCALYPSE, [Ft. VI. § 4. superstition, and usurped dominion of Rome, which are to be utterly destroyed, not her buildings. She is Babylon in a spiritual sense; and in a spiritual sense it is, that she is to be burned and consumed, ^^ even unto the end." Ver. 23 — 24. Sorcei^y — blood of prophets.'] We have here two distinguishing marks of this corrupt Church, which have been before noticed: — 1. The arts of de- ception, like the sorceries and incantations of the heathen priests, by which she has beguiled the nations and their kings : — 2. Her tyranny, by which she has persecuted, even to tortures and death, those who refuse her yoke. And as the blood of the prophets was required of the ancient Jerusalem ; so is the blood of the Christian Saints and Martyrs, from this corrupt city*. The denunciation of the judgement of Babylon, contained in this speech of the angel, seems princi- pally intended for the support and comfort of the poor, persecuted Christian Church, during the high zenith of tlie Antichristian usurpation. To answer this purpose the more effectually, almost every part of the prophecy is taken from tlie prophetical denun- ciations of the Old Testament, against Babylon, Tyre, &c. which were known to have been literally fulfilled. No other method could afford such perfect confidence to those, who, in the new Babylon, clearly discover- ed the tj^ranny and wickedness o^ the old one. And from the time that Papal Roine was acknowledged to be this new Babylon, (and this discovery was made early in the twelfth century |,) great must have been the encouragement derived to the Reformers from this chapter of the Apocalypse. * Lukexi. 50,51. t See Mede,p. 5\7. 722, &c. Thuani Hist. lib. vi. c. 1(). Ch. xix. 1 — 10.] APOCALYPSE. 453 PART VI. SECTION V. Exultation m Heaven over the fallen Babijlon, and upon the approach of the nexv Jerusalem. 1 Ms1« toZtx TiKHda. us (puvm 0%A8 ZjOX- px'iu, Xsfoyluv' 'AA- KXt y) ^'j^x, KXi ri 9VVXf/.fS t5 0«5 i5- 2 /M.WV* "Or/ oiXviOivx] J^ ^IKXtXI XI ■H.^ldZiS aurS* or/ s'x^-ivs t-^v CTo^iojv T^v fxiyx- ^.TiYj-nriSE^Osi^sTrtv yijjf £v Tvj 'iuopviix avrr^Sj iCj l^eoiyiyiiye TO a//>Kaf tZ'V ^iXuv 3 TTjy. Ka< JgyTEiC'oji ifpyjKOCv' ^AXKriXiise.' x«< 0 ytXTFf OS auTYis dvxCatm sis ras uiuvxs ruv ai'Jjvuy. 4 Kx^i e'TTscrov o'l 'vj^ea-- Cvrs^oi o< t'lKQcrt ria- x«< '^j^oasavvioo-xy tia9viiJ,svaj Itti ra ^povUt ^f- yovles* ^A[JLV)v' 'AA- 5 >:r{Kiiix, K^ 5? 7i;v^ aj- tS ftTo'llJiXtJiy i' acvrf.f 'I'voi zjs^iCa.- AW/ (^vaa-ivov x«- Qx^ov ^ Koc^tZfov' TO 7ap ^vya-ivovf tat viK(m!J(/.xici It I 9 Twv tcyt'uv, Kai ^-ov* Moix.a.^101 ol e/f TO OfiTTVOV T» ya/x8 Ta «f v/s x£- ic\viJ.ivot. Ka; Ae- 7« /xo<* OuTO/ ol Xoyoi dXY,9ivoi sl(Ti 10 T« 0£tf. Ka< eVs- &ov's[ji'rr^o6Q£y rav Z}ooiov ocv'rZ '^^oc- XVYr;f7Xl av tZ' xxl "Kiyii //..r "Ofoi [x-n. from the throne carae forth, saving; *' Praise our God, all " ye his servants, ye " who fear liim, both " small and great." 6 And I heard as it were, a voice of a great mul- titude, and us a voice of many waters, and as a voice of mighty thunderings, saying ; " AUelujah! for, the " Lord our God the *' Omnipotent reign- 7 "eth. Let us be glad, " and rejoice, and give *' the glory to him; *' for the marriage of *' the Lamb is come, " and his Wife hath " prepared herself. S " And it hath been " given to her, that " she should be ar- *' rayed in fine linen, " pure and bright : for, " the fine linen is the " righteousness of the 9 " saints." And he saith unto me, " Write; *' Blessed are they who " are called to the " marriage- supper of " the Lamb." And he saith unto me, " These are the true 10" wdrdsofGbd:" And I fell down before his feet to worship him : and he saith unto me, him, both small and 6 great. And I heard' as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thun- derings, saying ; AUe, luia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and re- joice, and give honour to him : for, the mar- riage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready, 8 And to her was gran ti- ed, that she should be ai'rayed in fine linen, clean and white: for, the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 A nd he saith unto me ; Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me. These are the true sayings of lOGod. And I fell at his feet to worship him : And he said unto me ; See thou do it not : I am thy fellow- ser- vant, and of thy bre- thren that have the testimony of Jesus : worship God : for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Ch. xix. 1 — 10.] APOCALYPSE. 455 f'locy Ta 'l>)(7»' Tw GvZ zjpodKvyiorov* Ivicra Ift TO TJVivfAX " See thou do it not ; " I am a fellow-ser- *' vant with thee, and ** with ihj brethren, " who hold the testi- " mony of Jesus: wor- ** snip God ; for, the " testimony of Jesus " is the spirit of pro- '' phecy." Ver. 1. And after these things; Sec] In the ^Oth verse of the last chapter, Heaven, as described in ch. iv, and the Saints, who are stationed in grand chorus before the throne *, are exhorted to rejoice over the fall of Babylon. The representation of this fall being now completed, we hear the choral song. lb. Allelujahi] II eb. Praise ye Jehovah ! a word of holy exultation, which hath passed into many lan- guages even of the heathens, both ancient and modern f . This song of praise breaks forth on the fall of the harlot, — of Babylon ; and as she falls by the last Vial, it has retrospect to that Vial, and to the rest, which are preparatory to her fall. Ver. 4. And the tzventy-four elders; &c.] The song of praise is begun by the redeemed Saints, in con- junction probably with the innumerable company of, angels %, The elders, and the cherubim, who are near the throne, sing the antiphonal '^ Allelujah, Amen.'' Thus the song beginning, from the lowest, advances to the highest orders of heavenly beings § ; from ** the * Ch. XV. 2. t See Schleusner or Parkhurst, in voc. X See notes, ch, iv. 9, 10. 4 And therefore the elders are mentioned here before the cherubim, ?is observed in note, ch. iv. 6. 9« *' redeemed 456 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 5. ''redeemed from amongst men," to the cherubim, who are " in the midst of the throne and around the throne," (ch. iv. 6) ; till at length a voice proceeds from the throne itself*, joining in the same harmony, and exhorting all the servants of God, of every rank and degree, to praise Him, The exhortation is imii^ed lately obeyed. — And magnificent is the effect, when all unite their ac- cordant voices, to sing praise to the Almighty King; who, by destroying the impure harlot, (which had usurped the name of his Church upon earth,) had pre- pared the way for the Virgin-Bride, the true Church, who is now to be owned and espoused publicly by her Kedeemer. Ver. 7. The jyiar^iage of the Lamb is come.] The holy and mystical union of Christ with his Church, is frequently mentioned in Scripture f. The harlot, pretending to be that spouse J, having been now con- victed of fornication with the worldly powers; having been judged, and eternally discarded ; the attention in Heaven and earth is naturally turned to that chaste and pure Virgin §, who is now to be presented to her Lord. The choral song brings her, to view; arrayed, not ^^ in purple and scarlet, and gold and precious ''stones;" not in worldly splendour, like the harlot ; but in the pure, simple, but resplendent garments, which are the clothing of the heavenly inhabitants ||. She had " washed her garments, and made them white, in " the blood of the Lauib ^." By faith in her Redeemer, she is become righteous : — for, this is " the fine linen, " the righteousness of the saints." * Ver. 5. + Jsaiah, liv. 5. Jer. iii. 14. Hos. ii. 19, 20. Malt. xxii. xxv. 2 Cor. xi. 2. Eph. v. 22—32. | Ch. xviii. l6. § 2 Cor. xi. 2. II Matt, xxviii, 3. llev. iv. 4 ; iii. 5, where see the note; xv. 6. IT Ch. vii. 13. Ver. Ch. xix. 1 — 10.] APOCALYPSE. 457 Ver. 9. And he saith unto me, IVrite.] From the first opening of the vision, which exhibits *' the judg- '' 7?ient of the great harlot,'' an angel, one of the seven, had graciously accompanied the prophet, explaining to him the mystery ; (xvii. 7). This vision now closes with the triumphal chorus in heaven. The angel then orders him to write what he had seen ; which was to be delivered to the seven Churches, and not to be sealed or suppressed with the prophecy of the seven thunders*. He then fixes the attention of the prophet, and of those who are to read what he thus Myites, on the due appli- cation of what is now represented. *' Blessed are they *^ who are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb !" Blessed are they who by the grace of God, co-operating with their own endeavours, " make their calHng and ^' election surcf ;" who, having on the '* wedding-gar- *' ment" of righteousness J:, become entitled to '* sit ** down to meat" in the Kingdom of Heaven §. The angel then concludes with this solemn assurance: " These are the true words of God." All that thou hast now heard and seen, will assuredly come to pass. Ver. 10. And I fell dozen before his feet ; &c.] The prophet, affected with astonishment at what he had beholden and heard, and with veneration and gra- titude towards his heavenly conductor, follows the na- tural bent of his feelings ; and falls down before the angel, to express them, after the custom of the eastern nations. But the angel renounces this kind of adora- tion, ranking himself only, where other intimations of Scripture have placed him and his fellow-angels, *' as a *^ ministering spirit, sent forth to minister for them who ^* shall be heirs of Salvation ;" (Heb. i. 14). The pro- * Ch. X. 4. t 2 Pet. i. 10. X Matt. xxii. 11. § Lukexii. 37. hibition 458 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VI. § 5, hibition to worship angels, or any other being than God, is repeated in chapter xxii. 9, and, thus repeated, seems to contain a very strong injunction against that angel-worship in which a great part of the Christian -world has been involved. lb. The testimoyiy of Jesus is the spWit of prophecy,'] My office (says the angel) for M'hich you honour me, is of the same kind with yours : I support the testimony of Jesus, by bringing prophecy from heaven; you and your fellow-servants perform the same duty on earth, supporting the same testimony, by preaching, confes- sion, martyrdom, &c. ; even in the present instance, we axe fellows er'o ants of the same Lord. I shew to thee the vision from Heaven ; thou writest it for the use of those who inhabit the Earth. Let us both worship God, and God only. PART [ 459 ] THE APOCALYPSE, &c. PART VII. Section i. The Lord descends to Battle and Victory, IiKai i%v Tov a^acvov oivsuy^ivovy )y 0 x»0>?/^Ev3- In ^£ o(p9oiXp(.oi »lru j^ lirt rv)v MipuXv)v uvt5 ^ix^ri(ji,xrix CJoXXa* i^ojv ovoyix T^ » \ > , oC TUV CX^KUV XV' Twy. taken, and the false prophet who -was with him, he who wrought the wonders before him, by which he de- ceived those who re- ceived the mark of the beast, and who wor- shipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brim- 21 stone. And the rem- nant were slain by the sword of Him who sate upon the horse, which sxtjord proceedeth from his mouth : and all the birds were filled with their flesh. the false prophet that wrought miracles be- fore 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 21 with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse; which s-xord proceeded out of his mouth : and all the fowls were fill- ed with their flesh* After the appearance of the Messiah and his armies, the armies of the worldly powers, under the beast, the false prophet, and the kings, who are * mustered by the spirits of demons to the great battle f, come in view. But the conflict, for which so vast preparation had been made, is finished in an instantj. The leaders, they who * Ch. xvii. 13. + Ch. xvi. 14-. X There is great propriety and sublimity, in this rapidity of victory. An invent'jr would probably have dwelt upon this conflict, and have described it in a variety of detail : but this is a victory in which the arm of Omnipotence is displayed ; and of which it may be said without extravagance, — A^enit, vidit, vicit. duriuar 464' APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VIL § 2. during so many ages had abused their civil and eccle- siastical power, are taken, and consigned to that ever- lasting prison, to which such offenders were originally doomed* Their followers, both small and great, fall; and are utterly destroyed by the word of God'[, Thus, the kingdom of the beast and false prophet, of the civil and ecclesiastical power, administered so long and so abusivelj^, comes to its end; and the king- dom of the Messiah, and of righteousness, is established. This is that happy period, the theme of many prophe- cies; which, being still future, it is presumptuous to ex- plain particularly : yet thus far we may generally and safely conclude, that as we have already seen the reign of the beast and false prophet, the mystery of iniquity J, so exactly foretold, and the prophecy so wonderfully fulfilled ; — tyranny, irreligion, hypocrisy, and immora- lity triumphant and oppressive, by the means of pre- tended commissions from heaven: so, this usurpation will be utterly destroyed ; and pure Religion, and peace and happiness, succeed. '^ The wolf shall dwell with *' the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the ** kid;" &c. '' They shall not hurt or destroy in all "the holy mountain ; — the earth shall be full of the " knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the '*sea§." • Ch. xvii. 8. Matt. xxv. 41. f Ch.i. i6. Compare with the battle here represented Isaiah xxxiv. Jer. vii. 32, &c. Ezek. xxxix. 17, &c. Zeph. i. 7. See also Bishop Lowth de Sac. Poes. Heb. lee. xx. ; See notes, ch. xiii. § Isaiah xi. &c. PART Cb. XX. 1—3.] APOCALYPS] 455 PART VII. SECTION III. The Dragon taken and conjined. CHAP. XX. VER, 1 — 3. 1 Ka< eJdov aiysXav xotiaQ xivovioi. Ik t» xKtTv rns aCva-au, i^ oiXvjiv iJityxKm Itt* r-nv X^'P^ «y" 2 tS. K(*/ lyi^a,rv)c i)i\ei<7£y, Kf E7^pci- yiosv Itrayu) oivra, 'ivx(A,n zj\xyvi^ /:a£?« TayT« ^6? oiV' Toy >^v9Yiixt (Aix^ov j^o'yov. 1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in 2 his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, (that ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan,) and bound him 3 a thousand years; And cast him into the bot- tomless pit, and shut up ; and set a seal over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thou- sand years should be completed : and after these, he must be loos- ed a little time. 1 And I saw an angel come down from hea- ven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in 2 his hand : And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thou- 3 sand years, And cast him into the bottom- less pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfill- ed: and after that, he must be loosed a little season. The removal of the beast and false prophet is fol- lowed by the decline of impiety and wickedness, and by the rapid growth of true Religion and Virtue. This i$ symbolically displayed. The dragon, that ancient foe of man, who, under the disguise of a serpent, had be- R R guiled 466 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VII. § 3. guiled Eve; who had lent his throne, his authority and his arts, to the beast and the false prophet ; to mislead the nations and their kings ^ ; is taken and confined. His influence upon earth is wonderfully diminished. And this important object is accomplished by the same superior agency. For, though an angel is represented as binding satan, yet, whence has he the commission and the power? whence the key of the bottomless deep, but from him who alone is described, as having *^the " keys of hell and of death f;" from him, who shutteth, and no man openeth J? By his permission the bottom- less deep had been opened § ; by his power it is now closed and sealed. The author of all iniquity is con- fined in it, for a time ; after which he is permitted to come forth again '^ for a season," and " to deceive the nations." But the beasts rise up no more. They are no longer the successful agents of satan. He is no longer permitted to employ this kind of civil and religious ty- ranny against true Religion, and the happiness of man. The blissful season, during which satan continues bounden, is called a thousand years. But of this more particularly, under the next section. * See notes, ch. xii. f Ch. i. 18. t Ch. iii. 7. § See note, ch. ix. I. PART Ch. XX. 4—5.] APOCALYPSE. 467 PART VII. SECTION IV. The MilleJimum. CHAP. XX. VER. 4 — 6'. 4 Keel il^OV '^^nyas^y^ t 'n 1 ■> , \ £X.CX,ViCrCl,)) S'TT OCVTHSy \ ' ''^'/^ > Kj KfifAX sooti'n acv- T07s' K^ Tas "4. Vp^iXi- Tmv 'ZSSTteKsKiO'jxi- vuv ^loi rvv (xa^k)- ^la,y 'l>30"«, >ca< o/os Toy Xoyoy T» ©£«, yCj o'lrivts « t^foat^ xvvr,'* f'^*'* 5 O/ §£ Xoi'TToi Tu/v vfxfaJv «x sZ;^a-x^, %us rsT^a^Ti rx y^i- Xix srn. Avrv) r. CCvccS-XaiS V -CTfWT*}, 0 e'^wv i^i^^ l» TVJ «v«ra»* lirt T»TW» • StyTep©* SaviacT©' tin £^£l l^H'JIXVf 4 And I saw thrones, and they sate upon them: and judgment was given unto them : and the souls of those who had been slain with the axe for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God ; and whosoever had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand : and they lived and reigned with Christ the thousand years : 5 But the rest of the dead did not live till the thousand years should be completed. This is the first resur- 6 rection. Blessed and holy is he who hath a part in the first resur- rection : over these, the second death hath no power : but they shall R R 2 4 And I saw thrones, and they sate upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and Isazo the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand 5 years : But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thou- sajid years were finish- ed. This is the first 6 resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God, and of Christ, and 46S APOCALYPSE. be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thou- sand years. [Pt. VII. § 4. shall reign with him a thousand years. Ver. 4. And I saro thrones ; &c.] In Daniel, vii. 22, 26» ** the jud. mcnt sits;" — "judgment is given to *' the saints; — they possess the kingdom." To this passage, St. Paul seems to alhide in 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3, as well as does our Lord's promise in Matt. xix. 28. Luke xxii. 30. giving thrones of judgment to his Disciples. These prophecies, dark in themselves, until the event and completion shall illustrate them, are here repeated, with some additional information : for, it is affirmed, that this reign of the Saints shall continue " a thousand *' years." Who the saints are, is at first expressed in very general terms ; as also is the prophecy of Daniel. ^^ They sate; judgment was given unto them.'' But among those who sit upon these thrones, are afterwards expressly enumerated, they who during the long con- flict with the hcast and false prophet, have kept the faith, even unto death, and refused the idolatrous wor- ship, to which they were tempted or forced, hy the worldly powers. These faithful sons and champions of the Church, are descrihcd as living and reigning with the Anointed, or Christ,- the thousand years. And this early or first resurrection appears to be their exclusive privilege, and not to belong to the rest of the dead, who, it is said, shall not live, until the thousand years shall be completed. Much has been written upon this promised Millen- nium, or reign of the Saints; yet little that can afford satisfaction Cb. XX. 4 — 6.] APOCALYPSE. 4^9 satisfaction to the judicious''^. The meaning of a pro- phecy of thfs kind can only be made manifest by the event which is to fulfil it. Before tliat time shall arrive, it is unsafe to conjecture after what method it shall be fulfilled ; whether, as some prophecies Ittera/ly, or as others, tijpicaUy ; whether the departed Saints and Martyrs shall actually be raised again in their own persons, to effect so glorious a change in Religion and morals; or, whether, like Elijah in the person of John Ba})tist, and David in that of Christ, they shall live again in the persons of other saints, who shall fulfill their characters and offices, no man may presume to determine. It is best therefore, after the example of the wise father Iren-cBus, respecting another prophecy, to '* xvait the completion of the prediction^.'' Yet, if we are not permitted to descend to a special interpretation, we may receive advantage from a general view. We may confidently indulge a well-grounded expectation, that happy times, of long duration, are yet destined * Augustine, in Civ. Dei, lib. xx. c. 7, commenting on this chap- ter, says, that the doctrine of a Millennium, in which the saints were to enjoy a corporeal resurrection in this world, was founded on a notion that, after six thousand years of trouble, the saints should enjoy one thousand years of sabbath, or rest. But the doctriiie was founded on this passage of the Revelation. The notion of the time only, in which the prophecy will be fulfilled, was taken from this tradition of the Church. From Papias, a good man, but weak and credulous, seem to have been derived those earihly notions of a Millennium, branded with the name of Chiliasm, which were adopted by some eminent writers of the ancient Church ; by Irenaius, ApoUinaris, Tertullian, Victorinus, LacLantius, &c. But there was another, and much more debasing, no- tion of a Millennium, entertained in those early times, in which, gross, sensual, corrupting delights were supposed to make the felicity of the Saints. This seems to have been derived from Cerinthus, and thence to have passed on to other heretics. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib, iii, c. 28. t Ircn. lib. v. 30. for 470 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VII. § 4. for the Christian Church, even here upon earth. For the days will come, and seem at no very great distance, (the present century may perhaps disclose them,) when, the beast and false prophet being removed, and Baby- lon sunk for ever, the devil, that ancient foe, shall be deprived of his wonted influence; and the prophecies, which in the Old Testament, as well as in the book of Revelation, promise happy times, shall be accomplish- ed*. * An abstracted view of the sentiments of the Ancients on this diffi- cult, and as yet obscure subject, may be seen in Bishop Newton's Dis- sertdtions, vol. iii. 329 — 343. 8vo ; and of the Moderns, in Lowman's Paraphrase and notes on Rev. p. 242—248. Some ingenious and use- ful hints are suggested in IMr. Kelt's last volume on Prophecy. And a comprehensive, learned, and very judicious view of the whole subject may be read in Mr. Gray's Discourse on Rev. xx. 4, 5, 6'. It is re- markable that Dr. Whitby, who had dechned to comment on the Apo- calypse, assigning as his motive, that he felt himself unqualified for such a work, has ventured to explain this particular prediction of the Mil- lennium ; which being, as all agree, a prophecy yet unfulfilled, is, of all others, tlie most difficult. Yet his Treatise on the true Millennium may be perused with advantage. But, as it plaioly appears that no one, who lived before the completion of the prophecies of the Seals, the Trumpet, or the Harlot of Babylon, however learned and sagacious, was able to penetrate through the veil of these mysteries ; nor was any pro- gress made in assorting these prophecies, until the historical events ful- filling them appeared ; so, to the events alone are we to look with confi- dence for the complete illustration of these predictions. We can at present collect from them wiib safety, only general notions and assir- rances. Such however are sufficit^iit to support our faith, if not to gra- tifv our curiositv. PART Ch. XX. 7—10.] APOCALYPSE. 471 PART VII. SECTION V, Satan loosed^ deceiveth the iialions, and is cast into the burning lake. CHAP. XX. YER. 7 10. 7 K«' or XV nXio-O-n rat, y(j\ioi. irt\^ Av- vfi'jirot.i 0 aarxvois Ik rvs ^pvXxuris ccv- 8 T«" K«< l^jKsvaslxi ^Xxvrifjxi rx iOrn rx sv rx'is rsaca^- ct yuvixis rr,s yris, rov I'ci'y KXi Tov alms its zjoASfjLoyj COV 0 OCDidly.OS XVTCOV us V) a/jLfj.os rns vdt- 9 Acio-OT^i-. Kxi ccve- Qviaxy £7r< ro wA*- ros rris yris, xxi Ix.\jkKwiv TooKiv rrtv viyx7r'/i(j,svy)v' ytxi KxliQn zjvp oTio Ta ©£» Ix, tS »pav«, jc KxlEyxysv xiiris. ]0K«< 0 ^ixQaXos 0 'cjXxvu/v xvrHSj l- CXriOm e'ls rv)v xIia.. VVtV T« ZJV^OS KXl §■£/«, OTTtf KXl TO ^Yi^lov >L 0 \)/£t;oo- 7 And when the thou- sand years shall be completed, satan shall be loosed from his 8 prison : And he shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, the Gog, and the Magog, to ga- ther them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of 9 the sea. And they went up on the extent of the earth, and sur- rounded the camp of the saints, even the beloved city. And lire came down from God out of heaven, and de- lOvoured them. And the devil, who deceiveth them, was cast into the lake of fire and brim- stone ; where were like- wise the wild-beast and the false prophet : and thev shall be tonnent- 7 And when the thou- sand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed 8 out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle : the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured 10 them. And the devil that deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever au^ ever. 472 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VIL § 5. viaartffovrai rtfjutpxs y.oti vvKToSf its rus aiuwX'S ruv aluivuv. ed day and night for ever and ever. After the grand period of the Millenniuni, so favour- able to the Christian cause, shall have come to its end, another apostacy shall unhappily take place. This is expressed figuratively, by satan being again loosed, to deceive the nations. This new rebellion against the laws of God, and against the easy yoke of the Redeemer, is of formidable extent. The four corners of the earth, (that is, the nations of the whole earth) * are engaged in it. It is an apostacy of a new kind; different at least from the former apostacy, in which the beast and false prophet were satan 's instruments of mischief. Be- yond this we have little ground of conjecture. The enemies of the Christian Church, numerous as the sands upon the sea- shore, surround the camp of the Saints, V'hich is represented as in a state of siege. But the extinction of these enemies shall be sudden, miraculous, and complete. They shall be destroyed by fire, by fire from heaven, that is, miraculously, and utterly f. This description is conformable to other ancient prophecies, still remaining to be fulfilled ; or which have received only a partial and typical completion. Such are Isaiah Ixiii. Ixvi. Joel iii. Ezek. xxxviii, and xxxix; which is the last prophecy in the book J, and is said expressly to be oUJie latter days, Gog and Magog ^vill be found to signify the nations; those which were * See note, cli. iv. 6. + See note, ch. xvii. 12. X Excepting the exhibition of the temple, which, being a subject entire of itself, was reckoned by the Jews as an additional book. See Joseph. Ant. Jud. lib. x. c. 6. most Cll. XX. 11 — 15.] APOCALYPSE. 473 most distant, and 3'et hostile to the Church *. On all these prophecies, evidently not yet fulfilled, little can be conjectured with safety. They are to be handed down to the Church of the latter days, even as those prophecies, whicli we have seen fulfilled, have been de- livered to us; and with this consolation, that this ** overflowing of iniquity," whenever it arrives, shall be miraculously and coaipletely terminated f. And this is the last siiccessful effort of satan as^ainst the Church. He is then consigned to his eternal prison. ♦ See Mede's Works, p. 280; Abp. Newcome on Ezekiel xxxviii. 2; also Lowth on the same passage. t So Ezek. xxxix. 6. Isaiah xlvii. 13, 14; xxxiii. 14. PART VII. SECTION VI. The Judgment, CHAP. XX. V£R. 11 — to the end. 1 1 Ka/ tl^Qv ^^ovov X1VX.0V (xiyxVf >y rov Kx9ri{A,ivov Iff avr^f a aTro zjfo- • upxvos' )^ roTTos ^X ^^f^'^*' ac.vTo'i's, 12Kai sl^oy Tits VI' yaXay, iGpu- TTuv, xxt cicnvucrii fAtf avTMV, Kf OLV- TOi 'KxOS OIVTH e^ TO TIXOS* £74; Tf 01- >]/a)v/< oiiaw Ix rijJ tsriyiti t5 t'oaTCJ 7 'O MVJJJM •/.)^r,^ovof/.'ri- <7*i ruvra' v.ai jVo- fJiXl XVTf Qioiy vL as a bride adorned for 3 her husband. And I heard a loud voice out of heaven, saying; *' Behold, thetaberna- ** cle of God with " men : and be ^vilI *' dwell with them : *' and they shall be ** his people, and God " himself will be with '' them, their God. !• " And he will wipe *' away every tear from *' their eyes. Anddeath *' shall be no more ; *' nor shall sorrow, nor " mourning, nor pain, " be more ; for the ** former things are 5 *' passed away." And he who sate upon the throne, said ; *' Be- " hold, I make all " things new." And he saith [unto me] *' Write : for these " words are true, and " worthy of belief." () And he said unto me, " It is done ! I am the '* Alpha and the O- ** mega, the beginning " and the end. I will *' give unto him that " thirsteth,ofthefoun- *' tain of the water of 7 *' life freely. He who *' overcometh, shall in- " herit these things : " and I will be his prepared as a bride adorned for her hus- 3 band. And I heard a great voice out of hea- ven, saying; Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God him- self shall be with them, 4 ^;?£/ 6c their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nei- ther sorrow, nor cry- ing, neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things are 5 passed away. 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. 6 And he said unto me ; It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the begin- ning and the end: I will give unto him that is athirst, of the foun- tain of the water of 7 life freely. He that overcometh, shall in- herit all things; and I will be his God, apd he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful and unli^ttlieviiig, and the iCIl. Xxl. 1 — 8.] JIPOCALYPSE, 477 auros BTXi ^ot o 8 vios. TojV ^e ^ll- a[Auplu?^o7s Kj iC^s- ^uXoXoirpxiSf x.xi 'SsoitTi ro7s •\/ivbtJ> T'/jv ay/jty 'ltP^ TO /x?;>co^ «PTrf bVov [ji^] TO -SjAaTO^' x*< 1^6- r^vias Tvv ■zjoXiv ru xxKaiAaj Itti 'fx^i^s C^^cKX ^tXldoMV* ro fj.vy-0Sf xxt to 'OXxTOSy XXf To li^OS XVTTiS 13-X If' 17 Kai eiASTfntTE to Tti^os xCrriS exflt- I lofty, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels ; and names inscribed there- on, which are of the twelve tribes of the 13 Sons of Israel. On the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west 14 three gates. And the wall of the city hav- ing twelve foundation- stones ; and upon them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the 1 5 Lamb. And he who spake with me, had a measure, a golden reed, to measure the city and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. l6And the city lieth quadrangular; and the length thereof as much as the breadlh. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it 17 are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man. that is, of an angel. IS And the building of the wall thereof was jasper; and. the city s s 2 high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and 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, three gates ; on the south, three gates; and on the west, three legates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of ihe 15 Lamb, And he that talked with me, had a golden reed to mea- sure the city, and the gates thereof, and the, iGvvall thereof. And the city lieth four-square, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand fur- longs : the length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal. 17 And he measured the wall thereof, an huL- dred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the 18 angel. And the build- ing of the wall of it was of jasper ; and the 484 Toy z^crC"X'cx}coy}u p i ;> c y a 1/ Q^ -ji '/7a y c 1 8 I'lv afyEXs. Kxl (AOix IdXu x.ciOx^:^, fj.zKios 0 CT^'-T-rcs-j cxg-j'prj'z,' I 'iy.ros, X^vcro:\,^oi' 0 b'y- 00 55-, ^r.piXXoi' 0 croi • 0 ivi^sV^ilsr,. ta- yjr'oi 0 oxov/.xloSy 2 \ x.fxsbus'os. Kui o' ■N 1^ r ' ccjdsKX [/.xp.xfirtiii avx SIS rKX^os ruv lAXfyxeira* Kx) % . '^Axiii-x rriS CTO- AEfcJ, yjevaloit y.x~ Bacovy 'xs vxKos 22oixvyy,s, Kx] ixli ay. s1-joy ij» avr-n' o yaa Kii^sos oQils o '!z::,^rox^xru^ xx'js (cur'tii i^tj x«< TO APOCALYPSE. was golil, pure, like .' I(}unlo clear glass. And the foundatioii'-stones ot the wall of the city 'ii-cre adorned with all manner of precious stones. 'Ib.e first foun- datlon-stonp, JdSj^er ; the second, Sapphire ; th(; third, Chaicecion-y ; j the fourth, Emerald ; 20'i'lie fifth, Sardonyx; the sixth, Sardine; tlie seveiith. Chrysolite ; the eighth,, Beryl; the ninth, ']'opaz ; the tenth, Chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, Jacynlh ; the twelfth Amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates, twelve fjearls ; eveiy several gate was of ovie pearl ; and tlie broad place of the city ['old, pnre, as transp^arent 22 glass. And 1 saw no temple therein : for, the Lord God Alinightj^ is the temple thereo-f, 23 and the Lamb. And the city has. no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it: fur, the glory of God did give light to it ; and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations shall ■w-.ilk by the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall briij* their glory [tind honour] into [Pt. viti. § city zcas pure gold, like 19 unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all man- ner of precious stones. The first foundation lifl.y jasper; the second, sapphiire ;■ the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, .20 an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a to- paz ; the tenth, a chry- soprasus ; the ele- venth, a jacinct ; the twelfth, an amethyst. 2iAnd the twelve gates tivre twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl : and the street of the city zvcrs pure gold, as it were 22 trfiP.sparent glass. And I saw no temple there- in : for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple 23 of it. 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 24 thereof. And the na- tions of them which are saved, shall walk in the liiihtof i : arid Ch. xxi.9, Sec] 23 oipvf'ov. Ksci r, ZJoXis it ^fltscy tyzi ra »>3fj 'W (paivxariv h a^T^J TO CiCViJrJ, ra, i^rn c);« t5 l3xt7tXas rvs yyis y £- ^Hcrt T7IV oo^xv [kj ry,v rv us nea^xXKovi luTTo^cv- • op^vov ey. ra ^foy« 2 Ev iMiau rrts z:Xoi.- TTilxs uvrris y^ t5 ?3'pja/u.5 EvisDyEy y.ai IviivQsv, ^iiKoy ^uiYify VTOiav KXpTfUS ow- ^£/C^, X5;1it i^rivx APOCALYPSE, ^5 it. And its cat<»s shall not bo shut at all by day, (for there sliall be 26 no night there,) and they shall bring the glory and the honour of the nations into it ; C7 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing which dehleth, and which worketh abomination and de- ceit, but only they who are written in the book of Life of the Lamb. 1 And he shewed me a river of water of Life, clear as crystal, pro- ceeding out of the tlirone of God and of 2 the Lamb. hi the middle of the broad place thereof, and of the river, (which was on one side and on the other,) a tree of Life, bringing forth twelve fruits, yielding accord- ing to every month its fruit : and the letives of the tree for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse : and the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it : and his servants shall 4 serve him : And they shall sec his face, and his name aliall be on 485 the kings of the earth do l)ring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there shall be no night there. 26\And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, nei- ther whatsoerer work- et!i abominanon, or mulxlh a lie: but tliey which are written in the Lamb's book of 1 life. And he shewed me a pure river of wa- ter of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, 2 and of the Lamb, hi the midst of the street of it; and of either side of the river, tms there the tree of life, which bare twelve 'iiumncr of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of 3 the nations. And there shall be no more curse : but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it : and his ser- vants shall serve him. 4 And they shall see his 486 APOCALYPSE, [Pt. VIII. § h vioSv Toy xx^vov 'TTtlOiV Tft/y l&VMV. 3 Ka/ tsuv KstiotOst^ci tiK hoti in' i^ 0 ^pov©- tS 05 3 >^ Ta afw'« tv ayT^ «rvhich is the ordinary means of preventing man from ^eing estranged from his Maker. Here '- we know in " parif and prophesy in part /' that is, imperfectly : " but when that which is perfect is come, that which *' is in part shall be done away *." Chap. xxii. Ver, 1. Atid he shewed me a river of water of Life ; &c.] In a thirsty soil and hot climate, like that of Palestine, where most of the prophecies were delivered, water is a necessary means of fructification ; and the practice of irrigation is much used in agricul- ture. But, as water is to the soil, supplying health and vigour to its languid plants; so is the influence of God's Holy Spirit to the human soul, when sinking in its spiritual progress. Thus refreshed, the soul brings forth *' fruits unto holiness, and the end everlasting '* lifef." Water is therefore used, in Scripture, as the symbol of such supplies of Divine Grace J. The waters of the River of Life proceed from the throne of God, and of the Lamb § ; from the Fountain of all mercy : and the salutary streams support the tree of Life, which * 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10. — Many passages of the ancient prophets, some of which may have been typically or partially fulfilled, seem to belong to these times, and still to await their final completion. Isaiah iv. 3 6; XXV. G—9; Ix; Ixi. 10; Ixvi. 20— 2-i. Ezek. xl; xliii. 7; xlvii. 1—5 —12; xlviii. 20.35. t Horn. vi. 22. : Isaiah viii. 6; xxx. 25; xxxii. 20; xxxv. , 7; xH. 17; xlix.p; xliii. 20; Iv. 1 ; liv. 13^ Ivii. 11. Jer. ii. 13; xvii. 13. Ezek. xlvii. 2. Joel iii. 18, Zech. xiii. 1; xiv. 8. John iv. 13, 14; vii. 33. Sf). i See note, ch. iii. 1. is Ch. Xxi. 9, &C.] APOCALYPSE. 491 is to be seen in this Paradise 7'egained, a never-failing source of immortality. The fruit, continually renew- ing, supports the body to eternal life ; whilst the leaves (that no part may be unserviceable) are a balm or heal- ing application for the wounds of sin, to those of the nations who had lived in ignorance of the Divine laws, but now partake the benefits of Redemption. The remaining expressions describing this blissful state, will be found explained iinder note, ch. i. 16. ii. 10. iii. 22. Ver. 2.] Some MSS. says Dr. Jortin, '' instead of ^' fv7fu6ev nut evlev^ev, read fv?£u0fv ncci snsi^sv sed nil opus.'* And he quotes fvfifv nut fvfifv as used by Aristotle, Hero- dotus, Sophocles, and in Const. Apost. ; and observes ; '* Nothing is more common than ev^a ncci ev^a: and hinc " et hinc, in the Latin poets." And he remarks, that the very same expression is used by St. John, in his Gospel, chap. xix. 18*. * Discourses on the Christian Religion, p. 210. 2d edit. PART 492 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VIII. § 2. PART VIIL SECTION II. The Concluslojz, CHAP, xxii, VER. 6 — to the end. 6 Kxl fJTri fJLOi* Olrot ol AoyO< -TTifO* KXt o Geos ruv zjvsvij.cc- imkiiU rov afys- ysvia9xt Iv rayjri. tot-yl* f/,atxcc^t^ o S C\/a Tar«. Ka< Jyw 'Lvavvijy, e «.- rxZra,'-^ orz macoc. Tf^oaoiv run xjoouv yyoy.'or /y.3; rxZrcc. ;///) CvvoBAOi C« tlutf Kj Tuiv dbtX- (f)ijv an rZv TJ('0(^7)- Tfc'v THi- Aoyas TW ^.'oA<« TttT8* r;«. 6 And be said unto me, *' These words are wor- ** thy of belief and true. «< And the Lord God " of the prophets hath " sent his angel to " chew unto his ser- " vants things which " must come to pass 7 " in a short time. And '' behold, I come soon. *' Blessed is he who " keepeth the wprds of " the Prophecy of this 8 " book." And it was I John who heard and saw these things: and when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the Angel who shew- ed me these things. £) And he saith unto me, " See tJiou do it not : ** I am a fellow servant *' with thee, and with " thy brethren the pro- ** phets,and with those *' who keep the words *' of this book : wor- 6 And he said unto me; These sayings are faith- ful and true. And ^he Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his ser- vants the things which must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quick- ly : blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this 8 book. And I John saw these things, and heard the7rh And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship be-i fore the feet of the angel which shewed me 9 these things. Then saith he unto me ; See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow- servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book : worship lOGod. And he saith unto me ; Seal not the sayings of the prophc- Ch. Xxii. 6—^1.] APOCALYPSE. 493 20 Ka< Xlysi (/.ot* Mr) (T^p^ayiaris T«r ?.0' yas TYiS TspQip-nlslcxs tS ^iCXta Tarn' o nxi^os l.yvs li-iv' ll'O o-J/xiDv, a.'^iKV}' a-ocrw in' }y o pv- motfos fvitot^iv^hrui srt* 7y • ^ly.Xi'^, ^ix.xiocrvvv)v 'Vjoiinaa.- ru in' yCj o ay<^, 1 ^ayjao-S'/jrw ET/.'l^fc?, 'i^-Xpij^xt rxypy Kj 1^.?, XTTOOilVXl IKO,- S-w c!;f TO i^yoy «y- TO A '/^ TO n, af- ^^ xa» TiA.^', 0 zjpur^ y.xl 0 eV- 1 4< ;^a:r©-. MxKdi^ioi ToAaj' avTdy 'I'vx srxi yi s^aa-i'x av- Twv Itti to |yA5V r-^y ^w^y,- ;4X* ro7s 15 j<5 Tr,v zsoXiy, E^co Oi K-JVBSf Kj o'l (Dxp- fAXKOlj -/^ ol TJo'j'VO/, nxi 01 ^on7s, 'Axl ol tiJx\oXsir^xi, x«< tjx: [o] (p^/.o/y y^ 1 6 WOii^y -vl/fyS^. ^EyJ) ^Iri^as BTrey.-^oi Toy elfysKov ^H [A,xjih^7j- cai vijJv rxZru Itti ■TJUi luKXyia-txiS' ly-jj ii[Ai ri (iiCu x^ TO yzV^ Ax^io, * 10*' ship God/' And he saith unto me, " Thou *' may'st not seal the " words of the prophe- " cy of this book ; the 11" time is near. He that '* is unjust, let him be '* unjust still : and he *' that is defiledjlethim " be defiled still : and *' he that is righteous, " let him work righte- " ousness still : and he " that is holy, let him 12" be holy still. Behold, " I come soon: and " my reward is with " me, to requite every " one according as his 13" work shall be. I am " the Alpha and the " Omega, Beginning " and End, the First 14" and the Last. Blessed " are they who do his *' eommandments, that ** their power may be " over the tree of Life, " and that they may " enter by the gates 15" into the city. AVith- " out are dogs, and *' the sorcerers, and " the whoremongers, " and the murderers, *' and the idoUiters, and " everyone who loveth " and maketh deceit. 16" I Jesus have sent my " messenger to teslify '* td you the£e things cy of this book : for, the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righte- ous, let him be righte- ous still : and he that is holy, let him be holy 12 still. And behold, I come quickly : and my reward is with me, to give every man accord- ing as his work shall 13 be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first 14 and the last. Blessed are they that do liis commandments, that they may have rigi»t to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the 15city. For without, are dogs, and sorcerers, and \vhoremongers,and murderers, and idola- ters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a 1 6' lie. I Jesus have sent mine anGjel to testify unto you these things in the churches.' I am the root and the off- spring of David, and the bright and morn- 17ingstar. And the Spi- rit and the bride say, Come. And let him 494 APOCALYPSE. [Pt. VIII. § 2. 17 vj^u'ms* Kxi TO o axWA/y tiVaTft;' J 8 o&;^Eay. Moiplv^u lyS WiKvJ/ Tw dx-aovli riis Xeyar Tijf -crfo- (fii^tixs tS /Sb. 148. 250. 410 Day N. 57 Death, first and second, N. 60. 79- 152 Diocletian persecution .... N. 58 Dionysius, Alex D. 61. 71 • — , his objections to tbe Apocalypse. . , . D. IO9, ^c. Dionysius Geograph N. 487 Dodwell D. 17.240 Domitian D. 24 Donatists D. 77; N. 139 Dragon N. 515. 465 Eagle N. 224 East N. 181 Elders N. 99 Ephesus N. 41 Ephesians, Epistle to N. 42 Epiphanius . D. 8.82.84; N. 238 Ephrem D. 85 Erasmus xxii Esdras ii . . D. lOl Evidence, external , . . D. 26 — 8/ , Internal . . . D. 89— -127 Euphrates N. 256. 404 Eusebius, D. 26. 44. 78 ; N. 192. 194. 244. 248. 261. 469 Eyes N. 1£« F Faber N. IS Fabricius D. 100; N. 13 Fornication N. 72 Four, number N. 105 Froissart N. 210 Frogs N. 406 G Gagnaeus N. 252 Gallic Churches, Epistle of . D. 46 Gentiles N. 213 Gibbon . D. 76; N. 223.266.450 Gibson, Bp D. 108 Gnostics N. 47. 75. 236 Grabe . . . . D. 22 ; N. 100. 183 Gray D. 102; N. 470 Gregory of Nazianzum . . . D. 84 ; N. 11. 193 Neocaesarea . . . D. 7 1 ; N. 34 Nyssa D. 84, INDEX. Grlesbacli xxiii; N. 426 Grotius N. 172. 184.204 H Hail N. 210 Harvest and Vintage .... N. 385 Hegeslppus N. 237 Hell N. 35. 153 Hermas D. 35. 100. 313 Hesychius N. 28S Hippolitus D. 38. 62 Homer, D. 87; N. 36.61.144,145. 151. 182.215. 383. 451 Horace N. 104. 118 Horns N. 122. 349. 432 Horse N. 128. 143. 151 Hume N. 162 Hurd, Bp. . xi ; N. 220. 424. 437 I Ignatius, D. 28; N. 26,27.81.146. 212. 232. 349 Jerome, D. 45.83; N. 110. 187. 194 Jerusalem N. 287 the new, N. 89. 188. I90. 453. 482 Jezebel N. 71 Incense N. 124. 201 John the Apostle, D. 8, 9. 18. 28; N. 6 — - banished to Patmos, D. 112; N. 24 why called the Divine . D. 128 an eye witness, D. 130 ; N. 27 his first Epistle .... D. 1 1 1 John the Presbyter D. 40 Jones, Sir Wrn., N. 277. 368. 405. Jortin, D. 118; N. 122. I94. 346. 368. 491 Josephus . . N. 113. 118. 181. 472 Irenaeus, D. 17. 27. 38 ; N. 61 . 1 10. 237. 350. 353. 426. 469 Israelite, the true .... N, 56. 185 Judaea personified N. 313 Judgment, general N. 474 of Babylon . . . N. 440 Jurieu N. I6I Justin Martyr ... D. 44; N. 212 K Kett N. 358. 470 Keys N. 34 Kings N. 429. 443 Koran, D. 99; N. 352.361.365, 366 L Lactantius D. 77; N. 194. Lamb N. 121. 376 Land N. 211. 399 Lampe D. 24 Lampbearers N. 25 Laodicaea D. 48. N. 9I , council of D. 85 Lardner,D. 11. 28, 29- 30. 39- 108 ; N. 64. 67. 77 UEnfant N. 10 Le Clerc N. 240 Less, his objections to the Apoca- lypse D. 135 Lightfoot N, 107 Living Creatures .;.... N. I06 Life, tree of N. 53 , book of N. 84 Livy N. 43 1 Lion N. 1 1 9 Locusts N. 230 Lowman . N. 112. 408. 447- 470 Lowth, Bp., N. 32.35. 93. I96. 356, 383. 464. M Macknight xxil Macrobius N. 163 Maimonides N. 80 INDEX. Manna N. 66 Marclon D. 56 Marsh . ix. xxv ; D. I9. 49- 35. 71 Mede, Joseph, N. 112. 159. 187. 191. 195. 220. 240. 268. 326. 343. 367. 439 Melito D.49; N. 315 Methodius . D. 38. 11', N. 132. 315 Manicheans D. 77 ; N. 242 Mahomet, D. 98; N. 34. 147. 249- 264. 364 Mahometans, N. 266.273.357. 36l Mahometism compared with Chris- tianity N. 360. 369 — with Popery . . N. 371 . — with Socinianism, N. 369 Michadis, ix ; D. 1. 13. 39- 69. IZ, 91. 125. 162; N. 267 >■■ ■ ' , his rales for trying the au- thenticity of the S. S. . . . D, 131 Mill D. 13 Milton N. 51.61.114. Millennium . . D. 42. 95 ; N. 467 Mosheim, D. 48 ; N. 192. 195.223. 240. 481 Montfaucon N. 26 Month, Eastern N. 289 Months, forty-two N. 339 Mystery N.37. 419 N Xares, Archdeacon N. 173 Neighburgh N. 149- 405 Nero D. 9 Newcome, Archbishop, N. 111. 132. 23Q. 317 Xewton, Sir L, ix. xl ; D. 67. 103 ; N. 157. 163. 197. 263. "ibl, 424 Newton, Bp.,N. 194.250. 387. 447. 451. 470 Ncuser N. o^^ Nicolaitans D. 77 ' Novatians D. 77 Number seven N. 10 four . . . N. 105. 154.209 O Ockley N. 265. 270. 365 Origen, D. 64 ; N. 124. 126. 149. 243 Ovid N. 68 P Paley D. 12 ; N. 42.280 Paolo Padre N. 12 Papias D. 38. 40 Papal usurpation N. 358 Pausanias N. 421 Pearson, Bp N. 240 Pergamos N. 12 Persius N. 68 Philadelphia N. 86 Pliilo N. 11. 106. 115 Pinkerton N. 31 6. 462 Plato . N. 106. \'i^ Pliny the Elder, N. 41. 55. 64.91* 215. 419. 487 the Younger N. 126 Plotinus N. 241.244 Pocock N. 369 Polycarp . . D. 17. Z^\ N. 55.238 Polybius N. 102 Porphyry N. 244 Pothinus D. 43 Pretyman, Bp N. 42 Prideaux N. 255, 256. 365 Priscillianists N. 242 Proclamation of the first angel, N. 379 of the second — N. 3 80 of the third — N.581 of the fourth — N. 384 Prophecy, when obscure, D. 103. 103 Prudentius N. 61 Pythagoras N. 13. 106 INDEX. R Randolph, Bp N. 217 Reed or Rod N. 286 Reformation, the, N. 299- 302. 379- 452 Reland .... Ricaut Rome Roman Empire . . . N. 26. 365 . . N. 187. 367 X. 324. 421.434 N. 333.336. 427 Saracens . . N. 250. 264. 270, 271 Sardis N. 79 Satan N. 229- 324. 470 Scaliger, J N. 13 Sea N. 104.211. 392 Seal N. 182 Seal the first N. 127 second N. 135 third N. 142 fom-th N. 151 fifth N. 164 sixth N. 169.411 seventh N. I99 Scorpions N. 231 Seeker, Archbishop . . . , N. 330 Seven, mystical number . . . N. 10 lamps N. 17. 104 spirits N. 16 stars N. 29. 76 thunders N. 279 seals N. 127 trumpets N. 206 Shakespeare N. 152. 231 Smyrna N. 55 Socrates, Ecclea. . N. 237. 244. 270 Sozomen N. 244. 270 Spanheim N. 8. I95. 367 Spirits, seven N. I6 Stars ..... N.29. 76. 215. 497 Strabo, N. 41. 55, 79- 86. 270. 46l Stolburgh N. 26 Subscriptions to the sacred Epistles, D. 12 ; N. 4. Sun N. 32. 399 Suetonius N. I6I Synchronisms N. 342 Syriac Churches D. 85 Version D. 34 Sword N. 31. 64 T Tacitus N. 161.431. 433 Tartars N. 271 Tertullian, D. 51 ; N. 45. 6I. 81. 132. 139. 188.218 Te Deum, the hymn . N. 114, 126 Theocritus N. 136.261 Theophilus D. 50; N. 315 Thuanus N. 230. 381 Thunders N. 127. 279 Thyatira N. 71 Trumpet N. 206 Trumpets, four first . . . . N. 206 fifth . . . . N. 226. 253 sixth . . N. 254.258.27^ seventh N. 305 and Vials comi)ared, N. 398 Turks N. 44.269.271 Varro N. 13 Vespasian N. I6I Vials, the seven ... . N. 394. 39S Vial the first N. 401 second N. 402 third N. 402 fourth N. 403 fifth N. 403 sixth N. 404 seventh . . . . N. 410. 412 Victorinus D. 77, 110 Viega N. 161 Virgil, N. 145. 155. 215. 2GI 80. 192. 208. INDEX. Vision of the Son of Man . . N. 21 — — — of Divine Glory in Heaven, K. 95 — — of the Lamb on Mount Sion, N. 375 — — of Harvest and Vintage, N. 385 . preceding the Vials . , N. 389 . of the great Harlot . . N. 414 of the great Battle N. 459 Vitringa D. 10; N.434 W WTiitaker N. 358 Whitby N. 80. 470 White, Professor N. 265 White stone N. 67 colour . . . N. S3. 103. 131 Wilderness N. 318 Winds N. 1 80 Wintle N. 330. 353.449 Witnesses N. 290 Woe the first N. 226 the second N. 303 the third . . N. 303. 409. 448 Xenophon N. 75. 83. 420 Xerxes N. 41 Young, Arthur . N. 210 Yoke N. 141 Zeal N. 92 ERRATA. In the Dissertation, page 80. for nor it -was it, read 7ior was it. In the Apocalyse and Notes, page 3. for amfivusuvf read ava.Gi»wo-xw>. 1 59 . for delieneatedy read delineated. ■ ' 266. for IshmaeVmriy read Islamisyn, — • 440. for o^nH, read o^nu. Printed by J. Brktiell, Marsiiall Street, Golden Stiuare. Date Due ?h^TpocCseorRevelat.onofSaint Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Ubrary_ 1 1012 00071 8439