Chapter IV (continued, part 2)

politically. And thus Satan s heathenish religion and worship in the Roman empire is in like manner here expressed unto us. The false gods of the hea thens are called in Scripture the host of heaven, as Deut. xvii. 3, not only because some of them worshipped the sun and stars immediately, but also because the Romans and Grecians did entitle the stars by the names of their

gods, or men famous among them whom they worshipped ; and so they wor shipped both at once under one and the same name. The sun they entitled

Apollo, and the other planets by the names of other gods and goddesses, as

Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus; and the moon they called Phoebe, or the great goddess Diana; all which had once been men and women among them, though now, being dead, they were worshipped for gods and goddesses. So that they worshipped the host of heaven under the names of men ; though really and indeed, under both these, they worshipped Satan and his devils, though not immediately, yet interpretatively. Thus speaks the Apostle, 1 Cor. x. 20,

* The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils. Now then, this advancement of Satan, under the names and titles of the host of heaven, was truly his heaven, wherein the devils, by that religion, were set up as the gods of this world, as 2 Cor. iv. 4. And answerably the

throwing down of Satan s worship and religion is expressed by a change of the heavens, even as Christ expresseth the throwing down the heathenish

worship by the apostles preaching to be its falling from heaven like light ning ; which Christ speaks of their casting out devils then, when sent out to preach, as a certain omen which his faith had beforehand, that Satan, in

like manner, with all his worship, should be thrown down by the preaching the gospel in the empire. And so accordingly, chap, xii., Satan and his

angels are said to be cast down from heaven, when he and they were acknow

ledged for gods no longer.

Now, the alteration of this heathenish worship and change of this religion in the empire is the shaking the heavens and earth here meant. The word

for earthquake is not to be confined only to the earth, (in English we have no word large enough,) for it imports the concussion or throwing down by a commotion of that heathenish world, the heavens and earth, and all of that

48 AN EXPOSITION OF THE REVELATIOX. [PART L

religion, even of all that had a station in that accursed frame. Thus, Hag.

ii. G, 7, you have the like allusion for the alteration of the Jewish worship into the gospel worship ; and then, that alteration yet to come, of this gospel

worship, when the kingdom of Christ shall be set up. The one is expressed by shaking the earth ; the other, the heavens. And that shaking is inter

preted, Heb. xii. 27, to be removing away of the things shaken. And so the throwing down Satan and his devils from being worshipped any longer under the names of the host of heaven, and those appellatives

given the stars, and titles to men departed, whereof he received all the real

honour, may fitly be here understood to be the darkening the sun and moon, and the falling of these stars from heaven. As Christ is the sun in his hea

ven, so Satan, the prince of devils, the prince of this host of heaven, as Daniel s phrase is, was the sun in this firmament. And the lesser devils, with him worshipped under the title of the lesser gods, and of the stars, are the

stars here which fall from heaven. And as the moon is Christ s church, and

the queen in his heaven, so the college of priests, (who were then in Kome, as the Pope and cardinals are now,) that were the instruments of his worship,

they were the moon in his heaven. And so his consecrated places, his islands and mountains, the high places of his worship, were removed out of their

place ; that is, diverted from that use which they were once put to in that

idolatrous worship.

So then this mutation of the heathenish religion, from Constantino s time

downward, during the space of one hundred years, for so long was it ere heathenism could be utterly extirpated and wholly abolished for ever rising

again, is here set forth unto us by two things, here distinctly and apart laid down :

First, The overthrowing the worship and religion itself, expressed by those

metaphors before mentioned. As

1. By the eclipsing of the sun and moon: The sun became black, and the moon as blood ; that is, the glory of these their chief false gods, and the

priests of them, was darkened.

2. By the falling of the stars, as figs not fully ripe ; that is, by a violent wind ; shewing that men s hearts were not loosened of themselves to a dis

like of that religion, nor brought so freely off from it at the first. They would have stuck on still, had not the wind of power and authority shook them down.

3. By the vanishing of the whole heaven of this worship, as a scroll folded

up. The manner of the Jews was to write on parchment, which, from being folded or rolled up, they called volumen, a volume j and with us parchment is from thence called vellum to this day.

Which metaphor imports

(1.) That as when a scroll is folded up, not a letter of it is to be seen, but

immediately upon the rolling up all do disappear ; so these gods vanished, not any of their worship retains the same name now that was then used. There is not a tittle of those gods left ; they have had no worshippers these thousand years.

(2.) As a book or scroll folded up is not used, so neither is this religion. In the second place, this mutation is represented unto us in the confusion

that befell the upholders of that ethnic worship, the Atlases of these heavens, that endeavoured to support them, and opposed Constantino and other em

perors in the discarding of this, and bringing in the Christian religion. The

devil goes not out of a man possessed, nor out of our hearts, without blows, nor till a stronger than he comes. So neither did he leave that station of

CHAP. VI.] AN EXPOSITION OF THE EEVELATIOX. 49

his in the empire easily and without resistance, but egged on kings, namely, some emperors and generals, and the common sort of people with them, to

join together for the upholding of the old religion and worship of his. These the Lamb encounters, and in his wrath confounds. Now, it is observable how John useth some of the very names which were given the Romans in their several ranks; for here are three several ranks mentioned : (1.) Highest governors, as kings. (2.) The middle sort of men, as the rich and strong. (3.) The inferior multitude of false worshippers, as bondmen and free.

1. Kings; that is, emperors, for which the Greek tongue had no word but

f3a,&lt;3iXsT$, which, therefore, the apostles used for emperor ; so Peter, 1 Pet.

ii. 13, and Paul, 1 Tim. ii. 2. Then % ^/a^o/, captains of thousands. The Eoman legions, over whom these were captains, consisted of seven thousand.

2. Rich men and mighty men, who made up the middle sort of men. 3. Bondmen and free, who made up the lower and inferior rank of men. These were usual distinctions of men s ranks among the Romans. Now their confusion is expressed

1. By their shameful overthrow; they fly for shame, and hide themselves in dens, a phrase expressing shameful confusion and disappointment.

2. Their despair of help, intimated in that phrase, They shall say to the mountains, Fall upon us, &c. So Luke xxiii. 30, and Hos. x. 8, where when common calamities came upon the ten tribes, and upon the state of Jeru

salem, their being at their wits end, in respect of getting rid out of them, is expressed by their calling to the mountains to cover them, and the hills to fall upon them, as wishing for death rather than the present miseries. Not that they should use these very words, but that their state should be such as should make them wish some such thing, or anything, rather than that misery then brought upon them . Those of other nations who are reduced to some extreme and miserable exigent, are wont to express their grievance by wishing the earth to swallow them ; but this particular phrase is peculiar to the Jews, who had a rocky country, full of caves, to which they for refuge were wont to fly, and therefore it is usual in Scripture to say, Enter into thy rock, and hide thyself. as Isa. ii. 10, and being in those caves, their fear and despair did oft-times put them upon wishing that those rocks would

fall on them, and make an end of them.

3. The phrases import that all this is done with a sense and conviction in the hearts of these enemies of Christ, that it was by the power of Christ, whom they called accursed, and derided ; and that he was indeed the king of the world, and conqueror of them. For they that are thus confounded do within themselves call to the rocks to cover them from the face of the Lamb, with whose anger their consciences were struck, in those victories got over them, and miseries brought upon them. And therefore it is here brought in as their speech, to bid the rocks cover them from the face of the Lamb, for the great day of the Lamb s wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand, or to abide it V as Joel ii. 11. Now the story of those times, when the heathenish religion was altered in the empire, presents such a face of things as this seal doth. For Dioclesian and Maximinian, the greatest persecutors that ever the church had, in the

height and ruff of their imperial glory and rage, did give over their authority and empire, and retired themselves, whereof no historian could give the rea

son, but imputed it to madness; but indeed they did it so, as it were, to hide themselves from the face of the Lamb. To these succeeded Galerius, and Maximin, and Constantius, the father of Constantine. Maximin, per secuting the Christians, was smitten with a strange disease, and being ever VOL. III. D

50 AN EXPOSITION OF THE REVELATION. [PART I.

and anon convinced that Christ was king, he recalled his edicts for the per secution of them ; and yet, like Pharaoh, he afterwards put them forth again,

till at length he died miserably, acknowledging Christ s wrath. Then was Maxentius set up by the Romans, a defender of the heathenish cause. But

being overcome by Licinius, he threw away his imperial robes, fled, and lay hid for the safeguard of his life, and acknowledged Christ by a decree ; but

his flesh was eaten of worms. Then Licinius opposing Constantine, joined in the empire with him, was overcome by him, and he and his complices condemned, at the place of execution acknowledging Christ to be God. What afterward befell Julian, who attempted to set up that heathen religion

again, as how, being shot in his wars against Persia, he took his blood, and flinging it into the air, cried out, Vicisti Galilcee, you cannot bo

ignorant of.

Ols, l. Learn, when you see any notable overthrow given the enemies

of Christ, to raise up your hearts to thoughts of the day of judgment. We

find, as here, so elsewhere, notable judgments on God s enemies set forth and

described under the language of that day. It is frequent in Scripture, as Psalm xviii. and elsewhere. They may mutually help to strengthen our

faith in each other ; a particular judgment, in that of the great day, that it

will also come ; and that great day doth also assure us, that Christ will here

be avenged on his enemies. Christ hath many great days that forerun that

great day ; and wicked men, and wicked causes, have days of judgment here.

Obs. 2. How easy it is for the Lamb to make an alteration of religion in

a kingdom, causing the new one which he brings in to prevail. Thus in a few years he turned the whole empire Christian, even when heathenism was

rooted in all men s hearts, and when Satan had a throne fixed in appearance to continue ; then, by his power possessing himself of the emperor s heart, he, as the phrase is, 1 Kings ii. 15, turned the kingdom about j and this, when men s hearts of themselves were not turned, but were as figs not fully ripe,

yet shaken off by this wind. And he folded up the heavens as a scroll ; not

one constellation or star of all those false gods, that then shone so bright in

all men s eyes, having sliined in the world these many hundred years. And

Christ hath promised to do the like against Popery. Which state, as it is

the image of that empire and religion, so it shall bear the likeness of its

punishment. What a mighty change was wrought in the hearts of kings and

princes upon the first Reformation ! And God will work the like upon the

second Reformation, before Rome is destroyed, and will put it into their

hearts to ruin her utterly.

Obs. 3. Christ thinks it not enough for him to confound his enemies, but he will make them also to acknowledge his truth. Thus he did by Nebuchad

nezzar, by Antiochus, and by those persecutors ; and thus he will do by all

the proud of the earth. He will not only confound the false church and

synagogue of Satan; but he will make them come and acknowledge that God hath loved the Philadelphian, Rev. iii. 9. How often in the prophets

! and by this it is expressed, They shall know that I am the Lord. It is ill standing out with Christ in any

is this made the fruit of their punishment

thing. Christ will have, not only every knee to bow, but every tongue to

confess his name. Learn we therefore not to stand out against convictions

of any kind. The Lamb will in the end have, not only a real victory in men s punishments, but he will have men render it more complete by their

confessions and acknowledgments,

Obs. 4. How in dispensing punishments, Christ meets with persecutors

CHAP. IV.] AN EXPOSITION OF THE EEVELATION. 51

in their kind : they caused poor Christians to fly into caves and dens, and to worship the Lamb in corners, as the Apologies of those times shew ; now Christ comes forth and appears openly, and drives them into corners, wherein to hide their heads.

Obs. 5. What a glorious and long time Satan, the god of this world, and his devils with him, had of it, when they were counted as the only true gods, and were worshipped for such by the whole world during the space of three hundred years. They who are reserved in chains for hell were then counted the Immortal Gods, possessors of heaven ; and had their seat, in all men s

opinions, above the stars, having all the world for their devout and zealous

worshippers. What, therefore, is it to have a great name, or the best name, the name of a saint, for a while here ? The devils had not only the names and titles, but the honours of gods, and that for some thousands of years ; for whom, notwithstanding, the lowest place in hell is designed.

Obs. 6. You will not wonder at the prosperity of wicked men, that they carry it so long in the world, if you consider but how long the devil carried

it, without encountering any stop in his way ; as having all nations for his

inheritance. God was worshipped but in one poor corner of the earth ; but the devil possessed the heavens, and was as the sun in the firmament, and his

priests as the moon and stars, as if they had been perpetual ordinances. Think not much at the continuance of Popery for twelve hundred years. Heathenism stood far longer, and Christ will make more quick work in the

last days than in those past.

Obs. 7. That Christ, though he be a lamb, yet he can, and will be angry. Men have all such sweet thoughts of Christ, as if he had no anger in him ; but when his anger is kindled but a little, then blessed are all they that

put their trust in him.

06s. 8. That God punisheth idolaters and their idols together. Here both the heathenish emperors and their religion and gods are together removed. Thus, Isa. ii. 17-19, And the loftiness of man shall be bowed

down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low : and the Lord alone

shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And

they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for

fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake

terribly the earth. Which place is parallel to this here, and a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ. Thus God punished Egypt, as appears by Num.

xxxiii. 4, where it is said, upon their gods also he executed judgments. The like you have in Jer. xliii. 11-13. So also was Babylon and her gods

punished, as Jer. 1. 2, Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard ; publish, and conceal not : say, Babylon is taken, Bel is con

founded, Merodach is broken in pieces ; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. And thus God also did, when he began to ruin

Popery, the spiritual Egypt and Babylon. He punished monks, pulling down monasteries and their idols together ; his anger was against them, as

well as against their persons. And so superstitious ceremonies and will-

worship will down together.

Obs. 9. How fearful and terrible will the day of judgment be, when

Christ shall come as the lion of the tribe of Judah, if now, when he reigns as a lamb, carrying things meekly, and with much patience, he brings such

! All vengeance here is but the vengeance of a lamb, in comparison of the rending of a lion that is to come. For, as I take it, he

confounding judgments

is set forth as a lamb in respect to his governing and dispensations until

the day of judgment; but then he will come as the lion of Judah, and shew