NOTES ON THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
It is scarce possible for any that either love or fear God not to feel their hearts
extremely affected in seriously reading either the beginning or the latter part of the
Revelation. These, it is evident, we cannot consider too much; but the intermediate parts
I did not study at all for many years; as utterly despairing of understanding them, after
the fruitless attempts of so many wise and good men: and perhaps I should have lived and
died in this sentiment, had I not seen the works of the great Bengelius. But these revived
my hopes of understanding even the prophecies of this book; at least many of them in some
good degree: for perhaps some will not be opened but in eternity. Let us, however, bless
God for the measure of light we may enjoy, and improve it to his glory.
The following notes are mostly those of that excellent man; a few of which are taken
from his Gnornon Novi Testamenti, but far more from his Ekklarte Offenbarung, which is a
full and regular comment on the Revelation. Every part of this I do not undertake to
defend. But none should condemn him without reading his proofs at large. It did not suit
my design to insert these: they are above the capacity of ordinary readers. Nor had I room
to insert the entire translation of a book which contains near twelve hundred pages.
All I can do is, partly to translate, partly abridge, the most necessary of his
observations; allowing myself the liberty to alter some of them, and to add a few notes
where he is not full. His text, it may be observed, I have taken almost throughout, which
I apprehend he has abundantly defended both in the Gnomon itself, and in his Apparatus and
Crisis in Apocalypsin.
Yet I by no means pretend to understand or explain all that is contained in this
mysterious book. I only offer what help I can to the serious inquirer, and shall rejoice
if any be moved thereby more carefully to read and more deeply to consider the words of
this prophecy. Blessed is he that does this with a single eye. His labour shall not be in
vain.
Chapter I
| 1 |
The Revelation - Properly so called; for things covered before are here revealed, or
unveiled. No prophecy in the Old Testament has this title; it was reserved for this alone
in the New. It is, as it were, a manifesto, wherein the Heir of all things declares that
all power is given him in heaven and earth, and that he will in the end gloriously
exercise that power, maugre all the opposition of all his enemies. Of Jesus Christ - Not
of "John the Divine," a title added in latter ages. Certain it is, that
appellation, the Divine, was not brought into the church, much less was it affixed to John
the apostle, till long after the apostolic age. It was St. John, indeed, who wrote this
book, but the author of it is Jesus Christ. Which God gave unto him - According to his
holy, glorified humanity, as the great Prophet of the church. God gave the Revelation to
Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ made it known to his servants. To show - This word recurs, Rev
22:6; and in many places the parts of this book refer to each other. Indeed the
whole structure of it breathes the art of God, comprising, in the most finished
compendium, things to come, many, various; near, intermediate, remote; the greatest, the
least; terrible, comfortable; old, new; long, short; and these interwoven together,
opposite, composite; relative to each other at a small, at a great, distance; and
therefore sometimes, as it were, disappearing, broken off, suspended, and afterwards
unexpectedly and most seasonably appearing again. In all its parts it has an admirable
variety, with the most exact harmony, beautifully illustrated by those very digressions
which seem to interrupt it. In this manner does it display the manifold wisdom of God
shining in the economy of the church through so many ages. His servants - Much is
comprehended in this appellation. It is a great thing to be a servant of Jesus Christ.
This book is dedicated particularly to the servants of Christ in the seven churches in
Asia; but not exclusive of all his other servants, in all nations and ages. It is one
single revelation, and yet sufficient for them all, from the time it was written to the
end of the world. Serve thou the Lord Jesus Christ in truth: so shalt thou learn his
secret in this book; yea, and thou shalt feel in thy heart whether this book be divine, or
not. The things which must shortly come to pass - The things contained in this prophecy
did begin to be accomplished shortly after it was given; and the whole might be said to
come to pass shortly, in the same sense as St. Peter says, "The end of all things is
at hand;" and our Lord himself, "Behold, I come quickly." There is in this
book a rich treasure of all the doctrines pertaining to faith and holiness. But these are
also delivered in other parts of holy writ; so that the Revelation need not to have been
given for the sake of these. The peculiar design of this is, to show the things which must
come to pass. And this we are especially to have before our eyes whenever we read or hear
it. It is said afterward, "Write what thou seest;" and again, "Write
what thou hast seen, and what is, and what shall be hereafter;" but here, where the
scope of the hook is shown, it is only said, the things which must come to pass.
Accordingly, the showing things to come, is the great point in view throughout the whole.
And St. John writes what he has seen, and what is, only as it has an influence on, or
gives light to, what shall be. And he - Jesus Christ. Sent and signified them - Showed
them by signs or emblems; so the Greek word properly means. By his angel - Peculiarly
called, in the sequel, "the angel of God," and particularly mentioned, Rev
17:1; 21:9; 22:6,16. To his servant John - A title given to no other single person
throughout the book. |
| 2 |
Who hath testified - In the following book. The word of God - Given directly by God.
And the testimony of Jesus - Which he hath left us, as the faithful and true witness.
Whatsoever things he saw - In such a manner as was a full confirmation of the divine
original of this book. |
| 3 |
Happy is he that readeth, and they that hear, the words of this prophecy - Some have
miserably handled this book. Hence others are afraid to touch it; and, while they desire
to know all things else, reject only the knowledge of those which God hath shown. They
inquire after anything rather than this; as if it were written, "Happy is he that
doth not read this prophecy." Nay, but happy is he that readeth, and they that hear,
and keep the words thereof - Especially at this time, when so considerable a part of them
is on the point of being fulfilled. Nor are helps wanting whereby any sincere and
diligent inquirer may understand what he reads therein. The book itself is written in the
most accurate manner possible. It distinguishes the several things whereof it treats by
seven epistles, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven phials; each of which sevens is divided
into four and three. Many things the book itself explains; as the seven stars; the seven
candlesticks; the lamb, his seven horns and seven eyes; the incense; the dragon; the heads
and horns of the beasts; the fine linen; the testimony of Jesus: and much light arises
from comparing it with the ancient prophecies, and the predictions in the other books of
the New Testament.
In this book our Lord has comprised what was wanting in those prophecies touching the
time which followed his ascension and the end of the Jewish polity. Accordingly, it
reaches from the old Jerusalem to the new, reducing all things into one sum, in the
exactest order, and with a near resemblance to the ancient prophets. The introduction and
conclusion agree with Daniel; the description of the man child, and the promises to Sion,
with Isaiah; the judgment of Babylon, with Jeremiah; again, the determination of times,
with Daniel; the architecture of the holy city, with Ezekiel; the emblems of the horses,
candlesticks, &c., with Zechariah. Many things largely described by the prophets are
here summarily repeated; and frequently in the same words. To them we may then usefully
have recourse. Yet the Revelation suffices for the explaining itself, even if we do not
yet understand those prophecies; yea, it casts much light upon them. Frequently, likewise,
where there is a resemblance between them, there is a difference also; the Revelation, as
it were, taking a stock from one of the old prophets, and inserting a new graft into it.
Thus Zechariah speaks of two olive trees; and so does St. John; but with a different
meaning. Daniel has a beast with ten horns; so has St. John; but not with quite the same
signification. And here the difference of words, emblems, things, times, ought studiously
to be observed. Our Lord foretold many things before his passion; but not all things; for
it was not yet seasonable. Many things, likewise, his Spirit foretold in the writings of
the apostles, so far as the necessities of those times required: now he comprises them all
in one short book; therein presupposing all the other prophecies, and at the same time
explaining, continuing, and perfecting them in one thread. It is right therefore to
compare them; but not to measure the fulness of these by the scantiness of those
preceding.
Christ, when on earth, foretold what would come to pass in a short time; adding a brief
description of the last things. Here he foretells the intermediate things; so that both
put together constitute one complete chain of prophecy. This book is therefore not only
the sum and the key of all the prophecies which preceded, but likewise a supplement to
all; the seals being closed before. Of consequence, it contains many particulars not
revealed in any other part of scripture. They have therefore little gratitude to God for
such a revelation, reserved for the exaltation of Christ, who boldly reject whatever they
find here which was not revealed, or not so clearly, in other parts of scripture. He that
readeth and they that hear - St. John probably sent this book by a single person into
Asia, who read it in the churches, while many heard. But this, likewise, in a secondary
sense, refers to all that shall duly read or hear it in all ages. The words of this
prophecy - It is a revelation with regard to Christ who gives it; a prophecy, with regard
to John who delivers it to the churches. And keep the things which are written therein -
In such a manner as the nature of them requires; namely, with repentance, faith, patience,
prayer, obedience, watchfulness, constancy. It behoves every Christian, at all
opportunities, to read what is written in the oracles of God; and to read this precious
book in particular, frequently, reverently, and attentively. For the time - Of its
beginning to be accomplished. Is near - Even when St. John wrote. How much nearer to us is
even the full accomplishment of this weighty prophecy! |
| 4 |
John - The dedication of this book is contained in the fourth, fifth, and sixth
verses; but the whole Revelation is a kind of letter. To the seven churches which are in
Asia - That part of the Lesser Asia which was then a Roman province. There had been
several other churches planted here; but it seems these were now the most eminent; and it
was among these that St. John had laboured most during his abode in Asia. In these cities
there were many Jews. Such of them as believed in each were joined with the gentile
believers in one church. Grace be unto you, and peace - The favour of God, with all
temporal and eternal blessings. From him who is, and who was, and who cometh, or, who is
to come - A wonderful translation of the great name JEHOVAH: he was of old, he is now, he
cometh; that is, will be for ever. And from the seven spirits which are before his throne
- Christ is he who "hath the seven spirits of God." "The seven lamps which
burn before the throne are the seven spirits of God." " The lamb hath seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God." Seven was a sacred number
in the Jewish church: but it did not always imply a precise number. It sometimes is to be
taken figuratively, to denote completeness or perfection. By these seven spirits, not
seven created angels, but the Holy Ghost is to be understood. The angels are never termed
spirits in this book; and when all the angels stand up, while the four living creatures
and the four and twenty elders worship him that sitteth on the throne, and the Lamb, the
seven spirits neither stand up nor worship. To these "seven spirits of God," the
seven churches, to whom the Spirit speaks so many things, are subordinate; as are also
their angels, yea, and "the seven angels which stand before God." He is called
the seven spirits, not with regard to his essence, which is one, but with regard to his
manifold operations. |
| 5 |
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first begotten from the dead, and the
prince of the kings of the earth - Three glorious appellations are here given him, and in
their proper order. He was the faithful witness of the whole will of God before his death,
and in death, and remains such in glory. He rose from the dead, as "the first fruits
of them that slept;" and now hath all power both in heaven and earth. He is here
styled a prince: but by and by he hears his title of king; yea, King of kings, and Lord of
lords." This phrase, the kings of the earth, signifies their power and multitude, and
also the nature of their kingdom. It became the Divine Majesty to call them kings with a
limitation; especially in this manifesto from his heavenly kingdom; for no creature, much
less a sinful man, can bear the title of king in an absolute sense before the eyes of God.
|
| 6 |
To him that loveth us, and, out of that free, abundant love, hath washed us from the
guilt and power of our sins with his own blood, and hath made us kings - Partakers of his
present, and heirs of his eternal, kingdom. And priests unto his God and Father - To whom
we continually offer ourselves, an holy, living sacrifice. To him be the glory - For his
love and redemption. And the might - Whereby he governs all things. |
| 7 |
Behold - In this and the next verse is the proposition, and the summary of the whole
book. He cometh - Jesus Christ. Throughout this book, whenever it is said, He cometh, it
means his glorious coming. The preparation for this began at the destruction of Jerusalem,
and more particularly at the time of writing this book; and goes on, without any
interruption, till that grand event is accomplished. Therefore it is never said in this
book, He will come; but, He cometh. And yet it is not said, He cometh again: for when he
came before, it was not like himself, but in "the form of a servant." But his
appearing in glory is properly his coming; namely, in a manner worthy of the Son of God.
And every eye - Of the Jews in particular. Shall see him - But with what different
emotions, according as they had received or rejected him. And they who have pierced him -
They, above all, who pierced his hands, or feet, or side. Thomas saw the print of these
wounds even after his resurrection; and the same, undoubtedly, will be seen by all, when
he cometh in the clouds of heaven. And all the tribes of the earth - The word tribes, in
the Revelation, always means the Israelites: but where another word, such as nations or
people, is joined with it, it implies likewise (as here) all the rest of mankind. Shall
wail because of him - For terror and pain, if they did not wail before by true repentance.
Yea, Amen - This refers to, every eye shall see him. He that cometh saith, Yea; he that
testifies it, Amen. The word translated yea is Greek; Amen is Hebrew: for what is here
spoken respects both Jew and gentile. |
| 8 |
I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God - Alpha is the first, Omega, the
last, letter in the Greek alphabet. Let his enemies boast and rage ever so much in the
intermediate time, yet the Lord God is both the Alpha, or beginning, and the Omega, or
end, of all things. God is the beginning, as he is the Author and Creator of all things,
and as he proposes, declares, and promises so great things: he is the end, as he brings
all the things which are here revealed to a complete and glorious conclusion. Again, the
beginning and end of a thing is in scripture styled the whole thing. Therefore God is the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; that is, one who is all things, and always
the same. |
| 9 |
I John - The instruction and preparation of the apostle for the work are described
from the ninth to the twentieth verse. Rev 1:9 - 20 Your brother - In the
common faith. And companion in the affliction - For the same persecution which carried him
to Patmos drove them into Asia. This book peculiarly belongs to those who are under the
cross. It was given to a banished man; and men in affliction understand and relish it
most. Accordingly, it was little esteemed by the Asiatic church, after the time of
Constantine; but highly valued by all the African churches, as it has been since by all
the persecuted children of God. In the affliction, and kingdom and patience of Jesus - The
kingdom stands in the midst. It is chiefly under various afflictions that faith obtains
its part in the kingdom; and whosoever is a partaker of this kingdom is not afraid to
suffer for Jesus, 2Tim 2:12. I was in the island Patmos - In the reign of
Domitian and of Nerva. And there he saw and wrote all that follows. It was a place
peculiarly proper for these visions. He had over against him, at a small distance, Asia
and the seven churches; going on eastward, Jerusalem and the land of Canaan; and beyond
this, Antioch, yea, the whole continent of Asia. To the west, he had Rome, Italy, and all
Europe, swimming, as it were, in the sea; to the south, Alexandria and the Nile with its
outlets, Egypt, and all Africa; and to the north, what was afterwards called
Constantinople, on the straits between Europe and Asia. So he had all the three parts of
the world which were then known, with all Christendom, as it were, before his eyes; a
large theatre for all the various scenes which were to pass before him: as if this island
had been made principally for this end, to serve as an observatory for the apostle. For
preaching the word of God he was banished thither, and for the testimony of Jesus - For
testifying that he is the Christ. |
| 10 |
I was in the Spirit - That is, in a trance, a prophetic vision; so overwhelmed with
the power, and filled with the light, of the Holy Spirit, as to be insensible of outward
things, and wholly taken up with spiritual and divine. What follows is one single,
connected vision, which St. John saw in one day; and therefore he that would understand it
should carry his thought straight on through the whole, without interruption. The other
prophetic books are collections of distinct prophecies, given upon various occasions: but
here is one single treatise, whereof all the parts exactly depend on each other. Chapter
iv. 1 Rev 4:1 is connected with chapter i. 19; Rev 1:19 and what is
delivered in the fourth chapter goes on directly to the twenty - second. On the
Lord's day - On this our Lord rose from the dead: on this the ancients believed he will
come to judgment. It was, therefore, with the utmost propriety that St. John on this day
both saw and described his coming. And I heard behind me - St. John had his face to the
east: our Lord, likewise, in this appearance looked eastward toward Asia, whither the
apostle was to write. A great voice, as of a trumpet - Which was peculiarly proper to
proclaim the coming of the great King, and his victory over all his enemies. |
| 11 |
Saying, What thou seest - And hearest. He both saw and heard. This command extends to
the whole book. All the books of the New Testament were written by the will of God; but
none were so expressly commanded to be written. In a book - So all the Revelation is but
one book: nor did the letter to the angel of each church belong to him or his church only;
but the whole book was sent to them all. To the churches - Hereafter named; and through
them to all churches, in all ages and nations. To Ephesus - Mr. Thomas Smith, who in the
year 1671 travelled through all these cities, observes, that from Ephesus to Smyrna is
forty - six English miles; from Smyrna to Pergamos, sixty - four; from Pergamos to
Thyatira, forty - eight; from Thyatira to Sardis, thirty - three; from Sardis to
Philadelphia, twenty - seven; from Philadelphia to Laodicea, about forty - two miles. |
| 12, 13 |
And I turned to see the voice - That is, to see him whose voice it was. And being
turned, I saw - It seems, the vision presented itself gradually. First he heard a voice;
and, upon looking behind, he saw the golden candlesticks, and then, in the midst of the
candlesticks, which were placed in a circle, he saw one like a son of man - That is, in an
human form. As a man likewise our Lord doubtless appears in heaven: though not exactly in
this symbolical manner, wherein he presents himself as the head of his church. He next
observed that our Lord was clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt with a golden
girdle - Such the Jewish high priests wore. But both of them are here marks of royal
dignity likewise. Girt about at the breast - he that is on a journey girds his loins.
Girding the breast was an emblem of solemn rest. It seems that the apostle having seen all
this, looked up to behold the face of our Lord: but was beat back by the appearance of his
flaming eyes, which occasioned his more particularly observing his feet. Receiving
strength to raise his eyes again, he saw the stars in his right hand, and the sword coming
out of his mouth: but upon beholding the brightness of his glorious countenance, which
probably was much increased since the first glance the apostle had of it, he "fell at
his feet as dead." During the time that St. John was discovering these several
particulars, our Lord seems to have been speaking. And doubtless even his voice, at the
very first, bespoke the God: though not so insupportably as his glorious appearance. |
| 12, 13 |
And I turned to see the voice - That is, to see him whose voice it was. And being
turned, I saw - It seems, the vision presented itself gradually. First he heard a voice;
and, upon looking behind, he saw the golden candlesticks, and then, in the midst of the
candlesticks, which were placed in a circle, he saw one like a son of man - That is, in an
human form. As a man likewise our Lord doubtless appears in heaven: though not exactly in
this symbolical manner, wherein he presents himself as the head of his church. He next
observed that our Lord was clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt with a golden
girdle - Such the Jewish high priests wore. But both of them are here marks of royal
dignity likewise. Girt about at the breast - he that is on a journey girds his loins.
Girding the breast was an emblem of solemn rest. It seems that the apostle having seen all
this, looked up to behold the face of our Lord: but was beat back by the appearance of his
flaming eyes, which occasioned his more particularly observing his feet. Receiving
strength to raise his eyes again, he saw the stars in his right hand, and the sword coming
out of his mouth: but upon beholding the brightness of his glorious countenance, which
probably was much increased since the first glance the apostle had of it, he "fell at
his feet as dead." During the time that St. John was discovering these several
particulars, our Lord seems to have been speaking. And doubtless even his voice, at the
very first, bespoke the God: though not so insupportably as his glorious appearance. |
| 14 |
His head and his hair - That is, the hair of his head, not his whole head. Were white
as white wool - Like the Ancient of Days, represented in Daniel's vision, Dan 7:9.
Wool is commonly supposed to be an emblem of eternity. As snow - Betokening his spotless
purity. And his eyes as a flame of fire - Piercing through all things; a token of his
omniscience. |
| 15 |
And his feet like fine brass - Denoting his stability and strength. As if they burned
in a furnace - As if having been melted and refined, they were still red hot. And his
voice - To the comfort of his friends, and the terror of his enemies. As the voice of many
waters - Roaring aloud, and bearing down all before them. |
| 16 |
And he had in his right hand seven stars - In token of his favour and powerful
protection. And out of his mouth went a sharp two - edged sword - Signifying his justice
and righteous anger, continually pointed against his enemies as a sword; sharp, to stab;
two - edged, to hew. And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength - Without
any mist or cloud. |
| 17 |
And I fell at his feet as dead - Human nature not being able to sustain so glorious an
appearance. Thus was he prepared (like Daniel of old, whom he peculiarly resembles) for
receiving so weighty a prophecy. A great sinking of nature usually precedes a large
communication of heavenly things. St. John, before our Lord suffered, was so intimate with
him, as to lean on his breast, to lie in his bosom. Yet now, near seventy years after, the
aged apostle is by one glance struck to the ground. What a glory must this be! Ye sinners,
be afraid cleanse your hands: purify your hearts. Ye saints, be humble, prepare: rejoice.
But rejoice unto him with reverence: an increase of reverence towards this awful majesty
can be no prejudice to your faith. Let all petulancy, with all vain curiosity, be far
away, while you are thinking or reading of these things. And he laid his right hand upon
me - The same wherein he held the seven stars. What did St. John then feel in himself?
Saying, Fear not - His look terrifies, his speech strengthens. He does not call John by
his name, (as the angels did Zechariah and others,) but speaks as his well known master.
What follows is also spoken to strengthen and encourage him. I am - When in his state of
humiliation he spoke of his glory, he frequently spoke in the third person, as Matt
26:64. But he now speaks of his own glory, without any veil, in plain and direct
terms. The first and the last - That is, the one, eternal God, who is from everlasting to
everlasting, Isaiah 41:4. |
| 18 |
And he that liveth - Another peculiar title of God. And I have the keys of death and
of hades - That is, the invisible world. In the intermediate state, the body abides in
death, the soul in hades. Christ hath the keys of, that is, the power over, both; killing
or quickening of the body, and disposing of the soul, as it pleaseth him. He gave St.
Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven; but not the keys of death or of hades. How comes
then his supposed successor at Rome by the keys of purgatory? From the preceding
description, mostly, are taken the titles given to Christ in the following letters,
particularly the four first. |
| 19 |
Write the things which thou hast seen - This day: which accordingly are written, Rev
1:11 - 18. And which are - The instructions relating to the present state of the
seven churches. These are written, Rev 1:20 - Rev 3:22. And which shall be
hereafter - To the end of the world; written, Rev 4:1, &c. |
| 20 |
Write first the mystery - The mysterious meaning of the seven stars - St. John knew
better than we do, in how many respects these stars were a proper emblem of those angels:
how nearly they resembled each other, and how far they differed in magnitude, brightness,
aa& other circumstances. The seven stars are angels of the seven churches - Mentioned
in the eleventh verse. Rev 1:11 In each church there was one pastor or ruling minister,
to whom all the rest were subordinate. This pastor, bishop, or overseer, had the peculiar
care over that flock: on him the prosperity of that congregation in a great measure
depended, and he was to answer for all those souls at the judgment seat of Christ. And the
seven candlesticks are seven churches - How significant an emblem is this! For a
candlestick, though of gold, has no light of itself; neither has any church, or child of
man. But they receive from Christ the light of truth, holiness, comfort, that it may shine
to all around them. As soon as this was spoken St. John wrote it down, even all that is
contained in this first chapter. Afterwards what was contained in the second and third
chapters was dictated to him in like manner. |
Chapter II
Of the following letters to the angels of the seven churches it may be necessary to
speak first in general, and then particularly. In general we may observe, when the
Israelites were to receive the law at Mount Sinai, they were first to be purified; and
when the kingdom of God was at hand, John the Baptist prepared men for it by repentance.
In like manner we are prepared by these letters for the worthy reception of this glorious
revelation. By following the directions given herein, by expelling incorrigibly wicked
men, and putting away all wickedness, those churches were prepared to receive this
precious depositum. And whoever in any age would profitably read or hear it, must observe
the same admonitions. These letters are a kind of sevenfold preface to the book. Christ
now appears in the form of a man, (not yet under the emblem of a lamb,) and speaks mostly
in proper, not in figurative, words. It is not till Rev 4:1, that St. John
enters upon that grand vision which takes up the residue of the book. There is in each of
these letters,
- A command to write to the angel of the church;
- A glorious title of Christ;
- An address to the angel of that church, containing A testimony of his mixed, or good, or
bad state; An exhortation to repentance or steadfastness; A declaration of what will be;
generally, of the Lord's coming;
- A promise to him that overcometh, together with the exhortation, "He that hath an
ear to hear, let him hear"
The address in each letter is expressed in plain words, the promise, in figurative. In
the address our Lord speaks to the angel of each church which then was, and to the members
thereof directly; whereas in the promise he speaks of all that should overcome, in
whatever church or age, and deals out to them one of the precious promises, (by way of
anticipation,) from the last chapters of the book.
| 1 |
Write - So Christ dictated to him every word. These things saith he who holdeth the
seven stars in his right hand - Such is his mighty power! Such his favour to them and care
over them, that they may indeed shine as stars, both by purity of doctrine and holiness of
life! Who walketh - According to his promise, "I am with you always, even to the end
of the world." In the midst of the golden candlesticks - Beholding all their works
and thoughts, and ready to "remove the candlestick out of its place," if any,
being warned, will not repent. Perhaps here is likewise an allusion to the office of the
priests in dressing the lamps, which was to keep them always burning before the Lord. |
| 2 |
I know - Jesus knows all the good and all the evil, which his servants and his enemies
suffer and do. Weighty word, "I know," how dreadful will it one day sound to the
wicked, how sweet to the righteous! The churches and their angels must have been
astonished, to find their several states so exactly described, even in the absence of the
apostle, and could not but acknowledge the all - seeing eye of Christ and of his Spirit.
With regard to us, to every one of us also he saith, "I know thy works." Happy
is he that conceives less good of himself, than Christ knows concerning him. And thy
labour - After the general, three particulars are named, and then more largely described
in an inverted order,
- Thy labour
- Thy patience:
- Thou canst not
bear evil men:
- Thou hast patience:
- Thou hast tried those who say they are
apostles and are not, and hast found
them liars.
- Thou hast borne for my name's sake and
hast not fainted.
And thy patience - Notwithstanding which thou canst not bear that incorrigibly wicked
men should remain in the flock of Christ. And thou hast tried those who say they are
apostles, and are not - For the Lord hath not sent them. |
| 4 |
But I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first love - That love for which all
that church was so eminent when St. Paul wrote his epistle to them. He need not have left
this. He might have retained it entire to the end. And he did retain it in part, or there
could not have remained so much of what was commendable in him. But he had not kept, as he
might have done, the first tender love in its vigour and warmth. Reader, hast thou? |
| 5 |
It is not possible for any to recover the first love, but by taking these three steps,
1. Remember: 2. Repent: 3. Do the first works. Remember from whence thou art fallen - From
what degree of faith, love, holiness, though perhaps insensibly. And repent - Which in the
very lowest sense implies a deep and lively conviction of thy fall. Of the seven angels,
two, at Ephesus and at Pergamos, were in a mixed state; two, at Sardis and at Laodicea,
were greatly corrupted: all these are exhorted to repent; as are the followers of Jezebel
at Thyatira: two, at Smyrna and Philadelphia, were in a flourishing state, and are
therefore only exhorted to steadfastness. There can be no state, either of any pastor,
church, or single person, which has not here suitable instructions. All, whether ministers
or hearers, together with their secret or open enemies, in all places and all ages, may
draw hence necessary self - knowledge, reproof, commendation, warning, or confirmation.
Whether any be as dead as the angel at Sardis, or as much alive as the angel at
Philadelphia, this book is sent to him, and the Lord Jesus hath something to say to him
therein. For the seven churches with their angels represent the whole Christian church,
dispersed throughout the whole world, as it subsists, not, as some have imagined, in one
age after another, but in every age. This is a point of deep importance, and always
necessary to be remembered: that these seven churches are, as it were, a sample of the
whole church of Christ, as it was then, as it is now, and as it will be in all ages. Do
the first works - Outwardly and inwardly, or thou canst never regain the first love. But
if not - By this word is the warning sharpened to those five churches which are called to
repent; for if Ephesus was threatened, how much more shall Sardis and Laodicea be afraid!
And according as they obey the call or not, there is a promise or a threatening, Rev
2:5,16,22; Rev 3:3,20. But even in the threatening the promise is
implied, in case of true repentance. I come to thee, and will remove thy candlestick out
of its place - I will remove, unless thou repent, the flock now under thy care to another
place, where they shall be better taken care of. But from the flourishing state of the
church of Ephesus after this, there is reason to believe he did repent. |
| 6 |
But thou hast this - Divine grace seeks whatever may help him that is fallen to
recover his standing. That thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans - Probably so called
from Nicolas, one of the seven deacons, Acts 6:5. Their doctrines and lives
were equally corrupt. They allowed the most abominable lewdness and adulteries, as well as
sacrificing to idols; all which they placed among things indifferent, and pleaded for as
branches of Christian liberty. |
| 7 |
He that hath an ear, let him hear - Every man, whoever can hear at all, ought
carefully to hear this. What the Spirit saith - In these great and precious promises. To
the churches - And in them to every one that overcometh; that goeth on from faith and by
faith to full victory over the world, and the flesh, and the devil. In these seven letters
twelve promises are contained, which are an extract of all the promises of God. Some of
them are not expressly mentioned again in this book, as "the hidden manna," the
inscription of "the name of the new Jerusalem," the "sitting upon the
throne." Some resemble what is afterwards mentioned, as "the hidden name," Rev
19:12; "the ruling the nations," Rev 19:15; "the
morning star," Rev 22:16. And some are expressly mentioned, as "the
tree of life," Rev 22:2; freedom from "the second death," Rev
20:6; the name in "the book of life," Rev 20:12; 21:27; the
remaining "in the temple of God," Rev 7:15; the inscription of
"the name of God and of the Lamb," Rev 14:1; 22:4. In these
promises sometimes the enjoyment of the highest goods, sometimes deliverance from the
greatest evils, is mentioned. And each implies the other, so that where either part is
expressed, the whole is to be understood. That part is expressed which has most
resemblance to the virtues or works of him that was spoken to in the letter preceding. To
eat of the tree of life - The first thing promised in these letters is the last and
highest in the accomplishment, Rev 22:2,14,19. The tree of life and the water
of life go together, Rev 22:1,2; both implying the living with God eternally.
In the paradise of my God - The word paradise means a garden of pleasure. In the earthly
paradise there was one tree of life: there are no other trees in the paradise of God. |
| 8 |
These things saith the first and the last, who was dead and is alive - How directly
does this description tend to confirm him against the fear of death! verses 10, 11. Rev
2:10,11 Even with the comfort wherewith St. John himself was comforted, Rev
1:17,18, shall the angel of this church be comforted. |
| 9 |
I know thy affliction and poverty - A poor prerogative in the eyes of the world! The
angel at Philadelphia likewise had in their sight but "a little strength." And
yet these two were the most honourable of all in the eyes of the Lord. But thou art rich -
In faith and love, of more value than all the kingdoms of the earth. Who say they are Jews
- God's own people. And are not - They are not Jews inwardly, not circumcised in heart.
But a synagogue of Satan - Who, like them, was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. |
| 10 |
The first and last words of this verse are particularly directed to the minister;
whence we may gather, that his suffering and the affliction of the church were at the same
time, and of the same continuance. Fear none of those things which thou art about to
suffer - Probably by means of the false Jews. Behold - This intimates the nearness of the
affliction. Perhaps the ten days began on the very day that the Revelation was read at
Smyrna, or at least very soon after. The devil - Who sets all persecutors to work; and
these more particularly. Is about to cast some of you - Christians at Smyrna; where, in
the first ages, the blood of many martyrs was shed. Into prison, that ye may be tried - To
your unspeakable advantage, 1Pet 4:12,14. And ye shall have affliction -
Either in your own persons, or by sympathizing with your brethren. Ten days - (Literally
taken) in the end of Domitian's persecution, which was stopped by the edict of the emperor
Nerva. Be thou faithful - Our Lord does not say, "till I come," as in the other
letters, but unto death - Signifying that the angel of this church should quickly after
seal his testimony with his blood; fifty years before the martyrdom of Polycarp, for whom
some have mistaken him. And I will give thee the crown of life - The peculiar reward of
them who are faithful unto death. |
| 11 |
The second death - The lake of fire, the portion of the fearful, who do not overcome, Rev
21:8. |
| 12 |
The sword - With which I will cut off the impenitent, verse 16. Rev 2:16 |
| 13 |
Where the throne of Satan is - Pergamos was above measure given to idolatry: so Satan
had his throne and full residence there. Thou holdest fast my name - Openly and resolutely
confessing me before men. Even in the days wherein Antipas - Martyred under Domitian. Was
my faithful witness - Happy is he to whom Jesus, the faithful and true witness, giveth
such a testimony! |
| 14, |
But thou hast there - Whom thou oughtest to have immediately cast out from the flock.
Them that hold the doctrine of Balaam - Doctrine nearly resembling his. Who taught Balak -
And the rest of the Moabites. To cast a stumblingblock before the sons of Israel - They
are generally termed, the children, but here, the sons, of Israel, in opposition to the
daughters of Moab, by whom Balaam enticed them to fornication and idolatry. To eat things
sacrificed to idols - Which, in so idolatrous a city as Pergamos, was in the highest
degree hurtful to Christianity. And to commit fornication - Which was constantly joined
with the idol - worship of the heathens. |
| 15 |
In like manner thou also - As well as the angel at Ephesus. Hast them that hold the
doctrine of the Nicolaitans - And thou sufferest them to remain in the flock. |
| 16 |
If not, I come to thee - who wilt not wholly escape when I punish them. And will fight
with them - Not with the Nicolaitans, who are mentioned only by the by, but the followers
of Balaam. With the sword of my mouth - With my just and fierce displeasure. Balaam
himself was first withstood by the angel of the Lord with "his sword drawn," Num
22:23, and afterwards "slain with the sword," Num 31:8. |
| 17 |
To him that overcometh - And eateth not of those sacrifices. Will I give of the hidden
manna - Described, John vi. The new name answers to this: it is now "hid with Christ
in God." The Jewish manna was kept in the ancient ark of the covenant. The heavenly
ark of the covenant appears under the trumpet of the seventh angel, Rev 11:19,
where also the hidden manna is mentioned again. It seems properly to mean, the full,
glorious, everlasting fruition of God. And I will give him a white stone - The ancients,
on many occasions, gave their votes in judgment by small stones; by black, they condemned;
by white ones they acquitted. Sometimes also they wrote on small smooth stones. Here may
be an allusion to both. And a new name - So Jacob, after his victory, gained the new name
of Israel. Wouldest thou know what thy new name will be? The way to this is plain, -
overcome. Till then all thy inquiries are vain. Thou wilt then read it on the white stone.
|
| 18 |
And to the angel of the church at Thyatira - Where the faithful were but a little
flock. These things saith the Son of God - See how great he is, who appeared "like a
son of man!" Rev 1:13. Who hath eyes as a flame of fire -
"Searching the reins and the heart," verse 23. Rev 2:23 And feet
like fine brass - Denoting his immense strength. Job comprises both these, his wisdom to
discern whatever is amiss, and his power to avenge it, in one sentence, Job 42:2,
"No thought is hidden from him, and he can do all things." |
| 19 |
I know thy love - How different a character is this from that of the angel of the
church at Ephesus! The latter could not bear the wicked, and hated the works of the
Nicolaitans; but had left his first love and first works. The former retained his first
love, and had more and more works, but did bear the wicked, did not withstand them with
becoming vehemence. Mixed characters both; yet the latter, not the former, is reproved for
his fall, and commanded to repent. And faith, and thy service, and patience - Love is
shown, exercised, and improved by serving God and our neighbour; so is faith by patience
and good works. |
| 20 |
But thou sufferest that woman Jezebel - who ought not to teach at all, 1Tim 2:12.
To teach and seduce my servants - At Pergamos were many followers of Balaam; at Thyatira,
one grand deceiver. Many of the ancients have delivered, that this was the wife of the
pastor himself. Jezebel of old led the people of God to open idolatry. This Jezebel, fitly
called by her name, from the resemblance between their works, led them to partake in the
idolatry of the heathens. This she seems to have done by first enticing them to
fornication, just as Balaam did: whereas at Pergamos they were first enticed to idolatry,
and afterwards to fornication. |
| 21 |
And I gave her time to repent - So great is the power of Christ! But she will not
repent - So, though repentance is the gift of God, man may refuse it; God will not compel.
|
| 22 |
I will cast her into a bed - into great affliction - and them that commit either
carnal or spiritual adultery with her, unless they repent - She had her time before. Of
her works - Those to which she had enticed their and which she had committed with them. It
is observable, the angel of the church at Thyatira was only blamed for suffering her. This
fault ceased when God took vengeance on her. Therefore he is not expressly exhorted to
repent, though it is implied. |
| 23 |
And I will kill her children - Those which she hath borne in adultery, and them whom
she hath seduced. With death - This expression denotes death by the plague, or by some
manifest stroke of God's hand. Probably the remarkable vengeance taken on her children was
the token of the certainty of all the rest. And all the churches - To which thou now
writest. Shall know that I search the reins - The desires. And hearts - Thoughts. |
| 24 |
But I say to you who do not hold this doctrine - Of Jezebel. Who have not known the
depths of Satan - O happy ignorance! As they speak - That were continually boasting of the
deep things which they taught. Our Lord owns they were deep, even deep as hell: for they
were the very depths of Satan. Were these the same of which Martin Luther speaks? It is
well if there are not some of his countrymen now in England who know them too well! I will
lay upon you no other burden - Than that you have already suffered from Jezebel and her
adherents. |
| 25 |
What ye - Both the angel and the church have. |
| 26 |
By works - Those which I have commanded. To him will I give power over the nations -
That is, I will give him to share with me in that glorious victory which the Father hath
promised me over all the nations who as yet resist me, Psalm 2:8,9. |
| 27 |
And he shall rule them - That is, shall share with me when I do this. With a rod of
iron - With irresistible power, employed on those only who will not otherwise submit; who
will hereby be dashed in pieces - Totally conquered. |
| 28 |
I will give him the morning star - Thou, O Jesus, art the morning star! O give thyself
to me! Then will I desire no sun, only thee, who art the sun also. He whom this star
enlightens has always morning and no evening. The duties and promises here answer each
other; the valiant conqueror has power over the stubborn nations. And he that, after
having conquered his enemies, keeps the works of Christ to the end, shall have the morning
star, - an unspeakable brightness and peaceable dominion in him. |
Chapter III
| 1 |
The seven spirits of God - The Holy Spirit, from whom alone all spiritual life and
strength proceed. And the seven stars - which are subordinate to him. Thou hast a name
that thou livest - A fair reputation, a goodly outside appearance. But that Spirit seeth
through all things, and every empty appearance vanishes before him. |
| 2 |
The things which remain - In thy soul; knowledge of the truth, good desires, and
convictions. Which were ready to die - Wherever pride, indolence, or levity revives, all
the fruits of the Spirit are ready to die. |
| 3 |
Remember how - Humbly, zealously, seriously. Thou didst receive the grace of God once,
and hear - His word. And hold fast - The grace thou hast received. And repent - According
to the word thou hast heard. |
| 4 |
Yet thou hast a few names - That is, persons. But though few, they had not separated
themselves from the rest; otherwise, the angel of Sardis would not have had them. Yet it
was no virtue of his, that they were unspotted; whereas it was his fault that they were
but few. Who have not defiled their garments - Either by spotting themselves, or by
partaking of other men's sins. They shall walk with me in white - in joy; in perfect
holiness; in glory. They are worthy - A few good among many bad are doubly acceptable to
God. O how much happier is this worthiness than that mentioned, Rev 16:6. |
| 5 |
He shall be clothed in white raiment - The colour of victory, joy, and triumph. And I
will not blot his name out of the book of life - Like that of the angel of the church at
Sardis: but he shall live for ever. I will confess his name - As one of my faithful
servants and soldiers. |
| 7 |
The holy one, the true one - Two great and glorious names He that hath the key of
David - A master of a family, or a prince, has one or more keys, wherewith he can open and
shut all the doors of his house or palace. So had David a key, a token of right and
sovereignty, which was afterward adjudged to Eliakim, Isaiah 22:22. Much more
has Christ, the Son of David, the key of the spiritual city of David, the New Jerusalem;
the supreme right, power, and authority, as in his own house. He openeth this to all that
overcome, and none shutteth: he shutteth it against all the fearful, and none openeth.
Likewise when he openeth a door on earth for his works or his servants, none can shut; and
when he shutteth against whatever would hurt or defile, none can open. |
| 8 |
I have given before thee an opened door - To enter into the joy of thy Lord; and,
meantime, to go on unhindered in every good work. Thou hast a little strength - But little
outward human strength; a little, poor, mean, despicable company. Yet thou hast kept my
word - Both in judgment and practice. |
| 9 |
Behold, I - who have all power; and they must then comply. I will make them come and
bow down before thy feet - Pay thee the lowest homage. And know - At length, that all
depends on my love, and that thou hast a place therein. O how often does the judgment of
the people turn quite round, when the Lord looketh upon them! Job 42:7,
&c. |
| 10 |
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience - The word of Christ is indeed a word
of patience. I also will keep thee - O happy exemption from that spreading calamity! From
the hour of temptation - So that thou shalt not enter into temptation; but it shall pass
over thee. The hour denotes the short time of its continuance; that is, at any one place.
At every one it was very sharp, though short; wherein the great tempter was not idle, Rev
2:10. Which hour shall come upon the whole earth - The whole Roman empire. It went
over the Christians, and over the Jews and heathens; though in a very different manner.
This was the time of the persecution under the seemingly virtuous emperor Trajan. The two
preceding persecutions were under those monsters, Nero and Domitian; but Trajan was so
admired for his goodness, and his persecution was of such a nature, that it was a
temptation indeed, and did throughly try them that dwelt upon the earth. |
| 11 |
Thy crown - Which is ready for thee, if thou endure to the end. |
| 12 |
I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God - I will fix him as beautiful, as
useful, and as immovable as a pillar in the church of God. And he shall go out no more -
But shall be holy and happy for ever. And I will write upon him the name of my God - So
that the nature and image of God shall appear visibly upon him. And the name of the city
of my God - Giving him a title to dwell in the New Jerusalem. And my new name - A share in
that joy which I entered into, after overcoming all my enemies. |
| 14 |
To the angel of the church at Laodicea - For these St. Paul had had a great concern, Col
2:1. These things saith the Amen - That is, the True One, the God of truth. The
beginning - The Author, Prince, and Ruler. Of the creation of God - Of all creatures; the
beginning, or Author, by whom God made them all. |
| 15 |
I know thy works - Thy disposition and behaviour, though thou knowest it not thyself.
That thou art neither cold - An utter stranger to the things of God, having no care or
thought about them. Nor hot - As boiling water: so ought we to be penetrated and heated by
the fire of love. O that thou wert - This wish of our Lord plainly implies that he does
not work on us irresistibly, as the fire does on the water which it heats. Cold or hot -
Even if thou wert cold, without any thought or profession of religion, there would be more
hope of thy recovery. |
| 16 |
So because thou art lukewarm - The effect of lukewarm water is well known. I am about
to spue thee out of my mouth - I will utterly cast thee from me; that is, unless thou
repent. |
| 17 |
Because thou sayest - Therefore "I counsel thee," &c. I am rich - In
gifts and grace, as well as worldly goods. And knowest not that thou art - In God's
account, wretched and pitiable. |
| 18 |
I counsel thee - who art poor, and blind, and naked. To buy of me - Without money or
price. Gold purified in the fire - True, living faith, which is purified in the furnace of
affliction. And white raiment - True holiness. And eyesalve - Spiritual illumination; the
"unction of the Holy One," which teacheth all things. |
| 19 |
Whomsoever I love - Even thee, thou poor Laodicean! O how much has his unwearied love
to do! I rebuke - For what is past. And chasten - That they may amend for the time to
come. |
| 20 |
I stand at the door, and knock - Even at this instant; while he is speaking this word.
If any man open - Willingly receive me. I will sup with him - Refreshing him with my
graces and gifts, and delighting myself in what I have given. And he with me - In life
everlasting. |
| 21 |
I will give him to sit with me on my throne - In unspeakable happiness and glory.
Elsewhere, heaven itself is termed the throne of God: but this throne is in heaven. |
| 22 |
He that hath an ear, let him hear, &c. - This stands in the three former letters
before the promise; in the four latter, after it; clearly dividing the seven into two
parts; the first containing three, the last, four letters. The titles given our Lord in
the three former letters peculiarly respect his power after his resurrection and
ascension, particularly over his church; those in the four latter, his divine glory, and
unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Again, this word being placed before the
promises in the three former letters, excludes the false apostles at Ephesus, the false
Jews at Smyrna, and the partakers with the heathens at Pergamos, from having any share
therein. In the four latter, being placed after them, it leaves the promises immediately
joined with Christ's address to the angel of the church, to show that the fulfilling of
these was near; whereas the others reach beyond the end of the world. It should be
observed, that the overcoming, or victory, (to which alone these peculiar promises are
annexed,) is not the ordinary victory obtained by every believer; but a special victory
over great and peculiar temptations, by those that are strong in faith. |
Chapter IV
We are now entering upon the main prophecy. The whole Revelation may be divided
thus:
The first, second, and third chapters contain the introduction; The fourth and fifth, the
proposition; The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth describe things which are already
fulfilled; The tenth to the fourteenth, things which are now fulfilling; The fifteenth to
the nineteenth, things which will be fulfilled shortly; The twentieth, twenty - first, and
twenty - second, things at a greater distance.
| 1 |
After these things - As if he had said, After I had written these letters from the
mouth of the Lord. By the particle and, the several parts of this prophecy are usually
connected: by the expression, after these things, they are distinguished from each other, Rev
7:9; 19:1. By that expression, and after these things, they are distinguished, and
yet connected, Rev 7:1; 15:5; 18:1. St. John always saw and heard, and then
immediately wrote down one part after another: and one part is constantly divided from
another by some one of these expressions. I saw - Here begins the relation of the main
vision, which is connected throughout; as it appears from "the throne, and him that
sitteth thereon;" "the Lamb;" (who hitherto has appeared in the form of a
man;) " the four living creatures;" and " the four and twenty elders,"
represented from this place to the end. From this place, it is absolutely necessary to
keep in mind the genuine order of the texts, as it stands in the preceding table. A door
opened in heaven - Several of these openings are successively mentioned. Here a door is
opened; afterward, "the temple of God in heaven," Rev 11:19; 15:5;
and, at last, "heaven" itself, 19:11. By each of these St. John gains a new and
more extended prospect. And the first voice which I had heard - Namely, that of Christ:
afterward, he heard the voices of many others. Said, Come up hither - Not in body, but in
spirit; which was immediately done. |
| 2 |
And immediately I was in the spirit - Even in an higher degree than before, Rev
1:10. And, behold, a throne was set in heaven - St. John is to write "things
which shall be;" and, in order thereto, he is here shown, after an heavenly manner,
how whatever "shall be," whether good or bad, flows out of invisible fountains;
and how, after it is done on the visible theatre of the world and the church, it flows
back again into the invisible world, as its proper and final scope. Here commentators
divide: some proceed theologically; others, historically; whereas the right way is, to
join both together. The court of heaven is here laid open; and the throne of God is, as
it were, the centre from which everything in the visible world goes forth, and to which
everything returns. Here, also, the kingdom of Satan is disclosed; and hence we may
extract the most important things out of the most comprehensive and, at the same time,
most secret history of the kingdom of hell and heaven. But herein we must be content to
know only what is expressly revealed in this book. This describes, not barely what good or
evil is successively transacted on earth, but how each springs from the kingdom of light
or darkness, and continually tends to the source whence it sprung: So that no man can
explain all that is contained therein, from the history of the church militant only.
And yet the histories of past ages have their use, as this book is properly
prophetical. The more, therefore, we observe the accomplishment of it, so much the more
may we praise God, in his truth, wisdom, justice, and almighty power, and learn to suit
ourselves to the time, according to the remarkable directions contained in the prophecy.
And one sat on the throne - As a king, governor, and judge. Here is described God, the
Almighty, the Father of heaven, in his majesty, glory, and dominion. |
| 3 |
And he that sat was in appearance - Shone with a visible lustre, like that of
sparkling precious stones, such as those which were of old on the high priest's
breastplate, and those placed as the foundations of the new Jerusalem, Rev 21:19,20.
If there is anything emblematical in the colours of these stones, possibly the jasper,
which is transparent and of a glittering white, with an intermixture of beautiful colours,
may be a symbol of God's purity, with various other perfections, which shine in all his
dispensations. The sardine stone, of a blood - red colour, may be an emblem of his
justice, and the vengeance he was about to execute on his enemies. An emerald, being
green, may betoken favour to the good; a rainbow, the everlasting covenant. See Gen
9:9. And this being round about the whole breadth of the throne, fixed the distance
of those who stood or sat round it. |
| 4 |
And round about the throne - In a circle, are four and twenty thrones, and on the
thrones four and twenty elders - The most holy of all the former ages, Isa 24:23;
Heb 12:1; representing the whole body of the saints. Sitting - In general;
but falling down when they worship. Clothed in white raiment - This and their golden
crowns show, that they had already finished their course and taken their place among the
citizens of heaven. They are never termed souls, and hence it is probable that they had
glorified bodies already. Compare Matt 27:52. |
| 5 |
And out of the throne go forth lightnings - Which affect the sight. Voices - Which
affect the hearing. Thunderings - Which cause the whole body to tremble. Weak men account
all this terrible; but to the inhabitants of heaven it is a mere source of joy and
pleasure, mixed with reverence to the Divine Majesty. Even to the saints on earth these
convey light and protection; but to their enemies, terror and destruction. |
| 6 |
And before the throne is a sea as of glass, like crystal - Wide and deep, pure and
clear, transparent and still. Both the "seven lamps of fire" and this sea are
before the throne; and both may mean "the seven spirits of God," the Holy Ghost;
whose powers and operations are frequently represented both under the emblem of fire and
of water. We read again, Rev 15:2, of "a sea as of glass," where
there is no mention of "the seven lamps of fire;" but, on the contrary, the sea
itself is "mingled with fire." We read also, Rev 22:1, of "a
stream of water of life, clear as crystal." Now, the sea which is before the throne,
and the stream which goes out of the throne, may both mean the same; namely, the Spirit of
God. And in the midst of the throne - With respect to its height. Round about the throne -
That is, toward the four quarters, east, west, north, and south. Were four living
creatures - Not beasts, no more than birds. These seem to be taken from the cherubim in
the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel, and in the holy of holies. They are doubtless some of
the principal powers of heaven; but of what order, it is not easy to determine. It is very
probable that the twenty - four elders may represent the Jewish church: their harps seem
to intimate their having belonged to the ancient tabernacle service, where they were wont
to be used. If so, the living creatures may represent the Christian church. Their number,
also, is symbolical of universality, and agrees with the dispensation of the gospel, which
extended to all nations under heaven. And the "new song" which they all sing,
saying, "Thou hast redeemed us out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation," Rev 5:9, could not possibly suit the Jewish without the
Christian church. The first living creature was like a lion - To signify undaunted
courage. The second, like a calf - Or ox, Ezek 1:10, to signify unwearied
patience. The third, with the face of a man - To signify prudence and compassion. The
fourth, like an eagle - To signify activity and vigour. Full of eyes - To betoken wisdom
and knowledge. Before - To see the face of him that sitteth on the throne. And behind - To
see what is done among the creatures. |
| 7 |
And the first - Just such were the four cherubim in Ezekiel, who supported the moving
throne of God; whereas each of those that overshadowed the mercy - seat in the holy of
holies had all these four faces: whence a late great man supposes them to have been
emblematic of the Trinity, and the incarnation of the second Person. A flying eagle - That
is, with wings expanded. |
| 8 |
Each of them hath six wings - As had each of the seraphim in Isaiah's vision.
"Two covered his face," in token of humility and reverence: "two his
feet," perhaps in token of readiness and diligence for executing divine commissions.
Round about and within they are full of eyes. Round about - To see everything which is
farther off from the throne than they are themselves. And within - On the inner part of
the circle which they make with one another. First, they look from the centre to the
circumference, then from the circumference to the centre. And they rest not - O happy
unrest! Day and night - As we speak on earth. But there is no night in heaven. And say,
Holy, holy, holy - Is the Three - One God. There are two words in the original, very
different from each other; both which we translate holy. The one means properly merciful;
but the other, which occurs here, implies much more. This holiness is the sum of all
praise, which is given to the almighty Creator, for all that he does and reveals
concerning himself, till the new song brings with it new matter of glory.
This word properly signifies separated, both in Hebrew and other languages. And when
God is termed holy, it denotes that excellence which is altogether peculiar to himself;
and the glory flowing from all his attributes conjoined, shining forth from all his works,
and darkening all things besides itself, whereby he is, and eternally remains, in an
incomprehensible manner separate and at a distance, not only from all that is impure, but
likewise from all that is created. God is separate from all things. He is, and works from
himself, out of himself, in himself, through himself, for himself. Therefore, he is the
first and the last, the only one and the Eternal, living and happy, endless and
unchangeable, almighty, omniscient, wise and true, just and faithful, gracious and
merciful.
Hence it is, that holy and holiness mean the same as God and Godhead: and as we say of
a king, "His Majesty;" so the scripture says of God, "His Holiness," Heb
12:10. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. When God is spoken of, he is often
named "the Holy One:" and as God swears by his name, so he does also by his
holiness; that is, by himself.
This holiness is often styled glory: often his holiness and glory are celebrated
together, Lev 10:3; Isa 6:3. For holiness is covered glory, and
glory is uncovered holiness. The scripture speaks abundantly of the holiness and glory of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And hereby is the mystery of the Holy Trinity
eminently confirmed.
That is also termed holy which is consecrated to him, and for that end separated from
other things: and so is that wherein we may be like God, or united to him.
In the hymn resembling this, recorded by Isaiah, Isa 6:3, is added,
"The whole earth is full of his glory." But this is deferred in the Revelation,
till the glory of the Lord (his enemies being destroyed) fills the earth. |
| 9, 10 |
And when the living creatures give glory - the elders fall down - That is, as often as
the living creatures give glory, immediately the elders fall down. The expression implies,
that they did so at the same instant, and that they both did this frequently. The living
creatures do not say directly, "Holy, holy, holy art thou;" but only bend a
little, out of deep reverence, and say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord." But the
elders, when they are fallen down, may say, "Worthy art thou, O Lord our God." |
| 9, 10 |
And when the living creatures give glory - the elders fall down - That is, as often as
the living creatures give glory, immediately the elders fall down. The expression implies,
that they did so at the same instant, and that they both did this frequently. The living
creatures do not say directly, "Holy, holy, holy art thou;" but only bend a
little, out of deep reverence, and say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord." But the
elders, when they are fallen down, may say, "Worthy art thou, O Lord our God." |
| 11 |
Worthy art thou to receive - This he receives not only when he is thus praised, but
also when he destroys his enemies and glorifies himself anew. The glory and the honour and
the power - Answering the thrice - holy of the living creatures, verse 9. Rev 4:9 For
thou hast created all things - Creation is the ground of all the works of God: therefore,
for this, as well as for his other works, will he be praised to all eternity. And through
thy will they were - They began to be. It is to the free, gracious and powerfully -
working will of Him who cannot possibly need anything that all things owe their first
existence. And are created - That is, continue in being ever since they were created. |
Chapter V
| 1 |
And I saw - This is a continuation of the same narrative. In the right hand - The
emblem of his all - ruling power. He held it openly, in order to give it to him that was
worthy. It is scarce needful to observe, that there is not in heaven any real book of
parchment or paper or that Christ does not really stand there, in the shape of a lion or
of a lamb. Neither is there on earth any monstrous beast with seven heads and ten horns.
But as there is upon earth something which, in its kind, answers such a representation; so
there are in heaven divine counsels and transactions answerable to these figurative
expressions. All this was represented to St. John at Patmos, in one day, by way of vision.
But the accomplishment of it extends from that time throughout all ages. Writings serve to
inform us of distant and of future things. And hence things which are yet to come are
figuratively said to be "written in God's book;" so were at that time the
contents of this weighty prophecy. But the book was sealed. Now comes the opening and
accomplishing also of the great things that are, as it were, the letters of it. A book
written within and without - That is, no part of it blank, full of matter. Sealed with
seven seals - According to the seven principal parts contained in it, one on the outside
of each. The usual books of the ancients were not like ours, but were volumes or long
pieces of parchment, rolled upon a long stick, as we frequently roll silks. Such was this
represented, which was sealed with seven seals. Not as if the apostle saw all the seals at
once; for there were seven volumes wrapped up one within another, each of which was
sealed: so that upon opening and unrolling the first, the second appeared to be sealed up
till that was opened, and so on to the seventh. The book and its seals represent all power
in heaven and earth given to Christ. A copy of this book is contained in the following
chapters. By "the trumpets," contained under the seventh seal, the kingdom of
the world is shaken, that it may at length become the kingdom of Christ. By "the
vials," under the seventh trumpet, the power of the beast, and whatsoever is
connected with it, is broken. This sum of all we should have continually before our eyes:
so the whole Revelation flows in its natural order. |
| 2 |
And I saw a strong angel - This proclamation to every creature was too great for a man
to make, and yet not becoming the Lamb himself. It was therefore made by an angel, and one
of uncommon eminence. |
| 3 |
And none - No creature; no, not Mary herself. In heaven, or in earth, neither under
the earth - That is, none in the universe. For these are the three great regions into
which the whole creation is divided. Was able to open the book - To declare the counsels
of God. Nor to look thereon - So as to understand any part of it. |
| 4 |
And I wept much - A weeping which sprung from greatness of mind. The tenderness of
heart which he always had appeared more clearly now he was out of his own power. The
Revelation was not written without tears; neither without tears will it be understood. How
far are they from the temper of St. John who inquire after anything rather than the
contents of this book! yea, who applaud their own clemency if they excuse those that do
inquire into them! |
| 5 |
And one of the elders - Probably one of those who rose with Christ, and afterwards
ascended into heaven. Perhaps one of the patriarchs. Some think it was Jacob, from whose
prophecy the name of Lion is given him, Gen 49:9. The Lion of the tribe of
Judah - The victorious prince who is, like a lion, able to tear all his enemies in pieces.
The root of David - As God, the root and source of David's family, Isa 11:1,10.
Hath prevailed to open the book - Hath overcome all obstructions, and obtained the honour
to disclose the divine counsels. |
| 6 |
And I saw - First, Christ in or on the midst of the throne; secondly, the four living
creatures making the inner circle round him; and, thirdly, the four and twenty elders
making a larger circle round him and them. Standing - He lieth no more; he no more falls
on his face; the days of his weakness and mourning are ended. He is now in a posture of
readiness to execute all his offices of prophet, priest, and king. As if he had been slain
- Doubtless with the prints of the wounds which he once received. And because he was
slain, he is worthy to open the book, verse 9, Rev 5:9 to the joy of his own people,
and the terror of his enemies. Having seven horns - As a king, the emblem of perfect
strength. And seven eyes - The emblem of perfect knowledge and wisdom. By these he
accomplishes what is contained in the book, namely, by his almighty and all - wise Spirit.
To these seven horns and seven eyes answer the seven seals and the sevenfold song of
praise, verse 12. Rev 5:12 In Zechariah, likewise, iii. 9, iv. 10, Zech
3:9, Zech 4:10 mention is made of "the seven eyes of the Lord, which go forth
over all the earth." Which - Both the horns and the eyes. Are the seven spirits of
God sent forth into all the earth - For the effectual working of the Spirit of God goes
through the whole creation; and that in the natural, as well as spiritual, world. For
could mere matter act or move? Could it gravitate or attract? Just as much as it can think
or speak. |
| 7 |
And he came - Here was "Ask of me," Psa 2:8, fulfilled in the
most glorious manner. And took - it is one state of exaltation that reaches from our
Lord's ascension to his coming in glory. Yet this state admits of various degrees. At his
ascension, "angels, and principalities, and powers were subjected to him." Ten
days after, he received from the Father and sent the Holy Ghost. And now he took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne - who gave it him as a signal of his
delivering to him all power in heaven and earth. He received it, in token of his being
both able and willing to fulfil all that was written therein. |
| 8 |
And when he took the book, the four living creatures fell down - Now is homage done to
the Lamb by every creature. These, together with the elders, make the beginning; and
afterward, Rev 5:14, the conclusion. They are together surrounded with a
multitude of angels, Rev 5:11, and together sing the new song, as they had
before praised God together, Rev 4:8, &c. Having every one - The elders,
not the living creatures. An harp - Which was one of the chief instruments used for
thanksgiving in the temple service: a fit emblem of the melody of their hearts. And golden
phials - Cups or censers. Full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints - Not of
the elders themselves, but of the other saints still upon earth, whose prayers were thus
emblematically represented in heaven. |
| 9 |
And they sing a new song - One which neither they nor any other had sung before. Thou
hast redeemed us - So the living creatures also were of the number of the redeemed. This
does not so much refer to the act of redemption, which was long before, as to the fruit of
it; and so more directly to those who had finished their course, "who were redeemed
from the earth," Rev 14:1, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people,
and nation - That is, out of all mankind. |
| 10 |
And hast made them - The redeemed. So they speak of themselves also in the third
person, out of deep self - abasement. They shall reign over the earth - The new earth:
herewith agree the golden crowns of the elders. The reign of the saints in general
follows, under the trumpet of the seventh angel; particularly after the first
resurrection, as also in eternity, Rev 11:18;15:7;20:4;22:5;Dan 7:27;Psa
49:14. |
| 11 |
And I saw - The many angels. And heard - The voice and the number of them. Round about
the elders - So forming the third circle. It is remarkable, that men are represented
through this whole vision as nearer to God than any of the angels. And the number of them
was - At least two hundred millions, and two millions over. And yet these were but a part
of the holy angels. Afterward, Rev 7:11, St. John heard them all. |
| 12 |
Worthy is the Lamb - The elders said, Rev 5:9, "Worthy art
thou." They were more nearly allied to him than the angels. To receive the power,
&c. - This sevenfold applause answers the seven seals, of which the four former
describe all visible, the latter all invisible, things, made subject to the Lamb. And
every one of these seven words bears a resemblance to the seal which it answers. |
| 13 |
And every creature - In the whole universe, good or bad. In the heaven, on the earth,
under the earth, on the sea - With these four regions of the world, agrees the fourfold
word of praise. What is in heaven, says blessing; what is on earth, honour; what is under
the earth, glory: what is on the sea, strength; is unto him. This praise from all
creatures begins before the opening of the first seal; but it continues from that time to
eternity, according to the capacity of each. His enemies must acknowledge his glory; but
those in heaven say, Blessed be God and the Lamb. This royal manifesto is, as it were,
a proclamation, showing how Christ fulfils all things, and "every knee bows to
him," not only on earth, but also in heaven, and under the earth. This book exhausts
all things, 1Cor 15:27,28, and is suitable to an heart enlarged as the sand
of the sea. It inspires the attentive and intelligent reader with such a magnanimity, that
he accounts nothing in this world great; no, not the whole frame of visible nature,
compared to the immense greatness of what he is here called to behold, yea, and in part,
to inherit.
St. John has in view, through the whole following vision, what he has been now
describing, namely, the four living creatures, the elders, the angels, and all creatures,
looking together at the opening of the seven seals. |
Chapter VI
The seven seals are not distinguished from each other by specifying the time of
them. They swiftly follow the letters to the seven churches, and all begin almost at the
same time. By the four former is shown, that all the public occurrences of all ages and
nations, as empire, war, provision, calamities, are made subject to Christ. And instances
are intimated of the first in the east, the second in the west, the third in the south,
the fourth in the north and the whole world. The contents, as of the phials and trumpets,
so of the seals, are shown by the songs of praise and thanksgiving annexed to them. They
contain therefore "the power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and
glory, and blessing," which the Lamb received. The four former have a peculiar
connexion with each other; and so have the three latter seals. The former relate to
visible things, toward the four quarters to which the four living creatures look. Before
we proceed, it may be observed,
- No man should constrain either himself or another to explain everything in this book. It
is sufficient for every one to speak just so far as he understands.
- We should remember that, although the ancient prophets wrote the occurrences of those
kingdoms only with which Israel had to do, yet the Revelation contains what relates to the
whole world, through which the Christian church is extended. Yet,
- We should not prescribe to this prophecy, as if it must needs admit or exclude this or
that history, according as we judge one or the other to be of great or small importance.
"God seeth not as a man seeth;" therefore what we think great is often omitted,
what we think little inserted, in scripture history or prophecy.
- We must take care not to overlook what is already fulfilled; and not to describe as
fulfilled what is still to come.
We are to look in history for the fulfilling of the four first seals, quickly after the
date of the prophecy. In each of these appears a different horseman. In each we are to
consider, first, the horseman himself; secondly, what he does. The horseman himself, by an
emblematical prosopopoeia, represents a swift power, bringing with it either,
- A flourishing state; or,
- Bloodshed; or,
- Scarcity of provisions; or,
- Public calamities.
With the quality of each of these riders the colour of his horse agrees. The fourth
horseman is expressly termed "death;" the first, with his bow and crown, "a
conqueror;" the second, with his great sword, is a warrior, or, as the Roman termed
him, Mars; the third, with the scales, has power over the produce of the land. Particular
incidents under this or that Roman emperor are not extensive enough to answer any of these
horsemen. The action of every horseman intimates farther,
- Toward the east, wide spread empire, and victory upon victory:
- Toward the west, much bloodshed:
- Toward the south, scarcity of provisions:
- Toward the north, the plague and various calamities.
| 1 |
I heard one - That is, the first. Of the living creatures - Who looks forward toward
the east. |
| 2 |
And I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow - This colour,
and the bow shooting arrows afar off, betoken victory, triumph, prosperity, enlargement of
empire, and dominion over many people. Another horseman, indeed, and of quite another
kind, appears on a white horse, Rev 19:11. But he that is spoken of under the
first seal must be so understood as to bear a proportion to the horsemen in the second,
third, and fourth seal.
Nerva succeeded the emperor Domitian at the very time when the Revelation was written,
in the year of our Lord 96. He reigned scarce a year alone; and three months before his
death he named Trajan for his colleague and successor, and died in the year 98. Trajan's
accession to the empire seems to be the dawning of the seven seals. And a crown was given
him - This, considering his descent, Trajan could have no hope of attaining. But God gave
it him by the hand of Nerva; and then the east soon felt his power. And he went forth
conquering and to conquer - That is, from one victory to another. In the year 108 the
already victorious Trajan went forth toward the east, to conquer not only Armenia,
Assyria, and Mesopotamia, but also the countries beyond the Tigris, carrying the bounds of
the Roman empire to a far greater extent than ever. We find no emperor like him for making
conquests. He aimed at nothing else; he lived only to conquer. Meantime, in him was
eminently fulfilled what had been prophesied of the fourth empire, Dan 2:40,
7:23, that he should "devour, tread down, and break in pieces the whole earth." |
| 3 |
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature - Who
looked toward the west. Saying, Come - At each seal it was necessary to turn toward that
quarter of the world which it more immediately concerned. |
| 4 |
There went forth another horse that was red - A colour suitable to bloodshed. And to
him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth - Vespasian, in the year
75, had dedicated a temple to Peace; but after a time we hear little more of peace. All is
full of war and bloodshed, chiefly in the western world, where the main business of men
seemed to be, to kill one another. To this horseman there was given a great sword; and
he had much to do with it; for as soon as Trajan ascended the throne, peace was taken from
the earth. Decebalus, king of Dacia, which lies westward from Patmos, put the Romans to no
small trouble. The war lasted five years, and consumed abundance of men on both sides; yet
was only a prelude to much other bloodshed, which followed for a long season. All this was
signified by the great sword, which strikes those who are near, as the bow does those who
are at a distance. |
| 5 |
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature - Toward the
south. Saying, Come. And behold a black horse - A fit emblem of mourning and distress;
particularly of black famine, as the ancient poets term it. And he that sat on him had a
pair of scales in his hand - When there is great plenty, men scarce think it worth their
while to weigh and measure everything, Gen 41:49. But when there is scarcity,
they are obliged to deliver them out by measure and weight, Eze 4:16.
Accordingly, these scales signify scarcity. They serve also for a token, that all the
fruits of the earth, and consequently the whole heavens, with their courses and
influences; that all the seasons of the year, with whatsoever they produce, in nature or
states, are subject to Christ. Accordingly his hand is wonderful, not only in wars and
victories, but likewise in the whole course of nature. |
| 6 |
And I heard a voice - It seems, from God himself. Saying - To the horseman,
"Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther." Let there be a measure of wheat for
a penny - The word translated measure, was a Grecian measure, nearly equal to our quart.
This was the daily allowance of a slave. The Roman penny, as much as a labourer then
earned in a day, was about sevenpence halfpenny English. According to this, wheat would be
near twenty shillings per bushel. This must have been fulfilled while the Grecian measure
and the Roman money were still in use; as also where that measure was the common measure,
and this money the current coin. It was so in Egypt under Trajan. And three measures of
barley for a penny - Either barley was, in common, far cheaper among the ancients than
wheat, or the prophecy mentions this as something peculiar. And hurt not the oil and the
wine - Let there not be a scarcity of everything. Let there he some provision left to
supply the want of the rest This was also fulfilled in the reign of Trajan, especially in
Egypt, which lay southward from Patmos. In this country, which used to be the granary of
the empire, there was an uncommon dearth at the very beginning of his reign; so that he
was obliged to supply Egypt itself with corn from other countries. The same scarcity there
was in the thirteenth year of his reign, the harvest failing for want of the rising of the
Nile: and that not only in Egypt, but in all those other parts of Afric, where the Nile
uses to overflow. |
| 7 |
I heard the voice of the fourth living creature - Toward the north. |
| 8 |
And I saw, and behold a pale horse - Suitable to pale death, his rider. And hades -
The representative of the state of separate souls. Followeth even with him - The four
first seals concern living men. Death therefore is properly introduced. Hades is only
occasionally mentioned as a companion of death. So the fourth seal reaches to the borders
of things invisible, which are comprised in the three last seals. And power was given to
him over the fourth part of the earth - What came single and in a lower degree before,
comes now together, and much more severely. The first seal brought victory with it: in the
second was "a great sword;" but here a scimitar. In the third was moderate
dearth; here famine, and plague, and wild beasts beside. And it may well be, that from the
time of Trajan downwards, the fourth part of men upon the earth, that is, within the Roman
empire, died by sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. "At that time," says
Aurelius Victor, "the Tyber overflowed much more fatally than under Nerva, with a
great destruction of houses and there was a dreadful earthquake through many provinces,
and a terrible plague and famine, and many places consumed by fire." By death - That
is, by pestilence wild beasts have, at several times, destroyed abundance of men; and
undoubtedly there was given them, at this time, an uncommon fierceness and strength. It is
observable that war brings on scarcity, and scarcity pestilence, through want of wholesome
sustenance; and pestilence, by depopulating the country, leaves the few survivors an
easier prey to the wild beasts. And thus these judgments make way for one another in the
order wherein they are here represented. What has been already observed may be a
fourfold proof that the four horsemen, as with their first entrance in the reign of
Trajan, (which does by no means exhaust the contents of the four first seals,) so with all
their entrances in succeeding ages, and with the whole course of the world and of visible
nature, are in all ages subject to Christ, subsisting by his power, and serving his will,
against the wicked, and in defence of the righteous. Herewith, likewise, a way is paved
for the trumpets which regularly succeed each other; and the whole prophecy, as to what is
future, is confirmed by the clear accomplishment of this part of it. |
| 9 |
And when he opened the fifth seal - As the four former seals, so the three latter,
have a close connexion with each other. These all refer to the invisible world; the fifth,
to the happy dead, particularly the martyrs; the sixth, to the unhappy; the seventh, to
the angels, especially those to whom the trumpets are given. And I saw - Not only the
church warring under Christ, and the world warring under Satan; but also the invisible
hosts, both of heaven and hell, are described in this book. And it not only describes the
actions of both these armies upon earth; but their respective removals from earth, into a
more happy or more miserable state, succeeding each other at several times, distinguished
by various degrees, celebrated by various thanksgivings; and also the gradual increase of
expectation and triumph in heaven, and of terror and misery in hell. Under the altar -
That is, at the foot of it. Two altars are mentioned in the Revelation, "the golden
altar" of incense, Rev 9:13; and the altar of burnt - offerings,
mentioned here, and Rev 8:5, 14:18, 16:7. At this the souls of the martyrs
now prostrate themselves. By and by their blood shall be avenged upon Babylon; but not
yet, whence it appears that the plagues in the fourth seal do not concern Rome in
particular. |
| 10 |
And they cried - This cry did not begin now, but under the first Roman persecution.
The Romans themselves had already avenged the martyrs slain by the Jews on that whole
nation. How long - They knew their blood would be avenged; but not immediately, as is now
shown them. O Lord - The Greek word properly signifies the master of a family: it is
therefore beautifully used by these, who are peculiarly of the household of God. Thou Holy
One and true - Both the holiness and truth of God require him to execute judgment and
vengeance. Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? - There is no impure affection in
heaven: therefore, this desire of theirs is pure and suitable to the will of God. The
martyrs are concerned for the praise of their Master, of his holiness and truth: and the
praise is given him, Rev 19:2, where the prayer of the martyrs is changed
into a thanksgiving: Thou holy One and true: "True and right are thy judgments."
How long dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? "He hath judged the great whore,
and hath avenged the blood of his servants." |
| 11 |
And there was given to every one a white robe - An emblem of innocence, joy, and
victory, in token of honour and favourable acceptance. And it was said to them - They were
told how long. They were not left in that uncertainty. That they should rest - Should
cease from crying. They rested from pain before. A time - This word has a peculiar meaning
in this book, to denote which, we may retain the original word chronos. Here are two
classes of martyrs specified, the former killed under heathen Rome, the latter, under
papal Rome. The former are commanded to rest till the latter are added to them. There were
many of the former in the days of John: the first fruits of the latter died in the
thirteenth century. Now, a time, or chronos, is 1111 years. This chronos began A. C. 98,
and continued to the year 1209; or from Trajan's persecution, to the first crusade against
the Waldenses. Till - It is not said, Immediately after this time is expired, vengeance
shall be executed; but only, that immediately after this time their brethren and
fellowservants will come to them. This event will precede the other; and there will be
some space between. |
| 12 |
And I saw - This sixth seal seems particularly to point out God's judgment on the
wicked departed. St. John saw how the end of the world was even then set before those
unhappy spirits. This representation might be made to them, without anything of it being
perceived upon earth. The like representation is made in heaven, Rev 11:18.
And there was a great earthquake - Or shaking, not of the earth only, but the heavens.
This is a farther description of the representation made to those unhappy souls. |
| 13 |
And the stars fell to, or towards, the earth - Yea, and so they surely will, let
astronomers fix their magnitude as they please. As a fig tree casteth its untimely figs,
when it is shaken by a mighty wind - How sublimely is the violence of that shaking
expressed by this comparison! |
| 14 |
And the heavens departed as a book that is rolled together - When the scripture
compares some very great with a little thing, the majesty and omnipotence of God, before
whom great things are little, is highly exalted. Every mountain and island - What a
mountain is to the land, that an island is to the sea. |
| 15 |
And the kings of the earth - They who had been so in their day. And the great men and
chief captains - The generals and nobles. Hid themselves - So far as in them lay. In the
rocks of the mountains - There are also rocks on the plains; but they were rocks on high,
which they besought to fall upon them. |
| 16 |
To the mountains and the rocks - Which were tottering already, verse 12. Rev
6:12 Hide us from the face of him - Which "is against the ungodly," Psalm
34:16. |
Chapter VII
| 1 |
And after these things - What follows is a preparation for the seventh seal, which is
the weightiest of all. It is connected with the sixth by the particle and; whereas what is
added, verse 9, Rev 6:9 stands free and unconnected. I saw four angels -
Probably evil ones. They have their employ with the four first trumpets, as have other
evil angels with the three last; namely, the angel of the abyss, the four bound in the
Euphrates, and Satan himself. These four angels would willingly have brought on all the
calamities that follow without delay. But they were restrained till the servants of God
were sealed, and till the seven angels were ready to sound: even as the angel of the abyss
was not let loose, nor the angels in the Euphrates unbound, neither Satan cast to the
earth, till the fifth, sixth, and seventh angels severally sounded. Standing on the four
corners of the earth - East, west, south, north. In this order proceed the four first
trumpets. Holding the four winds - Which else might have softened the fiery heat, under
the first, second, and third trumpet. That the wind should not blow upon the earth, nor on
the sea, nor on any tree - It seems, that these expressions betoken the several quarters
of the world; that the earth signifies that to the east of Patmos, Asia, which was nearest
to St. John, and where the trumpet of the first angel had its accomplishment. Europe swims
in the sea over against this; and is accordingly termed by the prophets, "the
islands." The third part, Afric, seems to be meant, Rev 8:7,8,10, by
"the streams of water," or "the trees," which grow plentifully by
them. |
| 2 |
And I saw another (a good) angel ascending from the east - The plagues begin in the
east; so does the sealing. Having the seal of the only living and true God: and he cried
with a loud voice to the four angels - Who were hasting to execute their charge. To whom
it was given to hurt the earth and the sea - First, and afterwards "the trees." |
| 3 |
Hurt not the earth, till we - Other angels were joined in commission with him. Have
sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads - Secured the servants of God of the
twelve tribes from the impending calamities; whereby they shall be as clearly
distinguished from the rest, as if they were visibly marked on their foreheads. |
| 4 |
Of the children of Israel - To these will afterwards be joined a multitude out of all
nations. But it may be observed, this is not the number of all the Israelites who are
saved from Abraham or Moses to the end of all things; but only of those who were secured
from the plagues which were then ready to fall on the earth. It seems as if this book had,
in many places, a special view to the people of Israel. |
| 5 |
Judah is mentioned first, in respect of the kingdom, and of the Messiah sprung
therefrom. |
| 7 |
After the Levitical ceremonies were abolished, Levi was again on a level with his
brethren. |
| 8 |
Of the tribe of Joseph - Or Ephraim; perhaps not mentioned by name, as having been,
with Dan, the most idolatrous of all the tribes. It is farther observable of Dan, that it
was very early reduced to a single family; which family itself seems to have been cut off
in war, before the time of Ezra; for in the Chronicles, where the posterity of the
patriarchs is recited, Dan is wholly omitted. |
| 9 |
A great multitude - Of those who had happily finished their course. Such multitudes
are afterwards described, and still higher degrees of glory which they attain after a
sharp fight and magnificent victory, Rev 14:1; 15:2; 19:1; 20:4. There is an
inconceivable variety in the degrees of reward in the other world. Let not any slothful
one say, "If I get to heaven at all, I will be content:" such an one may let
heaven go altogether. In worldly things, men are ambitious to get as high as they can.
Christians have a far more noble ambition. The difference between the very highest and the
lowest state in the world is nothing to the smallest difference between the degrees of
glory. But who has time to think of this? Who is at all concerned about it? Standing
before the throne - In the full vision of God. And palms in their hands - Tokens of joy
and victory. |
| 10 |
Salvation to our God - Who hath saved us from all evil into all the happiness of
heaven. The salvation for which they praise God is described, verse 15; Rev 7:15
that for which they praise the Lamb, verse 14; Rev 7:14 and both, in
the sixteenth and seventeenth verses. Rev 7:16,17 |
| 11 |
And all the angels stood - In waiting. Round about the throne, and the elders and the
four living creatures - That is, the living creatures, next the throne; the elders, round
these; and the angels, round them both. And they fell on their faces - So do the elders,
once only, Rev 11:16. The heavenly ceremonial has its fixed order and
measure. |
| 12 |
Amen - With this word all the angels confirm the words of the "great
multitude;" but they likewise carry the praise much higher. The blessing, and the
glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the honour, and the power, and the
strength, be unto our God for ever and ever - Before the Lamb began to open the seven
seals, a sevenfold hymn of praise was brought him by many angels, Rev 5:12.
Now he is upon opening the last seal, and the seven angels are going to receive seven
trumpets, in order to make the kingdoms of the world subject to God. All the angels give
sevenfold praise to God. |
| 13 |
And one of the elders - What stands, verses 13 - 17, Rev 7:13 - 17 might
have immediately followed the tenth verse; but that the praise of the angels, which was at
the same time with that of the "great multitude," came in between. Answered - He
answered St. John's desire to know, not any words that he spoke. |
| 14 |
My lord - Or, my master; a common term of respect. So Zechariah, likewise, bespeaks
the angel, Zec 1:9; 4:4; 6:4. Thou knowest - That is, I know not; but thou
dost. These are they - Not martyrs; for these are not such a multitude as no man can
number. But as all the angels appear here, so do all the souls of the righteous who had
lived from the beginning of the world. Who come - He does not say, who did come; but, who
come now also: to whom, likewise, pertain all who will come hereafter. Out of great
affliction - Of various kinds, wisely and graciously allotted by God to all his children.
And have washed their robes - From all guilt. And made them white - In all holiness. By
the blood of the Lamb - Which not only cleanses, but adorns us also. |
| 15 |
Therefore - Because they came out of great affliction, and have washed their robes in
his blood. Are they before the throne - It seems, even nearer than the angels. And serve
him day and night - Speaking after the manner of men; that is, continually. In his temple
- Which is in heaven. And he shall have his tent over them - Shall spread his glory over
them as a covering. |
| 16 |
Neither shall the sun light on them - For God is there their sun. Nor any painful
heat, or inclemency of seasons. |
| 17 |
For the Lamb will feed them - With eternal peace and joy; so that they shall hunger no
more. And will lead them to living fountains of water - The comforts of the Holy Ghost; so
that they shall thirst no more. Neither shall they suffer or grieve any more; for God
"will wipe away all tears from their eyes." |
Chapter VIII
| 1 |
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven - Such a silence
is mentioned but in this one place. It was uncommon, and highly observable: for praise is
sounding in heaven day and night. In particular, immediately before this silence, all the
angels, and before them the innumerable multitude, had been crying with a loud voice; and
now all is still at once: there is an universal pause. Hereby the seventh seal is very
remarkably distinguished from the six preceding. This silence before God shows that those
who were round about him were expecting, with the deepest reverence, the great things
which the Divine Majesty would farther open and order. Immediately after, the seven
trumpets are heard, and a sound more august than ever. Silence is only a preparation: the
grand point is, the sounding the trumpets to the praise of God. About half an hour - To
St. John, in the vision, it might seem a common half hour. |
| 2 |
And I saw - The seven trumpets belong to the seventh seal, as do the seven phials to
the seventh trumpet. This should be carefully remembered, that we may not confound
together the times which follow each other. And yet it may be observed, in general,
concerning the times of the incidents mentioned in this book, it is not a certain rule,
that every part of the text is fully accomplished before the completion of the following
part begins. All things mentioned in the epistles are not full accomplished before the
seals are opened; neither are all things mentioned under the seals fulfilled before the
trumpets begin; nor yet is the seventh trumpet wholly past before the phials are poured
out. Only the beginning of each part goes before the beginning of the following. Thus the
epistles begin before the seals, the seals before the trumpets, the trumpets before the
phials. One epistle begins before another, one seal before another, one trumpet especially
before another, one phial before another. Yet, sometimes, what begins later than another
thing ends sooner; and what begins earlier than another thing ends later: so the seventh
trumpet begins earlier than the phials, and yet extends beyond them all. The seven angels
which stood before God - A character of the highest eminence. And seven trumpets were
given them. - When men desire to make known openly a thing of public concern, they give a
token that may be seen or heard far and wide; and, among such, none are more ancient than
trumpets, Lev 25:9; Num 10:2; Amos 3:6. The Israelites, in particular, used
them, both in the worship of God and in war; therewith openly praising the power of God
before, after, and in, the battle, Jos 6:4; 2Ch 13:14, &c. And the angels
here made known by these trumpets the wonderful works of God, whereby all opposing powers
are successively shaken, till the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of God and his
Anointed. These trumpets reach nearly from the time of St. John to the end of the
world; and they are distinguished by manifest tokens. The place of the four first is
specified; namely, east, west, south, and north successively: in the three last,
immediately after the time of each, the place likewise is pointed out.
The seventh angel did not begin to sound, till after the going forth of the second woe:
but the trumpets were given to him and the other six together; (as were afterward the
phials to the seven angels;) and it is accordingly said of all the seven together, that
"they prepared themselves to sound." These, therefore, were not men, as some
have thought, but angels, properly so called. |
| 3 |
And - In the second verse, Rev 7:2 the "trumpets were given" to
the seven angels; and in the sixth, Rev 7:6 they "prepared to
sound." But between these, the incense of this angel and the prayers of the saints
are mentioned; the interposing of which shows, that the prayers of the saints and the
trumpets of the angels go together: and these prayers, with the effects of them, may well
be supposed to extend through all the seven. Another angel - Another created angel. Such
are all that are here spoken of. In this part of the Revelation, Christ is never termed an
angel; but, "the Lamb." Came and stood at the altar - Of burnt - offerings. And
there was given him a golden censer - A censer was a cup on a plate or saucer. This was
the token and the business of the office. And much incense was given - Incense generally
signifies prayer: here it signifies the longing desires of the angels, that the holy
counsel of God might be fulfilled. And there was much incense; for as the prayers of all
the saints in heaven and earth are here joined together: so are the desires of all the
angels which are brought by this angel. That he might place it - It is not said, offer it;
for he was discharging the office of an angel, not a priest. With the prayers of all the
saints - At the same time; but not for the saints. The angels are fellowservants with the
saints, not mediators for them. |
| 4 |
And the smoke of the incense came up before God, with the prayers of the saints - A
token that both were accepted. |
| 5 |
And there were thunderings, and lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake - These,
especially when attended with fire, are emblems of God's dreadful judgments, which are
immediately to follow. |
| 6 |
And the seven angels prepared themselves to sound - That each, when it should come to
his turn, might sound without delay. But while they do sound, they still stand before God.
|
| 7 |
And the first sounded - And every angel continued to sound, till all which his trumpet
brought was fulfilled and till the next began. There are intervals between the three woes,
but not between the four first trumpets. And there was hail and fire mingled with blood,
and there were cast upon the earth - The earth seems to mean Asia; Palestine, in
particular. Quickly after the Revelation was given, the Jewish calamities under Adrian
began: yea, before the reign of Trajan was ended. And here the trumpets begin. Even under
Trajan, in the year 114, the Jews made an insurrection with a most dreadful fury; and in
the parts about Cyrene, in Egypt, and in Cyprus, destroyed four hundred and sixty thousand
persons. But they were repressed by the victorious power of Trajan, and afterward
slaughtered themselves in vast multitudes. The alarm spread itself also into Mesopotamia,
where Lucius Quintius slew a great number of them. They rose in Judea again in the second
year of Adrian; but were presently quelled. Yet in 133 they broke out more violently than
ever, under their false messiah Barcochab; and the war continued till the year 135, when
almost all Judea was desolated. In the Egyptian plague also hail and fire were together.
But here hail is to be taken figuratively, as also blood, for a vehement, sudden,
powerful, hurtful invasion; and fire betokens the revenge of an enraged enemy, with the
desolation therefrom. And they were cast upon the earth - That is, the fire and hail and
blood. But they existed before they were cast upon the earth. The storm fell, the blood
flowed, and the flames raged round Cyrene, and in Egypt, and Cyprus, before they reached
Mesopotamia and Judea. And the third part of the earth was burnt up - Fifty well -
fortified cities, and nine hundred and eighty - five well - inhabited towns of the Jews,
were wholly destroyed in this war. Vast tracts of land were likewise left desolate and
without inhabitant. And the third part of the trees was burned up, and all the green grass
was burned up - Some understand by the trees, men of eminence among the Jews; by the
grass, the common people. The Romans spared many of the former: the latter were almost all
destroyed. Thus vengeance began at the Jewish enemies of Christ's kingdom; though even
then the Romans did not quite escape. But afterwards it came upon them more and more
violently: the second trumpet affects the Roman heathens in particular; the third, the
dead, unholy Christians; the fourth, the empire itself. |
| 8 |
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was
cast into the sea - By the sea, particularly as it is here opposed to the earth, we may
understand the west, or Europe; and chiefly the middle parts of it, the vast Roman empire.
A mountain here seems to signify a great force and multitude of people. Jer 51:25;
so this may point at the irruption of the barbarous nations into the Roman empire. The
warlike Goths broke in upon it about the year 250: and from that time the irruption of one
nation after another never ceased till the very form of the Roman empire, and all but the
name, was lost. The fire may mean the fire of war, and the rage of those savage nations.
And the third part of the sea became blood - This need not imply, that just a third part
of the Romans was slain; but it is certain an inconceivable deal of blood was shed in all
these invasions. |
| 9 |
And the third part of the creatures that were in the sea - That is, of all sorts of
men, of every station and degree. Died - By those merciless invaders. And the third part
of the ships were destroyed - It is a frequent thing to resemble a state or republic to a
ship, wherein many people are embarked together, and share in the same dangers. And how
many states were utterly destroyed by those inhuman conquerors! Much likewise of this was
literally fulfilled. How often was the sea tinged with blood! How many of those who dwelt
mostly upon it were killed! And what number of ships destroyed! |
| 10 |
And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star, and it fell on
the third part of the rivers - It seems Afric is meant by the rivers; (with which this
burning part of the world abounds in an especial manner;) Egypt in particular, which the
Nile overflows every year far and wide. ln the whole African history, between the
irruption of the barbarous nations into the Roman empire, and the ruin of the western
empire, after the death of Valentinian the Third, there is nothing more momentous than the
Arian calamity, which sprung up in the year 315. It is not possible to tell how many
persons, particularly at Alexandria, in all Egypt, and in the neighbouring countries, were
destroyed by the rage of the Arians. Yet Afric fared better than other parts of the
empire, with regard to the barbarous nations, till the governor of it, whose wife was a
zealous Arian, and aunt to Genseric, king of the Vandals, was, under that pretence,
unjustly accused before the empress Placidia. He was then prevailed upon to invite the
Vandals into Afric; who under Genseric, in the year 428, founded there a kingdom of their
own, which continued till the year 533. Under these Vandal kings the true believers
endured all manner of afflictions and persecutions. And thus Arianism was the inlet to all
heresies and calamities, and at length to Mahometanism itself. This great star was not an
angel, (angels are not the agents in the two preceding or the following trumpet,) but a
teacher of the church, one of the stars in the right hand of Christ. Such was Arius. He
fell from on high, as it were from heaven, into the most pernicious doctrines, and made in
his fall a gazing on all sides, being great, and now burning as a torch. He fell on the
third part of the rivers - His doctrine spread far and wide, particularly in Egypt. And on
the fountains of water - wherewith Afric abounds. |
| 11 |
And the name of the star is called Wormwood - The unparalleled bitterness both of
Arius himself and of his followers show the exact propriety of his title. And the third
part of the waters became wormwood - A very considerable part of Afric was infected with
the same bitter doctrine and Spirit. And many men (though not a third part of them) died -
By the cruelty of the Arians. |
| 12 |
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten - Or struck.
After the emperor Theodosius died, and the empire was divided into the eastern and the
western, the barbarous nations poured in as a flood. The Goths and Hunns in the years 403
and 405 fell upon Italy itself with an impetuous force; and the former, in the year 410,
took Rome by storm, and plundered it without mercy. In the year 452 Attila treated the
upper part of Italy in the same manner. In 455 Valentinian the Third was killed, and
Genseric invited from Afric. He plundered Rome for fourteen days together. Recimer
plundered it again in 472. During all these commotions, one province was lost after
another, till, in the year 476, Odoacer seized upon Rome, deposed the emperor, and put an
end to the empire itself. An eclipse of the sun or moon is termed by the Hebrews, a
stroke. Now, as such a darkness does not come all at once, but by degrees, so likewise did
the darkness which fell on the Roman, particularly the western empire; for the stroke
began long before Odoacer, namely, when the barbarians first conquered the capital city.
And the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so that the third part of
them was darkened - As under the first, second, and third trumpets by "the
earth," "sea, " and "rivers," are to be understood the men that
inhabit them; so here by the sun, moon, and stars, may be understood the men that live
under them, who are so overwhelmed with calamities in those days of darkness, that they
can no longer enjoy the light of heaven: unless it may be thought to imply their being
killed; so that the sun, moon, and stars shine to them no longer. The very same expression
we find in Ezekiel 32:8. "I will darken all the lights of heaven over
them." As then the fourth seal transcends the three preceding seals, so does the
fourth trumpet the three preceding trumpets. For in this not the third part of the earth,
or sea, or rivers only, but of all who are under the sun, are affected. And the day shone
not for a third part thereof - That is, shone with only a third part of its usual
brightness. And the night likewise - The moon and stars having lost a third part of their
lustre, either with regard to those who, being dead, saw them no longer, or those who saw
them with no satisfaction.
The three last trumpets have the time of their continuance fixed, and between each of
them there is a remarkable pause: whereas between the four former there is no pause, nor
is the time of their continuance mentioned; but all together these four seem to take up a
little less than four hundred years. |
| 13 |
And I saw, and heard an angel flying - Between the trumpets of the fourth and fifth
angel. In the midst of heaven - The three woes, as we shall see, stretch themselves over
the earth from Persia eastward, beyond Italy, westward; all which space had been filled
with the gospel by the apostles. In the midst of this lies Patmos, where St. John saw this
angel, saying, Woe, woe, woe - Toward the end of the fifth century, there were many
presages of approaching calamities. To the inhabitants of the earth - All without
exception. Heavy trials were coming on them all. Even while the angel was proclaiming
this, the preludes of these three woes were already in motion. These fell more especially
on the Jews. As to the prelude of the first woe in Persia, Isdegard II., in 454, was
resolved to abolish the sabbath, till he was, by Rabbi Mar, diverted from his purpose.
Likewise in the year 474, Phiruz afflicted the Jews much, and compelled many of them to
apostatize. A prelude of the second woe was the rise of the Saracens, who, in 510, fell
into Arabia and Palestine. To prepare for the third woe, Innocent I., and his successors,
not only endeavoured to enlarge their episcopal jurisdiction beyond all bounds, but also
their worldly power, by taking every opportunity of encroaching upon the empire, which as
yet stood in the way of their unlimited monarchy. |
Chapter IX
| 1 |
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star - Far different from that mentioned, Rev
8:11. This star belongs to the invisible world. The third woe is occasioned by the
dragon cast out of heaven; the second takes place at the loosing of the four angels who
were bound in the Euphrates. The first is here brought by the angel of the abyss, which is
opened by this star, or holy angel. Falling to the earth - Coming swiftly and with great
force. And to him was given - when he was come. The key of the bottomless pit - A deep and
hideous prison; but different from "the lake of fire." |
| 2 |
And there arose a smoke out of the pit - The locusts, who afterwards rise out of it,
seem to be, as we shall afterwards see, the Persians; agreeable to which, this smoke is
their detestable idolatrous doctrine, and false zeal for it, which now broke out in an
uncommon paroxysm. As the smoke of a great furnace - where the clouds of it rise thicker
and thicker, spread far and wide, and press one upon another, so that the darkness
increases continually. And the sun and the air were darkened - A figurative expression,
denoting heavy affliction. This smoke occasioned more and more such darkness over the Jews
in Persia. |
| 3 |
And out of the smoke - Not out of the bottomless pit, but from the smoke which issued
thence. There went forth locusts - A known emblem of a numerous, hostile, hurtful people.
Such were the Persians, from whom the Jews, in the sixth century, suffered beyond
expression. In the year 540 their academies were stopped, nor were they permitted to have
a president for near fifty years. In 589 this affliction ended; but it began long before
540. The prelude of it was about the year 455 and 474: the main storm came on in the reign
of Cabades, and lasted from 483 to 532. Toward the beginning of the sixth century, Mar Rab
Isaac, president of the academy, was put to death. Hereon followed an insurrection of the
Jews, which lasted seven years before they were conquered by the Persians. Some of them
were then put to death, but not many; the rest were closely imprisoned. And from this time
the nation of the Jews were hated and persecuted by the Persians, till they had well nigh
rooted them out. The scorpions of the earth - The most hurtful kind. The scorpions of the
air have wings. |
| 4 |
And it was commanded them - By the secret power of God. Not to hurt the grass, neither
any green thing, nor any tree - Neither those of low, middling, or high degree, but only
such of them as were not sealed - Principally the unbelieving Israelites. But many who
were called Christians suffered with them. |
| 5 |
Not to kill them - Very few of them were killed: in general, they were imprisoned and
variously tormented. |
| 6 |
The men - That is, the men who are so tormented. |
| 7 |
And the appearances - This description suits a people neither throughly civilized, nor
entirely savage; and such were the Persians of that age. Of the locusts are like horses -
With their riders. The Persians excelled in horsemanship. And on their heads are as it
were crowns - Turbans. And their faces are as the faces of men - Friendly and agreeable. |
| 8 |
And they had hair as the hair of women - All the Persians of old gloried in long hair.
And their teeth were as the teeth of lions - Breaking and tearing all things in pieces. |
| 9 |
And the noise of their wings was as the noise of chariots of many horses - With their
war - chariots, drawn by many horses, they, as it were, flew to and fro. |
| 10 |
And they have tails like scorpions - That is, each tail is like a scorpion, not like
the tail of a scorpion. To hurt the unsealed men five months - Five prophetic months; that
is, seventy - nine common years So long did these calamities last. |
| 11 |
And they have over them a king - One by whom they are peculiarly directed and
governed. His name is Abaddon - Both this and Apollyon signify a destroyer. By this he is
distinguished from the dragon, whose proper name is Satan. |
| 12 |
One woe is past; behold, there come yet two woes after these things - The Persian
power, under which was the first woe, was now broken by the Saracens: from this time the
first pause made a wide way for the two succeeding woes. In 589, when the first woe ended,
Mahomet was twenty years old, and the contentions of the Christians with each other were
exceeding great. In 591 Chosroes II. reigned in Persia, who, after the death of the
emperor, made dreadful disturbances in the east, Hence Mahomet found an open door for his
new religion and empire. And when the usurper Phocas had, in the year 606, not only
declared the Bishop of Rome, Boniface III., universal bishop, but also the church of Rome
the head of all churches, this was a sure step to advance the Papacy to its utmost height.
Thus, after the passing away of the first woe, the second, yea, and the third, quickly
followed; as indeed they were both on the way together with it before the first
effectually began. |
| 13 |
And the sixth angel sounded - Under this angel goes forth the second woe. And I heard
a voice from the four corners of the golden altar - This golden altar is the heavenly
pattern of the Levitical altar of incense. This voice signified that the execution of the
wrath of God, mentioned verses 20, 21, Rev 9:20,21 should, at no
intercession, be delayed any longer. |
| 14 |
Loose the four angels - To go every way; to the four quarters. These were evil angels,
or they would not have been bound. Why, or how long, they were bound we know not. |
| 15 |
And the four angels were loosed, who were prepared - By loosing them, as well as by
their strength and rage. To kill the third part of men - That is, an immense number of
them. For the hour, and day, and month, and year - All this agrees with the slaughter
which the Saracens made for a long time after Mahomet's death. And with the number of
angels let loose agrees the number of their first and most eminent caliphs. These were
Ali, Abubeker, Omar, and Osman. Mahomet named Ali, his cousin and son - in - law, for his
successor; but he was soon worked out by the rest, till they severally died, and so made
room for him. They succeeded each other, and each destroyed innumerable multitudes of men.
There are in a prophetic
| |
Com. Years. |
Com. Days. |
|
| Hour |
|
8 |
|
| Day |
|
196 |
in all 212 years. |
| Month |
15 |
318 |
|
| Year |
196 |
117 |
|
Now, the second woe, as also the beginning of the third, has its place between the
ceasing of the locusts and the rising of the beast out of the sea, even at the time that
the Saracens, who were chiefly cavalry, were in the height of their carnage; from their,
first caliph, Abubeker, till they were repulsed from Rome under Leo IV. These 212 years
may therefore be reckoned from the year 634 to 847. The gradation in reckoning the time,
beginning with the hour and ending with a year, corresponds with their small beginning and
vast increase. Before and after Mahomet's death, they had enough to do to settle their
affairs at home. Afterwards Abubeker went farther, and in the year 634 gained great
advantage over the Persians and Romans in Syria. Under Omar was the conquest of
Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt made. Under Osman, that of Afric, (with the total
suppression of the Roman government in the year 647,) of Cyprus, and of all Persia in 651.
After Ali was dead, his son Ali Hasen, a peaceable prince, was driven out by Muavia; under
whom, and his successors, the power of the Saracens so increased, that within fourscore
years after Mahomet's death they had extended their conquests farther than the warlike
Romans did in four hundred years. |
| 16 |
And the number of the horsemen was two hundred millions - Not that so many were ever
brought into the field at once, but (if we understand the expression literally) in the
course of "the hour, and day, and month, and year." So neither were "the
third part of men killed" at once, but during that course of years. |
| 17 |
And thus I saw the horses and them that sat on them in the vision - St. John seems to
add these words, in the vision, to intimate that we are not to take this description just
according to the letter. Having breastplates of fire - Fiery red. And hyacinth - Dun blue.
And brimstone - A faint yellow. Of the same colour with the fire and smoke and brimstone,
which go out of the months of their horses. And the heads of their horses are as the heads
of lions - That is, fierce and terrible. And out of their mouth goeth fire and smoke and
brimstone - This figurative expression may denote the consuming, blinding, all - piercing
rage, fierceness, and force of these horsemen. |
| 18 |
By these three - Which were inseparably joined. Were the third part of men - In the
countries they over - ran. Killed - Omar alone, in eleven years and a half, took thirty -
six thousand cities or forts. How many men must be killed therein! |
| 19 |
For the power of these horses is in their mouths, and in their tails - Their riders
fight retreating as well as advancing: so that their rear is as terrible as their front.
For their tails are like serpents, having heads - Not like the tails of serpents only.
They may be fitly compared to the amphisbena, a kind of serpent, which has a short tail,
not unlike a head from which it throws out its poison as if it had two heads. |
| 20 |
And the rest of the men who were not killed - Whom the Saracens did not destroy. It is
observable, the countries they over - ran were mostly those where the gospel had been
planted. By these plagues - Here the description of the second woe ends. Yet repented not
- Though they were called Christians. Of the works of their hands - Presently specified.
That they should not worship devils - The invocation of departed saints, whether true, or
false, or doubtful, or forged, crept early into the Christian church, and was carried
farther and farther; and who knows how many who are invoked as saints are among evil, not
good, angels; or how far devils have mingled with such blind worship, and with the wonders
wrought on those occasions? And idols - About the year 590, men began to venerate images;
and though upright men zealously opposed it, yet, by little and little, images grew into
manifest idols. For after much contention, both in the east and west, in the year 787, the
worship of images was established by the second Council of Nice. Yet was image worship
sharply opposed some time after, by the emperor Theophilus. But when he died, in 842, his
widow, Theodora, established it again; as did the Council at Constantinople in the year
863, and again in 871. |
| 21 |
Neither repented of their murders, nor of their sorceries - Whoever reads the
histories of the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, will find numberless instances of
all these in every part of the Christian world. But though God cut off so many of these
scandals to the Christian name, yet the rest went on in the same course. Some of them,
however, might repent under the plagues which follow. |
Chapter X
From the first verse of this chapter to chap. xi. 13, Rev 10:1 - Rev
11:13 preparation is made for the important trumpet of the seventh angel. It consists of
two parts, which run parallel to each other: the former reaches from the first to the
seventh verse Rev 10:1 - Rev 10:7 of this chapter; the latter, from the
eighth of this to the thirteenth verse of the eleventh chapter: whence, also, the Rev
10:8 - Rev 11:13 sixth verse of this chapter is parallel to the eleventh verse. Rev
10:6 , Rev 10:11 The period to which both these refer begins during the second woe,
as appears, chap. xi. 14; Rev 11:14 but, being once begun, it extends in a
continued course far into the trumpet of the seventh angel. Hence many things are
represented here which are not fulfilled till long after. So the joyful "consummation
of the mystery of God" is spoken of in the seventh verse of this chapter, which yet
is not till after "the consummation of the wrath of God," Rev 15:1.
So the ascent of the beast "out of the bottomless pit" is mentioned, Rev
11:7, which nevertheless is still to come, Rev 17:8; and so "the
earthquake," by which a tenth part of the great city falls, and the rest are
converted, Rev 11:13, is really later than that by which the same city is
"split into three parts," Rev 16:19. This is a most necessary
observation, whereby we may escape many and great mistakes.
| 1 |
And I saw another mighty angel - Another from that "mighty angel,"
mentioned, Rev 5:2; yet he was a created angel; for he did not swear by
himself, verse 6. Rev 5:6 Clothed with a cloud - In token of his high
dignity. And a rainbow upon his head - A lovely token of the divine favour. And yet it is
not too glorious for a creature: the woman, Rev 12:1, is described more
glorious still. And his face as the sun - Nor is this too much for a creature: for all the
righteous "shall shine forth as the sun," Matt 13:43. And his feet
as pillars of fire - Bright as flame. |
| 2 |
And he had in his hand - His left hand: he swore with his right. He stood with his
right foot on the sea, toward the west; his left, on the land, toward the east: so that he
looked southward. And so St. John (as Patmos lies near Asia) could conveniently take the
book out of his left hand. This sealed book was first in the right hand of him that sat on
the throne: thence the Lamb took it, and opened the seals. And now this little book,
containing the remainder of the other, is given opened, as it was, to St. John. From this
place the Revelation speaks more clearly and less figuratively than before. And he set his
right foot upon the sea - Out of which the first beast was to come. And his left foot upon
the earth - Out of which was to come the second. The sea may betoken Europe; the earth,
Asia; the chief theatres of these great things. |
| 3 |
And he cried - Uttering the words set down, verse 6. Rev 10:6 And while
he cried, or was crying - At the same instant. Seven thunders uttered their voices - In
distinct words, each after the other. Those who spoke these words were glorious, heavenly
powers, whose voice was as the loudest thunder. |
| 4 |
And I heard a voice from heaven - Doubtless from him who had at first commanded him to
write, and who presently commands him to take the book; namely, Jesus Christ. Seal up
those things which the seven thunders have uttered, and write them not - These are the
only things of all which he heard that he is commanded to keep secret: so something
peculiarly secret was revealed to the beloved John, besides all the secrets that are
written in this book. At the same time we are prevented from inquiring what it was which
these thunders uttered: suffice that we may know all the contents of the opened book, and
of the oath of the angel. |
| 5 |
And the angel - This manifestation of things to come under the trumpet of the seventh
angel hath a twofold introduction: first, the angel speaks for God, verse 7; Rev
10:7 then Christ speaks for himself, Rev 11:3. The angel appeals to
the prophets of former times; Christ, to his own two witnesses. Whom I saw standing upon
the earth and upon the sea, lifted up his right hand toward heaven - As yet the dragon was
in heaven. When he is cast thence he brings the third and most dreadful woe on the earth
and sea: so that it seems as if there would be no end of calamities. Therefore the angel
comprises, in his posture and in his oath, both heaven, sea, and earth, and makes on the
part of the eternal God and almighty Creator, a solemn protestation, that he will assert
his kingly authority against all his enemies. He lifted up his right hand toward heaven -
The angel in Daniel, Dan 12:7, (not improbably the same angel,) lifted up
both his hands. |
| 6 |
And sware - The six preceding trumpets pass without any such solemnity. It is the
trumpet of the seventh angel alone which is confirmed by so high an oath. By him that
liveth for ever and ever - Before whom a thousand years are but a day. Who created the
heaven, the earth, the sea, and the things that are therein - And, consequently, has the
sovereign power over all: therefore, all his enemies, though they rage a while in heaven,
on the sea, and on the earth, yet must give place to him. That there shall be no more a
time - "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the mystery of God shall
be fulfilled:" that is, a time, a chronos, shall not expire before that mystery is
fulfilled. A chronos (1111 years) will nearly pass before then, but not quite. The period,
then, which we may term a non - chronos (not a whole time) must be a little, and not much,
shorter than this. The non - chronos here mentioned seems to begin in the year 800, (when
Charles the Great instituted in the west a new line of emperors, or of "many
kings,") to end in the year 1836; and to contain, among other things, the "short
time" of the third woe, the "three times and a half" of the woman in the
wilderness, and the "duration" of the beast. |
| 7 |
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel - Who sounded not only at the
beginning of those days, but from the beginning to the end. The mystery of God shall be
fulfilled - It is said, Rev 17:17, "The word of God shall be
fulfilled." The word of God is fulfilled by the destruction of the beast; the
mystery, by the removal of the dragon. But these great events are so near together, that
they are here mentioned as one. The beginning of them is in heaven, as soon as the seventh
trumpet sounds; the end is on the earth and the sea. So long as the third woe remains on
the earth and the sea, the mystery of God is not fulfilled. And the angel's swearing is
peculiarly for the comfort of holy men, who are afflicted under that woe. Indeed the wrath
of God must be first fulfilled, by the pouring out of the phials: and then comes the
joyful fulfilling of the mystery of God. As he hath declared to his servants the prophets
- The accomplishment exactly answering the prediction. The ancient prophecies relate
partly to that grand period, from the birth of Christ to the destruction of Jerusalem;
partly to the time of the seventh angel, wherein they will be fully accomplished. To the
seventh trumpet belongs all that occurs from Rev 11:15 - Rev 22:5. And the
third woe, which takes place under the same, properly stands, Rev 12:12, 13:1
- 18. |
| 8 |
And - what follows from this verse to chap. xi. 13, Rev 11:13 runs parallel with
the oath of the angel, and with "the fulfilling of the mystery of God,"
as it follows under the trumpet of the seventh angel; what is said, verse 11, Rev
11:11 concerning St. John's "prophesying again," is unfolded immediately
after; what is said, verse 7, Rev 11:7 concerning "the fulfilling the
mystery of God," is unfolded, Rev. xi. 15 - 19, Rev 11:15 - 19 and in
the following chapters. |
| 9 |
Eat it up - The like was commanded to Ezekiel. This was an emblem of thoroughly
considering and digesting it. And it will make thy belly bitter, but it will be sweet as
honey in thy mouth - The sweetness betokens the many good things which follow, Rev
11:1,15, &c.; the bitterness, the evils which succeed under the third woe. |
| 11 |
Thou must prophesy again - Of the mystery of God; of which the ancient prophets had
prophesied before. And he did prophesy, by "measuring the temple," Rev
11:1; as a prophecy may be delivered either by words or actions. Concerning people,
and nations, and tongues, and many kings - The people, nations, and tongues are
contemporary; but the kings, being many, succeed one another. These kings are not
mentioned for their own sake, but with a view to the "holy city," Rev 11:2.
Here is a reference to the great kingdoms in Spain, England, Italy, &c., which arose
from the eighth century; or at least underwent a considerable change, as France and
Germany in particular; to the Christian, afterward Turkish, empire in the east; and
especially to the various potentates, who have successively reigned at or over Jerusalem,
and do now, at least titularly, reign over it. |
Chapter XI
In this chapter is shown how it will fare with "the holy city," till the
mystery of God is fulfilled; in the twelfth, what will befal the woman, who is delivered
of the man - child; in the thirteenth, how it will be with the kingdom of Christ, while
the "two beasts" are in the height of their power. And there was given me - By
Christ, as appears from the third verse. And he said, Arise - Probably he was sitting to
write. And measure the temple of God - At Jerusalem, where he was placed in the vision. Of
this we have a large description by Ezekiel, Eze 40:1 - Eze 48:35; concerning
which we may observe,
- Ezekiel's prophecy was not fulfilled at the return from the Babylonish captivity.
- Yet it does not refer to the "New Jerusalem," which is far more gloriously
described.
- It must infallibly be fulfilled even then "when they are ashamed of all that they
have done," Eze 43:11.
- Ezekiel speaks of the same temple which is treated of here.
- As all things are there so largely described, St. John is shorter and refers thereto.
| 2 |
But the court which is without the temple - The old temple had a court in the open
air, for the heathens who worshipped the God of Israel. Cast out - Of thy account. And
measure it not - As not being holy In so high a degree. And they shall tread - Inhabit.
The holy city - Jerusalem, Matt 4:5. So they began to do, before St. John
wrote. And it has been trodden almost ever since by the Romans, Persians, Saracens, and
Turks. But that severe kind of treading which is here peculiarly spoken of, will not be
till under the trumpet of the seventh angel, and toward the end of the troublous times.
This will continue but forty - two common months, or twelve hundred and sixty common days;
being but a small part of the non - chronos. |
| 3 |
And I - Christ. Will give to my two witnesses - These seem to be two prophets; two
select, eminent instruments. Some have supposed (though without foundation) that they are
Moses and Elijah, whom they resemble in several respects. To prophesy twelve hundred and
sixty days - Common days, that is, an hundred and eighty weeks. So long will they
prophesy, (even while that last and sharp treading of the holy city continues,) both by
word and deed, witnessing that Jesus is the Son of God, the heir of all things, and
exhorting all men to repent, and fear, and glorify God. Clothed in sackcloth - The habit
of the deepest mourners, out of sorrow and concern for the people. |
| 4 |
These are the two olive trees - That is, as Zerubbabel and Joshua, the two olive trees
spoken of by Zechariah, Zec 3:9, 4:10, were then the two chosen instruments
in God's hand, even so shall these. be in their season. Being themselves full of the
unction of the Holy One, they shall continually transmit the same to others also. And the
two candlesticks - Burning and shining lights. Standing before the Lord of the earth -
Always waiting on God, without the help of man, and asserting his right over the earth and
all things therein. |
| 5 |
If any would kill them - As the Israelites would have done Moses and Aaron, Num
16:41. He must be killed thus - By that devouring fire. |
| 6 |
These have power - And they use that power. See verse 10. Rev 11:10 To
shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophesying - During those "twelve
hundred and sixty days." And have power over the waters - In and near Jerusalem. To
turn them into blood - As Moses did those in Egypt. And to smite the earth with all
plagues, as often as they will - This is not said of Moses or Elijah, or any mere man
besides. And how is it possible to understand this otherwise than of two individual
persons? |
| 7 |
And when they shall have finished their testimony - Till then they are invincible. The
wild beast - Hereafter to be described. That ascendeth - First out of the sea, Rev
13:1, and then out of the bottomless pit, Rev 17:8. Shall make war
with them - It is at his last ascent, not out of the sea, but the bottomless pit, that the
beast makes war upon the two witnesses. And even hereby is fixed the time of
"treading the holy city," and of the "two witnesses." That time ends
after the ascent of the beast out of the abyss, and yet before the fulfilling of the
mystery. And shall conquer them - The fire no longer proceeding out of their mouth when
they have finished their work. And kill them - These will be among the last martyrs,
though not the last of all. |
| 8 |
And their bodies shall be - Perhaps hanging on a cross. In the street of the great
city - Of Jerusalem, a far greater city, than any other in those parts. This is described
both spiritually and historically: spiritually, as it is called Sodom Isa 1:9 &c.
and Egypt; on account of the same abominations abounding there, at the time of the
witnesses, as did once in Egypt and Sodom. Historically: Where also their Lord was
crucified - This possibly refers to the very ground where his cross stood. Constantine the
Great inclosed this within the walls of the city. Perhaps on that very spot will their
bodies be exposed. |
| 9 |
Three days and a half - So exactly are the times set down in this prophecy. If we
suppose this time began in the evening, and ended in the morning, and included (which is
no way impossible) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the weekly festival of the Turkish
people, the Jewish tribes, and the Christian tongues; then all these together, with the
heathen nations, would have full leisure to gaze upon and rejoice over them. |
| 10 |
And they that dwell upon the earth - Perhaps this expression may peculiarly denote
earthly - minded men. Shall make merry - As did the Philistines over Samson. And send
gifts to one another - Both Turks, and Jews, and heathens, and false Christians. |
| 11 |
And great fear fell upon them that saw them - And now knew that God was on their side.
|
| 12 |
And I heard a great voice - Designed for all to hear. And they went up to heaven, and
their enemies beheld them - who had not taken notice of their rising again; by which some
had been convinced before. |
| 13 |
And there was a great earthquake and the tenth part of the city fell - We have here an
unanswerable proof that this city is not Babylon or Rome, but Jerusalem. For Babylon shall
be wholly burned before the fulfilling of the mystery of God. But this city is not burned
at all; on the contrary, at the fulfilling of that mystery, a tenth part of it is
destroyed by an earthquake, and the other nine parts converted. And there were slain in
the earthquake seven thousand men - Being a tenth part of the inhabitants, who therefore
were seventy thousand in all. And the rest - The remaining sixty - three thousand were
converted: a grand step toward the fulfilling of the mystery of God. Such a conversion we
no where else read of. So there shall be a larger as well as holier church at Jerusalem
than ever was yet. Were terrified - Blessed terror! And gave glory - The character of true
conversion, Jer 13:16. To the God of heaven - He is styled, "The Lord of
the earth," verse 4, Rev 11:4 when he declares his right over the earth by
the two witnesses; but the God of heaven, when he not only gives rain from heaven after
the most afflicting drought, but also declares his majesty from heaven, by taking his
witnesses up into it. When the whole multitude gives glory to the God of heaven, then that
"treading of the holy city" ceases. This is the point so long aimed at, the
desired "fulfilling of the mystery of God," when the divine promises are so
richly fulfilled on those who have gone through so great afflictions. All this is here
related together, that whereas the first and second woe went forth in the east, the rest
of the eastern affairs being added at once, the description of the western might
afterwards remain unbroken. It may be useful here to see how the things here spoken of,
and those hereafter described, follow each other in their order.
- The angel swears; the non - chronos begins; John eats the book;
the many kings arise.
- The non - chronos and the "many kings" being on the decline,
that
treading" begins, and the "two witnesses" appear.
- The beast, after he has with the ten kings destroyed Babylon,
wars with them and
kills them. After three days and an half
they revive and ascend to heaven. There is a great earthquake
in the holy city: seven thousand perish, and the rest are
converted. The "treading" of the city by the gentiles ends.
- The beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies are
assembled to fight
against the Great King.
- Multitudes of his enemies are killed, and the beast and the
false prophet cast alive
into the lake of fire.
- while John measures the temple of God and the altar with the
worshippers, the true
worship of God is set up. The nations
who had trodden the holy city are converted. Hereby the
mystery of God is fulfilled.
- Satan is imprisoned. Being released for a time, he, with
Gog and Magog, makes his
last assault upon Jerusalem.
|
| 14 |
The second woe is past - The butchery made by the Saracens ceased about the year 847,
when their power was so broken by Charles the Great that they never recovered it. Behold,
the third woe cometh quickly - Its prelude came while the Roman see took all opportunities
of laying claim to its beloved universality, and enlarging its power and grandeur. And in
the year 755 the bishop of Rome became a secular prince, by king Pepin's giving him the
exarchate of Lombardy. The beginning of the third woe itself stands, Rev 12:12.
|
| 15 |
And the seventh angel sounded - This trumpet contains the most important and joyful
events, and renders all the former trumpets matter of joy to all the inhabitants of
heaven. The allusion therefore in this and all the trumpets is to those used in festal
solemnities. All these seven trumpets were heard in heaven: perhaps the seventh shall once
be heard on earth also, 1Thess 4:16. And there were great voices - From the
several citizens of heaven. At the opening of the seventh seal "there was silence in
heaven;" at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, great voices. This alone is
sufficient to show that the seven seals and seven trumpets do not run parallel to each
other. As soon as the seventh angel sounds, the kingdom falls to God and his Christ. This
immediately appears in heaven, and is there celebrated with joyful praise. But on earth
several dreadful occurrences are to appear first. This trumpet comprises all that follows
from these voices to Rev 22:5. The kingdom of the world - That is, the royal
government over the whole world, and all its kingdoms, Zech 14:9. Is become
the kingdom of the Lord - This province has been in the enemy's hands: it now returns to
its rightful Master. In the Old Testament, from Moses to Samuel, God himself was the King
of his own people. And the same will be in the New Testament: he will himself reign over
the Israel of God. And of his Christ - This appellation is now first given him, since the
introduction of the book, on the mention of the kingdom devolving upon him, under the
seventh trumpet. Prophets and priests were anointed, but more especially kings: whence
that term, the anointed, is applied only to a king. Accordingly, whenever the Messiah is
mentioned in scripture, his kingdom is implied. Is become - In reality, all things (and so
the kingdom of the world) are God's in all ages: yet Satan and the present world, with its
kings and lords, are risen against the Lord and against his Anointed. God now puts an end
to this monstrous rebellion, and maintains his right to all things. And this appears in an
entirely new manner, as soon as the seventh angel sounds. |
| 16 |
And the four and twenty elders - These shall reign over the earth, Rev 5:10.
Who sit before God on their thrones - which we do not read of any angel. |
| 17 |
The Almighty - He who hath all things in his power as the only Governor of them. Who
is, and who was - God is frequently styled, "He who is, and who was, and who is to
come." but now he is actually come, the words, "who is to come," are, as it
were, swallowed up. When it is said, We thank thee that thou hast taken thy great power,
it is all one as, "We thank thee that thou art come." This whole thanksgiving is
partly an enlargement on the two great points mentioned in the fifteenth verse; Rev
11:15 partly a summary of what is hereafter more distinctly related. Here it is
mentioned, how the kingdom is the Lord's; afterwards, how it is the kingdom of his Christ.
Thou hast taken thy great power - This is the beginning of what is done under the trumpet
of the seventh angel. God has never ceased to use his power; but he has suffered his
enemies to oppose it, which he will now suffer no more. |
| 18 |
And the heathen nations were wroth - At the breaking out of the power and kingdom of
God. This wrath of the heathens now rises to the highest pitch; but it meets the wrath of
the Almighty, and melts away. In this verse is described both the going forth and the end
of God's wrath, which together take up several ages. And the time of the dead is come -
Both of the quick and dead, of whom those already dead are far the more numerous part.
That they be judged - This, being infallibly certain, they speak of as already present.
And to give a reward - At the coming of Christ, Rev 22:12; but of free grace,
not of debt,
- To his servants the prophets:
- To his saints: to them who were eminently holy:
- To them that fear his name:
these are the lowest class. Those who do not even fear God will have no reward from
him. Small and great - All universally, young and old, high and low, rich and poor. And to
destroy them that destroyed the earth - The earth was destroyed by the "great
whore" in particular, Rev 19:2; 17:2,5; but likewise in general, by the
open rage and hate of wicked men against all that is good; by wars, and the various
destruction and desolation naturally flowing therefrom; by such laws and constitutions as
hinder much good, and occasion many offences and calamities; by public scandals, whereby a
door is opened for all dissoluteness and unrighteousness; by abuse of secular and
spiritual powers; by evil doctrines, maxims, and counsels; by open violence and
persecution; and by sins crying to God to send plagues upon the earth.
This great work of God, destroying the destroyers, under the trumpet of the seventh
angel, is not the third woe, but matter of joy, for which the elders solemnly give thanks.
All the woes, and particularly the third, go forth over those "who dwell upon the
earth;" but this destruction, over those "who destroy the earth," and were
also instruments of that woe. |
| 19 |
And the temple of God - The inmost part of it. Was opened in heaven - And hereby is
opened a new scene of the most momentous things, that we may see how the contents of the
seventh trumpet are executed; and, notwithstanding the greatest opposition, (particularly
by the third woe,) brought to a glorious conclusion. And the ark of the covenant was seen
in his temple - The ark of the covenant which was made by Moses was not in the second
temple, being probably burnt with the first temple by the Chaldeans. But here is the
heavenly ark of the everlasting covenant, the shadow of which was under the Old Testament,
Heb 9:4. The inhabitants of heaven saw the ark before: St. John also saw it
now; for a testimony, that what God had promised, should be fulfilled to the uttermost.
And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail -
The very same there are, and in the same order, when the seventh angel has poured out his
phial; Rev 16:17 - 21: one place answers the other. What the trumpet here
denounces in heaven, is there executed by the phial upon earth. First it is shown what
will be done; and afterwards it is done. |
Chapter XII
The great vision of this book goes straight forward, from the fourth to the twenty
- second chapter. Only the tenth, with part of the eleventh chapter, was a kind of
introduction to the trumpet of the seventh angel; after which it is said, "The second
woe is past: behold, the third woe cometh quickly." Immediately the seventh angel
sounds, under whom the third woe goes forth. And to this trumpet belongs all that is
related to the end of the book.
| 1 |
And a great sign was seen in heaven - Not only by St. John, but many heavenly
spectators represented in the vision. A sign means something that has an uncommon
appearance, and from which we infer that some unusual thing will follow. A woman - The
emblem of the church of Christ, as she is originally of Israel, though built and enlarged
on all sides by the addition of heathen converts; and as she will hereafter appear, when
all her "natural branches are again "grafted in." She is at present on
earth; and yet, with regard to her union with Christ, may be said to be in heaven, Eph
2:6. Accordingly, she is described as both assaulted and defended in heaven, verses
4, 7. Rev 12:4,7 Clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on
her head a crown of twelve stars - These figurative expressions must he so interpreted as
to preserve a due proportion between them. So, in Joseph's dream, the sun betokened his
father; the moon, his mother; the stars, their children. There may be some such
resemblance here; and as the prophecy points out the "power over all nations,"
perhaps the sun may betoken the Christian world; the moon, the Mahometans, who also carry
the moon in their ensigns; and the crown of twelve stars, the twelve tribes of Israel;
which are smaller than the sun and moon. The whole of this chapter answers the state of
the church from the ninth century to this time. |
| 2 |
And being with child she crieth, travailing in birth - The very pain, without any
outward opposition, would constrain a woman in travail to cry out. These cries, throes,
and pains to be delivered, were the painful longings, the sighs, and prayers of the saints
for the coming of the kingdom of God. The woman groaned and travailed in spirit, that
Christ might appear, as the Shepherd and King of all nations. |
| 3 |
And behold a great red dragon - His fiery - red colour denoting his disposition.
Having seven heads - Implying vast wisdom. And ten horns - Perhaps on the seventh head;
emblems of mighty power and strength, which he still retained. And seven diadems on his
heads - Not properly crowns, but costly bindings, such as kings anciently wore; for,
though fallen, he was a great potentate still, even "the prince of this world." |
| 4 |
And his tail - His falsehood and subtilty. Draweth - As a train. The third part - A
very large number. Of the stars of heaven - The Christians and their teachers, who before
sat in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. And casteth them to the earth - Utterly deprives
them of all those heavenly blessings. This is properly a part of the description of the
dragon, who was not yet himself on earth, but in heaven: consequently, this casting them
down was between the beginning of the seventh trumpet and the beginning of the third woe;
or between the year 847 and the year 947; at which time pestilent doctrines, particularly
that of the Manichees in the east, drew abundance of people from the truth. And the dragon
stood before the woman, that when she had brought forth, he might devour the child - That
he might hinder the kingdom of Christ from spreading abroad, as it does under this
trumpet. |
| 5 |
And she brought forth a man child - Even Christ, considered not in his person, but in
his kingdom. In the ninth age, many nations with their princes were added to the Christian
church. Who was to rule all nations - When his time is come. And her child - Which was
already in heaven, as were the woman and the dragon. Was caught up to God - Taken utterly
out of his reach. |
| 6 |
And the woman fled into the wilderness - This wilderness is undoubtedly on earth,
where the woman also herself is now supposed to be. It betokens that part of the earth
where, after having brought forth, she found a new abode. And this must be in Europe; as
Asia and Afric were wholly in the hands of the Turks and Saracens; and in a part of it
where the woman had not been before. In this wilderness, God had already prepared a place;
that is, made it safe and convenient for her. The wilderness is, those countries of Europe
which lie on this side the Danube; for the countries which lie beyond it had received
Christianity before. That they may feed her - That the people of that place may provide
all things needful for her. Twelve hundred and sixty days - So many prophetic days, which
are not, as some have supposed, twelve hundred and sixty, but seven hundred and seventy -
seven, common years. This Bengelius has shown at large in his German Introduction. These
we may compute from the year 847 to 1524. So long the woman enjoyed a safe and convenient
place in Europe, which was chiefly Bohemia; where she was fed, till God provided for her
more plentifully at the Reformation. |
| 7 |
And there was war in heaven - Here Satan makes his grand opposition to the kingdom of
God; but an end is now put to his accusing the saints before God. The cause goes against
him, verses 10, 11, Rev 12:10,11 and Michael executes the sentence. That
Michael is a created angel, appears from his not daring, in disputing with Satan, Jude
9, to bring a railing accusation; but only saying, "The Lord rebuke
thee." And this modesty is implied in his very name; for Michael signifies, "Who
is like God?" which implies also his deep reverence toward God, and distance from all
self - exaltation. Satan would be like God: the very name of Michael asks, "Who is
like God?" Not Satan; not the highest archangel. It is he likewise that is afterward
employed to seize, bind, and imprison that proud spirit. |
| 8 |
And he prevailed not - The dragon himself is principally mentioned; but his angels,
likewise, are to be understood. Neither was this place found any more in heaven - So till
now he had a place in heaven. How deep a mystery is this! One may compare this with Luke
10:18; Eph 2:2; 4:8; 6:12. |
| 9 |
And the great dragon was cast out - It is not yet said, unto the earth - He was cast
out of heaven; and at this the inhabitants of heaven rejoice. He is termed the great
dragon, as appearing here in that shape, to intimate his poisonous and cruel disposition.
The ancient serpent - In allusion to his deceiving Eve in that form. Dragons are a kind of
large serpent. Who is called the Devil and Satan - These are words of exactly the same
meaning; only the former is Greek; the latter, Hebrew; denoting the grand adversary of all
the saints, whether Jews or gentiles. He has deceived the whole world - Not only in their
first parents, but through all ages, and in all countries, into unbelief and all
wickedness; into the hating and persecuting faith and all goodness. He was cast out unto
the earth - He was cast out of heaven; and being cast out thence, himself came to the
earth. Nor had he been unemployed on the earth before, although his ordinary abode was in
heaven. |
| 10 |
Now is come - Hence it is evident that all this chapter belongs to the trumpet of the
seventh angel. In the eleventh chapter, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth verse, are
proposed the contents of this extensive trumpet; the execution of which is copiously
described in this and the following chapters. The salvation - Of the saints. The might -
Whereby the enemy is cast out. The kingdom - Here the majesty of God is shown. And the
power of his Christ - Which he will exert against the beast; and when he also is taken
away, then will the kingdom be ascribed to Christ himself, Rev 19:16; 20:4.
The accuser of our brethren - So long as they remained on earth. This great voice,
therefore, was the voice of men only. Who accused them before our God day and night -
Amazing malice of Satan, and patience of God! |
| 11 |
And they have overcome him - Carried the cause against him. By the blood of the Lamb -
Which cleanses the soul from all sin, and so leaves no room for accusing. And by the word
of their testimony - The word of God, which they believed and testified, even unto death.
So, for instance, died Olam, king of Sweden, in the year 900, whom his own subjects would
have compelled to idolatry; and, upon his refusal, slew as a sacrifice to the idol which
he would not worship. So did multitudes of Bohemian Christians, in the year 916, when
queen Drahomire raised a severe persecution, wherein many "loved not their lives unto
the death." |
| 12 |
Woe to the earth and the sea - This is the fourth and last denunciation of the third
woe, the most grievous of all. The first was only, the second chiefly, on the earth, Asia;
the third, both on the earth and the sea, Europe. The earth is mentioned first, because it
began in Asia, before the beast brought it on Europe. He knoweth he hath but a little time
- Which extends from his casting out of heaven to his being cast into the abyss. We are
now come to a most important period of time. The non - chronos hastens to an end. We live
in the little time wherein Satan hath great wrath; and this little time is now upon the
decline. We are in the "time, times, and half a time," wherein the woman is
"fed in the wilderness;" yea, the last part of it, "the half time," is
begun. We are, as will be shown, towards the close of the "forty - two months"
of the beast; and when his number is fulfilled, grievous things will be. Let him who does
not regard the being seized by the wrath of the devil; the falling unawares into the
general temptation; the being borne away, by the most dreadful violence, into the worship
of the beast and his image, and, consequently, drinking the unmixed wine of the wrath of
God, and being tormented day and night for ever and ever in the lake of fire and
brimstone; let him also who is confident that he can make his way through all these by his
own wisdom and strength, without need of any such peculiar preservative as the word of
this prophecy affords; let him, I say, go hence. But let him who does not take these
warnings for senseless outcries, and blind alarms, beg of God, with all possible
earnestness, to give him his heavenly light herein.
God has not given this prophecy, in so solemn a manner, only to show his providence
over his church, but also that his servants may know at all times in what particular
period they are. And the more dangerous any period of time is, the greater is the help
which it affords. But where may we fix the beginning and end of the little time? which is
probably four - fifths of a chronos, or somewhat above 888 years. This, which is the time
of the third woe, may reach from 947, to the year 1836. For,
- The short interval of the second woe, (which woe ended in the year 840,) and the 777
years of the woman, which began about the year 847, quickly after which followed the war
in heaven, fix the beginning not long after 864: and thus the third woe falls in the tenth
century, extending from 900 to 1000; called the dark, the iron, the unhappy age.
- If we compare the length of the third woe with the period of time which succeeds it in
the twentieth chapter, it is but a little time to that vast space which reaches from the
beginning of the non - chronos to the end of the world.
|
| 13 |
And when the dragon saw - That be could no longer accuse the saints in heaven, he
turned his wrath to do all possible mischief on earth. He persecuted the woman - The
ancient persecutions of the church were mentioned, Rev 1:9, 2:10, 7:14; but
this persecution came after her flight, verse 6, Rev 12:6 just at the beginning of
the third woe. Accordingly, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the church was
furiously persecuted by several heathen powers. In Prussia, king Adelbert was killed in
the year 997, king Brunus in 1008; and when king Stephen encouraged Christianity in
Hungary, he met with violent opposition. After his death, the heathens in Hungary set
themselves to root it out, and prevailed for several years. About the same time, the army
of the emperor, Henry the Third, was totally overthrown by the Vandals. These, and all the
accounts of those times, show with what fury the dragon then persecuted the woman. |
| 14 |
And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly
into the wilderness to her place - Eagles are the usual symbols of great potentates. So Ezekiel
17:3, by "a great eagle', means the king of Babylon. Here the great eagle is
the Roman empire; the two wings, the eastern and western branches of it. A place in the
wilderness was mentioned in the sixth verse also; Rev 12:6 but it is not the
same which is mentioned here. In the text there follow one after the other,
- The dragon's waiting to devour the child.
- The birth of the child, which is caught up to God.
- The fleeing of the woman into the wilderness.
- The war in heaven, and the casting out of the dragon.
- The beginning of the third woe.
- The persecution raised by the dragon against the woman.
- The woman's flying away upon the eagle's wings.
In like manner there follow one after the other,
- The beginning of the twelve hundred and sixty days.
- The beginning of the little time.
- The beginning of the time, times, and half a time.
This third period partly coincides both with the first and the second. After the
beginning of the twelve hundred and sixty days, or rather of the third woe, Christianity
was exceedingly propagated, in the midst of various persecutions. About the year 948 it
was again settled in Denmark; in 965, in Poland and Silesia; in 980, through all Russia.
In 997 it was brought into Hungary; into Sweden and Norway, both before and after.
Transylvania received it about 1000; and, soon after, other parts of Dacia.
Now, all the countries in which Christianity was settled between the beginning of the
twelve hundred and sixty days, and the imprisonment of the dragon, may be understood by
the wilderness, and by her place in particular. This place contained many countries; so
that Christianity now reached, in an uninterrupted tract, from the eastern to the western
empire; and both the emperors now lent their wings to the woman, and provided a safe abode
for her. Where she is fed - By God rather than man; having little human help. For a time,
and times, and half a time - The length of the several periods here mentioned seems to be
nearly this: -
| |
|
Years |
| 1 |
The non - chronos contains less than |
1111 |
| 2 |
The little time |
888 |
| 3 |
The time, times, and half a time |
777 |
| 4 |
The time of the beast |
666 |
And comparing the prophecy and history together, they seem
to begin and end nearly thus:
| 1 |
The non - chronos extends |
from about 800 to 1836 |
| 2 |
The 1260 days of the woman |
from 847 - 1524 |
| 3 |
The little time |
947 - 1836 |
| 4 |
The time, time, and half |
1058 - 1836 |
| 5 |
The time of the beast |
between the beginning and end of the three times and a half |
In the year 1058 the empires had a good understanding with each other, and both
protected the woman. The bishops of Rome, likewise, particularly Victor II., were duly
subordinate to the emperor. We may observe, the twelve hundred and sixty days of the
woman, from 847 to 1524, and the three times and a half, refer to the same wilderness. But
in the former part of the twelve hundred and sixty days, before the three times and an
half began, namely, from the year 847 to 1058, she was fed by others, being little able to
help herself; whereas, from 1058 to 1524, she is both fed by others, and has food herself.
To this the sciences transplanted into the west from the eastern countries much
contributed; the scriptures, in the original tongues, brought into the west of Europe by
the Jews and Greeks, much more; and most of all, the Reformation, grounded on those
scriptures. |
| 15 |
Water is an emblem of a great people; this water, of the Turks in particular. About
the year 1060 they overran the Christian part of Asia. Afterward, they poured into Europe,
and spread farther and farther, till they had overflowed many nations. |
| 16 |
But the earth helped the woman - The powers of the earth; and indeed she needed help
through this whole period. "The time" was from 1058 to 1280; during which the
Turkish flood ran higher and higher, though frequently repressed by the emperors, or their
generals, helping the woman. "The" two "times" were from 1280 to 1725.
During these likewise the Turkish power flowed far and wide; but still from time to time
the princes of the earth helped the woman, that she was not carried away by it. "The
half time" is from 1725 to 1836. In the beginning of this period the Turks began to
meddle with the affairs of Persia: wherein they have so entangled themselves, as to be the
less able to prevail against the two remaining Christian empires. Yet this flood still
reaches the woman "in her place;" and will, till near the end of the "half
time," itself be swallowed up, perhaps by means of Russia, which is risen in the room
of the eastern empire. |
| 17 |
And the dragon was wroth - Anew, because he could not cause her to he carried away by
the stream. And he went forth - Into other lands. To make war with the rest of her seed -
Real Christians, living under heathen or Turkish governors. |
Chapter XIII
| 1 |
And I stood on the sand of the sea - This also was in the vision. And I saw - Soon
after the woman flew away. A wild beast coming up - He comes up twice; first from the sea,
then from the abyss. He comes from the sea before the seven phials; "the great
whore" comes after them. O reader, this is a subject wherein we also are deeply
concerned, and which must he treated, not as a point of curiosity, but as a solemn warning
from God! The danger is near. Be armed both against force and fraud, even with the whole
armour of God. Out of the sea - That is, Europe. So the three woes (the first being in
Persia, the second about the Euphrates) move in a line from east to west. This beast is
the Romish Papacy, as it came to a point six hundred years since, stands now, and will for
some time longer. To this, and no other power on earth, agrees the whole text, and every
part of it in every point; as we may see, with the utmost evidence, from the propositions
following:
- It is one and the same beast, having seven heads, and ten horns, which is described in
this and in the seventeenth chapter. Of consequence, his heads are the same, and his horns
also.
- This beast is a spiritually secular power, opposite to the kingdom of Christ. A power
not merely spiritual or ecclesiastical, nor merely secular or political but a mixture of
both. He is a secular prince; for a crown, yea, and a kingdom are ascribed to him. And yet
he is not merely secular; for he is also a false prophet.
- The beast has a strict connexion with the city of Rome. This clearly appears from the
seventeenth chapter.
- The beast is now existing. He is not past. for Rome is now existing; and it is not till
after the destruction of Rome that the beast is thrown into the lake. He is not altogether
to come: for the second woe is long since past, after which the third came quickly; and
presently after it began, the beast rose out of the sea. Therefore, whatever he is, he is
now existing.
- The beast is the Romish Papacy. This manifestly follows from the third and fourth
propositions; the beast has a strict connexion with the city of Rome; and the beast is now
existing: therefore, either there is some other power more strictly connected with that
city, or the Pope is the beast.
- The Papacy, or papal kingdom, began long ago. The most remarkable particulars relating
to this are here subjoined; taken so high as abundantly to show the rise of the beast, and
brought down as low as our own time, in order to throw a light on the following part of
the prophecy:
| A.D. 1033. |
Benedict the Ninth, a child of eleven years old, is bishop of Rome, and occasions
grievous disorders for above
twenty years. |
| A.D. 1048 |
Damasus II. introduces the use of the triple crown. |
| A.D. 1058 |
The church of Milan is, after long opposition, subjected to the Roman. |
| A.D. 1073 |
Hildebrand, or Gregory VII., comes to the throne. |
| A.D. 1076 |
He deposes and excommunicates the emperor. |
| A.D. 1077 |
He uses him shamefully and absolves him. |
| A.D. 1080 |
He excommunicates him again, and sends a crown to Rodulph, his competitor. |
| A.D. 1083 |
Rome is taken. Gregory flees. Clement is made Pope, and crowns the emperor. |
| A.D. 1085 |
Gregory VII. dies at Salerno. |
| A.D. 1095 |
Urban II. holds the first Popish council, at Clermont and gives rise to the
crusades. |
| A.D. 1111 |
Paschal II. quarrels furiously with the emperor. |
| A.D. 1123 |
The first western general council in the Lateran. |
The marriage of priests is forbidden. |
| A.D. 1132 |
Innocent II declares the emperor to be the Pope's liege - man, or vassal. |
| A.D. 1143 |
The Romans set up a governor of their own, independent on Innocent II. He
excommunicates them, and dies.
Celestine II. is, by an important innovation, chosen to the
Popedom without the suffrage of the people; the right of
choosing the Pope is taken from the people, and afterward from
the clergy, and lodged in the Cardinals alone. |
| A.D. 1152 |
Eugene II. assumes the power of canonizing saints. |
| A.D. 1155 |
Adrian IV. puts Arnold of Brixia to death for speaking against the secular power of
the Papacy. |
| A.D. 1159 |
Victor IV. is elected and crowned. But Alexander III. |
conquers him and his successor. |
| A.D. 1168 |
Alexander III. excommunicates the emperor, and brings him so low, that, |
| A.D. 1177 |
he submits to the Pope's setting his foot on his neck. |
| A.D. 1204 |
Innocent III. sets up the Inquisition against the Vaudois. |
| A.D. 1208 |
He proclaims a crusade against them. |
| A.D. 1300 |
Boniface VIII. introduces the year of jubilee. |
| A.D. 1305 |
The Pope's residence is removed to Avignon. |
| A.D. 1377 |
It is removed back to Rome. |
| A.D. 1378 |
The fifty years' schism begins. |
| A.D. 1449 |
Felix V., the last Antipope, submits to Nicholas V. |
| A.D. 1517 |
The Reformation begins. |
| A.D. 1527 |
Rome is taken and plundered. |
| A.D. 1557 |
Charles V. resigns the empire; Ferdinand I. thinks the being crowned by the Pope
superfluous. |
| A.D. 1564 |
Pius IV. confirms the Council of Trent. |
| A.D. 1682 |
Doctrines highly derogatory to the Papal authority are openly taught in France. |
| A.D. 1713 |
The constitution Unigenitus. |
| A.D. 1721 |
Pope Gregory VII. canonized anew. |
He who compares this short table with what will be observed, verse 3, Rev 13:3
and Rev 17:10, will see that the ascent of the beast out of the sea must needs be
fixed toward the beginning of it; and not higher than Gregory VII., nor lower than
Alexander III.
The secular princes now favoured the kingdom of Christ; but the bishops of Rome
vehemently opposed it. These at first were plain ministers or pastors of the Christian
congregation at Rome, but by degrees they rose to an eminence of honour and power over all
their brethren till, about the time of Gregory VII. (and so ever since) they assumed all
the ensigns of royal majesty; yea, of a majesty and power far superior to that of all
other potentates on earth. We are not here considering their false doctrines, but their
unbounded power. When we think of those, we are to look at the false prophet, who is also
termed a wild beast at his ascent out of the earth. But the first beast then properly
arose, when, after several preludes thereto, the Pope raised himself above the emperor.
- Hildebrand, or Gregory VII., is the proper founder of the papal kingdom. All the patrons
of the Papacy allow that he made many considerable additions to it; and this very thing
constituted the beast, by completing the spiritual kingdom: the new maxims and the new
actions of Gregory all proclaim this. Some of his maxims are,
- That the bishop of Rome alone is universal bishop.
- That he alone can depose bishops, or receive them again.
- That he alone has power to make new laws in the church.
- That he alone ought to use the ensigns of royalty.
- That all princes ought to kiss his foot.
- That the name of Pope is the only name under heaven; and
that his name alone should
be recited in the churches.
- That he has a power to depose emperors.
- That no general synod can be convened but by him.
- That no book is canonical without his authority.
- That none upon earth can repeal his sentence, but he alone
can repeal any sentence.
- That he is subject to no human judgment.
- That no power dare to pass sentence on one who appeals to the Pope.
- That all weighty causes everywhere ought to be referred to him.
- That the Roman church never did, nor ever can, err.
- That the Roman bishop, canonically ordained, is immediately
made holy, by the merits
of St. Peter.
- That he can absolve subjects from their allegiance.
These the most eminent Romish writers own to be his genuine sayings. And his actions
agree with his words. Hitherto the Popes had been subject to the emperors, though often
unwillingly; but now the Pope began himself, under a spiritual pretext, to act the emperor
of the whole Christian world: the immediate dispute was, about the investiture of bishops,
the right of which each claimed to himself. And now was the time for the Pope either to
give up, or establish his empire forever: to decide which, Gregory excommunicated the
emperor Henry IV.; "having first," says Platina, "deprived him of all his
dignities." The sentence ran in these terms: "Blessed Peter, prince of the
apostles, incline, I beseech thee, thine ears, and hear me thy servant. In the name of the
omnipotent God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I cast down the emperor Henry from all
imperial and regal authority, and absolve all Christians, that were his subjects, from the
oath whereby they used to swear allegiance to true kings. And moreover, because he had
despised mine, yea, thy admonitions, I bind him with the bond of an anathema."
The same sentence he repeated at Rome in these terms: "Blessed Peter, prince of
the apostles, and thou Paul, teacher of the gentiles, incline, I beseech you, your ears to
me, and graciously hear me. Henry, whom they call emperor, hath proudly lifted up his
horns and his head against the church of God, - who came to me, humbly imploring to be
absolved from his excommunication, - I restored him to communion, but not to his kingdom,
- neither did I allow his subjects to return to their allegiance. Several bishops and
princes of Germany, taking this opportunity, in the room of Henry, justly deposed, chose
Rodulph emperor, who immediately sent ambassadors to me, informing me that he would rather
obey me than accept of a kingdom, and that he should always remain at the disposal of God
and us. Henry then began to be angry, and at first intreated us to hinder Rodulph from
seizing his kingdom. I said I would see to whom the right belonged, and give sentence
which should be preferred. Henry forbad this. Therefore I bind Henry and all his favourers
with the bond of an anathema, and again take from him all regal power. I absolve all
Christians from their oath of allegiance, forbid them to obey Henry in anything, and
command them to receive Rodulph as their king. Confirm this, therefore, by your authority,
ye most holy princes of the apostles, that all may now at length know, as ye have power to
bind and loose in heaven, so we have power to give and take away on earth, empires,
kingdoms, principalities, and whatsoever men can have."
When Henry submitted, then Gregory began to reign without control. In the same year,
1077, on September 1, he fixed a new era of time, called the Indiction, used at Rome to
this day.
Thus did the Pope claim to himself the whole authority over all Christian princes. Thus
did he take away or confer kingdoms and empires, as a king of kings. Neither did his
successors fail to tread in his steps. It is well known, the following Popes have not been
wanting to exercise the same power, both over kings and emperors. And this the later Popes
have been so far from disclaiming, that three of them have sainted this very Gregory,
namely, Clement VIII., Paul V., and Benedict XIII. Here is then the beast, that is, the
king: in fact such, though not in name: according to that remarkable observation of
Cardinal Bellarmine, "Antichrist will govern the Roman empire, yet without the name
of Roman emperor." His spiritual title prevented his taking the name, while he
exerciseth all the power. Now Gregory was at the head of this novelty. So Aventine
himself, "Gregory VII was the first founder of the pontifical empire."
Thus the time of the ascent of the beast is clear. The apostasy and mystery of iniquity
gradually increased till he arose, "who opposeth and exalteth himself above
all." 2Thess 2:4. Before the seventh trumpet the adversary wrought more
secretly; but soon after the beginning of this, the beast openly opposes his kingdom to
the kingdom of Christ.
- The empire of Hildebrand properly began in the year 1077. Then it was, that upon the
emperor's leaving Italy, Gregory exercised his power to the full. And on the first of
September, in this year, he began his famous epocha.
This may be farther established and explained by the following observations:
- The beast is the Romish Papacy, which has now reigned for some ages.
- The beast has seven heads and ten horns.
- The seven heads are seven hills, and also seven kings. One of the heads could not have
been, "as it were, mortally wounded," had it been only a hill.
- The ascent of the beast out of the sea is different from his ascent out of the abyss;
the Revelation often mentions both the sea and the abyss but never uses the terms
promiscuously.
- The heads of the beast do not begin before his rise out of the sea, but with it.
- These heads, as kings, succeed each other.
- The time which they take up in this succession is divided into three parts.
"Five" of the kings signified thereby "are fallen: one is, the other is not
yet come."
- "One is:" namely, while the angel was speaking this. He places himself and St.
John in the middlemost time, that he might the more commodiously point out the first time
as past, the second as present, the third as future.
- The continuance of the beast is divided in the same manner. The beast "was, is not,
will ascend out of the abyss," Rev 17:8,11. Between these two verses,
that is interposed as parallel with them, "Five are fallen, one is, the other is not
yet come."
- Babylon is Rome. All things which the Revelation says of Babylon, agree to Rome, and
Rome only. It commenced "Babylon," when it commenced "the great." When
Babylon sunk in the east, it arose in the west; and it existed in the time of the
apostles, whose judgment is said to be "avenged on her."
- The beast reigns both before and after the reign of Babylon. First, the beast reigns, Rev
13:1, &c.; then Babylon, Rev 17:1, &c.; and then the beast
again, Rev 17:8, &c.
- The heads are of the substance of the beast; the horns are not. The wound of one of the
heads is called "the wound of the beast" itself, verse 3; Rev 13:3 but the
horns, or kings, receive the kingdom "with the beast," Rev 17:12.
That word alone, "the horns and the beast," Rev 17:16, sufficiently
shows them to be something added to him.
- The forty - two months of the beast fall within the first of the three periods. The
beast rose out of the sea in the year 1077. A little after, power was given him for forty
- two months. This power is still in being.
- The time when the beast "is not," and the reign of "Babylon," are
together. The beast, when risen out of the sea, raged violently, till "his kingdom
was darkened" by the fifth phial. But it was a kingdom still; and the beast having a
kingdom, though darkened, was the beast still. But it was afterwards said, "the beast
was," (was the beast, that is, reigned,) "and is not;" is not the beast;
does not reign, having lost his kingdom. Why? because "the woman sits upon the
beast," who "sits a queen," reigning over the kings of the earth: till the
beast, rising out of the abyss, and taking with him the ten kings, suddenly destroys her.
- The difference there is between Rome and the Pope, which has always subsisted, will then
be most apparent. Rome, distinct from the Pope, bears three meanings; the city itself, the
Roman church, and the people of Rome. In the last sense of the word, Rome with its dutchy,
which contained part of Tuscany and Campania, revolted from the Greek emperor in 726, and
became a free state, governed by its senate. From this time the senate, and not the Pope,
enjoyed the supreme civil power. But in 796, Leo III., being chosen Pope, sent to Charles
the Great, desiring him to come and subdue the senate and people of Rome, and constrain
them to swear allegiance to him. Hence arose a sharp contention between the Pope and the
Roman people, who seized and thrust him into a monastery. He escaped and fled to the
emperor, who quickly sent him back in great state. In the year 800 the emperor came to
Rome, and shortly after, the Roman people, who had hitherto chosen their own bishops, and
looked upon themselves and their senate as having the same rights with the ancient senate
and people of Rome, chose Charles for their emperor, and subjected themselves to him, in
the same manner as the ancient Romans did to their emperors. The Pope crowned him, and
paid him homage on his knees, as was formerly done to the Roman emperors: and the emperor
took an oath "to defend the holy Roman church in all its emoluments." He was
also created consul, and styled himself thenceforward Augustus, Emperor of the Romans.
Afterwards he gave the government of the city and dutchy of Rome to the Pope, yet still
subject to himself. What the Roman church is, as distinct from the Pope, appears,
- When a council is held before the Pope's confirmation;
- When upon a competition, judgment is given which is the true Pope;
- When the See is vacant;
- When the Pope himself is suspected by the Inquisition
How Rome, as it is a city, differs from the Pope, there is no need to show.
- In the first and second period of his duration, the beast is a body of men; in the
third, an individual. The beast with seven heads is the Papacy of many ages: the seventh
head is the man of sin, antichrist. He is a body of men from Rev 13:1 - Rev
17:7; he is a body of men and an individual, Rev 17:8 - Rev 17:11; he is an
individual, Rev 17:12 - Rev 19:20.
- That individual is the seventh head of the beast, or, the other king after the five and
one, himself being the eighth, though one of the seven. As he is a Pope, he is one of the
seven heads. But he is the eighth, or not a head, but the beast himself, not, as he is a
Pope, but as he bears a new and singular character at his coming from the abyss. To
illustrate this by a comparison: suppose a tree of seven branches, one of which is much
larger than the rest; if those six are cut away, and the seventh remain, that is the tree.
- "He is the wicked one, the man of sin, the son of perdition" usually termed
antichrist.
- The ten horns, or kings, "receive power as kings with the wild beast one
hour," Rev 17:12; with the individual beast, "who was not."
But he receives his power again, and the kings with it, who quickly give their new power
to him.
- The whole power of the Roman monarchy, divided into ten kingdoms, will be conferred on
the beast, Rev 17:13,16,17.
- The ten horns and the beast will destroy the whore, Rev 17:16.
- At length the beast, the ten horns, and the other kings of the earth, will fall in that
great slaughter, Rev 19:19.
- Daniel's fourth beast is the Roman monarchy, from the beginning of it, till the thrones
are set. This, therefore, comprises both the apocalyptic beast, and the woman, and many
other things. This monarchy is like a river which runs from its fountain in one channel,
but in its course sometimes takes in other rivers, sometimes is itself parted into several
streams, yet is still one continued river. The Roman power was at first undivided; but it
was afterwards divided into various channels, till the grand division into the eastern and
western empires, which likewise underwent various changes. Afterward the kings of the
Heruli. Goths, Lombards, the exarchs of Ravenna, the Romans themselves the emperors,
French and German, besides other kings, seized several parts of the Roman power. Now
whatever power the Romans had before Gregory VII., that Daniel's beast contains; whatever
power the Papacy has had from Gregory VII., this the apocalyptic beast represents, but
this very beast (and so Rome with its last authority) is comprehended under that of
Daniel. And upon his heads a name of blasphemy - To ascribe to a man what belongs to God
alone is blasphemy. Such a name the beast has, not on his horns, nor on one head, but on
all. The beast himself bears that name, and indeed through his whole duration. This is the
name of Papa or Pope; not in the innocent sense wherein it was formerly given to all
bishops, but in that high and peculiar sense wherein it is now given to the bishop of Rome
by himself, and his followers: a name which comprises the whole pre - eminence of the
highest and most holy father upon earth. Accordingly among the above cited sayings of
Gregory, those two stand together, that his "name alone should be recited in the
churches;" and that it is "the only name in the world." So both the church
and the world were to name no other father on the face of the earth.
|
| 2 |
The three first beasts in Daniel are like "a leopard," "a bear,"
and "a lion." In all parts, except his feet and mouth, this beast was like a
leopard or female panther; which is fierce as a lion or bear, but is also swift and
subtle. Such is the Papacy, which has partly by subtilty, partly by force, gained power
over so many nations. The extremely various usages, manners, and ways of the Pope, may
likewise be compared to the spots of the leopard. And his feet were as the feet of a bear
- Which are very strong, and armed with sharp claws. And, as clumsy as they seem, he can
therewith walk, stand upright, climb, or seize anything. So does this beast seize and take
for his prey whatever comes within the reach of his claws. And his mouth was as the mouth
of a lion - To roar, and to devour. And the dragon - Whose vassal and vicegerent he is.
Gave him his power - His own strength and innumerable forces. And his throne - So that he
might command whatever he would, having great, absolute authority. The dragon had his
throne in heathen Rome, so long as idolatry and persecution reigned there. And after he
was disturbed in his possession, yet would he never wholly resign, till he gave it to the
beast in Christian Rome, so called. |
| 3 |
And I saw one - Or the first. Of his heads as it were wounded - So it appeared as soon
as ever it rose. The beast is first described more generally, then more particularly, both
in this and in the seventeenth chapter. The particular description here respects the
former parts; there, the latter parts of his duration: only that some circumstances
relating to the former are repeated in the seventeenth chapter. Rev 17:1 - 18
This deadly wound was given him on his first head by the sword, verse 14; Rev
13:14 that is, by the bloody resistance of the secular potentates, particularly the
German emperors. These had for a long season had the city of Rome, with her bishop, under
their jurisdiction. Gregory determined to cast off this yoke from his own, and to lay it
on the emperor's shoulders. He broke loose, and excommunicated the emperor, who maintained
his right by force, and gave the Pope such a blow, that one would have thought the beast
must have been killed thereby, immediately after his coming up. But he recovered, and grew
stronger than before. The first head of the beast extends from Gregory VII., at least to
Innocent III. In that tract of time the beast was much wounded by the emperors. But,
notwithstanding, the wound was healed.
Two deadly symptoms attended this wound: 1. Schisms and open ruptures in the church.
For while the emperors asserted their right, there were from the year 1080 to the year
1176 only, five open divisions, and at least as many antipopes, some of whom were, indeed,
the rightful Popes. This was highly dangerous to the papal kingdoms. But a still more
dangerous symptom was, 2. The rising of the nobility at Rome, who would not suffer their
bishop to be a secular prince, particularly over themselves. Under Innocent II. they
carried their point, re - established the ancient commonwealth, took away from the Pope
the government of the city, and left him only his episcopal authority. "At
this," says the historian, "Innocent II. and Celestine II. fretted themselves to
death: Lucius II., as he attacked the capitol, wherein the senate was, sword in hand, was
struck with a stone, and died in a few days: Eugene III., Alexander III., and Lucius III.,
were driven out of the city: Urban III. and Gregory VIII. spent their days in banishment
At length they came to an agreement with Clement III., who was himself a Roman." And
the whole earth - The whole western world. Wondered after the wild beast - That is,
followed him with wonder, in his councils, his crusades, and his jubilees. This refers not
only to the first head, but also to the four following. |
| 4 |
And they worshipped the dragon - Even in worshipping the beast, although they knew it
not. And worshipped the wild beast - Paying him such honour as was not paid to any merely
secular potentate. That very title, "Our most holy Lord," was never given to any
other monarch on earth. Saying, Who is like the wild beast - "Who is like him?"
is a peculiar attribute of God; but that this is constantly attributed to the beast, the
books of all his adherents show. |
| 5 |
And there was given him - By the dragon, through the permission of God. A mouth
speaking great things and blasphemy - The same is said of the little horn on the fourth
beast in Daniel. Nothing greater, nothing more blasphemous, can be conceived, than what
the Popes have said of themselves, especially before the Reformation. And authority was
given him forty - two months - The beginning of these is not to be dated immediately from
his ascent out of the sea, but at some distance from it. |
| 6 |
To blaspheme his name - Which many of the Popes have done explicitly, and in the most
dreadful manner. And his tabernacle, even them that dwell in heaven - (For God himself
dwelleth in the inhabitance of heaven.) Digging up the bones of many of them, and cursing
them with the deepest execrations. |
| 7 |
And it was given him - That is, God permitted him. To make war with his saints - With
the Waldenses and Albigenses. It is a vulgar mistake, that the Waldenses were so called
from Peter Waldo of Lyons. They were much more ancient than him; and their true name was
Vallenses or Vaudois from their inhabiting the valleys of Lucerne and Agrogne. This name,
Vallenses, after Waldo appeared about the year 1160, was changed by the Papists into
Waldenses, on purpose to represent them as of modern original. The Albigenses were
originally people of Albigeois, part of Upper Languedoc, where they considerably
prevailed, and possessed several towns in the year 1200. Against these many of the Popes
made open war. Till now the blood of Christians had been shed only by the heathens or
Arians; from this time by scarce any but the Papacy. In the year 1208 Innocent III.
proclaimed a crusade against them. In June, 1209, the army assembled at Toulouse; from
which time abundance of blood was shed, and the second army of martyrs began to be added
to the first, who had cried "from beneath the altar." And ever since, the beast
has been warring against the saints, and shedding their blood like water. And authority
was given him over every tribe and people - Particularly in Europe. And when a way was
found by sea into the East Indies, and the West, these also were brought under his
authority. |
| 8 |
And all that dwell upon the earth will worship him - All will be carried away by the
torrent, but the little flock of true believers. The name of these only is written in the
Lamb's book of life. And if any even of these "make shipwreck of the faith," he
will blot them "out of his book;" although they were written therein from (that
is, before) the foundation of the world, Rev 17:8. |
| 9 |
If any one have an ear, let him hear - It was said before, "He that hath an ear,
let him hear." This expression, if any, seems to imply, that scarce will any that
hath an ear be found. Let him hear - With all attention the following warning, and the
whole description of the beast, |
| 10 |
If any man leadeth into captivity - God will in due time repay the followers of the
beast in their own kind. Meanwhile, here is the patience and faithfulness of the saints
exercised: their patience, by enduring captivity or imprisonment; their faithfulness, by
resisting unto blood. |
| 11 |
And I saw another wild beast - So he is once termed to show his fierceness and
strength, but in all other places, "the false prophet." He comes to confirm the
kingdom of the first beast. Coming up - After the other had long exercised his authority.
Out of the earth - Out of Asia. But he is not yet come, though he cannot be far off for he
is to appear at the end of the forty - two months of the first beast. And he had two horns
like a lamb - A mild, innocent appearance. But he spake like a dragon - Venomous, fiery,
dreadful. So do those who are zealous for the beast. |
| 12 |
And he exerciseth all the authority of the first wild beast - Described in the second,
fourth, fifth, and seventh verses. Rev 13:2,3,5,7 Before him - For they are
both together. Whose deadly wound was healed - More throughly healed by means of the
second beast. |
| 13 |
He maketh fire - Real fire. To come down - By the power of the devil. |
| 14 |
Before the wild beast - Whose usurped majesty is confirmed by these wonders. Saying to
them - As if it were from God. To make an image to the wild beast - Like that of
Nebuchadnezzar, whether of gold, silver, or stone. The original image will be set up where
the beast himself shall appoint. But abundance of copies will be taken, which may be
carried into all parts, like those of Diana of Ephesus. |
| 15 |
So that the image of the wild beast should speak - Many instances of this kind have
been already among the Papists, as well as the heathens. And as many as will not worship -
When it is required of them; as it will be of all that buy or sell. Shall be killed - By
this the Pope manifests that he is antichrist, directly contrary to Christ. It is Christ
who shed his own blood; it is antichrist who sheds the blood of others. And yet, it seems,
his last and most cruel persecution is to come. This persecution, the reverse of all that
preceded, will, as we may gather from many scriptures, fall chiefly on the outward court
worshippers, the formal Christians. It is probable that few real, inward Christians shall
perish by it: on the contrary, those who "watch and pray always" shall be
"accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand before the Son of
man," Luke 21:36. |
| 16 |
On their forehead - The most zealous of his followers will probably choose this.
Others may receive it on their hand. |
| 17 |
That no man might buy or sell - Such edicts have been published long since against the
poor Vaudois. But he that had the mark, namely, the name of the first beast, or the number
of his name - The name of the beast is that which he bears through his whole duration;
namely, that of Papa or Pope: the number of his name is the whole time during which he
bears this name. Whosoever, therefore, receives the mark of the beast does as much as if
he said expressly, "I acknowledge the present Papacy, as proceeding from God;"
or, "I acknowledge that what St. Gregory VII. has done, according to his legend,
(authorized by Benedict XIII.,) and what has been maintained in virtue thereof, by his
successors to this day, is from God." By the former, a man hath the name of the beast
as a mark; by the latter, the number of his name. In a word, to have the name of the beast
is, to acknowledge His papal Holiness; to have the number of his name is, to acknowledge
the papal succession. The second beast will enforce the receiving this mark under the
severest penalties. |
| 18 |
Here is the wisdom - To be exercised. "The patience of the saints" availed
against the power of the first beast: the wisdom God giveth them will avail against the
subtilty of the second. Let him that hath understanding - Which is a gift of God,
subservient to that wisdom. Count the number of the wild beast - Surely none can be blamed
for attempting to obey this command. For it is the number of a man - A number of such
years as are common among men. And his number is six hundred and sixty - six years - So
long shall he endure from his first appearing. |
Chapter XIV
| 1 |
And I saw on mount Sion - The heavenly Sion. An hundred forty - four thousand - Either
those out of all mankind who had been the most eminently holy, or the most holy out of the
twelve tribes of Israel the same that were mentioned, Rev 7:4, and perhaps
also, Rev 16:2. But they were then in the world, and were sealed in their
foreheads, to preserve them from the plagues that were to follow. They are now in safety,
and have the name of the Lamb and of his Father written on their foreheads, as being the
redeemed of God and of the Lamb, his now unalienable property. This prophecy often
introduces the inhabitants of heaven as a kind of chorus with great propriety and
elegance. The church above, making suitable reflections on the grand events which are
foretold in this book, greatly serves to raise the attention of real Christians, and to
teach the high concern they have in them. Thus is the church on earth instructed,
animated, and encouraged, by the sentiments temper, and devotion of the church in heaven. |
| 2 |
And I heard a sound out of heaven - Sounding clearer and clearer: first, at a
distance, as the sound of many waters or thunders; and afterwards, being nearer, it was as
of harpers harping on their harps. It sounded vocally and instrumentally at once. |
| 3 |
And they - The hundred forty - four thousand - Sing a new song - and none could learn
that song - To sing and play it in the same manner. But the hundred forty - four thousand
who were redeemed from the earth - From among men; from all sin. |
| 4 |
These are they who had not been defiled with women - It seems that the deepest
defilement, and the most alluring temptation, is put for every other. They are virgins -
Unspotted souls; such as have preserved universal purity. These are they who follow the
Lamb - Who are nearest to him. This is not their character, but their reward Firstfruits -
Of the glorified spirits. Who is ambitious to be of this number? |
| 5 |
And in their month there was found no guile - Part for the whole. Nothing untrue,
unkind, unholy. They are without fault - Having preserved inviolate a virgin purity both
of soul and body. |
| 6 |
And I saw another angel - A second is mentioned, verse 8; a third, verse 9. Rev
14:8,9 These three denote great messengers of God with their assistants; three men
who bring messages from God to men. The first exhorts to the fear and worship of God; he
second proclaims the fall of Babylon; the third gives warning concerning the beast. Happy
are they who make the right use of these divine messages! Flying - Going on swiftly. In
the midst of heaven - Breadthways. Having an everlasting gospel - Not the gospel, properly
so called; but a gospel, or joyful message, which was to have an influence on all ages. To
preach to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people - Both to Jew and gentile, even
as far as the authority of the beast had extended. |
| 7 |
Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come - The joyful
message is properly this, that the hour of God's judgment is come. And hence is that
admonition drawn, Fear God and give glory to him. They who do this will not worship the
beast, neither any image or idol whatsoever. And worship him that made - Whereby he is
absolutely distinguished from idols of every kind. The heaven, and the earth, and the sea,
and fountains of water - And they who worship him shall be delivered when the angels pour
out their phials on the earth, sea, fountains of water, on the sun, and in the air. |
| 8 |
And another angel followed, saying, Babylon is fallen - With the overthrow of Babylon,
that of all the enemies of Christ, and, consequently, happier times, are connected.
Babylon the great - So the city of Rome is called upon many accounts. Babylon was
magnificent, strong, proud, powerful. So is Rome also. Babylon was first, Rome afterwards,
the residence of the emperors of the world. What Babylon was to Israel of old, Rome hath
been both to the literal and spiritual "Israel of God." Hence the liberty of the
ancient Jews was connected with the overthrow of the Babylonish empire. And when Rome is
finally overthrown, then the people of God will be at liberty. Whenever Babylon is
mentioned in this book, the great is added, to teach us that Rome then commenced Babylon,
when it commenced the great city; when it swallowed up the Grecian monarchy and its
fragments, Syria in particular; and, in consequence of this, obtained dominion over
Jerusalem about sixty years before the birth of Christ. Then it began, but it will not
cease to be Babylon till it is finally destroyed. Its spiritual greatness began in the
fifth century, and increased from age to age. It seems it will come to its utmost height
just before its final overthrow.
Her fornication is her idolatry; invocation of saints and angels; worship of images;
human traditions; with all that outward pomp, yea, and that fierce and bloody zeal,
wherewith she pretends to serve God. But with spiritual fornication, as elsewhere, so in
Rome, fleshly fornication is joined abundantly. Witness the stews there, licensed by the
Pope, which are no inconsiderable branch of his revenue. This is fitly compared, to wine,
because of its intoxicating nature.
Of this wine she hath, indeed, made all nations drink - More especially by her later
missions. We may observe, this making them drink is not ascribed to the beast, but to
Babylon. For Rome itself, the Roman inquisitions, congregations, and Jesuits, continually
propagate the idolatrous doctrines and practices, with or without the consent of this or
that Pope, who himself is not secure from their censure. |
| 9 |
And a third angel followed - At no great distance of time. Saying, If any one worship
the wild beast - This worship consists, partly in an inward submission, a persuasion that
all who are subject to Christ must be subject to the beast or they cannot receive the
influences of divine grace, or, as their expression is, there is no salvation out of their
church; partly in a suitable outward reverence to the beast himself, and consequently to
his image. |
| 10 |
He shall drink - With Babylon, Rev 16:19. And shall be tormented - With
the beast, Rev 20:10. In all the scripture there is not another so terrible
threatening as this. And God by this greater fear arms his servants against the fear of
the beast. The wrath of God, which is poured unmixed - Without any mixture of mercy;
without hope. Into the cup of his indignation - And is no real anger implied in all this?
O what will not even wise men assert, to serve an hypothesis! |
| 11 |
And the smoke - From the fire and brimstone wherein they are tormented. Ascendeth for
ever and ever - God grant thou and I may never try the strict, literal eternity of this
torment! |
| 12 |
Here is the patience of the saints - Seen, in suffering all things rather than receive
this mark. Who keep the commandments of God - The character of all true saints; and
particularly the great command to believe in Jesus. |
| 13 |
And I heard a voice - This is most seasonably heard when the beast is in his highest
power and fury. Out of heaven - Probably from a departed saint. Write - He was at first
commanded to write the whole book. Whenever this is repeated it denotes something
peculiarly observable. Happy are the dead - From henceforth particularly: 1. Because they
escape the approaching calamities: 2. Because they already enjoy so near an approach to
glory. Who die in the Lord - In the faith of the Lord Jesus. For they rest - No pain, no
purgatory follows; but pure, unmixed happiness. From their labours - And the more
laborious their life was, the sweeter is their rest. How different this state from that of
those, verse 11, Rev 14:11 who "have no rest day or night!" Reader,
which wilt thou choose? Their works - Each one's peculiar works. Follow - or accompany
them; that is, the fruit of their works. Their works do not go before to procure them
admittance into the mansions of joy; but they follow them when admitted. |
| 14 |
In the following verses, under the emblem of an harvest and a vintage, are signified
two general visitations; first, many good men are taken from the earth by the harvest;
then many sinners during the vintage. The latter is altogether a penal visitation; the
former seems to be altogether gracious. Here is no reference in either to the day of
judgment, but to a season which cannot be far off. And I saw a white cloud - An emblem of
mercy. And on the cloud sat one like a son of man - An angel in an human shape, sent by
Christ, the Lord both of the vintage and of the harvest. Having a golden crown on his head
- In token of his high dignity. And a sharp sickle in his hand - The sharper the welcomer
to the righteous. |
| 15 |
And another angel came out of the temple - "Which is in heaven," verse 17. Rev
14:17 Out of which came the judgments of God in the appointed seasons. |
| 16 |
Crying - By the command of God. Thrust in thy sickle, for the harvest is ripe - This
implies an high degree of holiness in those good men, and an earnest desire to be with
God. |
| 18 |
And another angel from the altar - Of burnt offering; from whence the martyrs had
cried for vengeance. Who had power over fire - As "the angel of the waters," Rev
16:5, had over water. Cried, saying, Lop off the clusters of the vine of the earth
- All the wicked are considered as constituting one body. |
| 20 |
And the winepress was trodden - By the Son of God, Rev 19:15. Without the
city - Jerusalem. They to whom St. John writes, when a man said, "The city,"
immediately understood this. And blood came out of the winepress, even to the horses'
bridles - So deep at its first flowing from the winepress! One thousand six hundred
furlongs - So far! at least two hundred miles, through the whole land of Palestine. |
Chapter XV
| 1 |
And I saw seven holy angels having the seven last plagues - Before they had the
phials, which were as instruments whereby those plagues were to be conveyed. They are
termed the last, because by them the wrath of God is fulfilled - Hitherto. God had borne
his enemies with much longsuffering; but now his wrath goes forth to the uttermost,
pouring plagues on the earth from one end to the other, and round its whole circumference.
But, even after these plagues, the holy wrath of God against his other enemies does not
cease, Rev 20:15. |
| 2 |
The song was sung while the angels were coming out, with their plagues, who are
therefore mentioned both before and after it, verses 1 - 6. Rev 15:1 - 6 And
I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire - It was before "clear as
crystal," Rev 4:6, but now mingled with fire, which devours the
adversaries. And them that gained, or were gaining, the victory over the wild beast - More
of whom were yet to come. The mark of the beast, the mark of his name, and the number of
his name, seem to mean here nearly the same thing. Standing at the sea of glass - Which
was before the throne. Having the harps of God - Given by him, and appropriated to his
praise. |
| 3 |
And they sing the song of Moses - So called, partly from its near agreement ,with the
words of that song which he sung after passing the Red Sea, Exod 15:11, and
of that which he taught the children of Israel a little before his death, Deut 32:3,4.
But chiefly because Moses was the minister and representative of the Jewish church, as
Christ is of the church universal. Therefore it is also termed the sons of the Lamb. It
consists of six parts, which answer each other:
- Great and wonderful are thy works, Lord God Almighty.
- For thou only art gracious.
- Just and true are thy ways, O King of the nations.
- For all the nations shall come and worship before thee.
- Who would not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
- For thy judgments are made manifest.
We know and acknowledge that all thy works in and toward all the creatures are great
and wonderful; that thy ways with all the children of men, good and evil, are just and
true. For thou only art gracious - And this grace is the spring of all those wonderful
works, even of his destroying the enemies of his people. Accordingly in Psalm 136:1 -
26., that clause, "For his mercy endureth for ever," is subjoined to the
thanksgiving for his works of vengeance as well as for his delivering the righteous. For
all the nations shall come and worship before thee - They shall serve thee as their king
with joyful reverence. This is a glorious testimony of the future conversion of all the
heathens. The Christians are now a little flock: they who do not worship God, an immense
multitude. But all the nations shall come, from all parts of the earth, to worship him and
glorify his name. For thy judgments are made manifest - And then the inhabitants of the
earth will at length learn to fear him. |
| 5 |
After these things the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony - The holiest of all.
Was opened - Disclosing a new theatre for the coming forth of the judgments of God now
made manifest. |
| 6 |
And the seven angels came out of the temple - As having received their instructions
from the oracle of God himself. St. John saw them in heaven, verse 1, Rev 15:1 before
they went into the temple. They appeared in habits like those the high priest wore when he
went into the most holy place to consult the oracle. In this was the visible testimony of
God's presence. Clothed in pure white linen - Linen is the habit of service and
attendance. Pure - unspotted, unsullied. White - Or bright and shining, which implies much
more than bare innocence. And having their breasts girt with golden girdles - In token of
their high dignity and glorious rest. |
| 7 |
And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels - After they were come out
of the temple. Seven golden phials - Or bowls. The Greek word signifies vessels broader at
the top than at the bottom. Full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever - A
circumstance which adds greatly to the dreadfulness of his wrath. |
| 8 |
And the temple was filled with smoke - The cloud of glory was the visible
manifestation of God's presence in the tabernacle and temple. It was a sign of protection
at erecting the tabernacle and at the dedication of the temple. But in the judgment of
Korah the glory of the Lord appeared, when he and his companions were swallowed up by the
earth. So proper is the emblem of smoke from the glory of God, or from the cloud of glory,
to express the execution of judgment, as well as to be a sign of favour. Both proceed from
the power of God, and in both he is glorified. And none - Not even of those who ordinarily
stood before God. Could go into the temple - That is, into the inmost part of it. Till the
seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled - Which did not take up a long time, like
the seven trumpets, but swiftly followed each other. |
Chapter XVI
| 1 |
Pour out the seven phials - The epistles to the seven churches are divided into three
and four: the seven seals, and so the trumpets and phials, into four and three. The
trumpets gradually, and in a long tract of time, overthrow the kingdom of the world: the
phials destroy chiefly the beast and his followers, with a swift and impetuous force. The
four first affect the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun; the rest fall elsewhere, and
are much more terrible. |
| 2 |
And the first went - So the second, third, &c., without adding angel, to denote
the utmost swiftness; of which this also is a token, that there is no period of time
mentioned in the pouring out of each phial. They have a great resemblance to the plagues
of Egypt, which the Hebrews generally suppose to have been a month distant from each
other. Perhaps so may the phials; but they are all yet to come. And poured out his phial
upon the earth - Literally taken. And there came a grievous ulcer - As in Egypt, Exod
9:10,11. On the men who had the mark of the wild beast - All of them, and them
only. All those plagues seem to be described in proper, not figurative, words. |
| 3 |
The second poured out his phial upon the sea - As opposed to the dry land. And it
become blood, as of a dead man - Thick, congealed, and putrid. And every living soul -
Men, beasts, and fishes, whether on or in the sea, died. |
| 4 |
The third poured out his phial on the rivers and fountains of water - Which were over
all the earth. And they became blood - So that none could drink thereof. |
| 5 |
The Gracious one - So he is styled when his judgments are abroad, and that with a
peculiar propriety. In the beginning of the book he is termed "The Almighty." In
the time of his patience, he is praised for his power, which otherwise might then be less
regarded. In the time of his taking vengeance, for his mercy. Of his power there could
then be no doubt. |
| 6 |
Thou host given then, blood to drink - Men do not drink out of the sea, but out of
fountains and rivers. Therefore this is fitly added here. They are worthy - Is subjoined
with a beautiful abruptness. |
| 7 |
Yea - Answering the angel of the waters, and affirming of God's judgments in general,
what he had said of one particular judgment. |
| 8 |
The fourth poured out his phial upon the sun - Which was likewise affected by the
fourth trumpet. There is also a plain resemblance between the first, second, and third
phials, and the first, second, and third trumpet. And it was given him - The angel. To
scorch the men - Who had the mark of the beast. With fire - As well as with the beams of
the sun. So these four phials affected earth, water, fire, and air. |
| 9 |
And the men blasphemed God, who had power over these plagues - They could not but
acknowledge the hand of God, yet did they harden themselves against him. |
| 10 |
The four first phials are closely connected together; the fifth concerns the throne of
the beast, the sixth the Mahometans, the seventh chiefly the heathens. The four first
phials and the four first trumpets go round the whole earth; the three last phials and the
three last trumpets go lengthways over the earth in a straight line. The fifth poured out
his phial upon the throne of the wild beast - It is not said, "on the beast and his
throne." Perhaps the sea will then be vacant. And his kingdom was darkened - With a
lasting, not a transient, darkness. However the beast as yet has his kingdom. Afterward
the woman sits upon the beast. and then it is said, "The wild beast is not," Rev
17:3,7,8. |
| 11 |
And they - His followers. Gnawed their tongues - Out of furious impatience. Because of
their pains and because of their ulcers - Now mentioned together, and in the plural
number, to signify that they were greatly heightened and multiplied. |
| 12 |
And the sixth poured out his phial upon the great river Euphrates - Affected also by
the sixth trumpet. And the water of it - And of all the rivers that flow into it. Was
dried up - The far greater part of the Turkish empire lies on this side the Euphrates. The
Romish and Mahometan affairs ran nearly parallel to each other for several ages. In the
seventh century was Mahomet himself; and, a little before him, Boniface III., with his
universal bishopric. In the eleventh, both the Turks and Gregory VII. carried all before
them. In the year 1300, Boniface appeared with his two swords at the newly - erected
jubilee. In the self - same year arose the Ottoman Porte; yea, and on the same day. And
here the phial, poured out on the throne of the beast, is immediately followed by that
poured out on the Euphrates; that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared -
Those who lie east from the Euphrates, in Persia, India, &c., who will rush blindfold
upon the plagues which are ready for them, toward the Holy Land, which lies west of the
Euphrates. |
| 13 |
Out of the mouth of the dragon, the wild beast, and the false prophet - It seems, the
dragon fights chiefly against God; the beast, against Christ; the false prophet, against
the Spirit of truth; and that the three unclean spirits which come from them, and exactly
resemble them, endeavour to blacken the works of creation, of redemption, and of
sanctification. The false prophet - So is the second beast frequently named, after the
kingdom of the first is darkened; for he can then no longer prevail by main strength, and
so works by lies and deceit. Mahomet was first a false prophet, and afterwards a powerful
prince: but this beast was first powerful as a prince; afterwards a false prophet, a
teacher of lies. Like frogs - Whose abode is in fens, marshes, and other unclean places.
To the kings of the whole world - Both Mahometan and pagan. To gather them - To the
assistance of their three principals. |
| 15 |
Behold, I come as a thief - Suddenly, unexpectedly. Observe the beautiful abruptness.
I - Jesus Christ. Hear him. Happy is he that watcheth. - Looking continually for him that
"cometh quickly." And keepeth on his garments - Which men use to put off when
they sleep. Lest he walk naked, and they see his shame - Lest he lose the graces which he
takes no care to keep, and others see his sin and punishment. |
| 16 |
And they gathered them together to Armageddon - Mageddon, or Megiddo, is frequently
mentioned in the Old Testament. Armageddon signifies the city or the mountain of Megiddo;
to which the valley of Megiddo adjoined. This was a place well known in ancient times for
many memorable occurrences; in particular, the slaughter of the kings of Canaan, related, Judges
5:19. Here the narrative breaks off. It is resumed, Rev 19:19. |
| 17 |
And the seventh poured out his phial upon the air - Which encompasses the whole earth.
This is the most weighty phial of all, and seems to take up more time than any of the
preceding. It is done - What was commanded, verse 1. Rev 16:1 The phials are poured
out. |
| 18 |
A great earthquake, such as had not been since men were upon the earth - It was
therefore a literal, not figurative, earthquake. |
| 19 |
And the great city - Namely, Jerusalem, here opposed to the heathen cities in general,
and in particular to Rome. And the cities of the nations fell - Were utterly overthrown.
And Babylon was remembered before God - He did not forget the vengeance which was due to
her, though the execution of it was delayed. |
| 20 |
Every island and mountain was "moved out of its place," Rev 6:14;
but here they all flee away. What a change must this make in the face of the terraqueous
globe! And yet the end of the world is not come. |
| 21 |
And a great hail falleth out of heaven - From which there was no defence. From the
earthquake men would fly into the fields; but here also they are met by the hail: nor were
they secure if they returned into the houses, when each hail - stone weighed sixty pounds.
|
Chapter XVII
| 1 |
And there came one of the seven angels, saying, Come hither - This relation concerning
the great whore, and that concerning the wife of the Lamb, Rev 21:9,10, have
the same introduction, in token of the exact opposition between them. I will show thee the
judgment of the great whore - Which is now circumstantially described. That sitteth as a
queen - In pomp, power, ease, and luxury. Upon many waters - Many people and nations,
verse 15. Rev 17:15 |
| 2 |
With whom the kings of the earth - Both ancient and modern, for many ages. Have
committed fornication - By partaking of her idolatry and various wickedness. And the
inhabitants of the earth - The common people. Have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication - No wine can more thoroughly intoxicate those who drink it, than false zeal
does the followers of the great whore. |
| 3 |
And he carried me away - In the vision. Into a wilderness - The campagna di Roma, the
country round about Rome, is now a wilderness, compared to what it was once. And I saw a
woman - Both the scripture and other writers frequently represent a city under this
emblem. Sitting upon a scarlet wild beast - The same which is described in the thirteenth
chapter. Rev 13:1 - 18 But he was there described as he carried on his own
designs only: here, as he is connected with the whore. There is, indeed, a very close
connexion between them; the seven heads of the beast being "seven hills on which the
woman sitteth." And yet there is a very remarkable difference between them, - between
the papal power and the city of Rome. This woman is the city of Rome, with its buildings
and inhabitants; especially the nobles. The beast, which is now scarlet - coloured,
(bearing the bloody livery, as well as the person, of the woman,) appears very different
from before. Therefore St. John says at first sight, I saw a beast, not the beast, full of
names of blasphemy - He had' before "a name of blasphemy upon his head," Rev
13:1: now he has many. From the time of Hildebrand, the blasphemous titles of the
Pope have been abundantly multiplied. Having seven heads - Which reach in a succession
from his ascent out of the sea to his being cast into the lake of fire. And ten horns -
Which are contemporary with each other, and belong to his last period. |
| 4 |
And the woman was arrayed - With the utmost pomp and magnificence. In purple and
scarlet - These were the colours of the imperial habit: the purple, in times of peace; and
the scarlet, in times of war. Having in her hand a golden cup - Like the ancient Babylon, Jer
51:7. Full of abominations - The most abominable doctrines as well as practices. |
| 5 |
And on her forehead a name written - Whereas the saints have the name of God and the
Lamb on their foreheads. Mystery - This very word was inscribed on the front of the Pope's
mitre, till some of the Reformers took public notice of it. Babylon the great - Benedict
XIII., in his proclamation of the jubilee, A.D. 1725, explains this sufficiently. His
words are, "To this holy city, famous for the memory of so many holy martyrs, run
with religious alacrity. Hasten to the place which the Lord hath chose. Ascend to this new
Jerusalem, whence the law of the Lord and the light of evangelical truth hath flowed forth
into all nations, from the very first beginning of the church: the city most rightfully
called 'The Palace,' placed for the pride of all ages, the city of the Lord, the Sion of
the Holy One of Israel. This catholic and apostolical Roman church is the head of the
world, the mother of all believers, the faithful interpreter of God and mistress of all
churches." But God somewhat varies the style. The mother of harlots - The parent,
ringleader, patroness, and nourisher of many daughters, that losely copy after her. And
abominations - Of every kind, spiritual and fleshly. Of the earth - In all lands. In this
respect she is indeed catholic or universal. |
| 6 |
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints - So that Rome may well be
called, "The slaughter - house of the martyrs." She hath shed much Christian
blood in every age; but at length she is even drunk with it, at the time to which this
vision refers. The witnesses of Jesus - The preachers of his word. And I wondered
exceedingly - At her cruelty and the patience of God. |
| 7 |
I will tell thee the mystery - The hidden meaning of this. |
| 8 |
The beast which thou sawest (namely, verse 3) Rev 17:3 was, &c. -
This is a very observable and punctual description of the beast, verses 8, 10, 11. Rev
17:8,10,11 His whole duration is here divided into three periods, which are
expressed in a fourfold manner.
- He, 1. Was; 2 And is not; 3. And will ascend out of the
bottomless pit, and
go into perdition.
- He, 1. Was; 2. And is not; 3. And will be again.
- The seven heads are seven hills and seven kings: 1. Five
are fallen; 2. One
is; 3. The other is not come; and when
he cometh, he must continue a short space.
- He, 1. Was; 2. And is not; 3 Even he is the eighth, and is
one of the seven,
and goeth into perdition.
The first of these three is described in the thirteenth chapter. Rev 13:1 -
18 This was past when the angel spoke to St. John. The second was then in its course; the
third woe to come. And is not - The fifth phial brought darkness upon his kingdom: the
woman took this advantage to seat herself upon him. Then it might be said, He is not. Yet
shall he afterwards ascend out of the bottomless pit - Arise again with diabolical
strength and fury. But he will not reign long: soon after his ascent he goeth into
perdition for ever. |
| 9 |
Here is the mind that hath wisdom - Only those who are wise will understand this. The
seven heads are seven hills. |
| 10 |
And they are seven kings - Anciently there were royal palaces on all the seven Roman
bills. These were the Palatine, Capitoline, Coelian, Exquiline, Viminal, Quirinal,
Aventine hills. But the prophecy respects the seven hills at the time of the beast, when
the Palatine was deserted and the Vatican in use. Not that the seven heads mean hills
distinct from kings; but they have a compound meaning, implying both together. Perhaps the
first head of the beast is the Coelian hill, and on it the Lateran, with Gregory VII. and
his successors; the second, the Vatican with the church of St. Peter, chosen by Boniface
VIII. the third, the Quirinal, with the church of St. Mark, and the Quirinal palace built
by Paul II. and the fourth, the Exquiline hill, with the temple of St. Maria Maggiore,
where Paul V. reigned. The fifth will be added hereafter. Accordingly, in the papal
register, four periods are observable since Gregory VII. In the first almost all the bulls
made in the city are dated in the Lateran; in the second, at St. Peter's; in the third, at
St. Mark's, or in the Quirinal; in the fourth, at St. Maria Maggiore. But no fifth, sixth,
or seventh hill has yet been the residence of any Pope. Not that the hill was deserted,
when another was made the papal residence; but a new one was added to the other sacred
palaces. Perhaps the times hitherto mentioned might be fixed thus:
| |
1058 |
Wings are given to the woman. |
| |
1077 |
The beast ascends out of the sea. |
| |
1143 |
The forty - two months begin. |
| |
1810 |
The forty - two months end. |
| |
1832 |
The beast ascends out of the bottomless pit. |
| |
1836 |
The beast finally overthrown. |
The fall of those five kings seems to imply, not only the death of the Popes who
reigned on those hills, but also such a disannulling of all they had done there, that it
will be said, The beast is not; the royal power, which had so long been lodged in the
Pope, being then transferred to the city. One is, the other is not yet come - These two
are remarkably distinguished from the five preceding, whom they succeed in their turns.
The former of them will continue not a short space, as may be gathered from what is said
of the latter: the former is under the government of Babylon; the latter is with the
beast. In this second period, one is, at the same time that the beast is not. Even then
there will be a Pope, though not with the power which his predecessors had. And he will
reside on one of the remaining hills, leaving the seventh for his successor. |
| 11 |
And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth - When the time of his
not being is over. The beast consists, as it were, of eight parts. The seven heads are
seven of them; and the eighth is his whole body, or the beast himself. Yet the beast
himself, though he is in a sense termed the eighth, is of the seven, yea, contains them
all. The whole succession of Popes from Gregory VII. are undoubtedly antichrist. Yet this
hinders not, but that the last Pope in this succession will be more eminently the
antichrist, the man of sin, adding to that of his predecessors a peculiar degree of
wickedness from the bottomless pit. This individual person, as Pope, is the seventh head
of the beast; as the man of sin, he is the eighth, or the beast himself. |
| 12 |
The ten horns are ten kings - It is nowhere said that these horns are on the beast, or
on his heads. And he is said to have them, not as he is one of the seven, but as he is the
eighth. They are ten secular potentates, contemporary with, not succeeding, each other,
who receive authority as kings with the beast, probably in some convention, which, after a
very short space, they will deliver up to the beast. Because of their short continuance,
only authority as kings, not a kingdom, is ascribed to them. While they retain this
authority together with the beast, he will be stronger than ever before; but far stronger
still, when their power is also transferred to him. |
| 13 |
In the thirteenth and fourteenth verses Rev 17:13,14 is summed up what is
afterwards mentioned, concerning the horns and the beast, in this and the two following
chapters. These have one mind, and give - They all, with one consent, give their warlike
power and royal authority to the wild beast. |
| 14 |
These - Kings with the beast. He is Lord of lords - Rightful sovereign of all, and
ruling all things well. And King of kings - As a king he fights with and conquers all his
enemies. And they that are with him - Beholding his victory, are such as were, while in
the body, called, by his word and Spirit. And chosen - Taken out of the world, when they
were enabled to believe in him. And faithful - Unto death. |
| 15 |
People, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues - It is not said tribes: for Israel
hath nothing to do with Rome in particular. |
| 16 |
And shall eat her flesh - Devour her immense riches. |
| 17 |
For God hath put it into their heart - Which indeed no less than almighty power could
have effected. To execute his sentence - till the words of God - Touching the overthrow of
all his enemies, should be fulfilled. |
| 18 |
The woman is the great city, which reigneth - Namely, while the beast "is
not," and the woman "sitteth upon him." |
Chapter XVIII
| 1 |
And I saw another angel coming down out of heaven - Termed another, with respect to
him who "came down out of heaven," Rev 10:1. And the earth was
enlightened with his glory - To make his coming more conspicuous. If such be the lustre of
the servant, what images can display the majesty of the Lord, who has "thousand
thousands" of those glorious attendants "ministering to him, and ten thousand
times ten thousand standing before him?" |
| 2 |
And he cried, Babylon is fallen - This fall was mentioned before, Rev 14:8;
but is now declared at large. And is become an habitation - A free abode. Of devils, and
an hold - A prison. Of every unclean spirit - Perhaps confined there where they had once
practised all uncleanness, till the judgment of the great day. How many horrid inhabitants
hath desolate Babylon! of invisible beings, devils, and unclean spirits; of visible, every
unclean beast, every filthy and hateful bird. Suppose, then, Babylon to mean heathen Rome;
what have the Romanists gained, seeing from the time of that destruction, which they say
is past, these are to be its only inhabitants for ever. |
| 4 |
And I heard another voice - Of Christ, whose people, secretly scattered even there,
are warned of her approaching destruction. That ye be not partakers of her sins - That is,
of the fruits of them. What a remarkable providence it was that the Revelation was printed
in the midst of Spain, in the great Polyglot Bible, before the Reformation! Else how much
easier had it been for the Papists to reject the whole book, than it is to evade these
striking parts of it. |
| 5 |
Even to heaven - An expression which implies the highest guilt. |
| 6 |
Reward her - This God speaks to the executioners of his vengeance. Even as she hath
rewarded - Others; in particular, the saints of God. And give her double - This, according
to the Hebrew idiom, implies only a full retaliation. |
| 7 |
As much as she hath glorified herself - By pride, and pomp, and arrogant boasting. And
lived deliciously - In all kinds of elegance, luxury, and wantonness. So much torment give
her - Proportioning the punishment to the sin. Because she saith in her heart - As did
ancient Babylon, Isai 47:8,9. I sit - Her usual style. Hence those
expressions, "The chair, the see of Rome: he sat so many years." As a queen -
Over many kings, "mistress of all churches; the supreme; the infallible; the only
spouse of Christ; out of which there is no salvation." And am no widow - But the
spouse of Christ. And shall see no sorrow - From the death of my children, or any other
calamity; for God himself will defend "the church." |
| 8 |
Therefore - as both the natural and judicial consequence of this proud security Shall
her plagues come - The death of her children, with an incapacity of bearing more. Sorrow -
of every kind. And famine - In the room of luxurious plenty: the very things from which
she imagined herself to be most safe. For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her - Against
whom therefore all her strength, great as it is, will not avail. |
| 10 |
Thou strong city - Rome was anciently termed by its inhabitants, Valentia, that is,
strong. And the word Rome itself, in Greek, signifies strength. This name was given it by
the Greek strangers. |
| 12 |
Merchandise of gold, &c. - Almost all these are still in use at Rome, both in
their idolatrous service, and in common life. Fine linen - The sort of it mentioned in the
original is exceeding costly. Thyine wood - A sweet - smelling wood not unlike citron,
used in adorning magnificent palaces. Vessels of most precious wood - Ebony, in
particular, which is often mentioned with ivory: the one excelling in whiteness, the other
in blackness; and both in uncommon smoothness. |
| 13 |
Amomum - A shrub whose wood is a fine perfume. And beasts - Cows and oxen. And of
chariots - a purely Latin word is here inserted in the Greek. This St. John undoubtedly
used on purpose, in describing the luxury of Rome. And of bodies - A common term for
slaves. And souls of men - For these also are continually bought and sold at Rome. And
this of all others is the most gainful merchandise to the Roman traffickers. |
| 14 |
And the fruits - From what was imported they proceed to the domestic delicates of
Rome; none of which is in greater request there, than the particular sort which is here
mentioned. The word properly signifies, pears, peaches, nectarines, and all of the apple
and plum kinds. And all things that are dainty - To the taste. And splendid - To the
sight; as clothes, buildings, furniture. |
| 19 |
And they cast dust on their heads - As mourners. Most of the expressions here used in
describing the downfall of Babylon are taken from Ezekiel's description of the downfall of
Tyre, Ezek 26:1 - Eze 28:19. |
| 20 |
Rejoice over her, thou heaven - That is, all the inhabitants of it; and more
especially, ye saints; and among the saints still more eminently, ye apostles and
prophets. |
| 21 |
And a mighty angel took up a stone, and threw it into the sea - By a like emblem
Jeremiah fore - showed the fall of the Chaldean Babylon, Jer 51:63,64. |
| 22 |
And the voice of harpers - Players on stringed instruments. And musicians - Skilful
singers in particular. And pipers - Who played on flutes, chiefly on mournful, whereas
trumpeters played on joyful, occasions. Shall be heard no more in thee; and no artificer -
Arts of every kind, particularly music, sculpture, painting, and statuary, were there
carried to their greatest height. No, nor even the sound of a mill - stone shall be heard
any more in thee - Not only the arts that adorn life, but even those employments without
which it cannot subsist, will cease from thee for ever. All these expressions denote
absolute and eternal desolation. The voice of harpers - Music was the entertainment of the
rich and great; trade, the business of men of middle rank; preparing bread and the
necessaries of life, the employment of the lowest people: marriages, in which lamps and
songs were known ceremonies, are the means of peopling cities, as new births supply the
place of those that die. The desolation of Rome is therefore described in such a manner,
as to show that neither rich nor poor, neither persons of middle rank, nor those of the
lowest condition, should be able to live there any more. Neither shall it be repeopled by
new marriages, but remain desolate and uninhabited for ever. |
| 23 |
For thy merchants were the great men of the earth - A circumstance which was in itself
indifferent, and yet led them into pride, luxury, and numberless other sins. |
| 24 |
And in her was found the blood of the prophets and saints - The same angel speaks
still, yet he does not say "in thee," but in her, now so sunk as not to hear
these last words. And of all that had been slain - Even before she was built. See Matt
23:35. There is no city under the sun which has so clear a title to catholic blood
- guiltiness as Rome. The guilt of the blood shed under the heathen emperors has not been
removed under the Popes, but hugely multiplied. Nor is Rome accountable only for that
which hath been shed in the city, but for that shed in all the earth. For at Rome under
the Pope, as well as under the heathen emperors, were the bloody orders and edicts given:
and whereever the blood of holy men was shed, there were the grand rejoicings for it. And
what immense quantities of blood have been shed by her agents! Charles IX., of France, in
his letter to Gregory XIII., boasts, that in and not long after the massacre of Paris, he
had destroyed seventy thousand Hugonots. Some have computed, that, from the year 1518, to
1548, fifteen millions of Protestants have perished by the Inquisition. This may be
overcharged; but certainly the number of them in those thirty years, as well as since, is
almost incredible. To these we may add innumerable martyrs, in ancient, middle, and late
ages, in Bohemia, Germany, Holland, France, England, Ireland, and many other parts of
Europe, Afric, and Asia. |
Chapter XIX
| 1 |
I heard a loud voice of a great multitude - Whose blood the great whore had shed.
Saying, Hallelujah - This Hebrew word signifies, Praise ye Jah, or Him that is. God named
himself to Moses, EHEIEH, that is, I will be, Exod 3:14; and at the same
time, "Jehovah," that is, "He that is, and was, and is to come:"
during the trumpet of the seventh angel, he is styled, "He that is and was," Rev
16:5; and not "He that is to come;" because his long - expected coming is
under this trumpet actually present. At length he is styled, "Jah," "He
that is;" the past together with the future being swallowed up in the present, the
former things being no more mentioned, for the greatness of those that now are. This title
is of all others the most peculiar to the everlasting God. The salvation - Is opposed to
the destruction which the great whore had brought upon the earth. His power and glory -
Appear from the judgment executed on her, and from the setting up his kingdom to endure
through all ages. |
| 2 |
For true and righteous are his judgments - Thus is the cry of the souls under the
altar changed into a song of praise. |
| 4 |
And the four and twenty elders, and the four living creatures felt down - The living
creatures are nearer the throne than the elders. Accordingly they are mentioned before
them, with the praise they render to God, Rev 4:9,10; 5:8,14; inasmuch as
there the praise moves from the centre to the circumference. But here, when God's
judgments are fulfilled, it moves back from the circumference to the centre. Here,
therefore, the four and twenty elders are named before the living creatures. |
| 5 |
And a voice came forth from the throne - Probably from the four living creatures,
saying, Praise our God - The occasion and matter of this song of praise follow immediately
after, verses 6, Rev 19:6 &c.; God was praised before, for his judgment
of the great whore, verses 1 - 4. Rev 19:1 - 4 Now for that which follows it:
for that the Lord God, the Almighty, takes the kingdom to himself, and avenges himself on
the rest of his enemies. Were all these inhabitants of heaven mistaken? If not, there is
real, yea, and terrible anger in God. |
| 6 |
And I heard the voice of a great multitude. So all his servants did praise him. The
Almighty reigneth - More eminently and gloriously than ever before. |
| 7 |
The marriage of the Lamb is come - Is near at hand, to be solemnized speedily. What
this implies, none of "the spirits of just men," even in paradise, yet know. O
what things are those which are yet behind! And what purity of heart should there be, to
meditate upon them! And his wife hath made herself ready - Even upon earth; but in a far
higher sense, in that world. After a time allowed for this, the new Jerusalem comes down,
both made ready and adorned, Rev 21:2. |
| 8 |
And it is given to her - By God. The bride is all holy men, the whole invisible
church. To be arrayed in fine linen, white and clean - This is an emblem of the
righteousness of the saints - Both of their justification and sanctification. |
| 9 |
And he - The angel, saith to me, Write - St. John seems to have been so amazed at
these glorious sights, that he needeth to be reminded of this. Happy are they who are
invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb - Called to glory. And he saith - After a
little pause. |
| 10 |
And I fell before his feet to worship him - It seems, mistaking him for the angel of
the covenant. But he saith, See thou do it not - In the original, it is only, See not,
with a beautiful abruptness. To pray to or worship the highest creature is flat idolatry.
I am thy fellowservant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus - I am now
employed as your fellowservant, to testify of the Lord Jesus, by the same Spirit which
inspired the prophets of old. |
| 11 |
And I saw the heaven opened - This is a new and peculiar opening of it, in order to
show the magnificent expedition of Christ and his attendants, against his great adversary.
And behold a white horse - Many little regarded Christ, when he came meek, "riding
upon an ass;" but what will they say, when he goes forth upon his white horse, with
the sword of his mouth? White - Such as generals use in solemn triumph. And he that
sitteth on him, called Faithful - In performing all his promises. And True - In executing
all his threatenings. And in righteousness - With the utmost justice. He judgeth and
maketh war - Often the sentence and execution go together. |
| 12 |
And his eyes are a flame of fire - They were said to be as or like a flame of fire,
before, Rev 1:14; an emblem of his omniscience. And upon his head are many
diadems - For he is king of all nations. And he hath a name written, which none knoweth
but himself - As God he is incomprehensible to every creature. |
| 13 |
And he is clothed in a vesture dipped in blood - The blood of the enemies he hath
already conquered. Isaiah 63:1, &c |
| 15 |
And he shall rule them - Who are not slain by his sword. With a rod of iron - That is,
if they will not submit to his golden sceptre. And he treadeth the wine press of the wrath
of God - That is, he executes his judgments on the ungodly. This ruler of the nations was
born (or appeared as such) immediately after the seventh angel began to sound. He now
appears, not as a child, but as a victorious warrior. The nations have long ago felt his
"iron rod," partly while the heathen Romans, after their savage persecution of
the Christians, themselves groaned under numberless plagues and calamities, by his
righteous vengeance; partly, while other heathens have been broken in pieces by those who
bore the Christian name. For although the cruelty, for example, of the Spaniards in
America, was unrighteous and detestable, yet did God therein execute his righteous
judgment on the unbelieving nations; but they shall experience his iron rod as they never
did yet, and then will they all return to their rightful Lord. |
| 16 |
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh - That is, on the part of his vesture
which is upon his thigh. A name written - It was usual of old, for great personages in the
eastern countries, to have magnificent titles affixed to their garments. |
| 17 |
Gather yourselves together to the great supper of God - As to a great feast, which the
vengeance of God will soon provide; a strongly figurative expression, (taken from Ezekiel
39:17,) denoting the vastness of the ensuing slaughter. |
| 19 |
And I saw the kings of the earth - The ten kings mentioned Rev 17:12; who
had now drawn the other kings of the earth to them, whether Popish, Mahometan, or pagan.
Gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse - All beings, good and
evil, visible and invisible, will be concerned in this grand contest. See Zech 14:1,
&c. |
| 20 |
The false prophet, who had wrought the miracles before him - And therefore shared in
his punishment; these two ungodly men were cast alive - Without undergoing bodily death.
Into the lake of fire - And that before the devil himself, Rev 20:10. Here is
the last of the beast. After several repeated strokes of omnipotence, he is gone alive
into hell. There were two that went alive into heaven; perhaps there are two that go alive
into hell. It may be, Enoch and Elijah entered at once into glory, without first waiting
in paradise; the beast and the false prophet plunge at once into the extremest degree of
torment, without being reserved in chains of darkness till the judgment of the great day.
Surely, none but the beast of Rome would have hardened himself thus against the God he
pretended to adore, or refused to have repented under such dreadful, repeated visitations!
Well is he styled a beast, from his carnal and vile affections; a wild beast, from his
savage and cruel spirit! The rest were slain - A like difference is afterwards made
between the devil, and Gog and Magog, Rev 20:9,10. |
| 21 |
Here is a most magnificent description of the overthrow of the beast and his
adherents. It has, in particular, one exquisite beauty; that, after exhibiting the two
opposite armies, and all the apparatus for a battle, verses 11 - 19; Rev 19:11 -
19 then follows immediately, verse 20, 19:20 the account of the victory,
without one word of an engagement or fighting. Here is the most exact propriety; for what
struggle can there be between omnipotence, and the power of all the creation united
against it! Every description must have fallen short of this admirable silence. |
Chapter XX
| 1 |
And I saw an angel decending out of heaven - Coming down with a commission from God.
Jesus Christ himself overthrew the beast: the proud dragon shall be bound by an angel;
even as he and his angels were cast out of heaven by Michael and his angels. Having the
key of the bottomless pit - Mentioned before, Rev 9:1. And a great chain in
his hand - The angel of the bottomless pit was shut up therein before the beginning of the
first woe. But it is now first that Satan, after he had occasioned the third woe, is both
chained and shut up. |
| 2 |
And he laid hold on the dragon - With whom undoubtedly his angels were now cast into
the bottomless pit, as well as finally "into everlasting fire," Matt 25:41.
And bound him a thousand years - That these thousand do not precede, or run parallel with,
but wholly follow, the times of the beast, may manifestly appear, 1. From the series of
the whole book, representing one continued chain of events. 2. From the circumstances
which precede. The woman's bringing forth is followed by the casting of the dragon out of
heaven to the earth. With this is connected the third woe, whereby the dragon through, and
with, the beast, rages horribly. At the conclusion of the third woe the beast is
overthrown and cast into "the lake of fire." At the same time the other grand
enemy, the dragon, shall be bound and shut up. 3. These thousand years bring a new, full,
and lasting immunity from all outward and inward evils, the authors of which are now
removed, and an affluence of all blessings. But such time the church has never yet seen.
Therefore it is still to come. 4. These thousand years are followed by the last times of
the world, the letting loose of Satan, who gathers together Gog and Magog, and is thrown
to the beast and false prophet "in the lake of fire." Now Satan's accusing the
saints in heaven, his rage on earth, his imprisonment in the abyss, his seducing Gog and
Magog, and being cast into the lake of fire, evidently succeed each other. 5. What occurs
from Rev 20:11 - Rev 22:5, manifestly follows the things related in the
nineteenth chapter. The thousand years came between; whereas if they were past, neither
the beginning nor the end of them would fall within this period. In a short time those who
assert that they are now at hand will appear to have spoken the truth. Meantime let every
man consider what kind of happiness he expects therein. The danger does not lie in
maintaining that the thousand years are yet to come; but in interpreting them, whether
past or to come, in a gross and carnal sense. The doctrine of the Son of God is a mystery.
So is his cross; and so is his glory. In all these he is a sign that is spoken against.
Happy they who believe and confess him in all! |
| 3 |
And set a seal upon him - How far these expressions are to be taken literally, how far
figuratively only, who can tell? That he might deceive the nations no more - One benefit
only is here expressed, as resulting from the confinement of Satan. But how many and great
blessings are implied! For the grand enemy being removed, the kingdom of God holds on its
uninterrupted course among the nations; and the great mystery of God, so long foretold, is
at length fulfilled; namely, when the beast is destroyed and Satan bound. This fulfilment
approaches nearer and nearer; and contains things of the utmost importance, the knowledge
of which becomes every day more distinct and easy. In the mean time it is highly necessary
to guard against the present rage and subtilty of the devil. Quickly he will be bound:
when he is loosed again, the martyrs will live and reign with Christ. Then follow his
coming in glory, the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem. The bottomless pit is
properly the devil's prison; afterwards he is cast into the lake of fire. He can deceive
the nations no more till the "thousand years," mentioned before, verse 2, Rev
20:2 are fulfilled. Then he must be loosed - So does the mysterious wisdom of God
permit. For a small time - Small comparatively: though upon the whole it cannot be very
short, because the things to be transacted therein, verses 8, 9, Rev 20:8,9
must take up a considerable space. We are very shortly to expect, one after another, the
calamities occasioned by the second beast, the harvest and the vintage, the pouring out of
the phials, the judgment of Babylon, the last raging of the beast and his destruction, the
imprisonment of Satan. How great things these! and how short the time! What is needful for
us? Wisdom, patience, faithfulness, watchfulness. It is no time to settle upon our lees.
This is not, if it be rightly understood, an acceptable message to the wise, the mighty,
the honourable, of this world. Yet that which is to be done, shall be done: there is no
counsel against the Lord. |
| 4 |
And I saw thrones - Such as are promised the apostles, Matt 19:28; Luke
22:30. And they - Namely, the saints, whom St. John saw at the same time, Dan 7:22,
sat upon them; and Judgment was given to them. 1Cor 6:2. Who, and how many,
these are, is not said. But they are distinguished from the souls, or persons, mentioned
immediately after; and from the saints already raised. And I saw the souls of those who
had been beheaded - With the axe: so the original word signifies. One kind of death, which
was particularly inflicted at Rome, is mentioned for all. For the testimony of Jesus, and
for the word of God - The martyrs were sometimes killed for the word of God in general;
sometimes particularly for the testimony of Jesus: the one, while they refused to worship
idols; the other, while they confessed the name of Christ. And those who had not
worshipped the wild beast, nor his image - These seem to be a company distinct from those
who appeared, Rev 15:2. Those overcame, probably, in such contests as these
had not. Before the number of the beast was expired, the people were compelled to worship
him, by the most dreadful violence. But when the beast "was not," they were only
seduced into it by the craft of the false prophet. And they lived - Their souls and bodies
being re - united. And reigned with Christ - Not on earth, but in heaven. The
"reigning on earth" mentioned, Rev 11:15, is quite different from
this. A thousand years - It must be observed, that two distinct thousand years are
mentioned throughout this whole passage. Each is mentioned thrice; the thousand wherein
Satan is bound, verses 2, 3, 7; Rev 20:2,3,7, the thousand wherein the saints
shall reign, verses 4 - 6. Rev 20:4 - 6 The former end before the end of the
world; the latter reach to the general resurrection. So that the beginning and end of the
former thousand is before the beginning and end of the latter. Therefore as in the second
verse, Rev 20:2 at the first mention of the former; so in the fourth verse, Rev
20:2 at the first mention of the latter, it is only said, a thousand years; in the
other places, "the thousand," verses 3, 5, 7, Rev 20:3,5,7 that is,
the thousand mentioned before. During the former, the promises concerning the flourishing
state of the church, Rev 10:7, shall be fulfilled; during the latter, while
the saints reign with Christ in heaven, men on earth will be careless and secure. |
| 5 |
The rest of the dead lived not till the thousand years - Mentioned, verse 4.
Were ended - The thousand years during which Satan is bound both begin and end much
sooner. The small time, and the second thousand years, begin at the same point,
immediately after the first thousand. But neither the beginning of the first nor of the
second thousand will be known to the men upon earth, as both the imprisonment of Satan and
his loosing are transacted in the invisible world.
By observing these two distinct thousand years, many difficulties are avoided. There is
room enough for the fulfilling of all the prophecies, and those which before seemed to
clash are reconciled; particularly those which speak, on the one hand, of a most
flourishing state of the church as yet to come; and, on the other, of the fatal security
of men in the last days of the world. |
| 6 |
They shall be priests of God and of Christ - Therefore Christ is God. And shall reign
with him - With Christ, a thousand years. |
| 7 |
And when the former thousand years are fulfilled, Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison - At the same time that the first resurrection begins. There is a great resemblance
between this passage and Rev 12:12. At the casting out of the dragon, there
was joy in heaven, but there was woe upon earth: so at the loosing of Satan, the saints
begin to reign with Christ; but the nations on earth are deceived. |
| 8 |
And shall go forth to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth - (That is,
in all the earth) - the more diligently, as he hath been so long restrained, and knoweth
he hath but a small time. Gog and Magog - Magog, the second son of Japhet, is the father
of the innumerable northern nations toward the east. The prince of these nations, of which
the bulk of that army will consist, is termed Gog by Ezekiel also, Ezek 38:2.
Both Gog and Magog signify high or lifted up; a name well suiting both the prince and
people. When that fierce leader of many nations shall appear, then will his own name be
known. To gather them - Both Gog and his armies. Of Gog, little more is said, as being
soon mingled with the rest in the common slaughter. The Revelation speaks of this the more
briefly, because it had been so particularly described by Ezekiel. Whose number is as the
sand of the sea - Immensely numerous: a proverbial expression. |
| 9 |
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, or the land - Filling the whole breadth
of it. And surrounded the camp of the saints - Perhaps the gentile church, dwelling round
about Jerusalem. And the beloved city - So termed, likewise, Ecclesiasticus xxiv. 11. |
| 10 |
And they - All these. Shall be tormented day and night - That is, without any
intermission. Strictly speaking, there is only night there: no day, no sun, no hope! |
| 11 |
And I saw - A representation of that great day of the Lord. A great white throne - How
great, who can say? White with the glory of God, of him that sat upon it, - Jesus Christ.
The apostle does not attempt to describe him here; only adds that circumstance, far above
all description, From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away - Probably both the
aerial and the starry heaven; which "shall pass away with a great noise." And
there was found no place for them - But they were wholly dissolved, the very
"elements melting with fervent heat." It is not said, they were thrown into
great commotions, but they fled entirely away; not, they started from their foundations,
but they " fell into dissolution;" not, they removed to a distant place, but
there was found no place for them; they ceased to exist; they were no more. And all this,
not at the strict command of the Lord Jesus; not at his awful presence, or before his
fiery indignation; but at the bare presence of his Majesty, sitting with severe but
adorable dignity on his throne. |
| 12 |
And I saw the dead, great and small - Of every age and condition. This includes, also,
those who undergo a change equivalent to death, 1Cor 15:51. And the books -
Human judges have their books written with pen and ink: how different is the nature of
these books! Were opened - O how many hidden things will then come to light; and how many
will have quite another appearance than they had before in the sight of men! With the book
of God's omniscience, that of conscience will then exactly tally. The book of natural law,
as well as of revealed, will then also be displayed. It is not said, The books will be
read: the light of that day will make them visible to all. Then, particularly, shall every
man know himself, and that with the last exactness This will be the first true, full,
impartial, universal history. And another book - Wherein are enrolled all that are
accepted through the Beloved; all who lived and died in the faith that worketh by love.
Which is the book of life, was opened - What manner of expectation will then be, with
regard to the issue of the whole! Mal 3:16, &c. |
| 13 |
Death and hades gave up the dead that were in them - Death gave up all the bodies of
men; and hades, the receptacle of separate souls, gave them up, to be re - united to their
bodies. |
| 14 |
And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire - That is, were abolished for
ever; for neither the righteous nor the wicked were to die any more: their souls and
bodies were no more to be separated. Consequently, neither death nor hades could any more
have a being. |
Chapter XXI
| 1 |
And I saw - So it runs, Rev 19:11, 20:1,4,11, in a succession. All these
several representations follow one another in order: so the vision reaches into eternity.
A new heaven and a new earth - After the resurrection and general judgment. St. John is
not now describing a flourishing state of the church, but a new and eternal state of all
things. For the first heaven and the first earth - Not only the lowest part of heaven, not
only the solar system, but the whole ethereal heaven, with all its host, whether of
planets or fixed stars, Isai 34:4 Matt 24:29. All the former things will be
done away, that all may become new, verses 4,5, 2Peter 3:10,12. Are passed
away - But in the fourth verse it is said, "are gone away." There the stronger
word is used; for death, mourning, and sorrow go away all together: the former heaven and
earth only pass away, giving place to the new heaven and the new earth. |
| 2 |
And I saw the holy city - The new heaven, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem, are
closely connected. This city is wholly new, belonging not to this world, not to the
millennium, but to eternity. This appears from the series of the vision, the magnificence
of the description, and the opposition of this city to the second death, Rev 20:11,12;
21:1,2,5,8,9; 22:5. Coming down - In the very act of descending. |
| 3 |
They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God - So
shall the covenant between God and his people be executed in the most glorious manner. |
| 4 |
And death shall be no more - This is a full proof that this whole description belongs
not to time, but eternity. Neither shall sorrow, or crying, or pain, be any more: for the
former things are gone away - Under the former heaven, and upon the former earth, there
was death and sorrow, crying and pain; all which occasioned many tears: but now pain and
sorrow are fled away, and the saints have everlasting life and joy. |
| 5 |
And he that sat upon the throne said - Not to St. John only. From the first mention of
"him that sat upon the throne," Rev 4:2, this is the first speech
which is expressly ascribed to him. And he - The angel. Saith to me Write - As follows.
These sayings are faithful and true - This includes all that went before. The apostle
seems again to have ceased writing, being overcome with ecstasy at the voice of him that
spake. |
| 6 |
And he - That sat upon the throne. Said to me, It is done - All that the prophets had
spoken; all that was spoken, Rev 4:1. We read this expression twice in this
prophecy: first, Rev 16:17, at the fulfilling of the wrath of God; and here,
at the making all things new. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end -
The latter explains the former: the Everlasting. I will give to him that thirsteth - The
Lamb saith the same, Rev 22:17. |
| 7 |
He that overcometh - Which is more than, "he that thirsteth." Shall inherit
these things - Which I have made new. I will be his God, and he shall be my son - Both in
the Hebrew and Greek language, in which the scriptures were written, what we translate
shall and will are one and the same word. The only difference consists in an English
translation, or in the want of knowledge in him that interprets what he does not
understand. |
| 8 |
But the fearful and unbelieving - Who, through want of courage and faith, do not
overcome. And abominable - That is, sodomites. And whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters - These three sins generally went together; their part is in the lake. |
| 9 |
And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven phials - Whereby room had
been made for the kingdom of God. Saying, Come, I will show thee the bride - The same
angel had before showed him Babylon, Rev 17:1, which is directly opposed to
the new Jerusalem. |
| 10 |
And he carried me away in the spirit - The same expression as before, Rev 17:3.
And showed me the holy city Jerusalem - The old city is now forgotten, so that this is no
longer termed the new, but absolutely Jerusalem. O how did St. John long to enter in! but
the time was not yet come. Ezekiel also describes "the holy city," and what
pertains thereto, xl. - xlviii. Eze 40:1 - Eze 48:35 but a city quite
different from the old Jerusalem, as it was either before or after the Babylonish
captivity. The descriptions of the prophet and of the apostle agree in many particulars;
but in many more they differ. Ezekiel expressly describes the temple, and the worship of
God therein, closely alluding to the Levitical service. But St. John saw no temple, and
describes the city far more large, glorious, and heavenly than the prophet. Yet that which
he describes is the same city; but as it subsisted soon after the destruction of the
beast. This being observed, both the prophecies agree together and one may explain the
other. |
| 11 |
Having the glory of God - For her light, verse 23, Rev 21:23, Isaiah
40:1,2, Zech 2:5. Her window - There was only one, which ran all round the city. The light
did not come in from without through this for the glory of God is within the city. But it
shines out from within to a great distance, verses 23, 24. Rev 21:23,24 |
| 12 |
Twelve angels - Still waiting upon the heirs of salvation. |
| 14 |
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb - Figuratively showing that the inhabitants of the city had built
only on that faith which the apostles once delivered to the saints. |
| 15 |
And he measured the city, twelve thousand furlongs - Not in circumference, but on each
of the four sides. Jerusalem was thirtythree furlongs in circumference; Alexandria thirty
in length, ten in breadth. Nineveh is reported to have been four hundred furlongs round;
Babylon four hundred and eighty. But what inconsiderable villages were all these compared
to the new Jerusalem! By this measure is understood the greatness of the city, with the
exact order and just proportion of every part of it; to show, figuratively, that this city
was prepared for a great number of inhabitants, how small soever the number of real
Christians may sometimes appear to be; and that everything relating to the happiness of
that state was prepared with the greatest order and exactness. The city is twelve
thousand furlongs high; the wall, an hundred and forty - four reeds. This is exactly the
same height, only expressed in a different manner. The twelve thousand furlongs, being
spoken absolutely, without any explanation, are common, human furlongs: the hundred forty
- four reeds are not of common human length, but of angelic, abundantly larger than human.
It is said, the measure of a man that is, of an angel because St. John saw the measuring
angel in an human shape. The reed therefore was as great as was the stature of that human
form in which the angel appeared. In treating of all these things a deep reverence is
necessary; and so is a measure of spiritual wisdom; that we may neither understand them
too literally and grossly, nor go too far from the natural force of the words. The gold,
the pearls, the precious stones, the walls, foundations, gates, are undoubtedly figurative
expressions; seeing the city itself is in glory, and the inhabitants of it have spiritual
bodies: yet these spiritual bodies are also real bodies, and the city is an abode distinct
from its inhabitants, and proportioned to them who take up a finite and a determinate
space. The measures, therefore, above mentioned are real and determinate. |
| 18 |
And the building of the wall was jasper - That is, the wall was built of jasper. And
the city - The houses, was of pure gold. |
| 19 |
And the foundations were adorned with precious stones - That is, beautifully made of
them. The precious stones on the high priest's breastplate of judgment were a proper
emblem to express the happiness of God's church in his presence with them, and in the
blessing of his protection. The like ornaments on the foundations of the walls of this
city may express the perfect glory and happiness of all the inhabitants of it from the
most glorious presence and protection of God. Each precious stone was not the ornament of
the foundation, but the foundation itself. The colours of these are remarkably mixed. A
jasper is of the colour of white marble, with a light shade of green and of red; a
sapphire is of a sky - blue, speckled with gold; a chalcedony, or carbuncle, of the colour
of red - hot iron; an emerald, of a grass green. |
| 20 |
A sardonyx is red streaked with white; a sardius, of a deep red; a chrysolite, of a
deep yellow; a beryl, sea - green; a topaz, pale yellow; a chrysoprase is greenish and
transparent, with gold specks; a jacinth, of a red purple; an amethyst, violet purple. |
| 22 |
The Lord God and the Lamb are the temple of it - He fills the new heaven and the new
earth. He surrounds the city and sanctifies it, and all that are therein. He is "all
in all." |
| 23 |
The glory of God - Infinitely brighter than the shining of the sun. |
| 24 |
And the nations - The whole verse is taken from Isaiah 60:3. Shall walk
by the light thereof - Which throws itself outward from the city far and near. And the
kings of the earth - Those of them who have a part there. Bring their glory into it - Not
their old glory, which is now abolished; but such as becomes the new earth, and receives
an immense addition by their entrance into the city. |
| 26 |
And they shall bring the glory of the nations into it - It seems, a select part of
each nation; that is, all which can contribute to make this city honourable and glorious
shall be found in it; as if all that was rich and precious throughout the world was
brought into one city. |
| 27 |
Common - That is. unholy. But those who are written in the Lamb's book of life - True,
holy, persevering believers. This blessedness is enjoyed by those only; and, as such, they
are registered among them who are to inherit eternal life. |
Chapter XXII
| 1 |
And he showed me a river of the water of life - The ever fresh and fruitful effluence
of the Holy Ghost. See Ezek 47:1 - 12; where also the trees are mentioned
which "bear fruit every month," that is, perpetually. Proceeding out of the
throne of God, and of the Lamb - "All that the Father hath," saith the Son of
God, "is mine;" even the throne of his glory. |
| 2 |
In the midst of the street - Here is the paradise of God, mentioned, Rev 2:7.
Is the tree of life - Not one tree only, but many. Every month - That is, in inexpressible
abundance. The variety, likewise, as well as the abundance of the fruits of the Spirit,
may be intimated thereby. And the leaves are for the healing of the nations - For the
continuing their health, not the restoring it; for no sickness is there. |
| 3 |
And there shall be no more curse - But pure life and blessing; every effect of the
displeasure of God for sin being now totally removed. But the throne of God and the Lamb
shall be in it - That is, the glorious presence and reign of God. And his servants - The
highest honour in the universe. Shalt worship him - The noblest employment. |
| 4 |
And shall see his face - Which was not granted to Moses. They shall have the nearest
access to, and thence the highest resemblance of, him. This is the highest expression in
the language of scripture to denote the most perfect happiness of the heavenly state, 1John
3:2. And his name shall be on their foreheads - Each of them shall be openly
acknowledged as God's own property, and his glorious nature most visibly shine forth in
them. And they shall reign - But who are the subjects of these kings? The other
inhabitants of the new earth. For there must needs be an everlasting difference between
those who when on earth excelled in virtue, and those comparatively slothful and
unprofitable servants, who were just saved as by fire. The kingdom of God is taken by
force; but the prize is worth all the labour. Whatever of high, lovely, or excellent is in
all the monarchies of the earth is all together not a grain of dust, compared to the glory
of the children of God. God "is not ashamed to be called their God, for whom he hath
prepared this city." But who shall come up into his holy place? "They who keep
his commandments," verse 14. Rev 22:14 |
| 5 |
And they shall reign for ever and ever - What encouragement is this to the patience
and faithfulness of the saints, that, whatever their sufferings are, they will work out
for them "an eternal weight of glory!" Thus ends the doctrine of this
Revelation, in the everlasting happiness of all the faithful. The mysterious ways of
Providence are cleared up, and all things issue in an eternal Sabbath, an everlasting
state of perfect peace and happiness, reserved for all who endure to the end. |
| 6 |
And he said to me - Here begins the conclusion of the book, exactly agreeing with the
introduction, (particularly verses 6, 7, 10, Rev 22:6,7,10 with chap. i. 1,
3,) Rev 1:1,3 and giving light to the whole book, as this book does to the
whole scripture. These sayings are faithful and true - All the things which you have heard
and seen shall be faithfully accomplished in their order, and are infallibly true. The
Lord, the God of the holy prophets - Who inspired and authorised them of old. Hath now
sent me his angel, to show his servants - By thee. The things which must be done shortly -
Which will begin to be performed immediately. |
| 7 |
Behold, I come quickly - Saith our Lord himself, to accomplish these things. Happy is
he that keepeth - Without adding or diminishing, verses 18, 19, Rev 22:18,19
the words of this book. |
| 8 |
I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel - The very same words which occur, Rev
19:10. The reproof of the angel, likewise, See thou do it not, for I am thy
fellowservant, is expressed in the very same terms as before. May it not be the very same
incident which is here related again? Is not this far more probable, than that the apostle
would commit a fault again, of which he had been so solemnly warned before? |
| 9 |
See thou do it not - The expression in the original is short and elliptical, as is
usual in showing vehement aversion. |
| 10 |
And he saith to me - After a little pause. Seal not the sayings of this book - Conceal
them not, like the things that are sealed up. The time is nigh - Wherein they shall begin
to take place. |
| 11 |
He that is unrighteous - As if he had said, The final judgment is at hand; after which
the condition of all mankind will admit of no change for ever. Unrighteous - Unjustified.
Filthy - Unsanctified, unholy. |
| 12 |
I - Jesus Christ. Come quickly - To judge the world. And my reward is with me - The
rewards which I assign both to the righteous and the wicked are given at my coming. To
give to every man according as his work - His whole inward and outward behaviour shall be.
|
| 13 |
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last - Who exist from everlasting to
everlasting. How clear, incontestable a proof, does our Lord here give of his divine
glory! |
| 14 |
Happy are they that do his commandments - His, who saith, I come - He speaks of
himself. That they may have right - Through his gracious covenant. To the tree of life -
To all the blessings signified by it. When Adam broke his commandment, he was driven from
the tree of life. They who keep his commandments" shall eat thereof. |
| 15 |
Without are dogs - The sentence in the original is abrupt, as expressing abhorrence.
The gates are ever open; but not for dogs; fierce and rapacious men. |
| 16 |
I Jesus have sent my angel to testify these things - Primarily. To you - The seven
angels of the churches; then to those churches - and afterwards to all other churches in
succeeding ages. I - as God. Am the root - And source of David's family and kingdom; as
man, an descended from his loins. "I am the star out of Jacob," Num 24:17;
like the bright morning star, who put an end to the night of ignorance, sin, and sorrow,
and usher in an eternal day of light, purity, and joy. |
| 17 |
The Spirit and the bride - The Spirit of adoption in the bride, in the heart of every
true believer. Say - With earnest desire and expectation. Come - And accomplish all the
words of this prophecy. And let him that thirsteth, come - Here they also who are farther
off are invited. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life - He may partake of my
spiritual and unspeakable blessings, as freely as he makes use of the most common
refreshments; as freely as he drinks of the running stream. |
| 18, 19 |
I testify to every one, &c. - From the fulness of his heart, the apostle utters
this testimony, this weighty admonition, not only to the churches of Asia, but to all who
should ever hear this book. He that adds, all the plagues shall be added to him; he that
takes from it, all the blessings shall be taken from him; and, doubtless, this guilt is
incurred by all those who lay hinderances in the way of the faithful, which prevent them
from hearing their Lord's "I come," and answering, "Come, Lord Jesus."
This may likewise be considered as an awful sanction, given to the whole New Testament; in
like manner as Moses guarded the law, Deut 4:2, and Deut 12:32; and as God
himself did, Mal 4:4, in closing the canon of the Old Testament. |
| 19 |
See note on "Re 22:18" |
| 20 |
He that testifieth these things - Even all that is contained in this book. Saith - For
the encouragement of the church in all her afflictions. Yea - Answering the call of the
Spirit and the bride. I come quickly - To destroy all her enemies, and establish her in a
state of perfect and everlasting happiness. The apostle expresses his earnest desire and
hope of this, by answering, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! |
| 21 |
The grace - The free love. Of the Lord Jesus - And all its fruits. Be with all - Who
thus long for his appearing! It may be proper to subjoin here a short view of the whole
contents of this book.
In the year of the world,
3940. Jesus Christ is born, three years before the common
computation.
In that which is vulgarly called, the thirtieth year of our Lord,
Jesus Christ dies; rises; ascends.
A.D. 96. The Revelation is given; the coming of our Lord is
declared to the seven churches in Asia, and their
angels, Rev i., ii., iii.
97, 98. The seven seals are opened, and under the fifth
the chronos is declared, C. iv.-vi.
Seven trumpets are given to the seven angels, C. vii. viii.
Century, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, the trumpet of the
1st, 2d, 3d, 4th angel, C. viii.
510-589 The first woe,
589-634 The interval after the first woe, } C. ix.
634-840 The second woe, /
800 The beginning of the non-chronos
many kings, } C. ix., x.
840-947 The interval after the second woe, /
847-1521 The twelve hundred and sixty days of the
woman, after she hath brought forth the
man child, C xii. 6
947-1836 The third woe, 12
1058-1836 The time, times, and half a time, and
within that period, the beast, his forty- }to C. xiii. 5
two months, his number 666, /
1209 War with the saints: the end of the chronos, 7
1614 An everlasting gospel promulged, C. xiv. 6
1810 The end of the forty-two months of the beast;
after which, and the pouring out of the
phials, he is not, and Babylon reigns queen, C. xv., xvi.
1832 The beast ascends from the bottomless pit, C. xvii., xviii.
1836 The end of the non-chronos, and of the many
kings; the fulfilling of the word, and of
the mystery of God; the repentance of the
survivors in the great city; the end of the
"little time," and of the three times and a
half; the destruction of the east; the
imprisonment of Satan, C. xix., xx.
Afterward The loosing of Satan for a small time;
the beginning of the thousand years' reign
of the saints; the end of the small time, C. xx.
The end of the world; all things new, C. xx., xxii.
The several ages, from the time of St. John's being in Patmos, down to
the present time, may, according to the chief incidents mentioned in
the Revelation, be distinguished thus:-
Age II. The destruction of the Jews by Adrian, C viii. 7
III. The inroads of the barbarous nations, 8
IV. The Arian bitterness, 10
V. The end of the western empire. 12
VI. The Jews tormented in Persia, C. ix. 1
VII. The Saracen cavalry. 13
VIII. Many kings, C. x. 11
IX. The ruler of the nations born, C. xii. 5
X. The third woe, 12
XI. The ascent of the beast out of the pen, C. xiii. 1
XII Power given to the beast, 5
XIII. War with the saints, 7
XIV. The middle of the third woe,
XV. The beast in the midst of his strength,
XVI. The Reformation; the woman better fed, 9
XVII. An everlasting gospel promulged, C. xiv. 6
XVIII. The worship of the beast and of his image, 9
O God, whatsoever stands or falls, stands or falls by thy judgment.
Defend thy own truth! Have mercy on me and my readers! To thee be
glory for ever! |
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