these seems to be satisfactory. There are many evidences

(5) "And his feet as pillars of ﬁre"—Pillar speaks of stability (see

Gal. 2.9; Jer. 1.18), and ﬁre suggests the holiness and righteousness

of God (see Ex. 19.16; Heb. 12.29).

10.2 "And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon

the earth"—Placing His feet as pillars of ﬁre upon the sea and the earth indicates He is to judge them with the holiness and righteousness of God. "Set" denotes "occupy": wherever His feet are to tread, the same is occupied by Him (Deut. 11.24; Ps. 8.6).

"A little book"—Some say this little book is the Old Testament, others think it refers to Revelation chapters 1122. However, none of

these seems to be satisfactory. There are many evidences pointing towards it being the book mentioned in chapter 5.

(1) In 5.3 and 7 the book is said to be in the hand of the Lamb, but

it is still sealed. In 10.2 it is said to be in the hand of the Angel and it is open.

(2) Since in 5.1-3 the book is sealed, nothing is mentioned of its

size. Now in 10.2 we ﬁnd it is opened, it thus being possible to tell of

its littleness.

(3) John's eating this little book, as mentioned in 10.9-10, simply

indicates that God has revealed these things to him.

(4) "In the days of the voice of the seventh angel" (10.7). As the

seventh trumpet sounds, the mystery of God is ﬁnished since it has

Sounding Seven Trumpets (8.6-11.19)

now been manifested. At the opening of the seventh seal the book is still unopened because the seventh seal includes the seven trumpets.

The book is opened only after the sounding of the seventh trumpet, for only then is the mystery fulﬁlled.

(5) In the vision John sees the opened book (10.2,7,8). This does

not imply that the book is opened at the sixth trumpet.

(6) 10.11 says "prophesy again", thus showing that the prophecy is divided into two parts. The ﬁrst part is from the ﬁrst seal to the blowing of the seventh trumpet; and the second part is from the seventh trumpet to the new heaven and the new earth. After the sounding of the seventh trumpet there come forth the plagues of the seven bowls. How do we know that the second part of the little book not only speaks of the kingdom and the new heaven and new earth but also includes the seven bowls? It is because in 10.10 it is stated

that after John has eaten the little book his belly is made bitter though it is sweet as honey in his mouth. And hence there is both bitterness and sweetness, thus proving both blessing and woe are included here.

Since the book is opened at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, it additionally can be said that the ﬁrst part of the little book is sealed while its second part is open. Consequently, with regard to the prophecy contained in this book, the ﬁrst part is a mystery; that is to say, it remains a mystery from the ﬁrst seal to the seventh trumpet—

from 6.1 to 11.19. But it can be said that the second part of the

prophecy is open since not only in 10.7 is it clearly stated that at the sounding of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God is ﬁnished, but

also in 11.15 it is distinctly declared that at that time the kingdom is come. The second part commences with the seventh trumpet (yet not its sounding) and continues on to the new heaven and the new earth, that is, from the time of 12.1 to 22.22.

Come, Lord Jesus

The judgments of the seven seals and of the seven trumpets constitute the procedure for opening the book with a view to bringing in the kingdom and also eternity.

10.3 "The seven thunders"—The use of the deﬁnite article

"the" presupposes a familiarity with these thunders. Their voices are frequently heard in this book of Revelation, they

being the outbursts of the wrath of God.

"As a lion roareth"—This demonstrates that God being King over all the world, His voice of judgment makes all who hear it tremble with fear.

10.4 The voices of the seven thunders are not to be recorded.

Evidently as John is watching the visions he is also writing them down. What God does not wish people to know He forbids to be written. But here, what God allows John to write are what He desires us to know and to understand.

10.5,6 "Things" here include both the dead and the living.

"Sware" shows again a return to the Old Covenant position, since in the era of the New Covenant swearing is forbidden.

10.7 As the seventh trumpet is sounded, the mystery of God is ﬁnished.

10.8-11 GOD COMMANDS JOHN TO EAT THE LITTLE BOOK

This is an intimation of how anxious God is to tell us of the facts which are to follow. This is in perfect agreement with Revelation

1.1,2.

"Bitter" is bitter (Ruth 1.20) and "sweet" is pleasant (Ps.

119.103).

Sounding Seven Trumpets (8.6-11.19)

11.1-2 "TEMPLE . . . ALTAR"

11.1 What is meant by "measure"? (cf. Num. 35.2,5; Ez. 45.1-

3; 42.15,20; 48.8,12,15) Measure means protection or a setting apart

for God.

"A reed like unto a rod"—What is its signiﬁcance? Revelation

21.15-17 mentions only a measuring with a reed, without specifying any using of the reed as a rod. This is due to the simple fact that at the time of the new heaven and new earth, sin, Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet have all been cast into the lake of ﬁre; all is therefore peaceful. The measuring in Revelation 11.1, however,

implies a sense of judgment (cf. Prov. 10.13; Ps. 89.32). Whatever is

measured is holy and thus protected by God; but what is left unmeasured is dangerous and worldly.

"The temple of God"—Is this temple in heaven or on earth? It is the temple in heaven, for two reasons: (1) it is the only temple emphasized in this book (11.19, 16.17); and (2) the future temple on earth will be desecrated by idols: how, then, can God protect it as though it were holy?

"Altar"—This is not the brazen altar, since the latter stands in the court and is left unmeasured. But the altar mentioned here is measured, and hence must be in the temple itself. Only the altar of incense is in the temple. This is further conﬁrmed by the phrase

"them that worship therein" at the end of the verse.

To measure those who worship in the temple is to say that God protects those who are raptured.

11.2 "The court which is without the temple" has reference to the temple on earth. The temple in heaven is the true temple; the temple on earth is considered here to be the court which is without the temple. Although during the time of the Old Testament kings the 118

Come, Lord Jesus

altars had been erected on high places to worship God, the task of those few kings who were raised up for the purpose of reformation had always been to try to get rid of these altars at the high places.

What men had erected was rejected by God. Only during the transitory period of the calling of the nations to Christ did the Jews who became Christians go also to the temple to worship God (Acts.

2.46, 3.1, 5.20).

In the Old Testament period there was a central temple, but in New Testament times there is no physical building called a "church"; for under the New Covenant we are to worship God in spirit and in

truth (John 4.23,24). Further, we are called to worship God in the

heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 10.19-22).

How does God abolish the earthly temple so as to draw men to worship Him in the heavenly one? The Lord Jesus oﬀered

himself as a sacriﬁce. At His death all the sacriﬁces were terminated. And seventy years after the birth of Christ the Romans destroyed the temple at Jerusalem. With the result that there is no longer any temple on earth.

Yet here in the passage before us we ﬁnd the temple on earth again. This, therefore, is a return to the Old Covenant. "The abomination of desolation" mentioned in Matthew 24.15 has

reference to an idol, whereas the phrase "the holy place" is a reference to the temple. During the Great Tribulation an idol will be

placed in the sanctuary (2 Thess. 2.2-4; Rev. 13.14).

"The holy city" is Jerusalem (Matt. 4.5). Those who worship in

the temple above are the people described in 7.9-17.

"Tread under foot" is the same as is spoken of in Luke 21.24. The

nations will have domination for 42 months over the holy city.

Sounding Seven Trumpets (8.6-11.19)

11.3-12 "TWO WITNESSES"

Who are these two witnesses? Some interpret them as Christian nations, some as certain sects, and some as the gospel preached by Christians. All these interpretations are unsatisfactory because (1) since these two witnesses wear

sackcloth, they can have no reference to a group or groups; (2) the miracles they perform as recorded in

11.5-6 are self-defensive and result in killing, and are therefore unlike the miracles performed during the gospel age which are saving in nature; and (3) the dead bodies mentioned in 11.9 cannot

point to any group and they certainly cannot typify the gospel.

These two witnesses are two personal witnesses, since (1) witnessing is done by man (Acts 1.8), (2) they are clothed in

sackcloth, (3) they are slain, (4) they have their dead bodies, and (5) they are prophets.

Who are they? Some interpreters say they are none other than Elijah and Moses. They maintain that what is mentioned in 11.6

about the power to shut the heaven from raining is an allusion to something that had actually been done by Elijah; and that the power to turn waters into blood is an allusion to what had been done by Moses. But such an interpretation is based only on what the two men

do. According to Hebrews 9, "it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment" (v.27). Moses was dead once, how

then could he die again? Moses should therefore not be included.

11.3 "My two witnesses"—The way it is presented here seems to imply that everyone who reads this passage

should know who these two men are. The words in 11.4 are quoted from Zechariah

4.2,3. "Standing" signiﬁes living. When a person is tired, he sits down; when sick, he lies down; and when dead, he falls down. But these two men are standing. In the entire Bible only two men are recorded as not having died; they are Enoch and Elijah. These two 120

Come, Lord Jesus

men alone stand before the Lord. (And incidentally, it is said in the apocryphal writings of John that Enoch and Elijah will come.)

"Two witnesses"—This is the number prescribed in the Scriptures

for witnessing (cf. Deut. 17.6, 19.15; Matt. 18.16).

"Sackcloth" conveys the thought of bitterness. The New

Testament does not command us to wear sackcloth, but in the Old Testament there was such a command (Is. 22.12; Joel 1.13).

What they preached is judgment, not glad tidings. Enoch preached judgment once before (Jude 14-15), and Elijah was a prophet who

killed (see 1 Kings 18.40 and 2 Kings 1.10,12). They will yet preach

the woeful news, not the glad tidings.

They shall prophesy during the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation.

11.4 "Olive trees" give oil. "Candlesticks" uplift light. Here then are oil and light. These two witnesses stood at the time of the

prophet Zechariah (Zech. 4.11-14), they were standing at the time of John's writing the book of Revelation, and they are still standing in our own day.

These two witnesses are "the sons of oil" (Zech. 4.14 Darby), for

they are ﬁlled with the Holy Spirit.

"The Lord of the earth"—The Jews had their kingdom. God is the Lord of the heaven and the earth (Gen. 14.22). After the destruction

of the Jewish nation God was always addressed as the God of heaven

(Dan. 2.18,37,44). Now He is again called the Lord of the earth, for God has returned to the position of the Old Covenant period and has once more recognized the Jews as a nation.

Sounding Seven Trumpets (8.6-11.19)

What kind of persons are these two men? Perhaps they are the ones who sell oil to the ﬁve foolish virgins (Matt. 25.1-2, 8-10a), or

possibly they are those who render a little help to those who will be

persecuted during the Great Tribulation (Dan. 11.34).

11.5 These two men oppose the whole wide world, including Antichrist. "And if any man shall desire to hurt them . . . must he be killed", thus showing that these two men know even the evil thoughts of the heart. They testify with force, thereby proving they are not preaching the gospel. They perform miracles in order to protect themselves and help the Jews and the remaining Christians during the period of the Great Tribulation. They do not aim at saving souls.

11.6 "Rain" expresses the grace of God. For God "sendeth rain

on the just and the unjust" (Matt. 5.45). A not raining suggests that

God has withdrawn His grace.

11.7 "The beast that cometh up out of the abyss"—This points to Antichrist. The wild beast is mentioned 36 times in this book of Revelation. Thirty-six is six times six, the number of man. The very name of "wild beast" reveals his nature and work. (The Lamb is mentioned 28 times in this book. Twenty-eight is seven times four.

This name expresses the Lord's nature and work as well as denotes His perfect relationships with God and men.)

This beast comes out of the abyss. In 13.1 it is noted that the beast comes up out of the sea, thus conﬁrming that the abyss is beneath the sea.

The abyss is where the devils live. To come out of the abyss

presupposes a resuscitation. According to 17.8 we know that this

beast has died and is to be resuscitated.

The two witnesses have powers to kill as they wish, but they cannot kill the beast since the latter is a resuscitated beast.

Come, Lord Jesus

11.8 "The great city"—Human eyes see it as Jerusalem; but according to its signiﬁcance "spiritually" it "is called Sodom" (a city noted for its crimes) "and Egypt" (that which opposes God). Yet historically it remains as the place where the Lord was cruciﬁed.

The manner of death of these two witnesses is perhaps similar to the Lord's cruciﬁxion, because in the original it says: "where also their Lord was cruciﬁed"—the word "also" seems to emphasize the thought that they die in the same way as their Lord once died. This

coincides with the words in Matthew 23.34-35 that some prophets will be killed and cruciﬁed.

11.9 "And from among the peoples"—Representatives come from all peoples and nations to view the scene, for they all deem these two men to be public enemies. When they hear that these two men are killed, they come to see it for themselves. In accordance

with Joel 3.1-2 and Zechariah 12.3 and 14.2 peoples from all over the

earth will gather at Jerusalem.

"Three days and a half'—This number stands between three days and four days. They are neither incorruptible (just as was the Lord, in

His three days of burial—John 2.19; Acts 2.30-31) nor decayed (as

was Lazarus, being four days in the grave—John 11.39). And it is

John alone who records the three days, the four days, and now these three days and a half.

11.10 As the news spreads over the world, there are

celebrations everywhere. "Send(ing) gifts" represents their highest delight. Why are the peoples so happy? Probably because (1) they have suﬀered physically and (2) their consciences have pricked them greatly.

11.11 "The breath of life"—Resurrection is the work of the

Holy Spirit. The phrase "they stood upon their feet" shows that they

are alive (whereas in 11.8 dead bodies are said to lie on the ground).

Sounding Seven Trumpets (8.6-11.19)

"Great fear fell upon them that beheld them"—These are afraid (1) because of the immediate reason that these two men are suddenly come back to life, and (2) because of the remote reason of what these two men will do after their resurrection since they had such powers before.

11.12 "They went up into heaven in the cloud"—The word

"cloud" here is just as deﬁnite as the cloud mentioned in 10.1, since

both have the deﬁnite article before them. When our Lord ascended He was only seen by His disciples. When these two witnesses ascend they will be seen by their enemies so that the latter may know that God alone is the Lord.

11.13,14 "A GREAT EARTHQUAKE"

The city is the city of Jerusalem. The 7,000 persons are persons of renown.

The whole book of Revelation records four earthquakes: at the time of the sixth seal (6.13), in 8.5, in 11.13, and in 11.19 (what is

said in 16.18 is the same as in 11.19, for both have the same order of lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and earthquake).

The word "aﬀrighted" and joined together with the subsequent phrase "and give glory to the God of heaven" is not to be construed as meaning they repented. It simply shows that they ﬁnally acknowledge that this is God's doing. In 16.11 it clearly states that

they refuse to repent (cf. Ex. 8.18,19; 1 Sam. 6.5,6; Joshua 7.19).

[Here ends the vision inserted between the sixth and seventh trumpets.]

Come, Lord Jesus

11.15-18 THE SEVENTH TRUMPET

This section itemizes the eﬀects of the sounding of the seventh trumpet. The plagues of the seven bowls are the plagues of the seventh trumpet, and these constitute "the third Woe" announced in

11.14.

After 11.16 the thrones on which the 24 elders sit are no longer mentioned, for the kingdom has come. And after 19.4 these elders

themselves are seen no more because they have resigned their position of governing the universe.

11.18 "Thy wrath"—The wrath of God is expressed in the plagues of the seven bowls.

Only three classes of people will receive reward: (1) "Thy servants the prophets" (there are also prophets in the New Testament, even those who are spiritually gifted); (2) "the saints", and (3) "them that fear thy name" (there were Godfearing men in the Old Testament; but this designation is not applicable to the New Testament age; so probably these will be the nations that will inherit the kingdom—see Matthew 25.31-46).

The phrase "them that destroy the earth" perhaps includes: (1) those who form Babylon, (2) those who worship and follow the wild

beast (13.14), and (3) those mentioned in 20.7-9.

11.19 SITUATION IN HEAVEN AFTER SEVENTH TRUMPET

This verse runs parallel in time with 16.17-21, for both passages

show us the situation at the end of the third woe.

P A R T S I X

THE TRINITY OF SATAN

6 The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

12.1-6 "A GREAT SIGN"

A sign appears to tell people what is to be expected.

Beginning in 12.1 the apostle John again prophesies, in

accordance with the words of chapter 10—"Thou must prophesy

again" (v.11).

Hence the portion of Revelation from 12.1 to 22.21 is a prophesying again, with a view to supplementing the ﬁrst part which runs from chapter 6 to chapter 11. The ﬁrst part (6-11) gives the

outline in order, while the second part (12-22) presents the details.

In 11.15 the great voices in heaven are recorded as saying: "The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever"—This word projects itself beyond to the new heaven and the new earth, for this kingdom

is to go on forever and ever. Thus chapters 6-11 may be considered as speaking on to the point of the new heaven and the new earth.

Chapters 12-22 take up the vital points belonging to the ﬁrst part by

explaining them in detail. Just as Genesis 1 speaks of what God has

done in the six days, Genesis 2 treats speciﬁcally of what God does on the sixth day. In this matter of treatment, therefore, Revelation 6-

11 can be compared to Genesis 1, and Revelation 12-22 to Genesis 2.

The star fallen from heaven to the earth in 9.1 is the same person

as the great red dragon spoken of in 12.3.

Chapters 12-14 are written symbolically, while matters mentioned

in chapters 15-16 are presented literally, with the contents of chapters

17 and 18 again being shown in symbolic fashion. For it should be noted that the wrath of God and His judgment are never presented symbolically; they are always given in literal form.

Come, Lord Jesus

12.1 Some suggest that this woman is Mary, but such an interpretation is incorrect because (1) it is inconceivable that Mary could possess the glory depicted in 12.1; (2) this woman already has

other children (12.17), but the Lord Jesus is the ﬁrstborn of Mary; and (3) this kind of interpretation is contrary to the very nature of this prophetic book. If the woman is Mary and the man child is Christ, then this would be historical and not prophetic in nature. Yet this book is the very revelation of Jesus Christ.

Who, then, is the woman? Before answering directly, let us make the following observations:

(1) All single women mentioned in this book point to some city

(17.18; 21.9,10).

(2) J. K. Seiss has indicated that the sun represents the Lord, the moon the power of darkness, and the twelve stars the twelve tribes of Israel. It is within reason to say that the sun speaks of Christ and the twelve stars the twelve tribes (Israel), but what is the basis for saying that the moon stands for the power of darkness? Robert Govett has stated that the sun suggests grace which idea is acceptable, that the moon represents the law which thought is totally unacceptable, and that the stars stand for the twelve tribes of Israel which interpretation is also acceptable. The diﬃculty lies in explaining the moon.

Thus there are those who claim that these sun, moon, and stars all point to Christians. Their basis for so interpreting is in 1 Corinthians

15.41. Yet there is a great diﬀerence between the stars mentioned in

1 Corinthians 15.41 and the stars here in 12.1. For the stars in the

latter case are described as "twelve stars"—a speciﬁc rather than general reference.

Our answer is: this woman signiﬁes Jerusalem of the nation of Israel. And the reasons are as follows.

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

(1) By reading Genesis 37.9-10 we readily know that the sun stands for Jacob, the moon for his wife, and the twelve stars for the twelve tribes of Israel. Since the sun, moon, and stars are spoken of together, this leads us to believe that the woman is the city of Jerusalem—which represents the nation of Israel.

(2) "Arrayed with the sun", not the sun itself, is what is in view here. This distinguishes her as the mother of Israel. The phrase "and the moon under her feet" is to indicate how she is being forgotten, while the words "and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" clearly stand for the twelve tribes of Israel.

(3) "Travailing in birth" (12.2). In Isaiah 26.17-18, in Jeremiah

6.22-25 (where Zion is Jerusalem), 13.19-21 and 30.6-7, and in

Micah 4.8-10 and 5.1-3, all these prophets announce beforehand that Jerusalem will be in pangs as a woman is found in travail.

(4) The archangel Michael comes to help. According to Daniel

12.1, at the time of trouble Michael shall stand up for the children of Israel.

(5) God orders the woman to ﬂee to the wilderness (12.6,14).

According to Matthew 24.16-21 our Lord clearly tells them to ﬂee

(cf. also Luke 21.20-24).

Why are Christians considered as coming out of Jerusalem?

Because (1) the Lord is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5.5), (2)

salvation is from the Jews (John 4.22), and (3) the Jerusalem above is our mother (Gal. 4.26).

[ Translator's Note: In the author's book which in Chinese is entitled Holy and Without Blemish (ﬁrst published at Shanghai in 1953, with a later Chinese edition published at Hong Kong under the title The Glorious Church), Mr. Nee came to a more matured understanding concerning the signiﬁcance of "the woman" in

Revelation 12. There he posed the same question: Who is this woman? In the following paragraphs, translated directly from 130

Come, Lord Jesus

pages 78 and 79 of the Shanghai, 1953 edition, the reader will ﬁnd the author's answer.]

In the Old Testament record there is only one woman who had an

encounter with the serpent, and she is Eve of Genesis 3. Now in the

New Testament there is also one woman who had a skirmish with the serpent, and she is this woman of Revelation 12. This shows the

unity of the Bible. Here God purposely mentions that the great dragon is the old serpent, thus distinguishing it as the one, same and only old serpent. Likewise, this woman will also be the same woman as in the Garden. Moreover, as there are sun, moon and stars mentioned in Genesis 1, so there are sun, moon and stars spoken of here. As there is the serpent in Genesis 3, so the serpent is present

here. As the seed of the woman is mentioned in Genesis 3, so the

seed of the woman is also shown here. And as travail in birth is

predicted in Genesis 3, so travail in birth is presented here. By studying these two passages of the Scriptures together we may conclude that this woman is none other than the woman who has been foreordained in the eternal purpose of God and who will experience such things as these at the last days. Hence we may say that the woman mentioned in Genesis 2 reveals the eternal will of God; the woman seen in Ephesians 5 unveils the position and future of the church; the woman spoken of in Revelation 12 discloses that

which will happen at the last days; and there is yet a woman who will declare what is going to be in eternity.

When this woman appears in the vision now before us, the Bible describes her as "arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve

stars"—And these descriptions have their dispensational meanings:

(1) This woman is arrayed with the sun—the sun points to the Lord Jesus. Since the woman is arrayed with the sun, this indicates that the sun shines at its brightest hour upon the woman. In this

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

dispensation God is manifesting himself through her. This is her relationship with Christ and with the dispensation of grace.

(2) This woman has the moon under her feet—the word "under"

does not imply "tread upon"; in the Greek the word simply means a lying under her feet. The light of the moon is not self-producing but is reﬂective. Things in the dispensation of law only reﬂect the things in the dispensation of grace, for the law is but a shadow. The holy temple, the ark, the incense and the shewbread, the sacriﬁces which the priests oﬀer, and even the blood of the bullocks and lambs—all these are types. The moon being under the woman's feet shows how the things of the law are subjected to her, that is to say, they belong to her. So that this description tells of the woman's relationship with the dispensation of law.

(3) This woman wears upon her head a crown of twelve stars—the distinguished personages who ﬁgured during the dispensation of the patriarchs may be counted from Abraham up to the birth of the twelve tribes of Israel. Wearing such a crown of twelve stars shows the relationship between this woman and the dispensation of the patriarchs.

From the above observations we can understand that this woman is related not only to the dispensation of grace but also to the dispensations of law and of the patriarchs, although here her relationship with the dispensation of grace is most intimate. And hence representationally this woman includes in herself the people found in the dispensations of the patriarchs and of law as well as in the dispensation of grace.

[Here ends the translated portion taken directly from Mr. Nee's Holy and Without Blemish (Shanghai, 1953), pp. 7879.—

Translator]

12.3 "A great red dragon"—He is the same as "the old serpent"

or "the Devil" or "Satan" found in 12.9. This serpent is the very one

Come, Lord Jesus

spoken of in Genesis 3.1. "Red" is the color of war. As a great red dragon he is a killer from the beginning to the end (cf. John 8.44; 1

John 5.19). "Seven heads" (see 17.9,12)—Ten horns represent the

kings under the great king. The head is bigger than the horn and it is the head that makes use of the horns. Hence the dragon will use the so-called revived Roman Empire together with these lesser kings to persecute God's children.

12.4 "The third part of the stars of heaven, . . . cast them to the

earth"—These stars are the angels cited in 12.9. The third part of the

angels of heaven has followed the devil. The casting down of the dragon will occur after the man child is raptured.

12.5 Who is this "man child"? Some say it represents the children of Israel, but this is not possible due to the following reasons:

(1) The sun, moon and stars already represent the nation of Israel.

(2) This man child is caught up to the throne. The Bible never suggests that the nation of Israel will be raptured, for such a thought is in direct conﬂict with the prophecies concerning the nation of Israel.

(3) This man child trusts in the blood of the Lamb (12.11), but the

nation of Israel does not. Some people have even advanced the theory that at the time of the Great Tribulation many of the children of Israel will believe in the Lord. Yet the Bible has not said this.

What the Scriptures do say is that when the feet of the Lord Jesus shall touch the Mount of Olives God will open a fountain of salvation for the children of Israel, and then and there they will be

saved (Zech. 13.1, 14.4, 12.10-14).

Some others advocate the interpretation of Christ being the man child, but this is also inapplicable for the following reasons:

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

(1) The woman represents Jerusalem, while the Lord Jesus is born in Bethlehem.

(2) This man child is not personal but corporate in character

(12.10-11).

(3) Should this man child be Christ, the dragon will then be

Herod, yet 12.9 states explicitly that the dragon is Satan himself.

(4) As soon as the man child is born, he is caught up to the throne, whereas the Lord Jesus is taken up to heaven only after He has lived over thirty years, died, and been raised from the dead.

(5) Because all this is a vision, the word "travail" cannot be interpreted literally.

Still others say that the man child denotes the whole church. This too is impossible since (1) the whole church is not all raptured at the same time: some will go in advance of others and some will follow afterwards, but here the man child is caught up as a unit simultaneously; (2) to rule all the nations with an iron rod is not a promise given to the entire church, rather is it promised to the overcomers only (2.2627), and not all in the church are overcomers; and (3) to reign is promised to those who suﬀer and endure with the

Lord today (2 Tim. 2.12).

Who, then, is this man child? He must be the overcomers: for example, (1) some Christians in the church in Smyrna, since "Be

thou faithful unto death" (2.10) coincides with the last clause in

12.11—"they loved not their life even unto death"; (2) some Christians in the church in Thyatira, for "he shall rule them with a

rod of iron" (2.26,27) agrees with "a man child, who is to rule all the

nations with a rod of iron" (12.5); (3) some Christians in the church in Philadelphia, because they are kept out of "the hour of trial" (3.10)

just as the man child is "caught up unto God" (12.5); and (4) some 134

Come, Lord Jesus

Christians in the church in Laodicea, since they will "sit" on the

"throne" (3.21) just as the man child "is to rule all the nations"

(12.5).

Accordingly, those represented by the man child are not the whole church but are the overcomers within the church. In our discussion of

chapter 7 we have already listed eight points of similarity between the great multitude spoken of there and the man child mentioned here. For the man child represents a portion of that countless number.

(Please note that chapter 7 deals with the general topic of rapture,

whereas chapter 12 gives the details of some part of those raptured.)

[ Translator's Note: In his later work, already quoted from above, Mr. Nee in Holy and Without Blemish elaborates on the meaning of the man child. The following four paragraphs are translated directly from pages 81-84 of the Shanghai, 1953 edition.]

Verse 5 "And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne"—In order to know the relationship between this man child and the woman, please read Galatians—"But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother" (4.26). Read

also the last clause in the next verse: "For more are the children of the desolate than of her that hath the husband" (v.27). The Jerusalem

above is the New Jerusalem, which is the woman whom God has prepared to have in eternity to come. She is none other than Eve in creation, the body of Christ in the dispensation of grace, this woman whom we see at the close of the dispensation of grace, and the New Jerusalem God will have in the eternity to come. A having many children does not suggest that the mother is separated from the children; rather does it mean that the one is divided into many, yet the many are combined into one. By adding up these many children you have the mother. It is not a case of a mother with ﬁve children making six, but a case of the ﬁve children making up the one mother.

Each child is a part of the mother, who imparts a little of herself to each child. They seem as though they are begotten of her, yet

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

actually they are but her own self. Thus the mother is not one who stands alongside her children but is the sum total of many children that are in view. This is a very special principle.

In chapter 12 the man child whom the woman delivers is subject to the same principle. This being a vision, it is symbolic in character.

The word "delivered" here does not imply the idea of the child coming out and being separated from the woman, it instead implies that within the woman there is such a man child. In other words, a class of people is included in this woman. All the people of God are ordained to have a share in the eternal purpose and plan of God. Due to their failure in taking up responsibility, however, God chooses from among them a number of people. The people whom God has chosen from the many form the man child. The mother represents the whole, the man child represents the remnant. This man child is the

"brethren" mentioned in verse 10. He is not one person but is a considerable number of people—a composite of many; though in comparison with the mother, this man child is only a minority.

Nevertheless, in spite of their smallness in number as compared to the whole body, the plan and purpose of God is upon them.

"And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron" (v.5). Three times in the book of Revelation is this ruling with an iron rod mentioned. The ﬁrst time is

in 2.26,27: "And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron"—This most distinctly points to the overcomers in the church. The last time is in 19.15: "And out of his

mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron"—This is in reference to the Lord Jesus.

Now then, to whom does this verse in 12.5 refer? If it is not applicable to the overcomers in the church it must have reference to the Lord Jesus. Yet can it mean the Lord Jesus here? It is highly 136

Come, Lord Jesus

improbable (though not absolutely impossible, since later on we will observe that the Lord Jesus is also included). Why is it not probable?

Because as soon as the man child is born he is caught up to the throne of God. It thus indicates that the man child cannot be Christ since the Lord Jesus when on the earth lived for over 33 years, died, and was raised from the dead before He ascended. Hence we believe this man child signiﬁes the overcomers in the church. He represents a part of the church, that part which overcomes. Nonetheless, the man child also includes the Lord Jesus since He is the ﬁrst overcomer and all other overcomers are included in Him.

[Here ends the translated portion taken directly from Mr. Nee's Holy and Without Blemish (Shanghai, 1953), pp. 8184. —

Translator]

12.6 "And the woman ﬂed"—This is the same ﬂight as is

depicted in Matthew 24.6-20 and Luke 21.20-24. In 12.1 the woman

is seen in heaven, but now in 12.6 she is in the wilderness. After the man child is born she loses her heavenly position. She is now none else but the Jerusalem on earth. A wilderness is a place both barren and uninhabited. God nourishes her as He did the children of Israel in the days of the Exodus.

In Galatians 4.21-31 we have a contrast: one is the heavenly Jerusalem, the other is the earthly Jerusalem; one represents the Christians, the other, the Jews; one is typiﬁed by Israel, the other, by Ishmael. The essential thought in all this is to prove that we Christians are free in the same way as Isaac was free.

12.7-9 "WAR IN HEAVEN"

12.7 War is inevitable. Who is to dwell in heaven—the man child or the dragon? The man child is to occupy the dragon's territory, therefore there is war.

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

In the whole Bible, only one archangel is named—Michael, whose name means "Who is like God?" (some interpreters even think that Michael is the Lord Jesus).

During the days of Job the dragon could appear before the presence of God. At the time of Christ he still could appear. But at the time of the rapture of the man child, he no longer can.

12.8,9 The name dragon speaks of cruelty; old serpent, of deceit; devil, of seduction; and Satan, of opposition. The devil is cast down from heaven, along with a third part of

the angels who follow him, and he opens the pit of the abyss (9.1). How very dark is this

world!

12.10-12 "A GREAT VOICE"

12.10 Formerly God redeemed with the blood, but now He redeems with power. The authority of the kingdom of God is perfect at the throne; but before Satan is cast down, God's will is not done in the air. After 1260 days the kingdom of God will come upon the earth, and then shall His will be done on earth also. (The casting out of demons recorded in Matthew 12.28 is a proof that the kingdom of God has come upon the earth.)

12.11 Three things are essential for overcoming the accuser: (1) The blood. (Since the accusations may not always be false, the blood is imperative for us.) We rest in the precious blood of the Lamb (Rom. 8.31-34). (2) The word of the testimony. Not only what

the heart believes, but also what the mouth confesses concerning the same heart belief. As the word is spoken, Satan becomes helpless. (3) An attitude of not fearing death. The greatest of all temptations is death. If we maintain a right attitude, Satan is beaten.

12.12 In Revelation 13.1 a beast is mentioned as coming up out

of the sea (Antichrist). In 13.11 it is recorded that a beast (the false

Come, Lord Jesus

prophet) comes up out of the earth. In 9.1 the Bible says that "a star"

(the dragon) is fallen from heaven. When these three come upon the earth, there is "woe for the earth and the sea" as is stated here in verse 12.

The premonition of Satan ("knowing that he hath but a short time") is comparable to the deduction that an historian might arrive at.

During the tribulation there is the wrath of God as well as the wrath of Satan.

12.13-17 "THE DRAGON . . . PERSECUTED THE WOMAN"

12.13 Many Old Testament prophets had made predictions concerning these events mentioned here and in the succeeding verses. During the time of the Great Tribulation the city of Jerusalem will be under the siege of nations. In persecuting the woman, the dragon is but carrying out his "great wrath" mentioned in the preceding verse.

12.14 Since the woman is symbolic, the wings must also be symbolic. God will give her a supernatural power to run fast. When God led the children of Israel out of Egypt He carried them as the eagle does its eaglets on its wings (Ex. 19.4; Deut. 32.11,12). The

Jews at that time will receive special protection from God.

12.15 Since the "serpent" is Satan, the "water" mentioned here must mean something else too. By reading Jeremiah 46.7,8 we know

that water signiﬁes the rushing of enemy armies (cf. also Jer. 47.2,4;

Is. 59.19). As the dragon casts water after the woman, so Satan will use the armies of the nations to pursue the children of Israel.

12.16 "Earth" is earth. In Exodus 15.10 we see that God uses

water to overturn the Egyptian army; in Numbers 16.30 we read that

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

He opens the earth to swallow up the rebellious; and now He uses the earth again in the same way to protect the chosen race.

12.17 The phrase "the rest of her seed" includes the faithful Jews and the Christians who are left behind. If these words refer only to the Jews it cannot be said of them that they "keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus", since at this juncture the Lord has not yet returned to earth nor have the Jews believed in Him.

The word "saints" in 13.7 comprises in its meaning both the Jews and the Christians who are left behind. And hence they are the same people as is "the rest of the [woman's] seed" spoken of in 12.17.

13.1-10 "A BEAST COMING UP OUT OF THE SEA"

The sea points to the Mediterranean, and the beast represents either a kingdom—that of the Roman Empire—or

a person who is Antichrist.

If the beast means a kingdom, the sea needs to be interpreted spiritually. If the beast represents a person, the sea must be taken literally. Spiritually interpreted, "sea" stands for the Gentiles since the land is spiritually reckoned as the Jews. This is in accordance with the way the Scriptures explain the sea. "The waters which thou sawest, when the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and

nations, and tongues" (17.15). We ﬁnd in Daniel 7.3,7 that the sea

indicates the Gentile world too. And hence a coming up out of the sea means a coming forth from the Gentile world.

"A beast coming up out of the sea"—The Roman Empire will

revive. The sea discloses its location and the beast reveals its character.

Come, Lord Jesus

13.1 "Ten horns" represent ten minor kings (17.12), while

"seven heads" speak of seven supreme kings (17.10). Since the heads

are bigger than the horns and the latter are on the heads, the seven heads and ten horns must stand for seven emperors and ten kings.

The "seven heads" indicate seven successive emperors, whereas the "ten horns" speak of ten contemporary kings. (Altogether, the ancient Roman Empire had thirteen

Caesars, among whom ﬁve, at the time of John the Apostle, died violently. The term "fallen"

(17.10) in the original bears in it the sense of a violent death. The sixth Caesar, Domitian, it should be recalled, was also slain. And the seventh one will likewise be killed. So that all seven Roman Emperors mentioned by God do not die peacefully. The ten horns are but subordinate kings to Rome.)

Antichrist is the beast as well as the seventh head. 12.3 reads:

"Upon his heads seven diadems"; and the next chapter says: "On his horns ten diadems" (13.1). Antichrist in the days to come will arise from the revived Roman Empire so as to gain control over Europe.

According to the historical narration the ten kings alluded to in 12.3

are not yet crowned, nor do they have authority. But after these ten kings are crowned and receive authority they will crown the beast.

And thus Antichrist gains authority at that very time.

"Blasphemy"—Whatever exalts oneself and abases God is

blasphemy (see Matt. 9.3, 26.65; John 5.18, 10.33; Mark 3.28; Rev.

16.21).

"Upon his heads names of blasphemy"—It means that these heads call themselves gods. History informs us that the ﬁrst

ﬁve Caesars in the Roman Empire demanded the people to worship them as gods.

13.2 "Leopard"—In order to understand this section we must

read Daniel 2.31-33 and 7.3-8. By so doing we learn that (1) the lion is the golden head in Nebuchadnezzar's image, (2) the bear is Medo-

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

Persia—the breast of silver, (3) the leopard has a belly of brass and thus represents Greece, and (4) the fourth beast, terrible and powerful, which was diverse from the other beasts, has the legs of iron—which is the Roman Empire. Babylon is terrible in war, Medo-Persia is slow but savage, Greece is ferocious, and Rome is cruel.

The beast of 13.2 possesses all four bad characters. In fact, it is the composite of all the powers of the nations. The book of Revelation speaks of the Lord Jesus as the Lamb 28 times, and the beast it speaks of as the wild beast 36 times.

God will make use of the beast to judge the world (Jer. 5.6, Hosea

13.7, Hab. 1.8). The leopard has spots, thus signifying having sins

(Jer. 13.23). Both the bear and the lion tore people apart (see 2 Kings

2.24 on how the bears tore up the 42 lads, read Daniel 6.22 on how

God sealed the mouths of the lions against Daniel, and read 2 Tim.

4.17 on how God delivered Paul out of the lion's mouth).

The beast we read about in 13.2 points to a kingdom because it

has seven heads and ten horns. According to 17.9,10,12 a kingdom is no doubt meant. The lion, the bear and the leopard mentioned in

Daniel 7 are all symbolic of kingdoms; and hence the fourth beast must also be a kingdom—that of the Roman Empire.

But the beast of 13.2 likewise refers to a person. The term "fallen"

used in 17.8-11 means meeting violent death, and the one who still remained at the time of the Apostle John was Domitian; therefore the

beast spoken of in 19.20 and 20.10 is no doubt a man with personality. God does not cast a kingdom into the lake of ﬁre.

13.3,14 "As though it had been smitten unto death"—The image must be that of a man, for Antichrist is a human being. The dragon counterfeits God; the beast, Christ; and the false prophet, the Holy Spirit.

Come, Lord Jesus

The false father also gives authority to the false son so that the latter may have the power to perform lying wonders (2

Thess. 2.9).

The phrase "lying wonders" does not mean to convey the idea that these wonders are false; it simply means that the purpose of these wonders is to deceive people.

"His throne" (13.2)—This indicates that there must be a kingdom.

No kingdom, then no throne. The dragon revives the Roman Empire and gives it to the false christ.

Note that 13.3 says this: "as though it had been smitten unto death"; and chapter 13 further comments on it by saying: "the stroke

of the sword" (v.14). In connection with 17.7,8, it should be noted

that John wrote this book of Revelation in approximately 96 A.D.

Hence the word "was" must refer to the time before 96 A.D.; "is not", to the time when John wrote this book; and "is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition", to the time in the

future. According to 17.9-11, "the ﬁve are fallen, the one is" (this latter one, at the time of John, was Domitian); "the other is not yet come" (one wonders if he is now already in the world, but only waiting to be manifested). Judging by the words in verse 11, there are seven souls, seven bodies; yet eight live, for the eighth one is also one of the original seven. He must have died and is to be reanimated in the days to come. There will arise a most powerful person who will revive the Roman Empire and become the leader of a

confederacy of ten kingdoms. He will be killed, but he will also be reanimated. Thus, the whole world will consider him as god.

Actually, he is not resurrected in the real sense; he is only reanimated by the entering into his body of the soul of one of the former Emperors.∗

∗Not to be construed as teaching reincarnation. See explanatory footnote at 17.11 below.—

Translator

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

Many people do not believe in the resurrection of Christ, and yet they all shall believe in the reanimation of Antichrist.

13.4 Antichrist is so inﬂuential because the dragon is backing him. People worship the beast because they consider him superior both in personality and power.

13.5 "Speaking great things"—that is, exalting one's own self;

"and blasphemies"—defying God. The "authority" given, as

mentioned in this verse, is permitted by God and is of a restricted nature. The number "forty and two" is the multiplication of seven and six. Seven is a perfect number, but six is a satanic one. We notice that in Numbers there were 42 stations from the Exodus to Canaan; and in 2 Kings we note that the bears tore up 42 lads: in the Bible the number 42 stands for wandering and judgment. In reading 2

Thessalonians 2.9-11 we learn the reason God allows Satan to go on a rampage for 42 months. The word "lie" in verse 11 has a deﬁnite article before it in the original Greek. It should therefore properly be read as "the lie", which may refer back to Genesis 3 where we read

that Satan lied by saying "shall not surely" and "shall be as God"

(vv.4,5).

13.6 The ﬁrst thing the beast does is to blaspheme God, for the name of God includes all the personality, nature, and authority of God. The phrase "his tabernacle" points to heaven.

13.7 "To make war with the saints"—These latter are the Christians who are kept behind and those Jews who are faithful to God. The inﬂuence of the beast is world wide, though his kingdom is limited to the revived Roman Empire.

13.8 This verse proves that there will yet be Christians on earth, for there will still be people whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. It is by the power of God's election that they are being kept from succumbing to temptation.

Come, Lord Jesus

13.9 "If any man hath an ear, let him hear"—In the time of

chapters 2 and 3 the churches still hold their position as such, hence each time there is added the clause: "what the Spirit saith to the churches"; here, though, only some

Christians still remain behind, and therefore the exhortation simply reads: "If any man hath an ear, let him hear."

13.10 Christians cannot rise up, as the Crusaders did, to ﬁght against their enemies. They can only practice patience. If they lose their patience they will lose their faith.

13.11-18 "ANOTHER BEAST COMING UP OUT OF EARTH"

13.11 This beast is also a wild beast. Because he is to come up out of the earth he must also be a re-vitalized person, since Hades is beneath the earth. On the other hand, "earth" may have reference to the Jewish nation. The Scriptures often classify the earth as being symbolic of the nation of Israel.

This beast is the false prophet. He is a person since (1) three times the Bible calls him the false prophet (16.13, 19.20, 20.10), (2) the

Lord has clearly stated that there will be false prophets (Matt. 24.24),

and (3) there are three evil spirits: Satan, the beast (Antichrist), and another beast (the false prophet). Each has his mission to fulﬁll. Thus this beast cannot be a system but a person. At the time of evil, we have the counterfeit of the triune God.

"Two horns"—Since this beast is a person and not a kingdom, his two horns should signify two spirits; for the horns of the Lamb are referred to as being the Spirit of God (5.6), and the horns of the beast

are like to those of the Lamb. "To give breath to it" (13.15) may be translated "to give spirit to it"; this is one spirit, and

16.13 tells of

another spirit.

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

"And he spake as a dragon"—His speech is both deceitful and atrocious. Just as the ﬁrst beast sits on the throne of the dragon, so this beast speaks the word of the dragon.

13.12 This second beast works by means of the authority of the

ﬁrst beast. As the Holy Spirit is the executor as well as the power in the Godhead, so the false prophet is the executor and the power of the trio of evil. "To worship" here is compulsory, unlike that mentioned in 13.4 which is voluntary.

There are many evidences to link the ﬁrst beast with the revitalization of Nero. This second beast may very well be the return from the dead of the betrayer Judas. Acts 1.20, Psalm 69.25 and

Psalm 109.8 all point to Judas, for Acts 1.20 quotes from Psalms 69

and 109. Psalm 109.6 declares: "Let Satan stand at his right hand"

(mg.)—This is yet to be fulﬁlled. At the time of Christ, Satan entered into the heart of Judas; but not until the time of Revelation 13.12 will

Satan stand at his right hand. We are also told in Acts 1: "that he

might go to his own place" (v.25). Concerning other individuals the Scriptures always say he is "gathered to his own people" or that "he is gone down into sheol"; but in the case of Judas we are told that "he might go to his own place"—as though he has a special place set aside for his use. In the entire New Testament the term "son of

perdition" is only used twice: one is found in John 17.12 which

distinctly points to Judas, and the other is found in 2 Thessalonians

2.3 which alludes to Antichrist. If the ﬁrst beast is Antichrist, the son of perdition, who else can be the second beast except Judas who also is called the son of perdition? In John 6 the Lord is recorded as

calling Judas "a devil" (v.70). So then, who but Judas can rank

among the trio of evil?

13.13 The greatest sign he will perform is that of making ﬁre come down from heaven. This perhaps is for the purpose of counteracting the ﬁre which the two witnesses draw down to the earth.

Come, Lord Jesus

13.14,15 Here is the consummation of idolatry. Just as the Lord, after His resurrection, bears the marks of wounds

which He once showed to Thomas, so the sword wound of the beast remains visible to people so as to convince them of his revitalization.

"Breath" may also be translated "spirit"—after the spirit is given, there will naturally be breath. This beast possesses three characteristics: (1) to give breath, (2) to make the image speak, and (3) to cause those to be killed who do not worship the image of the beast. This is quite diﬀerent from what is mentioned in Psalm

135.15-17 and Jeremiah 10.3ﬀ. In ancient times the images or idols had mouths but spoke not, had eyes but saw not, had ears but heard not, neither was there any breath found in their mouths. In the future, though, the image of the beast will have breath.∗ How the image of the beast can kill people is not revealed to us. It may be that the image of the beast will announce a sentence of death and people will then be put to death, or it may even possess some kind of mechanism by which to kill people.

13.16 "A mark"—This mark must be visible. Since it is stamped on the human body, it must by physical in nature. When people buy or sell, this mark can easily be distinguished. To be so marked means that the soul and body of the man belong to Satan. He is to be an open, not a secret, follower of Satan. No doubt such people do not have Christ in them.

13.17 It is hard not to sell, but it is harder not to buy. The mark can be of various kinds, with some bearing the name of the beast and others the number of his name.

13.18 Many have attempted to ﬁnd out what the number 666 is, but they fail to see the unity of this verse. Three things need to be

∗But see explanatory footnote on this at 17.11 below.— Translator

The Trinity of Satan (12.1-13.18)

joined in one: First, "the number of a man" (the number of a place is therefore discounted). Second, "the number of the beast"—In 13.1 it

is stated that the beast has seven heads, and in 17.9,10 it is stated that the seven heads are "the seven mountains", also they are "the seven kings" (the city of Rome is alone built on seven hills). Which does the beast represent—the Roman Empire or one of the emperors of Rome? Since 13.18 says that the number of the beast is the number of a man, the beast cannot stand for the Roman Empire but rather points to one of the Roman emperors. And third, "the number of [a man's] name", which is also the number of the name of a Roman emperor, must be 666. From the convergence of these three points we may ﬁnd out who the beast is.

In both Greek and Hebrew, the letters of the alphabet are also used for numbers. Apart from Nero Caesar there is no one else in history who ﬁts this number. The number of Nero is 306, and the number for Caesar is 360. The Bible usually mentions the name of a Roman Emperor together with the title Caesar, such as in Luke 2.1 and 3.1

we have Caesar Augustus and Tiberius Caesar. History tells us that Nero always called himself Caesar.

The name Nero Caesar in Hebrew makes up 666, as follows:∗

Greek Hebrew

n 50

Kai

q 100

r 200 Sa

s 60

w 6

r 200

n 50

___

Nerwn = 306

Kaisar = 360 = 666

∗Robert Govett, The Apocalypse Expounded. London: Chas. J. Thynne, 1920, p. 351.—

Translator

P A R T S E V E N

THE FIRST FRUITS, THE HARVEST, AND THE VINTAGE

7 The First Fruits, the Harvest, and

the Vintage (14.1-20)

14.1-5 "THE FIRST FRUITS"

14.1 Is Mount Zion in heaven or on earth? It is the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly one, because (1) the Mount Zion on earth is at that time in the hands of the Gentiles (11.2); (2) it

is clearly stated in 14.4 that "these were purchased from among men", thus implying that they no longer stand on the earthly Mount Zion during that moment; (3) by joining the last two clauses of 14.4

with Exodus 23.19 we learn that the first fruits are not left in the ﬁeld since as soon as they are ripened they are to be brought to the house

of God (see also Ex. 34.26), and since the 144,000 are the ﬁrst fruits

they cannot be left in the ﬁeld—which speaks of the world (Matt.

13.38)—but are placed instead on the Mount Zion in heaven which is the New Jerusalem; (4) 14.3 says "they sing . . . before the throne,

and before the four living creatures and the elders"—thus all these are in heaven and not on the earth; (5) the people referred to in 14.1-

5 are the ﬁrst fruits while those alluded to in 14.14-16 are the

harvest, so if the harvesting is unto the air, can the ﬁrst fruits be gathered elsewhere except to heaven? and (6) there is, moreover, no reason to suggest it as being the Mount Zion on earth since the Lord Jesus will come to the earth only by the time of chapter 19.

Who are the 144,000? The 144,000 cited in Revelation 7.4 and

144,000 spoken of here in 14.1 are two diﬀerent classes of people, contrasted as follows:

(1) The people of 7.4 are the chosen among the children of Israel,

while those of 14.1 are purchased from among men.

(2) The seals received by them are not the same. The one spoken

of in 7.2 is "the seal of the living God", which is Old Testament 152

Come, Lord Jesus

terminology. The seal alluded to in 14.1 bears the name of the Lamb and the name of the Father, and such names are related to the church.

Hence these people must come from the church.

(3) The people told about in 7.3 are called "the servants of our

God", but those in view in 14.1 are the children of God (this conclusion is deduced from the name of the Father).

(4) Throughout the entire book of Revelation the Lord calls God as Father each time. And He always says it in connection with the

church (1.6, 2.27, 3.5, 3.21). The Lord never uses it in connection with Israel.

(5) The people spoken of in 14.1ﬀ. are associated with the Lamb (standing with the Lamb, having the name of the Lamb, following the Lamb, and being the ﬁrst fruits unto the Lamb). In chapter 7 the

Lord is seen as another angel; and this, as we have seen, is a returning to His Old Testament position.

(6) The song they sing is described in 14.3 as a new song, whereas

the song the people mentioned in 7.4 sing is but an old song.

(7) The people in view in 14.4 are virgins, but with Israel virginity

is to be bewailed. (According to Ex. 23.26, Deut. 7.14, 1 Sam. 2.5,

and Ps. 113.9, to bear children is considered a blessing while to be barren is deemed a curse. In Judges 11.38,39 the daughter of

Jephthah is said to have bewailed her virginity for two months.) (8) The articles preceding both of the 144,000 numbers cited in

14.1 and 7.4 are indeﬁnite, and are therefore general and not speciﬁc.

Thus these 144,000 numbers constitute two diﬀerent classes.

14.1 The group of 144,000 here is a special class of people in the church; they are not all the people of the church. And the reasons for this conclusion are as follows:

The First Fruits, the Harvest, and the Vintage (14.1-20) 153

(1) Since the 144,000 ﬁgure in 7.4 is taken literally, the number here should also be reckoned as literal.

(2) This group being the ﬁrst fruits (14.4), it cannot be said that

the entire church makes up the ﬁrst fruits.

(3) There is no such fact that the people in the entire church keep their virginity.

(4) Prior to the arrival of the Great Tribulation (for it is before the

voices of the three angels are heard, 14.6-11), these people are

already raptured to Mount Zion.

(5) 14.5 tells of the exceptional features of these people, concerning which it cannot be said that all the born-again ones possess such characteristics.

Consequently, the 144,000 standing on Mount Zion are the best of the overcomers of the church; that is to say, this group of 144,000 is representative of the totality of the overcomers.

14.2 "A voice from heaven"—This must be the voice of the 144,000. Their voice is as pleasant as the voice of harps, as awesome as the voice of thunders, and as majestic as the voice of many waters.

14.3 A new song which they alone can sing. All Christians are purchased out of the earth, but these are brought home ﬁrst.

14.4 Twice we ﬁnd the words "these are", thus showing that

the verse describes and explains who the 144,000 are:

(1) "These are they that were not deﬁled with women; for they are virgins"—We may not spiritualize the word "women" into "idols", for the Bible does not support such an interpretation. Neither can we consider "women" as representing evil doctrines. Instead, "women"

in the Bible is frequently translated "wives"; for example, the Greek 154

Come, Lord Jesus

word used for "wives" in Acts 21.5 is the same as used for "women"

here in 14.4. The Scriptures not only mention this group of 144,000

as being undeﬁled with women but they also emphasize that they are virgins. This thus indicates that this portion of Scripture is not speaking of purity but of virginity. With this conclusion Matthew

19.10-12 agrees perfectly. Judging by 14.1 here, those whom God has given such a gift amount to only 144,000 (cf. Luke 20.35, 1 Cor.

7.7). At the time of Antichrist there will be one particular error: he will forbid marrying (1 Tim. 4.1-3). The book of Daniel hints at this also by saying that the future Antichrist will not be married ("Neither shall he regard . . . the desire of women", 11.37). It is absolutely

impossible that there will be only 144,000 Christians who neither worship idols nor follow evil doctrines. Since 14.4 is an explanation,

it must mean simply what it clearly says and therefore needs no interpretation.

(2) "These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth"—This verse does not speak of the past, it instead points to the present and the future. They are closest to the Lord, serving Him as His bodyguard.

(3) "These were purchased from among men, to be the ﬁrstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb"—They are men, yet they are

purchased from among men. In Leviticus we are told that there are three diﬀerent stages in reaping: the ﬁrst fruits (23.17), the harvest

(23.22), and the gleaning (23.22). The farmer reaps when the wheat is ripened. He gathers into the garner what he cuts: he does not leave the wheat in the ﬁeld. Thus, the time of rapture is in a sense decided by men and not by God. The reaping comes after ripening. The ﬁrst fruits are Christians who mature ﬁrst, hence are taken ﬁrst.

14.5 The words of their mouths reveal what is in their hearts.

These are the same descriptions concerning our Lord, but they are now applied also to the 144,000.

The First Fruits, the Harvest, and the Vintage (14.1-20) 155

It should be pointed out, in conclusion, that this portion of Scripture does not exclude women from among the 144,000. It must be remembered that the Bible usually numbers only the men. For example, although a great number of women came out of Egypt and ate manna in the wilderness, God only counted the men but not the women. Moreover, though Dinah was Jacob's daughter, the nation of Israel had only twelve tribes. Yet neither does this portion of the Bible mean that there are only this number of people among the ﬁrst group raptured. It simply demonstrates that there will be people such as these in the ﬁrst group.

14.6,7 (cf. with v.8) "THE FIRST ANGEL"

14.6 "Another angel"—He is diﬀerent from the "another

angel" spoken of in 7.2 that points to the Lord.

"Eternal good tidings"—The eternal gospel or good tidings is diﬀerent from the gospel of grace. From the description which

follows (14.7), it can be concluded that this eternal gospel is for the purpose of inducing people to worship the Creator. The eternal gospel preaches not God's redemption but His creation. It does not call man to worship the Lamb but to worship God. It does not proclaim the grace of God, only His judgment. It exhorts people to give glory to God.

Those meant by the phrases "them that dwell on the earth" and

"every nation and tribe and tongue and people" (14.6) are not the

same. The ﬁrst refers to that special class of people from among the second—those who are especially related to the earth and who love worldly things most dearly. The future kingdom of Antichrist will only be as big as the Roman Empire, yet its inﬂuence will reach every nation and tribe and tongue and people. The words "them that dwell on the earth" may allude to those who dwell within the Roman Empire.

Come, Lord Jesus

The gospel presented at this juncture is not proclaimed to cause people to believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved; instead, it is to teach them to worship God and not the image of the beast.

How do the sheep mentioned in Matthew 25.34-40 know to treat

our Lord's little brother well (see v.40)? It is due to the inﬂuence of the proclamation of the angel here.

14.7 "Fear God"—It is clear in the Old Testament that to be kind to others is indicative of the people's fearing God. Since the hour of judgment is come, let people fear God and give glory to Him.

Heaven is damaged at the fourth trumpet. The earth is damaged at the ﬁrst trumpet; the sea, at the second; and the fountains of all waters, at the third.

14.8 "A SECOND ANGEL"

To what does this city of Babylon refer? To Babylon or to Rome?

The Babylon in chapter 17 is a mystery and has reference to Rome as a religious system. The Babylon here in 14.8 is also connected with

the Roman religious system, for the description concerning both is the same. So that the second angel notiﬁes the world that Babylon is fallen; that is to say, the Roman religious system is defeated. From this we can infer that the big harvest follows upon the defeat of the Roman religious system.

"The wine of the wrath of her fornication" signiﬁes the oppression which the Roman religious system will mete out to people. To those unfaithful to the Lord will she give the wine of fornication; and to the faithful will she give the wine of wrath. Wine speaks of that which bewilders people. The Roman religious system will be revived, but she will also be totally destroyed.

The First Fruits, the Harvest, and the Vintage (14.1-20) 157

14.9-12 "THE THIRD ANGEL"

14.10 The purpose of the word in this verse is to inform people who behave themselves according to 14.9 that they will receive

punishment from God. The punishment is two-fold: (1) to receive

"the wine of the wrath of God"—the wrath of God, as shown in chapter 15, which is temporary; and (2) to be "tormented with ﬁre and brimstone in the presence . . . of the Lamb"— this is to say that they have no hope of receiving grace. To be tormented in the presence of the angels simply means that they are put into the lake of ﬁre by the angels.

14.11 This verse shows that after one has entered the lake of ﬁre there is no more opportunity to repent; yet neither is he therefore annihilated. The saints need no sleep in heaven, but neither can the sinners sleep in the lake of ﬁre.

14.12 agrees with 13.10. "Keep the commandments of God"

are words that refer especially to the ﬁrst and second

commandments. This is the time for the saints to be patient.

14.13 "BLESSED ARE THE DEAD"

"From henceforth" means from the time when the worship of the image of the beast is forced upon men. Through death people can thus escape the persecution of the beast. "Who die in the Lord"—

these must be Christians. Here the Spirit is not called by the title the seven Spirits of God but by the name of the (Holy) Spirit, because

"the seven Spirits" is a term which is particularly connected with God's judgment whereas "the Holy Spirit" is the term especially related to the church.

The eﬀect of our work cannot go before God ahead of us, though the work of Christ does precede us so as to make us acceptable 158

Come, Lord Jesus

before God. Our works shall follow us that we may receive reward from God.

14.14-16 "AND REAP"

14.14 The phrase "a white cloud" ﬁts perfectly with the words

in 1 Thessalonians 4.16,17. "Like unto a son of man" shows that this word is spoken to the church (see 1.13).

The words "having on his head a golden crown" reveal that He is already gloriﬁed. A sharp sickle is indicated for quick reaping. In

Matthew 13.37 the Lord is identiﬁed as the sower; at His second

coming He will be the reaper.

14.15 An angel delivers the order of God to the Lord, for the

Lord is here taking the place of a servant. In Matthew 9.38 the Lord

is recorded as distinctly declaring that God is the Lord of the harvest, so the Lord is presented as a sent one here in 14.15.

Never in the Bible does harvesting carry with it a bad connotation.

Unlike ﬁgs on the ﬁg trees, wheat cannot remain too long in the ﬁeld after the ripening. It must be reaped. The ﬁrst mentioning of harvest

in Scriptures is found in Genesis 8.22. Being a harvest, it is a token

of God's blessing. When the Lord speaks of harvest (John 4.35), He

too means it well. According to Matthew 3.12 wheat is to be

gathered into the garner. According to Leviticus 23, the ﬁrst fruits of

the harvest are to be brought into the house of God (see also Ex.

23.19, 34.26). This typiﬁes how at the ﬁrst rapture Christians are to be caught up to the throne of God. To gather wheat into the garner, therefore, signiﬁes those Christians who are caught up to the air to meet the Lord, for the garner is built between the ﬁeld and the home—the ﬁeld being the world (Matt. 13.38) and the home being heaven. Consequently, the Christians in the harvest are taken up to the air which lies between heaven and the world.

The First Fruits, the Harvest, and the Vintage (14.1-20) 159

The harvesting mentioned in Matthew 13.37-43 is for the purpose

of gathering what the Lord has earlier sown. Since He sows only the

good seed, He shall reap only what is good. In Mark 4.26-29 it is said

that God comes to reap, for the time of harvest is come. Just as the

ﬁrst fruits are holy, so too is the rest (Rom. 11.16). The ﬁrst fruits

spoken of in Revelation 14.1-5 being so good, the harvest stated in

14.14-16 must also be good: for the harvest does not refer to the

judgment of sinners.

"Ripe" can also be translated "become dry" (mg.). Unripened wheat cannot be harvested; neither can unmatured Christians be raptured. The ﬁrst fruits ripen ﬁrst, and therefore they can leave the world earlier. Christians who love the world need to "become dry" or scorched by the world before they will cease loving it.

14.15,16 According to Matthew 13.39 the reapers are angels.

Hence the sickle mentioned here in 14.15,16 is that which is in the

hands of the angels. It is a mystical sickle.

As the Lord receives us, we shall be raptured. We are "to stand before the Son of man" (Luke 21.36).

14.17-20 "GATHER THE VINTAGE"

Observe that 14.14-16 speaks of harvest and 14.17-20 speaks of

vintage. Throughout the Bible wheat is always a representation of Christians whereas ﬁg trees usually point to the Jews. Now sometimes grapes can stand for the wicked of the nations. And the reasons for concluding this are as follows:

(1) The Lord has not said that He himself is the grape; instead, He says that He is the true vine. The Lord Jesus is the true vine, and Christians are its branches. With the life of Christ in them, Christians are to produce heavenly grapes. By contrast, though, the earthly grapes before us here must refer to Antichrist and his followers.

Come, Lord Jesus

(2) The vintage mentioned here takes place following the harvest.

And hence after the good ones are taken, what remains must be bad.

(3) Judging by chapter 19.18, the grapes cited here should be those wicked people who oppose Christ.

(4) The Old Testament likewise sometimes gives a bad

connotation to grapes (see Deut. 32.32).

(5) Since blood comes out from the wine press (14.19-20), these

grapes that are crushed cannot have any good meaning about them.

(6) From reading Joel 3.13 and Isaiah 63.1-6 we can assume that

treading the winepress represents the wrath of God, and hence God's judgment.

Therefore, the passage in 14.14-16 shows the consequence of the

wheat whereas 14.17-20 shows that of the tares.

After the Christians are raptured, God will send angels to gather the tares. The sickle is therefore also sharp.

As wheat is ripened, it dries up. But the grape as it ripens becomes more juicy. The wheat and the grape are just the opposite to each other. As the wheat dies to the earth it ripens. But the more the vine draws from the earth, the more the grapes are ripened. Since the nations have become more worldly and have extracted more and more from the world, their iniquity is full, and the time for their judgment is therefore come.

Note that 14.16 says "Cast his sickle upon the earth", which means only a swift cutting. But 14.19 says "cast his sickle into the earth", as though meaning to uproot the whole thing. This too shows the diﬀerence between the reaping of wheat and the gathering of grapes.

The First Fruits, the Harvest, and the Vintage (14.1-20) 161

A "winepress" is a kind of stonepress into which the grapes are put and juice is squeezed out from them. It involves pain and suﬀering.

This passage of 14.17-20 will be fulﬁlled at the appearing of the Lord Jesus on earth. It coincides with 19.15 in that (1) the phrase

"without the city" in 14.20 proves that it must be outside the city of Jerusalem (chapters 15 and 16 are supplementary to the seventh trumpet), and (2) the phrase "the bridles of the horses" in 14.20

agrees with 19.14 wherein we are told that the Lord and His heavenly

hosts will ride on horses.

"A thousand and six hundred furlongs" (14.20). According to

16.16 this war will be fought in Har-Magedon, and Isaiah 63.1 tells

us that it will begin from Bozrah. Measuring the distance from Bozrah to Magedon, it is 1600 furlongs (about 200 miles). The battle of Har-Magedon comes at a time when the feet of the Lord shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, which will be cleft into two so as to allow the Jews who are ﬂeeing from the persecution of Antichrist to

escape (Zech. 14.4,5). Then shall the Lord ﬁght with Antichrist and destroy him (Rev. 19.17-21).

The kingdom of God will be ushered in, not through the preaching of the Gospel, but by the shedding of blood. The church must wait until the return of the Lord for the ﬁnal arrival of the kingdom.

Isaiah 34.1-8 describes the slaughtering in Bozrah.

After these things shall come the kingdom of God. Following the harvest and the vintage there is the feast of the tabernacles which serves as a type of the millennial kingdom.

P A R T E I G H T

POURING SEVEN BOWLS

8 Pouring Seven Bowls (15.1-16.21)

Chapters 15 and 16 do not follow 14.17-20

chronologically for the latter agrees with 19.15.

15.1 "THE LAST SEVEN PLAGUES"

In 12.1 the term used is "a great sign"; here in 15.1 the term is a

"sign . . . great and marvelous . . ."

15.2-4 DOXOLOGY

15.2 "A sea of glass"—This has been mentioned once before in

4.6, though neither people nor ﬁre are seen. Here in 15.2 both people

as well as ﬁre are mentioned. Since the sea of glass spoken of in 4.6

is before the throne, that is to say, in heaven, the people on the sea of glass mentioned here in 15.2 must have therefore been taken to heaven. So that this portion of Scripture tells

us of a people who have passed through the Great Tribulation and who have also seen the beast, his image, and his number. Inasmuch as 14.14-16 shows us

how they are raptured from earth, 15.2 discloses how they are

received in heaven.

15.3 Why do they sing the song of Moses as well as the song of the Lamb? It should be noted that had they worshiped the image of the beast they would have violated the law of Moses and the commandment of God. But they have not worshiped the image of the beast: therefore, they sing the song of Moses. He who commands them not to worship idols is Moses, and so they sing the song of Moses. He who gives them strength not to worship idols is the Lamb, and hence they sing the song of the Lamb. What they sing is clearly

recorded in 15.3,4. It is evident that it is not the same song of Moses that was sung at the time of Exodus 15.

Come, Lord Jesus

The ﬁrst clause in the song refers to the works of God, while the second refers to the ways of God. Works are outward acts, but ways are inward principles. "Lord God" is a name which shows how God is related to man. "King of the ages" can also be translated as "King of the nations" (mg.). "Righteous" pertains to principle, whereas

"true" pertains to promise.

15.4 The word "holy" describes God's nature; the words

"righteous acts" describe the ways of God's working.

15.5-8 "THE TEMPLE OF THE TABERNACLE"

15.5 "The temple of the tabernacle" is in heaven, yet it is not permanent since it is described as a tabernacle temple. The tabernacle of Moses was made after the heavenly pattern (Heb. 8.5).

After the holy temple was built by Solomon, the tabernacle passed away. So in like manner, when in eternity the Lamb shall become the temple, even this temple of the tabernacle in heaven will pass away.

15.6 These seven angels are priestly angels since they wear priestly garments. Perhaps they serve God in the heavenly temple.

According to the order of the Old Testament, the drink oﬀering is poured out before the burning of the sacriﬁce. Their action seems to follow such an order.

15.8 This verse means that hereafter no one may enter the temple of God to intercede. At that hour the wrath of God is beyond

the point of return (cf. Lam. 3.44).

16.1-21 "THE SEVEN BOWLS"

The plagues in bowl 1 to bowl 6 seem to be quite similar to the plagues in trumpet 1 to trumpet 6; the only diﬀerence lies in their intensities. The six bowls re-enact the plagues of the six trumpets,

Pouring Seven Bowls (15.1-16.21)

but with much greater severity. Since the seventh trumpet includes all seven bowls, the weight of woe must be tremendously heavy.

16.2 "The First Bowl"

The men who suﬀer in this plague are those that have upon themselves the mark of the beast and who worship his image. This sore is similar to that which the poor man Lazarus once had. It is not cured even to death. One of the ten plagues of Egypt was this boil.

Job was attacked by sore boils, so too, Hezekiah once had this sore.

The Philistines at one time were punished with a sore. God sometimes uses the sore to judge people (Deut. 28.15,27). Since

these men bear the mark of the beast, they are also given a sore by God as their mark.

The ﬁrst trumpet only hurts the trees and grass on earth, but the ﬁrst bowl hurts people directly.

16.3 "The Second Bowl"

The plague in the second bowl is more severe than that of the ﬁrst one since it is larger in scope and becomes blood as of a dead man.

Maritime business comes to a complete stop (Ps. 105.29; Is. 50.2).

16.4-7 "The Third Bowl"

In the third trumpet only the third part of the waters becomes bitter to the taste; but now all of the water is turned into blood which cannot be drunk. The reason why God gives them blood to drink is because they have persecuted the Christians as well as His prophets.

In 16.5 there is an angel who is in charge of all the waters.

Come, Lord Jesus

In 1.8 and 4.8 God is called the one "who is and who was and who

is to come, the Almighty"; but after both 11.17 and 16.5 the phrase

"who is to come" is no longer used. Thus it shows that the return of the Lord must be after the time of chapter 4 but before that of 11.17.

In 16.7 the word "righteous" pertains to God's principles, while

"true" pertains to God's promises.

16.8,9 "The Fourth Bowl"

In the fourth trumpet the third part of the heavenly bodies is smitten with darkness, but now the sun scorches men with ﬁre (see

also Luke 21.25). Isaiah predicts that "the inhabitants of the earth are

burned" (24.6). Most likely they will be burned by the heat of the sun

(Is. 42.25; Deut. 32.24; Mal. 4.1). People remember how they suﬀer but fail to ponder why they suﬀer. They take no heed of the message proclaimed by the angel as recorded in 14.6,7.

16.10,11 "The Fifth Bowl"

This is related to the angel of the abyss in the ﬁfth trumpet. The pain mentioned in verse 10 is due to the sore of the ﬁrst bowl and the scorching of the sun in the fourth bowl. In addition to the plagues of the former bowls is this terrible darkness.

16.12-16 "The Sixth Bowl"

Note that 16.12 is the sixth bowl, while 16.13-16 is an

interpolated vision.

16.12 "The great river, the river Euphrates"—The land which God had promised to the children of Israel extended from the river of

Egypt to the great river Euphrates (Gen. 15.18). History also tells us

that during the most prosperous period of the ancient Roman Empire,

Pouring Seven Bowls (15.1-16.21)

her boundary reached the great Euphrates River. In the future there will arise two confederacies; one of the West, taking the Mediterranean Sea as its center with the territory covered by the ancient Roman Empire as its domain

(including England, France, the northern coast of Africa, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and even reaching to India and the Persian boundary); one of the East, with Soviet Russia as its center, and including the Persians, the Cushites, the Turks, and so forth. It may also include China, Japan, Afghanistan, etc.∗

The river Euphrates is wide and its current swift. But at the pouring of the sixth bowl its water is dried up, thus easily crossed.

16.13 "Unclean spirits"—These unclean spirits are in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit. The word "frogs" symbolizes mischievousness.

16.13,14 The gathering together of the kings of the whole world has no other reason than to war. We can see how they are instigated by the spirits of demons to war. Eventually they will be destroyed by the appearing of the Lord.

16.15 Here are still some words spoken to Christians. "Behold, I come as a thief are words spoken by the Lord to His church. These words may be spoken to those mentioned in Revelation 14.14-16

who are waiting to be harvested, or they may be spoken to the Christians who are left to be gleaned. The vintage spoken of in

14.17-20 is the same as the battle of Har-Magedon spoken of in

16.16. Therefore, 16.15 may refer either to the harvest of Christians

∗ In his latter years the author spoke of three confederacies arising in the world before the coming of Christ; namely, the

so-called revived Roman Empire or the confederacy of the West, the Northern confederacy as outlined in Ezekiel 38.16, and the confederacy of the Kings of the East as alluded to in Revelation 16.12.— Translator 170

Come, Lord Jesus

before the battle of Har-Magedon or to Christians waiting to be gleaned after the harvest is gathered and before the battle is fought.

16.16 "Har-Magedon"—Magedon is the name of a place, while

"Har" means mountain. Hence it is the mountain of Magedon, the same as Jezreel cited in the Old Testament.

16.17-21 "The Seventh Bowl"

16.17 The words "It is done" may also be translated "It is enough". "The air" is where Satan once ruled. Perhaps there is yet some residual satanic inﬂuence in the air, hence this ﬁnal punishment.

16.18 "A great earthquake"—See Ezekiel 38.20.

16.19 "The great city" means Jerusalem. The Babylon cited here points to the actual Babylon (14.8 "fallen, fallen is Babylon"

happens before the battle of Har-Magedon and is synchronized with

17.16-19. "Babylon the great" is the actual Babylon whose fall is complete after the battle of Har-Magedon, and so it coincides with

the latter half of chapter 18). The verses in 14.8 and 16.19 give a

sketch concerning Babylon while chapters 17 and 18 furnish the

details.

16.20 Every island ﬂees away and all the mountains vanish.

How very severe must be this earthquake! According to the Psalms, there will still be islands and mountains during the millennium (Ps.

72.3,10; 97.1).

16.21 A Greek talent is about 56 English pounds, while a Jewish talent is equivalent to approximately 114 English pounds.

Along with the great earthquake there is great hail.

P A R T N I N E

BABYLON AND HER DESTRUCTION

9 Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

The long section from 17.1 to 18.24 is best to be

taken as one single chapter. Please note also that 18.1-3

serves as transitional words, since they conclude what

has been spoken previously and commence what is next going to be said; for these verses mention the following

three things: (1) "By the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are

fallen"—only chapter 17 mentions this (17.2);

(2) "The merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her

wantonness"—only chapter 18 mentions this (18.11,15); and

(3) "The kings of the earth committed fornication with her"—both

chapters 17 and 18 speak about this (17.2, 18.9).

The word "Babylon" comes from "Babel": It is recorded in

Genesis 10 and 11 that Nimrod built the city of Babel in the land of Shinar. It was he who tried to protect himself by his own strength.

The origin of the tower of Babel is found in Genesis 11.1-4. God

confounded the language of the people and scattered them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Hence the city was called "Babel"

(11.9). "Babel" or "Babylon" simply means "confusion". Idolworship began there, and it stood in opposition to God. The city grew larger and larger until it reached its golden age at the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Due to the unfaithfulness of the children of Israel, God delivered them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon.

In the days of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a huge image: and by interpretation he himself was the image's head of gold, the most prosperous period in the history of Babylon; then 174

Come, Lord Jesus

Medo-Persia (the image's arms of silver) destroyed Babylon, and the city became desolate. Later on, Greece (the image's belly of brass) destroyed Medo-Persia; and Greece was in turn destroyed by Rome (the image's legs of iron). Babylon was therefore the ﬁrst kingdom, while Rome was the last kingdom. And these four kingdoms

oppressed the Jews. Three kingdoms have already passed away, but Rome has continued on. The ten toes of the image have yet to appear.

Now just as Babylon had greatly worshiped idols and deeply hated the Jews, so has Rome.

Rome was not only politically a city, it was also a center of religion. In the city of Rome were to be found many Christians, yet Rome hated Christians the most. Not until the fourth century after Christ did Constantine the Great accept Christianity and encourage his people to do the same. With the result that Christianity became the oﬃcial religion of Rome. At the same time, though, the center of politics shifted from Rome to Constantinople. Rome itself became subject to the rule of Constantinople and remained that way until the sixth century. At the time of Leo a general council was held at Constantinople wherein idol-worship was condemned as heretical and illegal. Rome opposed this, and she broke with Constantinople.

Thus were formed the Eastern Roman Church (the Greek Orthodox Church) and the Western Roman Church (the

Roman Catholic

Church). The inﬂuence of the Eastern Roman Church began to wane, but that of the Western Roman Church increased steadily. A great number of Christians suﬀered death at the hands of the Roman Catholic Church.

According to Revelation 17 and 18 the Roman Catholic Church will experience tremendous growth in the future, far exceeding that of the past. Her inﬂuence will be enormous. But when Antichrist shall arise and set up his image as an object of worship, he with his ten subordinate kings shall destroy the Roman Church. Nevertheless, with the passing of Rome religious, Rome political will still continue. She will make the Mediterranean Sea a center of her

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

inﬂuence. Three and a half years later, God will destroy Rome political.

Why is it that chapters 17 and 18 do not mention Rome plainly, but use Babylon instead? Because John lived under the reign of Rome. If he should have plainly written of Rome, his writing might not have been able to be circulated—yet not that John was afraid to write explicitly, but that the Holy Spirit intended to have it hidden.

Nevertheless, the same Spirit is concerned lest people take Babylon

as being literal. So in Revelation 17.5 He declares:

(1) "Mystery, Babylon the Great"—Being a mystery, it must be spiritual and not literal in its interpretation. For instance,

if in 11.8

Jerusalem had been plainly mentioned, the Jews would have immediately risen up in arms. So that a spiritualized form of writing is here used.

(2) By saying Babylon the Great instead of simply Babylon, it intimates that this Babylon is much greater than the actual Babylon of the past. Such a rendering thus helps the reader to know that Babylon is not to be taken as Babylon literally but is to be understood as standing for Rome.

Why Babylon Here Points to Rome

(1) Only one city in the world is built on seven hills or mountains, and that is the city of Rome. Rome historically is called the seven-

hilled city (cf. 17.9).

(2) "Fallen" in 17.10 has reference, as we have indicated before, to violent death. Some were murdered, some committed suicide. At the time of John's writing this book, the king who was then living must have been a Roman Caesar.

Come, Lord Jesus

(3) Besides the king of Rome there was none else at that time who reigned over the kings of the earth (cf. 17.18).

In What Respects Babylon Resembles Rome

(1) Babylon was the ﬁrst nation which broke through to the Jewish holy land and entered the holy place. But so did

Rome.

(2) Babylon, as we have said, means confusion. How very greatly confused was Rome also—and still is! She mixed up the church with the country, the church with the world, law with grace, the traditions of men with the word of God, the pagans with the Christians, Judaism with Christianity, God's promises to the church with His promises to the Jews, the carnal with the spiritual, the earthly with the heavenly, the present rejection with the future glory. In fact, she is the center of all mixtures. How extensive is her confusion indeed!

(3) The church fathers themselves regarded Rome as Babylon.

Tertullian noted that Babylon was Rome. Jerome said, "When I dwelt in Babylon and resided within the walls of the scarlet adulteress, and had the freedom of Rome, I undertook a work concerning the Holy Spirit, which I proposed to ascribe to the Bishop of that city." And Augustine said, "Babylon is a former Rome, and Rome a later Babylon."∗

(4) Some prominent Romish writers such as Robert Bellarmine, Cesare Baronius, Jacques Bossuet, and Hug have also admitted that Babylon meant Rome. Bellarmine, for example, wrote this:

∗Robert Govett, The Apocalypse Expounded, London: Chas. J. Thynne, 1920, p. 442.—

Translator

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

"Moreover, John in the Apocalypse everywhere calls Rome

Babylon." ∗

There is a school of thought which maintains that Babylon points only to political Rome, not to religious Rome. This concept, though, is erroneous. If Babylon only refers to political Rome, why should

"fallen" be mentioned twice in 14.8 and 16.19? For the event represented by the word "fallen" in 14.8 happens before the setting

up of the image of the beast; therefore it is an event occurring during the ﬁrst three and a half years. But the "fallen" ("fell") told about in

16.19 takes place at the time of the seventh bowl, that is to say, after the setting up of the image of the beast. Hence there must be two diﬀerent aspects of Babylon in view. This ﬁts in perfectly with both religious Rome (since "Babylon" means confusion, and this confusion prevails in the realm of religion) and political Rome (since

"Rome" in Hebrew means "the one who exalts himself", and how she exalts herself in opposition to God).

"Mystery, Babylon the Great" alludes to the religion of Rome.

The reasons for this view are:

(1) "The great harlot that sitteth upon many waters" (17.1). This

harlot is a city. Since the city of Rome is never built on many waters (there is only one river in the city of Rome), this

harlot cannot be applied to political Rome.

(2) "The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman

sitteth" (17.9). As indicated earlier, Rome is built on seven mountains and she is called 'the seven-hilled city. Since this seven-hilled city points to political Rome, the harlot here who sits on the seven mountains cannot herself be representative of political Rome but must stand for religious Rome that sits above political Rome.

∗Govett, Ibid., p. 442.— Translator

Come, Lord Jesus

(3) "And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder" (17.6).

Should this woman point to political Rome, where is the wonder or surprise to be found in that? She instead must be religious Rome, and hence the amazement. It is not at all surprising for the nations to persecute Christians; but for the Roman Church to persecute Christians, this is really astounding.

(4) The "fornication" mentioned in 17.2 cannot be applied to

something physical, it has to be a reference to something doctrinal in nature. A physical city is unable to commit physical fornication; so that what is meant here must have application to religious Rome.

(5) Political Rome controls the kings of the earth, hence it is not possible for political Rome to commit fornication with

them. The

great harlot in 17.2 is without doubt religious Rome.

Nevertheless, Babylon also has reference to political Rome, for the following reasons:

(1) According to 17.16 the end of the woman comes when she is burned by the beast (Antichrist) and ten horns (ten subordinate

kings). But in 18.8 she is judged by God. For this reason, 17.16 has

reference to the religious aspect whereas 18.8 has reference to the political aspect.

(2) In 18.7 it reads: "She saith in her heart, I sit a queen"; but by

the time of 17.16 she is already dethroned by the beast and the ten

kings. How, then, can it still be said in 18.7 that she sits a queen?

This is possible only because one speaks of religious Rome and the other of political Rome.

(3) Chapter 17 is largely symbolic, while the latter half of chapter

18 is almost entirely literal. The angel explains to John what is

shown in chapter 17 because it is allegorical; but the second part of

chapter 18 needs no interpretation since it is not symbolic.

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

(4) After 8.13 records "Woe, woe, woe", there in fact do come three woes shortly thereafter. Similarly, when 18.2 mentions "fallen, fallen", there must be two fallings to come; one, the fall of political Rome; the other, the fall of religious Rome.

(5) There are two Jerusalems referred to in this book: one is on earth and one, in heaven. Likewise, there are to be found the two aspects of Rome in this book: one which is political and one religious. These two are distinguishable but not separable.

17.1 This begins the narration of the things that are to occur after the pouring out of the seven bowls. Is it not interesting that one of the seven angels who has the seven bowls signiﬁes the New Jerusalem to John in direct contrast with what is said in 17.1? Before the harlot is judged, God cannot show forth the wife of the Lamb.

The phrase "many waters" here in 17.1 indicates "Peoples, and

multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (see 17.15). The harlot sits

upon peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. In other words, the inﬂuence of Rome extends throughout the entire world.

How the Romish system frequently styles itself as the mistress and mother of all churches.

Why does God call this woman a harlot? Because she

communicates and commingles with the world. She has so broadened the communion of the saints as to hold inter course with the world.

What she gains is worldly pleasure and earthly glory. She has become savorless salt. A harlot is one who commits fornication without the due process of marriage. An adulteress is a woman who commits fornication after being married. God therefore calls her a harlot, since a harlot is a woman who commits fornication before marriage; thus signifying that God has never recognized the relationship between the Roman Church and Christ. Like a harlot, the Roman Church has not kept her virginity for Christ.

Come, Lord Jesus

This woman is called a "great harlot": Had the Roman Catholic

Church observed Matthew 5-7, she could not be great—she could only develop into a "little ﬂock" (Luke 12.32). Her testimony would simply be that the world is rebellious and that Christ shall come again to judge it. Her being "great" is exactly what the Lord

predicted in Matthew 13.32. In this connection we need to read Genesis 1 which states that "the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the

seed thereof, after their kind" (v.12). Yet Matthew 13 records the

Lord Jesus as saying this: "When it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree" (v.32). Hence the greatness here

described in Revelation is the greatness of a harlot. Please observe that the Romish pope is greater than an emperor. An emperor can only control a man's body, but a pope can control a man's soul, yes, even that of the emperor's. Now such a situation is not at all normal for the church on earth.

17.2 "With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication"—By way of explanation please consider the following: (1) In order to please the kings of the earth, the Roman Church was willing to baptize them as long as they wished to be baptized.

Thus, she auctioned away the principles of Christ and the word of God.

(2) She made the church co-extensive with the state. Christianity became the state religion of Rome. Anyone who was born a Roman could be a Christian. Normally the church was smaller than the state, but now she became equally as big.

(3) The Church joined to herself the political powers of kings and rulers. The foremost sin of fornication she can commit is to force Christianity on the people by means of the powers of kings and emperors. This was done not only by Rome but also by many other

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

nations. The result was to make merely nominal Christians out of people.

To commit fornication with the kings of the earth is said to be, interpretively speaking, the Roman Church's direct relationship with them. But the verse, "and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication", speaks of her indirect relationship with the people on earth. Wine here signiﬁes heresies.

The Romish Church has caused people on earth to lose their self-determination and to become foolish through heretical doctrines. On the one hand she has taught that by giving a little money and by making confession to a priest a person's sin may be forgiven, but on the other hand she has failed to instruct people how they ought to live a holy life. She allows them to indulge in worldly pleasures. Indeed, this wine of her fornication has made the whole world drunk. It is quite true that without religion no one could live on earth. For this reason, the Roman Church is most palatable to the taste of the world.

She disregards spiritual reality on the one hand, yet on the other uses all sorts of religious rituals to create emotional comforts as well as glowing expectation within the hearts of the people.

So has been the Church of Rome, and so shall she be revived in the future. For instance, in China there are only about 300,000 to 400,000 Protestants, but there are more than 2,000,000 Roman Catholics.∗Furthermore, once a Roman Catholic, one dies a Roman Catholic. Several big denominations in the United States had no increase during one year, whereas the Roman Catholics added several millions to their record.

17.3 "Wilderness" may be interpreted spiritually, for the world is referred to in Scripture as a wilderness (Ps. 107.33,34); or it may

∗These statistics refer back to the early 1930's.— Translator 182

Come, Lord Jesus

be interpreted literally, since the vicinity of Rome itself has been called a "marble wilderness" by some.∗

"A woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast"—This beast represents the Roman Empire, for the seven heads and ten horns are merely part of it; it also points to Antichrist, because even though he is the eighth head he nevertheless possesses all the villainy of the other seven as well as the powers of the ten horns. God looks upon Antichrist as just a wild beast. Moreover, He looks upon this woman as a harlot, for she is not as irrationally vicious as a wild beast, though she abandons her rationality and acts a harlot.

"A woman sitting upon . . . a beast"—This speaks of the union of the Roman Church with the Roman state. How this woman has made use of the state! If a local magistrate had oﬀended a Roman Catholic priest, the pope might have issued an interdict upon the city, prohibiting the celebration of mass and thus stirring up the people against their magistrate. Or if the Roman Church had wished for any action to be taken against some people, she would not have acted directly; instead, she would have instigated the Roman state to act.

The woman's inﬂuence is as great as that of the beast, because she rides on the beast.

The color of the beast is red as that of the dragon is red. This indicates that this beast comes out of the dragon; therefore, it is the same as the dragon.

"Full of names of blasphemy"—This is diﬀerent from the words of blasphemy. The words "names of blasphemy" mean calling oneself with the names used of God. How the Roman caesars were accustomed to employing divine titles!

∗Govett, op. cit., p. 428.— Translator

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

17.4 "Purple"—This is the color adopted in the Roman Empire as the symbol of honor and power. For example, a Roman senator had a broad strip of purple on the breast, while a knight had a narrow strip of it. The emperor wore a purple robe. For the woman to be thus arrayed in purple means that she is in possession of earthly glory (note that the rich man cited in Luke 16.19 wore a robe of purple).

Purple is not a basic color since it is the combination of blue and red colors. Blue is the heavenly color, but red is the earthly (for note that the Biblical place-name Edom means red, and therefore this color denotes that which is earthly). Hence purple is the blending of heaven and earth.

Scarlet is the color of Rome—"'I caused this inquiry to be made of an intelligent gentleman who had passed much time in Rome, without his knowing my design,' said Barnes. 'What would strike a stranger on visiting Rome, or what would be likely particularly to arrest his attention as remarkably there?' And he unhesitatingly replied, 'The scarlet color.'"∗ Scarlet is the special color of the ecclesiastical cardinals as well as the popes. The cardinals are so called since their dresses, their hats, their cloaks, and their stockings are always of scarlet. In the case of the pope, even the inner lining of his cloak is scarlet; and the costume of his bodyguard is also scarlet.

Whenever the pope travels, he is welcomed with decorations of scarlet color.

"And decked with gold and precious stone and pearls"—All these things represent the truths of God. The Roman Church, like this woman, adorns herself with these outwardly (cf. 1 Peter 3.3, 1 Tim.

2.9); yet her real condition is most abnormal in the sight of God.

∗Govett , op. cit., p.430.— Translator

Come, Lord Jesus

"Having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations"— This woman has no crown on her head for she is not a genuine queen, neither does she hold a staﬀ in her hand since she is not supposed to possess any earthly authority. Instead she has in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, which speaks of her seducing power. Her victory is gained not by any direct authority, but through her seductive inﬂuence.

A metal was once struck by the pope in which a woman was

holding in her hand a golden cup; and the caption read: "She sits upon the universe"! Unconsciously, the Roman Church

acknowledges herself as that woman.

17.5 "And upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great"—She is a mystery, and yet this mystery is written on her forehead for everyone to read. This implies

that whoever has an eye can perceive the meaning of this mystery.

God recognized Jerusalem as the center of worship (religious) as well as the center of earthly dominion (political). The error of the Roman Church is to presume that God has established her in lieu of Jerusalem, thus making herself both a religious and political center.

What Jerusalem is rightfully to be in the millennial kingdom is what the Roman Church has today already assumed.

"The mother of the harlots"—Being herself the great harlot, all that come out of this woman are harlots. These are the state churches, since their institutional systems are similar to that of Rome. Any church group that is united with the world is a small harlot. (For example, membership is not based on regeneration, but is granted to any who pledge to give support ﬁnancially; also, the qualiﬁcation for taking communion or the Lord's Supper is membership instead of salvation; and so forth).

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

"Mother . . . of the abominations of the earth"— Abominations in Old Testament times always pointed to idols (see Deut. 7.25,26). The

Roman Church is known for her idol-worshiping. She worships Mary, angels, apostles, saints, and so forth. Her split with Constantinople was over this matter of her idolworshiping.

17.6 This verse tells us what this woman did prior to what she will even more intensely and cruelly do in the future.

Notice carefully that this verse does not say that the woman herself shed the blood of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus; it merely states that she was "drunken with [their] blood": The Roman Church never slays people with her own hands, she instead uses the authority of the Roman state to kill. Whereas she is the instigator, it is the Roman state that directly persecutes the Christians.

The word "saints" here includes also the Jews, for in the future not only those who have the testimony of Jesus but also those who are Jews will suﬀer persecution from the hand of the Roman Church.

John is surprised because the persecution of Christians comes from a people who profess to believe in Christ. How can he not wonder with a great wonder?

It should be noted that 17.1-6 records the vision John saw; 17.7

begins the interpretation given by the angel. Consequently, the

section found in 17.7-18 should be taken literally.

17.7 The angel is going to tell John the mystery of the seven heads and ten horns

17.8 The angel explains to John that the beast he saw has four stages of history; namely, the beast (1) was, (2) is not, (3) is about to come out of the abyss, and (4) will go into perdition.

Come, Lord Jesus

In the book of Revelation this beast, as has been said, represents Antichrist as well as the Roman Empire. In this connection, though, it points to a man, not to a state. The reasons for this view are as follows:

(1) This beast "was"—How then can we say that the Roman

Empire once existed earlier prior to the time of John?

(2) The beast "is not"—Yet neither can we say that the Roman Empire did not exist at John's time.

(3) The beast "is about to come up out of the abyss"—Abyss is the place where the spirits are imprisoned. How can we therefore say that the Roman Empire is about to come out of the abyss?

(4) The beast is "to go into perdition"—How, moreover, can we say that the political entity known as the Roman Empire will go into hell in the future?

Since, from this reasoning, this beast cannot apply to the Roman Empire, it must have reference to Antichrist. "Was" shows that before the time of John there was such a person who once lived on earth.

"Is not" indicates that at John's time this man is not in the world since he must have died. The phrase "is not" is also used in Genesis

42.36-38 to indicate death.

"Is about to come up out of the abyss" reveals that he is now in the abyss but will come out of it, that is to say, he will be resuscitated.

"Go into perdition" discloses that he will not live forever on earth, neither can he rule forever, because his destiny will be that of being

cast into the lake of ﬁre (19.20, 20.10).

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

His being "was, and is not, and is about to come" is a clever counterfeiting of God "who is and who was and who is to come" (cf.

1.4,8; 4.8).

"And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder"—And this

wonderment will eventually lead them to worship the beast (13.12).

Only those whom God has chosen will be kept. All whose names have been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will be preserved by God and kept from worshiping the beast.

17.9 is the same as 13.18; except that in 13.18 it says that the

mind that has wisdom can count the number of the beast, whereas in

17.9 it states that the mind of wisdom is to know the heads of the beast.

The seven heads have double meaning; they point to (1) place, and (2) person.

(1) As to place, the seven heads are seven mountains. The heads of the earth are mountains, which also give the impression of

strength or power (see Num. 21.20; Jer. 22.6; Amos 1.2, 9.3).

"Rome was in John's age usually called the seven-hilled city", said Dr. Woodworth. Many of the ancient Roman poets in their poetry proclaimed Rome as the seven-hilled city. Someone has noticed that for about ﬁve hundred years after the time of John, the Roman poets unanimously called Rome the seven-hilled city. There was once a Roman gold metal which showed a woman sitting on seven hills. Even the coin of Emperor Vespasian, as described by Captain Smyth ( Roman Coins, page 310), represented "Rome seated 188

Come, Lord Jesus

on seven hills; at the base Romulus and Remus suckled by the wolf; in front, the Tiber personiﬁed."∗

The poet Horace once said, "The gods, who look with favour on the seven hills." And another poet Tibullus said this: "Ye bulls, feed on herbage of the seven hills."

Now the names of the seven hills are these: Aventine, Coelian, Esquiline, Capitoline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal.

(2) As to person, these seven mountains are also seven kings, for kings are heads of the peoples. While the heads of the earth (that is, the mountains) are contemporary and continuous, the heads of the peoples are temporary and successive to one another. This double concept of head as being both of the earth and of the people may be demonstrated in one particular passage of Isaiah: "The head

of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin" (7.8,9).

Some people interpret the seven kings as constituting seven forms of government. Such elucidation is against the rules of scriptural interpretation, as is seen in the following observations: (1) The seven kings being already the angel's own explanation, they cannot be expounded in any other way.

(2) The Bible never uses a king to represent politics. Even classical writers do not employ such symbolism.

(3) The concept of a king is itself already the symbol of a form of government (he may represent either an absolute or a constitutional form of monarchy). How then can these kings stand for other forms of government?

∗Robert Govett, The Apocalypse Expounded. London: Chas. J. Thynne, 1920, p. 442.—

Translator

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

(4) In spite of the ﬁnding by some of seven diﬀerent forms of Roman government, the seven kings alluded to here succeed one another, whereas the seven forms of Roman government are not continuous but are intermittent.

(5) If the seven kings point to seven forms of government, what will the ten kings represent? Will they not stand for another ten forms of government? If so, Roman political history would have required 17 forms of government.

(6) 17.9 speaks of the woman sitting upon seven mountains. Each of the seven is a mountain; not that some are mountains and some are not. Similarly, therefore, the seven kings must all be kings.

(7) "Head" in the Scripture always has reference to person. The four heads mentioned in Daniel 7.6 represent four kings, not four

forms of government. Why, then, should the seven kings in Revelation represent seven forms of government?

(8) If the kings have reference to various forms of government, then that of "Christian" emperors (such as Constantine the Great) must also be reckoned as numbering among the forms of

government. But according to 12.3 the seven heads are located upon

the dragon and hence all these heads belong to Satan. Can we say Christianity too belongs to Satan?

Yet some critics counter respond by saying that Rome had twelve caesars, with Domitian at the time of John already being the twelfth caesar. How can we therefore say that Rome has only seven kings?

We may answer this by asking why it is that there are only seven speciﬁc churches cited in chapters 2 and 3? Obviously, the seven churches are chosen representatively. The same, too, in the matter of the seven kings.

Come, Lord Jesus

Even so, some may still further argue that even if the seven kings may perhaps be selected on a representative basis, how is anyone to know which seven out of the twelve caesars are to be chosen? Our answer is that we may ﬁnd them out by means of the following deductions:

(1) 13.1 states: "And upon his heads names of blasphemy"; since the seven heads all have names of blasphemy, these seven kings must be self-styled gods, demanding worship.

(2) The word "fallen" in 17.10 carries with it the idea of violent

death (see 2 Sam. 1.19,25,27). All seven kings do indeed meet with violent death: Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—these ﬁve kings all assumed deity for themselves; they called for their people to worship them as gods; and all ﬁve died unnaturally, either by being murdered or by committing suicide.

Domitian was the sixth one. He was present during the time of John. He too deiﬁed himself, and was later murdered.

The seventh one is he who is yet to come. The Bible does not tell us how far apart time-wise the seventh is from the sixth; only that the seventh one will continue a little while (17.10) and later be killed

(17.10; 13.3,14).

The interval between the sixth and the seventh one is ﬁlled by the reign of religious Rome. From the ﬁrst to the sixth, also during the seventh and the eighth, political Rome is in power. But now it is currently religious Rome in place of political Rome.

After Zedekiah was taken captive into Babylon there was no king in Israel. A long interval passed before Christ was born. Likewise, after the destruction of Rome there will be an interval before Antichrist appears.

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

The whole world will be well prepared for the arrival of

Antichrist. Hence, as soon as he appears on the scene he will be able to do much during the three and a half years. The seventh king will have already prepared for the eighth one.

17.11 This verse should be read together with 17.8, for just as

17.8 speaks of the four historical stages of the beast so does 17.11.

According to 17.11 the four stages of the beast's history are denominated as (1) "was", (2) "is not", (3) "is of the seven", and (4)

"goeth into perdition".

Since (1), (2) and (4) in 17.11 coincide with (1), (2) and (4) in

17.8, quite naturally (3) in 17.11 must also agree with (3) in 17.8.

Thus, the beast must come out of the abyss.

Because he is said to be an eighth yet is also of the seven and because he comes out of the abyss, he must needs be

one of the seven who is raised from death to be the eighth. Which one of the seven will he be?

(1) He cannot be the seventh since the seventh has yet to come to

the world (17.10), whereas the beast has already been in the world

before (17.8).

(2) He cannot be the sixth because the sixth was on earth when John lived, but this beast "is not" at the time of John (17.11).

Since he is neither the seventh nor the sixth, he must be one of the ﬁve. But which of the ﬁve is he? From 13.18 we recognize that he

must be Nero.

The seventh is but a forerunner of Antichrist. The eighth is to use the body of the seventh. Eight is the number of resurrection; yet his resurrection is to be quite diﬀerent from that of the Lord Jesus. For 192

Come, Lord Jesus

the Lord is himself resurrected, but the eighth is to be the reanimation of a corpse with another soul.∗

While the Lord Jesus was on earth the Jews chose a living caesar rather than the living Christ. After Christ was resurrected, people still refused to accept Him. The future Antichrist will be a resurrected caesar, and again people will receive him instead of the risen Christ.

17.12 The seven heads are seven kings, but so are the ten horns

ten kings. Yet the heads and the horns are diﬀerent.

(1) A horn is on the head; therefore, it is relatively smaller than the head. A head represents the entire reign of Rome while a horn stands for a subordinate king of Rome (such as a tetrarch or prince).

(2) There can be only one head at a time, and these heads succeed one another in reigning; but the ten horns can be ten subordinate kings ruling contemporaneously.

(3) Of the seven heads, one is yet to come; but of the ten horns, all are yet to come.

These horns or kings had received no kingdom as yet while John was living.

The ten kings shall receive authority simultaneously with the eighth.

∗This is not to be construed as teaching reincarnation. The Bible does not teach reincarnation, nor did the author ever subscribe to such an heretical doctrine. The speciﬁc interpretation given here relative to Antichrist serves only as the exception which goes to prove the rule of no reincarnation—just as the image of the beast having breath and the ability to speak (see 13.14,15 above) is the exception which proves the rule of no image having breath or speaking.— Translator

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

Some suggest that the ten kings are a reference to ten kingdoms.

But such an interpretation is not valid for the following reasons: (1) Ten kings is the explanation of the angel, so there should be no further interpretation.

(2) 17.12 and 17.17 will not make sense if these ten kings are re-interpreted as being ten kingdoms.

(3) Since the beast is a person, the ten kings must likewise be persons.

These ten kings are diﬀerent from the kings of the earth because: (1) The kings of the earth exist prior to and also at the time of the ten kings.

(2) The kings of the earth commit fornication with the great harlot, but the ten kings have never been united with the great harlot.

On the contrary, they later on destroy her (17.16).

17.13 The beast cannot refer to the pope, for never have ten kings ever given their power to a pope. Nor can the beast be an allusion to any of the former Roman emperors, since, again, no ten kings have ever surrendered their power to any former Roman emperor. The beast is Antichrist. The ten kings give their power to the beast because:

(1) they observe that the beast is raised from death, and thus consider him a superman.

(2) they are enticed by the evil spirit. The Holy Spirit descends from heaven after the death and resurrection of Christ and so the church is formed. Now as a counterfeit,

the evil spirit—after the appearing of Antichrist through some kind of resurrection—moves the ten kings to yield their power to the beast.

Come, Lord Jesus

17.14 According to the order of narration 17.14 precedes

17.16; but according to the order of fact the event of 17.16 happens

before that of 17.14. In 19.11-21 we have a detailed description of the war mentioned in 17.14, for the war is actually fought at that time. Though many there will be of those who follow the Lamb, the victory is gained by the Lamb himself. By the sharp sword which proceeds from His mouth the Lamb shall overcome His enemies and tread them under His feet. He overcomes His enemies, not by power but by authority. He overcomes because He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. This is authority, not power.

Those who accompany the Lamb are marked as having three

qualiﬁcations—(1) called, (2) chosen, and (3) faithful. They stand in contrast to the great harvest. To follow the Lamb, these must be called. God calls us according to His own determinate will. To be chosen usually precedes a being called, but here it is mentioned after the matter of being called. Hence it refers to a being chosen from among the believers ("Many are called, but few chosen," says the

Lord—Matt. 22.14). Such therefore is the order. Psalm 89.19f. may be used to illustrate the meaning here. The children of Israel have already been chosen by God, yet

David is further chosen out of the children of Israel. All who are called are saved, but only those who are after God's own heart are the overcomers. Those who are saved form one class, and those who overcome form another class.

Whoever follows the Lamb needs to be not only called and chosen but also faithful, which means being mindful of the Lord alone and nothing of self.

17.15 This verse explains the signiﬁcance of the waters. Since

the harlot is a mystery, and therefore symbolic in meaning and not to be interpreted literally, so the waters too must be "mysterious", symbolic, and not subject to literal interpretation. Were we to have Christ as our full satisfaction we would never sit upon many waters.

To broaden the fellowship of the saints by having open intercourse with the world is to sit upon many waters.

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

This woman in the book of Revelation sits on three places:

(1) upon the beast (17.3), which is to say, she is united with Rome;

(2) upon seven mountains (17.9), which means she makes Rome her center; and

(3) upon many waters (17.15), indicating that her inﬂuence extends to the entire world.

Why is she sometimes called "harlot" and sometimes "woman"?

The term woman is used in relation to Rome, and the term harlot, in relation to Christ—woman, politically speaking; but harlot, religiously speaking.

17.16 The ten horns and the beast hate the harlot, not the

woman. For the woman (the city of Rome, cf. 17.18) is their

kingdom. They hate the harlot because she is at least in name linked with Christ.

The beast in this book points both to Rome and to Antichrist. We have already learned that Antichrist will be Nero resurrected. Now if he ﬁercely persecuted Christians once before, would he ever permit Rome to belong to Christ upon his coming back? The ﬁrst act he performs, therefore, will be the destroying of the harlot.

The reasons for the hatred of the world as personiﬁed by Nero are as follows:

(1) On the one hand, because the conduct of the harlot is either too presumptuous or too wicked. Though their conscience is not enlightened by God, the nations of the world cannot tolerate the practices of the Roman Church, such as, that after the bread is blessed by the priest it somehow is transubstantiated into the body of 196

Come, Lord Jesus

the Lord, that only the priests can read the Bible, that confession must be made to the priests, and that the inquisition and the selling of indulgences ﬂourish. Yet there

are many other mean and treacherous acts practiced by her which even the nations cannot stand.

(2) On the other hand, because of her good, since in the Roman Church there can yet be found such truths taught as the Trinity, Jesus the Son of God, the Virgin Birth, the belief in the Lord's death, resurrection and ascension, and so forth. She still belongs to Christ in name, and therefore the nations hate her.

The ways the world shall treat the Roman Church are:

(1) make her desolate—probably the Vatican where the pope resides will become a desolate place;

(2) make her naked—which, taken literally, may mean the loss of material things, or taken spiritually, may mean the disclosure of her secrets;

(3) eat her ﬂesh—which, spiritually applied, perhaps means the slaying of her great men or the killing of Roman Catholics in general; and

(4) burn her utterly with ﬁre—There is no diﬃculty in this being taken literally.

The kings of the earth, however, are the Roman Church's bosom friends. Yet, when they see her calamity they only bemoan her but do

not help her (18.9,10). Though the seventh king is also her friend, he will nonetheless be there only temporarily (17.10), so neither is he of

any help. Antichrist becomes her great enemy.

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

17.17 The event in this verse probably happens after the great harlot is destroyed. At that time it would appear that the kingdom of Antichrist has come.

17.18 The woman here speaks of Rome, since in John's time only Rome was the great city which reigned over the kings of the earth.

18.1 The person mentioned here must be Christ himself.

Besides Him, who ever can have such great authority and who else can lighten the earth with his glory?

18.2 God has destroyed religious Rome through the beast and

ten horns (17.16). Now He himself will come to destroy the city of Rome. Hence, this mighty proclamation. This event is also foretold in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 13.21 we read this: "And wild goats shall dance there" (the Septuagint renders it as: "and demons shall

dance there"). Though the scene in Isaiah 34.13-15 refers directly to

Edom, it is nevertheless quite similar to what is announced here in

18.2.

18.3 This verse speaks of three things:

(1) the nations ("By the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen"). See also 17.2, which, because of

what we have said earlier, indicates that religious Rome is in view.

(2) The kings of the earth (they "committed fornication with her").

See 17.2 and 18.9, which in view of what has been said previously, show that both religious and political Rome are involved.

(3) The merchants of the earth (they "waxed rich by the power of

her wantonness"). See 18.15, which points speciﬁcally to the commercial aspect of Rome.

Come, Lord Jesus

By reading and considering the last clause of 18.3 we may see God's view on commerce. There will not be any trading in the new heaven and the new earth. Trade prospers here because of luxury.

Here commerce is a catering to personal gain as well as to men's luxury. It apparently is not a commendable activity in the sight of God.

18.4 "Her" means the city of Rome as well as religious Rome.

According to prophetic history, after the seven bowls have been poured out there follow lightnings and voices and thunders and an

earthquake (16.17,18). Then, God remembers the great city of

Babylon and He also then sends great hail to the earth (16.19,21).

Chapter 17 tells us that Babylon is that great harlot, for upon her forehead is written Mystery, Babylon the Great. It also shows us her past history, the appearing of Antichrist, and her end (vv. 1-8).

Chapter 18 again informs us how Babylon will fall.

"Come forth, my people, out of her"—This is a command.

Although it is given at this juncture, it certainly is applicable to those

in view in chapter 17 as well, because there are true believers in the Lord even in religious Rome.

18.5 This verse agrees with 16.19. Both passages speak of how

the entire great Babylon is destroyed by God. As soon as God remembers a sin, He immediately punishes. When He remembers, He remembers clearly; and when He forgets, He also forgets clearly.

18.6 This fulﬁlls the words in Romans 2.6-9. "Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works"—Will not the "double" conﬂict with "according to her works"? Possibly this is due to the dual aspects of Babylon.

"The cup which she mingled"—When in the future God shall

arise to judge the city of Rome, He will also judge it for the sins of religious Rome.

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

18.7 The church does not glorify herself, instead she gloriﬁes Christ. But Rome acts oppositely. She not only gloriﬁes herself but indulges herself luxuriously.

18.8 Mourning comes after sorrow. God judges "the great city"

(18.10) with sorrows, and causes her to mourn. "Lord God" is God's name in the Old Testament, thus indicating that He has returned to His Old Testament position.

18.9 The kings of the earth have no strength to help the

woman. For this judgment upon her is an act done by God; therefore, it is beyond their capability. The harlot mentioned in 17.16 is burned,

and so too is this city burned.

18.10 "Woe, woe," lament the kings of the earth. In this chapter, this exclamation is recorded as occurring three times—in verses 10, 16 and 19.

18.11 Many maintain that according to its geographical location, Rome cannot become a center of trade. But please notice

that 18.11 does not say that this city is the center of import and export. For besides what Rome has bought, there is

nothing else in it to sell. Rome buys profusely because Antichrist lives there in great luxury.

18.12-13 There are seven diﬀerent kinds of commodities mentioned: (1) jewelry, (2) fabrics, (3) vessels, (4) perfumes, (5) delicacies, (6) herds, ﬂocks, horses and chariots, and (7) slaves and souls of men. The last commodity, "slaves and souls", may also be translated bodies and souls. A popular saying of the period goes like this: "What Babylon keeps is ﬁrst gold and last of all souls."

18.14 This verse speaks of Rome's past.

Come, Lord Jesus

18.15,16 This time it is the merchants who cry "Woe, woe"

(v.16). Compare 18.16 with 17.4 and it can be seen that they ﬁt each other exactly.

18.17 "For in one hour . . . is made desolate"—This sentence is connected with the preceding verse.

18.17-19 This time it is the shipmasters and the mariners who cry "Woe, woe" (v.19).

"In one hour" are words spoken three times in this book of Revelation: (1) by the kings of the earth (18.10), (2) by the

merchants (18.17), and (3) by the shipmasters, the mariners, and the

passengers (18.19).

18.20 The saints and the prophets probably include both the Old and the New Testament saints and prophets.

18.21 We do not know how God will destroy Babylon. We only know that God remembers the Great Babylon just at the time of

the great earthquake (16.19). So perhaps Babylon is destroyed by an earthquake. Usually there is ﬁre after an earthquake. This is why the kings of the earth, the merchants, and others look upon the smoke of her burning but are hindered from going in to rescue her (18.9,10).

18.22,23 Altogether, the words "no more at all" appear six times in verses 21-23.

18.22-24 These verses disclose three reasons (they are actually sins) to explain why God judges Babylon:

(1) "Thy merchants were the princes of the earth";

(2) "With thy sorcery were all the nations deceived"; and

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

(3) "In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth."

The fault with modern commerce is not in balancing needs with supplies but in ensnaring people; therefore, it is apparently sinful.

Sorcery is a holding intercourse with demons. It could be that Rome will become the center of sorcery in the future. Rome, of course, has shed—and will yet shed—lots of human blood.

19.1-6 The events covered by this section follow upon those

which 18.24 concludes.

19.1 "After these things"—that is, after Babylon is completely destroyed. "A great multitude"—this includes all those who are saved (not just those saved during the age of grace). "Hallelujah" is literally "Alleluia", which means "Praise the Lord" in Greek. Why Alleluia? Because salvation and glory and power have now come.

19.2 The sentence "True and righteous are his judgments"

coincides with "Righteous and true are thy ways" found in 15.3. True

because God judges according to actual conditions; righteous because God judges in accordance with proper procedures. The judgment of the great harlot (religious Rome) is quoted to prove that God is righteous.

19.3 The judgment of Rome will last forever and ever.

19.4 This is the last time in the Bible when the 24 elders and the four living creatures are mentioned. After the great multitude in heaven says "Hallelujah", the 24 elders and the four living creatures respond with "Amen, Hallelujah"— indicating thereby that the latter group is diﬀerent from the former group. The great multitude in heaven speak of salvation, glory, power, and so forth; thus showing plainly that the church is included. The 24 elders do not represent the 202

Come, Lord Jesus

church. Hereafter they will no longer be mentioned, since after this time they must have resigned from their lofty positions.

19.5 This is the last time that the throne is mentioned as being in the temple, because at the present moment there is a temple but not a city. In the new heaven and the new earth there will only be the city but not a temple.

"Voice . . . from the throne" must be referring to the voice of the Lord Jesus because the Lamb is "in the midst of the throne" (5.6).

"All ye his servants" is a phrase pointing to those in the church, since this book emphasizes the individual responsibility of believers before God.

"Ye that fear him" are words that refer to all who fear God, both of the Jews and of the Gentiles.

"Give praise to our God"—This is what the Lord always does

(Heb. 2.12).

19.6 "Voice of a great multitude"—it being the voice of a great many people. "Voice of many waters"—this being the resounding voice of the great multitude. "Voice of mighty thunders"—it being the sound of majesty and grandeur.

"For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth"—The Almighty has always reigned, only now this fact is being manifested.

19.7 Who is this "wife" of the Lamb? It cannot be the church for the following reasons

(1) The great multitude spoken of in 19.1 includes the saved

among the children of Israel as well as from among the nations. The church is deﬁnitely included. Since it is the

great multitude who proclaims the words found in 19.7, the church must therefore be

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

included among those who make such a proclamation. And hence the wife must point to someone else.

(2) In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25.1-13), only the ﬁve

wise virgins (and therefore not all who are in the church, for notice that all ten are virgins) are privileged to attend the marriage feast.

(3) This wife of the Lamb is diﬀerent from the bride in Paul's epistles. For she whom Paul speaks of is clothed with Christ, whereas the wife here is clothed with her own righteousnesses. In Paul's epistles the church as a whole is viewed as the bride of Christ. In Revelation, the church is considered according to her components, therefore the responsibility of the church before God is stressed. In Paul's epistles the church is accepted in Christ, but in Revelation the church is accepted in her works. In Paul's epistles the church in totality belongs to Christ, while in Revelation she is divided into the saved and the overcomers.

This wife of the Lamb is none other than the New Jerusalem

(21.9,10).

God is now in His holy temple, so that the voices of praise from the great multitude come also from the temple. During the millennial kingdom the overcomers shall be kings in the city and priests in the temple. But the temple shall gradually

lose its prominence until it totally disappears, for God and the Lamb will be the temple in New Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth.

Of the church, some (for example, the ﬁve wise virgins) will attend the marriage feast, while some (for example, the ﬁve foolish virgins) will not be able to attend the marriage feast.

19.8 The wife of the Lamb, as we have seen from the above discussion, signiﬁes the New Jerusalem. "It was given to her" are words to indicate reward. "Bright" is due to the whiteness of the ﬁne 204

Come, Lord Jesus

linen. This is in direct contrast to the clothing of the great harlot

(17.4). "Pure" here is in perfect agreement with the word "pure" in

19.14.

"For the ﬁne linen is the righteousnesses of the saints" (Darby)—

The word "righteousnesses" is the same as is found in Isaiah 64: "our

righteousnesses" (v.6).

These saints will soon be inhabitants of the city of New

Jerusalem. The duration of time as a bride is limited, but as a wife it is from start to ﬁnish. So, too, is this the case with New Jerusalem.

During the millennial kingdom, New Jerusalem is the bride of the Lamb. And in the new heaven and new earth New Jerusalem will be the wife of the Lamb.

Christians are divided into the saved and the overcomers. Only the overcoming believers are related to the new city during the millennial kingdom. In the new heaven and new earth, both the saved and the overcomers partake equally in New Jerusalem.

The wedding gown is worn only for a time; the believers who overcome are joined together as the bride.

At the marriage of the Lamb it looks as though the door of New Jerusalem is opened for the ﬁrst time to let in the overcomers. The ﬁve foolish virgins are not able to enter at this time.

19.9 This verse shows us explicitly that some people are invited, and blessed are those who are invited to the marriage. This city is the bride of the Lamb, and those who enjoy the glory and the beauty of the city are the invited ones who have the righteousnesses of the saints. (It is also true that these righteousnesses constitute the very glory and beauty of the city.)

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

"These are true words of God"—This is repeated twice more in

21.5 and 22.6. It is used to call our special attention to what has just been said. Some may regard the invitation to the marriage of the Lamb as insigniﬁcant, though as a matter of fact only those who are so invited have any share in the

kingdom. All who are not invited to the marriage have no part in the kingdom. Only the believers who overcome are entitled to participate in the marriage feast. This seems

to agree with Revelation 3.20 wherein the thought of supping with the Lord is also present.

19.10 Angels are servants of God. It is a great temptation to us to worship created beings.

"The spirit of prophecy" is related to "the spirits of the prophets"

(1 Cor. 14.32), since it is the prophet who prophesies.

19.11 The marriage ceremony being over, now the Lord comes down to the earth with His faithful followers. These names "Faithful and True" have already been spoken of in chapter 1 of this book.

Here they are the names of our Lord in His second coming, and they reveal His relationship to the world; in chapter 1, however, these names are especially connected with the church.

19.12 "Diadems" are crowns. They can be worn layer upon layer because they have no tops. The "name" mentioned here is so special that no one knows but He himself. In 2.17 it is recorded that

the Lord promises to give to the overcomers in the church at Pergamum a new name which no one knows but they who have

received it. Therefore, this special name of the Lord is also given to Him by God.

19.13 "And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood"—

The garment is not sprinkled with blood in heaven, rather it is so sprinkled in the battle on earth. This describes the scene of the battle

of Har-Magedon (see also Is. 13.1-6).

Come, Lord Jesus

"The Word of God"—Only John had used such an expression

before (John 1.1), thus proving that John wrote this book.

19.14 Those here who follow the Lamb ("the armies which are in heaven") are the same as the called and chosen and faithful mentioned in 17.14. By this time the standings of the Christians have already been determined. All who are invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb may enter the kingdom because:

(1) The garment of the bride is the righteousnesses of the saints.

(2) The righteousnesses of the saints, in turn, are the glory and beauty of the new city.

(3) All who are invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb must possess the righteousnesses of the saints. Those who come with the Lord are those who have been invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb. Hence all who enter the kingdom have been invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb.

(4) As recorded in Mark, the Lord used these words: "Until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God" (14.25). This

indicates that the feast is to be enjoyed in the kingdom.

(5) The "sup with him, and he with me" of Revelation 3.20 agrees

with the words "Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb" of 19.9.

(6) The "blessed" in 19.9 is related to the "blessed" in 20.6.

(7) In the kingdom, the New Jerusalem is the bride; in the new heaven and the new earth, New Jerusalem is the wife of the Lamb.

Yet even then, at the time of 21.9, she still retains the form of a bride.

19.15 This verse declares three things concerning the Lord:

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

(1) "Out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword"—This is the word that comes out of His mouth.

(2) "A rod of iron"—Three times is this mentioned in the book, the other two places being 2.27 and 12.5. At the commencement of the kingdom He will break all powers of resistance.

(3) "Treadeth the winepress of the ﬁerceness of the wrath of God"—This is in agreement with 14.17-20 and Isaiah 13.1-6.

19.16 His thigh is especially mentioned because He rides on a horse.

19.17,18 "The marriage supper of the Lamb" spoken of in 19.9

is for those who are invited; "the great supper of God" here is for "all the birds that ﬂy in mid heaven" (v.17).

19.19,20 These verses tell of the destinies of the beast and the false prophet. Observe the following sequence of events:

(1) 19.11-16 relates how the Lord ﬁghts and wins the battle.

(2) 19.17-18 rehearses how the birds eat the ﬂesh of the defeated.

(3) 19.19-20 tells the end of the beast and of the false prophet.

The false prophet has done three things. He has:

(1) "wrought the signs in his [the beast's] sight";

(2) "Deceived them that had received the mark of the beast"; and (3) "Deceived . . . them that worshipped his [the beast's] image . .

Come, Lord Jesus

"Alive into"—Please notice this word. It coincides with our

explanations of 13.11 and 13.18. For both beast and false prophet

come back from death; and since their ﬂesh cannot die twice, they are cast alive into the lake of ﬁre.

19.21 After the events which this verse concludes, then those Christians who faithfully have followed the Lord shall enjoy glory a thousand years ahead of other Christians.

20.1-3 SATAN IS BOUND

20.1,2 It is said in 9.1 that the key to the pit of the abyss is given to Satan, with which he there and then does two things: (1) He causes two persons to return to life.

(2) He releases the beasts out of the pit to hurt men.

Satan is cast out of heaven after the war in heaven (12.7-9). Now

he is cast into the abyss (20.3), for the Lord is the King of kings and

the Lord of lords (19.16 and 20.1). The Lord overcomes Satan by authority, and His word is full of authority.

20.3 Some may ask why the dragon is not immediately thrown into the lake of ﬁre. The answer is that after he has been shut in for a thousand years, the dragon is to be released temporarily for the following reasons:

(1) to prove that the dragon will never repent,

(2) to unveil the hidden sins of men, and

(3) to show the good pleasure of God.

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

20.4-6 THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

20.4 Three classes of people will reign with Christ:

(1) The overcomers will sit on thrones, and judgment will be given to them (20.4a). This shows that they have inherited the kingdom (see also Dan. 7.10,18,22—"Saints of the Most High").

(2) The martyrs throughout the 20 centuries ("them that had been

beheaded"—20.4b). These are the souls under the altar as shown in

the ﬁfth seal (6.9f.). It is for "the testimony of Jesus" that they are killed.

(3) The martyrs during the Great Tribulation. These are those who do not worship the beast nor his image, and upon whose foreheads and hands no mark of the beast is received (20.4c).

"They lived"—Let us notice two things:

(1) These people are not resurrected at the time of 20.4. Their

resurrection is merely retraced here as an accomplished fact. John does not see them resurrected at that moment; he only acknowledges that they live.

(2) Those here who live include not only the resurrected but also those who are raptured alive; for we cannot assert that

only those who are resurrected reign here with Christ; since even though the number of people who are raptured alive may not be great they nevertheless shall reign with Christ too.

20.5 "The ﬁrst resurrection"—This does not necessarily mean that there is only one resurrection, nor does it denote that there are many resurrections. It simply signiﬁes this as being the "best"

resurrection.

Come, Lord Jesus

The word "the" includes the two things mentioned in the last

clause of 20.4:

(1) "Lived" and (2) "reigned": The best resurrection means to live and to reign. Such a resurrection is a reward, for there is a reigning with Christ for a thousand years as well as a being resurrected.

"The second death" of 20.6 is in contrast with "the ﬁrst resurrection", because the latter means to enjoy glory while the former means to suﬀer eternally. Hence the ﬁrst resurrection is none other than the time of recompense (Luke 14.14, 20.34-36).

What Paul says in Philippians 3.11 is not an expecting to be raised from the dead (for all the dead shall be resurrected), nor an anticipating the resurrection of the spirit (for the resurrection of the spirit is already accomplished at the time of new birth). No, what Paul is looking forward to is the "out-

resurrection" from among the dead, which is this "best" resurrection spoken of here in 20.5, even a

reigning with the Lord.

Read again Philippians 1.23-25. There in that epistle's ﬁrst

chapter Paul is saying that he will live; he is not contemplating death.

How, then, can he be talking about resurrection? He clearly states in

Philippians 3.20,21 that he waits for the coming of the Lord.

Consequently, what he anxiously hopes for is to reign with the Lord.

"The rest of the dead" naturally includes all the unsaved sinners.

Their resurrection will come to pass a thousand years later.

20.6 "Blessed" should be translated literally as "happy"—

Those who appear to be happy today may not be holy, while those who are holy can hardly be happy today. The ﬁrst resurrection is blessed in three ways:

Babylon and Her Destruction (17.1-20.6)

(1) "Over these the second death hath no power"—The second death is the lake of ﬁre. Those who have no part in the ﬁrst resurrection may yet be hurt by the second death. Some Christians

will be disciplined in the future (see Matt. 18.34,35). He who wrongs

his brother will be punished by the Lord (1 Thess. 4.5,6). We believers are exhorted to fear Him who has authority to cast into hell (Greek, gehenna), thus implying that over some Christians hell still

has its threat (Luke 12.4,5). If a branch does not abide in Christ, he, like a branch, is liable to be cast oﬀ, withered, cast into the ﬁre and

burned (John 15.6).

Some, though, may ask, Does not the Bible teach that once a person is saved he will never perish? Why then do you say here that Christians may appear as though to perish? This is due none other than to a misunderstanding of some Scripture verses such as the following:

"He shall never see death" (John 8.51,52) is actually "he shall not forever see death" in the original, and "he shall never taste of death"

is "he shall not forever taste death" in the original.

"They shall never perish" (John 10.28) is "they shall not forever

perish" in the original.

"Shall never die" (John 11.25,26) is "shall not forever die" in the original.

(2) "They shall be priests of God and of Christ"—The

signiﬁcance of a priest is to draw near to God. This people shall be very close to God for they shall have a special relationship with Him and Christ. Today we all are priests, therefore all may draw nigh to God. But in the millennial kingdom only those who have part in the ﬁrst resurrection shall function as priests to God and to Christ.

Come, Lord Jesus

Aaron functioned as priest because his rod budded. The budded rod represents resurrection. Whoever is chosen priest is proven by resurrection.

When the children of Israel came out of Egypt they all were

destined to be priests (Ex. 19.6). Due to their worshiping the golden calf, however, God later chose the family of Aaron to be priests.

"They shall be priests . . . of Christ", since at this time Christ shall receive worship as much as God himself is worshiped.

(3) "And shall reign with him a thousand years"—As a rule, in Old Testament times no king was able to be a priest, and no priest, a king. But here is a people who are both priests and kings. As priests, they draw near to God; as kings, they rule over the earth. Only those who have suﬀered are entitled to reign and enjoy glory with Christ.

Here we are told only the fact that they do reign, we are not informed as to how they reign. No doubt the reigning here is heavenly in nature.

P A R T T E N

AFTER THE MILLENNIUM

0 After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

20.7-9 THE LAST REBELLION

20.7,8 Generally speaking the Old

Testament prophets foresaw things up to the time of the millennium.

They are not very clear on matters that are to occur after the millennium. What is mentioned in the section before us here, however, are events which are to happen after the millennium.

Some may raise the question of how people in the millennial kingdom could be deceived after the thousand years are passed. We should be aware that during the millennium there are two classes of people on earth:

(1) The Jews—They "shall be all righteous" (Is. 60.21).

(2) The good nations (Matt. 25.34-40,46)—The bad nations have

been slain (Rev. 19.21); the sheep nations shall inherit the kingdom.

Although during the millennium there are these two classes of people, the Jews hold a much higher position than do the nations.

These people in the millennium are human beings with ﬂesh and blood, and they still beget sons and daughters. The ﬁrst

generation of the nations may be saved, but the children they beget may not be

saved. Isaiah 65.20 mentions death, thus indicating that sin still exists even at this time.

Zechariah 14.17 speaks of people who will still refuse to worship the Lord. The Lord and His Christians shall rule the nations with an iron rod, that is to say, they shall use force to subjugate people.

Whoever disobeys shall be instantly broken. Whoever acts evilly 216

Come, Lord Jesus

shall immediately be destroyed. Satan can easily deceive this group of people when he is temporarily released.

"Magog" is mentioned in Genesis 10.2. "Gog" is seen in Numbers

24.7 where "Agag" is translated "Gog" in the Septuagint. According

to the writings of the Arabs, Magog and Gog occupied the vast expanse of Russia, Mongolia, and even to the eastern border of Germany. They were nomads and were very ﬁerce. Some call the Mongolians the Tartars. Their ancestors hated the Jews very much.

20.9 "The breadth of the earth"—the "earth" here speaks of the Jewish land. The rebellious crowds come in such number that they shall spread over all the Jewish territory.

"The camp of the saints" is where the Christians live. Being "the armies which are in heaven" (19.14), they only encamp

temporarily on earth. Encampment is something transient, for the millennial kingdom too will pass away.

"The beloved city" is the city where the Jews live. Being in such high position, they are to be envied and therefore attacked.

20.10 THE ETERNAL END OF SATAN

The counterfeit trinity is now in the lake of ﬁre.

Some may question why there is still day and night. Shortly we shall see that the Bible merely states that "the city hath no need of

the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it" (Rev. 21.23). It does

not say that there is no need of the sun and the moon in the new heaven and the new earth. Even the tree of life shall bear fruits each month. If there is neither sun nor moon, how can there be monthly fruit-bearing?

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

20.11-15 "THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE"

20.11 This throne is diﬀerent from the one in chapters 4 and 5.

The description of the throne here is modiﬁed by two adjectives: (1) "Great"—for this judgment is most extraordinary. It is great in righteousness.

(2) "White"—which color has special relation to the Lord; for example, the Lord's hair is white and He rides on a white horse.

White signiﬁes being perfectly pure and absolutely righteous.

"Him that sat upon it"—No doubt He is the Lord. We have many proofs in the New Testament about this; for instance, John 5.22, Acts

10.42 and 17.31, Romans 2.6, 1 Peter 4.5, and 2 Timothy 4.1.

"The earth and the heaven ﬂed away"—Some consider this

ﬂeeing of the earth and heaven as only a divine act of remaking, but the succeeding clause, "and there was found no place for them", clearly shows that the old heaven and earth are completely destroyed; for there is the mark of sin in the old creation. This fulﬁlls what is

prophesied in 2 Peter 3.4,10,12. Evidently God sends ﬁre with which

to burn up the old heaven and earth.

20.12 "The dead" are "the rest of the dead" spoken of in 20.5.

The phrase "standing before the throne" demonstrates that they are living, therefore they must be resurrected.

Will there be anyone saved at the Great White Throne? The answer is yes for the following reasons:

(1) This is a judgment. Judgment is a matter of determining as well as sentencing. If all are perished people, a mere proclamation of condemnation would be suﬃcient. Why should they be judged at all?

Come, Lord Jesus

(2) Here are opened not only the books which record the works of everyone but also the book of life in which all the names of the saved are inscribed. May not all this suggest that some names are in the books of works while some are in the book of life?

(3) The Lord Jesus explicitly states that at the last day of resurrection some shall be saved: "For the hour cometh . . . they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment" (John 5.28,29).

(4) Facing fact, it seems hardly possible that there would be no saved people at the judgment, for the reasons listed below: (a) There will be people who die during the millennial

kingdom. If they are resurrected at this moment, can it be that there are no saved souls among them?

(b) Many will have lived before the kingdom comes. They

have no part in the ﬁrst resurrection. If they appear at this time, will there not be saved souls?

excommunicated or who have remained unrepentant shall be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. If they should appear

at this hour, how can they not be saved?

(d) The Bible explicitly states that those who do not confess Christ before men will not be confessed by Christ before the angels of God. This means they have no part in the kingdom. If they too were to appear at this juncture, they certainly should be among the saved.

(e) During the Old Testament period many were saved though unﬁt to reign with Christ. Were they to appear at this moment, they no doubt would be among the saved.

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

(f) Many have died in infancy. If they are not saved then, when will they be saved?

(5) Besides the resurrected dead there are the living Israelites (as a matter of fact, the whole nation of Israel) who shall stand before the throne; can we say that they are not saved? Moreover, there are the nations that do not follow Satan at the last rebellion; again, can we say that they are not saved?

"Books" is plural in number. "According to their works" means (1) the judgment is based on works, and (2) punishment is measured out according to the quality of their works.

20.13 "Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them"—

This is a matter of delivering up the souls of men that they may be judged.

"And the sea gave up the dead that were in it"—possibly because the abyss and the sea are closely linked; and in the abyss are imprisoned the spirits.

"And they were judged every man according to their works"—

This is mentioned twice (vv. 12 and 13) because the future judgment is entirely based on works.

20.14 Death is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15.2526,

55-56).

20.15 To put this verse positively, if anyone's name is found written in the book of life, that one is deﬁnitely saved.

Hence the judgment of the Great White Throne is according to principles: Those who perish perish because of their evil works (not because of their good works), and those who are saved are saved 220

Come, Lord Jesus

because their names are written in the book of life (not because of their good works).

21.1-8 "A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH"

Special attention should be given to the sub-divisions that follow.

a. 21.1 The Throne of the New Heaven and the New Earth The old heaven and the old earth are passed away; now is there the new heaven and the new earth. There is no mentioning of a new

sea. In Isaiah 65.17 God is recorded as declaring that He will create a new heaven and a new earth, but what follows after verse 17 actually refers to the millennial kingdom. The outline of Isaiah 65 is a

contrasting of the blessed of God with other people. Verse 17 of

Isaiah 65 is a declaration by which God declares that He will create a new heaven and a new earth. Verses 18-25 describe the conditions of Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom.

The new heaven and the new earth which are spoken of in 2 Peter

3.10,13 are the same as those mentioned here in 21.1.

b. 21.2-4 The Relation of New Jerusalem to the People

21.2 This is a holy city. Whereas in the past God had only a holy temple and not a holy city, nevertheless, on the earth and in that holy temple He did dwell; now, though, the holy city supplants the holy temple, and all its inhabitants are priests. The old Jerusalem was built by men and had become old; the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven and is wholly new. During the millennial kingdom the New Jerusalem is suspended in the air. It has not descended to the earth because on earth there is yet the old Jerusalem. When the New Jerusalem does come down from heaven it seems from the record here that she has not yet taken oﬀ her bridal attire. At the time of the

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

marriage supper of the Lamb she is the bride. Now in eternity she is to be the wife of the Lamb.

21.3 "A great voice"—It might be the voice of the Lord Jesus.

"He shall dwell with them"—Hereafter there is no longer any distinction between Jews and Gentiles. Those whom God calls are just men.

"The tabernacle of God is with men"—The New Jerusalem is on earth like God's tabernacle. Formerly, God's tabernacle was set on earth among the children of Israel; now, there being no more distinction between Jews and Gentiles, the tabernacle of God is set among men. God is now with men.

"And they shall be his peoples"—Henceforth they shall belong to God and shall delight in His word. "And God himself shall be with them, and be their God"—He shall watch over them according to His good pleasure, that is to say, God will be gracious to them (see Jer.

24.7, Ez. 11.18-20).

21.4 "Tear"—Tears are the common lot of men on earth. But now, God shall wipe away their tears by eliminating their causes such as death, mourning, pain, and so forth. All these are the results of sin. When these are ruled out, there remains no longer any trace of sin.

c. 21.5-8 The Diﬀerence between the Saved and Those Who Perish

Even though this subdivision is closely related to the preceding

one (vv.2-4), the people in verse 6b are nonetheless quite diﬀerent from those in verse 3.

21.5 The one who sits on the throne is most likely God.

Come, Lord Jesus

The word "write" means to have it written in this book. Such a command reveals the great signiﬁcance of this subdivision.

21.6 "They are come to pass"—Whatever is recorded in this book must come to pass. God will bring heaven and earth to His original design. He is the Alpha and the Omega, therefore all shall be fulﬁlled.

21.7 The "overcometh" here is not the same as that of chapters

2 and 3, for in chapters 2 and 3 it is an overcoming by works, that is, an overcoming that involves a comparing of believers with believers; whereas here it is an overcoming that involves a comparison of

believers with the unbelieving world (cf. 1 John 5.4 which mentions overcoming the world through faith).

In what respects are the people spoken of in 21.6-8 diﬀerent from

the people who appear in verses 2 and 3? Please note the following observations.

(1) From 21.3 we learn that John saw in a vision that the tabernacle of God is with men, that is to say, God is dwelling with the many peoples on earth. The people mentioned in 21.6b are said to

be those who are athirst after they have heard the good news described above.

(2) The men shown in verses 2 and 3 are God's peoples who dwell

on the new earth, while those shown in 21.7 are God's sons who live

in the city.

(3) The men mentioned in 21.3 are simply those peoples on earth

who share together the common blessings; but the men referred to in

21.7 are not only sons of God, they are also God's servants and kings unto Him (22.3,5).

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

(4) "They shall be his peoples" (21.3) signiﬁes something corporate and common; "He shall be my son" (21.7) represents

something personal and intimate.

(5) "They shall be his peoples" (21.3) is that which appears to be

spoken in the third person, whereas "I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (21.7) seems to be a direct way of speaking.

(6) The men spoken of in 21.3 dwell on God's earth, but those

mentioned in 21.7 live in God's house.

Positional diﬀerence among Christians is limited to the time of the millennial kingdom. In the new heaven and new earth, all believers are equally positioned.

21.8 "The fearful"—these are those who know they can be saved if they believe, yet dare not believe for fear of men.

"Unbelieving"—these are those who just do not believe.

"Abominable"—a reference to not only those who worship idols but also to those who worship celestial bodies. "Sorcerers"—those who have communications with demons.

"The lake that burneth with ﬁre and brimstone"—In the new heaven and new earth there is no sea, yet there will still be the lake of ﬁre.

21.9-27 "THE NEW JERUSALEM"

21.9 Now the name of the wife of the Lamb is given. Many people consider the church to be the wife of the Lamb since, they say, there cannot be a literal New Jerusalem in the future. Many are the proofs, however, that the New Jerusalem is a literal new city: (1) At that time the church as we know it today no longer exists, for she now becomes only a part of all the redeemed.

Come, Lord Jesus

(2) Being a book of revelation, its chapters 2 and 3 plainly point

out the churches quite clearly and speciﬁcally; why then should the New Jerusalem mentioned in chapter 21 of this same book be something other than the clearly stated and speciﬁcally mentioned New Jerusalem?

(3) According to 3.12 the New Jerusalem is what the church hopes for. If New Jerusalem is indeed the church, how could the church hope for the church? It would be senseless and illogical.

(4) In 19.7-13 the New Jerusalem is seen as the bride whereas the church is a guest, thus showing that the church is not New Jerusalem.

(5) How can there be no new city in the new heaven and the new earth? Where will people stay if they come to worship God? Did not our Lord expressly say that "in my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14.2)?

(6) If the woman mentioned in 12.1 refers to Jerusalem and the

great harlot cited in 17.1 points to the city of Rome, how can the wife of the Lamb spoken of in 21.9 not be a reference to an actual city?

(7) After the blowing of the seventh trumpet the kingdom has arrived and the mystery is fulﬁlled. Since New Jerusalem subsists in the new heaven and the new earth, it cannot be considered a mystery, and therefore it must be literal.

(8) At the time of chapter 17 when John sees Babylon, he cannot cease wondering because it is a mystery which must be explained by an angel to him. Here, though, John is not

amazed at all, neither does he need an angel to interpret to him. Hence what is here before us must be an actual city.

(9) People deem the wife of the Lamb to be the church because they adopt a totally spiritual view of eternity. Who knows, though,

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

but what in the new heaven and the new earth everything is real and substantial? If God chose to use gold and silver in the building of Solomon's temple, why can there not be gold and silver in the building by God of a new city in the new heaven and the new earth?

(10) Since many at that time are to be resurrected bodily, that is, they are to have a spiritual body, will they not need a place to stay?

(11) Here we are told the structure, dimensions, and materials of the city of New Jerusalem. These can hardly be applied to the church.

(12) 21.27 plainly implies that many will enter the city. If the city is the church which is itself made up of people, how can people enter into people? Furthermore, 21.25 says that the gates of the city are not shut by day. How can this fact be something related to the church?

(13) Here in 21.9 the wife of the Lamb is shown to John. Now if the wife of the Lamb is a mystery and the New Jerusalem is an explanation, how can an explanation not be taken literally?

(14) The New Jerusalem is contrasted with the Old Jerusalem. As Old Jerusalem is a literal city, so New Jerusalem must also be a literal city. It therefore cannot be taken as the church.

(15) Galatians 4 distinctly tells us that "the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother" (v.26). This Jerusalem is quite diﬀerent from the church, so Paul says it is our (that is, the church's) mother.

Thus we cannot maintain that New Jerusalem is the church.

(16) Hebrews 11 says that Abraham "looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (v.10). The

New Jerusalem is a true city with foundations. Did Abraham look for the church? He could not have known the church at his time.

Come, Lord Jesus

(17) Hebrews 12.22 mentions the heavenly Jerusalem and the innumerable hosts of angels. Verse 23 of the same chapter speaks of the general assembly and church of the ﬁrstborn who are enrolled in heaven (this means the church), speaks also of God who is the Judge of all, and of spirits of just men made perfect (the saints of old).

There are altogether ﬁve classes enumerated here; namely, (1) God, (2) angels, (3) saints of the Old Testament time, (4) the church, and (5) the heavenly Jerusalem. The church and the heavenly Jerusalem are listed separately, therefore they cannot be the same.

[ Translator's Note: When Mr. Nee ﬁrst gave these Bible readings on Revelation in the early days of his ministry he adopted a more literal interpretation of the holy city, New Jerusalem. In his later work, already quoted from earlier in this study and ﬁrst entitled in Chinese as Holy and Without Blemish (but subsequently published in Chinese under the title The Glorious Church), the author took a more spiritual approach to its interpretation. What follows below are some highlights from this approach, translated directly from the ﬁrst Chinese edition of Shanghai, 1953, pp.

133-155.]

21.10 "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high"—If we wish to see the eternal vision of God we need to be brought by God to a great and high mountain. Unless we stand on a spiritual high mountain we cannot see anything. Those who live on the plain will not be able to see the New Jerusalem—the ﬁnality of God's work.

"The holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from

God"—The wife of the Lamb whom John saw was the holy city Jerusalem. The description of the city is allegorical. By its description we are told of the corporate body which God from eternity has purposed to obtain.

This is a city which comes out of heaven from God. God pays attention not only to where this corporate man will go but from whence he comes out as well. Not only the destiny but also the

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

source. The wife of the Lamb comes out of heaven, not from earth.

God does not show us here the man who has a past history of sin but is now saved by grace. This does not mean of course, that we do not have a history of sin, therefore needing neither repentance nor salvation. This passage of Scripture simply reveals to us that portion which comes out of God, which is the glorious church of Ephesians 5

that is to be presented to Christ.

One characteristic of this new Jerusalem is holiness. Among Christians, some look for greatness, some look for holiness. The former is the principle of Babylon, whereas the latter is the principle of New Jerusalem. What is holiness? We may say that only God is holy; therefore, all that comes out of God is holy: "For both he that sanctiﬁeth and they that are sanctiﬁed are all of one" (Heb. 2.11).

21.11 "Having the glory of God . . . a jasper stone"—The God on the throne whom John saw was like a jasper stone (see 4.3). In

other words, jasper means the God who is seen. The God whom we know as we stand before His throne is like jasper stone. Our knowledge of God today here on earth is at best termed "darkly" or

"in a riddle" (1 Cor. 13.12 mg.); but in the city which has the glory of God like a jasper stone we shall then see Him as He is—"clear as

crystal" (v. 11).

21.12-14 "Having twelve gates, . . . and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the

children of Israel: . . .

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb"— Whom does this

corporate man include? Having the twelve names of the tribes of Israel on its gates and the twelve names of the apostles on its foundations, this city includes all the Old and the New Testament saints. At the time of the new heaven and the new earth, all who have the life of God are to be included in the New Jerusalem.

Come, Lord Jesus

21.15-17 "And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure . . . the wall thereof"—Besides the glory of God, the next thing mentioned is the wall of the city. Separation—as depicted here by a wall—is an important principle in Christian living.

Lack of separation devaluates the Christian's worth. A line must be drawn between what is spiritual and what is carnal. New Jerusalem has its boundary, its wall of separation. From this we learn that whatever is of Babylon must be rejected and whatever is of God must be protected. Building a city wall is not an easy task; it is greatly hated by Satan. For example, when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to build the city wall, he was opposed vehemently by Sanballat and Tobiah. Consequently, with one hand he held his weapon and with the other hand he built. Let us ask God to teach us how to take up spiritual weapons against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenlies and how at the same time to maintain the principle of separation.

Having the names of the twelve apostles on the foundations means that everything in the city is based on the principle of the kingdom of God as proclaimed by the apostles. "Being built upon the foundation

of the apostles and prophets" (Eph. 2.20) simply means that the revelation which the apostles received from the Lord is the foundation of New Jerusalem.

Why are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on the doors? The answer is supplied by the words of the Lord Jesus himself, who declared that "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4.22).

The Bible employs gold to represent all that is of God. To measure with a golden reed suggests that this city is measurable by God's standard, for it meets His standard.

"And the city lieth foursquare, . . . the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal"—In the Scriptures we ﬁnd that only the holiest of all things in the temple and the New Jerusalem are in

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

perfect cubes. This is thus to imply that in the new heaven and the new earth the New Jerusalem will be the holiest of all to God.

"According to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel"— Why at that time is the measure of a man equal to the measure of an angel?

In resurrection, men shall be equal to the angels (Luke 20.36). In

other words, all that is in the city is on resurrection ground. That which cannot be bound and retained by death is called resurrection.

Whatever comes out of us will be ﬁnished at the cross; that which is of God cannot be touched by death.

21.18-21 "And the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass"—

One special feature of New Jerusalem is that the gold therein is pure.

Everything is wholly of God; there is not a speck of mixture.

Whatever is not of God is dross. No one can say to God that he has something in himself to give to Him. What God wants is nothing but pure gold.

"The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones"—There is a basic diﬀerence between gold and precious stone. The ﬁrst is a single chemical element, but the second is a compound. Gold is directly created by God, whereas precious stone is the result of the fusing together of several elements under the earth after they have gone through extremely high temperature accompanied by pressure. In other words, what the precious stone represents is not that which God gives directly to man, rather it stands for the reﬁning work which the Holy Spirit has done in man. The life which God gives to us is gold, the life which God forges in us is precious stone. God does not stop with merely imparting the life of Christ to us; He goes on to incorporate or work into us that life in us.

"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls"—Pearl is formed by the secretion of a mollusk in the sea after it is wounded by a grain of sand or other foreign matter. Hence pearl signiﬁes that life which 230

Come, Lord Jesus

comes out of death. It represents the life which the Lord Jesus Christ has released in His death on the non-atoning side.

"And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass"—A street is a place for fellowship. Inasmuch as the street of the city is pure gold, all who walk on it will never have their feet deﬁled. Today all who are bathed still need to wash their feet

continually (John 13.10) in order to maintain their fellowship with God. For as long as we walk on this earth we cannot help but be contaminated by the dust of the earth, thus aﬀecting our fellowship with God. But the day shall come when nothing will deﬁle us nor hinder our fellowship with God. In eternity nothing deﬁles us, therefore our whole life shall be holy.

"As it were transparent glass"—Today many situations are

opaque, but in the future everything shall be transparent before God.

If that is the case, then we must begin to learn even today to be true and transparent, not attempting to pretend to be what we are not.

[Here ends the translated portion of highlights of the author's spiritual approach to an interpretation of the holy city, New Jerusalem, taken directly from Mr. Nee's Holy and Without Blemish (Shanghai, 1953, pp. 133-155).— Translator]

21.10 "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high"—This is in contrast to the words "And he

carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness" found in 17.3.

21.11 This city especially has the glory of God. Formerly, in the old temple, the glory of God was not too obvious since it appeared like a cloud.

"Her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal"—Crystal is transparent. Today even the light of the sun is opaque, but the light of New Jerusalem in the future will be transparent.

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

The Gates of the City

21.12,13,21 "Having twelve gates"—According to 21.21 the

street of the city is singular in number. Since there are twelve gates we would naturally assume that there should be twelve streets. Why though, is there only one street? It may possibly be that the street is like a city plaza which is open to the gates on every side.

"And at the gates, twelve angels"—The angels here are guarding the gates of the new city, not reigning over the city.

"And names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel"—Israel represents the law of God.

"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls" (21.21)—Pearl stands for

the righteousness of God. Together they show that the entry into the city of God is according to God's law and righteousness.

The Height of the City

21.14-17 "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations"—

According to 21.16 an angel measures the city with a golden reed:

"And the city lieth foursquare, . . . twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal" (21.16); but

then it is said that "he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty

and four cubits" (21.17). How are these calculations to be reconciled? The total height of the city is 12,000 furlongs (1500

miles), while the height of the wall is 144 cubits (72 yards). The total height is measured from the bottom foundation to the throne of God.

The ﬁgure of 12,000 furlongs is a multiple of 12 which is the eternally perfect number.

The wall of the city has twelve foundations. It is quite likely that they are built one upon another and that the upper level is smaller than the lower level, similar to the structure of the Egyptian pyramid.

Hence all twelve layers are visible.

Come, Lord Jesus

"And on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the

Lamb"—The apostles represent the grace of God, therefore it is the grace of God which forms the foundations of the city wall.

City and Wall

21.18 "And the building of the wall thereof was jasper"—The city itself is of pure gold. Hence the gold is transparent, something quite diﬀerent from ordinary gold.

21.19,20 "The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones"—There are twelve precious stones with twelve various hues.

Some suggest that the colors of these precious stones are: (1) Green, (2) Blue, (3) Blue, (4) Green, (5) Red, (6) Red, (7) Yellow, (8) Sea-green, (9) Yellow, (10) Golden green, (11) Purple, and (12) Purple.

The blending of these colors must be of exquisite beauty. The merging of the colors from (5) to (12) above will produce a rainbow-like appearance.

21.22 There is no temple in the new city. During the Old

Testament period only the temple was holy, the rest of the land was not reckoned holy. At the time of the Lord Jesus the temple was still on the earth. During the church period there is a temple in heaven but none on earth. In the millennium, however, there will be a temple on earth as well as one in heaven. In the new heaven and the new earth there will no more be a temple, since there will be no need to oﬀer sacriﬁce for sin. The entire new city is most holy. Formerly,

men communed with God through the temple; now, all who live in the city can commune with God directly because He and the Lamb have become the center of this new city.

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

21.23 It is said here that there is no need for the sun and moon to shine upon the new city. It does not say, however, that there will be neither sun nor moon in the new heaven and the new earth.

Having the glory of God to lighten the city and the Lamb as its lamp, the new city certainly has no need for the sun and the moon to shine upon it.

21.24 "And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof"—

All who live in the city have a resurrected body, but those who dwell on the new earth still possess a body of ﬂesh and blood. These are the nations dwelling on the new earth, though they are no longer divided by race or tongue or tribe. These are the people who live at the end of the millennium and who are not deceived by Satan at the last revolt.

The saved in the city include all who believe in the Lord and trust in His precious blood—both during the Old and the New Testament times; for the gates of the new city have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the foundations of the city have the names of the twelve apostles.

All who live in the new city are sons (21.7), and they reign as

kings (22.3). All who dwell on the new earth are those people who

are transferred livingly from the millennial kingdom to be the

peoples (21.3) of the new earth.

"The kings of the earth" are those who rule among the nations in eternity. They are higher in rank than the rest of the people, yet they are not the same as the kings in the city. Our Lord is the King of all kings, and we believers are kings of these kings of the earth.

"Walk" means travel. During the millennium the earthly

Jerusalem will be deemed the capital of the world. The nations will travel to it once every few years. Now, in eternity, the nations will also travel to the New Jerusalem. They will be guided in their travel 234

Come, Lord Jesus

by the light of the city, thus they need no other guidance. (The light of the city will guide them just as the star mentioned in Matthew 2.9

guided the magi from the East.) The city itself needs no earthly light, yet the people on earth depend on the light of the city.

"And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it"—The "glory" mentioned here probably means, according to the Old Testament understanding, the best products of the lands. It is quite evident from Genesis 31 that the word "glory" there applies to property or good things on earth. In bringing their glory to the city, the

nations bring in the best from their lands as oﬀerings to God (cf.

also Esther 1.4).

21.25 According to this verse there will still be night and day

in the new heaven and the new earth. The kings of the earth may travel towards the new city in the daytime. In the new city, however, there is no night.

The conditions of the people in the new heaven and the new earth will be somewhat similar to the conditions of Adam and Eve before the fall. They still have a body of ﬂesh and blood.

Five times in this book "day and night" or "night" is mentioned in

connection with eternity (7.15, 14.11, 20.10, 21.25, 22.5). Therefore,

there must be day and night in the new heaven and the new earth.

Nevertheless, in the city there is no night, and hence the people who live there can serve God day and night. Since they have a resurrection body, they will never grow tired; thus can it be said that they are able to serve God day and night.

21.26 The peoples of the nations will follow their kings in bringing glory and honor to the city. Things work out most harmoniously.

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

21.27 "Anything unclean" can also be translated "anything common", which means things that are worth nothing.

"He that maketh an abomination" refers to idol-worshipers. "A lie" points especially to witchcraft and sorcery. This does not mean that there will still be idol-worship and sorcery in eternity. It only reﬂects upon the fact of how clean, how solemn, and how noble is the city.

"They that are written in the Lamb's book"—In the new heaven and the new earth dwell two kinds of people. One kind of people are those of us who have been saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus and are privileged to live in the new city; the other kind of people are those who are removed livingly from the millennial kingdom into the new heaven and the new earth, thus becoming the inhabitants of the new earth. Our names being written in the book of life, we may permanently live in the city. The inhabitants of the new earth have their names also written in the book of life, but they can only go in and out of the new city.

The style of living of these inhabitants of the new earth is very much similar to that of Adam before the fall (except that there will not be any sinning in eternity). This view of the similarity to Adam prior to the fall is backed up by the following proofs:

(1) "In the resurrection", said the Lord, "they neither marry, nor are given in marriage" (Matt. 22.30). Only those with a resurrection body are not engaged in marriage. The inhabitants of the new earth do not have a resurrection body, therefore they will still be involved in marriage.

(2) The situation in the new heaven and the new earth is similar to that in the garden of Eden before Adam's fall.

Consequently, the inhabitants of the new earth will live and multiply as Adam did of old.

Come, Lord Jesus

(3) Of the Ten Commandments one in part says this: "Showing loving-kindness unto a thousand generations of them that love me and keep my commandments" (Ex. 20.6 mg.). If mankind does not propagate itself over a thousand generations, how can God ever make such a promise? From Adam to the Lord Jesus there were only 76

generations (Luke 3.23-38 counts God in the genealogy, thus adding

up to 77 generations). The time from Adam to Christ was about 4000

years, and in such a long period there were only 76 generations! How many generations can there have been from Christ to the present?

Computing scientiﬁcally and taking 30 years as one generation, then in 2000 years there can only be 70 to 80 generations. During the millennium people will live long, hence there will be fewer generations. Now granting that there might be as many as 50

generations during the millennium, the total for these three periods will only account for 200 to 300 generations. Subtract 300 from only a thousand, we still have 700 left. How will these remaining generations ever be fulﬁlled? Doubtless the inhabitants of the new earth will continue to be fruitful and to multiply, except that there will be no more death.

22.1,2 "A RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE"

22.1 This section continues to speak of the new city. Formerly, there issued forth from the garden of Eden four rivers; here, however, in the new city there is to be but one river of the water of life. How much more excellent will this be than the garden of Eden.

"The throne"—This book speaks of the throne in its various aspects:

(1) During the gospel age God sits on the throne, and the Lord sits

with God (3.21b).

(2) During the millennial kingdom God sits on the throne in heaven but the Lord Jesus has also a throne on earth (3.21a).

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

(3) At the time of the Great White Throne the Son sits on the

Father's throne (20.11).

(4) In the new city there is but one throne—"the throne of God and of the Lamb" (22.1). There is no more distinction between the Father and the Son concerning the throne.

In eternity the name of the Lord will forever be "the Lamb", which name will forever remind men that once there had been sin in the world but that the Lord came to the earth to be the Lamb who atoned for the sin of the world. Owing to the fact that the Lord has come as the Lamb, men are now

able to eat the fruit of the tree of life and to drink of the river of the water of life.

22.2 "The tree of life" here is literal. Although in Proverbs

3.18, 11.30, 13.12, and 15.4 the tree of life is spoken of symbolically, here it cannot be interpreted in that way. For since the angel immediately explained the "many waters" mentioned in 17.15,

therefore if the tree of life cited here in 22.2 is also symbolic, the angel would have instantly explained it also; but there is no explanation, and hence it is not symbolic.

Revelation 2 mentions "the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of

God" (v.7). Here in 22.2 the tree of life is spoken of as being in the midst of the street (or plaza). This indicates that New Jerusalem is the Paradise of God. The garden paradise described in Genesis 2.8 is

man's paradise, but this is God's paradise. God is leading men into something far better.

"The tree of life" is singular in the original. How can one tree grow on the two sides of the river, as is mentioned in this verse?

There should be no problem in this matter, since a tree can send out many stems to the ground and be re-rooted.

Come, Lord Jesus

"Yielding its fruit every month" suggests the presence of the moon. The day and the night spoken of in 21.25 is determined by the sun, but the month mentioned here is ﬁxed by the moon. There are twelve hours in the day and twelve in the night, and also twelve months in a year. The number for eternity is twelve.

"And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations"—

In 12.4 it is said that there will be no more pain or death, which in addition intimates that there is no more disease. But nowhere is it stated that there will be no more weakness (see Matt. 8.17 and cf.

"inﬁrmities" with "diseases"). There is a diﬀerence between disease and weakness. Where will this weakness come from? Well, since the people on the new earth possess a body of ﬂesh and blood, they will still be subject to weakness. How, then, can they live forever?

Apparently the leaves of the tree of life must heal their weakness continuously so that they will not be wearied.

Some may ask whether it is possible for the inhabitants of the new earth to obtain eternal life. This verse does not give us a plain

answer. (According to Genesis 2.9 the tree of life was deﬁnitely planted in the garden of Eden. According to our verse here, in the new heaven and the new earth the tree of life is found in the new city. But whether the nations eat of the tree of life is something unknown to us.)

22.3-5 THE SEVENFOLD GLORY OF THE REDEEMED

22.3 "And there shall be no curse any more"—This word guarantees the complete absence of sinning in the new heaven and the new earth. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has done its work. Before Adam sinned, his conscience was not activated. In the new heaven and the new earth everyone has a conscience which can diﬀerentiate between good and evil, but the devil will not be present at that time.

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

Consequently, there is no curse anymore. In support of this, consider the following:

(1) The curse of the world originated as a result of the sinning of the archangel. In eternity, though, the angels are no longer in authority; we shall be placed in authority instead.

(2) Although the serpent was once used by the devil for his deceitful work, there is no mention of animals being in the new heaven and the new earth.

(3) By making wine from grapes Noah sinned and brought down a new curse upon a portion of mankind. Besides the tree of life, however, there is no record of any other plant being in the new heaven and the new earth.

"And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein"— Seven times in this book the relationship between the Lord Jesus and the new city is established by the use of the name "Lamb"

(21.9,14,22,23,27; 22.1,3).

"His servants" refers back to chapter 1.1. They include all the prophets and the saints of the Old Testament period as well as all of us who are saved in the New Testament era.

"Shall serve Him"—The service in view here is not one of

servitude but of priestly service. It is mentioned in 20.6 that the

overcomers shall be priests and kings to God. In eternity there will be no more sin, hence the priestly function is not prominently pointed out. Nevertheless, there will still be many areas wherein we can serve God. We are not supposed to pass our time idly in eternity.

In the millennial kingdom the overcomers alone will function as priests; but in eternity all the saved ones shall serve God as priests.

Come, Lord Jesus

22.4 "And they shall see his face"—In the millennial kingdom only the overcomers shall see God's face (Heb. 12.14), since to see the face of God constantly is a special privilege. Those who perish

"shall suﬀer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might" (2 Thess. 1.9). In the Old

Testament era Moses was only granted favor to see the back of God.

In the new city, however, all the saved ones shall see God's face constantly and shall draw near to Him.

Note that 22.3 says "of God and of the Lamb" but here in 22.4 it

merely says "his face", thus attesting the fact that the Son and the Father are one. They are distinguishable, but not separable.

"And his name shall be on their foreheads"—During the

millennial kingdom, the 144,000 alone have His name on their

foreheads (14.1). Now, though, on the foreheads of all the redeemed shall His name be written.

22.5 At that time there will be no need for either natural light or artiﬁcial light, because the Lord God himself shall shine upon them.

"And they shall reign for ever and ever"—To reign is the second thing to do in eternity, the ﬁrst being to serve God. In the millennial kingdom only the overcomers may reign, and for a thousand years.

Now, however, all who are saved shall reign, and reign forever.

Some well-known commentators suggest that 21.9-22.5 does not

speak of the situation in the new heaven and the new earth, but rather describes the scene in the millennial kingdom. The reason for such interpretation is to be found in the words "the leaves of the tree were

for the healing of the nations" (22.2). They argue that this verse

shows that there is still disease and therefore death on earth. And hence the whole passage must refer to the millennial period.

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

However, the following reasons will demonstrate the fallacy of such an interpretation:

(1) New Jerusalem only descends (21.2) after the old heaven and

old earth are passed away (21.1). Before the old earth has passed away it is impossible for New Jerusalem to come down out of heaven from God, because it simply will not land on the old earth.

(2) 21.2 and 21.10 tell us of the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from God. During the millennial kingdom there will still be the Old Jerusalem on earth. Should the New Jerusalem descend at this time, will there not then be two Jerusalems on earth?

How can the New Jerusalem descend before the Old Jerusalem has disappeared?

(3) In 21.1,2 John ﬁrst saw the new heaven and the new earth, and then he saw New Jerusalem. How can anyone say that New

Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth is already there on the old earth during the millennium? Even so, some argue further that

though 21.1-8 does admittedly point to the new heaven and new

earth, 21.9-22.5 looks back upon the situation of New Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom. Yet do not both 21.2 and 21.10 say the same

thing concerning New Jerusalem—that she comes down out of heaven from God? The New Jerusalem spoken of in 21.10 is

therefore the same city as seen in 21.2.

(4) 21.5 says, "Behold, I make all things new"—How can New Jerusalem not be new but simply be the scene in the millennial kingdom before everything is made new?

(5) 21.8 describes those people who are judged after the millennial kingdom and cast into the lake of ﬁre. Since the new city is in opposition to the lake of ﬁre, can we at all say that this new city arrives ﬁrst whereas the casting into the lake of ﬁre of these people will occur a thousand years later?

Come, Lord Jesus

(6) 21.22 reads: "I saw no temple therein", but we know for certain that there will be a temple during the millennium as foretold

by Ezekiel (chs. 40-48).

(7) 21.23 states that "the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon", but we know from the Bible that during the millennium

"the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of

the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days" (Is. 30.26).

How, then, can we say that New Jerusalem has descended on earth at the millennium?

(8) Both 21.24 and 21.26 speak of going "into" the city. Yet

during the millennium the city is suspended in the air, with no possibility for ﬂesh and blood to enter it.

(9) The Lamb's book of life (21.27) is seen after the millennium is

over (20.15). How can people whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life go in and out of the city during the millennial kingdom?

(10) 22.3 asserts that in the new heaven and the new earth there

will be no more curse. Nevertheless, in the millennium such curses as disease, pain, death, and so forth still continue. It is therefore impossible to regard 21.9-22.5 as referring to the millennial kingdom.

(11) 22.3 mentions "the throne of God and of the Lamb"— During the millennium there is only the throne of the Lord Jesus on earth, hence no mentioning of the throne of God and of the Lamb. And hence this likewise eliminates the application of 21.9-22.5 to the

millennial kingdom.

(12) 22.1,2 declares that the throne of God and of the Lamb is situated in the midst of the street or plaza of the new city, whereas the prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision that the glory of the Lord ﬁlled

After the Millennium (20.7-22.5)

the holy temple. If New Jerusalem descends at the millennium, where will be the center of worship—the new city or the temple on earth? Where will God dwell?

We may therefore conclude the following:

(1) that 21.9-22.5 describes the New Jerusalem,

(2) that 6.1-22.5 covers the prophetic part of this book, and

(3) that 22.6-21 does not belong to the main body of prophecy. It instead serves as an epilogue.

P A R T E L E V E N

THE LAST WARNING

1 The Last Warning (22.6-21)

22.6-11 THE MESSAGE OF THE ANGEL

22.6 "These words" have reference to

the passage given above on New Jerusalem.

All that is said about New Jerusalem is faithful and true.

Twice in this book the angel declares: "These words are faithful

and true" (21.5, 22.6).

"The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets"—The word

"spirits" here is plural (cf. 1 Cor. 14.32). When the plural number of

"spirit" is used it is related to spiritual gifts which edify the church.

"The spirits of the prophets" include the spirits of the prophets in both Old and New Testament times.

The words "the Lord, the God" point to the Lord Jesus. Compare

22.6 with 1.1"—He sent and signiﬁed it by his angel": In 1.1 it is

said that the Lord Jesus sent His angel, and here in 22.6 the Lord

God who is none other than the Lord Jesus again sends His angel

(see also 22.16).

Though beginning from 22.6 we have the epilogue, it completely returns to chapter 1 of the book of Revelation. "To show unto his servants"—This book stresses our individual responsibility before God as servants, not as children.

"The things which must shortly come to pass"—Some may

consider these two thousand years to be much delay, yet the pace of things is not decided by our human concept of time but by God's sense of the hour.

Come, Lord Jesus

22.7 "And behold, I come quickly"—Verse 6 is spoken by the angel; verse 7 is spoken by the Lord Jesus.

Three times is the sentence "Behold, I come quickly" recorded

within this book's ﬁnal section, 22.6-21 (vv. 7,12, and 20). This

repetition is for the purpose of arousing our attention.

"Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book"—This book is given to men to be kept and followed. Chapter

1.3 of the book mentions three things: read, hear, and keep. Here only "keep" is mentioned, because at this juncture people have both read and heard. What is left for us to do is to keep.

22.8 John gives a conclusion by saying that he is greatly moved by the Holy Spirit to see and to hear all the things which the Lord signiﬁed to him by the angel.

"Angel"—Probably this is the same angel as was seen in 19.10-20

and 21.9.

"I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel—"This is John's second falling down before the angel (19.10 records the ﬁrst time). John had just fallen down to worship when he was

immediately forbidden by the angel before he could utter any word of adoration. Hence a Christian should assume no prostrating position as a sign of worship to anyone other than to God.

22.9 God deﬁnitely forbids any worship other than to himself.

In the Old Testament era the Lord frequently appeared as an angel. In this book, He sometimes took the same angelic form. But after the millennial kingdom is over He will no longer assume the form of an angel.

The Last Warning (22.6-21)

22.10 clearly states that this is a book of prophecy and that it

should not be sealed. Daniel 12 declares this: "Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end" (v.9).

The book of Daniel is symbolic in nature and covers a prolonged period. It was to be sealed till the end time. The book of Revelation, though, exists at the end time; therefore, it should be understood and not be sealed.

What is the meaning of being sealed? From Matthew 12.10,11,13-

17 we learn that the purpose of using parables is to have the words

sealed. "Seal not" used here thus shows that this book is neither parabolic nor symbolic. It is not a sealed book, but an open book.

(The error of the historical school of interpretation is to treat the entire book of Revelation symbolically. Some of the futurists in their interpretation also take a number of passages in this book symbolically. Actually this book has altogether only about twenty-eight symbols, fourteen of which are explained: such as the golden candlesticks, the seven stars, and so forth—the rest being of minor importance and easily understood. Aside from these few symbols, the contents of this book are not symbolic at all. What purpose will this book serve if most of what is in it is symbolic?)

"For the time is at hand"—Indeed, the time is very near.

22.11 We are not sure whether this word is spoken by the angel or by the Lord. This verse follows closely the preceding one. It has two meanings:

(1) Since the time is near, there will soon be no chance to turn to God if people do not return today.

(2) Within this short period, whoever is open to be transformed will be transformed, but whoever refuses to be transformed shall remain the same forever.

Come, Lord Jesus

22.12,13 THE MESSAGE OF THE LORD

22.12 "Behold, I come quickly"—This is exactly the same as

was set down in 22.7. It is said to stir up attention. This verse is connected to the preceding verse. The Lord will "render to each man according as his work is"—Let the unrighteous do unrighteousness, and the righteous do righteousness, for the Lord is coming soon.

22.13 Several times such words as these—"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the ﬁrst and the last, the beginning and the end"—are proclaimed in this book (1.8 and 17, 2.8, 21.6, 22.13). The Lord persistently declares this throughout in order to impress upon us that the Old Testament Jehovah is the New Testament Jesus. God's way may change at diﬀerent dispensations such as the way of the patriarchs, the way of law, and the way of grace; but God himself remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. There is only one God.

22.14-15 TWO CLASSES OF PEOPLE

22.14 This verse announces what is happening today: "Blessed are they that wash their robes"—Why blessed? For two reasons: (1)"They may have the right to come to the tree of life"

(2)"And may enter in by the gates into the city" (This entry into the city is not to be the prerogative of the visitors, for according to

22.19 the holy city is the portion of those who have washed their robes.).

To have their robes washed is to apply the eﬃcacy of the blood of

the Lord Jesus upon them (7.14).

22.15 This passage speaks of those who perish. Let us carefully notice one thing: Do not the nations dwell outside the new city? Yes,

The Last Warning (22.6-21)

they do. But here the "without" does not mean the new earth on which the nations dwell. By comparing 22.15 with 21.8 we can know

that this place without the city is the lake of ﬁre. As the new heaven and the new earth replace the old heaven and the old earth, as New Jerusalem supersedes Old Jerusalem, so the lake of ﬁre in the new heaven and the new earth supplants the sea of today. Just as Topheth

was outside of Jerusalem of old (2 Kings 23.10; Is. 30.33) so the lake

of ﬁre is without the new city. The use of the term "lake" implies a limited boundary.

"The dogs"—This is used symbolically. The meaning is not hard

to discern. By reading Matthew 7.6 and Philippians 3.2 we can

readily see that the dogs refer to those who are the unclean and who are the morally corrupt.

"And the sorcerers"—Those who communicate with demons.

King Saul must die because he attempted to communicate with an evil spirit. God delivered Saul into the hand of his

enemy, for God hates the spiritualists. He forbids us to consult with the dead.

22.16 CHRIST'S OWN TESTIMONY

This book is for the church. The Lord sends His angel to testify these things that His people may hear.

This verse reveals the Lord's double relationship:

(1) His relationship to the Jews and the kingdom. "I am the root . .

. of David" (speaking of His divinity, David came out of Him). This suggests that He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. As David was chosen of God to be the ﬁrst king of His own heart, so the Lord Jesus during the millennial kingdom is the King of God's own heart too.

"And the oﬀspring of David" (speaking of His humanity, the Lord Jesus came out of David). As Solomon was the son of David and was the king of peace, so the Lord Jesus in the millennial kingdom is the 252

Come, Lord Jesus

King of peace. These two sides answer the question raised by the

Lord and recorded in Matthew 22.45: "If David then calleth him

Lord, how is he his son?"

(2) His relationship with the church and with rapture. "The bright, the morning star"—Just as the morning star appears before dawn, so the Lord Jesus is the morning star to His

watchful believers that they may be raptured. (The darkest hour is the Great Tribulation; the dawn is the kingdom time.)

22.17 RESPONSE OF HOLY SPIRIT AND BRIDE

The bride here is not the same as the bride mentioned in 19.7. For

the bride of prophecy is concluded in 22.5. The bride here reverts to

the bride mentioned in Paul's epistles—that is to say, the totality of the church is in view here (see our discussion on 19.7).

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come"—This is the prayer of

the Holy Spirit and the church. Since 22.16 is addressed especially to

the church, then what is here in 22.17 is the reply.

"And he that heareth"—Such words are repeated in 1.3, 13.9 and

many more times in chapters 2 and 3. Each person must hear for himself.

"And he that is athirst, let him come"—This again returns to the circumstances of the church. "Athirst" means thirsty in soul. "Come"

is the same as is stated in Matthew 11.28. The words "take the water

of life freely" refer not to the water of life spoken in 22.1 but allude

to that eternal life which the believer receives and which enables him to be fully satisﬁed in Christ without thirsting after the world anymore.

The Last Warning (22.6-21)

Whoever longs for the soon return of the Lord will also yearn for the souls of men. He will ask for the Lord's coming on the one hand, and aspire for the salvation of the sinners on the other.

22.18-19 THE FINAL WARNING

The tree of life and the holy city are the same here as are spoken

of in 22.14. The diﬀerence, however, lies in the fact that whereas

22.14 mentions only entering the holy city, 22.18 speaks about having the holy city as one's portion.

None is allowed to add to or to take away from the words of this book. The warning against this is most serious.

22.20-21 FINAL MESSAGE, PRAYER, AND BLESSING

22.20 The Lord Jesus himself testiﬁes: "Yea: I come quickly."

"Amen: come, Lord Jesus"—This is the prayer of John. We need not ask what theory one holds concerning the second coming of the Lord; we only need to inquire whether one's heart yearns for the Lord's return and whether he seems to be a person waiting for the return of the Lord. The last prayer in the Bible is "Come, Lord Jesus"

—One day this prayer will be answered. During these two thousand years many faithful believers have prayed this prayer constantly.

22.21 This is a benediction given by John. Without "the grace of the Lord Jesus" no sinner can be saved, neither can any saint stand. The grace of the Lord Jesus alone empowers us to be raptured and to enter the kingdom.

↑ Back to top