,the ,expositor's ,bible ,edited by ,w4 ,robertson ,nicoll1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,illustration ,,the ,,expositors' ,,bible ,edited by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,printed from original plates ,complete in every detail4 ,uniform with this volume ,price #ej cents per volume4 7,if by mail add #aj cents postage7 ,,old ,,testament ,,volumes ,,genesis4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,marcus ,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh4 ,,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,,numbers4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,deuteronomy4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,andrew ,harper1 ,b4,d4 ,,joshua4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,judges ,,and ,,ruth4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,first ,,samuel4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,second ,,samuel4 ,by same author4 ,,first ,,kings4 ,by ,f4 ,w4 ,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,,second ,,kings4 ,by same author4 ,,first ,,and ,,second ,,chronicles4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,bennett4 ,,ezra1 ,,nehemiah1 and ,,esther4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,adeney4 ,,job4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,psalms4 ,in #c vols4 ,vol4 ,i41 ,chapters ,i4-,,xxxviii42 ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,chapters ,,xxxix4-,,lxxxix2 ,vol4 ,,iii41 ,chapters ,,xc-,,cl4 ,by ,rev4 ,alexander ,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,horton1 ,d4,d4 ,,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,samuel ,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,,song ,,of ,,solomon and ,,lamentations4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,adeney4 ,,isaiah4 ,in #b vols4 ,vol4 ,i41 ,chapters ,i4-,,xxxix42 ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,chapters ,,xl-,,lxvi4 ,by ,prof4 ,george ,adam ,smith1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,jeremiah4 ,chapters ,i4-,,xx4 ,with a ,sketch of his ,life and ,times4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,ball4 ,,jeremiah4 ,chapters ,,xxi4-,,lii4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,bennett4 ,,ezekiel4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,john ,skinner4 ,,daniel4 ,by ,f4 ,w4 ,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,,the ,,twelve 7,minor7 ,,prophets4 ,in #b vols4 ,by ,rev4 ,george ,adam ,smith1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,new ,,testament ,,volumes ,,st4 ,,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,monro ,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,,st4 ,,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh4 ,,st4 ,,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,henry ,burton4 ,,gospel ,,of ,,st4 ,,john4 ,in #b vols4 ,vol4 ,i41 ,chapters ,i4-,,xi42 ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,chapters ,,xii-,,xxi4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,marcus ,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,the ,,apostles4 ,in #b vols4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,,romans4 ,by ,rev4 ,handley ,c4 ,g4 ,moule1 ,d4,d4 ,,first ,,corinthians4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,marcus ,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,corinthians4 ,by ,rev4 ,james ,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,,galatians4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,findlay1 ,d4,d4 ,,ephesians4 ,by same author4 ,,philippians4 ,by ,rev4 ,principal ,robert ,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,,colossians and ,,philemon4 ,by ,rev4 ,alexander ,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,,thessalonians4 ,by ,rev4 ,james ,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,,pastoral ,,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,,hebrews4 ,by ,rev4 ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,st4 ,,james and ,,st4 ,,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,,st4 ,,peter4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,rawson ,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,epistles ,,of ,,st4 ,,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,alexander1 ,lord ,bishop of ,derry4 ,,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,milligan1 ,d4,d4 ,,index ,,volume ,,to ,,entire ,,series4 ,new ,york3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 ,publishers ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,revelation ,,by ,,william ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 ,,professor ,,of ,,divinity ,,and ,,biblical ,,criticism ,,in ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,aberdeen4 ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,resurrection ,,of ,,our ,,lord1 ,,etc4 ,,hodder ,,stoughton ,,new ,,york ,,george ,h4 ,,doran ,,company ,,prefatory ,,note4 ,in ordinary circumstances one who undertakes to comment upon a book of the ,new ,testament may be justly expected to make every effort to explain each successive clause and each difficult expression of the book on which he writes4 ,my aim in the following ,commentary is rather to catch the general import and object of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john considered as a whole4 ,the latter purpose indeed cannot be attained unless the commentator has himself paid faithful attention to the former2 but it is not necessary that the results of these inquiries should in every case be presented to the ,english reader4 ,to him this book is for the most part a perplexity and enigma1 and he would only be embarrassed by a multitude of details4 ,it seemed well1 therefore1 to treat the book in its sections and paragraphs rather than verse by verse2 and this is the course pursued in the following pages4 ,the translation used is for the most part that of the ,revised ,version4 ,an examination of the words and clauses of the book1 conducted upon a plan different from that here adopted1 and much more minute in its character1 will be found in the ,author's ,commentary on the ,apocalypse1 in the ,commentary upon the books of the ,new ,testament edited by ,professor ,schaff and published by ,messrs4 ,clark1 ,edinburgh4 ,the principles upon which the ,author has proceeded have been fully discussed in his ,baird ,lectures4 ,,the ,,university1 ,,aberdeen1 ,may #ahhi4 ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,page ,,the ,,prologue #a ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,church ,,on ,,the ,,field ,,of ,,history #ba ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,anticipations ,,of ,,the ,,church',s ,,victory #fe ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,sealed ,,roll ,,opened #hf ,,chapter ,v4 ,,consolatory ,,visions4 ,,the ,,sealing ,,and ,,the ,,palm-,,bearing ,,multitude #aaa ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,first ,,six ,,trumpets #acb ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,renewed ,,consolatory ,,vision4 ,,the ,,little ,,book #aeg ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,a ,,second ,,consolatory ,,vision4 ,,the ,,measuring ,,of ,,the ,,temple ,,and ,,the ,,two ,,witnesses4 ,,the ,,seventh ,,trumpet #afh ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,first ,,great ,,enemy ,,of ,,the ,,church #aif ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,second ,,and ,,third ,,great ,,enemies ,,of ,,the ,,church #bag ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,renewed ,,consolatory ,,visions4 ,,the ,,lamb ,,on ,,the ,,mount ,,zion ,,and ,,the ,,harvest ,,and ,,vintage ,,of ,,the ,,world #bch ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,seven ,,bowls #bei ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,beast ,,and ,,babylon #bgg ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,babylon #cjc ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,pause ,,of ,,victory ,,and ,,judgment ,,of ,,the ,,beast ,,and ,,the ,,false ,,prophet #caf ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,judgment ,,of ,,satan ,,and ,,of ,,the ,,wicked #cce ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,new ,,jerusalem #cfj ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,epilogue #cge ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,prologue4 ,,rev4 i4 ,the ,revelation of ,jesus ,christ1 which ,god gave ,him to show unto ,his servants1 even the things which must shortly come to pass3 and ,he sent and signified it through ,his angel unto ,his servant ,john2 who bare witness of the word of ,god1 and of the testimony of ,jesus ,christ1 even of all things that he saw4 ,blessed is he that readeth1 and they that hear the words of the prophecy1 and keep the things which are written therein3 for the season is at hand 7i4 #a-c74 ,the first chapter of ,revelation introduces us to the whole book1 and supplies in great measure the key by which we are to interpret it4 ,the book is not intended to be a mystery in the sense in which we commonly understand that word4 ,it deals indeed with the future1 the details of which must always be dark to us2 and it does this by means of figures and symbols and modes of speech far removed from the ordinary simplicity of language which marks the ,new ,testament writers4 ,but it is not on that account designed to be unintelligible4 ,the figures and symbols employed in it are used with perfect regularity2 its peculiar modes of speech are supposed to be at least not unfamiliar to the reader2 and it is taken for granted that he understands them4 ,the writer obviously expects that his meaning1 so far from being obscured by his style1 will be thereby illustrated1 enforced1 and brought home to the mind1 with greater than ordinary power4 ,the word ,revelation by which he describes to us the general character of his work is of itself sufficient to show this4 ,revelation means the uncovering of that which has hitherto been covered1 the drawing back of a veil which has hung over a person or thing1 the laying bare what has been hitherto concealed2 and the book before us is a revelation instead of a mystery4 ,again1 the book is a revelation of ,jesus ,christ2 not so much a revelation of what ,jesus ,christ ,himself is1 as one of which ,he is the ,author and ,source4 ,he is the ,head of ,his ,church1 reigning supreme in ,his heavenly abode4 ,he is the ,eternal ,son1 the ,word without whom was not anything made that was made1 and who executes all the purposes of the ,father1 the same yesterday1 and to-day1 and forever4#a ,he is at the same time ,head over all things to the ,church4#b ,he regulates her fortunes4 ,he controls in her behalf the events of history4 ,he fills the cup which ,he puts into her hand with prosperity or adversity1 with joy or sorrow1 with victory or defeat4 ,who else can impart a revelation so true1 so weighty1 and so precious8 ,yet again1 the revelation to be now given by ,jesus ,christ is one which ,god gave ,him1 the revelation of the eternal and unchangeable plan of ,one who turneth the hearts of kings as the rivers of water1 who saith and it is done1 who commandeth and it stands fast4 ,finally1 the revelation relates to things that must shortly come to pass1 and thus has all the interest of the present1 and not merely of a far-distant future4 ,such is the general character of that revelation which ,jesus ,christ sent and signified through ,his angel unto ,his servant ,john4 ,and that ,apostle faithfully recorded it for the instruction and comfort of the ,church4 ,like his ,divine ,master1 with whom throughout all this book believers are so closely identified1 and who is ,himself the ,amen1 the faithful and true witness1#c the disciple whom ,he loved stands forth to bear witness of the word of ,god thus given him1 of the testimony of ,jesus thus signified to him1 even of all things that he saw4 ,he places himself in thought at the end of the visions he had witnessed1 and re-traces for others the elevating pictures which had filled1 as he beheld them1 his own soul with rapture4 ,therefore may he now1 ere yet he enters upon his task1 pronounce a blessing upon those who shall pay due heed to what he is to say4 ,does he think of the person by whom the apostolic writings were read aloud in the midst of the ,christian congregation8 then1 ,blessed is he that readeth4 ,does he think of those who listen8 then1 ,blessed are they that hear the words of the prophecy4 ,or1 lastly1 does he think not merely of reading and hearing1 but of that laying up in the heart to which these were only preparatory8 then1 ,blessed are they that keep the things which are written therein1 for the season1 the short season in which everything shall be accomplished1 is at hand4 ,the ,introduction to the book is over2 and it may be well to mark for a moment that tendency to divide his matter into three parts which peculiarly distinguishes ,st4 ,john1 and to which1 as supplying an important rule of interpretation1 we shall often have occasion to refer4 ,there are obviously three parts in the ,introduction1--the ,source1 the ,contents1 and the ,importance of the revelation3 and each of these is again divided into three4 ,three persons are mentioned when the ,source is spoken of1--,god1 ,jesus ,christ1 and the servants of ,jesus2 three when the ,contents are referred to1--the ,word of ,god1 the ,testimony of ,jesus1 and ,all things that he saw2 and three when the ,importance of the book is described1--,he that readeth1 ,they that hear1 and ,they that keep the things written therein4 ,john to the seven churches which are in ,asia3 ,grace to you1 and peace1 from ,him which is1 and which was1 and which is to come2 and from the seven ,spirits which are before ,his throne2 and from ,jesus ,christ1 who is the faithful witness1 the firstborn of the dead1 and the ruler of the kings of the earth4 ,unto ,him that loveth us1 and loosed us from our sins in ,his blood2 and ,he made us to be a kingdom1 to be priests unto ,his ,god and ,father2 to ,him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever4 ,amen4 ,behold1 ,he cometh with the clouds2 and every eye shall see ,him1 and they which pierced ,him2 and all the tribes of the earth shall wail over ,him4 ,even so1 ,amen4 ,i am the ,alpha and the ,omega1 saith the ,lord1 ,god1 which is and which was and which is to come1 the ,almighty 7i4 #d-h74 ,from the ,introduction we pass to the ,salutation1 extending from ver4 #d to ver4 #h4 ,adopting a method different from that of the fourth ,gospel1 which is also the production of his pen1 the writer of ,revelation names himself4 ,the difference is easily explained4 ,the fourth ,gospel is original not only in its contents but its form4 ,the ,apocalypse is moulded after the fashion of the ancient prophets1 and of the numerous apocalyptic authors of the time2 and it was the practice of both these classes of writers to place their names at the head of what they wrote4 ,the fourth ,gospel was also intended to set forth in a purely objective manner the glory of the ,eternal ,word made flesh1 and that too in such a way that the glory exhibited in ,him should authenticate itself1 independently of human testimony4 ,the ,apocalypse needed a voucher from one known and trusted4 ,it came through the mind of a man1 and we naturally ask1 ,who is the man through whom it came8 ,the enquiry is satisfied1 and we are told that it comes from ,john4 ,in telling us this ,st4 ,john speaks with the authority which belongs to him4 ,by-and-by we shall see him in another light1 occupying a position similar to ours1 and standing on the same level with us in the covenant of grace4 ,but at this moment he is the ,apostle1 the ,evangelist1 the ,minister of ,god1 a consecrated priest in the ,christian community who is about to pronounce a priestly blessing on the ,church4 ,let the ,church bow her head and reverently receive it4 ,the ,salutation is addressed to the seven churches which are in ,asia4 ,on this point it is enough to say that by the ,asia spoken of we are to understand neither the continent of that name1 nor its great western division ,asia ,minor1 but only a single district of the latter1 of which ,ephesus1 where ,st4 ,john spent the later years of his life and ministry1 was the capital4 ,there the aged ,apostle tended all those portions of the flock of ,christ that he could reach1 and all the churches of the neighbourhood were his peculiar care4 ,we know that these were in number more than seven4 ,we know that to no church could the ,apostle be indifferent4 ,the conclusion is irresistible1 that here1 as so often in this book as well as in other parts of ,scripture1 the number seven is not to be literally understood4 ,seven churches are selected1 the condition of which appeared most suitable to the purpose which the ,apostle has in view2 and these seven represent the ,church of ,christ in every country of the world1 down to the very end of time4 ,the universal ,church spreads itself out beneath his gaze2 and before he instructs he blesses it4 ,the blessing is1 ,grace to you1 and peace2 grace first1 the ,divine grace1 in its enlightening1 quickening1 and beautifying power2 and then peace1 peace with ,god and man1 peace that in the deep recesses of the heart remains undisturbed by outward trouble1 the peace of which it is said by ,him who is the ,prince of peace1 ,peace ,i leave with you2 ,my peace ,i give unto you3 not as the world giveth give ,i unto you4 ,let not your heart be troubled1 neither let it be fearful4#d ,the source of the blessing is next indicated1--the ,triune ,god1 the three ,persons of the glorious ,trinity1 the ,father1 the ,holy ,spirit1 and the ,son4 ,probably we should have thought of a different order2 but the truth is that it is the ,son1 as the manifestation of the ,godhead1 who is mainly in the ,apostle's mind4 ,hence the peculiarity of the first designation1 ,him which is1 and which was1 and which is to come1 a designation specially applicable to our ,lord4 ,hence also the peculiarity of the second designation1 ,the seven ,spirits which are before ,his throne2 not so much the ,spirit viewed in ,his individual personality1 in the eternal relations of the ,divine existence1 as that ,spirit in the manifoldness of ,his operation in the ,church1 the ,spirit of the glorified ,redeemer1--not one therefore1 but seven4 ,hence1 again1 the peculiar designation of ,christ1 ,jesus ,christ1 who is the faithful witness1 the firstborn of the dead1 and the ruler of the kings of the earth2 not so much the ,son in ,his metaphysical relation to the ,godhead1 as in attributes connected with ,his redemptive work4 ,and hence1 finally1 the fact that when these three ,persons have been named1 the ,seer fills up the remaining verses of his ,salutation with thoughts1 not of the ,trinity1 but of ,him who has already redeemed us1 and who will in due time come to perfect our salvation4 ,now1 therefore1 the ,church1 reflecting upon all that has been done1 is done1 and shall be done for her1 is able to raise the song of triumphant thanksgiving1 ,unto ,him that loveth us1 and loosed us from our sins in ,his blood1 and ,he made us to be a kingdom1 to be priests unto ,his ,god and ,father2 to ,him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever4 ,amen4 ,in these words the possession of complete redemption is implied4 ,the true reading of the original is not that of our ,authorised ,version1 ,unto ,him that washed1 but ,unto ,him that loosed us from our sins4 ,we have received not merely the pardon of sin1 but deliverance from its power4 ,our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler2 the snare is broken1 and we are escaped4#e ,the chains in which ,satan held us captive have been snapped asunder and we are free4 ,again1 this loosing has taken place in rather than by the blood of ,christ1 for the blood of ,christ is living blood1 and in that life of ,his we are enfolded and enwrapped1 so that it is not we that live1 but ,christ that liveth in us4 ,once more they who are thus spoken of are a kingdom1 priests unto ,his ,god and ,father1 the former being the lower stage1 the latter the higher4 ,the word kingdom has reference1 less to the splendour of royalty than to victory over foes4 ,christians reign in conquering their spiritual enemies2 and then1 in possession of the victory that overcometh the world1 they enter into the innermost sanctuary of the ,most ,high and dwell in the secret of ,his ,tabernacle4 ,there their great ,high ,priest is one with ,his ,god and ,father1 and there they also dwell with ,his ,father and their ,father1 with ,his ,god and their ,god4 ,the statement of these verses1 however1 reveals not only what the ,christian ,church is to which the ,apocalypse is addressed2 it reveals also what the ,lord is from whom the revelation comes4 ,he is indeed the ,saviour who died for us1 the witness faithful unto death3 but ,he is also the ,saviour who rose again1 who is the firstborn of the dead1 and who has ascended to the right hand of ,god1 where ,he lives and reigns in glory everlasting4 ,it is the glorified ,redeemer from whom the book of ,his revelation comes2 and ,he has all power committed to ,him both in heaven and on earth4 ,more particularly1 ,he is the ruler of the kings of the earth4 ,this is not a description of such honour as might be given by a crowd of loyal nobles to a beloved prince4 ,it rather gives expression to a power by which the kings of the earth1 the potentates of a sinful world1 are subdued and crushed4 ,lastly1 the ,salutation includes the thought that ,he who is now hidden in heaven from our view1 will yet appear in the glory that belongs to ,him4 ,he is the ,lord who is to come2 or1 as it is expanded in the words immediately following the doxology1 ,behold1 ,he cometh with the clouds2 and every eye shall see ,him1 and they which pierced ,him2 and all the tribes of the earth shall wail over ,him4 ,even so1 ,amen4 ,it is of importance to ask what the glory is in which the glorified ,lord is thus spoken of as coming4 ,is it that of one who shall be the object of admiration to every eye1 and who1 by the revelation of ,himself1 shall win all who behold ,him to godly penitence and faith8 ,the context forbids such an interpretation4 ,the tribes of the earth are like its kings in ver4 #e1 the tribes of an ungodly world1 and the wailing is that of chap4 xviii4 #i1 where the same word is used1 and where the kings of the earth weep and wail over the fall of guilty ,babylon1 which they behold burning before their eyes4 ,the tones of that judgment which is to re-echo throughout the book are already heard3 ,give the king ,thy judgments1 ,o ,god1 and ,thy righteousness unto the king's ,son4 ,he shall judge the people with righteousness1 and ,thy poor with judgment2 ,verily there is a reward for the righteous3 verily1 ,he is a ,god that judgeth in the earth4#f ,and now the glorified ,redeemer ,himself declares what ,he is3 ,i am the ,alpha and the ,omega1 saith the ,lord1 ,god1 which is and which was and which is to come1 the ,almighty4 ,it will be observed that after the word ,lord we have interposed a comma not found in either the ,authorised or the ,revised ,version4#g ,on various other occasions we shall have to do the same1 and the call to do so arises partly from the connexion of the thought1 partly from ,st4 ,john's love of that tripartite division of an idea which has been already spoken of4 ,the former does not lead us to the ,father2 it leads us1 on the contrary1 to the ,son4 ,he it is ,who has been described immediately before1 and with ,him the description which follows is to be occupied4 ,no doubt the thought of ,god1 of the ,father1 lies immediately behind the words4 ,no doubt also the ,son can do nothing of ,himself1 but what ,he seeth the ,father doing2 yet what things soever ,he doeth1 these the ,son also doeth in like manner4#h ,by the ,son the ,father acts4 ,in the ,son the ,father speaks4 ,the ,son is the manifestation of the ,father4 ,the same ,divine attributes1 therefore1 which are to be seen in the ,father1 are to be seen in the ,son4 ,let us hear ,him as ,he seals ,his intimations of coming judgment with the assurance that ,he is ,god1 who has come who is and who is to come1 the ,almighty4 ,i ,john1 your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in ,jesus1 was in the isle that is called ,patmos1 for the word of ,god and the testimony of ,jesus4 ,i was in the ,spirit on the ,lord's day1 and ,i heard behind me a great voice1 as of a trumpet1 saying1 ,what thou seest1 write in a book1 and send it to the seven churches2 unto ,ephesus1 and unto ,smyrna1 and unto ,pergamum1 and unto ,thyatira1 and unto ,sardis1 and unto ,philadelphia1 and unto ,laodicea4 ,and ,i turned to see the voice which spake with me4 ,and having turned1 ,i saw seven golden candlesticks2 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a ,son of man1 clothed with a garment down to the foot1 and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle4 ,and ,his head and ,his hair were white as white wool1 white as snow2 and ,his eyes were as a flame of fire2 and ,his feet like unto burnished brass1 as if it had been refined in a furnace2 and ,his voice as the voice of many waters4 ,and ,he had in ,his right hand seven stars3 and out of ,his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword3 and ,his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength4 ,and when ,i saw ,him1 ,i fell at ,his feet as one dead4 ,and ,he laid ,his right hand upon me1 saying1 ,fear not2 ,i am the first and the last1 and the living ,one2 ,and ,i became dead1 and behold1 ,i am alive for evermore1 and ,i have the keys of death and of ,hades4 ,write therefore the things which thou sawest1 and the things which are1 and the things which shall come to pass hereafter2 the mystery of the stars which thou sawest upon ,my right hand1 and the seven golden candlesticks4 ,the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches2 and the seven candlesticks are seven churches 7i4 #i-bj74 ,after the ,introduction and ,salutation1 the visions of the book begin1 the first being the key to all that follow4 ,the circumstances amidst which it was given are described1 not merely to satisfy curiosity1 or to afford information1 but to establish such a connexion between ,st4 ,john and his readers as shall authenticate and vivify its lessons4 ,i ,john1 he begins1 your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in ,jesus1 was in the isle that is called ,patmos1 for the word of ,god and the testimony of ,jesus4 ,it is no longer only the ,apostle1 the authoritative messenger of ,god1 who speaks2 it is one who occupies the same ground as other members of the ,church1 and is bound to them by the strong deep tie of common sorrow4 ,the aged and honoured ,evangelist1 the disciple whom ,jesus loved1 is one with them1 bears the same burden1 drinks the same cup1 and has no higher consolation than they may have4 ,he is their brother1 a brother in adversity1 for he is a partaker with them of the tribulation that is in ,jesus4 ,the reference is to outward suffering and persecution2 for the words of the ,master were now literally fulfilled3 ,a servant is not greater than his lord4 ,if they persecuted ,me they will also persecute you2 ,yea1 the hour cometh1 that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto ,god4#i ,the scorn1 the hatred1 the persecution of the world6 for such as were exposed to these things was the ,apocalypse written1 by such was it understood2 and if1 in later times1 it has often failed to make its due impression on the minds of men1 it is because it is not intended for those who are at ease in ,zion4 ,the more ,christians are compelled to feel that the world hates them1 and that they cannot be its friends1 the greater to them will be the power and beauty of this book4 ,its revelations1 like the stars of the sky1 shine most brightly in the cold1 dark night4 ,tribulation is the chief thing spoken of1 but the ,apostle1 with his love of groups of three1 accompanies it with other two marks of the ,christian's condition in the world1--the kingdom and patience that are in ,jesus4 ,st4 ,john therefore was in tribulation4 ,he had been driven from ,ephesus1 we know not why1 and had been banished to ,patmos1 a small rocky island of the 8ean ,sea4 ,he had been banished for his faith1 for his adherence to the word of ,god and the testimony of ,jesus1 the former expression leading our thoughts to the revelation of the ,old ,testament1 the latter to that of the ,new2 the former to those prophets1 culminating in the ,baptist1 of whom the same ,apostle who now writes tells us in the beginning of his ,gospel1 that they came for witness1 that they might bear witness of the light2#aj the latter to the true light1 even the light which lighteth every man coming into the world4#aa ,driven from the society of his friends and children1 we cannot doubt that ,st4 ,john would be drawn even more closely than was his wont to the bosom of his ,lord2 would feel that he was still protected by ,his care2 would remember the words uttered by ,him in the most sublime and touching moment of ,his life1 ,and ,i am no more in the world1 and these are in the world1 and ,i come to ,thee4 ,holy ,father1 keep them in ,thy name which ,thou hast given ,me2#ab and would share the blessed experience of knowing that1 on every spot of earth however remote1 and amidst all trials however heavy1 he was in the hands of ,one who stills the tumults of the people as well as the waves of the sea beating upon the rock-bound coast of ,patmos4 ,animated by feelings such as these1 the ,apostle knew that1 whatever appearances to the contrary might present themselves1 the time now passing over his head was the time of the ,lord's rule1 and not of man's4 ,no thought could be more inspiring1 and it was the preparation in his soul for the scene which followed4 ,i was in the ,spirit on the ,lord's day1 and ,i heard behind me a great voice1 as of a trumpet1 saying1 ,what thou seest1 write in a book1 and send it to the seven churches2 unto ,ephesus1 and unto ,smyrna1 and unto ,pergamum1 and unto ,thyatira1 and unto ,sardis1 and unto ,philadelphia1 and unto ,laodicea4 ,the ,lord's day here referred to may have been the ,sunday1 the first day of the ,christian week1 the day commemorative of that morning when ,he who had been crucified through weakness1 yet lived through the power of ,god4#ac ,if so1 there was a peculiar fitness in that vision1 now to be granted1 of the risen and glorified ,redeemer4 ,but it seems doubtful if this is the true interpretation4 ,proof is wanting that the first day of the week had yet received the name of ,the ,lord's ,day1 and it is more in accordance with the prophetic tone of the book before us1 to think that by ,st4 ,john the whole of that brief season which was to pass before the ,church should follow her ,lord to glory was regarded as ,the ,lord's ,day4 ,whichever interpretation we adopt1 the fact remains that1 meditating in his lonely isle upon the glory of his ,lord in heaven and the contrasted fortunes of ,his ,church on earth1 ,st4 ,john passed into a state of spiritual ecstasy4 ,like ,st4 ,paul1 he was caught up into the third heavens2 but1 unlike him1 he was permitted1 and even commanded1 to record what he heard and saw4#ad ,and ,i heard behind me1 he says1 a great voice as of a trumpet1 saying1 ,what thou seest1 write in a book1 and send it to the seven churches2 unto ,ephesus1 and unto ,smyrna1 and unto ,pergamum1 and unto ,thyatira1 and unto ,sardis1 and unto ,philadelphia1 and unto ,laodicea4 ,we need not dwell now upon these churches4 ,we shall meet them again4 ,they are the seven churches which are in ,asia already spoken of in ver4 #d2 and they are to be viewed as representative of the whole ,christian ,church in all countries of the world1 and throughout all time4 ,in their condition they represented to ,st4 ,john what that ,church is1 in her ,divine origin and human frailty1 in her graces and defects1 in her zeal and lukewarmness1 in her joys and sorrows1 in the guardianship of her ,lord1 and in her final victory after many struggles4 ,not to ,christians in these cities alone is the ,apocalypse spoken1 but to all ,christians in all their circumstances3 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear4 ,the ,apostle heard4 ,and ,i turned to see the voice which spake with me4 ,and having turned ,i saw seven golden candlesticks2 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a ,son of man4 ,it was a splendid vision which was thus presented to his eyes4 ,the golden candlestick1 first of the ,tabernacle and then of the ,temple1 was one of the gorgeous articles of furniture in ,god's holy house4 ,it was wrought1 with its seven branches1 after the fashion of an almond tree1 the earliest tree of spring to hasten 7whence also it was named7 into blossom2 and1 as we learn from the elaborateness and beauty of the workmanship1 from the symbolical numbers largely resorted to in its construction1 and from the analogy of all the furniture of the ,tabernacle1 it represented ,israel when that people1 having offered themselves at the altar1 and having been cleansed in the laver of the court1 entered as a nation of priests into the special dwelling-place of their heavenly ,king4 ,here1 therefore1 the seven golden candlesticks1 or as in ver4 #d the one in seven1 represent the ,church1 as she burns in the secret place of the ,most ,high4 ,but we are not invited to dwell upon the ,church4 ,something greater attracts the eye1--,he who is like unto a ,son of man4 ,the expression of the original is remarkable4 ,it occurs only once in any of the other books of the ,new ,testament1 in ,john v4 #bg1 although there1 both in the ,authorised and ,revised versions1 it is unhappily translated the ,son of man4 ,it is the humanness of our ,lord's ,person more than the ,person ,himself1 or rather it is the ,person in ,his humanness1 to which the words of the original direct us4 ,amidst all the glory that surrounds ,him we are to think of ,him as man2 but what a man6 ,clothed with a garment down to the foot1 and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle4 ,and ,his head and ,his hair were white as white wool1 white as snow2 and ,his eyes were as a flame of fire2 and ,his feet like unto burnished brass as if it had been refined in a furnace2 and ,his voice as the voice of many waters4 ,and ,he had in ,his right hand seven stars2 and out of ,his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword3 and ,his countenance was as the sun shineth in ,his strength4 ,the particulars of the description indicate the official position of the ,person spoken of1 and the character in which ,he appears4 7#a7 ,he is a priest1 clothed with the long white garment reaching to the feet that was a distinguishing part of the priestly dress1 but at the same time so wearing the girdle at the breasts1 not at the waist1 as to show that ,he was a priest engaged in the active service of the sanctuary4 7#b7 ,he is a king1 for1 with the exception of the last mentioned particular1 all the other features of the description given of ,him point to kingly rather than to priestly power1 while the prophetic language of ,isaiah1 as he looks forward to ,eliakim the son of ,hilkiah1 language which we may well suppose to have been now in the ,seer's thoughts1 leads to the same conclusion3 ,and ,i will clothe him with thy robe and strengthen him with thy girdle1 and ,i will commit thy government into his hand4#ae ,the ,son of man1 in short1 here brought before us in ,his heavenly glory1 is both ,priest and ,king4 ,not only so4 ,it is even of peculiar importance to observe that the attributes with which the ,priest-,king is clothed are not so much those of tenderness and mercy as those of power and majesty1 inspiring the beholder with a sense of awe and with the fear of judgment4 ,already we have had some traces of this in considering ver4 #g3 now it comes out in all its force4 ,that hair of a glistering whiteness which1 like snow on which the sun is shining1 it almost pains the eye to look upon2 those eyes penetrating like a flame of fire into the inmost recesses of the heart2 those feet which like metal raised to a white heat in a furnace consume in an instant whatever they tread upon in anger2 that voice loud and continuous1 like the sound of the mighty sea as it booms along the shore2 that sword sharp1 two-edged1 issuing from the mouth1 so that no one can escape it when it is drawn to slay2 and lastly1 that countenance like the sun in the height of a tropical sky1 when man and beast cower from the irresistible scorching of his beams1--all are symbolical of judgment4 ,eager to save1 the exalted ,high ,priest is yet also mighty to destroy4 ,thou shalt break them with a rod of iron2 ,thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel4 ,be wise now1 therefore1 ,o ye ,kings2 be instructed1 ye judges of the earth4 ,serve the ,lord with fear1 and rejoice with trembling4 ,kiss the ,son1 lest ,he be angry1 and ye perish from the way1 when ,his wrath is kindled but a little4 ,blessed are all they that put their trust in ,him4#af ,the ,apostle felt all this2 and1 believer as he was in ,jesus1 convinced of his ,master's love1 and one who returned that love with the warmest affections of his heart1 he was yet overwhelmed with terror4 ,and when ,i saw ,him1 he tells us1 ,i fell at ,his feet as one dead4 ,in circumstances somewhat similar to the present1 a somewhat similar effect had been produced upon other saints of ,god4 ,when ,isaiah beheld the glory of the ,lord he cried1 ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips2 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4#ag ,when ,ezekiel beheld a vision of the same kind1 he tells us that he fell upon his face4#ah ,when the angel ,gabriel appeared to ,daniel in order to explain the vision which had been shown him1 the prophet says1 ,i was afraid1 and fell upon my face4#ai ,here the effect was greater than in any of these instances1 corresponding to the greater glory shown2 and the ,apostle fell at the feet of the glorified ,lord as one dead4 ,but there is mercy with the ,lord that ,he may be feared2 and ,he laid ,his right hand upon me1 adds ,st4 ,john1 saying1 ,fear not3 and then follows in three parts that full and gracious declaration of what ,he is1 in ,his eternal pre-existence1 in that work on behalf of man which embraced not only ,his being lifted on high upon the cross1 but ,his ,resurrection and ,ascension to ,his ,father's throne1 and in the consummation of ,his victory over all the enemies of our salvation1--#a4 ,i am the ,first and the ,last1 and the ,living ,one2 #b4 ,and ,i became dead1 and behold1 ,i am alive for evermore2 #c4 ,and ,i have the keys of death and of ,hades4 ,a few more words are spoken by the glorified ,person who thus appeared to ,st4 ,john1 but at this point we may pause for a moment1 for the vision is complete4 ,it is the first vision of the book1 and it contains the key-note of the whole4 ,as distinguished from the fourth ,gospel1 in which ,jesus clothed as ,he is with ,his humanity is yet pre-eminently the ,son of ,god1 the ,saviour while here retaining ,his ,divinity is yet pre-eminently a ,son of man4 ,in other words1 ,he is not merely the ,only ,begotten who was from eternity in the bosom of the ,father3 ,he is also ,head over all things to ,his ,church4 ,and ,he is this as the glorified ,redeemer who has finished ,his work on earth1 and now carries it on in heaven4 ,this work too ,he carries on1 not only as a ,high ,priest touched with the feeling of our infirmities1 but as ,one clothed with judgment4 ,he is a man of war1 and to ,him the words of the ,psalmist may be applied3 ,gird ,thy sword upon ,thy thigh1 ,o ,mighty ,one1 ,thy glory and ,thy majesty4 ,and in ,thy majesty ride prosperously1 ,because of truth and meekness and righteousness3 ,and ,thy right hand shall teach ,thee terrible things4 ,thine arrows are sharp2 ,the peoples fall under ,thee2 ,they are in the heart of the ,king's enemies4#bj ,yet we cannot separate the body of ,christ from the head1 who is ,son of man as well as ,son of ,god4 ,with the ,head the members are one1 and they too therefore are here contemplated as engaged in a work of judgment4 ,with their ,lord they are opposed by an ungodly world4 ,in it they also struggle1 and war1 and overcome4 ,the tribulation1 and the kingdom and patience in ,jesus1#ba are their lot2 but living a resurrection life and escaped from the power of death and ,hades1 salvation has been in principle made theirs1 and they have only to wait for the full manifestation of that ,lord with whom1 when ,he is manifested1 they also shall be manifested in glory4#bb ,thus we are taught what to expect in the book of ,revelation4 ,it will record the conflict of ,christ and ,his people with the evil that is in the world1 and their victory over it4 ,it will tell of struggle with sin and ,satan1 but of sin vanquished and ,satan bruised beneath their feet4 ,it will be the story of the ,church as she journeys through the wilderness to the land of promise1 encountering many foes1 but more than conqueror through ,him that loved her1 and often raising to heaven her song of praise1 ,sing unto the ,lord1 for ,he hath triumphed gloriously1 the horse and his rider ,he hath cast into the sea4#bc ,now then we are prepared to listen to the closing words of the glorious ,person who had revealed ,himself to ,st4 ,john1 as ,he repeats ,his injunction to him to write1 and gives him some explanation of what he had seen3 ,write1 therefore1 the things which thou sawest1 and the things which are1 and the things which shall come to pass hereafter2 the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest upon ,my right hand1 and the seven golden candlesticks4 ,the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches2 and the seven candlesticks are seven churches4 ,the golden candlesticks and the stars1 the churches and the angels of the churches1 will immediately meet us when we proceed to the next two chapters of the book4 ,meanwhile it is enough to know that we are about to enter upon the fortunes of that ,church of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ in the world which embraces within it the execution of the final purposes of the ,almighty1 and the accomplishment of ,his plans for the perfection and happiness of ,his whole creation4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,john v4 #ai2 ,heb4 xiii4 #h4 #b ,eph4 i4 #bb4 #c ,chap4 iii4 #ad4 #d ,john xiv4 #bg4 #e ,psalm cxxiv4 #g4 #f ,psalm lxxii4 #a1 #b2 lviii4 #aa4 #g ,compare the ,greek text of ,westcott and ,hort4 #h ,john v4 #ai4 #i ,john xv4 #bj2 xvi4 #b4 #aj ,john i4 #g4 #aa ,john i4 #i4 #ab ,john xvii4 #aa4 #ac #b ,cor4 xiii4 #d4 #ad ,compare #b ,cor4 xii4 #d4 #ae ,isa4 xxii4 #ba2 comp4 also ver4 #bb with ,rev4 iii4 #g4 #af ,psalm ii4 #i-ab4 #ag ,isa4 vi4 #e4 #ah ,ezek4 i4 #bh4 #ai ,dan4 viii4 #ag4 #bj ,psalm xlv4 #c-e4 #ba ,ver4 #i4 #bb ,col4 iii4 #d4 #bc ,exod4 xv4 #a4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,church ,,on ,,the ,,field ,,of ,,history4 ,,rev4 ii41 iii4 ,to the angel of the church in ,ephesus write2 ,these things saith ,he that holdeth the seven stars in ,his right hand1 ,he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks3 ,i know thy works1 and thy toil and patience1 and that thou canst not bear evil men1 and didst try them which call themselves apostles1 and they are not1 and didst find them false2 and thou hast patience and didst bear for ,my name's sake1 and hast not grown weary4 ,but ,i have this against thee1 that thou didst leave thy first love4 ,remember therefore from whence thou art fallen1 and repent1 and do the first works2 or else ,i come to thee1 and will move thy candlestick out of its place1 except thou repent4 ,but this thou hast1 that thou hatest the works of the ,nicolaitans1 which ,i also hate4 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 ,to him that overcometh1 to him will ,i give to eat of the tree of life1 which is in the ,paradise of ,god4 ,and to the angel of the church in ,smyrna write2 ,these things saith the first and the last1 which became dead1 and lived again3 ,i know thy tribulation1 and thy poverty 7but thou art rich71 and the blasphemy of them which say they are ,jews1 and they are not1 but are a synagogue of ,satan4 ,fear not the things which thou art about to suffer3 behold1 the devil is about to cast some of you into prison1 that ye may be tried2 and ye shall have tribulation ten days4 ,be thou faithful unto death1 and ,i will give thee the crown of life4 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 ,he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death4 ,and to the angel of the church in ,pergamum write2 ,these things saith ,he that hath the sharp two-edged sword3 ,i know where thou dwellest1 even where ,satan's throne is3 and thou holdest fast ,my name1 and didst not deny ,my faith1 even in the days of ,antipas ,my witness1 ,my faithful one1 who was killed among you1 where ,satan dwelleth4 ,but ,i have a few things against thee1 because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of ,balaam1 who taught ,balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of ,israel1 to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication4 ,so hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the ,nicolaitans in like manner4 ,repent therefore2 or else ,i come to thee quickly1 and ,i will make war against them with the sword of ,my mouth4 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 ,to him that overcometh1 to him will ,i give of the hidden manna1 and ,i will give him a white stone1 and upon the stone a new name written1 which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it4 ,and to the angel of the church in ,thyatira write2 ,these things saith the ,son of ,god1 who hath ,his eyes like a flame of fire1 and his feet are like unto burnished brass3 ,i know thy works1 and thy love and faith and ministry and patience1 and that thy last works are more than the first4 ,but ,i have this against thee1 that thou sufferest thy wife ,jezebel1 which calleth herself a prophetess2 and she teacheth and seduceth ,my servants to commit fornication1 and to eat things sacrificed to idols4 ,and ,i gave her time that she should repent2 and she willeth not to repent of her fornication4 ,behold1 ,i do cast her into a bed1 and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation1 except they repent of her works4 ,and ,i will kill her children with death2 and all the churches shall know that ,i am ,he which searcheth the reins and hearts3 and ,i will give unto each one of you according to your works4 ,but to you ,i say1 to the rest that are in ,thyatira1 as many as have not this teaching1 which know not the deep things of ,satan1 as they say2 ,i cast upon you none other burden4 ,howbeit that which ye have1 hold fast till ,i come4 ,and he that overcometh1 and he that keepeth ,my works unto the end1 to him will ,i give authority over the nations3 and as a shepherd he shall tend them with a sceptre of iron1 as the vessels of the potter are they broken to shivers2 as ,i also have received of ,my ,father3 and ,i will give him the morning star4 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 ,and to the angel of the church in ,sardis write2 ,these things saith ,he that hath the seven ,spirits of ,god1 and the seven stars3 ,i know thy works1 that thou hast a name that thou livest1 and thou art dead4 ,be thou watchful1 and stablish the things that remain1 which were ready to die3 for ,i have found no works of thine fulfilled before ,my ,god4 ,remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear2 and keep it1 and repent4 ,if therefore thou shalt not watch1 ,i will come as a thief1 and thou shalt not know what hour ,i will come upon thee4 ,but thou hast a few names in ,sardis which did not defile their garments3 and they shall walk with ,me in white2 for they are worthy4 ,he that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments2 and ,i will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life1 and ,i will confess his name before ,my ,father1 and before ,his angels4 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 ,and to the angel of the church in ,philadelphia write2 ,these things saith ,he that is holy1 ,he that is true1 ,he that hath the key of ,david1 ,he that openeth1 and none shall shut1 and that shutteth1 and none openeth3 ,i know thy works 7behold1 ,i have set before thee a door opened1 which none can shut71 that thou hast a little power1 and didst keep ,my word1 and didst not deny ,my name4 ,behold1 ,i give of the synagogue of ,satan1 of them which say they are ,jews1 and they are not1 but do lie2 behold1 ,i will make them to come and worship before thy feet1 and to know that ,i have loved thee4 ,because thou didst keep the word of ,my patience1 ,i also will keep thee from the hour of trial1 that hour which is to come upon the whole inhabited earth1 to try them that dwell upon the earth4 ,i come quickly3 hold fast that which thou hast1 that no one take thy crown4 ,he that overcometh1 ,i will make him a pillar in the temple of ,my ,god1 and he shall come no more forth3 and ,i will write upon him the name of ,my ,god1 and the name of the city of ,my ,god1 the new ,jerusalem1 which cometh down out of heaven from ,my ,god1 and ,mine own new name4 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 ,and to the angel of the church in ,laodicea write2 ,these things saith the ,amen1 the faithful and true ,witness1 the ,beginning of the creation of ,god3 ,i know thy works1 that thou art neither cold nor hot3 ,i would thou wert cold or hot4 ,so because thou art lukewarm1 and neither hot nor cold1 ,i will spew thee out of ,my mouth4 ,because thou sayest1 ,i am rich1 and have gotten riches1 and have need of nothing2 and knowest not that thou art the wretched one1 and miserable and poor and blind and naked3 ,i counsel thee to buy of ,me gold refined by fire1 that thou mayest become rich2 and white garments1 that thou mayest clothe thyself1 and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest1 and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes1 that thou mayest see4 ,as many as ,i love1 ,i reprove and chasten3 be zealous therefore1 and repent4 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door and knock3 if any man hear ,my voice and open the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he with ,me4 ,he that overcometh1 ,i will give to him to sit down with ,me in ,my throne1 as ,i also overcame1 and sat down with ,my ,father in ,his throne4 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches 7ii41 iii474 ,the fortunes of the ,church are to be traced in the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john2 and the first thing necessary therefore is that we shall learn what the ,church is4 ,to accomplish this is the leading aim of the second and third chapters of the book4 ,an object precisely similar appears to determine the arrangement of the fourth ,gospel4 ,the ,introduction or ,prologue of that ,gospel is found in chap4 i4 #a-ah2 and there can be no doubt that we meet there1 in brief and compendious form1 the ideas afterwards illustrated and enforced by its selection of incidents from the life of ,jesus4 ,after the ,prologue follows a section1 extending from chap4 i4 #ai to chap4 ii4 #aa1 in which it is obvious that that struggle of ,jesus with the world1 together with ,his victory over it1 which it is the chief purpose of the ,evangelist to relate1 has not yet begun4 ,the question thus arises1 ,what is the aim of that section8 and the answer is1 that it is to set forth the ,redeemer with whom the ,gospel is to be occupied as ,he enters upon the field of history4 ,thus also here4 ,the first chapter of ,revelation is the ,introduction or ,prologue of the book1 containing the ideas to be afterwards illustrated in the history of the ,church4 ,the struggle of the ,church with the world does not yet begin1 nor will it begin until we come to chap4 vi4 ,in the meantime we are to see in chaps4 ii4 and iii4 that ,body of ,christ the struggle and victory of which are to engage our thoughts4 ,these chapters consist of seven epistles addressed to the churches of the seven cities of ,asia named in chap4 i4 #aa1 and now written to in the same order1 beginning with ,ephesus and ending with ,laodicea4 ,each epistle contains much that is peculiar to it1 but we shall fail to understand the picture presented by the two chapters as a whole if we look only at the individual parts4 ,general considerations1 therefore1 regarding the seven epistles first demand our notice4 ,each epistle1 it will be observed1 is addressed to the angel of the church named4 ,the object of this commentary1 as explained in the prefatory note1 renders an examination of the meaning of the word angel here used a point of subordinate importance4 ,a few remarks1 however1 can hardly be avoided4 ,the favourite interpretations of the term are two3 that the angels of the churches are either the guardian angels to whom they were severally committed1 or their bishops or chief pastors4 ,both interpretations may be unhesitatingly rejected4 ,for as to the first1 there is a total absence of proof that it was either a ,jewish or an early ,christian idea that each ,christian community had its guardian angel2 and as to the second1 if there was1 as there seems to have been1 in the synagogues of the ,jews1 an official known as the angel or messenger1 he occupied an altogether inferior position1 and possessed none of the authoritative control here ascribed to the several angels mentioned4 ,besides this1 both interpretations are set aside by the single consideration that1 keeping in view what has been said of the number seven in its relation to the number one1 the seven angels1 like the seven churches1 must be capable of being regarded as a unity4 ,but this cannot be the case with seven guardian angels1 for such a universal guardianship can be predicated of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the great ,head of the ,church1 alone4 ,nor can seven bishops or chief pastors be reasonably resolved into one universal bishop or the moderator of one universal presbytery4 ,the true idea seems to be that the angels of the churches are a symbolical representation in which the active1 as distinguished from the passive1 life of the ,church finds expression4 ,to ,st4 ,john every person1 every thing1 has its angel4 ,god proclaims and executes ,his will by angels4#bd ,he addresses even the ,son by an angel4#be ,the ,son acts and reveals ,his truth by an angel4#bf ,the waters have an angel4#bg ,fire has an angel4#bh ,the winds have an angel4#bi ,the abyss has an angel4#cj ,on all these occasions the angel is interposed when the persons or things spoken of are represented as coming out of themselves and as taking their part in intercourse or in action4 ,in like manner the angels of the churches are the churches themselves1 with this mark of distinction only1--that1 when they are thus spoken of1 they are viewed not merely as in possession of inward vigour1 but as exercising it towards things without4 ,the interpretation now given is confirmed by the fact that the angels1 as appears from the words of chap4 i4 #bj1 ,the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches1 are not different from the stars1 for it is the province of the star1 instead of hiding itself in some secret chamber1 to shine1 and from its place in the firmament to shed light upon the earth4 ,the uniformity of treatment1 too1 which must be claimed for the number seven when used both with the churches and the stars1 is thus rendered possible2 for if the former may represent the universal ,church in what she is1 the latter will represent the same ,church in what she does4 ,thus1 then1 in the seven golden candlesticks and in the seven stars or angels we have a double picture of the ,church2 and each of the two figures employed points to a different aspect of her being4 ,it is possible also that the double designation may have been chosen in conformity with a rule1 often observed in the ,apocalypse1 which leads the writer to speak of the same thing1 first under an emblem taken from ,judaism1 and then under one from the wider sphere of the great ,gentile ,church4 ,the golden candlestick burning in the secret of ,god's ,tabernacle gives the former1 the star shining in the firmament the latter4 ,such then being the case1 the seven epistles being addressed to the seven churches1 and not to any individual in each1 the following particulars with regard to them ought to be kept in view3-- #a4 ,they are intended to set before us a picture of the universal ,church4 ,at first sight indeed it may seem as if they were only to be looked at individually and separately4 ,the different churches are addressed by name4 ,in what is said of each there is nothing out of keeping with what we may easily suppose to have been its condition at the time4 ,there is as much reason to believe that each epistle contains an actual historical picture as there is to believe this in the case of the epistles of ,st4 ,paul to ,rome1 or ,corinth1 or ,ephesus1 or ,philippi4 ,any other supposition would convey a false idea of the principles upon which the ,apocalypse is framed1 would destroy the reality of the ,apostle's writing1 and would compel us to think that his words must have been unintelligible to those for whom1 whatever their further application1 they were primarily designed4 ,the question1 however1 is not thus exhausted2 for it is perfectly possible that both certain churches and certain particulars in their state may have been selected rather than others1 because they afforded the best typical representation of the universal ,church4 ,several reasons may satisfy us that this was actually done4 7#a7 ,we have good ground for believing that1 besides these seven churches of ,asia1 there were other churches in existence in the same district at the time when the ,apostle wrote4 ,one of the early fathers speaks of churches at ,magnesia and ,tralles4 ,it is also possible that there were churches at ,coloss8and ,hierapolis1 although these cities had suffered from an earthquake shortly after the days of ,st4 ,paul4 ,yet ,st4 ,john addressed himself not to seven1 but to the seven churches which are in ,asia1 as if there were no more churches in the province4#ca ,more1 however1 there certainly were2 and he cannot therefore have intended to address them all4 ,he makes a selection1 without saying that he does so2 and it is a natural supposition that his selection is designed to represent the universal ,church4 7#b7 ,importance must be attached to the number seven4 ,every reader of the book of ,revelation is familiar with the singular part played by that number in its structure1 and with the fact that 7unless chap4 xvii4 #i be an exception7 it never means that numeral alone4 ,it is the number of unity in diversity1 of unity in that manifoldness of operation which alone entitles it to the name of unity4 ,such expressions1 therefore1 as the seven ,spirits of ,god or the seven eyes of the ,lamb1 are evidently symbolical4 ,the same idea must be carried through all the notices of the number1 unless there be something in the context clearly leading to a different conclusion4 ,nothing of that kind exists here4 ,were these two chapters indeed out of harmony with the rest of the book1 or had they little or no relation to it1 it might be urged that they were simply historical1 and that no deeper meaning was to be sought in them than that lying on the surface4 ,we have already seen1 however1 that their connexion with the other chapters is of the closest kind2 and we cannot therefore avoid bringing them under the scope of the same principles of interpretation as are elsewhere applicable4 ,their number--seven--must thus be regarded as typical of unity1 and the seven churches as representative of the one universal ,church4 7#c7 ,the nature of the call to the hearers of each epistle to give heed to the words addressed to them leads to the same conclusion4 ,had each epistle been designed only for those to whom it was immediately sent1 that call would probably have been addressed to them alone4 ,instead of this it is couched in the most general form3 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 7#d7 ,the character in which the ,saviour speaks to each of the seven churches is always taken from the vision of the ,son of man beheld by ,st4 ,john in the first chapter of his book4 ,it is true that in the case of one or two of the particulars mentioned this is not at once apparent2 but in that of by far the larger number it is so clear that we are entitled to infer the existence of some secret link of connexion in the mind of the sacred writer even when it may not be distinctly perceptible to us4 ,the descriptions1 too1 of the epistles are no doubt fuller and more elaborate than those of the vision2 but this circumstance is easily accounted for when we remember that the seven different delineations of our ,lord contained in the second and third chapters are in the first chapter combined in one4 ,keeping these considerations in view1 the main point is incontestable that the germ of the epistolary description is to be found in every case in the preliminary vision4 ,thus to the first church--that of ,ephesus--,jesus introduces ,himself as ,he that holdeth the seven stars in ,his right hand1 ,he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks#cb2 and the description is evidently that of chap4 i4 #ab1 #ac1 #af1 where the ,seer beheld seven golden candlesticks2 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a ,son of man2 and ,he had in ,his right hand seven stars4 ,to the second--the church of ,smyrna--,jesus introduces ,himself with the words1 ,these things saith the first and the last1 which became dead1 and lived again#cc2 and the description is taken from chap4 i4 #ag1 #ah3 ,i am the first and the last1 and the ,living ,one2 and ,i became dead1 and behold1 ,i am alive for evermore4 ,to the third--the church of ,pergamum--the introduction is1 ,these things saith ,he that hath a sharp two-edged sword#cd2 and the original of the description is found in chap4 i4 #af3 and out of ,his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword4 ,to the fourth--the church of ,thyatira--the ,saviour begins1 ,these things saith the ,son of ,god1 who hath ,his eyes like a flame of fire1 and ,his feet are like unto burnished brass#ce2 and we see the source whence the words are drawn when we read in chap4 i4 #ad1 #ae1 ,and ,his eyes were as a flame of fire2 and ,his feet like unto burnished brass1 as if it had been refined in a furnace4 ,of the latter part of the salutation to the fifth church--that of ,sardis--which runs1 ,these things saith ,he that hath the seven ,spirits of ,god1 and the seven stars1#cf it is unnecessary to speak2 but the first part is more difficult to trace4 ,comparing chap4 v4 #f and chap4 iv4 #e1 we learn that the seven ,spirits of ,god are the possession of the ,redeemer1 and that they are symbolized by seven lamps burning before the throne of ,god4 ,turning now to chap4 i41 we find the ,seer speaking in ver4 #d of the seven ,spirits which are before the throne1 those very spirits which in chap4 v4 #f he tells us that the ,redeemer hath4 ,this latter thought therefore he is accustomed to associate with them2 and though in chap4 i4 #d he does not expressly say that the seven ,spirits there referred to are the possession of ,jesus1 this view of them is obviously a part of his general conception of the matter4 ,in chap4 i4 #d1 therefore1 the source of the words addressed to ,sardis is to be found4 ,to the sixth church--that of ,philadelphia--it is said1 ,these things saith ,he that is holy1 ,he that is true1 ,he that hath the key of ,david1 ,he that openeth1 and none shall shut1 and that shutteth1 and none openeth#cg2 and we can have no difficulty in recognising the germ of the extended description in chap4 i4 #ad1 #ah1 where we are told that ,jesus ,christ1 in token of ,his holiness1 hath ,his head and ,his hair white as white wool1 white as snow1 and that ,he hath the keys of death and of ,hades4 ,lastly1 we have the introductory address to the seventh church--that of ,laodicea--,these things saith the ,amen1 the faithful and true ,witness1 the beginning of the creation of ,god#ch2 and the origin of it is to be seen in chap4 i4 #e1 where we are told of ,jesus ,christ1 who is the faithful ,witness1 and the first-born of the dead1 and the ,ruler of the kings of the earth4 ,each salutation of the seven epistles is thus part of the description of the ,son of man in the first chapter of the book2 and it is a legitimate inference that the contents of the epistles are1 like the salutations1 only portions of one whole4 7#e7 ,many expressions are to be met with in the seven epistles which find their explanation only in those later chapters of the book where a reference to the ,church universal cannot be denied4 ,the tree of life of the first epistle meets us again1 more fully spoken of1 in the description of the new ,jerusalem4#ci ,the second death mentioned in the second epistle is not explained till judgment upon the ,church's enemies is complete4#dj ,the writing upon believers of the new name1 promised in the third epistle1 is almost unintelligible until we behold the hundred and forty-four thousand upon ,mount ,zion4#da ,the authority over the nations1 and more especially the gift of the morning star1 referred to in the fourth epistle1 cannot be comprehended until we are introduced to the vision of the thousand years and the last utterances of the glorified ,redeemer4#db ,the white garments of the fifth epistle can hardly be rightly understood until we see the white-robed company standing before the throne and before the ,lamb4#dc ,the mention in the sixth epistle of the city of ,my ,god1 the new ,jerusalem1 which cometh down out of heaven from ,my ,god1 remains a mystery until we actually witness her descent4#dd ,and1 finally1 the sitting in ,christ's throne of the seventh epistle is only elucidated by the reign of the thousand years with ,him4#de 7#f7 ,it is worthy of notice that the descriptions of our ,lord given in the first and last epistles have a wider application than to the churches of ,ephesus and ,laodicea1 to which they are immediately addressed1 thus making it evident that1 while each of these epistles has its own place in the series1 it is at the same time treated as the first or last member of a group which is to be regarded as a whole4 ,to the church of ,ephesus the ,saviour describes ,himself as ,he that holdeth the seven stars in ,his right hand1 ,he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks#df2 and the description has no more reference to ,ephesus than to any other of the churches named4 ,in like manner to the church of ,laodicea ,he describes ,himself as the ,amen1 the ,witness faithful and true1 the ,beginning of the creation of ,god4#dg ,the first of these appellations is no doubt derived from ,isa4 lxv4 #af1 where we have twice repeated in the same verse the formula ,god ,amen2 and the meaning of the name as applied to ,jesus is1 not that all the ,divine promises shall be accomplished by ,him1 but that ,he is ,himself the fulfilment of every promise made by the ,almighty to ,his people4 ,the second appellation reminds us of ,john xviii4 #cg1 where ,jesus replies to ,pilate's question in the words1 ,to this end have ,i been born1 and to this end am ,i come into the world1 that ,i should bear witness unto the truth4 ,his whole mission is summed up by ,him in the idea of witnessing4 ,he is the perfect1 the true1 the real ,witness to eternal truth in its deepest sense1 in its widest and most comprehensive range4 ,the third appellation1 again1 cannot be limited to the thought of the mere material creation1 as if equivalent to the statement that by the ,word were all things made4 ,it would thus fail to correspond with the two appellations preceding it1 which undoubtedly apply to the work of redemption1 while at the same time the addition of the words of ,god would be meaningless or perplexing4 ,let us add to this that in chap4 i4 #e1 immediately after ,jesus has been called the faithful ,witness1 ,he is described as the first-begotten of the dead1 and we shall not be able to resist the conviction that the words before us refer primarily to the new creation1 the ,christian ,church1 that redeemed humanity which has its true life in ,christ4 ,it may not indeed be necessary to exclude the thought of the material universe2 but1 in so far as it is alluded to1 it is only as redeemed1 in its ideal condition of rest and glory1 when the new ,jerusalem has come down out of heaven1 and when the ,church's enemies have been cast into the lake of fire4#dh ,the three appellations1 it will be observed1 have thus a general rather than a special aspect2 and the salutation containing them is to be distinguished from the salutations of the other epistles1 all of which1 with the exception of the last1 exhibit the closest possible connexion with the contents of the epistles to which they respectively belong4 ,it is no mere fancy1 therefore1 when we say that we have in this a proof that the first and last epistles are not simply members of a continuous series1 the last of which may leave the first far behind1 but that they are binding terms which gather up all the members of the series and group them into one4 7#g7 ,it ought to be noticed that all the cities to which the seven epistles are addressed were situated beyond the boundaries of the ,holy ,land1 and that the ,christian ,church in each was certainly composed1 at least in large measure1 of ,gentile converts4 ,these churches cannot therefore represent the ,jewish ,church alone1 but must embody that wider idea of the ,christian ,church which was brought in when the middle wall of partition between ,jews and ,gentiles was broken down1 and when both were reconciled in one body by the ,cross1 becoming one ,church in the ,son and in the ,father4 ,were we dealing with the ,jewish-,christian ,church1 we should unquestionably find it located in ,jerusalem or in some of the cities of ,palestine4 ,when we are taken to heathen soil1 and to churches known to have been at least for the most part ,gentile1 it is a proof that we have before us that great ,gentile ,church in the very conception of which lies the thought of universality4 7#h7 ,the view now taken is confirmed by the general nature of the ,apocalypse4 ,that book is symbolical4 ,it begins with a symbolical representation in the first chapter4 ,symbolism1 by the admission of all1 is resumed in the fourth chapter1 and is continued from that point to the end4 ,now it is certainly possible that between these two groups of symbols a passage only strictly historical might be introduced4 ,but if there be reason on independent grounds to think that here also we have facts used at least to a certain extent to serve a higher than a simply historic thought1 it cannot fail to be allowed that the general unity of the book is thus preserved1 and that a completeness is lent to it which we are entitled to expect1 but which would be otherwise wanting4 ,the seven churches then of chaps4 ii4 and iii4 are thus intended to represent the one universal ,church4 ,the ,seer selects such particular churches of ,asia and such special features of their condition as afford the best illustration of that state of ,god's kingdom in the world which is to be the great subject of his prophetic words4 ,he is to keep in view throughout all his revelation certain aspects of the ,church in herself and in her relation to the world4 ,but these aspects were not merely in the bosom of the future4 ,still less are they an ideal picture drawn from the resources of the writer's own imagination4 ,to his enlightened eye1 looking abroad over that part of the world in which his lot was cast1 they were also present1 one in one church1 another in another4 ,st4 ,john therefore groups them together4 ,they are the things which are1 and they are types of the things which shall come to pass hereafter4#di ,the universalism of the ,apocalypse is from the first apparent4 #b4 ,a second characteristic of the epistles addressed to the seven churches demands our notice1 for these epistles are clearly divisible into two portions1 the first consisting of the first three1 the second of the other four4 ,every inquirer admits the fact1 the proof resting upon the difference of place assigned in the two portions to the call1 ,he that hath an ear1 let him hear what the ,spirit saith to the churches4 ,in the first three this call comes in as a central part of the epistle1 immediately before the promise to him that overcometh#ej2 in the last four it closes the epistle4#ea ,there is a still more interesting difference1 though the ,authorised ,english ,version conceals it from view4 ,according to the best attested readings of the original1 the second and third epistles--those to ,smyrna and ,pergamum--omit the words1 found in all the others1 ,i know thy works4 ,the circumstance is at least remarkable1 and it seems to admit of only one explanation4 ,in the mind of the writer the first three epistles were so closely associated together--more closely perhaps than even the seven or the last four--that these words occurring in the first epistle were thought by him to extend their influence over the second and third1 much in the same way as the description of the exalted ,lord in the same epistle sent its voice forward1 and that in the last epistle its voice backward1 through the rest4 ,at all events1 it is impossible not to see that the first three epistles and likewise the last four1 to whatever extent they form parts of one whole1 constitute in each case a special unity4 ,what1 we have now to ask1 is the ground of the distinction8 ,in what light is the ,church viewed in each of the two portions spoken of8 ,there are two aspects of the ,church which may be said to pervade the whole ,apocalypse3 first1 as she is in herself1 in her own true nature2 and secondly1 as she is engaged in1 and affected by1 a struggle with the world4 ,the distinction between the two may be traced in the grouping of which we speak4 ,the first three epistles lead us to the thought of the ,church in the former1 the remaining four to the thought of her in the latter1 aspect4 ,in the first three she is the pure bride of ,christ2 in the last four she has yielded to the influences of the world1 and the faithful remnant within her is separated from her professing but unfaithful members4 ,the numbers into which the two portions of the seven epistles are distributed illustrate this4 ,three is the number of the ,divine2 four1 as appears from many passages of this book1 is the number of the world4 ,the simple fact that we have a group of three as distinguished from one of four epistles is sufficient to lead to the impression that1 in one way or another the thought of the ,divine is more closely associated with the former1 and the thought of the world with the latter4 ,this impression is confirmed when we look at the contents of the epistles4 ,let us take the first three1 and we shall find that in not one of them is a contrast drawn between the whole ,church and any faithful remnant within her borders1 that in not one of them is the ,church represented as yielding to the influences of the world4 ,no doubt she has evil in her midst2 and evil always springs from the world1 not from ,god4 ,but she is not yet conscious of the sin by which she is surrounded4 ,she has not yet begun to traffic with the world1 to accommodate herself to it1 or to lust after what it bestows4 ,the great charge against the church in ,ephesus is that she has left her first love4#eb ,she has passed out of the bright and joyous feelings which marked the time of her espousals to the heavenly ,bridegroom4 ,but from sin the ,church as she actually exists in the world can never be wholly free2 and1 so far in particular as the ,nicolaitans are concerned1 she shares in ,ephesus the feelings of her ,lord1 and views them with the hatred which they deserve4 ,no reproach is directed against the church in ,smyrna4 ,she is rather the object of her ,lord's perfect confidence2 and ,he is only preparing trial for her in correspondence with the law by which ,he trains ,his people3 ,every branch that beareth fruit1 ,he cleanseth it1 that it may bear more fruit4#ec ,remarks of a similar kind apply to the church in ,pergamum4 ,there is no charge against the church there that she is allowing the world to gain dominion over her4 ,she has certainly persons in her midst who hold the teaching of the ,nicolaitans1 but they are few in number2 they are no more than some1#ed and she lends them no countenance4 ,on the contrary1 though dwelling in the place where ,satan has his throne1 she has remained true to her ,lord1 and has been purified in the fires of persecution then raging even unto death4 ,in none of the three cases is the church perfect1 but in none is she really faithless to her trust4 ,she is in danger2 she needs to be perfected by suffering#ee2 by suffering she is perfected3 but she knows that he who will be the friend of the world is the enemy of ,god1 and the enemies of ,god are her enemies4 ,when we turn to the second group of the seven epistles1 we at once breathe a different atmosphere2 and the contrast is rendered more striking by the fact that in the first of the four we have the very sins spoken of which have already twice crossed our path in the epistles to ,ephesus and to ,pergamum4 ,according to the best critical reading of chap4 ii4 #bj1 the charge against ,thyatira is1 ,thou sufferest 7,thou lettest alone2 thou toleratest7 thy wife ,jezebel4 ,jezebel was a heathen princess1 the first heathen queen who had been married by a king of the northern kingdom of ,israel4 ,she was therefore peculiarly fitted to represent the influences of the world2 and the charge against ,thyatira is thus that1 in the persons not of a few only1 but of her united membership1 she tolerated the world1 with its heathen thoughts and practices4 ,she knew it to be the world that it was2 but notwithstanding this she was content to be at peace1 or even to ally herself1 with it4 ,the church in ,sardis is not less blameable4 ,there are a few names in her that have not defiled their garments2 but the church as a whole has deeply sinned4 ,she has reproduced the ,pharisaic type with which the ,gospels have made us acquainted1 substituting the outward for the inward in religion1 and then yielding to the sins of the flesh to which she has thus given the supremacy4 ,the church in ,philadelphia1 like that in ,smyrna1 is not blamed1 and it is well that there should be one church even in the midst of the world of which this can be said2 yet even ,philadelphia has only a little power1#ef while the exhortation1 ,hold fast that which thou hast1#eg appears to indicate that she has been losing much4 ,lastly1 no one can mistake the willing identification of herself with the world on the part of the church in ,laodicea4 ,she says that she is rich1 that she has gotten riches1 that she has need of nothing4#eh ,her members are well-to-do and in easy circumstances1 and they have found so much comfort in their worldly goods that they have become blind to the fact that man needs something better and higher for his portion4 ,in all these four churches1 in short1 we have an entirely different relation between the ,church and the world from that set before us in the first three4 ,there is not simply danger of decay within1 and the need of trial with the benefit resulting from it4 ,there is actual conflict with the world2 sometimes1 it may be1 a victory over it1 at other times a yielding to its influences and an adoption of its spirit4 ,in the first three churches all1 or all with few exceptions1 are on the side of ,christ2 in the last four the remnant alone is true to ,him4 ,attention to the promises to him that overcometh in the different epistles seems to confirm what has been said4 ,there is a marked contrast between the tone of these promises as they are given in the two groups of epistles2 and even where a certain amount of similarity exists1 the promises in the second group will be found to be fuller and richer than in the first4 ,at ,ephesus1 at ,smyrna1 and at ,pergamum he that overcometh is rewarded much1 as one still in a simple and childlike state would be4 ,the first promise made to him is that he shall eat of the tree of life1 which is in the ,paradise of ,god#ei2 the second1 that he shall not be hurt of the second death#fj2 the third1 that he shall eat of the hidden manna1 and be like the high-priest in the innermost recesses of the sanctuary4#fa ,all is quiet4 ,the appeal of ,him who promises is to the gentler susceptibilities of the soul4 ,the privileges and enjoyments spoken of are adapted to the condition of those who have not yet experienced the struggle of life4 ,when we turn to the second group of epistles there is a different tone4 ,we enter upon rewards conceived in bolder and more manly figures4 ,the first promise now is1 ,he that overcometh1 and he that keepeth ,my works unto the end1 to him will ,i give authority over the nations3 and as a shepherd he shall tend them with a sceptre of iron2 as the vessels of the potter are they broken to shivers4#fb ,this is the reward of victory after well-fought fields4 ,the warrior thus crowned must have braved the strife and won with difficulty4 ,the second promise is not less marked in its character4 ,he that overcometh shall not simply1 as in the case of ,smyrna1 receive the reward of not being hurt of the second death2 he shall be arrayed in white garments1 and ,jesus will confess his name before ,his ,father1 and before ,his angels4#fc ,the third promise is at least a large extension of that given to ,pergamum1 for of him that now overcometh it is said1 ,i will make him a pillar in the temple of ,my ,god1 and he shall come no more forth--that is1 shall come no more forth to a struggle with the world similar to that in which he has been engaged--and ,i will write upon him the name of ,my ,god1 and the name of the city of ,my ,god1 the new ,jerusalem1 which cometh down out of heaven from ,my ,god1 and ,mine own new name4#fd ,finally1 the fourth promise is the noblest of all3 ,he that overcometh1 ,i will give to him to sit down with ,me in ,my throne1 as ,i also overcame1 and sat down with ,my ,father in ,his throne4#fe ,all the promises of the second group of epistles are clearly distinguished in tone and spirit from those of the first group4 ,they presuppose a fiercer struggle1 a hotter conflict2 and they are therefore full of a more glorious reward4 ,such seems to be the relation to one another of the two groups into which the seven epistles naturally divide themselves4 ,in the first group the ,church has stood firm against the world4 ,she is full of toil and endurance2 in her poverty she is rich2 and the troubles of the future she does not fear4 ,she holds fast the name of ,christ1 and openly confesses ,him4 ,seeds of evil are indeed within her1 which will too soon develop themselves2 but she has the ,divine life within her in as much perfection as can be expected amidst the infirmities of our present state4 ,she walks with ,god and hears ,his voice in her earthly paradise4 ,in the second group the evil seed sown by the enemy has sprung up4 ,the ,church tolerates the sins that are around her1 makes her league with the world1 and yields to its influence4 ,she rallies indeed at times to her new and higher life1 but she finally submits to the world and is satisfied with its goods4 ,there are many faithful ones1 it is true1 in her midst4 ,as in the ,jewish ,church there was a remnant according to the election of grace1 so in her there are those who listen to the ,saviour's voice and follow ,him4 ,yet they are the smaller portion of her members1 and they shall eventually come forth out of her4 ,it is the same sad story which has marked all the previous dispensations of the ,almighty with ,his people1 and which will continue to be repeated until the ,second ,coming of the ,lord4 ,that story culminates in this book of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1 when the bride1 allying herself with the world1 becomes a harlot1 and when the ,seer hears another voice out of heaven1 saying1 ,come forth1 ,my people1 out of her1 that ye have no fellowship with her sins1 and that ye receive not of her plagues4#ff ,we have considered the epistles contained in these chapters as a unity representative of the universal ,church in the two main aspects of her condition in the world2 but before leaving them it will be well to look at them individually1 and to mark the peculiar condition of each ,church addressed4 #a4 ,the first epistle is that to ,ephesus1 the central or metropolitan city of the district to which all the seven churches belonged1 and with which the almost unanimous voice of antiquity associates the later years of the pastorate of ,st4 ,john himself4 ,hence1 in part at least1 as we have already seen1 the general nature of the salutation with which the glorified ,lord presents ,himself to that church4 ,he does not merely hold its star in ,his right hand1 nor does ,he merely walk in the midst of it alone4 ,he holdeth the seven stars in ,his right hand4 ,he walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks4 ,he is present in every part of ,his ,church on earth4 ,to every part of it ,he says1 ,lo1 ,i am with you alway1 even unto the consummation of the age4#fg ,the church at ,ephesus is faithful as a whole4 ,i know1 is the language of her ,lord to her1 thy works1 and thy toil and patience1 and that thou canst not bear evil men1 and didst try them which call themselves apostles1 and they are not1 and didst find them false2 and thou hast patience and didst bear for ,my name's sake1 and hast not grown weary4 ,the tribute is a noble one4 ,the church is not only working1 but toiling1 in her ,master's service2 she is firm amidst trial1 whether from within or from without2 she views with abhorrence all workers of iniquity2 she tries1 only in order to reject1 those pretended messengers of ,christ who would have preached another gospel than that the power of which she knew4 ,amidst all the speciousness of their claims1 she had found them false4 ,then she turned again to her steadfast endurance until it became a settled principle in her life1 and it could be said to her1 with the strong force of the word in the writings of ,st4 ,john1 that she had it4 ,the spirit of all this1 too1 had been found in the name of ,jesus1 the revelation of the love and grace of ,god given her in ,him4 ,finally1 she had not grown weary4 ,seven marks of faithfulness appear to be mentioned2 and1 if so1 the fourth--her judgment of false teachers--occupies the central position4 ,nor does it seem fanciful to say this when we notice that of all the seven points the fourth is the only one returned to1 and that in a more specific form1 at a later point in the epistle3 ,but this thou hast1 that thou hatest the works of the ,nicolaitans1 which ,i also hate4 ,in other words1 doctrinal faithfulness was the peculiar distinction of the ,ephesian church4 ,she knew that the revelation of ,god in ,christ must be kept pure1 or toil would lose its spring1 patience its encouragement1 shrinking from evil men its intensity1 and perseverance its support4 ,therefore she valued the doctrinal truth which had been committed to her1 and held fast the form of sound words which she had received1 for the sake of the life to which it led4 ,amidst all this the church at ,ephesus was not wholly what she ought to have been4 ,i have this against thee1 had to be said to her1 that thou didst leave thy first love2 and she needed words of exhortation and warning3 ,remember therefore from whence thou art fallen1 and repent1 and do the first works2 or else ,i come to thee1 and will move thy candlestick out of its place1 except thou repent4 ,the church had declined from the bright and joyous feelings of her first condition4 ,might her very zeal for the purity of ,christian doctrine have had anything to do with this8 ,it is not impossible4 ,eager defence of truth against error1 notwithstanding its importance1 is apt to shift the centre of the soul's inner life4 ,the strifes of theologians and the cry ,first purity1 then peace1 translated into ,purity without peace1 have been in every age the scandal and the weakness of the ,church4 ,well might even ,david speak of it as one of the most signal instances of ,god's goodness to them that fear ,him1 ,thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues2#fh and never1 alas6 have tongues been sharper or more contentious than in the maintenance of the faith4 ,there is something without which even zeal for truth may be but a scorching and devouring flame2 and that is the first love1 the love ever fresh and tender for ,him who first loved us1 the love which teaches us to win and not to alienate1 to raise and not to crush1 those who may only be mistaken in their views1 and are not determined enemies of ,god4 ,possessed of this spirit1 we shall overcome2 and the first love will meet its first reward4 ,to him that overcometh1 says the ,lord1 recalling the blessedness of ,eden1 will ,i give to eat of the tree of life1 which is in the ,paradise of ,god4 #b4 ,the second epistle is that to ,smyrna1 a rich1 prosperous1 and dissolute city1 and largely inhabited by ,jews bitterly opposed to ,christ and ,christianity4 ,here therefore persecution of those leading the pure and holy life of the ,gospel might be peculiarly expected1 as indeed it also peculiarly appeared4 ,the church at ,smyrna thus becomes the type of a suffering church1 the representative of that condition of things foretold in the words of ,christ1 and constantly fulfilled in the history of ,his people1 ,a servant is not greater than his lord4 ,if they have persecuted ,me1 they will also persecute you4#fi ,it will be observed that at ,smyrna the church is still faithful1 and that against her no word of reproach is uttered4 ,hence the aspect under which the ,redeemer presents ,himself to that church is purely animating and consolatory1 the same as that which1 in the introductory vision in chap4 i41 followed the action of the ,lord when ,he laid ,his right hand upon the ,apostle1 who had fallen to the ground as dead1 and when ,he said to him1 ,fear not4#gj ,so now3 ,these things saith the first and the last1 which became dead1 and lived again4 ,death and resurrection are the two great divisions of the work of ,christ on our behalf1 and the ,gospel is summed up in them4 ,just as ,st4 ,paul wrote to the ,corinthians when he would remind them of the substance of his preaching in their midst1 ,for ,i declared unto you first of all that which also ,i received1 how that ,christ died for our sins according to the ,scriptures2 and that ,he was buried1 and that ,he hath been raised on the third day according to the ,scriptures1#ga in like manner here the same two facts include all the truth which ,smyrna held fast1 and with which come the life that conquers sin and the joy that triumphs over sorrow4 ,the state of the church is then described3 ,i know thy tribulation1 and thy poverty 7but thou art rich71 and the blasphemy of them which say they are ,jews1 and they are not1 but are a synagogue of ,satan4 ,tribulation1 persecution1 the blasphemy of men calling themselves the only people of ,god and denying to ,christians any portion in ,his covenant1 are alone alluded to1 though the church is at the same time cheered with the remark that if she had no share in worldly wealth and splendour1 she was rich4 ,god had chosen them that were poor as to the world to be rich in faith1 and heirs of the kingdom which ,he promised to them that love ,him4#gb ,the church then was in the midst of suffering4 ,was not that enough2 and shall she not be told that her sufferings were drawing to an end1 that the night of weeping was gone by1 and that the morning of joy was about to dawn8 ,so we might think2 but ,god's thoughts are not as our thoughts1 nor ,his ways as our ways1 and we are like children bathing on the shore1 ,buried a wave beneath2 ,the second wave succeeds before ,we have had time to breathe4 ,how often does it happen in the ,christian's experience that one burden is laid upon another1 and that one wave succeeds another1 till he seems left desolate and alone upon the earth4 ,yet even then he has no assurance that his sufferings are at a close4 ,the consolation afforded to him is1 not that there shall be a short campaign1 but only that1 whether long or short1 he shall be more than conqueror through ,him that loved him4 ,thus our ,lord does not now say to ,his church at ,smyrna1 ,fear none of those things that thou art suffering1 but ,fear not the things which thou art about to suffer3 behold1 the devil is about to cast some of you into prison1 that ye may be tried2 and ye shall have tribulation ten days4 ,it is hardly necessary to say to any intelligent reader of the ,apocalypse that the ten days here spoken of are neither ten literal days1 nor ten years1 nor ten successive persecutions of indefinite length4 ,in conformity with the symbolical use of numbers in this book1 ten days expresses no more than a time which1 though troubled1 shall be definite and short1 a time which may be otherwise denoted by the language of ,st4 ,peter when he says of believers that now for a little while they have been put to grief in manifold temptations4#gc ,encompassed by affliction1 therefore1 those who are thus tried have only to be faithful unto death1 or to the last extremity of martyrdom4 ,he who died and lived again will bestow upon them the crown of life1 the crown of the kingdom1 incorruptible1 undefiled1 and unfading4 ,he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death4 #c4 ,the third epistle is that to ,pergamum1 a city at the time devoted to the worship of 8culapius1 the god of medicine1 and in particular largely engaged with those parts of medical science which are occupied with inquiries into the springs of life4 ,that the wickedness of the city was both greater and more widespread than was common even in the dark days of heathenism is borne witness to by the fact that the first words addressed to it by ,him that hath the sharp two-edged sword were these3 ,i know where thou dwellest1 even where ,satan's throne is4 ,the word throne 7not1 as in the ,authorised ,version1 seat7 is intentionally selected by the ,seer2 and its use affords an illustration of one of his principles of style1 the remembrance of which is not unfrequently of value in interpreting his book4 ,everywhere it is his wont to see over against the good its mocking counterpart of evil1 over against the light a corresponding darkness4 ,thus because ,god occupies a throne ,satan does the same2 and inasmuch as in ,pergamum sin was marked by a refinement of greater than ordinary depth1 ,satan might be said to have his throne there4 ,this circumstance1 combined with the promise to the ,church contained in the seventeenth verse1 ,to him that overcometh1 to him will ,i give of the hidden manna1 and ,i will give him a white stone1 and upon the stone a new name written1 which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it1 may help us to understand the main thought of this epistle as distinguished from the others4 ,we have seen reason to believe that there was some secret mystery of evil in the city2 and1 contrasted with this1 we have now the promise of a secret mystery of life to the faithful church4 ,the ,church then in the secret of her ,divine preservation is here before us4 ,she lives a life the springs of which no one sees1 a life that is hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,it will be observed1 accordingly1 that1 whatever may be said against the condition of the city1 nothing is said against the church within it4 ,there is no hint that she has yielded to the influences of the world4 ,she has certainly evil-doers in her midst2 but these1 though in her1 are not of her3 and the ,christianity of the great majority of her members remains sound and sweet4 ,let us listen to the words of commendation3 ,and thou holdest fast ,my name1 and didst not deny ,my faith1 even in the days of ,antipas ,my witness1 ,my faithful one1 who was killed among you1 where ,satan dwelleth4 ,but ,i have a few things against thee1 because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of ,balaam1 who taught ,balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of ,israel1 to eat things sacrificed to idols1 and to commit fornication4 ,so hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the ,nicolaitans in like manner4 ,repent therefore2 or else ,i come to thee quickly1 and ,i will make war against them with the sword of ,my mouth4 ,those who are described in these words as holding the teaching of ,balaam and those who are here called the ,nicolaitans are the same1 denoted in the first instance by a description taken from the history of ,balaam in the ,old ,testament1 and in the second by a word formed in ,greek after the fashion of ,balaam's name in ,hebrew4 ,that the church in her corporate capacity had not yielded to the sinfulness referred to is manifest from this1 that they who had done so are described as some1 and that in the threatening of the sixteenth verse it is not said1 ,i will war against thee1 but ,i will war against them4 ,the sin therefore found in the bosom of the church was not1 as we shall find it to have been at ,thyatira1 with her consent4 ,she failed1 not because she encouraged it1 but because she did not take more vigorous steps for its extinction4 ,she did not sufficiently realize the fact that she was a part of the ,body of ,christ1 and that1 if one member suffer1 all the members suffer with it4 ,believers in her community were too easily satisfied with working out their own salvation1 and thought too little of presenting the whole church as a pure virgin to ,christ4#gd ,therefore it was that1 even amidst much faithfulness1 they needed to repent1 to feel more deeply than they did that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump1#ge and that in the ,church of the ,lord ,jesus we are to a large extent responsible1 not only for our own1 but for our neighbours'1 sins4 ,by keeping up the ,christian tone of the whole ,church the tone of each member of the ,church is heightened4 ,we thus reach the close of the first three epistles to the churches2 and we see that1 while each is accommodated to the particular circumstances of the ,christian community to which it is sent1 the three taken together present to us the three leading considerations upon which1 when we think of ,christ's ,church in this world1 we naturally dwell4 ,first1 she is in the main true to her ,divine ,master1 even when compelled to confess that she has left her first love4 ,secondly1 she is exposed for her further cleansing to many trials4 ,lastly1 she is sustained by the unseen influences of ,divine love and grace4 ,she eats of the hidden manna4 ,she has within her breastplate a white1 glistering stone1 upon which is inscribed the new name which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it4 ,she dwells1 like the high-priest of old at the moment of his greatest dignity and honour1 in the secret place of the ,most ,high4 ,she abides under the shadow of the ,almighty4 ,as a child she has entered into the garden of the ,lord2 and yet1 in all the simplicity of her childhood1 she is both king and priest4 ,such is the ,church of ,christ in ,ephesus1 ,smyrna1 and ,pergamum4 ,happy days of innocence and bliss6 ,we may well linger over them for a little4 ,too soon will they pass away1 and too soon will the ,church's conflict with the world and her yielding to it begin4 #d4 ,with the fourth epistle we enter upon the second group of epistles1 where the ,church is brought before us less as she is in herself1 than as she fails to maintain her true position in the world1 and as that separation between a faithful remnant and the whole body which meets us at every step of her history1 throughout both the ,old ,testament and the ,new1 begins to show itself4 ,now therefore there is a change of tone4 ,the first of the four1 the fourth in the series of seven1 is that to ,thyatira2 and to the church there the ,lord presents ,himself in all the penetrating power of those eyes that as a flame of fire search the inmost recesses of the heart1 and in all the resistless might of those feet that are as pillars of fire3#gf ,these things saith the ,son of ,god1 who hath ,his eyes like a flame of fire1 and ,his feet are like unto burnished brass4 ,the commendation of the church follows1 what is good being noted before defects are spoken of3 ,i know thy works1 and thy love and faith and ministry and patience1 and that thy last works are more than the first4 ,the commendation is great4 ,there was not only grace1 but growth in grace1 not only work1 but work in ,christ's cause abounding more and more4 ,yet there was also failure4 ,to understand this it is necessary1 as already noticed1 to adopt the translation of the ,revised ,version1 founded on the more correct reading of the later critical editions of the ,greek4 ,even in that version1 too1 the translation1 given in the margin1 of one important expression has to be substituted for that of the text4 ,keeping this in view1 the ,saviour thus addresses ,thyatira3 ,but ,i have this against thee1 that thou sufferest 7that thou toleratest1 that thou lettest alone7 thy wife ,jezebel1 which calleth herself a prophetess2 and she teacheth and seduceth ,my servants to commit fornication1 and to eat things sacrificed to idols4 ,and ,i gave her time that she should repent2 and she willeth not to repent of her fornication4 ,behold1 ,i do cast her into a bed1 and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation1 except they repent of her works4 ,and ,i will kill her children with death2 and all the churches shall know that ,i am ,he which searcheth the reins and hearts3 and ,i will give unto each one of you according to your works4 ,in these words ,jezebel is clearly a symbolical name4 ,it is impossible to think that the angel of the church was the chief pastor1 and that the woman named ,jezebel1 spoken of as she is1 was his wife4 ,we have before us the notorious ,jezebel of ,old ,testament history4 ,her story is so familiar to every one that it is unnecessary to dwell on it2 and we need only further call attention to the fact that the sentence in which her name is mentioned is complete in itself4 ,the sin of the church at ,thyatira was that she suffered her4 ,in other words1 the church tolerated in her midst the evil of which ,ahab's wife was so striking a representative4 ,she knew the world to be what it was2 but1 instead of making a determined effort to resist it1 she yielded to its influences4 ,she repeated the sin of the ,corinthian ,church3 ,it is actually reported that there is fornication among you4444 ,and ye are puffed up1 and did not rather mourn1 that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you4#gg ,the world1 in short1 was in the church1 and was tolerated there4 ,of the threatened punishment1 the bed of tribulation and sorrow instead of that of guilty pleasure1 nothing need be said4 ,it is of more consequence to observe the change in the manner of address which meets us after that punishment has been described3 ,but to you ,i say1 to the rest that are in ,thyatira1 as many as have not this teaching1 which know not the deep things of ,satan1 as they say2 ,i cast upon you none other burden4 ,howbeit that which ye have1 hold fast till ,i come4 ,for the first time in these epistles we meet with those who are spoken of as the rest1 the remnant1 who are to be carefully distinguished from the great body of the ,church's professing members4 ,the world has penetrated into the ,church2 the ,church has become conformed to the world3 and the hour is rapidly approaching when the true disciples of ,jesus will no longer find within her the shelter which she has hitherto afforded them1 and when they will have to come forth out of her in her degenerate condition4#gh ,it is a striking feature of these apocalyptic visions1 which has been too much missed by commentators4 ,we shall meet it again and again as we proceed4 ,in the meantime it is enough to say that the moment of withdrawal has not yet come4 ,the faithful rest1 who had rejected the false teaching and shunned the sinful life1 are to continue where they were2 and the ,lord will cast upon them none other burden4 ,well for them that they had such a promise6 ,their burden of suffering was heavy enough already4 ,hard to contend with under any circumstances1 suffering rises nearer to the height of the sufferings of ,christ when the ,christian is wounded1 not by open foes1 but in the house of his friends4 ,it was not an enemy that reproached me2 then ,i could have borne it3 neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me2 then ,i would have hid myself from him3 but it was thou1 a man mine equal1 my companion1 and my familiar friend4 ,we took sweet counsel together2 we walked in the house of ,god with the throng4#gi ,the trial was great2 so also is the consolation3 ,and he that overcometh1 and he that keepeth ,my works unto the end1 to him will ,i give authority over the nations3 and as a shepherd he shall tend them with a sceptre of iron1 as the vessels of the potter are they broken to shivers2 as ,i also have received of ,my ,father3 and ,i will give him the morning star4 ,it was a heathen element that clouded the sky of the church at ,thyatira4 ,that element1 nay the nations out of which it springs1 shall be crushed beneath the iron sceptre of the ,king who shall reign in ,mount ,zion1 and in ,jerusalem1 and before ,his ancients gloriously4#hj ,the clouds shall disappear2 and ,jesus1 the bright1 the morning star1#ha having given ,himself to ,his people1 ,he and they together shall shine with its clear but peaceful light when it appears in the heavens1 the harbinger of day4 #e4 ,the fifth epistle is that to ,sardis1 and in the superscription ,he who sends it describes ,himself as ,one that hath the seven ,spirits of ,god1 and the seven stars4 ,both expressions have already met us1 the former in chap4 i4 #d1 the latter in chap4 ii4 #a4 ,a different word from that used in the address to ,ephesus is indeed used here to indicate the relation of the ,lord to these stars or angels of the churches4 ,there the glorified ,lord holdeth the seven stars in ,his right hand2 here ,he hath them4 ,like every other change1 even of the slightest kind1 in this book1 the difference is instructive4 ,to hold them is to hold them fast for their protection2 to have them is to have them for a possession1 to have them not only outwardly and in name1 but inwardly and in reality1 as ,his own4 ,thus ,christ hath the ,holy ,spirit1 who in all ,his varied or sevenfold influences is1 as ,he proceedeth from the ,father and the ,son1 not only ,god's1 but ,his4 ,thus also ,christ hath the seven stars or churches1 here spoken of in immediate connexion with the ,spirit1 and therefore viewed chiefly in that spirituality of feeling and of life which ought to be the great mark distinguishing them from the world4 ,it was the mark in which ,sardis failed4 ,let her take heed to ,him with whom she has to do4 ,i know1 are the words addressed to her1 thy works1 that thou hast a name that thou livest1 and thou art dead4 ,be thou watchful1 and stablish the things that remain1 which were ready to die3 for ,i have found no works of thine fulfilled before ,my ,god4 ,remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear2 and keep it1 and repent4 ,if therefore thou shalt not watch1 ,i will come as a thief1 and thou shalt not know what hour ,i will come upon thee4 ,the world had been tolerated in ,thyatira1 the first of the last four churches2 in ,sardis1 the second1 it is more than tolerated4 ,sardis has substituted the outward for the inward4 ,she has been proud of her external ordinances1 and has thought more of them than of living in the ,spirit and walking in the ,spirit4 ,true piety has declined2 and1 as a natural consequence1 sins of the flesh1 alluded to in the immediately following words of the epistle1 have asserted their supremacy4 ,more even than this1 ,sardis had a name that she lived while she was dead4 ,she was renowned among men4 ,the world looked1 and beheld with admiration what was to it the splendour of her worship2 it listened1 and heard with enthusiasm the music of her praise4 ,and the church was pleased that it should be so4 ,not in humility1 lowliness1 and deeds of self-sacrificing love did she seek her name1 but in what the world would have been equally delighted with though the inspiring soul of it all had been folly or sin4 ,a stronghold had been established by the world in ,sardis4 ,yet there also the ,good ,shepherd had ,his little flock1 and there again we meet them4 ,but thou hast a few names in ,sardis which did not defile their garments4 ,these were to ,sardis what the rest were to ,thyatira4 ,they were the gleanings left in ,israel1 as the shaking of an olive tree1 two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough1 four or five in the outmost branches of a fruitful tree4#hb ,they were the new wine found in the cluster1 and one saith1 ,destroy it not2 for a blessing is in it4#hc ,to them therefore great promises are given3 ,they shall walk with ,me in white2 for they are worthy4 ,he that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments2 and ,i will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life1 and ,i will confess his name before ,my ,father1 and before ,his angels4 ,it is the glorified ,lord who1 as the ,high-priest of ,his ,church1 walketh in the midst of the golden candlesticks2 and1 as priests1 these shall walk with ,him in a similar glory4 ,upon earth they were despised1 but beyond the earth they shall be openly acknowledged and vindicated4 ,they shall be arrayed in those garments of glistering purity which were with difficulty kept white in the world1 but which in the world to come ,divine favour shall keep free from every stain4 #f4 ,the sixth epistle is to ,philadelphia2 and the remarkable circumstance connected with this church is that1 though spoken of as having but a little power1 it is not seriously blamed4 ,in this respect it resembles the church at ,smyrna in the first group of these seven epistles4 ,what has mainly to be noticed1 however1 is that it is not simply1 like that at ,smyrna1 a suffering church4 ,it has been engaged in an earnest and hot struggle with the world1 as the superscription1 the commendation1 and the promises of the epistle combine to testify4 ,the superscription is1 ,these things saith ,he that is holy1 ,he that is true1 ,he that hath the key of ,david1 ,he that openeth1 and none shall shut1 and that shutteth1 and none openeth4 ,the figure is taken from the ,old ,testament2 and both there and here the context shows us that it is neither the key of knowledge1 nor the key of discipline1 nor the key of the treasures of the kingdom that is spoken of1 but the key of power to open the ,lord's house as a sure refuge from all evil1 and to preserve safe for ever those who are admitted to it4 ,i will call ,my servant ,eliakim the son of ,hilkiah1 says the ,almighty by ,his prophet1 and ,i will clothe him with thy robe1 and strengthen him with thy girdle1 and ,i will commit thy government into his hand3 and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 and to the house of ,judah4 ,and the key of the house of ,david will ,i lay upon his shoulder2 and he shall open1 and none shall shut2 and he shall shut1 and none shall open4#hd ,whoever be our adversaries1 we know that in the hollow of the ,lord's hand we are safe4 ,the commendation of the epistle tells the same tale3 ,i know thy works 7behold1 ,i have set before thee a door opened1 which none can shut71 that thou hast a little power1 and didst keep ,my word1 and didst not deny ,my name4 ,the ,church had a little power1 and she had shown this in the struggle4 ,so also with the promises3 ,behold1 ,i give of the synagogue of ,satan1 of them which say they are ,jews1 and they are not1 but do lie2 behold1 ,i will make them to come and worship before thy feet1 and to know that ,i have loved thee4 ,because thou didst keep the word of ,my patience1 ,i also will keep thee from the hour of trial1 that hour which is to come upon the whole inhabited earth1 to try them that dwell upon the earth4 ,i come quickly3 hold fast that which thou hast1 that no one take thy crown4 ,he that overcometh1 ,i will make him a pillar in the temple of ,my ,god1 and he shall no more come forth3 and ,i will write upon him the name of ,my ,god1 and the name of the city of ,my ,god1 the new ,jerusalem1 which cometh down out of heaven from ,my ,god1 and ,mine own new name4 ,how fierce the struggle of ,philadelphia had been with the world we learn from these words1 in which the enemies of the ,church--,jews they call themselves1 the people of ,god1 but they are not--are brought before us like vanquished nations at her feet1 as she sits in the heavenly places1 paying homage to her against whom they had so long1 but vainly1 struggled4 ,it is impossible not to see the difference between this church and that at ,smyrna4 ,no doubt there had been blasphemy of them which say they are ,jews in the latter case1 but worse trials were only spoken of as about to come4 ,here the trials have come1 and the church has risen triumphantly above them4 ,therefore will the ,lord admit her to ,his heavenly mansions1 and will make her a pillar in ,his ,father's house1 whence she shall come forth no more4 ,he ,himself went forth from ,his ,father that ,he might be the ,captain of our salvation and might die on our behalf4 ,he returned to ,his ,father1 and never again comes forth as ,he came in the days of ,his flesh4 ,having died once1 ,he dieth no more2 and they who have borne ,his cross shall wear1 when victors in ,his cause1 ,his crown of victory4 #g4 ,the seventh epistle is to ,laodicea1 and here there can be no doubt that we have the picture of a church in which the power of the world carries almost all before it4 ,the church is addressed by ,him who describes ,himself as the ,amen1 the faithful and true ,witness1 the ,beginning of the creation of ,god1 upon which immediately follows a charge as to her condition in which there is no redeeming point4 ,only later do we see that there is hope4 ,i know thy works1 that thou art neither cold nor hot3 ,i would thou wert cold or hot4 ,so because thou art lukewarm1 and neither hot nor cold1 ,i will spew thee out of ,my mouth4 ,because thou sayest1 ,i am rich1 and have gotten riches1 and have need of nothing2 and knowest not that thou art the wretched one1 and miserable and poor and blind and naked3 ,i counsel thee to buy of ,me gold refined by fire1 that thou mayest become rich2 and white garments1 that thou mayest clothe thyself1 and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest2 and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes1 that thou mayest see4 ,as many as ,i love1 ,i reprove and chasten3 be zealous therefore1 and repent4 ,to interpret the boasting of the church given in these words as if it referred to spiritual rather than material riches is entirely to mistake the meaning4 ,worldly wealth is in the writer's view4 ,the members of the church generally have aimed at riches1 and have gotten them4 ,possession of riches has also been followed by its usual effects4 ,the seen and the temporal have usurped in their minds the place of the unseen and the eternal4 ,perhaps they have even regarded their worldly prosperity as a token of the ,divine favour1 and are soothing themselves with the reflection that they have made the best of both worlds1 when they have really sacrificed everything to one world1 and that the lower of the two4 ,the last picture of the ,church is the saddest of all4 ,yet is ,laodicea not altogether without hope4 ,behold1 says ,he whose every word is truth1 ,i stand at the door and knock3 if any man hear ,my voice and open the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he with ,me4 ,even in ,laodicea there are some who1 inasmuch as they have fought the hardest battle1 shall be welcomed to the highest reward4 ,he that overcometh1 ,i will give to him to sit down with ,me in ,my throne1 as ,i also overcame1 and sat down with ,my ,father in ,his throne4 ,beyond that neither hope nor imagination can rise4 ,the epistles to the seven churches are over4 ,they present the ,church to us as she appears on the field of history4 ,they set before us the leading characteristics of her condition partly as she was in ,asia at the moment when the ,apostle wrote1 partly as she shall be throughout all time and on the widest1 as well as the narrowest1 scale4 ,these characteristics may be shortly summed up as--in the first group of three1 love to the ,redeemer1 yet love liable1 and even beginning1 to grow cold2 persecution and trials of many kinds2 preservation by the secret grace of ,god and in the hidden life3 in the second group of four1 yielding on the part of the majority to sins associated with unchristian doctrine2 formalism in religion2 weakness in the midst of trial1 even though not accompanied by faithlessness2 and lukewarmness1 springing from a preference of the things of time to those of eternity4 ,to these characteristics1 however1 have to be added1 as more or less accompanying them1 many of the active graces of the ,christian life3 labour1 and patience1 and faith1 and charity1 and works1 whatever makes the ,christian ,church a light in the world and the object of her ,lord's care and watchfulness4 ,in reading the seven epistles1 we behold a lively picture of the ,church of ,christ in her graces and in her failings1 in her strength and in her weakness1 in her joys and in her sorrows1 in her falls under the influence of temptation and in her returns to the path of duty4 ,the characteristics thus spoken of are not peculiar to any particular age1 but may mark her at one time less1 at another more1 at one time individually1 at another in combination4 ,taken as a whole1 they present her to us in her ,divine ideal marred by human blemishes2 we are prepared to acknowledge the necessity1 the wisdom1 and the mercy of the trials that await her2 and we learn to anticipate with gladness her final and glorious deliverance4 ,one brief concluding remark ought to be made4 ,the epistles now considered ought to be sufficient in themselves to show that the ,apocalypse is not a series of visions intended only to illustrate one or two ideas which had taken a strong hold of the ,apostle's mind1 or one or two great principles of the ,divine government in general4 ,st4 ,john starts from the realities around him as much as any writer of the ,new ,testament4 ,it is true that he sees in them eternal principles at work1 and that he rises to the thought of ideal good and of ideal evil2 but he is not on that account less true to fact1 less impressed by fact4 ,on the contrary1 his very depth of insight into the meaning of the facts makes him what he is4 ,he who would write a philosophy of history is not less1 but more1 dependent upon the facts of history than he to whom a fact is valuable simply in its individual and isolated form4 ,it is the present therefore that stirs the writer of this book1 but stirs him the more because he beholds in it principles and issues connected with ,him who was1 and is1 and is to come1 the covenant-keeping ,god1 the ,judge of men1 the unchangeable ,i ,,am4 ,hence also the mistake sometimes made of thinking that the purpose of unfolding the principles of the ,divine government could not be a sufficient motive to ,st4 ,john to write4#he ,every cruelty to the saints of ,god which he witnessed1 every cry of oppression which he heard1 supplied a motive4 ,we may not feel these things now1 but the iron of them entered into the soul of the disciple whom ,jesus loved4 ,we need more prophets like him to make it ring in the ears of selfish wealth and of ease indifferent to the ills festering around it1 ,for the spoiling of the poor1 for the sighing of the needy1 now will ,i arise1 saith the ,lord4#hf ,,footnotes3 #bd ,chaps4 vii4 #b2 viii4 #b2 xiv4 #f1 #h1 #i2 xv4 #a1 #f4 #be ,chap4 xiv4 #ae4 #bf ,chaps4 i4 #a2 xx4 #a2 xxii4 #f4 #bg ,chap4 xvi4 #e4 #bh ,chap4 xiv4 #ah4 #bi ,chap4 vii4 #a4 #cj ,chap4 ix4 #aa4 #ca ,chap4 i4 #d4 #cb ,chap4 ii4 #a4 #cc ,chap4 ii4 #h4 #cd ,chap4 ii4 #ab4 #ce ,chap4 ii4 #ah4 #cf ,chap4 iii4 #a4 #cg ,chap4 iii4 #g4 #ch ,chap4 iii4 #ad4 #ci ,chaps4 ii4 #g2 xxii4 #b1 #ad4 #dj ,chaps4 ii4 #aa2 xx4 #ad4 #da ,chaps4 ii4 #ag2 xiv4 #a4 #db ,chaps4 ii4 #bf1 #bh2 xx4 #d1 #e2 xxii4 #af4 #dc ,chaps4 iii4 #e2 vii4 #i1 #ad4 #dd ,chaps4 iii4 #ab2 xxi4 #b1 #aj4 #de ,chaps4 iii4 #ba2 xx4 #d4 ,comp4 ,trench1 ,the ,seven ,epistles1 p4 #cg4 #df ,chap4 ii4 #a4 #dg ,chap4 iii4 #ad4 #dh ,comp4 ,rom4 viii4 #ba1 #bb2 ,james i4 #ah4 #di ,chap4 i4 #ai4 #ej ,chap4 ii4 #g1 #aa1 #ag4 #ea ,chaps4 ii4 #bi2 iii4 #f1 #ac1 #bb4 #eb ,chap4 ii4 #d4 #ec ,john xv4 #b4 #ed ,chap4 ii4 #ad1 #ae4 #ee ,comp4 ,heb4 ii4 #aj4 #ef ,chap4 iii4 #h4 #eg ,chap4 iii4 #aa4 #eh ,chap4 iii4 #ag4 #ei ,chap4 ii4 #g4 #fj ,chap4 ii4 #aa4 #fa ,chap4 ii4 #ag4 #fb ,chap4 ii4 #bf1 #bg4 #fc ,chap4 iii4 #e4 #fd ,chap4 iii4 #ab4 #fe ,chap4 iii4 #ba4 #ff ,chap4 xviii4 #d4 #fg ,matt4 xxviii4 #bj4 #fh ,ps4 xxxi4 #bj4 #fi ,john xv4 #bj4 #gj ,chap4 i4 #ag4 #ga #a ,cor4 xv4 #c1 #d4 #gb ,james ii4 #e4 #gc #a ,pet4 i4 #f4 #gd #b ,cor4 xi4 #b4 #ge #a ,cor4 v4 #f4 #gf ,chap4 x4 #a4 #gg #a ,cor4 v4 #a1 #b4 #gh ,comp4 chap4 xviii4 #d4 #gi ,ps4 lv4 #ab-ad4 #hj ,isa4 xxiv4 #bc4 #ha ,chap4 xxii4 #af4 #hb ,isa4 xvii4 #f4 #hc ,isa4 lxv4 #h4 #hd ,isa4 xxii4 #ba1 #bb4 #he ,dods1 ,introduction to ,new ,testament1 p4 #bdd4 #hf ,ps4 xii4 #e4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,anticipations ,,of ,,the ,,church',s ,,victory4 ,,rev4 iv41 v4 ,we have seen in considering the first chapter of the ,apocalypse that the book as a whole is to be occupied with the ,church's struggle in the world2 and in the second and third chapters the ,church herself has been placed before us as she occupies her position upon the field of history4 ,but the struggle has not yet begun1 nor will it begin until we reach the sixth chapter4 ,chaps4 iv4 and v4 are therefore still to be regarded as in a certain measure introductory4 ,they form a separate--the third--section of the book2 and the first questions that meet us in connexion with them are1 ,what is their relation to the main purpose of the author8 ,what is their leading conception8 and ,why are they placed where they are8 ,in answering these questions1 we are aided by the strictly parallel structure of the fourth ,gospel4 ,the ,prologue of that book1 contained in chap4 i4 #a-ah1 suggests the object which the writer has in view4 ,the next section--chap4 i4 #ai-;ii4 #aa--places before us the ,redeemer whose glory he is to describe4 ,the struggle of the ,son of ,god with the world does not begin till we come to chap4 v4 ,between chap4 ii4 #ab and chap4 iv4 #ed there is thus a considerable interval1 in which we have the cleansing of the ,temple and the victory of ,jesus over the unbelief of the ,jew ,nicodemus1 the ,samaritan woman1 and the king's officer of ,galilee1 who was probably a ,gentile4 ,in this intervening space the leading thought seems to be that of victory1 not indeed of victory in the struggle1 but of victory which prepares us for it1 and fills the mind with hope before it begins4 ,in like manner the two chapters upon which we are about to enter are occupied with songs of victory4 ,catching their spirit1 we shall boldly accompany the ,church into the struggle which follows1 and shall be animated by a joyful confidence that1 whatever her outward fortunes1 ,he that is with her is more than they that be with her enemies4#hg ,while such is the general conception of the third and fourth chapters viewed as one1 we have further to ask whether1 subordinate to their united purpose1 there is not a difference between them4 ,such a difference there appears to be2 and words of our ,lord in the fourth ,gospel1 spoken upon an occasion which had deeply impressed itself upon the mind of the ,evangelist1 may help us to determine what it is4 ,in the fourteenth chapter of that ,gospel ,jesus encourages ,his ,apostles as ,he sends them forth to fight ,his battle in the world4 ,let not1 ,he says1 your heart be troubled3 believe in ,god1 believe also in ,me4 ,the section of the ,apocalypse upon which we are about to enter embraces a similar thought in both its parts4 ,chap4 iv4 conveys to the ,church the assurance that ,he who is the ultimate source of all existence is on her side2 chap4 v4 that she may depend upon ,christ and ,his redeeming work4 ,the two chapters taken together are a cry to the ,church from her glorified ,head1 before she enters into the tribulation that awaits her1 ,let not your heart be troubled3 believe in ,god1 believe also in ,me4 ,after these things ,i saw and1 behold1 a door opened in heaven1 and the first voice which ,i heard1 a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me1 one saying1 ,come up hither1 and ,i will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter4 ,straightway ,i was in the ,spirit3 and1 behold1 there was a throne set in heaven1 and ,one sitting upon the throne2 and ,he that sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius2 and there was a rainbow round about the throne1 like an emerald to look upon4 ,and round about the throne were four-and-twenty thrones3 and upon the thrones ,i saw four-and-twenty elders sitting1 arrayed in white garments1 and on their heads crowns of gold4 ,and out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders4 ,and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne1 which are the seven ,spirits of ,god 7iv4 #a-e74 ,the first voice here spoken of is the voice of chap4 i4 #aj3 ,and ,i heard behind me a great voice1 as of a trumpet2 and it is well to remember that that voice introduced the vision of a ,son of man who1 while both ,king and ,priest1 was ,king and ,priest in judgment4 ,it is impossible to doubt that the sound of the same voice is intended to indicate the same thing here1 and that the ,king whom we are about to behold is ,one who has prepared ,his throne for judgment4#hh ,the ,seer is introduced to a scene which we first recognise as the glorious audience-chamber of a great ,king4 ,everything as yet speaks of royalty1 and of royal majesty1 power1 and judgment4 ,the jasper stone as we learn from a later passage of this book1 in which it is said to be clear as crystal1#hi was of a bright1 sparkling whiteness2 and it fitly represents the holiness of ,him of whom the seraphim in ,isaiah cry one to another1 ,holy1 holy1 holy1 is the ,lord of hosts1#ij and who in this very chapter is celebrated by the unresting cherubim with the words1 ,holy1 holy1 holy1 is the ,lord1 ,god1 the ,almighty1 which was and which is and which is to come4 ,the sardius1 again1 was of a fiery red colour1 and can denote nothing but the terror of the ,almighty's wrath4 ,out of the throne also--not merely out of the atmosphere surrounding it1 but out of the throne itself--proceed lightnings and voices and thunders1 always throughout the ,apocalypse emblems of judgment2 while the use of the word burn in other parts of the same book1 and the fact that what the ,seer beheld was not so much lamps as torches1 leads to the belief that these torches as they burned before the throne sent out a blazing and fierce rather than a calm and soft light4 ,it is true that the rainbow round about the throne points to the ,divine covenant of grace and promise1 and that its emerald greenness1 absorbing1 or at least throwing into the shade1 its other and varied hues1 tells with peculiar force of something on which the eye loves1 and does not fear1 to rest4 ,but the mercy of ,god does not extinguish ,his righteousness and judgment4 ,different as such qualities may seem to be1 they are combined in ,him with whom the ,church and the world have to do4 ,in the ,new ,testament not less than in the ,old the ,almighty reveals ,himself in the awakening terrors of ,his wrath as well as in the winning gentleness of ,his love4 ,st4 ,peter speaks of our ,lord as not only the chief corner-stone laid in ,zion1 elect1 precious1 so that he that believeth on ,him shall not be put to shame1 but as a stone of stumbling and rock of offence2#ia and when the writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews gives us his loftiest description of the privileges of the ,christian ,church1 he closes it with the words1 ,wherefore1 receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken1 let us have grace1 whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to ,god with reverence and awe3 for our ,god is a consuming fire4#ib ,so also here4 ,would we conceive of ,god aright1 even after we have been brought into the full enjoyment of all the riches of ,his grace and love1 we must think of ,him as represented by the jasper and the sardius as well as by the emerald4 ,the four-and-twenty elders occupying thrones 7not seats7 around the throne are to be regarded as representatives of the glorified ,church2 and the number1 twice twelve1 seems to be obtained by combining the number of the patriarchs of the ,old ,testament with that of the ,apostles of the ,new4 ,the description of the heavenly scene is now continued3-- ,and before the throne1 as it were a glassy sea like unto crystal and in the midst of the throne1 and round about the throne1 four living creatures full of eyes before and behind4 ,and the first creature was like a lion1 and the second creature like a calf1 and the third creature had a face as of a man1 and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle4 ,and the four living creatures1 having each one of them six wings1 are full of eyes round about and within2 and they have no rest day and night1 saying1 ,holy1 holy1 holy1 is the ,lord1 ,god1 the ,almighty1 which was and which is and which is to come 7iv4 #f-h74 ,up to this point we have been beholding a royal court2 in the words now quoted the priestly element comes in4 ,the glassy sea naturally leads the thoughts to the great brazen laver known as the brazen sea which stood in the court of ,solomon's temple between the altar and the sanctuary1 and at which the priests cleansed themselves before entering upon the discharge of their duties within the precincts of ,god's holy house4 ,the resemblance is not indeed exact2 and were it not for what follows1 there might be little upon which to rest this supposition4 ,we know1 however1 from many examples1 that the ,seer uses the figures of the ,old ,testament with great freedom2 and as the ,temple source of the living creatures next introduced to us cannot be mistaken1 it becomes the more probable that the brazen sea of the same building1 whatever be the actual meaning of the figure--a point that will meet us afterwards--suggests the glassy sea4 ,when we turn to the living creatures1 there can be no doubt whatever that we are in the midst of ,temple imagery4 ,these are the cherubim1 two of which1 fashioned in gold1 were placed above the mercy-seat in the holy of holies1 so that1 inasmuch as that mercy-seat was regarded as peculiarly the throne of ,god1 ,israel was invited to think of its ,king as sitting between the cherubim4#ic ,these figures1 however1 were not confined to that particular spot1 nor were they fashioned only in that particular way1 for the curtain and the veil which formed the sides of the ,most ,holy ,place were wrought with cherubim of cunning work1#id so that one entering that sacred spot was surrounded by them4 ,in the midst of the cherubim spoken of in these verses we are thus in the midst of ,temple figures and of priestly thoughts4 ,it is impossible here to trace the history of the cherubim throughout the ,bible2 and we must be content with referring to two points connected with them1 of importance for the interpretation of this book3 the representative nature of the figures and the aspect under which we are to see them4#ie ,as to the first of these1 the human element in the cherubim is at once intelligible4 ,it can be nothing but man2 while the fact that they occupy so large a position in the most sacred division of the ,tabernacle is sufficient to prove that man1 so represented1 is thought of as redeemed and brought to the highest stage of spiritual perfection4 ,the other elements referred to certainly do not indicate either new qualities added to humanity1 or an intensification of those already possessed by it1 as if we might cherish the prospect of a time when the physical qualities of man shall equal in their strength those of the animals around him1 when he shall possess the might of the lion1 the power of the ox1 and the swiftness of the eagle4 ,they represent rather the different departments of nature as these are distributed into the animate and inanimate creation4 ,taking the living creatures together in all their parts1 they are thus an emblem of man1 associated on the one hand with the material creation1 on the other with the various tribes of animals by which it is inhabited1 but all redeemed1 transfigured1 perfected1 delivered from the bondage of corruption1 and brought into the liberty of the glory of the children of ,god4#if ,they have a still wider and more comprehensive meaning than the twenty-four elders1 the latter setting before us only the ,church1 but the former all creation1 glorified4 ,the second point above mentioned--the aspect worn by the living creatures--demands also a few remarks1 for the view commonly entertained upon it seems to be erroneous4 ,misled by the mention of the calf1 which is supposed to be the ox1 and not the bull-calf1 interpreters have allowed the mode in which they understood this particular to rule their interpretation of the others4 ,it has been regarded as the emblem of endurance and of patient labour rather than of power and rage2 while1 following the same line of thought1 the eagle has been treated as the king of birds soaring in the blue vault of heaven rather than as hastening 7like the vulture7 to his prey4#ig ,the whole conception of the cherubim has thus been modified and shaped in the minds of men under a form altogether different from that in which it is really presented to us in ,scripture4 ,the cherubim of the ,old ,testament and the living creatures of the ,new are supposed to represent majesty and peerless strength1 patient and productive industry1 and soaring energy and nimbleness of action4 ,in reality they rather represent qualities that strike terror into the hearts of men and suggest the idea of an irresistibly destructive force4 ,with this view all that is elsewhere said of them corresponds4 ,they are not simply spoken of as partakers of the favour of ,god4 ,they are instruments in the execution of ,his wrath4 ,when our first parents were driven from the garden of ,eden1 they were placed at the east of the garden1 along with a flaming sword which turned every way1 to keep the way of the tree of life4#ih ,when we are introduced to them in ,ezekiel1 it is said that their appearance was like burning coals of fire1 like the appearance of torches3 it went up and down among the living creatures2 and the fire was bright1 and out of the fire went forth lightning4 ,and the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning4#ii ,similar associations are connected with them throughout the ,apocalypse4 ,the opening of each of the first four seals1 the four that deal with judgments upon the earth1 is immediately followed by a voice1 as it were the noise of thunder1 from one of the four living creatures1 saying1 ,come4#ajj ,one of them gives to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of ,god4#aja ,and after the destruction of ,babylon1 when her smoke is ascending up for ever and ever1 and the voice of much people in heaven calls for praise to ,him who hath avenged the blood of ,his servants at her hand1 they fall down and worship ,god that sitteth on the throne1 saying1 ,amen2 ,hallelujah4#ajb ,there can be little doubt1 then1 as to the meaning of these four living creatures4 ,they are sharers of the ,almighty's holiness1 and of that holiness in its more awful form1 as a holiness that cannot look on sin but with abhorrence4 ,they are the vicegerents of ,his kingdom4 ,they are assessors by ,his side4 ,their aspect is not that of the sweetness associated with the word cherub1 but that of sternness1 indignant power1 and judgment4 ,thus also it is that in the ,tabernacle they looked toward the mercy-seat4#ajc ,by what they saw there they were restrained from executing wrath upon the guilty4 ,that mercy-seat1 sprinkled with the blood of atonement1 told them of pardon and of a new life for the sinner4 ,their sternness was softened2 mercy rejoiced over judgment2 and the storm-wind upon which ,god flew swiftly1 when ,he rode upon a cherub1 and did fly1#ajd sank into a calm4 ,the ,seer has beheld the audience-chamber of the ,godhead in itself4 ,he has seen also the ,divine ,being who is there clothed with majesty1 and those who wait upon ,him4 ,he next passes to another thought3-- ,and when the living creatures shall give glory and honour and thanks to ,him that sitteth on the throne1 to ,him that liveth for ever and ever1 the four-and-twenty elders shall fall down before ,him that sitteth on the throne1 and shall worship ,him that liveth for ever and ever1 and shall cast their crowns before the throne1 saying1 ,worthy art ,thou1 our ,lord and our ,god1 to receive the glory and the honour and the power3 for ,thou didst create all things1 and because of ,thy will they were1 and were created 7iv4 #i-aa74 ,in his beautiful comments upon the ,revelation ,isaac ,williams says1 ,the four living creatures1 or the ,church of the redeemed1 give thanksgiving to ,god for their redemption2 and then the twenty-four elders fall down and attribute all glory to ,god alone1 inasmuch as prophets1 ,apostles1 and all the ministering priesthood1 rejoicing in the salvation of the elect1 attribute it not to their own instrumentality1 but to ,god4#aje ,in thus interpreting the passage1 however1 that commentator can hardly be regarded as correct4 ,it is true that the living creatures are the representatives of redeemed creation1 and the twenty-four elders representatives of the glorified ,church4 ,but in the song of praise here put into their mouths they have not yet advanced to the thought of salvation4 ,that is reserved for the next chapter4 ,here they think of creation1 with all its wonders2 of the heavens which declare ,god's glory1 and the firmament which shows forth ,his handiwork2 of sun1 and moon1 and stars in their manifold and resplendent glories2 of the mountains and the valleys2 of the rivers and the fountains of waters2 of the rich exuberance of vegetable life1 which covers the earth with a gorgeous carpet of every hue2 and of all those animals upon its surface which run races in their mirth3 and for them they praise4 ,to ,god all creatures owe their origin4 ,in ,him they live1 and move1 and have their being4 ,because of ,his will they were--let the reading be considered and remembered3 were1 not are--because of ,his will they were in ,his idea from eternity2 and when the appointed moment came1 they were created4 ,wherefore let them praise4 ,we are reminded of the ,psalms of the ,old ,testament1 though it is ours to put into their words a still deeper and richer meaning than they possessed when first uttered by the ,psalmist3-- ,praise ye the ,lord4 ,praise ye the ,lord from the heavens3 ,praise ,him in the heights4 ,praise ye ,him1 all ,his angels3 ,praise ye ,him1 all ,his host4 ,praise ye ,him1 sun and moon ,praise ,him1 all ye stars of light4 ,praise ,him1 ye heavens of heavens1 ,and ye waters that be above the heavens4 ,let them praise the name of the ,lord3 ,for ,he commanded1 and they were created ,he hath also established them for ever and ever3 ,he hath made a decree which shall not pass away4 ,praise the ,lord from the earth1 ,ye dragons1 and all deeps3 ,fire1 and hail2 snow1 and vapour2 ,stormy wind fulfilling ,his word3 ,mountains1 and all hills2 ,fruitful trees1 and all cedars3 ,beasts1 and all cattle2 ,creeping things1 and flying fowl3 ,kings of the earth1 and all peoples2 ,princes1 and all judges of the earth3 ,both young men1 and maidens2 ,old men1 and children3 ,let them praise the name of the ,lord3 ,for ,his name alone is exalted2 ,his glory is above the earth and heaven4#ajf ,such then in chap4 iv4 is the call addressed by the ,seer to the ,church before she enters upon her struggle1 a call similar to that of ,jesus to ,his disciples1 ,believe in ,god4 ,the fifth chapter continues the same general subject1 but with a reference to ,christ the ,redeemer rather than ,god the ,creator3-- ,and ,i saw in the right hand of ,him that sat on the throne a roll of a book written within and on the back1 close sealed with seven seals4 ,and ,i saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice1 ,who is worthy to open the roll1 and to loose the seals thereof8 ,and no one in the heaven1 or on the earth1 or under the earth1 was able to open the roll1 or to look thereon4 ,and ,i wept much1 because no one was found worthy to open the roll1 or to look thereon4 ,and one of the elders saith unto me1 ,weep not3 behold1 the ,lion that is of the tribe of ,judah1 the ,root of ,david1 hath overcome to open the roll1 and the seven seals thereof 7v4 #a-e74 ,we can easily form to ourselves a correct idea of the outward form of the symbol resorted to in these words4 ,the same symbol is used by the prophet ,ezekiel1 and in circumstances in some respects precisely analogous to those of the ,seer4 ,ezekiel had just beheld his first vision of the cherubim4 ,and when ,i looked1 he says1 behold1 an hand was put forth unto me2 and1 lo1 a roll of a book was therein2 and ,he spread it before me2 and it was written within and without4#ajg ,in both cases it is not a book1 but a roll1 like the sacred rolls of the synagogue1 that is presented to the prophet's eye1 the difference being that in the ,apocalypse we read of the roll being close sealed with seven seals4 ,this addition is due to the higher1 more sublime1 and more momentous nature of the mysteries contained in it4 ,that it is written within and on the back1 so that there is no space for further writing1 shows that it contains the whole counsel of ,god with regard to the subject of which it treats4 ,it is the word of ,him who is the ,alpha and the ,omega1 the first and the last2 and the seven seals are so fastened to the roll that one of them may be broken at a time1 and no more of the contents disclosed than belonged to that particular seal4 ,what also the contents of the roll are we learn from the contents of the seals as they are successively disclosed in the following chapters4 ,as yet the ,seer does not know them4 ,he knows only that they are of the deepest interest and importance2 and he looks anxiously around to see if any one can be found who may break the seals and unfold their mysteries4 ,no such person can be discovered either in heaven1 or on the earth1 or under the earth4 ,no one will even dare to look upon the roll2 and the sorrow of the ,seer was so deepened by this circumstance that he wept much4 ,at that moment one of the elders1 the representatives of the glorified ,church1 advanced to cheer him with the tidings that what he so much desired shall be accomplished4 ,one who had had a battle to fight and a victory to win had overcome1 not only to look upon the roll1 but to open it and to loose the seven seals thereof1 so as to make its contents known4 ,this was the ,lion that is of the tribe of ,judah1 the ,root of ,david4 ,the description is taken partly from the law and partly from the prophets1 for is not this ,he of whom ,moses in the law1 and the prophets1 did write8#ajh2 the former in the blessings pronounced by the dying patriarch ,jacob upon his son ,judah3 ,judah is a lion's whelp3 from the prey1 my son1 thou art gone up3 he stooped down1 he couched as a lion1 and as a lioness2 who shall rouse him up8#aji2 the latter in such words as those of ,isaiah1 ,and there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of ,jesse1 and a ,branch out of his roots shall bear fruit2#aaj while1 in the language alike of the prophet and of the ,seer1 the words set forth the ,messiah1 not as the root out of which ,david sprang1 but as a shoot which1 springing from him1 was to grow up into a strong and stately tree4 ,in ,him the conquering might of ,david1 the man of war1 and of ,judah1 chosen to be the ruler1#aaa comes forth with all the freshness of a new youth4 ,he is the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and generations1 but now hath been manifested to the saints4#aab ,in ,him the darkness is passing away1 and the true light already shineth4#aac ,after two days will ,he revive us3 on the third day ,he will raise us up1 and we shall live before ,him4 ,and let us know1 let us follow on to know1 the ,lord3 ,his going forth is sure as the morning2 and ,he shall come unto us as the rain1 as the latter rain that watereth the earth4#aad ,thus then was it now4 ,like ,daniel of old1 the ,seer had wept in order that he might understand the vision2 and the elder said to him1 ,weep not4 ,the eagerly desired explanation follows3-- ,and ,i saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures1 and in the midst of the elders1 a ,lamb standing as though it had been slaughtered1 having seven horns and seven eyes1 which are the seven ,spirits of ,god sent forth into all the earth4 ,and ,he came1 and ,he hath taken it out of the right hand of ,him that sat on the throne 7v4 #f1 #g74 ,a strange and unlooked-for spectacle is presented to the ,seer4 ,he had been told of a lion2 and he beholds a lamb1 nay not only a lamb1 the emblem of patience and of innocence1 but1 as we learn from the use of the word slaughtered 7not slain1 as in both the ,authorised and ,revised ,versions71 a lamb for sacrifice1 and that had been sacrificed4 ,nor can we doubt for a moment1 when we call to mind the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john and its many points of analogy with the ,apocalypse1 what particular lamb it was4 ,it was the ,paschal ,lamb1 the ,lamb beheld in our ,lord by the ,baptist when1 pointing to ,jesus as ,he walked1 he said to his disciples1 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god1#aae and again beheld by the writer of the fourth ,gospel on the ,cross1 when in the fact that the soldiers broke not the legs of ,jesus1 as they broke those of the malefactors hanging on either side of ,him1 he traced the fulfilment of the ,scripture1 ,a bone of ,him shall not be broken4#aaf ,this therefore was the true ,lamb that taketh away the sin of the world1 the ,lamb that gives us ,his flesh to eat1 so that in ,him we may have eternal life4#aag ,the ,lamb has seven horns1 the emblem of perfected strength1 and seven eyes1 which are explained to be the ,spirit of ,god1 sent forth in all ,his penetrating and searching power1 so that none even in the very ends of the earth can escape ,his knowledge4 ,further the ,lamb is standing as though it had been slaughtered1 and there never has been a moment's hesitation as to the interpretation of the figure4 ,the words as though do not mean that the slaughtering had been only in appearance4 ,it had been real4 ,the ,saviour1 pierced with cruel wounds1 bowed ,his head on ,calvary1 and gave up ,his spirit4#aah ,the first and the last and the ,living ,one became dead1#aai and had been laid in the tomb in the garden4 ,but ,he had risen from that tomb on the third morning2 and1 behold1 ,he is alive for evermore4#abj ,he had ascended to the right hand of the ,majesty on high2 and there ,he stands1 living and acting in all the plenitude of endless and incorruptible life4 ,one thing more has to be noticed3 that this ,lamb is the central figure of the scene before us1 in the midst of the throne and of the living creatures1 and of the elders4 ,to ,him all the works of ,god1 both in creation and redemption1 turn4 ,to ,him the old covenant led2 and the prophets who were raised up under it searched what time or what manner of time the ,spirit of ,christ which was in them did point unto1 when it testified beforehand the sufferings of ,christ1 and the glories that should follow them4#aba ,from ,him the new covenant flowed1 and those who under it are called to the knowledge of the truth recognise in ,him their all and in all4#abb ,the ,lamb slaughtered1 raised from the grave1 ascended1 being the impersonation of that ,divine love which is the essence of the ,divine nature1 is the visible centre of the universe4 ,he is the image of the invisible ,god1 the ,first-born of all creation3 for in ,him were all things created1 in the heavens and upon the earth1 things visible and things invisible1 whether thrones1 or dominions1 or principalities1 or powers3 all things have been created through ,him1 and unto ,him3 and ,he is before all things1 and in ,him all things consist4 ,and ,he is the ,head of the ,body1 the ,church3 who is the ,beginning1 the ,first-born from the dead2 that in all things ,he might have the pre-eminence4 ,for it was the good pleasure of the ,father that in ,him should all the fulness dwell2 and through ,him to reconcile all things unto ,himself1 having made peace through the blood of ,his cross2 through ,him1 ,i say1 whether things upon the earth1 or things in the heavens4#abc ,such is the ,lamb2 and ,he now comes1 and hath taken the roll out of the right hand of ,him that sat on the throne4 ,let us note the words hath taken4 ,it is not took4 ,st4 ,john sees the ,lamb not only take the roll1 but keep it4 ,it is ,his1--,his as the ,son1 in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily2 ,his by right of the victory ,he has won2 ,his as the ,first-born of all creation and the ,head of the ,church4 ,it is ,his to keep1 and to unfold1 and to execute1 who is over all1 ,god blessed for ever4 ,amen4#abd ,therefore is ,he worthy of all praise1 and to ,him all praise is given3-- ,and when ,he had taken the book1 the four living creatures and the four-and-twenty elders fell down before the ,lamb1 having each one a harp1 and golden bowls full of incense1 which are the prayers of the saints4 ,and they sang a new song1 saying1 ,worthy art ,thou to take the book1 and to open the seals thereof3 for ,thou wast slain1 and didst purchase unto ,god with ,thy blood men of every tribe1 and tongue1 and people1 and nation2 and madest them to be unto our ,god a kingdom and priests3 and they reign over the earth 7v4 #h-aj74 ,it is not necessary to dwell upon the figures that are here employed1 the harp1 as connected with the ,temple service1 being the natural emblem of praise1 and the bowls full of incense the emblem of prayer4 ,but it is of importance to observe the universality of the praises and the prayers referred to1 for as the language used here of these men of every tribe1 and tongue1 and people1 and nation1 when they are said to have been made a kingdom and priests unto our ,god1 is the same as that of chap4 i4 #f1 we seem entitled to conclude that1 even from its very earliest verses1 the ,apocalypse has the universal ,church in view4 ,the song sung by this great multitude1 including even the representatives of nature1 now delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of ,god1#abe is wholly different from that of chap4 iv4 ,it is a new song1 for it is the song of the new creation2 and its burden1 it will be observed1 is not creation1 but redemption by the blood of the ,lamb1 a redemption through which all partaking of it are raised to a higher glory and a fairer beauty than that enjoyed and exhibited before sin had as yet entered into the world1 and when ,god saw that all that ,he had made was good4 ,the song was sung1 but no sooner was it sung than it awoke a responsive strain from multitudes of which we have not yet heard3-- ,and ,i saw1 and ,i heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders3 and the number was ten thousands of ten thousands1 and thousands of thousands2 saying with a great voice1 ,worthy is the ,lamb that hath been slain to receive the power1 and riches1 and wisdom1 and might1 and honour1 and glory1 and blessing 7v4 #aa1 #ab74 ,these are the angels1 who are not within the throne1 but round about the throne and the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders4 ,their place is not so near the throne1 so near the ,lamb4 ,for not unto angels did ,he subject the inhabited earth to come1 whereof we speak4#abf ,he subjected it to man1 to ,him first of all who1 having taken upon ,him our human nature1 and in that nature conquered1 was crowned with glory and honour1 but then also to the members of ,his ,body1 who shall in due time be exalted to a similar dignity and shall reign over the earth4 ,yet angels rejoice with man and with creation redeemed and purified4 ,they desire to look into#abg these things3 ,there is joy in the presence of the angels of ,god over one sinner that repenteth4#abh ,he who was ,god manifested in flesh appeared after ,his resurrection to angels2#abi and1 although they have not been purchased with the blood of the slaughtered ,lamb1 their hearts are filled with livelier ecstasy and their voices swell out into louder praise while the manifold wisdom of ,god is made known to them in their heavenly places4#acj ,even this is not all4 ,there is a third stage in the ascending scale1 a third circle formed for the widening song3-- ,and everything which is in the heaven1 and on the earth1 and under the earth1 and on the sea1 and all things that are in them1 heard ,i saying1 ,unto ,him that sitteth on the throne1 and unto the ,lamb1 be the blessing1 and the honour1 and the glory1 and the dominion1 for ever and ever 7v4 #ac74 ,what a sublime conception have we here before us6 ,the whole universe1 from its remotest star to the things around us and beneath our feet1 is one1--one in feeling1 in emotion1 in expression2 one in heart and voice4 ,nothing is said of evil4 ,nor is it thought of4 ,it is in the hands of ,god1 who will work out ,his sovereign purposes in ,his own good time and way4 ,we have only to listen to the universal harmony1 and to see that it move us to corresponding praise4 ,it did so now3-- ,and the four living creatures said1 ,amen4 ,and the elders fell down and worshipped 7v4 #ad74 ,the redeemed creation is once more singled out for special mention4 ,at chap4 iv1 #h1 #aj1 they began the song2 now we return to them that they may close it4 ,all creation1 man included1 cries1 ,amen4 ,the glorified ,church has her heart too full to speak4 ,she can only fall down and worship4 ,the distinction between chap4 iv4 and chap4 v4 must now be obvious1 even while it is allowed that the same general thought is at the bottom of both chapters4 ,in the one the ,church when about to enter on her struggle has the call addressed to her3 ,believe in ,god4 ,in the other that call is followed up by the glorified ,redeemer3 ,believe also in ,me4 ,having listened to the call1 there is no enemy that she need fear1 and no trial from which she need shrink4 ,she is already more than conqueror through ,him that loved her4 ,as we enter into the spirit of these chapters we cry1-- ,god is our refuge and strength1 ,a very present help in trouble4 ,therefore will we not fear1 though the earth do change1 ,and though the mountains be moved in the heart of the seas2 ,though the waters thereof roar and be troubled1 ,though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof4 ,there is a river1 the streams whereof make glad the city of ,god1 ,the holy place of the tabernacles of the ,most ,high4 ,god is in the midst of her2 she shall not be moved3 ,god shall help her1 and that right early4 ,the nations raged1 the kingdoms were moved3 ,he uttered ,his voice1 the earth melted4 ,the ,lord of hosts is with us2 ,the ,god of ,jacob is our refuge4#aca ,,footnotes3 #hg ,comp4 #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #g1 #h4 #hh ,ps4 ix4 #g4 #hi ,chap4 xxi4 #aa4 #ij ,isa4 vi4 #c4 #ia #a ,pet4 ii4 #f1 #h4 #ib ,heb4 xii4 #bh1 #bi4 #ic ,ps4 xcix4 #a4 #id ,exod4 xxvi4 #a4 #ie ,comp4 ,bible ,educator1 vol4 iii41 p4 #bij1 where the writer has discussed this subject at some length4 #if ,rom4 viii4 #ba4 #ig ,job ix4 #bf4 #ih ,gen4 iii4 #bd4 #ii ,ezek4 i4 #ac1 #ad4 #ajj ,chap4 vi4 #a1 #c1 #e1 #g4 #aja ,chap4 xv4 #g4 #ajb ,chap4 xix4 #d4 #ajc ,exod4 xxv4 #bj4 #ajd ,ps4 xviii4 #aj4 #aje ,the ,apocalypse1 with ,notes and ,reflections1 p4 #fi4 #ajf ,ps4 cxlviii4 #a-c4 #ajg ,ezek4 ii4 #i1 #aj4 #ajh ,john i4 #de4 #aji ,gen4 xlix4 #i4 #aaj ,isa4 xi4 #a4 #aaa #a ,chron4 xxviii4 #d4 #aab ,col4 i4 #bf4 #aac #a ,john ii4 #h4 #aad ,hos4 vi4 #b1 #c4 #aae ,john i4 #cf4 #aaf ,john xix4 #cf4 #aag ,the point now spoken of has been doubted4 ,a full discussion of it by the present writer will be found in ,the ,expositor for ,july and ,august1 #ahgg4 #aah ,john xix4 #cj4 #aai ,chap4 i4 #ah4 #abj ,chap4 i4 #ah4 #aba #a ,pet4 i4 #aa #abb ,col4 iii4 #aa4 #abc ,col4 i4 #ae-bj4 #abd ,rom4 ix4 #e4 #abe ,rom4 viii4 #ba4 #abf ,heb4 ii4 #e4 #abg #a ,pet4 i4 #ab4 #abh ,luke xv4 #aj4 #abi #a ,tim4 iii4 #af4 #acj ,eph4 iii4 #aj4 #aca ,ps4 xlvi4 #a-g4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,sealed ,,roll ,,opened4 ,,rev4 vi4 ,with the sixth chapter of the ,apocalypse the main action of the book may be said properly to begin4 ,three sections of the seven into which it is divided have already passed under our notice4 ,the fourth section1 extending from chap4 vi4 #a to chap4 xviii4 #bd1 is intended to bring before us the struggle of the ,church1 the judgment of ,god upon her enemies1 and her final victory4 ,no detail of historical events in which these things are fulfilled need be looked for4 ,we are to be directed rather to the sources whence the trials spring1 and to the principles by which the victory is gained4 ,at this point in the unfolding of the visions it is generally thought that there is a pause1 an interval of quietness however brief1 and a hush of expectation on the part both of the ,seer himself and of all the heavenly witnesses of the wondrous drama4 ,but there seems to be no foundation for such an impression in the text2 and it is more in keeping alike with the language of this particular passage and with the general probabilities of the case to imagine that the lightnings and voices and thunders1 spoken of in chap4 iv4 #e as proceeding out of the throne1 continue to re-echo over the scene1 filling the hearts of the spectators with that sense of awe which they are naturally fitted to awaken4 ,we have to meet the ,lord in judgment4 ,we are to behold the ,lamb as the ,lion of the tribe of ,judah2 and when ,he so appears1 the mountains flow down at ,his presence4#acb ,the ,lamb then1 who had1 in the previous chapter1 taken the book out of the hand of ,him that sat upon the throne1 is now to open it1 part by part1 seal by seal3-- ,and ,i saw when the ,lamb opened one of the seven seals1 and ,i heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder1 ,come 7vi4 #a74 ,particular attention ought to be paid to the fact that the true reading of the last clause of this verse is not1 as in the ,authorised ,version1 ,come and see1 but simply1 as in the ,revised ,version1 ,come4 ,the call is not addressed to the ,seer1 but to the ,lord ,himself2 and it is uttered by one of the four living creatures spoken of in chap4 iv4 #f1 who are in the midst of the throne and round about the throne1 and who in ver4 #h of the same chapter are the first to raise the song from which they never rest1 saying1 ,holy1 holy1 holy1 is the ,lord1 ,god1 the ,almighty1 which was and which is and which is to come4 ,the word ,come therefore embodies the longing of redeemed creation that the ,lord1 for the completion of whose work it waits1 will take to ,him ,his great power and reign4 ,not so much for the perfecting of its own happiness1 or for deliverance from the various troubles by which it is as yet beset1 and not so much for the manifestation of its ,lord in ,his abounding mercy to ,his own1 does the creation delivered from the bondage of corruption wait1 as for the moment when ,christ shall appear in awful majesty1 ,king of kings and ,lord of lords1 when ,he shall banish for ever from the earth the sin by which it is polluted1 and when ,he shall establish1 from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same1 ,his glorious kingdom of righteousness1 and peace1 and joy in the ,holy ,ghost4 ,this prospect is inseparably associated with the ,second ,coming of ,him who is now concealed from our view2 and therefore the cry of the whole waiting creation1 whether animate or inanimate1 to its ,lord is ,come4 ,the cry1 too1 and that not only in the case of the first living creature1 but 7according to a rule of interpretation of which in this book we shall often have to make use7 in the case of the three that follow1 is uttered with a voice of thunder2 and thunder is always an accompaniment and symbol of the ,divine judgments4 ,no sooner is the cry heard than it is answered3-- ,and ,i saw1 and behold a white horse3 and he that sat thereon had a bow2 and there was given unto him a crown3 and he came forth conquering1 and to conquer 7vi4 #b74 ,few figures of the ,apocalypse have occasioned more trouble to interpreters than that contained in these words4 ,on the one hand1 the particulars seem unmistakeably to point to the ,lord ,himself2 but1 on the other hand1 if the first rider be the glorified ,redeemer1 it is difficult to establish that harmonious parallelism with the following riders which appears to be required by the well-ordered arrangement of the visions of this book4 ,yet it is clearly impossible to regard the first rider as merely a symbol of war1 for the second rider would then convey the same lesson as the first2 nor is there anything in the text to establish a distinction1 frequently resorted to1 by which the first rider is thought to denote foreign1 and the second civil1 war4 ,every attempt also to separate the white horse of this vision from that of the vision at chap4 xix4 #aa fails1 and must fail4 ,probably it is enough to say that not one of the four riders is a person4 ,each is rather a cause1 a manifestation of certain truths connected with the kingdom of ,christ when that kingdom is seen to be1 in its own nature1 the judgment of the world4 ,even war1 famine1 and death and ,hades1 which follow1 are not literally these things4 ,they are simply used1 as scourges of mankind1 to give general expression to the judgments of ,god4 ,thus also under the first rider the cause rather than the person of ,christ is introduced to us1 in the earliest stage of its victorious progress1 and with the promise of its future triumph4 ,the various points of the description hardly need to be explained4 ,the colour of the horse is white1 for throughout these visions that colour is always the symbol of heavenly purity4 ,the rider has a crown given him1 a crown of royalty4 ,he has in his hand a bow1 the instrument of war by which he scatters his enemies like stubble4#acc ,finally1 he comes forth conquering and to conquer1 for his victorious march knows no interruption1 and at last leaves no foe unvanquished4 ,in the first rider we have thus the cause of ,christ in its essence1 as that cause of light which1 having already drawn to it the sons of light1 has become darkness to the sons of darkness4 ,by the opening of the first ,seal we learn that this cause is in the world1 that this kingdom is in the midst of us1 and that they who oppose it shall be overwhelmed with defeat4 ,the interpretation now given of the first rider as one who rides forth to judgment on a sinful world is confirmed by what is said of the three that follow him4 ,in them too we have judgment1 and judgment only1 while the three judgments spoken of--war1 famine1 and death--are precisely those with which the prophets in the ,old ,testament and the ,saviour ,himself in the ,new have familiarised our thoughts4#acd ,they are not to be literally understood4 ,like all else in the visions of ,st4 ,john1 they are used symbolically2 and each of them expresses in a general form the calamities and woes1 the misfortunes and sorrows1 brought by sinful men upon themselves through rejection of their rightful ,king4 ,the second ,seal is now broken1 and the second rider follows3-- ,and when ,he opened the second seal1 ,i heard the second living creature saying1 ,come4 ,and another horse came forth1 a red horse3 and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth1 and that they should slaughter one another3 and there was given unto him a great sword 7vi4 #c1 #d74 ,the second horse is red1 the colour of blood1 for it is the horse of war3 and slaughter follows it as its rider passes over the earth2 that is1 not over the earth in general1 but over the ungodly4 ,two things in this vision are particularly worthy of notice4 ,in the first place1 the war spoken of is not between the righteous and the wicked1 but among the wicked alone4 ,the wicked slaughter one another4 ,all persons engaged in these internecine conflicts have cast aside the offers of the ,prince of peace2 and1 at enmity with ,him who is the only true foundation of human brotherhood1 they are also at enmity among themselves4 ,of the righteous nothing is yet said4 ,we are left to infer that they are safe in their dwellings1 in peaceable habitations1 and in quiet resting-places4#ace ,by-and-by we shall learn that they are not only safe1 but surrounded with joy and plenty4 ,in the second place1 the original word translated slay both in the ,authorised and ,revised ,versions deserves attention4 ,it is a sacrificial term1 the same as that found in chap4 v4 #f1 where we read of the slaughtered ,lamb2 and here therefore1 as there1 it ought to be rendered1 not slay1 but slaughter4 ,the instant we so translate1 the whole picture rises before our view in a light entirely different from that in which we commonly regard it4 ,what judgment1 nay what irony of judgment1 is there in the ways of ,god when ,he visits sinners with the terrors of ,his wrath6 ,the very fate which men shrink from accepting in the form of a blessing overtakes them in the form of a curse4 ,they think to save their life1 and they lose it4 ,they seek to avoid that sacrifice of themselves which1 made in ,christ1 lies at the root of the true accomplishment of human destiny2 and they are constrained to substitute for it a sacrifice of an altogether different kind3 they sacrifice1 they slaughter1 one another4 ,the third ,seal is now broken1 and the third rider follows3-- ,and when ,he opened the third seal1 ,i heard the third living creature saying1 ,come4 ,and ,i saw1 and behold a black horse2 and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand4 ,and ,i heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures1 saying1 ,a measure of wheat for a penny 7or a silver penny71 and three measures of barley for a penny2 and the oil and the wine hurt thou not 7vi4 #e1 #f74 ,the third living creature cries as the two before it had done2 and a third horse comes forth1 the colour of which is black1 the colour of gloom and mourning and lamentation4 ,nor can there be any doubt that this condition of things is produced by scarcity1 for the figure of the balance and of measuring bread by weight is on different occasions employed in the ,old ,testament to express the idea of famine4 ,thus among the threatenings denounced upon ,israel should it prove faithless to ,god's covenant we read1 ,and when ,i have broken the staff of your bread1 ten women shall bake your bread in one oven1 and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight3 and ye shall eat1 and not be satisfied4#acf ,and so also when ,ezekiel would describe the miseries of the coming siege of ,jerusalem he exclaims1 ,moreover ,he said unto me1 ,son of man1 behold1 ,i will break the staff of bread in ,jerusalem3 and they shall eat bread by weight1 and with care2 and they shall drink water by measure1 and with astonishment3 that they may want bread and water1 and be astonied one with another1 and consume away for their iniquity4#acg ,to give out corn by weight instead of measure was thus an emblem of scarcity4 ,the particulars of the scarcity here described are obscured to the ,english reader by the unfortunate translation1 both in this passage and elsewhere1 and in the ,revised as well as the ,authorised ,version1 of the ,greek denarius by the ,english penny4 ,that coin was of the value of fully eightpence of our money1 and was the recognised payment of a labourer's full day's work4#ach ,in ordinary circumstances it was sufficient to purchase eight of the small measures now referred to1 so that when it could buy one measure only1 the quantity needed by a single man for his own daily food1 it is implied that wheat had risen eight times in price1 and that all that could be purchased by means of a whole day's toil would suffice for no more than one individual's sustenance1 leaving nothing for his other wants and the wants of his family4 ,no doubt three measures of barley could be purchased for the same sum1 but barley was a coarser grain1 and to be dependent upon it was in itself a proof that there was famine in the land4 ,again1 as in the previous judgment1 the words of the figure are not to be literally understood4 ,what we have before us is not famine in its strict sense1 but the judgment of ,god under the form of famine2 and this second judgment is climactic to the first4 ,men say to themselves that they will live at peace with one another1 and sow1 and reap1 and plant vineyards1 and eat the fruit thereof4 ,but in doing this they are mastered by the power of selfishness2 the too eager pursuit of earthly interests defeats its end2 and1 under the influence of deeper and more mysterious laws than the mere political economist can discover1 fields that might have been covered with golden harvests lie desolate and bare4 ,nothing has yet been said of the last clause of this judgment3 ,the oil and the wine hurt thou not4 ,the words are generally regarded as a limitation of the severity of the famine previously described1 and as a promise that even in judging ,god will not execute all ,his wrath4 ,the interpretation can hardly be accepted4 ,not only does it weaken the force of the threatening1 but the meaning thus given to the figure is entirely out of place4 ,oil and wine were for the mansions of the rich not for the habitations of the poor1 for the feast and not for the supply of the common wants of life4 ,nor would a sufferer from famine have found in them a substitute for bread4 ,the meaning of the words therefore must be looked for in a wholly different direction4 ,thou preparest a table before me1 says the ,psalmist1 in the presence of mine enemies3 ,thou anointest my head with oil2 my cup runneth over4#aci ,this is the table the supply of which is now alluded to4 ,it is prepared for the righteous in the midst of the struggles of the world1 and in the presence of their enemies4 ,oil is there in abundance to anoint the heads of the happy guests1 and their cups are so filled with plenty that they run over4 ,in the words under consideration1 accordingly1 we have no limitation of the effects of famine4 ,the wine and the oil alluded to express not so much what is simply required for life as the plenty and the joy of life2 and1 thus interpreted1 they are a figure of the care with which ,god watches over ,his own people and supplies all their wants4 ,while ,his judgments are abroad in the earth they are protected in the hollow of ,his hand4 ,he has taken them into ,his banqueting house1 and ,his banner over them is love4 ,the world may be hungry1 but they are fed4 ,as the children of ,israel had light in their dwellings while the land of ,egypt lay in darkness1 so while the world famishes the followers of ,jesus have all and more than all that they require4 ,they have life1 and that abundantly4#adj ,thus we learn the condition of the children of ,god during the trials spoken of in these visions4 ,under the second ,seal we could only infer from the general analogy of this book that they were safe4 ,now we know that they are not only safe1 but that they are enriched with every blessing4 ,they have oil that makes the face of man to shine1 and bread that strengtheneth his heart4#ada ,the fourth ,seal is now broken1 and the fourth rider follows3-- ,and when ,he opened the fourth seal1 ,i heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying1 ,come4 ,and ,i saw1 and behold a pale horse3 and he that sat upon him1 his name was ,death2 and ,hades followed with him4 ,and there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth1 to kill with sword1 and with famine1 and with death1 and by the wild beasts of the earth 7vi4 #g1 #h74 ,the colour of the fourth horse is pale2 it has the livid colour of a corpse1 corresponding to its rider1 whose name1 ,death1 is in this case given4 ,hades followed with him1 not after him1 thus showing that a gloomy and dark region beyond the grave is his inseparable attendant1 and that it too is an instrument of ,god's wrath4 ,in chap4 i4 #ah these two dire companions had also been associated with one another2 and it is important to notice the combination1 as the fact will afterwards throw light upon one of the most difficult visions of the book4 ,death is not neutral death1 that separation between soul and body which awaits every individual of the human family until the ,saviour comes4 ,it is death in the deeper meaning which it so often bears in ,scripture1 and especially in the writings of ,st4 ,john1--death as judgment4 ,in like manner ,hades is not the neutral grave where the rich and the poor meet together1 where the wicked cease from troubling1 and where the weary are at rest4 ,it is the region occupied by those who have not found life in ,christ2 and1 not less than death1 it is judgment4 ,death and ,hades then are the culminating judgments of ,god upon the earth1 that is1 upon the wicked2 and they execute their mission in a fourfold manner3 by the sword1 and famine1 and death1 and the wild beasts of the earth4 ,the world1 the symbolical number of which is four1 instead of blessing such as submit themselves to its sway1 turns round upon them with all the powers at its command and kills them4 ,the wicked are sunk down in the pit that they made3 in the net which they hid is their own foot taken4#adb ,it is not easy to say why authority is given death and ,hades over no more than the fourth part of the earth1 when we might rather have expected that their dominion would be extended over the whole4 ,the question may be asked whether it is possible so to understand the ,seer as to connect a fourth part of the earth1 not with all the instruments together1 but with each separate instrument of judgment afterwards named--one fourth to be killed with the sword1 a second with famine1 a third with death1 and a fourth by wild beasts4 ,should such an idea be regarded as untenable1 the probability is that a fourth part is mentioned in order to make room for the climactic rise to a third part afterwards met under the trumpet judgments4 ,the end of the first four ,seals has now been reached1 and at this point there is an obvious break in the hitherto harmonious progress of the visions4 ,no fifth rider appears when the fifth ,seal is broken1 and we pass from the material into the spiritual1 from the visible into the invisible1 world4 ,that the transition is not accidental1 but deliberately made1 appears from this1 that the very same principle of division marks the series of the trumpets at chap4 ix4 #a1 and of the bowls at chap4 xvi4 #aj4 ,we have thus the number seven divided into its two parts four and three1 while in chaps4 ii4 and iii4 we had it divided into three and four4 ,the difference is easily accounted for1 three being the number of ,god1 or the ,divine1 and therefore taking precedence when we are concerned with the existence of the ,church1 four being the number of the world1 and therefore coming first when judgment on the world is described4 ,it is of more consequence1 however1 to note the fact than to explain it1 for it helps in no small degree to illustrate that artificial structure of the ,apocalypse which is so completely at variance with the supposition that it describes in its successive paragraphs the successive historical events of the ,christian age4 ,passing then into a different region of thought1 the fifth ,seal is now broken3-- ,and when ,he opened the fifth seal1 ,i saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slaughtered for the word of ,god1 and for the testimony which they held3 and they cried with a great voice1 saying1 ,how long1 ,o ,master1 the holy and true1 dost ,thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth8 ,and there was given them to each one a white robe2 and it was said unto them1 that they should rest yet for a little time1 until their fellow-servants also and their brethren1 which should be killed even as they were1 should be fulfilled 7vi4 #i-aa74 ,the vision contained in these words is unquestionably a crucial one for the interpretation of the ,apocalypse1 and it will be necessary to dwell upon it for a little4 ,the minor details may be easily disposed of4 ,by the consent of all commentators of note1 the altar referred to is the brazen altar of sacrifice1 which stood in the outer court both of the ,tabernacle and the ,temple2 the souls1 or lives1 seen under it are probably seen under the form of blood1 for the blood was the life3 and the law of ,moses commanded that when animals were sacrificed the blood should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering1 which is before the tabernacle of the congregation2#adc while the little time mentioned in ver4 #aa can mean nothing else than the interval between the moment when the souls were spoken to and that when the killing of their brethren should be brought to a close4 ,the main question to be answered is1 ,whom do these souls represent8 ,are they ,christian martyrs1 suffering perhaps at the hands of the ,jews before the fall of ,jerusalem1 perhaps at the hands of the world to the end of time8 ,or are they the martyrs of the ,old ,testament dispensation1 ,jewish martyrs1 who had lived and died in faith8 ,both suppositions have been entertained1 though the former has been1 and still is1 that almost universally adopted4 ,yet there can be little doubt that the latter is correct1 and that several important particulars of the passage demand its acceptance4 #a4 ,let us observe how these martyrs are designated4 ,they had been slain for the word of ,god1 and for the testimony which they held4 ,but that is not the full expression of ,christian testimony4 ,as we read in many other passages of the book before us1 ,christians have the testimony of ,jesus4#add ,the addition needed to bring out the ,christian character of the testimony referred to is wanting here4 ,no doubt the saints of old looked forward to the coming of the ,christ2 but the testimony of ,jesus is the testimony pertaining to ,him as a ,saviour come1 in all the glory of ,his person and in all the completeness of ,his work4 ,it is a testimony embracing a full knowledge of the ,messiah1 and the inference is natural and legitimate that it is not ascribed to the souls under the altar1 because they neither had nor could have possessed it4 #b4 ,the cry of these souls is worthy of notice1 ,how long1 ,o ,master1 the holy and the true1 where the word ,master1 applied also in ,acts iv4 #bd and ,jude #dade to ,god as distinguished from ,christ1 corresponds better to the spirit of the ,old than of the ,new ,testament dispensation4 #c4 ,the time at which the martyrs had been killed belongs not to the present or the future1 but to the past4 ,like all the other ,seals1 the fifth is opened at the very beginning of the ,christian era2 and no sooner is it opened than the souls are seen4 ,it is true that the ,seer might be supposed to transport himself forward into the future1 and1 at some point of ,christian history more or less distant1 to console ,christian martyrs who had already fallen with the assurance that they had only to wait a little time1 until such as were to be their later companions in martyrdom should have shared their fate4 ,but such a supposition is inconsistent with the fact that ,st4 ,john in the ,apocalypse always thinks of the ,christian age as one hardly capable of being divided2 while1 as we shall immediately see more clearly1 it would make it impossible to explain the consolation afforded by the bestowal of the white robe4 #d4 ,the altar under which the blood is seen may help to confirm this conclusion1 for that blood is not preserved in the inner sanctuary1 in that heaven which is the ideal home of all the disciples of ,jesus3 it lies beneath the altar of the outer court4 #e4 ,the main argument1 however1 in favour of the view now contended for1 is to be found in the act by which these souls were comforted3 ,and there was given them to each one a white robe4 ,the white robe1 then1 they had not obtained before2 and yet that robe belongs during his life on earth to every follower of ,christ4 ,nothing is more frequently spoken of in these visions than the white robe of the redeemed1 and it is obviously theirs from the first moment when they are united to their ,lord4 ,it is the robe of the priesthood1 and at their very entrance upon true spiritual life they are priests in ,him4 ,it is the robe with which the faithful remnant in ,sardis had been arrayed before they are introduced to us1 for they had not defiled it2 and the emphasis in the promise there given1 ,they shall walk with ,me in white1 appears to lie upon its first rather than its second clause4#adf ,again1 the promise to every one in that church that overcometh is that he shall be arrayed in white garments2#adg and it is beyond dispute that the promises of the seven epistles belong to the victory of faith gained in this world1 not less than to the perfected reward of victory in the world to come4 ,in like manner the ,laodicean church is exhorted to buy of her ,lord white garments that she may be clothed1 as well as gold that she may be enriched1 and eyesalve that she may see#adh2 and1 as the two latter purchases refer to her present state1 so also must the former4 ,when1 too1 the ,lord is united in marriage to ,his ,church1 it is said that it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen1 bright and pure2 and that fine linen is immediately explained to be the righteous acts of the saints4#adi ,putting all these passages together1 we are distinctly taught that in the language of the ,apocalypse the white robe denotes that perfect righteousness of ,christ1 both external and internal1 which is bestowed upon the believer from the moment when he is by faith made one with ,jesus4 ,it is that more perfect justification of which ,st4 ,paul spoke at ,antioch in ,pisidia when he said to the ,jews1 ,by ,him every one that believeth is justified from all things1 from which ye could not be justified by the law of ,moses4#aej ,it had been longed for by the saints of the ,old ,testament1 but had never been fully bestowed upon them until ,jesus came4 ,david had prayed for it3 ,purge me with hyssop1 and ,i shall be clean3 wash me1 and ,i shall be whiter than snow2#aea ,isaiah had anticipated it when he looked forward to the acceptable year of the ,lord3 ,i will greatly rejoice in the ,lord1 my soul shall be joyful in my ,god2 for ,he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation1 ,he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness1 as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments1 and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels2#aeb and ,ezekiel had celebrated it as the chief blessing of ,gospel times3 ,then will ,i sprinkle clean water upon you1 and ye shall be clean3 from all your filthiness1 and from all your idols1 will ,i cleanse you4444 ,and ye shall be ,my people1 and ,i will be your ,god4 ,i will also save you from all your uncleannesses4#aec ,but while thus prayed for1 anticipated1 and greeted from afar1 the fulness of blessing belonging to the ,new ,testament had not been actually received under the ,old4 ,he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than ,john4#aed ,as we are taught in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 even ,abel1 ,enoch1 ,noah1 ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob1 ,moses1 and all those heroes of faith who had subdued kingdoms1 wrought righteousness1 obtained promises1 stopped the mouths of lions1 quenched the power of fire1 escaped the edge of the sword1 from weakness were made strong1 waxed mighty in war1 turned to flight armies of aliens--even these all1 having had witness borne to them through their faith1 received not the promise3 ,god having provided some better thing concerning us1 that apart from us they should not be made perfect4#aee ,at death they were not made perfect4 ,they passed rather into a holy rest where they waited until1 like ,abraham1 who had rejoiced that he should see ,christ's day1 they saw it and were glad4#aef ,then the white robe was given them4 ,they were raised to the level of that ,church which1 now that ,jesus had come1 rejoiced in ,him with a joy unspeakable and glorified4#aeg ,these considerations appear sufficient to decide the point4 ,the souls under the altar of the fifth ,seal are the saints1 not of ,christianity1 but of ,judaism4 ,it is true that all of them had not been literally slaughtered4 ,but it is a peculiarity of this book1 of which further proof will be afforded as we proceed1 that it regards all true followers of ,christ as martyrs4 ,christ was ,himself a ,martyr2 ,his disciples follow ,him3 they are martyrs4 ,christ's ,church is a martyr ,church4 ,she dies in her ,master's service1 and for the world's good4 ,one point more ought to be noticed before we leave this ,seal4 ,the language of these souls under the altar is apt to offend when they apparently cry for vengeance upon their murderers3 ,how long dost ,thou not avenge8 ,yet it is enough to say that so to interpret their cry is to do injustice to the whole spirit of this book ,strictly speaking1 in fact1 they do not themselves cry4 ,it is their blood that cries2 it is the wrong done to them that demands reparation4 ,in so far as they may be supposed to cry1 they have in view1 not their enemies as persons1 but the evil that is in them1 and that manifests itself through them4 ,at first it may seem difficult to draw the distinction2 but if we pause over the matter for a little1 the difficulty will disappear4 ,never do we pity the sinner more1 or feel for him with a keener sympathy1 than when we are most indignant at sin and most earnest in prayer and effort for its destruction4 ,the more anxious we are for the latter1 the more must we compassionate the man who is enveloped in sin's fatal toils4 ,when we long therefore for the hour at which sin shall be overtaken by the just judgment of ,god1 we long only for the establishment of that righteous and holy kingdom which is inseparably bound up with the glory of ,god and the happiness of the world4 ,for this kingdom then the saints of the ,old ,testament1 together with all their brethren under the ,new ,testament1 who like them are faithful unto death1 now wait2 and the opening of the sixth ,seal tells us that it is at hand3-- ,and ,i saw when ,he opened the sixth seal1 and there was a great earthquake2 and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair1 and the whole moon became as blood2 and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth1 as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs1 when she is shaken of a great wind4 ,and the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up2 and every mountain and island were moved out of their places4 ,and the kings of the earth1 and the princes1 and the chief captains1 and the rich1 and the strong1 and every bondman and free man1 hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains2 and they say to the mountains and to the rocks1 ,fall on us1 and hide us from the face of ,him that sitteth on the throne1 and from the wrath of the ,lamb3 for the great day of their wrath is come2 and who is able to stand8 7vi4 #ab-ag74 ,the description is marked by almost unparalleled magnificence and sublimity1 and any attempt to dwell upon details could only injure the general effect4 ,the real question to be answered is1 ,to what does it apply8 ,is it a picture of the destruction of ,jerusalem or of the final ,judgment8 ,or may it even represent every great calamity by which a sinful world is overtaken8 ,in each of these senses1 and in each of them with a certain degree of truth1 has the passage been understood4 ,each is a part of the great thought which it embraces4 ,the error of interpreters has consisted in confining the whole1 or even the primary1 sense to any one of them4 ,the true reference of the passage appears to be to the ,christian dispensation1 especially on its side of judgment4 ,that dispensation had often been spoken of by the prophets in a precisely similar way2 and the whole description of these verses1 alive with the rich glow of the ,eastern imagination1 is taken partly from their language1 and partly from the language of our ,lord in the more prophetic and impassioned moments of ,his life4 ,thus it was that ,joel had announced the purpose of ,god3 ,and ,i will show wonders in the heavens and the earth1 blood1 and fire1 and pillars of smoke4 ,the sun shall be turned into darkness1 and the moon into blood1 before the great and the terrible day of the ,lord come1 and again1 ,the sun and the moon shall be darkened1 and the stars shall withdraw their shining2#aeh while1 apart altogether from the immediately preceding and following words1 which prove the interpretation above given to be correct1 this announcement of ,joel was declared by ,st4 ,peter on the day of ,pentecost to apply to the introduction of that kingdom of ,christ which1 in the gift of tongues1 was at that moment exhibited in power4#aei ,in like manner we read in the prophet ,haggai1 ,for thus saith the ,lord of hosts2 ,yet once1 it is a little while1 and ,i will shake the heavens1 and the earth1 and the sea1 and the dry land2 and ,i will shake all nations4#afj ,while1 again1 without our needing to dwell on the connexion in which the words occur1 we find the writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews applying the prophecy to the circumstances of those to whom he wrote at a time when they had heard the voice that speaketh from heaven1 and had received the kingdom that cannot be moved4#afa ,the prophet ,malachi also1 whose words have been interpreted for us by our ,lord ,himself1 describes the day of ,him whom the ,baptist was to precede and to introduce as the day that burneth as a furnace1 as the great and terrible day of the ,lord4#afb ,this aspect1 too1 of any great era in the history of a land or of a people had always been presented by the voice of prophecy in language from which the words before us are obviously taken4 ,thus it was that when ,isaiah described the coming of a time at which the mountain of the ,lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills1 and all nations shall flow into it1 he mentions1 among its other characteristics1 ,and they shall go into the holes of the rocks1 and into the caves of the earth1 for fear of the ,lord1 and for the glory of ,his majesty1 when ,he ariseth to shake terribly the earth4#afc ,when the same prophet details the burden of ,babylon which he saw1 he exclaims1 ,behold1 the day of the ,lord cometh1 cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to make the land a desolation1 and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it4 ,for the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light3 the sun shall be darkened in his going forth1 and the moon shall not cause her light to shine2#afd and again1 when he widens his view from ,babylon to a guilty world1 ,for the ,lord hath indignation against all the nations1 and fury against all their hosts4444 ,and all the host of heaven shall be dissolved1 and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll3 and all their host shall fade away1 as the leaf falleth from off the vine1 and as a fading fig from the fig tree4#afe ,many other passages of a similar kind might be quoted from the ,old ,testament2 but1 without quoting further from that source1 it may be enough to call to mind that when our ,lord delivered ,his discourse upon the last things ,he adopted a precisely similar strain3 ,immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened1 and the moon shall not give her light1 and the stars shall fall from heaven1 and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken4#aff ,highly coloured1 therefore1 as the language used under the sixth ,seal may appear to us1 to the ,jew1 animated by the spirit of the ,old ,testament1 it was simply that in which he had been accustomed to express his expectation of any new dispensation of the ,almighty1 of any striking crisis in the history of the world4 ,whenever he thought of the ,judge of all the earth as manifesting ,himself in a greater than ordinary degree1 and as manifesting ,himself in that truth and righteousness which was the glorious distinction of ,his character1 he took advantage of such figures as we have now before us4 ,to the fall of ,jerusalem therefore1 to every great crisis in human history1 and to the close of all1 they may be fittingly applied4 ,in the eloquent language of ,dr4 ,vaughan1 ,these words are wonderful in all senses1 not least in this sense3 that they are manifold in their accomplishment4 ,wherever there is a little flock in a waste wilderness2 wherever there is a ,church in a world2 wherever there is a power of unbelief1 ungodliness1 and violence1 throwing itself upon ,christ's faith and ,christ's people and seeking to overbear1 and to demolish1 and to destroy2 whether that power be the power of ,jewish bigotry and fanaticism1 as in the days of the first disciples2 or of pagan ,rome1 with its idolatries and its cruelties1 as in the days of ,st4 ,john and of the ,revelation2 or of papal ,rome1 with its lying wonders and its antichristian assumptions1 in ages later still2 or of open and rampant atheism1 as in the days of the first ,french ,revolution2 or of a subtler and more insidious infidelity1 like that which is threatening now to deceive1 if it were possible1 the very elect2 wherever and whatever this power may be--and it has had a thousand forms1 and may be destined yet to assume a thousand more--then1 in each successive century1 the words of ,christ to ,his first disciples adapt themselves afresh to the circumstances of ,his struggling servants2 warn them of danger1 exhort them to patience1 arouse them to hope1 assure them of victory2 tell of a near end for the individual and for the generation2 tell also of a far end1 not for ever to be postponed1 for time itself and for the world2 predict a destruction which shall befall each enemy of the truth1 and predict a destruction which shall befall the enemy himself whom each in turn has represented and served2 explain the meaning of tribulation1 show whence it comes1 and point to its swallowing up in glory2 reveal the moving hand above1 and disclose1 from behind the cloud which conceals it1 the clear definite purpose and the unchanging loving will4 ,thus understood1 each separate downfall of evil becomes a prophecy of the next and of the last2 and the partial fulfilment of our ,lord's words in the destruction of ,jerusalem1 or of ,st4 ,john's words in the downfall of idolatry and the dismemberment of ,rome1 becomes itself in turn a new warrant for the ,church's expectation of the ,second ,advent and of the day of judgment4#afg ,while1 however1 the truth of these words may be allowed1 it is still necessary to urge that the primary application of the language of the sixth ,seal is to no one of such events in particular1 but to something which includes them all4 ,in other words1 it applies to the ,christian dispensation1 viewed in its beginning1 its progress1 and its end1 viewed in all those issues which it produces in the world1 but especially on the side of judgment4 ,nor ought such dark and terrible figures to startle us1 as if they could not be suitably applied to a dispensation of mercy1 of grace that we cannot fathom1 of love that passeth knowledge4 ,the ,christian dispensation is not effeminacy4 ,if it tells of abounding compassion for the sinner1 it tells also of fire1 and hail1 and vapour of smoke for the sin4 ,if it speaks at one time in a gentle voice1 it speaks at another in a voice of thunder2 and1 when the latter is rightly listened to1 the air is cleared as by the whirlwind4 ,although1 therefore1 the language of the prophets and of this passage may at first sight appear to be marked by far too great a measure both of strength and of severity to make it applicable to the ,gospel age1 it is in reality neither too strong nor too severe4 ,it is at variance only with the verdict of that superficial glance which is satisfied with looking at phenomena in their outward and temporary aspect1 and which declines to penetrate into the heart of things4 ,so long as man is content with such a spirit1 he is naturally enough unstirred by any powerful emotion2 and he can only say that words of prophetic fire are words of exaggeration and of false enthusiasm4 ,but no sooner does he catch that spirit of the ,bible which brings him into contact with eternal verities than his tone changes4 ,he can no longer rest upon the surface4 ,he can no longer dismiss the thought of mighty issues at stake around him with the reflection that all the world's a stage1 and all the men and women on it only players4 ,when from the shore he looks out upon the mass of waters stretching before him1 he thinks not merely of the light waves rippling at his feet and losing themselves in the sand1 but of the unfathomed depths of the ocean from which they come1 and of those mysterious movements of it which they indicate4 ,he sees sights1 he hears sounds1 which the common eye does not see1 and the common ear does not hear4 ,the slightest motion of the soil speaks to him of earthquakes2 the handful of snow loosened from the mountain-side1 of avalanches2 the simplest utterance of awe1 of a cry that the mountains and the hills are falling4 ,the great does not become to him little2 but the little becomes great4 ,there is thus no exaggeration in the strength or even in the severity of prophetic figures4 ,the prophet has passed from the world of shadows1 flitting past him and disappearing1 into the world of realities1 ,divine1 unchangeable1 and everlasting4 ,,footnotes3 #acb ,isa4 lxiv4 #a4 #acc ,isa4 xli4 #b4 #acd ,ezek4 vi4 #aa2 ,matt4 xxiv4 #f-h4 #ace ,isa4 xxxii4 #ah4 #acf ,lev4 xxvi4 #bf4 #acg ,ezek4 iv4 #af1 #ag4 #ach ,comp4 ,matt4 xx4 #b4 #aci ,ps4 xxiii4 #e4 #adj ,john x4 #aj4 #ada ,ps4 civ4 #ae4 #adb ,ps4 ix4 #ae4 #adc ,lev4 iv4 #g4 #add ,comp4 chaps4 i4 #b1 #i2 xi4 #g2 xii4 #aa1 #ag2 xix4 #aj4 #ade ,margin of ,revised ,version4 #adf ,chap4 iii4 #d4 #adg ,chap4 iii4 #e4 #adh ,chap4 iii4 #ah4 #adi ,chap4 xix4 #h4 #aej ,acts xiii4 #ci4 #aea ,ps4 li4 #g4 #aeb ,isa4 lxi4 #aj4 #aec ,ezek4 xxxvi4 #be-bi4 #aed ,matt4 xi4 #aa4 #aee ,heb4 xi4 #ci1 #dj4 #aef ,john viii4 #ef4 #aeg #a ,pet4 i4 #h 7,r4,v41 margin74 #aeh ,joel ii4 #cj1 #ca2 iii4 #ae4 #aei ,acts ii4 #af-ba4 #afj ,haggai ii4 #f1 #g4 #afa ,heb4 xii4 #be-bi4 #afb ,mal4 iv4 #a1 #e2 ,mark ix4 #aa-ac4 #afc ,isa4 ii4 #ai4 #afd ,isa4 xiii4 #i1 #aj4 #afe ,isa4 xxxiv4 #b1 #d4 #aff ,matt4 xxiv4 #bi4 #afg ,lectures on the ,revelation1 p4 #agj4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,consolatory ,,visions4 ,,rev4 vii4 ,six of the seven ,seals have been opened by the ,lamb1 who is likewise the ,lion of the tribe of ,judah4 ,they have dealt1 in brief but pregnant sentences1 with the whole history of the ,church and of the world throughout the ,christian age4 ,no details of history have indeed been spoken of1 no particular wars1 or famines1 or pestilences1 or slaughters1 or preservations of the saints4 ,everything has been described in the most general terms4 ,we have been invited to think only of the principles of the ,divine government1 but of these as the most sublime and1 according to our own state of mind1 the most alarming or the most consolatory principles that can engage the attention of men4 ,god1 has been the burden of the six ,seals1 is ,king over all the earth4 ,why do the heathen rage1 and the people imagine a vain thing8 ,why do they exalt themselves against the sovereign ,ruler of the universe1 who said to the ,son of ,his love1 when ,he made ,him ,head over all things for ,his ,church1 ,thou art ,my ,son2 this day have ,i begotten ,thee2 ,rule ,thou in the midst of ,thine enemies8#afh ,listening to the voice of these ,seals1 we know that the world1 with all its might1 shall prevail neither against the ,head nor against the members of the ,body4 ,even when apparently successful it shall fight a losing battle4 ,even when apparently defeated ,christ and they who are one with ,him shall march to victory4 ,we are not to imagine that the ,seals of chap4 vi4 follow one another in chronological succession1 or that each of them belongs to a definite date4 ,the ,seer does not look forward to age succeeding age or century century4 ,to him the whole period between the first and the second coming of ,christ is but a little time1 and whatever is to happen in it must shortly come to pass4 ,in truth he can hardly be said to deal with the lapse of time at all4 ,he deals with the essential characteristics of the ,divine government in time1 whether it be long or short4 ,shall the revolving years be in our sense short1 these characteristics will nevertheless come forth with a clearness that shall leave man without excuse4 ,shall they be in our sense long1 the unfolding of ,god's eternal plan will only be again and again made manifest4 ,he with whom we have to do is without beginning of days or end of years1 the ,i am1 unchangeable both in the attributes of ,his own nature1 and in the execution of ,his purposes for the world's redemption4 ,let us cast our eyes along the centuries that have passed away since ,jesus died and rose again4 ,they are full of one great lesson4 ,at every point at which we pause we see the ,son of ,god going forth conquering and to conquer4 ,we see the world struggling against ,his righteousness1 refusing to submit to it1 and dooming itself in consequence to every form of woe4 ,we see the children of ,god following a crucified ,redeemer1 but preserved1 sustained1 animated1 their cross1 like ,his1 their crown4 ,finally1 as we realize more and more deeply what is going on around us1 we feel that we are in the midst of a great earthquake1 that the sun and the moon have become black1 and that the stars of heaven are falling to the earth2 yet by the eye of faith we pierce the darkness1 and where are all our adversaries8 ,where are the kings and the potentates1 the rich and the powerful of the earth1 of an ungodly and persecuting world8 ,they have hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains2 and we hear them say to the mountains and to the rocks1 ,fall on us1 and hide us from the face of ,him that sitteth on the throne1 and from the wrath of the ,lamb3 for the great day of their wrath is come2 and who is able to stand8 ,with the beginning of chap4 vii4 we might expect the seventh ,seal to be opened2 but it is the manner of the apocalyptic writer1 before any final or particularly critical manifestation of the wrath of ,god1 to present us with visions of consolation1 so that we may enter into the thickest darkness1 even into the valley of the shadow of death1 without alarm4 ,we have already met with this in chaps4 iv4 and v4 ,we shall meet with it again4 ,meanwhile it is here illustrated3-- ,after this ,i saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth1 holding the four winds of the earth1 that no wind should blow on the earth1 or on the sea1 or upon any tree4 ,and ,i saw another angel ascend from the sun-rising1 having the seal of the living ,god3 and he cried with a great voice to the four angels1 to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea1 saying1 ,hurt not the earth1 neither the sea1 nor the trees1 till we shall have sealed the servants of our ,god on their foreheads4 ,and ,i heard the number of them which were sealed1 a hundred and forty and four thousand1 sealed out of every tribe of the children of ,israel4 ,of the tribe of ,judah were sealed twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,reuben1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,gad1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,asher1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,naphtali1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,manasseh1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,simeon1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,levi1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,issachar1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,zebulun1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,joseph1 twelve thousand2 of the tribe of ,benjamin were sealed twelve thousand 7vii4 #a-h74 ,although various important questions1 which we shall have to notice1 arise in connexion with this vision1 there never has been1 as there scarcely can be1 any doubt as to its general meaning4 ,in its main features it is taken from the language of ,ezekiel1 when that prophet foretold the approaching destruction of ,jerusalem3 ,he cried also with a loud voice in mine ears1 saying1 ,cause them that have charge over the city to draw near1 even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand4 ,and1 behold1 six men came from the way of the higher gate1 which lieth toward the north1 and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand2 and one man among them was clothed with fine linen1 with a writer's inkhorn by his side4444 ,and the ,lord said unto him1 ,go through the midst of the city1 through the midst of ,jerusalem1 and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof4444 ,and1 behold1 the man clothed with linen1 which had the inkhorn by his side1 reported the matter1 saying1 ,i have done as ,thou hast commanded me4#afi ,preservation of the faithful in the midst of judgment on the wicked is the theme of the ,old ,testament vision1 and in like manner it is the theme of this vision of ,st4 ,john4 ,the winds are the symbols of judgment2 and1 being in number four and held by four angels standing at the four corners of the earth1 they indicate that the judgment when inflicted will be universal4 ,there is no place to which the ungodly can escape1 none where they shall not be overtaken by the wrath of ,god4 ,he that fleeth of them1 says the ,almighty by ,his prophet1 shall not flee away1 and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered4 ,though they dig into hell1 thence shall ,mine hand take them2 though they climb up to heaven1 thence will ,i bring them down3 and though they hide themselves in the top of ,carmel1 ,i will search and take them out thence2 and though they be hid from ,my sight in the bottom of the sea1 thence will ,i command the serpent1 and he shall bite them4#agj ,in the midst of all this the safety of the righteous is secured1 and that in a way1 as compared with the way of the ,old ,testament1 proportionate to the superior greatness of their privileges4 ,they are marked as ,god's1 not by a man out of the city1 but by an angel ascending from the sun-rising1 the quarter whence proceeds that light of day which gilds the loftiest mountain-tops and penetrates into the darkest recesses of the valleys4 ,this angel1 with his great voice1 is probably the ,lord ,himself appearing by ,his angel4 ,the mark impressed upon the righteous is more than a mere mark3 it is a seal--a seal similar to that with which ,christ was sealed2#aga the seal which in the ,song of ,songs the bride desires as the token of the ,bridegroom's love to her alone3 ,set me as a seal upon ,thine heart1 as a seal upon ,thine arm2#agb the seal which expresses the thought1 ,the ,lord knoweth them that are ,his4#agc ,finally1 this seal is impressed on the forehead1 on that part of the body on which the high-priest of ,israel wore the golden plate1 with its inscription1 ,holiness to the ,lord4 ,such a seal1 manifest to the eyes of all1 was a witness to all that they who bore it were acknowledged by the ,redeemer before all1 even before ,his ,father and the holy angels4#agd ,when we turn to the numbers sealed1 every reader who reflects for a moment will allow that they must be symbolically1 and not literally1 understood4 ,twelve thousand out of each of twelve tribes1 in all a hundred and forty and four thousand1 bears upon its face the stamp of symbolism4 ,it is more difficult to answer the question1 ,who are they8 ,are they ,jewish ,christians1 or are they the whole multitude of ,god's faithful people belonging to the ,church universal1 but indicated by a figure taken from ,judaism8 ,the question now asked is of greater than ordinary importance1 for upon the answer given to it largely depends the solution of the problem whether the author of the fourth ,gospel and the author of the ,apocalypse are the same4 ,if the first vision of the chapter relating to those sealed out of the tribes of ,israel speak only of ,jewish ,christians1 and the second vision1 beginning at ver4 #i1 of the great multitude which no man could number1 speak of ,gentile ,christians1 it will follow that the writer exhibits a particularistic tendency altogether at variance with the universalism of the author of the fourth ,gospel4 ,gentile ,christians will be1 as they have been called1 an appendix to the ,jewish-,christian ,church2 and the followers of ,jesus will fail to constitute one flock all the members of which are equal in the sight of ,god1 occupy the same position1 and enjoy the same privileges4 ,the first impression produced by the vision of the sealed is undoubtedly that it refers to ,jewish ,christians1 and to them alone4 ,many considerations1 however1 lead to the wider conclusion that1 under a ,jewish figure1 they include all the followers of ,christ1 or the universal ,church4 ,some of these at least ought to be noticed4 #a4 ,we have not yet found1 and we shall not find in any later part of the ,apocalypse1 a distinction drawn between ,jewish and ,gentile ,christians4 ,to the eye of the ,seer1 the ,church of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ is one4 ,there is in it neither ,jew nor ,greek1 barbarian1 ,scythian1 bond1 nor free4 ,he recognises in it in its collective capacity the ,body of ,christ1 all the members of which occupy the same relation to their ,lord1 and stand equally in grace4 ,he knows indeed of a distinction between the ,jewish ,church1 which waited for the coming of the ,lord1 and the ,christian ,church1 which rejoiced in ,him as come2 but he knows also that when ,jesus did come the privileges of the latter were bestowed upon those in the former who had looked onward to ,christ's day1 and that they were arrayed in the same white robe4 ,under all the six ,seals1 accordingly1 embracing the whole period of the ,gospel dispensation1 there is not a single word to suggest the thought that the ,christian ,church is divided into two parts4 ,the struggle1 the preservation1 and the victory belong equally to all4 ,a similar remark may be made on the epistles to the seven churches1 which unquestionably contain a representation of that ,church the fortunes of which are to be afterwards described4 ,in these epistles ,christ walks equally in the midst of every part of it2 and promises are made1 not in one form to one member and in another to another1 but always in precisely the same terms to him that overcometh4 ,it would be out of keeping with this were we now1 when a similar topic of preservation is on hand1 to be introduced to a ,jewish-,christian as distinguished from a ,gentile-,christian ,church4 #b4 ,it is the custom of the ,seer to heighten and spiritualize all ,jewish names4 ,the ,temple1 the ,tabernacle1 the ,altar1 ,mount ,zion1 and ,jerusalem are to him the embodiments of ideas deeper than those literally conveyed by them4 ,analogy therefore might suggest that this also would be the case with the word ,israel4 ,nay1 it would even be the more natural so to use that word1 because it is so often used in the same spiritual sense in other parts of the ,new ,testament3 ,but they are not all ,israel which are of ,israel2 ,and as many as shall walk by this rule1 peace be upon them1 and mercy1 and upon the ,israel of ,god4#age ,nor need we be startled by that employment of the word tribes1 which may seem to give more precision to the idea that ,jewish ,christians are designated by the term1 for ,st4 ,john1 in his peculiar way of looking at men1 beheld tribes not only among the ,jews1 but among all nations3 ,and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over ,him4#agf ,in chap4 xxi4 #ab1 too1 the twelve tribes plainly include all believers4 #c4 ,the enumeration of the tribes of ,israel given in these verses is different from any other enumeration of the kind contained in ,scripture4 ,thus the tribe of ,dan is omitted2 and1 contrary to the practice of at least the later books of the ,old ,testament1 that of ,levi is inserted2 while ,joseph also is substituted for ,ephraim3 and the order in which the twelve are given has elsewhere no parallel4 ,points such as these may appear trifling1 but they are not without importance4 ,no student of the ,apocalypse will imagine that they are accidental or undesigned4 ,he may not be able to satisfy either himself or others as to the grounds upon which ,st4 ,john proceeded1 but that there were grounds sufficient to the ,apostle himself for what he did he will not for a moment doubt4 ,one thing may1 however1 be said4 ,if the changes can be explained at all1 it must be by considerations springing out of the heart of the ,christian community1 and not out of any suggested by the relations of the tribes of ,judaism to one another4 ,levi may thus be inserted1 instead of standing apart as formerly1 because in ,christ ,jesus there was no priestly tribe3 all ,christians were priests2 ,dan may be omitted because that tribe had chosen the serpent as its emblem1 and ,st4 ,john not only felt with peculiar power the direct antagonism to ,christ of the old serpent the devil1#agg but had been accustomed to see in the traitor ,judas1 who had been expelled from the apostolic band1 and for whom another apostle had been substituted1 the very impersonation or incarnation of ,satan#agh2 ,ephraim also may have been replaced by ,joseph because of its enmity to ,judah1 the tribe out of which ,jesus sprang2 while ,judah1 the fourth son of ,jacob1 may head the list because it was the tribe in which ,christ was born4 #d4 ,some of the expressions of the passage are inconsistent with the limitation of the sealed to any special class of ,christians4 ,why1 for example1 should the holding back of the winds be universal8 ,would it not have been enough to restrain the winds that blew on ,jewish ,christians1 and not the winds of the whole earth8 ,and again1 why do we meet with language of so general a character as that of ver4 #c3 till we shall have sealed the servants of our ,god8 ,this designation servants seems to include the whole number1 and not some only1 of ,god's children4 #e4 ,if ,god's servants from among the ,gentiles are not now sealed1 the ,apocalypse mentions no other occasion when they were so4 ,it is true that1 according to the ordinary interpretation of the next vision1 they are admitted to the happiness of heaven2 but we may well ask whether1 if the sealing be the emblem of preservation amidst worldly troubles1 they ought not also1 at one time or another1 to have been sealed on earth4 #f4 ,the sealed are marked upon their foreheads1 and in chap4 xxii4 #d all believers are marked in a similar way4 #g4 ,we shall meet again this number of a hundred and forty-four thousand in chap4 xiv42 and1 while it can hardly be doubted that the same persons are on both occasions included in it1 it will be seen that there at least the whole number of the redeemed is meant4 #h4 ,it is worthy of notice that the contrasts of the ,apocalypse lead directly to a similar conclusion4 ,st4 ,john always sees light and darkness standing over against each other1 and exhibiting themselves in a correspondence which1 extending even to minute details1 aids the task of the interpreter4 ,now in many passages of this book we find ,satan not only marking his followers1 but1 precisely as here1 marking them upon the forehead2#agi and it is impossible to resist the conclusion that the one marking is the antithesis of the other4 ,but this mark is imprinted by ,satan upon all his followers1 and the inference is legitimate that the seal of the living ,god is in like manner imprinted upon all the followers of ,jesus4 #i4 ,one more reason may be assigned for this conclusion4 ,if ver4 #d1 with its hundred and forty and four thousand out of every tribe of the children of ,israel1 is to be understood of ,jewish ,christians alone1 the contrast between it and ver4 #i1 with its great multitude1 which no man can number1 out of every nation1 and of all tribes1 and peoples1 and tongues1 makes it necessary to understand the latter of ,gentile ,christians alone4 ,it will not do to say that the comprehensive enumeration of this verse may include ,jewish as well as ,gentile ,christians4 ,placed over against the very definite statement of ver4 #d1 it can only1 according to the style of the ,apocalypse1 be referred to persons who have come out of the heathen world in the fourfold conception of its parts4 ,now1 whatever may be the precise interpretation of the second vision of the chapter1 it is undeniable that it unfolds a higher stage of privilege and glory than the first4 ,it will thus follow on the supposition now combated that at the very instant when the ,apostle is said to be placing ,gentile ,christians in a position of inferiority to ,jewish ,christians1 and when he is treating the one as simply an appendix to the other1 he speaks of them as the inheritors of a far greater weight of glory4 ,st4 ,john could not be thus inconsistent with himself4 ,the conclusion from all that has been said1 is plain4 ,the vision of the sealing does not apply to ,jewish ,christians only1 but to the universal ,church4 ,when the judgments of ,god are abroad in the world1 all the disciples of ,christ are sealed for preservation against them4 ,notwithstanding what has been said1 the reader may still find it difficult to conceive that two pictures of the same multitude should be presented to us drawn on such entirely different lines4 ,what is the meaning of it8 he may exclaim4 ,what is the ,seer's motive in doing so8 ,the explanation is not difficult4 ,an attentive examination of the structural principles marking the writings of ,st4 ,john will show that they are distinguished by a tendency to set forth the same object in two different lights1 the latter of which is climactic to the former1 as well as1 for the most part at least1 taken from a different sphere4 ,the writer is not satisfied with a single utterance of what he desires to impress upon his readers4 ,after he has uttered it for the first time1 he brings it again before him1 works upon it1 enlarges it1 deepens it1 sets it forth with stronger and more vivid colouring4 ,the fundamental idea is the same on both occasions2 but on the second it is the centre of a circle of wider circumference1 and it is uttered in a more impressive manner4 ,want of space will not permit the illustration of this by an appeal either to the nature of ,hebrew thought in general1 or to the other writings of the ,new ,testament which owe their authorship to ,st4 ,john4 ,it must be enough to say that the fourth ,gospel bears deep and important traces of this characteristic1 and that difficult passages in it not otherwise explicable seem to be solved by its application4#ahj ,the main point to be kept in view is that the principle in question may be traced on many different occasions both in the fourth ,gospel and in the ,apocalypse4 ,one of these has indeed already come under our notice in the case of the golden candlesticks and of the stars in ,chapter ,i4 of this book4 ,the two figures relate to the same object1 but the second is climactic to the first1 and it is taken from a larger field4 ,the same principle meets us here4 ,the second vision of chap4 vii4 is climactic to the first1 and the field from which it is drawn is larger4 ,the analogy1 however1 not of the golden candlesticks and of the stars only1 but of many other passages of a similar kind1 warrants the inference that both the visions relate to the same thing1 although the aspect in which it is looked at is in each case different4 ,any difficulty therefore at first presented by the double picture disappears2 while the peculiarity of structure exhibited not only helps to lead us to a ,johannine authorship1 but tends powerfully to establish the correctness of the interpretation now adopted4 ,we are thus entitled to conclude that the hundred and forty-four thousand of this first consolatory vision represent not ,jewish ,christians only1 but the whole ,church of ,god1 and that the number used is intended to represent completeness3 not one member of the true ,church is lost4#aha ,twelve1 a sacred number1 the number of the patriarchs1 of the tribes of ,israel1 and of the ,apostles of ,jesus1 is first multiplied by itself1 and then by a thousand1 the sign of the heavenly in contrast with the earthly4 ,a hundred and forty and four thousand is the result4 ,it need only further be observed--and the observation will help to confirm what has been said--that ,st4 ,john did not himself count the number of the sealed4 ,he heard the number of them 7ver4 #d74 ,already they were a multitude which no man could number 7ver4 #i74 ,but ,he who telleth the innumerable stars that sparkle in the midnight sky1 and who bringeth out their host by number1#ahb could number them4 ,he it was who communicated the number to the ,seer4 ,the second vision of the chapter follows3-- ,after these things ,i saw1 and1 behold1 a great multitude1 which no man could number1 out of every nation1 and of all tribes1 and peoples1 and tongues1 standing before the throne1 and before the ,lamb1 arrayed in white robes1 and palms in their hands2 and they cry with a great voice1 saying1 ,salvation unto our ,god which sitteth on the throne1 and unto the ,lamb4 ,and all the angels were standing round about the throne1 and about the elders and the four living creatures2 and they fell before the throne on their faces1 and worshipped ,god1 saying1 ,amen3 ,blessing1 and glory1 and wisdom1 and thanksgiving1 and honour1 and power1 and might1 be unto our ,god for ever and ever4 ,amen4 ,and one of the elders answered1 saying unto me1 ,these which are arrayed in the white robes1 who are they1 and whence came they8 ,and ,i said unto him1 ,my lord1 thou knowest4 ,and he said to me1 ,these are they which came out of the great tribulation1 and they washed their robes1 and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,therefore are they before the throne of ,god1 and they serve ,him day and night in ,his temple3 and ,he that sitteth on the throne shall spread ,his tabernacle over them4 ,they shall hunger no more1 neither thirst any more2 neither shall the sun strike upon them1 nor any heat3 for the ,lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall be their ,shepherd1 and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life3 and ,god shall wipe away every tear from their eyes 7vii4 #i-ag74 ,upon the magnificence and beauty of this description it is not only unnecessary1 it would be a mistake1 to dwell4 ,words of man would only mar the sublimity and pathos of the spectacle4 ,neither is it desirable to look at each expression of the passage in itself4 ,these expressions are better considered as a whole4 ,one point indeed ought to be carefully kept in view3 that the palms spoken of in ver4 #i as in the hands of the happy multitude are not the palms of victory in any earthly contest1 but the palms of the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 and that upon the thought of that feast the scene is moulded4 ,the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 it will be remembered1 was at once the last1 the highest1 and the most joyful of the festivals of the ,jewish year4 ,it fell in the month of ,october1 when the harvest not only of grain1 but of wine and oil1 had been gathered in1 and when1 therefore1 all the labours of the year were past4 ,it was preceded1 too1 by the great ,day of ,atonement1 the ceremonial of which gathered together all the sacrificial acts of the previous months1 beheld the sins of the people1 from their highest to their lowest1 carried away into the wilderness1 and brought with it the blessing of ,god from that innermost recess of the sanctuary which was lightened by the special glory of ,his presence1 and into which the high-priest even was permitted to enter upon that day alone4 ,the feelings awakened in ,israel at the time were of the most triumphant kind4 ,they returned in thought to the independent life which their fathers1 delivered from the bondage of ,egypt1 led in the wilderness2 and1 the better to realize this1 they left their ordinary dwellings and took up their abode for the days of the feast in booths1 which they erected in the streets or on the flat roofs of their houses4 ,these booths were made of branches of their most prized1 most fruit-bearing1 and most umbrageous trees2 and beneath them they raised their psalms of thanksgiving to ,him who had delivered them as a bird out of the snare of the fowler4 ,even this was not all1 for we know that in the later period of their history the ,jews connected the ,feast of ,tabernacles with the brightest anticipations of the future as well as with the most joyful memories of the past4 ,they beheld in it the promise of the ,spirit1 the great gift of the approaching ,messianic age2 and1 that they might give full expression to this1 they sent on the eighth1 or great1 day of the feast1 a priest to the pool of ,siloam with a golden urn1 that he might fill it from the pool1 and1 bringing it up to the ,temple1 might pour it on the altar4 ,this is the part of the ceremonial alluded to in ,john vii4 #cg-ci1 and during it the joy of the people reached its highest point4 ,they surrounded the priest in crowds as he brought up the water from the pool1 waved their lulabs--small branches of palm trees1 the palms of ver4 #i--;and made the courts of the ,temple re-echo with their song1 ,with joy shall ye draw water out of wells of salvation4#ahc ,at night the great illumination of the ,temple followed1 that to which our ,lord most probably alludes when1 immediately after the ,feast of ,tabernacles spoken of in chap4 viii4 of the fourth ,gospel1 ,he exclaims1 ,i am the ,light of the world3 he that followeth ,me shall not walk in the darkness1 but shall have the light of life4#ahd ,such was the scene the main particulars of which are here made use of by the apocalyptic ,seer to set before us the triumphant and glorious condition of the ,church when1 after all her members have been sealed1 they are admitted to the full enjoyment of the blessings of ,god's covenant1 and when1 washed in the blood of the ,lamb and clothed with ,his righteousness1 they keep their ,feast of ,tabernacles4 ,a most important and interesting question connected with this vision has still to be answered4 ,it may be first asked in the words of ,isaac ,williams4 ,it is whether all this description is of the ,church in heaven or on earth4 ,the same writer has answered his question by saying1 ,the fact is that1 like the expression 'the kingdom of heaven1' and many others of the same kind1 it applies to both1 and it is doubtless intended to do so--in fulness hereafter1 but even here in part4#ahe ,the answer thus given is no doubt correct when the question is asked in the particular form to which it is a reply4 ,yet we have still to ask whether1 granting it to be so1 the primary reference of the vision is to the ,church of ,christ during her present pilgrimage or after that pilgrimage has been completed1 and she has entered on her eternal rest4 ,to the question so put1 the reply usually given is that the ,seer has the latter aspect of the ,church in view4 ,the redeemed are sealed on earth2 they bear their palms1 and rejoice with the joy afterwards spoken of1 in heaven4 ,much in the passage may seem to justify this conclusion4 ,but a recent writer on the subject has adduced such powerful considerations in favour of the former view1 that it will be proper to examine them4#ahf ,appeal is first made to ,matt4 xxiv4 #ac1 a passage throwing no light upon the point4 ,it is otherwise with many prophecies of the ,old ,testament next referred to1 which describe the coming dispensation of the ,gospel3 ,they shall not hunger nor thirst2 neither shall the heat nor sun smite them3 for ,he that hath mercy on them shall lead them1 even by the springs of water shall ,he guide them2 ,he will swallow up death in victory2 and the ,lord ,god will wipe away tears from off all faces2 ,and it shall come to pass1 that every one that is left of all the nations which came against ,jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts1 and to keep the ,feast of ,tabernacles4#ahg ,to passages such as these have to be added the promises of our ,lord as to fountains of living waters even now opened to the believer1 that he may drink and never thirst again3 ,jesus answered and said unto her1 ,every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again3 but whosoever drinketh of the water that ,i shall give him shall never thirst2 but the water that ,i shall give him shall become in him a springing fountain of water1 unto eternal life2 ,now on the last day1 the great day of the feast1 ,jesus stood and cried1 saying1 ,if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me1 and drink4 ,he that believeth on ,me1 as the ,scripture hath said1 out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water4#ahh ,st4 ,john1 too1 it is urged1 teaches us to look for a ,tabernacle ,feast on earth#ahi2 while at the same time throughout all his writings eternal life is set before us as a present possession4 ,nor is this the case only in the writings of ,st4 ,john4 ,in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews we meet the same line of thought3 ,ye are come 7not ,ye shall come7 unto ,mount ,zion1 and unto the city of the living ,god1 the heavenly ,jerusalem1 and to innumerable hosts of angels1 to the general assembly and ,church of the first-born1 who are enrolled in heaven4#aij ,influenced by these considerations1 the writer to whom we have referred is led1 though not without some hesitation1 to conclude that the vision of the palm-bearing multitude is to be understood of the ,church on earth1 and not of the ,church in heaven4 ,the conclusion may be accepted without the hesitation4 ,the colours on the canvas may indeed at first appear too bright for any condition of things on this side the grave4 ,but they are not more bright than those employed in the description of the new ,jerusalem in chap4 xxi42 and1 when we come to the exposition of that chapter1 we shall find positive proof in the language of the ,seer that he looks upon that city as one already come down from heaven and established among men4 ,not a few of its most glowing traits are even precisely the same as those that we meet in the corresponding vision of this chapter3 ,and ,i heard a great voice out of the throne saying1 ,behold1 the tabernacle of ,god is with men1 and ,he shall tabernacle with them1 and they shall be ,his peoples1 and ,god ,himself shall be with them1 and be their ,god2 and ,he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes2 and death shall be no more2 neither shall there be mourning1 nor crying1 nor pain1 any more3 the first things are passed away4#aia ,if words like these may be justly applied1 as we have yet to see that they may and must be1 to one aspect of the ,church on earth1 there is certainly nothing to hinder their application to the same ,church now4 ,the truth is that in both cases the description is ideal1 and that not less so than the description of the terrors of the worldly at the opening of the sixth ,seal4 ,nor indeed shall we understand any part of the ,apocalypse unless we recognise the fact that everything with which it is concerned is raised to an ideal standard4 ,reward and punishment1 righteousness and sin1 the martyrdoms of the ,church and the fate of her oppressors1 are all set before us in an ideal light4 ,the ,seer moves in the midst of conceptions which are fundamental1 ultimate1 and eternal4 ,the broken lights which partially illuminate our progress in this world are to him absorbed in the true ,light4 ,the clouds and darkness which obscure our path gather themselves together to his eyes in the darkness with which the light has to contend4 ,descriptions1 accordingly1 applicable in their fulness to the ,church only after the glory of her ,lord is manifested1 apply also to her now1 when she is thought of as living the life that is hid with ,christ in ,god1 the life of her exalted and glorified ,redeemer4 ,for this conception the colours of the picture before us are not too bright4#aib ,the relation in which the two visions of this chapter stand to one another may now be obvious4 ,although the persons referred to are in both the same1 they do not in both occupy the same position4 ,in the first they are only sealed1 and through that sealing they are safe4 ,their ,lord has taken them under ,his protection2 and1 whatever troubles or perils may beset them1 no one shall pluck them out of ,his hand4 ,in the second they are more than safe4 ,they have peace1 and joy1 and triumph1 their every want supplied1 their every sorrow healed4 ,death itself is swallowed up in victory1 and every tear is wiped from every eye4 ,thus also may we determine the period to which both the sealing of believers and their subsequent enjoyment of heavenly blessing belong4 ,in neither vision are we introduced to any special era of ,christian history4 ,st4 ,john has in view neither the ,christians of his own day alone1 nor those of any later time4 ,as we found that each of the first six ,seals embraced the whole ,gospel age1 so also is it with these consolatory visions4 ,we are to dwell upon the thought rather than the time of preservation and of bliss4 ,the ,church of ,christ never ceases to follow in the footsteps of her ,lord4 ,like ,him1 when faithful to her high commission1 she never ceases to bear the cross4 ,the unredeemed world must always be her enemy2 and in it she must always have tribulation4 ,but not less continuous is her joy4 ,we judge wrongly when we think that the ,man of sorrows was never joyful4 ,he spoke of ,my peace1 ,my joy4#aic ,in one of ,his moments of deepest feeling we are told that ,he rejoiced in spirit4#aid ,outwardly the world troubled ,him2 and huge billows1 raised by its tempestuous winds1 swept across the surface of ,his soul4 ,beneath1 the unfathomed depths were calm4 ,in communion with ,his ,father in heaven1 in the thought of the great work which ,he was carrying to its completion1 and in the prospect of the glory that awaited ,him1 ,he could rejoice in the midst of sorrow4 ,so also with the members of ,his ,body4 ,they bear about with them a secret joy which1 like their new name1 no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it4 ,as the friend of the bridegroom who standeth and heareth him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice1 so their joy is fulfilled4#aie ,nor does it ever cease to be theirs while their ,lord is with them2 and unless they grieve ,him lo1 ,he is always with them1 even unto the consummation of the age4#aif ,the two visions1 therefore1 of the sealing and of the palm-bearing multitude embrace the whole ,christian dispensation within their scope1 and express ideas which belong to the condition of the believer in all places and at all times4 ,,footnotes3 #afh ,ps4 ii4 #g2 cx4 #g4 #afi ,ezek4 ix4 #agj ,amos ix4 #a-c4 #aga ,john vi4 #bg4 #agb ,cant4 viii4 #c4 #agc #b ,tim4 ii4 #ai4 #agd ,comp4 ,luke xii4 #h4 #age ,rom4 ix4 #f2 ,gal4 vi4 #af4 #agf ,chap4 i4 #g4 #agg ,comp4 chap4 xii4 #i4 #agh ,john xiii4 #b4 #agi ,chaps4 xiii4 #af1 #ag2 xiv4 #i2 xvi4 #b2 xix4 #bj2 xx4 #d4 #ahj ,the writer has treated this subject at considerable length in ,the ,expositor 7#bnd series1 vol4 iv474 #aha ,comp4 ,john xvii4 #ab4 #ahb ,isa4 xl4 #bf4 #ahc ,isa4 xii4 #c4 #ahd ,john viii4 #ab4 #ahe ,the ,apocalypse1 p4 #abf4 #ahf ,professor ,gibson1 in ,the ,monthly ,interpreter1 vol4 ii41 p4 #i4 #ahg ,isa4 xlix4 #aj2 xxv4 #h2 ,zech4 xiv4 #af4 #ahh ,john iv4 #ac1 #ad2 vii4 #cg1 #ch4 #ahi ,john i4 #ad4 #aij ,heb4 xii4 #bb1 #bc4 #aia ,chap4 xxi4 #c1 #d4 #aib ,comp4 on the general thought ,brown1 ,the ,second ,advent1 chap4 vi4 #aic ,john xiv4 #bg2 xvii4 #ac4 #aid ,luke x4 #ba4 #aie ,john iii4 #bi4 #aif ,matt4 xxviii4 #bj4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,first ,,six ,,trumpets4 ,,rev4 viii41 ix4 ,the two consolatory visions of chap4 vii4 have closed1 and the ,seer returns to that opening of the seven ,seals which had been interrupted in order that these two visions might be interposed4 ,six ,seals had been opened in chap4 vi42 the opening of the seventh follows3-- ,and when ,he opened the seventh seal1 there followed silence in heaven about the space of half an hour4 ,and ,i saw the seven angels which stand before ,god2 and there were given unto them seven trumpets4 ,and another angel came and stood over the altar1 having a golden censer2 and there was given unto him much incense1 that he should give it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne4 ,and the smoke of the incense1 with the prayers of the saints1 went up before ,god out of the angel's hand4 ,and the angel taketh the censer2 and he filled it with the fire of the altar1 and cast it upon the earth3 and there followed thunders1 and voices1 and lightnings1 and an earthquake4 ,and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound 7viii4 #a-f74 ,before looking at the particulars of this ,seal1 we have to determine the relation in which it stands to the ,seals of chap4 vi4 as well as to the visions following it4 ,is it as isolated1 as independent1 as those that have come before it2 and are its contents exhausted by the first six verses of the chapter8 or does it occupy such a position of its own that we are to regard the following visions as developed out of it8 ,and if the latter be the case1 how far does the development extend8 ,in answering these questions1 it can hardly be denied that if we are to look upon the seventh ,seal as standing independent and alone1 its contents have not the significance which we seem entitled to expect4 ,it is the last ,seal of its own series2 and when we turn to the last member of the ,trumpet series at chap4 xi4 #ae1 or of the ,bowl series at chap4 xvi4 #ag1 we find them marked1 not by less1 but by much greater1 force than had belonged in either case to the six preceding members4 ,the seventh ,trumpet and the seventh ,bowl sum up and concentrate the contents of their predecessors4 ,in the one the judgments of ,god represented by the ,trumpets1 in the other those represented by the ,bowls1 culminate in their sharpest expression and their most tremendous potency4 ,there is nothing of that kind in the seventh ,seal if it terminates with the preparation of the ,trumpet angels to sound2 and the analogy of the ,apocalypse therefore1 an analogy supplying in a book so symmetrically constructed an argument of greater than ordinary weight1 is against that supposition4 ,again1 the larger portion of the first six verses of this chapter does not suggest the contents of the ,seal4 ,rather would it seem as if these contents were confined to the silence spoken of in ver4 #a1 and as if what follows from ver4 #b to ver4 #f were to be regarded as no part of the ,seal itself1 but simply as introductory to the ,trumpet visions4 ,everything said bears upon it the marks of preparation for what is to come1 and we are not permitted to rest in what is passing as if it were a final and conclusive scene in the great spectacle presented to the ,seer4 ,for these reasons the view often entertained that the visions to which we proceed are developed out of the seventh ,seal may be regarded as correct4 ,if so1 how far does the development extend8 ,the answer invariably given to this question is1 ,to the end of the ,trumpets4 ,but the answer is not satisfactory4 ,the general symmetry of the ,apocalypse militates against it4 ,there is then no correspondence between the last ,trumpet and the last ,seal1 nothing to suggest the thought of a development of the ,bowls out of the seventh ,trumpet in a manner corresponding to the development of the ,trumpets out of the seventh ,seal4 ,in these circumstances the only probable conclusion is that both the ,bowls and the ,trumpets are developed out of the seventh ,seal1 and that that development does not close until we reach the end of chap4 xvi4 ,if what has now been said be correct1 it will throw important light upon the relation of the ,seals to the two series of the ,trumpets and the ,bowls taken together2 while1 at the same time1 it will lend us valuable aid in the interpretation of all the three series4 ,returning to the words before us1 it is said that1 at the opening of the seventh ,seal1 there followed silence in heaven about the space of half an hour4 ,this silence may perhaps include a cessation even of the songs which rise before the throne of ,god from that redeemed creation the voice of whose praise rests not either day or night4#aig ,yet it is not necessary to think so4 ,the probability rather is that it arises from a cessation only of the lightnings and voices and thunders which at chap4 iv4 #e proceed out of the throne1 and which are resumed at ver4 #e of the present chapter1 when the fire of the altar is cast from the angel's censer upon the earth4 ,a brief suspension of judgment is thereby indicated1 a pause by and during which the ,almighty would call attention to the manifestations of ,his wrath about to follow4 ,the exact duration of this silence1 about the space of half an hour1 has never been satisfactorily explained2 and the general analogy of ,st4 ,john's language condemns the idea of a literal interpretation4 ,we shall perhaps be more in accordance with the spirit in which the ,revelation is written if we consider--7#a7 that in that book the half of anything suggests1 not so much an actual half1 as a broken and interrupted whole1---five a broken ten1 six a broken twelve1 three and a half a broken seven2 7#b7 that in the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john we find on more than one occasion mention made of an hour by which at one time the actions1 at another the sufferings1 of ,jesus are determined3 ,woman1 what have ,i to do with thee8 ,mine hour is not yet come2 ,father1 save ,me from this hour3 but for this cause came ,i unto this hour4#aih ,the hour of ,jesus is thus to ,st4 ,john the moment at which action1 having been first resolved on by the ,father1 is taken by the ,son2 and a half-hour may simply denote that the course of events has been interrupted1 and that the instant for renewed judgment has been delayed4 ,such an interpretation will also be in close correspondence with the verses following1 as well as with what we have seen to be the probable meaning of the silence of ver4 #a4 ,preparation for action1 rather than action1 marks as yet the opening of the seventh ,seal4 ,that preparation is next described4 ,st4 ,john saw seven trumpets given to the seven angels which stand before ,god4 ,in whatever other respects these seven angels are to be distinguished from the hosts of angels which surround the throne1 the commission now given shows that they are angels of a more exalted order and a more irresistible power4 ,they are in fact the expression of the ,divine ,judge of men1 or rather of the mode in which ,he chooses by judgment to express ,himself4 ,we are not even required to think of them as numerically seven1 for seven in its sacred meaning is the number of unity1 though of unity in the variety as well as the combination of its agencies4 ,the seven ,spirits of ,god are ,his one ,spirit2 the seven churches1 ,his one ,church2 the seven horns and seven eyes of the ,lamb1 ,his one powerful might and ,his one penetrating glance4 ,in like manner the seven ,seals1 the seven ,trumpets1 and the seven ,bowls embody the thought of many judgments which are yet in reality one4 ,thus also the angels here are seven1 not because literally so1 but because that number brings out the varied forms as well as the essential oneness of the action of ,him to whom the ,father has given authority to execute judgment1 because ,he is a ,son of man4#aii ,as yet the seven trumpets have only been given to the seven angels4 ,more has to pass before they put them to their lips and sound4 ,another angel is seen who came and stood over the altar1 having a golden censer in his hand4 ,at the opening of the fifth ,seal we read of an altar which it was impossible not to identify with the great brazen altar1 the altar of burnt-offering1 in the outer court of the sanctuary4 ,such identification is not so obvious here2 and perhaps a majority of commentators agree in thinking that the altar now spoken of is rather the golden or incense altar which had its place within the ,tabernacle1 immediately in front of the second veil4 ,to this altar the priest on ordinary occasions1 and more particularly the high-priest on the great ,day of ,atonement1 brought a censer with burning frankincense1 that the smoke of the incense1 as it rose into the air1 might be a symbol to the congregation of ,israel that its prayers1 offered according to the ,divine will1 ascended as a sweet savour to ,god4 ,it is possible that this may be the altar meant2 yet the probabilities of the case rather lead to the supposition that allusion is made to the altar of sacrifice in the ,tabernacle court2 for 7#a7 when the ,seer speaks here and again in ver4 #e of the altar1 and in ver4 #c of the golden altar1 he seems to distinguish between the two4 7#b7 ,the words fire of the altar are in favour of the same conclusion4 ,according to the ritual of the ,law1 it was from the brazen altar that fire was taken in order to kindle the incense1#bjj while at the same time fire continually burned upon that altar1 but not upon the altar within the ,tabernacle4 7#c7 ,the thought represented by the symbolism seems to be that the sufferings of the saints gave efficacy to their prayers1 and drew down the answer of ,him who says1 ,call upon ,me in the day of trouble1 and ,i will answer thee1 and thou shalt glorify ,me4#bja 7#d7 ,the words of ver4 #c1 the prayers of all the saints1 and the similar expression in ver4 #d1 remind us of the prayers of the fifth ,seal1 now swelled by the prayers of those ,new ,testament saints who have been added to the blessed fellowship of the ,old ,testament martyrs4 ,these prayers1 it will be remembered1 rose from beneath the altar of burnt-offering2 and it is natural to think that the same altar is again alluded to in order to bring out the idea of a similar martyrdom4 ,what we see1 therefore1 is an angel taking the prayers and adding to them much incense1 so that we may behold them as they ascend up before ,god and receive ,his answer4 ,further1 it ought to be observed that the prayers referred to are for judgment upon sin4 ,there is nothing to justify the supposition that they are partly for judgment upon1 partly for mercy to1 a sinful world4 ,they are simply another form of the cry1 ,how long1 ,o ,master1 the holy and true1 dost ,thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth8#bjb ,they are a cry that ,god will vindicate the cause of righteousness4#bjc ,the cry is heard1 for the angel takes of the fire of the altar on which the saints had been sacrificed as an offering to ,god1 and casts it into the earth1 that it may consume the sin by which it had been kindled4 ,the lex talionis again starts to view2 not merely punishment1 but retribution1 the heaviest of all retribution1 because it is accompanied by a convicted conscience1 retribution in kind4 ,everything is now ready for judgment1 and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepare themselves to sound3-- ,and the first sounded1 and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood1 and they were cast into the earth3 and the third part of the earth was burnt up1 and the third part of the trees was burnt up1 and all green grass was burnt up 7viii4 #g74 ,to think1 in interpreting these words1 of a literal burning up of a third part of the earth1 of the trees1 and of the green grass1 would lead us astray4 ,comparing the first ,trumpet with those that follow1 we have simply a general description of judgment as it affects the land in contradistinction to the sea1 the rivers and fountains of water1 and the heavenly bodies by which the earth is lighted4 ,the punishment is drawn down by a guilty world upon itself when it rises in opposition to ,him who at first prepared the land for the abode of men1 planted it with trees pleasant to the eye1 cast over it its mantle of green1 and pronounced it to be very good4 ,of every tree of the garden1 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil1 might our first parents eat2 while grass covered the earth for their cattle1 and herb for their service4 ,all nature was to minister to the wants of man1 and in cultivating the garden and the field he was to find light and happy labour4 ,but sin came in4 ,thorns and thistles sprang up on every side4 ,labour became a burden1 and the fruitful field was changed into a wilderness which could only be subdued by constant1 patient1 and often-disappointed toil4 ,this is the thought--a thought often dwelt upon by the prophets of the ,old ,testament--that is present to the ,seer's mind4 ,one of the plagues of ,egypt1 however1 may also be in his eye4 ,when the ,almighty would deliver ,his people from that land of their captivity1 ,he sent thunder and hail1 and the fire ran along upon the ground2 and the ,lord rained hail upon the land of ,egypt4 ,so there was hail1 and fire mingled with the hail1 very grievous4444 ,and the hail smote throughout all the land of ,egypt all that was in the field1 both man and beast2 and the hail smote every herb of the field1 and broke every tree of the field4#bjd ,that plague the ,seer has in his mind2 but he is not content to use its traits alone1 terrible as they were4 ,the sin of a guilty world in refusing to listen to ,him who speaks from heaven is greater than was the sin of those who refused ,him that spake on earth1 and their punishment must be in proportion to their sin4 ,hence the plague of ,egypt is magnified4 ,we read1 not of hail and fire only1 but of hail and fire mingled with 7or rather in7 blood1 so that the blood is the outward and visible covering of the hail and of the fire4 ,in addition to this1 we have the herbs and trees of the field1 not merely smitten and broken1 but utterly consumed by fire4 ,what is meant by the third part of the earth and its products being attacked it is difficult to say4 ,the probability is that1 as a whole consists of three parts1 partial destruction only is intended1 yet not destruction of a third part of the earth1 leaving two-thirds untouched2 but a third part of the earth and of its produce is everywhere consumed4 ,the second ,trumpet is now blown3-- ,and the second angel sounded1 and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea3 and the third part of the sea became blood2 and there died the third part of the creatures which were in the sea1 even they that had life2 and the third part of the ships was destroyed 7viii4 #h1 #i74 ,as the first ,trumpet affected the land1 so the second affects the sea2 and the remarks already made upon the one destruction are for the most part applicable to the other4 ,the figure of removing a mountain from its place and casting it into the sea was used by our ,lord to express what beyond all else it was impossible to accomplish by mere human power3 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,if ye have faith1 and doubt not1 ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree1 but even if ye shall say unto this mountain1 ,be thou taken up and cast into the sea1 it shall be done4#bje ,in so speaking1 our ,lord had followed the language of the prophets1 who were accustomed to illustrate by the thought of the removal of mountains the greatest acts of ,divine power3 ,what art thou1 ,o great mountain8 before ,zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain2 ,therefore will we not fear1 though the mountains be carried into the midst of the seas4#bjf ,even the figure of a burnt mountain is not strange to the ,old ,testament1 for the prophet ,jeremiah thus denounces woe on ,babylon3 ,behold1 ,i am against thee1 ,o destroying mountain1 saith the ,lord1 which destroyest all the earth3 and ,i will stretch out ,mine hand upon thee1 and roll thee down from the rocks1 and make thee a burnt mountain4#bjg ,the plagues of ,egypt1 too1 are again taken advantage of by the ,seer1 for in the first of these ,moses lifted up the rod1 and smote the waters that were in the river2 444 and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood4 ,and the fish that was in the river died2 and the river stank1 and the ,egyptians could not drink of the water of the river2 and there was blood throughout all the land of ,egypt4#bjh ,here1 however1 the plague is extended1 embracing as it does not only the river of ,egypt1 but the sea1 with all the ships that sail upon it1 and all its fish4 ,again also1 as before1 the third part is not to be thought of as confined to one region of the ocean1 while the remaining two-thirds are left untouched4 ,it is to be sought everywhere over the whole compass of the deep4 ,the third ,trumpet is now blown3-- ,and the third angel sounded1 and there fell from heaven a great star1 burning as a torch1 and it fell upon the third part of the rivers1 and upon the fountains of the waters2 and the name of the star is called ,wormwood3 and the third part of the waters became wormwood2 and many men died of the waters1 because they were made bitter 7viii4 #aj1 #aa74 ,the third ,trumpet is to be understood upon the same principles and in the same general sense as the two preceding ,trumpets4 ,the figures are again such as meet us in the ,old ,testament1 though they are used by the ,seer in his own free and independent way4 ,thus the prophet ,isaiah1 addressing ,babylon in his magnificent description of her fall1 exclaims1 ,how art thou fallen from heaven1 ,o ,lucifer1 son of the morning6#bji and thus also the prophet ,jeremiah denounces judgment upon rebellious ,israel3 ,therefore thus saith the ,lord of hosts1 the ,god of ,israel2 ,behold1 ,i will feed them1 even this people1 with wormwood1 and give them water of gall to drink4#baj ,the bitter waters of ,marah also lived in the recollections of ,israel as the first1 and not the least terrible1 punishment of the murmuring of their fathers against ,him who had brought them out into what seemed but a barren wilderness1 instead of leaving them to quench their thirst by the sweet waters of the ,nile4#baa ,thus the waters which the world offers to its votaries are made bitter1 so bitter that they become wormwood itself1 the very essence of bitterness4 ,again the third part of them is thus visited1 but this time with a feature not previously mentioned3 the destruction of human life1--many men died of the waters4 ,under the first ,trumpet only inanimate nature was affected2 under the second we rose to creatures that had life2 under the third we rise to many men4 ,the climax ought to be noticed1 as illustrating the style of the ,apostle's thought and aiding us in the interpretation of his words4 ,a similar climax may perhaps also be intended by the agents successively employed under these ,trumpets3 hail and fire1 a great mountain burning1 and a falling star4 ,the fourth ,trumpet is now blown3-- ,and the fourth angel sounded1 and the third part of the sun was smitten1 and the third part of the moon1 and the third part of the stars2 that the third part of them should be darkened1 and the day should not shine for the third part of it1 and the night in like manner 7viii4 #ab74 ,this ,trumpet offers no contradiction to what was previously said1--that the first four members of the three series of ,seals1 of ,trumpets1 and of ,bowls deal with the material rather than the spiritual side of man1 with man as a denizen of this world rather than of the next4#bab ,the heavenly bodies are here viewed solely in their relation to earth and its inhabitants4 ,as to the judgment1 it rests1 like those of the first and second ,trumpets1 upon the thought of the ,egyptian plague of darkness3 ,and the ,lord said unto ,moses1 ,stretch out thine hand toward heaven1 that there may be darkness over the land of ,egypt1 even darkness that may be felt4 ,and ,moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven2 and there was a thick darkness in all the land of ,egypt three days3 they saw not one another1 neither rose any from his place for three days3 but all the children of ,israel had lights in their dwellings4#bac ,the trait of the ,egyptian plague alluded to in this last sentence is not mentioned here2 and we have probably1 therefore1 no right to say that it was in the ,seer's thoughts4 ,yet it is in a high degree probable that it was2 and at all events his obvious reference to that plague may help to illustrate an important particular to be afterwards noticed1--that all the ,trumpet judgments fall directly upon the world1 and not the ,church4 ,as under the first three ,trumpets1 the third part of the light of sun1 and moon1 and stars is alone darkened4 ,the first four ,trumpets have now been blown1 and we reach the line of demarcation by which each series of judgments is divided into its groups of four and three4 ,that line is drawn in the present instance with peculiar solemnity and force3-- ,and ,i saw1 and ,i heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven1 saying with a great voice1 ,woe1 woe1 woe1 for them that dwell on the earth by reason of the other voices of the three angels who are yet to sound 7viii4 #ac74 ,attention ought to be paid to the fact that the cry uttered in mid-heaven1 and thus penetrating to the most distant corners of the earth1 proceeds from an eagle1 and not1 as in the ,authorised ,version1 from an angel2 and the eagle is certainly referred to for the purpose of adding fresh terror to the scene4 ,if we would enter into the ,seer's mind1 we must think of it as the symbol of rapine and plunder4 ,to him the prominent characteristic of that bird is not its majesty1 but its swiftness1 its strength1 and its hasting to the prey4#bad ,thus ominously announced1 the fifth ,trumpet is now blown3-- ,and the fifth angel sounded1 and ,i saw a star out of heaven fallen unto the earth3 and there was given to him the key of the well of the abyss4 ,and he opened the well of the abyss2 and there went up a smoke out of the well1 as the smoke of a great furnace2 and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the well4 ,and out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth3 and power was given them1 as the scorpions of the earth have power4 ,and it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth1 neither any green thing1 neither any tree2 but only such men as have not the seal of ,god on their foreheads4 ,and it was given them that they should not kill them1 but that they should be tormented five months3 and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion1 when it striketh a man4 ,and in those days men shall seek death1 and shall in no wise find it2 and they shall desire to die1 and death fleeth from them4 ,and the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war1 and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold1 and their faces were as faces of men4 ,and they had hair as the hair of women1 and their teeth were as the teeth of lions4 ,and they had breastplates1 as it were breastplates of iron2 and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses rushing to war4 ,and they have tails like unto scorpions1 and stings3 and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months4 ,they have over them as king the angel of the abyss3 his name in ,hebrew is ,abaddon1 and in the ,greek tongue he hath the name ,apollyon 7ix4 #a-aa74 ,such is the strange but dire picture of the judgment of the fifth ,trumpet2 and we have1 as usual1 in the first place1 to look at the particulars contained in it4 ,as in several previous instances1 these are founded upon the plagues of ,egypt and the language of the prophets4 ,in both these sources how terrible does a locust plague appear6 ,in ,egypt--,and the ,lord said unto ,moses1 ,stretch out thine hand over the land of ,egypt for the locusts1 that they may come up upon the land of ,egypt1 and eat every herb of the land1 even all that the hail hath left4 ,and ,moses stretched forth his rod over the land of ,egypt1 and the ,lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day1 and all that night2 and when it was morning1 the east wind brought the locusts4 ,and the locusts went up over all the land of ,egypt1 and rested in all the coasts of ,egypt3 very grievous were they2 before them there were no such locusts as they1 neither after them shall be such4 ,for they covered the face of the whole earth1 so that the land was darkened2 and they did eat every herb of the land1 and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left3 and there remained not any green thing in the trees1 or in the herbs of the field1 through all the land of ,egypt4#bae ,darker even than this is the language of the prophet ,joel4 ,when he sees locusts sweeping across a land1 he exclaims1 ,the land was as the garden of ,eden before them1 and behind them a desolate wilderness2#baf and from their irresistible and destructive ravages he draws not a few traits of the dread events by which the coming of the day of the ,lord shall be accompanied3 ,the appearance of them is as the appearance of horses2 and as horsemen1 so shall they run4 ,like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap1 like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble1 as a strong people set in battle array4444 ,they shall run like mighty men2 they shall climb the wall like men of war2 and they shall march every one on his ways1 and they shall not break their ranks4444 ,they shall run to and fro in the city2 they shall run upon the wall1 they shall climb up upon the houses2 they shall enter in at the windows like a thief4 ,the earth shall quake before them2 the heavens shall tremble3 the sun and the moon shall be dark1 and the stars shall withdraw their shining4#bag ,it is no doubt true that in the description before us the qualities of its locusts are preternaturally magnified1 but that is only what we might expect1 and it is in keeping with the mode in which other figures taken from the ,old ,testament are treated in this book4 ,there is a probability1 too1 that each trait of the description had a distinct meaning to ,st4 ,john1 and that it represents some particular phase of the calamities he intended to depict4 ,but it is hardly possible now to discover such meanings2 and that the ,seer had in view general evil as much at least as evil in certain special forms is shown by the artificiality of structure marking the passage as a whole4 ,for the description of the locusts is divided into three parts1 the first general1 the second special1 the third the locust-king4 ,the special characteristics of the insects1 again1 are seven in number3 7#a7 upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold2 7#b7 and their faces were as faces of men2 7#c7 and they had hair as the hair of women2 7#d7 and their teeth were as the teeth of lions2 7#e7 and they had breastplates1 as it were breastplates of iron2 7#f7 and the sound of their wings was as the sound of many chariots2 7#g7 and they have tails like unto scorpions1 and stings4 ,whether the period of five months1 during which these locusts are said to commit their ravages1 is fixed on because the destruction caused by the natural insect lasts for that length of time1 or for some other reason unknown to us1 it is difficult to determine4 ,there is a want of proof that a locust-plague generally continues for the number of months thus specified1 and it is otherwise more in accordance with the style of the ,apocalypse to regard that particular period of time as simply denoting that the judgment has definite limits4 ,one additional particular connected with the fifth ,trumpet ought to be adverted to4 ,it will be noticed that the well of the abyss whence the plague proceeds is opened by a star fallen 7not falling7 out of heaven1 to which the key of the well was given4 ,we have here one of those contrasts of ,st4 ,john a due attention to which is of such importance to the interpreter4 ,this fallen star is the contrast and counterpart of ,him who is the bright1 the morning star1 and who has the keys of death and of ,hades4#bah ,at this point the sixth angel ought to sound2 but we are now in the midst of the three last woes1 and each is of so terrible an import that it deserves to be specially marked4 ,hence the words of the next verse3-- ,the first ,woe is past2 behold1 there come yet two ,woes hereafter 7ix4 #ab74 ,this warning given1 the sixth ,trumpet is now blown3-- ,and the sixth angel sounded1 and ,i heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before ,god1 one saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet1 ,loose the four angels which are bound at the great river ,euphrates4 ,and the four angels were loosed1 which had been prepared for the hour1 and day1 and month1 and year1 that they should kill the third part of men4 ,and the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand2 ,i heard the number of them4 ,and thus ,i saw the horses in the vision1 and them that sat on them1 having breastplates as of fire1 and of hyacinth1 and of brimstone4 ,by these three plagues was the third part of men killed1 by the fire1 and the smoke1 and the brimstone1 which proceeded out of their mouths4 ,for the power of the horses is in their mouth1 and in their tails3 for their tails are like unto serpents1 and with them they do hurt4 ,and the rest of mankind which were not killed with these plagues repented not of the works of their hands1 that they should not worship demons1 and the idols of gold1 and of silver1 and of brass1 and of stone1 and of wood3 which can neither see1 nor hear nor walk3 and they repented not of their murders1 nor of their sorceries1 nor of their fornication1 nor of their thefts 7ix4 #ac-ba74 ,there is much in this ,trumpet that is remarkable even while we confine ourselves to the more outward particulars contained in it4 ,thus we are brought back by it to the thought of those prayers of the saints to which all the ,trumpets are a reply1 but which have not been mentioned since the blowing of the ,trumpets began4#bai ,once more we read of the golden altar which was before ,god1 in ,his immediate presence4 ,on that altar the prayers of all the saints had been laid1 that they might rise to heaven with the much incense added by the angel1 and might be answered in ,god's own time and way4 ,the voice heard from the four horns of this altar--that is1 from the four projecting points at its four corners1 representing the altar in its greatest potency--shows us1 what we might have been in danger of forgetting1 that the judgment before us continues to be an answer of the ,almighty to ,his people's prayers4 ,again it may be noticed that in the judgment here spoken of we deal once more with a third part of the class upon which it falls4 ,nothing of the kind had been said under the fifth ,trumpet4 ,the inference to be drawn from these particulars is important4 ,we learn that1 however distinct the successive members of any of the three series of the ,seals1 the ,trumpets1 or the ,bowls may seem to be1 they are yet closely connected with one another4 ,though seven in number1 there is a sense in which they are also one2 and any characteristic thought which appears in a single member of the series ought to be carried through all its members4#bbj ,the judgment itself is founded1 as in the others already considered1 upon thoughts and incidents connected with ,old ,testament history4 ,the first of these is the river ,euphrates4 ,that great river was the boundary of ,palestine upon the northeast4 ,in the same day the ,lord made a covenant with ,abram1 saying1 ,unto thy seed have ,i given this land1 from the river of ,egypt unto the great river1 the river ,euphrates2#bba and in the days of ,solomon this part of the covenant appears to have been fulfilled1 for we are told that ,solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river 7that is1 the ,euphrates7 unto the land of the ,philistines1 and unto the border of ,egypt4#bbb ,the ,euphrates1 however1 was not only the boundary between ,israel and the ,assyrians4 ,it was also ,israel's line of defence against its powerful and ambitious neighbour1 who had to cross its broad stream before he could seize any part of the ,promised ,land4 ,by a natural transition of thought1 the ,euphrates next became a symbol of the ,assyrians themselves1 for its waters1 when they rose in flood1 overflowed ,israel's territory and swept all before them4 ,then the prophets saw in the rush of the swollen river a figure of the scourge of ,god upon those who would not acknowledge ,him3 ,the ,lord spake also unto me again1 saying1 ,forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of ,shiloah that go softly1 and rejoice in ,rezin and ,remaliah's son2 now therefore behold1 the ,lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river1 strong and many1 even the king of ,assyria1 and all his glory3 and he shall come up over all his channels1 and go over all his banks3 and he shall pass through ,judah2 he shall overflow and go over1 he shall reach even to the neck2 and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of ,thy land1 ,o ,immanuel4#bbc ,when accordingly the ,euphrates is here spoken of1 it is clear that with the river as such we have nothing to do4 ,it is simply a symbol of judgment2 and the four angels which had been bound at it1 but were now loosed1 are a token--four being the number of the world--that the judgment referred to1 though it affects but a third part of men1 reaches men over the whole surface of the globe4 ,when the hour1 and the day1 and the month1 and the year--that is1 when the moment fixed in the counsels of the ,almighty--come1 the chains by which destruction has been kept back shall be broken1 and the world shall be overwhelmed by the raging stream4 ,the second ,old ,testament thought to be noted in this vision is that of horses4 ,to the ,israelite the horse presented an object of terror rather than admiration1 and an army of horsemen awakened in him the deepest feelings of alarm4 ,thus it is that the prophet ,habakkuk1 describing the coming judgments of ,god1 is commissioned to exclaim1 ,behold ye among the heathen1 and regard1 and wonder marvellously3 for ,i will work a work in your days1 which ye will not believe1 though it be told you4 ,for1 lo1 ,i raise up the ,chaldeans1 that bitter and hasty nation1 which shall march through the breadth of the land1 to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs4 ,they are terrible and dreadful3 their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves4 ,their horses also are swifter than the leopards1 and are more fierce than the evening wolves3 and their horsemen shall spread themselves1 and their horsemen shall come from far2 they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat4 ,they shall come all for violence3 their faces shall sup up as the east wind1 and they shall gather the captivity as the sand4 ,and they shall scoff at the kings1 and the princes shall be a scorn unto them3 they shall deride every stronghold2 for they shall heap dust1 and take it4#bbd ,like the locusts of the previous vision1 the horses now spoken of are indeed clothed with preternatural attributes2 but the explanation is the same4 ,ordinary horses could not convey images of sufficient terror4 ,the last two verses of chap4 ix41 which follow the sixth ,trumpet1 deserve our particular attention4 ,they describe the effect produced upon the men who did not perish by the previous plagues1 and they help to throw light upon a question most intimately connected with a just interpretation of the ,apocalypse4 ,the question is1 ,does the ,seer1 in any of his visions1 anticipate the conversion of the ungodly8 or does he deal1 from the beginning to the end of his descriptions1 with righteousness and sin in themselves rather than with righteous persons who may decline from the truth or sinful persons who may own and welcome it8 ,the question will meet us again in the following chapters of this book1 and will demand a fuller discussion than it can receive at present4 ,in the meantime it is enough to say that1 in the two verses now under consideration1 no hint as to the conversion of any ungodly persons by the ,trumpet plagues is given4 ,on the contrary1 the men--that is1 the two-thirds of the inhabitants of the earth or of the ungodly world--who were not killed by these plagues repented neither of their irreligious principles nor of their immoral lives4 ,they went on as they had done in the grossness of their idolatries and in the licentiousness of their conduct4 ,they were neither awakened nor softened by the fate of others4 ,they had deliberately chosen their own course2 and1 although they knew that they were rushing against the thick bosses of the ,almighty's buckler1 they had resolved to persevere in it to the end4 ,two brief remarks on these six ,trumpet visions1 looked at as a whole1 appear still to be required4 #a4 ,no attempt has been made to interpret either the individual objects of the judgments or the instruments by which judgment is inflicted4 ,to the one class belong the earth1 the trees1 the green grass1 the sea1 the ships1 the rivers and fountains of the waters1 the sun1 the moon1 and the stars2 to the other belong the details given in the description first of the locusts of the fifth ,trumpet and then of the horses of the sixth4 ,each of these particulars may have a definite meaning1 and interpreters may yet be successful in discovering it4 ,the object kept in view throughout this commentary makes any effort to ascertain that meaning1 when it is doubtful if it even exists1 comparatively unimportant4 ,we are endeavouring to catch the broader interpretation and spirit of the book2 and it may be a question whether our impressions would in that respect be deepened though we saw reason to believe that all the objects above mentioned had individual force4 ,one line of demarcation certainly seems to exist1 traced by the ,seer himself1 between the first four and the two following judgments1 the former referring to physical disasters flowing from moral evil1 the latter to the more dreadful intensification of intellectual darkness and moral corruption visited upon men when they deliberately choose evil rather than good4 ,further than this it is for our present purpose unnecessary to go4 #b4 ,the judgments of these ,trumpets are judgments on the world rather than the ,church4 ,occasion has been already taken to observe that the structure of this part of the ,apocalypse leads to the belief that both the ,trumpets and the ,bowls are developed out of the ,seals4 ,yet there is a difference between the two1 and various indications in the ,trumpet visions appear to confine them to judgments on the world4 ,there is the manner in which they are introduced1 as an answer to the prayers of all the saints4#bbe ,it is true1 as we shall yet see1 that the degenerate ,church is the chief persecutor of the people of ,god4 ,but against her the saints cannot pray4 ,to them she is still the ,church4 ,they remember the principle laid down by their ,lord when ,he spoke of ,his kingdom in the parable of the tares3 ,let both grow together until the harvest4#bbf ,god alone can separate the false from the true within her pale4 ,there is a sense in which the ,church can never be overthrown1 and there is not less a sense in which the world shall be subdued4 ,only for the subjugation of the world1 therefore1 can all the saints pray2 and the ,trumpets are an answer to their prayers4 ,again1 the three ,woe-,trumpets are directed against them that dwell on the earth4#bbg ,but1 as has been already said1 it is a principle of interpretation applicable to all the three series of the ,seals1 the ,trumpets1 and the ,bowls1 that traits filling up the picture in one member belong also to the other members of the group1 and that the judgments1 while under one aspect seven1 are under another one4 ,the three ,woes therefore fall upon the same field of judgment as that visited by the plagues preceding them4 ,in other words1 all the six plagues of this series of visions are inflicted upon them that dwell on the earth2 and that is simply another form of expression for the ungodly world4 ,again1 under the fifth ,trumpet the children of ,god are separated from the ungodly1 so that the particulars of that judgment do not touch them4 ,the locusts are instructed that they should not hurt the grass of the earth1 neither any green thing1 neither any tree2 but only such men as have not the seal of ,god in their foreheads4#bbh ,again1 the seventh ,trumpet1 in which the series culminates1 and which embodies its character as a whole1 will be found to deal with judgment on the world alone3 ,the nations were roused to wrath1 and ,thy wrath came1 and the time of the dead to be judged1 444 and the time to destroy them that destroy the earth4#bbi ,finally1 the description given at the end of the sixth ,trumpet of those who were hardened rather than softened by the preceding judgments leads directly to the same conclusion3 ,and the rest of mankind which were not killed by these plagues repented not of the works of their hands1 that they should not worship devils1 and the idols of gold1 and of silver1 and of brass1 and of stone1 and of wood4#bcj ,these considerations leave no doubt that the judgments of the ,trumpets are judgments on the world4 ,the ,church1 it is true1 may also suffer from them1 but not in judgment4 ,they may be part of her trial as she mixes with the world during her earthly pilgrimage4 ,trial1 however1 is not judgment4 ,to the children of ,god it is the discipline of a ,father's hand4 ,in the midst of it the ,church is safe1 and it helps to ripen her for the fulness of the glory of her heavenly inheritance4 ,,footnotes3 #aig ,chap4 iv4 #h4 #aih ,john ii4 #d2 xii4 #bg4 #aii ,john v4 #bg4 #bjj ,smith's ,dictionary of the ,bible1 ,,incense4 #bja ,ps4 l4 #ae4 #bjb ,chap4 vi4 #aj4 #bjc ,comp4 p4 #ajc4 #bjd ,exod4 ix4 #bc-be4 #bje ,matt4 xxi4 #ba4 #bjf ,zech4 iv4 #g2 ,ps4 xlvi4 #b4 #bjg ,jer4 li4 #be4 #bjh ,exod4 vii4 #bj1 #ba4 #bji ,isa4 xiv4 #ab4 #baj ,jer4 ix4 #ae4 #baa ,exod4 xv4 #bc4 #bab ,comp4 p4 #ig4 #bac ,exod4 x4 #ba-bc4 #bad ,comp4 ,job ix4 #bf4 #bae ,exod4 x4 #ab-ae4 #baf ,joel ii4 #c4 #bag ,joel ii4 #d-aj4 #bah ,chaps4 xxii4 #af2 i4 #ah4 #bai ,vers4 #c-e4 #bbj ,comp4 p4 #bfh4 #bba ,gen4 xv4 #ah4 #bbb #a ,kings iv4 #ba4 #bbc ,isa4 viii4 #e-h4 #bbd ,hab4 i4 #e-aj4 #bbe ,chap4 viii4 #c4 #bbf ,matt4 xiii4 #cj4 #bbg ,chap4 viii4 #ac4 #bbh ,chap4 ix4 #d4 #bbi ,chap4 xi4 #ah4 #bcj ,chap4 ix4 #bj4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,first ,,consolatory ,,vision4 ,,rev4 x4 ,at the point now reached by us the regular progress of the ,trumpet judgments is interrupted1 in precisely the same manner as between the sixth and seventh ,seals1 by two consolatory visions4 ,the first is contained in chap4 x41 the second in chap4 xi4 #a-ac4 ,at chap4 xi4 #ad the series of the ,trumpets is resumed1 reaching from that point to the end of the chapter4 ,and ,i saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven1 arrayed with a cloud3 and the rainbow was upon his head1 and his face was as the sun1 and his feet as pillars of fire3 and he had in his hand a little book-roll open3 and he set his right foot upon the sea1 and his left upon the earth3 and he cried with a great voice1 as a lion roareth3 and when he cried1 the seven thunders uttered their voices4 ,and when the seven thunders uttered their voices1 ,i was about to write3 and ,i heard a voice from heaven saying1 ,seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered1 and write them not4 ,and the angel which ,i saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven1 and sware by ,him that liveth for ever and ever1 who created the heaven1 and the things that are therein1 and the earth1 and the things that are therein1 and the sea1 and the things that are therein1 that there shall be time no longer3 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel1 when he is about to sound1 then is finished the mystery of ,god1 according to the good tidings which ,he declared to ,his servants the prophets4 ,and the voice which ,i heard from heaven1 ,i heard it again speaking with me1 and saying1 ,go1 take the book-roll which is open in the hand of the angel that standeth upon the sea and upon the earth4 ,and ,i went unto the angel1 saying unto him that he should give me the little book-roll4 ,and he saith unto me1 ,take it1 and eat it up2 and it shall make thy belly bitter1 but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey4 ,and ,i took the little book-roll out of the angel's hand1 and ate it up2 and it was in my mouth sweet as honey3 and when ,i had eaten it1 my belly was made bitter4 ,and they say unto me1 ,thou must prophesy again over many peoples1 and nations1 and tongues1 and kings 7x4 #a-aa74 ,many questions of deep interest1 and upon which the most divergent opinions have been entertained1 meet us in connexion with this passage4 ,to attempt to discuss these various opinions would only confuse the reader4 ,it will be enough to allude to them when it seems necessary to do so4 ,in the meantime1 before endeavouring to discover the meaning of the vision1 three observations may be made2 one of a general kind1 the other two bearing upon the interpretation of particular clauses4 #a4 ,like almost all else in the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1 the vision is founded upon a passage of the ,old ,testament4 ,and when ,i looked1 says the prophet ,ezekiel1 behold1 an hand was sent unto me2 and1 lo1 a roll of a book was therein4444 ,moreover ,he said unto me1 ,son of man1 eat what thou findest2 eat this roll1 and go speak unto the house of ,israel4 ,so ,i opened my mouth1 and ,he caused me to eat that roll4 ,and ,he said unto me1 ,son of man1 cause thy belly to eat1 and fill thy bowels with this roll that ,i give thee4 ,then did ,i eat it2 and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness4 ,and ,he said unto me1 ,son of man1 go1 get thee unto the house of ,israel1 and speak with ,my words unto them4#bca #b4 ,in one expression of ver4 #f it is doubtful whether the translation of the ,authorised and ,revised ,versions1 or the marginal translation of the latter1 ought to be adopted1 whether we ought to read1 ,there shall be time or ,there shall be delay no longer4 ,but the former is not only the natural meaning of the original2 it would almost seem1 from the use of the same word in other passages of the ,apocalypse1#bcb that it is employed by ,st4 ,john to designate the whole ,christian age4 ,that age is now at its very close4 ,the last hour is about to strike4 ,the drama of the world's history is about to be wound up4 ,for the ,lord will execute ,his word upon the earth1 finishing it and cutting it short4#bcc #c4 ,the last verse of the chapter deserves our attention for a moment3 ,and they say unto me1 ,thou must prophesy again over many peoples1 and nations1 and tongues1 and kings4 ,although prophecy itself is spoken of in several passages of this book1#bcd we read only once again of prophesying3 when it is said in chap4 xi4 #c of the two witnesses that they shall prophesy4 ,a comparison of these passages will show that both words are to be understood in the sense of proclaiming the righteous acts and judgments of the ,almighty4 ,the prophet of the ,apocalypse is not the messenger of mercy only1 but of the just government of ,god4 ,from these subordinate points we hasten to questions more immediately concerning us in our effort to understand the chapter4 ,several such questions have to be asked4 #a4 ,who is the angel introduced to us in the first verse of the vision8 ,he is described as another strong angel2 and1 as the epithet strong has been so used only once before--in chap4 v4 #b1 in connexion with the opening of the book-roll sealed with seven seals--we are entitled to conclude that this angel is said to be another in comparison with the angel there spoken of rather than with the many angels that surround the throne of ,god4 ,but the strong angel in chap4 v4 is distinguished both from ,god ,himself1 and from the ,lamb4 ,in some sense1 therefore1 a similar distinction must be drawn here4 ,on the other hand1 the particulars mentioned of this angel lead directly to the conclusion not only that he has ,divine attributes1 but that he represents no other than that ,son of man beheld by ,st4 ,john in the first vision of his book4 ,he is arrayed with a cloud2 and in every passage of the ,apocalypse where mention is made of such investiture1 or in which a cloud or clouds are associated with a person1 it is with the ,saviour of the world as ,he comes to judgment4#bce ,similar language marks also the other books of the ,new ,testament4#bcf ,the rainbow was upon his head2 and the definite article employed takes us back1 not to the rainbow spoken of in the book of ,genesis1 or to the rainbow which from time to time appears1 a well-known object1 in the sky1 but to that of chap4 iv4 #c1 where we have been told1 in the description of the ,divine throne1 that there was a rainbow round about the throne1 like an emerald to look upon4 ,the words his face was as the sun do not of themselves prove that the reference is to chap4 i4 #af1 where it is said of the ,one like unto a son of man that ,his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength2 but the propriety of this reference is made almost indubitable by the mention of his feet as pillars of fire1 for this last circumstance can only be an allusion to the trait spoken of in chap4 i4 #ae1 ,and ,his feet like unto fine brass1 as if it had been refined in a furnace4 ,the combination of these particulars shows how close is the connexion between the strong angel of this vision and the ,divine ,redeemer2 and the explanation of both the difference and the correspondence between the two is to be found in the remark previously made that in the ,apocalypse the angel of any person or thing expresses that person or thing in action4#bcg ,here1 therefore1 we have the action of ,him who is the ,head1 and ,king1 and ,lord of ,his ,church4 #b4 ,in what character does the ,lord appear8 ,as to the answer to this question there can be no dubiety4 ,he appears in judgment4 ,the rainbow upon ,his head is indeed the symbol of mercy1 but it is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that ,he is ,saviour as well as ,judge4 ,so far is the ,apocalypse from representing the ideas of judgment and mercy as incompatible with each other that throughout the whole book the most terrible characteristic of the former is its proceeding from ,one distinguished by the latter4 ,if even in itself the ,divine wrath is to be dreaded by the sinner1 the dread which it ought to inspire reaches its highest point when we think of it as the wrath of the ,lamb4 ,the other features of the description speak directly of judgment3 the cloud1 the sun1 the pillars of fire4 #c4 ,what notion are we to form of the contents of the little book-roll8 ,they are certainly not the same as those of the book-roll of chap4 v41 although the word here used for the roll1 a diminutive from the other1 may suggest the idea that there is an intimate connexion between the two books1 and that the second1 like the first1 is full of judgment4 ,other circumstances mentioned lead to the same conclusion4 ,thus the great voice1 as a lion roareth1 cannot fail to remind us of the voice of the ,lion that is of the tribe of ,judah in chap4 v4 ,the thought of the seven thunders which uttered their voices deepens the impression1 for in that number we have the general conception of thunder in all the varied terrors that belong to it2 and1 whatever the particulars uttered by the thunders were--a point into which it is vain to inquire1 as the writing of them was forbidden--their general tone must have been that of judgment4 ,but these thunders are a response to the strong angel as he was about to take action with the little book1--when he cried1 the seven thunders uttered their voices1--and the response must have been related to the action4 ,it is clear1 therefore1 that the contents of the little book cannot have been tidings of mercy to a sinful world2 and that that book cannot have been intended to tell the ,seer that1 notwithstanding the opposition of the powers of darkness1 the ,church of ,christ was to make her way among the nations1 growing up from the small seed into the stately tree1 and at last covering the earth with the shadow of her branches4 ,even on the supposition that a conception of this kind could be traced in other parts of the ,apocalypse1 it would be out of keeping with the particulars accompanying it here4 ,we may without hesitation conclude that the little book-roll has thus the general character of judgment1 although1 like the larger roll of chap4 v41 it may also include in it the preservation of the saints4 ,we are thus in a position to inquire what the special contents of the little book-roll were4 ,before doing so one consideration may be kept in view4 ,calling to mind the symmetrical structure of the ,apocalypse1 it seems natural to expect that the relation to one another of the two consolatory visions falling between the ,trumpets and the ,bowls will correspond to that of the two between the ,seals and the ,trumpets4 ,the two companies1 however1 spoken of in these two latter visions1 are the same1 the hundred and forty and four thousand out of every tribe of the children of ,israel being identical with the great multitude out of every nation2 while the contents of the second vision are substantially the same as those of the first1 though repeated on a fuller and more perfect scale4 ,now we shall shortly see that the second of our present consolatory visions--that in chap4 xi4--brings out the victory and triumph of a faithful remnant of believers within a degenerate1 though professing1 ,church4 ,how probable does it become that the first consolatory vision--that in chap4 x4--will relate to the same remnant1 though on a lower plane alike of battle and of conquest6 ,thus looked at1 we have good ground for the supposition that the little book-roll contained indications of judgment about to descend on a ,church which had fallen from her high position and practically disowned her ,divine ,master2 while at the same time it assured the faithful remnant within her that they would be preserved1 and in due season glorified4 ,the little book thus spoke of the hardest of all the struggles through which believers have to pass3 that with foes of their own household2 but1 so speaking1 it told also of judgment upon these foes1 and of a glorious issue for the true members of ,christ's ,body out of toil and suffering4 ,with this view of the contents of the little book-roll everything that is said of it appears to be in harmony4 #a4 ,we thus at once understand why it is named by a diminutive form of the word used for the book-roll in chap4 v4 ,the latter contained the whole counsel of ,god for the execution of ,his plans both in the world and in the ,church4 ,the former has reference to the ,church alone4 ,a smaller roll therefore would naturally be sufficient for its tidings4 #b4 ,the action which the ,seer is commanded to take with the roll receives adequate explanation4 ,he was to take it out of the hand of the strong angel and to eat it up4 ,the meaning is obvious1 and is admitted by all interpreters4 ,the ,seer is in his own actual experience to assimilate the contents of the roll in order that he may know their value4 ,the injunction is in beautiful accord with what we otherwise know of the character and feelings of ,st4 ,john4 ,the power of ,christian experience to throw light upon ,christian truth and upon the fortunes of ,christ's people is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the fourth ,gospel4 ,it penetrates and pervades the whole4 ,we listen to the expression of the ,evangelist's own feelings as he is about to present to the world the image of his beloved ,master1 and he cries1 ,we beheld ,his glory1 glory as of the only-begotten from the ,father2 ,of ,his fulness we all received1 and grace for grace4#bch ,we notice his comment upon words of ,jesus dark to his fellow-,apostles and himself at the time when they were spoken1 and he says1 ,when therefore ,he was raised from the dead1 ,his disciples remembered that ,he spake this2 and they believed the word which ,jesus had said4#bci ,finally1 we hear him as he remembers the promise of the ,spirit of truth1 who was to instruct the disciples1 not by new revelations of the ,divine will1 but by unfolding more largely the fulness that was to be found in ,christ3 ,howbeit when ,he1 the ,spirit of truth1 is come1 ,he shall guide you into all the truth3 for ,he shall not speak from ,himself2 but what things soever ,he shall hear1 these shall ,he speak3 and ,he shall declare unto you the things that are to come4 ,he shall glorify ,me3 for ,he shall take of ,mine1 and shall declare it unto you4#bdj ,everywhere and always ,christian experience is the key that unlocks what would otherwise be closed1 and sheds light upon what would otherwise be dark4 ,to such experience1 accordingly1 the contents of the little roll1 if they were such as we have understood them to be1 must have appealed with peculiar power4 ,in beholding judgment executed on the world1 the believer might need only to stand by and wonder1 as ,moses and ,israel stood upon the shore of the ,red ,sea when the sea1 returning to its bed1 overwhelmed their enemies4 ,they were safe4 ,they had neither part nor lot with those who were sinking as lead in the mighty waters4 ,it would be otherwise when judgment came upon the ,church4 ,of that ,church believers were a part4 ,how could they explain the change that had come over her1 the purification that she needed1 the separation that must take place within what had hitherto been to all appearance the one ,zion which ,god loved8 ,in the former case all was outward2 in the latter all is inward1 personal1 experimental1 leading to inquiry and earnest searchings of heart and prayer4 ,a book containing these things was thus an appeal to ,christian experience1 and ,st4 ,john might well be told to eat it up4 #c4 ,the effect produced upon the ,seer by eating the little roll is also in accord with what has been said4 ,it shall make thy belly bitter1 it was said to him1 but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey2 and the effect followed4 ,it was in my mouth1 he says1 sweet as honey3 and when ,i had eaten it1 my belly was made bitter4 ,such an effect could hardly follow the mere proclamation of judgment on the world4 ,when we look at that judgment in the light in which it ought to be regarded1 and in which we have hitherto regarded it--as the vindication of righteousness and of a ,divine and righteous order--the thought of it can impart nothing but joy4 ,but to think that the ,church of the living ,god1 the bride of ,christ1 shall be visited with judgment1 and to be compelled to acknowledge that the judgment is deserved2 to think that those to whom so much has been given should have given so little in return2 to think of the selfishness which has prevailed where love ought to have reigned1 of worldliness where there ought to have been heavenliness of mind1 and of discord where there ought to have been unity--these are the things that make the ,christian's reflections bitter2 they1 and they most of all1 are his perplexity1 his burden1 his sorrow1 and his cross4 ,the world may disappoint him1 but from it he expected little4 ,when the ,church disappoints him1 the foundations are overturned1 and the honey of life is changed into gall and wormwood4 ,combining the particulars which have now been noticed1 we seem entitled to conclude that the little book-roll of this chapter is a roll of judgment1 but of judgment relating less to the world than to the ,church4 ,it tells us that that sad experience of hers which is to meet us in the following chapters ought neither to perplex nor overwhelm us4 ,the experience may be strange1 very different from what we might have expected and hoped for2 but the thread by which the ,church is guided has not passed out of the hands of ,him who leads ,his people by ways that they know not into the hands of an unsympathizing and hostile power4 ,as ,his counsels in reference to the world1 and to the ,church in her general relation to it1 contained in the great book-roll of chap4 v41 shall stand1 so the internal relations of the two parts of ,his ,church to each other1 together with the issues depending upon them1 are equally under ,his control4 ,if judgment falls upon the ,church1 it is not because ,god has forgotten to be gracious1 or has in anger shut up ,his tender mercies1 but because the ,church has sinned1 because she is in need of chastisement1 and because she must be taught that only in direct dependence upon the voice of the ,good ,shepherd1 and not in the closest fold that can be built for her1 is she safe4 ,let her know ,him1 and she shall be known of ,him even as ,he is known of the ,father4#bda ,,footnotes3 #bca ,ezek4 ii4 #i2 iii4 #d4 #bcb ,comp4 chaps4 vi4 #aa2 xx4 #c4 #bcc ,rom4 ix4 #bh4 #bcd ,comp4 chaps4 i4 #c2 xxii4 #g1 #aj1 #ah1 #ai4 #bce ,chaps4 i4 #g2 xiv4 #ad-af4 ,in chap4 xi4 #ab the cloud is the well-known cloud in which ,christ ascended1 and in which ,he comes to judgment4 #bcf ,matt4 xxiv4 #cj2 ,mark xiii4 #bf2 ,luke xxi4 #bg2 #a ,thess4 iv4 #ag4 #bcg ,comp4 p4 #be4 #bch ,john i4 #ad1 #af4 #bci ,john ii4 #bb4 #bdj ,john xvi4 #ac1 #ad4 #bda ,comp4 ,john x4 #a-ae4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,second ,,consolatory ,,vision ,,and ,,the ,,seventh ,,trumpet4 ,,rev4 xi4 ,from the first consolatory vision we proceed to the second3-- ,and there was given unto me a reed like unto a rod3 and one said1 ,rise1 and measure the temple of ,god1 and the altar1 and them that worship therein4 ,and the court which is without the temple cast without1 and measure it not2 for it hath been given unto the nations3 and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months 7xi4 #a1 #b74 ,various points connected with these verses demand examination before any attempt can be made to gather the meaning of the vision as a whole4 #a4 ,what is meant by the measuring of the ,temple8 ,as in so many other instances1 the figure is taken from the ,old ,testament4 ,in the prophet ,zechariah we read1 ,i lifted up mine eyes again1 and looked1 and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand4 ,then said ,i1 ,whither goest thou8 ,and he said unto me1 ,to measure ,jerusalem1 to see what is the breadth thereof1 and what is the length thereof4#bdb ,to the same effect1 but still more particularly1 the prophet ,ezekiel speaks3 ,in the visions of ,god brought ,he me into the land of ,israel1 and set me upon a very high mountain1 by which was as the frame of a city on the south4 ,and ,he brought me thither1 and1 behold1 there was a man1 whose appearance was like the appearance of brass1 with a line of flax in his hand1 and a measuring reed2 and he stood in the gate4444 ,and behold a wall on the outside of the house round about1 and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an handbreadth1 so he measured1#bdc whereupon follows a minute and lengthened description of the measuring of all the parts of that ,temple which was to be the glory of ,god's people in the latter days4 ,from these passages we not only learn whence the idea of the measuring was taken1 but what the meaning of it was4 ,the account given by ,ezekiel distinctly shows that thus to measure expresses the thought of preservation1 not of destruction4 ,that the same thought is intended by ,zechariah is clear from the words immediately following the instruction given him to measure3 ,for ,i1 saith the ,lord1 will be unto her a wall of fire round about1 and will be the glory in the midst of her2#bdd while1 if further proof upon this point were needed1 it is found in the fact that the measuring of this passage does not stand alone in the ,apocalypse4 ,the new ,jerusalem is also measured3 ,and he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city1 and the gates thereof1 and the wall thereof4 ,and he measured the wall thereof1 an hundred and forty and four cubits1 according to the measure of a man1 that is1 of an angel4#bde ,when ,god therefore measures1 ,he measures1 not in indignation1 but that the object measured may be in a deeper than ordinary sense the habitation of ,his glory4 #b4 ,what is meant by the temple1 the altar1 and the casting without of the court which is without the temple8 ,in other words1 are we to interpret these objects and the action taken with the latter literally or figuratively8 ,are we to think of the things themselves1 or of certain spiritual ideas which they are used to represent8 ,the first view is not only that of many eminent commentators2 it even forms one of the chief grounds upon which they urge that the ,herodian temple upon ,mount ,moriah was still in existence when the ,apocalyptist wrote4 ,he could not1 it is alleged1 have been instructed to measure the ,temple if that building had been already thrown down1 and not one stone left upon another4 ,yet1 when we attend to the words1 it would seem as if this view must be set aside in favour of a figurative interpretation4 ,for-- 7#a7 ,the word temple misleads4 ,the term employed in the original does not mean the ,temple-buildings as a whole1 but only their innermost shrine or sanctuary1 that part known as the ,holy of holies1 which was separated from every other part of the sacred structure by the second veil4 ,no doubt1 so far as the simple act of measuring was concerned1 a part might have been as easily measured as the whole4 ,but closer attention to what was in the ,seer's mind will show that when he thus speaks of the naos or shrine he is not thinking of the ,temple at ,jerusalem at all1 but of the ,tabernacle in the wilderness upon which the ,temple was moulded4 ,the nineteenth verse of the chapter makes this clear4 ,in that verse we find him saying1 ,and there was opened the temple 7the naos7 of ,god that is in heaven1 and there was seen in ,his temple 7,his naos7 the ark of ,his covenant4 ,we know1 however1 that the ark of the covenant never had a place in the ,temple which existed in the days of ,christ4 ,it had disappeared at the destruction of the first ,temple1 long before that date4 ,the ,temple spoken of in the nineteenth verse is indeed said to be in heaven2 and it may be thought that the ark1 though not on earth1 might have been seen there4 ,but no reader of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john can doubt that to him the sanctuary of ,god on earth was an exact representation of the heavenly sanctuary1 that what ,god had given in material form to men was a faithful copy of the ideas of ,his spiritual and eternal kingdom4 ,he could not therefore have placed in the original what1 if he had before his mind the ,temple at ,jerusalem1 he knew had no existence within its precincts2 and the conclusion is irresistible that when he speaks of a naos that was to be measured he had turned his thoughts1 not to the stone building upon ,mount ,moriah1 but to its ancient prototype4 ,on this ground alone then1 even could no other be adduced1 we seem entitled to maintain that a literal interpretation of the word temple is here impossible4 7#b7 ,even should it be allowed that the sanctuary and the altar might be measured1 the injunction is altogether inapplicable to the next following clause3 them that worship therein4 ,and it is peculiarly so if we adopt the natural construction1 by which the word therein is connected with the word altar4 ,we cannot literally speak of persons worshipping in an altar4 ,nay1 even though we connect therein with the temple1 the idea of measuring persons with a rod is at variance with the realities of life and the ordinary use of human language4 ,a figurative element is thus introduced into the very heart of the clause the meaning of which is in dispute4 7#c7 ,a similar observation may be made with regard to the words cast without in ver4 #b4 ,the injunction has reference to the outer court of the ,temple1 and the thought of casting out such an extensive space is clearly inadmissible4 ,so much have translators felt this that both in the ,authorised and ,revised ,versions they have replaced the words cast without by the words leave without4 ,the outer court of the ,temple could not be cast out2 therefore it must be left out4 ,the interpretation thus given1 however1 fails to do justice to the original1 for1 though the word employed does not always include actual violence1 it certainly implies action of a more positive kind than mere letting alone or passing by4 ,more than this4 ,we are under a special obligation in the present instance not to strip the word used by the ,apostle of its proper force1 for we shall immediately see that1 rightly interpreted1 it is one of the most interesting expressions of his book1 and of the greatest value in helping us to determine the precise nature of his thought4 ,in the meanwhile it is enough to say that the employment of the term in the connexion in which it here occurs is at variance with a simply literal interpretation4 7#d7 ,it cannot be denied that almost every other expression in the subsequent verses of the vision is figurative or metaphorical4 ,if we are to interpret this part literally1 it will be impossible to apply the same rule to other parts2 and we shall have such a mixture of the literal and metaphorical as will completely baffle our efforts to comprehend the meaning of the ,seer4 7#e7 ,we have the statement from the writer's own lips that1 at least in speaking of ,jerusalem1 he is not to be literally understood4 ,in ver4 #h he refers to the great city1 which spiritually is called ,sodom and ,egypt4 ,the hint thus given as to one point of his description may be accepted as applicable to it all4 ,we conclude1 therefore1 that the measuring1 the temple or naos1 the altar1 the court which is without1 and the casting without of the latter are to be regarded as figurative4 #c4 ,our third point of inquiry is1 ,what is the meaning of the figure8 ,there need be no hesitation as to the things first spoken of3 the temple1 the altar1 and them that worship therein4 ,these1 the most sacred parts of the ,temple-buildings1 can only denote the most sacred portion of the true ,israel of ,god4 ,they are those disciples of ,christ who constitute ,his shrine1 ,his golden altar of incense whence their prayers rise up continually before ,him1 ,his worshippers in spirit and in truth4 ,these1 as we have already often had occasion to see1 shall be preserved safe amidst the troubles of the ,church and of the world4 ,in one passage we have been told that they are numbered#bdf2 now we are further informed that they are measured4 ,it is more difficult to explain who are meant by the court which is without the temple4 ,but three things are clear4 ,first1 they are a part of the ,temple-buildings1 although not of its inner shrine4 ,secondly1 they belong to ,jerusalem2 and ,jerusalem1 notwithstanding its degenerate condition1 was still the city of ,god1 standing to ,him in a relation different from that of the nations1 even when it had sunk beneath them and had done more to merit ,his displeasure4 ,thirdly1 they cannot be the ,gentiles1 for from them they are manifestly distinguished when it is said that the outer court hath been given unto the nations3 and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months4#bdg ,one conclusion alone remains4 ,the court that is without must symbolize the faithless portion of the ,christian ,church1 such as tread the courts of the house of ,god1 but to whom ,he speaks as ,he spoke to ,jerusalem of old3 ,bring no more vain oblations2 incense is an abomination unto ,me2 the new moons and sabbaths1 the calling of assemblies1 ,i cannot away with2 it is iniquity1 even the solemn meeting4 ,your new moons and your appointed feasts ,my soul hateth3 they are a trouble unto ,me2 ,i am weary to bear them4#bdh ,the correctness of the sense thus assigned to this part of the vision is powerfully confirmed by what appears to be the true foundation of the singular expression already so far spoken of1 cast without4 ,something must lie at the bottom of the figure2 and nothing seems so probable as this3 that it is the casting out which took place in the case of the man blind from his birth1 and the opening of whose eyes by ,jesus is related in the fourth ,gospel4 ,of that man we are told that when the ,jews could no longer answer him they cast him out4#bdi ,the word is the same as that now employed1 and the thought is most probably the same also4 ,excommunication from the synagogue is in the ,seer's mind1 not a temporal punishment1 not a mere worldly doom1 but a spiritual sentence depriving of spiritual privileges misunderstood and abused4 ,such a casting out1 however1 can apply only to those who had been once within the courts of the ,lord's house or to the faithless members of the ,christian ,church4 ,they1 like the ,jews of old1 would cast out the humble disciples whom ,jesus found2#bej and ,he cast them out4 ,if the explanation now given of the opening verses of this chapter be correct1 we have reached a very remarkable stage in these apocalyptic visions4 ,for the first time1 except in the letters to the churches1#bea we have a clear line of distinction drawn between the professing and the true portions of the ,church of ,christ1 or1 as it may be otherwise expressed1 between the called and the chosen4#beb ,how far the same distinction will meet us in later visions of this book we have yet to see4 ,for the present it may be enough to say that the drawing of such a distinction corresponds exactly with what we might have been prepared to expect4 ,nothing can be more certain than that in the things actually around him ,st4 ,john beheld the mould and type of the things that were to come4 ,now ,jerusalem1 the ,church of ,god in ,israel1 contained two classes within its walls3 those who were accomplishing their high destiny and those by whom that destiny was misunderstood1 despised1 and cast away4 ,has it not always been the same in the ,christian ,church8 ,if the world entered into the one1 has it not entered as disastrously into the other8 ,that field which is the kingdom of heaven upon earth has never wanted tares as well as wheat4 ,they grow together1 and no man may separate them4 ,when the appropriate moment comes1 ,god ,himself will give the word2 angels will carry off the tares1 and the great ,husbandman will gather the wheat into ,his garner4 #d4 ,one question still remains3 ,what is the meaning of the forty and two months during which the holy city is to be trodden under foot of the nations8 ,the same expression meets us in chap4 xiii4 #e1 where it is said that there was given to the beast authority to continue forty and two months4 ,but forty and two months is also three and a half years1 the ,jewish year having consisted of twelve months1 except when an intercalary month was inserted among the twelve in order to preserve harmony between the seasons and the rotation of time4 ,the same period is therefore again alluded to in chap4 xii4 #ad1 when it is said of the woman who fled into the wilderness that she is there nourished for a time1 and times1 and half a time4 ,once more1 we read in chap4 xi4 #c and in chap4 xii4 #f of a period denoted by a thousand two hundred and threescore days2 and a comparison of this last passage with ver4 #ad of the same chapter distinctly shows that it is equivalent to the three and a half times or years4 ,three and a half multiplied by three hundred and sixty1 the number of days in the ,jewish year1 gives us exactly the twelve hundred and sixty days4 ,these three periods1 therefore1 are the same4 ,why the different designations should be adopted is another question1 to which1 so far as we are aware1 no satisfactory reply has yet been given1 although it may be that1 for some occult reason1 the ,seer beholds in months a suitable expression for the dominion of evil1 in days one appropriate to the sufferings of the good4 ,the ground of this method of looking at the ,church's history is found in the book of ,daniel1 where we read of the fourth beast1 or the fourth kingdom1 ,and he shall speak great words against the ,most ,high1 and shall wear out the saints of the ,most ,high1 and think to change times and laws3 and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time4#bec ,the same book helps us also to answer the question as to the particular period of the ,church's history denoted by the days1 or months1 or years referred to1 for in another passage the prophet says1 ,and ,he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week3 and in the midst of the week ,he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease4#bed ,the three and a half years therefore1 or the half of seven years1 denote the whole period extending from the cessation of the sacrifice and oblation4 ,in other words1 they denote the ,christian era from its beginning to its close1 and that more especially on the side of its disturbed and broken character1 of the power exercised in it by what is evil1 of the troubles and sufferings of the good4 ,during it the disciples of the ,saviour do not reach the completeness of their rest2 their victory is not won4 ,ideally it is so2 it always has been so since ,jesus overcame3 but it is not yet won in the actual realities of the case2 and1 though in one sense every heavenly privilege is theirs1 their difficulties are so great1 and their opponents so numerous and powerful1 that the true expression for their state is a broken seven years1 or three years and a half4 ,during this time1 accordingly1 the holy city is represented as trodden under foot by the nations4 ,they who are at ease in ,zion may not feel it2 but to the true disciples of ,jesus their ,master's prophecy is fulfilled1 ,in the world ye shall have tribulation4#bee ,the vision now proceeds3-- ,and ,i will give power unto ,my two witnesses1 and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days1 clothed in sackcloth4 ,these are the two olive trees1 and the two candlesticks standing before the ,lord of the earth4 ,and if any man desireth to hurt them1 fire proceedeth out of their mouth1 and devoureth their enemies3 and if any man shall desire to hurt them1 in this manner must he be killed4 ,these have the power to shut the heaven1 that it rain not during the days of their prophecy3 and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood1 and to smite the earth with every plague1 as often as they shall desire4 ,and when they shall have finished their testimony1 the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them1 and overcome them1 and kill them4 ,and their dead body lies in the street of the great city1 which spiritually is called ,sodom and ,egypt1 where also their ,lord was crucified4 ,and from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do men look upon their dead body three days and an half1 and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb4 ,and they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them1 and make merry3 and they shall send gifts one to another2 because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth4 ,and after the three days and an half the breath of life from ,god entered into them1 and they stood upon their feet2 and great fear fell upon them which beheld them4 ,and they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them1 ,come up hither4 ,and they went up into heaven in the cloud2 and their enemies beheld them4 ,and in that hour there was a great earthquake1 and the tenth part of the city fell2 and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons3 and the rest were affrighted1 and gave glory to the ,god of heaven 7xi4 #c-ac74 ,the figures of this part of the vision1 like those of the first part1 are drawn from the ,old ,testament4 ,that the language is not to be literally understood hardly admits of dispute1 for1 whatever might have been thought of the two witnesses had we read only of them1 the description given of their persons1 or of their person 7for in ver4 #h1 where mention is made of their dead body--not bodies--they are treated as one71 of their work1 of their death1 and of their resurrection and ascension1 is so obviously figurative as to render it necessary to view the whole passage in that light4 ,the main elements of the figure are supplied by the prophet ,zechariah4 ,and the angel that talked with me1 says the prophet1 came again1 and waked me1 as a man that is wakened out of sleep1 and said unto me1 ,what seest thou8 ,and ,i said1 ,i have looked1 and behold a candlestick all of gold1 with a bowl upon the top of it1 and his seven lamps thereon1 and seven pipes to the seven lamps1 which are upon the top thereof3 and two olive trees by it1 one upon the right side of the bowl1 and the other upon the left side thereof4 ,so ,i answered and spake to the angel that talked with me1 saying1 ,what are these1 my lord8444 ,then he answered and spake unto me1 saying1 ,this is the word of the ,lord unto ,zerubbabel1 saying1 ,not by might1 nor by power1 but by ,my ,spirit1 saith the ,lord of hosts ,who art thou1 ,o great mountain8 before ,zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain3 and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings1 crying1 ,grace1 grace unto it4444 ,then answered ,i1 and said unto him1 ,what are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof8 ,and ,i answered again1 and said unto him1 ,what be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves8 ,and he answered and said unto me1 ,knowest thou not what these be8 ,and ,i said1 ,no1 my lord4 ,then said he1 ,these are the two anointed ones1 that stand by the ,lord of the whole earth4#bef ,in these words indeed we read only of one golden candlestick1 while now we read of two4 ,but we have already found that the ,seer of the ,apocalypse1 in using the figures to which he had been accustomed1 does not bind himself to all their details2 and the only inference to be drawn from this difference1 as well as from the circumstance already noted in ver4 #h1 is that the number two is to be regarded less in itself than as a strengthening of the idea of the number one4 ,this circumstance further shows that the two witnesses cannot be divided between the two olive trees and the two candlesticks1 as if the one witness were the former and the other the latter4 ,both taken together express the idea of witnessing1 and to the full elucidation of that idea belong also the olive tree and the candlestick4 ,the witnessing is fed by perpetual streams of that heavenly oil1 of that unction of the ,spirit1 which is represented by the olive tree2 and it sheds light around like the candlestick4 ,the two witnesses1 therefore1 are not two individuals to be raised up during the course of the ,church's history1 that they may bear testimony to the facts and principles of the ,christian faith4 ,the ,seer indeed may have remembered that it had been ,god's plan in the past to commission ,his servants1 not singly1 but in pairs4 ,he may have called to mind ,moses and ,aaron1 ,joshua and ,caleb1 ,elijah and ,elisha1 ,zerubbabel and ,joshua1 or he may have thought of the fact that our ,lord sent forth ,his disciples two by two4 ,the probability1 however1 is that1 as he speaks of witnessing1 he thought mainly of that precept of the law which required the testimony of two witnesses to confirm a statement4 ,yet he does not confine himself to the thought of two individual witnesses1 however eminent1 who shall in faithful work fill up their own short span of human life and die4 ,the witness he has in view is that to be borne by all ,christ's people1 everywhere1 and throughout the whole ,christian age4 ,from the first to the last moment of the ,church's history in this world there shall be those raised up who shall never fail to prophesy1 or1 in other words1 to testify to the truth of ,god as it is in ,jesus4 ,the task will be hard1 but they will not shrink from it4 ,they shall be clothed in sackcloth1 but they shall count their robes of shame to be robes of honour4 ,they shall occupy the position of ,him who1 in the days of ,his humiliation1 was the faithful and true ,witness4 ,nourished by the ,spirit that was in ,him1 they shall1 like ,him1 be the light of the world1#beg so that ,god shall never be left without some at least to witness for ,him4 ,having spoken of the persons of the two witnesses1 ,st4 ,john next proceeds to describe the power with which1 amidst their seeming weakness1 their testimony is borne2 and once more he finds in the most striking histories of the ,old ,testament the materials with which his glowing imagination builds4 ,in the first place1 fire proceedeth out of their mouth1 and devoureth their enemies1 so that these enemies are killed by the manifest judgment of ,god1 and even1 in ,his righteous retribution1 by the very instrument of destruction they would have themselves employed4 ,elijah and the three companions of ,daniel are before us1 when at the word of ,elijah fire descended out of heaven1 and consumed the two captains and their fifties1#beh and when the companions of ,daniel were not only left unharmed amidst the flames1 but when the fire leaped out upon and slew the men by whom they had been cast into the furnace4#bei ,this fire proceeding out of the mouth of the two witnesses is like the sharp two-edged sword proceeding out of the mouth of the ,son of man in the first vision of the book4#bfj ,in the second place1 the witnesses have the power to shut the heaven1 that it rain not during the days of their prophecy4 ,elijah is again before us when he exclaimed in the presence of ,ahab1 ,as the ,lord ,god of ,israel liveth1 before whom ,i stand1 there shall not be dew nor rain these years1 but according to my word1 and when it rained not on the earth for three years and six months4#bfa ,finally1 when we are told that the witnesses have power over the waters to turn them into blood1 and to smite the earth with every plague1 as often as they shall desire1 we are reminded of ,moses and of the plagues inflicted through him upon the oppressors of ,israel in ,egypt4 ,the three figures teach the same lesson4 ,no deliverance has been effected by the ,almighty for ,his people in the past which ,he is not ready to repeat4 ,the ,god of ,moses1 and ,elijah1 and ,daniel is the unchangeable ,jehovah4 ,he has made with ,his ,church an everlasting covenant2 and the most striking manifestations of ,his power in bygone times happened by way of example1 and were written for our admonition1 upon whom the ends of the ages are come4#bfb ,hence1 accordingly1 the ,church finishes her testimony4#bfc ,so was it with our ,lord in ,his high-priestly prayer and on the ,cross3 ,i glorified ,thee on the earth1 having accomplished the work which ,thou hast given ,me to do2 ,it is finished4#bfd ,but this finishing of their testimony on the part of the two witnesses points to more than the end of the three and a half years viewed simply as a period of time4 ,not the thought of time alone1 but of the completion of testimony1 is present to the ,seer's mind4 ,at every moment in the history of ,christ's true disciples that completion is reached by some or others of their number4 ,through all the three and a half years their testimony is borne with power1 and is finished with triumph1 so that the world is always without excuse4 ,having spoken of the power of the witnesses1 ,st4 ,john next turns to the thought of their evil fate4 ,the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them1 and overcome them1 and kill them4 ,this beast has not yet been described2 but it is a characteristic of the ,apostle1 both in the fourth ,gospel and in the ,apocalypse1 to anticipate at times what is to come1 and to introduce persons to our notice whom we shall only learn to know fully at a later point in his narrative4 ,that is the case here4 ,this beast will again meet us in chap4 xiii4 and chap4 xvii41 where we shall see that it is the concentrated power of a world material and visible in its opposition to a world spiritual and invisible4 ,it may be well to remark1 too1 that the representation given of the beast presents us with one of the most striking contrasts of ,st4 ,john1 and one that must be carefully remembered if we would understand his visions4 ,why speak of its coming up out of the abyss8 ,because the beast is the contrast of the risen ,saviour4 ,only after ,his resurrection did our ,lord enter upon ,his dominion as ,king1 ,head1 and ,guardian of ,his people4 ,in like manner only after a resurrection mockingly attributed to it does this beast attain its full range of influence4 ,then1 in the height of its rage and at the summit of its power1 it sets itself in opposition to ,christ's witnesses4 ,it cannot indeed prevent them from accomplishing their work2 they shall finish their testimony in spite of it3 but1 when that is done1 it shall gain an apparent triumph4 ,as the ,son of ,god was nailed to the ,cross1 and in that hour of ,his weakness seemed to be conquered by the world1 so shall it be with them4 ,they shall be overcome and killed4 ,nor is that all1 for their dead body 7not dead bodies#bfe7 is treated with the utmost contumely4 ,it lies in the broad open street of the great city1 which the words where also their ,lord was crucified show plainly to be ,jerusalem4 ,but ,jerusalem6 ,in what aspect is she here beheld8 ,not as the holy city1 the beloved city1 the ,zion which ,god had desired for ,his habitation1 and of which ,he had said1 ,this is ,my rest for ever3 here will ,i dwell2 for ,i have desired it1#bff but degenerate ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem become as ,sodom for its wickedness1 and as ,egypt for its oppression of the ,israel of ,god4 ,the language is strong1 so strong that many interpreters have deemed it impossible to apply it to ,jerusalem in any sense1 and have imagined that they had no alternative but to think of ,rome4 ,yet it is not stronger than the language used many a time by the prophets of old3 ,hear the word of the ,lord1 ye rulers of ,sodom2 give ear unto the law of our ,god1 ye people of ,gomorrah4 ,how is the faithful city become an harlot6 444 righteousness lodged in it2 but now murderers4#bfg ,if1 however1 this city be ,jerusalem1 what does it represent8 ,surely1 for reasons already stated1 neither the true disciples of ,jesus1 nor the heathen nations of the world4 ,we have the degenerate ,church before us1 the ,church that has conformed to the world4 ,that ,church beholds the faithful witnesses for ,christ the ,crucified lie in the open way4 ,their wounds make no impression upon her heart1 and draw no tear from her eyes4 ,she even invites the world to the spectacle2 and the world1 always eager to hear the voice of a degenerate ,church1 responds to the invitation4 ,it looks1 and obviously without commiseration1 upon the prostrate1 mangled form that has fallen in the strife4 ,this it does for three days and a half1 the half of seven1 a broken period of trouble2 and it will not suffer the dead body to be laid in a tomb4 ,nay1 the world is not content even with its victory4 ,after victory it must have its triumph2 and that triumph is presented to us in one of the most wonderful pictures of the ,apocalypse1 when they that dwell on the earth--that is1 the men of the world--from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations1 having listened to the degenerate ,church's call1 make high holiday at the thought of what they have done4 ,they rejoice over the dead bodies1 and make merry3 and they send gifts one to another2 because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth4 ,we are reminded of ,herod and ,pilate1 who1 when the ,jewish governor sent ,jesus to his heathen brother1 became friends that very day4#bfh ,but we are reminded of more4 ,in the book of ,nehemiah we find mention of that great feast of ,tabernacles which was observed by the people when they heard again1 after long silence1 the book of the law1 and when there was very great gladness4 ,in immediate connexion with this feast1 ,nehemiah said to the people1 ,go your way1 eat the fat1 and drink the sweet1 and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared3 for this day is holy unto the ,lord3 neither be ye sorry2 for the joy of the ,lord is your strength#bfi2 while it constituted a part also of the joyful ceremonial of the feast of the dedication of the ,temple that the ,jews made the days of the feast days of feasting and joy1 and of sending portions one to another1 and gifts to the poor4#bgj ,taking these passages into account1 and remembering the general style and manner of ,st4 ,john1 we can have no hesitation in recognising in the festival of these verses the world's ,feast of ,tabernacles1 the contrast and the counterpart of the ,church's feast already spoken of in the second consolatory vision of chap4 vii4 ,if so1 what a picture does it present6--the degenerate ,church inviting the world to celebrate a feast over the dead bodies of the witnesses for ,christ1 and the world accepting the invitation2 the former accommodating herself to the ways of the latter1 and the latter welcoming the accommodation2 the one proclaiming no unpleasant doctrines and demanding no painful sacrifices1 the other hailing with satisfaction the prospect of an easy yoke and of a cheap purchase of eternity as well as time4 ,the picture may seem too terrible to be true4 ,but let us first remember that1 like all the pictures of the ,apocalypse1 it is ideal1 showing us the operation of principles in their last1 not their first1 effect2 and then let us ask whether we have never read of1 or ourselves seen1 such a state of things actually realized4 ,has the ,church never become the world1 on the plea that she would gain the world8 ,has she never uttered smooth things or prophesied deceits in order that she might attract those who will not endure the thought of hardness in religious service1 and would rather embrace what in their inward hearts they know to be a lie than bitter truth8 ,such a spectacle has been often witnessed1 and is yet witnessed every day1 when those who ought to be witnesses for a living and present ,lord gloze over the peculiar doctrines of the ,christian faith1 draw as close as possible the bonds of their fellowship with unchristian men1 and treat with scorn the thought of a heavenly life to be led even amidst the things of time4 ,one can understand the world's own ways1 and1 even when lamenting that its motives are not higher1 can love its citizens and respect their virtues4 ,but a far lower step in declension is reached when the ,church's silver becomes dross1 when her wine is mixed with water1 and when her voice no longer convicts1 no longer torments them that dwell on the earth4 ,in the midst of all their tribulation1 however1 the faithful portion of the ,church have a glorious reward4 ,they have suffered with ,christ1 but they shall also reign with ,him4 ,after all their trials in life1 after their death1 and after the limited time during which even when dead they have been dishonoured1 they live again4 ,the breath of life from ,god entered into them4 ,following ,him who is the first-fruits of them that sleep1 they stood upon their feet4#bga ,they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them1 ,come up hither4 ,they went up into heaven in the cloud2 and there they sit down with the conquering ,redeemer in ,his throne1 even as ,he overcame and sat down with ,his ,father in ,his throne4#bgb ,all this1 too1 takes place in the very presence of their enemies1 upon whom great fear fell4 ,even nature sympathizes with them4 ,having waited for the revealing of the sons of ,god1 and in hope that she also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of ,god1#bgc she hails their final triumph4 ,there was a great earthquake1 the tenth part of the city 7that is1 of ,jerusalem7 fell2 and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons4 ,it is unnecessary to say that the words are figurative and symbolical1 denoting in all probability simply judgment1 but judgment restrained4 ,the last words of the vision alone demand more particular attention3 ,the rest were affrighted1 and gave glory to the ,god of heaven4 ,the thought is the same as that which met us when we were told at the close of the sixth ,trumpet that the rest of mankind which were not killed with these plagues repented not4#bgd ,there is no repentance1 no conversion4 ,there is terror2 there is alarm2 there is a tribute of awe to the ,god of heaven who has so signally vindicated ,his own cause2 but there is nothing more4 ,nor are we told what may or may not follow in some future scene4 ,for the ,seer the final triumph of good and the final overthrow of evil are enough4 ,he can be patient1 and1 so far as persons are concerned1 can leave the issue in the hands of ,god4 ,the two consolatory visions interposed between the sixth and seventh ,trumpets are now over1 and we cannot fail to see how great an advance they are upon the two visions of a similar kind interposed between the sixth and seventh ,seals4 ,the whole action has made progress4 ,at the earlier stage the ,church may be said to have been hidden in the hollow of the ,almighty's hand4 ,in the thought of the great tribulation awaiting her she has been sealed1 while the peace and joy of her new condition have been set before us1 as she neither hungers nor thirsts1 but is guided by her ,divine ,shepherd to green pastures and to fountains of the waters of life4 ,at this later stage she is in the midst of her conflict and her sufferings4 ,she is in the heat of her warfare1 in the extremity of her persecuted state4 ,from the height on which we stand we do not look over a quiet and peaceful plain1 with flocks of sheep resting in its meadows2 we look over a field where armed men have met in the shock of battle4 ,there is the stir1 the excitement1 the tumult of deadly strife for higher than earthly freedom1 for dearer than earthly homes4 ,there may be temporary repulse and momentary yielding even on the side of the good1 but they still press on4 ,the ,captain of their salvation is at their head2 and foot by foot fresh ground is won1 until at last the victory is sounded1 and we are ready for the seventh ,trumpet4 ,before it sounds there is a warning similar to that which preceded the sounding of the fifth and sixth#bge3-- ,the second ,woe is past2 behold1 the third ,woe cometh quickly 7xi4 #ad74 ,these words are to be connected with the close of chap4 ix41 all that is contained in chaps4 x4 and xi4 #a-ac being1 as we have seen1 episodical4 ,the seventh ,trumpet is now sounded3-- ,and the seventh angel sounded2 and there followed great voices in heaven1 and they said1 ,the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our ,lord1 and of ,his ,christ2 and ,he shall reign for ever and ever4 ,and the four-and-twenty elders1 which sit before ,god on their thrones1 fell upon their faces1 and worshipped ,god1 saying1 ,we give ,thee thanks1 ,o ,lord1 ,god1 the ,almighty1 which art and which wast2 because ,thou hast taken ,thy great power1 and didst reign4 ,and the nations were roused to wrath1 and ,thy wrath came1 and the time of the dead to be judged1 and the time to give their reward to ,thy servants the prophets1 both the saints and them that fear ,thy name1 the small and the great1 and to destroy them that destroy the earth4 ,and there was opened the temple of ,god that is in heaven1 and there was seen in ,his temple the ark of ,his covenant3 and there followed lightnings1 and voices1 and thunders1 and an earthquake1 and great hail 7xi4 #ae-ai74 #a4 ,by the kingdom of the world here spoken of is meant1 that dominion over the world as a whole has become the possession of our ,lord and of ,his ,christ2 and it is to be ,his for ever and ever4 ,there is no contradiction between this statement of ,st4 ,john and that of ,st4 ,paul when1 speaking of the ,son1 the latter ,apostle says1 ,and when all things have been subjected unto ,him1 then shall the ,son also ,himself be subjected to ,him that did subject all things unto ,him1 that ,god may be all in all4#bgf ,the kingdom thus spoken of by ,st4 ,paul is that exercised by our ,lord in subduing ,his enemies1 and it must necessarily come to an end when there are no more enemies to subdue4 ,the kingdom here referred to is ,christ's dominion as ,head and ,king of ,his ,church1 and of that dominion there is no end4 ,of more consequence perhaps is it to observe that when it is said in the words before us1 ,the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our ,lord1 and of ,his ,christ1 there is nothing to lead to the supposition that this kingdom becomes ,christ's by the conversion of the world4 ,the meaning simply is that evil has been finally and for ever put down1 that good is finally and for ever triumphant4 ,no inference can be drawn as to the fate of wicked persons further than this3 that they shall not be found in the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness4#bgg ,were additional proof needed upon this point1 it would be supplied by the fact that in almost the next following words we read of the nations being roused to wrath4 ,these are the wicked upon whom judgment falls2 and1 instead of being converted1 they are roused to the last and highest outburst of the wickedness which springs from despair4 #b4 ,the song of the four-and-twenty elders4 ,we have already had occasion to notice that song of the representatives of redeemed creation in which the four living creatures celebrated the ,lord1 ,god1 the ,almighty1 which was and which is and which is to come4#bgh ,the song now before us1 sung by the representatives of the glorified ,church1 is cast in precisely the same mould of three ascriptions of praise to the ,lord4 ,but in the third member there is an important difference1 the words and which is to come being omitted4 ,the explanation is that the ,lord is come4 ,the present dispensation is at its close4 #c4 ,the events of the close are next described4 ,it is the time of the dead to be judged1 and the time to give reward to ,god's faithful servants1 to whatever part of mankind they have belonged1 and whatever the position they have filled in life4 ,the whole family of man is divided into two great classes1 and for the one there is judgment1 for the other reward4 #d4 ,before passing on it may be well to call attention to one or two particulars in these verses which1 though not specially connected with that general meaning of the passage which it is the main object of this commentary to elicit1 may help to throw light upon the style of the ,apostle and the structure of his work4 7#a7 ,thus it is important to observe his use of the word prophets4 ,the persons spoken of are obviously in contrast with the nations and the dead to be judged1 and they must include all who are faithful unto death4 ,already we have seen that every true follower of ,christ is in ,st4 ,john's eyes a martyr1 and that when he thinks of the martyrs of the ,church he has a far wider circle in view than that of those who meet death by the sword or at the stake4#bgi ,to his ideal conceptions of things the martyr spirit makes the martyr1 and the martyr spirit must rule in every disciple of the ,crucified4 ,in like manner the prophetic spirit makes the prophet1 and of that spirit no true follower of ,him in whom prophecy culminated can be devoid4 ,in this very chapter we have read of prophesying as the work of the two witnesses who are a symbol of the whole ,christian ,church1 and who prophesy through the thousand two hundred and threescore days of her pilgrimage4 ,we are not therefore to suppose that those here called prophets are either prophets in the stricter sense of the word1 or commissioned ministers of ,christ4 ,all ,christ's people are ,his servants the prophets1 and the idealism of ,st4 ,john distinctly appears in the designation given them4 7#b7 ,the next following clause1 which we have translated in a manner slightly different from that of both the ,authorised and the ,revised ,versions1 is not less important3 both the saints and them that fear ,thy name1 instead of and to the saints1 and to them that fear ,thy name4 ,it is the manner of ,st4 ,john to dwell in the first instance upon one characteristic of the object of which he speaks1 and then to add other characteristics belonging to it1 equally important1 it may be1 in themselves1 but not occupying so prominent a place in the line of thought which he happens to be pursuing at the moment4 ,an illustration of this is afforded in ,john xiv4 #f1 where the words of ,jesus are given in the form1 ,i am the ,way1 and the ,truth1 and the ,life4 ,the context shows that the emphasis rests wholly on ,jesus as the ,way1 and that the addition of the words the ,truth1 and the ,life1 is only made to enhance and complete the thought4 ,here in like manner the contents of what is involved in the term the prophets are completed by a further statement of what the prophets are4 ,they are the saints and they that fear ,god's name4 ,the twofold structure of this statement1 however1 again illustrates the manner of ,st4 ,john4 ,the saints is1 properly speaking1 a ,jewish epithet1 while every reader of the ,acts of the ,apostles is familiar with the fact that they that fear ,god was a term applied to ,gentile proselytes to ,judaism4 ,we have thus an instance of ,st4 ,john's method of regarding the topic with which he deals from a double point of view1 the first ,jewish1 the second ,gentile4 ,he is not thinking of two divisions of the ,church4 ,the ,church is one2 all her members constitute one ,body in ,christ4 ,but looked at from the ,jewish standpoint1 they are the saints2 from the ,gentile1 they are those that fear ,thy name4 7#c7 ,the verses under consideration afford a marked illustration of ,st4 ,john's love of presenting judgment under the form of the lex talionis4 ,the nations were roused to wrath1 and upon them ,god's wrath came4 ,they had destroyed the earth1 and ,god would destroy them4 ,in studying the ,apocalypse1 all peculiarities of style or structure ought to be present to the mind4 ,they are not unfrequently valuable guides to interpretation4 ,the seventh ,trumpet has sounded1 and the end has come4 ,a glorious moment has been reached in the development of the ,almighty's plan2 and the mind of the ,seer is exalted and ravished by the prospect4 ,yet he beholds no passing away of the present earth and heavens1 no translation of the reign of good to an unseen spiritual and hitherto unvisited region of the universe4 ,it would be out of keeping with the usual phraseology of his book to understand by heaven1 in which he sees the ark of ,god's covenant1 a locality1 a place beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb4 ,his employment of the contrasted words earth and heaven throughout his whole series of visions rather leads to the supposition that by the latter we are to understand that region1 wherever it may be1 in which spiritual principles alone bear sway4 ,it may be here2 it may be elsewhere2 it seems hardly possible to say3 but the more the reader enters into the spirit of this book1 the more difficult will he find it to resist the impression that ,st4 ,john thinks of this present world as not only the scene of the great struggle between good and evil1 but also1 when it has been cleansed and purified1 as the seat of everlasting righteousness4 ,these in the present instance are striking words3 to destroy them that destroy the earth4 ,why not destroy the earth itself if it is only to be burned up8 ,why speak of it in such terms as lead almost directly to the supposition that it shall be preserved though its destroyers perish8 ,while1 on the other hand1 if ,god at first pronounced it to be very good2 if it may be a home of truth1 and purity1 and holiness2 and if it shall be the scene of ,christ's future and glorious reign1--then may we justly say1 ,woe to them that destroy the habitation1 the palace1 now preparing for the ,prince of peace4 ,however this may be1 it was a fitting close to the judgments of the seven ,trumpets that the temple of ,god--that is1 the innermost shrine or sanctuary of ,his temple--should be opened4 ,there was no need now that ,god should be a ,god that hideth ,himself4#bhj ,when earth had in it none but the pure in heart1 why should they not see ,him8#bha ,he would dwell in them and walk in them4#bhb ,the ,tabernacle of the ,lord would be again with men4#bhc ,when too the shrine was opened1 what more appropriate spectacle could be seen than the ark of ,his covenant1 the symbol of ,his faithfulness1 the pledge of that love of ,his which remains unchanged when the mountains depart and the hills are removed8 ,the covenant-keeping ,god6 ,no promise of the past had failed1 and the past was the earnest of the future4 ,nor need we wonder at the lightnings1 and voices1 and thunders1 and the earthquake1 and the great hail that followed4 ,for ,god had promised1 saying1 ,yet once more will ,i make to tremble not the earth only1 but also the heaven4 ,and this word1 ,yet once more1 signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken1 as of things that are made1 that those things which are not shaken may remain4#bhd ,,footnotes3 #bdb ,zech4 ii4 #a1 #b4 #bdc ,ezek4 xl4 #b-e4 #bdd ,zech4 ii4 #e4 #bde ,chap4 xxi4 #ae1 #ag4 #bdf ,john vii4 #d4 #bdg ,ver4 #b4 #bdh ,isa4 i4 #ac1 #ad4 #bdi ,john ix4 #cd4 #bej ,john ix4 #ce4 #bea ,chaps4 ii4 #bd2 iii4 #a1 #d4 #beb ,comp4 ,matt4 xxii4 #ad4 #bec ,dan4 vii4 #be4 #bed ,dan4 ix4 #bg4 #bee ,john xvi4 #cc4 #bef ,zech4 iv4 #beg ,john viii4 #ab4 ,comp4 ,matt4 v4 #ad4 #beh #b ,kings i4 #aj1 #ab4 #bei ,dan4 iii4 #bb4 #bfj ,chap4 i4 #af4 #bfa #a ,kings xvii4 #a2 ,james v4 #ag4 #bfb #a ,cor4 x4 #aa4 #bfc ,ver4 #g4 #bfd ,john xvii4 #d2 xix4 #cj4 #bfe ,see margin of ,r4,v4 #bff ,ps4 cxxxii4 #ac1 #ad4 #bfg ,isa4 i4 #aj1 #ba4 #bfh ,luke xxiii4 #ab4 #bfi ,neh4 viii4 #aj4 #bgj ,esther ix4 #bb4 #bga ,comp4 chap4 v4 #f4 #bgb ,chap4 iii4 #ba4 #bgc ,rom4 viii4 #ai1 #ba4 #bgd ,chap4 ix4 #bj4 #bge ,chaps4 viii4 #ac2 ix4 #ab4 #bgf #a ,cor4 xv4 #bh4 #bgg #b ,pet4 iii4 #ac4 #bgh ,chap4 iv4 #h4 #bgi ,comp4 p4 #ajb4 #bhj ,isa4 xlv4 #ae4 #bha ,matt4 v4 #h4 #bhb #b ,cor4 vi4 #af4 #bhc ,chap4 xxi4 #c4 #bhd ,heb4 xii4 #bf1 #bg4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,first ,,great ,,enemy ,,of ,,the ,,church4 ,,rev4 xii4 ,the twelfth chapter of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john has been felt by every commentator to be one more than usually difficult to interpret1 and that whether we look at it in relation to its special purpose1 or to its position in the structure of the book4 ,if we can satisfy ourselves as to the first of these two points1 we shall be better able to form correct notions as to the second4 ,turning then for a moment to chap4 xiii41 we find it occupied with a description of two of the great enemies with which the ,church has to contend4 ,these are spoken of as a beast 7ver4 #a7 and another beast 7ver4 #aa71 the latter being obviously the same as that described in chap4 xix4 #bj as the false prophet that wrought the signs in the sight of the former4 ,at the same time1 it is evident that these two beasts are regarded as enemies of the ,church in a sense peculiar to themselves1 for the victorious ,conqueror of chap4 xix4 makes war with them1 and they twain are cast into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone4#bhe ,this fate next overtakes1 in chap4 xx4 #aj1 the dragon1 the old serpent1 which is the devil1 and ,satan1 so that no doubt can rest upon the fact that to ,st4 ,john's view the great enemies of the ,church are three in number4 ,when1 accordingly1 we find two of them described in chap4 xiii41 and chap4 xii4 occupied with the description of another1 we are warranted in concluding that the main purpose of the chapter is to set before us a picture of this last4 ,thus also we are led to understand the place of the chapter in the structure of the book4 ,we have already seen that the seven ,trumpets are occupied with judgments on the world4 ,the seven ,bowls1 forming the next and highest series of judgments1 are to be occupied with judgments on the degenerate members of the ,church4 ,it is a fitting thing1 therefore1 that we should be able to form a clear idea of the enemies by which these faithless disciples are subdued1 and in resisting whom the steadfastness of the faithful remnant shall be proved4 ,to describe them sooner was unnecessary4 ,they are the friends1 not the enemies1 of the world4 ,they are the enemies only of the ,church4 ,hence the sudden transition made at the beginning of chap4 xii4 ,there is no chronological relation between it and the chapters which precede4 ,the thoughts embodied in it refer only to what follows4 ,the chapter is obviously divided into three parts1 and the bearing of these parts upon one another will appear as we proceed4 ,and a great sign was seen in heaven2 a woman arrayed with the sun1 and the moon under her feet1 and upon her head a crown of twelve stars3 and she was with child2 and she crieth out1 travailing in birth1 and in pain to be delivered4 ,and there was seen another sign in heaven2 and behold a great red dragon1 having seven heads and ten horns1 and upon his heads seven diadems4 ,and his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven1 and did cast them into the earth3 and the dragon stood before the woman that was about to be delivered1 that when she was delivered he might devour her child4 ,and she was delivered of a son1 a man-child1 who as a shepherd shall tend all the nations with a sceptre of iron3 and her child was caught up unto ,god1 and unto ,his throne4 ,and the woman fled into the wilderness1 where she hath a place prepared of ,god1 that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days 7xii4 #a-f74 ,in the first chapter of the book of ,genesis we read1 ,and ,god made two great lights2 the greater light to rule the day1 and the lesser light to rule the night3 ,he made the stars also4#bhf ,sun1 and moon1 and stars exhaust the ,biblical notion of the heavenly bodies which give light upon the earth4 ,they therefore1 taken together1 clothe this woman2 and there is no need to search for any recondite meaning in the place which they severally occupy in her investiture4 ,she is simply arrayed in light from head to foot4 ,in other words1 she is the perfect emblem of light in its brightness and purity4 ,the use of the number twelve indeed suggests the thought of a bond of connexion between this light and the ,christian ,church4 ,the tribes of ,israel1 the type of ,god's spiritual ,israel1 were in number twelve2 our ,lord chose to ,himself twelve ,apostles2 the new ,jerusalem has twelve gates1 and at the gates twelve angels1 and names written thereon1 which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of ,israel4#bhg ,but though the light is thus early connected with the thought of the ,christian ,church1 and though the subsequent portion of the chapter confirms the connexion1 the woman is not yet to be regarded as1 in the strictest sense1 representative of that community or ,body historically viewed4 ,by-and-by she will be so4 ,in the meantime a comparison of ver4 #f with ver4 #ad1 where her fleeing into the wilderness and her nourishment in it for precisely the same period of time as in ver4 #f are again mentioned1 together with what we have already seen to be a peculiarity of ,st4 ,john's mode of thought1 forbids the supposition4 ,the ,apostle would not thus repeat himself4 ,we are entitled therefore to infer that at the opening of the chapter he deals less with actual history than with the pattern of that history which had existed from all eternity in the mount4 ,hence also it would seem that the birth of the child1 though undoubtedly referring to the birth of ,jesus1 is not the actual birth4 ,it1 too1 is rather the eternal pattern of that event4 ,similar remarks apply to the dragon1 who is not yet the historical ,satan1 and will only be so in the second paragraph1 at ver4 #i4 ,the whole picture1 in short1 of these verses is one of the ideal which precedes the actual1 and of which the actual is the counterpart and realization4 ,the resemblance1 accordingly1 borne by the first paragraph of this chapter 7vers4 #a-f7 to the first paragraph of the fourth ,gospel 7vers4 #a-e71 is of the most striking kind4 ,in neither is there any account of the actual birth of our ,lord4 ,in both 7and we shall immediately see this still more fully brought out in the apocalyptic vision7 we are introduced to ,him at once1 not as growing up to be the ,light of the world1 but as already grown up and as perfect light4 ,in both we have the same light and the same darkness1 and in both the same contrariety and struggle between the two4 ,nor does the comparison end here4 ,we have also the same singular method of expressing the deliverance of the light from the enmity of the darkness4 ,in ,john i4 #e1 correctly translated1 we read ,the light shineth in the darkness1 and the darkness overcame it not1 the thought being rather negative than positive1 rather that of preservation than of victory4 ,in the ,apocalypse we read1 ,and her child was caught up unto ,god1 and unto ,his throne1 the idea being again that of preservation rather than of victory4 ,such is the general conception of the first paragraph of this chapter4 ,the individual expressions need not detain us long4 ,the woman's raiment of light has been already spoken of4 ,passing therefore from that1 it need occasion no surprise that ,he who is ,himself the ,giver of light should be represented as the ,son of light4 ,god is light1 and in ,him is no darkness at all4#bhh ,jesus1 as the ,son of ,god1 is thus also the ,son of light4 ,no doubt the conception is continued even after we behold the woman in her actual1 not her ideal1 state4 ,jesus is still her ,son4#bhi ,yet there is a true sense in which we may describe our ,lord not only as the ,foundation1 but also as the ,son1 of the ,church4 ,he is the ,first-born among many brethren1#bij the elder ,brother in a common ,father's house4 ,he is begotten by the power of the ,holy ,spirit#bia2 and they that believe in ,his name are born1 not of blood1 nor of the will of the flesh1 nor of the will of man1 but of ,god4#bib ,so close indeed in the teaching of ,st4 ,john is the identification of ,christ and ,his people1 that whatever is said of ,him may be said of them1 and what is said of them may be said of ,him4 ,human thought and language fail to do justice to a relation so profound and mysterious4 ,but it is everywhere the teaching of the beloved disciple--in his ,gospel1 in his ,epistles1 in his ,revelation--although the ,church may not fully understand it until she has lived herself more into it than she has done4 ,her life will then bring her light4#bic ,the dragon of the passage is great and red3 great because of the power which he possesses2 red1 the colour of blood1 because of the ferocity with which he destroys men3 ,he was a murderer from the beginning2 ,cain was of the evil one1 and slew his brother2 ,and ,i saw the woman 7that is1 the woman who rode upon the scarlet-coloured beast7 drunk with the blood of the saints1 and with the blood of the martyrs of ,jesus4#bid ,the dragon has further seven heads1--seven1 the number of completeness1 so that he possesses everything to enable him to execute his plans2 and ten horns1 the emblem at once of his strength and of his rule over all the kingdoms of the world4 ,upon the heads1 too1 are seven diadems1 a word different from that which had been employed for the woman's crown in the first verse of the chapter4 ,hers is a crown of victory2 the diadems of the dragon are only marks of royalty1 and may be worn1 as they will be worn1 in defeat4 ,the dragon's tail1 again1 like the tails of the locusts of the fifth ,trumpet and of the horses of the sixth1 is the instrument with which he destroys#bie2 and the third part of the stars of heaven corresponds to the third part mentioned in each of the first four ,trumpets4 ,the figure of casting the stars into the earth is taken from the prophecy of ,daniel1 in which it is said of the little horn that it waxed great1 even to the host of heaven2 and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground1 and stamped upon them4#bif ,the dragon next takes up his position before the woman which was about to be delivered1 that when she was delivered he might devour her child2 and the first historical circumstances to which the idea corresponds1 and in which it is realized1 may be found in the effort of ,pharaoh to destroy the infant ,moses4 ,pharaoh is indeed often compared in the ,old ,testament to a dragon3 ,thou didst divide the sea by ,thy strength3 ,thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters2 ,speak1 and say1 ,thus saith the ,lord ,god2 ,behold1 ,i am against thee1 ,pharaoh king of ,egypt1 the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers1 which hath said1 ,my river is mine own1 and ,i have made it for myself4#big ,the power1 and craft1 and cruelty of the ,egyptian king could hardly have been absent from the ,seer's mind when he employed the figure of the text4 ,but he was certainly not thinking of ,pharaoh alone4 ,he remembered also the plot of ,herod to destroy the ,child ,jesus4#bih ,pharaoh and ,herod--men quailed before them2 yet both were no more than instruments in the hands of ,god4 ,both worked out ,his determinate counsel and foreknowledge4#bii ,the child is born1 and is described in language worthy of our notice4 ,he is a son1 a man-child2 and the at first sight tautological information appears to hint at more than the mere sex of the child4 ,he is already more than a child3 he is a man4 ,there is a similar emphasis in the words of our ,lord when ,he said to ,his disciples in ,his last consolatory discourse1 ,a woman when she is in travail hath sorrow1 because her hour is come3 but when she is delivered of the child1 she remembereth no more the anguish1 for the joy that a man is born into the world4#cjj ,from the first the child is less a child than a man1 strong1 muscular1 and vigorous1 who as a shepherd shall tend all the nations with a sceptre of iron4 ,strange that we should be invited to dwell on this ideal aspect of the ,son's work rather than any other6 ,no doubt the words are quoted from the second ,psalm4 ,this1 however1 only removes the difficulty a step further back4 ,why either there or here should the shepherd work of the ,messiah be connected with an iron sceptre rather than a peaceful crook8 ,the explanation is not difficult4 ,both the ,psalm and the ,apocalypse are occupied mainly with the victory of ,christ over ,his adversaries4 ,his friends have already been secured in the possession of a complete salvation4 ,it remains only that ,his foes shall be finally put down4 ,hence the sceptre of iron4 ,strange also1 it may be thought1 that in this ideal picture we should find no pattern of the life of our ,lord on earth1 of ,his labours1 or sufferings1 or death2 and that we should only be invited to behold ,him in ,his incarnation and ascension into heaven6 ,but again the explanation is not difficult4 ,over against ,satan stands1 not a humbled merely1 but a risen and glorified1 ,redeemer4 ,the process by which ,he conquered it is unnecessary to dwell upon4 ,enough that we know the fact4 ,the woman's child being thus safe1 the woman herself fled into the wilderness1 where she hath a place prepared of ,god1 and where she shall be nourished by heavenly sustenance4 ,thus ,israel wandered forty years1 fed with the manna that fell from heaven and the water that flowed from the smitten rock4#cja ,thus ,elijah fled to the brook ,cherith1 and afterwards to the wilderness1 where his wants were supplied in the one case by the ravens1 in the other by an angel4#cjb ,and thus was our ,lord upheld for forty days by the words that proceeded out of the mouth of ,god4#cjc ,this wilderness life of the ,church1 too1 continues during the whole ,christian era1 during the whole period of witnessing4#cjd ,always in the wilderness so long as her ,lord is personally absent1 she eats heavenly food and drinks living water4 ,such is the first scene of this chapter2 and1 glancing once more over it1 it would seem as if its chief purpose were to present to us the two great opposing forces of light and darkness1 of the ,son and the dragon1 considered in themselves4 ,the second scene follows3-- ,and there was war in heaven1 ,michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon2 and the dragon warred and his angels3 and they prevailed not1 neither was their place found any more in heaven4 ,and the great dragon was cast down1 the old serpent1 he that is called the devil1 and ,satan1 the deceiver of the whole inhabited earth3 he was cast down into the earth1 and his angels were cast down with him4 ,and ,i heard a great voice in heaven1 saying1 ,now is come the salvation1 and the power1 and the kingdom of our ,god1 and the authority of ,his ,christ3 for the accuser of our brethren is cast down1 which accuseth them before our ,god day and night4 ,and they overcame him because of the blood of the ,lamb1 and because of the word of their testimony2 and they loved not their life even unto death4 ,therefore rejoice1 ,o heavens1 and ye that tabernacle in them4 ,woe for the earth and for the sea6 because the devil is gone down unto you1 having great wrath1 knowing that he hath but a short season 7xii4 #g-ab74 ,if our conception of the first six verses of the chapter be correct1 it will be evident that the idea often entertained1 that the verses following them form a break in the narrative which is only resumed at ver4 #ac1 is wrong4 ,there is no break4 ,the progress of the thought is continuous4 ,the combatants have been set before us1 and we have now the contest in which they are engaged4 ,this consideration also helps us to understand the personality of ,michael and the particular conflict in the ,seer's view4 ,for1 as to the first of these two points1 it is even in itself probable that the ,leader of the hosts of light will be no other than the ,captain of our salvation1 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ ,himself4 ,the dragon leads the hosts of darkness4 ,the ,son has been described as the opponent against whom the enmity of the dragon is especially directed4 ,when the war begins1 we have every reason to expect that as the one leader takes the command1 so also will the other4 ,there is much to confirm this conclusion4 ,the name ,michael leads to it1 for that word signifies1 ,who is like ,god8 and such a name is at least more appropriate to a ,divine than to a created being4 ,in the ,new ,testament1 too1 we read of ,michael the archangel#cje--there seems to be only one1 for we never read of archangels#cjf--;and an archangel is again spoken of in circumstances that can hardly be associated with the thought of any one but ,god3 ,the ,lord ,himself shall descend from heaven with a shout1 with the voice of the archangel1 and with the trump of ,god4#cjg ,above all1 the prophecies of ,daniel1 in which the name ,michael first occurs1 may be said to decide the point4 ,a person named ,michael there appears on different occasions as the defender of the ,church against her enemies1#cjh and once at least in a connexion leading directly to the thought of our ,lord ,himself3 ,and at that time shall ,michael stand up1 the great prince which standeth for the children of ,thy people3 and there shall be a time of trouble1 such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time3 and at that time ,thy people shall be delivered1 every one that shall be found written in the book4 ,and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake1 some to everlasting life1 and some to shame and everlasting contempt4 ,and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament2 and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever4#cji ,these considerations justify the conclusion that the ,michael now spoken of is the representative of ,christ2 and we have already seen1 in examining the vision of the strong angel in chap4 x41 that such a mode of speaking is in perfect harmony with the general method of ,st4 ,john4 ,light is thus thrown also upon the second point above mentioned3 the particular conflict referred to in these verses4 ,the statement that there was war in heaven1 and that when the dragon was defeated he was cast down into the earth1 might lead us to think of an earlier conflict between good and evil than any in which man has part3 of that mentioned by ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,jude1 when the former consoles the righteous by the thought that ,god spared not angels when they sinned1 but cast them down to hell1 and committed them to pits of darkness1 to be reserved unto judgment1#caj and when the latter warns sinners to remember that angels which kept not their own principality1 but left their proper habitation1 ,he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day4#caa ,the circumstances1 however1 of the war1 lead rather to the thought of a conflict in which the ,son1 incarnate and glorified1 takes ,his part4 ,for this ,son is the opponent of the dragon introduced to us in the first paragraph of the chapter4 ,heaven is not so much a premundane or supramundane locality as the spiritual sphere within which believers dwell even during their earthly pilgrimage1 when that pilgrimage is viewed upon its higher side4 ,and the means by which the victory is gained--for the victors overcame by the blood of the ,lamb1 and by the word of their testimony--distinctly indicate that the struggle referred to took place after the work of redemption had been completed1 not before it was begun4 ,several other passages of the ,new ,testament are in harmony with this supposition4 ,thus it was that when the seventy returned to our ,lord with joy after their mission1 saying1 ,lord1 even the demons are subject unto us in ,thy name1 ,he1 beholding in this the pledge of ,his completed victory1 exclaimed1 ,i beheld ,satan fallen as lightning from heaven4#cab ,thus it was that when charged with casting out demons by ,beelzebub1 the prince of the demons1 our ,lord pointed out to ,his accusers that ,his actions proved ,him to be the ,conqueror1 and that the kingdom of ,god was come unto them3 ,when the strong man fully armed guardeth his own court1 his goods are in peace3 but when a stronger than he shall come upon him1 and overcome him1 he taketh from him his whole armour wherein he trusted1 and divideth his spoils4#cac ,to the same effect are all those passages where our ,lord or ,his ,apostles speak1 not of a partial1 but of a complete1 victory over ,satan1 so that for ,his people the great enemy of man is already judged1 and overthrown1 and bruised beneath their feet3 ,now is a judgment of this world3 now shall the prince of this world be cast out2 ,and when ,he 7the ,advocate7 is come1 ,he will convince the world of judgment1 because the prince of this world hath been judged2 ,since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood1 ,he also ,himself in like manner partook of the same2 that through death ,he might bring to nought him that had the power of death1 that is1 the devil2 and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage2 ,whatsoever is begotten of ,god overcometh the world3 and this is the victory that overcometh the world1 even our faith2 ,we know that whosoever is begotten of ,god sinneth not2 but ,he that was begotten of ,god keepeth him1 and the evil one toucheth him not4#cad ,in passages such as these we have the same thought as that before us in this vision4 ,satan has been cast out of heaven2 that is1 in his warfare against the children of ,god he has been completely overthrown4 ,over their higher life1 their life in a risen and glorified ,redeemer1 he has no power4 ,they are for ever escaped from his bondage1 and are free4 ,but he has been cast down into the earth1 and his angels with him2 that is1 over the men of the world he still exerts his power1 and they are led captive by him at his will4 ,hence1 accordingly1 the words of the great voice heard in heaven which occupy all the latter part of the vision1 words which distinctly bring out the difference between the two aspects of ,satan now adverted to1--7#a7 his impotence as regards the disciples of ,jesus who are faithful unto death3 ,rejoice1 ,o heavens1 and ye that dwell in them2 7#b7 his mastery over the ungodly3 ,woe for the earth and for the sea6 for the devil is gone down unto you in great wrath1 knowing that he hath but a short season4 ,although1 therefore1 the fall of the angels from their first estate may be remotely hinted at1 the vision refers to the spiritual contest begun after the resurrection of ,jesus2 and we ask our readers only to pay particular regard to the double relation of ,satan to mankind which is referred to in it3 his subjection to the righteous and the subjection of the wicked to him4 ,one phrase only may seem inconsistent with this view4 ,in ver4 #i ,satan is described as the deceiver of the whole inhabited earth1 for that1 and not the whole world1 is the true rendering of the original4#cae ,the whole inhabited earth cannot be the same as the earth4 ,the latter is simply the wicked2 the former includes all men4 ,but the words describe a characteristic of ,satan in himself1 and not what he actually effects4 ,he is the deceiver of the whole inhabited earth4 ,he lays his snares for all4 ,he tempted ,jesus ,himself in the wilderness1 and many a time thereafter during ,his labours and ,his sufferings4 ,the vision gives no ground for the supposition that ,god's children are not attacked by him4 ,it assures us only that when the attack is made it is at the same instant foiled4 ,there is a battle1 but ,christians advance to it as conquerors2 before it begins victory is theirs4#caf ,one other expression of these verses may be noted3 the short season spoken of in ver4 #ab4 ,this period of time is not to be looked at as if it were a brief special season at the close of the ,christian age1 when the wrath of ,satan is aroused to a greater than ordinary degree because the last hour is about to strike4 ,the great wrath with which he goes forth is that stirred in him by his defeat through the death1 resurrection1 and ascension of our ,lord4 ,it was roused in him when he was cast into the earth1 and from that moment of defeat therefore the short season begins4 ,the third paragraph of the chapter follows3-- ,and when the dragon saw that he was cast down into the earth1 he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child4 ,and there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle1 that she might fly into the wilderness1 unto her place1 where she is nourished for a time1 and times1 and half a time1 from the face of the serpent4 ,and the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river1 that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream4 ,and the earth helped the woman1 and the earth opened her mouth1 and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth4 ,and the dragon waxed wroth with the woman1 and went away to make war with the rest of her seed1 which keep the commandments of ,god1 and hold the testimony of ,jesus2 and he stood upon the sand of the sea 7xii4 #ac-xiii4 #a;a74 ,we have already seen that the woman introduced to us in the first paragraph of this chapter is the embodiment and the bearer of light4 ,she is there indeed set before us in her ideal aspect1 in what she is in herself1 rather than in her historical position4 ,now we meet her in actual history1 or1 in other words1 she is the historical ,church of ,god in the ,new ,testament phase of her development4 ,as such she has a mission to the world4 ,she is the sent of ,christ1 as ,christ was the sent of the ,father4#cag ,in witnessing for ,christ1 she has to reveal to the children of men what ,divine love is4 ,but she has to do this in the midst of trouble4 ,this world is not her rest2 and she must bear the ,saviour's cross if she would afterwards wear ,his crown4 ,persecuted1 however1 she is not forsaken4 ,she had given her the two wings of the great eagle1 that she might fly into the wilderness1 unto her place--the place prepared of ,god for her protection4 ,there can be little doubt as to the allusion4 ,the great eagle is that of which ,god ,himself spoke to ,moses in the mount3 ,ye have seen what ,i did unto the ,egyptians1 and how ,i bare you on eagles' wings1 and brought you unto ,myself2#cah and that alluded to by ,moses in the last song taught by him to the people3 ,as an eagle stirreth up her nest1 fluttereth over her young1 spreadeth abroad her wings1 taketh them1 beareth them on her wings3 so the ,lord alone did lead him1 and there was no strange god with him4#cai ,the same eagle was probably in view of ,david when he sang1 ,how excellent is ,thy lovingkindness1 ,o ,god6 therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of ,thy wings2#cbj while it was also that on the wings of which the members of the ,church draw continually nearer ,god3 ,they mount up with wings as eagles4#cba ,to the woman then there was given a refuge from the storm1 a covert from the heat1 of trial1 that she might abide in it1 nourished with her heavenly food1 for a time1 and times1 and half a time4 ,of this period we have already spoken4 ,it is the same as that of the three and a half years1 the forty-two months1 the thousand two hundred and threescore days4 ,it is thus the whole period of the ,church's militant history upon earth4 ,during all of it she is persecuted by ,satan2 during all of it she is preserved and nourished by the care of ,god4 ,at first sight indeed it may seem as if this shelter in the wilderness were incompatible with the task of witnessing assigned to her4 ,but it is one of the paradoxes of the position of the children of ,god in this present world that while they are above it they are yet in it2 that while they are seated in the heavenly places they are exposed to the storms of earth2 that while their life is hid with ,christ in ,god they witness and war before the eyes of men4 ,the persecution and the nourishment1 the suffering and the glory1 run parallel with each other4 ,one other remark may be made4 ,there is obviously an emphasis upon the word two prefixed to wings4 ,though founded upon the fact that the wings of the bird are two in number1 a deeper meaning would seem to be intended2 and that meaning is suggested by the fact that the witnesses of chap4 xi4 were also two4 ,the protection extended corresponds exactly to the need for it4 ,the grace of ,god is in all circumstances sufficient for ,his people4#cbb ,no temptation can assail them which ,he will not enable them to endure1 or out of which ,he will not provide for them a way of escape4#cbc ,therefore may they always take up the language of the ,apostle and say1 ,most gladly will ,i rather glory in my weaknesses1 that the strength of ,christ may spread a tabernacle over me4 ,wherefore ,i take pleasure in weaknesses1 in injuries1 in necessities1 in persecutions1 in distresses for ,christ's sake3 for when ,i am weak1 then am ,i strong4#cbd ,the woman fled into the wilderness1 but she was not permitted to flee thither without a final effort of ,satan to overwhelm her2 and in the manner in which this effort is made we again recognise the language of the ,old ,testament4 ,there the assaults of the ungodly upon ,israel are frequently compared to those floods of waters which1 owing to the sudden risings of the streams1 are in the ,east so common and so disastrous4 ,isaiah describes the enemy as coming in like a flood4#cbe ,of the floods of the ,euphrates and the destruction which they symbolized we have already spoken#cbf2 and in hours of deliverance from trouble the ,church has found the song of triumph most suitable to her condition in the words of the ,psalmist1 ,if it had not been the ,lord who was on our side1 when men rose up against us3 then they had swallowed us up quick1 when their wrath was kindled against us3 then the waters had overwhelmed us1 the stream had gone over our soul3 then the proud waters had gone over our soul4 ,blessed be the ,lord1 who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth4#cbg ,the main reference is1 however1 in all probability to the passage of ,israel across the ,red ,sea1 for then1 says ,david1 calling to mind that great deliverance in the history of his people1 and finding in it the type of deliverances so often experienced by himself1 the sorrows of death compassed me1 and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid4444 ,in my distress ,i called upon the ,lord1 and cried unto my ,god4444 ,he sent from above1 ,he took me4 ,he drew me out of many waters4#cbh ,the most remarkable point to be noticed here is1 however1 not the deliverance itself1 but the method by which it is accomplished4 ,to understand this1 as well as the wrath of ,satan immediately afterwards described1 it is necessary to bear in mind that twofold element in the ,church the existence of which is the key to so many of the most intricate problems of the ,apocalypse4 ,the ,church embraces both true and false members within her pale4 ,she is the vine of our ,lord's last discourse to ,his disciples1 some of the branches of which bear much fruit1 while others are only fit to be cast into the fire and burned4#cbi ,the thought of these latter members is in the mind of ,st4 ,john when he tells us1 in a manner so totally unexpected1 that the earth helped the woman1 and the earth opened her mouth1 and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth4 ,he is thinking of the nominal members of the ,church1 of the merely nominal ,christianity which she has so often exhibited to the world4 ,that ,christianity the world loves4 ,when the ,church's tone and life are lowered by her yielding to the influence of the things of time1 then the world1 the earth1 is ready to hasten to her side4 ,it offers her its friendship1 courts alliance with her1 praises her for the good order which she introduces1 by arguments drawn from eternity1 into the things of time1 and swallows up the river which the dragon casts out of his mouth against her4 ,when ,christ's disciples are of the world1 the world loves its own4#ccj ,they are helping the earth to do its work4 ,why should the earth not recognise and welcome the assistance given it by foolish foes as well as friends8 ,therefore it helps the woman4 ,but side by side with this aspect of the ,church which met the approbation of the earth1 the dragon saw that she had another aspect of determined hostility to his claims2 and he waxed wroth with her4 ,she had within her not only degenerate but true members1 not only worldly professors1 but those who were one with her ,divine and glorified ,lord4 ,these were the rest of her seed1 which keep the commandments of ,god and the testimony of ,jesus4 ,they were the few names in ,sardis which did not defile their garments1#cca the remnant according to the election of grace1#ccb the seed which the ,lord hath blessed4#ccc ,such disciples of ,jesus the dragon could not tolerate1 and he went away to make war with them4 ,thus is the painful distinction still kept up which marks all the later part of the ,apocalypse4 ,the spectacle was one over which ,st4 ,john had mourned as he beheld it in the ,church of his own day3 ,they went out from us1 but they were not of us2 for if they had been of us1 they would have continued with us3 but they went out1 that they might be made manifest that not all are of us4 ,little children1 it is the last hour4#ccd ,it was a spectacle which he knew would be repeated so long as the ,church of ,christ was in contact with the world2 and he notes it now4 ,one other point ought to be noticed in connexion with these verses4 ,the helping of the woman by the earth seems to be the ,scripture parallel to the difficult words of ,st4 ,paul when he says in writing to the ,thessalonians1 ,and now ye know that which restraineth to the end that he may be revealed in his own season4 ,for the mystery of lawlessness doth already work3 only there is one that restraineth now1 until he be taken out of the way4#cce ,this restraining power1 generally1 and in all probability correctly1 understood of the ,roman ,state1 is the earth of ,st4 ,john helping the woman because it is helped by her4 ,we have been introduced to the first great enemy of the ,church of ,christ4 ,it remains only that he shall take up his position on the field4 ,the next clause therefore which meets us1 and which ought to be read1 not as the first clause of chap4 xiii41 but as the last of chap4 xii41 and in which the third person ought to be substituted for the first1 describes him as doing so3 ,and he stood upon the sand of the sea1 upon the shore between the earth and the sea1 where he could so command them both as to justify the ,woe already uttered over both in the twelfth verse of the chapter4 ,there we leave him for a time1 only remarking that we are not to think of ocean lying before us in a calm1 but of the restless and troubled sea1 raised into huge waves by the storm-winds contending upon it for the mastery and dashing its waves upon the beach4 ,,footnotes3 #bhe ,chap4 xix4 #bj4 #bhf ,gen4 i4 #af4 #bhg ,chap4 xxi4 #ab4 #bhh #a ,john i4 #e4 #bhi ,comp4 ver4 #ag4 #bij ,rom4 viii4 #bi4 #bia ,matt4 i4 #bj4 #bib ,john i4 #ac4 #bic ,comp4 ,john i4 #d4 #bid ,john viii4 #dd2 #a ,john iii4 #ab2 ,rev4 xvii4 #f #bie ,chap4 ix4 #aj1 #ai4 #bif ,dan4 viii4 #aj4 #big ,ps4 lxxiv4 #ac2 ,ezek4 xxix4 #c4 #bih ,matt4 ii4 #af4 #bii ,acts ii4 #bc4 #cjj ,john xvi4 #ba4 #cja #a ,cor4 x4 #c1 #d4 #cjb #a ,kings xvii4 #f2 xix4 #e4 #cjc ,matt4 iv4 #d4 #cjd ,chap4 xi4 #c4 #cje ,jude #i4 #cjf ,brown1 ,the ,book of ,revelation1 p4 #fi4 #cjg #a ,thess4 iv4 #af4 #cjh ,dan4 x4 #ac1 #ba4 #cji ,dan4 xii4 #a-c4 #caj #b ,pet4 ii4 #d4 #caa ,jude #f4 #cab ,luke x4 #ag1 #ah4 #cac ,luke xi4 #ba1 #bb4 #cad ,john xii4 #ca2 xvi4 #aa2 ,heb4 ii4 #ad1 #ae2 #a ,john v4 #d1 #ah4 #cae ,comp4 ,r4,v4 7margin74 #caf ,comp4 #a ,john v4 #d4 #cag ,john xx4 #ba4 #cah ,exod4 xix4 #c1 #d4 #cai ,deut4 xxxii4 #aa1 #ab4 #cbj ,ps4 xxxvi4 #g4 #cba ,isa4 xl4 #ca4 #cbb #b ,cor4 xii4 #i4 #cbc #a ,cor4 x4 #ac4 #cbd #b ,cor4 xii4 #i1 #aj4 #cbe ,isa4 lix4 #ai4 #cbf ,comp4 p4 #aej4 #cbg ,ps4 cxxiv4 #b-f4 #cbh ,ps4 xviii4 #d-af4 #cbi ,john xv4 #e1 #f4 #ccj ,john xv4 #ai4 #cca ,chap4 iii4 #d4 #ccb ,isa4 lxi4 #i4 #ccc ,rom4 xi4 #e4 #ccd #a ,john ii4 #ah1 #ai4 #cce #b ,thess4 ii4 #f1 #g4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,second ,,and ,,third ,,great ,,enemies ,,of ,,the ,,church4 ,,rev4 xiii4 ,we have seen that the main purpose of chap4 xii4 was to introduce to our notice the dragon1 or ,satan1 the first great enemy of the ,church4 ,the object of chap4 xiii4 is to make us acquainted with her second and third great enemies1 and thus to enable us to form a distinct conception of the powerful foes with which the followers of ,christ have to contend4 ,the two enemies referred to are respectively styled a beast 7ver4 #a7 and another beast 7ver4 #aa71 or1 as they are generally termed1 the first beast and the second beast4 ,to the word beast must be assigned in both cases its fullest and most pregnant sense4 ,the two beasts are not only beasts1 but wild beasts1 strong1 fierce1 rapacious1 and cruel1 even the apparent softness and tenderness of the second being associated with those dragon words which can proceed only from a dragon heart4#ccf ,the first is thus described3-- ,and ,i saw a beast coming up out of the sea1 having ten horns and seven heads1 and on his horns ten diadems1 and upon his heads names of blasphemy4 ,and the beast which ,i saw was like unto a leopard1 and his feet were as the feet of a bear1 and his mouth as the mouth of a lion3 and the dragon gave him his power1 and his throne1 and great authority4 ,and ,i saw one of his heads as though it had been slaughtered unto death2 and the stroke of his death was healed3 and the whole earth marvelled after the beast4 ,and they worshipped the dragon because he gave his authority unto the beast3 and they worshipped the beast1 saying1 ,who is like unto the beast1 and who is able to war with him8 ,and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies2 and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months4 ,and he opened his mouth for blasphemies against ,god1 to blaspheme ,his name1 and ,his tabernacle1 even them that tabernacle in the heaven4 ,and it was given unto him to make war with the saints1 and to overcome them3 and there was given to him authority over every tribe1 and people1 and tongue1 and nation4 ,and all that dwell on the earth shall worship him1 every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the ,lamb that hath been slaughtered4 ,if any one hath an ear1 let him hear4 ,if any one leadeth into captivity1 into captivity he goeth3 if any one shall kill with the sword1 with the sword must he be killed4 ,here is the patience and the faith of the saints 7xiii4 #a;b-#aj74 ,the description carries us back to the prophecies of ,daniel1 and the language of the prophet helps us to understand that of the ,seer4 ,it is thus that the former speaks3 ,daniel spake and said1 ,i saw in my vision by night1 and1 behold1 the four winds of the heaven brake forth upon the great sea4 ,and four great beasts came up from the sea1 diverse one from another4 ,the first was like a lion1 and had eagle's wings3 ,i beheld till the wings thereof were plucked1 and it was lifted up from the earth1 and made to stand upon two feet as a man1 and a man's heart was given to it4 ,and behold another beast1 a second1 like to a bear1 and it was raised up on one side1 and three ribs were in his mouth between his teeth3 and they said thus unto it1 ,arise1 devour much flesh4 ,after this ,i beheld1 and lo another1 like a leopard1 which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl2 the beast had also four heads2 and dominion was given to it4 ,after this ,i saw in the night visions1 and behold a fourth beast1 terrible and powerful1 and strong exceedingly2 and it had great iron teeth3 it devoured and brake in pieces1 and stamped the residue with his feet3 and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it2 and it had ten horns4 ,i considered the horns1 and1 behold1 there came up among them another horn1 a little one1 before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots3 and1 behold1 in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man1 and a mouth speaking great things4#ccg ,these particulars embody the prophet's picture of the world-power in four successive phases of its manifestation1 until it culminates in the little horn2 and it is not possible to doubt that the ,seer1 while modifying them with characteristic freedom1 finds in them the foundation of his figure4 ,in both cases there is the same origin1--the sea swept by strong winds from every point of the compass1 until the opposing forces rush upon one another1 mingle in wild confusion1 send up their spray into the air1 and then1 dark with the reflection of the clouds above and turbid with sand1 exhaust themselves with one long1 sullen roar upon the beach4 ,in both cases the same animals are referred to1 though in the vision of ,daniel they are separated1 in that of ,st4 ,john combined3 the leopard1 with his sudden1 cruel spring2 the bear1 with his slow1 relentless brutishness2 and the lion1 with his all-conquering power4 ,finally1 in the case of both mention is made also of ten horns1 which are distinct from the lineal succession of the heads4 ,so far1 therefore1 we can have little hesitation in affirming the conclusion arrived at by most commentators that in this beast coming up out of the sea we have an emblem of that power of the world which1 under the guidance of the prince of the world1 opposes and persecutes the ,church of ,christ4 ,several particulars regarding it1 however1 still demand our notice4 #a4 ,the horns are not to be thought of as distributed among the heads1 but rather as a group by themselves1 constituting along with the seventh head a manifestation of the beast distinct from that expressed by each of the separate heads4 ,in a certain sense the seventh head1 with its ten horns1 is thus one of the seven1 for in them the beast expresses himself4 ,in another sense it is like the fourth beast of the prophet ,daniel3 diverse from all the beasts that were before it and even more terrible than they4 #b4 ,the seven heads seem most fittingly to represent seven powers of the world by which the children of ,god had been persecuted in the past or were to be persecuted in the future4 ,the supposition has indeed been often made that they represent seven forms of ,roman government or seven emperors who successively occupied the imperial throne4 ,but neither of these sevens can be definitely fixed by the advocates of the general thought2 while the whole strain of the passage suggests that the beast which1 in the form now dealt with1 unquestionably represents a world-power conterminous with the whole earth1 grows up into this form only in his seventh head and ten horns manifestation4 ,the other heads are rather preparatory to the last than to be ranked equally along with it4 ,making a natural beginning1 therefore1 with the oldest persecuting power mentioned in that ,bible history of which the ,apocalyptist makes such extensive use1 and following the line down to the ,seer's time1 the seven heads appear to represent the ,egyptian1 ,assyrian1 ,babylonian1 ,medo-,persian1 ,greek1 and ,roman powers1 together with that power1 wider even than the ,roman1 which ,st4 ,john saw was about to rage in the hurried days of the last time against the simplicity1 purity1 holiness1 and unworldliness of ,christ's little flock4 ,each of these powers is a head4 ,the last is the concentrated essence1 the most universal1 the most penetrating1 influence of them all4 ,taken together1 they supply1 as no other interpretation does1 what is absolutely essential to a correct understanding of the figure1--the idea of completeness4 #c4 ,by such a rendering also we gain a natural interpretation of the head beheld as though it had been slaughtered unto death2 and the stroke of his death was healed4 ,other renderings fail to afford this1 for no successive forms of government at ,rome and no successive emperors furnish a member of their series of which it may be said that it is first slain and then brought back to a life of greater energy and more quickened action4 ,yet without the thought of death and resurrection it is impossible to fulfil the conditions of the problem4 ,the head spoken of in ver4 #c had not been merely wounded or smitten3 it had been slaughtered unto death2 and it was not merely his deadly wound1#cch or even his death-stroke3#cci it was the stroke of his death that had been healed4 ,there had been actual death and resurrection from death1 the contrast and travesty of that death and resurrection which had befallen the ,lamb slaughtered and raised again4#cdj ,such a death and resurrection can only be fittingly applied to that system of worldly influence1 or1 in other words1 to that prince of the world1 whose power over ,his people ,jesus was not simply to modify1 but to extinguish4 ,the ,redeemer of the world came1 not to wound or weaken only1 but to bring to nought1 him that had the power of death--that is1 the devil--and to give perfect and eternal freedom to all who would allow the chains in which ,satan had bound them to be broken4#cda ,but the death1 if we may so speak1 of ,satan in relation to them was accompanied by his resurrection in relation to the world1 over which the great enemy of souls was thenceforward to exercise a more irresistible sway than ever4 ,the time is that already spoken of in the previous chapter1 when the devil went down into the earth1 having great wrath1 knowing that he hath but a short season4#cdb ,nor is there any difficulty in determining to which of the seven heads of the beast the death and resurrection spoken of apply1 for a comparison of chap4 xvii4 #h-aa with the present passage shows that it is to the sixth1 or ,roman1 head that ,st4 ,john intends his language to refer4 #d4 ,particular attention must be paid to the fact that it is upon the beast in his resurrection state that we are to dwell1 for the whole earth marvels after the beast not previously1 but subsequently1 to the point of time at which the stroke of his death is healed4#cdc ,in that condition1 too1 he is not thought of as raging only in the ,roman empire4 ,his influence is universal4 ,wherever men are he is3 ,and there was given to him authority over every tribe1 and people1 and tongue1 and nation4#cdd ,the fourfold division indicates absolute universality2 and the whole earth--that is1 all ungodly ones--worships the beast1 even every one whose name has not been written in the ,lamb's book of life4#cde ,thus raging with an extent of power never possessed by any form of ,roman government or any emperor of ,rome1 he rages also throughout all time1 from the first to the second coming of the ,lord1 for he has authority given to him to continue forty and two months1#cdf the period so denoted embracing the whole ,christian era from its beginning to its close4#cdg #e4 ,three points more may be noticed before drawing the general conclusion to which all this leads4 ,in the first place1 the beast is the vicegerent of another power which acts through him and by means of him4 ,the dragon gave him his power1 and his throne1 and great authority4 ,the dragon himself does not directly act4 ,he has his representative1 or vicar1 or substitute1 in the beast4 ,in the second place1 the worship paid by the whole earth to the beast1 when it cries1 ,who is like unto the beast8 and who is able to make war with him8 is an obvious imitation of the ascriptions of praise to ,god contained in not a few passages of the ,old ,testament3 ,who is like unto the ,lord our ,god1 that hath ,his seat on high82 ,to whom then will ye liken ,me1 that ,i should be equal to him8 saith the ,holy ,one2 ,hearken unto ,me1 ,o house of ,jacob1 and all the remnant of the house of ,israel4444 ,to whom will ye liken ,me1 and make ,me equal1 and compare ,me1 that we may be like8#cdh ,in the third place1 the beast opens his mouth1 not only to blaspheme against ,god1 but against ,his tabernacle1 even them that tabernacle in the heaven1#cdi expressions in which the use of the word tabernacle leads directly to the thought of opposition to ,him who became flesh and tabernacled among us1 and who now spreads ,his tabernacle over ,his saints4#cej ,the whole description of the beast is thus1 in multiplied particulars1 a travesty of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 the ,head and ,king1 the ,guardian and ,protector1 of ,his people4 ,like the latter1 the former is the representative1 the sent1 of an unseen power1 by whom all authority is given him2 he has his death and his resurrection from the dead2 he has his throngs of marvelling and enthusiastic worshippers2 his authority over those who own his sway is limited by no national boundaries1 but is conterminous with the whole world2 he gathers up and unites in himself all the scattered elements of darkness and enmity to the truth which had previously existed among men1 and from which the ,church of ,god had suffered4 ,what then can this first beast be8 ,not ,rome1 either pagan or papal2 not any single form of earthly government1 however strong2 not any ,roman emperor1 however vicious or cruel2 but the general influence of the world1 in so far as it is opposed to ,god1 substituting the human for the ,divine1 the seen for the unseen1 the temporal for the eternal4 ,he is the impersonation of that world of which ,st4 ,paul writes1 ,we received1 not the spirit of the world1 but the spirit which is of ,god1#cea of which ,st4 ,james speaks when he says1 ,whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of ,god1#ceb and in regard to which ,st4 ,john exhorts1 ,love not the world1 neither the things that are in the world4 ,if any man love the world1 the love of the ,father is not in him4 ,for all that is in the world1 the lust of the flesh1 and the lust of the eyes1 and the vain-glory of life1 is not of the ,father1 but is of the world4#cec ,this beast1 in short1 is the world viewed in that aspect in which our ,lord ,himself could say of it that the devil was its prince1 which ,he told ,his disciples ,he had overcome1 and in regard to which ,he prayed in ,his high-priestly prayer1 ,i pray not that ,thou shouldest take them out of the world1 but that ,thou shouldest keep them out of the evil one4 ,they are not of the world1 even as ,i am not of the world4#ced ,the influence of the beast here spoken of is therefore confined to no party1 or sect1 or age4 ,it may be found in the ,church and in the ,state1 in every society1 in every family1 or even in every heart1 for wherever man is ruled by the seen instead of the unseen or by the material instead of the spiritual1 there the world is4 ,our wrestling is not against flesh and blood1 but against the principalities1 against the powers1 against the world-rulers of this darkness1 against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places4#cee ,against this foe the true life of the saints will be preserved4 ,nothing can harm the life that is hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,but the saints may nevertheless be troubled1 and persecuted1 and killed1 as were the witnesses of chap4 xi41 by the beast that had given unto him to make war with them1 and to overcome them4 ,such is the thought that leads to the last words of the paragraph with which we are now dealing3 ,if any one leadeth into captivity1 into captivity he goeth2 if any one shall kill with the sword1 with the sword must he be killed4 ,in the great law of ,god1 the lex talionis1 consolation is given to the persecuted4 ,their enemies would lead them into captivity1 but a worse captivity awaits themselves4 ,they would kill with the sword1 but with a sharper sword than that of human power they shall themselves be killed4 ,is there not enough in that to inspire the saints with patience and faith8 ,well may they endure with unfainting hearts when they remember who is upon their side1 for it is a righteous thing with ,god to recompense affliction to them that afflict them1 and to them that are afflicted rest#cef--rest with ,apostles1 prophets1 martyrs1 the whole ,church of ,god1 rest never again to be disturbed either by sin or sorrow4 ,here is the patience and the faith of the saints4 ,the second enemy of the ,church1 or the first beast1 has been described4 ,st4 ,john now proceeds to the third enemy1 or the second beast3-- ,and ,i saw another beast coming up out of the earth2 and he had two horns like unto a lamb1 and he spoke as a dragon4 ,and he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight2 and he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast1 the stroke of whose death was healed4 ,and he doeth great signs1 that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men4 ,and he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast2 saying to them that dwell on the earth1 that they should make an image to the beast1 who hath the stroke of the sword1 and lived4 ,and it was given unto him to give breath to it1 even to the image of the beast1 that the image of the beast should both speak1 and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed4 ,and he causeth all1 the small and the great1 and the rich and the poor1 and the free and the bond1 that there be given them a mark on their right hand1 or upon their forehead3 and that no man should be able to buy or to sell1 save he that hath the mark1 even the name of the beast or the number of his name 7xiii4 #aa-ag74 ,the first beast came up out of the sea 7ver4 #a72 the second beast comes up out of the earth3 and the contrast1 so strongly marked1 between these two sources1 makes it necessary to draw a clear and definite line of distinction between the origin of the one beast and that of the other4 ,the sea1 however1 both in the ,old ,testament and in the ,new1 is the symbol of the mass of the ,gentile nations1 of the heathen world in its condition of alienation from ,god and true religious life4 ,in contrast with this1 the earth1 as here used1 must be the symbol of the ,jews1 among whom1 to whatever extent they had abused their privileges1 the ,almighty had revealed ,himself in a special manner1 showing ,his word unto ,jacob1 ,his statutes and ,his judgments unto ,israel4#ceg ,the ,jews were an agricultural1 not a commercial1 people2 and upon that great highway along which the commerce of the nations poured they looked with suspicion and dislike4 ,hence the sea1 in its restlessness and barrenness1 became to them the emblem of an irreligious world2 the land1 in its quiet and fruitfulness1 the emblem of religion with all its blessings4 ,in this sense the contrast here must be understood2 and the statement as to the different origin of the first and second beasts is of itself sufficient to determine that1 while the former belongs to a secular1 the latter belongs to a religious1 sphere4 ,many other particulars mentioned in connexion with the second beast confirm this conclusion4 #a4 ,the two horns like unto a lamb are unquestionably a travesty of the seven horns of the ,lamb1 so often spoken of in these visions2 and the description carries us to the thought of ,antichrist1 of one who sets himself up as the true ,christ1 of one who1 professing to imitate the ,redeemer1 is yet ,his opposite4 #b4 ,the words ,and he spoke as a dragon remind us of the description given by our ,lord of those false teachers who come in sheep's clothing1 but inwardly are ravening wolves1#ceh as well as of the language of ,st4 ,paul when he warns the ,ephesian elders that after his departing grievous wolves shall enter in among them1 not sparing the flock4#cei #c4 ,the function to which this beast devotes himself is religious1 not secular4 ,he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast2 and1 having persuaded them to make an image to that beast1 it was given unto him to give breath to it1 even to the image of the beast1 that the image of the beast should both speak1 and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed4#cfj #d4 ,the great signs and wonders done by this beast1 such as making fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men1 are a reminiscence of the prophet ,elijah at ,carmel2 while the signs by which he successfully deceives the world take us again to the words of ,jesus3 ,there shall arise false ,christs1 and false prophets1 and shall show great signs and wonders1 so as to lead astray1 if possible1 even the elect4#cfa ,st4 ,paul's words also1 when he speaks of the man of sin1 make similar mention of his signs3 ,whose coming is according to the working of ,satan with all power and signs and lying wonders1 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that are perishing2 because they received not the love of the truth1 that they might be saved4#cfb #e4 ,finally1 the fact that this beast bears the name of the false prophet1#cfc the very term used by ,st4 ,john when speaking of the false teachers who had arisen in his day1#cfd may surely be accepted as conclusive that we have here a symbol of the antichrists of the first ,epistle of that ,apostle4 ,of the antichrists1 let it be observed1 not of ,antichrist as a single individual manifestation4 ,for there is a characteristic of this beast which leads to the impression that more than one agent is included under the terms of the symbol4 ,the beast has two horns4 ,why two8 ,we may be sure that the circumstance is not without a meaning1 and that it is not determined only by the fact that the animal referred to has in its natural condition the rudiments of no more than two4 ,in other visions of the ,apocalypse we read of a lamb with seven horns1 and of a head of the beast with ten horns1 the numbers in both cases being symbolical4 ,the two horns now spoken of must also be symbolical2 and thus viewed1 the expression leads us to the thought of the two witnesses1 of the two prophets of truth1 spoken of in chap4 xi4 ,but these two witnesses represent all faithful witnesses for ,christ2 and1 in like manner1 the two horns represent the many perverters of the ,christian faith beheld by the ,seer springing up around him1 who1 professing to be ,apostles of the ,lamb1 endeavoured to overthrow ,his ,gospel4 ,these considerations lead to a natural and simple interpretation of what is meant by the second beast4 ,the plausible interpretation suggested by many of the ablest commentators on this book1 that by the second beast is meant worldly wisdom1 comprehending everything in learning1 science and art which human nature of itself1 in its civilized state1 can attain to1 the worldly power in its more refined and spiritual elements1 its prophetical or priestly class1#cfe must be unhesitatingly dismissed4 ,it fails to apprehend the very essence of the symbol4 ,it speaks of a secular and mundane influence1 when the whole point of ,st4 ,john's words lies in this1--that the influence of which he speaks is religious4 ,not in anything springing out of the world in its ordinary sense1 but in something springing out of the ,church and the ,church's faith1 is the meaning of the ,apostle to be sought4 ,was there anything then in ,st4 ,john's own day that might have suggested the figure thus employed8 ,had he ever witnessed any spectacle that might have burned such thoughts into his soul8 ,let us turn to his ,gospel and learn from it to look upon the world as it was when it met his eyes4 ,what had he seen1 and seen with an indignation that penetrates to the core his narrative of his ,master's life8 ,he had seen the ,divine institution of ,judaism1 designed by the ,god of ,israel to prepare the way for the ,light and the ,life of men1 perverted by its appointed guardians1 and made an instrument for blinding instead of enlightening the soul4 ,he had seen the ,eternal ,son1 in all the glory of ,his grace and truth1 coming to the things that were ,his own1 and yet the men that were ,his own rejecting ,him1 under the influence of their selfish religious guides4 ,he had seen the ,temple1 which ought to have been filled with the prayers of a spiritual worship1 profaned by worldly traffic and the love of gain4 ,nay more1 he remembered one scene so terrible that it could never be forgotten by him1 when in the judgment-hall of ,pilate even that unscrupulous representative of ,roman power had again and again endeavoured to set ,jesus free1 and when the ,jews had only succeeded in accomplishing their plan by the argument1 ,if thou release this man1 thou art not ,c8ar's friend4#cff ,they ,c8ar's friends6 ,they attach value to honours bestowed by ,c8ar6 ,o vile hypocrisy6 ,o dark extremity of hate6 ,judaism at the feet of ,c8ar6 ,so powerfully had the thought of these things taken possession of the mind of the beloved disciple1 so deeply was he moved by the narrowness and bigotry and fanaticism which had usurped the place of generosity and tenderness and love1 that1 in order to find utterance for his feelings1 he had been compelled to put a new meaning into an old word1 and to concentrate into the term the ,jews everything most opposed to ,christ and ,christianity4 ,nor was it only in ,judaism that ,st4 ,john had seen the spirit of religion so overmastered by the spirit of the world that it became the world's slave4 ,he had witnessed the same thing in ,heathenism4 ,it is by no means improbable that when he speaks of the image of the beast he may also think of those images of ,c8ar the worshipping of which was everywhere made the test of devotion to the ,roman ,state and of abjuration of the ,christian faith4 ,there again the forms and sanctions of religion had been used to strengthen the dominion of secular power and worldly force4 ,both ,judaism and ,heathenism1 in short1 supplied the thoughts which1 translated into the language of symbolism1 are expressed in the conception of the second beast and its relation to the first4 ,yet we are not to imagine that1 though ,st4 ,john started from these things1 his vision was confined to them4 ,he thinks not of ,jew or heathen only at a particular era1 but of man2 not of human nature only as it appears amidst the special circumstances of his own day1 but as it appears everywhere and throughout all time4 ,he is not satisfied with dwelling upon existing phenomena alone4 ,he penetrates to the principles from which they spring4 ,and wherever he sees a spirit professing to uphold religion1 but objecting to all the unpalatable truths with which it is connected in the ,christian faith1 wherever he sees the gate to future glory made wide instead of narrow and the way broad instead of straitened1 there he beholds the dire combination of the first and second beasts presented in this chapter4 ,the light has become darkness1 and how great is the darkness6#cfg ,the salt has lost its savour1 and is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill4#cfh ,in speaking of the subserviency of the second to the first beast1 the ,seer had spoken of a mark given to all the followers of the latter on their right hand1 or upon their forehead1 and without which no one was to be admitted to the privileges of their association or of buying or selling in their city4 ,he had further described this mark as being either the name of the beast or the number of his name4 ,to explain more fully the nature of this mark appears to be the aim of the last verse of the chapter3-- ,here is wisdom4 ,he that hath understanding1 let him count the number of the beast3 for it is the number of a man2 and his number is six hundred and sixty and six 7xiii4 #ah74 ,to discuss with anything like fulness the difficult questions connected with these words would require a volume rather than the few sentences at the close of a chapter that can be here devoted to it4 ,referring1 therefore1 his readers to what he has elsewhere written on this subject1#cfi the writer can only make one or two brief remarks1 in order to point out the path in which the solution of the problems suggested by the words must be sought4 ,it is indeed remarkable that the ,seer should speak at all of the number of the name of the beast2 that is1 of the number which would be gained by adding together the numbers represented by the several letters of the name4 ,why not be content with the name itself8 ,throughout this book the followers of ,christ are never spoken of as stamped with a number1 but either with the name of the ,father or the ,son1 or with a new name which no one knoweth saving he that receiveth it4#cgj ,now the principle of ,antithesis or ,contrast1 which so largely rules the structure of the ,apocalypse1 might lead us to expect a similar procedure in the case of the followers of the beast4 ,why then is it not resorted to8 #a4 ,st4 ,john may not himself have known the name4 ,he may have been acquainted only with the character of the beast1 and with the fact1 too often overlooked by inquirers1 that to that character its name1 when made known1 must correspond4 ,it is not any name1 any designation1 by which the beast may be individualized1 that will fulfil the conditions of his thought4 ,no reader of ,st4 ,john's writings can have failed to notice that to him the word name is far more than a mere appellative4 ,it expresses the inner nature of the person to whom it is applied4 ,the name of the ,father expresses the character of the ,father1 that of the ,son the character of the ,son4 ,the ,seer1 therefore1 might be satisfied in the present instance with his conviction that the name of the beast1 whatever it be1 must be a name which will express the inner nature of the beast2 and he may have asked no more4 ,not only so4 ,when we enter into the style of the ,apostle's thought1 we may even inquire whether it was possible for a ,christian to know the name of the beast in the sense which the word name demands4 ,no man could know the new name written upon the white stone given to him that overcometh but he that receiveth it4#cga ,in other words1 no one but a ,christian indeed could have that ,christian experience which would enable him to understand the new name4 ,in like manner now1 ,st4 ,john may have felt that it was not possible for the followers of ,christ to know the name of ,antichrist4 ,antichristian experience alone could teach the name of ,antichrist1 service of the beast the name of the beast2 and such experience no ,christian could have4 ,but this need not hinder him from giving the number4 ,the number spoke only of general character and fate2 and knowledge of it did not imply1 like knowledge of the name1 communion of spirit with him to whom the name belonged4 #b4 ,from this it follows that not the name1 but the number of the name1 is of importance in the ,apostle's view4 ,the name no doubt must have a meaning which1 taken even by itself1 would be portentous2 but1 according to the artificial system of thought here followed1 the number is the real portent1 the real bearer of the ,divine message of wrath and doom4 #c4 ,this is precisely the lesson borne by the number #fff4 ,the number six itself awakened a feeling of dread in the breast of the ,jew who felt the significance of numbers4 ,it fell below the sacred number seven just as much as eight went beyond it4 ,this last number denoted more than the simple possession of the ,divine4 ,as in the case of circumcision on the eighth day1 of the great day of the feast on the eighth day1 or of the resurrection of our ,lord on the first day of the week1 following the previous seven days1 it expressed a new beginning in active power4 ,by a similar process the number six was held to signify inability to reach the sacred point and hopeless falling short of it4 ,to the ,jew there was thus a doom upon the number six even when it stood alone4 ,triple it2 let there be a multiple of it by ten and then a second time by ten until you obtain three mysterious sixes following one another1 #fff2 and we have represented a potency of evil than which there can be none greater1 a direfulness of fate than which there can be none worse4 ,the number then is important1 not the name4 ,putting ourselves into the position of the time1 we listen to the words1 ,his number is six hundred sixty and six2 and we have enough to make us tremble4 ,nay1 there is in them a depth of sin and a weight of punishment which no one can know but he who has committed the sin and shared the punishment4 ,from all that has been said it would seem that there is no possibility of finding the name of the beast in the name of any single individual who has yet appeared upon the stage of history4 ,it may well be that in ,nero1 or ,domitian1 or any other persecutor of the ,church1 the ,seer beheld a type of the beast2 but the whole strain of the chapter forbids the supposition that the meaning of the name is exhausted in any single individual4 ,no merely human ruler1 no ruler over merely a portion of the world however large1 no ruler who had not died and risen from the grave1 and who after his resurrection had not been hailed with enthusiasm by every tribe1 and tongue1 and people1 and nation1 can be the beast referred to4 ,whether ,st4 ,john expected such a ruler in the future2 whether this beast1 like the little horn of ,daniel1 which had eyes like the eyes of a man1 and a mouth speaking great things1#cgb was not only bestial1 but human2 or whether in its individuality it was no more than a personification of antichristian sin and cruelty1 is another and a more difficult question4 ,yet his tendency to represent abstract ideas by concrete images would lead to the latter rather than the former supposition4 ,one thing is clear3 that the bestial principle was already working1 although it might not have reached its full development4 ,the many antichrists#cgc might be the precursors of a still more terrible ,antichrist1 but they worked in the same spirit and towards the same end4 ,nor are they to be less the object of alienation and abhorrence to the ,christian now than when they may be concentrated in the lawless one1 whom the ,lord ,jesus shall slay with the breath of ,his mouth1 and bring to nought by the manifestation of ,his coming4#cgd ,,footnotes3 #ccf ,ver4 #aa4 #ccg ,dan4 vii4 #b-h4 #cch ,chap4 xiii4 #c1 ,a4,v4 #cci ,chap4 xiii4 #c1 ,r4,v4 #cdj ,chap4 v4 #f4 #cda ,heb4 ii4 #ad4 #cdb ,chap4 xii4 #ab4 #cdc ,vers4 #c1 #d4 #cdd ,ver4 #g4 #cde ,ver4 #h4 #cdf ,ver4 #e4 #cdg ,comp4 p4 #age4 #cdh ,ps4 cxiii4 #e2 ,isa4 xl4 #be1 xlvi4 #c1 #e4 #cdi ,ver4 #f4 #cej ,john i4 #ad2 ,rev4 vii4 #ae4 #cea #a ,cor4 ii4 #ab4 ,comp4 ,gal4 vi4 #ad4 #ceb ,james iv4 #d4 #cec #a ,john ii4 #ae1 #af4 #ced ,john xiv4 #cj2 xvi4 #cc2 xvii4 #ae1 #af4 #cee ,eph4 vi4 #ab4 #cef #b ,thess4 i4 #f1 #g4 #ceg ,ps4 cxlvii4 #ai4 #ceh ,matt4 vii4 #ae4 #cei ,acts xx4 #bi4 #cfj ,vers4 #ab1 #ae4 #cfa ,matt4 xxiv4 #bd4 #cfb #b ,thess4 ii4 #i1 #aj4 #cfc ,comp4 chaps4 xvi4 #ac2 xix4 #bj2 xx4 #aj4 #cfd #a ,john iv4 #a4 #cfe ,fairbairn1 ,on ,prophecy1 p4 #cbh4 #cff ,john xix4 #ab4 #cfg ,matt4 vi4 #bc4 #cfh ,luke xiv4 #cd1 #ce4 #cfi ,the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john3 ,baird ,lectures published by ,macmillan and ,co41 second edition1 p4 #adb1 etc41 #cai1 etc4 #cgj ,comp4 chaps4 iii4 #ab2 xiv4 #a2 ii4 #ag4 #cga ,chap4 ii4 #ag4 ,comp4 ,john i4 #ca2 iv4 #cb4 #cgb ,dan4 vii4 #h4 #cgc ,comp4 #a ,john ii4 #ah4 #cgd #b ,thess4 ii4 #h4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,lamb ,,on ,,the ,,mount ,,zion ,,and ,,the ,,harvest ,,and ,,vintage ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,,rev4 xiv4 ,the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of this book were designed to set before us a picture of the three great enemies of the ,church of ,christ4 ,we have been told of the dragon1 the principle and root of all the evil1 whether inward or outward1 from which that ,church suffers4 ,he is the first enemy4 ,we have been further told of the first beast1 of that power or prince of the world to whom the dragon has committed his authority4 ,he is the second enemy4 ,lastly1 we have been told of that false spirit of religion which unites itself to the world1 and which1 even more opposed than the world itself to the unworldly spirit of ,christianity1 makes the relation of ,god's children to the world worse than it might otherwise have been4 ,the picture thus presented is in the highest degree fitted to depress and to discourage4 ,the thought more especially of faithlessness in the ,church fills the heart with sorrow4 ,the saddest feature in the sufferings of ,jesus was that ,he was wounded in the house of ,his friends2 and there is a greater than ordinary depth of pathos in the words with which the beloved disciple draws to a close his record of his ,master's struggle with the ,jews3 ,these things spake ,jesus2 and ,he departed1 and was hidden from them4 ,but though ,he had done so many signs before them1 yet they believed not on ,him3 that the word of ,isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled1 which he spake1 ,lord1 who hath believed our report8 and to whom hath the arm of the ,lord been revealed8#cge ,even then1 however1 it was not wholly darkness and defeat1 for the ,evangelist immediately adds1 ,nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on ,him2 and he closes the struggle with the words of calm self-confidence on the part of ,jesus1 ,the things therefore which ,i speak1 even as the ,father hath said unto ,me1 so ,i speak4#cgf ,thus also is it here1 and we pass from the dark spectacle on which our eyes have rested to a scene of heavenly light1 and beauty1 and repose4 ,the reader may indeed at first imagine that the symmetry of structure which has been pointed out as a characteristic of the ,apocalypse is not preserved by the arrangement of its parts in the present instance4 ,we are about to meet in the following chapter the third and last series of plagues2 and we might perhaps expect that the consolatory visions contained in this chapter ought to have found a place between the sixth and seventh ,bowls1 just as the consolatory visions of chap4 vii4 and of chaps4 x4 and xi4 found their place between the sixth and seventh ,seals and the sixth and seventh ,trumpets4 ,instead of this the seventh ,bowl1 at chap4 xv4 #ag1 immediately follows the sixth1 at ver4 #ab of the same chapter2 and the visions of encouragement contained in the chapter before us precede all the ,bowls4 ,the explanation may be that the ,bowls are the last and highest series of judgments1 and that when they begin there can be no more pause4 ,one plague must rush upon another till the end is reached4 ,the final judgments brook neither interruption nor delay4 ,in this spirit we turn to the first vision of chap4 xiv43-- ,and ,i saw1 and1 behold1 the ,lamb standing on the mount ,zion1 and with ,him a hundred and forty and four thousand1 having ,his name and the name of ,his ,father written on their foreheads4 ,and ,i heard a voice from heaven1 as the voice of many waters1 and as the voice of a great thunder3 and the voice which ,i heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps3 and they sang as it were a new song before the throne1 and before the four living creatures1 and the elders3 and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand1 even they that had been purchased out of the earth4 ,these are they which were not defiled with women2 for they are virgins4 ,these are they which follow the ,lamb whithersoever ,he goeth4 ,these were purchased from among men1 a first-fruits unto ,god and unto the ,lamb4 ,and in their mouth was found no lie2 they are without blemish 7xiv4 #a-e74 ,the scene of the vision is the mount ,zion1 that ,zion so often spoken of both in the ,old and in the ,new ,testament as ,god's peculiar seat1 and in the eyes of ,israel famous for the beauty of its morning dews4#cgg ,it is the ,zion in which ,god dwells1#cgh the mount ,zion which ,he loved1#cgi and out of which salvation comes4#chj ,it is that holy hill of ,zion upon which ,god set the ,son as ,king when ,he said to ,him1 ,thou art ,my ,son2 this day have ,i begotten ,thee4#cha ,it is that ,zion1 too1 to which the ransomed of the ,lord shall return1 and come with singing2 and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads4#chb ,finally1 it is that home of which the sacred writer1 writing to the ,hebrews1 says1 ,ye are come unto ,mount ,zion1 and unto the city of the living ,god1 the heavenly ,jerusalem1 and to innumerable hosts of angels1 to the general assembly and ,church of the first-born1 who are enrolled in heaven1 and to ,god the ,judge of all1 and to the spirits of just men made perfect1 and to ,jesus the ,mediator of a new covenant1 and to the blood of sprinkling1 that speaketh better than that of ,abel4#chc ,upon this mount ,zion the ,lamb--that is1 the crucified and risen ,lamb of chap4 v4--stands1 firm1 self-possessed1 and calm4 ,there is more1 however1 than outward beauty or sacred memories to mark the scene to which we are introduced4 ,mount ,zion may be beautiful in elevation1 the joy of the whole earth1 on the sides of the north1 the city of the great ,king4#chd ,but there is music for the ear as well as beauty for the eye4 ,the mount resounds with song1 rich and full of meaning to those who can understand it4 ,a voice is heard from heaven which seems to be distinguished from the voice of the hundred and forty and four thousand to be immediately spoken of4 ,we are not told from whom it comes2 but it is there1 as the voice of many waters1 and as the voice of a great thunder1 and as the voice of harpers harping with their harps4 ,majesty and sweetness mark it4 ,it is the music that is ever in ,god's presence1 not the music of angels only1 or glorified saints1 or a redeemed creation4 ,more probably it is that of all of them together4 ,and the song which they sing is new1 like that of chap4 v4 #i1 which is sung by the four living creatures and the four-and-twenty elders1 who have each one a harp1 and golden bowls of incense1 which are the prayers of the saints4 ,that song the ,church on earth understands1 and she alone can understand4 ,it spoke of truths which the redeemed alone could appreciate1 and of joys which they alone could value4 ,there is a communion of saints1 of all saints on earth and of all who fill the courts of the ,lord's house on high4 ,even now the ,church can listen with ravished ear to songs which she shall hereafter join in singing4 ,standing beside the ,lamb upon ,mount ,zion1 there are a hundred and forty and four thousand1 having the ,lamb's name and the name of ,his ,father written on their foreheads1 in token of their priestly state4 ,we cannot avoid asking1 ,are these the same hundred and forty and four thousand of whom we have read in chap4 vii4 as sealed upon their foreheads1 or are they different8 ,the natural inference is that they are the same4 ,to use such a peculiar number of two different portions of the ,church of ,god would lead to a confusion inconsistent with the usually plain and direct1 even though mystical1 statements of this book4 ,besides which they have the mark or seal of ,god in both cases on the same part of their bodies1--the forehead4 ,it is true that the definite article is not prefixed to the number2 but neither is that article prefixed to the glassy sea of chap4 xv4 #a1 and yet no one doubts that this is the same glassy sea as that of chap4 iv4 ,besides which the absence of the article may be accounted for by the fact that the reference is not directly to the hundred and forty and four thousand of chap4 vii4 #d1 but to the innumerable multitude of chap4 vii4 #i4che ,we have already seen1 however1 that these two companies are the same1 although the persons composing them are viewed in different lights2 and the hundred and forty and four thousand here correspond1 not to the first1 but to the second1 company4 ,they are in full possession of their ,christian privileges and joys4 ,they are not in heaven1 in the ordinary meaning of that term4 ,they are on earth4 ,but the two companies formerly mentioned meet in them4 ,they are both sealed1 and in the presence of the ,lamb4 ,the character of the hundred and forty and four thousand next claims our thoughts4 #a4 ,they were not defiled with women1 for they are virgins4 ,the words cannot be literally understood1 but must be taken in the sense of similar words of the ,apostle ,paul1 when1 writing to the ,corinthians1 he says1 ,for ,i am jealous over you with a godly jealousy3 for ,i espoused you to one ,husband1 that ,i might present you as a pure virgin to ,christ4#chf ,such a pure virgin were the hundred and forty and four thousand now standing upon the mount ,zion4 ,they had renounced all that unfaithfulness to ,god and to ,divine truth which is so often spoken of in the ,old ,testament as spiritual fornication or adultery4 ,they had renounced all sin4 ,in the language of ,st4 ,john in his first ,epistle1 they had the true ,god1 and eternal life4 ,they had guarded themselves from idols4#chg #b4 ,they follow the ,lamb whithersoever ,he goeth4 ,they shrink from no part of the ,redeemer's life whether on earth or in heaven4 ,they follow ,him in ,his humiliation1 labours1 sufferings1 death1 resurrection1 and ascension4 ,they obey the command ,follow thou ,me#chh in prosperity or adversity1 in joy or sorrow1 in persecution or triumph4 ,wherever their ,lord is they also are1 one with ,him1 members of ,his ,body and partakers of ,his ,spirit4 #c4 ,they are purchased from among men1 a first-fruits unto ,god and unto the ,lamb4 ,and in their mouth was found no lie2 they are without blemish4 ,upon the fact that they are purchased it is unnecessary to dwell4 ,we have already met with the expression in chap4 v4 #i1 in one of the triumphant songs of the redeemed4 ,nor does it seem needful to speak of the moral qualifications here enumerated1 further than to observe that in other parts of this book the lie is expressly said to exclude from the new ,jerusalem1 and to be a mark of those upon whom the door is shut1#chi while the epithet without blemish is elsewhere1 on more than one occasion1 applied to our ,lord4#cij ,the appellation a first-fruits demands more notice4 ,the figure is drawn from the well-known offering of first-fruits under the ,jewish law1 in which the first portion of any harvest was dedicated to ,god1 in token that the whole belonged to ,him1 and was recognised as ,his4 ,hence it always implies that something of the same kind will follow it1 and in this sense it is often used in the ,new ,testament3 ,if the first-fruit is holy1 so is the lump2 ,ep8etus1 who is the first-fruits of ,asia unto ,christ2 ,now hath ,christ been raised from the dead1 the first-fruits of them that are asleep2 ,ye know the house of ,stephanas1 that it is the first-fruits of ,achaia4#cia ,in like manner the mention of the hundred and forty and four thousand as first-fruits suggests the thought of something to follow4 ,what that is it is more difficult to say4 ,it can hardly be other ,christians belonging to a later age of the ,church's history upon earth1 for the end is come4 ,it can hardly be ,christians who have done or suffered more than other members of the ,christian family1 for in ,st4 ,john's eyes all ,christians are united to ,christ1 alike in work and martyrdom4 ,only one supposition remains4 ,the hundred and forty and four thousand1 as the whole ,church of ,god1 are spoken of in the sense in which the same expression is used by the ,apostle ,james3 ,of ,his own will ,he brought us forth by the word of truth1 that we should be a kind of first-fruits of ,his creatures4#cib ,not as the first portion of the ,church on earth1 to be followed by another portion1 but as the first portion of a kingdom of ,god wider and larger than the ,church1 are the words to be understood4 ,the whole ,church is ,god's first-fruits2 and when she is laid upon ,his altar1 we have the promise that a time is coming when creation shall follow in her train1 when it shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of ,god1#cic when the mountains and the hills shall break forth before the ,redeemer into singing1 and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands4#cid ,why shall nature thus rejoice before the ,lord8 ,let the ,psalmist answer3 ,for ,he cometh1 for ,he cometh to judge the earth3 ,he shall judge the world with righteousness1 and the people with ,his truth4#cie ,this thought may introduce us to the next portion of the chapter3-- ,and ,i saw another angel flying in mid-heaven1 having an eternal gospel to proclaim over them that sit on the earth1 and over every nation1 and tribe1 and tongue1 and people2 and he saith with a great voice1 ,fear ,god1 and give ,him glory2 for the hour of ,his judgment is come3 and worship ,him that made the heaven1 and the earth1 and sea1 and fountains of waters4 ,and another1 a second angel1 followed1 saying1 ,fallen1 fallen1 is ,babylon the great1 which hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication4 ,and another angel1 a third1 followed them1 saying with a great voice1 ,if any man worshippeth the beast and his image1 and receiveth a mark on his forehead1 or upon his hand1 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of ,god1 which is mingled unmixed in the cup of ,his anger2 and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels1 and in the presence of the ,lamb3 and the smoke of their torment goeth up unto ages of ages3 and they have no rest day and night1 they that worship the beast and his image1 and whoso receiveth the mark of his name4 ,here is the patience of the saints1 they that keep the commandments of ,god1 and the faith of ,jesus4 ,and ,i heard a voice from heaven saying1 ,write1 ,blessed are the dead which die in the ,lord from henceforth3 ,yea1 saith the ,spirit1 that they may rest from their toils2 for their works follow with them4 ,and ,i saw1 and behold a white cloud1 and on the cloud ,i saw ,one sitting like unto a ,son of man1 having on ,his head a golden crown1 and in ,his hand a sharp sickle4 ,and another angel came out from the temple1 crying with a great voice to ,him that sat on the cloud1 ,send forth ,thy sickle1 and reap3 for the hour to reap is come2 for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe4 ,and ,he that sat on the cloud cast ,his sickle upon the earth2 and the earth was reaped4 ,and another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven1 he also having a sharp sickle4 ,and another angel came out from the altar1 he that hath power over fire2 and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle1 saying1 ,send forth thy sharp sickle1 and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth2 for her bunches of grapes are ripe4 ,and the angel cast his sickle into the earth1 and gathered the vine of the earth1 and cast it into the winepress1 the great winepress1 of the wrath of ,god4 ,and the winepress was trodden without the city1 and there came out blood from the winepress1 even unto the bridles of the horses1 as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs 7xiv4 #f-bj74 ,the first point to be noticed in connexion with these verses is their structure1 for the structure is of importance to the interpretation4 ,the passage as a whole1 it will be easily observed1 consists of seven parts1 the first three and the last three being introduced by an angel1 while the central or chief part is occupied with ,one who1 from the description1 can be no other than our ,lord ,himself4 ,in this part it is also obvious that the ,lord comes to wind up the history of the world1 and to gather in that harvest of ,his people which is already fully or even overripe4 ,there can be no doubt1 therefore1 that we are here at the very close of the present dispensation2 and1 as five out of the six parts which are grouped around the central figure are occupied with judgment on the wicked1 the presumption is that the only remaining part1 the first of the six1 will be occupied with the same topic4 ,in this first part indeed we read of an eternal gospel proclaimed over them that sit on the earth1 and over every nation1 and tribe1 and tongue1 and people2 and the first impression made upon us is that we have here a universal and final proclamation of the glad tidings of great joy1 in order that the world may yet1 at the last moment1 repent1 believe1 and be saved4 ,but such an interpretation1 however plausible and generally accepted1 must be set aside4 ,the light thrown upon the words by their position in the series of seven parts already spoken of is a powerful argument against it4 ,everything in the passage itself leads to the same conclusion4 ,we do not read1 as we ought1 were this the meaning1 to have read1 of the1 but of an1 eternal gospel4 ,this gospel is proclaimed1 not unto1 but over1 those to whom it is addressed4 ,its hearers do not dwell1 as in both the ,authorised and ,revised ,versions1 but1 as in the margin of the latter1 sit1 on the earth1 in the sinful world1 in the carelessness of pride and self-confident security4 ,thus the great harlot sitteth upon many waters2 and thus ,babylon says in her heart1 ,i sit a queen1 and am no widow1 and shall in no wise see mourning4#cif ,there is no humiliation1 no spirit of repentance1 no preparation for the ,gospel1 here2 while the mention of the earth and the fourfold division of its inhabitants lead us to think of men continuing in their sins1 over whom a doom is to be pronounced4#cig ,still further1 the words put into the mouth of him who speaks with a great voice1 and which appear to contain the substance of the gospel thus proclaimed1 have in them no sound of mercy1 no story of love1 no mention of the name of ,jesus4 ,they speak of fearing ,god and giving glory to ,him1 as even the lost may do1#cih of the hour1 not even the day1 of ,his judgment2 and they describe the rule of the great ,creator by bringing together the four things--the heaven1 and the earth1 and sea1 and fountains of waters--upon which judgment has already fallen in the series of the ,trumpets1 and is yet to fall in that of the ,bowls4#cii ,lastly1 the description given of the angel reminds us so much of the description given of the eagle in chap4 viii4 #ac as to make it at least probable that his mission is a similar one of woe4 ,in the light of all these circumstances1 we seem compelled to come to the conclusion that the gospel referred to is a proclamation of judgment1 that it is that side of the ,saviour's mission in which ,he appears as the winnowing fan by which ,his enemies are scattered as the chaff1 while ,his disciples are gathered as the wheat4 ,there is no intimation here1 then1 of a conversion of the world4 ,the world stands self-convicted before the bar of judgment1 to hear its doom4 ,the cry of the second angel corresponds to that of the first4 ,it proclaims the fall of ,babylon and its cause4 ,the deeply interesting questions relating to this city will meet us at a later point4 ,in the meantime it is enough to observe that ,babylon is described as fallen4 ,the ,judge is not only standing at the door3 ,he has begun ,his work4 ,the words of the third angel continue the strain thus begun1 and constitute the most terrible picture of the fate of the ungodly to be found in ,scripture4 ,the eye shrinks from the spectacle4 ,the heart fails with fear when the words are read4 ,that wine of the wrath of ,god which is mingled unmixed in the cup of ,his anger1 that wine into which1 contrary to the usage of the time1 no water1 no mitigating element1 has been allowed to enter2 that torment with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels1 and in the presence of the ,lamb2 that smoke of their torment going up unto ages of ages2 that no-rest day and night1 of so different a kind from the no-rest of which we have read in chap4 iv4 #h--;all present a picture from which we can hardly do aught else than turn away with trembling4 ,can this be the ,gospel of ,jesus1 the ,lamb of ,god8 ,can this be a revelation given to the disciple whom ,jesus loved1 and who had entered so deeply into his ,master's spirit of tenderness and compassion for the sinner8 #a4 ,let us consider that the words are addressed1 not directly to sinners1 but to the ,church of ,christ1 which is safe from the threatened doom2 not to the former that they may be led to repentance1 but to the latter that through the thought of what she has escaped she may be filled with eternal gratitude and joy #b4 ,let us notice the degree to which sin is here supposed to have developed2 that it is not the sin of ,mary in the house of ,simon1 of the penitent thief1 of the ,philippian gaoler1 or of the publicans and harlots who gathered around our ,lord in the days of ,his flesh to listen to ,him1 but sin bold1 determined1 loved1 and clung to as the sinner's self-chosen good1 the sin of sinners who will die for sin as martyrs die for ,christ and holiness4 #c4 ,let us observe that1 whatever the angel may mean1 he certainly does not speak of never-ending existence in never-ending torment1 for the words of the original unhappily translated both in the ,authorised and ,revised ,versions for ever and ever ought properly to be rendered unto ages of ages2#djj and1 distinguished as they are on this occasion alone in the ,apocalypse from the first of these expressions by the absence of the ,greek articles1 they ought not to be translated in the same way4 #d4 ,let us recall the strong figures of speech in which the inhabitants of the ,east were wont to give utterance to their feelings1 figures illustrated in the present instance by the mention of that fire and brimstone which no man will interpret literally1 as well as by the language of ,st4 ,jude when he describes ,sodom and ,gomorrah as an example of eternal fire4#dja #e4 ,let us remember that hatred of sin is the correlative of love of goodness1 and that the kingdom of ,god cannot be fully established in the world until sin has been completely banished from it4 #f4 ,above all1 let us mark carefully the distinction1 so often forced upon us in the writings of ,st4 ,john1 between sinners in the ordinary sense and the system of sin to which other sinners cling in deadliest enmity to ,god and righteousness2 and1 as we do all this1 the words of the third angel will produce on us another than their first impression4 ,so far as the human being is before us we shall be moved only to compassion and eagerness to save4 ,but his sin1 the sin which has mastered the ,divinely implanted elements of his nature1 which has fouled what ,god made pure and embittered what ,god made sweet1 the sin which has subjected one created in the nobility of the image of ,god to the miserable thraldom of the devil1 the sin the thought of which we can separate1 like the ,apostle ,paul1 from the ,i of man's true nature#djb--of that sin we can only say1 ,let the wrath of ,god be poured out upon it unmingled with mercy2 let it be destroyed with a destruction the memory of which shall last unto ages of ages and even take its place amidst the verities sustaining the throne of the ,eternal and securing the obedience and the happiness of ,his creatures4#djc ,if a minister of ,christ thinks that he may gather from this passage1 or others similar to it1 a commission to go to sinners rather than to sin with tidings of damnation1 he mistakes alike the ,master whom he serves and the commission with which he has been entrusted4 ,at this point1 after the thought of that spirit of allegiance to the beast which draws down such terrors upon itself1 and before we reach the central figure of the whole movement1 we have some words of comfort interposed4 ,the meaning of the first part of them is similar to that of chap4 xiii4 #aj1 and need not be further spoken of4 ,the meaning of their second part1 conveying to us the contents of the voice from heaven1 demands a moment's notice4 ,blessed1 exclaims the heavenly voice 7at the same time prefixing the command ,write71 are the dead which die in the ,lord from henceforth4 ,it is difficult to determine the precise point of time referred to in the word henceforth4 ,if it be the moment of the end1 the moment of the ,second ,coming of the ,lord1 then the promise must express the glory of the resurrection4 ,but1 to say nothing of the fact that resting from labours is too weak to bring out the glory of the resurrection state1 there is at that instant no more time to die in the ,lord4 ,the living shall be changed4 ,it seems better1 therefore1 to understand the words as a voice of consolation running throughout the whole ,christian age4 ,in the view of heaven the lapse of time is hardly thought of4 ,all is ,now4 ,the meaning of dying in the ,lord1 again1 must not be regarded as equivalent to the ,scriptural expression falling asleep in ,jesus4 ,not the thought of falling asleep in a quiet ,christian home1 but of dying as ,jesus died1 is in the ,seer's mind2 and not the thought of rest from work1 but of rest from toils1 an entirely different and far stronger word1 is in the answer of the ,spirit4 ,thus are believers blessed4 ,their life is a life of toil1 of hardship1 of trial1 of persecution1 of death2 but when they die1 they rest4 ,and their works--that is1 their ,christian character and life--are not lost4 ,they follow with them1 and meet them again in the heavenly mansions as the record of all that they have done and suffered in their ,master's cause4 ,the first three angels have accomplished their task4 ,we now reach the fourth and chief member in this series of seven1 and meet with the ,lord as ,he comes to take ,his people to ,himself1 that where ,he is1 there they may also be4 ,that it is the ,lord who is here before us we cannot for a moment doubt4 ,the designation like unto a ,son of man1 the same as that of chap4 i4 #ac1 itself establishes the fact1 which is again confirmed by the mention of the white cloud and of the golden crown4 ,in ,his hand ,he holds a sharp sickle1 with which to reap4 ,thus also in different passages of the ,new ,testament our ,lord speaks of the harvest of ,his people1 although in them ,he acts by ,his angels and ,apostles4#djd ,in one passage of the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john ,he acts by ,himself4#dje ,the glorified ,redeemer is thus ready to complete ,his work4 ,another angel now appears1 the first of the second series of three1 and styled another1 not by comparison with ,him who sat on the white cloud1 and who is exalted far above all angels1 but by comparison with the angels previously spoken of at the sixth1 eighth1 and ninth verses of the chapter4 ,this angel is said to come out from the temple--that is1 out of the naos1 out of the innermost shrine of the temple--and the notice is important1 for it shows that he comes from the immediate presence of ,god1 and is a messenger from ,him4 ,therefore it is that he can say to the ,son1 ,send forth ,thy sickle1 and reap4 ,the ,son can do nothing of ,himself1 but what ,he seeth the ,father doing4#djf ,until the ,father gives the sign ,his hour is not yet come2 and more especially of the hour now arrived ,jesus had ,himself said1 ,but of that day or that hour knoweth no one1 not even the angels in heaven1 neither the ,son1 but the ,father4#djg ,the day1 the hour1 the moment1 has now arrived2 and1 as usual in this book1 the message of the ,father is communicated by an angel4 ,the intimation that the hour is come is grounded upon the fact that the harvest about to be gathered in is fully ripe4 ,the ,revised ,version translates overripe2 but the translation1 though literal1 is unhappy1 and so far false as it unquestionably suggests a false idea4 ,god's time for working is always right1 not wrong2 and it is perfectly legitimate to understand the word of the original as meaning simply dry1 hard1 the soft juices of its ripening state absorbed1 and the time of its firmness come4#djh ,thus summoned by the message of the ,father to the work1 the ,son enters upon it without delay4 ,as ,he hears1 ,he judges4#dji ,he that sat on the cloud cast ,his sickle upon the earth2 and the earth was reaped4 ,the second angel of the second group of three next appears1 having1 like ,him that sat upon the cloud1 a sharp sickle2 and he too waits for the summons to use it4 ,this summons is given by the third angel of the second group1 of whom it is said that he came out from the altar1 he that hath power over fire4 ,the altar of this verse must be that already spoken of in chap4 viii4 #c1 where we were told that another angel came and stood over the altar1 having a golden censer1 an altar which we have been led to identify with the brazen altar of chap4 v4 #i1 beneath which were found the souls of the ,old ,testament saints2 and the fire over which this angel has power must be the fire of chap4 viii4 #e1 the fire taken from that altar to kindle the incense of the prayers of the saints4 ,the angel is thus a messenger of judgment1 about to command a final and full answer to be given to the prayer that the ,almighty will finish ,his work and vindicate ,his cause4 ,to this character1 accordingly1 his message corresponds1 for he called with a great voice to him 7that is1 to the second angel7 that had the sharp sickle1 saying1 ,send forth thy sharp sickle1 and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth2 for her bunches of grapes are ripe4 ,a vintage1 not a harvest of grain1 is here before us2 and it is impossible to doubt that it is the purpose of the ,seer to draw a broad line of distinction between the two4 ,the latter is the harvest of the good2 the former is the vintage of the evil3 and the propriety of the figure thus used for the evil is easily perceived when we remember that grapes were gathered to be trodden in the winefat1 and that the juice when trodden out had the colour of blood4 ,the figure was indeed one already familiar to the prophets3 ,let the nations bestir themselves1 and come up to the valley of ,jehoshaphat 7that is1 ,the ,lord judges73 for there will ,i sit to judge all the nations round about4 ,put ye in the sickle1 for the vintage is ripe3 come1 tread ye2 for the winepress is full1 the fats overflow2 for their wickedness is great2#daj ,wherefore art ,thou red in ,thine apparel1 and ,thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat8 ,i have trodden the winepress alone2 and of the people there was no man with ,me3 yea1 ,i trod them in ,mine anger1 and trampled them in ,my fury2 and their life-blood is sprinkled upon ,my garments1 and ,i have stained all ,my raiment4 ,for the day of vengeance is in ,mine heart1 and ,my year of redemption is come4#daa ,the figure is here employed in a similar manner1 for the angel gathered the vine 7not the vintage1 the whole vine being plucked up by the roots7 of the earth1 and cast it into the winepress1 the great winepress1 of the wrath of ,god4 ,and the winepress was trodden without the city1 and there came out blood from the winepress1 even unto the bridles of the horses1 as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs4 ,in these words we have undoubtedly the judgment of the wicked1 and the last portion of them alone need detain us for a moment4 #a4 ,what is meant by the statement that the sea of blood thus created by the slaughter spoken of reached even unto the bridles of the horses8 ,the horses are those of chap4 xix4 #aa-af1 where we have again a description of the final victory of ,christ over all ,his enemies1 and where it is again said of ,him that ,he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of ,almighty ,god4#dab ,the same winepress which meets us here meets us there4 ,the battle and the victory are the same2 and the horses here are therefore those upon which ,he that is called ,faithful and ,true1 together with ,his armies that are in heaven1 rides forth to conquest4 ,the mention of the bridles of the horses is more uncertain and more difficult to explain1 but one passage of the ,old ,testament helps us4 ,in speaking of the glories of the latter day1 the prophet ,zechariah says1 ,in that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses 7the bells strung along the bridles7 ,,holy ,,unto ,,the ,,lord4#dac ,the sea of blood reached to1 but could not be allowed to touch1 these sacred words4 #b4 ,what is meant by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs1 over which the sea extended8 ,to resolve it simply into a large space is at variance with the spirit of the ,apocalypse2 and to imagine that it marks the extent of the ,holy ,land from ,dan to ,beersheba is both to introduce an incorrect calculation and to forget who constitute the hosts of wickedness that had been engaged in the battle4 ,these were not the inhabitants of ,palestine only1 but of the earth1 three times mentioned in the description4 ,they were all the nations spoken of by the second angel of the first group1 all that worship the beast and his image and receive a mark on their forehead or their hand1 referred to by the third angel of the same group4 ,they are thus the wicked gathered from every corner of the earth4 ,with this idea the figures #a1fjj agree--four1 the number of the world1 multiplied by itself to express intensity1 and then by a hundred1 the number so often associated with evil in this book4 ,whether furlongs1 literally stadia1 are chosen as the measure of space because1 as suggested by ,cornelius a ,lapide1 the arena or circus in which the martyrs suffered was called ,the ,stadium1#dad it may be vain to conjecture4 ,enough that the sixteen hundred furlongs represent the whole surface of the earth upon which the wicked sit at ease1 the universal efficacy of the sickle by which they are gathered to their doom4 ,one other point ought to be more particularly noticed before we close the consideration of this chapter4 ,the harvest of the good is gathered in by the ,lord ,himself1 that of the wicked by ,his angel4 ,the same lesson appears to be read in the parables of the tares and of the drawnet4 ,in the former 7although allusions in each parable may seem to imply that angels take part in both acts7 it is said that at the end of the world the ,son of man shall send forth ,his angels1 and they shall gather out of ,his kingdom all things that cause stumbling1 and them that do iniquity4#dae ,in the latter we read1 ,so shall it be in the end of the world3 the angels shall come forth1 and sever the wicked from among the righteous1 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire4#daf ,in like manner here4 ,the ,son of man ,himself gathers ,his own to their eternal rest4 ,it is an angel1 though commissioned by ,him1 who gathers the wicked to their fate4 ,and is there not a beauty and tenderness in this contrast8 ,it is as though that ,son of man and ,son of ,god who is the ,judge of quick and dead1 the ,judge alike of the righteous and of the wicked1 loved one half of ,his office1 and loved not the other4 ,it is as though ,he cherished as ,his own prerogative the harvest of the earth1 and were glad to delegate to other hands the vintage4 ,it is as though the ministry of mercy were ,his chosen office1 and the ministry of wrath ,his stern necessity4 ,one like unto the ,son of man puts forth the sickle of the ingathering2 one of created1 though it be of angelic1 nature is employed to send forth the sickle of destruction4#dag ,,footnotes3 #cge ,john xii4 #cf-ch4 #cgf ,vers4 #db1 #ej4 #cgg ,ps4 cxxxiii4 #c4 #cgh ,ps4 ix4 #aa4 #cgi ,ps4 lxxviii4 #fh4 #chj ,ps4 xiv4 #g4 #cha ,ps4 ii4 #f1 #g4 #chb ,isa4 xxxv4 #aj4 #chc ,heb4 xii4 #bb-bd4 #chd ,ps4 xlviii4 #b4 #che ,comp4 ,lee in ,speaker's ,commentary in loc4 ,the distinction between the two references is there wrongly given4 #chf #b ,cor4 xi4 #b4 #chg #a ,john v4 #bj1 #ba4 #chh ,john xxi4 #bb4 #chi ,chaps4 xxi4 #bg2 xxii4 #ae4 #cij ,heb4 ix4 #ad2 #a ,pet4 i4 #ai4 #cia ,rom4 xi4 #af2 xvi4 #e2 #a ,cor4 xv4 #bj2 xvi4 #ae4 #cib ,james i4 #ah4 #cic ,rom4 viii4 #ba4 #cid ,isa4 lv4 #ab4 #cie ,ps4 xcvi4 #ac4 #cif ,chaps4 xvii4 #a2 xviii4 #g4 #cig ,comp4 chaps4 xi4 #i2 xiii4 #g4 #cih ,comp4 ,james ii4 #ai4 #cii ,chaps4 viii41 xv4 #djj ,they are so rendered in the margin of the ,revised ,version4 #dja ,jude #g 7margin of ,r4,v474 #djb ,rom4 vii4 #djc ,comp4 p4 #ajh4 #djd ,matt4 ix4 #cg1 #ch2 xiii4 #bi1 #cj4 #dje ,john xiv4 #c4 #djf ,john v4 #ai4 #djg ,mark xiii4 #cb4 #djh ,comp4 the dried up of the margin of the ,revised ,version4 #dji ,john v4 #cj4 #daj ,joel iii4 #ab1 #ac4 #daa ,isa4 lxiii4 #b-d4 #dab ,ver4 #ae4 #dac ,zech4 xiv4 #bj4 #dad ,comp4 #a ,cor4 ix4 #bd4 #dae ,matt4 xiii4 #da4 #daf ,matt4 xiii4 #di1 #ej4 #dag ,vaughan1 u4 s41 p4 #cgh4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,seven ,,bowls4 ,,rev4 xv41 xvi4 ,nothing can more clearly prove that the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john is not written upon chronological principles than the scenes to which we are introduced in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of the book4 ,we have already been taken to the end4 ,we have seen in chap4 xiv4 the ,son of man upon the throne of judgment1 the harvest of the righteous1 and the vintage of the wicked4 ,yet we are now met by another series of visions setting before us judgments that must take place before the final issue4 ,this is not chronology2 it is apocalyptic vision1 which again and again turns round the kaleidoscope of the future1 and delights to behold under different aspects the same great principles of the ,almighty's government1 leading always to the same glorious results4 ,one other preliminary observation may be made4 ,the third series of judgments does not really begin till we reach chap4 xvi4 ,chap4 xv4 is introductory1 and we are thus reminded that the series of the ,trumpets had a similar introduction in chap4 viii4 #a-f4 ,it is the manner of ,st4 ,john1 who thus in his ,gospel introduces his account of our ,lord's conversation with ,nicodemus in chap4 iii4 by the last three verses of chap4 ii41 which ought to be connected with the third chapter2 and who also introduces his narrative regarding the woman of ,samaria by the first three verses of chap4 iv4 ,to introduce chap4 xvi4 is the object of chap4 xv4 ,and ,i saw another sign in heaven1 great and marvellous1 seven angels having seven plagues1 which are the last1 for in them is finished the wrath of ,god 7xv4 #a74 ,the plagues about to be spoken of are the last1 and in them the final judgments of ,god upon evil are contained4 ,what they are1 and who are the special objects of them1 will afterwards appear4 ,meanwhile1 another vision is presented to our view3-- ,and ,i saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire2 and them that come victorious out of the beast1 and out of his image1 and out of the number of his name1 standing upon the glassy sea1 having harps of ,god4 ,and they sing the song of ,moses the servant of ,god1 and the song of the ,lamb1 saying1 ,great and marvellous are ,thy works1 ,o ,lord ,god the ,almighty2 righteous and true are ,thy ways1 ,thou ,king of the nations4 ,who shall not fear1 ,o ,lord1 and glorify ,thy name8 for ,thou only art holy3 for all the nations shall come and worship before ,thee2 for ,thy righteous acts have been made manifest 7xv4 #b-d74 ,it can hardly be doubted that the glassy sea spoken of in these words is the same as that already met with at chap4 iv4 #f4 ,yet again1 as in the case of the hundred and forty and four thousand of chap4 xiv4 #a1 the definite article is wanting2 and1 in all probability1 for the same reason4 ,the aspect in which the object is viewed1 though not the object itself1 is different4 ,the glassy sea is here mingled with fire1 a point of which no mention was made in chap4 iv4 ,the difference may be explained if we remember that the fire spoken of can only be that of the judgments by which the ,almighty vindicates ,his cause1 or of the trials by which ,he purifies ,his people4 ,as these1 therefore1 now stand upon the sea1 delivered from every adversary1 we are reminded of the troubles which by ,divine grace they have been enabled to surmount4 ,it was otherwise in chap4 iv4 ,no persons were there connected with the sea1 and it stretched away1 clear as crystal1 before ,him all whose dealings with ,his people are right4 ,the sea itself is in both cases the same1 but in the latter it is beheld from the ,divine point of view1 in the former from the human4 ,the vision as a whole takes us back to the exodus of ,israel from ,egypt1 and hence the mention of the song of ,moses1 the servant of ,god4 ,the enemies of the ,church have their type in ,pharaoh and his host as they pursue ,israel across the sands which had been laid bare for the passage of the chosen people2 the waters1 driven back for a time1 return to their ancient bed2 the hostile force1 with its chariots and its chosen captains1 goes down into the depths like a stone2 and ,israel raises its song of victory1 ,i will sing unto the ,lord1 for ,he hath triumphed gloriously1 the horse and his rider hath ,he thrown into the sea4#dah ,the song now sung1 however1 is not that of ,moses only1 the great centre of the ,old ,testament ,dispensation2 it is also the ,song of the ,lamb1 the centre and the sum of the ,new ,testament4 ,both ,dispensations are in the ,seer's thoughts1 and in the number of those who sing are included the saints of each1 the members of the one ,universal ,church4 ,no disciple of ,jesus either before or after ,his first coming is omitted4 ,every one is there from whose hands the bonds of the world have fallen off1 and who has cast in his lot with the followers of the ,lamb4 ,hence also the song is wider in its range than that by which the thought of it appears to have been suggested4 ,it celebrates the great and marvellous works of the ,almighty in general4 ,it speaks of ,him as the ,king of the nations1 that is1 as the ,king who subdues the nations under ,him4 ,it rejoices in the fact that ,his righteous acts have been made manifest4 ,and it anticipates the time when all the nations shall come and worship before ,him1 shall bow themselves at ,his feet1 and shall acknowledge that ,his judgments against sin are not only just in themselves1 but are allowed to be so by the very persons on whom they fall4 ,a second vision follows3-- ,and after these things ,i saw1 and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened2 and there came out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues1 clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous1 and girt about their breasts with golden girdles4 ,and one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of ,god1 who liveth for ever and ever4 ,and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of ,god1 and from ,his power3 and none was able to enter into the temple1 till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished 7xv4 #e-h74 ,the temple spoken of is1 as upon every occasion when the word is used1 the shrine or innermost sanctuary1 the ,holy of holies1 the peculiar dwelling-place of the ,most ,high2 so that the seven angels with the seven last plagues come from ,god's immediate presence4 ,but this sanctuary is now beheld in a different light from that in which it was seen in chap4 xi4 #ai4 ,there it contained the ark of ,god's covenant1 the symbol of ,his grace4 ,here the eye is directed to the testimony1 to the two tables of the law which were kept in the ark1 and were ,god's witness both to the holiness of ,his character and the justice of ,his government4 ,the giving of the law then was in the ,seer's mind1 and that fact will explain the allusions to the ,old ,testament found in his words4 ,the description of the seven angels1 as clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous 7not with fine linen as in the ,authorised ,version7 may be explained1 when we attend to the second characteristic of their appearance1 girt about their breasts with golden girdles4 ,these words take us back to the vision of the ,son of man in chap4 i41 where the same expression occurs1 and where we have already seen that it points to the priests of ,israel1 when engaged in the active service of the sanctuary4 ,the angels now spoken of are thus priestly after the fashion of the ,lord ,himself1 who is not merely the ,priest but also the ,high ,priest of ,his people4 ,the high priest1 however1 wore a jewelled breastplate2 and in correspondence with the nobler functions of the ,new ,testament priesthood1 these jewels are now extended to the whole clothing of the angels spoken of4 ,a similar figure for the clothing of the glorified ,church meets us in the prophecies of ,isaiah3 ,i will greatly rejoice in the ,lord1 my soul shall be joyful in my ,god2 for ,he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation1 ,he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness2 as a bridegroom decketh himself 7the margin of the ,revised ,version calling attention to the fact that the meaning of the original is decketh himself as a priest7 with a garland1 and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels2#dai while the same figure1 though applied to ,tyre1 is employed by ,ezekiel3 ,every precious stone was thy covering4#dbj ,the seven angels are thus about to engage in a priestly work4 ,this work is pointed out to them by one of the four living creatures1 the representatives of redeemed creation4 ,all creation owns the propriety of the judgments now about to be fulfilled4#dba ,these judgments are contained1 not in seven vials1 as in the ,authorised ,version1 but in seven golden bowls1 vessels probably of a saucer shape1 of no great depth1 and their circumference largest at the rim4 ,they are the basins of the ,old ,testament1 used for carrying into the sanctuary the incense which had been lighted by fire from the brazen altar4 ,they were thus much better adapted than vials for the execution of a final judgment4 ,their contents could be poured out at once and suddenly4 ,the bowls have been delivered to the angels1 and nothing remains but to pour them out4 ,the moment is one of terror1 and it is fitting that even all outward things shall correspond4 ,smoke1 therefore1 filled the sanctuary1 and none was able to enter into it4 ,thus1 when ,moses reared up the tabernacle1 and the glory of the ,lord filled it1 ,moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting3#dbb thus1 when ,solomon dedicated the temple and the cloud filled the house of the ,lord1 ,the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud4#dbc ,thus1 when ,isaiah beheld the glory of the ,lord in ,his temple1 and heard the cry of the ,seraphim1 ,holy1 holy1 holy is the ,lord of ,hosts1 the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him that cried1 and the house was filled with smoke2#dbd and thus1 above all1 when the law was given1 ,mount ,sinai was altogether on smoke1 because the ,lord descended upon it in fire3 and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace1 and the whole mount quaked greatly4#dbe ,all due preparation having been made1 the ,seven ,bowls are now poured out in rapid and uninterrupted succession4 ,as in the case of the ,seals and of the ,trumpets1 they are divided into two groups of four and three2 and those of the first group may be taken together3-- ,and ,i heard a great voice out of the temple1 saying to the seven angels1 ,go ye1 and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of ,god into the earth4 ,and the first went1 and poured out his bowl into the earth2 and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast1 and which worshipped his image4 ,and the second poured out his bowl into the sea2 and it became blood as of a dead man1 and every living soul died1 even the things that were in the sea4 ,and the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters2 and it became blood4 ,and ,i heard the angel of the waters saying1 ,righteous art ,thou which art and which wast1 ,thou holy one1 because ,thou didst thus judge3 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets1 and blood hast ,thou given them to drink3 they are worthy4 ,and ,i heard the altar saying1 ,yea1 ,o ,lord1 ,god1 the ,almighty1 true and righteous are ,thy judgments4 ,and the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun2 and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire4 ,and men were scorched with great heat3 and they blasphemed the name of the ,god which hath the power over these plagues2 and they repented not to give ,him glory 7xvi4 #a-i74 ,upon the particulars of these plagues it is unnecessary to dwell4 ,no attempt to determine the special meaning of the objects thus visited by the wrath of ,god--the land1 the sea1 the rivers and fountains of the waters1 and the sun--has yet been1 or is ever perhaps likely to be1 successful2 and the general effect alone appears to be important4 ,the chief point claiming attention is the singular closeness of the parallelism between them and the ,trumpet plagues1 a parallelism which extends also to the fifth1 sixth1 and seventh members of the series4 ,close1 however1 as it is1 there is also a marked climax in the later plagues1 corresponding to the fact that they are the last1 and that in them the wrath of ,god is finished4#dbf ,thus the first ,trumpet affects only the third part of the earth1 and the trees1 and all green grass3 the first ,bowl affects men4#dbg ,under the second ,trumpet the third part of the sea becomes blood1 and the third part of the creatures which are in the sea die1 and the third part of the ships are destroyed3 under the second ,bowl1 the third part of the sea is exchanged for the whole2 the blood assumes its most offensive form1 blood as of a dead man2 and not the third part only1 but every living soul died1 even the things that were in the sea4#dbh ,under the third ,trumpet the great star falls only upon the third part of the rivers and fountains1 and they become wormwood3 under the third ,bowl all the waters are visited by the plague1 and they become blood4#dbi ,lastly1 under the fourth ,trumpet only the third part of sun and moon and stars is smitten3 under the fourth ,bowl the whole sun is affected1 and it is given unto it to scorch men with fire4#dcj ,with this climactic character of the ,bowls as compared with the ,trumpets may also be connected a striking addition made to the details of the third ,bowl1 to which in the ,trumpet series there is nothing to correspond4 ,the angel of the waters1 not an angel to whom the smiting of the waters had been entrusted1 but the waters themselves speaking through their angel1 and the altar1 that is1 the brazen altar of chap4 vi4 #i1 respond to the judgments executed4 ,they recognise the true and righteous character of the ,almighty1 and they welcome this manifestation of ,himself to men4 ,another feature of these ,bowls will at once strike the reader1--their correspondence to some of the plagues of ,egypt3 for in the first we see a repetition1 as it were1 of that sixth plague by which ,pharaoh and his people were visited1 when ,moses sprinkled ashes of the furnace towards heaven1 and they became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and beast1#dca and in the second and third a repetition of the first plague1 when ,moses lifted up his rod and smote the waters that were in the river1 and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood4#dcb ,the fourth ,bowl reminds us of the terror of the appearance of the ,son of man in chap4 i4 #af1 when ,his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength4 ,one other characteristic of these plagues ought to be noticed4 ,it comes to view no doubt only under the fourth1 yet1 as we shall immediately see1 it is not to be confined to it4 ,the plagues had no softening or converting power4 ,on the contrary1 as at chap4 ix4 #bj1 #ba1 the impiety of the worshippers of the beast was only aggravated by their sufferings2 and1 instead of turning to ,him who had power over the plagues1 they blasphemed ,his name4 ,from the first group of ,bowls we turn to the second1 embracing the last three in the series of seven3-- ,and the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast2 and his kingdom was darkened2 and they gnawed their tongues for pain1 and they blasphemed the ,god of heaven because of their pains and their sores2 and they repented not of their works 7xvi4 #aj1 #aa74 ,the transition from the realm of nature to the spiritual world1 already marked at the introduction of the fifth ,seal and of the fifth ,trumpet1 is here again observable2 but1 as in the case of the sixth ,trumpet1 the spiritual world alluded to is that of the prince of darkness4 ,with darkness he is smitten4 ,that there is a reference to the darkness which1 at the word of ,moses1 fell upon the land of ,egypt when visited by its plagues can hardly be doubted1 for the darkness of that plague was not ordinary darkness2 it was a darkness that might be felt4#dcc ,more than darkness1 however1 is alluded to4 ,we are told of their pains and of their sores4 ,but pains and sores are not an effect produced by darkness4 ,they can1 therefore1 be only those of the first ,bowl1 a conclusion confirmed by the use of the word plagues instead of plague4 ,the inference to be drawn from this is important1 for we thus learn that the effects of any earlier ,bowl are not exhausted before the contents of one following are discharged4 ,each ,bowl rather adds fresh punishment to that of its predecessors1 and all of them go on accumulating their terrors to the end4 ,nothing could more clearly show how impossible it is to interpret such plagues literally1 and how mistaken is any effort to apply them to the particular events of history4 ,the sixth ,bowl follows3-- ,and the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river1 the river ,euphrates1 and the water thereof was dried up1 that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sun-rising4 ,and ,i saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon1 and out of the mouth of the beast1 and out of the mouth of the false prophet1 three unclean spirits1 as it were frogs3 for they are spirits of devils1 working signs1 which go forth unto the kings of the whole inhabited earth1 to gather them together unto the war of the great day of ,god1 the ,almighty4 7,behold1 ,i come as a thief4 ,blessed is he that watcheth1 and keepeth his garments1 lest he walk naked1 and they see his shame47 ,and they gathered them together into the place which is called in ,hebrew ,har-,magedon 7xvi4 #ab-af74 ,probably no part of the ,apocalypse has received more varied interpretation than the first statement of this ,bowl4 ,who are these kings that come from the sun-rising is the point to be determined2 and the answer usually given is1 that they are part of the anti-christian host1 part of those afterwards spoken of as the kings of the whole inhabited earth1 before whom ,god dries up the ,euphrates in order that they may pursue an uninterrupted march to the spot on which they are to be overwhelmed with a final and complete destruction4 ,something may certainly be said on behalf of such a view2 yet it is exposed to serious objections4 #a4 ,we have already at chap4 ix4 #ad1 at the sounding of the sixth ,trumpet1 been made acquainted with the river ,euphrates2 and1 so far from being a hindrance to the progress of ,christ's enemies1 it is rather the symbol of their overflowing and destructive might4 #b4 ,we have also met at chap4 vii4 #b with the expression from the sun-rising1 and it is there applied to the quarter from which the angel comes by whom the people of ,god are sealed4 ,in a book so carefully written as the ,apocalypse1 it is not easy to think of anti-christian foes coming from a quarter described in the same terms4 #c4 ,these kings from the sun-rising are not said to be a part of the kings of the whole inhabited earth immediately afterwards referred to4 ,they are rather distinguished from them4 #d4 ,the preparing of the way connects itself with the thought of ,him whose way was prepared by the coming of the ,baptist4 #e4 ,the type of drying up the waters of a river takes us back1 alike in the historical and prophetic writings of the ,old ,testament1 to the means by which the ,almighty secures the deliverance of ,his people1 not the destruction of ,his enemies4 ,thus the waters of the ,red ,sea were dried up1 not for the overthrow of the ,egyptians1 but for the safety of ,israel1 and the bed of the river ,jordan was dried up for a similar purpose4 ,thus1 too1 the prophet ,isaiah speaks3 ,and the ,lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the ,egyptian sea1 and with ,his scorching wind shall ,he shake ,his hand over the river1 and shall smite it into seven streams1 and cause men to march over dryshod4 ,and there shall be an highway for the remnant of ,his people1 which shall return1 from ,assyria2 like as there was for ,israel in the day that he came up out of the land of ,egypt4#dcd ,again the same prophet celebrates the great deeds of the arm of the ,lord in the following words3 ,art thou not it which dried up the sea1 the waters of the great deep2 that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over8#dce ,and1 once more1 to a similar effect the prophet ,zechariah3 ,i will bring them again also out of the land of ,egypt1 and gather them out of ,assyria4444 ,and ,he shall pass through the sea of affliction1 and shall smite the waves of the sea1 and all the depths of the ,nile shall dry up4444 ,and ,i will strengthen them in the ,lord2 and they shall walk up and down in ,his name1 saith the ,lord4#dcf ,it is unnecessary to say more4 ,in these kings from the sun-rising we have an emblem of the remnant of the ,israel of ,god as they return from all the places whither they have been led captive1 and as ,god makes their way plain before them4 ,nor is this all4 ,in the fate of these foes a striking incident of ,old ,testament history is repeated1 in order that they may be led to the destruction which awaits them4 ,when ,micaiah warned ,ahab of his approaching fate1 and told him of the lying spirit by which his own prophets were urging him to the battle1 he said1 ,i saw the ,lord sitting on ,his throne1 and all the host of heaven standing by ,him on ,his right hand and on ,his left4 ,and the ,lord said1 ,who shall entice ,ahab that he may go up and fall at ,ramoth-gilead8 ,and one said on this manner2 and another said on that manner4 ,and there came forth a spirit1 and stood before the ,lord1 and said1 ,i will entice him4 ,and the ,lord said unto him1 ,wherewith8 ,and he said1 ,i will go forth1 and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets4 ,and ,he said1 ,thou shalt entice him1 and shalt prevail also2 go forth and do so4#dcg ,in that incident of ,ahab's reign is found the type of the three lying spirits or demons which1 like frogs1 unclean1 noisy1 and loquacious1 go forth from the three great enemies of the ,church1 the dragon1 the first beast1 and the second beast1 now first called the false prophet1 that they may entice the kings of the whole inhabited earth to their overthrow4 ,and they succeed4 ,all unknowing of what is before them1 proud of their strength1 and flushed with hope of victory1 these kings listen to the demons and gather themselves together unto the war of the great day of ,god1 the ,almighty4 ,it is a supreme moment in the history of the ,church and of the world2 and1 before he names the battlefield which shall1 in its very name1 be prophetic of the fate of the wicked1 the ,seer pauses to behold the assembled armies4 ,upon the one side is a little flock1 but they are all kings1 and before them is ,he by whom1 like ,david before the host of ,israel and over against the ,philistines1 the battle shall be fought and the victory won4 ,on the other side are the hosts of earth in all their multitudes1 gathered together by the deceitful promise of success4 ,the ,seer hears the voice of the ,captain of salvation1 ,behold ,i come as a thief1 to break up and to destroy4 ,he hears further the promise of blessing to all who are faithful to the ,redeemer's cause3 and then1 with mind at rest as to the result1 he names the place where the final battle is to be fought1 ,har-,magedon4 ,why ,har-,magedon8 ,there was1 we have every reason to believe1 no such place4 ,the name is symbolical4 ,it is a compound word derived from the ,hebrew1 and signifying the mountain of ,megiddo4 ,we are thus again taken back to ,old ,testament history1 in which the great plain of ,megiddo1 the most extensive in ,palestine1 plays on more than one occasion a notable part4 ,in particular1 that plain was famous for two great slaughters1 that of the ,canaanitish host by ,barak1 celebrated in the song of ,deborah1#dch and that in which ,king ,josiah fell4#dci ,the former is probably alluded to1 for the enemies of ,israel were there completely routed4 ,for a similar though still more terrible destruction the hosts of evil are assembled at ,har-,magedon4 ,the ,seer thinks it enough to assemble them1 and to name the place4 ,he does not need to go further or to describe the victory4 ,the seventh ,bowl now follows3-- ,and the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air2 and there came forth a great voice out of the temple1 from the throne1 saying1 ,it is done2 and there were lightnings1 and voices1 and thunders2 and there was a great earthquake1 such as was not since there were men upon the earth1 so great an earthquake1 so mighty4 ,and the great city was divided into three parts1 and the cities of the nations fell3 and ,babylon the great was remembered in the sight of ,god1 to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of ,his wrath4 ,and every island fled away1 and the mountains were not found4 ,and great hail1 every stone about the weight of a talent1 cometh down out of heaven upon men3 and men blasphemed ,god because of the plague of the hail2 for the plague thereof is exceeding great 7xvi4 #ag-ba74 ,the seventh or last ,bowl is poured out into the air1 here thought of as the realm of that prince of this world who is also the prince of the power of the air4#ddj ,all else1 land and sea and waters and sun and the throne of the beast1 has now been smitten so that evil has only to suffer its final blow4 ,it has been searched out everywhere2 and therefore the end may come4 ,that end comes1 and is spoken of in figures more strongly coloured than those of either the sixth ,seal or the seventh ,trumpet4 ,first of all a great voice is heard out of the 7sanctuary of the7 temple1 from the throne1 saying1 ,it is done1 ,god's plan is executed4 ,his last manifestation of ,himself in judgment has been made4 ,this voice is then accompanied by a more terrible shaking of the heavens and the earth than we have as yet been called to witness1 the earthquake in particular being such as was not since there were men upon the earth1 so great an earthquake1 so mighty4 ,some of the effects of the earthquake are next spoken of4 ,more especially1 ,the great city was divided into three parts1 and the cities of the nations fell4 ,as to the meaning of the cities of the nations there can be no doubt4 ,they are the strongholds of the world's sin1 the places from which ungodliness and impiety have ruled4 ,under the shaking of the earthquake they fall in ruins4 ,the first words as to the great city must be considered in connexion with the words which follow regarding ,babylon1 and they are more difficult to interpret4 ,by some it is contended that the great city is ,jerusalem1 by others that it is ,babylon4 ,the expression is one which the ,apocalypse must itself explain1 and in seeking the explanation we must proceed upon the principle that in this book1 as much as in any other of the ,new ,testament1 the rules of all good writing are followed1 and that the meaning of the same words is not arbitrarily changed4 ,when this rule1 accordingly1 is observed1 we find that the epithet is1 in chap4 xi4 #h1 distinctly applied to ,jerusalem1 the words the great city1 where also their ,lord was crucified leaving no doubt upon the point4 ,but1 in chap4 xviii4 #aj1 #af1 #ah1 #ai1 #ba1 the same epithet is not less distinctly applied to ,babylon4 ,the only legitimate conclusion is1 that there is a sense in which ,jerusalem and ,babylon are one4 ,this corresponds exactly to what we otherwise learn of the light in which the metropolis of ,israel appeared to ,st4 ,john4 ,to him as an ,apostle of the ,lord1 and during the time that he followed ,jesus in the flesh1 ,jerusalem presented itself in a twofold aspect4 ,it was the city of ,god's solemnities1 the centre of the old ,divine theocracy1 the holy city1 the beloved city4#dda ,but it was also the city of the ,jews1 the city which scorned and rejected and crucified its rightful ,king4 ,when in later life he beheld1 in the picture once exhibited around him and graven upon his memory1 the type of the future history and fortunes of the ,church1 the two ,jerusalems again rose before his view1 the one the emblem of all that was most precious1 the other of all that was most repulsive1 in the eyes both of ,god and of spiritually enlightened men4 ,the first of these ,jerusalems is the true ,church of ,christ1 the faithful remnant1 the little flock that knew the ,good ,shepherd's voice and followed ,him4 ,the second is the degenerate ,church1 the mass of those who misinterpreted the aim and spirit of their calling1 and who by their worldliness and sin crucified their ,lord afresh1 and put ,him to an open shame4 ,in the latter aspect ,jerusalem becomes ,babylon4 ,as in chap4 xi4 #h it became spiritually1 that is mystically1 ,sodom and ,egypt1 so it becomes also the mystical ,babylon1 partaker of that city's sins1 and doomed to its fate4 ,this thought we shall find fully expanded in the following chapter4 ,the question may indeed be asked1 how it comes to pass that1 if this representation be correct1 we should read1 immediately after the words now under consideration1 that ,babylon the great was remembered in the sight of ,god1 to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of ,his wrath4 ,but the answer is substantially contained in what has been said4 ,when ,jerusalem is first thought of as the great city1 it is as the city of the ,jews1 as the centre and essence of those principles by which spiritual is transformed into formal religion1 and all sins are permitted to hide and multiply under the cloak of a merely outward piety4 ,when it is next thought of as ,babylon1 the conception is extended so as to embrace1 not a false ,judaism only1 but a similar falseness in the bosom of the universal ,church4 ,just as the great city where also our ,lord was crucified widened in chap4 xi4 #h to the thought of ,sodom and ,egypt1 so here it widens to the thought of ,babylon4 ,may it not be added that we have thus in the mention of ,jerusalem and ,babylon a counterpart to the mention in chap4 xv4 #c of the song of ,moses and the ,lamb8 ,these two expressions1 as we have seen1 comprehend a song of universal victory4 ,thus also the two expressions1 the great city and ,babylon1 having one and the same idea at their root1 comprehend all who in the professing ,church of the whole world are faithless to ,christian truth4 ,further effects of the last judgment follow4 ,every island fled away1 and the mountains were not found4 ,effects similar1 though not so terrible1 had been connected with the sixth ,seal4 ,mountains and islands had then been simply moved out of their places4#ddb ,now they flee away4 ,similar effects will again meet us1 but in an enhanced degree4#ddc ,as yet1 while mountains and islands flee away1 the earth and the heavens remain4 ,in the last description of the judgment of the wicked the heavens and the earth themselves flee away from the face of ,him that sitteth upon the throne1 and no place is found for them4 ,the climax in the different accounts of what is substantially the same event cannot be mistaken4 ,the same climax appears in the statement of the next effect1 the great hail1 every stone about the weight of a talent1 that is1 fully more than fifty pounds4 ,no such weight had been spoken of at the close of the seventh ,trumpet in chap4 xi4 #ai4 ,again1 however1 there is no repentance and no conversion4 ,those who suffer are the deliberate and determined followers of the beast4 ,as under the fourth ,bowl1 therefore1 so under the seventh they rather blaspheme ,god amidst their sufferings1 because of the plague of the hail1 for the plague thereof is exceeding great4 ,,footnotes3 #dah ,exod4 xv4 #a4 #dai ,isa4 lxi4 #aj4 #dbj ,ezek4 xxviii4 #ac4 #dba ,comp4 chap4 vi4 #dbb ,exod4 xl4 #ce4 #dbc #a ,kings viii4 #aa4 #dbd ,isa4 vi4 #d4 #dbe ,exod4 xix4 #ah2 ,heb4 xii4 #ah4 #dbf ,chap4 xv4 #a4 #dbg ,comp4 chap4 viii4 #g and xvi4 #b4 #dbh ,comp4 chap4 viii4 #h1 #i and xvi4 #c4 #dbi ,comp4 chap4 viii4 #aj1 #aa and xvi4 #d4 #dcj ,comp4 chap4 viii4 #ab and xvi4 #h4 #dca ,exod4 ix4 #aj4 #dcb ,exod4 vii4 #bj4 #dcc ,exod4 x4 #ba4 #dcd ,isa4 xi4 #ae1 #af4 #dce ,isa4 li4 #aj4 #dcf ,zech4 x4 #aj-ab4 #dcg #a ,kings xxii4 #ai-bb4 #dch ,judges v4 #dci #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bb4 #ddj ,ephes4 ii4 #b4 #dda ,chap4 xi4 #b2 xx4 #i4 #ddb ,chap4 vi4 #ad4 #ddc ,chap4 xx4 #aa4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,beast ,,and ,,babylon4 ,,rev4 xvii4 ,at the close of chap4 xvi4 we reached the end of the three great series of judgments which constitute the chief contents of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1--the series of the ,seals1 the ,trumpets1 and the ,bowls4 ,it cannot surprise us1 however1 that at this point other visions of judgment are to follow4 ,already we had reached the end at chap4 vi4 #ag1 and again at chap4 xi4 #ah2 yet on both occasions the same general subject was immediately afterwards renewed1 and the same truths were again presented to us1 though in a different aspect and with heightened colouring4 ,we are prepared therefore to meet something of the same kind now4 ,yet it is not the whole history of that little season with which the ,apocalypse deals that is brought under our notice in fresh and striking vision4 ,one great topic1 the greatest that has hitherto been spoken of1 is selected for fuller treatment1--the fall of ,babylon4 ,twice before we have heard of ,babylon and of her doom1--at chap4 xiv4 #h1 when the second angel of the first group gathered around the ,lord as ,he came to judgment exclaimed1 ,fallen1 fallen1 is ,babylon the great1 which hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication2 and again at chap4 xvi4 #ai1 when under the seventh ,bowl we were told that ,babylon the great was remembered in the sight of ,god1 to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of ,his wrath4 ,so much importance1 however1 is attached by the ,seer to the fortunes of this city that two chapters of his book--the seventeenth and the eighteenth--are devoted to the more detailed descriptions of her and of her fate4 ,these two chapters form one of the most striking1 if at the same time one of the most difficult1 portions of his book4 ,we have first to listen to the language of ,st4 ,john2 and1 long as the passage is1 it will be necessary to take the whole of chap4 xvii4 at once3-- ,and there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls1 and spake with me1 saying1 ,come hither2 ,i will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters3 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication1 and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication4 ,and he carried me away in the ,spirit into a wilderness3 and ,i saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured beast1 full of names of blasphemy1 having seven heads and ten horns4 ,and the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet1 and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls1 having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations1 even the unclean things of her fornication1 and upon her forehead a name written1 ,mystery1 ,babylon the great1 the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth4 ,and ,i saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints1 and with the blood of the martyrs of ,jesus3 and when ,i saw her1 ,i marvelled with a great marvelling4 ,and the angel said unto me1 ,wherefore didst thou marvel8 ,i will tell thee the mystery of the woman1 and of the beast that carrieth her1 which hath the seven heads and the ten horns4 ,the beast that thou sawest was1 and is not1 and is about to come up out of the abyss3 and he goeth into perdition4 ,and they that dwell on the earth shall marvel1 they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world1 when they behold the beast1 how that he was1 and is not1 and shall be present4 ,here is the mind that hath wisdom4 ,the seven heads are seven mountains1 on which the woman sitteth4 ,and they are seven kings3 the five are fallen1 the one is the other is not yet come2 and when he cometh1 he must continue a little while4 ,and the beast that was1 and is not1 is himself also an eighth1 and is of the seven2 and he goeth into perdition4 ,and the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings1 which have received no kingdom as yet2 but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour4 ,these have one mind1 and they give their power and authority unto the beast4 ,these shall war against the ,lamb1 and the ,lamb shall overcome them3 for ,he is ,lord of lords1 and ,king of kings3 and they also shall overcome that are with ,him called1 and chosen1 and faithful4 ,and he saith unto me1 ,the waters which thou sawest1 where the harlot sitteth1 are peoples1 and multitudes1 and nations1 and tongues4 ,and the ten horns which thou sawest1 and the beast1 these shall hate the harlot1 and shall make her desolate and naked1 and shall eat her flesh1 and shall burn her utterly with fire4 ,for ,god did put in their hearts to do ,his mind1 and to come to one mind1 and to give their kingdom unto the beast1 until the words of ,god should be accomplished4 ,and the woman whom thou sawest is the great city1 which reigneth over the kings of the earth 7xvii474 ,the main questions connected with the interpretation of this chapter are1 ,what are we to understand by the beast spoken of1 and what by ,babylon8 ,the ,seer is summoned by one of the angels that had the seven ,bowls to behold a spectacle which fills him with a great marvelling4 ,thus summoned1 he obeys2 and he is immediately carried away into a wilderness1 where he sees a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured beast1 full of names of blasphemy1 having seven heads and ten horns4 #a4 ,what is this beast1 and what in particular is his relation to the beast of chap4 xiii48 ,at first sight the points of difference appear to be neither few nor unimportant4 ,the order of the heads and of the horns is different1 the horns taking precedence of the heads in the earlier1 the heads of the horns in the later1 of the two4#ddd ,the first is said to have had upon his heads names of blasphemy2 the second is full of such names4#dde ,there are diadems on the horns of the former1 but not of the latter4#ddf ,of the first we are told that he comes up out of the sea1 of the second that he is about to come up out of the abyss4#ddg ,in addition to these particulars1 it will be observed that several traits of the first beast are not mentioned in connexion with the second4 ,these last points of difference may be easily set aside4 ,they create no inconsistency between the descriptions given2 and we have already had occasion for the remark1 that it is the manner of the ,seer to enlarge in one part of his book his account of an object also referred to in another part4 ,his readers are expected to combine the different particulars in order to form a complete conception of the object4 ,the more positive points of difference1 again1 may be simply and naturally explained4 ,in chap4 xiii4 #a the horns take precedence of the heads because the beast is beheld rising up out of the sea1 the horns in this case appearing before the heads4 ,in the second case1 when the beast is seen in the wilderness1 the order of nature is preserved4 ,the distribution of the names of blasphemy is in all probability to be accounted for in a similar manner4 ,at the moment when the ,seer beholds them in chap4 xiii4 his attention has been arrested by the heads of the beast1 and he has not yet seen the whole body4 ,when he beholds them in chap4 xvii41 the entire beast is before him1 and is full of such names4 ,the presence of diadems upon the ten horns in the first1 and their absence in the second1 beast depends upon the consideration that it is a common method of ,st4 ,john to dwell upon an object presented to him ideally before he treats it historically4#ddh ,we know that the ten horns are ten kings or kingdoms#ddi2 and the diadem is the appropriate symbol of royalty4 ,when therefore we think of the beast in his ideal or ultimate manifestation in the ten kings of whom we are shortly to read1 we think of the horns as crowned with diadems2 and it is thus accordingly that we see the beast in chap4 xiii4 ,on the other hand1 at the point immediately before us the ten kings have received no kingdom as yet2#dej and the diadems are wanting4 ,the application of this principle further explains the difference between what are apparently two origins for these beasts1--the sea and the abyss4 ,the former is mentioned in chap4 xiii41 because there we have the beast before us in himself1 and in the source from which he springs4 ,the latter is mentioned in chap4 xvii41 because the beast has now reached a definite period of his history to which the coming up out of the abyss belongs4 ,the sea is his real source2 the abyss has been only his temporary abode4 ,the monster springs out of the sea1 lives1 dies1 goes into the abyss1 rises from the dead1 is roused to his last paroxysm of rage1 is defeated1 and passes into perdition4#dea ,this last is his history in chap4 xvii41 and that history is in perfect harmony with what is stated of him in chap4 xiii41--that by nature he comes up out of the sea4 ,while the points of difference between the beasts of chap4 xiii4 and chap4 xvii4 may thus without difficulty be reconciled1 the points of agreement are such as to lead directly to the identification of the two4 ,some of these have already come under our notice in speaking of the differences4 ,others are still more striking4 ,thus the beast of chap4 xiii4 is described as the vicegerent of the dragon#deb2 and the object of the dragon is to make war upon the remnant of the woman's seed4#dec ,when therefore we find the beast of chap4 xvii4 engaged in the same work1#ded we must either resort to the most unlikely of all conclusions--that the dragon has two vicegerents--or we must admit that the two beasts are one4 ,again1 the characteristic of a rising from the dead is so unexpected and mysterious that it is extremely difficult to assign it to two different agencies2 yet we formerly saw that this characteristic belongs to the beast of chap4 xiii41 and we shall immediately see that it belongs also to that of chap4 xvii4 ,nay more1 it is to be noticed that both in chap4 xiii4 and in chap4 xvii4 the marvelling of the world after the beast is connected with his resurrection state4#dee ,this was undoubtedly the case in chap4 xiii42 and in the present chapter the cause of the world's astonishment is not less expressly said to be its beholding in the beast how that he was1 and is not1 and shall be present4#def ,let us add to what has been said that the figures of the ,apocalypse are the product of so rich and fertile an imagination that1 had a difference between the two beasts been intended1 it would1 we may believe1 have been more distinctly marked2 and the conclusion is inevitable that the beast before us is that also of the thirteenth chapter4 ,turning then to the beast as here represented1 we have to note one or two particulars regarding him1 either new or stated with greater fulness and precision than before2 while1 at the same time1 we have the explanation of the angel to help us in interpreting the vision4 7#a7 ,the beast was1 and is not1 and is about to come up out of the abyss3 and he goeth into perdition4 ,the words are a travesty of what we read of the ,son of man in chap4 i43 ,i am the first and the last1 and the living ,one2 and ,i became dead3 and1 behold1 ,i am alive for evermore4#deg ,an antichrist is before us1 who has been slaughtered unto death1 and the stroke of whose death shall be healed4#deh ,still further we seem entitled to infer that when this beast appears he shall have the marks of his death upon him4 ,they that dwell on the earth shall marvel when they behold the beast1 how that he was1 and is not1 and shall be present4 ,the inference is fair that there must be something visible upon him by which these different states may be distinguished4 ,in other words1 the beast exhibits marks which show that he had both died and passed through death4 ,he is the counterpart of the ,lamb standing as though it had been slaughtered4#dei 7#b7 ,the seven heads are seven mountains1 on which the woman sitteth4 ,and they are seven kings3 the five are fallen1 the one is1 the other is not yet come2 and when he cometh1 he must continue a little while4 ,notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary by numerous and able expositors1 these words cannot be applied directly to any seven emperors of ,rome4 ,it may be granted that the ,seer had the thought of ,rome sitting upon its seven hills in his eye as one of the manifestations of the beast1 but the whole tenor of his language is too wide and comprehensive to permit the thought that the beast itself is ,rome4 ,besides this1 the heads are spoken of as being also mountains2 and we cannot say of any five of the seven hills of ,rome that they are fallen1 or of any one of them that it is not yet come4 ,nor could even any five successive kings of ,rome be described as fallen1 for that word denotes passing away1 not simply by death1 but by violent and conspicuous overthrow2#dfj and no series of five emperors in other respects suitable to the circumstances can be mentioned some of whom at least did not die peaceably in their beds4 ,finally1 the word kings in the language of prophecy denotes1 not personal kings1 but kingdoms4#dfa ,these seven mountains or seven kings1 therefore1 are the manifestations of the beast in successive eras of oppression suffered by the people of ,god4 ,egypt1 ,assyria1 ,babylonia1 ,persia1 and ,greece are the first five2 and they are fallen--fallen in the open ruin which they brought upon themselves by wickedness4 ,rome is the sixth1 and it is in the ,apostle's days4 ,the seventh will come when ,rome1 beheld by the ,seer as on the brink of destruction1 has perished1 and when its mighty empire has been rent in pieces4 ,these pieces will then be the ten horns which occupy the place of the seventh head4 ,they will be even more wicked and more oppressive to the true followers of ,christ than the great single empires which preceded them4 ,in them the antichristian might of the beast will culminate4 ,they are ten in number4 ,they cover the whole earth4 ,that universality of dominion which was always the beast's ideal will then become his actual possession4 ,they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour2 and together with him they shall rage against the ,lamb4 ,hence-- 7#c7 ,and the beast that was1 and is not1 is himself also an eighth1 and is of the seven4 ,the reader will notice that the expression of the eighth verse of the chapter and is about to come up out of the abyss1 as also another expression of the same verse1 and shall be present1 are here dropped4 ,we have met with a similar omission in the case of the ,lord ,himself at chap4 xi4 #ag1 and the explanation now is the same as then4 ,the beast can no more be thought of as about to come up out of the abyss1 because he is viewed as come1 or as about to be present1 because he is present4 ,in other words1 the beast has attained the highest point of his history and action4 ,he has reached a position analogous to that of our ,lord after ,his resurrection and exaltation1 when all authority was given ,him both in heaven and on earth1 and when ,he began the dispensation of the ,spirit1 founding ,his ,church1 strengthening her for the execution of her mission1 and perfecting her for her glorious future4 ,in like manner at the time here spoken of the beast is at the summit of his evil influence4 ,in one sense he is the same beast as he was in ,egypt1 in ,assyria1 in ,babylonia1 in ,persia1 in ,greece1 and in ,rome4 ,in another sense he is not the same1 for the wickedness of all these earlier stages has been concentrated into one4 ,he has great wrath1 knowing that he has but a short season4#dfb ,at the last moment he rages with the keen and determined energy of despair4 ,thus he may be spoken of as an eighth2 and thus he is also of the seven1 not one of the seven1 but the highest1 and fiercest1 and most cruel embodiment of them all4 ,thus also he is identified with the ,little ,horn of ,daniel1 which has eyes like the eyes of a man1 and a mouth speaking great things4#dfc ,that ,little ,horn takes the place of three out of the ten horns which are plucked up by the roots2 that is1 of the eighth1 ninth1 and tenth horns4 ,it is thus itself an eighth2 and we have already had occasion to notice that in the science of numbers the number eight marks the beginning of a new life1 with quickened and heightened powers4 ,thus also fresh light is thrown upon the statement which so closely follows the description of the beast1--that he goeth into perdition4 ,as in the case of ,belshazzar1 of ,nebuchadnezzar1 and of the traitor ,judas1 the instant when he reaches the summit of his guilty ambition is also the instant of his fall4 ,before proceeding to consider the meaning of the ,babylon spoken of in this chapter1 it may be well to recall for a moment the principle lying at the bottom of the exposition now given of the beast4 ,that principle is that ,st4 ,john sees in the world-power1 or power of the world1 the contrast1 or travesty1 or mocking counterpart of the true ,christ1 of the world's rightful ,king4 ,the latter lived1 died1 was buried1 rose from the grave1 and returned to ,his ,father to work with quickened energy and to enjoy everlasting glory2 the former lived1 was brought to nought by ,christ1 was plunged into the abyss1 came up out of the abyss1 reached his highest point of influence1 and went into perdition4 ,such is the form in which the ,seer's visions take possession of his mind2 and it will be seen that the mould of thought is precisely the same as that of chap4 xx4 ,the fact that it is so may be regarded as a proof that the interpretation yet to be offered of that chapter is correct4 ,it may be further noticed that the beast's being brought to nought and being sent into the abyss takes place under the sixth1 or ,roman1 head4 ,we know that this was actually the case1 because it was under the ,roman government that our ,lord gained ,his victory4 ,the history of the beast1 however1 does not close with this defeat4 ,he must rise again2 and he does this as the seventh head1 which is associated with the ten horns4 ,in them and with them he assumes a greater power than ever1 gaining all the additional force which is connected with a resurrection life4 ,the objection may indeed be made that such an exposition is not in correspondence either with the view taken in this commentary that the beast is active from the very beginning of the ,christian era1 or with those facts of history which show that1 instead of falling1 ,rome continued to exist for a lengthened period after the completion of the ,redeemer's victory4 ,but1 as to the first of these difficulties1 it is not necessary to think that the beast rages in his highest and ultimate form from the very instant when ,jesus rose from the dead and ascended to ,his ,father4 ,that was rather the moment of the beast's destruction1 the moment when1 under the sixth head1 he is and is not2 and a certain extent of time must be interposed before he rises in his new1 or seventh1 head4 ,the ,seer1 too1 deals largely in climax2 and1 although in doing so he is always occupied with the climactic idea rather than with the time needed for its manifestation1 the element of time1 if our attention is called to it1 must be allowed its place4 ,now in the development of the beast there is climax4 ,in chap4 xi4 #g it is said that the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with the two faithful witnesses when they shall have finished their testimony1 and this finishing of their testimony implies time4 ,again1 in chap4 xii4 #ag the increased wrath of the dragon against the remnant of the woman's seed appears to be subsequent to the persecution of the woman in the same chapter4#dfd ,no doubt the thought of the increased wrath of the dragon is the main point1 but it may be quite truly said that some time at least is needed for the increase4 ,the view1 therefore1 that the beast rages from the beginning of the ,christian era1 from the moment when he rises after his fall1 or1 in other words1 is loosed after having been shut up into the abyss1 is not inconsistent with the view that his rage goes on augmenting until it attains its culminating point4 ,the answer to the second difficulty is to be found in the consideration that to the ,seer the whole ,christian era appears no more than a little season1 in which events must follow closely on one another1 so closely that the time required for their evolution passes almost entirely1 if not indeed entirely1 out of his field of vision4 ,he has no thought that ,rome will last for centuries4 ,the times or the seasons the ,father hath set within ,his own authority4#dfe ,the guilt of ,rome is so dark and frightful that the ,seer can fix his mind upon nothing but that overthrow which shall be the just punishment of her crimes4 ,she is not to be doomed2 she is doomed4 ,she is not to perish2 she is perishing4 ,divine vengeance has already overtaken her4 ,her last hour is come2 and the ten kings who are to follow her are already upon their thrones4 ,thus these kings come into immediate juxtaposition with the beast in that last stage of his history which had begun1 but had not reached its greatest intensity1 before ,rome is supposed to fall4 #b4 ,the second figure of this chapter now meets us2 and we have to ask1 ,who is the woman that sits on the beast8 or1 ,what is meant by ,babylon8 ,no more important question can be asked in connexion with the interpretation of the ,apocalypse4 ,the thought of ,babylon is evidently one by which the writer is moved to a greater than ordinary degree4 ,twice already have we had premonitions of her doom1 and that in language which shows how deeply it was felt4#dff ,in the passage before us he is awed by the contemplation of her splendour and her guilt4 ,and in chap4 xviii4 he describes the lamentation of the world over her fate in language of almost unparalleled sublimity and pathos4 ,what is ,babylon8 ,we must make up our minds upon the point1 or the effort to interpret one of the most important parts of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john can result in nothing but defeat4 ,very various opinions have been entertained as to the meaning of ,babylon1 of which the most famous are that the word is a name for papal ,rome1 pagan ,rome1 or a great world-city of the future which shall stand to the whole earth in a relation similar to that occupied by ,rome towards the world of its day4 ,these opinions cannot be discussed here2 and no more can be attempted than to show1 with as much brevity as possible1 that by ,babylon is to be understood the degenerate ,church1 or that principle of degenerate religion which allies itself with the world1 and more than all else brings dishonour upon the name and the cause of ,christ4 7#a7 ,babylon is the representative of religious1 not civil1 degeneracy and wickedness4 ,she is a harlot1 and her name is associated with the most reckless and unrestrained fornication4 ,but fornication and adultery are throughout the ,old ,testament the emblem of religious degeneracy1 and not of civil misrule4 ,in numerous passages familiar to every reader of ,scripture both terms are employed to describe the departure of ,israel from the worship of ,jehovah and a holy life to the worship of idols and the degrading sensuality by which such worship was everywhere accompanied4 ,nor ought we to imagine that adultery1 not fornication1 is the most suitable expression for religious degeneracy4 ,in some important respects the latter is the more suitable of the two4 ,it brings out more strongly the ideas of playing the harlot with many lovers#dfg and of sinning for hire4#dfh ,in this sense then it seems proper to understand the charge of fornication brought in so many passages of the ,apocalypse against ,babylon4 ,not in their civil1 but in their religious1 aspect have the kings of the earth committed fornication with her1 and they that dwell on the earth been made drunk with the wine of her fornication4 ,her sin has been that of leading men astray from the worship of the true ,god1 and of substituting for the purity and unworldliness of ,christian living the irreligious and worldly spirit of the earth4 ,to this it may be added that1 had ,babylon not been the symbol of religious declension1 she could hardly have borne upon her forehead the term ,,mystery4 ,st4 ,john could not have used a word connected only with religious associations to express anything but a religious state awakening the awe1 and wonder1 and perplexity of a religious mind4 ,babylon1 therefore1 represents persons who are not only sinful1 but who have fallen into sin by treachery to a high and holy standard formerly acknowledged by them4 7#b7 ,we have already had occasion to allude to a fact which must immediately receive further notice1--that to the eye of ,st4 ,john there is an aspect of ,jerusalem different from that in which she is regarded as the holy and beloved city of ,god4 ,jerusalem in that aspect and ,babylon are one4 ,each is the great city1 and the same epithet could not be applied to both were they not to be identified4 ,not only so4 ,the words here used of ,babylon lead us directly to what our ,lord once said of ,jerusalem4 ,therefore1 said ,jesus1 behold1 ,i send unto you prophets1 and wise men1 and scribes3 some of them shall ye kill and crucify2 and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues1 and persecute from city to city3 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth1 from the blood of ,abel the righteous unto the blood of ,zachariah son of ,barachiah1 whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar4 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,all these things shall come upon this generation4#dfi ,precisely similar to this is the language of the ,seer1 ,and ,i saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints1 and with the blood of the martyrs of ,jesus4 ,it may indeed be thought impossible that under any circumstances whatever ,st4 ,john could have applied an epithet like that of ,babylon1 steeped in so many associations of lust1 and bloodshed1 and oppression1 to the metropolis of ,israel1 the city of ,god4 ,but in this very book he has illustrated the reverse4 ,he has already spoken of ,jerusalem as represented by names felt by a pious ,jew to be the most terrible of the ,old ,testament1--,sodom and ,egypt4#dgj ,the prophets before him had employed language no less severe4 ,hear the word of the ,lord1 said ,isaiah1 addressing the inhabitants of the holy city1 ye rulers of ,sodom2 give ear unto the law of our ,god1 ye people of ,gomorrah1#dga and again1 ,how is the faithful city become an harlot1 she that was full of judgment6 righteousness lodged in her2 but now murderers2#dgb whilst the degenerate metropolis of ,israel is not unfrequently painted by ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel and other prophets in colours than which none more dark or repulsive can be conceived4 ,in forming a conclusion upon this point1 it is necessary to bear in mind that to the eye of the faithful in ,israel1 and certainly of ,st4 ,john1 there were two ,jerusalems1 the one true1 the other false1 to its heavenly ,king2 and that in exact proportion to the feelings of admiration1 love1 and devotion with which they turned to the one were those of pain1 indignation1 and alienation with which they turned from the other4 ,the latter ,jerusalem1 the city of the ,jews1 is that of which the ,apocalyptist thinks when he speaks of it as ,babylon2 and1 looking upon the city in this aspect as he did1 the whole language of the ,old ,testament fully justifies him in applying to it the opprobrious name4 7#c7 ,the contrast between the new ,jerusalem and ,babylon leads to the same conclusion4 ,we have already more than once had occasion to allude to the principle of antithesis1 or contrast1 as affording an important rule of interpretation in many passages of this book4 ,nowhere is it more distinctly marked or more applicable than in the case before us4 ,the contrast has been drawn out by a recent writer in the following words3-- ,these prophecies present two broadly contrasted women1 identified with two broadly contrasted cities1 one reality being in each case doubly represented3 as a woman and as a city4 ,the harlot and ,babylon are one2 the bride and the heavenly ,jerusalem are one4 ,the two women are contrasted in every particular that is mentioned about them3 the one is pure as purity itself1 'made ready' and fit for heaven's unsullied holiness1 the other foul as corruption could make her1 fit only for the fires of destruction4 ,the one belongs to the ,lamb1 who loves her as the bridegroom loves the bride2 the other is associated with a wild beast1 and with the kings of the earth1 who ultimately hate and destroy her4 ,the one is clothed with fine linen1 and in another place is said to be clothed with the sun and crowned with a coronet of stars3 that is1 robed in ,divine righteousness and resplendent with heavenly glory2 the other is attired in scarlet and gold1 in jewels and pearls1 gorgeous indeed1 but with earthly splendour only4 ,the one is represented as a chaste virgin1 espoused to ,christ2 the other is mother of harlots and abominations of the earth4 ,the one is persecuted1 pressed hard by the dragon1 driven into the wilderness1 and well-nigh overwhelmed2 the other is drunken with martyr blood1 and seated on a beast which has received its power from the persecuting dragon4 ,the one sojourns in solitude in the wilderness2 the other reigns 'in the wilderness' over peoples1 and nations1 and kindreds1 and tongues4 ,the one goes in with the ,lamb to the marriage supper1 amid the glad hallelujahs2 the other is stripped1 insulted1 torn1 and destroyed by her guilty paramours4 ,we lose sight of the bride amid the effulgence of heavenly glory and joy1 and of the harlot amid the gloom and darkness of the smoke that 'rose up for ever and ever4'#dgc ,a contrast presented in so many striking particulars leaves only one conclusion possible4 ,the two cities are the counterparts of one another4 ,but we know that by the first is represented the bride1 the ,lamb's wife1 or the true ,church of ,christ as1 separated from the world1 she remains faithful to her ,lord1 is purified from sin1 and is made meet for that eternal home into which there enters nothing that defiles4 ,what can the other be but the representative of a false and degenerate ,church1 of a ,church that has yielded to the temptations of the world1 and has turned back in heart from the trials of the wilderness to the flesh-pots of ,egypt8 ,every feature of the description answers1 although with the heightened colour of ideal portraiture1 to what such a professing but degenerate ,church becomes1--the pride1 the show1 the love of luxury1 the subordination of the future to the present4 ,even her very cruelty to the poor saints of ,god is drawn from actual reality1 and has been depicted upon many a page of history4 ,with the meek and lowly followers of ,jesus1 whose life is a constant protest that the things of time are nothing in comparison with those of eternity1 none have less sympathy than those who have a name to live while they are dead4 ,the world may admire1 even while it cannot understand1 these little ones1 these lambs of the flock2 but to those who seek the life that now is by the help of the life that is to come they are a perpetual reproach1 and they are felt to be so4 ,therefore they are persecuted in such manner and to such degree as the times will tolerate4 ,one other remark has to be made upon the identification of ,jerusalem and ,babylon by the ,seer4 ,it has been said that he has one special aspect of the metropolis of ,israel in his eye4 ,yet we are not to suppose that he confines himself to that metropolis4 ,as on so many other occasions1 he starts from what is limited and local only to pass in thought to what is unlimited and universal4 ,his ,jerusalem1 his ,babylon1 is not the literal city4 ,she is the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters2 and the waters which thou sawest1 says the angel to the ,seer1 are peoples1 and multitudes1 and nations1 and tongues4#dgd ,the fourfold division guides us1 as usual1 to the thought of dominion over the whole earth4 ,babylon is not the ,jerusalem only of the ,jews4 ,she is the great ,church of ,god throughout the world when that ,church becomes faithless to her true ,lord and ,king4 ,babylon then is not pagan ,rome4 ,no doubt seven mountains are spoken of on which the woman sitteth4 ,but this was not peculiar to ,rome4 ,both ,babylon and ,jerusalem are also said to have been situated upon seven hills2 and even if we had before us1 as we certainly may have1 a distinct reference to ,rome1 it would be only because ,rome was one of the manifestations of the beast1 and because the city afforded a suitable point of departure for a wider survey4 ,the very closing words of the chapter1 upon which so much stress is laid by those who find the harlot in pagan ,rome1 negative1 instead of justifying1 the supposition3 ,and the woman whom thou sawest is the great city1 which reigneth over the kings of the earth4 ,rome never possessed such universal dominion as is here referred to4 ,she may illustrate1 but she cannot exhaust1 that subtler1 more penetrating1 and more widespread spirit which is in the ,seer's view4 ,again1 ,babylon cannot be papal ,rome4 ,as in the last case1 there may indeed be a most intimate connexion between her and one of the manifestations of ,babylon4 ,but it is impossible to speak of the papal ,church as the guide1 the counsellor1 and the inspirer of anti-christian efforts to dethrone the ,redeemer1 and to substitute the world or the devil in ,his stead4 ,the papal ,church has toiled1 and suffered1 and died for ,christ4 ,babylon never did so4 ,nor1 finally1 can we think of ,babylon as a great city of the future which shall stand to the kings and kingdoms of the earth in a relation similar to that in which ancient ,rome stood to the kings and kingdoms of her day4 ,wholly apart from the impossibility of our forming any clear conception of such a city1 the want of the religious or spiritual element is fatal to the theory4 ,one explanation alone seems to meet the conditions of the case4 ,babylon is the world in the ,church4 ,in whatever section of the ,church1 or in whatever age of her history1 an unspiritual and earthly element prevails1 there is ,babylon4 ,we have spoken of the two great figures of this chapter separately4 ,we have still to speak of their relation to one another1 and of the manner in which it is brought suddenly and for ever to a close4 ,this relation appears in the words1 ,i saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured beast1 and in later words of the chapter3 the beast that carrieth her4 ,the woman then is not subordinate to the beast1 but is rather his controller and guide4 ,and this relation is precisely what we should expect4 ,the beast is before us in his final stage1 in that immediately preceding his own destruction4 ,he is no longer in the form of ,egypt1 or ,assyria1 or ,babylonia1 or ,persia1 or ,greece1 or ,rome4 ,these six forms of his manifestation have passed away4 ,the restrainer has been withdrawn1#dge and the beast has stepped forth in the plenitude of his power4 ,he has been revealed as the ten horns which occupy the place of the seventh head2 and these ten horns are ten kings who1 having now received their kingdoms and with their kingdoms their diadems1 are the actual manifestation in history of the beast as he had been seen in his ideal form in chap4 xiii4 ,the beast is therefore the spirit of the world1 partly in its secularising influence1 partly in its brute force1 in that tyranny and oppression which it exercises against the children of ,god4 ,the woman1 again1 is the spirit of false religion and religious zeal1 which had shown itself under all previous forms of worldly domination1 and which was destined to show itself more than ever under the last4 ,to the eye of ,st4 ,john this spirit was not confined to ,christian times4 ,the woman1 considered in herself1 is not simply the false ,christian ,church4 ,she is so at the moment when we behold her on the field of history4 ,but ,st4 ,john did not believe that saving truth1 the truth which unites us to ,christ1 the truth which is of ,god1 was to be found in ,christianity alone4 ,it had existed in ,judaism4 ,it had existed even in ,heathenism1 for in his ,gospel he remembers and quotes the words of our ,lord in which ,jesus says1 ,and other sheep ,i have1 which are not of this fold3 them also ,i must bring1 and they shall hear ,my voice2 and they shall become one flock1 one ,shepherd4#dgf ,as then ,divine truth1 the light which never ceases to contend with the darkness1 had been present in the world under every one of its successive kingdoms1 so also perversions of that truth had never failed to be present by its side4 ,all along the line of past history1 in ,heathenism as well as in ,judaism1 the ideal bride of ,christ had been putting on her ornaments to meet the ,bridegroom2 and not less all along the same line had the harlot been arraying herself in purple and scarlet and decking herself with gold and precious stones and jewels1 that she might tempt men to resist the influence of their rightful ,king4 ,the harlot had been always thus superior to the beast4 ,the beast had only the powers of this world at his command2 the harlot wielded the powers of another and a higher world4 ,the one dealt only with the seen and temporal1 the other with the unseen and eternal1 the one with material forces1 the other with those spiritual forces which reach the profoundest depths of the human heart and give rise to the greatest movements of human history4 ,the woman is therefore superior to the beast4 ,she inspires and animates him4 ,the beast only lends her the material strength needed for the execution of her plans4 ,in the war1 accordingly1 which is carried on by the ten kings who have one mind1 and who give their power and authority unto the beast1 in the war which the beast and they1 with their combined power1 wage for one hour against the ,lamb1 it would be a great mistake to suppose that the woman1 although she is not mentioned1 takes no part and exerts no influence4 ,she is really there1 the prime mover in all its horrors4 ,the one mind comes from her4 ,the beast can do nothing of himself4 ,the ten kings who are the form in which he appears are not less weak and helpless4 ,they have the outward power1 but they cannot regulate it4 ,they want the skill1 the subtlety1 the wisdom1 which are found only in the spiritual domain4 ,but the great harlot1 who at this point of history is the perversion of ,christian truth1 is with them2 and they depend on her4 ,such is the first part of the relation between the beast and the harlot4 ,a second1 most unexpected and most startling1 follows4 ,we have seen that in the war between the ten kings and the ,lamb the woman is present4 ,that war ends in disaster to her and to those whom she inspires4 ,the ,lamb shall overcome them3 for ,he is ,lord of lords1 and ,king of kings4 ,the name is the same as that which we shall afterwards meet in chap4 xix4 #af1 though the order of the clauses is different4 ,this ,lamb1 therefore1 is here the ,conqueror described in chap4 xix4 #aa-af2 and many particulars of these latter verses take us back to the ,son of man as ,he appeared in chap4 i41 or1 in other words1 to the risen and glorified ,redeemer4 ,the thought of the risen ,christ is thus in the mind of ,st4 ,john when he speaks of the ,lamb who shall overcome4 ,the leaders of the ,jewish ,church had believed that they had for ever rid themselves of the ,prophet who tormenteth them that dwell on the earth4#dgg ,they had sealed the stone1 and set a watch1 and returned to their homes for joy and merriment4 ,but on the third morning there was a great earthquake1 and the stone was rolled away from the door of the sepulchre2 and the ,crucified came forth1 the ,conqueror of death and ,hades4 ,then the ,lamb overcame4 ,then ,he began ,his victorious progress as ,king of kings and ,lord of lords4 ,then the power and the wisdom of the world were alike put to shame4 ,was not this enough8 ,no1 for now follow the words which come upon us in a way so wholly unexpected3 ,and the ten horns which thou sawest1 and the beast1 these shall hate the harlot1 and shall make her desolate and naked1 and shall eat her flesh1 and shall burn her utterly with fire4 ,what is the meaning of these words8 ,surely not that ,rome was to be attacked and overthrown by the barbaric hordes that burst upon her from the ,north3 for1 in the first place1 the ,roman manifestation of the world-power had passed away before the ten kings came to their kingdom2 and1 in the second place1 when ,rome fell1 she fell as the beast1 not as the harlot4 ,surely also not that a great world-city1 concentrating in itself all the resources of the world-power1 is to be hated and burned by its subjects1 for we have already seen that this whole notion of a great world-city of the end is groundless2 and the resources of the world-power are always in this book concentrated in the beast1 and not in the harlot who directs their use4 ,there seems only one method of explaining the words1 but it is one in perfect consonance with the method and purpose of the ,apocalypse as a whole4 ,as on many other occasions1 the fortunes of the ,church of ,christ are modelled upon the fortunes of her ,master4 ,with that ,master the ,church was one4 ,he had always identified ,his people with ,himself1 in life and death1 in time and in eternity4 ,could the beloved disciple do otherwise8 ,he looked round upon the suffering ,church of his day4 ,he was a companion with it in the tribulation1 and kingdom1 and patience which are in ,jesus4#dgh ,he felt all its wounds and shared all its sorrows1 just as he felt and shared the wounds and sorrows of that ,lord who lived in him1 and in whom he lived4 ,here1 therefore1 was the mould in which the fortunes of the ,church appeared to him4 ,he went back to well-remembered scenes in the life of ,christ2 and he beheld these repeating themselves1 in principle at least1 in the members of ,his ,body4 ,now there was one scene of the past--how well does he remember it1 for he was present at the time6--when the ,roman power and a degenerate ,judaism1 the beast and the harlot of the day1 combined to make war upon the ,lamb4 ,for a moment they seemed to succeed1 yet only for a moment4 ,they nailed the ,lamb to the cross2 but the ,lamb overcame them1 and rose in triumph from the grave4 ,but the ,seer did not pause there4 ,he looked a few more years onward1 and what did he next behold8 ,that wicked partnership was dissolved4 ,these companions in crime had turned round upon one another4 ,the harlot had counselled the beast1 and the beast had given the harlot power1 to execute the darkest deed which had stained the pages of human history4 ,but the alliance did not last4 ,the alienation of the two from each other1 restrained for a little by co-operation in common crime1 burst forth afresh1 and deepened with each passing year1 until it ended in the march of the ,roman armies into ,palestine1 their investment of the ,jewish capital1 and that sack and burning of the city which still remain the most awful spectacle of bloodshed and of ruin that the world has seen4 ,even this is not all4 ,st4 ,john looks still further into the future1 and the tragedy is repeated in the darker deeds of the last hour4 ,there will again be a beast in the brute power of the ten kings of the world1 and a harlot in a degenerate ,jerusalem1 animating and controlling it4 ,the two will again direct their united energies against the true ,church of ,christ1 the called1 and chosen1 and faithful4 ,they may succeed2 it will be only for a moment4 ,again the ,lamb will overcome them2 and in the hour of defeat the sinful league between them will be broken1 and the world-power will hate the harlot1 and make her desolate and naked1 and eat her flesh1 and burn her utterly with fire4 ,this is the prospect set before us in these words1 and this the consolation of the ,church under the trials that await her at the end of the age4 ,when the wicked spring as the grass1 and all the workers of iniquity do flourish2 it is that they shall be destroyed for ever3 but ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 art on high for evermore4 ,for1 lo1 ,thine enemies1 ,o ,lord1 for1 lo1 ,thine enemies shall perish2 all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered4#dgi ,babylon is fallen1 not indeed in a strictly chronological narrative1 for she will again be spoken of as if she still existed upon earth4 ,but for the time her overthrow has been consummated1 her destruction is complete1 and all that is good can only rejoice at the spectacle of her fate4 ,hence the opening verses of the next chapter4 ,,footnotes3 #ddd ,comp4 chaps4 xiii4 #a and xvii4 #c1 #g4 #dde ,comp4 chaps4 xiii4 #a and xvii4 #c4 #ddf ,comp4 chaps4 xiii4 #a and xvii4 #c1 #ab4 #ddg ,comp4 chaps4 xiii4 #a and xvii4 #h4 #ddh ,comp4 pp4 #ge1 #aii4 #ddi ,chap4 xvii4 #ab4 #dej ,chap4 xvii4 #ab4 #dea ,chap4 xvii4 #aa4 #deb ,chap4 xiii4 #b4 #dec ,chap4 xii4 #ag4 #ded ,chap4 xvii4 #ad4 #dee ,comp4 p4 #bbb4 #def ,ver4 #h4 #deg ,chap4 i4 #ah4 #deh ,comp4 chap4 xiii4 #c4 #dei ,chap4 v4 #f4 #dfj ,comp4 chaps4 vi4 #ac2 viii4 #aj2 ix4 #a2 xi4 #ac2 xiv4 #h2 xvi4 #ai2 xviii4 #b4 #dfa ,comp4 ,dan4 vii4 #ag1 #bc2 ,rev4 xviii4 #c4 #dfb ,chap4 xii4 #ab4 #dfc ,dan4 vii4 #g1 #h4 #dfd ,chap4 xii4 #ac4 #dfe ,acts i4 #g4 #dff ,chaps4 xiv4 #h2 xvi4 #ai4 #dfg ,jer4 iii4 #a4 #dfh ,micah i4 #g4 #dfi ,matt4 xxiii4 #cd-cf4 #dgj ,chap4 xi4 #h4 #dga ,isa4 i4 #aj4 #dgb ,isa4 i4 #ba4 #dgc ,guinness1 ,the ,approaching ,end of the ,age1 p4 #adc4 #dgd ,chap4 xvii4 #ae4 #dge ,comp4 #b ,thess4 ii4 #g4 #dgf ,john x4 #af4 #dgg ,comp4 chap4 xi4 #aj4 #dgh ,chap4 i4 #i4 #dgi ,ps4 xcii4 #g-i4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,babylon4 ,,rev4 xviii4 ,babylon has fallen4 ,we have now the ,divine proclamation of her fate1 and the lamentation of the world over the doom to which she has been consigned3-- ,after these things ,i saw another angel coming down out of heaven1 having great authority2 and the earth was lightened with his glory4 ,and he cried with a mighty voice1 saying1 ,fallen1 fallen is ,babylon the great1 and is become a habitation of devils1 and a hold of every unclean spirit1 and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird4 ,for by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her1 and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness 7xviii4 #a-c74 ,at chap4 xvii4 #a we read of one of the angels that had the seven ,bowls4 ,the angel now introduced is another1 or a second4 ,we shall find as we proceed that we have entered upon a new series of seven parts1 similar to that in chap4 xiv41 where six angels and their actions1 three on either side1 are grouped around ,one higher than angels1 and forming the central figure of the movement4#dhj ,the series is a long one1 extending from chap4 xvii4 #a to chap4 xxii4 #e1 the central figure meeting us at chap4 xix4 #aa2 and again1 as before1 the fact ought to be carefully noticed1 for it has a bearing on the interpretation of some of the most difficult sections of this book4 ,meanwhile we have to do with the second angel1 whose action extends to ver4 #bj of the present chapter4 ,the description given of this angel is proportioned to the importance of his message4 ,he has great authority2 the earth is lightened with his glory2 the voice with which he cries is mighty4 ,it could hardly be otherwise than that1 with such joyful tidings as he bears to men1 the glory of the ,lord should shine round about him1 and a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun4#dha ,the tidings themselves follow1 taken from the ,old ,testament accounts of the desolation that was to come upon ,babylon3 ,and ,babylon1 the glory of kingdoms1 the beauty of the ,chaldeans' pride1 shall be as when ,god overthrew ,sodom and ,gomorrah4 ,it shall never be inhabited1 neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation3 neither shall the ,arabian pitch tent there2 neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there4 ,but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there2 and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures2 and ostriches shall dwell there1 and satyrs shall dance there4 ,and wolves shall cry in their castles1 and jackals in the pleasant palaces4#dhb ,in words such as these1 though combined throughout both the present and following descriptions with expressions taken from the ruin of other famous and guilty cities of the ,old ,testament1 we have the source whence the powerful and pathetic words of this chapter are drawn4 ,the most terrible disasters of bygone times are but types of that wreck of all the grandeur of earth which we are now invited to behold1 while ,babylon's sinfulness is referred to that her fate may appear to be no more than her appropriate punishment4 ,at this point we are met by one of those sudden transitions1 common in the ,apocalypse1 which so completely negative the idea of chronological arrangement4 ,a cry is heard which seems to imply that ,babylon has not yet fallen3-- ,and ,i heard another voice from heaven1 saying1 ,come forth1 ,my people1 out of her1 that ye have no fellowship with her sins1 and that ye receive not of her plagues4 ,for her sins have reached even unto heaven1 and ,god hath remembered her iniquities4 ,render unto her even as she rendered1 and double unto her the double according to her works3 in the cup which she hath mingled mingle unto her double4 ,how much soever she glorified herself1 and waxed wanton1 so much give her of torment and mourning3 for she saith in her heart1 ,i sit a queen1 and am no widow1 and shall in no wise see mourning4 ,therefore in one day shall her plagues come1 death1 and mourning1 and famine2 and she shall be utterly burned with fire3 for strong is the ,lord ,god which judged her 7xviii4 #d-h74 ,the first words of this voice from heaven deserve peculiar attention3 ,come forth1 ,my people1 out of her2 that is1 out of ,babylon1 the degenerate ,church4 ,we are at once reminded of the striking teaching of our ,lord in chap4 x4 of the fourth ,gospel1 where ,he compares ,himself to the door of the fold1 not the door by which the sheep enter into1 but by which they come out of1 the fold4#dhc ,we are also reminded of the blind man of chap4 ix4 of the same ,gospel1 whom our ,lord found only after he had been cast out of the synagogue4#dhd ,in the midst of the blinded theocracy of ,israel in the days of ,jesus there was a faithful1 though small1 remnant4 ,it had been betrayed by the religious guides of the people1 who had become thieves and robbers1 whom the true sheep did not know1 and to whom they ought not to listen4 ,jesus came to call it out of the theocracy to ,himself4 ,such was the spectacle which ,st4 ,john had witnessed when his ,master was in the world1 and that experience is now repeated4 ,the ,church as a whole degenerates4 ,called to prepare men for the ,second ,coming of the ,lord1 and to teach them to live1 not for the present1 but the future1 she becomes herself the victim of the present4 ,she forgets that1 in the absence of the ,bridegroom1 her days are days of fasting4 ,she fails to realize the fact that until her ,lord comes again her state is one of widowhood4 ,and1 instead of mourning1 she sits as a queen1 at ease and satisfied1 proud of her pomp and jewellery4 ,what is all this but a recurrence of the old events of history8 ,the ,apostle sees the future mirrored in the past2 and he can only follow in his ,master's footsteps1 and call ,his ,christian remnant out of ,babylon4 ,the words are in the highest degree important for the interpretation and understanding of the ,apocalypse4 ,we have already found in more than one passage distinct traces of this double ,church1 of the true ,church within the false1 of the few living ones within the ,body which had a name to live1 but was dead4 ,here the distinction meets us in all its sharpness1 and fresh light is cast upon passages that may have formerly seemed dark4 ,many are called1 many constituting the outward ,church2 but few are chosen1 few constituting the real ,church1 the ,church which consists of the poor1 and meek1 and lowly4 ,the two parts may keep together for a time1 but the union cannot last2 and the day comes when1 as ,christ called ,his sheep out of the ,jewish1 so ,he will again call ,his sheep out of the ,christian fold1 that they may hear ,his voice1 and follow ,him4 ,having summoned the true disciples of ,jesus out of ,babylon1 the voice from heaven again proclaims in a double form1 as sins and as iniquities1 the guilt of the doomed city1 and invites the ministers of judgment1 according to the lex talionis1 to render unto her double4 ,the command may also be founded upon the law of the theocracy by which thieves and violent aggressors of the poor were required to make a double repayment to those whom they had injured1#dhe or it may rest upon the remembrance of such threatenings as those by the prophet ,jeremiah1 ,i will recompense their iniquity and their sin double4#dhf ,judgment is next supposed to have been executed upon ,babylon2 and the ,seer proceeds to describe in language of unexampled eloquence the lamentation of the world over the city's fall3-- ,and the kings of the earth1 who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her1 shall weep and wail over her1 when they look upon the smoke of her burning1 standing afar off for the fear of her torment1 saying1 ,woe1 woe1 the great city ,babylon1 the strong city6 for in one hour is thy judgment come4 ,and the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her2 for no man buyeth their merchandise any more3 merchandise of gold1 and silver1 and precious stone1 and pearls1 and fine linen1 and purple1 and silk1 and scarlet1 and all thyine wood1 and every vessel of ivory1 and every vessel made of most precious wood1 and of brass1 and iron1 and marble1 and cinnamon1 and spice1 and incense1 and ointment1 and frankincense1 and wine1 and oil1 and fine flour1 and wheat1 and cattle1 and sheep1 and merchandise of horses1 and chariots1 and slaves1 and souls of men4 ,and the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee1 and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee1 and men shall find them no more at all4 ,the merchants of these things1 who were made rich by her1 shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment1 weeping and mourning1 saying1 ,woe1 woe1 the great city1 she that was arrayed in fine linen1 and purple1 and scarlet1 and decked with gold1 and precious stone1 and pearl6 for in one hour so great riches is made desolate4 ,and every shipmaster1 and every one that saileth anywhither1 and mariners1 and as many as gain their living by sea1 stood afar off1 and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning1 saying1 ,what city is like the great city8 ,and they cast dust on their heads1 and cried1 weeping and mourning1 saying1 ,woe1 woe1 the great city1 wherein were made rich all that had their ships in the sea by reason of her costliness6 for in one hour is she made desolate4 ,rejoice with her1 thou heaven1 and ye saints1 and ye apostles1 and ye prophets2 for ,god hath judged your judgment on her 7xviii4 #i-bj74 ,three classes of persons are introduced to us3 ,kings1 ,merchants1 and ,sailors4 ,all are of the earth2 and each class1 in its own strain1 swells the voice of lamentation4 ,the words are largely taken from the ,old ,testament1 and more particularly from the description of the overthrow of ,tyre in ,ezekiel 7chaps4 xxvi41 xxvii474 ,there is even a peculiar propriety in this latter reference1 for ,tyre was known by the prophets as another ,babylon4 ,in describing the ,burden of ,tyre1 ,isaiah uses in one part of his description the words1 ,the city of confusion 7the meaning of the word ,babylon7 is broken down4#dhg ,it is unnecessary to enter into any examination clause by clause of the passage before us4 ,we shall better catch its spirit and be made sensible of its effect by attending to a few general observations upon the description as a whole4 #a4 ,not without interest may we mark that the classes selected to mourn over the burning of the city are three in number4 ,we have thus another illustration of the manner in which that number penetrates the structure of all the writings of ,st4 ,john4 #b4 ,emphasis is laid upon the fact that the city is burned4 ,her destruction by fire has indeed been more than once alluded to4 ,of the beast and the ten horns it had been said that they shall burn her utterly with fire2#dhh and1 again1 it had been proclaimed by the voice from heaven that she shall be utterly burned with fire4#dhi ,we shall not venture to say with any measure of positiveness that the type of this burning is taken from the burning of ,jerusalem by the ,romans4 ,it may have been taken from the burning of other cities by victorious enemies4 ,but this much at least is obvious3 that1 in conjunction with the fact that ,babylon is a harlot1 destruction by fire leads us directly to the thought of the spiritual1 and not simply the civil1 or political1 or commercial1 character of the city4 ,according to the law of ,moses1 burning appears to have been the punishment of fornication only in the case of a priest's daughter3 ,and the daughter of any priest1 if she profane herself by playing the harlot1 she shall be burnt with fire4#dij #c4 ,whether there is any other allusion to spiritual traffic in the lamentations before us it is not easy to say4 ,of one at least which may be quoted in this connexion the interpretation is uncertain4 ,when the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over the loss of that merchandise which they now miss1 they extend it1 not only to articles of commerce bought and sold in an ordinary market1 but to souls of men4 ,it may be that1 as often suggested1 slavery alone is thought of4 ,yet it is highly improbable that such is the case4 ,rather may it be supposed to refer to that spiritual life which is destroyed by too much occupation with1 and too engrossing interest in1 the world4 ,the characteristic of this fornication is the selling themselves for gold1 as the ,greek word signifies4 ,therefore with such wonderful force and emphasis of accumulation is every species of this merchandise mentioned1 running up all into one head3 the souls of men4 ,like that in the prophet3 ',their land is full of silver and gold1 neither is there any end of their treasures2 their land also is full of horses1 neither is there any end of their chariots2 their land also is full of idols4' ,and it must be observed that all these things which are so minutely particularized as expressive of the meshes of that net by which men's souls are taken have also their place in the new ,jerusalem1 where every jewel is specified by name1 and the gold of its streets1 and the fine linen1 and the incense1 and the wine1 and the oil1 its white horses also4 ,in both alike must they stand for spiritual merchandise of good and evil1 the false riches and the true4#dia ,the conclusion to be drawn is that ,babylon is a spiritual city4 ,that1 as such1 she is ,jerusalem is further confirmed by the fact that1 at the close of the chapter1 it is said1 ,and in her was found the blood of prophets1 and of saints1 and of all that have been slain upon the earth4 ,similar words met us in chap4 xvii4 #f2 and here1 as there1 they unmistakeably remind us of the words already quoted in which our ,lord describes the great city of the ,jews4#dib #d4 ,from all that has been said1 it must be obvious that nothing is here spoken of ,babylon inapplicable to ,jerusalem when we think of this latter city in the light in which the ,seer specially regards it4 ,jerusalem was indeed neither a commercial nor a maritime city1 but ,rome also was no city on the sea4 ,a large part1 therefore1 of the details of ,st4 ,john's description is not less destitute of force when applied1 if applied literally1 to the latter than to the former4 ,on the other hand1 these details are more applicable to ,jerusalem than to ,rome1 if we remember that ,jerusalem supplies1 in a way impossible to ,rome1 the groundwork for a delineation of those religious forces which are far more wide-spreading in their reach1 and far more crushing in their power1 than the legions of the imperial metropolis4 ,babylon then is fallen1 and that with a sudden and swift destruction1 a destruction indeed so sudden and so swift that each of the three companies that lament takes particular notice of the fact that in one hour did her judgment come4#dic ,more1 however1 so important is the subject1 has to be said2 and we are introduced to the action of the third angel of the first group3-- ,and a strong angel took up a stone1 as it were a great millstone1 and cast it into the sea1 saying1 ,thus with a mighty fall shall ,babylon1 the great city1 be cast down1 and shall be found no more at all4 ,and the voice of harpers1 and minstrels1 and flute-players1 and trumpeters1 shall be heard no more at all in thee2 and no craftsman1 of whatsoever craft1 shall be found any more at all in thee2 and the voice of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee2 and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee3 for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived4 ,and in her was found the blood of prophets1 and of saints1 and of all that have been slain upon the earth 7xviii4 #ba-bd74 ,yet once again1 it would seem1 must we think of ,babylon as to be destroyed rather than as destroyed already4 ,so great is her guiltiness that the ,seer again and again approaches it1 and dwells1 though from different points of view1 upon the thought of her disastrous fate4 ,in the present case it is less the method than the effect of her destruction that is before his eye1 and nothing can be more touching than the light in which he presents it4 ,at one moment we behold the city in her brightness1 her gaiety1 her rich and varied life4 ,we hear the voice of her harpers1 and minstrels1 and flute-players1 and trumpeters1 all that can delight the ear accompanying all that can please the eye4 ,her craftsmen of every craft are busy at their work2 and each shop in the great city resounds with the noise of the hammer1 or the shuttle1 or the other instruments of prosperous industry4 ,the cheering sound of the millstone tells that there is food in her humbler dwellings4 ,her merchants1 too1 are the princes of the earth2 innumerable lamps glitter in their halls and gardens2 and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride is the pledge of her well-being and joy4 ,the next moment the proud city is cast like a millstone into the sea2 and all is silence1 desolation1 and ruin4 ,the resources of language appear as if they had been exhausted to supply the description of so great a fall4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have now reached the close of the longest and most important section of the ,apocalypse1 beginning1 as has been already pointed out1 with chap4 vi4 ,it is the fourth in that series of seven of which the book is composed2 and the main purpose of ,st4 ,john in writing finds expression in it4 ,as the writer of the fourth ,gospel describes in the fourth section of that book1 extending from chap4 v4 to chap4 xii41 the conflict between the ,son of ,god and the ,jews1 so he describes in the corresponding section of the ,apocalypse the conflict between the glorified ,son of man as ,he lives and reigns in ,his ,church and the evil of the world4 ,throughout the conflict we are not once permitted to forget that1 although ,christ and the true members of ,his ,body may be the objects of attack1 and may even have to retire for security from the field1 ,god is on their side1 and will never suffer ,his faithfulness to fail or forget ,his promises4 ,in a threefold series of judgments the guilty world and the guilty ,church are visited with the terrors of ,his wrath4 ,these three series of judgments1 too1 go on in an ascending line4 ,the climactic character of their contents has already been pointed out1 and nothing more need be said of it4 ,but it may be worth while to notice that the element of climax appears not less in the nature of the instruments employed4 ,comparing the ,trumpets with the ,seals1 the simple fact that they are ,trumpets indicates a higher1 more exciting1 more terrible unfolding of wrath4 ,the ,trumpet is peculiarly the warlike instrument1 summoning the hosts to battle3 ,thou hast heard1 ,o my soul1 the sound of the trumpet1 the alarm of war2 ,that day is a day of wrath1 a day of trouble and distress1 a day of wasteness and desolation1 a day of darkness and gloominess1 a day of clouds and thick darkness1 a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities4#did ,that the ,bowls1 again1 are still more potent than the ,trumpets1 appears from the language in which they are described1 from their mode of introduction1 and from the vessels made use of for the plagues4 ,they are the last plagues2 in them is finished the wrath of ,god2 they are called for by a great voice out of the sanctuary2 and they proceed1 not from a secular instrument1 however warlike1 but from a sacred vessel1 not from one which must be sounded for a length of time before it produces its effect1 but from one which1 inverted in a moment1 pours out with a sudden gush its terrors upon men4 ,similar though they thus are1 the three series of judgments lose what might otherwise be their sameness2 and the mind is invited to rest upon that most instructive lesson of the providence of ,god1 that in proportion to privilege misused is the severity with which sin is punished4 ,throughout all these judgments the righteous are kept safe4 ,it will thus be observed that there is no strict chronological succession in the visions of this book4 ,there is succession of a certain kind1 succession in intensity of punishment4 ,but we cannot assign one series of judgments to one period in the history of the ,church or limit another to another4 ,all the three series may continually fulfil themselves wherever persons are found of the character and disposition to which they severally apply4 ,but while these three series constitute the chief substance of the fourth1 or leading1 section of the seven into which the ,apocalypse is divided1 they do not exhaust the subject4 ,the last series1 in particular--that of the ,bowls--has proceeded upon a supposition the most startling and pathetic by which the history of the ,church is marked1--that they are not all ,israel which are of ,israel1 that tares have mingled with the wheat1 and that the spirit of ,babylon has found its way into the heart of the city of ,god4 ,a phenomenon so unexpected and so melancholy stands in need of particular examination1 and that examination is given in the description of the character and fate of ,babylon4 ,the remarks already made upon this point need not be repeated4 ,it may be enough to remind the reader that in no part of his whole book is the ,seer more deeply moved1 and that in none does he rise to strains of more powerful and touching eloquence4 ,yet what is chiefly required of us is to open our minds to the full impression of the fact that ,babylon does fall1 deep in ruin as in guilt1 and that with her fall the conflict ends4 ,,footnotes3 #dhj ,kliefoth seems to have been the first to point this out4 #dha ,luke ii4 #i2 ,acts xxvi4 #ac4 #dhb ,isa4 xiii4 #ai-bb4 #dhc ,john x4 #g4 #dhd ,john ix4 #ce4 #dhe ,exod4 xxii4 #d1 #g1 #i4 #dhf ,jer4 xvi4 #ah4 #dhg ,isa4 xxiv4 #aj4 #dhh ,chap4 xvii4 #af4 #dhi ,chap4 xviii4 #h4 #dij ,lev4 xxi4 #i4 #dia ,isaac ,williams1 ,the ,apocalypse1 with ,notes1 etc41 p4 #cfj4 #dib ,matt4 xxiii4 #ce4 ,comp4 p4 #bia4 #dic ,vers4 #aj1 #ag1 #ai4 #did ,jer4 iv4 #ai2 ,zeph4 i4 #ae1 #af4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,pause ,,of ,,victory ,,and ,,judgment ,,of ,,the ,,beast ,,and ,,the ,,false ,,prophet4 ,,rev4 xix4 ,those who have followed with attention the course of this commentary can hardly fail to have observed its leading conception of the book with which it deals4 ,that conception is that the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john presents to us in visions the history of the ,church moulded upon the history of her ,lord whilst ,he tabernacled among men4 ,it is the invariable lesson of the ,new ,testament that ,christ and ,his people are one4 ,he is the ,vine2 they are the branches4 ,he is in them2 they are in ,him4 ,with equal uniformity the sacred writers teach us that just as ,christ suffered during the course of ,his earthly ministry1 so also ,his people suffer4 ,they have to endure the struggle before they enjoy the victory1 and to bear the cross before they win the crown4 ,but the peculiarity of the ,apocalypse is1 that it carries out this thought much more fully than the other ,new ,testament books4 ,st4 ,john does not merely see the ,church suffer4 ,he sees her suffer in a way precisely as her ,lord did4 ,he lives in the thought of those words spoken by ,jesus to ,salome at a striking moment of his life with regard to his brother and himself1 ,the cup that ,i drink ye shall drink2 and with the baptism that ,i am baptized withal shall ye be baptized4#die ,that very cup is put into his hands and into the hands of his brethren1 who are partakers with him in the tribulation1 and kingdom1 and patience which are in ,jesus2#dif with that very baptism they are all baptized4 ,now we know from the fourth ,gospel what the light was in which ,st4 ,john looked back1 at a distance of more than half a century1 upon the life of ,jesus4 ,nothing therefore was more natural than that1 dealing only with the great principles at work in ,god's government of the world and guidance of ,his ,church1 and seeing these principles embodied in visions1 the visions should present to him a course of things precisely similar to that which had been followed in the case of the ,forerunner of the ,church and the ,captain of her salvation4 ,turning then to the fourth ,gospel1 it has long been acknowledged by every inquirer of importance that the struggle of ,jesus with the world1 which the ,evangelist chiefly intends to relate1 ends with the close of chap4 xii4 ,it is equally undeniable that with the beginning of chap4 xviii4 the struggle breaks out afresh4 ,between these two points lie chaps4 xiii4 to xvii41 five chapters altogether different from those that either precede or follow them1 marked by a different tone1 and centring around that institution of the ,last ,supper in which1 ,judas having now gone out1 the love of ,jesus to ,his disciples is poured forth with a tenderness previously unexampled4 ,in these chapters we have first a narrative in which the love of ,jesus is related as it appears in the foot-washing and in the institution of the ,supper1 and then1 immediately afterwards1 a pause4 ,this pause--chaps4 xiii4 #ca-xvii4--together with the narrative preceding it1 occurs at the close of a struggle substantially finished--,i glorified ,thee on the earth1 having accomplished the work which ,thou hast given ,me to do#dig--;and only yet again to burst forth in one final and unsuccessful effort against the ,prince of life4 ,it would seem as if we had a similar structure at the point of the ,apocalypse now reached by us4 ,there is a transition narrative which1 so far as the thought in it is concerned1 may be regarded either as closing the fourth or as beginning the fifth section of the book4 ,it is probably better to understand it as the latter1 because the mould of the ,gospel is thus better preserved2 and1 where so much else speaks distinctly of that mould1 there is no impropriety in giving the benefit of a doubt to what is otherwise sufficiently established4 ,although therefore the fifth section of the ,apocalypse1 the ,pause1 begins properly with ver4 #aa of the present chapter1 the first ten verses may be taken along with these as a preparatory narrative standing to what follows as ,john xiii4 #a-cj stands to chap4 xiii4 #ca-;chap4 xvii4 ,the probability1 too1 that this is the light in which we are to look at the passage before us1 is rendered greater when we notice1 first1 that there is in the midst of the preliminary narrative1 and for the first time mention made of a supper1 the marriage supper of the ,lamb1#dih and1 secondly1 that at a later point in the book there is a final outburst of evil against the ,church1 which1 notwithstanding the powerful forces ranged against her1 is unsuccessful4#dii ,what we have now to do with is thus not a continuation of the struggle4 ,it is a pause in which the fall of ,babylon is celebrated1 and the great enemies of the ,church are consigned to their merited fate3-- ,after these things ,i heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven1 saying1 ,hallelujah2 ,salvation1 and glory1 and power1 belong to our ,god3 for true and righteous are ,his judgments3 for ,he hath judged the great harlot1 which did corrupt the earth with her fornication1 and ,he hath avenged the blood of ,his servants at her hand4 ,and a second time they say1 ,hallelujah4 ,and her smoke goeth up for ever and ever4 ,and the four-and-twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped ,god that sitteth on the throne1 saying1 ,amen2 ,hallelujah4 ,and a voice came forth from the throne1 saying1 ,give praise to our ,god1 all ye ,his servants1 ye that fear ,him1 the small and the great4 ,and ,i heard as it were the voice of a great multitude1 and as the voice of many waters1 and as the voice of mighty thunders1 saying1 ,hallelujah3 for the ,lord our ,god1 the ,almighty1 reigneth4 ,let us rejoice and be exceeding glad1 and let us give the glory unto ,him3 for the marriage of the ,lamb is come1 and ,his wife hath made herself ready4 ,and it was given unto her that she should clothe herself in fine linen1 bright and pure3 for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints4 ,and he saith unto me1 ,write1 ,blessed are they which are bidden unto the marriage supper of the ,lamb4 ,and he saith unto me1 ,these are true words of ,god4 ,and ,i fell down before his feet to worship him4 ,and he saith unto me1 ,see thou do it not3 ,i am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of ,jesus3 worship ,god3 for the testimony of ,jesus is the spirit of prophecy 7xix4 #a-aj74 ,babylon has fallen2 and the world1 represented by three classes of its inhabitants--kings1 merchants1 and sailors--has poured out its lamentations over her fall4 ,very different are the feelings of the good1 and these feelings appear in the narrative before us4 ,a great multitude is heard in heaven1 not necessarily in the region beyond the grave1 but in that of the righteous1 of the unworldly1 of the spiritual1 whether in time or in eternity4 ,this multitude is probably to be identified with that of chap4 vii4 #i4 ,the definite article1 which would render the identification complete1 is indeed wanting2 but we have already found instances of the same method of speech with regard to the one hundred and forty and four thousand of chap4 xiv4 #a1 and with regard to the glassy sea of chap4 xv4 #b4 ,the whole ransomed ,church of ,god is therefore included in the expression4 ,they sing first2 and the burden of their song is ,hallelujah1 or ,praise to ,god1 because ,he has inflicted upon the harlot the due punishment of her sins and crimes4 ,nor do they sing only once2 they sing the same ascription of praise a second time4 ,the meaning is not simply that they do this twice1 the second time having more than its numerical force1 and being designed to bring out the intensity of their feelings and their song4#ejj ,then the four-and-twenty elders1 the representatives of the glorified ,church1 and the four living creatures1 the representatives of redeemed creation1 answer1 ,amen1 and take up the same song3 ,hallelujah4 ,all creation1 animate and inanimate1 swells the voice of joy and praise4 ,meanwhile the smoke of the harlot's torment goeth up for ever and ever4 ,again1 as once before1#eja we have here no right to fasten our thoughts upon immortal spirits of men deceived and led astray4 ,such may be included4 ,if they have identified themselves with the harlot1 we need not hesitate to say that they are induced4 ,but what is mainly brought under our notice is the overthrow1 complete and final1 of sin itself4 ,babylon has been utterly overthrown1 and her punishment shall never be forgotten4 ,her fate shall remain a monument of the righteous judgment of ,god1 and shall illustrate unto the ages of the ages the character of ,him who1 for creation's sake1 will by no means clear the guilty4#ejb ,a voice from heaven is then heard calling upon all the servants of ,god to praise ,him2 and this is followed by another voice1 as it were the voice of a great multitude1 and as the voice of many waters1 and as the voice of mighty thunders1 saying1 ,hallelujah3 for the ,lord our ,god1 the ,almighty1 reigneth4 ,he always indeed really reigned1 but now ,he has taken to ,himself ,his great power1 and everything acknowledges its ,king4 ,thus a new moment is reached in the history of ,god's saints4 ,the ,lamb is come to claim ,his bride1 and ,his wife hath made herself ready4 ,she has been long betrothed1 and has been waiting for the ,bridegroom4 ,through storm and calm1 through sorrow and joy1 through darkness and light1 she has waited for ,him1 crying ever and again1 ,come quickly4 ,at last ,he comes1 and the marriage and the marriage supper are to take place4 ,for the first time in the ,apocalypse we read of this marriage1 and for the first time1 although the general idea of supping with the ,lord had been once alluded to1#ejc of this marriage supper4 ,the figure indeed is far from being new4 ,the writers both of the ,old and of the ,new ,testament use it with remarkable frequency4#ejd ,but no sacred writer appears to have felt more the power and beauty of the similitude than ,st4 ,john4 ,in the first miracle which he records1 and in which he sees the whole glory of the ,new ,testament dispensation mirrored forth1 ,he who changed the water into wine is the ,bridegroom of ,his ,church#eje2 and1 when the ,baptist passes out of view in the presence of ,him for whom he had prepared the way1 he records the swan-like song in which the great prophet terminated his mission in order that another and a higher than himself might have sole possession of the field3 ,ye yourselves bear me witness1 that ,i said1 ,i am not the ,christ1 but that ,i am sent before ,him4 ,he that hath the bride is the bridegroom3 but the friend of the bridegroom1 which standeth and heareth him1 rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice3 this my joy therefore is fulfilled4#ejf ,such is the moment that has now arrived1 and the bride is ready for it4 ,her raiment is worthy of our notice4 ,it is fine linen1 bright and pure2 and then it is immediately added1 for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints4 ,these acts are not the imputed righteousness of ,christ1 although only in ,christ are the acts performed4 ,they express the moral and religious condition of those who constitute the bride4 ,no outward righteousness alone1 with which we might be clothed as with a garment1 is a sufficient preparation for future blessedness4 ,an inward change is not less necessary1 a personal and spiritual meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light4 ,christ must not only be on us as a robe1 but in us as a life1 if we are to have the hope of glory4#ejg ,let us not be afraid of words like these4 ,rightly viewed1 they in no way interfere with our completeness in the ,beloved alone1 or with the fact that not by works of righteousness that we have done1 but by grace1 are we saved through faith1 and that not of ourselves2 it is the gift of ,god4#ejh ,all our salvation is of ,christ1 but the change upon us must be internal as well as external4 ,the elect are foreordained to be conformed to the image of ,god's ,son#eji2 and the ,christian condition is expressed in the words which say1 not only ,ye were justified1 but also ye were washed1 ye were sanctified in the name of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and in the ,spirit of our ,god4#eaj ,thus made ready1 the bride now enters with the ,bridegroom into the marriage feast2 and1 as the whole of her future rises before the view of the heavenly visitant who converses with the ,seer1 he says to him1 ,write1 ,blessed are they which are bidden to the marriage supper of the ,lamb4 ,once before ,st4 ,john had heard a similar1 perhaps the same1 voice from heaven1 saying1 ,blessed are the dead which die in the ,lord from henceforth4#eaa ,then we believed2 now we see4 ,the clouds are dispelled2 the veil is rent asunder2 we enter into the palace of the great ,king4 ,there is music1 and festivity1 and joy4 ,there is neither sin nor sorrow1 no privilege abused1 no cloud upon any countenance1 no burden upon any heart1 no shadow from the future to darken the rapture of the present4 ,here is life1 and life abundantly2 the peace that passeth understanding2 the joy unspeakable and glorified2 the inheritance incorruptible1 undefiled1 and unfading4 ,in particular1 when we think of this marriage supper of the ,lamb1 we cannot but return to that supper in the upper chamber of ,jerusalem which occupies so strikingly similar a position in the life of ,jesus4 ,there ,jesus said1 ,take1 eat3 this is ,my body1 which is for you2 ,this cup is the new covenant in ,my blood3 drink ye all of it4#eab ,that was a feast1 in which ,he gave ,himself to be for ever the nourishment of ,his ,church4 ,and in like manner in the marriage supper of the ,lamb the ,lord who became dead and is alive for evermore is not only the ,bridegroom1 but the substance of the feast4 ,in ,him and by ,him ,his people lived on earth2 in ,him and by ,him they live for ever4 ,all this ,st4 ,john saw4 ,all this1 too1 he heard confirmed by the statement that1 wonderful and glorious as was the spectacle1 it was yet true words of ,god4 ,he was overwhelmed1 and would have worshipped his angelic visitant4 ,but he was interrupted by the declaration on the angel's part1 ,see thou do it not3 ,i am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of ,jesus3 worship ,god4 ,these fellow-servants are first the prophets1 but then also all true members of ,christ's ,body4 ,the last not less than the first hold the testimony of ,jesus#eac2 and because they do so1 they too are prophets1 for prophecy1 whether in ,old or in ,new ,testament times1 testifies to ,him4 ,in ,him all revelation centres4 ,he is the expression of the ,god whom no man hath seen4 ,he is thus the ,alpha and the ,omega1 over all1 ,god blessed for ever4#ead ,by so contemplating ,him we are prepared for the next following vision3-- ,and ,i saw the heavens opened1 and behold a white horse1 and ,he that sat thereon1 called ,faithful and ,true2 and in righteousness ,he doth judge and make war4 ,and ,his eyes are a flame of fire1 and upon ,his head are many diadems2 and ,he hath a name written1 which no man knoweth1 but ,he ,himself4 ,and ,he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood3 and ,his name is called ,the ,word of ,god4 ,and the armies which are in heaven followed ,him upon white horses1 clothed in fine linen1 white and pure4 ,and out of ,his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword1 that with it ,he should smite the nations and ,he shall rule them with a rod of iron3 and ,he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of ,almighty ,god4 ,and ,he hath on ,his garment and on ,his thigh a name written1 ,,king ,,of ,,kings1 ,,and ,,lord ,,of ,,lords 7xix4 #aa-af74 ,of the position of this passage in the structure of the ,apocalypse we have already spoken2 and1 looked at in that its true light1 it may be called the ,pause of ,victory4 ,there is no renewal of the struggle4 ,a ,warrior is indeed presented to us2 but ,he is a ,warrior who has already conquered1 and who comes forth not so much to subdue ,his enemies as to inflict upon them their final punishment4 ,heaven is open1 and our attention is first of all directed to a rider upon a white horse4 ,the description given of this rider leaves no doubt as to who ,he is4 ,the whiteness of the horse is the emblem of a purity that can be connected with the kingdom of ,god alone4 ,the description of the ,rider--,faithful1 who will not suffer one word that ,he has promised to fail2 ,true1 not true as opposed to false1 but real as opposed to shadowy--corresponds only to something essentially ,divine2 while the particulars of ,his appearance afterwards mentioned take us back to the glorified ,son of man of chap4 i41 and to other passages of this and other books of the ,bible which speak of the same glorious ,person4 ,there are the eyes like a flame of fire of chap4 i4 #ad and chap4 ii4 #ah4 ,there are upon ,his head many diadems1 a fact not previously mentioned1 but corresponding to the many royalties which belong to ,him whom all things obey4 ,there is the name which none but ,he ,himself knoweth1 for no one knoweth the ,son save the ,father4#eae ,there is the garment sprinkled with blood1 of which we read in the prophet ,isaiah1#eaf the blood1 not that of the ,conqueror shed for us1 but the blood of ,his enemies staining ,his raiment as ,he returns victorious from the field4 ,there is the name ,the ,word of ,god1 with which ,st4 ,john alone has made us familiar in the opening of his ,gospel4 ,there are the armies which are in heaven1 following ,him upon white horses1 and clothed in fine linen1 white and pure1 to which our attention is directed1 not for their sake1 but for ,his1 for ,he has made them partakers of ,his victory4 ,there is the sharp sword proceeding out of ,his mouth of chap4 i4 #af and chap4 ii4 #ab4 ,there is the smiting of the nations1 of which we have already heard in chap4 ii4 #bg and chap4 xii4 #e4 ,there is the treading of the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of ,almighty ,god1 spoken of in chap4 xiv4 #ai1 #bj4 ,finally1 there is on ,his garment and on ,his thigh the name ,,king ,,of ,,kings1 ,,and ,,lord ,,of ,,lords4 ,all these traits leave no doubt who this ,captain of salvation is2 and all are noted that we may better understand both the glory of ,his person1 and the nature of ,his accomplished work4 ,one thing therefore alone remains3 that the great adversaries of ,his people shall be consigned to their doom2 and to this the ,seer proceeds3-- ,and ,i saw an angel standing in the sun2 and he cried with a loud voice1 saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven1 ,come and be gathered together unto the great supper of ,god2 that ye may eat the flesh of kings1 and the flesh of captains1 and the flesh of mighty men1 and the flesh of horses1 and of them that sit thereon1 and the flesh of all men1 both free and bond1 and small and great4 ,and ,i saw the beast1 and the kings of the earth1 and their armies1 gathered together to make war against ,him that sat upon the horse1 and against ,his army4 ,and the beast was taken1 and he that was with him1 the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight1 wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast1 and them that worshipped his image4 ,they twain were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone4 ,and the rest were killed with the sword of ,him that sat upon the horse1 even the sword which came forth out of ,his mouth3 and all the birds were filled with their flesh 7xix4 #ag-ba74 ,the angel beheld at the beginning of this scene is the first of the three forming the second group of that series of seven parts of which the triumphing ,conqueror was the centre4 ,he stood in the sun1 which is to be thought of as in the zenith of its daily path1 in order that he may be seen and heard by all4 ,it is to the birds that fly in mid-heaven that he calls2 that is1 to those strong and fierce birds of prey1 such as the eagle and the vulture1 which fly in the highest regions of the atmosphere4 ,his cry is that they shall come to the great supper of ,god1 that they may feast upon the flesh of all the enemies of the ,lamb4 ,the idea of such a feast is found in the prophecies of ,ezekiel2 and there can be no doubt1 from the many accompanying circumstances of similarity between the description of it there and here1 that ,st4 ,john has the language of the prophet in his eye3 ,and1 thou son of man1 thus saith the ,lord ,god2 ,speak unto the birds of every sort1 and to every beast of the field1 ,assemble yourselves1 and come2 gather yourselves on every side to ,my sacrifice that ,i do sacrifice for you1 even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of ,israel1 that ye may eat flesh1 and drink blood4 ,ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty1 and drink the blood of the princes of the earth1 of rams1 of lambs1 and of goats1 of bullocks1 all of them fatlings of ,bashan4 ,and ye shall eat fat till ye be full1 and drink blood till ye be drunken1 of ,my sacrifice which ,i have sacrificed for you4 ,and ye shall be filled at ,my table with horses and chariots1 with mighty men1 and with all men of war1 saith the ,lord ,god4#eag ,yet1 while the picture of the prophet is unquestionably before the ,seer's mind1 it is impossible to doubt that we have in this supper a travesty of that marriage supper of the ,lamb which had been spoken of in the previous part of the chapter4#eah ,in contrast with the joyful banquet at which the children of ,god shall be nourished by ,him whose flesh is meat indeed and whose blood is drink indeed1 the wicked1 to whatever rank or station they belong1 shall themselves be a meal for all foul and ravenous birds4 ,the whole passage reminds us of the spectacle at ,calvary1 as it is set before us in the fourth ,gospel1 and may be accepted as one of the innumerable proofs of the similarity between two books--that ,gospel and the ,apocalypse--at first sight so different from each other4 ,on the ,cross ,jesus is the true ,paschal ,lamb1 not so much in the moment of its death as at a subsequent stage1 when it was prepared for1 and eaten at1 the paschal meal4 ,in the conduct of the ,jews on that occasion ,st4 ,john appears to behold an inverted and contorted ,passover4 ,the enemies of ,jesus had not entered into the judgment-hall of ,pilate1 lest they should be defiled2 but that they might eat the passover4#eai ,they had not eaten it then ,amidst the tumult and stormy passions of that dreadful morning1 when had they an opportunity of eating it8 ,st4 ,john does not tell us that they found one4 ,rather is the whole narrative so constructed1 so full of close1 rapid1 passionate action1 that it is impossible to fix upon any point at which we can insert their eating until it was too late to make it legal4 ,may it not be that they found no opportunity for eating it8 ,they lost their passover4 ,lost it8 ,nay2 the ,evangelist seems to say1 they found a passover4 ,go with me to the ,cross2 mark there their cruel mockeries of the ,lamb of ,god2 and you shall see the righteous dealings of the ,almighty as ,he makes these mockeries take the shape of a passover of judgment1 a passover of added sin and deepened shame4#ebj ,the punishment of the wicked1 and especially of the three great enemies of the ,church1 now proceeds2 and it ought still to be carefully observed that we have to do with punishment1 not war or overthrow in war4 ,it was so at ver4 #ag1 where1 after the triumphing ,conqueror had ridden forth1 followed by ,his armies1 there is no mention of any battle4 ,there is only the angel's cry to the birds to gather themselves together unto the great supper of ,god4 ,the battle had been already fought1 and the victory already won4 ,we are now told indeed of the gathering together of the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies1 to make war against ,him that sat upon the horse1 and against ,his army4 ,but1 whatever may have been their design1 it is not executed4 ,no actual fighting is spoken of4 ,the enemies referred to are at once taken1 apparently without fighting1 and are consigned to the fate which they have brought upon themselves4 ,two of the three great enemies of the ,lord and of ,his ,church meet this fate1--the beast and the false prophet4 ,the first of these is the beast so frequently mentioned in previous chapters4 ,more particularly it is the beast of chap4 xvii41 the representative of the antichristian world in its last and highest form4 ,the second is not less certainly the second beast of chap4 xiii41 of whom it is said that he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast2 saying to them that dwell upon the earth1 that they should make an image to the beast4#eba ,the signs1 the deception1 and the worship of the beast now spoken of can be no other than those thus referred to4 ,one point may be noticed further4 ,according to what seems to be the best reading of the original ,greek1 we are told here1 not that the beast was taken1 and with him the false prophet1 but the beast was taken1 and he that was with him1 the false prophet4 ,in other words1 the language of ,st4 ,john is designed to bring out the closeness of connexion between these two beasts1 the fact that the one is always dependent on the other4 ,they are never separated4 ,the first cannot act without the second4 ,hence in all probability the reason why1 in treating of the doom by which these enemies of the ,church are overtaken1 a separate paragraph is not assigned to each4 ,they are taken together4 ,a more important question has been raised in connexion with the words before us2 and it has been urged that they conclusively prove that both the beast and the false prophet are persons1 not personifications4#ebb ,we have already seen that in regard to the beast that conclusion is hasty4#ebc ,it appears to be not less so in regard to the false prophet4 ,the simple fact that he deceiveth them--that is1 all that had received the mark of the beast--is inconsistent with such an idea1 unless we ascribe to him a ubiquity that is ,divine2 or unless we suppose1 what ,scripture gives us no warrant for believing1 that there is in the realm of evil a personal trinity--the dragon1 the beast1 and the false prophet--corresponding to the ,trinity of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit4 ,it is much more natural to think that ,st4 ,john's statements upon this point spring from that general method of conception which distinguishes him1 and by which everything existing in the realm of good is thought of as having its counterpart in the realm of evil4 ,the question thus raised is wholly independent of any consideration of the fate by which the two beasts are overtaken4 ,when principles are viewed as persons1 they must be spoken of as persons2 and it will surely not be urged that death and ,hades are persons because it is said of them1 in chap4 xx4 #ad1 that they were cast into the lake of fire4 ,the beast and the false prophet then are cast together into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone2 and this lake of fire is further explained in chap4 xx4 #ad to be the second death4 ,it is impossible to avoid the questions1 ,how are we to conceive of this lake of fire8 and1 ,what is its effect8 ,yet1 so far as at present concerns us1 the answer to these questions must be taken from ,st4 ,john alone4 ,in the first instance at least we have nothing to do with the general teaching of ,scripture on what is called the doctrine of eternal punishment4 ,our only inquiry must be1 ,what impression is the language employed by the ,seer in these visions intended to convey8 ,upon this point it would seem as if there can be little doubt4 ,to ,st4 ,john it is no matter of consequence to tell us what shall be the condition of the enemies of the ,church throughout the ages of the future1 or whether they shall be preserved everlastingly alive in torment and misery and woe4 ,his one aim is to deal with the condition of the kingdom of ,god while it contends with its foes in this present scene4 ,his one object is to tell us that these foes shall be destroyed for ever1 and that the world shall be wholly purged from them4 ,no further information is required to comfort us4 ,we may leave them in the hands of ,god4 ,looking at the matter in this light1 we do not need to ask whether by the lake of fire we are to understand a lake in which the wicked are consumed or one in which they are upheld in undying flames4 ,either interpretation is consistent with the ,apostle's course of thought1 and with the impression which he wishes to produce4 ,no doubt it may be said that the principle of contrast1 of which we have so often availed ourselves in interpreting this book1 implies that1 as the righteous shall be upheld amidst the joys of everlasting life1 so the wicked shall be upheld amidst the torments of everlasting death4 ,but it is precisely here that the peculiarity of ,st4 ,john's mode of thought comes in4 ,to him life is in the very nature of the case everlasting4 ,were it not so1 it would not be life4 ,only therefore in so far as the conception of everlasting torment lies in the idea of death can it be truly said that the principle of contrast1 so deeply rooted in ,st4 ,john's mode of thought1 demands the application of everlasting torment to the wicked4 ,but the idea of torment everlastingly continued does not lie in the idea of death4 ,death is privation2 when inflicted by fire1 capacity for torment is speedily destroyed2 and death itself is cast into the lake of fire4 ,the natural conclusion is that the idea of torment belongs to the mode by which the death spoken of is inflicted--fire--and that the words with which we are dealing may mean no more than this1--that the eternity of effect following the overthrow of the beast and the false prophet is the leading conception associated with the fire that burneth with brimstone to which these great enemies of ,god's people are consigned4 ,if what has been said be correct1 the whole question of the everlasting suffering of the wicked is left open so far as these passages in the ,apocalypse are concerned2 and ,st4 ,john's main lesson is that when the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire they shall no longer have power to war against the righteous or to disturb their peace4 ,when these two enemies of the ,church had thus been destroyed1 the rest were killed with the sword of ,him that sat upon the horse1 even the sword which came forth out of ,his mouth4 ,the persons thus called the rest are those who stand to the beast and the false prophet in the same relation as that in which the rest of the woman's seed1 spoken of in chap4 xii4 #ag1 stand to the man-child caught up unto ,god and unto ,his throne4 ,the man-child exalted and glorified is the same as ,he that sat upon the horse1 and in that condition a sword proceedeth out of ,his mouth4#ebd ,the ,guardian and ,protector of ,his own1 who has kept their true life safe amidst all outward troubles1 brings also these troubles to an end4 ,their enemies are killed4 ,they are not yet cast into the lake of fire1 because their hour of judgment has not come4 ,by-and-by it will come4#ebe ,meanwhile not only can they harm the righteous no more1 but they afford a supper to the ravenous birds already spoken of2 and the birds are more than satisfied3 they are gorged with the unholy banquet4 ,all the birds were filled with their flesh4 ,,footnotes3 #die ,mark x4 #ci4 #dif ,rev4 i4 #i4 #dig ,john xvii4 #d4 #dih ,ver4 #i4 #dii ,chap4 xx4 #g4 #ejj ,comp4 #eja ,comp4 p4 #bej4 #ejb ,exod4 xxxiv4 #g4 #ejc ,comp4 chap4 iii4 #bj4 #ejd ,comp4 ,ps4 xiv4 #i-ae2 ,isa4 liv4 #e2 ,hos4 ii4 #ai2 ,matt4 xxii4 #b2 ,eph4 v4 #cb1 etc4 #eje ,john ii4 #a-aa4 #ejf ,john iii4 #bh1 #bi4 #ejg ,col4 i4 #bg4 #ejh ,eph4 ii4 #h4 #eji ,rom4 viii4 #bi4 #eaj #a ,cor4 vi4 #aa4 #eaa ,chap4 xiv4 #ac4 #eab ,matt4 xxvi4 #bf1 #bg2 #a ,cor4 xi4 #bd1 #be4 #eac ,comp4 chaps4 i4 #c1 #i1 vi4 #i1 xi4 #g1 xii4 #ag1 xx4 #d4 #ead ,rom4 ix4 #e4 #eae ,matt4 xi4 #bg4 #eaf ,isa4 lxiii4 #c4 #eag ,ezek4 xxxix4 #ag-bj4 #eah ,ver4 #i4 #eai ,john xviii4 #bh4 #ebj ,the writer has endeavoured to unfold this view of ,jesus on the ,cross in two papers in ,the ,expositor1 first series1 vol4 vi41 pp4 #ag1 #abi4 #eba ,chap4 xiii4 #ad4 #ebb ,burger in loc4 #ebc ,comp4 p4 #big4 #ebd ,chaps4 i4 #af2 xix4 #ae4 #ebe ,chap4 xx4 #ae4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,judgment ,,of ,,satan ,,and ,,of ,,the ,,wicked4 ,,rev4 xx4 ,in now approaching chap4 xx41 with its yet unsolved difficulties of interpretation1 it is of essential importance to observe1 in the first place1 the relation of the chapter to what immediately precedes4 ,the ,seer is not entering upon an entirely new subject4 ,he distinctly continues1 on the contrary1 the prosecution of a theme he had before begun4 ,in the previous portion of his book three great enemies of the saints of ,god had been introduced to us1--the dragon or the devil1 the beast1 and the false prophet4 ,these were the main opponents of the ,lamb1 in one way or another stirring up all the efforts that had been made against ,him by the kings of the earth1 their armies1 and their followers4 ,for a time they had appeared to succeed4 ,they had persecuted the saints1 had compelled them to flee1 had overcome them1 and killed them4 ,this1 however1 could not continue2 and it was to be shown that the final triumph remains with those who have suffered for the sake of righteousness4 ,in chap4 xix4 we have the beginning1 but not the close1 of this triumph4 ,of the three great enemies only two--the beast and the false prophet--perish in that chapter4 ,the destruction of the third is reserved for chap4 xx41 and is effected at the tenth verse of the chapter4 ,the verses following then describe the judgment of those who had listened to these enemies1 but who1 though defeated1 or even killed1#ebf or devoured by fire out of heaven when in their service1#ebg had not yet been consigned to their doom4 ,thereafter nothing remains1 in order to complete the triumph of ,christ and ,his saints1 but that death and ,hades shall also be removed from the scene and cast into the lake of fire4 ,these considerations are of themselves sufficient to show that the overthrow of ,satan1 and not the reign of a thousand years1 is the main theme of the first ten verses of the chapter4 ,so far is the latter from being the culminating point of the whole book1 that it is not even introduced at the beginning of any new and important section4 ,it starts no new series of visions4 ,it comes in in the midst of a section devoted to an entirely different matter3-- ,and ,i saw an angel coming down out of heaven1 having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand4 ,and he laid hold on the dragon1 the old serpent1 which is the devil1 and ,satan1 and bound him for a thousand years1 and cast him into the abyss1 and shut it1 and sealed it over him1 that he should deceive the nations no more1 until the thousand years should be finished3 after this he must be loosed for a little time4 ,and ,i saw thrones1 and they sat upon them1 and judgment was given unto them3 and ,i saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of ,jesus1 and for the word of ,god1 and such as worshipped not the beast1 neither his image1 and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand2 and they lived and reigned with ,christ a thousand years4 ,the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished4 ,this is the first resurrection4 ,blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection3 over these the second death hath no authority1 but they shall be priests of ,god and of ,christ1 and shall reign with ,him a thousand years4 ,and when the thousand years are finished1 ,satan shall be loosed out of his prison1 and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth1 ,gog and ,magog1 to gather them together to the war3 the number of whom is as the sand of the sea4 ,and they went up over the breadth of the earth1 and compassed the camp of the saints about1 and the beloved city3 and fire came down out of heaven1 and devoured them4 ,and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone1 where are also the beast and the false prophet2 and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever 7xx4 #a-aj74 ,it is impossible within the limits of a commentary such as the present to discuss the different interpretations that have been given to a passage so difficult and so much controverted as the above4 ,nothing more can be attempted than to state briefly what seems to be the true meaning of the sacred writer1 together with the grounds upon which the interpretation to be suggested rests4 ,the fundamental principle of that interpretation1 to be kept clearly and resolutely in view1 is this3 that the thousand years mentioned in the passage express no period of time4 ,they are not a figure for the whole ,christian era1 now extending to nearly nineteen hundred years4 ,nor do they denote a certain space of time1 longer or shorter1 it may be1 than the definite number of years spoken of1 at the close of the present dispensation1 and to be in the view of some preceded1 in the view of others followed1 by the second ,advent of our ,lord4 ,they embody an idea2 and that idea1 whether applied to the subjugation of ,satan or to the triumph of the saints1 is the idea of completeness or perfection4 ,satan is bound for a thousand years2 that is1 he is completely bound4 ,the saints reign for a thousand years2 that is1 they are introduced into a state of perfect and glorious victory4 ,before endeavouring to bring out this thought more fully1 several preliminary considerations may be noticed4 #a4 ,years may be understood in this sense4 ,in ,ezek4 xxxix4 #i it is said that the inhabitants of the cities of ,israel shall prevail against the enemies described1 and shall go forth1 and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them1 both the shields and the bucklers1 the bows and the arrows1 and the hand-staves1 and the spears1 and they shall make fires of them seven years4 ,no one can suppose that the seven years here spoken of are to be literally understood1 or even that the length of time which would be needed to burn the weapons is the thought upon which the prophet dwells4 ,his meaning1 in correspondence with the use of the number seven1 can only be that these weapons shall be destroyed with a great and complete destruction4 ,again1 in the same chapter1 at ver4 #ab1 after the defeat of ,gog and all his multitude1 it is said1 ,and seven months shall the house of ,israel be burying of them1 that they may cleanse the land4 ,a literal interpretation is here not less impossible than in the case of the burning of the weapons2 nor can the meaning be exhausted by the thought that a long time would be necessary for the burying4 ,the number seven must have its due force assigned to it1 and the prophet can only mean that the land should be thoroughly cleansed from heathen impurity4 ,the use of the term years in the vision before us seems to be exactly similar2 and the probability that it is so rises almost to certainty when we observe that1 as proved by the vision of ,gog and ,magog in the subsequent part of the chapter1 the prophecy of ,ezekiel is before the ,seer's eye1 and that it constitutes the foundation upon which his whole delineation rests4 ,the only difficulty connected with this view is that in the third verse of the chapter ,satan is said to have been shut into the abyss until the thousand years should be finished1 and that in the seventh verse we read1 ,and when the thousand years are finished1 ,satan shall be loosed4 ,but the difficulty is more specious than real4 ,let us familiarise ourselves with the thought that the thousand years may simply express completeness1 thoroughness1 either of defeat or victory2 let us remember that the ,seer had represented the defeat of ,satan by the figure of being bound for a thousand years2 finally1 let us notice1 as we have yet to see more fully1 that ,satan1 although deprived of power over the righteous1 is still to be the deceiver and ruler of the wicked3 and it immediately follows that this latter thought could find no more appropriate form than in the statement that the deception took place1 not until1 or after1 the thousand years should be finished4 ,this is simply the carrying out of the symbolism already employed4 ,to revert for a moment to the symbolism of ,ezekiel1 let us suppose that1 after the prophet had described the burning of the weapons for seven years1 he had wished to mention also some other step by which the burning was to be followed4 ,what more suitable words could he have used than that it took place either after this1 or after the seven years were finished8 ,in point of fact1 this is exactly what the prophet does4 ,he has occasion to refer to further efforts made to secure the purity of the land2 and the words employed by him are1 ,after the end of seven months shall they search4#ebh ,the one expression is no more than the natural consequence of the other4 #b4 ,what is the meaning of the last words of the third verse of the chapter1--,he 7i4e41 ,satan7 must be loosed for a little time8 ,what is this little time8 ,the words take us directly to that conception of the ,christian age which is so intimately interwoven with the structure of the ,apocalypse1 and even of the whole ,new ,testament1--that it is all a little time4 ,this is particularly apparent in the application of the very same words to the souls under the altar in chap4 vi4 #aa3 ,and it was said unto them1 that they should rest yet for a little time1 until their fellow-servants also and their brethren1 which should be killed even as they were1 should be fulfilled4 ,the little time there is undeniably that extending from the moment of the vision to the close of the present dispensation4 ,but1 if it be so there1 we are entitled to suppose that the very same expression1 when used in the passage before us1 will be used in the same sense2 and that1 when it is said ,satan shall be loosed for a little time1 the meaning is that he shall be loosed for the whole ,christian age4 ,again1 in chap4 xii4 #ab we read1 ,the devil is gone down unto you1 having great wrath1 knowing that he hath but a short time4 ,the short time here referred to begins with the casting down of the devil out of heaven into the earth spoken of in the ninth verse of the same chapter4 ,it must therefore include the whole period of his action in this world2 and the manner in which that period is designated corresponds closely with the description of the time during which he is said1 in chap4 xx41 to be loosed4 ,again1 in chap4 x4 #f the angel swears that there shall be time no longer1 using the same word for time that we meet with in the verse now under consideration2 so that it would appear as if to the author of the ,apocalypse the word time were a kind of technical term by which he was accustomed to denote the period of the ,church's probation in this world4 ,lastly1 this conclusion is powerfully confirmed by the many passages of the ,apocalypse in which it is clear that the ,christian dispensation1 from its beginning to its end1 is looked upon as a very little while1 as hastening to its final issue1 and as about to be closed by ,one who cometh quickly4#ebi ,the little time therefore1 of the present chapter during which ,satan is loosed1 and which1 when more fully dwelt upon1 is the time of the war spoken of in vers4 #g-i1 is the historical period of the ,christian dispensation1 during which ,satan is permitted to deceive the nations and to lead them against the camp of the saints and the beloved city4 ,it is1 in short1 the time between the first and second coming of our ,lord4 ,the period so often sought in the thousand years of ver4 #b is really to be found in the little time of ver4 #c4 #c4 ,attention ought to be particularly directed to the condition of the saints during the thousand years spoken of4 ,it is described in general terms as a first resurrection4 ,certain words of our ,lord in the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john throw important light upon the meaning of this expression3 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 ,the hour cometh1 and now is1 when the dead shall hear the voice of the ,son of ,god3 and they that have heard shall live1#ecj and1 again1 a little later in the same discourse1 ,marvel not at this3 for the hour cometh1 in which all that are in the tombs shall hear ,his voice1 and shall come forth4#eca ,let us compare these two verses with one another1 and the presence of the clause and now is in the first1 taken along with its omission in the second1 leaves no doubt as to the principle on which they are to be interpreted4 ,the first refers to a spiritual1 the second to a bodily1 resurrection4 ,here then in the words of our ,lord ,himself we have the source whence the idea of the first resurrection of the ,apocalypse is derived4 ,it is not an actual resurrection from the grave1 although that resurrection is potentially involved in it4 ,it is a spiritual resurrection in an hour that now is2 and the fact that this is ,st4 ,john's meaning is brought out still more clearly by the intimation that what he saw was souls1 whose resurrection bodies had not yet been given them4#ecb ,the condition of the saints thought of in this vision is described1 however1 not only generally1 but in various particulars1 all of which1 it will be seen1 correspond with the apocalyptic idea of it even in a present world4 ,and ,i saw thrones1 and they sat upon them4 ,but we have been already told that they reign over the earth4#ecc ,judgment was given unto them1 words which seem best understood in the sense1 so peculiar to ,st4 ,john1 that for believers there is in the ordinary sense of the term no judgment4 ,as they have passed through death1 so also they have passed through judgment4#ecd ,they lived with ,christ4 ,but ,christ ,himself had said in the ,gospel1 ,because ,i live1 and ye shall live4#ece ,they reigned with ,christ4 ,but that is only another method of saying that they sat on thrones1 with the added conception1 so often associated with the word in the ,apocalypse1 that their enemies were bruised beneath their feet4 ,over these the second death hath no authority4 ,but we have before been told of him that overcometh that he shall not be hurt of the second death4#ecf ,finally1 they shall be priests of ,god and of ,christ4 ,but it is needless to dwell upon the fact that from the opening of this book such has always been spoken of as the position of believers4 ,nothing1 in short1 is said of the saints of ,god in this picture of millennial bliss that does not find a parallel in what the ,seer has elsewhere written of their present life4 ,on not a few different occasions their ideal condition in this world is set forth in as glowing terms as is their thousand years' glory and joy4 ,one expression may indeed startle us4 ,what the ,seer beheld is said to have been the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of ,jesus1 and for the word of ,god4 ,is the word beheaded to be literally understood8 ,then a very small number of martyrs can be thought of4 ,the great majority of those who have died for the faith of ,jesus have been martyred in other and more dreadful ways4 ,the word is the counterpart of slaughtered in the vision of the souls under the altar4#ecg ,these were the saints of the ,old ,testament1 whose death is described by a term characteristic to the ,jewish mind of the mode in which offerings were presented to ,god4 ,when the ,seer passes to the thought of the great ,gentile ,church1 he uses a term more appropriate to the ,gentile method of terminating human life4 ,beheaded therefore expresses the same thing as slaughtered4 ,both words refer to martyrdom2 and both include all faithful ones in the dispensations to which they respectively belong1 for in the eyes of ,st4 ,john all the disciples of a martyred ,lord are martyrs4#ech #d4 ,the meaning of the doom inflicted upon ,satan demands our notice4 ,and the angel laid hold on the dragon1 the old serpent1 which is the devil1 and ,satan1 and bound him for a thousand years1 and cast him into the abyss1 and shut it1 and sealed it over him4 ,it is hardly possible to read these words1 at the same time remembering ,st4 ,john's love of contrast or even travesty1 and not to see in them a mocking counterpart of the death and burial of ,jesus1 when the stone was rolled to the door of the sepulchre and sealed4 ,if so1 it is not enough to say that by the infliction of this doom the power of ,satan was restrained1 and his influence lessened4 ,much more must be implied2 and the language can only mean that1 in one sense or another1 ,satan was rendered powerless and harmless1 as unable to act his part as though he had been laid in the grave4 #e4 ,the use of numbers in the ,apocalypse ought to be remembered4 ,these numbers are invariably symbolical2 and1 if the number a thousand is to be here interpreted literally1 it seems in that respect to stand alone4 ,nor is it a reply to this to say that1 though not in the strict sense literal1 it may signify a period of indefinite length4 ,such an interpretation would be not less opposed than the former to the genius and spirit of this book4 ,the numbers of the ,apocalypse have always a definite meaning4 ,they express ideas1 but the ideas are distinct4 ,they may belong to a region of thought different from that with which arithmetical numbers are concerned1 but within that region we cannot change their value without at the same time changing the thought4 ,we are not to imagine that numbers1 in the allegorical or spiritual use made of them by the ,jews1 might be tossed about at their pleasure or shuffled like a pack of cards4 ,they were a language2 and the bond between them and the ideas that they involved was quite as close as it is between the words of ordinary speech and the speaker's thoughts4 ,a thousand years cannot mean two1 or ten1 or twenty1 or three hundred and sixty-five thousand years according as we please4 ,if they are a measure of time1 the measure must be fixed2 and we ought to be able to explain the principle leading us to attach to the number one thousand a value different from that which it naturally possesses4 #f4 ,the teaching of ,scripture elsewhere upon this subject has to be considered4 ,upon this point it is unnecessary to say much1 for the difference between that teaching and any view commonly taken of the thousand years' reign is acknowledged4 ,it ought to be observed1 however1 that this difference is not merely negative1 as if the rest of the ,new ,testament simply failed to fill in certain details of events more largely described in the ,apocalypse1 but upon the whole substantially the same4 ,the difference is also positive1 and in some respects irreconcilable with what we are taught by the other sacred writers4 ,the ,new ,testament1 unless this passage be an exception1 always brings the ,parousia and the general judgment into the closest possible connexion4 ,it nowhere interposes a lengthened period between the resurrection of believers and that of unbelievers4 ,it knows only of one1 and that a general1 resurrection2 and the passages1 such as #a ,cor4 xv4 #bc1 #bd1 and #a ,thess4 iv4 #af1 #ag1 usually quoted to support another conclusion1 fail when correctly interpreted to do so4 ,when our ,lord comes again1 ,he at once perfects the happiness of ,his saints and makes all ,his enemies ,his footstool4#eci ,one text alone may be quoted upon this point4 ,while the first resurrection is assigned to a date a thousand or even thousands of years before the end1 it is several times repeated in the discourse of ,jesus in the sixth chapter of ,st4 ,john that the resurrection of believers takes place at the last day4#edj #g4 ,one other consideration may be kept in view4 ,it would appear that about the time of the ,advent of our ,lord there was a widely extended opinion among the ,jews1 traces of which are also to be found among the ,gentiles1 that a golden age of a thousand years' duration might be anticipated in the future as a happy close to all the sins and miseries of the world4#eda ,here1 it is sometimes urged1 is the source of the apocalyptic figure of this chapter1 which thus becomes only one of the wild chiliastic expectations of the time4 ,but1 even if it be allowed that ,st4 ,john drew the particular figure employed by him from a general belief of his age1 it by no means follows that he accepted the literal interpretation of that belief as the reality and substance of prophetic hope4 ,in many a passage of his book he has undeniably spiritualised hopes of ,israel founded on the language of the ,old ,testament in its outward form4 ,he might easily do the same with what he recognised as a belief not less widely spread and not less deeply seated in both the ,jewish and ,gentile portions of the ,church4 ,to use the language of the late ,archdeacon ,lee1 a world-wide belief such as this naturally supplied ,st4 ,john with symbols and with language wherein to clothe his revelation of the fortunes of the ,church1 just as he has employed for the same purpose the details of the theocracy1 or the imagery of war1 or the phenomena and the convulsions of nature4#edb ,in all such cases the determination of the point at issue really rests upon our view of the general tone of the writing in which the difficulty occurs1 and on our perception of what will give the unity and harmony to his words for which every intelligent writer is entitled to expect credit at his reader's hands4 ,this conclusion is in the present instance strengthened by the fact that ,st4 ,john did not confine himself to the traditional belief he is said to have adopted4 ,so far from doing so1 he occupies himself chiefly with a picture of that overthrow of ,satan which seems to have been no part of the belief1 and the mould of which is taken from entirely different sources4 ,putting together the different considerations now adduced1 we can have but little difficulty in understanding either the binding of ,satan or the reign of the saints for a thousand years4 ,the vision describes no period of blessedness to be enjoyed by the ,church at the close of the present dispensation4 ,alike negatively and positively we have simply an ideal picture of results effected by the ,redeemer for ,his people1 when for them ,he lived1 and suffered1 and died1 and rose again4 ,thus ,he bound ,satan for them2 ,he cast him into the abyss2 ,he shut him in2 ,he sealed the abyss over him1--so that against them he can effect nothing4 ,he is a bruised and conquered foe4 ,he may war against them1 afflict them1 persecute them1 kill them1 but their true life is beyond his reach4 ,already they live a resurrection and ascended life1 for it is a life hid with ,christ in ,god1 a life in that heaven from which the devil has been finally and for ever expelled4 ,they rest upon1 they live in1 a risen and glorified ,redeemer2 and1 whatever be the age1 or country1 or circumstances in which their lot is cast1 they sit with their ,lord in the heavenly places and share ,his victory4 ,he has been always triumphant1 and in ,his triumph ,his people even now have part4 ,the glory which the ,father gave the ,son the ,son has given them4#edc ,they cannot sin1 because they are begotten of ,god4#edd ,he that was begotten of ,god keepeth them1 and the evil one toucheth them not4#ede ,this is the reign of a thousand years1 and it is the portion of every believer who in any age of the ,church shares the life of his risen and exalted ,lord4 ,thus also we may comprehend what is meant by the loosing of ,satan4 ,there is no point in the future at which he is to be loosed4 ,he has been already loosed4 ,hardly was he completely conquered for the saints before he was loosed for the world4 ,he was loosed as a great adversary who1 however he may persecute the children of ,god1 cannot touch their inner life1 and who can only deceive the nations1--the nations that have despised and rejected ,christ4 ,he has never been really absent from the earth4 ,he has gone about continually1 knowing that he hath but a short time4#edf ,but he is unable to hurt those who are kept in the hollow of the ,lord's hand4 ,no doubt he tries it4 ,that is the meaning of the description extending from the seventh to the ninth verse of this chapter1--the meaning of the war which ,satan carries on against the camp of the saints and the beloved city when the thousand years are finished4 ,in other words1 no sooner was ,satan1 as regards the saints1 completely bound than1 as regards the world1 he was loosed2 and from that hour1 through all the past history of ,christianity1 he has been stirring up the world against the ,church4 ,he has been summoning the nations that are in the four corners of the earth1 ,gog and ,magog1 to gather them together to the war4 ,they war1 but they do not conquer1 until at last fire comes down out of heaven and devours them4 ,the devil that deceived them is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone1 where are also the beast and the false prophet2 and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever4 ,the whole picture of the thousand years is in its main features--in the binding of ,satan1 in the security and blessedness of the righteous1 and in the loosing of ,satan for the war--a striking parallel to the scenes in chap4 xii4 of this book4 ,there ,michael and his angels contended with the devil and his angels2 and the latter prevailed not1#edg but were cast out of heaven into the earth1 so that the inhabitants of heaven are for ever safe from them4 ,there the man-child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron1 and from the thought of whom it is impossible to separate the thought of those who are one with ,him1 is caught up unto ,god and unto ,his throne4 ,finally1 there also the dragon1 though unable really to hurt the saints1 the rest of the woman's seed1 makes war upon them1 but without result4 ,of this scene the picture which we have been considering is at once a repetition and a fuller development2 and1 when we call to mind the peculiarities marking the structure of the ,apocalypse1 we seem in this fact alone to have no slight evidence of the correctness of the interpretation now proposed4#edh ,the three great enemies of the ,church have not only been overcome1 but judged1 and for ever removed from all possibility of troubling the righteous more4 ,but the great mass of the wicked have not yet been overtaken by a similar fate4 ,the time has now come to show us in vision what awaits them also3-- ,and ,i saw a great white throne1 and ,him that sat upon it1 from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away2 and there was found no place for them4 ,and ,i saw the dead1 the great and the small1 standing before the throne2 and books were opened3 and another book was opened1 which is the book of life3 and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books1 according to their works4 ,and the sea gave up the dead which were in it2 and death and ,hades gave up the dead which were in them3 and they were judged every man according to their works4 ,and death and ,hades were cast into the lake of fire4 ,this is the second death1 even the lake of fire4 ,and if any was not found written in the book of life1 he was cast into the lake of fire 7xx4 #aa-ae74 ,upon various particulars mentioned in this passage it is unnecessary to say much4 ,the throne beheld by the ,seer is great1 at once in contrast with the thrones of the millennial reign1 and as befitting the majesty of ,him who sits upon it4 ,it is also white1 as emblematic of ,his purity and holiness4 ,the ,judge is ,god1 the ,father in the ,son1 the ,son in the ,father2 and thus the judgment is searching and complete1 and is answered by the consciences of those upon whom it is executed4 ,they see that the ,judge's eye penetrates into the most secret recesses of their hearts1 and that ,he is ,one who has been in the same position1 has fought the same battle1 and has endured the same trials as themselves4 ,thus ,his sentence finds an echo in their hearts1 and they are speechless4#edi ,thus also judgment becomes really judgment1 and not merely the infliction of punishment by resistless power4 ,the effect of the ,judge's taking ,his seat upon ,his throne was that from ,his face the earth and the heaven fled away1 and there was found no place for them4 ,yet we are not to understand that after their flight there was neither an earth nor a heaven to be found4 ,it is only the old earth and the old heaven that are spoken of2 and almost immediately afterwards the ,seer exclaims1 ,i saw a new heaven and a new earth3 for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away4#eej ,the change is part of that restoration of all things of which ,st4 ,peter spoke to the multitude gathered together in ,solomon's porch1#eea of which he then added1 ,whereof ,god spake by the mouth of ,his holy prophets which have been since the world began1 and upon which he dwelt more fully in his second ,epistle when he said1 ,but the day of the ,lord will come as a thief2 in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise1 and the elements shall melt with fervent heat1 and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up4 ,but1 according to ,his promise1 we look for new heavens and a new earth1 wherein dwelleth righteousness4#eeb ,in the ,epistle to the ,romans1 too1 creation longs1 not for destruction1 but for something akin to that liberty of the glory of the children of ,god which they shall obtain along with their adoption1 to wit1 the redemption of their body4#eec ,in all these passages it is not the translation of ,god's saints to an immaterial sphere that lies at the bottom of the thought4 ,it is rather the idea of change1 of the transfiguration1 of the glorification1 of this present scene into a state corresponding with that of its redeemed inhabitants1 when they shall not be unclothed1 but clothed upon1#eed and shall dwell in spiritual bodies4#eee ,to ,st4 ,john heaven is not an abode of bliss in a scene of which we can form no clear conception1 but the spiritual atmosphere in which1 alike on this side the grave and on the other1 the saints live and move4 ,the dwellers upon earth are not those who simply tread its firm soil and breathe its atmosphere1 but those who are worldly in their spirit and whose views are bounded by the things of time4 ,the kingdom which ,christ establishes is the kingdom of this world in its cleansed and purified condition rather than one to which we travel by long and unknown paths4 ,as the ,seer looks forward to the future there is nothing to show that he thinks of any other residence for man than that which the ,son consecrated by ,his tomb in ,joseph's garden and by the glory of the resurrection morning2 and even the new ,jerusalem comes down out of heaven to be established upon earth4 ,many may doubtless think that such a hope is too earthly1 too material1 to be suited to the spiritual nature of the ,christian dispensation4 ,they fear that it has a tendency to withdraw us from ,him who is spirit1 and who must be worshipped1 if ,he is to be worshipped acceptably1 in spirit and truth4#eef ,but any such apprehension is at variance with the fundamental fact of our ,christian faith1 the incarnation of our ,lord1 and is little less than the revival of the old ,manichean heresy that matter is essentially evil4 ,two errors have existed1 and may exist1 in the ,church upon this point4 ,we may strip the ,gospel of its spiritual element1 and may reduce it to a system of outward and material forms1 or we may strip it of its material element1 and may resolve it into a vague and shadowy mysticism4 ,both are the errors of extremes1 and it would be difficult to say which has wrought most havoc in the ,church4 ,if the one was disastrous in the days of the supremacy of ,romanism1 the other is hardly less disastrous now4 ,to the false and spurious spiritualism which it engenders we owe not a few of the most serious misconceptions of the present time with regard to the person of ,christ1 the ,church1 the ,sacraments1 and the purpose of redemption as a whole4#eeg ,to return to the main question in connexion with the passage before us4 ,does it present us with the picture of a general judgment or of a judgment of the wicked alone8 ,there is much in the passage that leads distinctly to the latter conclusion4 #a4 ,the whole vision is obviously an enlargement of what we have already met under the seventh ,trumpet1 when it was said that the time of the dead to be judged came4#eeh ,in both visions the persons spoken of as the dead must be the same2 and they are clearly distinguished in the earlier vision from those called ,thy servants the prophets1 the season of whose reward was come4 ,with this corresponds the fact that in the writings of ,st4 ,john the words to judge and judgment are always used1 not in a neutral sense1 but in one tending to condemnation4 ,without some qualifying term the ,apostle could hardly have applied them to the acquittal of the righteous4 #b4 ,the sources whence the dead are gathered confirm this conclusion4 ,these are three in number3 the sea1 death1 and ,hades4 ,looking first at the two last of these1 it is plain that death cannot in this connexion be the neutral grave1 for it is cast into the lake of fire1 where the devil1 the beast1 and the false prophet are4 ,similar remarks apply to ,hades1 which in chap4 vi4 #h is the coadjutor of death1 and which in the ,new ,testament always appears as a region of gloom1 and punishment1 and opposition to the truth3 ,and thou1 ,capernaum1 shalt thou be exalted unto heaven8 thou shalt go down unto ,hades2 ,and ,i also say unto thee that thou art ,peter1 and upon this rock ,i will build ,my ,church2 and the gates of ,hades shall not prevail against it4#eei ,if such be the sense in which we are to understand death and ,hades1 light is thrown upon the manner in which we are to interpret the first of the three sources1--the sea4 ,this cannot be the ocean1 because the number of those to be given up from its depths at the last day is comparatively small2 because1 as the literal sea1 it is in no way suitably associated with death and ,hades2 and because1 when we read in chap4 xxi4 #a1 ,and the sea is no more1 it is impossible to think that the word is used in any other than a figurative sense4 ,no reason can be imagined why1 when the earth is renewed1 there should be no more that sea which is one grand instrument of its present greatness and glory4 ,besides all this1 we have hitherto found that in the ,apocalypse the sea is the emblem of the unruly and troubled nations of the earth1 and the source from which the first beast of chap4 xiii4 had his origin4 ,in the same sense therefore we must understand it here4 ,like death and ,hades1 the sea spoken of can give up none but ungodly dead to the judgment of the great day4 #c4 ,the books mentioned in the passage are clearly books containing the record of evil deeds alone4 ,when it is said that books were opened1 and that another book was opened1 which is the book of life1 the books are distinguished from the book4 ,it harmonizes with this that the book of life is not opened in order to secure deliverance for those whose names are inscribed in it1 but only to justify the sentence passed on any who are cast into the lake of fire4 #d4 ,the general teaching of ,st4 ,john ought not to be lost sight of in considering this question4 ,that teaching is that the eternal condition of the righteous is fully secured to them even in this life1 and that in their glorified ,head they have already passed through all those preparatory stages on their way to everlasting blessedness at the thought of which they might otherwise have trembled4 ,in ,him they have lived1 and overcome1 and died4 ,in ,him they have been raised from the dead1 and been seated in the heavenly places4 ,all along they have followed the ,lamb whithersoever ,he goeth1 and everything that befell ,him has in principle befallen them4 ,we cannot say1 in the ,johannine sense of the word1 that ,christ has been judged2 and therefore judgment cannot be predicated of the members of ,his ,body4 ,to these last judgment1 we have already seen1 was given at the time when they entered on their millennial reign2 and1 with the result of this judgment 7for that is the true meaning of the original7 in their hands1 it is impossible to think of them as judged again4 ,the judgment of these verses is therefore a judgment of the wicked2 and1 when it is closed1 all ,christ's enemies have not only been vanquished1 but have been banished from the scene where ,he is to reign before ,his ancients gloriously4#efj ,the first part of the final triumph has been accomplished4 ,,footnotes3 #ebf ,chap4 xix4 #ba4 #ebg ,chap4 xx4 #i4 #ebh ,ezek4 xxxix4 #ad4 #ebi ,chaps4 i4 #c1 ii4 #af1 iii4 #bj1 xxii4 #bj1 etc42 #a ,cor4 vii4 #bi2 ,heb4 x4 #cg4 #ecj ,john v4 #be4 #eca ,john v4 #bh4 #ecb ,comp4 chap4 vi4 #i4 #ecc ,chap4 v4 #aj4 #ecd ,comp4 the teaching of our ,lord in ,john xi4 #be1 #bf1 and v4 #bd4 #ece ,john xiv4 #ai 7margin of ,r4,v474 #ecf ,chap4 ii4 #aa4 #ecg ,chap4 vi4 #i4 #ech ,comp4 p4 #ajb4 #eci ,matt4 xxv4 #ca-df2 ,rom4 ii4 #e1 #g2 #a ,thess4 iv4 #ag2 #b ,thess4 i4 #g1 #aj4 #edj ,john vi4 #ci1 #dj1 #dd4 #eda ,see authorities in ,lee 7,speaker's ,commentary7 on ,rev4 xx4 #b1 and his excursus on that chapter4 #edb ,speaker's ,commentary1 u4s4 #edc ,john xvii4 #bb4 #edd #a ,john iii4 #i4 #ede #a ,john v4 #ah4 #edf ,chap4 xii4 #ab4 #edg ,comp4 the remarkable parallel in ,john i4 #e3 and the darkness overcame it not4 #edh ,it is not to be denied that difficulties attend the interpretation of the thousand years suggested in the text4 ,the writer would advert in a note to the two which appear to him to be the most formidable4 #a4 ,in ver4 #c we read that ,satan was cast into the abyss1 etc41 that he should deceive the nations no more1 until the thousand years should be finished4 ,let it be granted that the nations here referred to can hardly be understood in any other sense than that common in the ,apocalypse3 the heathen1 the ungodly1 nations or the wicked in general4 ,we then seem to read that there must be a time during which ,satan does not deceive the nations1 while the explanation given above has been that he was no sooner subjugated for the righteous than he was let loose to deceive the unrighteous4 ,in his ,lectures on the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john 7p4 #bbd1 note7 the author was disposed to plead that the words in question may not have been intended to indicate that action on ,satan's part was for a time to cease1 but rather to bring out and express that aspect of ,satan by which he is specially distinguished in the ,apocalypse4 ,in deference to the criticism of the ,rev4 ,h4 ,w4 ,reynolds 7,remarks on ,dr4 ,milligan's ,interpretation of the ,apocalypse1 pp4 #i1 #bg71 he would yield this point4 ,notwithstanding the irregular constructions of the ,apocalypse1 it is at least precarious2 and it is better to leave a difficulty unsolved1 especially in a case where difficulties surround every interpretation yet offered1 than to propose solutions of the sufficiency of which even the proposer is doubtful4 ,it may be asked1 however1 without resorting to the conjecture formerly thrown out1 whether the words that he should deceive1 even when taken in what is said to be their only true sense1 are irreconcilable with the view of the thousand years advocated in this commentary4 ,that view is that the subjugation of ,satan for a thousand years means his complete subjugation4 ,when1 therefore1 it is said that he has been so shut up as to deceive the nations no more1 until the thousand years should be finished1 the meaning may simply be that in the act of being subjected he was deprived alike of authority and opportunity to deceive the nations4 ,it lay within the power of the ,conqueror to grant or not to grant him fresh liberty to do so4 ,the strong man was then bound1 and his goods were spoiled4 ,he was completely subjected to ,christ4 ,when1 therefore1 we are told of the thousand years during which he was to deceive the nations no more1 this language is only the continuation of the figure used in the second verse of the chapter2 and what the ,seer intends to express is1 that during the process of his subjection1 and until he should be again loosed by ,him who had subjected him1 he could do nothing4 ,satan1 in short1 must be permitted to come up out of the abyss either in his own person or by his agents before he can disturb the earth 7comp4 chap4 ix4 #b72 and it is the purpose of ,god that he shall not have power to disturb it until1 having been really brought to nought by ,christ 7comp4 ,heb4 ii4 #ad71 he shall go forth to his evil work among the nations as one who1 whatever may be the increase of his wrath 7comp4 chap4 xii4 #ab71 has yet been overcome by another far mightier than himself4 #b4 ,the second difficulty demanding notice is presented by the words of ver4 #e1 ,the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished4 ,who are these called the rest of the dead1 and in what sense did they live8 ,the term the rest1 applied to persons1 occurs in the following passages of the ,apocalypse in addition to that before us3 chaps4 ii4 #bd1 ix4 #bj1 xi4 #ac1 xii4 #ag1 xix4 #ba4 ,in every one of these cases it refers to the remaining portion of a class mentioned1 but not exhausted2 and it cannot be extended to any class beyond them4 ,here1 however1 no class has been spoken of except the righteous1 or rather the souls of the righteous1 described by various particulars both of their character and their state4 ,the rest of the dead must therefore belong to that class1 and to it alone4 ,they cannot be the general body of mankind1 both good and bad1 with the exception of those previously mentioned4 ,again1 what is meant when it is said that the rest of the dead lived8 ,the same word had occurred in the immediately preceding verse1 and it must now be understood in the same sense4 ,if1 says ,dean ,alford1 who has been quoted with great confidence against the present writer 7,reynolds1 u4s41 p4 #bc71 in such a passage the first resurrection may be understood to mean spiritual rising with ,christ1 while the second means literal rising from the grave1 then there is an end of all significance in language2 and ,scripture is wiped out as a definite testimony to anything4 ,if the first resurrection is spiritual1 then so is the second1 which ,i suppose none will be hardy enough to maintain 7on ,rev4 xx4 #d-f74 ,now that is exactly what is here maintained4 ,the lived of ver4 #d is spiritual2 the lived of ver4 #e is also spiritual4 ,the rest of the dead then are the ,old ,testament saints of chap4 vi4 #i1 who1 by the completion of the ,lord's redeeming work1 were brought up to the level of the ,new ,testament ,church 7comp4 p4 #aja74 ,the meaning of chap4 xx4 #e may thus be said to be that1 the ,new ,testament ,church having had first bestowed upon it a complete redemption1 the same white robes were afterwards given to the ,old ,testament ,church1 the succession being again one of thought rather than time4 ,in this way all the members of ,christ's body are marked out as having been dead before they lived1 thus identifying them with their ,lord in chap4 i4 #ah2 the position of the words at the close of ver4 #e1 this is the first resurrection1 is rendered more natural by their thus following what is wholly a description of the condition of the blessed1 instead of having a sentence interposed of an entirely different character2 and1 finally1 to say nothing of the contextual considerations already referred to1 the full ,johannine force of the word lived is preserved4 ,these answers to the two chief difficulties associated with the interpretation here suggested of the thousand years may not be satisfactory to all2 but it is submitted that they go far at least to meet them1 and that in themselves they are neither unfair nor strained4 ,against one thing only must the author of this commentary enter his most decided protest1--the allegation that the interpretation here offered is gained by dispensing with textual criticism 787 and by sacrificing grammar to an idea4 ,if there be one ground more than another upon which it rests1 it is upon the strictest principles of historical interpretation4 ,it ought only to be remembered that the idiosyncrasies of an author are as much a part of such interpretation as the literal meaning of his words2 and that to that interpretation1 if honestly and thoroughly conducted1 the most deeply ingrained prejudices will in due time be compelled to submit4 #edi ,comp4 ,matt4 xxii4 #ab4 #eej ,chap4 xxi4 #a4 #eea ,acts iii4 #ba4 #eeb #b ,pet4 iii4 #aj1 #ac4 #eec ,rom4 viii4 #ba-bc4 #eed #b ,cor4 v4 #d4 #eee ,comp4 #a ,cor4 xv4 #dd4 #eef ,john iv4 #bd4 #eeg ,in connexion with the point here spoken of1 reference may be made to an interesting and instructive paper by ,canon ,dale ,stewart1 ,rector of ,coulsdon1 in ,the ,churchman for ,december1 #ahhg4 #eeh ,chap4 xi4 #ah4 #eei ,matt4 xi4 #bc1 xvi4 #ah4 #efj ,isa4 xxiv4 #bc4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,new ,,jerusalem4 ,,rev4 xxi4 #a-xxii4 #e4 ,the first part of the final triumph of the ,lamb has been accomplished1 but the second has still to be unfolded4 ,we are introduced to it by one of those preparatory or transition passages which have already frequently met us in the ,apocalypse1 and which connect themselves both with what precedes and with what follows3-- ,and ,i saw a new heaven and a new earth3 for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away2 and the sea is no more4 ,and ,i saw the holy city1 new ,jerusalem1 coming down out of heaven from ,god1 made ready as a bride adorned for her husband4 ,and ,i heard a great voice out of the throne saying1 ,behold1 the tabernacle of ,god is with men1 and ,he shall dwell with them1 and they shall be ,his peoples1 and ,god ,himself shall be with them1 and be their ,god3 and ,he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes2 and death shall be no more1 neither shall there be mourning1 nor crying1 nor pain any more3 the first things are passed away4 ,and ,he that sitteth on the throne said1 ,behold1 ,i make all things new4 ,and ,he saith1 ,write3 for these words are faithful and true4 ,and ,he said unto me1 ,they are come to pass4 ,i am the ,alpha and the ,omega1 the beginning and the end4 ,i will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely4 ,he that overcometh shall inherit these things2 and ,i will be his ,god1 and he shall be ,my son4 ,but for the fearful1 and unbelieving1 and abominable1 and murderers1 and fornicators1 and sorcerers1 and idolaters1 and all liars1 their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone3 which is the second death 7xxi4 #a-h74 ,these words1 like many others that have already met us1 throw light upon the principles on which the ,apocalypse is composed4 ,they show in the clearest possible manner that down to the very end of the book chronological considerations must be put out of view4 ,chronology cannot be thought of when we find1 on the one hand1 allusions to the new ,jerusalem which are only amplified and extended in the next vision of the chapter1 or when we find1 on the other hand1 a description of the exclusion from the new ,jerusalem of certain classes that have already been consigned to the second death4 ,by the first-mentioned allusions the passage connects itself with what is yet to come1 by the second with what has gone before4 ,for the same reason it is unnecessary to dwell upon the passage at any length4 ,it contains either nothing new1 or nothing that will not again meet us in greater fulness of detail4 ,one or two brief remarks alone seem called for4 ,the ,seer beholds a new heaven and a new earth4 ,two words in the ,new ,testament are translated new1 but there is a difference between them4 ,the one contemplates the object spoken of under the aspect of something that has been recently brought into existence1 the other under a fresh aspect given to what had previously existed1 but been outworn4#efa ,the latter word is employed here1 as it is also employed in the phrases a new garment1 that is1 a garment not threadbare1 like an old one2 new wine-skins1 that is1 skins not shrivelled and dried2 a new tomb1 that is1 not one recently hewn out of the rock1 but one which had never been used as the last resting-place of the dead4 ,the fact1 therefore1 that the heavens and the earth here spoken of are new1 does not imply that they are now first brought into being4 ,they may be the old heavens and the old earth2 but they have a new aspect1 a new character1 adapted to a new end4 ,of the sense in which the word sea is to be understood we have already spoken4#efb ,another expression in the passage deserves notice4 ,in saying that the time is come when the tabernacle of the ,lord is with men1 and ,he shall dwell with them1 it is added1 and they shall be ,his peoples4 ,we are familiar with the ,scripture use of the word people to denote the true ,israel of ,god1 and not less with the use of the word peoples to denote the nations of the earth alienated from ,him4 ,but here the word peoples is used instead of people for ,god's children2 and the usage can only spring from this3 that the ,seer has entirely abandoned the idea that ,israel according to the flesh can have the word people applied to it1 and that all believers1 to whatever race they belong1 occupy the same ground in ,christ1 and are possessed of the same privileges4 ,the peoples are the counterpart of the many diadems of chap4 xix4 #ab4 ,and there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls1 who were laden with the seven last plagues2 and he spake with me1 saying1 ,come hither1 ,i will show thee the bride1 the wife of the ,lamb4 ,and he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great and high1 and showed me the holy city ,jerusalem1 coming down out of heaven from ,god1 having the glory of ,god3 her light was like unto a stone most precious1 as it were a jasper stone1 clear as crystal1 having a wall great and high1 having twelve gates1 and at the gates twelve angels1 and names written thereon1 which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of ,israel4 ,on the east were three gates1 and on the north three gates1 and on the south three gates1 and on the west three gates4 ,and the wall of the city had twelve foundations1 and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the ,lamb4 ,and he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city1 and the gates thereof1 and the wall thereof4 ,and the city lieth foursquare1 and the length thereof is as great as the breadth3 and he measured the city with the reed1 twelve thousand furlongs3 the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal4 ,and he measured the wall thereof1 a hundred and forty and four cubits1 according to the measure of a man1 that is1 of an angel4 ,and the building of the wall thereof was jasper3 and the city was pure gold1 like unto pure glass4 ,the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones4 ,the first foundation was jasper2 the second1 sapphire2 the third1 chalcedony2 the fourth1 emerald2 the fifth1 sardonyx2 the sixth1 sardius2 the seventh1 chrysolite2 the eighth1 beryl2 the ninth1 topaz2 the tenth1 chrysoprase2 the eleventh1 jacinth2 the twelfth1 amethyst4 ,and the twelve gates were twelve pearls2 each one of the several gates was of one pearl3 and the street of the city was pure gold1 as it were transparent glass4 ,and ,i saw no temple therein3 for the ,lord ,god the ,almighty1 is the temple thereof1 and the ,lamb4 ,and the city hath no need of the sun1 neither of the moon1 to shine upon it3 for the glory of ,god did lighten it1 and the lamp thereof is the ,lamb4 ,and the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof3 and the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it4 ,and the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day3 for there shall be no night there4 ,and they shall bring the glory and the honour of the nations into it4 ,and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean1 or he that maketh an abomination and a lie3 but only they which are written in the ,lamb's book of life4 ,and he showed me a river of water of life1 bright as crystal1 proceeding out of the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb1 in the midst of the street thereof4 ,and on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life1 bearing twelve manner of fruits1 yielding its fruit every month3 and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations4 ,and there shall be no curse any more3 and the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb shall be therein2 and ,his servants shall do ,him service3 and they shall see ,his face2 and ,his name shall be on their foreheads4 ,and there shall be night no more2 and they need no light of lamp1 neither light of sun2 for the ,lord ,god shall give them light3 and they shall reign for ever and ever 7xxi4 #i-xxii4 #e74 ,the vision contained in these verses is shown the ,seer by the angel forming the third of the second group associated with ,him who had been described at chap4 xix4 #aa as the ,rider upon the white horse1 and who at that time rode forth to ,his final triumph4 ,the first of this group of three had appeared at chap4 xix4 #ag1 and the second at chap4 xx4 #a4 ,we have now the third2 and it is not unimportant to observe this1 for it helps to throw light upon the artificial structure of these chapters1 while1 at the same time1 it connects the vision with ,christ's victory upon earth rather than with any scene of splendour and glory in a region beyond the place of man's present abode4 ,thus it contributes something at least to the belief that there where the believer wars he also wears the crown of triumph4 ,the substance of the vision is a description of the holy city1 the new ,jerusalem1 the true ,church of ,god wholly separated from the false ,church1 as she comes down from ,god1 out of heaven1 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband4 ,her marriage with the ,lamb has taken place1--a marriage in which there shall be no unfaithfulness on the one side and no reproaches on the other1 but in which1 as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride1 the ,lord shall for ever rejoice in ,his people1 and ,his people in ,him4 ,then follows1 to enhance the picture1 a detailed account of the true ,church under the figure of the city which had been already spoken of in the first vision of the chapter4 ,the treasures of the ,seer's imagination and language are exhausted in order that the thought of her beauty and her splendour may be suitably impressed upon our minds4 ,her light--that is1 the light which she spreads abroad1 for the word used in the original indicates that she is herself the luminary--is like that of the sun1 only that it is of crystalline clearness and purity1 as it were a jasper stone1 the light of ,him who sat upon the throne4#efc ,she is the light of the world4#efd ,the city is also surrounded by a wall great and high4 ,she is a strong city4 ,salvation has ,god appointed her for walls and bulwarks4#efe ,her walls have twelve gates1 and at the gates twelve angels1 those to whom ,god gives charge over ,his people1 to keep them in all their ways#eff2 while1 as was the case with the new ,jerusalem beheld by the prophet ,ezekiel1 names were written on the gates1 which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of ,israel4#efg ,these gates are also harmoniously distributed1 three on each side of the square which the city forms4 ,the foundations of the city1 a term under which we are not to think of foundations buried in the earth1 but rather of courses of stones going round the city and rising one above another1 are also twelve2 and on them are twelve names of the twelve apostles of the ,lamb4 ,the ,seer1 however1 is not satisfied with this general picture of the greatness of the new ,jerusalem4 ,like that in ,ezekiel1 the city must be measured4#efh ,when this is done1 her proportions are found1 in spite of the absence of all verisimilitude1 to be those of a perfect cube4 ,as in the ,holy of holies of the ,tabernacle1 the thought of which lies at the bottom of the description1 the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal4 ,twelve thousand furlongs1 or fifteen hundred miles1 the city stretches along and across the plain1 and rises into the sky1--twelve1 the number of the people of ,god1 multiplied by thousands1 the heavenly number4 ,the wall is also measured--it is difficult to say whether in height or in thickness1 but most probably the latter--a hundred and forty and four cubits1 or twelve multiplied by twelve4 ,the measuring is completed1 and next follows an account of the material of which the city was composed4 ,this was gold1 the most precious metal1 in its purest state1 like unto pure glass4 ,precious stones formed1 rather than ornamented1 its twelve foundations4 ,its gates were of pearl3 each one of the several gates was of one pearl2 and the street of the city was pure gold1 as it were transparent glass4 ,in all these respects it is evident that the city is thought of as ideally perfect1 and not according to the realities or possibilities of things4 ,nor is this all4 ,the glory of the city is still further illustrated by figures bearing more immediately upon its spiritual rather than its material aspect4 ,the outward helps needed by men in leading the life of ,god in their present state of imperfection are dispensed with4 ,there is no temple therein3 for the ,lord1 ,god1 the ,almighty1 is the temple thereof1 and the ,lamb4 ,the city hath no need of the sun1 neither of the moon1 to shine upon it3 for the glory of ,god lightens it by day1 and the lamp thereof by night is the ,lamb4 ,there is in it no sin1 and every positive element of happiness is provided in abundance for the blest inhabitants4 ,a river of water of life1 bright as crystal1 flows there2 and on this side of the river and on that side is the tree of life1 not bearing fruit only once a year1 but every month1 not yielding one only1 but twelve manner of fruits1 so that all tastes may be gratified1 having nothing about it useless or liable to decay4 ,the very leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations1 and it is evidently implied that they are always green4 ,finally1 there shall be no curse any more4 ,the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb is therein4 ,his servants do ,him service4 ,they see ,his face4 ,his name is in their foreheads4 ,they are priests unto ,god in the service of the heavenly sanctuary4 ,they reign for ever and ever4 ,one important question still remains3 ,what aspect of the ,church does the holy city ,jerusalem1 thus come down out of heaven from ,god1 represent8 ,is it the ,church as she shall be after the ,judgment1 when her three great enemies1 together with all who have listened to them1 have been for ever cast out8 ,or have we before us an ideal representation of the true ,church of ,christ as she exists now1 and before a final separation has been made between the righteous and the wicked8 ,unquestionably the first aspect of the passage leads to the former view2 and1 if there be anything like a chronological statement of events in the ,apocalypse1 no other may be possible4 ,but we have already seen that the thought of chronology must be banished from this book4 ,the ,apocalypse contains simply a series of visions intended to exhibit1 with all the force of that inspiration under which the ,seer wrote1 certain great truths connected with the revelation in humanity of the ,eternal ,son4 ,it is intended1 too1 to exhibit these in their ideal1 and not merely in their historical1 form4 ,they are indeed to appear in history2 but1 inasmuch as they do not appear there in their ultimate and completed form1 we are taken beyond the limited field of historical manifestation4 ,we see them in their real and essential nature1 and as they are1 in themselves1 whether we think of evil on the one hand1 or of good on the other4 ,in this treatment of them1 however1 chronology disappears4 ,such being the case1 we are prepared to ask whether the vision of the new ,jerusalem belongs to the end1 or whether it expresses what1 under the ,christian dispensation1 is always ideally true4 #a4 ,it must be borne in mind that the new ,jerusalem1 though described as a city1 is really a figure1 not of a place1 but of a people4 ,it is not the final home of the redeemed4 ,it is the redeemed themselves4 ,it is the bride1 the wife of the ,lamb4#efi ,whatever is said of it is said of the true followers of ,jesus2 and the great question1 therefore1 that has to be considered is1 whether ,st4 ,john's description is applicable to them in their present ,christian condition1 or whether it is suitable to them only when they have entered upon their state of glorification beyond the grave4 #b4 ,the vision is really an echo of ,old ,testament prophecy4 ,we have already seen this in many particulars1 and the correspondence might easily have been traced in many more4 ,it is all1 says ,isaac ,williams1 as he begins his comment upon the particular points of the description--,it is all from ,ezekiel3 ',the hand of the ,lord was upon me1 and brought me in the visions of ,god1 and set me upon a very high mountain1 by which was as the frame of a city2'#egj ',and the glory of the ,lord came into the house by the gate toward the east2'#ega ,the ,lord entered by the eastern gate2 therefore shall it be shut1 and opened for none but for the ,prince4#egb ,such was the coming of ,christ's glory from the east into ,his ,church1 as so often alluded to before4#egc ,other prophets1 no doubt1 who prophesied of the grace that should come unto us1 who testified beforehand of the sufferings of ,christ and the glories that should follow1 are to be added to ,ezekiel1 but1 whoever they were1 it is undeniable that their highest and most glowing representations of that future for which they longed1 and the advent of which they were commissioned to proclaim1 are reproduced in ,st4 ,john's description of the new ,jerusalem4 ,of what was it1 then1 that they spoke8 ,surely it was of the times of the ,messiah upon earth1 of that kingdom of ,god which ,he was to establish with the beginning1 and not with the end1 of the ,christian dispensation4 ,that they may have looked forward to the world beyond the grave is possible2 but any distinction between the first and second coming of our ,lord had not yet risen upon their minds4 ,in the simple coming of the ,hope of ,israel into the world they beheld the accomplishment of every aspiration and longing of the heart of man4 ,and they were right4 ,the distinction which experience taught the ,new ,testament writers to draw was not so much between a first and a second coming of the ,king as between a kingdom then hidden1 but afterwards to be manifested in all its glory4 #c4 ,this ideal view of the ,messianic age is also constantly brought before us in the ,new ,testament4 ,the character1 the privileges1 and the blessings of those who are partakers of the spirit of that time are always presented to us as irradiated with a heavenly and perfect glory4 ,st4 ,paul addresses the various churches to which he wrote as1 notwithstanding all their imperfections1 beloved of ,god1 sanctified in ,christ ,jesus1 saints and faithful brethren in ,christ4#egd ,christ is in them1 and they are in ,christ4#ege ,christ loved the ,church1 and gave ,himself up for it2 that ,he might present the ,church to ,himself a glorious ,church1 not having spot1 or wrinkle1 or any such thing2 but that it should be holy and without blemish1#egf--the description evidently applying to the present world1 where also the ,church is seated1 not in earthly1 but in the heavenly1 places with her ,lord4#egg ,our citizenship is declared to be in heaven2#egh and we are even now come unto ,mount ,zion1 and unto the city of the living ,god1 the heavenly ,jerusalem1 to innumerable hosts of angels1 and to the general assembly and ,church of the first-born1 who are enrolled in heaven4#egi ,our ,lord ,himself and ,st4 ,john1 following in ,his steps1 are even more specific as to the present kingdom and the present glory4 ,in that day1 says ,jesus to ,his disciples1 ye shall know that ,i am in ,my ,father1 and ye in ,me1 and ,i in you1#ehj and again1 ,and the glory which ,thou hast given ,me ,i have given unto them2 that they may be one1 even as ,we are one2#eha while it is unnecessary to quote the passages meeting us everywhere in the writings of the beloved disciple in which he speaks of eternal life1 and that1 too1 in the full greatness both of its privileges and of its results1 as a possession enjoyed by the believer in this present world4 ,the whole witness of the ,new ,testament1 in short1 is to an ideal1 to a perfect1 kingdom of ,god even now established among men1 in which sin is conquered1 temptation overcome1 strength substituted for weakness1 death so deprived of its sting that it is no more death1 and the ,christian1 though for a little put to grief in manifold temptations1 made to rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and glorified4#ehb ,from all this the representation of the new ,jerusalem in the ,apocalypse differs in no essential respect4 ,it enters more into particulars4 ,it illustrates the general thought by a greater variety of detail4 ,but it contains nothing which is not found in principle in the other sacred writers1 and which is not connected by them with the heavenly aspect of the ,christian's pilgrimage to his eternal home4 #d4 ,there are distinct indications in the apocalyptic vision which leave no interpretation possible except one1--that the new ,jerusalem has come1 that it has been in the midst of us for more than eighteen hundred years1 that it is now in the midst of us1 and that it shall continue to be so wherever its ,king has those who love and serve ,him1 walk in ,his light1 and share ,his peace and joy4 7#a7 ,let us look at chap4 xx4 #i1 where we read of the camp of the saints and the beloved city4 ,that city is none other than the new ,jerusalem1 about to be described in the following chapter4 ,it is ,jerusalem after the elements of the harlot character have been wholly expelled1 and the call of chap4 xviii4 #d has been heard and obeyed1 ,come forth1 ,my people1 out of her4 ,she is inhabited now by none but saints1 who1 though they have still to war with the world1 are themselves the called1 and chosen1 and faithful4 ,but this beloved city is spoken of as in the world1 and as the object of attack by ,satan and his hosts before the ,judgment4#ehc 7#b7 ,let us look at chap4 xxi4 #bd and xxii4 #b3 ,and the nations shall walk by the light thereof2 and the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it2 ,and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations4 ,who are these nations and these kings of the earth8 ,the constant use of the same expressions in other parts of this book1 where there can be no doubt as to their meaning1 compels us to understand them of nations and kings beyond the pale of the covenant4 ,but if so1 the difficulty of realizing the situation at a point of time beyond the ,judgment appears to be insuperable1 and may be well illustrated by the effort of ,hengstenberg to overcome it4 ,nations1 says that commentator1 in the usage of the ,revelation1 are not nations generally1 but always heathen nations in their natural or christianized state2 compare at chap4 xx4 #c4 ,that we are to think here only of converted heathen is as clear as day4 ,no room for conversion can be found on the further side of chap4 xx4 #ae1 for every one who had not been found written in the book of life has already been cast into the lake of fire4#ehd ,but the words or christianized in this comment have no countenance from any other passage in the ,apocalypse1 and in ,hengstenberg's note at chap4 xx4 #c we are referred to nothing but the texts before us4 ,on every other occasion1 too1 where the word nations meets us1 it means unconverted1 not converted1 nations2 and here it can mean nothing else4 ,were the nations spoken of converted1 they would be a part of that new ,jerusalem which is not the residence of ,god's people1 but ,his people themselves4 ,they would be the light1 and not such as walk by the light of others4 ,they would be the healed1 and not those who stand in need of healing4 ,these nations must be the unconverted1 these kings of the earth such as have not yet acknowledged ,jesus to be their ,king2 and nothing of this can be found beyond chap4 xx4 #ae4 7#c7 ,let us look at chap4 xxi4 #bg1 where we read1 ,and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean1 or he that doeth an abomination and a lie4 ,these words distinctly intimate that the time for final separation had not yet come4 ,persons of the wicked character described must be supposed to be alive upon the earth after the new ,jerusalem has appeared4 #e4 ,another consideration on the point under discussion may be noticed1 which will have weight with those who admit the existence of that principle of structure in ,st4 ,john's writings upon which it rests4 ,alike in the ,gospel and in the ,apocalypse the ,apostle is marked by a tendency to return at the close of a section to what he had said at the beginning1 and to shut up1 as it were1 between the two statements all he had to say4 ,so here4 ,in chap4 i4 #c he introduces his ,apocalypse with the words1 ,for the time is at hand4 ,in chap4 xxii4 #aj1 immediately after closing it1 he returns to the thought1 ,seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book3 for the time is at hand2 that is1 the whole intervening revelation is enclosed between these two statements4 ,all of it precedes the time spoken of4 ,the new ,jerusalem comes before the end4 ,in the new ,jerusalem1 therefore1 we have essentially a picture1 not of the future1 but of the present2 of the ideal condition of ,christ's true people1 of ,his little flock on earth1 in every age4 ,the picture may not yet be realized in fulness2 but every blessing lined in upon its canvas is in principle the believer's now1 and will be more and more his in actual experience as he opens his eyes to see and his heart to receive4 ,we have been wrong in transferring the picture of the new ,jerusalem to the future alone4 ,it belongs also to the past and to the present4 ,it is the heritage of the children of ,god at the very time when they are struggling with the world2 and the thought of it ought to stimulate them to exertion and to console them under suffering4 ,,footnotes3 #efa ,trench1 ,synonyms1 second series1 p4 #ci4 #efb ,comp4 pp4 #bbg1 #ceg4 #efc ,chap4 iv4 #c4 #efd ,matt4 v4 #ad4 #efe ,ps4 xxxi4 #ba2 ,isa4 xxvi4 #a4 #eff ,ps4 xci4 #aa4 #efg ,comp4 ,ezek4 xlviii4 #ca4 #efh ,comp4 ,ezek4 xl4 #b1 #c4 #efi ,chap4 xxi4 #i4 #egj ,ezek4 xl4 #a1 #b4 #ega ,ezek4 xliii4 #b4 #egb ,ezek4 xliv4 #a-c4 #egc ,the ,apocalypse1 p4 #dch4 #egd ,rom4 i4 #g2 #a ,cor4 i4 #b2 ,col4 i4 #b4 #ege ,col4 i4 #bg2 #a ,cor4 i4 #cj2 ,phil4 iii4 #i4 #egf ,eph4 v4 #be-bg4 #egg ,eph4 i4 #c4 #egh ,phil4 iii4 #bj4 #egi ,heb4 xii4 #bb1 #bc4 #ehj ,john xiv4 #bj4 #eha ,john xvii4 #bb4 #ehb #a ,pet4 i4 #h4 #ehc ,comp4 ,foxley1 ,hulsean ,lectures1 ,lect4 i4 #ehd ,commentary in ,clark's ,foreign ,theological ,library1 in loc4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,epilogue4 ,,rev4 xxii4 #f-ba4 ,the visions of the ,seer have closed1 and closed with a picture of the final and complete triumph of the ,church over all her enemies4 ,no more glorious representation of what her ,lord has done for her could be set before us than that contained in the description of the new ,jerusalem4 ,nothing further can be said when we know that in the garden of ,paradise ,restored into which she is introduced1 in the ,holy of holies of the ,divine ,tabernacle planted in the world1 she shall eat of the fruit of the tree of life1 drink of the water of life1 and reign for ever and ever4 ,surely as these visions passed before the eye of ,st4 ,john in the lonely isle of ,patmos he would be gladdened with the light of heaven1 and would need no more to strengthen him in the kingdom and patience of ,jesus ,christ4 ,was it not too much8 ,the ,epilogue of the book assures us that it was not2 and that1 although the natural eye of man had not seen1 nor his ear heard1 nor his heart conceived the things that had been spoken of1 they had been revealed by the ,spirit of ,god ,himself1 not one word of whose promises would fail4 ,and he said unto me1 ,these words are faithful and true3 and the ,lord1 the ,god of the spirits of the prophets1 sent ,his angel to show unto ,his servants the things which must shortly come to pass4 ,and1 behold1 ,i come quickly3 blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book4 ,and ,i ,john am he that heard and saw these things4 ,and when ,i heard and saw1 ,i fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things4 ,and he saith unto me1 ,see thou do it not3 ,i am a fellow-servant with thee1 and with thy brethren the prophets1 and with them which keep the words of this book3 worship ,god 7xxii4 #f-i74 ,attention has been already called in this commentary both to that characteristic of ,st4 ,john's style as a writer which leads him1 at a longer or a shorter interval1 to the point from which he started1 and to the fact that light is thus frequently thrown on the interpretation of what he says4#ehe ,every illustration of such a point is therefore not only interesting1 but important2 and in the words before us it is illustrated with more than ordinary clearness4 ,the person introduced with the words ,he said unto me is not indeed named1 but there can be little doubt that he is the angel spoken of in the ,prologue as sent to signify the revelation that was to follow4#ehf ,again1 when the ,seer is overwhelmed with what he has seen1 and may be said to have almost feared that it was too wonderful for belief1 the angel assures him that it was all faithful and true4 ,a similar declaration had been made at chap4 xix4 #i by the voice which there came forth from the throne1#ehg and likewise at chap4 xxi4 #e by ,him that sitteth on the throne4 ,the angel therefore who now speaks1 like the angel of the ,prologue1 has the authority of this ,divine ,being for what he says4 ,it is true that in the following words1 which seem to come from the same speaker1 the angel must thus be understood to refer to himself in the third person1 and not1 as we might have expected1 in the first1--,the ,lord sent ,his angel1 not ,the ,lord sent me4 ,but1 to say nothing of the fact that such a method of address is met with in the prophetic style of the ,old ,testament1 it appears to be characteristic of ,st4 ,john in other passages of his writings4 ,more particularly we mark it in the narrative in the fourth ,gospel of the death of ,jesus on the ,cross3 ,and he that hath seen hath borne witness1 and his witness is true3 and he knoweth that he saith true1 that ye may believe4#ehh ,again1 we read here that the ,lord sent ,his angel to show unto ,his servants the things which must shortly come to pass2 and the statement is the same as that of chap4 i4 #a4 ,the next words1 ,and1 behold1 ,i come quickly1 are probably words of our ,lord ,himself2 but the blessing upon him that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book again leads the ,seer back to the ,prologue1 where a similar blessing is pronounced4#ehi ,again1 the remembrance of the ,prologue is in the ,apostle's mind when1 naming himself1 he proceeds1 ,i ,john am he that heard and saw these things4 ,in precisely the same manner1 after the introductory verses of the ,prologue1 he had named himself as the writer of the book3 ,john to the seven ,churches2 ,i ,john1 your brother4#eij ,then he was about to write2 now that he has written1 he is the same ,john whom the ,church knew and honoured1 and whose consciousness of everything that had passed was undimmed and perfect4 ,this going back upon the ,prologue is also sufficient to prove1 if proof be thought necessary1 that the words these things are designed to include1 not merely the vision of the new ,jerusalem1 but all the visions of the book4 ,that the ,seer should have fallen down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed him these things has often caused surprise4 ,he had already done so on a previous occasion1#eia and had been reproved in words almost exactly similar to those in which he is now addressed3 ,see thou do it not3 ,i am a fellow-servant with thee1 and with thy brethren the prophets1 and with them which keep the words of this book3 worship ,god4 ,how could he so soon forget the warning8 ,we need not wonder4 ,the thought of the one vision preceding his former mistake might easily be swallowed up by the thought of the whole revelation of which it was a part2 and1 as the splendour of all that he had witnessed passed once more before his view1 he might imagine that the angel by whom it was communicated must be worthy of his worship4 ,his mistake was corrected as before4 ,the prophecy is now in the ,seer's hands1 ideally1 though not actually1 written4 ,he may easily speak of it1 therefore1 as written1 and may relate the instructions which he received regarding it4 ,he does this1 and again it will be seen how closely he follows the lines of his ,prologue3-- ,and he saith unto me1 ,seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book3 for the time is at hand4 ,he that is unrighteous1 let him do unrighteousness still3 and he that is filthy1 let him be made filthy still3 and he that is righteous1 let him do righteousness still3 and he that is holy1 let him be made holy still4 ,behold1 ,i come quickly2 and ,my reward is with ,me1 to render to each man according as his work is4 ,i am the ,alpha and the ,omega1 the first and the last1 the beginning and the end4 ,blessed are they that wash their robes1 that they may have the right to come to the tree of life1 and may enter in by the gates into the city4 ,without are the dogs1 and the sorcerers1 and the fornicators1 and the murderers1 and the idolaters1 and every one that loveth and maketh a lie 7xxii4 #aj-ae74 ,to the prophet ,daniel it had been said1 ,but thou1 ,o ,daniel1 shut up the words1 and seal the book1 even to the time of the end4#eib ,the hour had not yet come for the full manifestation of that momentous future upon which he had been commissioned to dwell4 ,the situation of ,st4 ,john was wholly different1 and the hour for winding up the history of this dispensation was about to strike4 ,it was not a time then for sealing up1 but for breaking seals1 a time for prophecy1 for the loudest1 clearest1 and most urgent proclamation of the truth4 ,behold1 ,i come quickly1 had been a moment before the voice of the great ,judge4 ,let the bride for whom ,he is to come be ready2 and1 that she may the more promptly be so1 let her hear with earnest and immediate attention the words of the prophecy of this book4 ,it is by no means easy to say whether the following words1 ,he that is unrighteous1 let him do unrighteousness still3 and he that is filthy1 let him be made filthy still3 and he that is righteous1 let him do righteousness still3 and he that is holy1 let him be made holy still1 are to be considered as coming from the ,apostle or from the angel who has been speaking to him4 ,this difficulty is the same as that experienced in the fourth ,gospel at such passages as chap4 iii4 #af and #ca1 where it is nearly impossible to tell the point at which in the one case the words of ,jesus1 at which in the other the words of the ,baptist1 end4 ,it would appear as if ,st4 ,john so sank himself in the person with whom he was occupied at the time that he often gave utterance to thoughts without being able to distinguish between the other's and his own4 ,in the present instance it matters little to whom we directly refer the words1 whether to ,st4 ,john1 or to the angel1 or to ,him who speaks by the angel4 ,in any case they contain a striking and solemn view of the relation between the righteous ,judge and ,his creatures1 when that relation is looked at in its ultimate1 in its final1 form4 ,one thing is clear3 that the first two clauses cannot be regarded as a summons to the wicked telling them before the ,judgment to go on in their wickedness even while the period of their probation lasts4 ,nor can the second two clauses be regarded as an assurance to the good that there is a point in the actual experience of life at which their perseverance in goodness is secured4 ,the words can only be understood in the light of that idealism which is so characteristic alike of the ,apocalypse and of the fourth ,gospel4 ,in both books the world of mankind is presented to us in exactly the same light4 ,men are divided into two great classes3 those who are prepared to receive the truth and those who are obstinately opposed to it2 and these classes are spoken of as if they had been formed1 not merely after1 but before1 the work of ,christ had tried and proved them4 ,not indeed that the salvation to be found in ,jesus was not designed to be universal1 that there was even one member of the human family doomed by eternal and irresistible decree to everlasting death1 nor1 again1 that men are considered as so essentially identified with the two classes to which they respectively belong that they incur no moral responsibility in accepting or rejecting the ,redeemer of the world4 ,in that respect ,st4 ,john occupied the same ground as his fellow-,apostles4 ,not less than they would he have declared that ,god willed all men to be saved2 and not less than they would he have told them that1 if they were not saved1 it was because they loved the darkness rather than the light4#eic ,yet1 notwithstanding this practical mode in which he would have dealt with men1 such is his idealism1 such his mode of looking at things in their ultimate1 eternal1 unchanging aspect1 that he constantly presents the two classes as if they were divided from each other by a permanent wall of separation1 and as if the work of ,christ consisted not so much in bringing the one class over to the other as in making manifest the existing tendencies of each4 ,the light of the one brightens1 the darkness of the other deepens1 as we proceed2 but the light does not become darkness1 and the darkness does not become light4#eid ,hence1 accordingly1 the conversion of ,israel or of the heathen finds no place in the ,apocalypse4 ,the texts supposed to offer such a prospect will not bear the interpretation put upon them4 ,it does not indeed follow that1 according to the teaching of this book1 neither ,israel nor the heathen will be converted4 ,st4 ,john only sees the end in the beginning1 and deals1 not with the everyday practical1 but with the ideal and everlasting1 issues of ,god's kingdom4 ,hence1 in interpreting the words before us1 we must be careful to put into them the exact shade of meaning which the whole spirit and tone of the ,apostle's writings prove to have been in his mind when they were written4 ,the clauses ,he that is unrighteous and ,he that is filthy are to be understood as ,he that has loved and chosen unrighteousness and filthiness3 the clauses ,let him do unrighteousness still and ,let him be made filthy still as ,let him sink deeper into the unrighteousness and filthiness which he has loved and chosen4 ,a principle freely selected by himself is supposed to be in the breast of each1 and that principle does not remain fixed and stationary4 ,no principle does4 ,it unfolds or develops itself according to its own nature1 rising to greater heights of good if it be good1 sinking to greater depths of evil if it be evil4 ,hence also we are not to imagine that the words under consideration are applicable only to the end1 or are the record only of a final judgment4 ,they are applicable to the ,church and to the world throughout the whole course of their respective histories1 and it is at this moment as true as it will ever be that1 in so far as the heart and will of a man are really turned to evil or to good1 the allegiance he has chosen has the tendency of continued progress towards the triumph of the one or of the other4 ,in connexion with thoughts like these1 we see the peculiar propriety of that declaration as to ,himself and ,his purposes next made by the ,redeemer3 ,behold1 ,i come quickly4 ,he comes to wind up the history of the present dispensation4 ,and ,my reward is with ,me1 to render to each man according as his work is4 ,he comes to bestow reward#eie upon ,his own2 and there is no mention of judgment1 because for those who are to be rewarded judgment is past and gone4 ,i am the ,alpha and the ,omega1 the first and the last1 the beginning and the end1 the words again taking us back to the language of the ,prologue1#eif upon which follows a blessing for such as wash their robes1 for those otherwise described in the ,prologue as loosed from their sins in ,his blood1#eig and in chap4 vii4 #ad as having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,these have the right to come to the tree of life1 and they enter in by the gates into the city4 ,a different order might have been expected1 for the tree of life grows within the city1 and it is the happy inhabitants of the city who eat its fruits4 ,but this is the blessed paradox of faith4 ,it is difficult to say which privilege enjoyed by the believer comes first1 and which comes second4 ,rather may all that he enjoys be looked on as given at once1 for the great gift to him is ,christ ,himself1 and in ,him everything is included4 ,he is the gate of the city1 and as such the way to the tree of life2 ,he is the tree of life1 and they who partake of ,him have a right to enter into the city and dwell there4 ,why ask1 ,which comes first8 ,at one moment we may think that it is one blessing1 at another that it is another4 ,the true description of our state is that we are in ,christ ,jesus1 who was made unto us wisdom from ,god1 and righteousness1 and sanctification1 and redemption3 that1 according as it is written1 ,he that glorieth1 let him glory in the ,lord4#eih ,to enhance our estimate of the happiness of those who are within the city1 there comes next a description of those who are without4 ,they are first denoted by the general term the dogs1 that animal1 as we learn from many passages of ,scripture1 being to the ,jew the emblem of all that was wild1 unregulated1 unclean1 and offensive4#eii ,then the general term is subdivided into various classes2 and all of them are without1 not put out4 ,they were put out when judgment fell upon them4 ,now they are without2 and the door once open to them is shut4#fjj ,the last words follow3-- ,i ,jesus have sent ,mine angel to testify unto you these things for the ,churches4 ,i am the root and the offspring of ,david1 the bright1 the morning star4 ,and the ,spirit and the bride say1 ,come4 ,and he that heareth1 let him say1 ,come4 ,and he that is athirst1 let him come4 ,he that will1 let him take the water of life freely4 ,i testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book1 ,if any man shall add unto them1 ,god shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book3 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy1 ,god shall take away his part from the tree of life1 and out of the holy city1 which are written in this book4 ,he which testifieth these things saith1 ,yea3 ,i come quickly4 ,amen4 ,come1 ,lord ,jesus4 ,the grace of the ,lord ,jesus be with the saints4 ,amen 7xxii4 #af-ba74 ,once more in these words it will be seen that we return to the ,prologue1 in the opening words of which we read1 ,the ,revelation of ,jesus ,christ1 which ,god gave ,him1 to show unto ,his servants2 444 and ,he sent and signified it by ,his angel unto ,his servant ,john4#fja ,the glorified ,lord now takes up the same words ,himself2 and1 connecting by the name ,jesus all that ,he was on earth with all that belongs to ,his condition in heaven1 ,he declares of the whole revelation contained in the visions of this book that the angel through whom it was communicated had been sent by ,him4 ,he ,himself had given it--,he1 even ,jesus1--,jesus the ,saviour of ,his people from their sins1 the ,captain of their salvation1 the ,joshua who leads them out of the wilderness of this world1 across the valley of the shadow of death1 into that ,promised ,land which ,canaan1 with its milk and honey1 its vines and olive trees1 its rest after long wanderings1 and its peace after hard warfare1 only faintly pictured to their view4 ,well is ,he able to do this1 for in ,him earth meets heaven1 and the angels of ,god ascend and descend upon the ,son of man4#fjb ,first1 ,he is the root and the offspring of ,david1 not the root out of which ,david springs1 as if ,he would say that ,he is ,david's ,lord as well as ,david's ,son1#fjc but the shoot that comes out of the stock of ,jesse and the branch out of his roots that bears fruit4#fjd ,he is the ,son1 who was born of the seed of ,david according to the flesh1#fje the substance of ancient prophecy1 the long-promised and looked-for ,king4 ,secondly1 ,he is the bright1 the morning star1 the star which shines in its greatest brilliancy when the darkness is about to disappear1 and that day is about to break of which the ,sun of righteousness1 with healing in ,his wings1 shall be the everlasting light1#fjf ,himself our ,star1 our ,sun4 ,thus ,he is connected on the one side with earth1 on the other with heaven1 ,immanuel1 ,god with us1#fjg touched with a feeling of our infirmities1 mighty to save4 ,what then shall we say to these things8 ,if ,god is for us1 who is against us8 ,he that spared not ,his own ,son1 but delivered ,him up for us all1 how shall ,he not also with ,him freely give us all things8 ,who shall say anything to the charge of ,god's elect8 ,it is ,god that justifieth4 ,who is he that shall condemn8 ,it is ,christ ,jesus that died1 yea rather1 that was raised from the dead1 who is at the right hand of ,god1 who also maketh intercession for us4 ,who shall separate us from the love of ,christ8 shall tribulation1 or anguish1 or persecution1 or famine1 or nakedness1 or peril1 or sword8 ,even as it is written1 ,for ,thy sake we are killed all the day long2 ,we were accounted as sheep for the slaughter4 ,nay1 in all these things we are more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,for ,i am persuaded1 that neither death1 nor life1 nor angels1 nor principalities1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor powers1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature1 shall be able to separate us from the love of ,god1 which is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4#fjh ,the ,saviour had declared1 ,behold1 ,i come quickly1 had spoken of the reward which ,he would bring with ,him1 and had used various images to set forth the happiness and joy which should be the everlasting portion of those for whom ,he came4 ,these declarations could not fail to awaken in the breast of the ,church a longing for ,his coming1 and this longing now finds expression4 ,the ,spirit and the bride say1 ,come4 ,we are not to think of two separate voices3 the voice of the ,spirit and the voice of the bride4 ,it is a characteristic of ,st4 ,john's style that where there is combined action1 action1 having both an inward and invisible and an outward and visible side1 he often separates the two agencies by which it is produced4 ,many illustrations of this may be found in his mention of the actions of the ,father and the ,son1 but it will be enough to refer to one more strictly parallel to that met with here4 ,in chap4 xv4 of the fourth ,gospel we find ,jesus saying to ,his disciples1 ,but when the ,advocate is come1 whom ,i will send unto you from the ,father1 even the ,spirit of truth1 which proceedeth from the ,father1 ,he shall bear witness of ,me2 and ye also bear witness1 because ye have been with ,me from the beginning4#fji ,in these words we have not two works of witnessing1 the first that of the ,advocate1 the second that of the disciples4 ,we have only one1--outwardly that of the disciples1 inwardly that of the ,advocate4 ,in like manner now4 ,the ,spirit and the bride do not utter separate calls4 ,the ,spirit calls in the bride2 the bride calls in the ,spirit4 ,the cry ,come is therefore that of the spiritually enlightened ,church as she answers the voice of her ,lord and ,king4 ,her voice is the echo of ,his4 ,he says1 ,i come2 she answers1 ,come4 ,st4 ,john then adds the next clause himself3 ,and let him that heareth say1 ,come2 that is1 let him that heareth with the hearing of faith2 let him who has made his own the glorious prospects opened up in the visions of this book as to the ,lord's ,second ,coming add his individual cry to the cry of the universal ,church4 ,to this the ,saviour replies1 ,and he that is athirst1 let him come4 ,he that will1 let him take the water of life freely4 ,the words appear to be addressed1 not to the world1 but to the ,church4 ,he that is athirst has already drunk of the living water1 but he thirsts for deeper draughts from that river the streams whereof make glad the city of ,god4 ,to partake more and more largely of these is the believer's longing2 and fulness of blessing is within his reach4 ,let him never say1 ,it is enough4 ,let him drink and drink again2 let him drink freely1 until the water that ,christ shall give him becomes in him a fountain of springing water unto eternal life4#faj ,the statements and replies contained in these words are those of the glorified ,lord1 of the ,church speaking in the ,spirit1 and of the individual believer1 as they hold converse with one another in that moment of highest rapture when evil has been extinguished1 when the struggle is over1 when the victory has been gained1 and when the ,lord of the ,church is at the door4 ,he in them and they in ,him1 what can they do but speak to and answer one another in strains expressive of mutual longing and affection and joy8 ,once more the ,seer--for it seems to be he that speaks--turns to the book which he has written4 ,in the ,prologue he had said1 ,blessed is he that readeth1 and they that hear the words of the prophecy1 and keep the things which are written therein4#faa ,in the same spirit he now denounces a woe upon him who adds to it3 ,god shall add unto him the plagues which are written in the book2 nor less upon him who takes from it3 for ,god shall take away his part from the tree of life1 and out of the holy city1 which are written in this book4 ,the book has come from ,him who is the faithful and true ,witness of ,god1 and it has been written in obedience to ,his command and under the guidance of ,his ,spirit4 ,st4 ,john himself is nothing2 ,christ is all3 and ,st4 ,john knows that the words of his great ,master are fulfilled1 ,he that receiveth you receiveth ,me1 and he that receiveth ,me receiveth ,him that sent ,me4#fab ,therefore may he speak with all authority1 for it is not he that speaks1 but the ,holy ,spirit4#fac ,yet once again1 before the parting salutation1 ,christ and the ,church interchange their thoughts4 ,the former speaks first3 ,he which testifieth these things saith1 ,yea1 ,i come quickly4 ,it is the sum and substance of ,his message to ,his suffering people1 for they can desire or need no more4 ,the ,i is the ,lord ,himself as ,he is in glory1 not in the feebleness of the flesh1 not amidst the sins and sorrows of the world1 not with the cup of trembling and astonishment in ,his hand1 but in the unlimited fulness of ,his ,divine power1 clothed with the light of ,his heavenly abode1 and anointed with the oil of gladness above ,his fellows4 ,especially is the ,church told that this revelation is all she needs1 because throughout the book she is supposed to be in the midst of trials4 ,to the troubled heart the ,apocalypse is given2 and by such a heart is it best understood4 ,jesus has spoken2 and the ,church replies1 ,amen4 ,come1 ,lord ,jesus4 ,amen to all that the ,lord has promised2 ,amen to the thought of sin and sorrow banished1 of wounded hearts healed1 of tears of affliction wiped away1 of the sting taken from death and victory from the grave1 of darkness dissipated for ever1 of the light of the eternal day4 ,surely it cannot come too soon4 ,why is ,his chariot so long in coming8 ,why tarry the wheels of ,his chariots8#fad ,yea1 ,i come quickly4 ,amen4 ,come1 ,lord ,jesus4 ,the salutation of the writer to his readers alone remains4 ,it ought to be read differently from its form in the authorised ,english version1 not ,the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ be with you all1 but ,the grace of the ,lord ,jesus be with the saints4 ,for the saints the book had been written2 to them it had been spoken3 they alone can keep it4 ,let no man who is not in ,christ imagine that the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john is addressed to him4 ,let no man imagine that1 if he has not found ,christ already1 he will find ,him here4 ,the book will rather perplex and puzzle1 more probably offend1 him4 ,only in that union with ,christ which brings with it the hatred of sin and the love of holiness1 which teaches us that we are orphans#fae in a present world1 which makes us wait for the manifestation of the kingdom of ,god as they that wait for the morning1 can we enter into the spirit of the ,apocalypse1 listen to its threatenings without thinking them too severe1 or so embrace its promises that they shall heighten rather than lower the tone of our spiritual life4 ,here1 if anywhere1 faith and love are the key to knowledge1 not knowledge the key to faith and love4 ,it is in the very spirit of the book1 therefore1 not in a spirit hard1 or narrow1 or unsympathetic1 that it closes with the words1 ,the grace of the ,lord ,jesus be with the saints4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have reached the end of this singular1 but at the same time most instructive1 book of the ,new ,testament4 ,that the principles upon which it has been interpreted should be generally accepted were too much to hope for4 ,their acceptance1 where they are received1 must depend mainly upon the consideration that while1 as scientific principles1 they are thoroughly capable of defence1 they give unity to the book and a meaning worthy of that ,divine ,spirit by whose influence upon the soul of the ,apostle it was produced4 ,on no other principles of interpretation does it seem possible to effect this2 and the writer of these pages at least is compelled to think that1 if they are rejected1 there is only one conclusion possible1--that the ,apocalypse1 however interesting as a literary memorial of the early ,christian age1 must be regarded as a merely human production1 and not entitled to a place in the canon of ,scripture4 ,such a place1 however1 must in the present state of the argument be vindicated for it2 and as an inspired book it has accordingly been treated here4 ,what the reader1 therefore1 has to consider is whether1 though some difficulties may not be completely overcome1 he can accept in the main the principles upon which1 in endeavouring to explain the book1 the writer has proceeded4 ,these principles the reader1 whoever he be1 undoubtedly applies to innumerable passages of ,scripture4 ,in so applying them to the prophets of the ,old ,testament1 he follows the example of our ,lord and ,his ,apostles2 and much of the ,new ,testament itself equally demands their application4 ,there is nothing new in them4 ,all commentators in part apply them4 ,they have only been followed out now with more consistency and uniformity than usual4 ,archdeacon ,farrar has said that one of the two questions in ,new ,testament criticism which have acquired new aspects during the last few years is1 ,what is the key to the interpretation of the ,apocalypse8#faf ,the question is certainly one urgently demanding the ,church's answer1 and one which will without doubt be answered in due time1 either in the present or some other form4 ,may the ,spirit of ,god guide the ,church and her students1 and that speedily1 into all the truth4 ,,footnotes3 #ehe ,comp4 p4 #cgc4 #ehf ,chap4 i4 #a4 #ehg ,chap4 xix4 #e4 #ehh ,john xix4 #ce4 ,wider questions than can be here discussed would be opened up by an inquiry how far the same method of explanation may be applied to ,john xvii4 #c4 #ehi ,chap4 i4 #c4 #eij ,chap4 i4 #d1 #i4 #eia ,chap4 xix4 #aj4 #eib ,dan4 xii4 #d2 comp4 viii4 #bf4 #eic ,comp4 ,john iii4 #ai4 #eid ,see a fuller treatment of this important point by the author in his ,lectures on the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1 p4 #bhf1 etc4 #eie ,comp4 chap4 xi4 #ah4 #eif ,chap4 i4 #h4 #eig ,chap4 i4 #e4 #eih #a ,cor4 i4 #cj4 #eii ,comp4 ,ps4 xxii4 #af1 #bj2 ,matt4 vii4 #f2 ,phil4 iii4 #b4 #fjj ,comp4 ,matt4 xxv4 #aj4 #fja ,chap4 i4 #a4 #fjb ,john i4 #ea4 #fjc ,matt4 xxii4 #de4 #fjd ,isa4 xi4 #a4 #fje ,rom4 i4 #c4 #fjf ,mal4 iv4 #b4 #fjg ,matt4 i4 #bc4 #fjh ,rom4 viii4 #ca-ci4 #fji ,john xv4 #bf1 #bg4 #faj ,john iv4 #ad4 #faa ,chap4 i4 #c4 #fab ,matt4 x4 #dj4 #fac ,comp4 ,mark xiii4 #aa4 #fad ,judges v4 #bh4 #fae ,john xiv4 #ah1 ,r4,v4 7margin74 #faf ,expositor1 ,july1 #ahhh1 p4 #eh4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout4 ,non-,latin characters have been replaced with the nearest ,latin equivalent for example oe 7the oe ligature71 was replaced with oe4 ,missing footnote anchors have been added where it was possible to determine placement4 ,inconsistent hyphenation has been left as in the original text4 ,page #bff3 ,the quote ending 7444 in the sea47 does not have an opening quote1 left as in the original text4 ,footnote #ejj3 ,this footnote is missing the page number reference to compare to1 left as in the original text4