((V (continued)

((V (continued)

He SouJiiig 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?»«to Jie 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-

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 notSo 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 Paltate 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

CHAPTER X.

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 astotal 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 coti Btrained 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 heretofore hidden, but then to lie revealed) shall be finished. The little open book (v. 2, 9, 10) Is given to John by the angel, with a charge (v. 11) that he must prophesy again concerning (so the Greek) peoples, nations, tongues, and kings: which prophecy (as appears from ch. 11.) aft'ects those ;)potheir mouths, of JavintH—lit., of Ityacinth colour, Hie byaolntli 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; Ezeklel 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 Israel 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 followers. 3. As . . . lion-Christ, whom tlie angel represents, is often so symbolized (ch. 5. 5, "tlie Lion of the tribe of Juda"). sevem thnnders Greek, " the seven tlinnders." 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 thunders, 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

I%e Measwement of the Temple. EEVELATION XI. The Testimony of the Two Witnesaea.

whom the literal Jerusalem temple was not familiar. It was to be expected the term naos should not be found in the literal, but in the spiritual sense. In v. 19 naos is used in a local sense; cf. also ch. 14. 15, 17; 15.5, 8. a. But— Greek, "And." the court . . . withont—all outside the Holy place (d. 1). leave out— of thy measurement, lit., " cast out;" reckon as unhallowed, it—Eniphalital. II in not to be measured; whereas the holy place is. givenby God's appointment, unto the Gentiles—In the wider sense, there are meant here " the times of the Gentiles.'' wherein Jerusalem is "trodden down of the Gentiles," as the parallel, Luke 21. 24, proves; for the same word is used here [Greek patein], "tread under foot." Cf. also Psalm which befall the holy city and the Church of God—the Bubject of the rest of the book.

CHAPTER XI.

Ver. 1-19. Measurement of the Temple. The two Witnesses' Testimony: Their Death, Re.suiirkction, AND Ascension : The Earthquake: The Third Woe: The Seventh Trumpet Ushers in Christ's Kingdom. Thanksoiving of the Twenty-four Elders. This eleventh chapter is a compendious summary of, and introduction to, tlie more detailed prophecies of the same events to come in chs. 12., 13., U., 15., 16., 17., 18., 19., 20. Hence we find anticipatory allusions to the subsequent prophecies ; ef. u. 7, "the beast that ascendetli out of the bottomless pit" (not mentioned before), with the detailed accounts, ch. 13. 1, U ; 17. 8; also v. 8, " the great city," with ch. 11. 8; 17. 1, 5; 18. 10. 1. and the angel stood—Omitted In A, Vulgate anil Coptic. Supported by B and Sj/riac. If

79. 1; Isaiah 63. 18. forty ... two months—(Ch. 13. 5.) The same period as Daniel's "time, times, and a half" (ch. 1%

14); and v. 3, andch. 12. 6, the woman a fugitive in the wilderness "a thousand two hundred and threescore days." In tlie wider sense, we may either adopt the year-day tlieory of 1260 years (on which, and the papal rule of 1260 years, see my Notes, Daniel 7. 25; 8. 14; 12. 11), or ratlier, regard the 2300 days (Daniel 8. 14), 1:335 days (Daniel 12. 11, 12). 1290 days, and 1260 days, as symbolical of the long perioa of the Gentile times, whether dating from the subversion of the Jewish theocracy at the Babylonian captivity (the kingdom having been never since restored to Israel), or from the last destruction of Jerusalem under Titus, ana extending to the restoration of the theocracy at the coming of Him "whose right it is;" the difl'erent epochv marked by the 2300, 1335, 1290, and 1260 days, will not fully cleared up till the grand consummation; but, mean while, our duty and privilege urge us to investigate them. Some one of the epochs assigned by many may be righl but as yet it is uncertain. The times of the Gentile mor archies during Israel's seven times punisliment, will prob ably, in the narrower sense (v. 2), be succeeded by tho much more restricted times of the personal Antichrist s tyranny in the Holy Land. The long years of papal misrule may be followed by the short time of the man of sin who shall concentrate in himself all theapostasy, persecition, and evil of the various forerunning Antichrists, An« tiochus, Mohammed, Popery, just before Christ's advent. His time shall be the recapitulation and open consummation of the "mystery of iniquity" so long leavening tiie world. Witnessing churches may be followed by witnessing individuals, the former occupying the longer, the latter, the shorter period. The three and a half (lliM days being three and a half years of 300 days each, during which the two witnesses propliesy in sackcloth) is the sacred number seven halved, implying the Antichristian world-power's time is broken at best; it answers to tlia threeanda hal/yenrs' period in which Christ witnesse<l for the truth, and the Jews, His own people, disowned Him, and the God-opposed world-power crucified llim (ct. Note, Daniel 9.27). The three and a half, in a word, marks the time in which the eartlily rules over the heivenly kingdom. It was the duration of Antiochus' treading down of the temple and persecution of faitliful Israelites. Tlie resurrection of the witnesses after three and a half days, answers to Christ's resurrection after three days. The world-power's times never reach the sacred fulness of seven times 360, i. e., 2520, tliough they approach to It iu 2300 (Daniel 8. 14). The forty-two months answer to Israel's forty-two sojournings (Numbers 83. 1-50) in the wilderness, as contrasted with the sabbatic rest in (Janaan: reminding the Cliurch that here, in the world-wilderness, slin cannot look for her sabbatic rest. Also, three and a half

It be omitted, the reed will, in construction, agree witli "saying." So Wordsworth takes it. The reed, the canon of Scripture, the measuring-reed of tlie Church, our rule of faith, speaks. So in ch. 16. 7 the altar is personified a.s speaking (,cf. Note theve). The Spirit speaks in the canon of Scripture (the word canon is derived from Hebrew kaneh, "a reed," the word here used ; and John it was who completed the canon). So Victorinus, Aquinas, and VitKinga. " Like a rod," viz., straight : like a rod oj iron (cli.

2.27), unbending, destroying all error, and tliat "cannot be broken." Ch. 2.27; Hebrews 1. 8, Greek, "a rod of Ktraightness," English Version, "a sceptre of rigliteousness;" this is added to guard against it being tliought that the reed was one "shaken by the wind." In tlie abrupt style of the Apocalypse, "saying" is possibly indefinite, put (or " one said." Still Wordsworth's viewagrees best with Greek. So the ancient commentator, Andreas OF Csarea, in the end of the fifth century (cf. Note, v. .3, 4). the temple Greek naon (as distinguished from tlie Greek hieron, or temple in general), the Holy place, "the sanctuary." the altar—of incense; for it alone was in tlie tanctuary (Greek naos). The measurement of the Holy place seems to me to stand parallel to the sealing of the elect of Israel under the sixth seal. God's elect are symbolized by the sanctuary at Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 3. 10,

17, where the same Greek word naos occurs for "temple," as here). Literal Israel in Jerusalem, and with the temple restored (Ezekiel 40. 3, 5, wliere also the temple is measured with the measuring-reed, 41., 42., 43., 44.), shall stand at the head of the elect Church. The measuring implies at once the exactness of the proportions of the temple to be restored, and the definite completeness (not one being wanting) of the numbers of the Israelite and of the Gentile elections. The literal temple at Jerusalem shall be the typical forerunner of the heavenly Jerusalem, in which there shall be all temple, and no portion exclusively set apart as temple. John's accurately drawing the dislinotion in subsequent chapters between God's servants, and those who bear the mark of the beast, is the way whei'eby he fulfils the direction here given him to measure the temple. The fact that the temple is distingui.shed from them that worship therein, favours the view that the spiritual temple, the Jewish and Christian Church, Is not exclusively meant, but that tlie literal t-emple must also be meant. It sliall be rebuilt on tlie return of tli« Jews to their land. Antichrist sliall there put forward his blasphemous claims. The sealed elect of Israel, the head of the elect Cliurch, alone shall refuse his claims. These shall constitute the irue sanctuary which ye.ars was the period of tiie heaven being shut up, and of consequent famine, in Elias' time. Thus, three and u half represented to liie Church the idea of toil, pilgrim-, age, and persecution. 3. 1 wtll give power—There is no "power" in the Greek, so that "give" must mean "give commission," or some such word, my two wilnrKHi.t— Greek, "the two witnesses of me." Tlie article itiiplies that the two were well known at least to John, proplietty —preach under the inspiration of tin' Spirit, denoiiiiclns; judgments against the apostate. They are desei ilied 1)> symlxil as "the two olive trees" and "the two candlets here measured, t. e., accurately marked and kept by Go<i, whereas the rest shall yield to liis i)retensions. WojtDSWORTH objects that, in the twenly-fivc; passiiges of the Acts, wherein the Jewish temple is menlioiied, It is called Ateron, not n«o«, and so in the apostolic Epistles; but this is simply because no occasion for mentioning the literal Holy place {Greek naos) occurs in Acts and tlie Epistles ; indeed. In Acts 7.48, though not diiev-tly. there does occur the term naos. Indirectly referring to iho Jerusalem temple Holy place. In addreiisiut; Gentile Christians, to sticks," or lamp-stands, " HlaiiiXiu before the (joil ol the 575

Tlie Teslimony of Iht Two Witnegbes. REVELATION XI. Tlte BeasI from the Pit shall Kill them.

being called alsotte two candlesticks (the Old and New Testament churches: the candlestick in Zechariah 4. is bat one, as there was then but one Test4iraent, and one Churcn, the Jewish). The Church in both dispensations lias no light in herself, but derives it from the Spirit through the witness of the twofold word, the two olive trees : cf. ( jYote) narth." The reference js to Zeobariali 4. 3, 12, where two individuals a.v iiieaiil, Joshua and Zerubbabel, who ministered to the Jewish Cliuicli, just as the two olive ti'ees emptied the oil out ol tliemselves into the bowl of the candleslicli. So in the final apostasy God will raise up two inspired witnesses to minister encouragement to tlie af Hicled, tliougli sealed, remnant. As two candlesticljs are mentioned v. 4, lut only ode in Zechariuli 4., I thinlt

V. 1, whicli is connected witli this, the reed, the Scripture canon, being the measure of the Church: so Pkimasius X., p. 314: the two witnesses preach in sackcloth, marking the iguominous treatment which the word, like Clirisl Himself, receives from the world. So the twentyfour elders represent the ministers of the two dispensations by the double twelve. But i'. 7 proves that primarily llie two Testaments cannot be meant; for these shall never be "killed," and never "shall have finished their testimony" till the world is finished. 5. will Iiurt Greek, "wishes," or "desires to hurl them." flie . . , devoureth — (Cf. Jeremiali 5.14; 2:3. 29). out of tlielr mo«tl»—Not literally, but God makes their inspired denunciations ofjudgment to come lo pass and devour their enemies, if any man vi-IU Iturt tUem — Twice repeated, lo mark the imtnediate certainty of the accomplishment. In tills manner—so in like manner as he tries to liurt them (cf. ch. 1;^. 10). Uetribution in kind. 6. TIkese . . . power Greek, "authorized power." It rain not Greek (huetos brechee), "rain shower not," tlie twofold Church, Jewish and Gentile, may be meant by the two caudlesticivs represented by the two witnesses: just as in ch.7. there are described first the sealed of Israel, tlieu those of all nations. But see Note, v. 4. The actions of the two witnesses are just those of Moses when witnessing lor God against Pharaoh (the type of Antichrist, the last and greatest foe of Israel), turning the waters into blood, smiting wilh plagues; and of Elijah

(the witness for God in an almost universal apostasy of Israel, a remnant of TWO, however, being lelt, as llie

sealed, ch. 7.) causing Jire Ijy his word to devour the enemy, iind shutting heaven, so that it rained not for three years and six months, the very time (12oU days) during which the two witnesses prophesy. Moreover, the words "witness" and " prophesy" are usually applied to individuals, not to abstractions (cf. Psalm o2. Sj. De Bukuh thinlis Elijah and Moses will again appear, as Malachi 4.

5, (i seems to imply (cf. Matthew 17. 11 ; Acts 3. 21). Moses lit., " moisten not" (the earth), smite . . . with all plagues — Greek, " witli (lit., in) every plague." 7. ftnUIied tbeir testimony—The same verb is used of Paul's ending his ministry by a violent death, tlie beast tUat ast-ended out of the bottomless pit Greek, "tlie wild beast . . . the abyss." This beast was not mentioned before, yet he is introauced as "the beast," because he had already been described by Daniel (7. 3, 11), and he is fully so in the subsequent part of llie Apocalypse, viz., ch. 13. 1; iiud Elijah appeared with Christ at the Transtiguralion, which foreshadowed His coming milleuuial kingdom. As to Moses, cf. Deuteronomy 34. 5, 6; Jude 9. Elias' genius and mode of procedure bears the same relation to the second coming of Christ, that John the Baptist's did to the first coming. [Bengel.J Many of the early Church thouglit the two witnesses to be Enoch and Elijah. This would avoid the difficulty of the dying a second time, for lliese have never yet died; but, perhaps, shall be the witnesses slain, yiili, the turning tlie water to blood, and the plagues U'- t>)i apply best to Moses (cf. ch. lo. ii, " the song of Moses"). The transfiguration-glory of Moses and Elias was not their permanent resurrection-state, which shall not be

17. 8. Thus, John at once appropriates the Old Testament prophecies; and also, viewing his whole subject at a glance, mentions as familiar tilings (thougli not yet so to the reader) objects lo be described hereafter by himself. It is a proof of the unity that pervades till Christ sliall come to glorify His saints, for He has precedence before all in rising. An objection to this interpretation is, that those blessed departed servants of God would have lo submit to death (v. 7, 8), and this in Moses' case a second time, which Hebrews 9. 27 denies. See my all Scripture, make war against tbem—alluding to Daniel 7. 21, where the same is said of tlie little horn that sprang up among the leu horns on the fourth beast. 8. dead bodies—So Vulgate, Syriac and Anukeas. But A, B, C, llie oldest MSS., and Coptic read the singular, "dead body." The two fallen In one cause are considered as one, the great city—Ji-'iyW times in the Revelation elsewhere used of Babylon (ch. 14. 8; Iti. 19; 17. 18;

Zechariah 4. 11, 12, on the two witnesses us answering lo " the two olive trees." The two olive trees are channels of the oil feeding the Church, and symbols of peace. The Holy Spirit is the oil in them. Christ's witnesses, in remarliable times of the Church's history, have generally appeared in pairs: as Moses and Aaron, the inbpired civil and religious authorities ; Caleb and Joshua ; E/.ekiel the priest and Uaniel the prophet; Zerubbabel and Joshua. In snckclotli—The garment of prophets,

18. 10, IB, 18, 19, 21). In ch. 21. 10 (Knglish Version as to the new Jerusalem), Ihe oldest MSS. omit "the great" before city, so that it forms no exception. It must, therefore, liave an anticipatory reference to the mystical Baliylon. wlilch Greek, "the which," viz., the cily ivhich. spiritually—in a spiritual sense. Sodom—The very term applied by Isaiah 1. 10 to apostate Jcru.salem (cf. E/.ekiel 10.

esjiecially when calling people lo morti Ucatlon of their sins, and lo repentance. Tlieir very exterior aspiid accorded with their teachings: so Elijah, and Jolm who came in His spirit and power. The sackelotli of the witnesses isacatchword linking this episode umler the sixth trumpet, with the .vu« li/(if/; as sackcloth (In righteous retribution on tlie apostates who rejected (iod's witnesses) under the sixth seal (ch. 6. 12). 4. 8tnii<Ilii Ix'foi-e tlie

4S). Kgypt-the nation which the Jews' besetting stii was to lean upon, where . . . Lord was cruellled—This

Identities the city as Jerusalem, though the Eord was ci'Ucitled outside of the city. Kusiomus mciitiuns that the scene of Christ's crucilixion was enclosed within the city by Constiuitiiie ; so it will be probably at the time of llie

Klayiiig of the witnesses. The Beast [e. </., Napoleon und France's ell'ortsj has been long struggling for a footing iu Palestine; after his ascent from the bottomless pit he struggles much more. [Benoki>.J Some tme of the Napoleonic dynasty may obtain that footing, ami even be regarded as Messiah by tlm Jews, in virluc of Ills reslor Ing them lo their own land ; and so may prove to be the iioil of the eartli—A, li, C, Vulgate, tl!/riac, Coiitic, and Akdkkas read "Lord" for "God:" so Zechariah 4.11. Ministering lo (Luke 1. 19), and as In the sight of Him, who, though now so widely disowned on earth. Is Its rightful King, and shall at last be openly recognized as

Kucli (»'. l.")). The phrase alludes to Zechariah 4. 10, 14, "the two anointed ones tliat stand by the Lonl of the whole earth." The article "the" marks this allusion. They are "the two candlesticks," not that Ihey are the 'church, the one candlestick, but as Us representative last .'Viitlchrlsl. The illl Uculty is, how can Jerusalem be called " the great city," i. c, Babylon ? By her becoming the world's capital of idol at rous apostasy, such as Kanylou originally was, and then Home has been; just as she is here <'alliHl also " .Sodom and Egypt." also our— A, B, C, OitlOHN, Anukea.s, iVcr., read, "also their." Where their Lord, also, as well as they, was slain. Cf. ch. 18. 24, where

Ityht-bearers {Greek, Phlllpplans 2. ]r>, phostrres), and nilnisleilii for Its eiieouragement in a lime of apostasy. WouiiswoKTll's view Is worth consideration, whether It may not constitute a se('i)ndary sense : the two vitnesses, the blood o/ Ai.l, slain on earth is said lo be found IN Bahythi olive trees, are THE TWO Tkstamknts ministering Iheir

I.ON, justas In Matthew 'iit.Ji.), Jesus sailh that, " upon the Jews and J nuu.'SALUM " (cf. v. 37, 38) shall " come A1.1. the leiO.mony to the Church of the old dispensation, as well as to that of the new, whlcli explains the two witnesses

The Two Witnesses shall Rise again REVELATION Xi. aj(er Three D'lijg and </ HtdJ, righteous Wood shed upon earth;" whence it follows Jerusalem shall be the last capital o( fhe woikl-aposta.sy, and so receive the last and worst visitation of all the judgments ever inflicted on the apostate world, the earnest of which was given in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. In the wider sen/?e, in tlie Church-historical period, the Church being tlie sanctuary, all outside of it

(Matthew 28. 4), when also tlsere was a great earlhquake

(v. 2). snw— Greek, " beheld." li. Tliey—So A, C, Viilf/ate. But B, Coptic, Syriac, and Andreas read, " I heard." a clond— Greek, "the cloud;" which ma.v be merely the generic e.xprcssioii for what we .ire familiar with, as w« say "the clouds." But I prefer taking the article as definitely alluding to the cloud whicli received Jesus at His ascension. Acts 1. 9 (where there is no article, as there is no allusion to a previous cloud, such as there is here). As they resembled Him in their three and a half years' witnessing, their three and a half days lyingin death (though not for exactly the same time, nor put in a tomb as He was), so also in their ascension is tlie translation and transftguration of the sealed of Israel (ch. 7.), and theelect of all nations, caught upoutof the reach of the Antichrisis the world, the great city, wherein all the martyrdoms of saints have taken place. ISahi/lon marks its idolatry, Egypt its tyrauuy, Sodom its desperate corruption, ,/«r«- laletii its pretensions tosanctityon the ground of spiritual privileges, whilst all the vvliile it is the murderer of Clu ist in the person of His members. All wliich is true of Rome. So ViTRiNGA. But in tlie more definite .sense, JertiMi/fni

Is regarded, even in Hebrews (ch. lo. 12-U), as Mie worldtiaii foe. In ch. 14. 14, 15, Ifi, He is represented jus sitting on a, white cloud, their enemies beiield them—and were tlius openly convicted by God for their unl)clief and persecution of His servants; unlike Klijah's ascension formerly, ill the sight of friends only. The Church caught Hp to meet the Lord in the air, and trans-Mfjiured in body, cit.v wliicli believers were then lo go fortli from, in order to "seek one to come." 9. they—rather, " (somp) of the peoples." people Greek, " peoples." Ulmlreds— (ri-ec/:, "tribes;" all save the elect (whence it is not sai(i. The peoples, &c., but [some] of the peoples, &<: ; or, .sonw of the peoples, (Sc., may refer to those of the ttatioti-i, liv., icho at the lime shall hold jtossession of Pidestine and Jerusnlein). s!»alJ see—So Vulga/,c, Syriac, and Coptic. But A, B, C, Andreas, the present, "see," or rather (Oreek blepotislii), "look upon." The prophetic present. de«<l bodies HoVulfjale, is justified by her Lord belbre the world, even asthe mancliild (Jesus) was "caught up unto God and His throne" from betore the dragon standing ready to devour lite woman't child as soon as horn. 1.1. "In that same {lit., the) hour." great eari hqnake—answering to the " great earthquake" under the si.vtli seal, just at the approach of the Iord (ch.

Syriac, and Anukeas. But A, B, C, and Coptic, singular, as in V. S, " dead body." Three and a half days answer to the three and a half years (JVotes, v. 2, 3), the half of seven, the full ami perfect number, shall not snifer—So B,

6. 12). Christ was delivered unto His enemies on the fifth day of the week, and on the .s/z<7i was crucified, and on the sabbath rested; so it is under the sixtli seal and sixth trumpet that the last suffering of the Church, begun under the fil'tli seal and trumpet, is to be consummated, before she enters on her seventh day of eternal sabbath. Six is the number of the world-power's greatest triumph, but at the same time verges on severe, the Divine number, when its utter destruction takes place. Cf. 606 in cli. 13. 18, "the number of the beast." tenth part of tlie city fi ll—i. e., of " the great city" (ch.

Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas. But A, C, and Vulgate read, "do not suffer." In graves—So Vulgate and Prihasivs. But B, C, Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas, singtilar ; trnnslatc, "into a seijnlelire," lit., a monument. Accordingly, in righteous retribution in ki ml, the Jiesh of the Antichristian hosts is not buried, hut given to all the fowls in midheaven to eat (ch. 19. 17, 18, 21). 10. they that dwell upon. . . earth—those who belong to the earth, as its citizens, not to heaven (ch. 3. 10; 8. 13; 12. 12; 13. 8). shall-So Vid-

16. 19; Zecliariah ll. 2). Ten is the number of the uor Ulkingdoms (ch. 17. 10-12), and the beast's horns (ch. 13. 1), and tliedragon's(ch. 12.3). Thus, in the Church-historical view, gaXe, Syriac, and Coptic. But A, B, C read the present; cf. Note, on "shall not suffer," v. 9. rejoice over them—Tlie Aniichristianity of the last days shall probably be under the nameof philosophical eulightenmentand civilization, but reall}' man's deification of himself. Fanaticism shall lead Antichrist's followers to exult in having at lust seemingly silenced in death their Christian rebukers. Like her Lord, the Ciiurch will have her dark passionweek follo\ved by the bright resurrection-morn. It is a curious historical coincidence that, at the fifth Lateran Council, May 5, 1514, no witness (not even tlie Moravians who were summoned) testified for the truth, as Huss and Jerome did at Constance; an orator ascended the tribunal before the representatives of Papal Christendom, and said. There is no reclaimant, no opponent. Luthek, on October 31, 1517, exactly three and a half years aftsrwards, posted up his famous thesis on the church at Wittenberg. Theobjection is, the years are years of3&5, notSOO, days, and Bo two and a half days are deficient; but siill the coincidence is curious ; and if this prophecy be allowed other fulfilments, besides the final and literal one under the last Antichrist, this may reasonably be regarded as one. send gifts one to another—as was usual at a joyous festival. tormeiite«l them—viz., with the plagues which they had power to inflict (f. 5, 6) ; also, by their testimony against the earthly. 11. Translaleati Oreek, "After the three <lays," &c. the Spirit of life—the same which breathed life into it is hereby implied, that one of the ten apostate worldkingdoms fall. But in the narrower view a tenth of Jerusalem under Antichrist falls. The nine-tenths remain, and become when purified the centre of Christ's earthly kingdom, of men Greek, "names of men." Tlie men are as accurately enumerated as if their names were given, seven thousand Elliott interprets seven chiliads or provinces, i. e„ the seven Dut<;h United Provinces lost to the papacy ; and " names of men," titles of dignity, duchies, lordships, &c. Rather, seven thoiisayid combine the two mystical perfect and comprehensive numbers seven and thousand, implying the full and complete destruction of the impenitent. tl»e remnant—consisting of the Israelite inhabitants not slain. Their conversion forms a blessed contrast to ch. 16. 9; and above, ch. 9. 20,

21. These repenting (Zechariah 12. 10-14; 13. 1), become In the flesh the loyal subjects of Christ reigning over the earth with His transfigured saints, gave glory to th« God of heaven—which whilst apostates, and worshipping the beast's image, they had not done. God ol heaven—The apostates of the last days, in protended scientific enlightenment, recognize no heavenly power, but only the natural forces in the earth which come under their observation. His receiving up into heaven the two witnesses who had power during their time on earth to shut heaven from raining (i>. 6), constrained His and their enemies who witnessed it, to acknowledge lh« God of heaven, to be God of the earth (v. 4). As in u. 4 Ho declared Himself to be God of the earth by His two wit-

Israel's dry bones, Ezeklel 37. 10, 11 (where see mi' Notes), " Breath came into them." The passage here, as there, is closely connected with Israel's restoration as a nation to political and religious life. Cf. also concerning the same, Hosea 6. 2, where Ephralm says, " After two days will He revive us; in the third day He will raise us up, and we Rhall live in His sight." Into—so B and Vulgate. But A nesses, so now He proves Himself to be God of heaven also. 14. The seconfl woe-That under the sixth trumpet (ch. 9. 1'2-21), including also the prophecy, ch. 11. 1-13: Woe lo the world, joy to the faithful, as tlirir redrmption draweth nigh, tlic tliird woe cometli quiclily— It is not mentioned in detail for the present", until first there Is given a sketcli of the history of the origination, suflering, and falthfuluess of the Church in » time of apostasy and reaila (Oreek en aulois), "(so as to be) in th(!m." stood npon their feet— the very words in Ezekiel 37. 10, which p?<»ves the allusion to be to Israel's resurrection, in contvast to " the times of the Gentiles " wherein these "tread under foot the holy city." great fear—such as fell on the

Buldlers guarding Christ's tomb at His resurrection

Hie Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. KEVELATIOX XII. The Woman Clothed with the Sun.

thy anger is come." How petty man'.s impotent anger, standing here side by side with that of the omnipotent God ! dead ... be Judged—Proving > hat this seventh trumpet is at the end of all things, when the judgment on Christ's foes, and the reward of His saints, long prayed for by His saints, shall take place, the prophets—as, for instance, the two prophesying witnesses {v. 3), and those who have showed them kindness for Christ's sake. Jesns shall come to ell'ect by His presence that which we have looked for long, but vainly, in His absence, and by other means, destroy them which destroy the earth—Retributlon in kind (cf. ch. 16. 6; Luke 19. 27). Daniel 7. H-18, my Ifotes. 19. A similar solemn conclusion to that of the seventh seal, ch. 8. 5, and to that of the seventh vial, ch. 16. IS. Thus, it appears, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials, are not consecutive, but parallel, and ending in the same consummation. They present the unfolding of God's plans for bringing about the grand end under three difiereut aspects, mutually complementing each other, the temple—the sanctuary or Holy place {Greek naos), not the whole temple {Greek persecution. Instead of the third woe being detailed, the grand consummation is summarily noticed, the thanksgiving of the twenty-four elders in heaven for the establishment of Christ's kingdom on earlh, attended with the destruction of the destroyers of the earth, 15. Sounded Willi his trumpet. Evidently " the last trumpet." Six is close to seven, but does not reach it. The world-judgments are complete in six, but by the fulfilment of seven the world-kingdoms become Christ's. Six is the number of the world given over to judgment. It is half of twelve, the Church's number, as three and a half is half of seven, the Divine number for completeness. Bengel thinks the angel here to have been Gabriel, which name is compounded of £1, God, and Geber, mighty man (ch. 10. 1). Gabriel therefore appropriately announced to Mary the advent of the mighty God-man: cf. the account of the manchild's birth which follows (ch. 12. 1-6), to which this forms the transition, though the seventh trumpet in time is subsequent, being the consummation of the historical episode, chs. 12. and 13. The seventh trumpet, like the seventh seal and seventh vial, being tlie consummation, is accompanied diflferently from tlie preceding six: not the consequences whicli follow ou earth, but those in HEAVEN, are set before us, the great voices and thanksgiving of the twenty-four elders in heaven, as the half-hour's silence in heaven at the seventh seal, and the voice out of the temple in heaven, "It is done,'" at the seventh vial. Tills is parallel to Daniel 2. 4t, "The God of heaven shall set up a Aingrciom, wliich shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break to pieces all these kingdoms, and it siiall stand lor ever." It is the setting up of Heaven's sovereignty over the earth visibly, which, when invisibly exercised, was rejected by the earthly rulers heretofore. The distinction of worldly and spiritual shall then cease. There will be no beast in opposition to the woman. Poetry, art, science, and social hieron). opened In heaven—A, C read the article, "the temple of God which is in heaven, was opened." the ark of his testament—or "... His covenant.'" As in the first verse the earthly sanctuary was measured, so here Ita heavenly antitype is laid open, and the antitype above to the ark of the covenant iu the Holiest place below is seen, the pledge of God's faithfulness to His covenant in saving His people, and punishing their and His enemies. Thus this forms a fit close to the series of trumpet-judgments, and an introduction to the episode (ch. 12. and 13.) as to His faith fulness to His Church. Here first His secret place, the heavenly sanctuary, is opened for the assurance of His people; and thence proceed His judgments in their behalf (ch. 1-1. 15, 17; 15. 5; 10. 17), which the great company in heaven laud as "true and righteous." This then is parallel to the scene at the heavenly altar, at the close of the seals and opening of the trumpets (ch. S. 3), and at the close of the episode (chs. 12.-15) and opening of the viaU life will be at once worldly and Christian, kingdoms A, B, C, Vulgate read the singular, "The kingdom (sovereignty) of (over) tlie world is our Lord s and His Christ's." There is no good authority for English Version reading. The kingdoms of the world give way to tlie kingdom of (over) tlie world exercised by Clirist. The earth-kingdoms are many : His shall be one. The appellation "Christ," the Anointed, is here, where His kingdutn

(ch. 15. 7, 8). See Note at the opening of next chapter.

CHAPTER XII.

Ver. 1-17. Vision of the Woman, her Child, .^nd THE I'EKSECUTiNQ Dkagon. 1. This episode (chs. 12., 13.,

Is mentioned, appropriately for the first time used in Revelation. For it is equivalent to King. Though priests and prophets also were anointed, yet this term is peculiarly applied to Him as King, insomuch that "the Lord's anointed" is His title as King, in places where He

11., and 15.) describes in detail the persecution of Israel and the elect Church by the beast, which had been summarily noticed, ch. 11. 7-10, and the triumph of the faithful, and torment of the unlaithlul. So also chs. 16.-20. are the description in detail of the judgment on the beast, is distinguished from the priests. The glorified Son of man shall rule mankind by His traiisligured Church In heaven, and by His people Israel on earth: Israel shall be the priestly mediator of blessings to the whole world, reali/.lng them first, lie—Not emplialical in the Greek. Khali reigit for ever and wvr— Greek, " unto the ages of the ages." Here begins the millennial reign, the consummation of "the mystery of God" (ch. 10.7). 1<>. before God—B and <Si/n'ac read, "before the throne of God." But A, C, Vulgate, and Coptic read as JCnglish Version. Heats Greek, "thrones." 17. thanksfor the answer to our prayers (ch. fi. 10, II) In destroying them which destroy the earth (v. 18), thereby preparing the way for setting up the kingdom of thyself and thy saints, and art to come— Omitted In A, B, C, Vulgate, tiyriar, Cvi'Hian, and AnOUKAS. The consummation having act Uiilly come, tliey do not address Him as they did when It was still luture, " Thou that art to come." Cf. v. IS, " Is come." Kiom the soundingof the seventh trumpet Ho Is to His jifople ,1ah, the ever-present Lord, wiio i.s, more peculiarly Hum .IkHOVAH " who is, was, and is to comi:'' tn,ken to tliee thy ifcc, summarily noticed In cli. 11. 13, IS. The beast in v. 3,

&c., is shown not to be alone, but to be the Instrument In the hand of a greater power of darkiie.ss, Satan. That this is so,appears from the time of ch. 11. being the period also In which the events of chs. 12. and 13. take place, viz.,

1200 days (v. 6, U; ch. 13.5; cf. ch. 11. 2,3). great— in size and significance, wontler — (.'/(cA, "sign:" significant of momentous trutlis. In Ixeaven—not merely the sky, but the heaven beyond just nienlioned, ch. 11. lil; cf. v. 7-9. woman cloliked wltlt tlie sun . . . moon under her feet—The Church, Israel first, and then llio Gentile Church ; clothed with Christ, " the Sun ol rigl Ueousness." "Fair as the moon, clear as the sun." Clothed with the Suu, the Church is tlie beartr of Divine superiii Vtural

Ifghl in tlie world. So the .seven churches (t. e., the Church universal, the woman) are represented as lightbcurliig c((/i(/(i'*i«*.'i (cli. I;. On the other hand, the Jiioon, though standing above the sea and earth, is altogethej coiuucled with them, and is an earthly light: sea. earth, and moon represent the worldly element, in opposition i;re»t power—" to thee" Is not In the Greek. Christ lakes ti) the kingdom of God—heaven, the sun. The moon canto Him the kingilom aM His own of right. 18. the nationn were angry-Alluding to I'salm Ml). 1, LXX., "The Lord Is become King: let the peoples become angry." Their angir is combined with alarm (Kxodus 1."). U; 2 Kings 11). 2(), 2S, " thy rage against me is come up into mine noldispi'i'se the dnrknesH and cliango Itlntoday: thus she represents the worlil-rellgion (heathenism) in reltvtlon to tlie supernatural world. The t/'liuivh has the moon, therefore, uiuler her feift ; but stars, as liettvenly lights, on her head. The devil directs his etn>rtll against the stars, the angels of tlie cluuchi's, about hereears, I will put my hook In thy nose," <Vc.). Translate, after to shlno for ever. The twelve stars, the crown tts the Greek Is tne same. "The natlous were angered, and

57s

The Woman Clothed with the Sun. KEVELATION XII. The Great Dragon Ready to Dtvow her Child.

around her head, are the twelve tribeS of Israel. [AuberlEN.] The allusions to Israel before accord with this : cf. ch. 11. 19. " the temple of God ;" " the ai k of His testament." The ark lost at the Babylonian captivity, and never since found, is seen in the " temple of God opened In heaven," signifying that God now enters again into covenant wich His ancient people. The woman cannot mean, literally, the virgin mother of Jesus, for she did not the end, the fourth empire is divided into ten kingdoms); here, seven crowns (rather, "diadems," Greek, diademata, not stephanoi, " wreaths") are upon lUs seven heads. In Daniel 7. the Antichristian powers up to Clirist's second coming are represented by four beasts, whio".. nave among them seven heads, ». e., the first, seond and fourth beasts having one head each, the third, four hea lB. His universal dominion as prince of this fallen world .8 Implied by the seven diadems (contrast the "many dla« dems on Christ's head," ch. 19. 12, when coming to destroy him and his), the caricature of the seven Spirits of God> His worldly instruments of power are marked by the ten horns, ten being the number of the world. It marks his self-contradictions that he and the beast bear botii the number seven (the Divine number) and ten (the world number). 4. drew— Greek present, "drawetli," "drags down." H\s dragijing down the stars with hii totZ (lashed back and forward in his fury), implies his persuading to apostatize, like himself, and to become earthy, thos\> angels and .also once eminent human teachers who had formerly been heavenly (cf. v. 1; ch. 1. 20; Isaiah 14.

flee into tlis vildernossand stay there for 1200 days, wliilst the dragon persecuted tlie remnant of her seed (v. Vi-ll). (De Burgh.] Tlie sun, moon, and twelve stars, are emblematical of Jacob, Leah, or else Rachel, and the twelve patriarchs, t. e., the Jewish Church : secondarily, the Church universal, having under her feet, in due subordination, the ever-changing moon, which shines witli a borrowed light, emblem of the Jewish disjiensation, which

18 now in a position of inferiority, though supporting the woman, and also of the cliangeful things of tlus world, and having on her head the crown of twelve stars, the twelve apostles, who, however, are related closely to

Israel's twelve tribes. The Cliurch, in passing over into the Gentile world, is (1.) persecuted, (2.) then seduced, as beatlienism begins to react on her. Tliis is the key to the meaning of the symbolic woman, beas., harlot, and false prophet. Woman and beast form the same contrast as the

12). stood—" stands " [AlfordJ: perfect, Greek hesteken. ready to be delivered—" about to bring forth." for to devour, &c.—" that when she brought forth he might devour her child." So the dragon, represented by iiis agent Pharaoh (a name common to all the Egyptian kings, and meaning, according to some, crocodile, a reptile like the dragon, and made an Egyptian idol), was re.ady to devour

8cm, of man and the beasts in Daniel. As the Son of man comes from heaven, so the woman is seen in heaven {v. 1). The two beasts arise respectively out of the sea (cf. Daniel

7.3) and the earth (ch. 13.1,11): their origin is not of heaven, but of earth earthy. Daniel beholds the heavenly Bridegroom coming visibly to reign. John sees the woman, the Bride, whose calling is heavenly, in the world, before the Lord's coming again. The characteris-

Israel's males at the birth of the nation. Antitypically the true Israel, Jesus, when born, was sought for destruction by Herod, who slew all the males in and around Bethlehem. 5. man-child- &V(?eA:, "a son, a male." On the deep significance of this term, cf. Notes, v. 1, 2. rule— Greek (poimainein), " tend as a shepherd " (see Note, ch. 2.

tic of woman, in contradistinction to man, is her being subject, tlie surrendering of herself, her being receptive. This similarly is man's relation to God, to be subject to, and receive from, God. All autonomy of the human

27). rod of iron—A rod is for long-c<nitinued obstinacy, until tliey submit themselves to obedience [Bengel]: ch.

2. 27; Psalm 2. 9, which passages prove the Lord Jesus to be meant. Any interpretation which ignores this must be wrong. The male son's birth cannot be the origin of the Christian state (Christianity triumphing over heathenism under Constantine), which was not a Divine child of tlie woman, but had many impure worldly elements. In a secondary sense, the ascending of the witnesses up to heaven answers to Christ's own ascension, "caught up unto God, and unto His throne:" as also His rulina» the nations with a rod of iron is to be sliared in by believers (ch. 2. 27). What took place primarily in the case of the Divine Son of the woman, shall take place also in the case of those who are one with Him, the sealed of spirit reverses man's relation to God. Womanlike receptivity towards God constitutes faith. By it the individual becomes a child of God; thechildren collectively Avcvxewed as " the woman." Humanity, in so far as it belongs to God, is the woman. Christ, the Son of the woman, is in v. 5 emphatically called "the MAN-child" iOreek, huios arrheen, "male-child"). Though born of a woman, and under the law for man's sake. He is also the Son of God, and so the husband of tlie Church. As Son of the woman. He is " Sou of man;" as male-child. He is Son of God, and Husband of tlie Church. All who imagine to have life in themselves are severed from Him, the Source of life, and, standing in their own strength, sink to the level of senseless beasts. Thus, the woman designates universally the kingdom of God ; the beast, the kingdom of the world. The woman of whom Jesus was born, represents the Old Testament conr/reijation of God. The woman's travail-pains (D. 2) represent tlie Old Testament believers' ardent longings lor the promised Redeemer. Cf. the joy at His birth (Isaiah 9. 6). As new Jerusalem (called also "the woman," or "wile," ch. 21. 2,

Israel (ch. 7.), and the elect of all nations, about to be translated and foreign with Hiin over the earth at His appearing. 6. woinanfled—Mary's flight with Jesus into Egypt is a type of this, where sl»c l»iv»!i—So C reads. But A, B add "there." aplace — tliat portion of the heathen world which has received Christianity professedly, viz., mainly the fourth kingdom, having its seat in the modern Babylon, Rome, implying that all the heathen world would not be Christianized in the present order of things, prepared of GoA—lit., "from God." Not by human caprice or fear, but by the deteiinined counsel and foreknowledge of God, the woman, tlie Church, fled

&-12) with its twelve gates, is the exalted and trans Hgured Church, so the woman with the twelve stars is the Cliurch militant, a. pnlned—Oree/c, " tormented" (basaninto the wilderness, they should feed ivv— Greek, " nourizorhene). Dk BuuGU explains this of the bringing in of the flrst-begotten Into the world again, when Israel shall at last welcome Him, and when " the man-child shall rule ish her." Indefinite for "sheshould be fed."' The heathen world, the wilderness, could not nourish tlie Churcli, t>ut only afford her an outward slielter. Here, as in Daniel 4.

all nations with the rod of iron." But there is a i)lain contrast between the painful travailim/ of the woman here, and Christ's second coming to the Jewish Church, the believing remnant of Israel, "Before she travailed she brought forth . . . aMAN-CHiiyD," i.e., i\.\n\i»itwit/ii>ut ti-avaU-pangs, she receives (at His second advent), as if born

2(i, and elsewhere, the tliird person plural i-efers to tlie heavenly powers who minister Ironi God nourishment to the Church. As Israel had its time of first bridal love, on its first going out of Egypt into llie wilderness, so the Christian Cliurch's wilderncss-tUneot first love was the apostolic age, when It was separate from the Jf.gypteii this world, having no city here, but seeking one to come; having only a place in the wilderness prepared of God {v. G, 14). The to her, Messiah and a numerous seed. 3. app<'ar«I— "was seen." wonder Greek, " aSun" [semeion]. red—So A and Vulgaie rvixtX. But B, C, and Coptic read, "of Ore." In eitlier case, the colour ot the dragon implies his fiery rage as a murderer from the beninninu. His representative.

harlot takes the world-city as her own, even as Cain was the first builder of a cily, whereas the believing patriarchs lived in tents. Then apostate Israel was the harlot and the young Christian Church the woman ; but soon

Vie beast, corresponds, luiving seven heads and ten hnrns (the number of horns on the fourth beast of Daniel '. ch. 13.

spiritual fornication crept in, and tlie Church m ch. 17 Is 579 t. But there, ten crowns are on the ten horns (fv l)efore

Michael and his Amjels Fight REVELATION XII. with the Dragon, and Prevail no longer the woman, but the harlot, the gireat Baln/lon, heaven, though judicially decided already against Satan from the time of Christ's resurrection and ascension, receives its actual completion in the exejution of judgment by the angels who cast out Satan from heaven. From Christ's ascension he has no standing-ground Judicially against the believing elect. Luke 10. IS, "I beheld wlilcli, however, has in it hidden the true people of God

(ch. 18. i). The deeper the Church penetrated into heathendom, the more she herself became heathenish. Instead of overcoming, she was overcome by the world. [AuherLEN.J Tims, the woman is "the one inseparable Church of the Old and New Testament" [HengstenbekgI, the stock of the Christian Church being Israel (Christ and His apostles being Jews), on which the Gentile believers have been graffed, and into which Israel, on her conversion, Bhall be graffed, as into her own olive tree. During the Whole Church-historic period, or " times of the Gentiles," wherein "Jerusalem is trodden down of the Gentiles," there is no believing Jewish Church, and therefore, only the Christian Church can be "the woman." At the same time there is meant, secondarily, the preservation of the Jews during this Church-historic period, in order tliat

(in the earnest of the future full fulfilment giveji in the subjection of the demons to the disciples) Satan as lightning fall from heaven." A.s Michael fought before with Satan about the body of the mediator of the old covenant (Jude 9), so now the mediator of the new covenant, by offering His sinless body in sacrifice, arms Michael with power to renew and finish the conflict by a complete victory. That Satan is not yet actually ani} flnallj/ cast oat of heaven, though the jndici(d sentence to that effedt received its latification at Christ's ascension, appears from Kphesians 0. 12, "spiritual wickedness in high (Greek, heavenly) p\ace." This is the primary Church-historical sense here. But, through Israel's unbelief, Satan has had ground against that, the elect nation, appearing before God as its accuser. At the eve of its restoration, in the ulterior sense, his standing-ground in heaven against

Israel, who was once "the woman," and of whom the man-child was born, may become so again at the close of the Gentile times, and stand at the head of the two elections, literal Israel, and spiritual Israel, the Church elected from Jews and Gentiles withoutdistinction. K/,ekiel 20. 3o, 3fi, "I will bring you into the wildcrnes.i of the people ( Hebrpu; penplen), nnd there Willi plead with you

Israel, too, shall be taken from him, "the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem" j-eftuA-insr him, and casting him out from heaven actually and for ever by Michael, the prince, or presiding angel of the Jews. Thus Zechariah 3. 1-9 is strictly parallel, .loshua, the high priest, being representative of his nation Israel, and Satan standing at God's right hand as adversary to resist Israel's justification. Then, and not till then, fully (v. 10, "now," &c.) shall all things he reconciled unto Christ in iie.WEN (Colossians 1.

. . . like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of Egypt" (cf. mj Xote there): not a wilderne-ts literally and lo'-ally, but spiritually a slate of diacipline and trial among the Gentile "pcople.i," during the long Gentile times, and one finally consummated in the last time of unparalleled trouble under Antichrist, in which the sealed remnant (ch. 7.) wlio constitute " the woman," are nevertheless preserved "from the face of the serpent" (v. H). thotisniicl two hiin<lre<l and threescore ilnys—.\nticip;itory of i". U, where the )>ersecution which caused her to

20), and there shall be peace in heaven (Iuke 19. 38), ngaiiist—A, B, C read, " with.'' 8. preva Ued not—A and Coptic read, "He prevailed not." But B, C read as English Version, neither—A, B, C read, "not even" {Oreek oude); a climax. Not only did they not prevail, but not ci'e?i their place ivas foutid any more in heaven. There are four gradations in the ever deeper downfall of .Satan : (1.) He is deprived of his heavenly excellency, though having still access to heaven as man's accuser, up to Christ's first coming. As heaven was not fully yet opened to man (John 8.

flee is mentioned in its place: ch. 11. gives the details of the persecution. It is most unlikely that the transition should be ma<ie from the birth of Christ to the last Antichrist, without notice of the long intervening Church-historical period. Probably the 12(50 days, or periods, representing this long Interval, areREPAPiTUTATEDon a sliorter scale analogically during the la.st Antichrist's short reign. They are equivalent to three and a half years, which, as half of the Divine number ntn-cn, symbolize the seeming victory of the world over the Church. As they include the whole Oentile times of Jprnsalem's beinii trodden of the • &Vh/iVm, they must be much hmger than 12fi() years; for, above five and a half centuries more than I26() years have elapsed since .lerusnlem fell. 7. In Job 1. and 2., Satan appears among the .sons of God, pre.senting himself before God in heaven, as the accuser of the saints: again in Zechariah 3. 1, 2. Hut atchrisfs coming as our lledecmer, he/ell from heaven, especially when Christ suf Tered, rose again, and ascended to heaven. When Christ appeared before God as our Advocate, Katan, the accusing adversary, could no longer appear before God against ns, hnt was cast Old jiidiciaUn (Hoina'ns 8. Xi, 31). He and his angels henceforth range through the air and the earth, after a time {viz., the interval between the ascension and the second atlvenl) about to be cast hence also, and bound In hell. That " heaven " here does not mean merely the air, but till' abode of angels, appears from t>. !l, 10, 12; 1 Kings

13), so it was not yet shut against Satan and his demons. The Old Testament dispensation could not overcome him.

(2.) From Christ.down to the millennium, he is judicially cast out of heaven as the accuser of the elect, and shortly before the millennium loses hl.s power against Israel, and has sentence of expulsion fully executed on him and his by Micha<d. His rage on earth is consequently the greater, his power being concentrated on it, especially towards the end, when "he knoweth that he hath but a short time" (v. 12). (3.) He Is bound during the millennium (ch.

20. 1-3). (-1.) .\fter having been loosed for a while, he is cast forever Into the lake of fire. 9. that old serpent Alluding to Genesis S. 1, 4. Devil—the Greek for "accuser," or "slanderer." Satan—the Hebrew for adversmT/, especially In a court of justice. The twofold designation, Greek and Hebrew, marks the twofold objects of his accusations and temptations, the elect Gent lies and the elect Ji'ws. world— (7>-r(»A-, " hal)i table world." 10. Jlovr—Now that .Satan has been cast out of heaven. Primarily fulfilled in part at Jesus' resurrection and ascension, when He said (Matthew '28. 18), "All (lower f(/rcc ArroK.vKt, ' authority, 'as hero; see below] is given unto me In heaven and In earth;" connected with v.r>, "Her child vnxs catight np nnto (,'nd and to His throne." In tiie ulterior sense, It refers to the eve of Christ's second coming, when Israel Is about to he restored as mother-Church of (Christendom, Satan, who had resisted her restoration on the ground of her un worthiness, having been cast out by the Inslrumeui.- allty o"" Michael, Israel's angelic j)n>icc (Note, v. 7). Thus this Is p.arallel, and the necessary preliminary to tile glcirlous ev<>nt similarly expressed, eh. II. 1."). "The kln Kdom of this world Is hecome (the very word here, Grrrk

!22. in-22. fliere wiim— (Irrck, "there came to pass," or "arose." wiir in henven—Whata seeming contradiction In terms, yet true! (Contrast the blessed result of Christ's triumph, laiUe 19. 38, " peace In heaven." Colosslans 1. 20, "made peace through the l)lood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; wlii'ther . . . things in earth, or things in licarcn." MIelinel nnil IiIh niieSM . . . thctlrnon . . . nnil ItU nnKoIti— It was fl I tl ugly ordered that, as the rehelllon arost? from unfaithful angels and their leader, so t hey should be encountered and overcomo by faithful ang<'lsand tlieirarchangel. In heav<'n. On earth they are tlltlngly encountered, and shall overcome, as represented by the beast and false prophet, l)y the Hon of man and His armies of human salnts(cli. 1». 1 1-21). The concgeriilo, ' Is I'onie,' ' hath come to pass') our Lord's and Ills

('hrlst's," the ri'sultof Israel's resuming her place, natm vatlon, Ac— Greek, "the salvation (viz., fully, finally, and flict on earth, as In Daniel 40, has Its correspondent conflict Of angels In heavcMi. Michael Is peculiarly the jirlnce, or presiding ungel. of the Jewish nation, The conlllct li. 68C victoriously accomplished, Helirews 11. 28; cf. Luke 8.6, yet future; hence, not till now do the blevccd raise the

The Dragon, Cast out of Ile.iven, REVELATION XII. Perseculeth and Pursueth the Woman, fullest halleluiah for salvation to the Lamb. ch. 7. 10; 19. 1) the potver {Greek durinmis), and l/ie authority {Oi'fek exoiisia power; in Ezekiel 17.3.7, Babylon and E<rypl: In early Church-history, Rome, whose standard was the eagle, turned liy God's providence from being hostile into a pi'Otectorof the Cliristian Church. As "wings" express remote parts of the eartli, the two wings may here mean the east and west divisions of the Roman empire, wilderness—the land of the heathen, the Gentiles: in contrast to Canaan, X,\\e pleasant and glorious land. God dwells in the glorious land; demons (the rulers of the heathen world, ch. 9. 20; 1 Corinthians 10.20), in tlie wilderness. Hence Babylon is called the desert of the sea', Isaiah 21. 1-10 (referred to also in ch. 14.8; 18. 2). Heathendom, in its essential nature, being without God, is adesolate wi VderMes*. Thus, the woman's flight into the wiiiieriiess is tlie passing of the kingdom of God from tlie Jews to be among the Gentiles (typified by Mary's flight with her child from Judea into Egj-pt). Tlie eagle-flight is from Egypt into the wilderness. The Egypt inoant is virtually stated (ch. 11. 8) to be Jerusalem, which has become spiritually so by crucifying our Lord. Out of her the Nov/ Testament Cliuroh flees, as the Old Testament Church out of tlie literal Egypt; and as the true Cliurch siilisequently is C!)lled to flee out of Babylon (the woman become an harlegitimate power ; see above) of His C'liiist." nccusetl them before our God day ami iiiglit—Hence tlie need th.it theoppressed Cliuicti, God'sown elect (like tlie widow, con/inuall}/ coming, so a.>i even to weary t]\e uTijust, judye), Bliould cry day and vight unto Him. 11. they— Kiiipliiitic In the Greek. " Tliey" in particular. Tliey and tlioy aione. They were the persona wlio overcame, overcame—(Romans 8. .33, 34, 37 ; 16. a).) him—(1 John 2. 14, 1.).) It is tlie Ban:e victory (a peculiarly Johannean phrase) over .Satan and the world which the Gospel of Jolin describes in the life of J.^sus, his Epistlein the lifeof eacli believer,and his Apocal/pse in tlie lifeof the Church. Ity— Greek [dia to haima; accusative, not genitive, as English Version would rtjuire, ,^f. Hebrews 9. 12], "on accountof (on tlieground of) the blood of the Lamb;" "because of," &c,\ on accountof and liy virtueof its liavingbeen shed. Had thatblood not been shed, Satan's accusations would have been unanswerable; as it is, that blood meets every charge. Schottgen mentions the Rabbinical tradition that Satan accuses men all days of the j'ear, except the day of atonement. TittMANN takes the Greek dia, as it often means, out of regard to tlie blood of tlie Lamb; this was the impelling cause which induced tliein to undertake tlie contest/or the sake lot, i. e., the Church become apostate). [Auberlen.] her place—the chief seat of the then world-empire, Rome. Tlie Acts of the Apostles describe the passing of the Church from .Jerusalem to Rome. The Roman protection was the eaglewing wliich often shielded Paul, the great Instrument of this transmigration, and Christianity, from Jewish opponents who stirred up tlie heathen mobs. By degrees the Church had "her place" more and more secure, until, under C'onstantine, tlie em pi re became Christian. Still, all this Church-historical period Is regarded as a wilderness-time, wlierein the Church is In part protected, in part oppressed, by the world-power, until just before the end the enmity of the world-power under Satan shall break out against the Churcli worse than ever. As Israel was in the wilderness forty years, and had forty-two stages in her journey, so the Church for forty-two months, tliree and a half years or times [lit., seasons, used for years in Hellenistic Greek (Mceris, the Atticist), Greek kairous, Daniel 7. 25; \2. 7], or 12t)0 days (v.

it; but the view given above is good Greelv, and more in accordance with the general sense of fScripture. by the word of their testimony Greek, "on account of the word of their testimony." On the ground of their faithful testimony, even unto death, they are constituted victors. Their testimony evinced their victory over him by viitue of the blood of the Lamb. Hereby tliey confess themselves worshippers of the slain Lamb, and overcome the beast, Satan's representative; an anticipation of ch.

15. 2, "them tliat had gotten the victory over the beast"

(cf. ch. 1.3. 15, 10). unto Greek (achri)," even as far as." They carried their not-love of life as far as even unto deatli. 13, Therefore — because Satan is cast out of heaven (v. 9). dwell—lit., " tabernacle." Not only angels and the souls of the just with God, but also the faitliful militant on eartti, who already in spirit tabernacle in heaven, having tlieir home and citizenship there, rejoice that Satan is cast out of their home. "Tabernacle" for dwell is used to mark that, though still on the earth, tliey In spirit are hidden "in the secret of God's tabernacle." They belong not to the world, and, therefore, exult in Judgment ha ving been passed on the prince of tliis world, the inhablterg of—.So Andreas reads. But A, B, C omit. The words, probably, were inserted from cli. 8. 13. is come down—rather as Greek (catebee), "is gone down;" John regarding the heaven as his standing-point of view whence he looks down on the earth, tinto you—earth and

6) between the overthrow of Jerusalem and tlie coming again of Christ, shpll be a wilderness-sojourner before she reaches her millennial rest (answering to Canaan of old). It is possible that, besides tliis Cliurch-historlcal fulfilment, there may be also an ulterior and narrower fulfilment In the restoration of Israel to Palestine, Antichrist for seven times (short periods analogical to the longer ones) having power there, for the former three and a half times keeping covenant with the Jews, then breaking it in tlie midst of the week, and the mass of the nation fleeing by a second Exodus into tlie wilderness, whilst a remnant remains in the land exposed to a fearful persecution (the " 144,000 sealed of Israel," ch. 7., and 14. 1, standing with tlie Lamb, after the conflict is over, on Mount Zion; "the first-fruits" of a large company to be gathered to Him). [De Bchgh.] These details are very conjectural. In Daniel 7. 2.5; 12. 7, the subject, as perhaps here, is the time of Israel's calamity. That seven times do not necessarily mean seven years, \n whicli eacli day

'sea, with their inhabiters; those who lean upon, and essentially belong to, the earth (contrast John 3.7, Margin, with John 3. 31; 8. 2:3; Philippians 3. 19, end; 1 John i. 5) and its «m-like troubled politics. Furious at his expulsion from heaven, and knowing that his time on earth is short until he shall be cast down lower, when Christ shall come to set up His kingdom (ch. 20. 1, 2), Satan concentrates all his power to destroy as many souls as he can. Though no longer able to accuse tlie is a year, i. e., 2520 years, appears from Nebuchadnezzar's seven times (Daniel 4. 23), answering to Antichrist, the beast's duration. 1.5,16. fiooA— Greek, "river" (cf. Exodus 2.3; Matthew 2. 20^ and especially Exodus 14). The elect In heaven, he can tempt and persecute on earth. The more light becomes victorious, the greater will be the struggles of the powers of darkness; wlience, at the last crisis, Antichrist will manifest liimself with an intensity of iniquity greater than ever before, short <iii«€— flood, or river, is the stream of Germanic tribes which, pouring on Rome, threatened to destroy Christianity. But the earth helped the woman, by swallowing up the flood. The earth, as contradistinguished from water, is the world consolidated and civilized. The German massed were brought under the influence of Roman civilization and Cliristianity. [Auberlen.] Perhaps it includes

Greek, "season" (kuiron): opportunity for his assaults. 13. PU'Sumlng from v. 6 the tiiread of the discourse, wliicli had been interrupted by the epi.sode, v. 7-12 (giving in the

Invisible world the ground of the corresponding connict between liglit and darkness In tlie visible world), tliis verse accounts for her flight into the wilderness (v. U). 1*. were given—by God's determinate appointment, not by human chances (Acts 9.-11). two—Greek, " the two wings also, generally, tlie help given by earthly powers (those least likely, yet led liy God's overruling providence to give help) to the Church against persecutions and also

Cf the great eagle." Alluding to Exodus 19. 4: proving that the Old Testament Cliurcii, as well as the New Testamei t Church, Is Included in " tlie woman." All believers are inclu Ued (Isaiah 40. 30, 31). The great eagle is the worldheresies, by which she has been at various times assailed

17. wroth with — Greek, "al." w*:nt— Greek, "went away." tlie remnant of her seed—distinct in some sense

&. Beast Eisetk out of the Sea, KEVELATION XIII. with Secen Heads and Ten Homt, from the woman berself. Satan's first effort was to root out the Christian Church, so that tliere should be no visible profession of Christianity. Foiled in this, he wars

Rome, the ten would be accurately known, whereas twenty-eight different lists are given in so many int-erpreters, making in all sixty-five kingdoms ! L'^'yso in Da Burgh.] The seven he.ads are the seven world-monarchies, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Home, the Germanic empire, under the last of which we live [Auberlen], and which devolved for a time on Napoleon, after Francis, emperor of Germany and king of Rome, had resigned the title in ISUti. Faber explains the healing of the deadly wound to be the revival of the Napoleonic dynasty afler its overthrow at Waterloo. That secular dynasty, in alliance with the ecclesiastical power, the Papacy (u. 11, &c.), being " the eighth head," and yet "of the seven" (ch. 17. 11), will temporarily triumph over the saints, until destroyed in Armageddon (ch. 19). A Napoleon, in this view, will be the Antichrist, restoring the Jews to Palestine, and accepted as their Messiah at

(ch. H. 7; 13.7) against the invisible Cliurch, viz., "those who keep the commandments of God, and have tlie testimony of Jesus" (A, B, C omit "Christ"). These are "the remnant," or rest 0/ her seed, as distinguished from her seed, "the man-child" (v. 5), on one liand, and from mere professors on the other. The Churcli, in her l)eauly and unity (Israel at llie head of Christendom, the whole forming one perfect Churcli), is now not manifested, but awaiting the manifestations of the sons of God at Christ's coming. Unable to destroy Christianity and the Chui"ch as a whole, Satan directs liis enmity against true Christians, the elect reninaji .• the others he leaves unmolested.

CHAPTEE XIII.

first, and afterwards fearfully oppressing them. Antichrist, the summing up and concentration of all tlie world evil that preceded, is the eighth, but yet one of tlie seven (ch. 17. 11). crowns— GrecA-, "diadems." name of biasp Ucniy—So C, Coptic, and Andre.\s. A, B, and Vulgate read, "names," &.c.,viz., a name on each of the heads; blasphemously arrogating attributes belonging to God alone (cf. Note, ch. 17. 3). A characteristic of the little horn in Daniel 7. 8, 20, 21 ; 2 Thessaloniaus 2. 4. !4. leopai-d . . bear . . . lion—This beast unites in itself the God-opposed characteristics of the three preceding kingdoms, resembling respectively the leopard, bear, and lion. It rises up out of the sea, as Daniel's four beasts, and has ten horiu, as Daniel's fourth beast, and seven heads, as Daniel's four beasts had in all, viz., one on the first, one on the second, four on the third, and one on the fourth. Thus it represents comprehensively in one figure the uorld-power (which in Daniel is represented by four) of all times and places, not merely of one period and one locality, viewed

Ver. 1-18. Vision of the Beast that Came out of the Sea: The Second Beast, out of the Earth, ExekCisiNG THE Power of the First Beast, and Causing the Earth to Worship Him. 1. I stood—So B, K, and Coptic read. But A. C, Vulgate, and Sj/riac, "He stood." Standing on the sand of the sea. He gave his power to the beast that rose out of the sea. upon tiie saiiil of the sea— where the four winds were to be seen siricinu upon the grc<U sea (Daniel 7. 2). beast Greek, "wild beast." Man becomes "brutish" when he severs himself from Ood, the archetype and true ideal, in whose image he was first made, which ideal is realized by the man Christ Jesus. Hence, the world-powers seeking their own glory, and not God's, are represented as l}eaits ; and Nebuchadnezzar, when in self-deification he forgot that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men," was driven among tlie beasts. In Daniel 7. there are /our beasts: here the one beast expresses the sum-total of the God-opposed worldpower viewed in Its universal development, not reas opposed to God ; just as the woman is the Church of all ages. This view is favoured also by the fact, that the beast is the vicarious representative of Satan, who similarly has seven heads and ten horiis: a general description of his universal power in all ages and places of the world. Satan appears as a serpent, as being the archetype of the beast nature (ch. 12. 9). " If the seven heads meant merely seven Roman emperors, one cannot understand why they alone should be mentioned in the original image of Satan, whereas it is perfectly intelligible if we suppose them to represent Satan's power on earth viewed collectively." [AtruEitLEN.] 3. one of—lit., "from among." wouikded stricted to one manifestation alone, as Home. This first beast expresses the world-power attacking the Church more from without; the second, which is a revival of, and minister to, the first, is the world-power as the false prophet corrupting and destroying the Cliurch from within, out of the sea — (Daniel 7. 3; cf. my note, ch. 8. 8)—out of the troubled waves of peoples, viultitudes, nations and tongues. The earth (i'. 11), 011 the other hand, means the consolidated, onlered worUl of nations, with its culture and learning, swcit hcnds and t«n liorns—A, B, C transpose, "ten horns and seven heads." The ten horns are now put first (contrast tlie order, ch. 12. 3) because they are crowned. Tliey shall not be so till the last stage of the fourth kingdom (tlie Boman), which shall continue until tlie llftli kingdom,. . . henle«l—Twice again repeated emphaticall.v (v. 12,14); cf. ch. 17. 8, 11, " the beast that was, and is no!, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit" (cf. v. U below); the Germanic empire, the seventh head (revived in l/ie eighth), as yet future in John's time (ch. 17. 10). Contrast the change whereby Nebuchadnezzar, being humbled from his selfdellying pride, was converted from his ftcKi'^-like form and character l<) MAN'8 form and true position towards Ood; syinboli/.eil by his eagle wings being plucked, and himself made toslaiul upon his feetas a (Daniel 7. I). Here, on the contrary, the beast's head Is not changed into a human head, but receives a deadly wouiul,t. e., the world-kingdom which this head represeiils does not truly turn to God, but for a time its God-oiiposed character remains paralyzed ("as it were slain;" the very words marking

Christ's, shall supplant it and destroy it ullerly ; this last Btage is marlted by the ten luesoi the two feetof the iiiiiige In Danler2. The seven implies the world-power setting up

Itself as God, and caricaturing the seven .Spirits of God; yet its true character as God-opposed is ditected by the number ten ai;companying the seven. Dragon and beast both wear crowns, but the former on the heads, the latter on the horns (ch. 12.3; 13.1). Therefore, both lieiids and horns refer to kingdoms; cf. ch. 17.7, 10, 12, " kings ' representing the kingdoms whose heads they arc. The .wlvu kings, as i)( < iiiiarly powerful — the great powers of the world—are di«tiiiKUlsln;d from the tea, represenled liy the horns (simply called "kings," ch. 17. 12). ]n Daniel, tlie beast's outward resemblance to the Lamb, " as It were slain," iVfrfct, ch. 5. 0. Cf. al.so the second beast's resemblance to (he Lamb, v. 11). Though seemingly slain (Greek ten mean tlie last phase of the world-power, the fourth kingdom divided Into ten parts. They are coniUK'ted with the seventh head (ch. 17. 12), and are as yi t future. | A UHi<;itfor " wounded"). It remains tJie beast still, lo rl.se again in another form (v. 11). The llrst six heads were heatlieiiish, Egypt, .\ssyrla, Haliyloii, Persia, (}reece, llonie; I he new seventh world-power (the I'agaii German hordes pouring down oil t;iirlstianlzed Rome), whereby Satan hud hoped

1,KN.| Tin: mistake of those who Inleriiret the beast Id be

BoFni! e.xclusively, and the ten horns to nu aii kingdoms Which have taken the place of Homo In J'huope already,

Is, the fourth kingdom in the linage has two legs, repie Kentlng the eastern as well us tiiu westcu-n empire; tiio ten toes are not upon tins one foot (the west), as tiiesi' Interpretations require, but on the two (east iiiid west) together, so that any theory which makes the ten kingdoms belong to the wi:sl alone must err. II the ten kingdoms meant were those which sprung uj) on the overthrow of 68U to stllle Christianity (eh. 11.1"), lli), became itself Chris* Hani zed (answering to the beast's, (»,v 1/ tvere, ilendlg wound: it was stain, and it is nnl, ch. 1?. II). Its a.went out of the hottdinle.is pit answers to the henling of its ileadli/ u'ound cti

17.8). No essential change Is noticed In 1 lanlel as ell'ected by Chrlslianity upon the fourth kingdom ; it remnins essentially God-opposed to the last. Thu beast, healed of Its

A Beast Riseth <yvi of the Sea. EEVELATION XIII. Another Cometh up out of the Earth,

But A reads, " if any (is for) being (lit., to be) killed," &e. As of old, so now, those to be persecuted by the beast In various ways, have their trials severally appointed them by God's fixed counsel. English Version is quite a dit Tereut sense, i'(2., a warning to the persecutors that they shall be punished with retribution in kind. Here—Jerein.- in bearing their appointed sufferings lies the patient endurance . . . of the saints. This is to be the motto and watchword of the elect during the period of the worldkingdom. As the first beast is to be met by patience and faith (v. 10), the second beast must be opposed by true wisdom (v. 18). 11. another beast—" the false prophet." out of the earth—out of society civilized, consolidated, and ordered, but still, with all its culture, of earth earthy: as distinguished from "the sea," the troubled agitations of various peoples out of which the world-power and ita several kingdoms have emerged. "The sacerdotal persecuting poiver, Pagan and Christian ; the pagan priesthood making an image of the emperors which they compelled Christians to worship, and working wonders by magic and omens; the Romish priesthood, the inheritors of pagan rites, images, and superstitions, lamb-like in Christian professions, dragon-like in word and act" [Alford, and so the Spanish Jesuit, Lacunza, writing under the name Ben Ezra]. As the first beast was like the Lamb in being, as it were, wounded to death, so the second is like the Lamb in having two lamb-like horns (its essential difference from the Lamb is marked by its having two, but the Lamb seven horns, ch. 5. 6). The former paganism of the world-power, seeming to be wounded to death by Christianity, revives. In Its second beast-form it is Christianized beatiiendom ministering to the former, and having earthly culture and learning to recommend temporary and external wound, now returns, not only from the sea, but from the bottomless pit, whence it draws new Autichristian strength of hell {v. 3, 11, 12, 14; ch. 11.

7; 17. S). Cf. the seven evil spirits taken into the temporarily dispossessed, and the last state ivorse than the first, Matthew 12. 43-15. A new and worse heathenism breaks In upon the Christianized world, more devilish than the old one of the first heads of the beast. The latter was an apostasy only from the general revelation of God in nature and conscience; but this new one is from God's revelation of love in His Son. It culminates in Antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition (cf. ch. 17. 11); 2 ThesBalonians 2. 3; cf. 2 Timothy 3. 1-4, the very characteristics of old heathenism (Romans 1. 29-32). [Aubbrlen.] More than one wound seems to me to be meant, e. g., that under Constantine (when the Pagan worship of the emperor's image gave way to Christianity), followed by the healing, when image-worship and the other Papal errors were introduced into the Church ; again, that at the Reformation, followed by tlie lethargicform of godliness ivithout thepower, and about to end in the last great apostasy, whicli I identify with the second beast (d. 11), Antichrist, the same Beventh world-power in another form, wondered nfler —followed witli wondering gaze. 4. whlcli gave—A, B,

C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas read, "because he gave." power— G)"ee/.-, "the authority" which it had; i<« authority. Who Is like unto tlie beast 1 — The very language appropriated to God, Exodus 15. 11 (whence, in the Hebrew, the. Maccabees took their name; the opponents of the Old Testament Antichrist, Antiochus); Psalm 35. 10; 71.19; 113. 5; Micah 7. 18; blasphemously {v. 1, 5) assigned to the beast. It is a parody of the name "Michael" (cf. ch. 12. 7), meaning, "Who is like unto God?" 5. blasphemies— So Andkeas reads. 6 reads "blasphemy." A, " bl.asphemous things" (cf. Daniel 7.8; 11.25). power —"authority;" legitimate poiver [Greek exousia). to continue— Gree/c, " to act," or " work" (poiesai). B reads, "to make war" (cf. v. 4). But A, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas omit "war." fofty . . . two months it. Tiie second beast's, or false prophet's rise, coincides in time with the healing of the beast's deadly wound and its revival (ch. 13. 12-14). Its manifold character is marked by the Lord, Matthew 24. 11, 24, "Many false prophets shall rise," where He is speaking of tlie last daj's. As the former beast corresponds to the first four beasts of Daniel, so the second beast, or the false prophet, to the

(Notes, ch. 11. 2, 3; 12. 6.) G. opened . . . mouth—The nsual formula in the case of a set speech, or series of speeches. Ver. 6, 7 expand v. 5. blasphemy—So B and Andreas. A, C read "blasphemies." and them—So Vulgate, Coptic, Andreas, and Primasius read. A, C omit "and:" "them that dwell (lit., tabernacle) in heaven," mean not only angels, and the departed souls of the righteous, but believers on earth who have their citizenship in heaven, and whose true life is hidden from the Antichristiau persecutor in the secret of God's tabernacle. Note, ch. 12. 12; John 3.7. 7. power Greek, "authority." all kindreds . . . tongues . . . nations Greek, "every tribe . . . tongue . . nation." A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, Andreas, a ntl Primasius add "and people," after "tribe" or " kindred. ' all that dwell upon the earth—being of earth earthy; in contrast to "them that dwell in heaven." whose names are not written—A, B, C, Syriac, little horn starting up among the ten horns of the fourth beast. This Antichristian horn has not only the mouth of blasphemy (v. 5), but also " the eyes of man" (Daniel 7.

8): the former is also in the first beast (v. 1, 5), but tlie latter not so. "The eyes of man" symbolize cunning and intellectual culture, the very characteristic of " the false prophet" (v. 13-15; ch. 16. 14). The first beast is physical and political; the second a spiritual power, the power of knowledge, ideas [the favourite term in the French school of politics], and scientific cultivation. Both alike are beasts, from below, not from above; faithful allies, worldly Antichristian wisdom standing in the service of the worldly Antichristian power: the dragon is botii lion and serpent: might and cunning are his armoury. The dragon gives his external power to the first beast (v.

2), his spirit to the second, so that it speaks as a dragon (v.

Coptic, and Andreas read singular, "(every one) whose (Greek hou; but B, G^-eek hon, plural) name is not written." Lamb slain from the foundation of the world The Greek order of words favours this translation. He was slain in the Father's eternal counsels: cf. 1 Peter 1. 19,

11). The second, arising out of the earth, is in ch. U. 7, and

17. 8, said to ascend out of the bottomless pit : its veiy culture and world-wisdom only intensify its infernal character, the pretence to superior knowledge and rationalistic philosophy (as in the primeval temptation. Genesis 3.5,

20, virtually parallel. The other way of connecting the words is, " Written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb slain." So in ch. 17. 8. The

7, "their eyes [as here] were opened") veiling the deification of nature, self, and man. Hence spring Idealism, Materialism, Deism, Pantheism, Atlieisni. Antichrist shall be the culmination. The Papacy's claim to tlie double power, secular and spiritual, is a sample atul type elect. The former is in the Greek more obvious and simple. "Whatsoever virtue was in the sacrifices, did operate through Messiah's death alone. As He was 'the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,' so all fttonements ever made were only ertectual by His blood." JBlSHOi' PEAiiSON, Creed.] 9. A general exhortati(m. Christ's own words of monition calling solemn attention. 10. He that leadeth Into captivity—A, B, C, and Vulgatr lead, " if any one (be) for captivity." shall go into captivity Greek present, "goeth into captivity." CI. J>Meuiah 15. 2, whicli Is alluded to here. X, B, C read simply, " be goeth away," and omit " into captivity." But A and Vulgate support the words, he that kllleth with the •word, must be killed with the sword—So B, C read.

of the twofold beast, tiiat out of the sea, and that out of the earth, or bottomless pit. Antichrist will be the climax, and final form. Primasius of Adrumetum, in the sixth century, says, "He feigns to be a lainl) that ho may assail the Lamb—the body of Christ." 1^. power— (VreeA, "authority." before him—" in his presence ;" as ministering to, and upholdiug him. "Tlie iion-exl.slcnce of the beast embraces the whole Germanic Christian period.

Tlie healing of tlie wound, and return of the beast, U represented (in regard to its /inai Antichrlstiun manifestation, though including also, meanwhile, its liealing and return under Popery, which Is baptized healheniom] in

An Image is Made of Ike Former Beast, REVELATION XIII. and Men Worship and Receive Us Mark.

bodilj'." Rome's speaking images and winking picturet of the Virgin Maiy and the saints are an varnest of the future demoniacal miracles of the false prophet in making the beast's or Antichrist's image to speak. 16. to r«5» celve a mark—^i, " that they should give them a mark; such a brand as masters stamp on tiieir slaves, and moiiarchs ou their subjects. Soldiers voluntarily punctured tlieir arms with marks of tlie general under whom they served. Votaries of idols branded themselves with the idol's cipher or symbol. Thus Anliochus Epiphanes branded the Jews with the ivy leaf, the symbol of Bacchus that principle which, since 1789, has manifested Itself in beasl-lilie outbrealis." [Auberlen.] wlilcli dwell tUerein—the earthly-minded. The Cluircli becomes the luirlot: the world's political power, tlie Auticlirlstian beast; tlie world's wisdom and civilization, Uie false prophet.

Clirist's three offices are thus perverted: the first beast is tlie false kingship; the harlot, the false pries/Aooi/,- tlie second beast, the false propfiet. The beast is tlie bodily, tlie false prophet the intellectual, the harlot the spiritual power of Anlichristianitj'. [Auberlen.] The Old Testarne)il Church stood under the power of the beast, the neatlieu world-power: the Middle-Ages Church under that of the harlot: in modei'n times the false prophet predominates. But in the last days all these God-opposed powers which have succeeded each other shall co-operate, and raise each other to tlie most terrible and intense power of tlieir nature: the false prophet causes men to worshi}) the

(2 Maccabees 6. 7; 3 Maccabees 2. 29). Contrast God's seal and name in the foreheads of His servants, ch. 7. 3; 14. 1 ; 22.

4; and Galatians 6. 17, " I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus," i. e., I am His soldier and servant. The mark in the right hand and forehead implies the prostration of bodily nad intellectual powers to tlie beast's domination. " In the forehead by way of profession ; in the liand with respect to work and service." [Augdstine.) 17. And—So A, B, and Vulgate read. C, IreuUS, 316, Coptic, and Syriac omit it. might buy Greek, " may be able to buy." the mark, or the name Greek, " the mark beast, and the beast carries the harlot. These three forms of apostasy are reducible to two: the apostate C/iurch and the apostate world, pseudo Christianity and Autic/iristiaiiHy, the harlot and the beast; for the false prophet is also a beast; and the two beasts, as dif Tereut nianilLSta-

(viz.), the natne of the beast." The mark may be, as in the case of tle sealing of the saints in the forehead, not a visible mark, but symbolical of allegiance. So the sign of the cross in Popery. The Pope's interdict has often shut out the excommunicate from social and commercial intercourse. Under the final Antichrist this shall come to pass ill its most violent form, number of his name Implying that the name has some numerical meaning. 18. wisdom—the armoury against the second beast, aa patience and faith against the first. .Spiritual wisdom is needed to solve tlie myspry of iniquity, so as not to be beguiled by it. count . . . for—The "for" implies the possibility of our calculal iug or counting tlie beast's number, the number of a man— t. e., counted as men generally count. So the phrase is used in ch. 21. 17. The number is the number of a man, not of God; he shall extol himself above the power of the Godhead, as the man of sin. [.Vquinas.] Though It Is an imitation of the Divine name, tioiis of the same beast-lilie principle, stand in coiilradistinetion to the harlot, and are finally judged together, whereas separate judgment falls on the harlot. [AuberLEN.J deadly woimd Greek, "wound of death." wouilers—Greek, "signs." so that so great that, iiinketii Ojl-v— Greek, " maketh even fire." This is the very miracle which the two witnesses perform, and which Klijah long ago had performed; this tlie beast from the bottomless pit, or the false prophet, mimics. Not merely tricks, but miracles of a demoniacal kind, and by demon aid, like those of the Egyptian magicians, shall be wrought, most calculated todeceive ; wrought " after the working ( Grak, energy) of Satan." 14. deeelvetU them tliat dwell ou tike cartli—the earthly-minded, but not llie elect. Even a miracle is not enougli to warrant belief in a professed revelation, unless that revelation be in liarmoiiy witli God's already revealed will, by tike lueauii of (liose miracle>«—rallier as Greek, "on account of ihecause of; in consequence of) those miracles." whieli lie liad power to do— Greek, "which were given liim to do." In the siglit of tite beast— " before him" (y. 12). wlilcU—A, B, C read, " who;" marking, perhaps, a personal Antichrist, liaxi—8o B and Andreas read. But A, C, and Vulgate read, "hath." 15. he had power Greek, "it was given to him." to give Utn— Greek, "breath," or "spirit." Image—Nebuchadnezzar set up in Dura a golden image to be worshipped, probal)ly of himself; for his dream had been interpreted, "Thou art this head of gold;" the three Hebrews who refused to worship tlie linage were cast Into a l)urning furnace. All this typifies the lastapostasy. VlilNV, in Ills letter to Trajan, stales that he ct)nsigiHd to punishment those Cliristiaus who would not worship themperor's image v/ilVi Incense and wine. Ho .Julian, the apostate, set up his own image with the idols of tlie heathen gods In the Koriim, that the Christians in doing reverence to It, miglit seem to worship the idols. So Charlemagne's image was set up for homage; and the Pojje adored the new emperor (DuriN, vol. li, p. iL'tii. Napoleon, the successor of Charlemagne, designed arii!r he had first lowered the Pope by removing hini to Fontalnbleau, then to " make an Idol of him " [Meuiorial de NuiiUe it is only human, six hundred threescore and six— and Vulgate write the numbers lu full in the Greek. But B writes merely the three Greek letters standing for numbers, Ch, X, St. C reads 616, but Irenjeus, 328, opposes this and maintains 666. Iren.«us, in the second century, disciple of 1'olycarp, John's disciple, explained tins number as contained in the Greek letters of Lateinos (L being

30; A, I : T, 3110; E, 5; I, 10; N, 50; O, 70; S, 200). The Latin is peculiarly the language of the Church of Koine in all her ollicial acts; the forced unity of language In ritual being the counterfeit of the true unity ; the premature and spurious anticipation of the real unity, only to be realized at Christ's coming, when all the earth shall speak "one language" (Zephanlah 3. 9). The last Antlclirist may have a close connection with Rome, and so the name Ldteino.i (()()(>) may apply to him. The Hebrew letters of amount to 666 [BuNSEN] ; a type of the faUe jrophet, whosi! characteristic, like Balaam's, will bo high spii ltual knowledge perverted to Satanic ends. The number six is the world-number ; in 066 It occurs in units, tens and hundreds. It Is next neighbour to the sacred seven, but

Is severed from It by an Impassable gull. It islhe number of Ihe luorld given over to judgment ; Hence there is a pause belween the sixth and seventh seals, autl Ihe sixth and seventli trumpets. The Judgments on the world are complete In six; by the fulfilment of seven, the Ulngdoms of the world become Christ's. As twelve Is the number of the Cliurch, so six, Its half, symbolizes Ihe world-klngdoui broken. The raising of the six to lens and humlreds (higher powers) Indicates that the l east, notwitlistandlng his progression to higher powers, can only rise to greater ripeness lor judgment. Thus 666, the judged world-power, contrasts with the M4,(X)0 sealed and transilgured ones ileli'>ie]; keeping the I'ope near him, he wouhl, through the I'ope's inlluence, have directed the religious, as well as ihe polilical world. The revived Napoleonic ilynasly may. In some one representative, realize the |)roJi'<!t, l)econilng the beast supported by the false jirophel (perliaps Mome openly Inlidel suijplanter of the I'apaey, undi r a Bpirilual guise, alter the harlot, or aposlate Churcli, who

Is (list I n<'t li'oni I hi; se(^ond beast, has been sli'l|i|ieil ami Judged by the beast, eh. 17. l(i) ; he then might have an liiuige set up In his honour as a test of secular and splrl tual alleghmce. »i»eak—" Ealso doctrine will give a splrl t-

(Ilur Church number, twelve, squariHl aiul multiplied by

10(10, I he number symbolizing the world pervaded by God;

Uul, philosophical ap|)earance to the idollsli apol heosis (jf the creaturely p( isonllleil by Antichrist." [.\ ten, the world -number, raised to the i)ower of Ihree, the number of (iod). [AUBKRLEN.] 'VUcmdrklGreekcharai/ynai and name are one and the same. The llrsl two radloAl iieki.hn. J Jrkomk, on Daniel 7., says. Antichrist shall he "one of thehutuvin rtvce lu whom tlie whole of Satan shall dwell 584

Lcmh Seen on 3fount Zion, KEVELATION XIV. with His Company. Tlieii Song, letters of Christ (Oreek Christos), Ch and R, are the same as tlietlisttwo of cfuiragma, and were tlie imperial monogram of Cliristian Rome. Anllclirist, personating Christ, adopts a symbol like, but not agreeing witli, Clirist's monogram, Ch, X, St ; whereas tlie radicals in "Cla ist" of the saints, the harve.it {v. 15) from all nations. Not aa Alfoud, "tlie harpers and song are in heaven, but th» 144,000 are on earth." rec Jeemed—W., " purchased." Not even the angels can learn th;U song, lor tin y know not experimentally what it is to have "come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb" (ch. 7. 14). 4. virgins—spn ilually (Matthew t,re C/i, K, St. Papal Rome has similarly suljsiitnled the standard of Hlb Keys, for the standard of llie Cross. So on the Papal coinage (the image of power, Matthew 22. 2U). The two tirnt letters of "Christ," C/t, iS, represent seven hundred, the perfect number. Tlie Ch, X, tit represent an Imperfect number, a triple Jallinnttway (ap(}stasy) from tepteaary perfection. [Wordsworth.]

25. 1); in contrast to the apostate Cliurcii, Balylon (r. 8), spiritually "a harlot" (ch. 17. 1-5; Isaiah 1.21; contrast 2 Corinthians 11.2; Ephesians 5.25-27). Their not being defiled with women, means they were not led astray from Christian faithfulness by tlie tempters wlio jointly constitute the spiritual " harlot." follow «Jie JLaiub whithersoever he gocth—in glory, being especially near His person ; the fitting reward of their following Hiin so fully on earth, redeemed—" purchased." being tJie—rather, "as a first-fruit." Not merely a " first-lruit" in tiie sense In which all believers are so, but Israel's Hi,OOU elect are the first-fruit, the Jewish and Gentile elect Cliurch is the harvest; in a further sense, the whole of the transfigured and translated Church which reigns with Clirist at His coining, is the first-fruit, and the consequent general ingatliering of Israel and the nations, ending in the last judgment, is the full and final harvest. 5. guile—So Andreas in one copy. But A, B, C, Origen, and Andreas in other copies read, "falsehood." Cf. with English Version reading Psalm 32.2; I.saiah53. 9; John 1. 47 for—So B, Syriac, Coptic, Origen, and Andreas read. ButA, Comit. witliout fault— Gree/r, " blameless :" Id respect to the sincerity of their fidelity to Him. Not absolutely, and In themselves blameless; but regarded as such on the ground of His righteousness in whom alone they trusted, and whom they faitliluily served by His Spirit in them. The allusion seems to be to P.salm 15. 1, 2. Cf. I!. 1, "stood on Mount Sioti." before the throne of God—A, B, C, Syriac, Coptic, Origen, and Andreas omit tliese words. The oldest Vulgate MS. supports them. 6. Here begins the portion relating to the Gentile world, as the former portion related to Israel. Before the end the Gospel is to be preached for a witness unto all nations: not that all nations shall be converted, but all nations shall have had the opportunity given them of deciding whether thej' will be for, or against, Christ. Those thus preached to are "they that dwell (so A, Coptic, and Syriac read. But B, C, Origen, Vulgate, Cyprian, 312, read,

CHAPTER XIV.

Ver. 1-20. The Lamb Seen on Zion with the 1H,()00. Their Song. The Gospel Proclaimed before the End bv one Angel: The Fall of Babylon, hy Another: The Doom of the Beast-Worshippers, by a Third. The Blessedness of the Dead in the Lord. The Harvest. The Vintage. In contrast to the beast, false prophet, and apostate Church (ch. 13.), and introductory to the announcement of judgments about to descend on them and the world {v. 8-11, anticipatory of ch. IS. 2-(i), stand here the redeemed, "the Divine kernel of humanity, the positive fruits of the history of the world and the Church." [.\UBERLEN.] Chs. U.-IG. describe the preparations for tlie Messianic judgment. As ch. li. begins witn the m,UOO of Israel (cf. ch. 7. 4-8, no longer exposed to trial as then, but now triumphant), so ch. 15. begins with those who have overcome from among the Gentiles (cf. cli. 15. 1-5 with ch. 7. 9-17); the two classes of elect forming together the whole company of transfigurejl saints wlio shall reign with Christ. 1. a—A, B, C, Coptic, and Origen read, "the Lamb." Lainb . . . on . . . Sion—having left -His position "in the midst of the throne," and now taking His stand on Hion. l»ls Father's name—A, B, C read, "Ilis name and His Father's name." In Greek, "upon." God's and Christ's name here answers to tlie seal "upon their foreheads" in ch. 7. 3. As the H4,(X)0 of Israel are " the first-lruits" {v. i), so " the harvest" {v. 15) is the general assembly of Gentile saints to be translated by Christ as His first act In assuming His kingdom, prior to His Judgment (ch. 16., the last seven vials) on the Antichristlan world, in executing which His saints sliall share. As Noah and Lot were taken seasonably out of the judgment, but exposed to the trial to the last moment [De BurghJ, so those who shall reign with Christ shall first

'sit,' cf. Matthew 4. Ifi; Luke 1.79, having their seltled home) on the earth," being of earth eartliy: this last season of grace is given them, if yet they may repent, before "judgment" (v. 7) descends : if not, they will be left without excuse, as the world wliich resisted the preaching of Noah in the 120 years "whilst the long-sutlering of God waited." "So also the prophets gave the people a last opportunlty-of repentance before the Buhyhjniau destruction of Jerusalem, and our Lord and His apostles before the Roman destruction of the hol.y city." [Aubi;bLKN.] The Greek for "unto" {epi, in A, C) means lit., "upon," or "over," or "in respect to" (Mark 9.12; Hebrews 7. 13). So also "TO every nation" (Greek, epi, in A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, Origen, Andreas, Cyprian, and I'RIMASIUS). This, perhaps, implies that the Gospel, sufl Ter with Him, Ijeing delivered out of the judgments, but not out of the trials. The Jews are meant by " the saints of the Most High :" against them Antichrist malces war, changing their times and laws; for true Israelites cannot Join in the idolatry of the beast, any more tliaii true Christians. The common affliction will draw closely together, in opposing' the beast's worship, the Old Testament and New Testament people of God. Thus the wa.y Is paved for Israel's conversion. This last utter tcattering of the holy people's power leads them, under the Spirit, to seek Messiah, and to cry at His approach, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." a. from — GreeA;, "out of." voice of mnuy waters— as Is the voice of Himself, such also is the voice of His people. I heard the voice of harpers— A, B, C, and Origen rea<l, " the voice which I heard (was) as of harpers." 3. tmng—Greek, "sing." as it were—.So A, tliougli diffused over the globe, shall not come savingly vnto any save the elect. The world is not to be evangelized till Christ sliall come: meanwhile, God's purpose is " to take out of the Gentiles a people for Ills name," to be witne8.ses of the efiectual working of Ills .Spirit during the counter-working of "the mystery of inl Qulty." everlasting Gospel—the Gospel which announces the glad tidings at the everlasting kingdom of Christ, about to ensue immediately after the "Judgment" on Antichrist, announced as Imminent In v. 7. As the formei angel "fiying through the midst of heaven" (ch. S. lb) announced "woe," so this angel "fiying In tlie midst of heaven" announced .^oi/. The three angels making this

C, and Vidgate read . It is AS it were a new song ; for it

Is, In truth, as old as God's eternal purpose. But B,

Byriac, Coptic, Origen and Andreas omit these words, nevi' song—(Ch. 5. 9, 10.) The song is that of victory after conflict witli the dragon, beast, and false propliet: never sung before, for such a cou.llct had never been fought before; therefore netv: till now tlie kingdom of Christ on earth had been usurped; they sing tlie new song in anticipation of His taking possession of His blood-bouglit kingdom with His saints, four beasts—rather as Greek, "four living creatures." The harpers and singers evidently Include the 114,000: so the parallel proves (ch. 15. 2, », where the same act Is attributed to tfie general company last proclamation of the Gospel, t he fall of Babylon (v. J), the harlot, and the Judgment on the beasl-worshlppers (v.

0-11), the voice from heaven respecting the blessed dead

(!'. 13), the vision of the Son of man on the cloud (v. 11) the harvest (v. 15), and the vintage (v. 18), form the compeodl685

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