Chapter XXVII (continued, part 45)
lest autliority is against it), "Thejreign," still it is the prophetical present for the future: the seer being transported into tho future when the full number of the redeemed (represented by the four liviyig creatures) shall be complete, and the visible kingdom begins. The saints do spiritually reign now; but certainly not as they shall when the prince of this world shall be bound (Notes, ch.
20. 2-6). So far from reigning on the earth now, they are "made as the tilth of the world and the oflTscouring of
all things." In ch. 11. 15, 18, the locality and time of the kingdom are marked. 'Ky.x.isy translates, "reign over the earth " {Greek, epi tees gees), which is justified by the Greek (LXX., Judges 9.8; Matthew 2.22). The elders, though ruling over the earth, shall not necessarily (according to this passage) remain on the eartli. But English Version is justified by ch. 3.10. "The elders were meek, but the flock of the meek independently is much larger." [BenGBL.l 11. I belield—the angels : who form tlie outer cir-
2le, whilst the Church, the object of redemption, forms the inner circle nearest the throne. The heavenly hosts ranged around gaze with intense love and adoration at this crowning manifestation of God's love, wisdom, and power. tei» thousand times ten thousand Greek, "myriads of myriads." 13. to receive poAver Greek, "the power." The remaining six (the whole being seven, the number tor perfection and completeness) are all, as well as " power," ranged under the one Greek article, to mark that they form one complete aggregate belonging to God and His coequal, the Lamb. Cf. ch. 7. 12, where each of
all seven has the article, riches— both spiritual and earthly. Blessing—Ascribed praise : the will on the creature's part, though unaccompanied by the power, to return blessing for blessing conferred. [Alfoed.] 13. The universal chorus of creation, including the outermost circles as well as the inner (of saints and angels), winds up the doxology. The full accomplisliraent of this is to be when Christ takes His great power and reigns visibly, every creature—" All His works in all places of His dominion " (Psalm 103. 22). under the earth—tlie departed spirits in Hades, sucli as are—So B and Vulgate. But A omits
(lit., came) forth corresponding to " Come." " Come," says Grotius, is the living creature's address to John, calling his earnest attention. But it seems hard to see how "Come" bj' itself can mean this. Cf. the onl3' other places in Revelation where it is used, ch. 4. 1 ; 22. 17. If the four living creatures represent tlie four Gc»;pels, the "Come" will be their invitation to every one (for it is not written thai they addressed John) to accept Christ's salvation whilst there is time, as the opening of the seals marks a progressive step towards the end (cf. ch. 22. 17). Judgments are foretold as accompanying the preac/ii?) ,9 of the Gospel as a witness to all nations (ch. 14. 6-11 ; Matthew 24. 6-14). Thus the invitation, " Come," here, is aptly parallel to Matthew
this. In the sea Greek, "upon the sea :" the sea animals which are regarded as being on the surface. [Alford.] all thatareinthem—So Vulgate rends. A omits "all (tilings)" here (Greek panta), and reads, " I heard all (Greek pantos) saying:" implying the harmonious concert of all in the four quarters of the universe. Blessing, <tc.— Greek, "the blessing, the honour, and the glory, and the might to the ages of the ages." The fourfold ascription indicates world-wide universality. 14. satd—So A, Vulgate, SLXiA Syriac,xea,d. But B, and Coptic read, " (I 'hesirti) saying." Amen—So A reads. But B reads, "the (accustomed; Amen." As in ch. 4. U, the four and twenty eiders asserted God's worthiness to receive the glory, as having created all things, so here the four living creatures ratify by their "Amen " the whole creation's ascription of the glory to Him. four and twenty—Omitted In the oldest MSS. : Vulgate supports
24. 14. The opening of the first four seals is followed by judgments preparatory for His coming. At the opening of the fifth seal, tlie martyrs above express the same (v. 9, 10; cf. Zechariah 1. 10). At the opening of the sixtn seal, the Lord's coming is ushered in with terrors to the ungodly. At the seventh, the consummation is fully attained (ch. 11. 1.5). 3. Evidently Christ, whether in person, or by His angel, preparatory to His coming again, as appears from ch. 19. 11, 12. bow-(Psalm 4-5. 4, 5.) crown— Greek, Stephanos, the garland or wreath of a conqueror, which is also implied by His w/iite horse, white being the emblem of victory. In ch. 19. 11, 12 the last step in His victorious progress is represented ; accordingly there He wears many diadems (Greek, diademata ; not merely Greek, stephanoi, crowns or wreatlis), and is personally attended by the hosts of heaven. Cf. Zechariah I. and 6.; especially u. 10 below, with Zechariah 1. 12; also cf. the colours of the four horses, and to conquer—i. e., so as to gain a lasting victory. All four seals usher in judgments on the earth, as the power which opposes the reign of Himself and His Church. This, rather than the work of conversion and conviction, is primarily meant, though doubtless, second-
It. Him that llveth for ever and ever—Omitted in all the MSS.: Inserted by commentators from ch. 4. 9. But there, where the thanksgiving is expressed, the words are appropriate; but here less so, as their worship is that of silent prostration. "'Worshipped" (viz., God and the Liamb). So in ch. 11. 1, " worship " is used absolutely.
arily, the elect will be gathered out tliroutjh His word and His judgments. 3. and see—Omitted in the three oldest MSS., A, B, C, and Vulgate. 4. red—the colour of
'Vor. 1-17. The Opening of the First Six of the Sevsn Sf,ai,9. a. Note, ch. 5. 1. Many (Mede, Fleming, Nkwton, Ac.) hold that all these #eals have been fulfilled, tbe sixth having been so by the overthrow of Paganism and establishment of Christianity under Constantiue's
blood. The colour of the horse in each case answers to the mission of the rider. Cf. Matthew 10. 24-;?B, "Think not lam come to send peace on earth ; I came not to send peace, but a
What Followed the Opening of the Seals. REVELATION VI. A Prophecy of the End of the Worli,
naturally visible, tinder the nitar—As the blood of sao-
tword." The white horse of Christ's bloodless victories Is soon followed, through man's perversion of the Gospel, by the reti horse of bloodshed; but this is overruled to the clearing away of the obstacles to Christ's coming kingdom. The patient ox is the emblem of the second living creatine who, at the opening of this seal, saith, "Come." The saints amidst judgments on theeartli in patience "endure to the end." that they should kill—The Greek is indicative future, "that they may, as they also shall, kill one another." 5. Come and see—The two oldest MSS., A, C, and I'uig'a^e, omit " and see." B retains the words.
riflcial victims slain on the altar was poured at the bottom
of the altar, so the souls of those sacrificed for Christ's testimony iire symbolically represented as under the aUar. in heaven; for the life or animal soul is In the fttoorf, and blood is often repi-esented as crying for vengeance (Genesis i. 10). The altar In heaven, antltypical to the altar of sacrifice, Is Christ crucified. As it is the altar that sanc-
tifies the gift, so It is Christ alone who makes our obedience, and even our sacrifice of life for the truth, acceptable to God. The sacrificial altar was not in the sanctuary, but outside; so Christ's literal sacrifice, and the figurative sacrifice of the martyrs took place, not in the heavenly sanctuary, but outside, here on earth. The only altar In heaven is that antltypical to the temple-altar of incense. The blood of the martyrs cries from the earth under Christ's cross, whereon they may be considered virtually to have been sacrificed ; their souls cry from under the altar of Incense, which Is Christ In heaven, by whom alone the incense of praise is accepted before God. They are under Christ, In His immediate presence, shut up unto Him in joyful eager expectancy until He shall come to raise the sleeping dead. Cf. the language of 2 Ma#)»abees
l»Jac!c—Implyim; sadness and want, had Greek, "having." a pair of ||alances— the symbol of scarcity of provisions, the bread being doled out by weight. 6. a voice—Two oldest MSS., A, C, read, "as it were a voice." B read.s as English Version. The voice is heard "in the midst of the four living creatures" (as Jehovah in the Bhekinah cloud manifested His pre.sence between the cherubim); because it is only for the sake of, and in connection with. His redeemed, that God mitigates His judgments on the earth. A measure—"A chcenix." Whilst making food scarce, do not make it so much so that a chceni.K (about a day's provision of wheat, variously estimated at two or three pints) shall not be to be got " for a penny" {dciarius, eight and a half pence of our money, probalily the day's wages of a labourer). JVi7)n'rie generally follows the tivord. Ordinarily, from sixteen to twenty measures were given for a denarius. The sword, famine, noisome beasts, and the pestilence, are God's four judgments on the earth. A spiritual famine, too, may be included In the judgment. The "Come," in the case of this third seal, is said by the third of the four living creatures, Wlio:!e likeness is a man; indicative of sympathy and human compassion for the sutferers. God in it tempers juilgment with mercy. Cf. Matthew 2-1. 7, which indicates the very calamities foretold in these seals, nation rising against nation (the sword), /amine*, pestilences (v. S), and
7. 36 as indicating Jewish opinion on the subject. Our brethren who have now sufTered a short pain are dead under (Greek) God's covenant of everlasting life, testlinony which they held— i. e., which they bore, as committed to them to bear. Cf. ch. 12. 17, " Have (same Greek as here) the testimony of Jesus." 10. How long Greek, "Until when?" As in the parable the woman (symbol of the Church) ci-ies day and night to the unjust judge for justice against her adversary who Is always oppressing her (cf, below, ch. 12. 10); so the elect (not only on earth, but under
Christ's covering, and in His presence in Paradise) cry day and night to God, who will assuredly. In His own time, avenge His and their cause, "though He bear long \v'\l\\ them." Tliese passages need not be restricted to some particular martyrdoms, but have been, and are receiving, and shall receive partial fulfilments, until their last exhaustive fulfilment before Christ's coming. So as to the other events foretold here. The glorj' even of those In Paradise shall only be complete when Christ's and the Church's foes are cast out, and the earth become Christ's kingdom at His coming to i-alse the sleeping saints. I^ord— GrceA-, " Master;" implying that He has tliem and their foes and all His creatures as absolutely at His disposal, as a master has his slaves ; hence. In v. 11, "fellowservants," or fellow-slaves follows, holy — Cri-eeA:, "the }Ioly one." avenjste—" exact vengeance for our blood." on— Greek, "from them." that dwell on the earth—the ungodly, of earth, earthy, as distinguished fiom the Church, whose home and heart are even now in heavenly places. 11. white robes—The three oldest MSS., A, IJ, C, read, "A white robe was given." every one of—One oldest MS., I!, omits this. A, C, read, "unto them, unto each," 1. e., unto them severally. Though their joint cry
eartli'jtiakes (v. 12). three measures of barley for a penny —the cheaper and less nutritious grain, bought by the labourer who could not buy enougli wheat for his family with his day's wages, a denarius, and, therefore, buys barIcy, see thou hurt not the oil, and the wine—the luxuries of r.fe, rather than necessaries; the oil and wine were to be spared for the refresliment of the sufl'erers. 7. and sec—Supported by B. Omitted by A, C, and Vulgate. The/ourtk living creature, who was " like a Hying eagle,"
Introduces this seal ; Implying high-soaring Intelligence, and judgment descending tronj on high fatally on the ungodly, as the king of birds on his prey. 8. pale "livid." IAlkord.) Death — personified. Htll—Hades personified, unto thcm—7Jea^/i and Hades. So A, C read. But 13 and Vulgate read, "to him." fourth part of the earth—Answering to the flrst four seals; his portion as one of the lour, being a fourth part, death—pestilence
cf. Ezekiel 11.21 Willi the four Judgments liere, the .ncoj-rf,
famine, pestilence, aud wild bea-ii." , the /amine tlie consequence of the sword; pestilence, that of famine ; and bcails multiplying by the consequent depopulation, with the beantH— Greek, by; more direct agency. Tliese four seals are marked off from the three last, by the four living creatures introducing thpm with "Come." The calam-
for the riddance of the earth from the ungodly Is not yet granted. It Is intimated that it will be so in due time; meanwiille, individualli/ they receive the white robe. Indicative of light, joy, and triumphant victory over their foes ; even as the Captain of their salvation goes forth on a while horse conquering and to conquer ; also of purity and
ities liidii^atcd are not restricted to one time, hut extend tlirougli the wliole period of Church history to the coming of Christ, before which last great and terrible day of Iho Lord they shall reach their hlgliest aggravation. The flrst seal Is the summary, Christ going fortli coiigiiering tin all enemies are subdued under Him, with a view to which the Judgmcniii subsequently specllled accomi)aiiy the preaching of the Gospel for a witness to all nations. 1». The three last seals relate to the lnvisll)le, as the Hist four to the visible world; the llfth, to the martyrs who have died as believers ; the sixth, to those who have died, or who shall be found at Christ's coming, unbelievers,
saiK't ily through Christ. Maimonidks says that the Jews used to array priests, when approved of, in white robes; thus the sense is, they are admitted among the blessed
oni's, who, as spotless priests, minister unto God and the I,aml). should—So C reads. But A, B, "shall rest."
little season-One oldest MH., B, omits "little." A, C, support It. Kven If it be omitted. Is It to be Inferred that
tli<! "season" Is shortas compared with eternity ? BuNnElj
liuiciruliy made a season {Greek ehronus, the word here used) to be one thousand one hundred and eleven oneninth years, ami a time (ch. 12. 12, 11, Greek kairos) to be a
xnz., " th(? liliigs . . . great men . . . bondman . . . freeman ;" the Koveiitli, to the silence In heaven. The scene changes from eartli to heaven; so that Interpretations which make these three last consecutive to the Hrst four seals, are very doubtful. I iiaw— In splrH. Kor souls are not
tirth of a .tea.vrHi, i. c, two hundred and twent.v-two twoninths years. The oiil.y distinction In the Greek Is, a *ef«- son (Greek ehronus) \n n sort of aggregate of times. Gretk kairos, n speelflc lime, and so of short duration. As to their rest, cf. ch. 11. lIKthesame Greek anapauontai); Lsniah
6(«i
A Pi-ophecy of the End of the World. REVELATION VII. At^ Angel Sealeth the Servants of God.
67. 2; Daniel 12. 13. until their . . . brethren ... be ftilfilled—in number. Until their full number shall have been completed. The number of the elect is deflnitely fixed : perhaps to fill up that of the fallen angels. But this
CHAPTER VIT.
Ver. 1-17. Sealing of the Elect op Israel. Thb Countless Multitude of the Gentile Elect. 1. And—So B and Syriac. But A, C, Vulgate, and Coptic, omit "and." after these things—A, B, C, and Coptic, read, "after this." The two visions in this chapter come in as an episode after the sixth seal, and before the seventh seal. It is clear that, though "Israel" maj' elsewhere designate the spiritual Israel, "the elect (Church) on earth" [Alfoed], here, where the names of the tribes one by one are specified, these names cannot liave any but the literal meaning. The secon(j|advent will be the time of the restoi-ation of the kingdom to Israel, when the times of the Oentiles shall have been fulfilled, and the Jews shall at last say, " Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." The period of the Lord's absence has been a blank in the history of the Jews as a nation. As then Revelation is the Book of the Second Advent [Db Burgh], naturally mention of God's restored favour to Israel occurs among the events that usher In Christ's advent, eni-th
Is mere conjecture. The full blessedness and glory of all the s».ints shall be simultaneous. The earlier shall not aniii ipate the later saints. A, "C, read, "shall have been accomplished;" B, X, read, "shall have accomplished (their course)." 13. As v. 4, 6-8, the sword, famine, and pestilence, answer to Matthew 24. 6, 7 ; and v. 9, 10, as to martyrdoms, answer to Matthew 24. 9, 10 ; so this passage,
V, 12, 17, answers to Matthew 24. 29, 30, " the sun sliall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven; . . . then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming," &c. ; imagery describing the portents of the immediate coming of the day of the Lord ; but not the coming
itself until the elect are sealed, and the judgments invokt-d by the martyrs descend on the earth, the sea, and the trees (ch. 7). and, lo—So A reads. But B, C, omit"lo." earthquake Greek, " shaking" of the heavens, tlie sea, and the dry land; the shaking of these mutable tilings being the necessary preliminary to the setting up of those things which cannot be shaken. This is one of the catchwords [WoRDSWOETH] connecting the sixth seal with the sixth trumpet (ch. 11. 13) and the seventh vial (ch. 16. 17-
. . . sea . . . tree—The judgments to descend on these are in answer to the martyrs' prayer under the fifth seal. Cf. the same judgments under the fifth trumpet, the sealed being exempt (ch. 9. 4). on any tree— Greek, " agaimt any tree" (Greek, epi ti dendron : but " on the earth," Greek, epi tees gees), it. ftom the east Greek, "... the rising of the sun." The quarter from which God's glory oftenest manifests itself. 3. Hurt not—by letting loose the destructive winds, till we have sealed the servants of our God — Parallel to Matthew 21.31, "His angels . . . shall gather together His elect from the four winds."' God's love is such, that He cannot do anything in the way ofjudgment, till His people are secured from hurt (Genesis 19. 22). Israel, at the eve of the Lord's coming, shall be found re-embodied as a nation ; for its tribes are distinctly specified (Joseph, however, being substituted lor Dan; whether because Antichrist is to come from Dan, or because Dan is to be Antichrist's especial tool [Arethas, tenth century], cf. Genesis 49. 17; Jeremiah 8. 16 ; Amos 8.
21); also the seventh seal (ch. 8. 5). sackcloth—One kind made of the "hair" of Cilician goats, was called "cilicium," or Cilician cloth, and was used for tents, &c. Paul, a Cilician, made such tents (Acts 18. 3). moon—A, B, C, and oldest versions read, " the whole moon ;" the full moon ; not merely the crescent moon, as blood— (Joel 2.
31.) 13. stars . . , fell ... as a fig tree casteth her . . . flgs—(Isiilah 34. 4; Nahum 3. 12.) The Church shall be then ripe for glorification, the Antichristian world for destruction, which shall be accompanied with mighty phenomena in nature. As to the stars falling to the earth, Scripture describes natural phenomena as they would appear to the spectator, not in the language of scientific accuracy ; and yet, whilst thus adapting itself to ordinary men, it drops hints which show that it anticipates the discoveries of modern science. 14. departed— GreeA;, "viaa teparaled from " its place; " was made to depart." Not as Alfokd, "parted asunder;" for, on the contrary, it was rolled together as a scroll which had been open is rolled up and laid aside. There is no " asunder one from another "
14 ; just as there was a Judas among the Twelve). Out of these tribes a believing remnant will be preserved from the judgments which shall destroy all the Antichristian confederacy (ch. 6. 12-17), and shall be transfigured ivith the
elect Church of all nations, viz., 144,000 (or whatever number
is meant by this symbolical number), who shall faitlifuUy resist the seductions of Antichrist, whilst the rest of the nation, restored to Palestine In unbelief, are his dupes, and at last his victims. Previously to the Lord's judgments on Antichrist and his hosts, these latter sliall destroy two-thirds of the nation, one-third escaping, and, by the Spirit's operation through alHictiou, turning to the Lord, which remnant shall form the nucleus on earth of ^ the Israelite nation that is from this time to stand at the head of the millennial nations of the world. Israel'ssplritual resurrection shall be "as life from the dead" to all the nations. As now a regeneration goes on here and there of Individuals, so there shall then be a regeneration of nations universally, and this in connection with Christ's coming. Matthew 24.34, "this generation (the Jewish nation) shall not pass tfll all these things be ful-
here in the Gi-eek, as in Acts 15. 39, which Alford copies, monntain . . . moved out of . . . places—(Psalm 121. 1, Margin ; Jeremiah 3. 23 ; 4. 24 ; Nahum 1. 5.) This total disruption sliall be the precursor of the new earth, just as the pre-Adamic convulsions prepared it for its present occupants. 15. kings . . . hid themselves—Wliere was now the spirit of those whom the world had so greatly feared ? [Bengel.] great men—statesmen and high civil officers, rich men . . . chief captAlns—The three Oldest MSS., A, B, C, transpose thus, "chief captains . . . rich men." mighty—The three oldest MSS., A, B, C, read, "strong " physically (Psalm 33. 16). In—lit., into ; ran into, BO as to hide themselves in. dens—" caves." 10. from tlie face—(Psalm 34. 16.) On the whole verse, cf. Hosea 10.8; Luke 23. 30. 17. Lit., "the day, the great (day)," which can only mean the last great day. After the Lord has exbausted all His ordinary judgments, the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, and still sinners are impenitent, the great day of the Lord Itself shall come. Matthew
filled," which Implies that Israel can no more pass away before Christ's advent, than Christ's own words can pas.i away (the same Greek), Matthew 24. 35. So exactly Zec^harlah 13. 8, 9 ; 14. 2-4, 9-21 ; cf. 12. 2-14 ; 13. 1, 2. So also Eze-
kiel8. 17, 18; 9. 1-7, especially v. 4. Cf. also Ezeklel 10.2 with ch. 8. 5, where the flnaljudgments actually fall on the
24. plainly forms a perfect parallelism to the six seals, not only in the events, but also in the order of their occurrence : V. 3, the first seal ; v. 6, the second seal ; v. 7, the third seal ; v. 7, end, the fourth seal ; v. 9, the fifth seal, the persecutions and abounding iniquity under which, as well as consequent judgiaeuts accompanied with gospel-preaching to all nations as a witness, are particularly detailed,
earth, with the same accompanlmenf, the fire of the altar
cast into the earth, including the fire scattered over the city. So again, ch. 14. 1, the same 144,000 appear on Zlon with the Father's name In their forehead, at the close of the seo-
tlon, chs. 12., 13., 14., concerning the Church and her foes. Not that the saints are exempt from trial : v. 14 proves the contrary; but their trials are distinct from the de-
V. 9-28; V. 29, the sixth seal, to stand-to stand Justified, and not condemned before the Judge. Thus the sixth seal brings us to the verge of the Lord's coming. The ungodly " tribes of the earth " tremble at the signs of His imme-
ifroyingr Judgments that fall on the world; from these they are exempted, as Israel was from the plagues of Egypt, especially from the last, the Israelite doors havlnic the protecting seal of the blood-mark, forehemls—tlie
diate approach. But before he actually inflicts the blow lu person, " the elect " must be " gathered " out.
5G9
The Nwnher of them that xvere Sealed. REVELATION YII. Their Eobes Washed in iJiC Lamb's Blood.
means save us noxo ; taken from Psalm llj. 25, in which Psalm (14, 15, 22, 26) the same connection occui 3 between salvation, the tabernacles of the righteous, and the Jews' cry to be repeated by the whole nation at Christ's coming, " Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord." 11. The angels, as in ch.5. 11, in their turn take up the anthem of praise. There it was "many angels," here it is "all tho angels." stood—" were standing." [Alford.] 13. Greek, "The blessing, the glory, the wisdom, the thanksgiving, tha honour, the power, the might [thedoxology is *ei'en/oW, implying its totality and completeness], unto the ages of the ages." 13. anstvered viz., to my thoughts; spoke, asking the question which might have been expected to arise in John's mind from what has gone before. One of the twenty-four elders, representing tlie Old and New Testament ministry, appropriately acts as interpreter of this vision of the glorified Church. What, &c.— Oreek order, "These which are arrayed in white robes, who are they?" 14. Sir— Greet-, "Lord." B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic versions, and Cyprian read, " My Lord." A omits " My," as English Veision. thou kuowest—Taken from Ezekiel 37.
most conspicuous and noblest part of man's bodj- ; whereon the helmet, " thehopeof salvation," is worn. 4. Twelve
Is the number of the tribes, and appropriate to the Church :
3 by 4: 3, the Divine number, multiplied by 4, the number lor world-wide extension. 12 by 12 impliesfixity and complete-
ness, which is laliena thousand-fold in 144,000. A thousand Implies the world perfectly pervaded by the Divine ; for it
Is ten, the world number, raised to the power of three, tlie number of God. of all tUe tribes—lit., "out of every tribe;" not 144,000 of each tribe, but the aggregate of the
12,000 from every tribe, children— Greet, "sons of Israel." Ch. 3. 12; 21.12, are no objection, as Alford thinks, to the literal Israel Jpeing meant; for, in consummated glory, still the ChuTcli will be that " built on the foundation of the (Twelve) apostles (Israelites), Jesus Christ (an
Israelite) being the chief corner-stone." Gentile believers shall have t?ie name ofJerusalem written on them, in that they shall share the citizenship antitypical to tliat of the literal Jerusalem. 5-8. Judah (meaning pmixe) stands first, as Jesus' tribe. Benjamin, the youngest, is last; and with him is associated second last, Joseph. Reuben, as originally first-born, conies next after Judah, to whom it gave place, having by sin lost its primogeniture-riglit. Besides the reason given above, anotlier akin for the omission of Dan, is, its having been tlie first to lapse into idolatry (Judges 18.); for which same reason the name Ephraim, also (cf. Judges 17. ; Ilosea 4. 17), is omitted, and Joseph substituted. Also, it had been now for long almost extinct. Long before, the Hebrews say [Grotius],
3. Comparatively ignorant ourselves of Divine things, it
is well for us to look upward for divinely-communicated knowledge, came—rather as Oreek, "come;" implying that they are just come, great tribulation Oreek, " the great tribulation ;"' " the tribulation, the great one," viz., the tribulation to which the martyrs were exposed under the fifth seal, the same which Christ foretells as about to precede His coming (Matthew 24. 21, great tribulation), and followed by the same signs as the sixth seal (Matthew 24.
it was reduced to the one family of Hussim, which perished subsequently in the wars before Ezra's time. Hence
29, 30), cf. Daniel 12.1; including also retrospectively all the tribulation which thesaints of all ages havehad to pass through. Thus this seventh chapter is a recapitulation of the vision of the six s«als, ch. G., to fill up the outline there given in that part of it which aflfects the faithful of that day. There, however, their number was waiting to be completed, but here it is completed, and they are seen taken out of the earth before the judgments on the AntU christian apostasy; with their Lord, they, and all Hia faithful witnesses and disciples of past ages, wait for His coming and theircoming to beglorifled and reign together with Him. Meanwhile, in contrast witli their previous sufferings, they are exempt from the hunger, thirst, and scorching heats of their life on earth (t). lli), and are fed and refreshed by the Lamb of God Himself (ti. 17; ch. 14.
it is omitted 1 Chronicles 4.-8. Dan's s.iiall numbers are joined here to Naphtali's, whose brother he was by tlie same mother. [Bengel.] The twelve times twelve thousand sealed ones of Israel are the nucleus of transfigured humanity [Auberlen], to which the elect Gentiles are joined, "a multitude which no man could number," v. 9
(f. e., the Church of Jews and Gentiles indiscriminately, iu which the Gentiles are the predominant element, Luke
21. 24. The word " tribes," Orcek, implies that believing
Israelites are in this countless multitude). Botti are in heaven, yet ruling over the earth, as ministers of blessing to its inhabitants; whilst upon earth the world of nations is added to the kingdom of Israel. Tlie twelve apostles stand at the hea<l of the whole. Tlie upper and the lower congregation, though distinct, are intimately associated. 9. no man Oreek, " no one." of all nations Oreek, "out of every nation." Tlie human race is one nation by origin, but afterwards separated itself into
1-4, 13); an earnest of their future perfect blessedness in both body and soul united (ch. 21. 4-6; 22.1-5). tva«hed
. . . robes . . . white In the blood of . . . Lamb—(Ch. 1.
5; Isaiah 1. 18; Hebrews 9. 14 ; 1 John 1. 7 ; cf. Isaiah Ul. 10; Zechariah 3. 3-5.) Faith applies to the heart the purifying blood; once for all for justification, continually throughout the life for sanctlfication. 15. Therefore—Because they are so washed white; for without it they could never have entered God's holy heaven ; ch. 22. 14, " Blessed are those who wash their rubes (the oldi'st MSS. reading), that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city," 15; 21.27; Epheslans 5.
tribes, peoples, and tongues; hence, the one singular stands
first, followed by the three plurals. Uindreda— Greek, "tribes." people— Ureek, "peoples." Tlie "first-fruits nnto the Lamb," llie 141,000 (ch. 14. 1-4) of Israel, are fol-
' lowed by a copious harvest of all nations, an election out
of the Gentiles, as tlie 144,000 are an election out of Israel (Note, V. 3). M-Ulle rohea—{Note, ch. li. 11 ; also ch. 3. 5, IS;
4.4). paliiid In . . . Iinncln—the ant itypo to Clirlst's entry into Jerusalem amidst the palm-boaring multitude. This shall he just when He is about to come visibly and
20, '27. before Oreek, "in the presence of." Matthew
5. 8; 1 Corinthians 13. 12, "face to face." throne . . . temple—T'aese are connected because wo can approach the heavenly King only through priestly mediation; therefore, (Christ is atonceKing and I'rieston His throne, day and nl}(ht i.e., perpetually; as those approved of as i)rlests by the Sanhedrim were clothed In white, and
tak<: possession of His kingdom. Tho ]>alm branc/i Is the symbol of joy and triumph. It was used at the feast of tabernacles, on the rtlteenth day of the seventii month, when they kept feast to God In thanlcsglving for the Ingatliered fruits. The antitype shall bo the completed
Icept by turns a perpetual watch In the temple at Jerusalen\; cf. as to the singers, 1 Chronicles 9. Xi, "day and night:" Psalm 134. 1. Strictly "there Is no night" In the heavenly sanctuary (ch. 22. 5) In hm temple—in what is the heavenly analogue to His temple on earth, for strictly there Is "no temple therein" (ch. 21 22), "God and tiio Latnb are the temple" filling the wh de, so that (here is no distinction of sacred and secular p.aces; the city Is tlie temple, and tho temple tho city. Cf. ch. 4.8, "the four living <'realures rest not day and night, saying. Holy,"
gathirriiig in of the harvest of the elect redeemed hero described. Cf. Zecliariah 14. 18, whence it appears that the earthly feast of tabernacles will bo renewed. In commemoration of Israel's preservation in her long wllderness-like sojourn among the nations from which sho shall now be delivered, just as the original typical feast was to commemorate her dwelling for forty years In booths or talxTnacles in the literal wilderness. 10. cried — Oreek, "cry," In the three oldest MSH., A, li, C, Vulgati',
Syriac, and ()u]>tic. It Is their continuing, ceaseless employ menl. Salvation — "TIIK salvation;" all the praise of our salvation bo ascribed to our God. At tho Lord's entry into Jerusalem, the typo, similarly «ait)a<io)i
<<tc. Hhall dwell amonf( them—ral her (Greek scetiost'i ep'
aulous), "shall be the tabernacle over them" (cf. ch. 21. 3; IjCvHIcus 2(1. 11; especially Isaiah 4.5,«; 8.14; 2i5. 4 ; Exeklel
37. 27), His dwellmg among them is to be understood M t
to the ory of the palm-bearing multitudes. Hosanna 670
The Opening of the Seventh Seal. REVELATION VIII. Four Angels Sound their 'lYumpets.
•(econdary truth, besides what is expressed, viz., His being their covert. When once He tabernacled among us as tfie Word made flesh, He was in great lowliness ; then He shall be In great glory. 16. (Isaiah 49. 10# kimger uo more as they did here. tUirst any more—(John 4. 13.) tlie gun —literally, scorching in the East. Also, symbolically, the un zt persecution, neither . . . light Greek, " by no taeans at all . . . light" (fall), &c. heat—as the sirocco, 17. in tlie midst of tlie throne—t. e., in the middle point la front of tlie throne (ch. 5. 6). teed— Greek, "tend as a shepherd." living fountains of water—A, B. Vulgale, and Cypkian read, (eternal) ''life's fountains of waters."
which alone have Woe, woe, woe (v. 7-13). 3. anothei angel—not Christ, as many think; for He, in lievelatiou, is always designated by one of His proper titles; tliongh, doubtless. He is the only true High Priest, the Angel of the Covenant, standing before the golden altar of incense, and there, as Mediator, offering up His people's prayers, rendered acceptable before God through the incense of His merit. Here the angel acts merely as a ministering «pm<. Just as the twenty-four elders have vials full of odours, or incense, which are the prayers of saints, and which they present before the Lamb. How precisely their ministry, in perfuming the prayers of the saints and oflering them on the altar of Incense, is exercised, we know not, but we do know they are not to be prayed to. If we send an offering of tribute to the king, the king's messenger is not allowed to appropriate what is due to the king alone, tliere was given unto him—The angel does not provide the incense; it isgiven to him by Christ, whose meritorious obedience aud death are the incense, rendering the saints' prayers well pleasing to God. It is not the saints who give the angel the Incense; nor are their prayers identified with the incense; nor do they offer their prayers to him. Christ alone is the Mediator through whom, and to whom, prayer is to be offered, offer it witli tlie prayers—rather as Greek, "give it to the prayers," so rendering them efficacious as a sweet-smelling savour to God. Christ's merits alone can thus incense our prayers, though the angelic ministi-y be employed to attach tliis incense to the prayers. The saints' praying on earth, and the angel's incensing in heaven, are simultaneous, all saints —The prayers both of the saints in the heavenlj' rest, and of those militant on earth. The martyrs' cry is the foremost, and brings down the ensuing judgments, golden altar—Antitype to the earthly. 4. the smoke . . . wlUch came with the prayers . . . ascended up—rather, " the smoke of the incense for (or given To: 'given' being understood from v. 3) the prayers of the saints aseeiided up, out of the angel's hand, in the presence of God." The angel merely burns the incense given him by Christ the High Priest, so that its smoke blends with the ascending prayers of the saints. The saints themselves are priests; andithe angels in this priestly ministi ation are bwl their fellow-servants (ch. 19. 10). 5. cast it into the earth i. e., unto the earth: the hot coals off the altar cast on the earth, symbolize God's fiery judgments about to descend! on the Church's foes in answer to the saints' incense-per-- fumed prayers which have just ascended betbre God, andt those of the martyrs. How marvellous the power of the saints' prayers! there were— "there took place," or "ensued." voices . . . thunderings, &c.—B places the- " voices " after "thunderings." A places it after "lightnings." 6. sound—blow the trumpets. 7. The common feature of the first four trumpets is, the judgments liiider' them afTect natural objects, the accessories of life, the earth,
Living" is not supported by the old authorities.
. 1-13. Seventh Seal. Preparation for the SKvtN Trumfet.s. The First Four and the consequent Plagues. 1. was— Greek, " c&me to pass;" "began to be." silence in lieaven about . . . lialf an liour —The last seal having been broken open, tlie book of God's eternal plan of redemption is opened for the Lamb to read to the blessed ones in heaven. The half hour's «iewce contrasts with the previous jubilant songs of the great multitude, taken up by the angels (ch. 7. 9-U). It is the Golemn introduction to the employments and enjoyments of the eternal Sabbath-rest of the people of God, commencing with the Lamb's reading the book heretofore sealed up, and which we cannot know till then. In ch.
10. 4, similarly at the eve of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when the seven thunders uttered their voices, John is forbidden to write thera. The seventh trumpet (ch. 11. 15-19) winds up God's vast plan of providence and grace In redemption, just as the seventh seal brings it to the same consummation. So also the seventh vial.ch. 16;
17. Not that the seven seals, the seven trumpets, aud the seven vials, though parallel, are repetitions. Tliey each trace t)ie course of Divine action up to the grand consummation in which they all meet, under a ditTerent aspect.
Thunders, lightnings, an earthquake, and voices, close the seven thunders and the seven seals alike (cf. ch. S. 5, with ch. 11. 19). Cf. at the seventh vial, the voices, tliunders, lightnings, and earthquake, ch. 16. 18. The half-hour silence
Is the brief pause given to John between the preceding vision and the following one, implying, on the one hand, the solemn introduction to the eternal sabbntism which is to follow the seventh seal; and, on the other, the silence which continued during the iucense-accompauied praj'ers which usher in the first of the seven trumpets (ch. 8.
3-5). In the Jewish temple, musical instruments and singing resounded during the whole time of tlie offering of the sacrifices, which formed the first part of the service. But at the offering of incense, solemn silence was kept (Psalm 62.1, "My soul waiteth upon God," Margin, "is silent;" 65. I, Margin), the people praying secretly all the time. The half-hour stillness implies, too, the earnest adoring expectation with which the blessed spirits and the angels await the succeeding unfolding of God's judgments. A short space is Implied ; for even an hour is so used (ch. 17. 12 ; 18. 10, 19). a. the seven angels—Cf. the apocryphal Tobit, 12. 15, "I am Raphael, one of tlie seven holy angels which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One."
trees, grass, the sea, rivers, fountains, the liglit of the sun,, moon and stars. The last three, the woe-trumpets (v. 13),. affect men's life with pain, death, and hell. The language
Is evidently drawn from the plagues of Egypt, five or six. out of the ten exactly corresponding: the hail, the fire^ (Exodus 9. 24), the water turned to blood (E.xodus 7. 19), the darkness (Exodus 10. 21), the locusts (Exodus 10. 12), and per/-- haps the death (ch. 9. 18). Judicial retribution in kind; characterizes the inflictions of the first lour, those ele-- ments which had been abused punishing their abusers, mingled with—A, B, and V^ulgate, read, Greek, . . . INblood." So in the case of the second and third vials (cli,
Cf. Luke 1. 19, "I am Gabriel, that stan<l in the presence of God." stood Greek, "at&nd." seven trumpets—These come in during the time whilst the martyrs re.\t until their fellow-servants also, lluit should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled; for It is the inhabitcrs of the earth on whom the
16. 3, 4). upon the earth— (JreeA:, " unto the earth." A, B, Vulgate, aud Syriac add, " And the third of the earth wasburnt up." So under the third trumpet, the third of the
judgments fall, on whom also the martyrs prayed that tUey should fall (ch. 6. 10). All the ungo<lly, and not merely some one portion of them, are meant, all the opponents and obstacles In the way of the kingdom of Christ and His saints, as Is proved by ch. 11. 15, 18, eml, at the close of the seven trumpets. The Revelation becomes more special only as It advances farther (ch. 13. ; 16. 10;
rivers is affected : also, under t.hesixth trumpet^Uie thitdpart of men are killed. In Zechariah 13. S, 0 this tripart-
ite division appears, but the proportions reversed, two parts killed, only a third preserved. Here, rice versa, twothirds escape, one-third is smitten. The fire was the predominant element, all green grass—no longer a thinlv but all is burnt up. 8. as it were—not literally a moun-.
17.; 18). By the seven trumpets the world-kingdoms are overturned to make way for Christ's universal kingdom. The first four are connected together; aud the last three,
tain: a mountain-like burning mass. There is a plain allusion to Jeremiah 51. 25; Amos 7..4. . third part of the
&71
£ S'ttir Fallelh from Heaven. REVELATION IX. The Sounding of the Fifth Tnimpd.
"How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, Son of th« Morning!" the bottomless pit— Greek, "the pit of the abyss :" the orifice of the hell where Satan and his demons dwell. 3. upon— " unto," or "into." as the scorpions of the earth—As contrasted with the "locusts" which come np from hell, and are not "of the earth." hai-e power—j;iz., to sting, i. not hnrt the grass . . . neither
aea became blood—In the parallel second vial, tlie wJtole sea (not merely a third) becomes blood. The overthrow of Jericho, the type of the Anticliristian B:il)ylon, after which If racl, nutler Joshua (the same name as Jctim), victoriou».// took possession of Canaan, the type of ChrLst's and U's people's kingdom, is perliaps alluded to in the SEVKS trumpets, which end in the overthrow of all Christ's foes, and the setting up of His kingdom. On the seventh day, at the screj/^A time, when the ievcn priests blew tlie seven rams' horn trumpets, the people shouted, and the walls fell flat: and then ensued the ftioort-shedding of the
. . . green thing . . . neither . . . tree-the food on whicli they ordinarily prey. Tlierelore, not natural and ordinary locusts. Tlieir natural instinct is supernatni'ally restrained to mark the judgment as altogether Divine, those men which Greek, "the men whosoever." In Greek, "upon tlieir forehead." Thus this tilth trumpet is proved to follow the sealing in ch. 7., under the sijtth seal. None of the .saints are hurl by these locusts, which is not true of the saints in Moliainmed's attack, wlio is supposed by many to be meant by the locusts; for many true believers fell in the Mohammedan invasions of Christendom. 5. they . . . they—The subject changes: the llrst "tliey" is the locusts; the second is the unsealed, fl-re months—the ordinary time in the year during which locusts continue their ravages, their torment—the torment of the suflerers. This fifth verse and v. 6 cannot refer to an invading army. For an arm.v would kill, and not merely torment. 6. shall desire Greek, "eagerly desire:" set their mind on. shall fiee—So B, Vulgate, Syr-
foe. A mountain-like fiery mass would not naturally change water into blood ; nor would the third part of ships be thereby destroyed. The symbolical interpreters take the ships here to be churches. For the Greek here for ships
is not the common one, but that used in the Gospels of tlie apostolic vessel in which Christ taught: and the first churches were in the shape of an inverted ship: and the
Greek for destroyed is also used of heretical corriiplings
(1 Timothy 6. 5). 10. a lamp—n torch. 11, The syml)olizers interpret the «?nr/o//e)i /rom Tientieu as a chief minister (Arius, according to Bui-linger, Bisngel, *c. ; or some future false teacher, if, as is more likely, the event be
still future) falling from his high place in the Churcli, and Instead of shining with heavenly light as a star, becoming a torch lit with earthly fire and smouldering with smoke. And wormwood, though medicinal in some cases, if used as ordinary water would not only be disagreeable to the taste, but also fatal to life: so "heretical wormwood changes the sweet Siloas of Scripture into 3eadly Marahs." [Wordsworth.] Contrast the converse change of bitter Marah water into sweet, Exodus
iac, unA Coptic, read. But A, X read, " fleeth," rij., continually. In ch. 6. 16, which is at a later stage of God's judgments, the ungodly seek annihilation, not from the torment of their suffering, but from fear of the face of the Lamb before whom they have to stand. 7. prrparca nnto battle— GrccA:, "made ready unto war." Cf. note Joel 2. 4, where the resemblance of locusts to horses i.s traced: the plates of a horse armed for battle are an image on a larger scale of the outer shell of the locust, crowns—(Nahum 3. 17.) Elliott explains this of the turbans of Mohammedans. But how could turbans be "like gold?" Alford understands it of the head of the locusts actually ending in a crown-shaped fillet which resembled gold in its material, as the faces of men-The "AS" seems to imply the locusts here do not mean men. At the same time they are not natural lo<:usls, for these do not sting wen (D. 5). They must be supernatural. 8. hair of women—long and flowing. An Arabic proverb compare^ the antlers of locusts to the hair of girls. Ewald in Alford understands the allusion to be to the hair on the legs or bodies of the locusts: cf. "rough caterpillars," Jeremiah 51. 27. as the teeth of lions—(Joel 1. G, as to locusts.) 9. ns It were breastplates of Iron—not such as forms the thorax of the natural locust, as . . . chnrlota (Joel 2. 5-7.) battle— (JreeA-, "war." 10. tails like unto scorpions—like unto the tails of sorpioiis. and there were stings—There is no oldest MS. for this reading. A, K. X, -Si/rirtc, and CV)/>< ic read, "and (the.v have)stlngs: and in their tails (is) their power (lit., ai(//<un7j/ .- autliorizeil power) to hurt," Ac. 11. And—So iSyriae. But A, B, (ti omit "and." l\aA— Greek, "have." a king . . . which ia titc angel—English Vosion, agri^etng wilii A, X, reads the
15, 2.3, &c. Alford gives as an illustration in a physical point of view, the conversion of water into fire-trater or ardeyit spirits, which maj' yet go on to destroy even as many as a third of the ungodly in the latter days. 12.
tlilr«l imrt—Not a total obscuration as in the sixth seal (ch. 6. 12, 1.3). This partial obscuration, therefore, conies between the prayers of the martyrs under the fifth seal, and the last overwhelming judgments on the ungodly under the sixth seal, at the eve of Christ's coming, the
i>i$;ltt likewise-withdrew a third part of the light wliich the britjht Eastern moon and stars ordinarily allord. 13. an angel—A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic, read for "angel," whicli is supported by none of tlie oldest MSS., "an eagle:" the symbol of Judgment descending fatally from on high; the king of blnls pouncing on the prey. Cf. ( his fourth trumpet and the flying car/le with the fourtli seal introduced by the fourth living creature, "lil<e a flying eagle," ch. t. 7; 0.7, 8: the aspect of Jesus as presented by the fourth Evangelist. .Totin is compared in tlio cherubim (according to the primitive interpretation) to a flying eagle: Christ's Divine majesty \\\ this similitude is set forth in the Gospel according to Jolin, His judicial vis-
itritions in the Revelation of John. Contrast "another angel," or messeyif/er, with "the everlasting Gospel," cli.
14. 6. tlii'oni^h the mlilst of hvnxeti— Greek, "in tiio mld-lieaven," t. e.. In the part of the sky where the sun reaches tlie meridian: in such a position as that the eagle
((V/YcA:) article before "angel," In wliich reading we must translate, "They have as king over them the angel," tfep. Satan (cf. v. 1). Omitting the article with B, we musKrans-
ts an oliject conspicuous to all. the Inliakltci-H of the earth—the ungodly, the " men of the world," whose " portion is In tills life," upon whom the mart.vrs had prayed that their blood might be avenged (('h. fl. 10). Not that they sought personal revenge, but their zeal was for the
late, "They have as king an angel," &c. : one of the chief demons under Satan : I prefer from v. 1, the former, bot* toinless pit Greek, " abyss." Abaddon— i. e., perdition or destruction (Job 20. 0; Proverbs '27. 2()). The locusts are supernatural Instruments In the hands of Satan to torment, and yet not kill, the ungodly, under this tilth trumpet. Just as in the case of gmlly Job, Satan was allowed to torment with elephantiasis, but not to touch his l^e. In V. '20, these two woe-trumpels are expressly called "plagues." Andreas ok t!j*;sAunA, a. d. 5(io, held, in lila Commentary on llevelatlon, that the lixnisls mean exnl
Honour of God against the foes of God and IllsCliurch.
«e other— Greek, "the remaining voices."
Ver. 1-21. The FiI'-th Tihtmi'kt: The Fai-t,e.v Star OPKNSTIIK AllYSS WIIKNCK I.SSITK I.OCir.STS. THK Si X I'II Tkumi'kt. Four Anoei,.'* at the Euphrates Loo.skh. 1. The last three trumpets of the seven are called, from ch.
s])irils agtx\n permitted to count forth on earth and aliUot men with various plagues. r4. Greek, " The one woo." horeafter— (JrecA;, "after these things." 1 agree with ALFOKD, Dk Buroh, Ac, that these liKustsfrom the abyss refer to judgments about to fall on the ungodly immediately before Christ's second aUveut. None of the iuterpielo-
8. l:t, the ivoe-lrumpets. fall—rather as Greek, "fallen." When John saw It, it was not In the act of /(tiling, but had
fallen already. This Is a connecting link of this fifth trumpet with ch. 12. 8,9, 12, "woe to the inhabitcrs of tlie earth, for the deiil Is come down," <kc. Cf. Isaiah It. 572 .
He Sou^Jiiig of the Fifth Trumpet. REVELATION X. An Angel Appearelh with a Little Book.
B, C, X, read, " the power of the horses." in their month —whence issued the fire, smoke, and brimstone (u. 17). Many interpreters understand tlie horsemen to refer to the myriads of Turkish cavalry arrayed in scarlet, blue, and yellow (fire, hyacinth, and brimstone), the lion-headed Aorrei denoting their invincible Courage, and the fire and 6ri?»«toJie out of their mouths, the gunpowder and artillery Introduced into Europe about this time, and employed by the Turks; the tails, like serpents, having a venomous sting, the false religion of Mohammed supplanting Christianity, or, as Elliott thinks, the Turkisn pachas' horse tails, worn as a symbol of authority. (!) All this is very doubtful. Considering the parallelism of this sixth trumpet to the sixth seal, the likelihood is that events are intended immediately preceding the Lord's coming. "The false prophet" (as Isaiah 9. 15 proves), or second beast, having the horns of a lamb, but speaking as the dragon, who supports by lying miracles the final Antichrist, seems to me to be intended. Mohammed, doubtless, is a forerunner of him, but not the exhaustive fulflller of the prophecy liere: Satan will, probably, towards the end, bring out all the powers of hell for the last conflict (Note, "devils," v. '20; cf. v. 1, '2, 17
Jons which regarj them ns past, are satisfactory. Joel
a-7; 2. 1-11, is strictly parallel, and expressly refers (2. il)tO THE DAY OF THE LOKD GREAT AND VEUY TEKUI-
<ti.F.: V. 10 gives the portents accompanyiiig tlie day of Me Lord's coining, the earth quaking, the heavens trembling,
ihe sun, moon and stars, tvitlidrawing their shining: v. 18.
Si, 32, also point to the iuiniediately succeeding deli ver- «nce of Jerusalem: cl". also, the previous last conflict in
i,he valley of Jehoshaphat, and the dwelling of God thenceforth in Zion, blessing Judah. Dk Bukgh confines the locust-judgment to the Israelite land, even as the sealed in cli. 7. are Israelites: not that tliere are not others sealed as elect in the earth ; but that, the judgment
being confined to Palestine, the sealid of Israel alone teeded to bo expressly excepted from the visitation,
riierelbre, he translates througliout, "the land" (i. e., of Jsrael and Judah), instead of "the eartli." I incline to ^gree with him. 13. a -voice—lit., "one voice.'' from
S»'oct, " out of." the four Uoriis—A, Vulgate (Amiatinus
M.S.), Coptic, and Syriac, omit "four." B and Cyprian Support it. The four horns togetliergave forth their voice, not diverse, but one. Hod's revelation (e. g., the Gospel), though 10 its aspects fourfold (Jour expressing world-inide extension : whence four is the number of the Evangelists),
18). with them—with the serpent heads and their venomous fangs. 'iO. the rest of the men— i. e., the ungodly, yet—So A, Vulgate, Hyriac, and Coptic. B, X, read, "did not even repent of," viz., so as to give up " the works," &c. Like Pharaoh hardening his heart against repentance notwithstanding the plagues, of (heir hands—(Deuter onomy 31. 29.) Especially the idols made by their hands,
still has but one and the same voice. However, from the parallelism <.il this sixth trumpet to the fit til seal (ch. 0. 9,
10), tlie martyrs' cry for the avenging of their blood from the altar reaching its consummation under the sixth seal and sixth trumpet, I preter understanding tliis o-y from
the four corners of the alta-^ refer to the saints' prayerful cry from the f<>ur quartets ~f the world, incensed by the angel, and ascending to Gov! nv'u i.'»e golden altar of in-
Cf. ch. 13. 14, 15, " the image of the beast;" ch. 19. 20. that tliey should not^So B reads. But A, C, N, read, "...
cense, and bringing down in evt.M;4uence fiery judgments. N omits the wliole clause,
shall not:" implying a prophecy of certainty tliat it shall be so. devils Greek, "demons" wliich lurk beneath the idols which idolaters worship. 21. sorceries—witchcrafts by means of drugs (so the Greek). One of the fruits of tlie unrenewed flesh: the sin of the heathen : about to be repeated by apostate Christians in the last days, ch. '22. 15, "sorcerers." The heathen who shall have rejected the proffered Gospel and clung to their fleslily lusts, and apos-
' Mue from the four horns." 14. In.— Greek (epi to potatnc), SN "AT, the great river." Euphrates—(Cf. ch. 18. 1^.* Tlie river Whereat Babylon, the ancient foe of God's i eopnj ^as
fiiluated. Again, whether from the literal region ot u.<? Euphrates, or from the spiritual Babylon [the apostate Church, especially RoMEl, four angelic ministers of God's judgments shall go forth, assembling an army of horsemen throughout the four quarters of tlie earth, to slay a third of men, tlie brunt of the visitation sliall be on Pal-
tate Christians who shall have relapsed into the same, shall share the same terrible judgments. The worsliip of images was established in the East in 842 a. d. fornicatlon—singular: whereas the other sins are in tlie plural. Other sins are perpetrated at intervals: those lacking purity of heart indulge in one perpetual fornication. [Bengel.]
estine. 15. were—"which had been prepared." [TreGELLES rightly.] for au hour, &c.—ratlier as Greek, "for
(i. e., against) the hour, and day, and month, and year,"
viz., appointed Iiy God. Tlie Greek article (teen), put once only before all the periods, implies that the hour in the
lay, and the day in the month, and the month in the year, and the year itself, had been definitely fixed by God. The article would have been omitted had a sum-
Ver. 1-11. Vision of the Little Book. As an episode was introduced between the sixth and seventh sea's, so there is one here (ch. 10. 1-11, 14) after the sixth and im.-oductory to the seventh trumpet (ch. 21. 15, which forms the grand consummation). The Church and her fortunes are the subject of this episode: as the judgments on the unbelieving inhabiters of the earth (ch. 8. 13) were the exclusive subject of the fifth and sixth woe-trumpets. Ch. 6. 11 Is plainly referred to in v. (! below; in ch. fi. 11 the martyrs crying to be avenged were told they must " rest yet for a little season" or time: in u. 0 here they are as-
total of periods been specified, viz., 391 years and one month (the period from a. d. 1281, when the Turks first conquered the Christians, to 1672, their last coiiquest of them, since which last date their empire has declined), lay—not merely to "hurt" {v. 10), as in the filth trumpet, third part—(A'yfc, ch. 8. 7-12.) of nieuI'iz., of earthy men, cli. 8. 13, "Inhabiters of the earth,'' as distinguished from God's sealed people (of whicti tlie scaled of Israel,
ch. 7., form the nucleus). 16. Cf. with these 200,000,000, Psalm 08. 17; Daniel 7. 10. The hosts here are evidently, from their numbers and their appearance (v. 17), not merely human hosts, but probably infernal, though cotiBtrained to work out God's will (cf. t;. 1, 2). and I heard —A, B, X, Vulgate, liyriac, Coptic, and Cyi-rian, omit "and." 17. thus—as folloW8._ of Are-the fiery colour of the breastplates answering to the fire which issued out of
sured, "There shall be no longer (any interval of) time;"
their prayer shall have no longer to wait, but (v. 7) at the trumpet-sounding of the seventh angel shall be consummated, and the mystery of God (His mighty plan hereto-
fore hidden, but then to lie revealed) shall be finished. The little open book (v. 2, 9, 10) Is given to John by the an-
gel, with a charge (v. 11) that he must prophesy again con-
cerning (so the Greek) peoples, nations, tongues, and kings: which prophecy (as appears from ch. 11.) aft'ects those ;)po-
their mouths, of JavintH—lit., of Ityacinth colour, Hie bya-
olntli of the ancients answering to our dark blue iris: thus,
pte.i, nations, tongues, and kings only In relation to Israel and the Church, who form the main object of the prophecy. 1. Anotlier mighty angel—as (H.-t i nguishcil from the mighty angel wno asked to the former and more comprehensive liook (ch. f 2 , " Who is worthy to open the book?" clolhe«l wUh a cloud-The emlilem
their d'lrk, dutt-coloured breastplates corrcspoiul to the smoke out of their mouths, brimstone sulphur-cotoiirei',: answering to the brimstone or sulphur out of their mouths.
18. By these tl»ree—A, B, C, N, read (apo to '-upo), "From-" Implying the direction whence tlie Nlaughter camo: not direct instrumentality as " by" implies. A, H,
of God coming in judgment, a—A, H. C, X, read "The-"
C, K. also add "plagues" after "three." JCnglish Version
referiing to (ch. 4. 3) the rainliow alrea<ly mentioned, rainbow upon his Uentl — The emblem of covenuui 573
reartine, wh'ch omits It, Is not well supported. l>y the lire— Greek, ' oiciiig to the Hre," lit., out of. 10. tUfctr-A,
The Angel Sweareth Time shaU be no more. REVELATION X. John is Commanded to Eat the Book.
shall have no longer a time to wait for the accomplishment of their prayers for the purgation of the earth by the judgments which shall remove their and God's foes from it (ch. 6. 11). The appointed season or time of delay is at an end (the same Greek is liere as in ch. 6. 11, chronus). Not as English Version implies. Time shall end and eternity begin. 7. Bnt—Connected with r. 6. "There shall be no longer time (i. e., delay), but in tlie days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to (so the Greek) sound his trumpet (so the Greek), then {lit., also; which conjunction often introduces the consequent member of a sentence) the mystery of God is finished," lit., has been finished ; the prophet regarding the future as certain as if It were past. A, C, X, and Coptic, read the past tense (Greek etelesthee). B reads, as English Version, the future (Greek telesthce), "should be finished" (cf. ch. 11. 15-18). Sweet consolation to the waiting saints ! The seventh trumpet shall be sounded without further delay, the mystery of God—the theme of the "little book," and so of the remainder of the Apocalypse. What a grand contrast to the "mystery of iniquity—Babylon!" The mystery of God's scheme of redemption, once hidden in God's secret counsel, and dimly shadowed forth in types and prophecies, bnt now more and more clearly revealed according as the Gospelkingdom develops itself, up to its fullest consummalion at the end. Then finally His servants shall praise Him most fully, for the glorious consummation of the mystery in having taken to Himself and His saints the kingdom so long usurped by Satan and the ungodly. Thus this verse is an anticipation of ch. 11. 15-18. declared to— Greek, " declared the glad tidings to." "The mystery of God" is the Gospel glad tidings. The office of the prophets
mercy to God's people, amidst Judgments on God's foes. Resumed from ch. 4. 3 (see iVote there), face as . . . the snii —(Ch. 1. 16; 18. 1.) feet as pUlars of fire—(Ch. 1. 15; Eze-
klel 1. 7.) The angel, as representative of Christ, reflects His glory, and bears the insignia attributed in cl). 1. 15,
16; 4.3, to Christ Himself. The pillar offire by night led Is-
rael through the wilderness, and was the symbol of God's presence. 3. He Iiad Greek, "Having." In his hand
in his left hand : as In u. 5 (Note), he lifta up hi.', right hand to
heaven, a little boolt—A roll little in comparison with the " book" (ch. 5. 1) which contained the whole vast scheme of God's purposes, not to be fully read till the final consummation. Tliis other, a less book, contained onlj^ a portion which John was now to make his own (i;. 9, llj, and then
to use in prophesying to others. The New Testament begins with the word "book" (Greek biblus), of which "the
little book" (Greek biblaridion) is the diminutive, "the
little bible," the Bible In miniature, npon the sea . . . earth—Though the beast with seven heads is about to arise out of the sea (ch. 13. 1), and the beast with two horns like a lamb (ch. 13. 11) out of the earth, yet it is but for a time, and that time shall no longer be (v. 6, 7) when once the seventh trumpet is about to sound ; the angel with his right foot on the sea, and his left on the earth, claims both as God's, and as about soon to be cleared of tlie usurper and his fol-
lowers. 3. As . . . lion-Christ, whom tlie angel repre-
sents, is often so symbolized (ch. 5. 5, "tlie Lion of the
tribe of Juda"). sevem thnnders Greek, " the seven tlinn-
ders." They form part of the Apocalyptic symbolism; and so are marked by the article as well known. Thus thunderings marked the opening of the seventh seal (ch.
8. 1, 5); so also at the seventh vial (ch. 16. 17, 18). WoKUSWORTH calls this the prophetic use of the article ; "the thun-
ders, of which more hereafter." Tlieir full meaning shall be only known at the grand consummation marked by the seventh seal, the seventh trumpet (ch. 11. 19), and the
Is to receive t?ie glad tidings from God, in order to declare them to others. The final consummation is the great theme of the Gospel announced to, and by, the prophets
(cf. Galatians3. 8). 8. spake . . . and said—So jSJ/riac and Coptic read. But A, B, C, "(I heard) again speaking witt me, and saying" (Greek laloitsan . . . legoitsan). little book—So X and B read. But A, C, " the book." 9. Greek "1 went aivay." John here leaves heaven, his standing, point of observation heretofore, to be near the angel standing on the earth and sea. Give—A, B, C, and FitJgatc read the infinitive, "Telling him to give." eat It np —appropriate Its contents so entirely as to be assimilated with (as food), and become part of thyself, so as to impart them the more vividly to others. His finding the roll sweet to the taste at first, Is because It was the Lord's will he was doing, and because, divesting himself of carnal feeling, he regarded God's will as always agreeable, however l)itter might be the message of Judgment to he announced. Cf. Psalm 10. 8, Margin, as to Christ's Inner complete appropriation of God's word, thy belly bitter —Parallel to E/.eklel 2. 10, "There was written therein lamentations, and mourning, afld woe." as honey (Psalm 19. 10; 119. 103.) Honey sweet to the mouth, sometimes turns Into bile in the stomach. The tliouglit that God would be gigrlfted (ch. 11. 3-6, 11-18) gave him tho sweetest pleasure. Yet, afterwards the belly, or carnal natural feeling, was embittered with grief at thepropheey of the coming bitter persecutions of the Church (ch. 11. 7-
seventli vial, nttered their Greek, " .tpakc their oivn voices;" i. e., voices peculiarly tlieir oum, and not now revealed tomen. 4r. AVhen—X reads, " Whatsoever tilings." But most MSS. support English Version, nttered their voices—A, B, C, N omit "tlieir voices." Then translate, "Had spoken." unto me—Omitted by A, B, C, X, Syriac. seal np—Tlieoppositecommand to ch. 22. 20. Even though
at thetimeof theend the things «ea?crf in Daniel's time were
to be revealed, yet not so the voices of these thunders. Though heard by John, they were not to be imparled l)y him to others in this book of Revelation ; so terrible are they that God in mercy withholds them, since "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." The gmlly are thus kept from morbid ponderings over the evil to come; and the ungodlv are not driven by despair into utter recklessness of life. Vlford adds another aim In concealing them, viz., "godly fear, seeing tliat the arrows of God's quiver are not exliausted." Besides the terrors foretold, there are others unutterable and more horrifying lying In the buckground. 5. lifted np his hand—So A and Vulgate read. But B, C, N, Sj/riar, Coptic, "... his right hand." It was customary to lift up the hand towards heaven, appealing
to the God of truth. In taking a solemn oath. There Is In
this part of the vision an allusion to Daniel 12. Cf. u. 4, with Daniel 12. 4, 9; and tills v. 5, 6, end, with Daniel 12. 7. But there the nngel clothed in linen, and standing upon the waters, sware "a time, times, and a half," were to Interpose before the consummation ; here, on the contrary, the angel standing with his left loot on the earth, and his right upon the Ki;a, swears there shall be time no longer. There he lifted up lioth hands to heaven ; here he has the
10), cf. John 16. 1, 2. The revelation of tho secrets of futurity is sweet to one at first, but bitteiand distasteful to our natural man, when we learn the cross which is to bo borne before the crown shall be won. John was grieved at the coming apostasy and the sull'erlngs of tho Church at the hands of Antichrist. 10. the little book—.So A, C. But B, X, and Vulgate, " the book." was Mtter— Greek, " was embittered." 11. he said-A, B, and Vulgate read, "they say unto me;" an indefinite expression for "it was said unto me." Thon mnst—The obligation lies upou thee, as the servant of God, to prophesy at Ills command, again-as thou didst already In the previous part of this book of Revelation, before—rather as Greek (epilaois\ "concerning many peoples," Ac, viz., In Ihelr relation til tlKU'iiun'h. The eating of the book, as In E/.eklel's case, marks John's Inauguration to his prophetical office—hero to a fresli stage In It, viz., tliu revealing of tho thlnga
little lionk now ojycn (wh(>reas in Daniel tlie hook Is .reatcil) in
his left hand (r. 2), and he lifts up on\y his right IkiikI to
heaven. O. llvcth for ever and ei-er-f/wA-, "llvetli unio the ages of the ages" (cf. Daniel 12.7). created heaven
. . . earth . . •• sea, <fec.—This <letalled designation of (jod
as the Creator, is appropriate to the subject of the angel's oath, vir.., the consummating of the mystery of (iod (i'. 7), which can snrel.v be l)rought to pass by thesa'ne Almlglily power that created all things, and by none else. Hint thero Hhonid be time no lonffcr— OjwAr, " that time (j. e., au Interval of time) no longer shal. be." Tlie martyrs 574