Many readers of the Bible treat it as though it were like a "puzzle-picture," where we have to "find a face," or "a man," or some other object. No matter what part of the Bible may be read, the one object seems to be to "find the Church." For, the "Word of truth" not being rightly divided, or indeed divided at all, the whole Bible is supposed to be about every one, in every part, and in every age; and the Church is supposed to be its on pervading subject.
This arises from our own natural selfishness. "We" belong to
the Church, and therefore all "we" read "we" take to ourselves, not
hesitating to rob others of what belongs to them. Here is a case in
point. Open your Bibles at
On this system of interpretation the Bible is useless for the
purposes of Divine revelation. It is made a derision to its enemies, a
ground for the attacks of infidels, while it becomes a stumbling-block
to its friends. And yet it is on this same principle that the
Apocalypse is usually treated. Everywhere the Church is thrust in :
John (in ch. iv. 1) represents the Church; the living creatures, or
Cherubim (ch. iv.) are the Church; the four and twenty elders (ch. iv.,
v.) are the Church; the 144,000 (ch. vii.) are the Church; Notwithstanding they are expressly stated to be "of all the tribes of the children of Israel." Had it been for judgment that they were sealed, we should never have heard of these being "the Church."
Now, it is with the object of lifting those who desire to understand this prophecy out of the quagmire of tradition that we propose to write these papers.
We believe we shall best accomplish our object by departing from the usual custom of expositors, and leaving the interpretation of words and sentences and verses until after we have learned the scope of the book, and ascertained the great principle on which all interpretation must be based.
Let us say at once that we believe, and must believe (1), that God means what He says; and (2), that He has a meaning for every word that He says. All His works and all His words are perfect, in their choice, order and place: so perfect, that, if one word or expression is used, there is a reason why no other would have done.
On these lines we shall proceed to put forth and explain our theses or propositions: begging our readers not to start at the bare statement of them, but prayerfully to test the reasons which we shall give; and to remember that, while some are sufficient of themselves to establish our position, yet, we depend on the cumulative evidence of the whole of them taken together.
Our great fundamental proposition - which we may as well state at once - is, that
The Church is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
However startling this may sound and may seem to some of our readers, we implore you not to dismiss it, but to test the reasons we shall give by the Word of God itself, and to weigh them in "the balances of the sanctuary." Try to forget all that you have "received by tradition," and ask from whom you learned this or that. Be prepared and ready to unlearn anything that you may have received from men, and learn afresh from the Word of God itself.
The first chapter furnishes us with fifteen proofs of our fundamental proposition.
Our first point, in proof of our great proposition, is
The whole Bible is divided into five great divisions, each determined by its subject-matter.
1. The Old Testament has for its subject the King and his coming Kingdom, in promise and prophecy.
2. The Four Gospels the Kingdom offered and rejected. The King crucified by Israel in the Land.
3. The Acts and earlier Pauline Epistles; the King and
Kingdom re-offered (iii. 19-21); and rejected, by the Dispersion in
Rome (
4. The Later Pauline Epistles. The Kingdom in abeyance. The King made Head over all things to the Church.
5. The Apocalypse. The Kingdom set up with Divine judgment, in Power-Glory. The King enthroned.
Then, during the fourth of these, we have the Epistles relating to the Mystery - the Church of God - during this present interval, while the King is in heaven and His Kingdom is in abeyance; and, while the preaching of "the gospel of the kingdom" is suspended, and "the gospel of the grace of God" is proclaimed. Of course, if there is no difference between these two pieces of "good-news," and the kingdom is the same thing as the Church or Body of Christ, then there is an end of the whole matter; not merely of our task, but of the Bible itself. For, if words do not mean what they say when used of a plain, literal, matter of fact like this, then words are useless for the purposes of revelation altogether. We have concealment and confusion in its place; and an Apocrypha instead of an Apocalypse.
But, believing in the perfection of God's words, and not merely of his Word, we submit that we have here a first great reason for our proposition, that the Church (the body of Christ) is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
It will be easier to receive this when we come to accumulate the evidence. We submit this first reason, simply asking our readers to believe what God says.
Though this may be considered by some as a minor point, it is so important that it must not be passed over.
Most critical commentators have to deal with it: because from the earliest times the enemies of the Book have made use of this undeniable fact in order to argue that it has no right to a place in a Canon of the other Greek Books of the New Testament!
The Hebrew character of the book is shown in its use of idioms, expressions, words and phrases, which cannot be called Greek; and indeed is called by many "bad Greek."
Professor Godet in his Studies on the New Testament, says, p. 331: "The only serious objection that can be urged against the authenticity of the Apocalypse, lies in the difference which is observable between its style, and that of the fourth Gospel. The latter is free from Aramaic expressions, the former is saturated with them." And again (p. 351), "the Apocalypse bears, from one end of it to the other, the character of a Hebrew prophecy."
The argument based on this fact by the opponents of the Apocalypse is dealt with by scholars in various ways. But the subject is not one which would be of general interest to grammar. Those who wish to see the subject exhaustively treated are referred to the Commentary on the Apocalypse, by Moses Stuart, who devotes over twenty pages to it (pp. 190-210).
There is however another side to the question: and that is, that, while the enemies use the fact against the Book itself, we use it against the popular interpretation of it. Though the language is Greek, the thoughts and idioms are Hebrew; and this links it on, not to the Pauline epistles, but to the Old Testament, and shows that its great subject is God's final dealings with the Jew and the Gentile; and not the Church of God.
Connected with this fact there is another, that emphasizes it in a remarkable manner. It is not only Hebrew in character as to its linguistic peculiarities, but especially in its use of the Old Testament. Only those who have most intimate acquaintance with the Old Testament can properly understand the Apocalypse. But all who know anything of old Testament history cannot fail to detect the almost constant reference to it.
All the imagery - the Temple, the Tabernacle, the Ark of the
Covenant, the Altar, the Incense, the heads of the twenty-four courses
of Priests (the pattern of which David's was a copy,
The same may be said of the judgments, which follow on the
lines of the plagues of Egypt, and therefore are to be just as real:
indeed they are to exceed in dread reality those which were
executed in the Exodus from Egypt. For it is written (
But it is when we come to look at the literary connection between the Old Testament and the Apocalypse that we find evidences of the most striking kind.
If we count up the number of Old Testament passages quoted
or alluded to in the New Testament, We take the lists as given in Bagster's Bible.
Now, when we turn to the Apocalypse, what do we find? The result which to our mind is overwhelming. No less than 285 references to the Old Testament. More than three times as many as Matthew, and nearly three times as many as the Epistle to the Hebrews.
We ask whether this does not give the book of Revelation a
very special connection with the Old Testament, and with Israel? It is
undoubtedly written about the people of the Old Testament who are the
subjects of its history. These will understand it as Gentile Christians
can never hope to do. It is most remarkable that at the present time,
1900, a movement has been commenced in Palestine to overcome the
difficulty arising from the fact of Jews assembling in Palestine
speaking different languages. Hebrew is to be made and to become
the common vernacular! It is not only to be taught in all the
Jewish schools, but all other subjects are to be learnt in Hebrew. With
this fact must be stated another, and that is the recent wide-spread
publication of the Salkinson-Ginsburg Hebrew New Testament by the
Trinitarian Bible Society and the Mildmay Mission to the Jews,
amounting to some three-quarters of a million copies.
We are merely stating certain important facts which must be taken into account by any who are seeking to find out what the Book of Revelation is all about. The facts exist, and the question is, What do they say to us?
Not until we discover this, and thus learn the scope of the book, can we hope to understand it.
Closely connected with this foregoing point, that the book is Hebrew in character, and intended specially for Hebrews, is another undoubted fact, that the Church of God is not the subject of the Old Testament, either in history, type, or prophecy.
Passages, &c., may be found there and used to illustrate what is subsequently revealed. But this can be done only by way of application, and not by way of teaching or of interpretation.
Because, of the "Mystery" or the
secret concerning the Church of God, we are told that it "was
kept secret since the world began" (
These statements are "the true sayings of God," and not our own. We have no choice but to believe what He says. If any hold that, in spite of all this, the Church was not "hid in God," but was the subject of Old Testament prophecy, then we have nothing more to say to them; for, if they will not believe God, it is not likely they will believe us.
But, believing God, we ask whether
the Church is likely to be the subject of prophecy in the Apocalypse,
especially when its future is clearly foretold in the Epistles which
contain the revelation of the Mystery. There we learn what is to be the
future and end of the Body of Christ. The members of that Body are
merely waiting to be "received up in glory" (
But all this, we submit, takes place before the Apocalypse opens. There we have, not the coming of the Lord to take away His Church, but, the revelation of the events which shall take place after the Church has been "received up in glory." These events will take place during "the day of the Lord," when He shall come not in grace, but in judgement; not in mercy, but in wrath. But this brings us to our fourth point. What is the meaning of "the Lord's Day," in chap. i. 9?
In For further information on this subject see a separate
pamphlet on The Lord's Day, by the same author and publisher,
1907.
The majority of people, being accustomed from their infancy
to hear the first day of the week called the Lord's Day, conclude in
their own minds that that day is thus called in
In the New testament this day is always called "the
first day of the week." (See
There is no evidence of any kind that "the first day of the
week" was ever called "the Lord's Day" before the Apocalypse was
written. That it should be so called afterwards is easily understood,
and there can be little doubt that the practice arose from the
misinterpretation of these words in
On the contrary, it ceased to be called by its Scripture
name ("the First day of the week"), not because of any advance of
Biblical truth or reverence, but because of declension from it. The
Greek "Fathers" of the Church were converts from Paganism: and it is
not yet sufficiently recognized how much of Pagan rites and ceremonies
and expressions they introduced into the Church; and how far Christian
ritual was elaborated from and based upon Pagan ritual by the Church of
Rome. Especially is this seen in the case of baptism. See The Buddha of Christendom, by Dr. Robert
Anderson, C.B. Hodder and Stoughton, page 68 and chap. ix.
It was these Fathers who, on their conversion, brought the title "Sunday" into the Church from the Pagan terminology which they had been accustomed to use in connection with their Sun-worship.
Justin Martyr (114-165 A.D.) in his second Apology
(i.e., his second defence of Christianity), says, T. and T. Clark's edition, pages 65, 66.
It is passing strange that if John called the first day of
the week "the Lord's Day," we find no trace of the use of such a title
until a hundred years later. And that though we do find a change, it is
to "Sunday," and not the "the Lord's Day" - a name which has become
practically universal. The French, Spanish, and Italian nations have retained the
Roman Pagan names. The English is tainted with Scandinavian mythology.
The 1st day they call Dies Dominica, the Lord's Day (i.e., the
day of the lord, the sun). All the Oriental nations called the sun
"lord." The Persians called their god Mithra (the sun), i.e.,
the lord Mithra. The Syrians called it Adonis, which
is from the Hebrew Adonai, lord. The Hebrews called it
Baal (which means lord) and Moloch. Porphyry, in a
prayer to the sun, calls him "Dominus Sol." The Romans kept the Pagan
name, Dies Dominica (the day of the lord sun), for the first
day of the week; but called the others by the names of the moon and
planets to which they were dedicated. Thus we have Dies Lunae
(day of the moon), Dies Martis (day of Mars), Dies
Mercurii (day of Mercury), Dies Jovis (day of Jupiter),
Dies Veneris (day of Venus), Dies Saturnii (day of
Saturn).
Some Christians still perpetuate the name of the Lord's Day
for Sunday: but it is really the survival of a Pagan name, with a new
meaning, derived from a misunderstanding of
Objection has been taken to the interpretation of "the Lord's Day" here, because we have (in i. 9) the adjective "Lord's" instead of the noun (in regimen), "of the Lord," as in the Hebrew. But what else could it be called in Hebrew? such objectors do not seem to be aware of the fact that there is no adjective for "Lord's" in Hebrew; and therefore the only way of expressing "the Lord's Day" is by using the two nouns, "the day of the Lord" - which means equally "the Lord's Day" (Jehovah's day). It is useless, therefore, to make any objection on this ground; for if a Hebrew wanted to say "the Lord's Day," he must say "the day of the Lord."
In the Greek there are two ways of expressing this (as in modern languages); either by saying literally, as in Hebrew, "the day of the Lord" (using the two nouns); or by using the adjective "Lord's" instead. It comes to exactly the same thing as to signification; the difference lies only in the emphasis.
The natural way of qualifying a nouns is by using
an adjective, as here - (...) (kyriakee) Lord's; and, when
this is done, the emphasis takes its natural course, and is placed on
the noun thus qualified ("day"). But when the emphasis is required to
be placed on the word "Lord;" then, instead of the adjective, the noun
would be used in the genitive case, "of the Lord." In the former case
(as in
By way of illustration and proof, we may call attention to
the fact that we have the corresponding expressions concerning another
"day." In It should be noted that the expression (...) (yom
Jehovah, the day of the Lord) occurs (in the Hebrew Bible)
sixteen times, viz.,
In four other places where we have in the
English Bible "the day of the Lord," the Hebrew has the preposition
lamed (...) for or to, before the word
Jehovah. In
In other places where we have in English "the day of the
Lord," there is some other word between yom and
Jehovah in the Hebrew (such as "wrath" or "vengeance;" i.e.,
the day of the wrath of the Lord)! and therefore these cannot be
included as examples of this expression, "the day of the Lord."
In the New Testament the expression occurs four
times; viz.,
It is remarkable that all these occurrences are stamped
with the number four, which marks that day has having special
relation to the earth. In the New Testament four times. In the
Old Testament, with the preposition, four times; and simply yom
Jehovah 16 times (i.e. the square of four). This is merely a note
in passing, but it is most significant.
That is the one great object of all the future events, seen by John in vision, and recorded for us in the Apocalypse.
One other fact has to be stated, and that is the reason why
the first day of the week came to be called "Sunday." It was called by
the Pagan "Dominus Sol," the Lord Sun. Hence the Latin name
"Dies Dominica," used by the early Christian Fathers for the
Sunday, and the speedy transition of its name from "the Lord Sun" to
"the Lord's Day," and then "Sunday." Bingham (Ant. xx., sec.
5) mentions the fact that it was the custom in the Primitive Church to
replace heathen days and festivals by those which were Christian. We
see one result of this in our Yule-tide and Christmas. Bingham
(Ant. xx., sec. 2) also mentions the fact that the early
Christians were charged with being worshippers of the sun. Tertullian
also admits that Christians were only looked upon by some as a sect of
sun worshippers:
Tertullian Ad Nationes, Bk. i. chap. xiii., and Apologeticus, C. 16. (Latter half).
From all this evidence we feel justified in believing that the Apocalypse consists of a series of visions, which set forth the events connected with "the Revelation of Jesus Christ," which will take place during "the Lord's DAY;" that day being so called because it is viewed as being then present; and as it had been called heretofore in prophecy, "the day of the Lord."
The titles used of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Revelation afford further evidence as to the Church of god not being the subject of that Book.
We propose to consider seven of these, all used in the Introduction (chap. i).
The most important of these is that given in connection with his vision in chap. i. 13-16. In ver. 13, He is called
This is a title connected with the Lord Jesus in relation
to the earth. Its first occurrence in
It will be found, therefore, that wherever this title
occurs, it always refers to the Lord Jesus in connection with His
dominion in the earth. See The Divine Names and Titles, by Dr. Bullinger.
It is most remarkable, and so remarkable as to make it practically conclusive, that this title, while it occurs eighty-four times in the New Testament, is never once used in the Pauline epistles addressed to Churches; thus proving that this title has nothing whatever to do with the Church. But while it has no connection with the Church, in the Epistles, it occurs no less than eighty times in the four Gospels and Acts, because there we have Christ on the earth, and the presentation of the King and the Kingdom.
But, when again he reveals Himself by this title, it is in
the Book of Revelation (i. 13 and xiv. 14). Between the Gospels and the Revelation there are
only two occurrences, one where Stephen sees Him (
Thus we are pointed to the fact, and told (if we have ears to hear), that the Apocalypse relates to the coming of "the Son of Man" to exercise judgment in and assume dominion over the earth.
It is remarkable that the first use of the title in the
New Testament is in
The significance of this title is further proved by its
contrast with the title "Son of God" in
It is thus clear that the use of this title twice in Revelation (i. 13 and xiv. 14), and not once in the Church Epistles, is a further proof that the Church is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
The Church has no more to do with Christ under the title of "The Son of Man" than the Syro-Phoenician woman had anything to do with Him as "the Son of David."
We ought to add that this fact is a key to all the
passages where this title is used: and shows that
This title is used nine times Nine is the number of judgment (see Number in Scripture by the same Author). Ten is the number of ordinal
perfection.
It is (...) (pantokrator) and means having dominion
over all, and is used in the Old Testament as the Septuagint
translation of "Lord of Hosts" (Heb., Jehovah, Sabaioth; see
In Revelation the title is used in i. 8; iv 8; xi. 17; xv. 3; xvi. 7, 14; xix. 6, 15, 22.
"The Lord of Hosts" means Jehovah of the hosts in heaven
above, and on the earth beneath; and especially of the hosts of Israel.
Its first occurrence is (as usual) most significant (see
But the revelation of this title at this juncture, and
here used for the first time, told of the blessed fact that there was
going to be a king; and a judge too; as well as a Priest upon His
throne; that the sanctuary was going to be cleansed (
And further, we may note that, in
Now, we ask, Is it not most significant that this is the title used here in the Apocalypse, nine times? Does not the fact speak to us and say that, when that book opens Israel is in low estate? That Priests and people alike have failed, and there is "no king." Does it not say that "the Captain of the Lord's host" is coming down as their judge and vindicator, to deliver them from their oppressors, to fight for them, and give them rest, and to bring them into their own land?
Surely the association of this title, Pantokrator, with the Lord of Hosts in the Old Testament, and with Israel; its frequent use in Revelation, and its practical absence in the Church Epistles, shuts us up to the fact that we have in this book, not the Church, but that which concerns the Jew and the Gentile.
It is in this book we have that which the first occurrence of the title in the Book of Psalms relates to:
"Who is this King of glory (i.e. this glorious King)? The Lord of Hosts - He is the King of Glory."
And it is the object of the Apocalypse to show how this comes about, and how He becomes the King of kings and Lord of lords (xix. 16). And how all "the kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ" (xi. 15).
Then, too, will Israel fulfil the forty-sixth Psalm, and say:
"The Lord of Hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge."
In i. 8 the title "god" must be added to the word "Lord,"
according to all the Critical Greek Texts Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles,
Alford, Westcott and Hort.
In chap. xxii. 6 we have the same title. Thus at the end of the book and at the beginning we have this peculiar title, which seems to enclose all that the book contains, and stamp it all with that which the title signifies. What is signifies is clear from the place where we first find it, vix., in the second of the twelve divisions of Genesis (chap. ii. 4 - iv. 26). This division is called "the generations of the heavens and of the earth."
In the Apocalypse we have the final results of all that pertains to the heavens and the earth.
The title "Lord God" is the title used in this division,
which treats of the settlement of man in Paradise, or garden of the
Lord. In the New Testament it first appears in the Apocalypse; where it
has reference to the undoing of the effects of the curse (describe in
that section of Genesis), and to the making of the earth again into the
Paradise The word Paradise occurs in the New Testament
three times.
The title implies all this: viz., that God is about to do all that Jehovah has revealed. For Elohim is the God of creation and the commencement of life, while Jehovah is the God of revelation and the development and sustainer of life with regard to His covenant People. Elohim (God) expresses the power which accomplishes; Jehovah (Lord) the grace which provides.
Hence in
This use of the title "Lord God" thus assures us that He
who made the promise of
The fact that this title is never used in connection with the Church of God, affords us one more great and important proof of our proposition that [the] Church is not the subject of the Apocalypse, but that it has to do with the Jew and the Gentile.
This title is used in
Is it not clear, almost to certainty, that when the Lord
Jesus specially reveals Himself by this title, never using it again
till He claims it in the book of Revelation four Four being the number that relates
specially to the earth."
The connection of Isaiah with Revelation in the use of this title is eloquent to all who have "ears to hear."
This is a title used only in this book (i. 5). Many kings are mentioned and referred to in the book: but the Lord Jesus comes as their "Prince;" "King of kings and Lord of lords."
The word is (...) (archon), and occurs in the New Testament 37 times. It is used of earthly rulers, and spirit rulers of this age; also of Christ (only of Christ) in relation to the earth; but never in relation to or in connection with the Church.
He it is of whom His God and Father has declared, "I will
make Him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth" (
It is in connection with the earth that He comes, in Revelation, and hence this title is used. Another testimony to the truth of our proposition.
This also is a definite title of Christ; (...) (ho erchomenos), THE COMING ONE.
It is not, who is "about to come,"
This would be (...) (ho mellon
erchesthai)
True, He was rejected; therefore that coming is now in abeyance. The book of Revelation is a prophecy giving further details concerning that same coming. The Church of God waits for the Saviour, not as the coming one to the earth. It is as going ones we wait for Him, looking to be caught up to meet Him in the air.
"The Coming One" is His special title, which connects Him with the Old Testament prophecies.
The title is never once used in any of the Church epistles. We have it variously rendered: -
"That cometh," "Which art to come," in
Sixteen times we have the title in the Gospels
and Acts and
This again stamps this prophecy as having to do with Christ as God, who "is" (essential being), and "was" (in eternity past), and is "the coming one" (time future).
"I am He that liveth, and was dead" (i. 18). (...) (ho zon), THE LIVING ONE. Like the previous title, it is used as a special designation of the One whose unveiling is about to be shewn to John.
Its use is peculiar to Daniel and Revelation. The two books thus linked together by it are linked as to their character and subject matter in a very special manner.
It is used twice in Daniel:- Verses in parentheses indicate the number of the
verse in the Hebrew Bible, where it differs from that of the English
Bible. It is referred to in ii. 8, but not
used.
In
That exactly expresses what He who reveals Himself by the
title, "He that liveth," in
He is coming with the armies of heaven (
|
"He (the angel) held up his right hand and his left to
heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that is shall be
for a time, times, and a half, and ... all these things shall be
finished" ( |
"And the angel... lifted up his hand to heaven, and
sware by him that liveth for ever and ever... that there
should be time (R.V. marg., delay) no longer" ( |
Who can doubt that Daniel and Revelation are identical as
to their scope; and that they relate, not to this present church period
at all, but to the time when "he that liveth," or the Living One, shall
come to exercise dominion in the earth, and this in connection, not
with the grace of God, but with "the wrath of God" ( For six is the number which marks it as
relating to man; while the total number, eight (twice
four) connects it with the earth.
The church is heavenly in its calling, its standing, its hope, and its destiny. But here, everything relates to the execution of judgment on the earth, and upon man.
There is a related title which is also very significant, "the living God." This is used in both Testaments, and indiscriminately, because it has no special reference either to Israel or to the church; but because of a latent reference it always has, to idols, and to judgment on idolaters. This is often expressed in the context; but where it is not actually expressed in words, the thought of idols and idolatry and idolaters has to be supplied mentally.
The title ("the living God") occurs 13 times in the Old
Testament (Hebrew), and twice in the Chaldee (
In the New Testament it occurs sixteen times (4X4), the square of four, four being the number specially associated with the earth.
The whole matter is so important and full of interest, that we venture to give all the references.
The first,
We say that the title here used is in connection with idolatry; and especially in its most ancient and universal form, sun-worship.
A few verses before (
The whole heathen world worshipped the sun and the host of
heaven; because they "associated with them certain human characters who
had really performed the actions which were thence ascribed to the
celestial bodies.
Faber's Mystery of Pagan Idolatry, vol. ii. 223.
Adventures in New Guinea, p. 56.
Our point is this; that the first use of the title "the
living God" has to do with the voice out of the midst of the
fire; and the last use of it (in
In
The title also has to do with Israel's restoration and
deliverance. See
The judgment on those who use this title of idols is
described in
If our readers will compare all the occurrences which we now give of this title, "the living God," they will see how (as a whole) they refer to Israel, to Gentiles, to the earth, to idolaters, and to idols.
In the New Testament the usage is the same.
Enough has been said on this particular title, and upon the seven as a whole, to show that they all link on the book of Revelation to the Old Testament and the Gospels, and not to the Church; and that their cumulative testimony is that Christ is revealed in this book, not in the character in which He is presented to the Church of God, but in that character in which He is revealed in the Old Testament in relation to Israel and the Earth, which is again taken up in the Apocalypse.
There are other titles of Christ in this book which all add their own testimony; but these we can leave for the present, till we come to them in their own place. Enough has been said to show that these titles assumed by the Lord Jesus in the first chapter of this book shut it entirely off, by way of interpretation, from the Church, which is His Body.
"SERVANTS"
This expression tells us who the person are who are specially concerned in this book; and to whom the Revelation of Jesus Christ is shown. At the very outset we are thus warned that we are no longer on, but quite off, the ground of the Pauline Epistles, which are addressed to "sons," and not to "servants."
The word is (...), doulos, and means a bond servant.
Now, without denying that the members of the Body of Christ
are in a certain sense the servants of Christ, yet it is also perfectly
clear that this is not their title as to their standing in Christ
before God. It is distinctly declared to each of them, "Thou art no
more a servant, but a son" (
Throughout the Old Testament, in passages too numerous to be counted, God's People Israel are constantly spoken of as His servants. This fact is too well known to need anything more than its bare statement.
Its significance will be at once seen when we come to the
New Testament Scriptures. There we find the same use of the word
whenever Israel is in question. It occurs 124 times; but as in 39 of
these it refers to domestic servants, or those who serve man, we have
to deal only with the 85 occurrences where it is used with reference to
God. Of these 85, no less than 59 are in the Gospels and Acts. Only six
in the Church Epistles (
But while this is the case with the Epistles, the word "servants" occurs no less than fourteen times in the book of Revelation, and this, not in the exceptional manner, as in the Epistles, but as the one specific and proper title for those who are the subjects of the book.
In the Epistles the use is peculiar, as an examination of
the passages will show. Out of the whole twelve, six are in the first
verse of the Epistle,
Rom., Phil., Tit., Jas., 2 Pet., and Jude.
Hence, the writers of the Epistles, being all engaged in special service, might well be called servants. And the Apocalypse, being written concerning Israel, the Israelites are, as appropriately, always spoken of as "servants."
This evidence may not seem conclusive in itself; but, taken with the other reasons given, it adds its cumulative testimony to our position that the book of Revelation has not the Church of God for its subject.
As the members of the Body of Christ, we are "in Christ." We
have received a sonship-spirit, whereby we cry, Abba - i.e., my Father,
"...and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ" (
"As many as are led by Divine-spirit (i.e., the new nature)
are sons of God; for we have not received a bond-service spirit" (v.
14,15). This is enlarged upon in
May we not ask why, if the Apocalypse be all about the Church of God, the people are never spoken of by this their new designation of "sons," but always by the title used of those in the Old Testament who were under the Law? Is it not passing strange that this should be so? And is it not the duty of those interpreters who see the Church as the subject of the book, to explain to us this striking peculiarity?
Even in the Gospels, in speaking to the Twelve, the Lord
Jesus specially calls their and our attention to such a change in the
relationship, which had then taken place. Not so great a change as that
revealed and contained in the Mystery. He had been showing them
somewhat of the future, and He says (
A careful study of the Old Testament with reference to this
word "servants" will help to strengthen our position. In
Even John himself, in writing by the same Spirit for the
Church of God (
We repeat once again, in order to make this point quite clear, that while "sons" may perform some special service, and therefore may, on that account, be called "servants:" "servants," on the contrary, whatever may be the service rendered, can never occupy the position, or have the title, of "sons."
Our next evidence is the title given to the book by the Holy Spirit who inspired it.
It is not "the Revelation of St. John the Divine," which is man's title for it. Indeed, among the later MSS., we find fifteen or sixteen various titles; but the Divine title given in the text, is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ."
The word (...) apocalupsis. Hence the title of "Apocalypse" so frequently given to the book.
It is from the verb (...) apocalupto to unveil, from (...) apo away from, and (...) ~kalumma a veil. Hence Apocalypsis means a taking away of a veil (as when a statue is said to be unveiled), and thus bringing into view that which had been before hidden as by a veil. Unveiling is the equivalent English word.
It is used, of course, in two senses: viz., of a bringing to knowledge by the removing of the veil of ignorance; or of the visible appearance of one who had previously been unseen, as though hidden by a veil.
Our point is that, whenever this word is used of a visible person or thing, it always denotes the visible manifestation of that person; and it is the same in the case of all material or visible things.
This is not a matter of opinion, but it is a matter of fact, on which our readers can easily satisfy themselves by examining the passages.
The word occurs eighteen times; and in the following ten places is used of a person.
In verse 16 it is the verb that is used and not the noun, and therefore it does not come within our inquiry.
But, if Peter's words are taken as referring to the remnant, then the visible manifestation is to them.
So in verse 13, we have the same expression, "at (the) revelation of Jesus Christ."
Also in iv. 13 where we read of the time "when His glory shall be revealed;" i.e., visibly manifested.
Now from all these ten passages, is it not clear that the word Apocalupsis, when it refers to what can be seen (such as a thing or a person), always means that visible manifestation of that person or thing?
If so, that is what we have in this book. We have an account of the various events which are to take place in heaven and on earth, connected with His visible unveiling. It is His Apocalupsis which God gave Him the right or authority to show, make known, or represent to his bondservants what must shortly come to pass.
It is this thrusting of the sense of making known a truth into the word which, when used of a person, means the appearance of that person, that has led people commonly to speak of this book in the plural, "the RevelationS."
We have therefore, in the Title of this book, further evidence that the subject of this whole book is the visible appearing of Jesus Christ in power, and glory; and for judgment in the earth. It is not a series of revelations about Jesus Christ; but the book which gives us the particulars about the events which are connected with His revelation or appearing. And it is made known, it says, specially, to his "servants," as we saw in our previous point.
The descriptive titles given to this book mark it off as being special in its nature, distinct from the other books of the New Testament; and in character and keeping with the prophetic books of the Old Testament. It is called
This is not used as a general term, of the Scriptures or
of the Bible, as such:
Though, of course, as the Bible is made up of the
words of God, we may conveniently and very truly use "the Word
of God" of the Scriptures as a whole. See
It is difficult to distinguish between the written Word and the Living Word. Both make known and reveal God.
In
When we come to the Apocalypse, we are at once prepared for both — Vision of the Living Word, and also the prophetic word of the Living God; both making known to the servants of God the visions and words of "this prophecy" (ver. 3).
Five times we have this expression in this book.
Chaps. i. 2; i. 9; vi. 9; xix. 13; xx. 4.
In i. 9 John tells us he "was in the Isle that is called
Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Leaving the latter expression for a moment, we may remark that the
popular interpretation of the word "for" is based on a tradition which
doubtless sprang from a misunderstanding of these words. There is no
idea of banishment in them. It was no accident which lead to the giving
of this prophecy. John went to Patmos "for" the purpose of receiving it
(as Paul went into Arabia,
As in
Verse 2 tells us that "the word of God" consisted of "the things that he saw." How could John be banished to Patmos because of, or by reason of, the things which he saw in Patmos!
No, the truth here recorded is that John was there on account of (i.e., to receive) "the word of God," i.e., the prophetic message, even "the words of this prophecy."
There is a second descriptive title which stamps this book. It is called
Seven times we have the word prophecy in this
book,
chaps. i. 3; xi. 6; xix. 10; xxii. 7,10,18,19.
It is "prophecy" for us, therefore, and not past
history. It is prophecy concerning the events which shall take
place "hereafter" during the day of the Lord, i.e., during the day when
the Lord will be the Judge, in contradistinction to the present day,
i.e., "man's day" (
Even "Historicists" take some part of this book as prophecy.
Most "Futurists" take from iv. 1 as prophecy.
But we fall back on the first blessing in verse 3: "Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of THIS PROPHECY."
That reading commences at once; that hearing commences with the reading. Neither is to be postponed till some future time, or to some particular part of the book: nor are we to be left in ignorance as to where our reading and our blessing commences. We believe that "this prophecy" means "this prophecy," and that we begin at once to read it and to get the blessing. It cannot be that we are to read on and wait till we come to some particular verse where the blessing commences. Our attention to what is written is not to be postponed. All the words are "the words of this prophecy." John was to bear witness of "all things that he saw" (ver. 2); and the command is "what thou seest write in A BOOK." What we have therefore is in "a book;" and that book contains all that John saw and heard; and it is called "this prophecy." The whole book, therefore, is prophecy for us. It is "those things which are written in it" which we are to keep: and it is as a whole Book that we propose to deal with it. We feel it safer to be guided by what God Himself calls it than by what man tells us as to what part is prophecy and what is not. If they who tell us this were agreed among themselves it would be something; but when they differ, we cannot gain much by listening to them.
The evidence afforded by this title is, that, as the whole
book is prophecy, the Church of God is not the subject of it: for, as
we have seen, the Church is not the subject of prophecy, but of
"revelation." The future of the Church is given and written for our
reading and blessing in the Pauline Epistles; especially in
But there is another title given to this book. It is
Now, this may mean the testimony concerning Him (the Gen. of the object or relation); or, the testimony which comes from Him (the Gen. of the subject or origin), i.e., which he bore.
If we take it as the former, it then agrees with the whole prophetic word, which is concerning Him as "the coming One."
If we take it in the latter meaning, then it refers to the nature of the testimony which the Lord Jesus bore when on earth; and does not go outside it. That testimony related to the kingdom and not to the Church.
The word for "testimony" is worthy of note. It is (...), marturia (fem.), and not (...), marturion (neuter). Now, when there are two nouns from the same root, one feminine and the other neuter, there is an unmistakable difference, which has to be carefully noted and observed: i.e., if we believe that we are dealing with "the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth," as we most certainly do.
The difference here is clear and decided, and a few illustrations will be convincing.
The neuter noun, ending in (...)(-ion), denotes something definite and substantial, while the feminine noun, ending in (...)(ia), denotes the matter referred to or contained in or relating to the neuter noun.
For example: Emporia is merchandise; while Emporion is the place or building where the merchandise (emporia) is stored (the Emporium).
Apostasia are the matters concerning which there
is defection, falling away, forsaking or revolt (
Georgia is tillage; georgion is the
field where the tillage is carried on. (
Gymnasia denotes the exercises (
Dokimee is the examination or proof
(
Mneia is remembrance or mention (
Soteria is a saving or delivering (and
is the general word for salvation in N.T.); while soterion is
the act of saving, and almost the person who delivers. See
In some cases these references support these
facts; in other they must be re-interpreted by them.
It will be noted that the accentuation
of these words in -ion intimates that they are all properly
adjectives: hence the actual noun to be supplied in each case will vary
with the nature of the noun from which the adjective is formed. The
general distinction, however, holds good: that the words in
-ia represent a process, or habit, and that,
too, under its feminine, not masculine, aspect; while the neuters
represent some special act, or instance of this habit
or process, or some material or instrument by which, or place in which,
the habit is carried out, or the process carried on.
Now, in the Apocalypse, we have maturion (the
neuter), testimony, only once (
It seems, then, quite clear that, where we read in this
prophecy of "the testimony of Jesus" (i. 2,9; xii. 17; xix. 10,
twice
In xx. 4 it is doubtless the testimony concerning
Jesus for which those who gave it were beheaded. (The Gen. of
relation.)
The testimony was, as we have already said, concerning His
kingdom and concerning Israel (see
There are certain expressions used throughout the Apocalypse which are wholly unlike any expressions used in connection with the Church of God or in the Church Epistles.
Some of these are sufficient in themselves to show that the Church is not the subject of the Apocalypse, and have been already noticed. But there are others of importance which require more lengthened treatment; so we group them together under this heading, referring our reader to the Exposition which follows, where supplementary comments on them will be found.
To find these expressions we will not now travel beyond the first chapter, except for one expression which occurs seven times in chaps. ii. and iii.
There are sufficient in chap. i. to show us how the Holy Spirit has, at the very threshold of this book, used these expressions for our consideration and our guidance.
We find seven of these expressions:-
Because "Christ loved His Church and gave Himself for it," we seem unable, from our natural selfishness, to rise above or beyond the thought of ourselves.
We, naturally, fill our own vision and see nothing beyond ourselves.
The thought that Jehovah said of Israel, "Yea, he loved
the people,"
(...) chavav, a very strong word for
love, which occurs only in
And yet is it strange, with the repeated assertions which Jehovah makes of His love for Israel, that not only should Israel be passed over by Bible-students, but this love actually taken from Israel and appropriated to the Church; depriving Israel of God's love and blessing, and leaving for them only the judgments and the curses.
And yet we have such passages as these concerning Israel:-
And the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, says (
We are quite aware that these passages are all
appropriated by the Church to itself; and, therefore, we can hardly
expect them to be received in evidence that the words in
Of course we can make an a fortiori application
of these words; but that is quite another matter. If Israel can say,
"unto Him who loveth us," how much more can we say so according to
We would further anticipate, here, what belongs properly to our exposition of chap. ii. 4: The first charge brought against His People in this book, viz., "thou hast left thy first love."
What is this, but what Jehovah calls, in
But, before we leave this expression, we must give the correct rendering of the whole verse (i. 5), according to all the Critical Greek Texts and RV. (referring our readers to our further comments in the exposition below).
Unto him who loveth us (it is the present tense, (...) (agaponti) loveth, and not (...) (agapesanti) loved; for Jehovah's love for Israel is an ever-present love, yea, it is "everlasting") and loosed us (past tense, (...) (lusanti) loosed, and not (...) (lousanti) washed) from (...) (ek) from or out of; not (...) (apo) away from) our sins by (not "in") his blood."
the correct text and translation is as follows, and read on from the last expression: "And made (not hath made) us (Tregelles read (...) (heemin) for us) a kingdom, (all read (...) (basileian) a kingdom; instead of (...) (basileis kai) kings and) priests to his God and Father (or priests to God, even His Father)."
we have the same expression in chap. v. 10, where the Greek Text has to be corrected in a similar manner.
There the alteration of the text has been the parent of all the wrong translations made of it.
It is the song, the new song, sung by the four living
creatures, and the twenty-four elders. The number four and multiple of four
(4X6) marks these and their song as pertaining to the earth
and to man as such, not the Church.
They say (ver. 9): "Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open its seals; because thou wast slain and madest a purchase for God (the word "us" must be omitted according to Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, Westcott and Hort, and R.V. There is an Ellipsis. The R.V., having taken out "us," has supplied "men" in italics. We may supply "a People," or translate as we have done. All the Texts agree in altering the pronouns that follow in this and the next verse. This necessitates the omission of "us" here. If one is changed, all must be changed for the sake of consistency and sense. But this entirely does away with the supposition that these heavenly beings were themselves redeemed, or were the subject of their own song (See below, on chap. v. 9) by thy blood (a purchase, namely) out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and didst make them (so all the Texts and oldest MSS.) to our God (Alford omits these words) a kingdom (so all the Texts and best MSS.) and priests, and they shall reign (so all the Texts and oldest MSS.) over the earth" (see further on chap. v. 9,10 below).
Here we have again the expression "a kingdom and priests."
While we have not a word like this in the Church Epistles, yet we have
a passage in the Old Testament where very similar words are used, and
truth declared of Israel.
True, these words are found in the New Testament; but they
are in the Epistle addressed to the sojourners of the
Diaspora"
(...), scattered abroad, came to be the
technical term for the dispersed portion of Israel. It is found in LXX.
This is the part of the expression which we have just considered: and it is important.
Twice we have it in this book, spoken of Christ (i. 6 and xiv. 1), but not once in the Pauline, or Church Epistles.
There, in every one of the Epistles addressed to the
Churches (seventeen times), it is always "OUR" Father. See
When we say that we have "His Father" in revelation, and never in the Epistles; and "our Father" in the Epistles and never in Revelation, we have said enough to show that we have here a further point, affording its cumulative evidence to our fundamental proposition that the Church of God is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
John is the "brother" specially of those who were of the seed of Abraham. The term can hardly be used here, we submit, either of mere human brotherhood, or of Christian brotherhood, when all else in this chapter and in the book is so evidently stamped with a Jewish character.
John says, I "am your brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience with Jesus."
Here (according to all the Critical Greek Texts and the R.V.) the words "in the" before "kingdom" must be omitted; and the word "in" must be inserted before "Jesus": while the word "Christ" must also be omitted after "Jesus." The verse then stands as we have here given it. The R.V. inserts the italics "which are in Jesus." The word (...) (en), in, may well be rendered, with; as it is rendered 138 times in the New Testament; and then there is no ellipsis to be supplied.
Here is companionship in patient waiting. For
that is the meaning of the word rendered "patience,"
It occurs seven times in this book: i. 9; ii. 2,3,19; iii. 10; xiii. 10; xiv. 12.
It is a patient-waiting and enduring in tribulation; yet a patient waiting and expectation of the "kingdom;" and all this "with Jesus," for "this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies shall have been placed as a footstool for his feet."
He is "expecting," and He is also patiently waiting (see
We, too, as members of the Church of God have need of patience, and endurance; but we are looking, not for the kingdom, but for the KING Himself (not as King, for He is not so proclaimed till His enemies are subdued); and though we, too, exercise this patient endurance in tribulation, it is not in "the tribulation," but we are waiting to be taken away before that tribulation comes upon the earth.
This expression therefore is worthy of note, and its evidence has to be added to the other expressions used.
There can be no question as to the meaning of this
expression. The (...) (rhomphaia) a sharp or two-edged sword,
is four times attributed to the Lord in this prophecy, viz., i. 16; ii.
12,16; xix. 15,21.
It occurs also in
It is "the captain of the Lord's host" come with his sword
(
the sword is no priestly weapon; nor can it have any relation to or connection with the Church of God in any aspect whatsoever: for grace characterises all relations between "Christ and His Church."
This expression links on the book of Revelation to the book of Deuteronomy, especially if we regard it in the connection with the fire, with which it is associated in each case.
Ten times is the voice of God speaking "out of the midst
of the fire" heard in Deuteronomy: viz., chaps. iv. 12,15,33,36; v.
4,22(19)
The figures in a parenthesis denotes the different verse numeration of the Hebrew Text.
Here, in
In
The second is a command to "take heed" to the voice (iv. 15), and keep from idolatry.
The third and fourth are connected with their turning to the Lord when scattered among the nations, seeking Him and finding Him in the "Tribulation;" and the being obedient to that voice in "the latter days" (iv. 27-36). This tells us of the latter days in Revelation, when they will be brought to hear the "Voice" (iv. 33,36), and to attend to it.
The fifth is again associated with God's Covenant to which He will be true (v. 4).
The sixth and seventh with the giving of the Law, v. 22(19), 23(20).
The eighth with the greatness and the glory of Jehovah (v.
24,
The ninth and tenth are references to it by the People (v. 25,26).
All these are brought together, and combined, and fulfilled in the Apocalypse, when Israel will again hear that Voice and, take heed to it, and in their Tribulation turn unto the Lord and seek His face and find Him and rejoice in the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.
This expression is absolutely Hebrew in its character, origin, and use. It is never used with reference to, or in connection with, the Church of God.
By application of course it told those who first read it of the cause of all declension - failure to hear what the Spirit had already said to the Churches by the Apostle Paul. By application also, it reminds us of the same cause today. But the interpretation which will exhaust the seven-fold expression is that which leaps over the present Church period, and links together the Gospels and Acts with the Apocalypse.
The expression (which is slightly varied in form) as first used in the Gospels is connected solely with, and marks, a change of dispensation. When used again in Revelation another great change of dispensation is about to take place. It is to be wrought by "the Son of Man," who has received authority to show it to "His servants."
Such a change could be known only to God, ruled and over-ruled by Him. None but Divine foreknowledge, therefore, could make it known.
The Son of Man alone made use of this weighty expression: and on fourteen separate occasions He called for the deepest attention to what was being announced.
Now, the number fourteen is most significant; twice seven, denoting a special Divine revelation made by "the Son of Man."
And these fourteen
The occasions were 14, but the actual occurrences
of this example of the Figure are sixteen on account of the
repetition of the Parable of the Sower in the parallel Gospel records.
Sixteen is a square number (4X4) marking completeness. For the significance of these numbers see
Number in Scripture.
The six occasions on earth are
The eight from Heaven are
These, like the six in the Gospels, are Dispensational, and are thus associated with the great change in God's relation to the earth, to "the Jew and the Gentile," which was about to take place.
The first use of the expression in
It has been proclaimed of John before his birth "he shall
go before Him (i.e, Messiah) in the spirit and power of Elijah" (
This title is always connected with dominion in
the earth. See
John the Baptist was therefore invested with Elijah's "spirit and power" (i.e., Elijah's spiritual power), and was specially designated as "the prophet of the Most High."
Therefore our Lord could say in
But "their ears were dull of hearing" (
Thus we have in the expression another proof that the Church of God is not the subject of the Apocalypse; and that we are reading here, not of the period belonging to the ministry of Paul the Apostle, or of the period of present Church history, as the historicists assert; but, of that which belong to the ministry of "Elijah the Prophet."
Another of the points which prove that the Church of God is not the subject of the Apocalypse is the character of Christ's Coming which is there announced and described; and with which its events are connected.
This has been already partly shown under the headings of "The Day of the Lord" and "The Son of Man." But it is now more definitely stated and distinguished.
The coming of Christ for His Church is quite a different
event, and belongs to quite a different Dispensation. The end for which
the Church is waiting is not judgment or tribulation, but to be
"received up in glory" (
That coming is into the air, and not unto the earth; it is in grace, and not in judgment; it concerns those who are "in Christ," and not either Jew or Gentile as such.
Nothing is revealed in the Old Testament or in the Gospels
about this coming. Those books know nothing of it. This coming concerns
the Mystery, which was kept secret from times eternal, and was "hid in
God." The church of God (which is the Mystery) waits for one thing as
its consummation, and that is to be "received up into glory" (
To make this more clear we must compare what we call the "second" Advent with the "first."
When the Coming of the Lord was announced in Micah, v. 2, it
was announced as a coming forth; and in
There was nothing in those prophecies to tell the Jewish reader whether there would be any interval between these events, or what that interval would be. The Jewish Bible student might think there was a discrepancy; while the Jew with the mind of a "higher critic" might see a greater difficulty, and refuse to believe either Scripture.
But we, today, with our knowledge, know that there was an interval of more than thirty years between the two events. Both refer to one and the same Coming, but to two different stages in it; and that all the events between them go to make up what we speak of as the "first Coming."
We believe that it will be exactly the same with regard to what we call the "second Coming." There will be the same two stages, with a similar interval (or longer it may be) between them, and all the events (which are recorded in the Apocalypse and elsewhere) will go to make up what we speak of as "the second Coming."
There will be the coming forth (as at Bethlehem) of
"the Lord Himself" and the calling of His saints on high (
This latter coming is connected with "the Day of the Lord," and it is that which is the subject of the Book of Revelation.
Chap. i. 7 settles this for us: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him."
Only Jew and Gentile are in this verse, and not the Church of God.
This is the Coming of which the Old Testament speaks. It
knows no other. See It might be rendered "the Land" better than "earth"
in
This is the Coming which the Lord spoke of when on earth in
The same difficulty is created when we arbitrarily introduce these later Prison Epistles of Paul into the Apocalypse.
To save us from making such a disastrous mistake, the Holy
spirit gave special instruction in
Why, "no need"? Simply because the Coming forth into the air and our "gathering together unto Him" there, do not depend on any time or season. His "Coming unto" the earth does; but that is not what he had been speaking about in the chapter immediately before (Thess. iv.).
2. "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
It is the "day of the Lord" which (as we have seen above) is
the subject of the Apocalypse: and in
3. "For when THEY shall say, 'Peace and safety,' then sudden destruction cometh upon THEM...and THEY shall not escape."
It is this "destruction" which the Apocalypse describes. It is this which gives its character to "the day of the Lord." It is "sudden," and comes "as a thief;" and it comes upon "THEM" and "THEY," not upon us: for mark the change of pronouns again.
4. "But YE, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake YOU as a thief."
Here, our point is distinctly, emphatically, and categorically stated, with a precision and explicitness which leaves nothing to be added. Can anything be more clear than the fact that the Church of God is not the subject of the Apocalypse? And that the "Coming" which is the subject of this book is not the Coming for which the Church of God is now longing, waiting, and looking?
If some of our points are cumulative in their evidence, this one point, by itself, is sufficient to establish our fundamental proposition that the Church of God is not the subject of the book of Revelation, either in prophecy or in history.
The book is "prophecy," as we have seen; and therefore it awaits a future fulfilment in "the day of the Lord," when the Lord Jesus shall be unveiled as the Son of man, and every eye shall see Him.
This is essential, for it is directly associated with the object and purpose of the book.
The only other place in the whole Bible where we have
anything like it is in
In Daniel it is "a certain man" (Heb. one - a man). In Rev. it is "one like unto the Son of Man."
The Two Visions being identical as to the Person and as to His appearance, and also as to the effect on Daniel and John respectively, it is not more than probably that the purpose is also the same in each case?
In Daniel we are expressly told why the Vision was sent.
"Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people
in the latter days; for yet the vision is for many days... I will
shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth" (
The expression, "thy People," is most significant. It is not
the Church of God which is in question, but Daniel's People,
Israel. This People had been the subject of Daniel's prayer ( It is beautiful to notice that when Daniel
confesses the sins of this People he uses, throughout, the
pronouns, "we," "us," and "our" (see verses 5-10, 14-16). But when he
pleads with God for them on the ground of the everlasting covenant, it
is always "Thy": "Thy People," "Thy City," "Thy Sanctuary," "Thy
righteousness," Thy great mercies," "Thy Name's sake."
Is it not certain that this People is the subject, and what
is to befall them in the latter day is precisely the import, of the
vision which John saw in
It had been given to that glorious One to show unto His servants things which shall be "hereafter," and that was what was to befall Daniel's people (Israel) "in the latter days."
In Rev. we have "the latter days" - even "the Day of the Lord," and the time has come to show John that which is noted in the scripture of truth.
The people, therefore, who are the subjects of the Revelation, are Daniel's People, and not the Church of God.
The Apocalypse is connected very closely with the Old Testament, and not as we have seen with the New; with Genesis, and not with the Church Epistles.
Indeed, the connection between Genesis and Revelation is so marked that many have noticed it.
It will be only necessary for us therefore to exhibit the likenesses and contrasts in parallel columns. No comment will be necessary.
In Genesis we have the book of the Beginning; in revelation the book of the End (not the whole period which we call A.D., but the end of it).
The Apocalypse completes all that Genesis begins, and introduces the New Creation, lest we should think there is nothing beyond.
In Genesis we have therefore the primal creation and the history of the curse which came upon it: Revelation tells how that curse will be removed, and the New Creation brought in.
In Genesis we have Satan's first revolt, and in Revelation his final revolt. The parallel between the two books may be thus set forth: -
|
Genesis |
Revelation |
|---|---|
|
The Earth created (i. 1) |
Earth passed away (xxi. 1). |
|
Sun, moon and stars for Earth's government (i. 14-16). |
Sun, moon and stars connected with Earth's judgment (vi. 12; viii. 12; xvi. 8). |
|
Sun to govern the day (i. 16). |
No need of the sun (xxx. 23). |
|
Darkness called night (i. 5). |
"No night there" (xxii. 5). |
|
Waters called seas (i. 10). |
"No more sea" (xxi. 1). |
|
A river for Earth's blessing (ii. 10-14). |
A river for the New Earth (xxii. 1,2). |
|
Man in God's image (i. 26). |
Man headed by one in Satan's image (xiii.) |
|
Entrance of sin (iii.). |
Development and end of sin. |
|
Curse pronounced (iii. 14,17). |
"No more curse" (xxii. 3). |
|
Death entered (iii. 19). |
"No more death" (xxi. 4). |
|
Cherubim first mentioned in connection |
Cherubim final mention in connection with man. |
|
Man driven out from Eden (iii. 24). |
Man restored (xxii.). |
|
Tree of life guarded (iii. 24). |
"Right to the Tree of Life" (xxii. 14). |
|
Sorrow and suffering enter (iii. 17). |
No more sorrow (xxii. 4). |
|
Man's religion, art, and science, resorted to |
Man's religion, luxury, art, and science, in their full glory judged and destroyed by God (xviii.). |
|
Nimrod, a great rebel and King, and hidden anti-God, the founder of Babylon (x. 8-10). |
The Beast, the great Rebel, a King, and manifested anti-God, the reviver of Babylon (xiii., xviii.). |
|
A flood from God to destroy an evil generation (vi.-ix.). |
A flood from Satan to destroy an elect generation (xii.). |
|
The bow the token of God's covenant with the Earth (ix. 13). |
The bow, betokening God's remembrance of His covenant with the Earth (iv. 3; x. 1). |
|
Sodom and Egypt, the place of corruption and temptation (xiii., xix.). |
Sodom and Egypt again (spiritually representing Jerusalem) (xi. 8). |
|
A confederacy against Abraham's people overthrown (xiv.). |
A confederacy against Abraham's seed overthrown (xii.). |
|
Marriage of first Adam (ii. 18-23). |
Marriage of last Adam (xix.). |
|
A bride sought for Abraham's son (Isaac) and found (xxiv.). |
A Bride made ready and brought to Abraham's Son (xix.
9). See |
|
Two angels acting for God on behalf of His People (xix.). |
Two witnesses acting for God on behalf of His people (xi.). |
|
A promised seed to possess the gate of his enemies (xxix. 8). |
The promised seed coming into possession. |
|
Man's dominion ceased and Satan's begun (iii. 24). |
Satan's dominion ended and man's restored (xxii.). |
|
Sun, moon and stars associated with Israel (xxxvii.). |
Sun, moon and stars associated again with Israel (xii.). |
Therefore
|
The Church not preconfigured. |
The Church not to be looked for. |
It is surely impossible for us to read these solemn parallels and contrast without coming to the conclusion that there must be the closest possible connection between the two books.
They are joined together by God in a way so that no man can put them asunder.
God has joined the Revelation to Genesis; man joins it with the Epistles.
God has joined it with Jews, Gentile and the Earth; man joins it with Christendom.
God has joined it with what He had before written in Genesis; man joins it with what man has written himself in Church history!
Can perversity go further than this? Is it any wonder that the book is misunderstood by so many, and neglected by most? For what can be made of it when such elements of confusion are introduced?
When God has placed the key to the book at the very threshold, in the first chapter, man deliberately ignores it, and makes another, which he presents to those who would fain enter; but, when it is tried, it is found that none of the wards fit the lock, and the door either has to be forced, or all hope of entrance abandoned!
And yet, when we look at the general scope of the book which will be given later on, how wonderous it is! How Divinely perfect! And, at the same time, how simple and easy! So simple that a child can become interested in it, and the humblest saint understand it.
In chapter i. 19 we have the summary of the contents of the whole book.
It is the misunderstanding of this verse which, we believe, has led so many astray, and turned so many into the wrong channel. This verse is usually taken as referring to three things, marking off the book into three divisions:
The things which thou sawest (past). The things which are (present). The things which shall be hereafter (future).
Having got these three divisions, then comes a difference of opinion as to exactly where and how these contents of the Book are to be divided.
But there is another rendering which we wish to present, suggested, in part, by Moses Stuart and Dean Alford. This removes all such difficulties, and shows that there is no such three-fold division; and that instead of three subjects we have only one.
John was instructed to write what he had seen. It is clear, therefore, that this first chapter is the Introduction to the whole Book, and consequently, like all other Introductions, is written, or supposed to be written, last of all. For, at the very commencement (in i. 2), it is said of John that he "bare record of the Word of God (i.e., as we have seen, the prophetic message), and of the testimony of Jesus Christ (which He bore) and of all things that he saw."
If this chapter then be not written after John had see these things, the words are without meaning; for in that case John had as yet seen nothing!
Verse 19 (which we are considering) is part of this Introduction, and therefore the words "which thou sawest" are used in the same sense as in verse 2. John had seen, or is supposed to have seen, all the Visions of the Book when the command to write was given to him. This explains why the word "therefore" must be added in the Greek (according to all the Critical Greek Texts and the R.V.). Moreover, it is specially declared at the very end of the book (chap. xxii. 16), "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto THESE THINGS in the assemblies": showing that "the things which thou sawest" refer, not as is generally supposed, only to the things in chap. i., but to the contents of the whole book.
Having seen all these things the command is - "Write
therefore the things which thou sawest, and what they are
(i.e., what they signify),
As to this rendering, "and what they ARE," the verb
to be is constantly translated to mean or
signify. See
According to this rendering, which may be rejected as an
interpretation, but cannot be condemned as a translation, there is only
one thing stated as the subject-matter of what was to be written, and
not three things. It relates not to past, present, and future, but to
the future alone - "hereafter," or, as it says in
Some lay a stress on the words (...), meta tauta,
which mean literally after these things. But an examination of
other places where they occur will show that when used in narrative
they may imply historical sequence (as in
There is no necessity therefore for anyone to regard any portion of the book as relating to the present church period. This (in which we live) is the Dispensation of the Holy Spirit; but that (which is the subject of the Revelation) is wholly the Dispensation of the Son of Man - the revelation or unveiling and manifestation of Jesus Christ.
That is still future. The book which describes it must likewise be future also, and relate only to "the things which shall be hereafter." See further notes on chap. i. 19.
We must here, at the outset, remove the greatest source of all the misunderstandings which have arisen with regard to these seven "churches."
The fact of their being called "churches" has naturally led commentators and students of this book to infer that it is the Church of God, or at any rate the historic Christian Church, which is meant.
The difficulty is thus arbitrarily created. The Bible
student is at once confronted with an overwhelming difficulty. He has
read the Epistles which are addressed to the churches by the Holy
Spirit through the Apostle Paul; and, on turning to the Epistles in
Two courses are open to him: either to try and force the words into a meaning to suit both, thus lowering the standard of the Church of God, and the Christian's own standing in Christ; or, to invent some purely imaginary interpretation and baseless hypothesis by applying them to Christendom, and holding that instead of seven assemblies we have seven stages of Church history: some going so far as to give the very years which mark off these periods.
Those who feel this to be a very difficult task, and lack the knowledge of history which is absolutely essential to this system of interpretation, wonder why God gave to Jesus Christ to show unto His servants what must come to pass hereafter, and yet expected them to become deep students of history in order to understand what He has revealed!
No wonder that most Bible readers, after struggling for a time with this fantastic idea, give it all up in despair; abandoning the reading of the book, and losing the "blessing" which is pronounced upon its readers.
As a first step toward removing this great evil, let us note at once that the word (...) (ecclesia), rendered "church," is by no means limited to the restricted sense which is thus forced upon it.
Ecclesia means simply an Assembly: any assembly of people who are called out (for that is the etymological meaning of the word) from other people.
Hence, it is used of the whole nation of Israel as distinct from other nations.
The Greek word Ecclesia occurs seventy-five times in the Septuagint Translation of the Old Testament, and is used as the rendering of five different Hebrew words. As it is used to represent one of these, seventy times, we need not concern ourselves with the other four words.
This Hebrew word is (...) (Cahal), from which we
have our English word call. It means to call together, to
assemble, or gather together, and is used of any assembly
gathered together for any purpose. This Hebrew word Cahal
occurs 123 times, and is rendered: "congregation," 86 times;
"assembly," 17; "company," 17; and "multitude," 3 times: but is never
rendered "church." Its first occurrence is in
In
Here the word cahal is used, not of all Israel as called out from the nations, but of the assembly of those called out of form the Tribal Assembly (or Council) of the tribes of Simeon and Levi.
Then, it is used of the worshippers, or those called
out from Israel, and assembled before the Tabernacle and Temple,
and in this sense is usually rendered "congregation." This is the
meaning of the word in
This is the usage of the word in the Gospels, and even in the Acts of the Apostles before the new use, which the Holy Spirit was going to make of the word, was revealed.
When Christ said, "Upon this rock will I build my Ecclesia," He did not use the word in the exclusive sense in which it was afterwards to be used, but in the older and larger sense in which the word had been before used, which would embrace the whole assembly of His People, while not excluding the future application of the word to the Church or Body of Christ when that secret should have been in due season revealed.
When the Spirit, by Stephen, speaks of the Ecclesia
in the wilderness (
When the Lord added to the Ecclesia daily (
When Saul says he persecuted the Ecclesia of God, he does not use the word in the limited sense, which it subsequently acquired after he had received the special revelation concerning it: but in the sense in which it had been used up to, and in which it was used at, that time. It means merely that he persecuted the People of God - the congregation of God. He is speaking of a past act in his life which took place long before the revelation of the secret, and his words must be interpreted accordingly. We must not read into any of these passages that which was the subject of a subsequent revelation! which passages are perfectly clear without it. The word Ecclesia in the Old Testament, the Gospels, and (for the most part) in the Acts, must be taken in the sense of its earlier usage as meaning simply the congregation or assembly of the Lord's people, and not in the sense which it acquired, after the later and special signification had been given to it by the Holy Spirit Himself.
As we have already abundantly shewn, in the consideration of our foregoing thirteen points, the Apocalypse is linked on to the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Acts (and not to the later Pauline Epistles), and we ought to use the word Ecclesia in the sense in which it is there used; and not, surely, in the newer and special sense which it acquired, and in which it is used, in the Epistles.
In the Pauline Epistles we read nothing about an "angel" as having to do with the churches of God which Paul planted.
But we do meet with the word Angel in connection with the Synagogue; (though not in the Old Testament). There, there was an officer, who was called Sheliach Tzibbur (...): Tzibbur meaning Assembly; and Sheliach, the Angel or Legate of the Assembly, and the Leader of Divine worship, from (...) (shalach) to send.
The chief officer was the Archisynagogos, or "Ruler
of the Synagogue;" and after him came the Sheliach Tzibbur; or
"Angel of the Assembly," who was the mouthpiece of the congregation.
His duty it was to offer up public prayer to God for the whole
congregation. Hence his title; because, as the messenger of the
assembly, he spoke to God for them. See Jennings' Jewish Antiquities; and
Article Synagogue in Kitto's Biblical Cyclopaedia,
vol iii. 903.
When we have these facts to our hands, why arbitrarily invent the notion that "angel" is equivalent to Bishop, when there is not a particle of historical evidence for it?
Episcopoi, or Bishops, are clearly spoken of in
other parts of the New Testament (though not in the modern sense of the
term. See
Add to this the use of the word synagogue, which we
have in
It should, of course, be rendered synagogue in
these two places, as well as in all the others, as it is in the R.V.
(though in
As well as saved a great deal of controversy as to
the anointing with oil, etc., in
When the word Ecclesia, in the Apocalypse is
rendered "Church," and the word "Synagogue" in
We hold that the Apocalypse contains a record (by vision and prophecy) of the events which shall happen "hereafter" in the Day of the Lord; that the whole book is concerned with the Jew, the Gentile, and the Earth, but not with the Church of God, or with Christendom; or with the latter only so far as the present corruption of Christianity shall merge in the great apostasy, and form part of it, after the Church, the Body of Christ, shall have been removed.
But there will be a people for God on the earth during those eventful years. There will be the remnant of believing Israelites; the 144,000 sealed ones; the great multitude; and other bodies of faithful ones who are referred to all through the Book (see chaps. vii., xi., and xii. 17). In which latter passage we read of "the remnant of her (the woman's) seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Will not these need special instruction? Have these been forgotten by Him who sees the end from the beginning? The Pauline Epistles will of course be of use as an historical record of what will then be past, just as we have the record of Israel's history in the Old Testament now.
Our answer to these questions is that God has provided for their instruction, and warning, and encouragement, in the second and third chapters of this book.
Right at the beginning they are the first subjects of Divine remembrance, provision, and care. Their needs must be first provided for, before anything else is recorded of the things which John saw; and there they will find what is specially written for their learning.
Even now, the nucleus of this Remnant is being prepared. Hundreds of Jews are believing in Christ as the Messiah, who know nothing of Him as the Saviour. And even among the unbelievers in Israel a political movement is on foot which may speedily lead up to and issue in the events of which Revelation treats.
Of course this means that we are to consider the
interpretation of
Few are aware that the evidence as to the existence of these assemblies as churches is very scanty. Indeed, concerning some, not only is evidence wanting; but concerning others it is quite opposed to their ever having existed at all.
Tertullian
Contr. Marcion i. 1.
Epiphanius (who wrote about A.D. 367) deals with the Alogi,
a sect which disputed the genuineness of the Apocalypse, and on the
same grounds. He quotes their words: "moreover, some of the [the Alogi]
again seize on this passage in this same Apocalypse [ (...) Epiphanius Adversus Haereses, Book
II., Vol. I. Haeres li. Sec. xxxiii. (Migne's Ed. Vol. xli., p.
948).
The answer of Epiphanius acknowledged the historical fact: but his answer was that St. John wrote to the church at Thyatira, not because it was then in existence, but because it would be at some future time.
We do not see how he could have given a better answer.
In A.D. 363 was held the Council of Laodicea. It was attended by thirty-two bishops of Asia, among whom was the bishop of Ephesus. This Council framed a list or canon of the sacred books, but the Apocalypse was not included in the catalogue.
How can we account for this as a historical fact if these seven churches were all then existent; and if these epistles were sent to them at the time, Laodicea being one of them?
The facts being what they are, the enemies of the Bible draw from them an entirely false conclusion. They use them against the authenticity and genuineness of the Apocalypse, and against its claim to a place in the Canon of Scripture.
We, on the contrary, strongly hold the canonicity and inspiration of the Apocalypse, but we use the undoubted historical facts against a false system of interpretation which is a very different thing.
An opponent of the Bible, in a large and important work, uses the common system of a apocalyptic interpretation as an argument against all Scripture. Speaking of Revelation, he says, "As all parties admit that it contains the destiny of the church, each sect has applied it to itself, frequently to the exclusion of all others."
All parties, we are thankful to say, do not admit to the popular system of interpretation; and our present object is to show that there is a "more excellent way," not of interpreting it, but of believing it; a way which, while it honours it as the word of God, satisfactorily meets the erroneous conclusions drawn from facts.
If these "churches" are future assemblies of Jewish believers on the earth, after the Church has been "caught up to meet the Lord," then all is clear, consistent, and easy to be understood.
The real difficulty is created by attempting to read the Church into the book where it has no place.
As to the "seven lamp-stands," ought not this expression at
once to send our thoughts back to the one golden lamp-stand of the
Tabernacle (
We must further note that John was not told to send seven separate letters to seven separate assemblies, as is generally assumed and believed. Indeed the contrary is the fact. The great Voice said, "What thou seest, write in A BOOK and send IT unto the seven assemblies."
Over three-quarters of a million copies of this Book of the Revelation have in the last few years been placed in the hands of the Jews throughout the world. We allude to the Salkinson-Ginsburg translation of the New Testament in Hebrew, published by the Trinitarian Bible Society, and distributed by the Mildmay Mission to the Jews, and by other similar agencies throughout the world.
So that "the book" has been and is being sent to those for whom it was written, and at no distant day many assemblies of Jews will hear and read the words of this prophecy, and a people be prepared who will keep "the words of this prophecy," and receive in a special manner the blessing pronounced in i. 3.
They will be able to understand what is now so inexplicable to Gentile Christian readers. We find nothing in our Pauline Church Epistles that fits into what is said to these assemblies. But those readers will be at once reminded of the various stages of their own past history, and they will find in almost every sentence some allusion to the circumstances in which they will find themselves as described in this book.
We will show this; first, from the references made to their past history; and when we come to deal with these Epistles separately, we will, in some circumstance in the Apocalypse itself, give a reference to nearly every sentence in these seven Epistles.
It is a remarkable fact that
Seven past phases of Israel's history
are referred to in these Epistles: and the literary order in Revelation corresponds with, and answers to, the historical order in the Old Testament.
In the Epistle to the Assembly at Ephesus, the reference
is to Exodus: to God's love in choosing them out of Egypt, and them
making them a nation. See
In Smyrna, we have a reference to a definite time of trial.. In the wilderness it was forty years. Here it is ten days. If any wish to make this stand for ten years it must be on their own responsibility. We only press the point that a corresponding time of trial is referred to; and that it is a definite and limited time.
We are aware of the "interpretation" proposed as to there having been ten persecutions of "Christians" between A.D. 57 and 284. But unfortunately for this theory, there is nothing said here as to any number of separate persecutions: but only as to the duration of one! It is evident that no system of interpretation which is based on such imaginations will be of any service to us in our understanding of this book.
The year-day system, as a principle of prophetic interpretation, is a human invention; and as unnecessary as it is mischievous.
When God says a "day" He means a day, and when He says a year He means a year. Even in those very passages where He makes one day to stand for a year, the words are used in each case in their literal sense and natural meaning.
When the spies were gone 40 days, and Israel was made to
wander 40 years ("a year for a day"), "day" means day and "year" means
year (
When Ezekiel was told to lie on his left side 390 days, it
does not mean that he was thus to lie for 390 years! And when Jehovah
says, "I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity
according to the number of the days, 390 days" (
And when Ezekiel does the same with respect to Judah, 40
days, Jehovah says, "I have appointed thee each day for a year" (
When human interpreters take upon themselves to "appoint"
the same in other cases, whether 1260 days or "ten days," or any other
number, they incur a very grave responsibility. They do not adopt this
"system" in other prophecies, and dare not. For when, in
When, in
When God prophesied of the flesh that He would give Israel
to eat, the days meant days (
So here, in
Haman had one day given to him to "destroy the Jews"! Why not another "Jews' enemy" be allowed ten days?
And what is this or any such period to do with the Church
of God, which has nothing whatever to do with "times and seasons" (
It is quite probable that the time referred to here may
that of
In Pergamos we have the reference to Balaam, which will have its counterpart in a yet future day.
Through "the counsel of Balaam" (
In the coming future day Pergamos will be in a special
manner the seat (or throne) of Satan (ii. 13; and compare xiii. 2), and
a form of idolatry more awful than that of Baal-peor will be on the
earth. Peter, writing to the Dispersion, tells of this future time in
Jude also connects his description of a similar phase of idolatry with "the error of Balaam" (verses 10-13).
It is clear, therefore, that that special feature of
idolatry connected with Balaam's "counsel" is referred to in
And, as, upon this great evil the special judgment of the
"sword" was sent and executed (
In the Epistle to Thyatira we have the reference to
another and more intensified form of idolatry as developed and
established in the days of Ahab, king of Israel; another who, like
Balaam, "made Israel to sin" (
Ahab was the first king who officially introduced and
organised he most abominable form of heathen idolatry that the human
mind ever conceived (
What that religious system of licentious idolatry was is
well known; but something may be gathered from a recently-discovered
Papyrus,
Now in Lord Amherst's collection, and published
under the title of the Amherst Papyri (Oxford
Press).
The Papyrus goes on to speak of Zedekiah, the son of
Chenaanah, as being "the teacher of the four hundred prophets of Baal;"
and tells how Isaiah "called Jerusalem Sodom, and the rulers of Judah
and Israel he named people of Gomorrah." This was of course in
reference to the special sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. See
Many proofs abound to show that some similar system will yet be revived. None can be imagined which would more quickly and universally take hold upon the world, and unite all communities - and even the worst of characters, by making all, thus, to become religious, and yet able to degrade and gratify the instincts of human nature under the guise of religion.
Nor can we conceive any form of corruption which would mark off the people of God more effectually, and cause them to be separated from the abounding wickedness around them.
This is the best explanation which can be given of those
solemn verses,
These verses (
"And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils (R.V. marg. demons), and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."
Our point, however, must not be forgotten, which is, to draw attention to the fact, that the mention of this evil in these Epistles corresponds with the historical order in Israel's history in the Old Testament.
We have had four references to Israel's history in the Old Testament, and as four is the number connected with the earth, so these four have been connected with Israel in the earth and the Land; and with the culminating sin of departure from the love of God manifested to the Nation. Israel had "left her first love," forsaken God, and joined herself to idols in the most abominable form.
This is the climax of Israel's sin. All else in this
history is judgment, until Israel is removed from the Land and taken
away out of God's sight. His name is practically blotted out, never
again to be a separate ten-tribed kingdom. So blotted out, in fact,
that men speak today of the lost
Not that they are "lost" in the proper sense of
the word: but the proverbial expression is significant.
Indeed, the prophecy of
It is in this Epistle, next in order (to the assembly at
Sardis) that we have the reference to this silence, in the promise to
the few names of such as have not defiled their garments: "He that
overcometh... I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but
I will confess his name before my Father and before his Angels" (
We have had two references to Israel's history, and now we are to have two references to Judah's, and these refer, not any more to failure, sin and judgment; but to the hope of restoration and blessing.
As Ahab, king of Israel, was the first to introduce and establish the Asherah worship, so the reference here, in the Epistle to the assembly of Philadelphia, is to Hezekiah, king of Judah, who did much to destroy it and cast it out.
In
His two predecessors, like himself, are described with
special reference to their connection with the Temple and with the
Temple worship. Indeed, these three kings of Judah are linked together
as being three of the four reigns in which Isaiah prophesied, namely,
"Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah" (
Jotham "entered not into the temple of the Lord"
(
Ahaz "shut up the doors of the house of the Lord"
(
Hezekiah, at the beginning of his reign, "in the first
year, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the
Lord" (
In
Eliakim means God will raise up: and there can be no doubt whatever that we have here a prophetic reference to Christ, whom God would raise up. Indeed, the whole passage (vers. 20-25) reads more like prophecy than history; and points very distinctly forward to the Temple which He Himself will build, and will fill with His glory.
It is remarkable to notice how, in writing to this
Assembly in Philadelphia (
The reference here to
With this reference we can understand the announcement to
the Assembly of Philadelphia in
And we can understand also the reference to the Temple in
the promise, "I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he
shall go no more out" (
We are taken right on, beyond Jerusalem and its Temple, to the days of final blessing, even to the new Jerusalem and "the Temple of my God," when Isa . lxii. 2 shall be fulfilled: "And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name."
When this is exactly what is promised in
We reach, in this last Epistle, the lowest point of Judah's degradation, in that long line of departure from God, from the day Israel left her "first love," even the day of her espousals, when brought forth out of Egypt, down, down through one vast scene of idolatry and judgment, until we find that nation described in the Epistle to the Assembly in Laodicea in a condition of spiritual destitution such as characterised the People in the period of the Minor Prophets.
Indeed, so complete is the correspondence, that to see it we must wait till we take the Epistle sentence by sentence, and look at the passages from the Prophets, which we shall there place side by side. We give one or two as examples:
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The whole of
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In verse 16, the Lord speaks of spueing out the angel.
This is the very expression used prophetically in
All this shows that the references in this last Epistle do not in any way fit the Church of God, but agree in every particular with Israel's history, and are referred to so as to enlighten them from their own past history, and thus warn them as to future evils which will then surround them.
When the Church has been removed, and Israel is again dealt with, the religious condition of the nation will exactly correspond with its condition at the Lord's first coming.
There will be, as there was then, plenty of religion.
The truth of "this prophecy will be amply evidenced - "Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing."
The Pharisee's prayer (
The call to the wedding feast will be, as then, individual. Matthew was called, Zacchaeus was called, and many others; and those who heard that call were unable to resist its commanding and enabling power.
It is the great wedding feast of
These "servants," to whom this epistle is addressed, will
understand the solemn warning, "Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock." "To the twelve tribes scattered abroad" it was announced "the
judge standeth before the door" (
The then nearness of the Judge is the thought conveyed in this announcement. He will be then near at hand, and ready to be revealed.
We are aware that the warning in chap. iii. 20, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock," has been universally interpreted of the nearness of the Saviour in grace to those living in this present Church Dispensation, and this has been fostered by painters who have done so much to present perversions of Scripture to the eye.
It is a perversion which just suits the old nature, for it puts man in the place of Almighty God, and turns the Lord Jesus into a helpless suppliant. All this is foreign to the doctrines of grace, and makes them all of none effect.
Moreover, this popular interpretation is out of keeping
with the context. For, all through these seven Epistles the Lord is in
the character of a Judge, rewarding His "servants" according to their
"works." To those looking for Him and ready to receive Him, He appears
according to His promise in
How simple it all is when we look at this Epistle as relating to backsliding Israel, and read it in the light of the Prophets and the Gospels. How much more satisfactory to find these illustrations in the Old Testament Scriptures, instead of being occupied with the conflicting and fanciful references to certain phases of ecclesiastical history, which have no Scriptural foundation whatever, and rest entirely on human imagination. All is confusion as to interpretation, and error as to doctrine, the moment we introduce the Church or the present dispensation into these Epistles.
We have seen enough in the consideration of this fourteenth point to furnish us with further evidence that the Church is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
The same is seen when we look at our last point, viz., the order of the promises contained in these Epistles.
As we have seen that the references to the Old Testament in the seven Epistles correspond with the historical order of the events, so it is with respect to the promises contained in these Epistles. The literary order follows the historical order.
They are written to a People supposed to be well-versed in the history of the Old Testament, and well-acquainted with all that had happened to their fathers and had been written for their admonition. Instructed in the past history of their nation, they will readily understand the relation between the testings and judgments in the past with which they are familiar, and those similar circumstances in which they will find themselves in a yet future day.
While the historical events connected with the rebukes are carried down from Exodus to the period of the Minor Prophets, the promises cover a different period; commencing with the period of Eden, and ending with the period of Solomon.
The subjects of the rebukes follow the order of the departure of the People from Jehovah. Their decline and apostasy is traced out in the historical references contained in these Epistles.
All blessing depended on the national adherence of the chosen nation to the conditions of the Covenant made with them from the days of the Exodus to the days of the Minor Prophets.
We see them, in the history, coming down, down, down; till
we find them stripped of all blessing (nationally), poor, miserable and
blind. All that seems to be hoped for, or looked for, among the People
is a few individuals who will speak to one another and think upon the
Coming One (
We have seen that this same historical order is followed in these seven Epistles to the Assemblies.
But when we turn to the PROMISES, then all is different. They proceed in the opposite direction. The order, instead of descending - from Israel's highest ground of privilege (Exodus) to the lowest stage of spiritual destitution (Minor Prophets) - ascends, in the counsels of Jehovah, from tending a garden to sharing His throne.
This will be readily seen as we trace it out in the promises
made in
But first we must note that they are all intensely individual. There is no corporate existence recognised as such. Each one of the seven promises commences with the same words, "to him that overcometh." This answers to the language of the Four Gospels, and the Epistle to the Hebrews: e.g., "He that endureth to the end," and resists all the flood of evil by which he will be surrounded, he shall be saved.
Such phraseology is foreign to the language of the later Pauline Church Epistles.
The whole period covered by "the day of the Lord" is called the final meeting of the ages, or the (...) (sunteleia); but, the crisis in which it culminates is called the (...) (telos), the end of the age.
Both are rendered "end" in the New Testament, but the use of these two words must be carefully distinguished.
Sunteleia denotes a finishing or
ending together, or in conjunction with other things.
Consummation is perhaps the best English rendering.
The word occurs only in
Telos is significant in this connection,
in
In His answer to this question the Lord speaks of the whole period, and covers the whole of the sunteleia. But three times He mentions the telos (1) to say that "the telos is not yet" (verse 6); (2) to give a promise to him "that shall endure unto the telos" (verse 13); (3) to mark the crisis in verse 14, which comes immediately after the close of the preaching of "the gospel of the kingdom." "Then shall the telos come." The sign of the telos is the setting up of "the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet." Thus the telos, and he who endures to this, the same shall be saved, and will be among the overcomers specially referred to in these seven Epistles; to whom these promises are made, and to whom they peculiarly refer.
They are seven in number, as we know: but we have to note that the seven here, as elsewhere, is divided into three and four.
Each Epistle ends with two things: (1) an injunction to "hear;" (2) a promise to him that "overcometh." In the first three Epistles the Promise comes after the Injunction. In the last four it comes before it.
This is because the first three are connected, by reference, to what is written of the Divine provisions in the books of Genesis and Exodus (the Garden and the Wilderness); while the latter four are connected with the Land and the thrones of David and Solomon: the number three marking Heavenly or Divine perfection; and the number four having to do with the earth.
Let us look at these Promises in order.
refers to
God begins from Himself. The Apocalypse related not only to Israel, but to the earth; and the first promise goes back to Eden and to the "tree of life."
The way to that tree was lost: but was "kept" (or
preserved) by the cherubim (
Only in Israel's restoration can the way to the "Tree of Life" be restored.
Sovereignty and government on the earth is the great
subject of the Apocalypse; therefore the promise goes back to the point
where sovereignty was ignored and government was overthrown. This
becomes the starting-point. That is why the cherubim reappear in the
Apocalypse, intimately associated with this work of restoration of
Divine Government on the earth. their song is of "creation" (
refers to
refers to Exodus. The promise is, "I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it" (ii. 17).
It is in this third Epistle, which refers to the
wilderness period and Balaam's counsel, that we have a special
reference to the manna, the wilderness sustenance, of which Exodus
contains the record. "Bread from Heaven" and "Angels' food" (
God supported His People in the wilderness, where they
could obtain no food: Why not here? The false prophets will eat to the
full at the table of another Jezebel: Why should not God "furnish a
table" (
There is a further promise as to the "white stone" and the
"new name." Again we ask, Why go to our own imaginations, or to Pagan
customs, for interpretations, when we have in this same book of Exodus
In the Hebrew Canon Exodus is called the Book of
"the Names." See Names and Order of the Books of the Old
Testament, by Dr. Bullinger.
Besides these stones there were the stones of the "Urim and Thummin," of which little or nothing is known. These may have "white" for aught we know; but we do know that they were associated with a hearing and answering God dwelling in the midst of His People.
Here, amid their scenes of trial and tribulation, when God's people will find themselves in another wilderness, they are reminded, by this Exodus-promise, of Jehovah's presence with them; and of the blessed fact that He has their names in remembrance; that His love is everlasting; that His strength is almighty, and able to nourish them when their enemies might prevail and human resources fail.
refers to the books of Numbers and Samuel. The promise is,
"to him will give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a
rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to
shivers; even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the
morning star" (
Here again the literary order in the Apocalypse goes
forward with the historical order: for it is in the book of Numbers
that we have the basis of this promise given to the same People, who
were the subjects of it there. For "there shall come a Star out of
Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall mite the
corners (marg. princes) of Moab, and destroy all the children
of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a
possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob
shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that
remaineth of the city" (
This promise and prophecy had a first foreshadowing fulfilment in David; showing what was in store for David's Son and David's Lord: even for Him who was the "root and the offspring of David."
David, we have said, foreshadowed it: for he could say in
the words of his song, "thou hast girded me with strength to battle;
them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me. Thou hast also
given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate
me.... Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did
stamp them as the mire of the street" (
This was the theme of David's song "in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies."
And this heralds the yet more glorious song in honour of
David's Lord when the kingdoms of the world shall have become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and
ever (
The promise is given in this fourth Epistle, because the
prophecy of
In
refers again to the times of David — not the beginning of his reign, but to the end of it.
It is a double promise, negative and positive, and both have to do with the names of individuals.
"I will not blot out his name out of the book of life; but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels" (iii. 5).
The reference is to "the last words of David" in
These "last words of David" were uttered as he was about
to give up the throne and the kingdom to Solomon; when the conflict was
to end, and issue in dominion, and in a glorious reign of peace:
foreshadowing the time when this promise of
"I will not blot out his name."
"I will confess his name."
So runs the double promise, and it is exactly what we see in the history which is thus referred to.
David is confessing the names of his overcomers, and the confessing of them begins, "These be the names of the mighty men whom David had" (2 Sam.xxiii. 8).
They had "gathered themselves to him" in the day of his
rejection. For, though he had been anointed as king, he was not as yet
sitting on his own throne, but was in the cave Adullam, or the place of
testimony. Adullam means their
testimony.
They had gone to him in their distress and debt and
bitterness of soul (
Their deeds are announced, and their exploits are recorded. But there are some who are "blotted out."
Joab is not there, though "Abishai, the brother of Joab,"
is there (
Ahithophel is not there; though we read of "Eliam the son
of Ahithophel" (verse 34). He was David's greatest counsellor; so wise,
that when he spoke "it was as if a man had enquired at the oracle (or
word) of God" (
Abiathar, too, is blotted out, for not even is his name
here. He was David's beloved friend (see
The other names are duly confessed.
The scene is unspeakably solemn; and has, by application,
a warning voice for all. But, by interpretation, it comes with special
force in this promise to the Assembly at Sardis, and refers to the
fulfilment of
refers to Solomon, as does the seventh (Laodicea). In the former the reference is to the "Temple" and to the "City;" while, in the latter, it is to the "Throne."
The promise runs (iii. 12), "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and my new name."
The reference here to Solomon is unmistakable.
He it was who built the temple, and put in its porch those
mysterious pillars "Jachin and Boaz" (
"And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the fight pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin (i.e., He shall establish): and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz (i.e., In it is strength)."
Strength and permanence were thus announced to all who entered that wondrous Temple.
The Temple of God is brought in this Epistle into contrast with the Synagogue of Satan, and those were of the latter who "say they are Jews and are not." That synagogue has neither strength nor permanence. But the overcomers are endued with Divine strength, and shall have eternal inheritance, for they "shall go no more out."
Moreover, the promise refers to the name of the overcomer being written in "the city of my God."
There can be only one interpretation to this promise. Anyone acquainted with Old Testament phraseology will at once go back in memory to such Psalms as xlviii., cxxii., and lxxxvii. In this latter we read:
"Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised:
In the City of our God -- His holy mount.
Beautiful for situation, The joy of the whole earth, is
Mount Zion,
The sides of the north, the city of the great king.
As we have heard, so have we seen;
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God: God will establish it for ever"
(
"His foundation is in the holy mountains.
Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of thee,
O city of God. Selah.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know
me:
Behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia,
This one was born there.
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born
in her.
And He, the Most High, shall establish her.
Jehovah shall count, when he writeth up the peoples
'This man was born there.' Selah.
As well the singers, as the players on instruments [shall
say]
'All my springs are in thee'" (
True, the chapter-headings of the A.V. may call this "the nature and glory of the Church." But we shall prefer to believe God in so plain and literal a description of "the city of God:" and those who are the subjects of the promise will have a blessed knowledge of what it will mean to be written "in the city of my God."
Ezekiel (chap. xiii.) also addresses Israel; but as he
speaks not of promises and blessings, it is not interpreted of the
Church, but it is left for the persons mentioned; though they are not
more clearly defined here than in the above Psalm. In verse 9 we read
of those who "shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall
they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall
they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am Adonai
Jehovah" (
The promise in
refers to the throne, of which Solomon's was in every respect the ideal type.
This, the highest promise, is given to the overcomers in the lowest condition of Israel's degradation, which is described as in danger of being "spued out."
What that was we have already seen (page 89), and now we have the chiefest of all the promises. The overcomers in that last terrible condition of things are the ones who most need the greatest of Divine help and encouragement. Hence the highest promise is given.
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his
throne" (
To Solomon is the great promise of the throne vouchsafed
through David. "When thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with
thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee... and I will establish
his kingdom. He shall build me an house for my name, and I will
stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever" (
The defection of those who should follow Solomon on that
throne was foreknown and provided for. The whole of
"My mercy shall not depart away from him...
"And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for
ever before thee:
"Thy throne shall be established for ever" (
How and when this promise will be fulfilled, after the
period of chastening referred to in verse 14 (of
The title used in
The expression, "the saints of the Most High," tells us that the people referred to are an earthly people, even those whose promise is an earthly throne and an earthly kingdom. Not the church of God, therefore, whose calling, standing, hope and destiny are heavenly.
Four times is the expression used in
In verses 21, 22 the fourth Beast "made war with the
saints and prevailed against them (as related in
In verse 25 the Beast "shall speak great words against the
Most High," &c. (as related also in
In verse 27 we read that "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."
These are the "elect," who shall be "gathered together
from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other," when the
"Son of Man" shall come down on the earth (
And when, later, in
See the structure of the whole of this great
prophecy of
This throne of the special judgment of the "nations" leads
up to and ends in the permanent throne of Divine government, according
to
Then will this promise be fulfilled to the overcomer: "I
will grant to sit with Me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am
set down with my Father in His throne (
This promise, therefore, like all the others is not given
to the Church of God. The members of that glorious body will have
already been 'caught up to meet the Lord in the air," and will have had
their part in the "gathering together unto him" there, before the cry
of
Thus we have traced the upward path -- the ascending scale of the seven promises of these seven Epistles, and seen how are they to be interpreted of Israel, whose downward path is here also so wonderfully set forth in these same Epistles.
This concludes our fifteen preliminary points;
and we submit that their cumulative evidence establishes our
fundamental position that, the "Church of God" does not form
the subject of the Apocalypse. Our interpretation confines that subject
to the "Jew" and the "Gentile" (
The scope of the Apocalypse is the most important of all the preliminary subjects connected with its interpretation. Apart from its true scope, no correct interpretation is possible. This scope is best gathered from its structure; but, before considering this, we propose to look at it as shown by its place in the Canon of Scripture, and by the relation in which it stands to the other books of the New Testament. This is the first thing that must be discovered in order to get an insight as to its place, subject, object and scope.
The order of the books of the New Testament as a whole varies,
both in the manuscripts, versions and catalogues
Such as the catalogues contained in the Muratorian
Fragment, A.D. 160-170. Eusebius (H.E. iii. 25), about A.D.
340. Athanasius (Ex. Festali Epistola (written A.D. 367))
xxxix. tom. i. 767, 961. Ed. Benedict. Paris 1777. Gregorius
Nazienzenus (Garm. Sect. i. xii. 5), A.D. 391. The Proceedings
of the Council of Carthage, A.D. 397. Ruffinus, A.D. 410.
But while the order of the separate books may vary, they are always arranged in four groups which never vary: — (1) The Four Gospels. (2) The Acts of the Apostles. (3) The Epistles. (4) The Apocalypse.
The four groups always follow each other in this order. We say four "groups"; but it will be observed that only the first and third groups; the second and fourth consist of only one single book each.
The order of the separate books in these two groups varies. For example, the order of the Gospels varies. The order of the Epistles varies, for in some lists Paul's Epistles come before the general and other Epistles, and vice versa. But, like Paul's Epistles addressed to churches, which never vary in their order, so thee four groups never vary in their order.
Their inter-relation may be set forth, in brief, in the following structure:—
The New Testament Books
Gospels
| THE FIRST ADVENT. The coming of the "Son of Man" to present the kingdom. The rejection of the kingdom and crucifixion of the King.
The Acts and the Earlier Pauline Epistles
| H | THE KINGDOM RE-OFFERED. The Acts and earlier Pauline
Epistles (
The Later Pauline Epistles
| H | THE KINGDOM IN ABEYANCE. The "Not Yet" of
Apocalypse
| THE SECOND ADVENT. The coming of the "Son of Man" to set up the kingdom in power and great glory. The establishing of the kingdom and the crowning of the King.
From this structure it will be seen that the Apocalypse stands out in special relation to, and connection with the four Gospels, and not with the Epistles.
The Gospels record the events connected with the First Advent, and the Apocalypse records the events connected with the Second Advent.
In the Gospels we have "the days of the Son of Man" (
The Gospels close with the great prophecy of "the Son of man
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (
The Apocalypse takes up this theme and opens by declaring the fulfilment of this prophecy, "Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him" (i. 7): followed by the account of the judgments; the coming and the crowning.
The Gospels contain the prophecy of the Great Tribulation: the Apocalypse contains the description of it.
Between the first advent, which is the subject of the Gospels, and the second advent, which is the subject of the Apocalypse, we have the present interval, which is the subject of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles.
This interval is thus divided into two distinct periods, (1) that covered by the Acts of the Apostles and earlier Pauline Epistles, and (2) that covered by the later Pauline Epistles.
The Acts has for its subject the re-presentation of the King
and the kingdom. Israel is again taken up, and Peter, using the keys of
the kingdom committed to him for this special purpose, opens the
kingdom to Jews and Gentiles. Through the abounding grace of God the
kingdom is again offered to Israel, but this being rejected the cup of
Israel's iniquity is filled up. The people not only rejected Christ
Risen, but they resisted the Holy Ghost. They resisted Jehovah in the
Old Testament, The Messiah in the Gospels, and the Holy Ghost in the
Acts. Though the ministry of Peter partly overlaps that of Paul, yet it
is clear that Israel is specially dealt with as such, until the final
sentence is pronounced in
Then we have the period covered by the later Pauline Epistles, which have for their subject the Mystery, or the Church of God.
The church has a different calling, a different standing, and
a different destiny from either Jew or Gentile, and yet, composed of
both, is now waiting for their calling on high (
It may be that these two parts of the present interval slightly overlap, as Paul's ministry in the synagogues and among the Gentiles also overlapped.
Not until shortly after the Apostle's death did God actually
(as He had already begun to do judicially) cause to deal with Israel as
Israel, scattering the People abroad on the earth — destroying the
Temple, and effectually, for a time, breaking off the natural branches
from the Olive Tree (
After this, we have set before us, in the Epistles, the
calling and hope of the church, which is now being taken out,
and is waiting to be taken up, to meet the Lord in the air;
waiting for "our gathering together unto Him" (
This is fundamental to our whole position, and is necessary, we believe, to a clearer understanding of the Apocalypse.
It is well therefore that we should further establish the great scope of the Book as taught us by its position in the New Testament; and its special relation to the Gospels.
In
As the Revelation is the description of that day (i. 10, iii.
3; xvi. 15) and of His "coming as a thief" (compare
The tense here (in verse 10) is not the simple future tense of the indicative mood, but it is the second aorist tense of the subjunctive mood, (...) (elthe), and can mean only shall have come. In verse 7, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed" is not a verb at all, but a noun, (...) (en te apokalupsei), and means at the revelation (lit., at the Apocalypse).
So that "at the Apocalypse" of Jesus Christ, the Raptured ones
of
But when the time comes to "recompense tribulation" to the world, then Christ will already have come to be glorified in His saints. For "in that day" He "shall have come" to take them up to be with Himself, "for ever with the Lord." This is the teaching of verse 10.
That this is the only sense in which this tense can be taken
is clear from the following examples of its use :—
In
The prophecy as to Christ's enemies' being put under His feet
(
All this is conclusive, and tells us that the church of God will be at "rest" at the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. And that, when He comes to take vengeance on His enemies, He "shall have come" already for His saints.
This enables us to see the true place of the Apocalypse in the
New Testament. Chronologically it follows on the Epistles, which end
with the taking up of (
There we see it rejected: here we see it established with judgment, and set up in Divine power and glory.
True, in order of time it follows on the period covered by the Epistles: and what we have to look for, now, is, not the conversion of the world, but the judgment of the world. The professing church is deceiving the world. It tells the world that its mission is to improve the world and, by improving its sanitation, housing its poor, and generally preaching the gospel of earthly citizenship, to bring on a millennium, in which no Christ is thought of or wanted!
While the majority of the Church's teachers are loudly
proclaiming that "the day of the Lord" will not come till the world's
conversion comes, the Spirit and truth of God are declaring that that
day shall not come until the apostasy comes (
While the majority of the Church's teachers are maintaining that the world is not yet good enough for Christ, the Spirit is declaring in the Word that the world is not yet bad enough.
There is some difference between these two testimonies; and our labour will not be in vain, if we learn from this book of the Revelation to believe God; and, while we "wait for His son from heaven" as our blessed Hope, to warn the world of increasing apostasy (which may go on side by side with increasing morality) and of coming judgment.
Yes, coming judgment. That is the scope of the whole book. We have, here, events which cannot be limited by mere ecclesiastical history; but a wondrous unveiling of the awful scenes which shall end up God's controversy with Satan. It has as its field the whole creation, and not merely a corrupt church in Europe. All the forces of Heaven and Hell are seen in conflict, and bringing to a head the mighty issues involved.
On the one side we see,
(1) The full display of the power of God in Christ, opposed to
the full energy of Satan and all his forces in the "day of battle and
of war" (
(2) In this final conflict, we see the full array of all the
Heavenly forces which Christ can command and will command. We see
spiritual beings, angels and principalities and powers in Heaven, and
the great physical forces of creation (
(3) That mighty heavenly host will embrace all who have been delivered and redeemed from "the power of Satan" from the time of sin's beginning, as well as all the angelic beings who have not fallen.
(4) These heavenly forces are led by "the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords," — "the Prince of the Kings of the earth" — the great "Captain of the Lord's host."
On the other side, we see
(1) The full display of Satan's power and authority (xvi. 13,
14), and that, too, from the beginning of his tyranny and usurpation as
the "prince of this world" and its "god" (
(2) To this end, all the hosts which he can and will command,
from the very beginning of his power — angels and principalities and
powers; men and demons from the pit, and men on earth; all these will
be led by their captain, and all brought to bear against Him who
sitteth upon the White Horse (
(3) This mighty host will be of far wider extent than the minds of expositors have ever yet conceived.
(4) These forces of earth and hell will have for their leader, Satan, "the prince of this world."
We have here something far beyond the ordinary interpretations put upon this Book: and, we believe that few, if any, can possibly realize all the mighty issues involved in it: and the extent of its results as affecting creation, Israel, and the nations of the world.
To limit it to Popery, or to Christendom (so called) is, we believe, wholly to miss the scope of the Book: and, to lose the weighty lessons if its wondrous Revelation, by committing the mistake condemned by true logic — viz., of putting a part (and a small part too) for the whole.
The awful conflict is of far wider extent than this. It exceeds all the general petty views of its scope; as affairs of State transcend those of a Parish Vestry.
"Michael and his angels" and "the Dragon and his angels"
include the whole fighting forces of the heavens.
What the Book tells us of the conflict on earth is of the same
character. The scope of it takes in the whole earth, and leads up also
to an EARTHLY ARMAGEDDON (
The Covenant of marvels (
The scope of the book winds up all the affairs of time, and contains the end of prophecy, the end of knowledge, and the end of the Secret of God (x. 7), and the dawn of the eternal ages of ages.
In short, the scope of the book, as shown by its place in, and relation to, the whole canon of Scripture, is the winding up of the affairs of the whole creation, and the fixing of the eternal states of all things in heaven and on earth.
We are thankful to feel that we are not alone in taking this serious view of the real scope of the Apocalypse.
While many fritter away its solemn scenes in the common-place history of Europe, there are others who see beyond all this, and behold the Divine interposition in the affairs of the whole creation.
We have information about the church in the Epistles: as we see, even in them, the indications of the coming corruption which has since become history. But in the Apocalypse we have something far beyond, and quite different from all this.
The Epistles prepare us for what we know as Ecclesiastical history; and they prepare us also for the end and revealed in the Apocalypse.
Eloquent testimony is borne to this, and therefore to our view
of the scope of Revelation, by Canon Bernard;
Bampton Lectures for 1864: The Progress of
Doctrine in the New Testament, by Thomas Dehany Bernard, later
Rector of Walcot, and Canon of Wells. London: Macmillan & Co., 1900
(page 189, 5th ed., 1900).
His weighty words are:—
"I know not how any man, in closing the Epistles, could expect
to find the subsequent history of the Church essentially different from
what it is. In those writings we seem, as it were, not to witness some
passing storms which clear the air, but to feel the whole atmosphere
charged with the elements of future tempest and death. Every moment the
forces of evil show themselves more plainly. They are encountered, but
not dissipated. Or, to change the figure, we see battles fought by
leaders of our band, but no security is promised by their victories.
New assaults are being prepared; new tactics will be tried; new enemies
pour on; the distant hills are black with gathering multitudes, and the
last exhortations of those who fall at their posts call on their
successors to 'endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ,'
"The fact which I observe is not merely that these indications of the future are in the Epistles, but that they increase as we approach the close, and after the doctrines of the Gospel have been fully wrought out, and the fullness of personal salvation and the ideal character of the church have been placed in the clearest light, the shadows gather and deepen on the external history. The last words of St. Paul in the second Epistle to Timothy, and those of St. Peter in his second Epistle, with the Epistles of St. John and St. Jude, breathe the language of a time in which the tendencies of that history had distinctly shewn themselves; and in this respect these writings form a prelude and a passage to the Apocalypse."
If these things be so, as we assuredly believe they are, then the church is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
The Apocalypse follows the Epistles in sequence of time, and is naturally and historically consequent upon them; but in the Divine order and plan it is logically and dispensationally consequent on the Gospels and Acts.
Every previous dispensation has ended in judgment, from
Satan's first rebellion (
That this present dispensation shall end in judgment is not only to be inferred from the uniform history of the past; for it is clearly foretold in the Epistles. It is this judgment which is described in the Apocalypse; and it is this book we are now seeking to understand more clearly. This clearness, we believe, will be greater in proportion as we see the position occupied by this Book in the New Testament; and in proportion as we believe that the Church of God has no part in the great Tribulation, and no participation in those judgments.
That it is not the subject of this book we have endeavoured to establish in our fifteen preliminary points: and this view will be further confirmed as we proceed with our consideration and study of the Apocalypse.
Having seen the scope of the Apocalypse as suggested by the place of the book in the Canon of Scripture, we now propose to gather its scope from its structure.
This can be done only by looking at the book as a whole.
Most expositions of the book have proceeded on some plan formed according to the expositor's own idea. These are, for the most part, clever and ingenious; but, after all, they represent only the opinion of each individual writer; and are accepted or rejected according to the opinion of each individual reader. The fact that there are scarcely two alike out of the vast number of these analyses shows what a poor foundation these human opinions are to rest upon; and also that there is room for a serious attempt to search and see whether there be not some Divine plan in the structure of the book; or whether God has left us thus at sea, without chart, compass or helm.
Our answer is that God has not thus left us to interpret the book; but He has given us the book as His own interpretation of what "The Day of the Lord" is to be. There is a Divine plan in the structure of the book; and, if we follow this and proceed on its lines, believing what God says, all will be clear, simple and easy. But if, whenever God says on thing we immediately assume and assert that he means another thing, we shall, obviously, have as many different interpretations as we have interpreters! And who is to direct us in such a chaos of conflicting opinions.
Were it our aim to enumerate these opinions, and help to [make] a choice between them, our task would be greater than we could undertake or carry out. But, as our aim is to treat the book as God's own description and explanation of the events which are to take place when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, our task will be a happy one; for it will be to try to understand what God says and not what man thinks.
We shall find ourselves giving little more than a translation of God's own words, first setting them forth according to His own plan.
That this plan is correct and true is not open even to question. It is so simple that a child will be able to understand it.
After the Introduction (chap. i), which corresponds exactly with the Conclusion (chap. xxii. 6-21); and the Instruction for people on the earth during that Day (chap. ii, iii.), which corresponds with matters concerning people on the New Earth, in chap. xxi. 1 - xxii. 5, we find that the whole body of the book is divided for us into seven pairs of connected events.
Perhaps the simplest form in which to first exhibit this will be the following:—
       A | i. Introduction.
           B | ii, iii. The People on Earth.
               X | iv. 1 - xx. 15.
Visions.
           B | xxi. 1 - xxii. 5. The
People on the New Earth.
       A | xxii. 6-21. Conclusion
Now, the Holy Spirit has divided the central number, which we have marked "X," and which occupies the larger part of the book, into seven parts. Each of these seven parts consists of two scenes: The former of which takes place "in Heaven," and the latter "on Earth."
If we examine these more closely, we shall find that they are correlative: i.e., the scene "in Heaven" is preliminary to, and explanatory of, the events which follow "on Earth." Things are seen "in Heaven," and words are there uttered which show the nature and object of what is about to take place "on Earth."
When God has described a scene as taking place "in Heaven," and caused Heavenly voices to give the key to what is to follow in another scene which immediately takes place "on earth"; and this is done seven consecutive times; is it not strange that writers on the Apocalypse should overlook this exceedingly simple arrangement; and proceed to elaborate some complicated analysis of their own; and thus wholly ignore and break up the division which God has Himself made and given and marked off so clearly by the repeated expressions "in Heaven" and "upon the Earth," on purpose to guide us in understanding His book?
How can we trust any analysis, however clever it may be, if these divisions are broken into, and the Heavenly and earthly scenes are mixed together? All must be confusion. And any such division of the book, or any which proceeds on the lines of the chapter-divisions, as given in the authorised version, will be found useless for the purpose of gathering the real scope of the book.
Before we proceed further it may be well to set out these Divine divisions more fully.
   A | i. Introduction
       B | ii, iii. The people on the earth
           X | i. {H 1 |
iv., v. In Heaven. (The Throne, the Book, and the Lamb.)
                   E | vi. 1-vii. 8. On
Earth. (The Six Seals and 144,000.)
              | ii. {H 2
|  vii. 9-viii. 6. In Heaven. (The Great Multitude and the
Seventh Seal.)
                   E | viii. 7-xi. 14.Â
On Earth. (The Six Trumpets.)
              | iii. {H 3
| xi. 15-19-. In Heaven. (The Seventh Trumpet.)
                   E | xi. -19. On
Earth. (The Earthquake, etc.)
              | iv. {H
4 | xii. 1-12. In Heaven. (Woman, Child and
Dragon.)
                   E | xii. 13-xiii. 18.Â
On Earth. (The Dragon and Two Beasts.)
              | v.  {H
5 | xiv. 1-5. In Heaven. (The Lamb and
144,000.)
                   E | xiv. 6-20. On
Earth. (The Six Angels.)
              | vi. {H
6 | xv. 1-8. In Heaven. (The Seven Vial
Angels.)
                   E | xvi. 1-xviii. 24.Â
On Earth. (The Seven Vials.)
              | vii. {H 7
| xix. 1-16.  In Heaven. (The Marriage of the Lamb, etc.)
                   E | xix. 17-xx. 15.Â
On Earth. (The Final Five Judgments.)
       B | xxi. 1-xxii. 5. The People on
the New Earth.
   A | xxii. 6-21. Conclusion.
Â
The more intently we look on this, and the more carefully we study it, the more shall we be struck by its beauty and simplicity. How clear, compared with man's complicated division made according to his own fancy! So clear that the humblest child of God cannot fail to grasp it. It requires no explanation; but it will itself explain all things to us if we have ears to hear.
It is remarkable that in each of these wondrous scenes "in Heaven" voices with utterances and songs are heard. Not one Heavenly scene is without some Heavenly voice or utterance. Indeed, there are, altogether seventeen of these distributed in these seven scenes "in Heaven"; and this distribution helps us to discover the order and arrangement of these seven pairs respectively.
No. iv. evidently is the great central pair; both from actual position as well as from its subject matter. As to position, it occupies, literally and actually, the central part of the book; while as to its subject matter, we shall see (when we come to consider it) that it is as important as its position declares it to be.
Then, Nos. i. and vii. are marked off as corresponding, by the
fact that out of the seventeen heavenly voices ten are in these two
pairs; six being the first scene "in heaven," and
four in the last. The heavenliness of Nos. i. and vii. is also
more marked than in any of the others: for all heaven is engaged in
either giving these utterances, or singing these songs;
Singing is mentioned only three times in Revelation: chap. v. 9, xiv. 3, xv. 3.
In Nos. ii. and vi. we also have another pair — the former characterised by the trumpets, and the latter by the vials — the two most solemn portions of all the judgments which the book contains. Moreover, it is remarkable that it is in these two that those who pass through, or come out of, the great tribulation are specially mentioned as giving these heavenly utterances.
It appears, therefore, from this that these seven pairs are arranged as an Epanodos: that is to say, the first corresponds with the last (the seventh); the second with the sixth; the third with the fifth; while the fourth stands out in the centre; emphasising, by its central position, its important teaching.
They may be set out formally and briefly thus:
   i | Longer and more full of heavenly voices and
utterances. (Six in all).
           ii | The Trumpets.
                   iii | Shorter and less
detail.
                           iv |
Central in subject and position.
                   v | Shorter and less
detail.
           vi | The Vials.
   vii | Longer and more full of heavenly voices and
utterances. (Four in all).
Â
THE HEAVENLY VOICES
are also portioned out according to the above plan:
   i | All heaven (6). The four Zoa, or Living
ones, and twenty-four Elders; only here and in No. vii.
           ii | Those out of the great tribulation
(2).
                   iii | Great voices
(2).
                           iv | A
loud voice (1).
                   v | Great voices
(1).
           vi | Those out of the great tribulation
(1).
   vii | All heaven (4). The four Zoa, or Living
Ones, and twenty-four Elders; only here and in No. i.
Â
From all this it is clear that we have to do with Divine handiwork when we come to the study of this book.
We have before us not one of the many Apocalyptic writings
which have been put forth at various times by men, which are for the
most part unintelligible dreamings;
Such as The Sibyllene Oracles (180 B.C. -
350 A.D.); The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (130 B.C -
10 A.D.); The Psalms of Solomon (70-40 B.C.); The Book of
Jubilees (40-10 B.C.); The Ascension of Isaiah (1-100
A.D.); The Assumption of Moses (14-30 A.D.); The
Apocalypse of Baruch (50-90 A.D.); The Book of Enoch
(200-260 A.D.).
It may be well to append a complete list or table of these utterances as a guide to their further study by our readers: —
A TABLE OF THE SEVENTEEN
HEAVENLY UTTERANCES.
H 1. Chaps. iv. and v.
The four Zoa, or Living ones. iv. 8. "Holy, Holy, Holy," &c. (Three-fold).
The twenty-four Elders. iv. 11. "Thou are worthy ... to receive," &c. (Three-fold).
The four Zoa, or Living ones, and the twenty-four Elders. v. 9,10. (A new song). "Thou are worthy to take the book," &c.
Many angels and the four Living ones, and the Elders and thousands of angels. v. 12. "Worthy is the Lamb," &c. (Seven-fold).
Every creature. v. 13. "Blessing and honour and glory," &c. (Four-fold).
The four Zoa, or Living ones. v. -14-. "Amen."
H 2. vii. 9 - viii. 6
The great multitude out of the great tribulation. vii. 10. "Salvation to our God," &c.
All the angels round about the throne. vii. 12. "Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom," &c. (Seven-fold).
H 3. xi. 15-19-.
Great voices. xi. -15. "The Kingdom of the world is become," &c.
The twenty-four Elders. xi. 17. "We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty."
H 4. xii. 1-12
A loud voice. xii. 10-12. "Now is come salvation, and strength," &c.
H 5. xiv. 1-5
A voice from heaven. xiv. 3. A new song (no words).
H 6. xv. 1-8
They that had gotten the victory over the beast, &c. xv. -3. "Great and marvellous are they works, Lord God Almighty," &c.
H 7. xix. 1-16
A great voice of much people in heaven. xix. -1-3. "Alleluia: salvation and glory," &c. (Four-fold)
The twenty-four Elders and the four Zoa, or Living ones. xix. -4-. "Amen, Alleluia."
A voice out of the throne. xix. 5. "Praise our God, all ye his people," &c.
The voice of a great multitude, &c. xix. -6, 7. "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth," &c.
We shall note, as we proceed, the relation of these Heavenly Voices to the transactions which follow on the earth. Meanwhile, our readers may make out for themselves a more complete list of these utterances, and study the distinguishing features of each.
Before closing this chapter, we may add the following from
Canon Bernard's Progress of Doctrine in the New Testament.
Bampton Lectures for 1864. Macmillan. 5th Edition. 1900.
"We have here.... a doctrine of the history of the
consummation: I mean that, besides a prophetic record of the facts of
the history, we have (what is of much higher value) an exposition of
the nature of the history. The book is a revelation of the
connection between things that are seen and things that are not seen,
between things on earth
Our italics Our italics
Our italics Our italics
"The books is a doctrine of the power and coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 'Behold He cometh with clouds, and every eye
shall see him.'
xxii. 20. Our italics.
Â
We now have to deal with each of these eighteen large members [as previously outlined]. We must expand the structure of each; and then give a translation, with such explanatory remarks as may be necessary to help us in understanding the inspired words.
We are aware that some persons consider these structures as more or less fanciful.
But we may ask, why are we to make a distinction between God's words and God's works? "All his works are perfect." Students of science never weary in examining them; and the more closely they examine them the more of this perfection do they discover in their structure, order, arrangement, beauty, etc., etc.
But God's words are part of His Works. Why should not students of God's Word deal with it in the same way, and expect to find the same perfection of structure, order and beauty? Why are His words to be treated as though they were imperfect, and His works perfect?
It is written, "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of
all them that have pleasure therein." (
We believe that His words also are great and perfect; and as
we have, and trust our readers also have, intense "pleasure therein,"
we propose to seek them out and to "search" the Scriptures, so that we
may all be able to say, "I rejoice at Thy word, as one that findeth
great spoil" (
Our readers are exhorted to study them carefully, for they are the key to the whole Book. They show us what is the Scope of the whole; and also of its various parts. They tell us what is emphatic; and what are the special points on which we are to fix our attention. Thus we shall have a constant and never-failing guide ever at hand to direct our studies and control our thoughts.
In the consideration of these Structures we shall get such an
impression of the Divine source of the Book and of its perfections
(even though we may not fully grasp them), that we shall be impelled to
receive its revelation as "the Word of God," and "not as the Word of
men" (
The INTRODUCTION (chap. i) is constructed on exactly the same plan as the CONCLUSION (xxii. 6-21).
Each consists of four pairs of four members each.
It is not always, or even often, that the Introduction and Conclusion of a book thus correspond with each other.
But this book of the Revelation is peculiar. Four is the number symbolising that which has to do with the earth; and sixteen is the square of four. It is significant that this book should be rounded off so perfectly as to declare, thus, outwardly and symbolically, that it relates to this earth; and to the putting square of all that concerns it.
Everything is out of course now: but all is to be put square ere long; and in this book we are told how it is going to be done.
The following is the structure of chapter i., which forms the "Introduction" to the whole book. To appreciate it more, we ought carefully to compare it with the structure of the "Conclusion," which will be given in its place.
A | E1 | a1
| i. 1. The angel testifying.
b1| 2. The things
testified.
F1 |
c1 | 3-. Benediction. ("Blessed.")
d1 | -3. Advent. ("The time is at hand.")
E2 | a2
| 4-. John testifying.
b2 | -4,5-. The
things testified.
F2 |
c2 | -5,6. Ascription. ("Unto Him.")
d2 | 7,8. Advent ("Behold He cometh.")
E3 | a3
| 9-. John testifying.
b3 | -9-11. The
things testified.
F3 |
d3 | 12-16. Advent. (Visions of the Coming
One.)
c3 | 17-. Salutation. ("Fear not.")
E4 | a4
| -17-18. Jesus testifying (of Himself).
b4 | 19. The
things testified.
F4 |
d4 | 20-. Advent. (Vision 12-16, d3) referred
to.)
c4 | -20. Interpretation. ("The 7 stars are,"
&c.)
This Structure shows us that the emphasis is specially placed
on two things:--
The Advent (F), and
Testimony concerning the Advent (E).
In each of the latter of the two pairs (F1, F2, F3, and F4) the Advent is alternated with four other subjects:--
Benediction,
Ascription,
Salutation, and
Interpretation.
But these are introverted. For, whereas, in the first two pairs the Advent follows the Benediction and the Ascription respectively, it precedes the Salutation and the Interpretation in the last two pairs.
Moreover, the Advent is testified in two ways. In the first two pairs (d1 and d2) it is testified in words; but in the last two pairs (d3 and d4) it is testified in vision. Our attention is called to this difference by the Introversions in F3 and F4.
And now, to show how perfectly, not only the introduction, as a whole, is constructed, but also, how perfect are each of its parts (or members), we must expand the first member, E1, as an example, in full.
This makes it perfectly clear that in these first two verses we have the essence of the whole book. This first member, consisting of these two verses, is divided into two parts, which have a perfect correspondence with each other. This correspondence is hidden by the faulty human verse-division. In each division we have the same four subjects, viz., giving of the Book; Its medium, purpose, and subject; first, in Intention; and then, in Execution.
E1, i. 1, 2. The Angel Testifying and the Things Testified.
Intention |
E1 | e | 1-. The Revelation
Given] "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
f | -1-. The Medium] "unto
him,
g | -1-. The Purpose] "to
show unto his servants
h | -1-. The Subject]
"things which must shortly come to pass;
Execution |
E1 | e | -1-. The
Revelation Given] "And he sent and signified it
f | -1-. The Medium]
"by his angel
g | -1,2-. The
Purpose] "unto his servant John: who bare record
h | -2. The
Subject] "of the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus
Christ, and of all
things that he saw."
We need not proceed further with the expansions of all these members.
Our readers will have noticed that, in E1, we have combined the full text with the outline or skeleton of the structure. But this text is from the Authorized Version. In our Exposition we propose to give our own Translation, with such explanatory notes as may serve to make it clear.
THE TRANSLATION OF E1, chap. i. 1, 2.
i. 1. THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST] This
is the Divine title of the book. All other titles, whether ancient or
modern, are human, and are therefore not worth discussing, or even
enumerating. The book is often called the Apocalypse, which is
the transliteration of the Greek word rendered "Revelation." (...)
means literally an unveiling, from (...) apo away
from, and (...) kalupto, to veil: and may be understood either
of the taking a veil from a person, and so causing him to become
visible (as when a statue is said to be unveiled); or of
taking a veil from the future, and disclosing the course of events
which shall take place. We give a list of all the occurrences of the word,
with its renderings [in the section VII. The Title of the Book], so
that our readers may be able to judge for themselves what is the sense
in each passage. It is rendered revelation in
With (...) en in, i.e. When he shall be
revealed,
Manifestation,
Appearing,
Coming,
With (...) eis into, To lighten,
which God gave to Him] Here it is not the
Father who instructs His children; but , it is "God," as Sovereign, who
informs His "servants" through Christ, who is (in His mediatorial
character) emphatically the Servant (see
to show] Here we have the same word as that
which is used in the opening of the "Conclusion" of this book (xxii.
6). It means to to present to view, and has a close connection
with the visions and signs (compare The word occurs in this
book eight times,
viz., i. 1; iv. 1; xvii. 1; xxi. 9, 10; xxii. 1, 6, 8.
to His servants] Not "all Christians" (as
such), as Alford says, but to Israel, to whom the word "servant"
peculiarly belongs. We have already said something on this subject, so
that we need only add that it is not used of Christians in the Pauline
Epistles, but it is in
On the other hand, it is used fourteen times of those
who are the subject of the Apocalypse. In the Old Testament it is the
common word for Israel under the covenant of works. (See
what things must needs come to pass] by the
necessity of Divine ruling and over-ruling. That is to say, they are
not left to chance, for they must needs come to pass. We have the exact
words here from the Septuagint of
with speed] (...) en tache occurs
eight times,
{Footnote missing in our digitized original --CCEL}
and He signified it] i.e., God,
see xxii. 6. The word means (etymologically) to show by signs:
but it must not be restricted to this meaning, as the other occurrences
of the word clearly show. See Thus, "Lampstands" are explained for us as
representing assemblies; "Stars," angels of the assemblies; "Torches,"
spirits; "Horns" and "Eyes," spirits; "Incense odours," prayers of
saints; "Dragon," Satan; "Frogs," unclean spirits; "Wild Beast," a king
(xvii.); "Heads" of the Wild Beast, mountains and kings; "Horns,"
kings; "Waters," peoples; "Woman," a city; "Fine linen," righteous
awards; "City of God," Bride of the Lamb.
sending by His angel to His servant John]
John, like Paul and others, was singled out for this special service to
his own fellow-servants. Compare
2. who testified] The past tense shows that the Introduction, though coming first, was necessarily written last. The word connects the Introduction with the Conclusion. Compare i. 1 with xxii. 16, 20. The only three occurrences in this book. It means here not only testified, but published and made known.
of (or, as to) the Word of God] We have seen above that this is the common idiomatic phrase for a direct prophetic communication. This, therefore, stands first, and is used of the whole book.
and the testimony of Jesus Christ] i.e., which He testified when on earth. This book or prophetic word does not go outside the scope of what Jesus bare testimony to, in His own prophetic teaching. That is the essence of the prophecy of this book, and the "spirit" of it. See xxii. 6.
what things soever he saw] Not only what he heard as a direct prophetic message, but what he saw represented in vision. God gave the Revelation to Christ, Christ signified by His angel to John; and John hereby makes it known. He says, in xxii. 8 (where we have another connecting link between the Conclusion and the Introduction), "I John saw these things, and heard them." We have also another proof, in this past tense (i. 2), that the Introduction was written last; or, at any rate, after the seeing and the hearing referred to.
The second member, F2, consists of only one verse (i. 3); the subject of which is two-fold:-- viz., Benediction, and The Advent.
It may be expanded as follows:--
THE EXPANSION OF
F2, chap. i. 3.
Benediction and Advent.
F2 | i | 3-
Benediction ] "Blessed
j | k | -3-. Persons ] "be
he that readeth, and they that hear
l | -3-. Words ]
"the words of this prophecy,
j | k | -3-. Persons
] "and keep
l | -3-.
Words ] "those things that are written therein:
| i | -3. Reason ] "for
the time is at hand."
THE TRANSLATION OF F2, chap. i. 3.
3. Blessed (or, happy) be he that
readeth, and they who hear ] This points to one reader and
many listeners (
the words of this prophecy ] There is a reference here to the spoken words, especially to the seventeen heavenly utterances, as distinct from the things written. The words spoken are the key to the things written, for it is added:
and keep in mind the things which stand written
therein ] "Keep" is a Hebrew idiom. The word (...)
shamar means to remember, to ponder upon. See the
LXX. translation of it in
for the season is near ] The word (...)
kairos refers to the ordained and appointed time, viz., the
time occupied by what is written, i.e., the Advent of the Day of the
Lord. The prophecy of this book is not to be put aside as though it
referred to things so remote that they have no concern for us. But they
are always to be regarded as near, and kept in our minds, so that our
life may be influenced by them, and that we may walk in view of the
nearness of the Day when the Lord will judge, and thus be without care
as to this present time in which man is judging, which is called "man's
day" (
We need not further minutely expand the various members of this Introduction; but proceed with the translation, referring our readers to the Structure of E2 and F2.
THE TRANSLATION OF
E2 a2, chap. i. 4-.
John testifying.
4-. John to the seven assemblies which are in Asia ] We have already shown that the word (...) ecclesia is used in many senses. We take it here in the neutral sense of Assembly, which leaves the interpretation open. Certain assemblies are specially addressed. They are recognised as being on the earth at the time when the things written in this prophecy shall be fulfilled. The continued reference in these seven Epistles to the body or subject-matter of the Apocalypse shows that chaps. ii. and iii. are not to be separated from the rest of the book. We shall see this more clearly when we come to the Epistles themselves. All are agreed that there will be, and must be, a people on the earth during "the Day of the Lord," such as are alluded to in xii. 17; xiii. 10; xiv. 12, etc.; and all must agree also that they will need some special instruction. Where is such instruction, if it be not that which is given to them in these seven Epistles? The interpretation of them belongs to that day. But that does not shut out such application as may have been made by those who read them in John's day; or as may be made by us who read them in our own day. Each read, and each get the promised blessing, in turn. But, when the Church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air, we shall not take away this book and these Epistles with us; but those who are left behind will then learn what the true interpretation is, as we had never done. They will see the fulfilment of what is here prophesied. They, too, will get their blessing; and we see in the Jewish Remnant, and the various companies of people in this book, what the reality of that blessing will be.
E2 b2, i. -4, 5-.
-4, 5-. Grace to you, and peace, from Him that is, and
that was, and that is coming ] Here we have an undoubted
reference to, and paraphrase of, the name of Jehovah, as revealed in
It is not from the Father to His children, as in the Church Epistles; but it is from Jehovah as He was revealed and made known to Israel. This is in perfect keeping with what we hold to be the scope of the book. Three times we have this periphrasis of Jehovah, and yet it is varied according to the emphasis we are to place upon it.
In i. 4 and 8, it is "is, and was, and is to come." In iv. 8, it is, "was, and is, and is to come." In xi. 17 it is, "art and wast" ( the third or future verb, being omitted according to the critical Greek Texts, L. T. Tr. W.H. A.V. and R.V.).
Hence in ch. i. 4, 8, the emphasis is on "is." In iv. 8, it is on "was." And in xi. 17 it is on "art."
It is for us to learn what this emphasis teaches and we can do so as we come to the respective passages.
and from the seven spirits which are before His
throne ] This fact that they are "before," or in the
presence of, God's Throne, shows that they occupy the position of
servants (see
This one fact ought to have precluded the idea that these seven could be one, and that one Divine! There is nothing in the whole Bible which represents the Holy Spirit in such a subordinate position. He is equal with the Father and with the Son.
On the other hand, angels are constantly represented as
occupying this position. And angels are again referred to in iv. 5,
under the symbol of seven lamps (to which other spiritual creatures are
likened in
There are other references to these seven angels in the book: e.g., viii. 2. "The seven": i.e., the well-known, or before mentioned seven.
Angels are specially called "spirits." See
See also "unclean spirits,"
In The AV. and RV. both have a capital "s" here.
If it be objected that "angels" would not be mentioned in
connection with God and the Lord Jesus, the answer is that they are
so mentioned in
Nowhere do we find the Holy Spirit associated with the Father and the Son in any salutation. Not even in the Pauline Church Epistles. In those Epistles, He is viewed as being here on earth with the Church, and grace and peace come from Heaven; from the Father and the Son.
In this dispensation angels are our servants, see
All these grounds are from Scripture; but the objections to them are only what interpreters find it "difficult to believe." It is a question of what God has said; and not what man may think difficult or easy to believe.
5. and from Jesus Christ ] The once humbled One who is now exalted and glorified.
the Faithful witness ] Compare
the First-born of the dead ] See
and the Ruler of the kings of the earth ]
It is remarkable that all these three titles are combined in
The sudden change from the genitive case (of Jesus Christ) to
the Nominatives which follow it, is very remarkable; and implies the
immutability of the Divine Nature, as in "that is, and that was, and
that is coming" above; we might also compare
These titles have no relation to the Church of God, but to
Dominion in the earth. It is the fulfilment of
F2
c2, i. -5, 6.
Ascription.
To Him that loveth us ] All the critical
Greek Texts and R.V. read the present and not the past participle here.
We have given our reasons above in our ninth point, for our belief that
this expression is one of those which belongs peculiarly to Israel. And
the present participle here tells us that Jehovah's love to
Israel is everlasting (
and washed (or loosed
Lachmann, Tischendor, Tregelles, Westcot and Hort,
and R.V. read "loosed," or "freed."
by His blood] Certainly not "in" His blood.
Such a thing was never heard of in the Old Testament. It was not "in"
blood that sins were purged away, but "by" blood, for blood itself was
a cause of defilement. It was by the precious atoning merits of Him of
whose death the blood speaks.
It is the figure Metalepsis (see Figures
of Speech, page 611), by which "blood" is first put for death, and
then death put for Christ's atoning merits.
6. and He made us to be a kingdom and
priests] This is Hebrew in idiom and in meaning. The
explanation will be found in
to His God and Father] (see
to Him be the glory and the dominion for ever and
ever (Lit., unto the ages of the ages.)
Amen] To Him (of course) who " loved the people"
(
F2
d2, i. 7, 8.
Advent.
7. Behold,] Our attention is thus called to what is the sequel to all that has been said. We are to gaze by faith on this wondrous and solemn fact.
He cometh with (or, amid the)
clouds] This is an Old Testament reference.
Lit., with the clouds, i.e., with the clouds
so often mentioned in connection with His coming in glory. Believers
are to be "caught up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air." They will
accompany the Lord when "He comes with clouds" to the earth.
Two very different scenes are described, here and in
and every eye shall see Him] "Eye" is put
by Synecdoche for person, i.e., everyone on
the earth will see Him. So
even those very ones who pierced
Him] These are specially singled out—"all those who," for
His brethren, like Joseph's brethren, will then mourn for Him. Compare
Here we have the correct translation of
and all the tribes of the Land] Not
"kindreds," for the word is the same as in
will wail because of Him] i.e., at
(the) sight of Him; or, over Him. This very wailing is described in
How can the Church of God be brought in here? Did the Church
of God pierce Him? Are the members of the Body of Christ members also
of the "Tribes of the Land"? And what have they to wail and beat
themselves for, when they are distinctly told that "the day of the
Lord" shall not come upon them as a thief (
Yea: Amen] A double confirmation of the truth of this solemn statement. Compare the conclusion, xxii. 20. The figure is Synonymia, i.e., the use of synonymous words in order to strengthen the certainty of this prophecy.
8. I am Alpha and Omega
The words, "the beginning and the ending" are omitted
by all the Critical Greek Texts and R.V.
Jalk. Reub., fol. 17. 4.
Ibid., fol. 48. 4.
saith the LORD God
The title "God" is added here recording to all the
Critical Greek Texts and R.V.
that is, and that was, and that is coming] See our notes on this above, on verse 4. The emphasis is on the word "is," as shown, by being put first.
the Almighty] We have considered this
title above and its bearing on our conviction that it points to
relationship with Israel. (...) (ho pantokrator) is rendered
in the Septuagint as the equivalent for "the Lord of hosts." In
We now come to the third set of four members: in which we find the same subjects repeated; but not precisely in the same order. In the former two the Advent follows the Benediction and the Ascription; while in the latter two it precedes the Salutation and the Interpretation.
E3a3 i. 9-.
John Testifying.
9 I John] as in i. 4, and in the
Conclusion, xxii. 8. Compare also
even (or, both) your
brother] according to the flesh, as well as in a higher
relation. (Compare
and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom
and patience] The construction and order of the Greek here
is pronounced by commentators as "peculiar." Alford calls it
"startling." This is because the Figure of speech is not discerned. It
is Hendiatris, i.e., three words are used, but only
one thing is meant. The one thing is "the tribulation," and the two
other words characterise it as being, not the tribulation which the
world experiences, but that (for the article is emphatic here) which is
specially connected with the "Kingdom" (
which are in
All the Critical Greek Texts
and R.V. add the word "in."
See Things to Come for July, 1901. Since
separately published by Eyre & Spottiswoode, Great New Street,
London.
E3
b3 i. -9-11.
The Things Testified.
(I) came to be in the isle that is called Patmos] The verb is (...) (egenomon), not the verb to be. It means to come to be; and, when used of an event, we can say, it came to pass. But how are we to render it when it is used of a person? "Came to be" is not happy English. "Found myself " is perhaps better. The word describes a fact, though it does not explain it. That explanation, therefore, follows:—
because of the Word of God, and
We must omit the second "because of," according to
the Critical Greek Texts and R.V.
We must omit the word "Christ" with all the Critical
Texts and R.V.
But why Patmos at all? The answer is surely to be found in the fact that it was in "the great Sea," which is the central point of the Revelation. Rome lay to the West. The Land, the Euphrates, and Babylon lay on the East. In the Isle of Patmos then he came to be, and in like manner, he tells us:
10. I came to be (or, found myself), by theSpirit in the day of the Lord] i.e., by the power, or agency, of the Spirit, just as in iv. 2, xvii. 3, and xxi.10.
In order to see "visions of God" the prophet Ezekiel (i. 1)
was under the direct influence and power of the Spirit. John was
transported by spiritual instrumentality into the scenes which shall
take place in the Day of the Lord, and records what he then saw in
vision: namely: the things which shall take place literally and
actually in that Day. How this may have been accomplished we may learn
from
On the phrase "the Lord's day" see our preliminary propositions.
and I heard behind me a great (i.e.,
loud) voice, of a trumpet] This means a voice as
loud as a trumpet; the strength, not the quality, being the point to be
noted. This trumpet is specially associated in the Old Testament with
war and with "the Day of the LORD." See
11. saying :
We must omit the words "I am Alpha and Omega, the
first and the last, and " with all the Critical Greek Texts and
R.V.
and send it to (or, for, i.e., for
their use) the seven In "The seven" are added by all the Critical Greek
Texts and R.V. The same authorities omit "which are in
Asia."
F3
d3, i. 12-16.
Advent.
The Vision of the Coming One.
12. And I turned to see the Voice which was speaking with me] Here we have two Figures— (1) Metonomy of the effect, by which the "voice" is put for the person speaking; and (2) this, when used with the verb "to see," produces the figure Catachresis (or Incongruity), as a voice cannot be seen. These Figures properly rendered mean, "and I turned to see Him who spake with me."
and, on turning, I saw seven lamp-stands of
gold] They were realities that John saw, but realities
used as symbols; and what they are symbolical of we are told in verse
20. That they were real in Heaven is clear from
13. and in the midst of the seven
L., T., W., H., and R.V. omit "seven." Tr. and A.
insert it in brackets, as being doubtful.
We now come to the Vision proper, and present the Expansion of the member
F3d3, i. 12-16
The Vision of the Son of Man.
F3d3 | m | 12, 13. Accessories: Seven lamp-stands, clothing, and girding.
His Person
n | o | 14.- Head.
p | -14. Eyes.
| o | 15-. Feet.
p | -15. Voice.
| m | 16-. Accessories: Seven stars, and
sword.
n | -16. His Person: Hand, mouth,
countenance.
The Vision itself, as we have seen above, is parallel with the
vision Daniel saw (
clothed with a robe reaching to the feet, and girt
about the breasts with a girdle or gold: 14. His head
and hair white, as white wool—as snow (
16. And having seven stars in His right hand; and out
of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword going forth] A like
Figure is used of men (
and His countenance was as when the sun shineth in his strength.]
F3C3, i. 17-18.
Salutation.
17. And, when I had seen Him, I fell at His feet as
dead: and He laid His right hand upon me, saying, All the Critical Texts and R.V. omit "unto
me."
E4a4, i. -17, 18.
Jesus Testifying of Himself.
E4a4 | q |
-17, 18-. Life. "I am the First and the Last, and the Living
One.
r | -18-. Death. "I was dead indeed;
q | -18-. Life. "yet, behold! I am
living for evermore.
r | 18. Death. "And I have the
keys of Death and the Grave."
-17. I am the First and the Last] Compare
18. and the Living One] See above for the
significance of this title. (...),
I was dead, indeed, yet behold! I am living for ever
and ever
All the Critical Texts and R. V. omit "Amen."
and I have the keys of Death and the
Grave
The order of these words is thus reversed by the
Critical Texts and the R.V.
E4
b4; i. 19.
The Things Testified.
19. Write therefore
The word (...) (oun) therefore, is
to be added here according to all the Critical Greek Texts and R.V.
even what things are about to happen hereafter] This is not the same expression as in verse 1. There, it was necessity, "must come to pass"; here, it is sequence, "about to come to pass."
The command to write refers to all that John saw, and not merely what he had seen in verses 12-16. We must remember that the Introduction was written last, as we have shown above.
The translation "What they are (or signify)" is so undoubtedly good that it seems rather insecure to base a whole system of interpretation affecting the whole book, on the common rendering—"the things which are." Our readers may be aware that many books on the Apocalypse base their whole system of interpretation on this rendering. But surely such a far-reaching system ought to have a firmer foundation on which to rest.
This, in itself, is slight enough: but, when chaps. ii. and iii. are nowhere spoken of as being "the things which are," we have not sufficient warrant to adopt an interpretation of the book which rests on such hypothetical grounds.
That these Epistles are addressed to those who shall be on the earth during the Day of the Lord, may be seen by comparing many expressions contained in them with the actual scenes and circumstances described in various parts of the Book.
Compare
|
ii.3. |
xiii. 10; xiv. 12. |
|
ii. 9, 10. |
xiii. 5-8. |
|
ii. 13. |
xiii. 2; xvi. 10. |
|
ii. 16. |
xix. 21. |
|
ii. 18. |
xix. 15. |
|
ii. 20-23. |
xvii. 2, 4; xviii. 3. |
|
iii. 3. |
xvi. 15. |
|
iii. 12. |
xxi. 2. |
|
iii. 21. |
xx. 4. |
Other parallels will be seen and noticed when we come to the translation of the Epistles themselves.
F4
d4, i. 20-.
Advent.
The vision referred to in verses 12-16.
20-. The mystery (i.e., the secret symbol) of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand; and the seven golden lamp-stands]
F4
c4, i. -20.
Interpretation.
-20. The seven stars are] i.e., signify or represent (as in the previous verse). This is always the meaning of the Figure called Metaphor which we have here.
the angels of the seven Assemblies; and the seven
lamp-stands
All the Critical Greek Texts and R.V. omit "which
thou sawest."
We now come to chapters ii. and iii.: which will find their true interpretation and fulfilment when used for special instruction by the people on the Earth during the Day of the Lord; by Israel, and especially by the Remnant.
We have said enough on this point already, to make this sufficiently clear.
We shall note, in these Epistles, constant references to the condition of things as described in this book. References which cannot be explained either by Church History or tradition; but which are quite simple and clear when read in the light of future history, as prophetically recorded in the Apocalypse.
The difference between these Epistles and all other Epistles in the New Testament is so great, that one wonders how it was possible for them ever to be supposed as being addressed to the Church of God, the members of the Body of Christ! If it were not that we have all been brought up from earliest infancy to believe it, we could never have taken them as having anything in common with those addressed in either the earlier or later Pauline Epistles.
Everything is different: Circumstances, standpoint, references to the Old Testament, terminology, phraseology, scope, style: everything points to a different order of things altogether; yea, to a different Dispensation.
There is nothing in them about Christianity as such; nothing
of our standing in Christ; nothing that can be taken, even by
application, as referring to our present position as being in Christ;
perfect, and complete in Him. Nothing about the "no condemnation," or
no separation of
No! we keep our own truth as written to the churches by the Holy Spirit through Paul; and leave that which is equally truth written to other and different Assemblies by Christ through John. It is so very improbable that the covenant of works under which these Assemblies are addressed could co-exist, at one and the same time, with those under the covenant of grace, that we seem to be shut up to a future interpretation; when all these expressions, and references, and warnings and threatenings, and promises (of which history knows nothing), shall find their fulfilment and reach their end.
Further comments may be left to be made as we consider the words of the Epistles themselves.
First, note the structure of the seven Epistles as a whole, and the seven lessons based on the seven stages of Israel's history. This separates them into 3 and 4; the numbers into which 7 is always divided.
In the first three Epistles the references are to Israel's history, as recorded in the Old Testament, and are from the period when Israel was in the Wilderness. All Israel is included.
In the last four Epistles the references are to the period when the people were in the Land, and Israel and Judah are mentioned alternately.
THE SEVEN EPISTLES AS A
WHOLE.
(chaps. ii and iii.)
The Wilderness.
X | 1 | Ephesus. Israel's Epousals.
2 | Smyrna. Israel's Testing.
3 | Pergamos. Israel's Failure.
The Land.
Y | 4 | Thyatira. The Day of Israel's Kings.
5 | Sardis. Israel's Removal.
6 | Philadelphia. The Day of Judah's Kings.
7 | Laodicea. Judah's Removal.
Failure is the great subject; and the causes which led to that failure. This is the basis of the great lesson which will be needed for another time of Trial, Testing, and Tribulation; which will end, not in failure, but in glory.
This division into three and four is further marked by the injunction and the promise with which each of the seven Epistles closes.
In the first three, which refer to the Wilderness, the Promise follows the Injunction; while in the last four which refer to the Land, the order is reversed, and the Injunction follows the Promise.
We now proceed to look at each of these seven Epistles separately.
I. THE FIRST EPISTLE.—EPHESUS.
(ii. 1-7.)
Each Epistle, though the structure itself varies, is based upon the same general plan, viz.: The Introduction, consisting of Christ's command to John to write, with an appropriate attribute taken from the previous vision in chap. i. The Conclusion, consisting of Christ's command to him that hath an ear, to hear; with His promise, fulfilled in the latter portion of the book. Between these we have the subject-matter of the Epistle proper. While this general arrangement is common to all these Epistles, yet each has its own peculiar exhibition of it.
The correspondences and contrasts between the Epistles are worthy of note, forming a useful guide to their inter-relation. They show us what are the important points which we should notice; and what are the matters on which we should place special emphasis.
In short, they give us the peculiar scope of and key to each Epistle respectively; and though not essential to the reader's studies, they are worthy of his close attention.
(1) ii. 1-7.
Ephesus
Introduction
A | c | 1-. Christ's command to write.
d | -1. Christ's attribute, i. 20.
Commendation
B | e | 2-. "Thy works."
f | -2-. "And thy labour.
g | -2-. "And thy patience."
h | -2-. Non-endurance.
i | -2. Liars.
Trial.
i | -2. Liars.
Proof.
h | 3-.
Endurance.
g | -3-. "And hast
patience."
f | -3-. "And hast
laboured."
e | -3-. Works. "Hast not
wearied."
Reproof
B | j | 4. Crimination (...). Love.
k | 5-. Warning. "Remember."
k | -5. Warning. "Repent."
| j | 6. Commendation (...).
Hatred.
Conclusion
A | c | 7-. Christ's command to hear.
d | -7. Christ's promise. "Tree of life."
(Compare xxii. 2, 14).
(I) TRANSLATION OF THE FIRST
EPISTLE (ii. I-7).
EPHESUS.
ii. 1. To the angel] As we have said above, this is the Shelach Tzibbur of the Synagogue, the presiding minister. A title well understood by Jewish readers, but quite foreign to Gentile ears.
of the Assembly] As in
in
So all the Critical Greek Texts and R.V.
These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in
His right hand (i. 16), He that walketh in the midst
of the seven lamp-stands of gold (i. 13)] Here the
reference is surely to
2. I know thy works] This is the principle
on which the Lord will deal with the Remnant of Israel in the Day of
the Lord. See
and
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "thy."
and that thou canst not bear wicked (or, evil) men; and thou didst try those who call themselves apostles, and are not, and didst find them liars:
3. And thou hast endurance, and didst bear
This is the order of the words according to
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
So L.T.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.— has "and didst not
weary."
4. Nevertheless I have this against thee, that thou
hast left thy first love] This is very emphatic.
Lit., it is "thy love—thy first love." What have we here but
a reference to
5. Remember therefore whence thou hast fallen, and
repent] This is strange language if it be addressed to
those who had been "blessed with all spiritual blessings, in the
heavenlies, in Christ" (
and do the first works; otherwise
(Lit., but if not)I am coming to thee,
Omit "quickly," L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
6. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate] The Nicolaitanes are mentioned again in verse 15. History knows nothing definite of any people bearing such a name during the primitive age of Christianity. Tradition has something to say; but this is so conflicting and so uncertain, that most commentators attempt to solve the difficulty by considering the name as being symbolical (as they do that of Balaam (ii. 14, 15), and Jezebel (ii. 20). They interpret it by its etymology— (...) (nikos) conqueror and (...) (laos) people. If there be anything in this, it is better to leave it to "that day," when events will make its meaning manifest.
7. He that hath an ear, let him hear] None
but the Lord Jesus ever used this formula. On fourteen occasions He
used it. Always, when He was speaking of the great change in the
Dispensation which was about to take place. It is connected therefore
with Dispensational truth. Six times (the number of man) in the Gospels
He used it as the Son of Man; and eight times (the Dominical Number) in
Revelation, as the risen Lord speaking from heaven: here, at the close
of each of these seven Epistles, and once in chap. xiii. 9.
See Divine Names and Titles by the same
author and publisher.
what the Spirit saith (or is saying)
to the Assemblies] In
To him that overcometh] This is language
wholly foreign to the Epistles written to believers by Paul. The
members of Christ's Body have already overcome all "in Him." They are
already "more than conquerors through him that loved us" (
will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in
the
All the Critical Texts, with RV., omit the words "midst of."
The promise, here, refers to the New Earth, when the curse
will be removed, and the whole Earth be restored as the Paradise of
God. To this "Paradise" Paul was caught away (
The first was overflowed with water and perished (
The second Heavens and Earth are those "which are
now" (
The third are those for which we look, even the New
Heavens and the New Earth (Paradise restored) (
To this third heaven and Paradise was Paul caught away in vision. These John also saw; and was commissioned to write what Paul was unable to utter. This Paradise of the New Earth, which will characterize the Kingdom, was referred to by the Lord Jesus in His answer to the dying thief "Lord, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom." "Verily, I say unto thee to-day, (i.e., on this day of shame and death, beyond which thou seest by the eye of faith) thou shalt be with me in Paradise." That promise will be fulfilled to him as an overcomer. His faith overcame all his circumstances; and he marvellously believed, in spite of all the awful scenes of that day, that Jesus was "Lord," and that He would yet come in his Kingdom. To him, therefore, as an overcomer, was the promise of that future Paradise given; as here it is given to all who shall overcome by the same faith.
2. THE SECOND EPISTLE.— SMYRNA.
(ii. 8-11.)
The Second Epistle was addressed to the angel of the Assembly in Smyrna.
It is marked by a definite period of trial being mentioned, viz., "ten days," and answers to the second stage of Israel's history, which was marked by a definite period of trial—"forty years." The first Epistle (Ephesus) began with a reference to the day of Israel's Espousals, and reminds those people of their "first love." The second (Smyrna), in its definite days of trial, reminds us of the definite period of forty years in the wilderness.
Its structure is as simple and clear as it is beautiful.
(2) ii. 8-11. Smyrna
Introduction
(2)| a | d | 8-. Christ's command to write.
e | -8. Christ's attribute, i. 18.
in themselves
b | f | 9-. Suffering.
g | -9-. Contrast (...).
from others
f | -9-.
Suffering.
g | -9. Contrast (...).
c | 10-.
Encouragement. "Fear not," etc.
from others
b | h | -10-. Suffering. "Those
things"...
i | -10-. Place. (Prison).
"Behold"...
in themselves
h | -10-.
Suffering. Trial. "That ye may be"...
i | -10-. Time. Ten
days. "And ye shall"...
c | -10.
Encouragement. "Be thou"...
Conclusion
a | d | 11-. Christ's command to
assemblies to hear.
e | -11. Christ's
promise. No second death. Compare xx. 6, 14.
8. And unto the angel of the Assembly in Smyrna write;
These things saith the First and the Last] This, as we have
already seen, is one of the Titles used in the Introduction (i. 17); as
it is used in the Old Testament, of Deity. (
who was (lit., became) dead,
and returned to life] (i. 17, 18) The verb (...)
(ezesen) means more than merely to live or to be alive. (See
9. I know
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "thy works and". The Lord
is not speaking of actions here, but of passive sufferings.
nevertheless thou art rich] Poor in one sense, yet rich in another sense.
and I know the blasphemy coming from those who say that they themselves are Jews, and they are not, but are Satan's synagogue] When have people ever professed to be Jews in order to join a Christian church? Such an anomaly was never heard of. These words alone are sufficient to prove the true Jewish character of these assemblies. Words have no meaning if this verse does not speak concerning those who, for some reason or other (perhaps in order to betray, hardly for gain or advantage), hypocritically affirmed that they were Jews when they were not.
10. Fear not the things which thou art about to
suffer: lo, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye
may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days] What
trial and tribulation is this, if not exactly that foretold by the Lord
in
His trust is vain, for we do insist on believing that God
means what He says. If we are wrong in this, then we prefer to be found
wrong, hereafter, in this simplicity of faith, rather than to be
reproved by God for having, in preference, believed man. When God says
(
be (lit., become) thou faithful unto death] Probably violent death is meant.
and I will give to thee the crown of life]
Here we have not the standing of the church "in Christ." That standing
does not depend on our faithfulness but on the faithfulness of
Him who has already given us life in Himself — eternal life. This life
rests on no conditions but upon the unalterable gift of God in Christ.
Compare the Epistle addressed "to the twelve Tribes,"
1l. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the Assemblies. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death] This is mentioned again in xx. 6, 14, and xxi. 8, as the fulfilment of this promise in those who have passed through the great Tribulation and have not worshipped the Beast nor received his mark. Those who are faithful unto death, and die of a violent death, then, for Christ's sake, are promised that they "shall not be hurt of the second death," which shall finally destroy their enemies.
Note how the titles of Christ in verse 8 ("I am He that was dead and returned to life") agree with the exhortation of verse 10 ("be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life"), and the promise of verse 11 ("shall not be hurt of the second death").
3. THE THIRD EPISTLE.—PERGAMOS.
(ii. 12-17.)
In the Epistle to the Assembly in Pergamos, the Old Testament illustrations are from a subsequent period of Israel's wilderness experiences. Balaam and Balak are used to illustrate the special circumstances of this Assembly; the counterpart of which will be found to exist in "the day of the Lord."
It is the last of the three Epistles in which the Old Testament reference is to Israel and the Wilderness period. In the first we had Israel's Espousals; in the second we had Israel's Testing and Trial; now, here, in the third, we have Israel's Failure.
This failure is very marked in the Epistle to Pergamos. The predominant tone of the Epistle is that of Crimination. Two solemn warnings are given, and a call to "Repent," with a threat of being fought against by the sword of His mouth.
This will be seen in the Epistle as we proceed; and it is clearly exhibited in the Structure:—
(3) ii. 12-17. Pergamos.
Introduction
(3) a | c | 12-. Christ's command to write.
d | -12. Christ's attribute. (i. 16.)
Commendation
b | e | 13-. Works. General.
f | -13-. Place. (...)
e | -13-. Works.
Particular.
f | -13. Place. (...)
Reproof
g | 14-. Crimination. "I
have against thee," &c.
h | i | -14-. Balaam.
(...)
k | -14.
Description. "Who taught," &c.
h | i |
15-. Nicolaitanes. (...)
k | -15.
Description. "In like manner," &c.
g | 16. Warning.
"Repent; or I will come," &c.
Conclusion
| c | 17-. Christ's command to assemblies to
hear
d | -17. Christ's promise. "Manna."
"New Name." (Compare vii. 13-17; xix. 12.)
ii. 12. And unto the angel of the Assembly in
Pergamos, write; These things saith he who hath the sharp two-edged
sword] This attribute of Christ is taken from i. 16. It is
used here and in the closing threat of the Epistle (ii. 16), because
the judgment upon "the error of Balaam" was executed with the sword.
See
13. I know
L.T.Tr.A. WH. & RV. omit the words "thy works, and."
and thou holdest fast my name] in not
receiving the mark of the Beast. See
and didst not deny my faith, [even]
T. omits "even." Tr. & A. put it in brackets as
doubtful.
Omit "in which."—L.T.Tr. WH. See RV. marg.
14. Nevertheless I have against thee a few things,
that thou hast there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught
Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat
things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication]
What "the error of Balaam" (
15. So hast thou also those that hold
fast the teaching of the Nicolaitanes (v. 6)
in like manner
All the critical Greek Texts and R.V. read (...)
(homoios), in like manner, instead of (...) (ho
miso), which I hate.
16. Repent therefore
This word is added by G.L.Tr. (A). WH. and
RV.
17. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
is saying to the Assemblies: To him that overcometh will I
give
{Footnote is missing in our digitized original --CCEL}
and I will give unto him a white stone, and on the
stone a new name written, which none knoweth save he that receiveth
it.] This new name for the new Israel is the subject of
prophecy.
Those who will be on the earth in those days will thus be divided into two opposing parties: the party of the Beast, and that of the Lamb; each having its own distinctive mark or brand.
4. THE FOURTH EPISTLE.— THYATIRA.
(ii. 18-29.)
We now come to the last four of these seven Epistles. In the first three the Old Testament references are to the period of the Wilderness. In these last four the references are to the period of the Land: and Israel and Judah are placed alternately.
Israel comes first; for, idolatry commenced in the Ten Tribes, and these were first removed from the Land. Judah followed, and was afterwards removed.
The first of these four Epistles, therefore, gives the illustration from the great apostasy of Israel under Ahab and Jezebel.
Few of us can realize what that apostasy was; or what was its character and extent. Jeroboam was the first who made Israel thus to sin, but it culminated under Ahab and Jezebel. Under these two, organized idolatry of the grossest kind became the religion of the State, as opposed to the true religion established in Jerusalem. It had its own priesthood, so numerous and powerful that the prophet Elijah was specially raised up by God to do battle against them, and warn the people against the enormity of the evil. Yet again will Elijah perform a similar duty under more awful circumstances.
The structure of this Epistle is elaborate, as were the workings of that apostasy. But it is also very clear and unmistakable.
(4) ii. 18-29. Thyatira.
Introduction
(4) | a | d | 18-. Christ's command to write.
e | -18. Christ's attribute. (i. 15.)
Commendation
b | f1 | 19-.
Works. (General.)
g1 | -19-.
Particulars. (Love, Service, Faith, Service.)
f2 | -19-.
Works. (General.)
g2 | -19.
Particulars. "And the last," &c.
Admonition
The guilty.
c | h | 20.
Jezebel.
i | 21. Her
impenitence.
c | i | 22. Her
punishment
h | 23. The
Assemblies.
Admonition
The innocent.
b | f3 | 24-.
Persons. (General.) "To you and to the rest," &c.
g3 | -24-.
Particulars. "As many as," &c.
f4 | -24.
Persons. (General.) "I will put upon you," &c.
g4 | 25.
Particulars. "But that which ye have," &c.
Conclusion
e | 26-28.
Christ's promise. Power, &c. (Compare xii. 4; xix. 15; xx.4)
d | 29. Christ's command to assemblies to
hear.
ii. 18. And unto the angel of the Assembly in Thyatira, write; These things saith the Son of God] Here, for the first time, the speaker is directly named; as well as distinguished by an attribute. Both speak of Divine judgment, and of the Divine power which is necessary to execute that judgment, and to perform the promises given in this Epistle.
who hath His eyes like a flame of fire] To detect all evil and alarm the evil-doers. This is the attribute of i. 14, 15; repeated in xix. 12.
and His feet like unto polished brass]
This tells of coming judgment, when He will tread the wicked under his
feet.
19. I know thy works, and thy love,
and thyservice, and thy faith,
The order of these words varies in the MSS. G.L.T.A.
WH. and RV. have "love, faith, and service." Tr. has "faith, love, and
service."
20. Nevertheless I have this against
thee,
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "a few things."
(...) (apheis) instead of (...)
(eas) sufferest. G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and
RV.
G.L. (A). WH. (marg.) RV. (marg.) read "thy
wife."
21. And I gave her space in order that she might
repent
All the Texts and RV. read the verse
thus.
22. Lo! I cast her into a bed, and those who are
committing adultery with her (xviii. 8-10) into great
tribulation (
All the critical Texts and RV. read (...)
(autes) her, instead of (...) (auton)
their.
23. and her children (
and will give unto you, each one, according to your
works] See
24. But, unto you, I say,—the rest
Omit "and to," G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
I do not
L.T.Tr.A. and RV. have the present tense instead of the future.
25. Nevertheless, what ye have hold fast till I come (lit., shall have come). 26. And he that overcometh and keepeth my works] i.e., keepeth in mind, as to ponder over, and understand my judgments. See on the word "keep" chap. i. 3, and references there given.
unto the end,—I will give him authority over the
nations; 27.and he shall rule them with a rod of iron:
as vessels of pottery are dashed in pieces: even as I also have
received of my Father] This is an unmistakable reference to
such Old Testament prophecies as
To such straits are interpreters driven, who spiritualize the
prophecies of the Old Testament, and thus rob them from those to whom
they belong, that they hesitate not on most missionary platforms to
quote
28. And I will give unto him the morning
star] The promise is fulfilled in
29. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the Assemblies] See above.
5. THE FIFTH EPISTLE.—SARDIS.
(iii. 1-6)
In this Epistle the Old Testament reference is to the period of Israel's removal from the Land. Where, as the separate kingdom of the Ten Tribes, her name is practically blotted out, as applied to the Ten Tribes.
In
This was fulfilled first in the case of the Ten-Tribed Kingdom of Israel. It was Jeroboam who first "made Israel to sin." He is known by this periphrasis. This is his special mark by which he was best known. In forming the Ten-Tribed Kingdom he was at once cut off from Jerusalem and the worship which God had established there. Religion of some kind must be the basis of government, so Jeroboam made his own religion: and in a yet future day the Beast will have his own universal religion; as we shall see.
A similar warning, therefore, and a similar teaching, will be needed by those who shall be living on the earth in the days of which the Apocalypse treats.
Hence we have in the epistle the reference to Israel's removal from the Land:—
(5) iii. 1-6. Sardis
Introduction
(5) | a | c | 1-. Christ's command to write.
d | -1-. Christ's attribute. (i. 4, 20)
Reproof
b | e | -1. Crimination
f | 2-. Warning. "Be
watchful."
g | -2. Reason.
f | 3-. Warning. "Remember"
and "Repent."
e | -3. Threatening. "If,
therefore,"
Commendation
b | h | 4-. Persons.
Commendation.
i | -4-. Character. "Which have
not," &c.
i | -4-. Consequence. "And
they shall," &c.
h | -4. Persons. Reason.
Conclusion
d | 5. Christ's Promise. (White raiment.
Book of Life. Compare xix. 8; xiii. 8; xvii. 8; xxi. 12; xxi.
27.)
c | 6. Christ's command to hear.
iii. 1. And unto the Angel of the Assembly in Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God] We submit that the Holy Spirit, as co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son, could not be properly spoken of as a possession of Christ; and placed on the same footing as the seven stars, "which are the angels of the seven assemblies."
and the seven stars] These are the angels
of the seven assemblies, and are spoken of as belonging to Christ
(equally with the seven spirits) to cast down, punish, remove or exalt
as He will. In chap. v. 6 we read that "a Lamb stood as it had been
slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits
of God." Indeed, these seven angels of the assemblies on earth, and
the seven angels (or spirits, see under i. 4, and compare in
I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest, and art dead] How can such language as this be addressed to those who are in Christ today: they have "no name to live." They do live "in Christ." Their standing is not in works; neither can it in any sense be said of them "and art dead." On the contrary, they were once "dead in trespasses and sins," but they died in Christ, and are now risen in Him, and stand on resurrection ground before God in all the perfection of that standing which He has given them in Christ. No one who knows anything of the teaching of the Church or Pauline Epistles, could ever think of sacrificing that wondrous standing for the sake of a false and traditional principle of interpretation.
2. Be (lit., become)
watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that
were
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV., have "were" instead of "are."
The watchfulness required here is that of
before my
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "my" here.
3. Remember therefore how thou hast received and
heard, and keep it in mind, and repent] What
they heard we are told in
If, therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will
come
Omit "upon thee" G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
4. Nevertheless thou hast a few names
Omit "even," G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Which defiled not their garments] This is language foreign to the Church of God. It accords with a standing in the flesh as addressed to those who can wash their own robes (vii. 14) and establish a right to the tree of life (xxii. 14), and make themselves ready (xix. 7). But all this is "works" and not grace. So is the promise,
and they shall walk with me in white: because they are
worthy] This promise is fulfilled in
5. He that overcometh shall thus
So L.T.Tr. WH. and RV.
and I will confess his name in the presence of my
Father, and in the presence of His angels]. Here is the
association of Christ, the Father, and the angels as in chap. i. 4-5.
See notes above; and
6. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying unto the Assemblies] see above.
(6) THE SIXTH EPISTLE.— PHILADELPHIA.
(iii. 7-13.)
In these last two Epistles the Old Testament illustrations are from the period of the Kings and Kingdom of Judah; and after the removal of Israel. The one is from the days of Hezekiah; and the other is from the days of the Minor Prophets, before and after the return from Babylon, when hope of restoration was held out to the People.
Those who will be on the earth in the days to which the Apocalypse refers, will need the instruction which such illustrations will give; for they will be days when all hope of restoration from man has gone, and the People can hope only in God.
It will be a time of trial; but the promise of being kept in it is made, and the hope of being delivered out of it is given.
Those who have this promise fulfilled in them are seen in
chap. vii. and xiv. and xv. caught up to God and His throne. They go
into but come "out of" the Great Tribulation. They are afterwards seen
standing before the throne, though not seated as the Church will be
with Christ upon the throne. They will serve God and follow the Lamb
whithersoever He goeth. (See
The structure exhibits these promises. The time of trial has sifted and separated the people, and there are those now who have kept the words of this book in remembrance, to whom these promises can be made.
(6) Philadelphia (iii. 7-13)
Introduction
(6) | a | c| 7-. Christ's command to write.
d | -7. Christ's attribute. i. 18
b | e | 8-. Statement. "I know,"
etc.
f | -8. Reason. "for thou hast,"
etc.
e | 9-. Statement.
"Behold," etc.
f | -9. Promise. "Behold,"
etc.
g | 10. Statement.
"Because," etc.
h | -10. Promise. "I also
will keep," etc.
g | 11-. Statement.
"Behold I come," etc.
h | -11.
Exhortation. "Hold that fast," etc.
Conclusion
d | 12. Christ's promise. Pillar in
Temple. New Name. New Jerusalem (xxi. 2; xxii. 4).
c | 13. Christ's command to hear.
iii. 7. Unto the angel of the Assembly in Philadelphia, write; These things saith He that is holy and He that is true] Seven attributes of Christ are here given. The seven is divided, as usual, into three and four. Three relate to what He is and hath:
He that is holy.
He that is true.
He that hath the key of David.
and four relate to what He does and does not do:
He that openeth.
And none shut.
That shutteth.
And none openeth.
He that is holy] or the Holy One, is a
title of Deity (
He that is true] The word here is (...)
(alethinos) real, (not (...) (alethes)
true), and denotes what is real and genuine
in contrast to all that is merely typical. Hence it is used of God
whenever the reference or contrast is to idols (either latent
otherwise) in the context. (See
He that hath the key of David] We have
already referred to this, as specially giving its character to this
Epistle. It reminds the reader of that period of Judah's history
described in
He that openeth, and no one shall
L.T.Ta.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read the future tense.
Ta.Tr.A. read the future tense.
8. I know thy works: (behold I have set before thee an
opened door] What this means is sufficiently explained by
what follows. It can refer only to deliverance, as when the
opened door was set before Peter (
which no one can shut
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH and RV.
and didst not deny my name] i.e.,
by receiving another "name"; even the name of the Beast. This, too,
refers to another special injunction so peculiarly applicable to, and
characteristic of, the coming days of the great Tribulation. (See
9. Behold, I make those of the synagogue of Satan, who
say that they are Jews, and are not, but do lie] How are
these words to be explained of the Christian Church, either of these or
of any other days? Why should people "say they are Jews" in order to
join Christians? Why thus lie? Do we see any fulfilment of this going
on around us? No! These claim to be Jews and meet in their assemblies
(or synagogues), but it is "the synagogue of Satan." They claim to be
"fellow-servants" (
Behold, I will make them to come and bow down before
thy feet, and know that I have loved thee. Is this what is
prophesied of the church of God? Is this our experience? Has it ever
been the experience of the Christian Church? No! trouble and
persecution and trial are the lot of the church; the portion plainly
foretold for it during the time of the Lord's rejection until He shall
come. To be hated because He was hated; this is our portion now, from
which no hope of reprieve is held out to us. But this homage spoken of
here belongs to Israel by right in a yet future day. To see
this we have to read only such passages as
"The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending
unto thee:
And all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at
the soles of they feet."
The promise made to Christ will be shared in by His people
Israel. See
10. Because thou didst keep the word of my patience] i.e., the patient waiting or endurance which I did command. See i. 9; ii. 2, 19. These commands as to "patience" refer particularly to the waiting during and under the tribulation. If it be asked where this is, the answer is clear from chaps. xiii. 10; and xiv. 12 — "Here is the patience of the saints." It is the patience of those who shall be in those scenes of judgment and looking for deliverance out of them. For thus is the promise.
I also shall keep thee out of the hour of trial, which
is about to come upon the whole (habitable) world to
try them that dwell on the earth] These are the scenes
foretold in
11. "
Omit "Behold," G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the
Temple of my God] Here the promise goes on to the days of
Solomon, to the "temple" and the "city" (as the next Epistle to
Laodicea is associated with the throne). (See iii. 21 and compare
and he shall in no wise go forth any more: and I will
write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my
God] The promise as to both temple and city are fulfilled
in chap. xxi. 2, 3. Compare
the New Jerusalem (xxi. 2, 10), which
descendeth out of heaven from my God (xxi. 10)
and [I will write upon him] my new
name]
13. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the Assemblies] See above.
7. THE SEVENTH EPISTLE.— LAODICEA.
(iii. 14-22)
The Epistle to the Assembly in Laodicea is the last, as it is
the most solemn, of these Epistles. All the Epistles cover, in a
general way, the whole period covered by the book; but, they also mark
special stages of the apostasy and of the tribulation. Laodicea marks
the last stage. It is the final period immediately before chap. xix.,
when "the Judge standeth before the door" (verse 20. Compare
The Structure is much more simple than any of the other Epistles, because the whole position at the period will be reduced to the very simple issue of allegiance to Christ or Antichrist.
(7) iii. 14-22. Laodicea
Introduction
(7) | a | c | 14-. Christ's command to write.
d | -14. Christ's attribute. i. 5.
b| e | 15, 16. Crimination.
(Lukewarmness.)
f | 17, 18. Warning.
(Gifts.)
b | e | 19.
Exhortation. (Zeal.)
f | 20. Warnings.
(Graces.)
Conclusion
d | 21. Christ's promise. The
Throne. Compare xx. 4.
a | c | 22. Christ's command to
hear.
iii. 14. And unto the Angel of the Assembly in
Laodicea,
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
the faithful and true witness] See on
chap. i. 5 above; and compare xix. 11 and
the beginning of the creation
of God] Reminding of the fact that by Him all things were
created; and that by Him all things exist and all things consist (
15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot.
16. Thus, because thou art luke-warm, and neither hot
nor cold,
So G.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
17. Because thou sayest] See [Laodicea — The Period of Judah's Removal] where
these verses are compared with
I am rich and have become enriched]
Compare
And have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art the wretched one (
18. I counsel thee to buy of me] When are
the members of the Church of God, or, indeed, anyone in this
dispensation, where all is of grace and of gift counselled "to buy"
anything of God. We have "nothing to pay" and nothing to buy with; and
can show no cause nor merit why we should have the slightest favour or
blessing. Compare for the Dispensation of works
gold refined in the fire (
and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest
see] Compare
19. As many as I love] See
I rebuke and chasten] See
20. Behold, I am standing (lit., "I have
taken my station")at the door, and am knocking] The
call is to the Wedding Feast of chap. xix. 9, to which the parables
pointed, especially
To the twelve Tribes scattered abroad it is written in view of
his coming — "The judge standeth before the door" (
if any one hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me] It
is in connection with the knocking just referred to in
21. To him that overcometh will I give to take his
seat with me on my throne, even as I also overcame and took my seat
with my Father on His throne] This promise is seen
fulfilled in xx. 4. The session of the Lord Jesus is spoken of here as
past. He is now from His seat and is about to come down in judgment to
avenge the blood of His martyred saints. Hence Stephen sees the same
"Son of Man, standing,"
22. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying unto the Assemblies] Here end these seven epistles. And we feel that no one can thus read and study them without becoming convinced that they belong to another dispensation altogether; when "works" and not grace form the standing; and Israel and not the Church is the subject.
The Throne and its surroundings
We now come to the matter of the Book, which we have indicated by the letter X [in the section The Scope of the Apocalypse Shewn by its Structure]. It consists, as we have seen, of seven pairs of visions.
The first of each pair is a Vision "in heaven"; and the second of each pair is a Vision "on earth."
Each Vision "in heaven" is preparatory to the Vision afterwards seen "on earth": and what is seen "on earth" is the carrying out of the Vision previously seen "in heaven." The one is mutually explanatory of the other. The heavenly Vision explains what is going to take place upon the earth; and the utterances in each heavenly Vision set forth the special object of the earthly events which are to follow. The former Vision of each pair is, therefore, the key to the latter.
These divisions are made by the Holy Spirit Himself; and the divisions , made by man into chapters, where they do not agree with the Divine divisions, are only misleading.
We shall have, therefore, wholly to ignore them, except for purposes of reference.
These heavenly and earthly Visions will form the great chapters or divisions of this part of our work. We shall take each of these fourteen Visions in order: first giving the structure, with any necessary expansions; following each with our own translation, based on a revised Greek Text, according to the authorities quoted in the notes; interspersed with such running expository remarks as may be necessary.
The structures themselves will be found full of teaching, and will give the scope of each section; showing, at a glance, what are the subjects of which our attention is to be fixed.
The following is the structure (in brief) of H1, the first Vision "in heaven," consisting of chapters iv. and v.
H1. THE
FIRST VISION "IN HEAVEN"
(chap. iv., v)
The Throne and its surroundings
H1 | A | iv. 1-8-. The Throne, the Elders and the
Zoa
B | -8-11. The utterances of the
Zoa and the Elders. Theme: Creation.
A | v. 1-7. The Throne and the Book:
the Lion and the Lamb.
B | 8-14. The New Song of the Zoa and the
Elders. Other heavenly utterances. Theme: Redemption.
From this it will be seen that the great subjects of this Vision "in heaven" are:—
THE THRONE, THE BOOK, AND THE LAMB.
That which comes first in the Book gives its importance and significance to the whole Book. It is the key to all that follows, and carries us forward by the Spirit to the future age, the coming "Day of the Lord." The first thing seen and the first mentioned (in verse 2) is
"Immediately, I became in Spirit; and behold! a throne was set in heaven."
No words could be more important as fixing our minds on the great central and all-governing fact which pervades the Book of this prophecy.
It is the day spoken of in
"The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens;
And His kingdom ruleth over all."
And in Pss. ix. and x., which treat of the coming great
Tribulation as the "times of trouble" (ix. 9, and x. 1), it is
declared: The Lord "hath prepared His throne for judgment." And in
"The Lord is in his holy temple,
The Lord's throne is in heaven:
His eyes behold,
His eyelids try the children of men.
The Lord trieth the righteous:
But the wicked and him that loveth violence His soul
hateth.
Upon the wicked he shall rain snares,
Fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest:
This shall be the portion of their cup."
These three Psalms foretell and refer to the scenes described more fully in the Apocalypse.
Daniel (vii. 9, 10) also speaks of this very moment when he
says "I behold till the thrones were set" (not "cast down" as in AV.
but "placed" as in RV.
The Chaldee word (...) (remah) means to
set or place by casing, putting or setting down. Easter
seats were cushions which are thus placed.
This throne speaks of judgment; "the throne of grace"
is no longer seen. Grace is the character of this present dispensation;
while judgment, righteousness, and justice will characterise that which
is coming. The heavenly voice announces it. "Just and true are
thy ways, thou king of nations" (xv. 3 q.v.). "Thy
judgments are made manifest" (verse 4). "Thou art
just, who art and who wast the holy One, because thou
judgedst thus" (xvi. 5; see also verse 7, and xix. 2, 11). The
martyred ones are represented as crying "How long, O Sovereign Lord,
Greek, (...) (despotes), Despot, or
Sovereign Lord. See below on chap. vi. 10.
"Let the saints be joyful in glory:
Let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Let the high praises of God (El) be in their
mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand;
To execute vengeance upon the heathen,
And punishments upon the people;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute upon them the judgment written:
This honour have all His saints. Hallelujah."
The Throne, therefore, with which this first Vision "in heaven" commences, is the great central object. The structure shows this; and it shows also other prominent objects, viz. the Book and the Lamb, and their relation to two great subjects, Creation (chap. iv.) and Redemption (chap. v).
Before we proceed to the translation we must give the expansion of A. iv. 1-8-. Its importance is seen from the minuteness with which the Throne is described.
A. iv. 1-8-. The Throne.
A | a | 1-3-. On it: the Enthroned One.
b | d | -3. Round it: a Rainbow.
e | 4. Round it: 24 Thrones.
c | 5-. Out of it: Lightnings.
b | d | -5. Before it: Seven
Lamps.
e | 6-. Before it: a Crystal
Sea.
a | -6-8-. In the midst and round about it: the
four Zoa.
We now proceed to give the translation of each separate member, marking each with the corresponding letters, so that its place in the general structure and plan can be easily referred to, found and followed.
A. iv. 1-8-. THE THRONE.
a. 1-3-. On it: the Enthroned One.
iv. 1. After these things] Seven times in
this book we have this or a similar expression (iv. 1; vii. 1, 9; xv.
5; xviii. 1; xix. 1; xx. 3). As in the last case a thousand years
intervene, it is clear that what is seen does not necessarily follow
immediately. (It is a Hebrew idiom. Compare
I looked, and, behold a door set open IN HEAVEN] There are five openings mentioned in this Book; and, while they do not mark special literary divisions, yet they are all of the deepest importance and significance. See xi. 19; xv. 5; xix. 11; and xxi. 1. This first is a "door" opened to admit John. But when the Armies of Heaven come forth, then John says: "And I saw Heaven opened" (xix. 11), and not merely a door. The same happened to Ezekiel when he saw "visions of (or from) God."
And the former voice which I heard (at the
beginning, i. 10) was as it were of a trumpet speaking with
me (i. 10), saying, "Come up hither, and I will show
thee what things must come to pass hereafter"] There is no
necessity for taking these words (...) (die genesthai)
differently from i. 1, 19; xxii. 6.
2.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (kai)
and.
and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and upon the throne was One sitting] This is evidently the Father; who henceforth, throughout the book, is spoken of as "He that sitteth upon the throne." He is distinguished from the Son in vi. 16; vii. 10.
3. And He that sat was, in appearance like to a jasper
stone and a sardius; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, —
like, in appearance, to an emerald] It cannot be known
precisely what is meant by the appearance of these stones, nor can we
identify them satisfactorily. But there is no doubt as to the
"rainbow." It speaks of a scene of judgment — not of water, but of
fire; and it tells also of hope and deliverance for those concerned in
the covenant of which it is the "sign." The form tells us of
the covenant of
4. And round about the throne (behold)
four and twenty thrones; and upon the four and twenty
thrones
So L.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
and on their heads
Omit "they had." G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
People who reject the verbal inspiration thus given by God,
can accept the "automatic writing" by means of lying spirits! When the
Holy Spirit thus writes man will not believe it, but lying spirits are
implicitly trusted. Such is man!
These elders are the heads of the heavenly priesthood; the
chief-priests or elders of Heavenly worship and rule. The comparative
(...) (presbuteros) elder) has been distinguished
from (...) (presbutes) old man), from the most
ancient times, as marking and denoting official position. It
is preserved in our Eng. Alderman or elder man. In the papyri
is it constantly used of both civil and religious rulers. The affairs
of the whole priesthood of the Egyptian mysteries were conducted by an
annual council of 25 presbuteroi. The word does not mean
"priest" in any sense, for we often find the expression
"presbyter-priest" "used of a ruler among priest," so that there were
priestly-governors as well as civil-governors.
See Deismann Bibelstudien, p. 154, 433.
David distributed his twenty-four courses, sixteen
from the sons of Eleazar; and eight from the sons of Ithamar.
These were "governors of the sanctuary and governors of the house of
God." (
It was the number (24,000) of the Levites who were to serve in
the house of the Lord (
It was the number of the prophets who were to lead the praises
of God with instruments of song (
The porters of the sons of Levi were twenty-four (
The same number obtained in the Palace as in the Temple.
Twelve captains presided over 24,000 (
Twelve officers were set over the Treasuries (verses 25-31).
So these four-and-twenty elders are the princely leaders,
rulers, and governors of Heaven's worship. They are kings and priests.
They were not, and cannot be, the Church of God. They are seen already
crowned when the throne is first set up. They are crowned now. They
were not, and are not redeemed, for they distinguish between themselves
and those who are redeemed. See their song below (chap. v. 9, 10 and
RV.). They speak of the time of "giving the reward to thy servants"
(xi. 18), not to us thy servants. They are heavenly unfallen
beings, and therefore they are "arrayed in white robes." They speak of
Creation (iv. 8-11). And when they sing of Redemption
(v. 8-14) it is called "a new song." Redemption would be no new song to
the Church of God, for it would be the old song which they had so often
sung upon earth as "the old, old story." One of them speaks to John
(vii. 13-17) as though separate and different from both the great
multitude and from John himself. They offer "golden bowls full of
odours, which are the prayers of the saints (v. 8). They are
priests ministering for others. Is this the work of the Church? Their
functions are altogether priestly. See
5. and out of the throne go forth lightnings and
voices and thunders
This is the order according to G.L.Tr.A. WH. and RV.; not
"thunders and voices" as in AV.
6. and (behold) before the throne,
like
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
And in the midst of the throne and around the throne, four Zoa, full of eyes before and behind. 7. and the first Zoon was like a lion, and the second Zoon like an ox, and the third Zoon having the face as a man, and the fourth Zoon like a flying eagle. 8. and the four Zoa had each of them respectively, six wings; around and within they are full of eyes] The word "beasts" is not the same as in chaps. xii. and xvii. Here it is (...) (zoon), and means any living creature; but in chap. xiii. and xvii. it is (...) (therion), a wild, untamed beast. It is difficult to find a term which shall exactly represent the original. "Living creature" is both vague and cumbrous; "living beings" implies too much of humanity; "living ones" would be better, but as the word is sometimes used in the singular number it would cause confusion to say "living one," inasmuch as "the Living One" is used in this book as one of the Divine titles of the Lord Jesus. We have judged it better therefore to leave the word untranslated, and use Zoon in the singular, and Zoa in the plural. No difficulty will be experienced, as the word is already partly Anglicised and understood in our words, Zoology, Zoological, Zoophyte, Zootomy, Zoonymy, &c., which all have to do with living things; animate as opposed to inanimate.
The first time the Zoa are mentioned in the Bible
they are named, though they are not described. In
The Zoa are described in Ezekiel (chap. i. 5-14), and
they are identified in
Some would have it that they represent the Godhead; but it is
hardly likely that God, who commanded that no emblem of Deity should be
made, should make one Himself; especially one like unto "an ox that
eateth grass." (See
Some think they represent the four Gospels; but animals can hardly represent books. Moreover, it is difficult to see the point of the four Gospels guarding the Tree of Life, or occupying such a prominent place in the Tabernacle and in the Temple.
That they cannot be the Church is clear from the following facts:
1. Three out of the four are animals, and there must be some sort of congruity between even a symbol and the thing signified.
2. They call for judgment (chap. vi.), and give the bowls "full of wrath of God" to the Seven Vial Angels (chap. xv.). This is surely not the work of the Church, either now or in the future.
3.
4. They cannot be any ordinary angelic beings, inasmuch, as they are distinguished from the angels in chap. v. 8, 11. Neither do they ever receive any commission, as angels always do. On the contrary, they give orders, as angels do not.
5. They are attached to the Throne of God, and are never seen apart from it.
6. They are first mentioned, as we have said, in
See Number in Scripture.
These words receive a new significance if we regard the
Cherubim, or Zoa, as being the concrete representation of this
groaning creation; and as being the pledge that its groaning shall one
day cease, and its hope be fulfilled. That hope was given when they
were first placed, as in an Tabernacle, (as the word means), at the
gate of Eden. There, at that time, was the Lord's presence manifested.
Hither Cain and Abel brought their offerings; and from this "presence
of the Lord" Cain went out (
It may be that the Tabernacle of God continued up to the time
of the Flood. For Shem is spoken of as the custodian of this "dwelling
place." The word "placed" in
See
"Blessed be the Lord God of Shem;
And Canaan shall be his servant.
God shall enlarge Japhet:
And He (i.e., God) shall dwell (or place His tabernacle) in the
tents of Shem."
Here the three patriarchs are mentioned. Canaan (i.e., Ham) and Japhet occupy the two central lines; while Shem and the Lord His God occupy the two outer lines. If this be so, then, this Tabernacle of the Divine presence continued among men down to the Flood and contained the Cherubim.
After the Flood, the Teraphim (probably a corruption
of Cherubim) were made in imitation of them, and became objects of
worship. The remembrance of them was carried away by the scattered
nations (
When God set up the Tabernacle in Israel it was that He might
"dwell among them" (
In
In all this we are on Old Testament ground; for when allusion
is made to these momentous truths in
This brings us to the utterances of the Zoa and of the twenty-four Elders in B, iv. -8-11.
B, chap. iv. -8-11.
THE UTTERANCES OF THE ZOA AND ELDERS.
The Theme — Creation.
We now come to B, iv. -8-11, the subject of which is the worship and utterances of the Zoa and the Elders. This is part of the larger structure of H1, and still part of the first vision seen "in Heaven."
The following is the structure:
B | f | -8-. Worship of the Zoa. "And they rest
not
g | -8. Their utterance (creation). "Holy, holy,
holy...
f | 9, 10. Worship of the Elders. "And
when...
g | 11. Their new song (creation). "Thou
art worthy...
iv. -8. And they have no cessation day and night,
saying
"Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord God Almighty
Who was, and who is, and who is coming."
This is the first of all the seventeen Heavenly utterances.
They begin with God Himself, and relate to what He is in Himself; and
not to what He has, or has done, or is going to do. The emphasis is on
"who was," because it is put first. Compare i. 8 and xi. 17, where the emphasis is on the
present.
"Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed (or Holy) be Thy Name,
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is heaven."
Then, and not till then, we have "us." "Give us,"
etc. It is remarkable also that there are three Psalms which
proleptically speak of this coming reign.
The first (xciii.) is called for by the song for the Sabbath
(xcii.), which speaks of the millennial Sabbath-keeping which is to
come, and tells of the destruction of the wicked, the perishing of the
enemies and the scattering of the workers of iniquity, before the Lord
is exalted as most High for evermore. (verses 7-9). Then comes the
answer in
The second (xcvii.) is called for in the
The Massorah points out a remarkable acrostic in the four
Hebrew words which form this verse. The four words begin with the four
letters which form the word Jehovah. (...) Thus this verse is stamped
as containing the result of Jehovah's dealings.
"Let the heavens rejoice,
And let the earth be glad."
This, too, is the burden of the final heavenly
utterances in
The third (xcix.) is called for in
Verse 3. "Let them praise thy great and terrible name: for it is holy."
Verse 5. "Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool, for he is holy." And
Verse 9. "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for he is holy."
All this truth and teaching is embraced in this first heavenly utterance, spoken by the four Zoa.
We have called attention to the fact that each Vision seen "IN HEAVEN" is marked by heavenly voices; and we have stated that it is in these we must look for the key to the judgment scenes which follow on earth. We shall have, therefore, to give more attention than is usually done to the significance of these utterances; weigh their words, learn their lessons, and note their bearing on what follows "on earth."
9. And when the Zoa shall give glory, honour, and thanksgiving to Him who sitteth upon the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10. The four and twenty elders shall fall down before
Him who sitteth upon the throne, and they shall
B.E.G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read the future tense
here.
B.E.G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read the future tense
here.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
"Worthy art thou, O Lord and our
God,
To receive glory, and honour, and power;
Because Thou didst create all things,
And for thy pleasure they were,
Thus, creation is the subject of the first great
utterance of the Zoa and the Elders. Their words announce the
blessed fact that the judgments which are about to take place, have for
their great object the removal of the curse, and of all unholiness from
the earth; and the ending of creation's groaning and travail. These
heavenly elders take part in this heavenly utterance, and they
acknowledge its truth by bowing their heads in worship and homage.
A, chap. v. 1-7.
THE THRONE AND THE BOOK: THE LION AND THE LAMB.
Having considered the member B, iv. -8-11, we now come to the member A, v. 1-7, the subject of which is The Throne, and the Book: The Lion and the Lamb.
Here, as in A. iv. 1-8-, we have the Throne. But, here it is rather Him that sitteth upon the throne, than the Throne itself.
A | h | 1-. Right hand. "And I saw...
i | -1. A Book.
k | 2-5. The Lion. "And I saw...
k | 6. The Lamb. "And I saw...
i | 7-. The Book. "And he came...
h | -7. Right hand. "Out of the right
hand.
v. 1. And I saw on the right hand of Him that sitteth upon the throne, a Book (or Roll), written within and on the back, having been sealed with seven seals] Much ingenuity has been spent in the interpretation of this "Book," and what it represents. Some have suggested that it is the history of the Christian Church, but we trust our readers are fairly convinced by this time that the Church is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
Neither can it be "the book of the Covenant" yet to be made
with Israel, because that New Covenant is in mercy (
What ought we to look for as the first thing, in the
Apocalypse, which, as we have seen, has the end of the "many days" and
"the time of the end" for its great subject, but the unsealing
of this book, the sealing of which is so prominently spoken of in the
book of Daniel? When the time comes for the fulfilment of all that is
written in this book, then the seals are opened. Even then, though
these seven seals be opened, there are still certain things which even
John himself has to "seal up," viz., "the things which the seven
thunders uttered" (x. 4). We take it therefore that the opening of the
seals of this book is the enlargement, development and continuation of
the Book of Daniel, describing, from God's side, the judgments
necessary to secure the fulfilment of all that He has foretold. The
opening of each seal has a special judgment as its immediate result.
The roll given to Ezekiel was of similar import. "He spread it before
me, and it was written within and without; and there were written
therein, lamentations and mourning and woe" (
THE EXPANSION OF k., v. 2-5.
k | l | 2-. The Angel's proclamation. "And I saw...
m | -2. Question. "Who is worthy...?
First consequence: Inability
n | o | 3-. No one able. (Agent).
p | -3. To open the book.
(Action).
Second consequence: Weeping.
n | o | 4-. No one able. (Agent).
l | 5-. The Elder's consolation. "And
one...
m | 5. Answer to Question.
"Behold...
The Translation of k, v. 2-5.
v. 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice — "Who is worthy to open the Book, and to loose the seals thereof?"] It looks as though there is something more in this 7-Sealed Book than what we have said on verse 1. There is evidently more in this book than the mere continuation of Daniel's prophecies. This is there, without doubt, but there must be that which calls for all these judgments and requires the putting forth of all this power. If the Book has to do with the whole subject of prophecy, with its causes, and not merely with its consequences and its end, then it may well take us back to the beginning, to which the cherubim already point us, when man was driven out from Paradise, when he forfeited his inheritance; and the promise of a coming Deliverer and Redeemer was given.
This First Vision "in Heaven" (iv. v.) takes up the history of
man in relation to the Throne, at the point where it was left in
3. and no one was able, in the heaven nor upon the earth, neither under the earth, to open the Book, or to look at it] The worthiness required is so great that no created being is able even to contemplate it. There was not one that could make reply to the herald's challenge.
4. and I was weeping much because no one worthy was
found to open
Omit "and read" G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
5. And one of the elders saith to me "Weep not! Behold
the Lion which is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
prevailed
Not "hath prevailed," as though referring to some recent
act, but "did prevail," i.e., at the Cross.
The Lord Jesus will prevail as the Lion; and it is of this the Book treats; but, He first prevailed as the Lamb slain. Hence, when John turned, he saw, not a Lion, according to the Elder's announcement, but a Lamb, according to the prior historical fact.
He first takes the place of man as outside the garden and the
tree of life (
When John first looks (verse 1), he sees only "the Throne and the Book," which are separated from the second by the structure. For when he looks the second time (verse 6), he sees "the Lamb." The Lamb is now seen in the midst of the Throne. He occupies no longer the outside place. He is entitled to enter and approach the throne, for He alone is "worthy."
6. And I saw
Omit "and" G.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. Omit "behold" G.L.T.Tr.A.
WH. and RV.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Past payment is the basis of future power (
7. And He came and took it
Omit "the Book," L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
B., chap. v. 8-14.
THE NEW SON OF THE ZOA AND ELDERS.
The Theme — Redemption.
The last member of C1 is now reached. In the structure it is marked B, and consists of chap. v. 8-14 the subject being, "The New Song of the Zoa, and the elders, and the heavenly utterances of other Angelic Beings."
It is arranged in orderly sequence; the speakers and their utterances being separated and placed in five pairs, or groups.
EXPANSION OF B., chap. v. 8-14.
The New Song of the Zoa, Elders and others.
B | q1 | 8, 9-. The Four Zoa,
and 24 Elders.
r1 | -9, 10. Their New Song.
q2 | 11, 12. Many Angels.
r2 | -12. Their Utterance.
q3 | 13-. Every creature.
r3 | -13. Their Utterance.
q4 | 14-. The Four Zoa.
r4 | -14-. Their Utterance.
q5 | -14-. The 24 Elders.
r5 | -14. Their Utterance.
Here, in q1 to q5 we have the heavenly speakers and singers; while, in r1 to r5 we have their song and their utterances. The latter relate to the scene which has just taken place "in heaven," and to the result of it about to be seen in the consequent judgments which follow and take place "on earth." The point at which the heavenly voices commence is the moment when the Lamb, who alone is entitled and worthy takes the Book.
8. And when He took the Book the four Zoa and the four
and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb having each a
harp
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
The golden bowls were vessels belonging to the altar (
9. and they sing a New Song, saying] The Zoa speak only in this first Vision "in Heaven" and in the last, in chap. xix. 4; and no where else. The Elders speak in the first and last, but also a third time in xi. 17. This is significant; as showing the weight and importance of those utterances respectively. In this first vision "in Heaven" their voices are heard twice: First, in connection with the Throne and Him who sitteth thereupon (separately); for the Zoa speak first (iv. 8); and the Elders follow (iv. 11); their theme being Creation. The second time they speak it is in connection with the Lamb, and the Book, they sing together (chap. v. 9, 10), their theme being Redemption.
Six times in this first Vision "in Heaven," these Heavenly Voices are heard. All Heaven is engaged in singing the worthiness of God as the Creator; and the worthiness of the Lamb as the Redeemer. Surely these are the dominant personages of the whole Book. These are the themes which form its subject: viz., the removal of the curse from creation, the redemption of the purchased inheritance, the ejection of the great usurper; and all accomplished through the payment of Redemption's price by the merits of the Lamb, and the putting forth of Redemption power. Hence, in connection with Him and with the book we have the first of four heavenly utterances:
The New Song of the Zoa and Elders. v. 9, 10.
"Worthy art thou
Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, Wordsworth, Westcott and Hort,
and the RV. omit (...) (hemas) us. Indeed, all the
critical authorities are unanimous in substituting the 3rd person for
the 1st in the next verse. But if so, then we must have the
3rd person here and not the 1st person. MS. authority for this is the
Alexandrian MS. in the British Museum (cent. iv). The Sinaitic MS.
(cent. iv). The Reuchlin MS. (cent. v). The Ethiopic Version (cent.
iv). The Coptic Version (cent. v). The Harleian MS. No. 1773 in B.M. It
is quoted without the "us" by Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, 248-258, and
Fulgentius, a Bishop in Africa, 508-533, so that it was neither in the
ancient MSS. from which those two versions were made; nor was it in the
copies which those two Bishops had before them.
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH and RV.
Alford omits "to our God."
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
So L.Tr.A. WH. and RV. "shall reign" G.T. and Tr. marg.
To take the Book,
And to open the seals thereof,
Because thou wast slain
And didst purchase
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation
And didst make them
A kingdom
And they reign
This is the theme of the New Song. The worthiness of the Lamb
to take the Book, because of the Redemption He had accomplished. The
People had been once redeemed from Egypt, for it is in connection with
the Exodus that Redemption is first mentioned in the Bible, in the Song
of
The importance of the various readings in verse 9 will be seen, and noted; because upon this turns very much the interpretation of the whole Book. The true reading separates the singers from the Redeemed, and makes them heavenly beings who need no redemption, but who sing of the redemption wrought for others.
But the payment of the price is only one part of the work of redemption. If the price be paid and there be no power to take possession and eject the holder the payment is in vain. And if power be put forth and exercised in casting out the usurper, without the previous payment of the redemption price, it would not be a righteous action. So that for the redemption of the forfeited inheritance two things are absolutely necessary, price and power. The first redemption song has for its theme the payment of the price. The second celebrates the putting forth of the power.
We are first told by whom this second utterance is made.
11. And I saw and heard
T. and Tr. add "as." WH. put it in the margin. And A. puts it in brackets.
So B.E.L.G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,
To receive power
and riches
and wisdom
and strength
and honour
and glory
and blessing"]
They give this sevenfold ascription as to the Lamb's worthiness. The words "Power" and "Strength" divide the seven into three and four. These are all marked off by the Figure Polysyndeton (i.e., the use of "many ands") which bids us consider each of these seven features of the Lamb's worthiness separately. In doing this we are to note that the great theme is Redemption power and strength.
13. And every creature which is in heaven and
on
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
"To Him that sitteth upon the throne
And to the Lamb
Blessing
and honour
and glory
and might
For ever and ever"]
This is the ascription of the whole creation. Hence
it is four-fold because it is in connection with the earth (
of which four is the number) and because He who sitteth upon
the Throne is there in relation to the earth. Whereas the ascription to
the Person of the Lamb slain is seven-fold because Redemption
blood was offered "through the eternal Spirit" (
14. And the four Zoa said
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "Him who liveth for ever and
ever" as being a later addition to the Text by some scribe.
"Amen"
and the four and twenty elders fell down and
worshipped
It seems almost profane to attempt to explain, and comment on
these heavenly utterances. They are Heaven's own comment on the
wondrous facts seen and heard by John, and brought before us in this
first vision seen "in heaven." When again He brings the First-born into
the world, He said "And let all the angels of God worship Him" (
"FOR He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And will render vengeance to His adversaries,
And will be merciful to His Land,
And to His people."
These are the concluding words of "the song of Moses." Now,
"the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together" (
"His way will be known upon earth
And His saving health will be made known among all
nations:
Then shall the nations be glad and sing for joy.
Then shall our land yield her increase" (Ps. lxvii).
"The trees of the wood shall rejoice" (Ps. xcvi).
"The floods shall clap their hands
And the hills shall be joyful together" (Ps. xcviii).
"The beast of the field:
The fowl of the air:
And the fish of the sea:
And whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea, shall say,
'Oh Jehovah Adonai, how excellent is Thy name in all the
EARTH'" (Ps. viii).
"And everything that hath breath" shall praise the Lord (Ps.
cl) and say
HALLELUJAH
E1, chap. vi. 1— 8. The Six Seals, and the sealing of the 144,000
From the whole of the first Vision "in Heaven" (H1, vi. 1-vii. 8) for the putting forth of power "on Earth" in the completion of the redemption of the purchased inheritance. The price has been paid in the shedding of the precious blood of the Lamb; and now, the necessary power is to be exercised so as to secure all its wondrous results, in wresting the inheritance from the hand of the enemy by ejecting the present usurper, and forcibly taking possession. We see this power put forth in the Seals, Trumpets, and Vials which fill up the active judgments of God in accomplishing this: and which end with the coming of the Lord Himself (xix).
This is the great object set forth in the preceding Vision "in Heaven"; and now we are to see the result of it all as consequent on it "on Earth."
John sees it all, of course, "in Heaven," but what he saw (vi. 1- vii. 8) "in Heaven" will take place "on Earth," just as what he sees (chaps. iv. and v.) as taking place "in Heaven," does and will take place there.
This is the first Vision of what will take place "on Earth" in "the day of the Lord." The great subject is
THE OPENING OF THE SIX SEALS.
For the Six Seals are separated off from the seventh in a remarkable manner; as though to point out to us that the seventh is not immediately consecutive on the sixth, as the other seals are consecutive one on the other.
The sixth seal evidently carries us forward to the time of the
end; for it speaks of the signs in the sun and moon and stars (vi. 12,
13), which the Lord associates with His personal appearance (
If this be so, then these first six seals are separated, very definitely, from the seventh; and the silence in heaven which follows the opening of the seventh indicates a pause.
The six seals present us with a preliminary summary of the judgments, which cover the whole period; the sixth leading up to and ending in the actual coming of Christ; or, at any rate, to the end of chapter xviii.
There is every reason to believe that "the day of the Lord"
will be a prolonged period. It must not be confined to "seven years,"
as is so often done. The time between the coming forth of the
Lord into the air to meet His Church, and His coming unto the
Earth with His Church, in power and great glory, may correspond to the
thirty-three years between His coming forth at Bethlehem
(
These events may occupy a similar period of thirty-three years for aught we know; and if to these we add the seven yeas of the last week of Daniel we have a period of forty years.
We do know that in
He then goes on to answer the second question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the Sunteleia of the age?" (verse 3). He describes four of those seals (verse 7), and adds "all these are a beginning of sorrows."
This fixes these earlier seals as the "beginning" of the Sunteleia of "the day of the Lord" — this "beginning" may be spread over some years before the Great Tribulation, proper, comes on.
Thus these first six seals are again separated off from the seventh.
We now give the first vision, E1, vi. 1- vii. 8, showing the events on Earth, as a whole.
It will be seen that they are divided between two subjects — the persecutors and the persecuted: Those who are on the side of Antichrist (B1 and B2); and those who suffer (A2), or have immunity from suffering (A3), for refusing to worship him, etc.
It will be noted also how perfectly
E1, vi. 1 - vii. 8. The Six Seals and the Sealing.
E1 | A1 | vi. 1, 2. The False Christ
going forth to make war on the saints. (1st Seal).
B1 | vi. 3-8. Judgments on him and
his followers. (2nd, 3rd, and 4th Seals).
A2 | vi. 9-11. the effects of the war with
the saints. Their martyrdom. (5th Seal).
B2 | vi. 12-17. Judgments on him
and his followers. (6th Seal.)
A3 | vii. 1-8. Answer to Question, by the
Sealing of 144,000 enabling them to stand in the judgment (
We want our readers to understand clearly our suggestion as to these Seals. We separate them off from the Trumpets and Vials, which are continuous once they begin. This is shown from the fact, as will be seen below, that, the last two Trumpets and the first Vial are linked together as being the "three woes." They are thus marked as consecutive.
The Seals, however, we feel compelled, by the events under the
sixth, to regard as a summary of ALL the Divine judgments which will
usher in the Day of the Lord: including the whole of the
Sunteleia, "the Tribulation," and leading up to the
Telos or end, — the last "seven years," and "the great day of
His wrath." Thus they cover the whole period in broad outline. After
the last Seal there is a break, shown by the "silence in heaven," and
we are turned aside to see some further details as to these judgments —
beginning, may we say de novo, with the Trumpets. After the
last Trumpet there is no such break, no "silence in heaven" or on
earth, but the last Trumpet at once ushers in and contains and
developes the final judgments of the seven Vials, which finish up the
mystery or secret purpose of God; for, we read in
We will now give a summary of the first four Seals. A1 and B1, vi. 1-8:
A1 and B1, vi. 1-8. The Four Seals.
A1 & B1 | a | vi. 1, 2. The
First Seal. White Horse. The rider with bow in hand. (
b | vi. 3, 4. The Second
Seal. Red Horse. War (
a | vi. 5, 6. The Third
Seal. Black Horse. Famine. The rider, balances in hand. (
b | vi. 7, 8. The
Fourth Seal. The Livid Horse. Pestilence. (
vi. 1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the
seven
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
The words "and see" must be omitted according to
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
2. And I saw and lo! a white horse, and he that was
sitting upon it, having a bow, and there was given unto him a
crown ((...) stephanos), a triumphal
crown), and he went forth conquering, and in order that he
might conquer or overcome] If we interpret these Seals by
the words of Christ in
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
"I am the Messiah,
and he shall deceive many"
(
The descriptions of Antichrist's career in other Scriptures
coincide entirely with this. He rises unrecognised by the dwellers on
the earth. His beginning is "Peace," but his aim is universal dominion,
which he finally acquires. When his downfall comes, the reflection of
beholders will be:— "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
that did shake kingdoms; that made the world a wilderness, and
destroyed the cities thereof" (
As to the Command, the obedience to it "and he went
forth," shows that the verb (...) (erchomai) to
come, or go, must be taken in the latter sense, "Go!" Or
else the second occurrence of the verb would be "and he came forth."
The commission "given to him" concerned war, as the second seal goes on
to explain. Horses are specially associated with war. See
We need not trouble ourselves to show that this white horse is not the Roman Empire, as some hold; or Rome itself, as Mr. Elliott believes. Nor can we ask our readers to believe that the "Bow" in the rider's hand symbolises the island of Crete. We do not need a knowledge of the Classics or of History in order to understand this Book; but we do need a knowledge of Scripture; not to say common sense.
vi. 3. And when He opened the second seal I heard the
second Zoon saying, Go!
Omit "and see" G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
"There was given unto him." We must note well these
significant words. They are spoken of the first rider on the white
horse; and similarly of all the judgments. All are initiated from the
throne. It will be again, as it was in another period of Israel's
history in the days of Asa, "In those times there was no peace to him
that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon
all the inhabitants of the countries, and nation was destroyed of
nation, and city of city; for God did vex them with all adversity" (
It may be well to add that up to the third century this was
not considered to have been fulfilled by any historical events. So
Origen says in his Commentary on St. Matthew (Cap.
xxiv.).
vi. 5. And when he opened the third seal I heard the
third Zoon saying, Go!
Omit "and see," L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
"A choenix of wheat for a denarius,
and three choenixes of barley for a
denarius: and see, thou mayest not
injure the oil and the wine"]
This is the next judgment mentioned by the Lord in
The "balances" some would translate "yoke"; and because yokes
are generally worn by oxen, and not carried in a horseman's hand,
commentators make it a spiritual yoke and a spiritual famine! though
they leave us to wonder what a spiritual famine has to do with weights
and measures and the price of wheat and barley. We prefer what is so
evidently the simple meaning of the words. Bread "by weight" always
denotes scarcity. When God describes, through Ezekiel, the famine
during the siege of Jerusalem, He says, "Thy meat which thou shalt eat
shall be by weight... and drink water by measure."
(Read
The usual price of a choenix was 1/8th of a denarius; so that corn, here, in this famine, is eight times its usual price. We are told that a denarius would buy 16 choenixes of wheat in the time of Cicero, and 20 in the time of Trajan. There will be great scarcity, therefore, when a denarius will buy only one.
Literal famines have been so often foretold, and have come to
pass, from Genesis onward (
Mr. Elliott, in his Horae Apocalypticae, has to make
it accord with the requirements of history, and says "there is
nothing correspondent with such era of famine" (vol. i., p. 149). One
would have thought, therefore, that the best plan would be to abandon
the historical interpretation. But no! history must stand, and the
Scripture (the voice from the Throne) must be accommodated to it. So
Mr. Elliott first insists on a larger choenix; but afterwards,
finding this could not be sustained, he changes his ground in a third
edition of his commentary, and takes refuge in a smaller or
"adulterated denarius"! He actually says, "I was not aware of
this adulteration when printing my two former editions; and so
resorted to a larger and more uncommon choenix, in order to
answer the statement of price in the prophecy." We admire the
candour of this confession, but we must condemn the principle of
interpretation which requires it. We prefer our Lord's own clear, but
simple, words, "there shall be famines" (
vi. 7. And when he opened the fourth seal I heard the
voice of the fourth Zoon, saying Go!
Omit "and see," L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Though the word in the Greek here is (...) (thanatos)
death, it is put, by Metonymy, as the effect for the
cause producing it, which is pestilence. In the O.T. it is the
Septuagint rendering of (...) (dever) destruction, i.e.,
plague and pestilence, which causes death. It occurs some
thirty times, as in
"Pestilence," thus personified, is followed by the grave (Gr.
Hades), also personified. The two words occur together because
the latter depends on the former. See i. 18; vi. 8; xx. 13;
Tradition has thrown obscurity over what is otherwise so
clear. What is it that always follows death? Surely it is the grave. In
chap. xx. 13 we read "Death and the grave (Gr. Hades) gave up
the dead which were in them," i.e., the dead held by them were raised
to life. Hades is the place which holds the dead; and Christ, who
raises the dead, is therefore said to hold the keys of Hades,
or the grave. The word Hades occurs eleven times in the New
Testament, and there is no place where the rendering grave
would not be appropriate.
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shall be brought down to the grave. |
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The gates of Hades shall not prevail. |
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shalt he thrust down to the grave. |
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In the grave he lift up his eyes. |
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wilt not leave my soul (i.e., me) in the grave. |
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his soul (i.e., he) was not left in the grave. |
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O grave, where is thy victory. |
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have the keys of death and the grave. |
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Death, and the grave followed |
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Death and the grave. |
The opposite of this is promised as part of future blessing
on the earth.
"Wild beasts" are added as another agency, because they
consume the wounded and dying, and seize on those who are left
defenceless (
The meaning of these three Seals seems to be simple and clear.
They are the expansion of our Lord's own brief statement in
When these three judgments fail, then the Lord will bring up others from His reserved forces. Not until the sixth seal, which, as we have seen, carries us forward to the time of the end of sorrows, do the men of the earth own these judgments as proceeding from God as their author.
We must repeat here that not one of these Seals has yet been opened. Nor can any period of history be pointed out in which these "four sore judgments" have been in operation simultaneously over the extent here named, "the fourth part of the earth."
Gibbon's description Vol. iv. p. 331.
The fifth Seal is marked off and separated from all the others. It stands alone, giving us another side of the picture. The first Seal shows the mighty agency employed by Satan as the earthly leader of the earthly portion of his gathering host. The action of these Satanic forces is assumed by the next three Seals (the second, third, and fourth), inasmuch as they are directed against Satan's opposing forces.
In this earthly conflict there can be only suffering and martyrdom for those on the earth who hold and maintain the testimony of the Word of God, i.e., who adhere to the special truth communicated in this book and its contents, as defined in i. 2, 9; xii. 17. In chap. xx. 4, this is further explained as not worshipping the Beast or receiving his mark upon their foreheads.
The two mighty forces have joined in hostilities; the opposing hosts have met; and those who are on the Lord's side suffer in consequence.
Hence, in the fifth Seal, we have this episode introduced to make the whole complete, and give all sides of the great conflict.
The first four Seals are connected together by each commencing with a cry from one of the four Zoa, and the going forth of a horseman.
The remaining three are thus marked off as a separate series.
The first series of four has to do with men as such. In the first of the second series we have the saints of the Most High.
The order of our Lord's great prophecy (
A2, vi. 9-11. The Fifth Seal.
A2 | c | 9. The Martyrs under the Altar.
Description.
d | 10. Their cry.
c | 11-. The Martyrs under the Altar.
Donation.
d | -11. The answer to their cry.
c. vi. 9. The Martyrs under the Altar. Their Description.
vi. 9. And when he opened the fifth seal I saw under
the altar the persons (souls being put by Synecdoche
for persons. See notes below) of those who had been slain on
account of the word of God, and on account of the testimony which they
held] All mystery is removed if we simply take the word
"souls" here as being put, by the figure Synecdoche for
persons. By this figure a part is put for the whole. This is called
"Synecdoche of the part." By it, the head is put for
the man himself (
See
The word (...) (psuche) has no such fixed meaning as
is put upon it by theology and tradition. It occurs in the New
Testament 105 times, and is rendered life, 40 times;
soul, 58 times; mind, 3 times; heart, once;
with (...) heartily, once (
So there is no reason whatever for adhering to the traditional
rendering, "soul," in this passage as denoting a part of man.
The words simply mean "I saw those who had been slain." John also hears
what they say. Speaking requires the organs of speech. Tongues are
necessary. Vocal organs are indispensable for the utterance of words.
These were the martyred saints personified and represented as waiting.
They themselves were dead; for in
What John sees is a vision for the purpose of instructing him; just as Jotham's parable instructed the men of Israel when he represented trees as speaking.
Moreover, the words "of them" give a wrong emphasis. The Greek
is not so definite as that. John sees the martyred saints at the foot
of the altar of burnt offering. He sees not animal victims,
but human beings. Like sacrifices, they had been slain for
their testimony. Not sacrifices of atonement, but of devotion.
These were called "drink-offerings"; and the verb (...)
(spendomai) is used of the pouring out of a drink offering.
See
Their condition here as dead is set in definite contrast to
their condition when afterwards raised.
d., vi. 10 Their Cry.
vi. 10. And they cried with a loud voice (as
Abel's blood was said to cry —
It occurs ten times in the New Testament.
Five times it is rendered Master (
"How long, O Sovereign-Lord,—
The Holy and True]
(iii. 7.
The Church of God in this day of grace does not, and cannot,
cry for vengeance. Indeed, it is expressly taught not to do so
(
dost thou not judge and exact
vengeance
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) from instead of (...)
for our blood from
(
"Rejoice, O ye nations with his people;
For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render vengeance to his adversaries,
And will be merciful unto his Land and to his People"
just as He avenged the blood of his "servants the prophets" on
Ahab and Jezebel (
In
It is the cry of Israel represented as a "widow." This cannot
be the Church! But is specially the title applicable to Israel in a
certain condition (
The break in our chapters severs the close connection between
The Lord goes on to speak of the coming of the Son of Man to
the end of the chapter, comparing it with the judgment of Sodom and
Gomorrah, and connecting it with the very end of the Tribulation, as in
Then the Lord goes on, in
But now look at the Parable itself. "There was in a certain
city (Jerusalem,
"O God: the heathen are come unto thine
inheritance:
The holy Temple have they defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be
meat unto the fowls of the heaven:
The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the
earth.
Their blood have they shed like water round about
Jerusalem;
And there was none to bury them."
This plainly refers to
"How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry: for ever?
Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?"
The whole of this Psalm (lxxix.) should be read in this
connection as well as other Psalms, such as x. and xi.; liv. 5; lv. 9;
xciv.; xcliii. 12, &c. See also
But he has to add, and to ask — "Howbeit, when the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith (marg. the faith) on the earth?" (RV.) or, it may be in the Land, the Jewish Land, as at the first Advent.
If we rightly divide the word of truth, as to its Dispensations, then we see that the imprecations and invocations for vengeance, while entirely opposed to the spirit of the present dispensation of grace, are quite appropriate to the past dispensation of works, and the future dispensation of judgment.
Romanism, not rightly dividing the Dispensations, presses such Scriptures as these into her service now; using them to justify her persecutions. While Protestant interpreters, failing also in this important duty, have to explain such passages away, or endeavour in vain to reconcile them with our standing in grace.
c., vi. 11-. The Martyrs under the Altar. What was given them.
vi. 11-. And there was
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
d., vi. -11. The Answer to their Cry.
vi. -11. And it was said to them that they should
rest (not merely desist from their cry; but wait) yet
a little while (i.e., for a short delay, as in x. 6 and xx. 3)
until both their fellow-servants (here we have the
correlative of Despotes, as well as their own standing as
"servants") and their brethren that were about to be killed, as
they also had been, should fill up
G.T.Tr.A. WH.m. and RV.m. read (...), should fill or fulfil
it, instead of (...) should be fulfilled. L. WH. and RV. put the latter
in the text.
Surely this ought to be sufficient to convince all Christians to-day that the gospel is not intended to convert the world, or to bring in universal peace and blessing. This dispensation of grace (rejected) is to be followed by a dispensation of judgment.
Not until after that shall Jerusalem be the centre of God's
presence and government, and glory dwell in the Land (
In this sixth Seal we are carried right forward to the time of
the end. The Seals, as we have said, are a summary, in brief, of the
whole period of the Tribulation; and, as the former Seals correspond
exactly with the last great prophecy of Christ in
|
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The Seals. |
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4, 5 |
1st |
The False Christ |
1,2 |
|
6, 7- |
2nd |
Wars |
3, 4 |
|
-7- |
3rd |
Famines |
5, 6 |
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-7 |
4th |
Pestilences |
7, 8 |
|
8-28 |
5th |
Martyrdoms |
9-11 |
|
29-30 |
6th |
Signs in Heaven of Advent |
12-17 |
From this it will be seen how exactly
This being so, it proves that any interpretation of this Seal which regards it as relating to any past historical event is condemned by this very fact.
This sixth Seal is the crucial test of all Apocalyptic interpretation.
No one can read
In
But now, to turn to the sixth Seal itself; we note first its Structure, which is as follows:—
B2, vi. 12-17. The Sixth Seal.
B2 | e | vi. 12-. The Great Convulsion.
f | -12, 13. Effects in Heaven.
e | 14-. The Great Convulsion.
f | -14-17. Effects on Earth.
TRANSLATION OF B2 vi. 12-17.
vi. 12. And I saw when he opened the sixth seal,
and
Omit "behold," G.L.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add (...) (hole) the whole.
Here we have the great convulsion of Nature, and its effects
in the heavens. It is impossible for us to take this as symbolical; or
as other than what it literally says. The difficulties of the
symbolical interpretation are insuperable, while no difficulties
whatever attend the literal interpretation. For according to some
historicist interpreters
Mede, Newton, Elliott.
Cunninghame and others.
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
Yet once, it is a little while,
And I will shake the heavens and the earth,
And the sea and the dry land.
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of
all nations shall come."
Here the great convulsion of the sixth Seal is clearly foretold. We say "convulsion," because the word (...) (seismos) means much more than a mere earthquake, as the context clearly shows. There is to be a convulsion of the nations, which is spoken of as distinct from that of the heavens, and is to immediately precede the Revelation of Christ, and the glory of the Temple. Haggai again foretells it in chap. ii. 21, 22 and again distinguishes between the heavens and the earth.
"I will shake the heavens and the
earth.
And I will overthrow the throne of
kingdoms,
And I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of
the Gentiles:
And I will overthrow the chariots and those that ride
in them," etc. (See also
Having spoken of the great convulsion and its effects in the heavens, the prophecy again speaks of the convulsion and its effects on the earth.
14. And the
The article is not in the Received Text, though it is in the
AV. It is added by G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
15. And the kings of the earth, and the great
men (the civil officers of State), and the chief
captains (the military officers), and the
rich men,
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. transpose the words, agreeing with
this order.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (ischuroi)
mighty, instead of (...) (dunatoi)
powerful.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "every."
In
If the words describing the awful judgments of "the great day of His wrath" are to be interpreted of any past event in the history of the present dispensation, then what words are to describe the future judgments which the Old Testament foretells. Language seems useless for the purposes of revelation and instruction if, as we are told, "this Seal exhibits the overthrow of paganism" at the conversion of Constantine. Eusebius pictures that scene (lib. x.) as one of joy and gladness, and he likens it to the coming of the promised kingdom. There was no convulsion of nature in heaven or on earth; no fleeing to the mountains and the rocks; no cry of terror. The sun was bright and the sky was cloudless, instead of being "black as sackcloth of hair."
We thus come to the end of the first six Seals. It is a summary of the judgments distributed over the whole book; a brief summary of what will occur in "the day of the Lord," up to the time of His actual Apocalypse or Unveiling in chap. xix.
They are thus set here, in order to show us that these judgments do not arise from chance, but are all under Divine control. The great False Messiah of the first Seal cannot be revealed until the appointed moment shall have come and the voice from the throne gives the permissive command "Go!" The judgments cannot fall until the same command is given. Here we note the important connection between "the Throne" of chaps. iv. and v. see in "in Heaven" and the consequent summary (in the Seals) of all that takes place afterward "on earth."
They lead up to "the great day of His wrath"; and the chapter ends with the solemn question, "Who is able to stand?"
That question is answered in chap. vii. where we are shew
first the sealing of 144,000 "of all the tribes of the children of
Israel," who are to pass unscathed through that great tribulation; and
the rapture of the great multitude which no man can number who are
saved through it and out of it. These are not the Church of God, for
they stand before the throne. They are not seated upon it. They are
saved, of course, through the merits of the same precious blood of the
Lamb. They are referred to in
THE SEALING OF THE 144,000
(vi.. 1-8).
The answer to the question of vi. 17.
Few Scriptures have suffered more at the hands of Gentile Christians than this. Notwithstanding the fact that it concerns "all the tribes of the children of Israel," and that the twelve tribes are named separately, popular interpretation insists on taking them as meaning the Church of God.
Any system of interpretation which has this for its foundation may be judged and condemned at the outset as not only useless, but mischievous. Such a system has been well described by Hooker as one "which changeth the meaning of words as alchemy doth, or would do, the substance of metals, making anything of what it listeth; and bringeth, in the end, all truth to nothing."
It is perfectly clear that we have here the Divine plan and action for securing the Remnant of the nation of Israel through all the judgments and persecutions which shall characterise the Great Tribulation.
The Vision, though seen after the Sixth Seal, really describes what will take place before chapter vi. and before a Seal is broken. Their number is not left to chance. God's declared counsels concerning this Remnant must stand. Hence it is by Divine decree that this purpose shall be secured at the outset.
We are told here, therefore, of the means taken to secure this Divine purpose.
The Structure is as follows:—
A3, vii. 1-8. The
Sealing of the 144,000.
The answer to the question of vi. 17.
A3 | g | vii. 1-. Four angels.
h | -1-. Place. "Four corners of the earth...
i | -1-. Agency. "Holding the four
winds...
k | -1. Purpose (neg.). "Not blow on
earth, sea, or tree."
g | 2-. Another angel.
h | -2-. Place. "From the rising of the
sun...
i | -2, 3-. Agency. "Having the
seal...
k | -3-8. Purpose (neg.). "Hurt
not the earth, sea, or tree."
All is seen to be perfect in Divine order. Nothing is left to chance here any more than in what is described. All is alike perfect in the words and the works of God. And the record is as true as its structure is perfect. It requires no explanation. It explains Divine truth to us in a Divine form and manner.
TRANSLATION OF vii. 1-8.
vii. 1 [and]
L. WH. and RV. omit "and" — Tr. and A. put it in brackets.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read "this" singular instead of
plural.
I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the
earth, holding (or, controlling) the four winds of the
earth, that the wind should not blow on the land, or on the sea, or
upon any tree] The number four marks this vision
as pertaining to the earth. The winds are so designated in
2. And I saw another angel ascending
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (anabainonta)
ascending, instead of (...) (anabanta) having
ascended.
The Romans marked their soldiers in the hand; and their slaves in the forehead. Herodotus (ii. 113) speaks of the worshippers of a certain god as having his name branded upon them. In like manner the worshippers of the Beast are branded (xiii. 16-18; xiv. 9, 11; xvi. 2; xix. 20; xx. 4); and these Divinely sealed ones are marked as the worshippers of the true God.
4. And I heard the number of the sealed: an hundred
and forty four thousand sealed out of every tribe of the children of
Israel] Alford says of this number, "No one that I am aware
of has taken it literally!" Very likely: but we are thankful to be an
exception to the rule, and to believe what God says. There is such a
thing as Figures of Speech, but, we ask, what Figure is used
here? What is its name? The truth is that there is here no Figure
whatever; but it is the simple statement of fact: a definite
number in contrast with the indefinite number in this very
chapter (verse 9). If the total number is not exact, then all the items
which go to make it up are indefinite also. If this number is
symbolical, then what number in the Book may we take as literal? None,
according to this principle of interpretation, which substitutes man's
own vain imaginations for God's revelation. Again, we repeat, we prefer
to believe God. And, believing Him, we conclude that as He had reserved
7,000 in the days of Ahab (
We have here, therefore, the nucleus of the new nations
referred to by Christ in
5. Of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed; Of
the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand;
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "were sealed."
Now it was one of the tribe of Dan who first came under this
curse. See
It is remarkable that these two tribes, Dan and Ephraim,
participated in introducing idolatry later on (
True, we find Dan and Ephraim restored in the future
distribution of the Land (
We have a remarkable illustration of this in
Even so will it be true of these 144,000, when they stand afterwards on Mount Zion (xiv. 1-5).
H2, chaps. vii. 9— 6.
The Great Multitude and the Seventh Seal.
We now come to the second Vision "in Heaven." It contains a yet
further answer to the question of vi. 17: "Who shall be able to stand"
in the judgment? while it commences the second pair of Visions: viz.,
the opening of the seventh Seal "in heaven," and the consequent
sounding of the six Trumpets "on earth."
The Structure of the Vision, as a whole, is as follows:—
H2. vii. 9— 6. The
Second Vision in Heaven.
The Great Multitude and the Seventh Seal.
H2 | A | vii. 9-12. The
Heavenly Voices and utterances.
B | 13, 14. The Great Multitude. Whence they
came.
B | 15-17. The Great Multitude.
Where they are.
A | vii. 1-6. The Heavenly Silence and
Activities (Seventh Seal).
Each of these four larger members may be expanded; and we give the expansions in order, with translation, as before.
A. vii. 9-12. The Heavenly Voices and Utterances.
A | a | 9. The great
multitude.
b | 10. Their utterance. "Salvation to our
God."
a | 11, 12-. All the angels.
b | -12. Their utterance. "Blessing
and Glory."
The Great Multitude.
vii. 9. After these things] the expression marks a separation from what has gone before, and introduces the second distinct Vision "in heaven."
I saw, and lo, a great multitude, which no one was
able to number, out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples, and
tongues (
Not only will this elect remnant of Israel survive "through" the Tribulation, but a countless multitude from all the Gentile nations will be saved "out" of it.
Constantly do we find Gentile blessing consequent upon
Israel's blessing. First, God deals with Israel, and then with mankind
in general. This stated in many passages: e.g.,
"God be merciful to us, and bless us;
And cause his face to shine upon us:
That thy way may be known upon earth,
Thy saving health among all nations."
The same fact is stated in verse 7:
"God shall bless us.
And all the ends of the earth shall fear
him."
Again in
He hath remembered his mercy,
And his truth toward the house of Israel:
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of
our God."
So in
"It is a light thing
That thou shouldest be my servant,
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved of Israel;
I will also give thee for a light to the
Gentiles,
That thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the
earth.
So
"Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of
Jerusalem.
For the Lord hath comforted his people.
He hath redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord hath made bare his holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations,
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God."
The palm-branches speak not merely of victory, as with the
heathen, but of the Feast of Tabernacles (see
b., vii. 10. Their utterance.
10. And they cry
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV., not "cried."
"Salvation to our God
That sitteth upon the Throne,
And to the Lamb."
They ascribe their salvation and their deliverance from the
Tribulation which they had passed through, to God. A paraphrase would
be, "Praise for our salvation be to our God," etc. The church calls God
"my Father" ("Abba,"
a., vii. 11, 12-, All the angels, etc., and b., Their utterance.
vii. 11. And all the angels were standing
So L.T.Tr.A.
"Amen!
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom,
and thanksgiving, and honour, and
power, and might, be unto our
God, for ever and ever.
Amen!"
Such is the sevenfold ascription of the heavenly host standing around the throne, the elders and the Zoa. It is similar to that in chap. v. 12, but the order of the words is different, and thanksgiving is here put instead of "riches." There the ascription was to the Lamb. Here it is to "our God."
We next have the explanation of the Vision; and the Question which one of the Elders put to John shows that we should have a like spirit of holy enquiry. It is not mere abstract wonder that God looks for in us now, but a reverential interest in what He has revealed in the Visions of this book.
The following is the Structure of
B., chap. vii. 13, 14:
B. vii. 13, 14. The Great Multitude: Whence they
came.
B | c | vii. 13-. The Elder.
Question
d | f | -13-. Persons
g | -13-. Place
e | 14-. John.
c | -14-. The Elder.
Answer
d | g | -14-.
State
f | -14. Persons
TRANSLATION of B, vii. 13, 14.
vii. 13. And one of the Elders answered
saying (i.e., by the Figure, Idiom "asked me,
saying") unto me,
G.[L.]T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "my."
"These who are arrayed in
white
robes, Who are they? and Whence came they?
(14) and I said, my
"These are they who come out of the Great
Tribulation, and they
washed their robes, and made them white through the
blood of the Lamb]
Not "in the blood"; nothing under the Law was ever washed "in
blood," nothing can be made white "washed in" blood. It is through a
forced literal meaning of the preposition (...) (en) which has
led to this false notion. This preposition constantly means
by, or through: and is translated "by" 142 times and
"through" 37 times. (See
B. vii. 15-17. The
great multitude: Where they are.
B | h | i | 15-.
The Multitude. Position before the throne
j | -15. God upon the throne.
h | i | 16. The multitude.
Their Blessing.
j | 17. God. The Lamb the
Blesser.
15. "For this cause are they before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple: and he who sitteth upon the
throne shall spread his tabernacle over them.] This is
exactly what we read in
"And the Lord will create
Upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion,
And upon her assemblies,
A cloud and smoke by day,
And the shining of a flaming fire by night;
For above all the glory shall be a covering (marg., Heb. (...)
(chuppah), the marriage canopy, for the marriage of
the Lamb will have come)
And there shall be a tabernacle
For a shadow in the day time from the heat
And a place of refuge, and for a covert
From storm and from rain."
They perform priestly service day and night, and fulfil the
duties of "servants," for they "serve before the throne." Other Old
Testament passages referred to here are
And then, alluding to the privations and trials they have undergone, we have further earthly blessings:—
h. vii. 16, 17. The Blessing and the Blesser.
The Blessing: Negative
h | k | 16-. No hunger.
l | -16-. No thirst.
m | -16. No suffering.
The Blesser:
Positive
h| k | 17-. Hunger satisfied.
l | -17-. Thirst assuaged.
m | -17. Sorrow banished.
16. "They shall not hunger any more, nor yet thirst
any more; neither shall the sun in any wise fall upon them; no, nor any
burning heat. (17) Because the Lamb that is in the midst of the Throne
shall tend them (as a shepherd), and shall lead them
unto the fountains of the waters of life:
So G.L.T.Tr. WH. and RV.
From the Structure of this Second Vision "in Heaven" we saw that this last great member A (viii. 1-6) is set in contrast and corresponds with A (vii. 9-12), the Heavenly voices and utterances.
We have shown that the six Seals cover not only the whole period of the Great Tribulation, but that the sixth bring us right up to the great day of wrath; co-terminous, apparently, with chap. xi. 17, 18 (the seventh Trumpet), and chap. xx. (the final Judgment).
But that, whereas the seventh Trumpet expands into the seven Vials — which are consecutive — the sixth Seal is followed by silence in heaven, as though to break off all continuity, and to show us that we have to go back and learn how the details of the judgments of the Seals are to be filled in.
The following is the Structure of viii. 1-6, describing the close of this second Vision "in Heaven":
A. viii. 1-6. The
Heavenly Silence and Activities.
(The Seventh Seal.)
A | n | p | 1. Silence in heaven.
q | 2. The 7 angels and the 7
Trumpets.
o | r | 3. Another angel
with censer and prayers.
s | 4.
Result. Smoke ascended up to heaven.
o | r |
5-. The angel with censer and fire.
s |
-5-. Result. Fire descended to the earth.
A | n | p | -5. Sounds on
the earth.
q | 6. The 7 angels and the 7
Trumpets.
The breaking of the seventh Seal, instead of producing one single result, as the other six had done is closed by this "silence," which seemed to John to last half an hour; after which, John is shown how the prayers of the saints under the fifth Seal are presented (verses 3, 4), and answered (verse 5), by the commencement of a series of judgments ushered in by the sounding of seven Trumpets. But we will first give the translation of viii. 1-6.
viii. 1. And when he opened the seventh seal, there was (i.e., became, came on, or followed) silence in heaven about half an hour.] At the sounding of the seventh Trumpet there are "great voices in heaven" (xi. 5). And at the pouring out of the seventh Vial, a great voice came out of the throne (xvi. 17).
But this "silence" means more than that. It marks very solemnly the pause between the prayer and the answer, which shall turn the prayer into praise. On earth, the cry of the saints has been incessant. They "cry day and night." In heaven the cry is now about to be answered, and there is a solemn pause — the silence of expectation.
The Heb. (...) (dumeyyah) silence (fem. adj.), which occurs four times, exactly expresses the position.
(1) "O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest
not;
And in the night season, there is no silence
to me.
But thou art holy,
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel" (
(2) "I was dumb with silence (
(3) "Truly my soul is silence toward God:
From him cometh my salvation" (
(4) "There shall be silence before thee,
And praise, O God, in Zion.
O thou that hearest prayer,
Unto thee shall all flesh come" (
In all these four passages the word denotes a period of
waiting between the offering of the prayer, and the giving of the
answer which shall call forth praise. The adverb in
That goodness is here seen, for the prayers offered on earth are, during this period of silence, formally presented before God, and the answer is formally announced in the preparation of the seven angels to sound their Trumpets and declare war against Satan and all his hosts. This is what is now seen by John.
2. and I saw the seven angels] i.e., at
the expiration of the half-hour. Not merely seven angels, but THE
seven, because well known, and before referred to as "the seven spirits
which are before the throne" (i. 4; iii. 1; iv. 5; v. 6), for "he
maketh his angels spirits" (
At the breaking of the seventh Seal there is silence. This shows that here we have a pause with a view of a return, to fill up details. While in the other two (the Trumpets and Vials) we have continuous and consecutive and consequent action arising from the seventh Trumpet.
who stand in the presence of God;] In
chap. iv. 5, they are the called THE seven spirits of God (
There seems to be no doubt but that all these passages relate to the same seven "Presence-Angels."
In
and there was given unto them seven
trumpets.] By whom they were given is not stated. But they
were given by direction from the Throne; the action of which is now
renewed, though it is changed. The Lamb opened the Seals, but Angels
sound the Trumpets. The Seals were opened in secret; the Trumpets
publicly proclaim war. (See
3. And another angel came and took his stand at the
altar, having a golden censer;] We are not told who this
other angel was, and therefore it is simple speculation to assert, as
many do, that he was the Lord Jesus Himself. The golden censer belonged
to the Holy Place (
And there was given unto him much incense, that he
should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden
altar that was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense went
up before God, with the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the
angel.] We have here a Vision of events in Heaven, from
which we learn that Heaven is a place of great and grand realities; the
dwelling-place of God, in which Heavenly worship is carried on. The
Tabernacle on earth and its worship; and afterward the Temple with its
ordinances, were only copies of the realities in heaven; "figures of
the true," and "patterns of things in the heavens." "Moses was
admonished of God when he was about to make the Tabernacle: for, see,
saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to
thee in the mount" (
The prayers of the martyred saints were over, but the cry of
their blood from the ground is voiced in words (vi. 10). These prayers
are the living saints, the people of the book; the 144,000, and the
great multitude before they are taken out of the great Tribulation, who
"cry day and night unto Him" (
"Give them according to their deeds,
And according to the wickedness of their
endeavours:
Give them after the work of their hands;
Render to them their desert" (
"Do unto them as unto the Midianites;
As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kishon" (
And the very Psalm which likens prayer to incense, also
contains similar prayers (
"Lord, I cry unto thee:
Make hast unto me:
Give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense;
And the lifting up of my hands as the evening
sacrifice...
Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth,
As when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the
earth...
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
Whilst that I withal escape (marg. Heb. pass
over).
The Golden altar "is before the throne." So it was in the
earthly copy of the heavenly pattern. It was "before the vail
that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat
that is over the testimony" (
5. And the angel took the censer, and filled it from
the fire of the altar (
This is the order according to T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. L. and
WHm. read "thunderings and lightnings and voices."
This very scene is prophesied in similar words in
"The floods of ungodly (marg., Belial) men
made me afraid...
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried unto my God:
He heard my voice out of his Temple,
And my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations also of the hills moved
And were shaken, because he was wroth,
There went up a smoke out of (marg., by) his
nostrils,
And fire out of his mouth devoured:
Coals were kindled by it."
The fulfilment of the next verse, which speaks of this actual descent, is deferred here by the description of other events which are also to take place.
6. And the seven angels who had the seven Trumpets
made themselves ready that they might sound them.] The
prohibition of vii. 1 is now about to be removed. Twice the sevenfold
enunciation is given, and the reproach of
This heavenly vision is a vision showing what will one day
literally take place. If they are Symbols, they are symbols of solemn
realities. If they are Figures, they are figures, not of speech, but of
facts. Just as the judgments of God at the time of the Exodus were real
and literal; and the announcements of them were literally fulfilled, so
will these be. For they are exactly what is foretold. "According to the
days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I show him marvellous
things" (
Indeed, we are distinctly told that the physical marvels of
that day shall be "like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up
out of the land of Egypt" (
We are even told in
"Behold I make a covenant: before all thy people I WILL DO
MARVELS, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any
nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of
the Lord: for it is a TERRIBLE THING that I will do with thee" (
E2, THE FIRST SIX TRUMPETS (viii. 7 - xi. 14).
A., The First Four Trumpets (viii. 7-12)
Before we give the Structure of this section we must again call attention to the fact that the sixth Seal takes us on to the time of the end; and the seventh Seal takes us back and commences a new series of judgments initiated by the seven Trumpets and followed by the seven Vials. So that the whole of the rest of the Apocalypse comes under the seventh Seal. Whereas the seventh Trumpet issues in and contains the seven Vials.
First of all we have (as we have seen) the six Seals (chaps. vi., vii.)
Then the seventh Seal expands into and contains both the seven Trumpets (viii. 7 - xi. 14) and the seven Vials (xvi. 1 - xviii. 24).
Finally, the seventh Trumpet expands into and contains the seven Vials (xvi. 1 - xviii. 24).
Thus the seventh Seal embraces the whole of the great Judgment period of the Trumpets and Vials (from viii. 7 - xviii. 24) and is immediately followed by the Apocalypse of the Son of Man in power and great glory.
A careful study of the following Presentation will explain our meaning; and set forth the order of the general contents of these judgment Visions, viii. 1 - xviii. 24:
The Seventh Seal, viii. 1--xviii. 24.
|
The
|
viii. 7. The 1st Trumpet. Fire mingled with blood. Third part of Trees and grass burnt up. |
|
|
viii. 8, 9. The 2nd Trumpet. Burning mountain cast into sea. Third of sea becomes blood. |
||
|
viii. 10, 11. The 3rd Trumpet. Burning star falls on third part of Rivers ("Wormwood"). |
||
|
viii. 12, 13. The 4th Trumpet. Third part of Sun smitten. Moon and stars darkened. |
||
|
ix. 1-12. The 5th Trumpet. (The First WOE). Pit opened. Locusts. |
||
|
ix. 13--xi. 14. The 6th Trumpet. (The Second WOE). The 4 Euphratean Angels loosed. Horsemen. |
||
|
xi. 15. The Seventh Trumpet (x. 7) The 3rd WOE (
|
xvi. 1, 2. Vial I. (The Third WOE). On the earth. Sores on Worshippers of Beast. |
|
|
xvi. 3. Vial II. On the Sea. Sea became blood. |
||
|
xvi. 4-7. Vial III. On the Rivers. Rivers became blood. |
||
|
xvi. 8-9. Vial IV. On the Sun. men scorched with fire. |
||
|
xvi. 10, 11. Vial V. On the Throne of the Beast. Kingdom full of darkness. |
||
|
xvi. 12-16. Vial VI. On the River Euphrates. Euphrates dried up. 3 spirits like Frogs. Armageddon. |
||
|
xvi. 17--xviii. 24. Vial VII. "It is done." The judgment of Great Babylon |
||
The whole of this great judgment period, covered by the Trumpets and Vials, is given in two pairs of alternate Visions of events "in Heaven" and "on Earth."
The 2nd Vision "in Heaven" (viii. 1-6) consists of the
opening of the seventh Seal.
The 2nd Vision "on Earth" (viii. 7- xi. 14) consists of the
effects of this opening (the first six Trumpets).
The 3rd Vision "in Heaven" (xi. 15-19-) consists of the
Sounding of the seventh Trumpet.
The 3rd Vision "on Earth" (xi. -19) consists of the effects of
this sounding.
We are then (in chap. xii.) taken back to a time prior to chap. iv.; while the sequence of the Trumpet and Vial judgments is broken in order to admit of this parenthetical break.
The Trumpet and Vial judgments are continuous once they begin. It is only the description of them (not the course of them) which is interrupted, in order to allow of the necessary information being given which shows the necessity for them.
This digression commences at chap. xii. 1 and is carried on to xv. 8. Then the description of the Vial Judgments is taken up and continued, giving the results "on Earth" of the sounding of the seventh Trumpet; an epitome of which had been given in a few words in xi. -19. These Vial Judgments are then continuous from xvi. 1 - xviii. 24, which ends their mission, accomplishes their object, and issues in the Revelation of Christ from Heaven in power and great glory (chap. xix.).
But we must return now to the second Vision "on Earth," runs from viii. 7 - xi. 14.
E2. viii. 7--xi. 14.
The Second Vision "On
Earth."
The First Six Trumpets
E2 | A | B | a | viii. 7-. The FIRST
Trumpet.
b | viii. -7-. The Earth
smitten (Hail and fire, etc.)
c | viii. -7. The Third part of
trees.
C | d | viii. 8-. The
SECOND Trumpet.
e | viii. -8-. The
Sea smitten (Burning mountain, etc.)
f | viii. -8.
Third part of sea, blood.
g | viii.
9. Death of living creatures in sea.
C | d | viii.
10-. The THIRD Trumpet.
e | viii.
-10, 11-. The Waters smitten (Star falling, etc.)
f |
viii. -11-. Third part of waters wormwood.
g
| viii. -11. Death of men.
B | a | viii. 12-.
The FOURTH Trumpet.
b | viii. -12-. The Heavens
smitten (Sun, Moon, and Stars).
c | viii. -12. Third part
darkened.
A | D | viii. 13. Three woes yet to come.
E | h | ix. 1-11. The FIFTH
Trumpet. (The First WOE).
i | ix. 12. The termination of First
Woe ("The first woe is past.")
E | h | ix. 13--xi. 13.
The SIXTH Trumpet. (The Second
WOE).
i | xi. 14-. The termination
of Second Woe ("The second woe is past.")
D | xi. -14. "The third woe cometh
quickly."
Here we have the whole of the six Trumpets. The six
refer to the earth; the seventh consists of the third
Vision "in heaven." So with the Seals: six referred to the
earth, and the seventh was opened "in heaven." It is the same
with the seven Trumpets; six Trumpets refer to the earth, the
seventh refers to heaven. Moreover, they are divided into four
and three: the four (A. viii. 7-12) being grouped together, and the
last three (A. viii. 13-xi. 14, etc.) being the three "Woe"
Trumpets.
The first four Trumpets and their results are recorded with brevity; while the last three are set forth in more detail. The four occupy only seven verses; the last three occupy some fifty verses.
The first of the four affects the earth; the fourth affects the heavens; while the second and third affect the waters of the earth. Thus all is recorded in perfect order.
viii. 7. And the first
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit the word "angel."
and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood,
and they were cast upon the earth: and the third of the earth was
burned up,
This sentence is added by G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
To explain this away is to manifest a want of faith in the power of God, and in the Word of God. Such things have taken place on earth. Why should they not take place again?
Cicero
De Div. ii. 27.
On August 17, 1819, Dr. Seiss tells us that "Captain Ross saw the mountains at Baffin's Bay covered for eight miles with blood-red snow many feet in depth." Also that Saussare found it on Mount St. Bernard, in 1778; that Ramond found it on the Pyrenes; and Summerfield in Norway.
Why may it not be seen again?
The historical interpreters differ so much among themselves that we may well ask, Which one of them are we to believe? It is this very diversity which has caused so many earnest students to put the Apocalypse aside in despair. Our object in writing is that they may take up the book again with hope; asking them only to believe God. It will be better to err in such simplicity of faith in the Word of God, than to adopt the most plausible scheme based upon the opinion of man; and which differs not only from God, but from every other human interpretation.
For example, Elliott says that this first Trumpet denotes the wars of Alaric the Goth and Rhadagaisus the Vandal against the Western Roman Empire. We should never have guessed this ourselves. There is nothing about this or even like it in this Scripture. John saw one result, Mr. Elliott gives two. John saw the blood-red rain of hail and fire from heaven; this gives human blood on earth!
One says "trees" mean princes and great men; and "grass" means men's power and glory (Wordsworth).
J.N. Darby says "that which is elevated, eminent, lofty is intended by the trees; the young, feeble and aged are meant by the green grass."
Wetstein says "Trees mean fortified cities; grass, unwalled villages."
Others say "by trees are signified apostles and great doctors; by grass, common Christians" (Paralus).
Alford holds that "it appears rather to indicate a general characters of the judgments, than to require any special interpretation in each particular case."
To all this we have one simple remark to make — We prefer to believe God's own special interpretation of His own judgments, in the plain literal sense of the words.
THE SECOND TRUMPET (viii. 8, 9).
viii. 8. And the second angel sounded his
trumpet, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was
cast into the sea: and the third of the sea became blood; (9) and there
died the third of the creatures which were in the sea, which had life;
and the third of the ships were destroyed.] It does not
say it was a mountain, but that it was like one. This shows us
what is not to be taken literally, as well as what is. It was something
which resembled a mountain. John does not say he saw a volcano (as some
assert). What John saw was a fiery mass like a mountain cast into the
sea, and turning it into blood. "This cannot be literal" exclaim the
interpreters. But again we ask, Why not? In one of the plagues of Egypt
it is written that Moses "lifted up his rod, and smote the waters that
were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his
servants, and all the waters that were in the river were turned to
blood" (
To follow what man says it requires only credulity. Which are we to believe of the following interpretations?
One interpretation asks us to believe that
The fiery mountain means Satan.
The sea means the nations.
The dying of the fish denotes the persecution and
slaughter of Christians.
The wreck of the ships denotes the extinction of
congregations.
(2). Another system (E.B. Elliott's) tells us that
The mountain was Genseric with his Vandals, forced
by the Huns from their native seat.
The sea was their plunging through France and
Spain into Africa, settling themselves in the conquered
territory.
The destruction of fish, etc., was their
depredations on the neighboring islands and shores of the
Mediterranean.
(3) A third system tells us that
The sea is the church with its baptismal
waters.
The mountain is some great heresy.
The blood is the corruption by deadly error.
The destruction of fish is the destruction of
souls.
The wreck of ships is the overturning of
churches.
(4) Another system is that
The sea is the sea of Galilee, put for
Palestine.
The mountain is Vespasian.
The fishes are the Jews.
The ships are the cities of Palestine.
(5) A fifth scheme is that
The sea is pure doctrine.
The mountain is prelacy.
The fire Episcopal ambition.
The blood-red waters means the introduction of
false doctrine.
The fishes are Ecclesiastics, monks.
The ships the bearers of the Gospel.
(6) A sixth system is that
The mountain is Rome.
Its burning the burning of Rome by Alaric.
The wreck of its ships is the sack of Rome.
(7) William Kelly would have us believe him. He says
"The second blow supposes a great change: it falls on the sea, and so refers not to that sphere which is under special and settled government, but to that which is, or will then be, in a state of confusion and anarchy." And again "the mountain burning with fire, represents a system of power, itself under the judgment of God and the occasion of judgment to others" (Apoc., p. 141).
Again we ask, Is it not better to believe God? Is it not easier to understand what He says?
It is perfectly clear that all the above systems
cannot be right. Which of them, then, are we to accept? Why is there
this universal effort to have us believe that God always means
something different from what He says? Whence comes this spirit? Dr.
Seiss well asks, "What do we want with Vespasian and Alaric and
Rhadagaisus, Attila, Genseric, Romans, Goths, Vandals, Arians,
Prelates, or the Devil," when God tells us that it was a fiery mass
like a mountain cast into the sea? That God's coming judgments will
affect the fishes and the ships we are distinctly told in
All Bible readers and commentators believe that waters were turned to blood in the plagues of Egypt. Why not believe that they will be so turned again? If God had said ink instead of blood, we would believe Him. All things are possible with Him.
Indeed, it is quite recently that we were told that this had happened; or something like it. The Daily Express (London May 19, 1900) says: "Great consternation has been caused at Santa Cruz (Cal., U.S.A.,) by the sea turning suddenly black," and given an extract from the San Francisco Examiner, which says:
"There are many theories as to the cause of this remarkable change. One man thinks it is due to the tides. Another says the turbid waters are the result of a submarine upheaval in the blue mud of the channel. A third believes the water is full of animalculae — the whale food.
"Still another states that a storm from the ocean has muddled the water, and talks wisely, too, of marine earthquakes and the like. They all agree that the whole bay was never before like the sea of ink it is at present."
If, in our day, the sea can be turned black, Why cannot it be as easily turned red? And when it is, when these words of "the book of this prophecy" shall be fulfilled, men will doubtless speculate about the cause of it, just as they speculate about the sea at Santa Cruz: and remain just as ignorant as before, because "God is not in all their thoughts."
In like manner, the cleaving in two of the Mount of Olives in
What happened in that case may easily happen again; not that we require, or ought to require, any such aid to our faith; for we believe that God means exactly what He says, in this and in other prophecies.
THE THIRD TRUMPET (viii. 10, 11).
viii. 10. And the third angel sounded his trumpet, and there fell from heaven a great star, burning as it were a torch ((...) (lampas) a torch; not (...) (luchnos) a lamp), and it fell upon the third of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; (11) and the name of the star is called Wormwood ((...) (apsinthos) Absinthe): and the third of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter] That stars should fall from heaven is a subject of prophecy (vi. 13). Here is one special star, smaller, evidently, than the burning mountain. When we are distinctly told it was "like a torch" there is no occasion to introduce the idea of a comet (as Dr. Seiss does), or a meteor, or anything else. As a torch it was burning only at one end, and not burning all over as the mountain was. All this is quite clear as it stands. It requires no explanation if we believe what is written.
On the other hand, the ideas of historical interpreters are in wild confusion and mutual opposition. As to the "Star," the interpretations include Mahomet, Simon Magus, Montanus, Arius, Cerinthus, Pelagius, among ecclesiastics. Those who hold it to be a military personage say it was some Jewish leader, as Eleazar, Josephus, etc. Others bring in poor Genseric again, or Attila, and a long series of wholesale murderers.
But a few questions will dispose of them all: What was the heaven out of which they fell? What was their fall? How did they burn? How did they embitter the fountains and rivers and make them bitter like themselves? When were they called by the name "Wormwood?" or "Absinthe?"
There is no reasonable answer to these questions. It is a very sad reflection to think that, with so many, these definite and particular revelations of the Holy Ghost may mean anything.
We ourselves might add another interpretation; and however extravagant it might be, men would not mind. Some would probably receive it. But, we dare to commit the unpardonable sin of adopting a principle of interpretation which requires us to believe that these things "mean" exactly what God says, and are consequently looked on as "cranks" for so doing.
And yet events somewhat similar have happened. In the
Annual Register for 1823, p. 683, we read that, as the result
of a volcanic explosion, showers of sand darkened the sky and "the sea
water became thick, and river water assumed the colour of beer, and was
so extremely bitter as to be unfit for use. This was in the Aleutian
Islands, and it is quoted by Mr. Govett in his Apocalypse
Expounded. Something like this was foretold as God's punishment of
His People (
The result of one of the plagues of Egypt was that "the
Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river" (
THE FOURTH TRUMPET (viii. 12).
viii. 12. And the fourth angel sounded his
trumpet, and the third of the moon, and the third of the stars;
in order that the third part of them might be darkened, and the day
might not shine for a third of it, and the night in like
manner] "Signs in the sun and in the moon and in the
stars" are what the Lord foretold as part of the wonders to be looked
for. (
On the other hand, millennial light is to be increased.
The interpretations of this, differ, as usual; and it seems hardly worth our time to name them. We read about the "imperial sun" and the "political day" and "political noon" and "political stars," whatever they may be. Is it any wonder that teachers and students are alike confused and bewildered? They first assume that it is past; and are then at their wits' end to find something or anything, however irrelevant, that can be forced into any connection with the word.
Ask a little child what are the sun, moon and stars? and he will experience no difficulty. Neither shall we, if we, with childlike minds, believe what God says.
D. and E., THE FIFTH TRUMPET (or First Woe) (viii. 13 - ix. 12).
The fifth and sixth Trumpets are the first and second of the three "Woe" Trumpets. These three are introduced in a special manner, viz., by an Eagle and its cry (viii. 13), which marks off the last three of the whole seven, from the first four.
The Eagle and its cry separates the four from the three.
viii. 13. And I looked, and I heard an
(Greek, one, single, or
solitary)eagle
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (aetou)
eagle, instead of (...) (angelou) angel. In xvi. 7 we
have the altar speaking; so here an eagle is represented as
speaking.
This eagle speaks. So did Balaam's ass. If God could "open the mouth" of the one, so He can of the other. Thus it is written, and thus we believe.
The Structure of the member containing the description of this Trumpet is as follows:—
h. ix. 1-11. The Fifth Trumpet (1st WOE).
h | k | 1-. The Star fallen
to the earth.
l | -1, 2. The Abyss. (The key and the
opening).
l | -2. The Abyss. (The result
of the opening).
k | 3-11. The Locusts coming upon the
earth.
This structure shows that three things form the subject of this Fifth Trumpet: The fallen Star, The Pit of the Abyss, and The Locusts.
ix. 1. And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I
saw a star from heaven fallen (So RV. Not "fall" as in AV.)
to earth: and there was given to him the key of the pit of the
abyss.] The star (or angel) had fallen from heaven before
John saw it. (Compare
Angels are called stars in
"The pit of the abyss" appears to be the abode of demons. See
2. And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went
up smoke out of the abyss, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun
and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.] We are
not to confuse this pit with Hades, or Sheol, or Tartarus. It is called
the Abyss, and is shown by the smoke to be a place of fire. (Compare
xviii. 9, 18; xix. 3; and
In
"I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and
void:
And the heavens, and they had no light.
I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled,
And all the hills moved lightly.
I beheld, and lo, there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens were fled.
I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
And all the cities thereof were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
And by His fierce anger.
For thus hath the Lord said,
The whole land shall be desolate;
Yet will I not make a full end.
For this shall the earth mourn,
And the heavens above be black:
Because I have spoken it, I have purposed it,
And will not repent, nor will I turn back from it."
This refers, of course, to Judah and the Land. What John sees,
refers to the earth in general. This judgment corresponds with the
eighth and ninth plagues of Egypt (
This judgment is now to be more particularly described in verses -3-11.
The Structure is as follows:—
k. ix. -3-11. The Locusts coming on the Earth.
k | m | o | ix.
-3. Their power.
p | ix. 4, 5-. Their
commission.
q | ix. -5-. Their
continuance. ("5 months.")
n | ix.
-5-10-. Description of locusts.
m | o | ix. -10-. Their
power.
p | ix. -10-. Their
commission.
q | ix. -10.
Their continuance. ("5 months.")
n |
ix. 11. Description of their king.
Here we have the symmetrical statement which distinguishes their Power, Commission, Continuance, and Description; and shows the points which are important; and on which we are to dwell.
ix. 3. And out of the smoke there came forth locusts
into the earth: and there was given to them power, as
the scorpions of the earth have power.] These were no
ordinary locusts. Those that came in the plagues of Egypt were no
common locusts either, for we are told "before them there were no such
locusts as they, neither after them shall be such" (
4. And it was said to them that they should not injure
the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree; but
should injure the men
Omit "only," G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
5. And it was given to them that they should not kill
them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their
torment was as the torment of a
scorpion, when it striketh a man] Here is another
limitation. Under the second Seal there is no such limit. "Torment"
applies in a special manner to demons (
6. And in those days shall men seek death and shall in
no wise
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (ou me) by
no means instead of (...) (ouk) not.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (fleeth) instead
of (...) (shall flee).
7. And the likenesses of the locusts were
like to horses prepared for war: and there were
upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their
faces were as the faces of men.] Four
verses are given to this description, so that the matter is evidently
important. Their size is not given. The words "like" and "as"
occur nine times. In verses 7 and 8 we have the fore-part described; in
verse 9 the middle part; and in verse 10 their hind part. Joel has a
description of similar beings (See
8. And they had hair, like women's hair, and their
teeth were like lions' teeth. (9) and they had
breastplates like iron breastplates; and the sound of their
wings was as the sound of chariots of
many horses rushing into battle.] Some ordinary locusts
have hair. See
The AV. has "the rough caterpillars"; RV. has "the rough
cankerworm."
10. And they have tails like scorpions, and stings were in their tails: and their power (or license) is to injure men five months.] Here is developed what was only alluded to in verse 5. This discloses their origin, from the bottomless pit. The action, commenced in verse 5, is suspended so that their description might be completed.
11. And they have over them a king, the angel of the
abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he hath his
name Apollyon.] It is a special characteristic of ordinary
earth-born locusts that they have "no king" (
By the figure called Metonymy (of the adjunct), by
which the abstract is put for the concrete.
12. The first woe is past; behold, there are coming
yet two woes after these things.] The awful character of
these three Woe-Trumpets is seen from what we are told of the first.
The mighty forces of heaven and hell are gathering for the final
conflict. We have here some of the outpost work, which gives an
indication of what is to follow. From
"Jehovah shall utter his voice before his army;
For his camp is very great:
For he is strong that executeth his word:
For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
And who can abide it?"
On the other hand, one of Satan's superior officers, "the angel of the abyss," Abaddon, leads forth this great division, and forms part of the Satanic force to be brought against the King of kings. All is clear and simple and plain if we read this as one of a series of literal judgments which is to take place in the "day of the Lord." As literal and real as were the plagues of Egypt. But the moment we turn to the opinions of men, we are landed, as Alford himself says, "in an endless Babel of allegorical and historical interpretation."
It seems a terrible descent from these awful and sublime realities to come down to the petty and trivial views of man with regard to them. We must, however, give our readers an idea of some of the interpretations, so that they may thankfully return to, and rest on, the simple statements of God's Word.
The most common interpretation sees the fulfilment of this
judgment in the Invasion of Europe by the Turks. In that case, the
"star" is said to be Mahomet. His "fall from heaven" means
that his family was once high and wealthy; he being an orphan and poor.
"To him was given the key of the bottomless pit:" i.e., "he
professed to receive a key from God." So that in his case
profession was evidently possession! How he opened the pit the
interpreters do not tell us, but the "smoke" was his false teaching.
Out of the pit came the locusts. Arbah in Hebrew
means a locust. That is quite near enough with them for
Arabians, though there could hardly be Mahommedans before
Mahomet. The locusts were forbidden to destroy men; but the Arabians
killed off just a few:— 50,000 in one battle, 150,000 in another, etc.
Indeed Mahomet commanded slaughter (See Koran xlvii. 409).
"When ye encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads,
until ye have made a great slaughter of them: as for the infidels, let
them perish."
The "crowns like gold" were the turbans of linen. "Faces as men" means courage. "They had hair as women:" this refers to the horse tail decorations worn by the Pashas on their heads; one, two, or three, to distinguish their respective rank and dignity. Here, the Scripture says all the locusts, not merely certain leaders!
Dr. Cumming held that their breast-plates as of iron "denotes their invulnerability." The trouble with this interpretation is that thousands of the Mahommedans were slain in battle. The tails and stings, however, baffle the interpreters! The sparing of the sealed also is difficult with the Protestant interpretation, because Rome and the Pope were untouched by the Saracens. Their duration also, "five months," is another difficulty. This, according to "the year-day theory," becomes 150 years, whereas the Saracenic invasion lasted over 400 years, and has continued to this day. Twice the Holy Spirit mentions this period, "five months," as though to emphasize it and impress us with the fact.
Others tell us that the star was Luther. Let our readers try the puzzle, and see how it works out, in view of the Reformation blessings which Luther was the means of conferring on the world.
No wonder Alford gives it up. Moses Stuart gives it up. Hengstenberg and others give it up. No wonder that most Bible-students have given the whole book up, in despair of ever understanding it.
What God says is plain enough. He does not ask us to understand it. He asks us to believe it; and this, by God's help, we mean to do.
He has promised us a blessing if we do this. But man asks us to choose from his Babel of interpretations; and gives up, instead of a blessing, only the curse of confusion.
E., THE SIXTH TRUMPET (or Second
Woe)
(ix. 13— 14).
The Sixth, or "second Woe" Trumpet is set forth with more detail than any of the others: no less than thirty-three verses being devoted to its description. Like the fifth Trumpet (or first Woe) it is distinguished from the first four by being introduced by a "voice." In the former it was the voice of "an eagle flying in mid-heaven;" in this latter, it is the voice "from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God." Coming from this altar it seems to say that we have here the continuation of the answer to the prayers of vi. 10.
Coming from the "four horns," the direction goes forth to the four quarters of the earth.
But the Structure will give us the scope of the whole.
The literal fulfilment of this judgment, interpreters will not have at any price. It is altogether too much too ask them to believe it. Stuart says it is symbol "excessive and unnatural." Of course it is "unnatural," simply because it is supernatural. So we believe is the Structure:—
h. ix. 13--xi. 14. The Sixth Trumpet (2nd WOE).
h | r | t | ix.
13-. The Sixth Angel (2nd WOE Trumpet).
u | -13-. His sounding.
v | -13. The Voice from the
altar.
w | 14-. Its Command: Loose the 4
angels...
x | 15. Execution of
command.
y | 16-21. Result: The
Horsemen.
s | z | a | x.
1, 2. "Another" might angel.
b |
3, 4. His cry and the seven thunders.
z
| a | -4-. The "Voice from heaven."
b | -4. Its command. "Seal up."
r | t | x. 5. The Angel.
u | 6, 7. His oath.
v | 8. The Voice from
heaven.
w | -8. His command: "Go
and take...
x | 9-11. Execution
of command.
y | xi. 1-14.
Result: The Two Witnesses.
ix. 13. And the sixth angel sounded his
trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden
altar which is before God.] In the earthly Tabernacle and
Temple the golden altar is described as standing "before the vail that
is by the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with thee" (
The sixth angel is not only to blow his trumpet, but is also to obey the command. The utterance of this voice from the Altar is important enough to have its own Structure, and the members w. and x. may be expanded thus:—
w. and
x., ix. 14, 15.
The Command and its execution.
w | a | ix. 14-. "Loose the
four angels."
b | -14-. Bound.
c | -14. Place. Euphrates...
x | a | ix. 15-. The four angels loosed.
b | 15-. Prepared.
c | -15. Time. "An hour
and...
ix. 14. Saying to the sixth angel who had the
trumpet,
Why, when we read of angels (who are spirits) being "bound"
and "in chains," we should think of men (who are never called
"spirits") as being the "in-prison spirits," we cannot understand. It
only shows the power of tradition. See The spirits in prison,
by the same author and publisher.
"Loose the four angels which are bound at
the river Euphrates."
15. And the four angels were loosed, who had been prepared for
the hour, and day, and month, and year, that they should kill the third
part of men.] These four angels cannot be identified with
any others; for they are "bound." There can be no doubt about their
being "delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto (or for)
judgment" (
These angels are at present "bound." Satan will be bound by-and-by (xx. 2-7). But before that day a further division of the Satanic forces is to be let loose upon the earth.
Why "at the river Euphrates" we are not told. What connection
there may be between Babel and the Abyss we do not know. Seeing that
Satan's earlier activities were connected with that region, there must
be some appropriate reason. The Euphrates is associated with the coming
judgments of the great day. See
"Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen,
And stand forth with your helmets;
Furbish the spears, and put on coats of mail.
Wherefore have I seen it?
They are dismayed
And are turned backward;
And their mighty ones are beaten down,
And fled apace, and look not back
Terror is on every side, saith the Lord
Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape;
In the north, by the river Euphrates, have they
stumbled and fallen.
Who is this that riseth up like the Nile,
Whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?
Egypt riseth up like the Nile,
And his waters toss themselves like the rivers:
And he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth:
I will destroy the city, and the inhabitants thereof.
Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots;
And let the mighty men go forth:
Cush and Put, that handle the shield;
And the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow.
For that day is a day of the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
A day of vengeance
That he may avenge him of his adversaries;
And the sword shall devour and be satiate,
And shall drink its fill of their blood:
For the Lord, the Lord of hosts, hath a sacrifice
In the north country by the river Euphrates."
From the same quarter will come these future and greater judgments.
For greater transgressions (verse 20, 21) shall a greater
army, not of men, but of evil spirits, come forth. See
"Behold he shall come up as clouds,
And his chariots shall be as the whirlwind.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe unto us! for we are spoiled...
The whole city fleeth from the noise of the horsemen
and bowmen;
They go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks:
Every city is forsaken,
And not a man dwelleth therein."
These four angels, now bound, we are distinctly told are "reserved unto judgment." The word is (...) (eis) unto, with a view to judgment (not merely to being judged); and this judgment is that of "the great day." They are reserved for the particular appointed moment; the moment of this their loosing. There seems to be little doubt as to the meaning of the period of time. It does not imply the duration of the judgment, but the preparation for the particular moment which has been appointed by God. The one article and one preposition before the four times, unites them: whereas had the article and preposition been repeated it would have implied the separation of the four which, added together, would make a period of more than thirteen months. As it is, it denotes the appointed hour of the appointed day of the appointed month of the appointed year. The emphasis on the words "prepared" or "reserved" supports this interpretation. Finally, the general object is stated, to be particularised below.
We now come to the description of these "horsemen"; and from this it is to be seen that they were not human beings of any kind. Difficulties have been made on account of the vast number of these horsemen, and had they been human beings, we could well understand it. But spirits are "legion," and no difficulties can arise from their number.
First we give the Structure of y.
y | d | f | ix. 16, 17-.
Description. Number. Heads and breastplates.
g | ix. -17-. Mouths.
h | ix. -17. Agency:
"Fire."
e | ix. 18-.
Result: Men killed.
d | h | ix.
-18-. Agency: "Fire."
g | ix. -18, 19.
Mouths.
f | ix. -19. Description.
Power. Heads and tails.
e | ix.
20, 21. Result: Men not killed.
ix. 16. And the number of the
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. have the article.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and."
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add (...) (plegon) plagues.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and in their tails."
This is the description of these supernatural beings. They are not human. They come from below. We know of nothing like them. When God thus describes them nothing ought to be easier than to believe what He says. They need no explanation. This description is given to explain them to us. Is it not easier to believe they are what God says they and their spirit riders are, than to believe what Dr. Adam Clarke says they are? He says they are brass cannon, ornamented with lions' heads cast at their mouth and at their breach. He adds that nothing could better describe "gunpowder" than "the fiery sulphurous smoke which goeth forth out of their mouths." We find this much more difficult to believe. And our difficulties are not less when, again, we are asked to believe that this was fulfilled in the taking of Constantinople by the Turks! Mr. Elliott says that the horses and tails refer to the horse-tails worn by the Pashas! Dean Alford says: "I will venture to say, that a more self-condemnatory interpretation was never broached, than this of the horse-tails of the Pachas." But the Turks still rule in Asia. Are they like these horsemen? Cannon were used on both sides of that war. Why is it, that one side is so different from the other?
It is not as though we had anything here unheard of before. It
is wonderful, truly; but that is just what God said the future
plagues were to be. "The Lord will make thy plagues
wonderful" (
When Israel would trust in the horses of Egypt they were
warned that their riders and horses were "flesh and not spirit" (
The number of these infernal horsemen is also wonderful, two hundred millions! John says "I heard the number of them" (verse 16). Twice he refers to it. And why not? What is it that makes man hesitate to believe God? These, as we have said, are no mere human beings: they are wicked spirits; and Are not these legion and innumerable?
The results of this plague which follow the sounding of the sixth Trumpet are given in the concluding portion of this chapter.
20. And the rest of the men who were not killed by
these plagues neither repented of the works of their
hands,] And we know not that these may be; nor the awful
form of idolatry hinted at in these verses. The expression "works of
their hands," always points to idolatry (
that they should not worship the demons, nor
the
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. & RV. add the article.
Spiritism, which is now making rapid strides, is the
forerunner of all this; and will surely develop into what is referred
to in these verses. Planchette is becoming a household god
with many, and is openly advertised in the Spiritist magazines and
newspapers. Thousands are being "guided" by "Crystals,"
Planchette, and evil spirits at the present moment. They are
"lying spirits," as the scripture calls them. (
21. And they repented not of their murders, nor of
their sorceries (or spiritualism), nor of their
fornication (which will be a great feature of the coming
religious apostasy), nor of their thefts.] These
"sorceries" are the dealings of men with spirit-agencies; accepting the
teaching of evil angels and deceiving spirits (
The word "sorcery" is the old French sorcerie, and
includes all such things as divination, enchantment, incantation,
magic, necromancy, witchcraft, and all things connected with what is
called "the black art," culminating in the worship of Satan himself, as
prophesied in
No wonder God has so solemnly warned us against these things,
and no wonder such awful judgments are to be visited upon them. (See
We have considered the sounding of the sixth Angel and its results as described in "r" (ix. 13-21), we now have "Another Angel" in "s" (x. 1-4); and then to complete the whole scene, we have, in "r" (x. 5— 14), his actions and their results set forth on exactly the same lines as those of the sixth Angel, in six particulars. The description and activities of this — "another angel" (x. 1-4), differ from that of the sixth Angel, and his own subsequent activities (x. 5— 14). While the sixth Angel's has six members, this, "another angel," has only four ("s"). The following is the Structure of the first of these four members:
a., x. 1, 2. "Another Angel."
a | i | x. 1-. His descension from heaven.
k | -1-. His accessories. (Cloud;
Rainbow).
l | -1-. His person: (face as the
sun.)
l | -1. His person:
(feet as pillars of fire.)
k | 2-. His accessories. (The
little book.)
i | -2. His station on the earth.
TRANSLATION OF "a." (x. 1, 2).
x. 1. And I saw another mighty angel coming down out
of heaven, arrayed with a cloud: and the
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. have the article.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read the particle.
G.L.T.Tr.A. and WH. read (...) (eneogmenon)
opened, or had been opened; instead of (...)
(aneogmenon) open.
It is not of the Trumpet Angels, but "Another" and a "mighty"
one. His descent is with great majesty; and the cloud betokens his high
dignity; for the cloud is generally associated with Divine movements
(
He comes "down from heaven," as the great antagonist of the "angel of the abyss," who comes up from below, and is enveloped in the cloud of the smoke of the pit.
The book opened, or which had been opened
(according to the revised reading, noted above) points us to chap. v.,
and seems to show that nothing now remains but to sound the seventh and
last Trumpet. This, the angel says (in verse 6), shall take place
without further delay. The sealed book has been opened; and now the
little book, not sealed, discloses new directions. John devours its
contents and continues his prophetic duty; while the judgments take
different forms and have different subjects. Its contents must surely
refer to the future, and begin where the other book (chap. v.) ends.
Moreover, it relates specially to Israel and Israel's ancient enemy,
Babylon. Michael is the mighty angel that "standeth" for the children
of Israel (
Everywhere else in this book Angels mean Angels, and are always distinct from Divine Persons. They are, throughout, the ministers of the Divine will. They are invested with such delegated glory and attributes as befits their special missions respectively. It may well be the "strong angel" of chap. v. 2 or viii. 3; but there is no need to identify him, as he is not identified here in this scripture.
The setting or planting of this feet on sea and land is the
formal taking possession of both; or the formal expression of the
purpose to do so. In
In verses 3 and 4 we have His cry. The following is the Structure:
b., x. 3, 4. His cry.
b | m | x. 3-. Occasion. "and when...
n | -3. Action. "Seven thunders
uttered...
m | x. 4-. Occasion. "and when...
n | -4. Action. "I was about to
write...
x. 3. And he cried with a loud voice, even as when a
lion roareth: and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their
voices. (4) And when the seven thunders had
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read "spoken" instead of "uttered
their voices."
Omit "to me," G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
It was not a cry of distress or fear; but a shout of power,
telling of the coming execution of judgment. The prophets have foretold
of this roaring cry, which the Lord, by His agents and messengers, will
cause to be heard. (See
The definite article here marks these seven thunders. In chap.
iv. 5 they are spoken of generally; here the seven are particularised.
They may have been consecutive, and heard by John "in heaven" as
thunder, just as when a voice from heaven spoken to the Lord Jesus on
earth some of the people "said that it thundered; others said, an angel
spake to him" (
John heard what the thunders said, and understood; for he was
about to write. But God, in order to conceal them, ordered John not to
write. Some would have us believe that these seven thunders are the
Papal Bulls issued against Luther and the Reformation.
Elliott, vol. ii., p. 100, etc.
In chap. xxii. 10, John was told "Seal not the words
of the prophecy of this book." But there were certain things sealed up,
as there were with Daniel (see
The actions of this angel and their results are then set forth in exactly the same form as were those of the sixth angel in ix. 13-21. They correspond in the same six particulars. See "r", where, in x. 5— 14, we have them duly displayed.
r. x. 5-11. Another Angel — (continued).
x. 5. And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea
and on the earth lifted up his right hand towards heaven (6)
and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the
heaven, and the things that are therein, and the earth, and the things
that are therein, and the sea, and the things that are
therein,
Lachmann omits this sentence.
That time is now about to be fulfilled; and the execution of final vengeance, should no longer be delayed. That this is the meaning is clear from the words which immediately follows.
7. But, in the days of the sound of the seventh angel,
when he is about to sound his trumpet, then shall have been completed
also the secret of God, as he announced the good news to His servants
the prophets] The oath seems fatal to the theory that
makes this angel to be the Lord Jesus Christ; especially in the face of
8. And the voice which I heard out of heaven I heard
again speaking with me, and saying, "Go, take the scroll
L.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (biblion)
book, instead of (...) (biblaridion) little
book.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
The last sentence is peculiar and important. "They say unto
me," i.e., the Angel and the other voices which had before spoken,
"thou must prophesy again against peoples," etc. (...)
(epi), with the Dative following, means, literally,
upon. It is never rendered "before," except in this place. Six
times it is rendered "against"; in
Like the Hebrew (...) (al). See
In the chapters immediately following (chaps. xi. — xviii.) these prophecies are clearly seen. The contrast between "kings" and "nations" and "peoples" prove to us that we cannot take these kings as referring to systems religious or political.
The contrast also with the historical interpretation is very clear. The angel here descends. This, we are asked to believe, is the "sun of righteousness rising over Europe." The cry like a lion is, we are told, "the preaching of Luther." But others tell us it was the Papal Bulls: others, that it was the "shout of the Wittenbergers when Luther burnt the Pope's Bull." But these voices and thunders came from heaven. They do not come from Rome, nor were they made in Germany. John was commanded to "seal up" what he heard; Luther made it known. We need not go further. The bare statement of such wild extravagancies are their own, sufficient and best, refutation.
y., xi. 1-14. The Two
Witnesses.
o1., xi. 1, 2. The Measuring of the
Temple.
The second Vision "on Earth," which consists of the six Trumpets, is given to us in three parts.
(1) The Immediate judgments or
plagues which follow its sounding: (r. Ch. ix. 13-21).
(2) The Episode of "another mighty Angel;" His oath and the
little book: (s. and r. Ch. x. 1-11)
(3) The Two Witnesses: (y. Ch. xi. 1-14).
The connection of the three is continuous and close. It is the same angel who addresses John throughout: and the command "Rise, and measure" is only a sequel to "Seal up" (x. 4), and "Take, and eat" (x. 9).
Chap. xi., etc., is the fulfilment of the command "Thou shalt prophesy": taking prophesying as being witnessing in its widest sense.
The descent of "another mighty angel" (x. 1) is, as we have seen, the formal taking possession of the earth in the name of the King of Kings, before actual occupation takes place (which is not till chap. xix.), though it is celebrated by anticipation in the next Vision "in heaven" (ix. 15). Two earthly Witnesses are added to the making of the claim as the accredited agents of the throne. They are the link between the judgments and men's sins which are the cause of them. Their witness is a confirmation of the faith of God's people then on the earth, and a witness to the "dwellers on the earth" that the end is near, and the interval of delay will last "no longer."
(1) The angel takes possession by planting his feet on the sea
and on the earth;
(2) John takes possession by measuring out part of the
territory occupied; and
(3) The Two Witnesses take possession by prophesying in Divine
and miraculous power.
Just as after the sixth Seal there was an Episode relating the protection and deliverance of God's people then to be on the earth: so here, after or at the end of the sixth Trumpet, there is a similar Episode with a similar object, viz., to show that with all the external destruction that shall go on, there shall be the preservation of all that is essential to God's purposes, and to God's People.
This third Episode of the sixth Trumpet is one whole, and is recorded in chap. xi. 1-14, completing at once the sixth Trumpet and the second Woe. The seventh Trumpet, which follows, is expanded into, and consists of, the seven Vials of wrath, which speedily prove that there is no more delay, and bring on the consummation in chap. xix.
We do not propose, here, to trouble our readers with all the conflicting interpretations of this chapter. Some are half symbolical and half literal. Others are wholly ridiculous. Of course, the "The Temple is said to mean the church; the altar, Christ; the porch without means heretics and pseudo-Christians." Others hold that John was "not only ignorant of the future, but that he designed nothing more than to express his hopes, and give vent to his remaining Jewish sympathies for the literal temple and its ritual" (Stuart, Heinrichs, Ewald, Bleek, &c.).
The Structure of the whole passages tells us that we are dealing with something far more important than all this; even with what shall yet take place in connection with future judgment-scenes preparatory to the final ejection of the great usurper from God's Earth, over which he has so long held sway.
Let us therefore approach this scene, not with view, merely, of interpreting it; but of receiving it and believing it as God's own interpretation of real events which are yet to take place. God is telling us of some of the "marvels" and of the "terrible things" which He will do in the Day of the Lord. Let us not bring it down to "man's day" and treat it as mere Ecclesiastical or Roman history. This it is which causes all the difficulty, combined with the yet greater difficulty which man ever finds in believing God.
The Structure of the whole passage is as follows:—
y., xi. 1-14. The Two Witnesses.
y | o1 |
p1 | xi. 1-. Person. John.
q1 | -1-. What he was to do.
To measure.
r1 | -1, 2-.
Commencement.
o2 | p2 | -2-. Persons. The
Gentiles.
q2 | -2-. What they were to
do. To trample.
r2 | -2. Continuance: 42
months
o3 | p3 | 3-. Persons. The two
Witnesses.
q3 | -3-. What they were to
do. To prophesy.
r3 | -3. Continuance: 1260
days.
o4 | p4 | 4. Persons. The two
olive trees.
q4 | 5, 6. What they were to
do. To inflict judgments.
r4 | 7-14. Conclusion:
"After three days and a half."
"The second woe is
past."
xi. 1. And there was given to me a reed] by whom, it is not said. It is indefinite, as in vi. 11; viii. 2, &c.
like a measuring rod: and he
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and the angel stood," which
are only in the Elzivir edition (1624) of the Received Text; and not in
Stephen's edition, 1550.
Lectures on the Apocalypse, in loco.
Rise, and measure the Naos (or Temple) of God,] Observe the word is (...) (naos), the holy place; not (...) (hieron), the temple-building as a whole. The two words must always be carefully distinguished. It is a pity that the AV. confuses both by rendering them "temple" indiscriminately.
This reed was a light measuring rod. The Heb. (...)
(shevet), staff, also means a measuring-rod (
That there is to be a "Temple of God" in Jerusalem is clear
from
One would have thought that the words employed here would have
effectually shut out the church from the interpretation. We read of the
Temple, the Altar, and the Court of the Gentiles, which surely have
nothing to do with the church of God. Even Dr. Adam Clarke admits that
"this must refer to the temple of Jerusalem," though he confesses he
does not know what to do with it! We confess that we have no wish to do
anything with it. We know that it will be re-built, and once we
recognise that, there is no need to fix the period at seven years after
the church is caught up; but to understand that these seven years may
be the Telos or last seven of some thirty or forty years of
the Sunteleia. See THE PROMISES TO THE SEVEN ASSEMBLIES and
THE FIRST VISION "ON EARTH," where it is shown that there is ample time
for all this and much more to be done in bringing about the fulfilment
of all that is written in this book. God has not yet done with His
people Israel. They are already, though in partial blindness (
and the altar,] By being mentioned separately from the Naos (in which was the golden altar or incense) it looks as though the brazen altar of sacrifice was intended. The word will suit either.
and take account of those who worship therein.] Although the Zionist movement does not openly profess to act under Divine authority, that is no reason why it should not be most religious. Hence there will be worshippers: and among the worshippers the 144,000 sealed for Divine protection; beside those who suffer martyrdom at the hands of the Beast, and those with whom he makes war.
Such a condition of things will need a re-survey when God is going to take action. He will separate the chaff from the wheat, Israel from the Gentiles, and His "servants" from the "dwellers on the earth."
In this command with regard to the worshippers, we must recognise the figure called Zeugma, by which one verb is used of two things, and is strictly appropriate only to the former. A second verb must be supplied for the second noun, properly related to it. We have here supplied the verb "take account of" (...); for measuring, while quite appropriate to building, is incongruous when used of persons.
2. But the court that is without the Naos (or
Temple) cast without, and measure it not; because it is given
up to the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty
and two months.] The Court of the Temple is thus
distinguished from the Naos. The former is owned by God; the
latter is rejected and delivered over to the Gentiles. These are
distinguished in
We must again remind ourselves that we have here what relates to the Earth. Had expositors noticed that this was the second Vision of what takes place "on earth," they could never have supposed that the Temple, etc., here was the Temple in heaven. To apply this measuring and treading down by the Gentiles to heaven betokens confusion of mind, and brings hopeless confusion into the Scriptures, besides showing a very poor idea of what heaven is.
The outer court of this Temple is ordered to be rejected; and
the reason is given. It is given over to the Gentiles. This, of itself,
is sufficient to establish the fact that we are here in another
Dispensation. During this present Dispensation Jews and Gentiles stand
on the same level. There is "no difference" (
The "court" of the Temple and the city is given over to be "trodden under foot" by the Gentiles. It is given over to the Gentiles for a special treading down, and for a definite period. The period of 42 months is connected with the measuring. It closely follows it in order of time. We dare not reverse the two events. This proves, again, that the Church cannot be here, because it could not be at one and the same time delivered from Papal oppression, and yet still be under that oppression. In other words the treading down of the true Church by Rome, preceded the Reformation (which is said by the Historicists to be denoted by the measuring); whereas, here, the order is the opposite. This, at once, effectually disposes of the historical interpretation.
As to the period of "forty and two months" Alford truly says
"no solution at all approaching to a satisfactory one has ever yet been
given of any one of these periods. This being so, my principle is to
regard them as still among the things unknown to the Church."
Comm. in loco.
Something more than learning is needed when we come to His book. Faith is the great thing needed, and if we possess this we shall have to unlearn much that man has taught us.
y., xi. 3-14. The Two
Witnesses.
o3, xi. 3. Their Endowment and
Testimony.
In xi. 3-14 we have the account of the Two Witnesses, one of the most solemn and mysterious scenes of the whole Apocalypse. It is the test of all interpretations, and one over which many make shipwreck. The particulars of the mission of these Two Witnesses are given with great detail.
In verse 3 and 4 we have, first, their Equipment and endowment; verses 5, 6, their Judgments on their enemies and the elements; verse 7-10, their Sufferings; verses 11-12, their Reward; and verse 13, their Avengement. These divisions will be seen to be marked off by the Structures given below.
xi. 3. And I will endow my two witnesses, and they
shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in
sackcloth.] Literally, it is "I will give," but as there
is the Ellipsis of the object, it does not say what is given.
The AV. supplies the word "power." The RV. supplies nothing,
but renders it badly: "I will give to my two witnesses and they shall
prophesy," etc. We have (with Tregelles) avoided both by rendering the
word "endow," which includes "power," and whatever other gifts
were necessary for their mission. The duration of their prophecy covers
an exactly similar period as the 42 months: for it is 1260 days. We are
not told that it is the same period as the treading down, but it reads
as though the two periods were synchronous. The computation is given in
months, for these seem to have a special relation to
judgments. The beginning and duration of the Flood is given in months.
The Plague of Locusts is be "five months." The blasphemies and
persecutions of the Beast are reckoned by months. But when it comes to
man, the duration if his years are reckoned by "days" (
The period is given in three forms in the Apocalypse.
Forty-two months — xi. 2; xiii. 5.
1260 days — xi. 3; xii. 6.
A time, times, and a half (3 1/2 years) — xii. 14; and see
The duration of the period in which Elijah's prayer shut up
the heaven corresponds with this, and is given as "three years and six
months" (
p4, xi. 4. The Two Olive Trees
xi. 4. These are (or represent) the
two olive trees, and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (kyriou)
Lord, instead of (...) (theou) God.
The two Olive Trees represented two individuals then; and they represent two individuals here in this Scripture. They will be the "two Olive Trees" for their day, as Zerubbabel and Jeshua were in a former day.
The Angel gave the essence of the meaning to Zechariah; and
the same is the meaning here. The secret Divine supply of oil to these
two Trees and Lamp-stands illustrates the great reality — "This is the
word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might (mar.
armies), nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts" (
Expositors have exhausted their ingenuity in endeavouring to answer the question, which they all ask, "Who are the two witnesses?" We do not ask the question, and therefore we have nothing to answer. Why cannot we leave them alone? If God wished us to know He could have told us. The fact that He has not done so ought to stop our mouths. The wildest extravagances have been indulged in from the earliest times, and it would fill very many pages if we were merely to name them. They would require no refutation, for they are all mutually destructive of one another. Alford says: "No solution has ever been given of this portion of the prophecy." He means, of course, no satisfactory solution, for the interpretations themselves are innumerable.
Malachi (iii. iv.) speaks of Elijah as coming to restore all
things; and the Lord Himself endorses it in
We now come to their power to inflict judgments, which is given us in verses 5, 6. It is important, for the Structure of these two verses is as follows:—
q4, xi. 5, 6. The Infliction of Judgments.
q4 | s | t1 | 5-. Injury. "And
if any man will hurt them
u1 | -5-. Retribution.
"fire proceedeth out of their mouth...
t2 | -5-. Injury. "And if any
man will them
u2 | -5-. Retribution. "he
must in this manner be killed.
s | t3 | 6. Power. "These
have power
u3 | w1 | -6-.
Object. "to shut heaven
x1 | -6-.
Drought. "that it rain not
v1 | -6-.
Time (total) "in the days of their prophecy
t4 | -6-. Power. "And have
power
u4 | w2 | -6-.
Object. "over waters,
x2 | -6-.
Effect. "to turn them to blood,
w3 | -6-. Object.
"and to smite the earth
x3 | -6-.
Effect. "with all plagues,
v2 | -6.
Time (occasional) "as often as they will."
We have included the translation of the AV. in the Structure, but we give our own here, for the sake of uniformity:
xi. 5. And if any one desireth to injure them, fire
goeth forth out of their mouth (
Comm. in loco.
Interpreters talk about the "political heaven"! We may well ask what is political rain? We can only say that Scripture knows nothing of either.
r4, xi. 7-13. The Completion of their Testimony.
The completion of their testimony (xi. 7-14) marks a distinct portion of their history and description here given. It is as strongly emphasised as is the nature of it. This is shown by the beautiful Structure which sets it forth.
Three things are shown to characterise the completion of their testimony:
1. verses 7-10. Their Sufferings.
2. verses 11, 12. Their Reward.
3. verse 13. Their Avengement.
r4, xi. 7-13. The Completion of their Testimony.
r4 | a | c | 7-.
Time. "And when...
d | -7. Death. "The beast...
e | 8. 9. The City. Bodies lie in
its street.
f | 10. Enemies rejoice.
b | g | 11-. The
spirit from heaven.
h | -11-.
Resurrection.
i | -11.
Enemies see.
b | g
| 12-. The Voice from heaven.
h |
-12-. The Ascension.
i
| -12. Enemies see.
a | c | 13-. Time. "And the
same hour...
d | -13-. Earthquake.
e | -13-. The City.
Tenth part falls.
f | -13. Enemies
slain.
No harm can come to them during their witness. Not till their
testimony is completed can they be injured or overcome. Till then they
are invulnerable. As with "the Faithful Witness" Himself, so with them.
Not till His hour had come could His enemies lay their hands on Him.
(See
xi. 7. And when they shall have finished their
testimony, the Beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war
upon them (xii. 17; xiii. 7; xix. 19.
8. And their dead body
All the Critical Texts read the singular instead of the
plural. Wordsworth thinks this is mystical, and means "the two
Testaments are one." But the plural is used in verse 9, which
disposes of this conceit.
Here, then, in the street of "the great city" Jerusalem, these
two witnesses will be slain, and
"O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance;
Thy holy temple have they defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be
meat unto the fowls of the heaven,
The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth,
Their blood have they shed like water on every side of
Jerusalem,
And there was none to bury them."
The whole Psalm should be read in this connection, as well as
where their
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (auton)
their, instead of (...) (hemon) our.
Jerusalem is compared to "Sodom" in
9. And the peoples (lit., by Hebrew idiom,
"some of the peoples")and tribes and tongues and nations, look
upon their corpse
See above.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Bishop Wordsworth is equally unfortunate, for he builds on the
amended reading "tomb," or sepulchre (which he takes to mean
monument), this fantastic interpretation, that Papal Rome (the
Wild Beast) "has laboured that the two witnesses [i.e., the Old and New
Testaments] may not be committed to the immortal monuments of
Editions, Translations, and Expositions." It is fatal to this theory,
(1) that (...) (mnema) never means anything but grave, tomb,
or sepulchre,
See
The tenth verse, in which their enemies look upon their dead bodies, is thus constructed:
f. xi. 10. Enemies rejoice.
f | k | 10. Dwellers on the
earth.
l | -10-. Rejoicings.
l | -10. Torments.
k | -10. Dwellers on the earth.
xi. 10. And they that dwell on the earth (the
earth-dwellers)rejoice
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. reading present tense
instead of future.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
T. reads "send."
The older commentators might have felt a difficulty in
understanding how the whole earth could rejoice at an event happening
at Jerusalem. But in these days of electric inventions, telephones, and
wireless telegraphy, we all know how the next day the whole world
sympathises and rejoices together.
Witness the death of Queen Victoria; the murder of President
McKinley; or the American Yacht Race — all the stages of the latter
were known the world over within a few moments of the passing
events.
But "the triumphing of the wicked is short" (
11. And after three days and a half the breath of
life (or life-spirit) from God entered into them, and
they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon those who beheld
them.] The Two Witnesses are raised from the dead by the
power of God (
The twelfth verse is constructed as follows:
b. xi. 12. Ascension.
b | m | 12-. Hearing.
n | -12-. Invitation.
n | -12-. Reception.
m | -12. Seeing.
xi. 12. And they heard a loud voice out of heaven,
saying to them, "Come up hither." And they ascended up to heaven in the
cloud (
This is recorded in verse 13:
f. xi. -13. Enemies Slain.
o | -13. Killed.
p | -13-. Number.
p | -13-. Remainder.
o | -13. Affrighted.
xi. 13. And in that same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell,] i.e., of the great city mentioned above. But how can this be if this great city is "the Church of God"? Why should a tenth part of "the Church of God" be thus judged because of sins of "the peoples, and tribes, and tongues and nations"?
and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand men:] "Name of men" is an Idiomatic expression for persons. Both in Scripture and in the Papyri (...) (onoma), name, is used of a person. The word (...) always means the number 1,000 and yet Elliott interprets this of the seven Dutch republics which were lost to the Papacy by the Reformation! so he takes these "names of men" literally, and says they mean "titles of dignity and command," such as Duchies and Lordships. Hence, perforce, the smiting down of these by the earthquake must denote the setting of them up, and establishing them in a better and independent position!
and the rest became affrighted and gave glory to the
God of heaven] This giving glory to God is not equivalent
to praising or blessing God. It is extorted, not by penitence, but by
terror. The idiom is well known. See
Here, it is only "the God of Heaven" who is acknowledged; not
a covenant God (Jehovah) known and loved. Only a God at a distance,
unknown and feared. We have already spoken of the title, "God of
heaven," and its significance as occurring only here, and in chap. xvi.
11.
Thus ends the sixth Trumpet or "second Woe." Hence it is added:
14. The second woe is past: behold, the third woe cometh quickly.] The second Woe consists of two parts: The Horsemen, and the Two Witnesses.
The third Woe, which is the result of the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, occupies four chapters (xv.—); and after the sounding of the seventh Trumpet three chapters are interposed (xii.—), taking us back (probably) to a time prior to ch. iv.; conducting us by a different route to the same point; describing to us how it is the Wild Beast is to be revealed; and telling us the causes and consequences of his revelation. Then the seventh Trumpet is taken up again in chap. xv.
The second Woe ends with the earthquake following on the
ascension of the Two Witnesses. Theirs is a marvellous history. It
comes upon us suddenly, as does the history of Elijah in
H3, xi. 15-19-.
THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET.
The Seventh Trumpet brings us back to Heaven and to the Third Vision seen there by John. For it is "in heaven" that the Trumpet is sounded.
After it is sounded, we again hear the heavenly utterances which tell us of the design of this sounding. In xix. 1-16, heavenly voices again tell us of the completion of its effect. After it is sounded, and its object unfolded, there is a break; and an episode occupying chaps. xii., xiii. and xiv.; the effects of the sounding not being resumed till chap. xvi. 1, and occupying chaps. xvi., xvii., xviii.
The Seventh Trumpet thus embraces the whole of the seven Vials, or last seven plagues, which make up the "Third Woe."
The Seventh Trumpet, therefore, really reaches from chap. xi. 15 to xviii. 24, or even to xx. 5, for it takes in the whole of the remaining judgments, and consists of the remaining five pairs of Visions "in heaven" and "on earth," and occupies about one half of the whole Apocalypse. This shows us the importance of the Scripture on which we are now about to enter. It tells us also why the heavenly utterances, which follow on its sounding, anticipate the end, including the setting up of the throne of earthly dominion, the raising of the dead, "small and great," and the final judgment. All is anticipated by these heavenly voices, which are answered by the concluding utterances of chap. xix. in the seventh and final Heavenly Vision.
In chap. xi. 7, the mighty angel declared that "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall sound, the secret of God should be finished": i.e., that it will be finished during the days covered by his sounding (embracing, as we have seen, the whole of the seven Vials, and bringing us down to xx. 15). The whole of God's secret purposes, the details of which were known only to Himself, will be accomplished.
The whole of this great division, therefore, opens with the small section (xi. 15-19-), concerning the acts of sounding the Seventh Trumpet. The structure is as follows:—
H3, chap. xi.
15-19-.
THE THIRD VISION "IN
HEAVEN."
The Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. (3rd WOE)
H3 | A | xi. 15-. The
sounding of the Seventh Trumpet in heaven.
B | a | -15-. Loud voices in
heaven.
b | -15. Their
utterance.
B | a | 16. The 24
Elders.
b | 17, 18. Their
utterance.
A | 19-. The opening of God's Temple in
heaven.
xi. 15. And the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were loud voices in heaven;] Each seventh Seal, Trumpet and Vial is marked off from the preceding six by unmistakable signs, sufficient to show us that they are resumptive rather than continuous. Each going over the same ground to give particulars not contained in the others, bringing us to a crisis; and giving the other events in the corresponding period, but from a different point of view.
This is called the "seventh" Trumpet, and it is the "last" of
this special series. But it does not follow there will be none after:
or, that a trumpet sounding before it may not also be called the
"last," relatively to another subject. In
The Trump of
The sounding of this Trumpet produces great activity and stir
in Heaven, where it is sounded. It is nothing less than the
proclamation of the coming Coronation of earth's rightful king (compare
saying "The sovereignty
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read singular instead of plural.
or "is become our Lord's and His Anointed's."
The whole subject is one of sovereignty. This is the whole matter which has been in question. And this question is now about to be settled by these final judgments of the seven Vials. The result is celebrated in this Vision "in heaven" by anticipation. It looks forward to the close of the whole book of Revelation. It is not till the events of chap. xx. have taken place that this change of sovereignty is consummated. "The kingdoms of the world" are represented as wild beasts, knowing no master and having no owner. This is God's view of all earthly governments. Government in the world, committed, for the present, to man, has never yet been exercised for God. Not only is His sovereignty not recognised, but even His suzerainty is rejected. It is folly to talk about "Christian kingdoms" or "Christian nations;" and it is worse than folly for ministers of the Gospel to occupy themselves with the taming of these wild beasts, instead of warning all of the coming judgments, which will destroy them altogether; and meantime witnessing of the "grace of God" to lost and helpless sinners. We are not referring to any lawful acts which we may do (as it were, in passing) to improve the condition of things, or to remove crying evils; but we are speaking of laying ourselves out for these things and making them our great aim; and especially of ministers of the Gospel so doing. What is wanted is, not a "Citizen Sunday," but a Sunday for God, when men will be told of what God's verdict is on all these things; of what His remedy for them is; and of what means He is going to take to set right all that is so wrong. A Sunday when men will be told that there can be no Millennium without Christ; and that there is no hope for the world until it comes under the direct sovereignty of God and of His Anointed.
The very laws which God gave on Sinai, and the Divine Ritual of the Tabernacle and the Temple did not keep Israel from Religious Apostasy and political ruin. It ought therefore to be perfectly clear that there is no hope for the world in human laws or religions.
Righteous government is the one great want of the whole world.
The obtaining of this is the mighty spring of all political movements
for Reform; and of all national conspiracies, and revolutions. It is
this that give Anarchists the motive for their crimes. But man does not
know or see (and there are so few to tell him) that there can be no
righteous government for the world until the Righteous one shall come
"whose right it is" (
All this, and more, is involved in this heavenly utterance.
The coming kingdom is not "from this world" (
To the general utterance of the loud voices is added the special utterance of the twenty-four elders, which fills out the former with the details embraced in it.
16. And the twenty-four elders, who, in the presence of God sit upon their thrones, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, (17) saying,
"We give thanks to thee, O Lord God, the Almighty, who
art, and who wast,
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and art to come." The text was
altered here by some later scribe to make it agree with i. 4, 8 and iv.
8. But here the actual coming is celebrated, and therefore it forms no
part of the original Text.
There are seven things here celebrated by anticipation. And the seven is divided into four and three. The last three are marked off by their belonging to the special appointed season in which they are to take place. The first four relate to four actions on the part of God, and their effects.
The first act of taking His power is seen in the seven Vials
(chap. xv. 8), where the temple is filled with smoke from the glory of
God and from His power. The wrath of the nations, and of God,
are both mentioned in
"Come, my People, enter thou into thy inner chambers,
And shut thy doors about thee,
Hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be
overpast:
For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity:
The earth also shall disclose her blood,
And shall no more cover her slain."
(So,
In these judgments, under the seventh Trumpet, amendment or
repentance is no longer looked for. All is wrath and vengeance. Jehovah
at length replies to the reiterated cry of his people: "Arise, O God"
"Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered:
Let them also that hate him, flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away:
As wax melteth before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before
God:
Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice."
The last two great Witnesses of God will have finished their testimony, attested by miraculous evidences. Now, all further testimony is to be withdrawn, and vengeance is to take its course.
The last three statements of the Elders' utterance relate to the appointed season ((...), kairos), which has come for their fulfilment.
(1) "The time of the dead to be judged." This connects, therefore, the events of chapter xx. with the sounding of this Trumpet (see xx. 12, 13). Resurrection also is included, for the dead, "small and great," stand then before God for this judgment. Here we have more than mere avengement of the martyrs; or, righteous government.
(2) To give the Reward (a) "to thy servants the
prophets," as stated in chap. x. 7 (compare
(3) "And to the saints." This is a special term for
the Old Testament saints, and is not to be confused with the usage of
the word in the Pauline sense, where it is applied to the members of
the Body of Christ; or with angels, or whom the word is also used in
such passages as
The "saints" here are those spoken of in
(c) "Them that fear Thy name, the small and the
great." Note, that the Elders do not say "us." They again
distinguish themselves from human beings. It was the special character
of saints under the Law, to fear the Lord. See
They are so distinguished in
The seventh Trumpet includes as its last object:
(3) "to destroy them that destroy the earth." This
involves the destruction of Babylon, and of those who worship the Beast
and receive his mark. It would also include the great destruction of
the armies of Satan and the rebels who join it, in
With the destruction of these God's judgments end, and the "mystery (or secret) of God is finished" (x. 7), as well as "the mystery of Iniquity."
This third vision "in heaven" closes with the words:
xi. 19. and the temple (Naos) of God
which is in heaven was opened,
So L.T.Tr. WH. RV. add (...) (ho), which makes the Text read
as above, and not as in the AV.
The Apocalypse is the book of unveiling and of opening. Seven great openings characterise it.
In iv. 1: A Door is opened in heaven.
In vi. 1-9: The Seals are opened.
In ix. 2: The Abyss is opened.
In xi. 19: The Temple of God is opened.
In xv. 5: The Tabernacle of Testimony is opened.
In xix. 11: The Heaven is opened.
In xx. 12: The Books of judgment are opened.
The opening of the Heavenly Temple discloses the Ark of the Covenant, and speaks of the Covenant-keeping God redeeming His pledges of blessing to His People; and tells of judgment on His enemies.
It is from this Temple that the judgments which follow, proceed forth (xiv. 15, 17; xv. 5, &c.; xvi. 17).
This tells us that those judgments have respect to the
restoration of His People Israel, and of the fulfilment of all His
covenant promises, concerning the Land (
The Ark of the Old Covenant had stood closely connected with the Tabernacle and Moses; with the Land and Joshua; with the Kingdom and David; and with the Temple and Solomon. All are united here in connection with this Heavenly Ark of which the Earthly Ark was only a copy and a figure.
Under this covenant is at length to be fulfilled all that was
announced in the Song of Zacharias (
A | "Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel:
For He hath visited and redeemed His people,
B | And hath raised up a horn of salvation for
us
In the house of His servant David;
C | As he spake by the mouth of his holy
prophets,
Which have been since the world began:
D | That we should be saved from our
enemies,
And from the hand of all that hate
us;
E | To perform the mercy promised to our
fathers,
And to remember his holy covenant;
E | The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
D | That he would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
Might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our life,
C | And thou, child, shalt be called the
prophet of the Highest;
For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways;
B | To give knowledge of salvation unto his
people
By the remission of their sins,
A | Through the tender mercy of our God;
Whereby the Day-spring from on high hat visited
us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death
To guide our feet into the way of peace."
The words printed in thicker type show us the great subject of each member. They may be more clearly seen if presented thus:
A | 68. The visitation of God.
B | 69. Its subject: Salvation raised up.
C | 70. Foretold: by all His Prophets.
D | 71. Its result: Destruction of Enemies.
E | 72. Its basis: The Covenant.
E | 73. Its basis: The Oath.
D | 74, 75. Its result: Worship of Delivered Ones.
C | 76. Fulfilled: The Fore-running prophet.
B | 77. Its object: Salvation known.
A | 78, 79. The Visitation of Christ.
Thus, beautifully, has God the Holy Ghost emphasised for us what is included in His Covenant, of which the manifestation of the Ark of His Covenant, seen in His opened Temple in heaven, is at once the token and assurance. The revelation of the Ark of the Covenant is at once answered on earth by signs which betoken its meaning for the earth.
That we reach a great crisis here, is evident. It anticipates the end, including the judgment of the great white throne in chap. xx. This Third Vision in heaven is followed by a Third Vision on earth, which fitly answers it. Before all that it involves and includes is fulfilled, we are taken back to the foundation of the world, in order to have various matters explained to us; and we are shown how the End is connected with the Beginning; and what the great Crisis really means.
This is why the Third Vision in Heaven is so solemn in its anticipation; and this is why the Third Vision on Earth is so brief in its response.
E3, chap. xi. -19.
This is very brief; the briefest of all. But, in reality it is the longest of all, for it anticipates the end of the Book. Before entering upon the judgment of the seven Vials, an Episode is to be given (as we have already shown) in chaps. xii., xiii., xiv., xv. Hence, before giving this Episode, the sounding of the Trumpet and the Heavenly utterances are briefly acknowledged by signs which betoken the coming judgments, which are to be taken up later and fully described in chaps. xvi. to xx.
xi. -19. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and earthquake, and great hail.] That we have here a Vision relating to the earth is clear; though it is not, and need not be, so stated; for it is manifest that the earthquake must refer to the earth, as must the hail also. Similar phenomena are mentioned as the consequences of heavenly visions and announcements. (See viii. 5; x. 3; xvi. 18; xix. 6.)
The concluding words of the Elders closely connect the seven Vials as being the fulfilment of their prophetic utterance in xi. 18, 19.
The Temple is opened; so the opening of the Tabernacle in xv. 5 is the initiatory act of the seven Vials.
"Thy wrath is come," the Elders say. "Pour out the seven Vials of the wrath of God," cries the voice from the Throne, in xv. 7; xvi. 1.
The voices and hail, also, of xi. -19, correspond with the "voices" and "hail" which accompany the pouring forth of the seventh and last Vial in xvi. 17-21.
But before the account of this seventh Trumpet is resumed and its details set forth, we have three more visions "in heaven" interposed by way of parenthesis (viz., the fourth, fifth, and sixth, together with the fourth and fifth Visions "on earth"). The sixth Vision "on earth" takes up this third Vision, which, till then, is held over to allow of other information being given, which is necessary to the understanding of it.
Chapters xii. 1 to xv. 8 are, therefore, parenthetical as regards the actual sequence of the Judgment scenes.
H4, chap. xii. 1-12.
A Great Sign.
We now come, not only to the great central subject of the whole Book, but to the central pair of the seven Visions, and to the actual literary centre of the Book.
All this shows us that we are on the threshold of an important part of Scripture which relates to the actual Revelation or Unveiling of the glorious Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The whole section (chaps. xii.—) is not only Episodal in
subject and Parenthetical in form, but is a good example of historical,
or, rather, prophetic Hysterologia,
See Figures of Speech, by Dr. Bullinger, page 708.
Chaps. vi.— thus give the exoteric (or outer) view of that portion of prophetic history; for the Beast and the False Prophet are on the earth all that time, as is clear from xi. 7, where the Beast that ascendeth out of the abyss made war against the Two Witnesses. But how he came to be on earth we have not yet been told. The course of the prophetic record is therefore suspended, while we are taken back to a point prior to chap. vi., and in chap. xii. are given the esoteric (or inner) view of the same period, and told of the causes which shall lead up to the revelation of the Beast and the False Prophet. Chap. xii. occupies much the same position with regard to chaps. xiii. to end; as chaps. iv. and v. do to chaps. vi.—
First, the war takes place in heaven, and the Devil is cast out into the earth. Then "he" stands on the sand of the sea (xiii. 1 RV.), and John sees these two awful beings coming up — the one from the sea, and the other from the earth. There is no record of their doings except in chap. xiii., and what may be gathered from the judgments directed against them and their followers recorded in chaps. vi.— and other Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
The Structure shows that the Woman and the Dragon are the two great subjects of the Vision, the "Man-child" occupying only one verse (the sixth).
H4, xii. 1-12.
The Fourth Vision "in
Heaven."
A Great Sign
H4 | A | xii. 1-. A great Sign in heaven.
B | a | -1-5. The Woman and the
Dragon.
b | 6. The Woman's
flight.
c | 7-9. The War
in heaven.
A | 10-12. A loud Voice in heaven.
With this structure should be compared that of the following scene "on Earth" (E4), with which the part marked "W" (xii. 13— 1-) exactly corresponds.
xii. 1-. And a great sign was seen in
heaven:] Here, at length, for the first time in this
Book, we have a "Sign." The word is (...) (semeion) a
sign; not (...) (teras) wonder.
We are to distinguish these two words because they are often
joined together;
It is not only a Sign, but it is "a great sign," as important in its significance as it was vast in its appearance. It represented something remarkable in itself and momentous in its teaching.
The Sign itself is described in "a", verses -1-5. The following is the structure:—
a, xii. 1-5. The Woman and the Dragon.
a | d | e | xii. 1-. A great
sign in heaven.
f | -1. The Woman.
g | 2. The travail of the
Woman.
d | e | 3-. Another sign in
heaven.
f | -3, 4-. The Dragon.
g | 5. The travail of
the Woman.
xii. -1. A woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
stars:] This at once takes us back to
Now, when we have such a scripture as this, why go out of our way to seek for another explanation outside scripture altogether. That the same twelve stars are referred to in Genesis is clear, because Joseph himself made the twelfth. Here we have the earliest reference to the twelve signs of the Zodiac. These are the only "twelve stars," or asterisms, in the heavens. There are the "seven stars" meaning the seven planets; but the twelve stars can mean only the twelve signs (or stars) of the Zodiac, thus embracing the whole heavens.
The heathen nations, being ignorant of the written word of God, did not know the primitive truth preserved by the Antediluvian Patriarchs in the signs and constellations of the heavens before it was written down by God through Moses in "the scriptures of truth." Hence, the nations preverted it, and overlaid it with their own vain imaginations. This was the origin of the old Greek mythology; and before that, of the various ancient mythologies of Babylon and other nations. Those mythologies were not invented by those nations, but they were the corruption of primitive truth after that truth had been forgotten.
As Rom. i, 20, 21 declares, they were "without excuse," for
the invisible things of God were clearly seen and understood by the
things that are made. They heavens declared His glory and spoke of His
purposes. This is what
The Patriarchs had, long before the times of Jacob and Joseph,
so mapped out the heavens, as to preserve the great foundation promise
and prophecy of
That this is no mere conjecture is shown by an important article in The Nineteenth Century magazine (for Sep., 1900), by Mr. E.W. Maunder, of the Greenwich Observatory, on "The Oldest Picture Book of all." He says: "There are some indications, which seem to have escaped notice hitherto, by which we may fix, roughly at least, the date of certain other constellations than those of the extreme South. These are the twelve commonly known as the Signs of the Zodiac, and which, beyond all controversy, were planned in order to mark out the Ecliptic. The division of the Zodiac into twelve signs in one of very great significance... Now this perhaps was the most difficult discovery which up to the present date has yet been made in Astronomy."
"The interdependence of so many of the designs, and the fact that the sphere is thus manifestly the work of a single authority, furnish reasons for thinking that it was intended to be of the nature of a document. An examination of the individual forms supports this conclusion." ... Again, he says: "We are sure that the Zodiac is not later than 1800 B.C., and does not date further back than 4400 B.C."
He sums up the article by saying that "this oldest picture book of all was designed nearly 5,000 years ago" and that "Many of the constellations, then, were mapped out to express the religious belief of their designers. No doubt the others, of which at present we have no explanation, had just the same purpose.
Mr. Maunder says also that the religion of those who designed the Zodiac and mapped out the Constellations "involved the erection of altars and the rite of sacrifice. They were acquainted with the stories of the Fall and the Deluge, substantially the same as those preserved to us in the early chapters of Geneses, and they devised many of the constellations to give appropriate and permanent record of them."
The italics are our own, and the parts thus marked confirm our
conclusions, on the highest authority; while the date assigned places
its origins far beyond the domain of heathen mythology, and throws
great light on
All readers of that Psalm are struck with the fact that the first part is about the Heavens, and that then, in verse 7, there is a sudden and abrupt transition to the written Word.
This is explained by the fact that the reference is, in the
first part, to the primitive truth witnessed to by the Sun and Stars in
the heavens (an expansion of
For some 2,000 years before Moses, the heavens declared the glory of God; and not only showed His handiwork, but from day to day uttered speech, and from night to night showed knowledge.
True, there was no speech nor language; their voice was not
heard; and yet, their "line" (i.e., their inheritance,
See Figures of Speech, and The Witness of the
Stars, by Dr. Bullinger.
Where, after speaking of the teaching of the Heavens
(verses 1-6), it goes on to speak of the teaching in the written word
of God (verses 7-14).
These twelve stars, therefore, were the Zodiacal signs, which
are thus associated with Israel in the persons of Jacob, and the twelve
Patriarchs. These constituted and represented the whole nation in
embryo. Their presence here in
See Appendix for the whole question of the relation of the
Apocalypse to the ancient Astro-theology.
Again we ask, Why introduce the Church here? Alford says "the
whole symbolism points to it." On the contrary, the only like symbol in
the whole Bible connects this woman, thus arrayed, with Israel. What
has the Church got to do with
Further, Israel is again and again compared to a woman, and a
married woman, in the Old Testament (
xii. 2. And being with child she crieth out,
Was crying, L.
On the other hand, this "sign" exactly expresses the position and condition of the true Israel all through the history of the nation.
The promise of
This chapter, therefore, takes us back to the beginning of evil wrought by Satan, and carries us right forward to the great crises of human history. It shows how "the mystery of God" and "the mystery of Iniquity" will be finished; and take some 6,000 years to work out.
The birth of that "seed" became, therefore, the object of
Israel's hope; the subject of Israel's prophets; and the "joy" of
Israel's mothers when a man was born into the world (
The "sign" of the travailing woman, and her being in pain to be delivered, signifies the expectant attitude of Israel — de jure, if not de facto. The promised seed was meant to be the one great hope of the nation; to which everything pointed and of which everything testified.
The first sign of the Zodiac was a permanent and constant reminder of this great primeval promise and prophecy.
VIRGO is always represented, in all the ancient Zodiacs, with
a branch in her right hand. That branch has come down to us, with the
name of the star, which is of the first magnitude,
Tzemech. This is the Hebrew (...), which means "branch," and
is used of Christ, the promised seed, in
Of the great Creator it is written (
"HE telleth the number of the stars,
HE giveth them all their names."
And this name Tzemech is inseparably connected with the Divine omniscience of Him who created and named the stars; and gave and fulfilled the promise.
In like manner the constellation of "THE WOMAN AND CHILD" was
set as the first of the three constellations which are assigned to the
sign "Virgo."
Each sign had three constellations assigned to it, which
further developed the central truth signified by the respective signs
of the Zodiac.
"The woman and child" was, therefore, part of the primeval truth revealed to man as a sign of Him who was to be the object of this desire.
That it was ancient is testified by Albumazar (or Abu Masher,
an Arabian astronomer, who wrote in the eighth century.
A Latin translation of his Arabic work is in the British
Museum Library.
The constellations were called Decans. The word
means a part, and is used of the (three) parts into which each
sign is divided; each of which parts, or Decans, is occupied by a
constellation.
This is, as we have said, the testimony of the ancient
Zodiacs; otherwise this constellation was altered and corrupted in the
third century B.C. by Conon, an astronomer of Alexandria (B.C.
283-222).
It appears that Berenice, the wife of Euergetes (Ptolemy
III.), king of Egypt, made a vow that, if her husband returned in
safety from a dangerous expedition on which he had gone, she would
consecrate her wonderful head of hair to Venus. He did return in
safety, and her hair was deposited in the Temple of Venus. Subsequently
it was stolen, and Conon, to console her, gave it out that Jupiter had
taken it and made a constellation of it. The similarity of the Greek
word (...) (kome) hair, and the Hebrew koma
facilitated the change (if it did not suggest it). And so it came to
pass that in our Planispheres to-day Coma Berenice (the
hair of Berenice) figures in the place of the woman and child —
"the Desire of all nations."
Titus Andronicus.
But long before the constellation had been changed, its real signification had been lost and perverted.
Naturally, when the promises and prophecies had been written
down in the Scriptures of Truth, the meaning of the signs and
constellations, and the very names by which God had called the stars,
would fall into disuetude and became gradually forgotten. This would
lead to the easy perversion of their meaning by those nations who did
not possess the Word of God. Hence this constellation of the "woman and
child" passed into the Babylonian and Egyptian mysteries under the
names of "Isis and Horus"; and thence, from the pagan mysteries, the
picture passed into Romanism, with many other symbols and
doctrines.
Whatever modern meanings of such symbols as I.H.S. may be
given, the fact remains that it was part of the name of Bacchus: and,
the letters I.N.R.I., which were changed by Rome into Iesus Nazarenus
Rex Judaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews), originally formed
the pagan symbol that by fire nature will be renewed in its entirety
(Igne Natura Renovetur Integra). See The Rosicrucians:
their Rites and Mysteries, by Hargrave Jennings (Vol. ii. 1887),
quoted by the authors of The Computation of 666 (p. 70,
published by James Nisbet).
Indeed, so closely is Romanism allied to Paganism, of which it is the outcome, that those who do not see the difference between Paganized Christianity and Bible Christianity, draw the false conclusion that Romanism is merely a corruption of Christianity, whereas it is little more than Christianised Paganism.
Hence it was that, the real meaning of "the woman and child" having been lost, the symbol was Paganized, and we are told that representations of it as being "Isis and Horus" were so common (long prior to Christianity), that "there was not a house or a crossway where it was not found."
Many of these Pagan symbols, rites, and ceremonies were brought into "Christianity" by the Greek Fathers, who were converts from Paganism, and had not lost their teaching and training.
What we have here, therefore, in
This is why we have, here, His vindication of those "Signs" by which He first promulgated His great primeval promise, and His own Revelation as to its final accomplishment in the crushing of the serpent's head.
It is clear, so far, that the woman is the "sign" of Israel, viewed as representing the nation as a whole. Israel is thus personified, with the marks which characterise the nation in its constitution and in its hope.
Having thus given the great "sign" of the "woman," we next have "another sign in heaven" — the woman's enemy.
xii. 3. And another sign was seen in heaven; and
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon
his heads seven diadems.] This "sign" also is seen "in
heaven," and we are not left in any doubt as to what it signifies.
Verse 9 explains to us that "the great red dragon" is "that old serpent
called the Devil (Slanderer) and Satan (Adversary)." He has seven heads
and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. These are the "signs"
of the universality of earthly dominion: for Satan is the "prince of
the power of the air" (
xii. 4. And his tail draggeth down the third part of the stars of heaven, and he cast them to the earth:] Here we have further details concerning this "sign." The "woman," as we have seen, is the "sign" of the Jewish nation as a whole; and the object and action of the Devil could not be more clearly stated.
We are again taken back to the beginning of things; even to Satan's first rebellion, and to the angels who fell with him. This is surely the "sign" of Satan's power among the angels; as the heads and horns are a "sign" of his power among men on the earth. It seems clear from this that the third part of angels followed him in his great rebellion.
and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to bring forth, that when she should bring forth he might devour her child] Here we have a sign indeed; far beyond any mere passing event; or, even far beyond what Alford suggests, "the whole course of hostility against the Lord during His humiliation."
We believe it goes much further back than this. These two
Signs take us back to events which date "from the foundation of the
world";
This phrase occurs seven times:
The verb is "stands," not "stood." It refers to a continuous act, and not to a mere passing event.
The moment the word went forth that the seed of the woman should one day finally crush the serpent's head, that old serpent, the Devil and Satan, took his stand before the woman in order to destroy her seed as soon as it should be brought forth.
Satan's object, from the going forth of that prophecy, was to prevent that "seed of the woman" from ever coming into the world. He does not mean to be crushed if he can prevent it, and hence it is that, just was we are about to be told of the serpent's doom and how it is brought about, we are thus reminded of the fact, and told how he took his stand so as to prevent His coming at all; or to bruise His heel, if He should come.
He has used, of course, various instruments and agents, and while these have had their own respective objects and motives, Satan's object has been one — and one only — and this has formed
THE GREAT CONFLICT OF THE AGES.
We see the first great attempt in
"generation" is not the same word rendered "generations" in
the former part of the verse. Here i means contemporaries;
there it means family history.
If so, and his sons married the fearful progeny, we have a
sidelight on the diversity of the great races, though originally
descended from a single pair.
Nothing but Divine interposition saved the race and reserved mankind from a total overthrow. In Hem, the line of the "the seed of the woman" was continued, and the promise of Eden was preserved.
The second great attempt was made in
Again Divine interposition defeated Satan's plans. It was a
spiritual conflict in which Heaven and Hell were taking part all along.
It is the same conflict which we see here in
We see another very special and determined attempt of Satan to
break up the Royal Line, by which the seed of the woman was to come, in
On the death of Jehoshaphat, his son Jehoram, made a beginning
(to serve his own purposes, of course). He "slew all his brethren with
the sword" (
But he had children; and of these, we read that the Arabians
came up against Judah, and slew all his sons, "so that there was never
a son left him, save Ahaziah, the youngest of his sons" (
Ahaziah was then the only lineal descendant of the Royal Line
of the seed of the woman, through David, Abraham, and Shem. But Ahaziah
had children. These, in their turn, were slain by Athaliah. She
evidently left them all for dead, for it says (
In the book of Esther we see another attempt on the part of
Satan to destroy the whole nation; and not merely the males, or the
seed royal. He used Haman's pride as the secondary cause. But again a
small thing was used to frustrate the design of "the Jews' enemy." A
sleepless night: that was all; but it was enough (
But he still "stood before the woman ready to devour her child as soon as it should be born." And at length the hour came when the seed of the woman entered into the world.
Herod was used this time; and having ascertained the
place (Bethlehem) from the Scribes (
The suggestion of Satan that Christ should throw Himself down
from the pinnacle of the Temple (
xii. 5. And she brought
forth a son, a male (i.e., a man-child), who is about
to rule all the nations with a rod of iron:] The word rendered
male is (...)
According to L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
And her child was caught away to God, and to
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. repeat the word (...)
(pros) to.
Moreover, this calling will be all at once; and not "born." Each member of the Body of Christ is created, and is "a new creation in Christ Jesus."
It seems a pity, almost, to have our minds disturbed by alluding to other common interpretations; but it is well for our readers to have the opportunity of judging for themselves, and of seeing the vagaries of expositors. We are asked to believe, for example, that the man-child is "a baptized Emperor, the son of Christ's faithful [!] church, elevated to the whole Empire, to an avowedly Christian throne" (Elliott).
Adam Clarke affirms that it is "the dynasty of Christian Emperors, beginning with Constantine." Some see "the Valenses and Albigenses as sequestered from the pure worshippers generally." Others believe it is "the Nicene Creed"!
We thus see what come of not "rightly dividing the word of truth"; and of interpreting of one dispensation that which properly relates to quite another.
This is the end of the second sign, and there is a break in the continuity.
xii. 6. And the woman
fled into the wilderness where she hath a place prepared
The verb (...) (hetoimazo) to prepare,
occurs seven times in the Apocalypse (viii. 6; ix. 7, 15; xii. 6; xvi.
12; xix. 7; xxi. 2).
G.T.Tr. (marg.) A. WH. and RV. add (...) (ekei)
there.
c., xii. 7-9. The War in Heaven.
xii. 7. And there was war
in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with
So, G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
We are not to think of Heaven as consisting of one place. The word is so often used in the plural, that, though we are not free to adopt the teachings of Jewish tradition, yet we are to think of many (it may be) different spheres. As the heavens are "higher than the earth," so we may look on them as being larger than the earth. And as the earth is divided into various countries and states, so may heaven have its various divisions. In one of them these mighty spiritual forces set themselves in battle array.
On the one side we have Michael, who is elsewhere described as
"one of the chief princes" (
On the other side we have the Beast of chaps. xiii. and xvii.
In
The Dragon's dominion covers all the powers and governments of the world, which are here seen included in and controlled by one being — the Dragon. The sovereignty of the world is about to become the sovereignty of our Lord and of His Christ, as we have just heard it announced "in heaven" (xi. 15). We are here shown the source and the embodiment of his sovereignty. This is why the prophecy is suspended just at this point. It is in order to explain to us what this sovereignty is, whence it comes, and whither it goes. All is here gathered up into one head.
In
This is the meaning of the word, as is clear from its use in
the other epistle:
This is the meaning of the idiomatic expression (...)
(ek tou mesou genetai). See
See Note above {two notes above, re: "hold fast" --CCEL}. The verb is transitive, and
must have an object.
We have given all the occurrences of this word in a note on the previous page, so that our readers can judge for themselves. That wrong translation of both the AV. and RV. arises from ignoring the fact that the verb is transitive, and must have an object. Something must be held fast. Further confusion is also introduced by not preserving the important difference between the genders, which is neuter in verse 6 ("THAT which holds him fast"), i.e., the Pit of the Abyss; and masculine in verse 7 ("HE who holds something fast," i.e., his position in the heavenlies, etc.
Having regard to these four facts—
(1) The meaning and usage of the verb;
(2) The fact that it is transitive;
(3) The distinction between the two genders in verses 6, 7;
and
(4) The undoubted idiom in verse 7 — cast out, it is
clear that
At the first advent the announcement was made "on earth, peace." But now, at the time of the Second Advent, it is "in heaven, war"; for the Dispensations have changed.
At the return of the remnant from Babylon, Satan was present
to resist the restoration of the Nation (
The mystery connected with this conflict is easy to faith,
though hard for reason. A little insight is given into these spiritual
realities in such passages as
Milton has described this war, but he only drew on his imagination, which was limited by earthly battlefields. This war is wholly different in its occasion, its scenes, its combatants, and its weapons. This war has its foreknown and therefore its foretold ending.
xii. 8. And they prevailed not; nor was even their place found any more in heaven.] The great object with which that war is waged will be accomplished.
9. And the great dragon was cast down, the old
serpent; who is called the Devil, and Satan, he who deceiveth the whole
world: he was cast down unto the earth, and his angels were cast down
with him.] There can be no doubt as to whom this "sign"
refers. By four names is he defined, so that we might make no mistake.
And yet, it will hardly be believed that, in spite of this, there are
interpreters who maintain that it means the "Pagan Roman Empire," and
Michael is the "Christian Roman Empire." There are others who
understand it of no real war at all, but only a prolonged antagonism
between good and evil. How refreshing to come back to the Word of God,
and believe that we have there the climax which the Lord Jesus, looking
forward to the result of His "sufferings," in "the glory" that should
follow, already foresaw with His spiritual prophetic vision in
A., xii. 10-12. The Loud Voice in Heaven.
Each of these visions seen in heaven are marked by heavenly voices and utterances. We have one in this Vision. The Structure is as beautiful as it is simple. The subjects of the utterance are two:
(1) Rejoicing in heaven;
(2) Woe to the earth;
and between them there is a call for universal rejoicing.
A, xii. 10-12. The Loud Voice in Heaven.
A | h | k | 10-.
Rejoicing in heaven.
l | -10, 11. Reasons.
i | 12-. Call to
rejoice.
h | k | -12-. Woe to the
earth.
l | -12. Reason.
xii. 10. And I heard a loud voice in heaven,
saying,
This is the order of the words according to G.L.T.Tr.A. WH.
and RV.
"Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the
kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ: because the
accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God
day and night. (11) And they overcame him because of the blood of the
Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not
their life even unto death. (12) Therefore Rejoice, ye heavens, and ye
who dwell in them. Woe to
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "the inhabiters of."
This is the song of victory sung in heaven. It will be sung by
those who will have been caught up to heaven out of "the great
Tribulation." (Ch. vii., xiv., xv.) For they speak of "our brethren."
"Now is come" is the shout of triumph which celebrates, by
anticipation, the results of Satan's being cast out of heaven. This is
the first step arising out of Heaven's declaration of war. The emphasis
is on the pronoun "they," in verse 11, for they who overcame on earth
now call on all heaven to rejoice over the wondrous victory. When the
fruits of this heavenly victory are fully reaped on earth, then there
will be others to call for the new songs, which are already written
down for the singers in
Again, we see that the Church cannot be here, for no one can
accuse the Church before God. See
We shall be indeed surprised if our readers are able to see, as the cause of that heavenly outburst of joy, the mere "casting down of paganism from the throne of the Roman Empire."
The result of that was blessing to the world.
The result of this is "woe to the earth." (verse 12)!
But such a difference as this does not count with the expositors of this Book. Nor does the fact that the result of that conflict has gone on for centuries, in which the whole Reformation period is included; while this is to last for a very brief period — one of many great events occurring in the last 3 1/2 years.
When Satan is cast down, "he hath but a short time," which is definitely stated to be 3 1/2 years, during which he is wroth with the woman, and makes war with the remnant of her seed (xii. 14-17).
This "Woe" is the last of a series of three (viii. 13); and must, therefore, be subsequent to the first two, which at this stage will have passed (xi. 14). The third is proclaimed in chap. xii. 12, and consists of the casting out of Satan.
This conclusively shows that, though the Vision of
ch. xii. is anticipative, the actual casting out cannot take place till
the middle of the last of the seventy weeks (
E4, xii. 13— 18.
THE RESULT "ON EARTH" OF THE "WAR IN HEAVEN."
This Vision, as a whole, is occupied with the Result "on Earth" of the "war in heaven" (chap. xii.). It is two-fold: First, the effect is given as it concerns Israel, and then, the effect as it concerns the Earth as a whole; and all forming part of this parenthesis or Episode, which takes us back to the period before xi. 13, and shows us how the Beast came to be on the earth. It is he who makes war against the "Two Witnesses" (ch. xi.); and it is against him and his armies that the judgments and plagues of chaps. vi.-ix. are directed.
Now, we are taken back to have these prior events further made known and explained to us. The Episode does not end till chap. xv. 8.
The Structure of this fourth Vision "on Earth" is presented in
two separate parts, because they concern two separate Peoples (Jew and
Gentile), which are never "reckoned" together (
E4, xii. 13-xiii. 18.
The Fourth Vision "on
Earth."
The Result "on Earth" of the "War in Heaven."
E4 | W | xii. 13-xiii.
1-. The effect as regards Israel.
X | xiii. -1-18. The effect as regards the
Earth.
Dealing first with the former of these two divisions, we have to give its expansion. It will be seen that its Structure exactly corresponds with the preceding Vision "in heaven," (chap. xii. 1-12); the correspondence showing that both parts of chap. xii. refer to the same subject, viz., Israel. The following is the expansion of W:
W, xii. 13-xiii. 1-. The Result of the War "in Heaven" as regards Israel.
W | A | xii. 13-. The Dragon cast unto the earth.
B | a | -13. The Dragon and the
Woman.
b | 14-16. The Woman's
flight.
c | 17. War on
the earth.
A | xiii. 1-. The Dragon standing on the
sand of the sea.
The Dragon, as soon as he is cast down into the earth, at once proceeds to make war with the Woman, and the remnant of her seed. He does this by bringing up the Beast in his superhuman form.
xii. 13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast down
to the earth, he pursued (or persecuted) the woman
which brought forth the man-child
(...) (arsen) T.Tr.A. WH., not (...)
(arrhen).
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add the article, here.
"Therefore, behold, I allure her,
And bring her into the wilderness,
And speak comfortably unto her.
And I will give her her vineyards from thence,
And the valley of Achor for a door of hope:
And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth,
And as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt"
(
"The woman fled into the wilderness." So of old "it
was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled (
This "flight" is from Jerusalem and Judea, for this is the
central point where the two witnesses had been slain; and the final
testimony borne to the doings of the Beast. The woman (i.e., the
nation) flies because of the persecution of the Dragon. If none might
buy or sell save those who have the mark of the Beast, some miraculous
sustinence must be provided. And God Himself will again "furnish a
table in the wilderness." Of old, He fed them there. In
Fleeing, first to the "mountains" and then on to the
"wilderness," there the people will be fed for three years and a half.
The period is expressed exactly as in
xii. 15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth after
the woman, water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away
of the flood.] At the first Exodus it was the sea through
which she went into the wilderness with its forty-two stations. It is
"a flood" which drives her into the wilderness for forty-two months.
The delivering from the sea was miraculous; so will be the deliverance
from this "flood." Why should not one be as literal as the other? Where
is the difficulty? Observe, it does not say "like a flood," as in
16. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth
opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out
of his mouth.] And why not? The sea helped the same woman
when it swallowed up the armies of Pharaoh, and why should not the
earth help the woman again by swallowing up the forces of Satan. It is
to be again as it was at the Exodus. And it will be a time of
earthquakes and great physical disturbances. (See
In
The earth once opened to swallow the host of Dathan and Abiram
(
17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went
to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of
God, and have (or keep) the testimony of
Jesus.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "Christ," which keeps this
passage in harmony with the expression in other parts of this Book.
In the Textus Receptus the first sentence of the first verse of chap. xiii. is the concluding sentence of the twelfth chapter, but the AV. wrongly transposes it, and puts it as the first sentence in chap. xiii. The translators were doubtless misled by the wrong reading of the Textus Receptus, which has (...) (estathen) I stood, instead of (...) (estathe) he stood (i.e., the dragon). The RV. (agreeing with L.T.Tr.A. and WH.) has restored the sentence to its proper place, at the close of chap. xii. 17; and given the correct reading, "he stood," in accordance with all the critical Greek texts and oldest and best manuscripts.
The structure shows that this must be right; as that sentence is necessary in order to balance the first sentence of xii. 13.
It is the dragon who has been cast into the earth (A. xii. 13-); and it is the same dragon who stands on the sand of the sea (A. xiii. 1-). Foiled in his attempts to destroy the woman's seed, as he had been foiled in his assault on the woman herself, he is now seen by John standing on the sand of the sea, and from thence, as it were, calling up the first of the two Beasts from the Abyss to carry out his final plans. So this section ends with the words:
And he stood upon the sand of the sea.]
i.e., upon the shore. Daniel saw this same "great sea" and the four
winds of heaven striving upon it (
Before proceeding to the second great division of this fourth
Vision "on Earth," it may be well to read and study carefully
X.,
xiii. -1-18.
The Result of the "War in Heaven" as regards the Earth at
large.
We have seen and considered the result of the "War in Heaven" as it concerns Israel. (W., xii. 13-17). We have now to consider its further effect as it concerns the Earth at large.
This effect is twofold, inasmuch as it results in the rise of the Two Beasts:
The one from the Sea (verses -1-10).
The other from the Earth (verses 11-18).
The description of these two — the Beast and the False Prophet — occupies the whole of chap. xiii. The chapter is divided thus:—
X. xiii. -1-18. The Twofold Result as regards the Earth at large.
X | Y | xiii. -1-10. The Beast from the Sea.
Z | xiii. 11-18. The Beast from the Earth.
Y and Z are now to be expanded. They concern the last mighty
form of Satanic re-incarnation.
The one is Anti-Christ.
Another is Anti-Spirit.
The other is Anti-God.
Thus completing the Infernal Trinity.
These two (the Beast and the False Prophet) are described in seven particulars, and the two members marked Y and Z are arranged precisely in the same order. They are given in a corresponding Extended Parallelism, of which the last members of each are divided into two; these two being arranged as an Introversion — h, i; i, h.
The following is the Structure:—
X. xiii. -1-18. The Effect of the "War in Heaven."
X | Y | a | -1-. The Vision.
"And I saw" (...).
b | -1-. The first Beast.
c | -1-. His origin. The Sea
(...).
d | -1, 2. His
Description.
e | -2. His power (...)
derived from the Dragon.
f | 3-8. His deeds.
g | h | 9. The
call to hear. "Let him hear."
i |
10. The lesson. "Here is patience and faith."
Z | a | 11-. The Vision. "And I saw"
(...).
b | -11-. The second Beast. The
false prophet (xvi. 13; xix. 20).
c | -11-. His origin. The
Earth (...).
d | -11. His
description.
e | 12-. His
authority (...) derived from the first Beast.
f | -12-17. His
deeds.
g
| i | 18-. The lesson. "Here is wisdom."
h |
-18. The call to count. "Let him count."
This Structure is already so minute and exhaustive, that none of its members have (or need) any expansion. It completes the effect of the "war in heaven" so far as it regards the earth at large as distinct from Israel; and concludes the fourth Vision "on Earth."
After the failure of Satan's attempt to destroy Israel (the woman's seed), John sees him standing on the sand, or shore of the sea, as though pondering over, weighing, and forming his future plans. And while thus occupied, John sees the outcome, in the Beast which rises (as though at Satan's call) out of the sea.
The beasts of chap. iv. are (as we have seen) (...) (zoa), and are rendered by us as Zoa, and in the singular Zoon. This, is (...) (therion), a wild beast, or a beast of prey.
The text supplies us with the Divine information given on this great subject.
xiii. 1. And
I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven
heads,
This is the order here according to G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.,
and not as in AV., where the "heads" are put before the "horns."
It will be better to defer the interpretation of the heads and horns of this Beast until we come to chap. xvii., where we can consider it with greater advantage. The Holy Spirit has confined Himself here to an outline description, or brief statement, as to the general characteristics of these two Beasts; while in chap. xvii. He has explained them more fully.
It will be well, therefore, for us to follow on these lines,
and content ourselves now by the general statement that we have here
something far beyond Rome, papal or pagan; something far beyond the
"fourth Beast," or Roman Empire, as it is called. We have all the world
powers, and all dominion in the earth, gathered up and concentrated in
this one sign. We see them in their superhuman form, here in
the Apocalypse, as we see them in their human or mortal form
in Daniel. It is the whole Image of
The Figure of Asyndeton, or "no ands," hurries us
on to the great final catastrophe, which affects all "the kingdoms of
this world"; and bids us dwell, not on any one of them, but upon the
whole of them as one. (See Figures of Speech, page 137.)
It takes in the whole earth; in fact, all earthly power, and all worldly dominion, in its final consummation. Hence, all the heads and horns of the various successive powers are here combined and united in one, forming the embodiment of all political sovereignty on earth. There is to be no other during it existence; and there will be none but our Lord's and His Christ's after it is gone. In chap. xvii. we have them separately, and can so consider them when we come to that chapter.
2. And the Beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,
and his feet as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a
lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great
authority.] We are at a loss to understand how this can
be the Roman Empire revived! For the Beast itself is like a
leopard (Greece) (
When we say personification, we must recognise the spirit-being from the Abyss (xvii. 8), i.e., the superhuman agent, through whom he works. As Satan delegates this special mission to the Beast (a superhuman-being), so does the Beast act through a human being by obsession, or in some other way. God, here, takes us behind the scenes and shows us the Satanic machinery by which the whole thing is operated. While the people on earth see only a man, — "the Man" — they may know nothing of the power of the Abyss behind him, and out of which he comes.
This is exactly what is foretold by our Lord, in the parable
of the strong man (
This shows that the Lord is speaking a parable with regard to the nation of Israel; and what does it teach if it does not show us that there will be obsession by evil spirits acting through human agency; not only with regard to Israel, but with regard to the whole world. Doubtless, the human agent will have already been alive some time on earth, working up to this point, when Satan takes him in hand uses him henceforth for his own purposes; by rapid strides raising him to the pinnacle of earthly pride and power.
The moment will come when a human being will be found who is
willing to accept that which the Lord Jesus rejected in
xiii. 3. And I saw
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit this verb, but nevertheless the
Ellipsis has to be supplied and repeated from the previous
verse.
It does not say which of the seven heads is thus characterised; or when the sword would was given; but the Beast is repeatedly spoken of as "he whose stroke of death was healed." It is this last or seventh head, this man himself who is killed and restored to life. The whole world wonders at him and follows after him, on account of this great satanic miracle worked on his behalf.
This is the hour spoken of in iii. 10, "which is to come upon the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." "Satan's throne" will then be set up in the earth (ii. 13; xvi. 10), and a man, "the lawless one," will occupy it, and take the sovereignty of the world, obsessed and energised by satanic power.
xiii. 4. And they worshipped the dragon
because
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (hoti)
because, instead of (...) (hos) who.
They also add the article here.
"Who is like unto the Beast?
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."
And
It is clear from this that everything is combined in this man to make him not only acceptable to the world, but to call forth their wonder, admiration and praise. He is not in any way a terror to men, but full of blandishments, attractions, allurements, and activities which will be all put forth in the interests of human greatness and happiness. It will be Satan's brief millennium, in which mankind will, by every art and artifice, be made happy. It will be a time of peace and progress for the whole world. Great secrets of nature will be discovered; evil angels will be the teachers, and deceiving demons the guides of mankind. Great inventions and discoveries will be made, and turned to the utmost possible account. Philanthropy will be the governing principle of the world and of the "Church." The great ethical revival is at our doors. Its advent is announced by the foremost preachers of the day. All this is preparing the way for the man of sin, and the lawless one, who shall be a law unto himself and unto the whole world. Men will delight in him, and regard him as the greatest benefactor the world has ever known. Kings will gladly owe him suzerainty; and behind all will be Satan himself, swaying the hearts, tongues and energies of thousands of willing agents.
xiii. 5. And there was given to him a mouth speaking
great blasphemous things (lit., "great things and
blasphemies." The Figure is Hendiadys; for the great things
are his blasphemies); and authority was given to him to act
thus forty and two months. (6) And he opened his mouth
in blasphemies
L.T.Tr.A. read this as plural.
|
|
|
|
"There was given to him a mouth speaking great blasphemous things... and he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven." |
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." |
Is it not clear from this comparison that the same person is
the subject of both? and that
The Structure of
A | ii. 1-3-. Exhortation
not to believe what the Apostle did not say.
B | -3, 4. Reason. "For...
A | ii. 5, 6. Exhortation to believe what the Apostle
did say.
B | 7-12. Reason. "For...
This may be set forth more fully as follows:
The Structure of
A | ii. 1-3. Exhortation, etc.
Negative.
B | a | -3. The Apostacy: (open).
b | -3. The revelation of "the man of
sin." The Beast from the sea, of
c | 4. The character of his acts.
(Compare with
A | ii. 5, 6. Exhortation, etc. Positive.
B | a | 7. The Mystery or secret
purposes of lawlessness.
b | 8. The Revelation of "the
lawless one." The Beast from the earth, of
c | 9-12. The character of
his acts. (Compare
The two Beasts thus stand out very clearly. We have compared the character of the first, and may leave that of the second till we come to consider it in its place, below, in this chapter.
We are told, of this first wild beast, that his course will be
limited in its duration. It will be as brief as it will be brilliant.
Only for 42 months will be the duration of his superhuman career. "In
the midst of the week" (
It is during this time that the martyrs will be slain (vi. 9; xx. 4).
xiii. 7. And it was given to him to make war with the
saints (
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and people."
But although authority was given him over all, all will not at once submit to it. Hence this war is to compel men to worship him and receive his mark.
8. And all who dwell upon the earth will worship him,
each one whose
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. who read (...) (hou)
of him, instead of (...) (hon) of them;
i.e., singular, instead of plural.
They also read singular instead of plural here.
"All who dwell upon the earth will worship him." Is this worship given to the superhuman individual who will thus exalt himself, or to the Roman Empire revived? Few, if any, will be so bold as to maintain the latter; and in this case the revival of that Empire, as such, so confidently taught, cannot be looked for.
This worship of the Beast will be well-nigh universal. Even in
the plain of Dura, only three out of all the Jews there present stood
out true to God. But these days will be more terrible than those. See
xiii. 9. If any one hath an ear let him hear] For the last time this appeal of the Son of Man goes forth. Assemblies are no longer in question. It has come down to individuals. The last of the Dispensations is about to end, hence this admonition is given for the last time.
10. If any one is for the captivity,
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Here is the patience (i.e., patient endurance) and the faith of the saints.] These will be the three great requisites for those "times of trouble."
Flight (
Patience (chap. i. 9; ii. 2, 19; iii. 3, 10; xiv. 9-12);
and
Faith (chap. ii. 10, 13, 19; xvii. 14).
Z., chap. xiii. 11-18.
The Second Beast: from the earth.
The Second Wild Beast is distinguished from the first, twice in the twelfth verse, and elsewhere. As soon as he is mentioned, "the Beast" always means the first Beast, as being pre-eminent and predominant.
xiii. 11. And I saw another Beast coming up out of the
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a
dragon.] The second Beast, like the first, is superhuman,
obsessed and energized by Satanic power. Three times he is called "the
False Prophet" (xvi. 13; xix. 20; and xx. 10). He is also the great
coadjutor of the first Beast, and his mission is to aid the first Beast
by deceiving mankind. The Lord Jesus, in speaking of this great
Tribulation, warned against False Prophets as well as against False
Christs, and spoke of their great work and power to deceive (
He has two horns, and not ten, as the first Beast. The ten
denote dominion; the two speak of testimony; in this case
false testimony. He spake as a dragon, i.e., subtilely,
craftily and deceitfully. (Compare
And all these are used in behalf of the first Beast. The former is Political, the latter is Religious. The Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet form the Devil's travesty of the Holy Trinity.
It is infernal, as the other is Divine. The Dragon is the anti-God; the Beast is the anti-Christ; the False Prophet is the anti-Holy Ghost.
The majority of interpreters know nothing between "the Church" on the one hand, and "Popery" on the other. The Jew is cut out of the Apocalypse and almost out of all prophecy. All that is good refers to the Church, and all that is evil to Papal Rome. So contracted is man's vision that his conceptions savour of a Village Club instead of the mighty crisis of the struggle for universal Sovereignty. Others see only the Greek Church, the French Republic, or the heathen priesthood. Most interpreters view the two Beasts as two aspects of the same thing. All seem to be agreed that they are not individuals; which is the very thing that the ordinary reader would at once take them to be. Little hope, therefore, can be expected from such guides.
All the Scriptures which refer to these Beasts speak of them, without exception, as individuals. There is no hint as to their being anything else.
But because we believe this False Prophet to be an individual,
there is no necessity for singling out some dead man, such as Judas
Iscariot! His sin was surely great enough, without adding all this on
to it. The second Beast is a spirit-being, but it is a man who is
obsessed by it. The man will not have two horns. To the world
he will be seen as a man. To us, now and here, he is shown to
be superhuman; and as immediately led, influenced and energized by
special spirit-agency. Already, there are many who are tampering with
Spiritism, and who have their "familiar spirits" and guides.
Spiritists, themselves, are well aware of the dangers and evils of
obsession. But presently there will be one who will be obsessed by this
mighty spirit-agent of Satan.
Eight times is the expression "he causeth" used of
this False Prophet
The characteristic word used of the first Beast is "It was
given."
xiii. 12. And he exerciseth all the authority of the
first Beast before him (i.e., in his presence),
causeth the earth and those who dwell therein that they shall
worship
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
xiii. 13. And he worketh great signs (i.e.,
miracles), so that he causeth even fire to come down out of
heaven to the earth before men,] That these are real
miracles there can be no doubt, since that very same word is constantly
used of the miracles wrought by Christ. And these miracles are "great."
This again is no new thing. Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses (
xiii. 14. And he deceiveth those who dwell on the
earth by reason of the signs (miracles) which it was
given him to work before the Beast:] Here we have the
very words, almost, used of this same second Beast in
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|
|
|---|---|
|
"And he worketh great signs, so that he causeth even fire to come down out of heaven to the earth before men. And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to work before the Beast." |
"Whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders; and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish... For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie." |
Here we have two accounts of the same being and his work. In
Miracles are becoming common-place. And, strange as it may sound, they are, in themselves, no evidence whatever as to proof of a Divine Mission. We are aware that theology teaches the opposite; adopting the false premisses of Paley and his successors.
Christ's miracles, as miracles, were no evidence of His Divine
mission. The real evidence was that the miracles which He wrought were
the very miracles which the Prophetic Word had declared He should work,
and which were on that account the sign and seal of His
ministry, and formed His credentials from on high. This is clear from
Miracles and wonders, as such, have always been wrought; and will be wrought again by the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. And while the evidence furnished to the people by their miracles will be to the establishment of their false claims: to those who will keep the faith in those days, the evidence will be to the truth of God's Word, which has foretold these very miracles. Their miracles will establish their infernal origin and Satanic power, and not their Divine mission.
Ordering those who dwell on the earth, to make an
image to the Beast, who hath the sword-wound, and lived. (15)
And it was given to him to give breathe to the image of the
Beast, that the image of the Beast should speak, and cause also that as
many as would not worship the image of the Beast should be
killed.] Again we ask, Why not? What has been can be
again . On the plain of Dura (
Nikola Tesla, the Hungarian-American electrician, boldly
declares (in The Century magazine for June, 1900), that he has
a plan for the construction of an automaton which shall have its "own
mind," and be able, "independent of any operator, to perform a great
variety of acts and operations as if it had intelligence." He
speaks of it, not as a miracle, of course, but only as an invention
which he "has now perfected."
The only clue he gives to it is by comparing it to a
blindfolded person obeying directions received through the ear.
Astounding photographs are given of the power of these electrical
currents which act on the "ear" tuned to receive the vibrations. In one
of these photographs a volcano of devouring flame, sixty-five feet
across, is shown, blazing from the centre of the "oscillator." Tesla
himself, the coolest of men, described this a "a marvellous electrical
phenomenon."
This, and Tesla's idea for the "increase of human energy," is further described in The Daily Express (London) for June 12, 1900.
In seven passages we read of "the image of the Beast" (xiii. 15; xiv. 9, 11; xv. 2; xvi. 2; xix. 20; xx. 4).
"As a dream when one awaketh,
So, O Lord, in the city ((...) bair), thou shalt tread
down their Image."
(...) (bair) means in the city, as in the
P.B. version (Coverdale) and RV. margin; and (...) (bazah)
means to tread down, tread under foot, as in
xiii. 16. And he (i.e., the Second Beast)
causeth all, even the small and the great, and the rich and the
poor, and the free and the bond, to receive
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read the plural thus.
xiii. 17.
L.T.Ab. WHb. omit (...) (kai) and.
The word for "mark" is (...) (charagma) brand. In the Papyri, (...) is always connected with the Emperor, and sometimes contains his name and effigy, with the year of his reign. It was necessary for buying and selling. It is found on all sorts of documents, making them valid; and there are many on "bills of sale." Charagma is therefore the official seal; and this brand will be received by the great majority rather than suffer the torture of death from violence or privation.
xiii. 18. Here is wisdom. He who hath understanding let him calculate the number of the Beast: for it is man's number; and its number is Six hundred and sixty-six.] The words imply that the calculation is possible but difficult. The task is generally undertaken on the assumption that the problem is to be solved by Gematria; i.e., by reckoning (after the manner of the Hebrews and Greeks, who had not Arabic numerals) a letter as being put for the corresponding number for which it stood. But this is enumeration, not computation; and the vast number of names which have been thus formed forbid us either to increase the number, or to select from it. We believe the clue is to be found in the statement that it is "man's number."
Now three is the Divine number. Seven is the number of the Spirit. Eight is the Dominical number, and so on. But Six (with its multiples) is peculiarly man's number. It is first mentioned in connection with man (for man was created on the sixth day). Six, therefore, is to man what the "hall-mark" is to silver. It is man's hall-mark; stamping everything which it is used in connection with as pertaining to man. The great defiers of God have been so stamped. Goliath was six cubits in height, his spear's head weighed six shekels, and he had six pieces of armour.
Nebuchadnezzar's Image was sixty cubits in height, and six cubits wide; and six instruments of music summoned its worshippers.
The number 666 has, moreover, another remarkable property. It is marked by the triple concentration or essence of six, being the sum of all the numbers which make up the square of six. The square of six is 36; and, 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 + 26 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 30 + 31 + 32 + 33 + 34 + 35 + 36 = 666.
But the great significance of this number is seen when we remember that the secret symbol of the great ancient Pagan mysteries was SSS or 666; and that to-day it is the secret connecting link between them and their revival in Spiritism and Theosophy which aim at the union of all religions in one.
The number 666 is expressed in the Greek by the letters (...).
The first (...) stands for 600, the second (...) for 60, and the third
(...) for 6. The last is not a real letter, but was a mark invented by
the Greeks to represent 6. They called it (...) (stigma
Stigma is a sign usually made on the body
(especially on the forehead and hands) by branding or puncturing, on
slaves, soldiers, &c. It was especially used as a symbol of the god
whom they served (
The first and last of these three letters are the abbreviation of the word "Christ," being the first and last letters of the word Christos. So that, when we have the (...), like a crooked serpent, put between them, we see a fitting symbol of Satan's Messiah — the Anti-Christ.
H5, xiv. 1-5.
The Lamb and the 144,000.
The Fifth Vision in heaven is very brief. It is another Episode, telling us of those who will have come through the great Tribulation, and have been caught up to Heaven.
It is part of the larger Episode, and is parenthetical. The previous vision on Earth has told us of those who were slain because they refused to worship the Beast or receive his mark. Those who were for death, had been killed; and those who were to be kept alive, have been kept alive (xiii. 10). The worshippers of the Beast received his mark; and these received the mark of the Lamb (Christ) and of His Father in their foreheads. This seems to point to the 144,000 sealed ones, of whose sealing we read in chap. vii. They had passed unscathed through the judgments of God, and through the persecutions of the Beast.
The Vision occupies only five verses, and their Structure is as follows:—
H5, xiv. 1-5.
The Fifth Vision "in
Heaven."
The Lamb and the 144, 000
H5 | A | xiv. 1. Description.
B | 2. The heavenly Voices. The
Singers.
B | 3. The heavenly Voices. The
Song.
A | 4, 5. Description.
xiv. 1. And I saw, and behold the
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add the article.
So L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
In chap. vii. we have the sealing; here, we have the end of which they were to be sealed. In chap. vii. the object of their sealing is that they might pass through the Tribulation unscathed; here we see the object attained. The result of their testimony will be seen in the formation of that body which will be the nucleus of the new nation.
The Vision is in heaven; for the singers stand before the Throne, and they are with the Lamb. He is not yet descended to the Earth. This decides the point that it is the heavenly Zion which is here referred to. The Temple on Earth was close to Mount Zion; so the Temple in heaven is correspondingly near to the heavenly Zion.
They are comparatively a small body, but these are the
firstfruits to God and the Lamb; and the firstfruits are necessarily a
small proportion compared with the harvest. In
In the second verse we have the Heavenly voices and the singers. This again shows the Vision to be in Heaven; for none of these Heavenly Visions are without the utterances of Heavenly voices.
xiv. 2. And I heard a voice out of heaven, as the
voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder: and the voice
which
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
The next verse is constructed as follows, showing the importance of its statements:—
B, xiv. 3. The Heavenly Voices. The Song.
B | a | 3-. The New Song. (pos.)
b | -3-. The Place: before the Throne.
a | -3-. The New Song. (neg.)
b | -3. The Number.
xiv. 3. And they sung, as it were, a new song before the Throne, and before the four Zoa, and the Elders: and no one was able to learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been purchased from the earth] Here we have the reference to their song. This is the only instance where the actual words of the song are not given. It is called "a New Song"; that is, it had a new subject or theme. As only the 144,000 could learn it or sing it, it probably concerned only themselves, and the wonderful miracles God had wrought in saving them from and through and out of the great and awful temptations and dangers hinted at in the concluding description in the 4th and 5th verses. Only those who had gone through that Tribulation could understand the song which celebrated it. It is not a general statement that the wicked cannot participate in the joys of the church! but a far more important fact which is stated. The song is "new" because it is sung by a new company, and has a new theme for its subject.
They sing it before the Throne,
before the Zoa, and
before the Elders.
They can all understand and appreciate it, for they are participants in these judgment scenes.
Its new theme can be gathered from the next two verses; the structure of which is as follows:—
A, xiv. 4, 5. The Second Description.
A | c | e | 4-. Character.
Undefiled. (neg.)
f | -4-. Reason.
d | -4-. Employment.
Followers. (active.)
d | -4. State.
Redeemed. (passive.)
c | e | 5-. Character.
Faultless.
f | -5. Reason.
The character of the singers is twice given; and the two are separated by the active and passive employment and condition of the singers.
xiv. 4. These are they who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins.] These words are generally taken as "figurative." But figures of speech are known, and can be named and defined. What is meant is that they are taken as symbolical, or as meaning something different from what is said. But this comes from not seeing the scope of the book as a whole, and from not discerning the real character of the days and of the religious condition of things. We have more than once, in the Epistles to the Assemblies, and on chap. ix. 20, 21, said that Fornication will be part of the great religious system of Anti-Christ in the coming time of trouble and temptation; as it formed an obligatory part of the great pagan systems of idolatry. Idolatry was not a mere sin into which people gradually sunk; but it was a Satanic device into which people rose in order to gratify the lusts of the flesh under the cloak of religion.
Hence the references to Balaam (ii. 14) and Jezebel (ii. 20). Hence, too, the description of these 144,000 here, who had been kept from all these abominations. It is not merely that only one single virtue (chastity) is predicated of the redeemed in general, as some put it; but, it is a special feature of the evils from which this special company will be preserved, and for refusal to partake of it, multitudes (vii. 9-17; and xv. 1-4) will have suffered martyrdom. Only those who know what those evils will be can understand the import of their wonderful deliverance, or sing their song. It is not because of any moral difference between us and them; or between the ungodly and the righteous, but because of the different experience through which they will have passed. That is why none can learn that song; and that is the explanation of the words we are here considering; and that is why the pronoun "They" is so emphatic.
-4. These are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever
he goeth. These were purchased from among men, a first-fruit to God and
to the Lamb. (5) And in their mouth was not found the
lie,
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (pseudos) a
lie, instead of (...) (dolos) quite.
L.R. (marg.) A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (gar)
for.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit the last clause "before the
throne of God."
E5, xiv. 6-20.
The Six Angels and the Son of Man.
The next vision which follows "on earth," follows closely on the last, and is preliminary to the pouring out of the seven Vials. No angel has been seen or heard since the seventh angel sounded the seventh trumpet in xi. 15. This shows us that the passage xii. 1— 8 is parenthetical, and constitutes one series or episode.
This fifth vision on earth consists of the appearance of six angels consecutively, each having his separate mission, and all but one (the fifth) having his own proclamation. They are distinct from each other, and continue the Episode by giving us God's side of what is going to happen; and telling us of what He is doing during the time that the Beast and False Prophet are running their course in chap. xiii. They form also a compendium of all the remaining judgments contained in the rest of the Book.
The six angels with the Son of Man make seven heavenly appearances and utterances. These are divided, as shown in the Structure [below], into three and four. The first three stand out clearly by themselves. The last four form two pairs, in which the first of each has a sharp sickle, and the second of each gives the command to use it. The first of these pairs is the Harvest, and the second is the Vintage.
The following is the structure of this Vision as a whole:—
E5 xiv. 6-20. The Fifth Vision "on Earth."
E5 | A | i. |
a1 | 6. The First Angel.
b1 |
7. His Proclamation.
ii. | a2 | 8-.
The Second Angel.
b2 |
-8. His Declaration.
iii.| a3 | 9-.
The Third Angel.
b3 |
-9-13. His Denunciation (-9-11). His Consolation. (12, 13).
A | B | iv. | a4 |
14-. The Son of Man.
b4 |
-14. What he had. A sharp
sickle.
v. | a5 | 15-.
The Fourth Angel.
b5
| -15, 16. His Command to the Son of Man (-15). Its Execution.
(16).
B | vi. | a6
| 17-. The Fifth Angel.
b6
| -17. What he had. A sharp sickle.
vii. | a7 | 18-.
The Sixth Angel.
b7
| -18-20. His Command to the Fifth Angel (-18). Its Execution (19,
20).
xiv. 6. And I saw another
Tr. and A. put "(...)" (allon), another,
in brackets.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. repeat the (...) (epi),
upon or unto.
We have to remember that though the Gospel is often used in a
technical sense, the word itself means glad tidings or
good news. It is clear that this news may vary and yet be
good. As a matter of fact there are several subjects connected with
this good news. It will be sufficient to mention the "gospel of the
kingdom," and "the gospel of the grace of God." All are preached, and
are to be preached, according to the dispensations to which they
belong. For example, in the present dispensation it is only "the gospel
of the grace of God" which is to be preached (
It is therefore eternal in the sense that it belongs to the
first and the last of the dispensations in which God deals with men. It
goes back to the beginning, before the Law. It tells of God's claim as
Creator; and not of Christ's work as Saviour. "Now I know that thou
fearest God" was God's word to Abraham (
The time will have then come to add the sentence in
And, observe here, it is not the "day of his judgment is
come," but "the hour." This refers of course to the last and
final crisis of the judgment — the seven Vials — which closes
everything up. "Fear God and give glory to him... worship him (not the
Beast) who made the heaven and the earth," &c. It is God as
creator who is proclaimed, and that by an angel, not by men.
The heavenly utterances proclaim the Father and the Son, but here it is
the Creator. That is the basis on which worship is demanded. What a
state the earth must then be in, when only this one part of the
primeval gospel can be proclaimed. This takes place probably before
And yet, in spite of all this, Commentators take it as "the inauguration of Christian missions," or "the operations of the Bible Society"! These words could never have been read with their context by those who thus misinterpret them! No! this is the first step in these angelic announcements. A solemn note of warning is loudly sounded.
xiv. 8. And another, a second
L.Tr.A. WHb. and RV. add "second."
"Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great,
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "city."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (he),
which, instead of (...) (hoti), because.
This is the first mention of Babylon in the Apocalypse, and it gathers up in this brief preliminary announcement the whole of chapters xvii. and xviii. The words of this angel are prophetic, and look forward to the pouring out of the last Vial. The judgment on Babylon, therefore, closes up the whole series of God's judgments. Chap. xvii. 1-3 and xviii. 2, 3 are identified by the announcement of this second angel.
While the action of the first angel goes back to a time prior to chap. xiii., the words of the second angel take us on to beyond the end of that chapter. If we take the word (...) (thumos) as meaning inflammatory or exciting, as it does when used of wine, all difficulty is taken away. Her "fornications" refer us back to the prevailing religion of that time, as we have seen in xiv. 4, 5, above; and this is the cause of her judgment. What this Babylon is we shall see when we come to consider chapter xvii.
Five verses are devoted to the third Angel and his announcement. The Structure shows that this member "b3" is two-fold; viz.:
b3 | His Denunciation: verses -9-11; and
| His Consolation: verses 12, 13.
These two are of such importance that each has its own separate structure.
The Denunciation is twice announced: at the beginning, "c," and at the end, "c." From this we see the special nature of the sin which is to be punished: It is the worship of the Beast, and the receiving of his mark (charagma). Between these mentions of the sin, we have the punishment which is threatened. First positive; then negative. The Structure is designed to call our attention to the solemnity and importance of the mission of this Third Angel. We give the structure of His Denunciation first:—
b3, xiv. -9-11. The Denunciation of the Third Angel.
b3 | c | -9. The Crime denounced. x |
-9-. Worship of the Beast.
y | -9. Receiving his mark.
d | 10-. The punishment (positive).
Drink.
e | f | -10-. Torment.
g | -10. Its nature.
(fire)
e | f | 11-.
Torment.
g | -11-. Its
duration (eternal).
d | -11-. The punishment (negative).
No rest.
c | -11. The Crime denounced.
x | -11-. Worship of Beast.
y | -11. Receiving his mark.
This proclamation again takes us back to a time prior to chap. xiii. It is a solemn warning as though directed against an opposite proclamation which the Beast will then have made or be about to make.
This warning naturally follows the designation of the sins for which the judgment is announced.
xiv. 9. And another,
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. adds (...) (allos)
another.
"If anyone worshippeth the Beast and his image, and receiveth his mark on his forehead, or on his hand, (10) even he shall drink of the wine of God's fury, which is mingled undiluted in the cup of his wrath; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; (11) And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day and night, who worship the Beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark (or brand) of his name."]
Here we have one of the most solemn warnings given in the whole of the Bible. It must not be toned down in the slightest degree, but taken in all the fulness of its awful meaning. It ought to be sufficient to warn thousands from yielding to the temptations or submitting to the threats of the Beast and the False Prophet. Their threats and enticements will be serious enough. But God's threat here is intended to outweigh them, and enable many to "endure unto the end." Here will be the "patient endurance of the saints." Here they will be strengthened and encouraged to "keep the commandments of God," and not the commandments of the Beast; to keep "the faith of Jesus," and not believe the Religion of the False Prophet. If this warning will not keep them, nothing will.
The consolation given affirms that it will be better to die than to yield: better to have the blessing connected with death, even the martyr's death, than to live and come under God's curse and suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. If we take the first part of t his threat of the future and everlasting state, we may take the latter part as referring to their previous condition on the earth, as "day and night" can hardly be spoken of the eternal state. "And they have no rest who are worshipping," etc. It is the present participle, and cannot mean who have worshipped or did worship; "receiveth" is also in the present tense, implying that on earth they will have no rest day and night while they are engaged in worshipping the Beast; and as to eternity, "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever."
This prepares us for the consolation which follows, which is also intended as an encouragement.
Its structure is as follows:
b, xiv. 12, 13. The Consolation of the Third Angel.
b | h | k | 12-. The "Patience" of the saints.
l | -12. The "Obedience" of the
saints.
j | m | 13-. The Voice
from heaven.
n | -13-.
Benediction.
h | k | -13-. The "Rest" of the
saints.
l | -13. The "Works" of the
saints.
12. Here is the patient endurance of the saints: who
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (13)
And I heard a voice from heaven
saying:
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (moi) to
me.
"Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth:"]
This is another voice: not that of the third angel. The connection is clear; "from henceforth" refers to death from that time. It is persecution, ending in certain death. Hence the special Benediction here pronounced upon all such as die rather than yield to the temptations and threats of the Beast and the False Prophet. "Worship, or be slain" is their cry. "Be slain, and be blessed" is God's encouraging reply to them. That blessing is seen in xiv. 1-5, and xv. 1-4, and the words refer to these Scriptures.
"Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their
troubles, for
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (gar)
for, instead of (...) (de) and.
The word (...) (kopon), which we have rendered
"troubles," is from (...) (kopto) to beat; to beat
the breast; hence, to lament. (See
It is violent death that is in question here; not the "falling asleep" of saints in this dispensation. The words have no reference to the present state of things. They cannot be interpreted of the Church of God; though, of course, by way of general application, it is always better to die than worship any idol, or have fellowship with idolators. Their "works" which follow them consist of their "testimony," their "obedience," and their "patient endurance," so frequently mentioned in this book. These works do not go before them to procure their reward, but they follow after as the evidence of their obedience.
The Son of Man, and the Last Three Angels. A., xiv. 14-20.
The Six Angelic Appearances of this fifth Vision on Earth are made into seven by the Vision of the Son of Man in the centre. These seven are divided in four and three, as usual.
We have considered the first three. The last four go together, and are closely connected; the first two with the HARVEST, and the last two with the VINTAGE.
The Son of Man stands out as the centre of the whole seven, thus dividing the six angels into two threes. This is seen from the Structure of the whole of this Vision [in the section The Six Angels and the Son of Man].
The last four form two pairs. The first of each pair is seen with a sharp sickle in his hand; while the second of each pair gives forth the command for it to be used. In the first pair the Harvest of the earth is reaped. In the second pair the Vintage of the earth is gathered.
We now have to present the last four together, and give the Structure, which is as follows:—
A. xiv. 14-20. The Son of Man, and the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Angels.
A | B | iv. | 14. The Son of Man and His sharp
sickle.
v. | o | 15-. The Fourth Angel,
and whence he comes (Temple).
p | -15-. His cry to
the Son of Man.
q | -15.
Command to reap.
r |
16-. Reasons.
s | -16-. Compliance.
t | -16. The Harvest reaped.
B | vi.| 17. The Fifth Angel and his
sharp sickle.
vii. o | 18-. The Sixth
Angel, and whence he comes (Altar).
p | -18-.
His cry to the Fifth angel.
q |
-18-. Command to reap.
r | -18. Reason.
s | 19-. Compliance.
t | -19, 20. The Vintage gathered.
The Harvest and the Vintage are reaped and gathered respectively by the Son of Man, and the Fifth Angel, though they are recorded under the Fourth and Sixth Angels, as shown in the Structure.
xiv. 14. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and
upon the cloud I saw one sitting like unto the Son of Man, having upon
His head a golden crown (stephanos), and in
His hand a sharp sickle.] The Son of Man was the
sower (
When the title was first used in the day of His humiliation
(
The Fourth Angel and the Harvest (xiv. 15, 16).
xiv. 15. And another Angel came out of the Temple (Naos), crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud,
"Put in Thy sickle, and reap: because the hour is
come
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (soi) for
thee.
There can be no doubt that this is a judgment scene. The title
"Son of Man" betokens it; for God hath "committed all judgment unto the
Son, because He is the Son of Man" (
Most Commentators allow that the Vintage is judicial; then, why not the Harvest. The one is "the vine of the earth," and the other is "the harvest of the earth." It is the earth that is ripe, and what can this be ripe for, but for judgment? The Vine is "the Vine of the Earth"; the Harvest is "the Harvest of the Earth. We thus have the two great spheres in which judgment will be carried out, most clearly and explicitly put before us.
What is seen here is one of the six brief announcements connected with and filling up that which goes before; heralding and explaining in a few words certain judgments yet to follow.
xiv. 16. And He that sat upon the cloud put forth His
sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.] The
word "earth" is repeated so as to impress our minds with the fact that
it is with the earth, as the earth, that we have to do here. It is "the
hour of His judgment" which has come. How this can be interpreted of
the "church," or be taken in the good sense of reward, we are at a loss
to understand. The first of these six angels used precisely the same
words (verse 7). It is
After the harvest comes the vintage, in the order of nature; so there it is the same in the order of judgment.
This brings us to
xiv. 17. And another angel came out of the Temple (Naos) which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.] And it is to him that the Sixth Angel calls upon to gather the vintage.
The Sixth Angel and the Vintage (xiv. 18-20).
xiv. 18 And another angel came out of the altar
who
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add (...) (ho)
who.
"Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripened."
(19) And the angel thrust in his sickle into the
earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great
winepress of the wrath of God. (20) And the winepress
was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even
up to the bits of the horses, to the distance of a thousand and six
hundred furlongs.] This, too, takes in the final
judgments of this book. Both of these angels are the servants of "the
Lord of the earth" (xi. 4). Three times are we reminded that
the sickle was "sharp," and therefore would do its business without
difficulty. The vine is "the vine of the earth" (See
We have here a fore-announcement of the sixth Vial (xvi.
12-16) and of the great battle of Armageddon. It is to this scene that
H6, Chap. xv.
The Seven Vial Angels.
This Sixth Vision is Heaven is very briefly described. It occupies this fifteenth chapter, which consists of only eight verses.
The structure of the Vision is as follows:—
H6, xv. 1-8.
The Sixth Vision "in
Heaven."
The Seven Vial Angels.
H6 | A | xv. 1. The Seven Angels.
B | 2-4. Worship offered.
A | 5-7. The Seven Angels.
B | 8. Worship no longer
possible.
It is the Vision which introduces us to the most terrible of all the Visions which affect the earth; for it is followed by the Seven Vials, the seven great and final judgments which close up the whole series set forth in chapters—
xvi. The Great Judgments.
xvii. The Great Whore.
xviii. The Great City.
The next, and last, Vision in Heaven is immediately followed by the Apocalypse of the Son of Man Himself.
Short as this sixth Vision is, it is full of significance, and points to the decisive results to be obtained in the next Vision on Earth, to which it introduces us.
This is clearly set out in the first member:
xv. 1. And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and
marvellous: seven angels having the last seven plagues (or,
seven plagues, which are the last); because in them was
completed the wrath (or fury) of God:]
The word "because" is connected with the word "last," as shown in the
alternative rendering, above. This sign is "great and wonderful," i.e.,
wonderfully great in its nature and extent and importance and
results. It is the completion of the "covenant of marvels" which the
Lord made with Israel in
xv. 2. And I saw, as it were, a glassy sea] It does not say it was glass, or even glassy, but that it looked as if it were glassy or smooth. It was
mingled with fire:] In iv. 6 it was "like crystal." Here it looks as though fire were mingled with it, betokening the heat and fierceness of the coming judgments which were then about to be announced; for wrath was at its height.
and those that had gotten the victory from the Beast,
and from his image, and from
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and from his mark."
In the previous Vision in Heaven (the Fifth), singing is mentioned, but no words are given, for the song was "new," and no one but the singers themselves could learn or understand it.
The song which is sung in this Sixth Vision is both old and new, for it is the song of Moses and of the Lamb:
xv. 3. And
they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the
Lamb,] Why these two songs are always regarded as one,
and referred to
But there is a song, particularly and definitely described as
"the song of Moses," in
This we believe to be "the song of Moses" which is sung here;
while the words given in
"The song of Moses" in
Introduced with such solemnity, we expect to find something most wonderful and significant in "the words of this song"; and we are not disappointed.
It is divided into ten members (ten, the number of ordinal perfection, marking its completeness), and these members are arranged as an Introversion: the first corresponding, in its subject, with the tenth; the second corresponding with the ninth; the third with the eighth; the fourth with the seventh; and the fifth with the sixth.
All the stages of Israel's history receive the Divine description and verdict; and the Scriptures recording that history are marshalled in their order.
It will not be necessary for us to give all the words of this song; but our readers will turn to the place where it is written, and read it with the key to it which we now give. They will at once see the wonders of this song, and understand why it should be heaven's theme at this particular juncture in this Sixth Vision in heaven, immediately before those judgments which shall fulfil all its words:—
"The Song of Moses" (
A | 1-6. God's call to Hear: and the reason. The publishing of Jehovah's name: His perfect work and righteous ways.
B | 7-14. The goodness and bounty of Jehovah to Israel. (Period of the Pentateuch).
C | 15-19. Israel's evil return for that goodness. Their pride: forsaking of God; despising the Rock of their Salvation; moving Him to anger. (Period, past history. The Historical books).
D | 20. Divine reflections on the period while Israel is "Lo Ammi" (not my people). (Period of Minor Prophets, esp. Hosea).
E | 21. Jehovah's provocation of Israel. (Period of Acts and present Dispensation).
E | 22-25. Jehovah's threatening of judgment on Israel in the great Tribulation.
D | 26-33. Divine reflections on the period while Israel is scattered. (Hosea).
C | 34-38. Israel's evil return for Jehovah's goodness. Their helpless condition moving Him to pity. He not forsaking them. Their Rock useless. (Period of present history).
B | 39-42. The Judgments of Jehovah. (The period of the Apocalypse).
A | 43. God's call to Rejoice: and the reason. The publishing of Jehovah's Kingdom. Vengeance on Israel's enemies. Mercy for His Land and for His People. (Fulfilment of all Prophecy).
How fitting that now, and here, at this stage of the
Apocalyptic visions and judgments, the witness and testimony of this
Song should be rehearsed, as intimated in
The words of "the Song of Moses" are given in
"Great and marvellous are Thy works, O Lord God, the
Almighty: Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the
nations.
G.L.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (ethnon)
nations, instead of (...) (hagion)
saints.
L.T.Tr.A. omit "thee."
Because thou only are holy: Because all the nations shall come and worship before Thee: Because Thy righteous judgments were manifested."]
These are the words of "the Song of the Lamb," and they tell
us that, in spite of the awful character of these coming judgments, God
is "Holy" and "Righteous" and "True." The Old Testament Titles are
heaped together here. "The Lord God," pointing us back to
Many passages in the Prophets and Psalms speak of the same glorious result of God's judgments.
The first of the Six Angels (xiv. 6, 7), had proclaimed that
Gospel which is from everlasting, which calls on all to "Fear God:" and
now the heavenly singers ask, "Who shall not fear Thee?" They take up
the very words of
But
"All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before
Thee, O Lord:
And shall glorify Thy name,
For Thou are great, and doest wondrous things.
Thou art God alone.
Teach me Thy way, O Lord: I will walk in Thy truth;
Unite my heart to fear Thy name.
I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart:
And I will glorify Thy name for evermore."
"The Song of the Lamb," it will be seen, is made up of
nine lines, nine being the number associated with
judgment.
See Number in Scripture.
The second of the three reasons, "Because all the nations
shall come and worship before Thee," points to one of the results of
completed judgments, realised in Millennial days. (See
The third reason is the "righteous judgments" of God, which
will then be made manifest. This is the meaning of (...)
(dikaiomata). Lit. it is righteousnesses, but the
form of the word denotes the outcome of the righteous act,
the righteous thing done;
Thus, in
With this agree the closing words of "the Song of Moses"
(
"Rejoice, O ye nations, with His People:
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And will render vengeance to His adversaries,
And will be merciful unto His Land,
And to His People."
Compare also
xv. 5. And after these things I looked, and
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "behold."
G.L.T.Tr. Ab. WH. and RV. add (...) (hoi)
those or who.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and."
|| L.Tr. WH. and RV. read (...) (lithon)
stone, instead of (...) (linon) linen.
Compare
xv. 8. And the Naos (or Holiest) was
filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no one
was able to enter into the Naos, until the seven plagues of the seven
angels should be finished.] When the Tabernacle was
opened by Moses and the Temple by Solomon, there was cloud, but not
smoke (
"Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud,
That our prayer should not pass through."
Five of the ten plagues of Egypt are the same as five of these Bowls, as we shall see below. We would only add here, that as they were literal, so will these be.
We have now come to the end of the long parenthesis and series of Episodes which are given in chap. xii. 1— 8. We now take up again the results of the sounding of the seventh Trumpet in the chronological order of events. Chap. xi. -19, gave us the general but very brief summary of those results, in the third Vision on Earth. The full detailed account of these results would have postponed too long several things necessary for us to know, had they been given in exact chronological sequence. We have now had that necessary knowledge interposed, and are ready to take up the events in their proper order.
E6, chaps. xvi., xvii.,
xviii.
V. Chap. xvi. The Seven Vials.
This is by far the most important of all the Visions seen by John, in relation to the earth.
It has also the largest space apportioned to its description.
It consists of the great judgments introduced by the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, which completes "The Mystery of God," by the pouring out of the seven Vials. The next Vision is the last seen in Heaven, and it introduces the actual Revelation or Apocalupsis of the Lord Jesus, personally, to the earth; and thus brings on the conclusion of the whole prophecy.
This Sixth Vision on Earth consists of three divisions, which are so marked and distinct that those who divided the chapters found no difficulty in making a right division here.
The following brief structure of this Vision as a whole, is shown to consist of these three. Their many and various expansions will follow in their respective places. The readers will find no difficulty in following and connecting them, if the references to the back pages and letters be carefully noted:—
E6, chap. xvi.—
The Sixth Vision "on
Earth."
The Seven Vials
E6 | V | xvi. The Great Judgments. (The Seven
Vials).
W | xvii. The Great Whore. (Mystery Babylon).
X | xviii. The Great City. (Great Babylon).
Of these three we commence with the first, which we have marked "V," and which consists of the whole of chap. xvi., describing
V. chap. xvi. The Great Judgments.
Eleven times we have the word "great" in this chapter; more often than in any other chapter in the New Testament, the next being chap. xviii., where it occurs nine times.
We are justified, therefore, in entitling the judgments and subjects of these chapters as "great."
All is now ready to begin this final assault on the kingdom of the Infernal Trinity— the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, which will mark "the great and terrible day of the Lord."
Since we were told of the sounding of the seventh Trumpet (xi. 15), we have been taken back and enlightened as to several important particulars, so that we might understand more clearly the relation of these Visions to each other; we have been informed, by the last heavenly utterances, what we are to look for as the result of these judgments.
The Dragon is to be attacked in his capital and on his throne. The Beasts are to be attacked in their seats of authority; and their followers and worshippers are to "have no rest day and night" upon the earth (xiv. 11).
There is some similarity between the Vial-judgments and those of the Trumpets; but there are some variations also.
The structure of this first division "V," shows that these seven Vials are divided into five groups: each consisting of cause and effect. The third and sixth are marked off by an additional characteristic: the third by "things heard," the sixth by "things seen." The Structure is as follows:—
V. chap. xvi. The Great Judgments. (The 7 Vials).
V | A1 | a1 | xvi. 1, 2. The
First Vial.
b1 | -2. Effect.
Sore on worshippers of Beast.
a2 | 3-. The Second Vial.
b2 | -3. Effect. Sea,
blood.
B1 | c |
4-. The Third Vial.
d |
-4. Effect. Rivers, blood.
e | 5-7. Things heard. (Angelic voices).
A2 | a3 | 8-. The Fourth
Vial.
b3 | -8, 9. Effect.
Scorching. Worshippers of Beast impenitent.
a4 | 10-. The Fifth Vial.
b4 | -10-11. Effect.
Seat of Beast darkness. Men impenitent.
B2 |
c | 12-. The Sixth Vial.
d | -12. Effect. Euphrates dried up.
e | 13-16. Things seen. (Three demons like frogs).
A3 | a5 | 17-. The Seventh
Vial.
b5 | -17-21. Effect.
Earthquake, and Great Babylon comes into remembrance (19).
We have observed above that the 1st and 2nd Vials form a pair, also the 4th and 5th; and, like the 7th, consist of two parts, viz., the pouring out of the Vial and its effect. These three groups are separated by the 3rd and 6th Vial, which have each three parts. To the pouring out of the Vial and its effect is added, in the former case, Things heard; and in the latter case, Things seen. The effect of the last (or seventh) Vial is to bring up "great Babylon into remembrance"; and this leads on naturally and consecutively to the judgment on Babylon in chapters xvii. and xviii.
We now come to the translation.
The First Vial, and its Effect (xvi. 1, 2).
The first verse is general and introduces the whole seven.
xvi. 1. And I heard a loud voice out of the Temple (Naos), saying to the Seven Angels,
"Go forth, and pour out the seven
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add (...) (hepta)
seven.
These seven Vials and their effects we take to be literal;
i.e., to be exactly what is said of them. They belong to no figures of
speech. The language is clear and precise. There is nothing beyond our
faith, though there may be beyond our reason. True, they are
supernatural, but not unnatural. In the plagues of Egypt, which all
take to be literal, we have many judgments exactly similar. Indeed, six
out of the seven Vials are just the same as the plagues of Egypt, and
God has again and again declared that their final judgments should be
like, yea, should be worse than those (
The first Vial is like the sixth plague, which was of Boils, etc.
The second and third Vials are like the first plague, when the waters became blood.
The fifth Vial is like the ninth plague, when darkness overspread the land.
The sixth Vial is like the second plague, of frogs.
The seventh Vial is like the 7th plague, of hail, &c.
The fourth is the only Vial which has no counterpart in the
Egyptian plagues; and that is the great "heat." Now, if six out of
these seven judgments have already been once seen and
experienced, why should not like plagues be sent again, when it is
expressly said that the supernatural events connected with Israel's
return shall be "like as it was ... in the day that he came up out of
the land of Egypt" (
In the face of this, is it not strange that these Vials should ever be taken to mean:
The first, the French Revolution; and the "sores" its infidelity, &c.
The second, the naval wars of the French Revolution;
The third, Napoleon's campaign in Italy;
The fourth, Napoleon's military tyranny, &c., &c.?
It is a waste of precious time and space even to chronicle such interpretations, which make the Word of God none effect.
Does any believe that we have passed through the greater part of the "great and terrible Day of the Lord" without knowing it; and yet all the time preaching the Gospel of God's Grace, instead of proclaiming that "the hour of his judgment is come"? Is this really "the day of vengeance of our God," and yet Ministers on every hand are telling us how the Millennium is actually dawning; and some that it has already come — a Millennium without Christ? No! Bible students, who believe what God says; and whose one desire is to understand what He has said, can never be satisfied with such confusion as that, which only perplexes the mind, instead of enlightening it.
xvi. 2. And the first went forth, and poured out his
Vial into
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...)
(eis),into, instead of (...) (epi),
upon.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (epi),
upon, instead of (...) (eis), in or
into.
Moreover it was one of the judgments threatened to Israel.
The first to suffer on account of this plague are the worshippers of the Beast and his Image. These had been warned (xiv. 9-11) that those who are engaged in worshipping the Beast (it is the present participle both there and here) should have no rest day and night." Here we see how this is to be brought about: none can rest who are afflicted with these "noisome and grievous sores."
xvi. 3. And the second
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "angel."
xvi. 4. And the third
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "angel."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (us)
into.
"Righteous art Thou
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (kyrie) O
Lord.
The AV. seems to have added "and shalt be" on its own
authority. It must, however, be omitted (with the RV.), as in xi. 17,
because He will have then already come.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. substitute (...) (hosios)
holy, instead of (...) (kai o) and who
[wast].
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (gar)
for.
(7) And I heard (the angel of)
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (allou ek)
another out of.
"Even so, Lord God, the Almighty, True and righteous are Thy judgments."]
This is Divine comment from heaven on the judgment of the third Vial. The expression, "angel of the waters," shows that angels have their spheres and offices; that the operations of nature are not left to blind chance, but that He who made what men call "the laws of nature" has a mighty and capable executive to see that those laws, and God's will, are carried out.
The Altar is either personified (for the prayers of the saints are upon it; and the martyrs are beneath it); or the words "[the angel of] the Altar" must be supplied. In either case, the emphasis is on "the Altar."
The Angel's words, here, show that they are uttered in another
dispensation, altogether different from the present dispensation of
grace; even in the dispensation of retribution and judgment. That
dispensation to which such passages as
Just as
The reference of verse 6 ("They have shed the blood of thy prophets," etc.) is evidently to chap. xvii. 6; xiii. 15; xi. 18; and xviii. 20. Pss. lxxix. and lxxiv. should be read in this connection.
xvi. 8. And the fourth [angel
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "angel," though the
Ellipsis may be thus supplied.
xvi. 10. And the fifth [angel
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "angel." But we must supply the
Ellipsis, nevertheless.
"The Day of the Lord cometh...
A day of darkness and of gloominess;
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
The sun shall be turned into darkness," etc.
In
Great is the vexation caused by this awful darkness. And yet we are asked to believe that this is nothing more than the Suppression of the Monasteries, etc., in France, in 1789, by Napoleon.
Is this what all the prophets have been occupied with? Even symbols must symbolise something that is congruous. But, here, the bringing on of gross darkness is made to symbolise the suppression of what is the cause of darkness! If it were taken to symbolise the setting up of monasteries, it would be more relevant. No wonder that darkness has come over this book — when imagination is substituted for faith.
The sixth Vial, like the third (xvi. 4, 5), has three divisions (whereas all the others have only two). These three are (1) the pouring out, (2) the effect, and (3) things seen. The third Vial was the same, except that there we had things heard: and here we have things seen.
xvi. 12. And the sixth [angel
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "angel," though we have to
supply the Ellipsis as before.
G.T. omit "the." Tr. and WH. put it in brackets.
Again, "I will bring them also out of the land of Egypt, and
gather them out of Assyria; and ... the deeps of the river
shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought
down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away" (
The kings from the East journey Westward to Palestine. East and West are to be reckoned from the standpoint of the prophecy, and not from that of the reader. Here, that standpoint is God's Land and City.
The Euphrates is indeed a great river, as here stated. It is
1,800 miles long, and from Mohammarah to the sea it is 3,6000 feet wide
and 30 feet deep.
See Col. Chesney's Euphratean Expedition.
xvi. 13. And I saw going forth out of the mouth of the
Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the
False Prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (hos), as it
were, instead of (...) (homoia), like.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (tes ges, kai),
of the earth, and.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add the article.
They give apparently convincing evidence of their reality and
mission: and if thousands could be gathered to the Crusades by a man
(like Peter the hermit), tens of thousands will be gathered by these
wonder-working demons, and persuaded to join the advancing hosts
against God and His saints. We see a similar and real persuasion in
Then we have this interjectional clause, which must be read as
a parenthesis; for it does not interfere with the course of the
prophetic events.
When a parenthesis is complete in itself, and is independent
of the context, it is called Parembole. See Figure of
Speech, p. 476.
While the demon spirits are gathering the kings and their armies, John hears the Voice of Christ, saying:
[15. "Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."]
These words are addressed to those in the other host who have
not worshipped the Beast or his image, and have not received his mark
or the number of his name. They receive this encouraging Benediction.
True, it is "as a thief" He is now coming. This proves that the Church
of God is not in the judgment scene here described, for the
Thessalonian believers were positively assured that the day shall NOT
come on them as a thief (
After this Parembole the prophecy proceeds as though it had not been interrupted.
xvi. 16. And they (i.e., the demon spirits of
verse 14) gathered them (i.e., the kings and their
armies) together unto the place which is called in Hebrew
Har-mageddon
So spelt by G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Megiddo probably means a place of troops (from (...),
gad), a troop (
Having gathered the hosts of the enemy thither, the sixth Vial ends. The description of the events which took place there is delayed until the events of the seventh Vial bring on the final catastrophe in chap. xix. There we have the battle itself (xix. 11-18). The sixth vial brings us up to the point where everything is seen to be in readiness, and then abruptly breaks off so as to allow of our coming up to the same point through another course of events, which are brought on by the pouring forth of
The Seventh Vial (xvi. 17-21).
xvi. 17. And the seventh [angel
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "angel," but the
Ellipsis must be supplied as before.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (epi)
upon, instead of (...) (eis) into.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (ek) out
of, instead of (...) (apo) from, or away
from.
|| L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "of heaven."
But before that happens we are detained and told of the destruction of Babylon and the Empire of the Beast (xvii. and xviii.); and the marshalling of the heavenly forces (chap. xix). We are, however, told of the commotions in heaven and on earth, which are given in a general statement or summary.
xvi. 18. And there were lightnings, and voices, and
thunders;
This is the order according to G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
xvi. 19. And the great city became divided
(or split) into three parts, and the cities of the nations
fell; and great Babylon came into remembrance before God, to give to
her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.]
Not only is great Babylon split up into three parts by this earthquake,
but the capital cities also of the confederated nations, the allies of
the Beast (verse 14; xvii. 13-17) were destroyed. Some say that "Great
Babylon" means "Rome"; others hold that it means "Jerusalem"; while
others, like ourselves, believe what is written. Babel or Babylon was
the scene of the first apostasy from God after the Flood. Always the
enemy of God's people, she became in later days the metropolis of the
first great Gentile Empire as seen in the image and dream of
Nebuchadnezzar. God promised to remember His covenant with Israel; and
when He did so He promised to also to remember Babylon in the day of
His wrath. Hence His people cry concerning it, "Remember, O Lord."
Babylon is only partly destroyed now in token of its total destruction soon to follow. One tenth of the city will have fallen, as we are told in xi. 12, 13. And chapters xvii. and xviii. are going to tell us of the causes, and of the manner, and the consequences of that judgment.
xvi. 20. And every island fled away, and certain
mountains were not found. (21) And a great hail, as of
a talent's weight, falleth out of heaven upon men; and men blasphemed
God because of the plague of the hail; because the plague thereof is
exceedingly great.] The judgments increase in their
severity. In chap. vi. 14, the mountains and islands were moved. Here,
they flee. By and by the whole earth and heaven will flee away, and no
place be found for them. There is no article before mountains, so we
have supplied its absence by the word "certain." Had every mountain
been meant the article would have been used. Mountains will exist
during the millennium. (See
M. Huc says, in his Travels in Tartary
See Travels in Tartary, by M. Huc, vol. i. p. 12.
"National Illustrated Library."
Hail had been before one of God's engines of war, beyond the
use or defence of man. (See chap. xi. 19.
No wonder the blasphemy that follows from the worshippers of the Beast, impenitent to the end, will also be exceeding great.
This concludes the great Judgments of the Seven Vials recorded in chap. xvi. We come now to chap. xvii., the Judgment of the great Harlot.
W. Chap. xviii. The Great Harlot.
This is the second of the three great divisions of the sixth Vision "on Earth." We have shown them as follows:—
The 1st (chap. xvi). The great Judgments.
The 2nd (chap. xvii). The great Harlot.
The 3rd (chap. xviii). The great City.
It is the first of these which we have just completed; and we
pass on to the second — in chap. xvii. — which, perhaps more than any
other, has caused the widest gulf between the various schools of
expositors. It is one of the most prominent of all the subjects of
which the Apocalypse treats. Indeed, taken with the eighteenth chapter,
which is part of the same Vision (the 6th "on Earth"), it is the most
conspicuous prophecy of this book. None of the current expositions are
sufficiently consistent or satisfying. Preterist Expositors differ
among themselves as to whether "great Babylon" means the City of Rome,
or the Church of Rome: Rome Pagan or Rome Papal. But, if this is all
that these solemn chapters mean, we may well say with Dr. Seiss, "If we
cannot find more solid ground than that on which the Rome theory rests,
we must needs consign the whole subject to the department of doubt and
uncertainty; and let all these tremendous foreshadowings pass for
nothing."
Lectures on the Apocalypse, vol. iii. p. 109.
But we shall best accomplish our object by keeping to the Text of the Word itself; learning its scope from its structure; and giving its translation.
No current theory takes in the whole scope. One or two points are seized upon, and treated quite out of all proportion to the rest; while others, quite as essential, are passed over slightly, or ignored altogether. Any satisfying interpretation must take in the whole of what is written; and must treat each part, not as though it were in the way, or inconvenient, but as though it were indispensable.
The chapter itself is divided into two parts; (i.) the Vision, and (ii.) its Interpretation.
W. Chap. xvii. The Great Harlot.
W | Y | xvii. 1-6. The Vision.
Z | xvii. 7-18. The Interpretation.
And first expanding "W," The Vision (xvii. 1-6), we find it is constructed as follows:—
Y | C | f | xvii. 1-. Place: "Hither."
g | -1-. The great harlot.
h | -1. Her seat.
i | 2. Her
accomplices.
C | f | 3-. Place:
"Wilderness."
g | -3-. The woman.
h | -3. Her
seat.
i | 4-6.
Herself.
xvii. 1. And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven Vials,] Which of the seven we are not told; but it was probably the last; inasmuch as it was the pouring forth of his Vial that brought Great Babylon into remembrance before God.
and talked with me, saying
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (moi) unto
me.
"Come hither; I will show to thee the judgment of the great harlot, that sitteth upon many waters: (2) With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication."]
We have before observed, that when symbols are used in this book they are generally explained by the Holy Spirit Himself. When this is not the case, we must, of course, use our best judgment and compare other Scriptures, so as to see, as far as we can, what the symbol means. But, when He does tell us what the symbols mean, we are not left in any doubt or uncertainty. We cannot go wrong if we keep to the interpretation which the Spirit Himself gives. We are not to re-interpret His interpretation; or to further explain His explanation. If so, we should be treating the Divine interpretation as though it were another symbol. This, therefore, we may not do; but we are to accept it, and believe it, and rest on it.
Now, in this chapter, the Spirit has been pleased to give us His own interpretation of the Vision. We have seen how this is emphasised in the structure, which is expressly divided into these two parts. We have marked them
"Y" (verses 1-6), which is the Vision, and
"Z" (verses 7-18), which is the Interpretation.
These two are again subdivided in a similar and corresponding manner. Each is introduced by a Promise ("C" verses 1, 2 and "D", "E" verse 7); and is followed by the Performance of that promise ("C" verses 3-6 and "E", "D" verses 8-18). See the structure of "Y" and "Z".
In this manner has the Holy Spirit called our attention to His interpretation, and impressed its importance upon us.
If we follow this, all will be easy and plain.
Indeed, it will be better to give the structure of the Interpretation (verses 7-18) here, and now, and incorporate the two together, in order that the one may elucidate the other; and, that we may thus use both to greater profit.
Z. xvii. 7-18. The Interpretation of the Vision.
Z | D | 7-. The Woman.
E | -7. The Beast.
E | 8-17. The Beast.
D | 18. The Woman.
The member E (verses 8-17) will require expansion later on; together with the special consideration for which the structure of that member calls.
Now, there is a well-known principle which is often practised in algebra with great advantage in the solution of a problem; and that is, where one things represents another, to express that one in the terms of the other.
The same principle may be followed here, where we have the Vision and the Divinely-given interpretation. We will re-write the Vision in the terms of the interpretation: i.e., instead of putting what John saw, we will put the explanation at once, and thus bring the whole more clearly before our minds.
We will, therefore, do this, using two different kinds of type to make the matter more clear and enable us to distinguish what is the symbolic prophecy, and what is the Divine interpretation. Thus we shall introduce the interpretation given in the latter part of the chapter, and substitute it (in italic type) for the symbols used in the former part of the chapter, thus:
verse 1. "Come hither: I will show to thee the
judgment of that great City that reigneth over the kings
of the earth (verse 18), and over peoples and multitudes and nations
and tongues (verse 15), with whom the kings of the earth
have practised idolatry,
Fornication is everywhere in the Bible the common term used
for the sin of idolatry, not only because it is unfaithfulness
to God in forsaking Him, the true God, for the worship of false gods;
but because it literally formed an essential part of all heathen
idolatry. See
This, of course, characterised the worship of Pagan Rome, but cannot truly be said of Papal Rome, of which this chapter is commonly interpreted. But inasmuch as this was the mark of all the heathen nations, it does not, of itself, identify this city with Pagan Rome: for it is a city, the Spirits says (verse 18).
3. And he (i.e., the angel) carried
me away by the spirit] as in chap. i. 10, upon which
passage it throws great light. (...) (en pneumati) means
by the spirit, or by spiritual power, as in i. 10; iv. 2; xxi.
10.
into the
The article is often omitted after a preposition; and
nothing can therefore be built upon its omission here.
sitting upon a scarlet beast] i.e., supported by that being who is described in verses 8-11.
full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns] Now we must treat this verse as we have treated verses 1, 2 above, and express the vision in the terms of the interpretation:
-3. "And I saw that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth (verse 18), supported by the Beast full of blasphemous names which was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition (verse 8), even he who is the eighth king, and is of the seven (verse 11), having seven kings (verse 10), which support that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth (verses 9, 18); and ten kings which are contemporaneous and which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings at one and the same time with the Beast (verse 12), who is the eighth king (verse 11), that was, and is not, and shall be present" (verse 8).
Now, from this, is it not clear that we are dealing not with world-powers in the successive or mortal stage, but with individuals in their contemporaneous and superhuman form?
It is very important for us to note this important fact, which is vital to the understanding of the whole Vision and its Divinely-given interpretation.
Our business is not to interpret the Vision. That is done for us. What we have to do is first to believe what God says, and then to try and understand it.
The world-powers of
The Beast receives his deadly wound in his mortal stage, previous to going down into the Abyss. He comes up with the other heads and ten horns. All come together and are seen together in their superhuman form.
Chapter xii. when compared with chap. xiii. and xvii. shows that there are two great confederacies treated of — the Heavenly and the Earthly — and they are not identical.
There is the Dragon Confederacy of seven heavenly dominions with their ten armies. This is a Confederacy of evil angels with Satan at their head (chap. xii).
The other Confederacy is of mortals who went down into the Abyss, and come up a superhuman Confederacy on the earth (chaps. xiii. and xvii).
Angels form the Confederacy under Satan in the heavens.
Superhuman men form the Confederacy under the Beast on earth.
These Confederacies are distinct from each other.
What we are told of the Beast in xvii. 4, concerns his relation to Babylon.
xvii. 4. And the woman (i.e., the great city,
verse 18) was arrayed in purple (
Again we must present the vision of this verse in terms of the interpretation:
4. And that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth (verse 18) was beautified with purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stone, and pearls, having a wondrous and attractive idolatrous system full of abominations, and having the unclean provisions for her idolatrous practices."
That great city is described as having all luxuries, combined
with her idolatrous worship. The word "Abomination" is used of an idol
(see
5. And upon her forehead a name written, — a secret sign.] By printing (on its own authority) the word "mystery" in large capital letters, the AV. has made it appear as part of the name. The Revisers have followed this example, printing the name in small capitals instead of large. But they have, in the margin, said "or, a mystery, BABYLON THE GREAT," as though the word "mystery" did not form part of the title. We believe this to be the case, and we further believe that what follows the word "great" does not form any part of this "name," but is the Divine meaning and description of it.
So we read it, that she had a name written on her forehead — a secret symbol —
"BABYLON THE GREAT," the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.] Written on the woman's forehead, it was a secret sign or symbol. It does not mean that she or any woman could be so described. But that, as the explanation of what the woman represented is deferred till the very last verse of the chapter, the meaning of the name was a secret, till it was then and there revealed that it referred to "that great city" (verse 18), and not to an individual woman, or to any human being.
The word (...) (musterion) means simply a
secret. It occurs in the Septuagint (280 B.C.) only nine times, of
the king's secret which had gone from him (
The meaning of the word mystery, therefore, here in
So in reference to the Paschal Lamb he says, "the
mysterion therefore of the Lamb... was a type of
Christ."
Speaking of
In
So here, in xvii. 5, 6, the woman's name is a secret sign; and refers to something much deeper than the name itself could convey. The name was the name, not of a woman, but of a city, "that great city," even Babylon. But it signified not merely the material city as such, but the vast system of idolatry connected with it. That is why the explanation of the secret sign follows "the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth." Not merely of Rome, or even Babylon (as a city), but "of the earth": i.e., the mother, or fountain-head of all the systems of idolatry which have since flooded "the earth" from that one great source; and of which Romanism is only a part.
This is the secret of "mystery of iniquity" referred
to in
Babylon was the fountain-head of all idolatry.
We have here two things, (1) the reality, which is that "great city," which will be seen by the uninitiated; and (2) the woman, which is the "secret sign" of what it means.
The picture of the woman, as described, may be regarded as the "drop-curtain." But the initiated are those who will be admitted behind it, and learn "the depths of Satan:" and, behind the scenes in his own great theatre, will learn what Satan's religion means as they "worship the Dragon."
The uninitiated will see only the curtain— the
wonderful city. Compare
Idolatry was no mere sin into which people gradually sunk; but it was the creation, by Satanic wisdom, of a mighty system, which he intended to us, and to lead up to his own worship.
Nimrod was used as the great founder of this marvellous scheme
of Satan. Babylon was his city (
From the root (...) (chahnak), to initiate, to
dedicate.
We thus see how "that great city," Babylon, founded by Nimrod, was the source of all idolatry.
This is not true of Rome. Pagan Rome itself was only one
system; one of the polluted streams from that corrupt source. Papal
Rome is only another single stream. It is not possible that a part
can be the whole! It is not possible that one of many streams can
be the fountain-head of all streams. Was there no idolatry before Pagan
Rome? Whence then came the worship of "Moloch" and "Remphan," and
"Chium," in the wilderness (
Just as impossible was it for the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar's
day; and for the same reason. It does not date back far enough. We must
go farther back, and find it in
From (...) (babah), a gate, and (...)
(El), God; in contrast with Bethel, the house of
God.
Others derive it from Belus, the name of the principal idol of the Babylonians. Sometimes written Bel (...). If so, Babel would mean — for Bel or of Bel.
In any case we are taken back to the fountain-head, and shown
the source and origin of all idolatry. Nimrod is called a mighty
hunter.
From (...) (tzud) to lie in wait.
It is equally impossible to interpret the words of Rome — and
to say that this woman made "the inhabitants of the earth drunk with
the wine of her fornication," i.e., made the whole earth partake of her
idolatrous system. Neither of Rome, papal or pagan, can this be said.
They both drank of her cup; but it is a perversion of all known
history, to say that either of them was the tutor of all the nations;
and an insult to common sense to apply this to "the inhabitants of the
earth for more that 3,000 years before Rome was dreamt of." As Dr.
Seiss well puts it, this wine "was already bottled and labelled before
the first dispersion. [
Dr. Seiss's Lectures on The Apocalypse, vol. iii.,
pp. 121-2.
It is indeed surprising how any mistake could have been made in the identification of this woman. For the Holy Spirit first shows us her very name upon her forehead. Then, in verse 18, He tells us as plainly as words can tell anything, that "the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth"; and chap. xvi. 19, as well as xvii. 5, identifies this city with Babylon. God says it is a "city." He does not say a system or a religion, but a "CITY."
Now, when the Vision is a "Woman"; and God tells us that He means by the woman "that great city," Is it legitimate for us to treat this again as another symbol, and say it is not the city He says it is, but another?
There is no limit to such a process as that. We may go on to say that Rome means London, and that London means some other place. Why not be content with the explanation which God has Himself given? instead of taking the solemn responsibility of saying that His explanation is no explanation at all; and that it means something else. We are not saying there are no symbols: We are not saying that Jerusalem is not called Sodom. It is; but God leaves us in no doubt as to what He says and what He means. That is one thing: but it is quite another thing when we treat His own interpretation of a symbol, as though it were only another symbol which is left for us to interpret.
It is not that we wish in any degree to minimise the awful abominations of Romanism. None can have a greater abhorrence of them than we have. We see in it one of the most filthy of all the streams that have flowed from Babylon; but we do try to rise above the level of "a Local Board" when we are dealing with God's account of how He is going to close His great controversy with Jew and Gentile, with Earth and Hell. Our survey must extend beyond the Tiber. We must see something beyond Protestantism and Romanism. These do not make up the whole history of the Universe, either in time or extent.
There are many other absurdities connected with the current interpretations, which we shall notice as we proceed further into this chapter, and consider the Divine interpretation there given of the Vision as a whole. There is one point, however, to be referred to here, and that is "the cup." It is "golden"; and hence, beautiful and attractive in appearance. The cup is one. This tells us that the corrupt streams which flow from this one fountain-head are all one in essence, and character, and effect. It is the religion originally instituted at Babylon, by Nimrod, at the instigation of Satan. (See Appendix).
It is seen in all the great religions of the world. They are all alike in substituting another God for the God of the Bible: a God, made either with the hands or with the imagination; but equally made. And a religion consisting of human merit. These things are common to all systems of false Religion, and unite them in one. True, some of the rivers from this corrupt source are great and mighty; others are in smaller streams, but their waters are one, and the cup is one. Those who say that this "cup" means the cup used in the Mass, furnish us with a good example of the value of all such interpretations. We have only to remember concerning this "cup," here, that all nations are made to drink of it; while the one great characteristic of the Romish "cup" in the Mass is that it is withheld from the people!
6. And I saw the woman (i.e., the great city, verse 18) drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and I wondered when I saw her, with great wonder.]
Here again we must express the Vision in the terms of the Divine Interpretation.
6. And I saw that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth (verse 18) drenched with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus: and I wondered when I saw the city, with a great wonder.
Here we have another reference to the martyrdoms which will take place during the time covered by the Apocalypse.
They are referred to also in chap. xiii. 7.
The Psalms, also, connect these martyrdoms with the future "times of trouble" under the rule of the Beast:
"O God, keep not thou silence:
Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult:
And they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
They take crafty counsel against thy people,
And consult together against thy hidden ones.
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a
nation;
That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
For they have consulted together with one consent;
Against thee do they make a covenant. (
The Psalm then goes on to speak of a ten-kingdom confederacy
similar to that which we have in
"O God, the heathen (or nations) are come into thine
inheritance;
Thy holy temple have they defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto
the fowls of the heaven,
The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
Their blood have they shed like water round about
Jerusalem;
And there was none to bury them. (verses 1-3, RV.)
That many martyrs — very many — have been killed at the hands of the Church of Rome, if not in the city of Rome itself, none can deny.
But these are not "ALL that have been slain on the earth" as martyrs. Myriads of martyrs for God and His truth were slain, as such, hundreds of years before Rome ever had a Pope. The "prophets" of the Old Testament were dead, and many had been slain as martyrs centuries before Rome existed, whether Papal or Pagan.
Rome, whatever may be her guilt in this matter, cannot be
charged with "all" the martyrdom of the ages. All persecution can be
traced up to false religion. False religion has ever been possessed of
a persecuting spirit from the day that Cain slew his brother Abel; and
Rome, as one of the largest streams from the Babylonian fountain of
corruption, has slain her full quota, for which she is verily guilty,
and will share in the judgment when "the cities of the nations fall."
But not all the martyrs have yet been slain. Many passages in this
books show us that the days of the coming Great Tribulation will fill
up the measure of Babylon's bloodguiltiness. (See chap. vi. 9-11; xi.
7, 8; xii. 13, 17; xiii. 7; xviii. 24; xx. 4). The same future period
of martyrdoms is prophesied of or referred to in the Psalms. (See Ps.
ix; x; lxxix. 2, 3; xliv. 22; xciv. 5. Also in
We come, now, to the Interpretation of this Vision (seen by John in xvii. 1-6) which is given to us by Divine inspiration.
We have seen the structure of both the Vision and the Interpretation. As the latter is very brief we may repeat it here.
Z. xvii. 7-18. The Interpretation of the Vision.
Z | D | 7-. The Woman.
E | -7. The Beast.
E | 8-17. The Beast.
D | 18. The Woman.
We are struck with the gracious words of the Interpreting Angel. "I will tell thee the secret sign of the woman and the wild Beast" (verse 7). This being so, we are made independent of human interpreters, for God has sent and signified it to us by His special angelic messenger. In fact, we are, here, really placed on the same level as the Apostle John himself. No further explanation than this was given to him by the angelic interpreter. Therefore, we, in reading his words, have exactly what John had himself: no less and no more. Oh for grace and wisdom to understand his words!
7. And the angel said to me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret (i.e., the meaning of the secret sign) of the woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her, that hath the seven heads and the ten horns] We have the promise, as shown by the structure (verse 7); and in the rest of the chapter (verse 8-18) we have the performance of the promise. The woman and the Beast are first mentioned in brief; and then the explanation is given in full, the order being inverted. First the Beast is explained, and then the Woman. Ten verses (8-17) are given to the former, and only one (verse 18) to the latter; so that the Beast is now, evidently, the more important of the two subjects.
We shall have to expand the member consisting of this longer structure concerning "the Beast," marked E. in the above structure.
E. xvii. 8-17. The Beast.
E | F1 | k1 | xvii. 8.
The Beast (His origin and history).
l1 | 9, 10. His
confederates (the seven heads or kings).
F2 | k2 | 11. The Beast
(further history).
l2 | 12. His
confederates (the ten horns; their hour "with the Beast").
F3 | k3 | 13. The Beast
(power of horns given to him).
l3 | 14-17. His
confederates (their war "with the Lamb").
It will be seen from this Structure that the Interpretation of the Vision concerning the Beast (E. xvii. 8-17) consists of three pairs, the Beast alternating with his Confederates:—
F1 (8-10) gives the first pair.
F2 (11, 12) gives the second pair.
F3 (13-17) gives the third pair.
In order to understand the words of the Interpretation here given, it would be well if we could forget all that we have ever heard from man on this subject. We find even ourselves hampered at every turn by what we have learned from tradition. Not until we can divest ourselves of all traditional interpretations can we hope to understand the interpretation given us in these verses.
The Structure shows us that "the Beast" and his confederates are the two subjects with which we have to do. They are arranged in the form of a repeated alternation; and are given in three pairs.
If we keep these before us we shall be able to distinguish them as we proceed.
F1. xvii. 8-10. The first pair.
8. The Beast which thou sawest was, and is not; and is
about to ascend out of the Abyss, and to go
L.A. WH. and RV. marg. read (...) (hupagei),
goeth, instead of (...) (hupagein), to
go.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read the singular number here.
The reading of the AV. ("and yet is") arises from a
different division of the two words in this place. All the best MSS.
and Critical Texts read (...) (kai parestai), and shall be
present, instead of (...) (kapier estin), and yet
is.
The Beast is he who "hath the seven heads and the ten horns" (verse 7). The word "hath" refers to the ten horns equally with the seven heads. The seven are therefore contemporary with the ten.
In their mortal stage of being, the seven kings were successive. But that mortal stage is referred to in Daniel, not in Revelation.
In chap. xiii., the Beast comes up out of the Abyss, and is therefore, clearly, superhuman. During the first half of the week he is in his mortal stage. In the last half he is in his superhuman stage; for in chap. xiii. 3, he is seen as having been "wounded to death." But, here, in chap. xvii., we are taken back, and are further informed as to the past, present, and future of the Beast,
(1) He "WAS," in his mortal stage.
(2) He "IS NOT," for he (at the point of time to which the
vision refers) had been assassinated: i.e., had "received his deadly
wound," by which he was "wounded to death," and died (xiii. 3).
(3) He "SHALL BE PRESENT," for he "is about to ascend out of
the Abyss."
This eighth verse therefore refers to the mid-career of the Beast; and the point of the vision is the moment between the mortal and the superhuman stages: i.e., between chaps. xii. and xiii.
In the ninth verse the previous mortal stage of the seven heads are spoken of. In that stage they were successive; but in their superhuman stage they will be contemporary.
We have already seen that the seven heads or kings are individuals; and that the Beast himself, when revived from the dead, will be "the eighth" king. We believe that all the confusion, and all the divergent opinions on this chapter arise from ignoring this simple fact, and from looking at these as kingdoms instead of "kings"; and as world-powers instead of individuals.
Moreover, further confusion has been introduced by taking the words of the interpreting angel (in verse 10) as referring to the time of his speaking to John; instead of, as in all other cases, as referring to the time of or stage in the fulfilment of the vision. In other words, the expressions "was and is not" (verses 8, 11), and "one is and the other is not yet come" (verse 10), are taken as referring to the moment when the angel was actually speaking to John.
But why not take it, as in all the other cases, as referring to the time when the vision shall be accomplished?
The words of the souls under the altar (chap. vi. 9-11) are regarded as spoken at the time when the fifth seal shall be opened. The cry to the rocks "Fall on us" will be uttered under the sixth seal. The angel himself states (verse 1) that the vision is the future judgment of that great city. When the present time is thus used in prophetic language it refers to the future time which is spoken of as being present, and not to the time when the prophecy was written or spoken.
We have seen, throughout, that this whole book refers to "the
Day of the Lord." It is in that day that the Beast will be manifested
in his superhuman form with his seven heads and ten kings. At the
future point of time spoken of in verse 10, five of these
kings will, as to their mortal stage, at that moment "have fallen"
(i.e., have been removed by violent death
The word, in the case of individuals, is always used of
violent death. See Judge. iii. 25; v. 27.
All is thus intensely individual. Who the five kings will be, as to their mortal stage; or who the sixth will be, we know not; nor is it necessary for our understanding of the Vision. Who the seventh will be, we do know; for it is the Beast in his mortal stage, "the little horn" of Daniel's Visions. He will be in his superhuman stage, "the eighth" king — the final embodiment of Satanic power, whose doings are described in chap. xiii.
The ten kings of verses 12-17 are not successive in their mortal stage; they will be contemporary when they form an integrant part of the Beast. The seven heads and the ten horns, with the necessary members which go to make up the leopard, the bear, and the lion parts of the beast as an organised body, as shown in chap. xiii. 2, are all superhuman, all contemporary, have all passed through the mortal stage, and have all suffered the first death, so that afterwards they can altogether be "cast alive into a lake of fire," which is the second death (see chap. xix. 20).
It is well to remember that "the time of the end" (
The Sunteleia or "End-time," commencing immediately on the removal of the Church of God, may run into thirty or forty years; and of these, the last "week" of Daniel (ix. 27) will be the last seven.
This allows all the prophetic periods marked off in 42 months, 1,260 days, and 3 1/2 years, to be taken as literal months, days, and years, if we understand them as falling within these last seven years which form the crisis, and end up with the final judgment.
If the period referred to under the word "hour" (one and the
same hour, or time) of xvii. 12 and of iii. 10 be the same as the 42
months, then this "day of vengeance" of
The term kings and kingdoms are used interchangeably in
Daniel. The kingdoms of
But in looking for them we must note four very great and important governing principles which will be a sure and certain guide in our understanding of this matter. They are these:—
(1) Israel and Israel's Messiah: in other words, God's Anointed, God's Land, God's City, God's People, form the great centre around which all prophecy circles.
(2) Jerusalem is also the centre of the points of the compass. East and west, North and South, are to be reckoned from Jerusalem, or from the standpoint of the writer: and not from that of the reader; or from any other astronomical or geographical arbitrary position.
(3) The "Heads" denote headship over the People, the City, and the Land of Israel.
(4) The world-powers or kingdoms of prophecy are reckoned only as they come into connection with, or into possession of, Israel's Land, and City.
In these four simple propositions we shall find the key to the understanding of the Vision and its interpretation.
The nations were originally formed with reference to Israel;
for we are expressly told, in the wondrous "Song of Moses," that "when
the Most High (the title that relates to dominion in the Earth) divided
to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam,
he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children
of Israel" (
Many nations are mentioned in the Bible; but only those are
the subject of Divine history and prophecy which have relation to
Israel; and even these, in proportion to the closeness and extent of
that relation. For example, the monuments show us the large numbers of
Dynasties and Kings, etc. there were in Egypt. But only those come into
the Word of God which had to do with Israel. Many have been, and are,
perplexed because of this Biblical silence as to the ancient kingdoms
of Egypt and Assyria, etc.; but this great principle explains it. The
Pharaoahs of the Oppression and the Exodus would never have been more
than mere names but for their connection with Moses and Israel.
"Pharoah, king of Egypt, is but a noise" (
There were many kings of Egypt before Pharaoh; and many kings
of Babylon all through the centuries; but they are mentioned only as
they come into touch with Israel. The Bible ignores them all except on
this ground. That is why it could be said to Nebuchadnezzar, "THOU are
this head of gold" (
Why, then, after all that lapse of time, is Nebuchadnezzar singled out and spoken of definitely as the "head"? It can be accounted for only on the great principle which we seek to enforce, viz., that all Gentile history is ignored in the Bible, both as to kings and kingdoms, except as they stand and come into the Divine Counsels concerning Israel, and became "heads" over God's Land, and City, and People.
This being so, we have a limit set to our interpretation of the great Kingdoms or Heads in the prophecies given in Daniel and in the Apocalypse. These prophecies are concerned with them only within those limits.
Nebuchadnezzar and his father came into power, and made
Babylon the new capital of Assyria in B.C. 625.
See Babylonian Life and History, by Dr. Budge, of
the British Museum. Published by the R.T.S., 1885.
The earlier history of Babylon is not taken into account. A new departure is made in reckoning when, in the Counsels of God, Nebuchadnezzar becomes the king of Babylon.
God sends him notification of the fact in that wonderful dream, where the great outline of this Gentile dominion over Israel's People, City, and Land is made known.
The Image in
1. verse 32. "This image's head was fine gold,
(one)
2. verse 32. his breast and his arms of silver,
(two)
3. verse 32. his belly and his thighs of brass,
(three)
4. verse 33. his legs of iron (four)
5. verse 33. his feet part of iron and part of clay."
(five).
This seems to be clear enough; only we have always been so accustomed to hear the fifth spoken of as part of the fourth, or the fourth revived, that we read the Scripture in the light of our tradition.
It is not any answer to say that
As in
As in
|
Verse 35 |
Verse 45 |
|
1. the iron, |
1. the iron, |
|
2. the clay, |
2. the brass, |
|
3. the brass, |
3. the clay, |
|
4. the silver, and |
4. the silver, and |
|
5. the gold. |
5. the gold. |
Here, the five are not only mentioned separately, as to their material; but diversely, as to their order; so as to distinguish "the clay" as being one of five, and not as part of the iron (the "fourth") as is usually done.
The same five kingdoms are equally clear in the interpretation:
1. verse 38. "Thou art this head of gold"
(one).
2. verse 39. "And after thee shall arise another kingdom..."
(two).
3. verse 39. "And another, third kingdom..."
(three).
4. verse 40. "And the fourth kingdom..." (four).
5. verse 41. "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes..."
(five).
We need not dwell long on the details of the fulfilment of this Image. They are well known, and belong rather to the book of Daniel than to the Apocalypse. We content ourselves with their enumeration:
1. The first of these Gentile Dominions was given by the God of Heaven to Nebuchadnezzar. It was formally taken from Israel and "given" to the Gentiles. Headship over Jerusalem (as well as over the Gentile powers) was that which specially marked that Gentile Power from all the other Gentile Powers that were, or might be, in the world at that time.
The Powers that followed Babylon successively held Jerusalem in possession; and each succeeded the other, by conquest, in obtaining and holding that possession.
2. The second was Medo-Persia.
3. The third was Greece.
4. The fourth was Rome.
5. The fifth was, either the present power, which succeeded
Rome in 636-7, and is still treading down Jerusalem, thus fulfilling
the Lord's prophecy in
The common interpretation reckons the "feet and toes" as part of the "legs," and divides the fourth power into two manifestations: one past, and the other future. But, even in this case, the future manifestation of the fourth could still be called the fifth as to numerical order.
Surely, the mixture of "clay and iron" can no more be left out of our calculations than any of the other four metals.
But what this fifth power is remains to be seen. It is partly
strong and partly fragile
This is the meaning of the Chaldee (...) (tevar).
The word occurs nowhere else, though there are some sixty other words
rendered break.
On the one hand we have a fifth power which did actually succeed the fourth power, as the fourth succeeded the third, as the third succeeded the second, and the second succeeded the first.
Neither of these, so far as we know, ever exercised the universal dominion which was given at the first; but what marked the true succession was Headship over God's Land and God's City, while Israel was excluded from the place and power which had been transferred, and committed to the Gentiles.
When the Lord (in
Whatever answer we may give to these questions, all must agree that after the Church shall have been removed; and the time shall have come for steps to be taken to reinstate Israel in its own Land, there must necessarily be some Gentile power in possession.
The beginning of the Sunteleia must find some Gentile power exercising sovereignty over the City and the Land; and it cannot be denied that the present power now in possession may be the power found there when Israel comes into connection again with the Land.
Rapid and sudden national changes, of course, may take place
any day in the near East. But whatever may happen, the power then in
possession will be the fifth, referred to in
The Zionist Movement commenced with the first National Congress in 1896, and has made great strides since then. Other changes in the Balkan States, and in the Constitution of Turkey, which took place so unexpectedly in 1908, show us how suddenly a change may take place which will lead up to the re-settlement of the Jews in their own land, perhaps, at first, under the suzerainty of the Sultan; and prepare the way for the rise of the Beast, first, in his mortal stage as the seventh head, and then in his superhuman stage as the eighth king.
The dream was not given to Nebuchadnezzar until after his portion of it had been accomplished. The words, "Thou art this head of gold," were not uttered until some years after he had actually become the "head"; and many years after he acted as the "head," when he first came against Jerusalem.
It is clear, therefore, that the date of the dream and its interpretation is not the date from which our reckoning of the times of Gentile dominions is to commence; for they had already commenced, and that dominion was an accomplished fact at the time the dream was given.
It is also clear that the date of the taking of Jerusalem and
burning of the Temple is not the commencement of "the times of the
Gentiles," or of Gentile dominion; inasmuch as Nebuchadnezzar besieged
Jerusalem in the nineteenth year of his reign, and exercised a Suzerain
power for many years before. For he first came against Jerusalem in the
eighth year of Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim served him three years (
Then Nebuchadnezzar set up Zedekiah as king in the place of
Jehoiachin (his uncle), and for eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem (
If so, then we have a period of at least twenty-three years cut off from, and marking the commencement of, these times of Gentile headship over the Land, the City, and the People.
Why may not the closing period of these Gentile times (called the Sunteleia) be marked by a corresponding or similar number of years (23 or more)?
We believe there is a double fulfilment; first in Kingdoms, then in Kings. There have been, up to the present, four kingdoms, as enumerated above (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome), then the fifth, present or yet future. The Kingdom of the Beast will be the sixth, and the seventh will be "the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ." The Kingdoms being reckoned distinct from the Kings.
So likewise, will there be at the time of the end (in the
Sunteleia), five individuals who will briefly and successively
contend for independence, and then the sixth (the "one is" referred to
at the point of time of the Vision); he will be followed by the Beast,
who will be "the seventh head" in his mortal stage for 3 1/2
years, and then "the eighth" king in his superhuman stage for
the other 3 1/2 years (the last half of the seven years referred to in
There were three kings in Jerusalem who struggled for independence, and whom Nebuchadnezzar put down and punished. Why may not there be five individuals in the Sunteleia who will lead the Jews to struggle likewise for independence against the Mohammedan Suzerain power?
We read of "five kings" and the "sixth" in
This would of course be in the mortal stage of these
five kings, and of the sixth as well as the seventh. The duration of
the mortal stage of the Beast, as the seventh head, will be,
we know, only 3 1/2 years.
And his superhuman stage will be for a similar
period.
At the point contemplated in the Vision (
During the years of the Sunteleia, or consummation, there will be ample time for the Euphrates valley to be developed and Babylon to be rebuilt. That it will be rebuilt is necessitated by the fact that it has never yet been destroyed in the manner prophesied. The further evidence of this must be reserved till we come to chap. xviii.
One thing we know, and that is, that God will accomplish all that He has foretold; and, if we refer to present movements, it will be only to show how easily and simply all may come about; and so naturally too, as to be almost unnoticed except to those who "know the times."
With regard to the Beast, proper, we are further told in this verse, 8, that the Beast spoken of "shall ascend out of the Abyss and go into perdition." We see this ascending in chap. xiii. 1. This is the Beast in his superhuman stage. For John saw the mark of the wound on him. And John wondered. All shall wonder at this manifestation, and the object of that wonder is this Beast who "was, and is not, and shall be present." The world-powers are, when represented as "the Beast," always viewed as one. The Beast is never seen apart from his seven heads and ten horns; if so, they must be contemporary.
In chap. xvii. the Beast is seen as one individual,
as well as collectively. The Dragon in heaven comprises seven heads and
ten horns; but, when the one individual who directs all the
movements of the Dragon Power is spoken of, Satan is referred to (chap.
xi. 7; xiii. 5. Comp.
At the close of his mortal stage, i.e., the first 3 1/2 years,
he receives his death wound; and therefore at this stage, before he
comes up out of the Abyss in his superhuman form, it can be truly said
that he "was" and "shall be present." It could also, at the moment of
time referred to by the Angel, be as truly said "and is
not."
See
The "is not" does not mean that he never had an existence, for
the very expression implies it; as it could not be used of one who
never had any existence at all. Just as with Christ Himself,
relatively, as regards the earth, it can at this present moment be
truly said He was and is not, and yet shall be
present here again.
Same as note above.
The following verse connects this Beast directly with the Beast of chap. xiii., for it is added
9-. Here is the mind which hath wisdom.] This repetition of xiii. 18 identifies and connects these two chapters. "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast, for it is man's number" (See above, on xiii. 18). The word rendered "mind" in xvii. 9, and "understanding" in xiii. 18, is the same, viz. vous (nous). And this "wisdom" is, to understand that, though a "Beast" is seen in the vision, it is not a wild Beast that is meant, but one great final superhuman personality; viz., "a man" energized by Satanic power.
-9. The seven heads are (or represent) seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (-10-) and they are (or represent) seven kings:] We translate the last clause thus, with Alford, RV., and others. The punctuation of the AV. in this verse is very faulty. Verse 9 should end with the word "wisdom," and the remainder of the verse should form part of the tenth verse.
The explanation of the angel would not then have been cut in
two, and interpreted separately as is commonly the case; and the "seven
mountains" would not have been treated independently of the clause
which goes on to further explain what they signify. The "seven
mountains" are, according to this, "seven kings." It does not say that
"there are seven kings" over and above, and beside the "seven
mountains;" but that the "seven mountains are (i.e., represent) seven
kings." The seven heads belong to the Beast on which the woman
sitteth. According to the structure of "E., 1.", verses 9, 10
have for their subject the confederates of the Beast. Now "mountains"
cannot be confederates, but kings can. Hence, though the word
"mountains" is used, it is at once explained that "kings" are meant, so
as to keep us from making a mistake. Compare
These mountains, then, are no mere heaps of earth or rocks,
but "kings." The word "mountain" is often used as a Figure
(Symbol, or Metaphor, or Metonymy) for a
kingdom. It is used of Babylon itself in
For interpreters to take these literally as "mountains," in the midst of a context which the same interpreters take to be symbolic; and in the face of the interpretation actually given by the angel that "they are seven kings," is to play fast and loose with the word of prophecy. It says here that "they are seven kings," and we believe what is said.
The seven heads do not belong to any one of the world-Powers; for each kingdom had many such "heads" or kings.
They necessarily belong to all of them, and are viewed as one Beast, so that they may be seen as belonging to, and forming part of, the whole. That is why this Beast in chap. xiii. 2 is like unto a "leopard" (the third, Greece), and his feet as the feet of a "bear" (the second, Persia), and his mouth as a "lion" (the first, Babylon). He combines in himself the symbolic marks of the others.
The woman (i.e., that great city, verse 18) sitteth on many waters (i.e., reigneth over peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, verse 15), and is seen seated on a scarlet coloured beast (i.e., carried and supported by all the kings and all the members which make up the body of the Beast. This will be the condition of things at the point of view referred to in the Vision. In this 9th verse we have a description of what will be at an early part of the first 3 1/2 years. It is the present tense, "IS SITTING," and is prophetic of what is now still future. It does not say has sat or did sit, but is now sitting, i.e., not at the moment when the Angel was interpreting it to John, but the moment when it will be actually taking place in "the day of the Lord." It is the woman (i.e., that great city, verse 18), upon which our attention is concentrated in this verse, and the support afforded to her at that time. All are contemporary with each other; joined together as the metals are joined to make up the figure of a man.
If in verses 9, 10, literal mountains be meant, then commentators are divided between Constantinople, Brussels, Jerusalem, and Rome.
The late Albert Barnes says, "All respectable interpreters agree that it refers to Rome; either Pagan, Christian, or Papal."
If this be so, then we must be content to be reckoned, with
many others, among those who are not "respectable." Rome Papal
cannot be meant, as it never had seven regal powers. Rome
Christian cannot be meant, as it never had any regal powers at
all. Rome Pagan cannot be meant, as no seven kings
can be agreed upon by commentators; and it is to be destroyed by the
stone of
Of these seven heads, or kings, it is added, that
-10-. Five are fallen, the
The AV. does not translate the article, which forms part of
the Textus Receptus, and G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit the
(...) (kai), and.
And as to the individuals, five of the seven (and the sixth) will have obtained sovereignty or independence for the Jews, and the way will be clear for the seventh to come in his mortal stage.
The seven are all of one series. How can the sixth be Rome, and thus be the Beast, and contain the whole, including the eighth!
If we interpret these kingdoms and kings in any other way, and on any other principle than that given above, we are at once landed in a mass of conflicting opinions and speculations that are perfectly appalling.
Alford gives us (1) Egypt, (2) Nineveh, (3) Babylon, (4) Persia, (5) Greece (with, of course, Rome for the sixth), and the seventh the Christian Empire under Constantine!
Others give us (1) Assyria, (2) Egypt, (3) Babylon, (4) Persia, (5) Greece, (6) Rome, (7) Future.
Others (Moses Stuart among them) give (1) Julius Caesar, (2) Augustus, (3) Tiberius, (4) Caligula, (5) Claudius, (6) Nero, (7) Galba. He also suggests beginning with Augustus, so as to make Nero the sixth; but in this case he defies all history, which makes Domitian the Emperor in John's day.
Others make (1) Romulus, (2) Numa Pompilius, (3) Tullus Hostilius, (4) Ancus Martius, (5) Tarquinius Priscus, (6) Servius Tullius, (7) Tarquinius Superbus.
Others, confining the list to those who died violent deaths, make it (1) Julius Caesar, (2) Tiberius, (3) Caligula, (4) Claudius, (5) Nero, (6) Galba, (7) Otho.
Another suggests (1) Pharaoh, (2) Sennacherib, (3) Belshazzar, (4) Antiochus Epiphanes, (5) Herod Agrippa, (6) Nero Caesar, (7) Napoleon.
These are all by "respectable" interpreters. But is not the confusion such as to make us regard this book with anything but respect? Which of these and many others are we to take as the meaning of the angel's words "five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come"?
With regard to Gentile power, why, we may ask, go back behind
the beginning God has Himself set and given when it was said to
Nebuchadnezzar, "thou art this head of gold"? (
Why go back to Egypt, Assyria, and Nineveh; or begin with Rome, when God makes the beginning at Babylon?
And with regard to individuals, Why make all the seven kings belong to one of the four world-powers, when the Beast represents the whole? If we confine ourselves to one — the fourth — it had many more than seven heads. And if we include all the "heads" or "kings" which the whole contained, then we have so many that it is quite impossible to do anything with them in connection with the interpretation of these prophecies.
The greater error has always been in making anything, rather than Israel, the pivot of the prophecies: and reckoning the points of the compass from any centre except Jerusalem, or the place where the Vision was seen, or the prophecy written.
There are other difficulties connected with the common
interpretations of the fourth World Power, which makes Rome the whole
Beast, and yet one of its heads at the same time. "Respectable
interpreters" who make the whole Beast, Rome; make also
one of its heads or kings to be Rome; and this one head
afterwards comprises the ten kingdoms into which it is subdivided!
Whereas the ten kings of Daniel are not identical with the ten of the
Apocalypse, for the ten of
How anyone can hold that this one "head" afterwards comprises the ten kingdoms, it is difficult to understand. Territory may be divided into ten kingdoms, but the "head" cannot be.
The image of
It is important to observe that the Beast is never seen in the Apocalypse without the seven heads and ten horns, because they are then seen as being contemporary and in their superhuman form. But they were successive in their mortal form.
The Beast in Daniel has not got seven heads. He could not have unless they were contemporary, which is against the prophecy in Daniel. He has ten horns during the time when the seventh head becomes supreme.
The only solution of all these difficulties seems to be in the
"eighth" king, who is regarded as "of the seven," and yet fulfils all
that is said of "the fourth Beast" and of "the little horn" of
We have to note (1) that
(2) that within that duration the whole of unfulfilled prophecy concerning Gentile Dominion must find its place.
(3) that
(4) that
Thus we have the whole period of "the times of the Gentiles;" then, "the end time" of Gentile rule; and, finally, "the last days" of that rule.
What is said in
In
When it was said to Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou art this head of
gold" (
"Five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come:
-10. and when he shall have come, he must remain a short time.] i.e., a short time compared with the others. We have a similar statement in xii. 12; where, when Satan is cast down, he had "great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."
Seven years will be "a short time." Three-and-a-half will be still shorter.
Six "heads" will then have already appeared, both as dominions, and as individuals in their mortal stage. They will have gone down into the Abyss. At that point in the Vision the rise of the "seventh" head will be imminent as to his mortal stage. Then after three-and-a-half years will come his death; and then (after three to four days' public exposure), his re-incarnation.
The seventh head can be no person or king that has ever yet existed on the earth. We have no kingdom here, but a mighty and terrible king. He "falls" like the preceding six. He will be slain with the sword (chap. xiii. 3, 14), but he comes to life again; and then the last great superhuman ruler of "the kingdoms of this world" will stand revealed until he is destroyed by "the King of Kings." Everything will then have been prepared, and events will move with unparalleled rapidity.
The "Kingdoms" and the "Kings," in Dan. and Apoc.:
|
"KINGDOMS" |
"HEADS" or "KINGS" |
|
"The times of the Gentiles" |
|
|
1. Gold. | |
|
2. Silver. | |
|
3. Brass. | |
|
4. Iron. | |
|
5. Clay (or Iron and Clay) | |
|
The Sunteleia, or "Day of the Lord." |
|
|
1. The 1st Head. |
|
|
2. The 2nd Head. |
|
|
3. The 3rd Head. |
|
|
4. The 4th Head. |
|
|
5. The 5th Head. |
|
|
("Five are fallen") |
|
|
6. The 6th Head. |
|
|
("one is"; "the other is not yet come") |
|
|
"The Great Day of the Lord" (The last
"week.") |
|
|
6. The Kingdom of the Beast |
7. The 7th Head (Mortal Stage) |
|
("who was, and is not, and shall be present" as the 8th King.) |
|
|
"The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord" |
|
|
8. The 8th King. The Beast. (His superhuman stage). |
|
|
7. "The Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ." |
|
The above refers to Headship over God's City, People, and Land. It does not, therefore, include the "Ten Kings" or "Kingdoms," either of Daniel or Revelation, which are outside the Land.
The eleventh verse brings us to the second pair of members which interpret the Beast and his Confederates. Chap. xvii.
verses 8-10 give the first pair;
verses 11, 12 give the second pair;
verses 13-17 give the third pair;
See the Structure above.
F2. xvii. 11, 12. The second pair of members.
11. And the beast that was, and is not, even he himself is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.] We must carefully note that which he is commonly spoken of as "the eighth head," he is not so called in Scripture. There, he is known only as "an eighth" king. We have in this verse (according to the Structure) the further history of the Beast.
In verses 8 and 11 we have the two stages of the Beast's career clearly distinguished. In chap. xiii. 3 John saw what had already happened before xiii. 1, in the mortal stage of the Beast, before he came up out of the Abyss. John saw what had caused the Beast to go down into the Abyss. And when John saw him "coming up," he observed (xiii. 3) one from among his heads as having been slain.
In his mortal form he runs his career during the first part of
the week (
When they shall have finished their testimony, or immediately before the fulfilment of their mission, the Beast (in his mortal form) is killed. He receives his deadly sword-wound (xiii. 3), and comes to life again; he comes up out of the Abyss (xi. 7), makes war on the Two Witnesses, and runs the rest of his career in his superhuman form (xiii.—).
He is the first called "the Beast" in this book, in
He is "of the seven." That is to say, he is the 7th in another (his 8th, or superhuman) form. And though he is "an eighth" king, there are not really eight, but only seven, for the seventh and eighth are the same personage; therefore, it is said that the eighth is "of the seven."
As the mortal seventh Head, he is the "little horn"
of
Roughly speaking, the mortal stage would fill the
first half of the last of "the seventy weeks" (i.e., the first 3 1/2
years of
Then, immediately upon his resurrection, he kills (crucifies?) the Two Witnesses (ch. xi.). Consequently, their 1,260 days must just overlap into his 42 months. They must have witnessed, therefore, for nearly 1,260 days during his mortal stage, before his assassination.
It would appear that he is on the scene, entering into various
political affairs, before he is actually manifested as the 7th head,
i.e., the Anti-Christ. The "League" of
The "Covenant" of
During the first half of the week (in which the seventh head runs and completes his mortal career), God's Two Witnesses (ch. xi. 3) are the proclaimers of the special Divine Testimony on the Earth. Just before the completion of their Testimony the Beast is killed. His mortal stage is thus ended. When he comes to life again, he comes up from the Abyss and makes war upon them, and upon all who will not worship him.
As to the heads: In their mortal stage they are only seven, and are successive. But in their superhuman stage they are still seven (xiii. 1 and xvii. 7), and they are collective in the one — the wild Beast.
This verse thus contains further particulars about the Beast already mentioned in verse 8. And now, in verse 12 we have the confederates again.
12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are
(i.e., represent) ten kings, who have not yet received a
kingdom; but they receive authority as kings at one and the same hour
with the Beast] (i.e., at the same time or season. See
chap. xiv. 7, 15; xviii. 10, 17, 19.
They are seen as kings only in connection and company with the last or eighth king. We know not who or what these ten kings may be. They are not the "kings of the earth" mentioned in verse 18; for these are subordinate to the ten of which this verse speaks.
On the first emergence of the corporate wild-beast out of the Abyss, the woman (i.e., the great city), Babylon) is supported by it (or as it is expressed, "she sits upon it"). But she is not true to this new and superhuman power. She intrigues with "the kings of the earth" (mortals) while the Beast out of the Abyss is supporting her. As Henry VIII. dealt partially with the Roman Church in England, so will the Beast deal with Babylon universally. He will confiscate her revenues, appropriate her real estate as well as personality. The city, thus "stripped" will be wholly in the hands of this superhuman power (chap. xviii.), and filled with evil spirits, until a mighty angel from heaven completes the destruction.
F3. xvii. 13, 14. The third pair of members.
13. These have one mind (i.e., the same view, intent, and consent), and give up their power and authority unto the beast.] Not only are they contemporaneous as to time, but they are of one accord as to purpose. This will be something very different from a so-called "concert" of Europe. Never were any ten kings found of one accord. It is powerful spirit-influence that brings about this unanimity (ch. xvi. 14).
14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them: because he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.] Here is the war for which the demons go forth to gather the kings of the earth together. Two reasons are assigned for the result of this war. The glory of the King, and His own chosen forces. The battle is prophesied in xvii. 14, but not fought till chap. xix.
15. And he saith to me, The waters which thou sawest,
where the harlot (i.e., "the great city") sitteth,
are (i.e., represent) peoples, and multitudes, and
nations, and tongues.] This commences the second division
of the Angel's interpretation of the Vision. It is indicated by the
words, "And he saith to me," repeated from the commencement of the
first division in verse 7. The woman represents "that great city."
Babylon is thus addressed (
We ask our readers to compare the following passages as here arranged in parallel columns. The first column contains the passages from the Old Testament, and the other from the Apocalypse. Both are distinctly said to concern Babylon. We recognise no authority, however "respectable," which assures us that these passages all refer to Rome:
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16. And the ten horns which thou sawest, and
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (kai)
and, instead of (...) (epi), upon.
The Beast himself will be at the time in occupation of the City, while the Ten Kings are exercising their authority each in his own part of the world; and that, just as the Papacy exercises its authority in many lands — so the woman's agents do the same, with this difference: that in all the kingdoms of the world the (mortal) "kings of the earth" are committing fornication with this woman i.e., are one in religious intrigue and confederacy. Babylon sits upon many waters: i.e., "peoples, multitudes, nations, tongues:" among all these Babylon is religiously a-whoreing.
Above "the Kings of the Earth," (mortals), reign "the Ten Kings." The whole earth is divided to them. For a little while (till they shall have secured a firm position) they will support the woman. As soon as they feel themselves to be secure, then, in all these "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues" they begin to make war with her simultaneously: the Beast (the last king of Babel in Babylon) and the Ten Kings in their respective parts of the world. So that, in every nation, people, tongue, and multitude, the merchants of the earth can stand afar off and bewail the destruction of the woman. For there will be an auto-de-fe among all the peoples by whom the woman has been supported.
For this destruction compare the passages from Jeremiah given
above; and compare them with its execution in
17. For God put it (lit., gave it)
into their hearts to carry out (lit., to do)
His mind, and to carry out their own mind, and to give their
kingdom to the beast until the words of God shall be
accomplished.] Apparently it is Satan's work, but God is
over all, and He "shall send them strong delusion" (
They give their kingdom, not kingdoms. They transfer no territory, for all the kingdoms are one under the Beast which shall "devour the whole earth."
Just as the Beast is one, though composed of many individual superhuman beings; so will the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ be one, though there will be in it many kings and principalities and powers.
These "ten kings" give their royal power. But there is a limit to it all, and that limit is expressed in the words "the true sayings of God," to these all must come: beyond these none can go.
We now come to the end; to the interpretation concerning the woman: the final statement which sets the whole matter at rest.
D. xvii. 18. The Woman.
18. And the woman whom thou sawest is that great city, which exerciseth sovereignty over the kings of the earth] viz., those who have been so called in xvi. 14.
Babylon is the city named in verse 5, but its destruction, as prophesied in chap. xviii., is very different from that of which Jeremiah speaks. Other cities have been suggested, and even England has been added to the interpretations, because of its union of Church and State. Though how it can be a city we know not.
The revival of Babylon is prophesied in
The common interpretation of
The Ephah is a measure of capacity, dry measure say for grain. As grain is put into a measure, so the sinner will be collect in a heap. Are not these the thieves and perjurers of the previous vision? When the leaden lid is lifted up there is seen a woman sitting in the measure. The woman, it says, is "wickedness," not "commerce." She is not permitted to get out of the measure. The lead is put back again. It seems to have been lifted just to let the prophet see what was inside. The Ephah, with its contents, is not suffered to remain in the Land: it is carried into the land of Shinar. This looks more like the expulsion from Palestine of "wickedness" or reprobates, thieves and perjurers, possibly at the time when the Two Witnesses are on the earth.
It suggests, not commerce, but rather the worst kind of financing maintained by thieving and perjury (Zech.v. 1). So intense is the "wickedness" that a "flying roll," of the same dimensions as the porch of the Temple, goes forth as a curse, showing that the wicked will be judged by Temple measurements.
This is hardly the place to go into the prophecies of Zechariah. But all are too ready to follow a plausible tradition, without independent study of God's Word.
We are all agreed that
Jerusalem, we know, is to become a great city, the joy of the whole earth. But, before that comes to pass, Babylon also will become a great city; the astonishment, but the curse, of the whole earth.
We have more than once referred to and spoken of the revival and rebuilding of Babylon. Many laugh at the very idea. But if they will not listen to the clear teachings of the word of God, will they listen to what man says? If they deem this revival as unlikely or impossible, judging by the standard of their own imagination, what will they say to the following, from The Daily Express (London), Jan. 28, 1902? It is not speculation, but news, which is given us under the heading of "Germany's Great Railroad": and the sub-title "Some facts about the grand Mesopotamian railway scheme," by William Durban. He says,
"An immense revolution is likely to be brought about in the Near East within the next decade. The shriek of the locomotive will in a few years be heard echoing over the salt marshes, bituminous plains, and magnificent higher and more fertile tracts, which make the vast Mesopotamian plain between the Euphrates and the Tigris the most curious mosaic of landscape in the world.
"It is startling to think of this coming raid of the engineers into the cradle of the world's most ancient civilisation. Abraham's native country is to be invaded by horded of navvies, and all along the western bank of the mighty historic Tigris will gleam the twin steel riband which will bring the whole length of the effete Empire within the grip of European influence.
"A Resurrection of Babylon."
"The Kaiser has undoubtedly scored. When in December, 1899, it was announced that the German Anatolian Railway Company had received a concession from Adbul Hamid for the construction of a railway from Konieh to Bagdad, it was generally felt that the scheme would hang in the air for at least a generation. But the German Emperor is a model man of business, who has posed of late as the Sultan's 'only friend.' He did not for nothing organize, by means of a splendid squad of military officers, that Turkish army which crumpled up the Greek legions at Domoko and everywhere on the Thessalian plains. The new Irade settles the affair.
"It is a favourite thesis with the people who ponder over prophetic mysteries that both Babylon and Nineveh are to be resuscitated in more than the ancient glories of Nebuchadnezzar and Sennacherib. Who can tell? It is certain that the Kaiser entertains the dream of founding a magnificent empire in the Near East. He is going to work in the way which is like to follow up his sermon at Jerusalem by practical results...
"Few people realise the magnitude of the Sultan's Asiatic dominions. They form the most important section of the earth's surface in connection with the international political situation of the near future. The Eastern Question only sleeps, and its slumbers are very uneasy."
With this comes the news that this Railway is to be begun at once (1902), in five different places: and that Edison has invented a new cement which will enable houses to be built in three or four days!
For ourselves, we need no evidence of this kind; but it clearly shows that what we regard as certain, from God's Word, is not altogether impossible from man's point of view.
X. chap. xviii. The Judgment of the Great City.
This is the third and last of the three great divisions of the Sixth Vision "on earth" (chap. xvi.—).
The first we lettered V. chap. xvi., The Great Judgments.
The second, we lettered W. chap. xvii., The Great Harlot.
The third we are now to consider is X. chap. xviii., The Great City.
The last verse of chap. xvii. closed it by giving the interpretation of the woman as being "that great city." Though the woman is the first thing mentioned in that chapter, yet her interpretation is left till the end, so that the mention of the city may lead on to the account of its destruction, which is the subject of chap. xviii. In chap. xvii. we have the conflict about that great city in which the seven heads, and ten kings, and "the kings of the earth," and the Beast ("the eighth" king), all take part. But now, the city itself is to be judged as a city.
Its fall had already been prophetically fore-announced in preliminary and general terms (xiv. 8). But the seventh Vial has since been poured out, and the city has already been shaken to its foundation (xvi. 17-21). Its final judgment and utter extinction, however, yet remain to be accomplished. And the description of this is now to be given in chap. xviii.
Many who see Rome in some form in chap. xvii., yet find Babylon, literal, in chap. xviii. But where is the authority for making such a vital separation between the subjects of the two chapters? There is no indication of such a marked distinction, either in the Text, or in the context.
It is perfectly well known that Rome was never either "great"
or commercial. It is no Port; and no "shipmaster" goes thither. Babylon
itself was never "suddenly" destroyed, as this city will be.
The suddenness of its destruction is the one dominant feature of this
chapter. True, Babylon has come under judgment which is the subject of
this and other prophecies concerning her (
It does not fulfil the conditions described in
The Structure of the chapter, as a whole, is exquisite; and its symmetry is perfect.
It is composed of a Repeated Alternation of six members; three concerning Babylon and its people (F); and three concerning God and His people (G).
The three concerning Babylon's judgment are (1) The Proclamation of it, (2) The Reasons for it, and (3) The Manner of it.
The three concerning Babylon's people are (1) Their Sin, (2) Their Lamentation, (3) Their Silence.
The Three concerning God's people are (1) Their call to come out of her, (2) Their call to Rejoice over her, (3) Their blood found in her.
We shall have little to do or say regarding this chapter, beyond giving the Structure, and the Translation.
The Structure of chap. xviii. is as follows:—
X. chap. xviii. The Judgment of the Great City.
X | F1 |
m1 | 1, 2. Babylon's judgment. Announcement of it.
n1 | 3. Babylon's
associates. Their sin.
G1 | 4. God's
people. Their call to "Come out of her."
F2 | m2 | 5-8. Babylon's
judgment. Reasons for it.
n2 | 9-19. Babylon's
inhabitants. Their lamentation.
G2 | 20. God's
people. Their call to "Rejoice over her."
F3 | m3 | 21. Babylon's
judgment. Manner of it.
n3 | 22, 23. Babylon's
inhabitants. Their silence.
G3 | 24. God's
people. Their blood "found in her."
This is the manner in which this solemn chapter is constructed for us, and presented to us.
Every part brings out its perfection, and apprises us of the Divine source of Babylon's judgment; and of the Divine authority and truth of its prophetic declaration.
m1. xviii. 1-3. Babylon's judgment announced.
1.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (kai)
and.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add (...) (allon)
another.
2. And he cried with a mighty voice,
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Fallen, fallen
Tr. omits the second "fallen;" A. includes it in the text,
but puts it in brackets.
n1. xviii. 3 Babylon's Associates.
3. because all the nations have drunk of the exciting
wine
L. and A. omit "the wine;" Tr. and WH. put it in brackets;
the RV. puts it in the margin.
This identifies this city with that of chap. xvii. We have the same wine and the same idolatries and the same "kings of the earth." But, in addition to these, we have the announcement which implies that Babylon will become the headquarters of Spiritism, the habitation of demons, and the hold and home of every unclean spirit. As a cage is full of birds, so will Babylon be full of evil spirits and demons, controlling the great apostasy at its fountain head.
It seems impossible to miss the clear marks of identification which are given in verse 3.
If we look at these two chapters carefully, we fail to find the distinction so persistently affirmed. Some one states a thing as a fact; and then others think they see it. There is no such thing as "Mystic Babylon." The Babylon mentioned in chap. xvii. is the same as that of chap. xviii. It is the "Woman" which is a secret symbol or sign. But that means only that we are not to take it literally as a woman, but as "the great city," as is explained in verse 18. Her name is clearly written on her forehead "Babylon the great." What is there "mystical" about this, in the sense of mysterious? Nothing. It means, as we have seen, a secret sign, but that refers to the "Woman" as being the sign or symbol of the "city."
The war which is waged concerning that city in chap. xvii.
tells us of its necessary revival. Chicago was once burnt, but in a
very few years was entirely rebuilt. The difficulty arises from
supposing that all these wonderful events are to be crowded into
seven years, and no more. Whereas, after the "calling on high"
of
The "end time" of Daniel is longer than this first half of the week, and commences before it.
It begins with the appearance of the four Greek kings
of
According to
There are three kings of the north. First, the one who, before
his accession, was one of the princes of the king of the South. This
first king is engaged in many wars, which must occupy some considerable
time. Upon his death he is succeeded by the one (
From the rise of the first king of the North to the assassination of the one who is the seventh Head, appears the be the "end time"; and this includes the first-half of the last seven years.
Upon the coming up of this seventh head from the Abyss as the eighth king, he immediately stops "the daily sacrifice."
From this point to the end is the 42 months of Rev. and the
"last days" of chap. x. 14, which belong to
The Sunteleia corresponds to the "end time" of Daniel.
But the "calling on high" of
If the length of this Sunteleia should be, say, 33 years, then the Telos would be the last seven years, making them 40 in all.
Nothing whatever is said as to the length of this interval. But the analogy of the two Advents leads us to the belief that there will be a considerable period; and the end of "the times of the Gentiles" may be similar to their commencement.
When Nebuchadnezzar first took Jerusalem, it remained for some
twenty to thirty years, during which he set up and put down kings there
(see
So that, from this point of view, time is no difficulty to our believing that the ten kings may burn the city (xvii. 16), and yet that it may revive and be destroyed suddenly, as in chap. xviii. The difficulty is not removed by the other interpretation; for how can anything "mystical" be burnt with fire?
The Babylon, then, of this chap. xviii. is the Babylon of chap. xvii. and of all the other chapters which speak of her origin, her character, and her destiny. The "Kings of the Earth" did not thus become partakers of the idolatries of Pagan Rome: neither did the merchants of the earth wax rich through the merchandise of Papal Rome: nor were her adherents and votaries confined to "merchants" and "kings."
This is literal Babylon; and before the Lord's advent (or Apocalypse), as described in chap. xix., takes place, she will have arrived at t his height of idolatry and luxury.
It is strange that, in spite of all this, commentators still cling to the traditional interpretation that Babylon means Rome. Even Alford, after saying "Rome never has been, and from its very position never could be, a great commercial city," adds "I leave the difficulty unsolved." So there is a "difficulty"; but we submit that it is of the commentators' own creation. There is no difficulty if we believe what God says. But so loth are expositors to do this, that Alford says again "the details of this mercantile lamentation far more nearly suit London, than Rome, at any assignable period of her history."
We believe that it is Babylon revived and restored (as other cities have been), and that this state of magnificence will characterise her in the day of the Lord's Apocalypse.
Hence, the final announcement of her then impending judgment is followed by God's call to His people to come out of her.
G1, xviii. 4. God's people. Their call to come out of her.
4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying
"Come out of her, My people, That ye may not partake of her sins, And that ye receive not of her plagues.]
There is no need for us to take this angel as being Christ. He
speaks in the name of God, as in chap. xi. 3. His cry is a warning
summons to God's people who will then be on the earth. The church will
have been taken up some years before. And there will be others also who
will have been safely caught up, and will give forth the rejoicing cry
foretold in
And this is exactly what is foretold in
Then, immediately after the announcement "Babylon is taken,"
we read "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children
of Israel shall come; they, and the children of Judah together, going
and weeping; they shall go and seek the Lord their God" (verse 4). "MY
PEOPLE hath been lost sheep" (verse 6). To these the call will go
forth, "Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the
land of the Chaldean," (verse 8). And again, "Flee out of the midst of
Babylon, and deliver every man his soul (i.e., let every man save his
life): be not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of the
Lord's vengeance"; he will render unto her a recompense (
Israel, as a nation, now repents (
This cannot refer to any but to the literal Israel, and to the literal Babylon. No such heavenly call ever went forth to any Christians in Rome. Nor did they come forth as a body. They have been slaughtered there; but that is a very different thing.
It is Israel that is thus warned, as in
In the sentence, "have no fellowship with her sins," the word
"sins" is put by Metonymy for the judgment brought
about by her sins. (Compare
The cause of this judgment and of these plagues is now to be stated.
F2, xviii. 5-8. Babylon's judgment. Reasons for it.
5. "Because her sins reached
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (ekolle hesan) were
joined or builded together; hence, reached, as
buildings rise higher and higher; instead of (...) (ekolouthesan)
followed.
This is a Hebraism. (Compare
6. Render to her
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (humin) to you,
so we must fill up the Ellipsis by supplying "to others."
Lit., "Double the double to her." This is the figure of
Metonymy, by which the word "double" is put for completeness
or full compensation. Compare
As she also rendered
And render double punishment
According to her works:
In the cup which she mixed,
Mix for her double.
7. In proportion as she glorified herself,
[and waxed
wanton,
So much torment and mourning
[give to her:
Is this call for vengeance given to the church? Certainly not!
Nor does it belong to any period of history since the Lord's death; for
the present is the day of grace, when God "maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just, and on the
unjust" (
"O daughter of Babylon,
Who art to be destroyed.
Happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served
us.
Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
against the rock" (RV).
These words, so contrary to Christian sentiment, will be perfectly correct in the next dispensation, which will be one of judgment.
The mingled cup refers us back to xvii. 4, and further
identifies the two chapters. Babylon is now to drink another cup,
herself. Compare
-7. "Because in her heart, she saith,
'I sit a Queen, and a widow I am not; and mourning I shall in no wise see']
These words are spoken of the same Babylon (not Rome) in
8. "For this cause, in one day, shall come her
plagues—, and mourning, and famine (
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (krinas) judged,
instead of (...) (krinon) judgeth.
This is the burning which has already been mentioned in chap.
xvii. 16; but is now, in this chapter more fully described.
This suddenness and completeness of Babylon's judgment and disappearance from the face of the earth is the one prominent feature of this prophecy: and it effectually proves that it has not yet taken place. For Jehovah's prophecies are far too accurate and particular for this suddenness and completeness to be fulfilled by the gradual decay of old Babylon, the site and ruins and remains of which are still to be seen in the land of Shinar.
We now come to the Lamentation over her, and the member n2 above must be expanded.
It consists of eleven verses (xviii. 9-19); and these are elaborately constructed of four members, arranged as an Introversion. Each of the four larger members consists of three smaller ones, each perfect in its correspondence with the others.
n2. xviii. 9-19. Lamentation of the Inhabitants of Babylon.
n2 | H | r | 9. Kings of the earth.
(Earth).
s | 10-. Their Lamentation.
"Alas, alas."
t | -10. Reason. "For in
one hour."
J | u | 11-.
Merchants.
v |
-11-. Their Lamentation.
w | -11-14. Reason. "For."
J |
u | 15-. Merchants.
v | -15, 16. Their Lamentation.
w | 17-. Reason. "For."
H | r | -17. The Shipmasters.
(Sea.)
s | 18, 19. Their
Lamentation. "Alas, alas."
t | -19. Reason.
"For in one hour."
H. xviii. 9-10. The Lamentation of the Kings of the Earth over Babylon's fall.
9. "And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and waxed wanton with her, shall weep, and wail over her, as soon as they see the smoke of her burning, (10) standing afar off on account of the fear of her torment, saying,
'Alas, alas, the great city Babylon, the mighty city! for in one hour has thy judgment come.']
These are "the kings of the earth" mentioned in xvii. 2; the
confederates and associates of Babylon. In xviii. 3 the mourners over
Babylon are first enumerated, and afterwards described more fully.
This is the figure of Prosapodosis. See Figures
of Speech, p. 394.
We have before noted that "the ten kings" are never seen apart from the Beast; and "the kings of the earth" are never seen apart from Babylon. It is the former who hate and burn Babylon; it is the latter who weep and wail over her. In both chapters (xvii. and xviii.) the city is called "Babylon the great." God and man both so call her.
This great city cannot be separated from her own corrupt religion. They must be connected together, just as chapters xvii. and xviii. are connected; and yet distinguished as they are there distinguished.
Idolatry of the grossest kind is Babylon's sin; and not commerce. Whoredom points to, and means, idolatry. That is Babylon's chief end.
In commerce, goods of many are exchanged for the goods of others. But Babylon will not do that. She is only a buyer. What she gives to "the kings of the earth" and their peoples comes out of her "cup," and that stands for something having to do with religion: just as our Lord's Cup does. So Babylon's cup stands for corrupt religion, which has woman for its central object.
We do not deny that the Church of Rome to-day is preparing for this Womanolatry; and, in all Roman Catholic countries, is fostering (not intentionally, it may be) a Womanolatry of a different kind, which is leading on that moral corruption which will end in a religious corruption of a similar kind.
At the first, Babylon had male Gods. Later on, each male God was given a female partner, with the result that Ishtar became pre-eminent.
This it is that makes the sin of Babylon; and it is this religion of Womanolatry which will be perfected in Babylon. It will be received by "the kings of the earth"; and the peoples of the kings of the earth will be taught it by an order of priests, just as were the people of Ephesus. But Babylon will be the great goddess. She will have her Temples the world over: "Mother of all the harlots." And this is the religion which is being prepared for even now.
In any case, the common view of the chapter as relating only to "Commerce" must be modified. Babylon is a buyer. As a buyer, she cannot be regarded as engaged in Commerce, because that implies manufacture and selling as well as buying; and certainly buying with a view to selling again. But that is not Babylon. She sits, a woman, who buys to satisfy her lusts, and to furnish her allurements.
Surely if Commerce were the point, Babylon would be
represented as masculine, as Tyre is (
But Mariolatry is increasing more and more, and is not now
confined to Rome. And this is preparing the way for the
revival of Ishtar.
Already, Commentators are fulfilling
The great Question will be Supremacy. Who is to be supreme, Woman or Man; Babylon or the Beast? THAT is an all-sufficient reason for their hatred; and as the supremacy involved in Babylon is contrary to God's ordinance, He will "put it into their heart to destroy the woman."
This view makes things much clearer than commerce can do. And if the sin of Babylon be as we have suggested, viz., a system which makes drunk with this false religious excitement the kings of the earth, the Priests and Priestesses, and Temple servers, then it is these who will be stripped of all their possessions and burnt with fire in every land where they are found. This will take place pre-eminently in Babylon. But before this takes place, the call will go forth to God's people to come out of her, that they be not partakers in her judgments.
As this will take place in every land, the kings of the earth can stand afar off and wail; for, the superhuman Ten Kings and the Beast will dominate the world.
The final judgment of Babylon will be sudden and complete. The conflagration will be so great that, from the first, total destruction will be seen to be inevitable.
Three times this lament is made, "Alas! Alas! More literally, "Woe, woe," as elsewhere rendered in this book. But the AV. rendering is very expressive. The Kings of the earth make this lament. The Merchants make it (verse 16): and the Mariners make it (verse 19). In the first, the verbs introducing it are in the Future tense (verse 9): in the second, in the Present (verse 11), and in the third, the Past tense (verse 17). It is as though a moving scene is passing before the eyes, while the interjecting angel explains it.
The lamentation of the merchants is divided into two parts. In J. (xviii. 11-14) the merchandise and its varieties are the subject: while in J. (xviii. 15-17) it is the merchants' irretrievable loss.
J., xviii. 11-14. The Merchants' Lamentation.
11. "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn
over her; because no one any longer buyeth their cargo (
G.L.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add (...) (kai amomum) and
amomum, i.e., and spice.
Greek, "bodies," put by Metonymy for slaves: just
as we put "hands," for workmen.
Lit., "souls of men," a Hebraism for persons of
men, or simply men (see
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (apoleto)
perishea instead of (...) (apelthen) departed.
This list of the merchandise is most significant and instructive. We see at once that it consists entirely of luxuries (see verse 3). If Babylon be the Religious system, which we suggest, then her priests and priestesses in every land— the harlot daughters of this harlot mother — will deal in the same luxuries.
It is not commerce that we see in this list. It is no exchange of produce against produce. There is no sin in that. That is a good thing, and not an evil thing. It is in her imports that the city is great; and these imports are luxuries (see verse 3).
The articles of merchandise here are not enumerated in any hap-hazard way, but are arranged so as to impress us with the vast range and character of the commodities.
They are arranged in four groups, and these are subdivided as follows:—
Natural — Adornment (12-) Jewellery.
Apparel (-12-) Drapery.
Artificial — All — Vessels (-12) of Ivory
Wood
Brass
Iron
Marble
Vegetable — Aromatic (13-)
Nutritive (-13-)
Animal — Cattle (-13-)
Human kind (-13)
These call for no comment beyond the great fact that they have no relation whatever to Rome, Pagan or Papal. Even Alford, who holds that Babylon in chap. xvii. means Rome, and is to be identified with chap. xviii., says, "It must not for a moment be denied that the character of this lamentation throws a shade of obscurity over the interpretation, otherwise so plain, from the explanation given in chap. xvii." We admit that, if we start with the assumption that in chap. xvii. we have Rome Papal, and in chap. xviii., Rome Pagan, there is a difficulty; for of neither could this lamentation ever be used. But the difficulty is created by an assumption. It is not in the Word. If we allow God to mean what He says, it is all clear. It is only when we assume that He means something quite different from what He says that we get into difficulties.
Rome's merchants were never "the great men of the earth." Rome's religion is not based on astrology and sorcery. Well may Alford sum it up by saying, "I leave the difficulty unsolved:" and "the details of this mercantile lamentation far more nearly suit London than Rome at any assignable period of her history."
"Babylon the Great" includes more than the city proper on the Euphrates. She sits upon many waters, and includes all the many peoples among whom her "Cup" passes.
In verses 15-17- we have the merchants and their loss; rather than the merchants and the particulars of their merchandise.
J., xviii. 15-17-. The Merchants and their loss.
15. The merchants of these things (viz., in
verses 12, 13), who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off
on account of the fear of her torment, wailing and mourning,
(16)
G.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (kai) and.
"Alas! alas! the great city, which was arrayed in fine linens, and purple, and scarlet, and bedecked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! (17-) for in one hour is so great riches come to naught.]
The ruin is complete. It is even as was foretold of this very
Babylon, "the beauty of the Chaldee's excellency shall be as when
God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah" (
We now come to the third great category of mourners, (1) the kings of the earth; (2) the merchants of the earth; and now (3) those upon the sea. The mercantile world includes both land and sea. The sea is indeed the chief factor in carriage and freights. Hence, those who have to do with the sea now make their lamentation.
H., xviii. -17-19. The Lamentation of the Shipmasters.
-17. And every shipmaster, and everyone that saileth
any whither,
i.e., the passengers. So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
"What city is like unto this great city?"
(19) And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, wailing and mourning, saying,
"Alas! alas! the great city, wherein were made rich
all that had their ships in the sea, by reason of her
costliness!
i.e., costliness including more than costly treasures;
costly living as shown in extravagance.
The mention of passengers shows the nature and extent of the
traffic; embracing travellers as well as merchants and traders.
Rawlinson
Herodotus, i. 512.
The "dwellers of the earth" judge by earthly size and grandeur; but God has a different standard, and sees that which shall bring down this tremendous judgment. These again are impressed with its suddenness; and remind us that no such sudden judgment has ever overtaken Babylon.
God's people are again introduced; and the cry goes forth to "Rejoice over" Babylon on this hour of their avengement upon her (Ps. cxxxvii).
G2., xviii. 20. God's people. Their call to "Rejoice over her."
20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye
saints,
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
Lit. "judged your judgment." This is the figure of
Polyptoton, and is used for emphasis. It means hath fully
avenged you.
The command here given is obeyed in the next (the seventh and
last) Vision "in heaven," and the words are given in chap. xix. 1-5. At
length the waiting of the Martyrs is about to end (vi. 10-12), and they
are to rejoice that God has avenged them. That avengement has now come
(
Some commentators apologise for this rejoicing in vengeance; and endeavour to tone it down, as being inconsistent with the Gospel. Of course it is inconsistent with the Gospel; but this is because the dispensations are not the same. Once rightly divide the word of truth, and all difficulty is removed.
Saints and apostles and prophets have been martyred in and by Babylon: both there, at its fountain head, as well as in some of its many streams by her daughters; for she is a "mother" and has daughters (xviii. 5).
We now come to the final mention of this judgment, and are informed as to the manner of it, and the result of it.
F3., xviii. 21-23. Babylon's Judgment. The manner of it.
21-23. And a mighty angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,
"Thus, with violence (or, with a rush)
shall Babylon, that great city, be cast down, and Shall be
found no more at all (
And sound of harpers, and musicians, and flute players, and
trumpeters,
Shall never be heard in thee any
[more;
And no craftsman, of any craft
Shall ever be found in thee any
[more;
And sound of millstone
Shall ever be heard in thee any
[more;
And the light of a lamp
Shall never shine in thee any
[more:
And the voice of the bridegroom or bride
Shall never be heard in thee any
[more:
Because thy merchants were the great ones of the earth: because
by thy sorcery were all the nations deceived." (
Sorcery, corrupt religion, and idolatry are the great means by which Babylon will ensnare the nations. And these are the two things which are rising up and advancing before our eyes.
The great stone represents the great city; and the symbolic act gives, with great vividness, the suddenness of Babylon's final destruction. Four times we have this suddenness emphasised:— "in one day" (verse 8), "in one hour" (verses 10, 17, 19). Every word is employed to impress us with its suddenness and completeness. And inasmuch as all other fulfilled prophecies have been fulfilled to the very letter; and Babylon, though fallen gradually, and very low, has never suffered such a destruction. There is only one conclusion, that in the interval of, say some 30 or more years between the removal of the church and the last "week" of Daniel's prophecy, it will be revived, and exceed all its former magnificence.
Similar desolation was prophesied against Jerusalem, and the
cities of Judah (
And now we come to the last mention of God's People in connection with Babylon; and the whole scene closes with the one all embracing reason for this judgment.
G3., xviii. 24. God's people. Their blood found in her.
24. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all the slain upon the earth.]
With this we must read
H7. Chap. xix.
1-16.
The final heavenly Utterances and Actions.
We now come to the last of the seven Visions seen "in Heaven," which is the subject of chap. xix. 1-16, giving us the final heavenly Utterances and Actions which lead up to, explain, and introduce the five concluding judgments which close up the things of Time, and pass on to what we call the Eternal State.
This last Vision "in Heaven" is divided into two parts, each having its own independent construction. The first contains the words of the heavenly voices; and the second describes the actions of the heavenly beings.
H7. xix. 1-16. The Seventh (and last) Vision "In Heaven."
H7 | P | xix. 1-10. The Final Heavenly
Utterances.
Q | xix. 11-16. The Final Heavenly
Actions.
These must be expanded in turn, in order to see the beauty and the scope of each.
We have already called attention to the seventeen Heavenly Utterances in these seven Visions "in Heaven"; and pointed out that ten of them occur in the first and last together, viz., six in the first (chaps. iv. and v.), and four in the last (chap. xix. 1-10). All heaven seems to be moved at the first announcement and opening of these final judgments, which end in the ejection of the Usurper from the earth: and all heaven is stirred when we come to the final scenes of these judgments.
It is only in the first and last of these Visions "in Heaven," that we have the utterances of the four Zoa. Only in the first announcement do they praise God that the time has at length come for Him to interfere in the affairs of this world, and wind up His great controversy with it and Satan. And again in chap. xix, when that great controversy shall have closed.
Only on these two occasions, and in these two Visions do we hear their voices and listen to their significant utterances. In all the other Visions in Heaven they are silent.
This shows us that we are approaching the end; and prepares us for the final Heavenly actions (xix. 11-16).
The structure does not appear to be governed here by the utterances themselves. The heavenly excitement is not reduced to the order of literary form. Yet the structure, as a whole, is perfect, and the utterances are significantly marked by being alternated with prostration and worship: first, of the Elders; and then of John. This seems very marked, as does also the voice of the "great multitude." (See the Structure below).
In A and A we have the first and fourth utterances, while in B and B we have the Harlot and the Wife set in strong and severe contrast; the smoke of the one in B, and the array and blessedness of the other in B.
In C and C we have the prostration of the worshippers. In C that of the Elders; and in C that of John. This is combined with an exhortation in each case: addressed in C to the servants; and in C to John the fellow-servant.
The four utterances themselves are arranged so that in the 1st and 4th we have the voices of many concerning the two symbolic women— harlot and the wife; while in the 2nd and 3rd we have the voices from the Throne concerning God.
x | Much people (concerning the harlot). (verses -1-3-).
y | Elders and Zoa (worship of God). (verse
4).
y | Voice from the Throne (praise of God). (verse
5).
x | Great multitude (concerning the wife). (verses
-6-7).
It will be seen that in the two centre members we have the Throne and God for their subject. In the former we have the worship of God (verse 4); and in the latter the praise of God (verse 5). In the former, the Elders and Zoa fall down before the Throne; in the latter, the Voice comes out of the Throne.
In the first and fourth members (for these last four utterances are arranged as in Introversion) we have the correspondence of the "much people" of verse 1; and the "great multitude" of verse 6. We have also the vivid contrast between the destruction of the Harlot and the Blessedness of the Wife.
This beautiful Structure shows us the importance of the subject which is to be set before us in this chapter; and the final Heavenly Utterances we are about to hear reveal to us the solemnity of the final judgments which are afterwards to be described.
All is perfect; for all is Divine. The utterances close up the
Divine communications; and the five concluding judgments close up the
great Conflict, which began in
The following is the structure of the whole of the member P, xix. 1-10, containing the last four Heavenly Utterances:—
P., xix. 1-10. The Final Heavenly Utterances.
P | A | a | xix. 1-. The Voice of the great
multitude.
b | d | -1. Hallelujah. (1st
Utterance)
e | 2, 3.
Reason.
B | -3.
The smoke and destruction of the Harlot.
C
| f | 4. Prostration of the Elders (2nd Utterance).
g | 5. Exhortation from the Throne (3rd Utterance) to the servants of
God (Pos.).
A | a | xix. 6-. The Voice of
the great multitude.
b | d | -6-7.
Hallelujah (4th Utterance)
e | 7.
Reason.
B
| 8, 9. The array and blessedness of the Wife.
C | f | -9, 10. Prostration of John.
g | -10. Exhortation of Angel to John, his fellow servant
(Neg.).
a. xix. 1-. The Voice of the great Multitude.
1-.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (kai)
and.
The same authorities add (...) (hos) as it
were.
b. xix. -1. The First Utterance.
"Hallelujah! the Salvation, and
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (kai he time)
and the honour.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (tou theou
hemon). of our God, instead of (...) ( kyrio to theo
hemon) to the Lord our God.
The ascription is threefold, and not fourfold, if we omit "and the honour" with all the best and oldest manuscripts. The utterance is elliptical, for there is no verb. A verb, therefore, must be supplied. The RV and Alford supply "belong to," but this hardly agrees with their revised reading; otherwise we might supply be ascribed to. It seems almost better to leave the words as they stand above, and add, at the end, "are come." For this is what the utterance of the great multitude celebrates, in the reason, which is immediately added.
This is the first occurrence of the word Hallelujah in the New
Testament. It is a compound Hebrew word (...) (hallelu-jah)
praise-ye Jah. It occurs altogether twenty-eight times in
the Old and New Testaments,
Viz.: in seven Psalms, once each: civ. 35; cv. 45; cxi. 1;
cxii. 1; cxv. 18; cxvi. 19; cxvii. 2. In seven Psalms, twice each: xvi.
1, 48; cxiii. 1, 9; cxlvi. 1, 10; cxlvii. 1, 20; cxlviii. 1, 14; cxlix.
1, 9; cl. 1, 6. In one Psalm three times, cxxxv. 1, 3, 21. Making
twenty-four times in all, or twice twelve, the double of divine
government in the earth. If we add the four in Revelation (xix. 1, 3,
4, 6) we have 28 times, or four times seven: i.e., spiritual perfection
with regard to the earth.
The Greek spelling in the New Testament is (...)
allelouia; and the word is left untranslated. In the Old
Testament the word is always translated "praise ye the Lord." Six times
it is given in the margin, as in the Hebrew, Hallelujah (
The first occurrence of the word Hallelujah in the Old
Testament corresponds in a marked manner with its first occurrence in
the New Testament. We first find it in
"Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth,
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless thou the Lord, O my soul.
Hallelujah."
So here, in
The utterance, beginning (verse 1) and ending (verse 3) with the same words, is the Figure Epanadiplosis, which emphasises the statement, marking it off as being as complete as it is important.
Yes! it will have at length come. Salvation, with complete and final deliverance from Satan's usurpation in the earth.
What the peoples of the earth lament over, the great multitude in heaven rejoice over. While they said "Alas! alas!" or "Woe! woe!" these say "Hallelujah!... Hallelujah!" So opposite is Heaven's estimate of the things of this world. It is thanksgiving for vengeance and avengement. It belongs, therefore, to the coming dispensation of judgment, and not to the present dispensation of grace.
The church says "Hallelujah" now on earth (though, alas! it has become a common, not to say an almost unmeaning expletive, just as we say "hear, hear," to the words of mere mortals). Here, and in the Bible the word is associated with the most terrible judgments of God on the enemies of Himself and His people; and it is the shout of praise for complete avengement.
e. xix. 2, 3-. The Reason.
2. "for true and righteous are His judgments; for He hath judged the great harlot, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and He hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand."
3. And a second time they say (Greek, have said),
"Hallelujah."]
So that the special subject which moves all heaven to praise is that, judgment on Babylon is at length accomplished, and the blood of all the saints of God avenged.
The reference here is to the "song of Moses" (
"Rejoice, oh ye nations, with His people;
For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render vengeance to His adversaries,
And will be merciful to His land,
And to His people."
The cry had been (
The Songs, and Praises, and Rejoicing are well uttered because at length this cry has been answered, and this judgment has come.
B, xix. -3. The Smoke, and Destruction of the Great Harlot.
-3. And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever.] The destruction of the Great Harlot is set in contrast (by the structure) with verses 8 and 9, where (in B) we have the array and blessedness of the wife). It is like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which suffered "the vengeance of eternal fire." There are eternal fires which are unquenchable. This is the fire which will destroy Babylon as last. It is indicated in chap. xiv. 11 (see xviii. 9).
f. xix. 4. The Prostration of the Elders: and Second Utterance.
4. And the four and twenty elders and the four Zoa fell down and worshipped God, who sitteth upon the throne, saying,
"Amen: Hallelujah!"]
The elders now appear again. We have seen, above (on chap. v. 9, 10), that they are not the church, nor are they men, nor are they redeemed; though they speak of redemption. This is the last time they are mentioned. They come before us when the Throne is set for judgment. They appear no more after that judgment has been accomplished. They merely but significantly say "Amen," — acquiescing in all that has been done; "Hallelujah" — praising Jehovah that avengement is at length completed. Their prostration is set in correspondence with the prostration of John in "f," verse 10; and, as an exhortation is there given to John the fellow-servant, so here, to the servants of God, is given the
g. xix. 5. Exhortation to Praise.
5. And a voice came forth from the throne, saying,
"Give praise to our God, all ye His servants
(
And ye that fear Him, both small and great (
Here we have two distinct references to the Psalms, which show
that the interpretation to be put on these words must be in connection
with God's earthly People; for this is the People and the Time to which
the Psalm refers. God's judgments are still the subjects of praise. We
are not told from whom the Voice comes; only that it comes from the
place of authority. Of the coming King, when in His humiliation, it was
prophesied (
"I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Ye that fear the Lord, praise him;
All ye of the seed of Jacob, glorify him;
And fear him, all ye of the seed of Israel."
The reason is given in verses 27, 28:
"For the kingdom is the Lord's;
And he is the governor among the nations."
Now will have come the moment of the fulfilment of
It can hardly be the voice of Christ, for He does not
associate Himself with us in this relationship. On the contrary, He
distinguished Himself from His people, and says, "My Father
and your Father; my God and your God" (
a, xix. 6, 7. The Voice of the great Multitude and the Fourth Utterance.
6, 7. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as it were the voice of many waters, and as it were the voice of many thunders, saying,
"Hallelujah! For the Lord our
G.T.Tr. WHb. and RV. add (...) (hemon)
our.
Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad,
And give the glory unto Him:
For the marriage of the Lamb is come.
And his wife hath made herself ready."]
We can never have a clear understanding of this heavenly utterance if we introduce the Church of the Pauline Epistles, i.e., the Great Mystery, here.
One would have though it quite unnecessary to make this statement, considering that we have so many references to Israel, or Israel's elect remnant, in the Old Testament. And these, quite irrespective of the Church of God which is the subject of subsequent revelation.
As to the relationship of God with Israel, it is the resumption of a former relationship. The Old Testament Scriptures speak of the marriage between the Lord and His People again and again. As to the Church of God, the New Testament Scriptures state, as clearly as possible, that it was "hid in God." Mark, it does not say, hid in the Scriptures, but "hid in God," Himself. It is impossible, therefore, that the Mystery, of the Church of God, can be spoken of or revealed in the Old Testament.
Did pious Jews think of the Church of God when they read in
"Thy Maker is thy husband;
The Lord of hosts is his name,
And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.
The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved
in spirit,
And a wife of youth, when thou was refused, saith thy
God.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee:
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee,
But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith
the Lord, thy Redeemer." (
Did they understand the Church when they read in
"Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken,
This is the meaning of the word. "Marry" is only a secondary
or derivative meaning, as expressive of the fact.
Neither shall thy land be any more termed Desolate:
But thou shalt be called Hephzibah (i.e, my delight is in
her),
And thy land Beulah (i.e., married).
For the Lord delighteth in thee,
For as a young man marrieth a virgin,
So shall thy sons possess
And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride,
So shall thy God rejoice over thee." (
What did they understand, as they read
"It shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call
me Ishi (i.e., my husband.)
And shalt no more call me Baali (i.e., my
lord)...
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; ...
I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness,
And thou shalt know the Lord." (
"Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord,
For I am married unto you." (
This marriage is referred to in
Why are we to do away with all these references by interpreting them in a way in which the original readers could never have understood them? Either they must have been wrong in understanding them of Israel, or we must be wrong in interpreting them of the Church of God. Both cannot be right.
The "wife" is earthly (xix.): the "Bride" is heavenly (xxi.).
The marriage of the one is on earth (though rejoiced over in
heaven beforehand), and is consummated on earth for 1,000 years. All
earthly or mortal relationships must run out by expiration along with
the earth, before the other, the heavenly relationships, are entered
upon. Thus, understanding
It is important to observe the various callings.
(1) There is the "earthly calling," which all Israel shares —
the Wife, (...) (gune),
(2) there is the "heavenly calling" of an elect remnant of
Israel — the Bride, (...) (numphe),
(3) there is the distinct calling of the Church of God — which is "The Christ" (i.e., the Mystery).
These three distinct callings have their separate standings; their different hopes, different promises, and different destinies.
We must rightly divide these "callings," or we shall get only confusion.
How, for example, can it be said of the Church that she "hath
made herself ready." As members of the Body of Christ we are already
"made meet" (
We can never be more "ready" than He Himself hath made us. The
language in
The next verse also shows this very clearly, where we have
B, xix. 8, 9. The array and Blessedness of the Wife.
8. And it was given to her that she should be arrayed in fine linen raiment, bright and pure: for the fine linen raiment is the righteous awards of the saints.] The word rendered "righteousness" is not (...) (dikaiosune), the state or quality or condition of righteousness; but it is (...) (dikaioma); a righteous act.
It is in the plural here, and denotes the righteousness of the things indicated by the context.
In
ii. 26, righteous requirement of the
Law.
v. 16, righteous acquittal.
v. 18, righteous work.
viii. 4, righteous requirement.
and here in
Alford's italics.
The same angel goes on to describe, not merely the array of the Bride, but the blessedness of those who shall be called to the marriage.
9-. And he saith to me, Write, "Blessed are they that
are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."] Thus
we not only have the Wife; but as in
Just as in an earthly family there are the Husband, the Wife,
the Children, the Relatives, the Friends, the Visitors, and the
Servants, yet all in the same mansion and all one household; so in the
glory there will be the Christ and the Church which is His Body; the
Lamb and the Lamb's wife; the "friends of the Bridegroom" (
f., xix. -9-10-. The Prostration of John.
-9. And he saith to me, "These are the true words of God."] The angel is the speaker of xvii. 1. Thrice is the assurance given (xix. 10; xxi. 5; xxii. 6), showing that it refers to the immediate context.
10-. And I fell down before his feet to worship
him.] Twenty-four times is the word (...)
(proskuneo) used in the Apocalypse, and we ought, before this,
to have pointed out that when followed by the Accusative case
it means merely to do homage or obeisance to another,
as from man to man. When used with the Dative case it means to
worship with Divine honour.
When Divine worship is offered to God it is always followed
by the Dative case: iv. 10; v. 14; vii. 11; xi. 16; xiv. 7; xix. 4, 10
(twice); xxii. 9.
This shows that Divine worship will be actually offered to
the Beast (xiii. 4 twice, 15; xvi. 2; xix. 20): though the Accusative
case is also used of the worship of the Beast (ix. 20; xiii. 8, 12;
xiv. 9, 11; xx. 4).
In the other passages where proskuneo occurs the case is
not shown on account of some other part of speech being used with the
verb.
g., xix. -10. Exhortation of the Angel to John.
-10. And he saith to me "See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee, and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."] What the angel says is, I am a servant as well as thou, and therefore I cannot receive the worship which is due only to God. Both the angel and John are sent on the same business, are engaged in the same matters, and are witnesses of the same truth: the one, therefore, cannot worship the other. Both were fellow-servants of John's brethren. Both were engaged in the same work. The angel was explaining and John was writing, so that John's brethren might learn and know these true sayings of God. We cannot determine whether "the testimony of Jesus" should be taken objectively as testimony concerning Jesus; or subjectively of testimony borne or sent by Him: as in i. 1. Probably both are true, and it is often better to take the inclusive meaning. All prophecy concerns in some way the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the spirit of it: yea, the sum and the substance of it. He Himself is the prophet. He bore His prophetic testimony concerning these things when on earth, in the Parables of the Kingdom, the Marriage Supper, and in the last great Prophetic discourse concerning the Great Tribulation: and now it is given to Him to show unto His servants the things which are yet to come to pass.
Q. xix. 11-16. The Final Heavenly Actions.
The Seventh (and last) Vision in heaven is divided, as we have seen into two parts, the former consisting of Utterances only; and the latter of Actions. In xix. 1-16 we have the Utterances, which we have been considering. In xix. 11-16 we have the Actions described. They are arranged as follows:—
Q | C | 11. The Rider on the white horse.
D | 12, 13. His description.
C | 14. His followers: "the armies of heaven."
D | 15, 16. His further description.
C. xix. 11. The White Horse and his Rider.
11. And I saw the heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat thereon was called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He doth judge and make war] Here, at length, we have the actual Apocalypse of the Messiah. We see him coming forth in all His power and glory. He is not named, but He is described by those attributes which suit His action. He is "Faithful" to all the promises He has made; "True" to execute all the judgments He has threatened. The "war" which He will make is righteous. The similarity of this white horse and his rider has led many interpreters to identify him with one mentioned in chap. vi. 2. But there is no necessity for this. There is a likeness; but there is a contrast, also. That was the false Christ; this is the true Christ. The former was neither faithful nor true; the latter is both. The one will go forth in order to conquer and subdue all to himself; the other will go forth to judge and make war upon the former in righteousness. There is neither judgment nor making war in the rider of vi. 2: his object is simply to overcome, conquer and subdue. But here it is judgment; and an aggressive war which shall accomplish that judgment.
Many stumble at the White Horse and his rider here; and ask,
in amazement, whether we really believe it? We answer, Yes! We believe
it, just as we believe the prophecy in
The Jews probably stumbled at the Prophecy of Zechariah in the same manner, as being improbable. But all is easy to faith.
It is as easy to believe one prophecy as the other, and we believe both.
Then, He came in humiliation. Now, He will come in glory, even
as
"Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty,
[And gird thyself] with glory and majesty,
And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and
meekness and righteousness;
And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever;
The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre."
All this stands in connection with His marriage with His wife
as it does here, in
The prophecy in
"And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim,
And the horse from Jerusalem,
And the battle bow shall be cut off:
And He shall speak peace unto the heathen;
And his dominion shall be from sea even to sea,
And from the river even unto the ends of the earth."
D. xix. 12, 13. His Description.
12. And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and upon His
head were many diadems: and He had a name written, that no one knew,
but He Himself. (13) And He was arrayed with a garment
dyed
T. WH. and RV. read sprinkled. But the reading is doubtful
and the authorities are divided.
Qu.— "Who is this that cometh from Edom
With dyed garments from Bozrah?
This that is glorious in his apparel,
Travelling in the greatness of his strength?
Ans.— I that speak in righteousness, [I that am] mighty to save.
Qu.— Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, And thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
Ans.— I have trodden the wine-press alone;
And of the people there was none with me:
For I will tread them with my fury;
And their blood shall be sprinkled on my
garments,
And I will stain all my raiment.
For the day of vengeance is in mine heart,
And the year of my redeemed is come.
And I looked, and there was none to help;
And I wondered that there was none to uphold:
Therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto
me;
And my fury, it upheld me.
And I will tread down the people in mine
anger,
And make them drunk with my fury,
And I will bring down their strength to the
earth."
The whole scene is one of judgment and of vengeance (compare
His name is called "the Word of God." This connects Him with
His attribute of Creator (
He leads the Armies of Heaven, and these, in the Structure above, are set in correspondence with Himself as coming forth from Heaven. (Compare C. and C.).
C. xix. 14. His followers. The Armies of Heaven.
14. And the armies which
So G.L.Tr.Ab. WH. and RV.
All here is a grand reality. These armies are no mere symbols. Horses and chariots of fire were seen by Elisha's servant at Dothan when his eyes were "opened." Horses of fire took Elijah into heaven. These were real; and what they accomplished was real also. It is neither necessary nor wise to explain away any portion of God's Word. Neither is it safe: for there are many things in heaven and earth which have never entered into man's imagination; and it is childish and absurd to measure and judge of everything by our own limited experience. Things are not unreal, unlikely, or impossible merely because we have never seen them. It is both wiser and safer to believe God. If any ask, "Do you then believe that these are real armies and real horses?" we answer, Most certainly! The Word of God declares it in language that does not admit of Figures of Speech.
For our part, we find it easier and happier to accept those statements in all simplicity; assured that it is much more pleasing in God's sight, than to explain away His revelation merely because some things are different from anything we happen to have heard of before.
These Angelic armies take their place as opposed to the Satanic armies.
We have Anti-Christ against Christ.
Angels against angels.
Superhuman beings against glorified saints.
Mortals against mortals.
The whole kingdom of God opposed to the whole kingdom of Satan.
D, xix. 15, 16. Further Description of Messiah.
15. And out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp
sword (see i. 16; ii. 12, 16), that with it
(as invested with it) He should smite the nations: and He shall
rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and."
E7, xix. 17&151xx. 15.
THE FINAL FIVE JUDGMENTS.
We must get a complete view of these in order to embrace them all and view them as a whole.
The Structure shows their true sequence:
E7., xix. 17— 15. The Seventh (and Last) Vision "on Earth."
E7 | A1 | xix. 17-21. MEN. The
Judgment of the Beast and the False Prophet.
B1 | xx. 1-3. SATAN. The Judgment of
Satan (Before the Millennium).
A2 | xx. 4-6. MEN. The Judgment of the
overcomers. The "rest of the dead" left for Judgment.
B2 | xx. 7-10. SATAN. The Judgment
of Satan (After the Millennium).
A3 | xx. 11-15. MEN. The Judgment of the
Great White Throne.
From this Structure we see that these judgments are arranged alternately, as they affect Men and Satan: thus completing the 7th Seal, the 7th Trumpet, and the 7th Vial, finishing the "mystery" or secret purpose of God concerning Satan and Man; Jew and Gentile; Heaven and Earth.
These judgments embrace the setting right of what is wrong; the setting up of what is good; and the putting down and final destruction of all that is evil.
Each of these five Scriptures has its own peculiar Structure, which we propose to give in their due order.
The following is the Structure of
A1, xix. 17-21. The Judgment of the Beast and the False Prophet.
A1 | C | 17-. The Angel in the Sun.
D | -17, 18. The Angel's proclamation.
C | 19. The Beast and his Confederacy on
Earth.
D | 20, 21. Fulfilment of the Angel's
cry.
C, xix. 17-. The Angel in the Sun.
17-. And I saw one— angel— standing in the Sun;] And angel proclaimed the fall of Babylon, and now an angel proclaims the destruction of the Beast and his confederacy. From this grand and exalted position, unreachable by any earth-born being, goes forth the proclamation, and reaches all the earth.
D, xix. -17, 18. The Angel's Proclamation.
-17. And he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in mid-heaven,
"Come, be gathered
G.L.T.Tr. WH. and RV. read (...) (sunachthete)
be gathered together, instead of (...) (sunagesthe)
and gather yourselves together.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (to mega tou),
the great supper of, instead of (...) (tou magalou)
of the great.
So Ezekiel had been told to cry, chap. xxxix. 17-22, where the
cry is made concerning this or a subsequent
We say "subsequent" to this, for (1) it comes on a Land and
people brought back (
The scene in
The issue of this battle is never in any doubt. It is fore-announced. The description is yet to be recorded. The call to devour the carcasses of the slain is given before the battle has begun. The marriage supper of the Lamb has just been celebrated in heaven, and now the great supper of God is furnished for the fowls of heaven and the beasts of prey on the earth.
C, xix. 19. The Beast and his Confederacy.
19. And I saw the Beast, and the kings of the earth,
and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him that sitteth
on the horse, and with His army.] Unclean spirits gather
the kings of the earth to fight in xvi. 12-16. A holy angel summons the
birds to devour them. "The kings of the earth," who opposed the Beast,
now unite with him to fight against God. "Strong delusion" is upon them
now, "that they should believe the lie, that they all might be
damned..." (
But the issue is not kept long in suspense.
D. xix. 20, 21. The fulfilment of the angel's cry.
20. And the Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet who wrought the miracles before him (xiii. 11-17), with which he deceived those that had received the mark of the Beast, and those who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire which burneth with brimstone. (21) And the rest were killed with the sword of him that sitteth upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of his mouth: And all the birds were satiated with their flesh.] The Beast and the False prophet therefore are no mere systems, no mere companies of men. They are superhuman, but they are as truly men as Judas and Mahomet were men. They will be cast "alive" into the lake of fire. If these be not individual beings, then language is useless for the purposes of revelation.
They are real persons, as are those who will receive the mark of the Beast, and worship his image. They receive their punishment together. They cannot be slain, now, as mortals.
They will have come up from the Abyss; and they are still found alive in the lake of fire at the close of the thousand years (xx. 10). The armies being mortals are slain; and their dead bodies are eaten by the fowls of the air. There are none to bury them.
Thus ends the first of these final five judgments.
The outcome of the first of these final five judgments is the binding of Satan. The judgment of the Beast and the False Prophet and their Confederacy is not enough. He who was planned all, and used all for the accomplishment of his purposes, must now be dealt with. The chief instigator of all the evil must now be deprived of all further opportunity of attempting to frustrate the counsels and purposes of God. He has been cast out of heaven: he must now be cast out of the earth.
The structure of the passage which describes this judgment is as follows:—
B1, xx. 1-3. The Judgment of Satan (Before the Millennium).
B1 | E1 | a1 | xx. 1,
2-. The binding of Satan. (The Key and the Chain).
b1 | xx. -2. Time.
(1,000 years).
E2 | a2 | xx. 3-. Satan
bound. (The Abyss and the Sealing).
b2 | xx. 3-. Time.
(1,000 years).
E3 | a3 | xx. -3-. The
loosing of Satan.
b3 | xx. -3. Time. ("a
little season").
This Structure consists of three pairs. The first of each pair has to do with Satan and his binding; and the second with its duration.
xx. 1. And I saw an angel descending out of heaven,
having the key of the Abyss, and a great chain in his hand.
(2) And he laid hold of the dragon,— the old serpent, which is
the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
(3)and cast him into the Abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal
upon him, that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the
thousand years be completed: Afterward he must be loosed a little
season.] Who this angel is does not concern us. If it
did, we should have been told. Speculation here is worse than useless.
It is enough for us to know that it will indeed be a mighty angel to
accomplish this business. Satan is a personality; a spirit-being. He
can be seized, and will be bound; just as his subordinate angels have
already been, and are now reserved for future judgment under "chains of
darkness" and "everlasting chains" (
The grand reality is, that Satan will one day be "bound"; and
he will be bound with something that can bind him. He will be cast into
the Abyss; and, in spite of his being a spirit-being, he will not be
able to get out, or "walk about" (
"O what a bright and blessed world
This groaning earth of ours will be,
When, from its throne, the Tempter hurled,
Shall leave it all, O Lord, for Thee?"
That is to be our attitude. We believe that the War is literal; the taking of the Beast and the False Prophet is literal; Satan is literal, and his binding is literal. It does not say he will be bound with a steel chain, or an iron chain; but it says "a great chain." It will be a chain of Divine make, and it will be suitable for— will effectually accomplish— great object.
How all this can be done we do not know; nor are we called
upon to show. There are such things as Figures of Speech; but this is
not one, nor is it what commentators call "figurative language," that
cannot bind anyone, except themselves and others, to their false system
of interpretation. In
The Abyss is literal; as is the lake of fire. Satan is to be cast into the Abyss (from whence the Beast came, xvii. 8), for 1,000 years, when he will join the Beast and the False Prophet in the lake of fire (xx. 10).
There is another place called "Tartarus" (
With all these Scriptures about Angels being bound
with chains, etc., it is strange, indeed, that, in spite of the words
"in prison,"
In the face of all these great, solemn, and grand realities, it is sad to notice the fanciful interpretations put upon them.
Some maintain that this binding took place at the beginning of
the Christian Dispensation. In that case the Millennium was over nearly
1,000 years ago, and we call that very period "the dark ages." In that
case also Peter was inspired to say that Satan "walketh about" (
Some assert that the binding took place at the conversion of Constantine. But that was the beginning of all that has led to the corruption and apostasy of the Church.
Others hold that whenever the binding took place, Satan is bound now. Such can never read the newspapers, which teem with little else than the most awful evidences to the contrary, both of crimes in the world and of corruption in the Church.
Others maintain that the 1,000 years are not literal but mean any prolonged period.
If the year-day theory is to be consistently held, then we have a period of at least 360,000 years during which Satan is bound.
After the 1,000 years Satan "must be loosed a little season." The consideration of why this "must be" we will defer till we come to verse 7. Meantime, the Structure binds us consider first the blessedness of the Millennial state on earth.
The third, or central judgment of the last five differs from the two that precede and follow it, in that it is a judgment of vindication and award, and not of condemnation and punishment.
Its subject are the Overcomers: and by its Structure it is divided into six members, grouped in three pairs: Persons alternating with the duration of Time, as in the previous Structure concerning Satan:—
A2. xx. 4-6. Judgment given to the Overcomers.
A2 | F1 | 4-. Persons. "And I saw
thrones...
G1 | -4. Time. "And they lived
again... 1,000 years.
F2 | 5-. Persons. "But the rest of the
dead...
G2 | -5-. Time. "Until the 1,000
years were finished."
F3 | -5, 6-. Persons. "This is the first
resurrection. Blessed and holy is he," etc.
G3 | -6. Time. "And shall reign with
Him 1,000 years."
F1. xx. 4-. Persons.
4-. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them:] If this refers to "the
souls" mentioned in the second pair, then we have certain statements
quite out of the natural order. Acts and actions are attributed to them
before they are said to be risen again! Thrones, judges, and
sentence are the subjects of this first pair; while martyrs,
resurrection, and reigning are the subjects of the second pair. It
seems, therefore, that we have, here, the setting-up of the tribunal to
judge or vindicate those who shall have had part in the "first
resurrection;" and to righteously and formally give them their position
in glory.
The plural, "they sat," must be taken as including
God and Christ, and the seven angelic assessors (see
That throne, as well as the thrones of the twelve apostles,
are seen here placed for judgment according to
Christ will have come, not only to "make war," but to "judge"; for, "in righteousness He doth judge and make war" (xix. 11). If this be not the judgment of saints and living nations, then there is no place for it at all; for the only other judgment mentioned is that of the great white throne after the Millennium, at the end of this chapter. Of these final five judgments, one is that of living nations before the Millennium, and is connected with the first resurrection; while the other is after the Millennium, and is connected with the second resurrection.
The thrones are seen here placed. A tribunal is set up, and power and authority to execute judgment, and pronounce the sentence of vindication, and award "is given." Upon whom? That question is now to be answered. The words, "the souls," &c., are in the accusative case, and the AV. and RV. supply in italics, "I saw." But the Ellipsis is arbitrarily supplied. After the giving of authority to exercise judgment, the natural sequence of thought would be the exercise of it! So we supply
-4-. and [they judged, i.e., vindicated, xviii. 20] those that were beheaded (lit., the souls of those who were beheaded, but see below) on account of the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God,]
"The souls of those who were beheaded" are clearly those who had been mentioned in chap. vi. 9. They at length enjoy their resurrection and receive their vindication there promised to them.
The expression "souls" in vi. 9 is clearly the antecedent of
verse 11, where we read "it was given to them." As in chap. vi. 11, so
here in xx. 4 we must note that the word "them" is masculine, (...)
(autois), and not feminine, (...) (autais), which is
the gender of (...) (psuchas), souls. This proves
that the expression, which consists of four words, "the souls of those
who were beheaded," is a Pleonasm, and is to be treated as a figure,
and not to be translated literally; but, being in the masculine gender,
should be rendered without circumlocution "those who were beheaded"
(compare
But now another statement is made, and it begins with the words (...) (kai hoitines), which are rendered "and which" (AV), "and such as" (RV), "and those who" (Tregelles), as though the pronoun were in the accusative case and depended on the same verb as "souls": i.e., as though it read "I saw the souls... and I saw those which," &c. But the fact is that this pronoun, (...) (hoitines) is in the nominative case, and therefore does not depend on any verb, but is the subject of a new sentence altogether, of which the verb is "lived again." This is a grammatical fact that scientifically determines the matter for us, and prevents us from introducing our own opinions. Of one class of persons, viz., the beheaded martyrs, it is said that they were righteously judged and vindicated. The next statement of verse 4 goes on to say that not only these (who were beheaded), but all, including these who refused to worship the Beast, "lived again": i.e., had part in the first resurrection, which is presently described.
-4-. And whosoever
For so (...) (hoitines) is rendered in
If these refer to and include all who had lost their lives for faithful testimony, then the next clause includes those who had specially done so during the Tribulation; for all these "live again," in the first resurrection. It is not the extent of the first resurrection which is here in question, but a statement concerning some of those who shall have part in it. That there are and will be others is implied in verse 6. All these "both lived again and reigned with Christ."
G1. xx. -4. Time.
-4. A thousand years.] This is the
duration of the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus; and this is the
throne spoken of in
This is the day when "the Lord shall be king over all the
earth" (
Many scriptures tell of the glories of that thousand years. We
can only sum them up, and that briefly:— Those years will be
characterised by (1) the absence of Satan; (2) the restoration of the
earth (
When the thousand years end, their blessedness does not end,
but increase with the glory of the new heavens and the new earth (
F2. xx. 5-. Persons.
5-.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "but."
If they "lived not again" until they rise from the dead, in what sense can they be said to "live" now while they are dead? The one is the antithesis of the other. In like manner, if they are suffering punishment in purgatory or elsewhere, in what way does this differ from the punishment which is awarded to them when they shall have been judged (xx. 14, 15). Another question raised is, In what sense is the "second death" different from the first? The questions are easily asked; and, if we believe God and His Word instead of tradition or theology, they are easily answered. This Scripture is part of a Book where future, unseen, and otherwise unknown facts and truths are made known to us. Apart from revelation no one knows anything about death and judgment. But, thank God, the humblest student of His word, if he knows all that God has told us on these subjects, knows all that can be known, and is as wise as the wisest of his teachers.
But, alas, these teachers too often give heed to the teachings of lying spirits, through Spiritists and mediums who are themselves deceived; and, in consequence, find a difficulty in receiving and believing the simple but true revelations of the Word of God.
G2. xx. -5-. Time.
-5-. Until
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (ezesan achri),
instead of (...) (anezesan heos).
F3. xx. -5, 6-. Persons.
-5. This is the first resurrection. (6-) Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection; over these the second death hath not power (or authority), but they shall be (and continue) priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him]
G3. xx. -6. Time.
-6. a
T.Tr.Ab. WHb. and RVm. read "the."
Here, again, we have two things standing in related
contrast, the "first" and the "new": i.e., the new, and the one that
immediately precedes it; the former, and not the "first." For,
the present "heavens and the earth which are now" (
Hence this "first resurrection" is the former of the
two mentioned in this verse: and not the calling on high of
The resurrection of
The resurrection of
Martha expressed her belief in "the resurrection at the last
day" (
It was for this "first (or former resurrection") that the Old
Testament Saints looked. It was the "better resurrection" of
But the Church of God, as the Body of Christ, was a "secret." All that concerned it was "hid in God": its calling, its standing, its hope, and its destiny. All were subjects of special revelation.
It was "by revelation" that it was made known to the apostle
Paul, and to us through him (
It was by a special and subsequent revelation that we know
what God has made Christ to be unto His Church; and what He has made
the Church to be in Christ (
It was by special revelation we know that all will not die;
that there is to be an exception to the Appointment of
Tradition, as represented in our Hymn-books and on our Tomb-stones, reverses all this, and assures us that "the dead in Christ" have already preceded or got there before those who are "alive and remain." But we believe God; and are assured that the Truth is exactly the opposite of Tradition; viz., that those who are "alive and remain" shall not precede "the dead in Christ," or be caught up to "be with the Lord," before "the dead in Christ" shall have been raised. These shall "rise first," and then be caught up, together with the living saints, "to be with the Lord."
To teach otherwise is to fall into the heresy of Hymenaeus and
Philetus; to "overturn the faith"; and to say that "the resurrection is
passed already (
This secret is again mentioned in
The great secret in
All this is quite independent of "the first resurrection" of
The hope of Israel is one thing, and is quite distinct from the hope of the Church, which is another thing. The Gentiles are "without hope." The Scriptures of truth which treat of "the Jews, the Gentile, and the Church of God" must be rightly divided, or we shall not get the truth. These resurrections must be divided according to the dispensations to which they respectively belong.
The resurrection in
We know not how long a time will elapse between the
resurrection of believers (
All shall not sleep (or, die) but all shall be changed. The
thought in verses 51, 52 is parenthetical.
The ranks or corps
The word (...) (tagma) means a body, or
troop or corps of soldiers. See
See The Church Epistles, by the same author and
publisher, pages 241-243.
The latter is the subject we have before us now, and the first
resurrection has special reference to the overcomers, according to the
promise made to them in chap. ii. 11: "he that overcometh shall not be
hurt of the second death." In contrast with this is set the fact that
they shall be priests of God and of Christ." This also is the
realization of what is stated in chap. i. 6 and chap. v. 10, where the
Zoa and the Elders say of those who were redeemed, Thou "hast
made them kings and priests: and they shall reign on the earth." This
is what was prophesied in
It is again affirmed that those who have part in the "first resurrection" will have this blessedness for the thousand years. During that time they live and reign with Christ. How "principles" can do this (as some teach) we are at a loss to understand! How the "memory" and the "character" of the saints can reign over the Gentiles is a still greater mystery, and we must leave the difficulty with those who create it, and "give it up." Man may say they reign "as if they were martyrs raised from the dead." The Word says that they will be actually raised, and will actually reign. They do not "live again" "spiritually," or "in their successors." Those who were beheaded are the same as those who reign; and how "principles" or "character" can be beheaded we have yet to learn.
We come now to the fourth of these final five judgments. The third— central one— differs (as we have seen) in character from the others. It is a judgment which vindicates and rewards those who are the subjects of it. The others are all for condemnation and judgment.
B2. xx. 7-10. The Judgment of Satan. (After the Millennium).
B2 | H | 7. Satan "loosed out of his
prison."
J | 8. The Nations deceived.
J | 9. The Nations devoured.
H | 10. Satan "cast into the lake of fire."
H. xx. 7. Satan loosed out of his prison.
7. And when the thousand years are completed, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,] In verse 3 it was stated that "he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be finished; after this he MUST be loosed a little season." Here, in verse 7, we have the fact, the necessity of which is there declared.
But why "MUST" Satan be loosed, even for "a little season"? Wherein lies the reason for this mysterious necessity?
To understand the word "must" of verse 3, we shall have to
discover something of the Divine purposes and counsels in ruling and
overruling the course of this world. "Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning of the world" (
"The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying,
Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass;
And as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (
At the beginning there was Satan's first rebellion;
and now, at the end, we have this final rebellion. In
We know, also that God did not originally create the
world as it is described in
The expression occurs in
"Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens:
God himself that formed the earth and made it:
He hath established it,
HE CREATED IT NOT TOHU."
Therefore it must have become so at some time, and in
some manner, and for some reason, which are not revealed. This is the
very meaning of the Hebrew verb (...) (hayah) to come to
be.
See
We submit that this catastrophe was brought about by the first
rebellion of Satan.
In reference to Satan's first interference with the earth,
see
If this be so, then we are able to see the order of all the various dispensations; and learn how all the evil is to be overcome; how the new heavens and the new earth are to be brought about; and how the curse is to be removed.
The following Structure of the Divine Plan of the Ages sets
forth the correspondence between the steps of the Ruin and the
Restoration; and shows that the Restoration is to be brought about in
an inverse order to that of the Ruin. The eight steps roll
back upon themselves, until the Primal blessedness is at length seen
restored. In this Structure, which is seen to be an Introversion, the
first member (A) corresponds with the last (A); the second (B)
with the next to the last (B); and so throughout: that is to
say, the Primal Creation (A) is placed in contrast with the New Heavens
and the New Earth (A). Satan's first rebellion (B) stands in
connection with his final rebellion (B). The Restored Earth of
The Dispensational Plan of the Bible
A | The Primal
Creation. The first heaven and the first earth.
B | Satan's First
Rebellion.
C | The Earth
Restored and Blessed.
D | Satan
Enters, and the Consequence.
E | Mankind dealt with as a whole.
F | The Chosen nation Called, and
Blessed.
G |
The First Advent. The
Four Gospels.
H |
The Kingdom re-offered.
The Acts and earlier Pauline Epistles. (
The "Signs and wonders of
the Holy Ghost." (
(
H |
The Kingdom in Abeyance.
The "Not yet" of
The mystery revealed and
consummated.
G |
The Second Advent. Rev.
"The Day of the Lord."
F |
The Chosen Nation re-called, and
a blessing.
E |
Mankind dealt with as a
whole.
D | Satan bound, and the
consequence.
C | The
Earth restored and blessed.
B | Satan's
final rebellion.
A | The New
Heavens and the New Earth.
The "Third Heaven" and "Paradise,"
A careful study of this Structure will show that the several
dispensations which form the great subject of the Word of God could not
be otherwise divided. Jew, Gentile, and the Church of God are
distinguished; and each has its own proper place. The two Advents are
separated, and the second is distinguished from the Parousia
and the "blessed hope" which are quite distinct and separate events.
The Church occupies the central position; and its present standing is
separated from its future destiny and hope. The two rebellions of Satan
are also seen to be in direct correspondence, so that now we can see
the necessity for this "must be" of verse 3; and for this loosing in
But there is a deeper reason than that which appears on the surface of this Structure of the Divine Plan of the Ages.
All the counsels and purposes of God have Christ for their
centre, their subject, and their object. Not only "by him were all
things created" (
From this it follows that no created being, heavenly or
earthly, can stand ("upright") or "consist," apart from Him. He is
"upholding all things by the word of His power" (
In
What is the lesson that God is now teaching these heavenly beings?
It is simply this:— that no created being can stand apart from Christ the Creator. It is this that is brought out by the Structure of the Dispensations.
B. Satan could not stand, though blessed with untold powers and dignities.
D. Man could not stand, though placed in the most favorable circumstances.
E. The Nations could not stand. They soon rebelled against God's commands; and set up Babel as the monument of their defiance.
F. The chosen nation (Israel) could not stand, though placed
in a position as favourable (nationally) as man had been in Adam
(individually). The nations having all failed: then, a new nation, a
chosen nation, is formed out of one man, Abraham; and placed in a
country which was as another Garden of the Lord; and blessed with
national blessings such as no nation ever enjoyed before or since. But
Israel failed, and instead of being a blessing became a curse. They
forsook the Covenant of the Lord; despised His Law; threw down His
altars, and slew His prophets with the sword (
G. The First Advent. "Having yet one Son, his well-beloved, he
sent him also last unto them." But those wicked husbandmen "took him
and slew him, and cast him out" (
H. After the rejection of the King and the Kingdom (
H. The Kingdom in Abeyance? NOT YET "do we see all
thing put under His feet" (
It is not God's counsel to use the Church as the means by which He will bring in the New Heavens and the New Earth. That new creation will be full of physical marvels, which cannot be brought about by spiritual agencies. Cause must have come relation to effect. And God has appointed other means to remove the curse from the earth, and make an end of sin and of death. Physical means will be used to bring about physical changes and bring in physical blessings.
The Church is now waiting— for the world's conversion, because
it knows that its apostasy is foretold (
This, of course, refers to individual standing
here. Not to corporate standing. That has totally failed, as
the Epistles testify. Corporate standing, now, is only "IN CHRIST,"
which includes all the members of His Body.
F. And Israel. What of Israel? Will Israel stand? Yes, for Jehovah has said:
"I will take you from among the heathen,
And gather you out of all countries.
And will bring you into your own land,
THEN will I sprinkle clean water upon you
And ye shall be clean;
From all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you.
A new heart also will I give you,
And a new spirit will I put within you;
And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,
And I will give you a heart of flesh,
And I will put my Spirit within you,
And cause you to walk in my statutes;
And ye shall keep my judgments and do them,
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers,
And ye shall be my People, and I will be your God...
I, the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it" (
Then shall be seen the only indefectible nation the world has
ever known. Israel shall "no more go astray" (
Yes, Israel WILL STAND then, because, and only because, Israel shall be holden up by the infinite power of Jehovah— Almighty Creator and Covenant God.
E. And the Nations. What of them? They will have
beheld and enjoyed for a thousand years the goodness of Jehovah. The
knowledge of His glory shall have flooded the earth. All shall be
taught of God. For a thousand years they shall have known a righteous
and holy government, and enjoyed peace, prosperity and plenty. What of
this? Will these things give a new heart? Will they be able to undo the
enmity of the natural heart to God? (
The Nations did not stand in the midst of all the corruptions
with which they corrupted their way in Gen. iv— Neither will they stand
in spite of all the manifestation of God's glory in the earth. Even in
the midst of Millennial glory many will render only a feigned obedience
(
When Satan shall be loosed they are at once, and apparently, easily "deceived" and ready to believe his lies, and to manifest the enmity of the natural heart by fighting under him against God.
To bring out this awful fact, and exhibit the true nature of man; and to manifest the grace of God; and to show that, apart from Christ, nothing can exist, or consist, or stand, Satan "MUST be loosed for a little season." The great lesson of the ages will not be fully manifested or seen till then; but even now it is being taught to angelic beings in heaven. The great object lesson can even now, but not till now, be taught them "by means of the church."
Now, saved sinners and rebels can be pointed to as "in
Christ," and therefore for ever saved, safe, and secure. And all this
is "according to the eternal purpose ("the purpose of the ages," RV.
marg.) which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (
Now we see why Satan "must be loosed." Now we learn the secret of this mysterious necessity. It must be shown that time does not alter Satan's character; and that the goodness of God has no more effect upon the old nature than the judgments of God.
J. xx. 8. The Nations deceived.
8. And will go out to deceive the Nations which are in
the four corners of the earth, God and Magog, to gather them together
to the (predicted) war: the number of whom is as the
sand of the sea.] How, and with what lies, he will
deceive them we are not told. But we are not without examples of how
easily nations may be deceived by man, even in our own day. And Satan
will find means to discredit God's dealings and misrepresent His words.
As He deceived the angels, who, in consequence, "sinned," and shared
his fall; and lied to our first parents in the garden (
"Gog and Magog" denote the nations as a whole. Magog is
mentioned as the first son of Japhet in
The word "Magog" is found only in
It is absurd to talk about "John borrowing from Ezekiel," as so many say. There is no "borrowing" in the matter. Both prophecies are "given by inspiration of God," and refer to two distinct subjects. There is no confusion between them if we rightly divide the times to which they respectively belong.
J. xx. 9. The Nations Devoured.
9. And they went up upon the breadth of the Land, and
encompassed the citadel of the saints, and the beloved city: and there
came down fire out of heaven,
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "from God."
There are no contending armies here. The issue of this invasion of the Land is speedily and finally terminated by a special Divine judgment. Fire comes down from Heaven and devours the mighty host. A special judgment is reserved for Satan.
H. xx. 10. Satan Cast into the Lake of Fire.
10. And the Devil that deceived them was cast into a
lake of fire and brimstone, where both
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add (...) (kai)
both.
This is reason of Satan's hatred of this book of the
Revelation. It is the book which tells of his doom; as Genesis
foretells it (
We now come to the last of these final five judgment scenes—
of the Great White Throne. This is not a "general judgment." That fact
that there are five judgments recorded in this last Vision on
Earth shows, not only that the expression "general" is foreign to
Scripture, but that such a judgment is unknown. As to the Church, if it
can be called a "judgment" at all, the Church has already passed
through hers as to service and works (not as to standing, of
course), according to
This judgment is generally supposed to be identical with that
of
This is sufficient to show the confusion which must necessarily ensue if we are not careful in "rightly dividing the Word of truth."
The passage (xx. 11-15) which records this last of the five judgments is seen, by the Structure, to consist of four pairs, as follows:
A3. xx. 11-15. The Judgment of the Great White Throne.
A3 | K1 | c1 | 11-. The
great white throne. "And I saw...
d1 | -11. The Judge who
sat thereon
K2 | c2 | 12-. The raised
dead (from earth). "And I saw....
d2 | -12. Their
judgment.
K3 | c3 | 13-. The raised
dead (from the sea).
d3 | -13. Their
judgment.
K4 | c4 | 14. Death and the
grave.
d4 | 15. Their final
judgment.
First we have the Throne itself:
c1. xx. 11-. The Great White Throne.
11-. And I saw a great white throne,] "great," is distinction from the other thrones mentioned in this book, and that of chap. iv. 2-6. That was set "in heaven." This is seen in the last Vision "on earth"; as were also the throne in the fourth verse. It is not only "great," to indicate the greatness of the occasion, and of its power and authority: but "white," to indicate its purity, holiness, and righteousness. There are no threatenings here. No thunderings and lightnings: no voices. Nothing "around" it: nothing "before" it. Only
d1. xx. -11. The Judge who sat thereon.
-11. And him that sat thereon, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and no place was found for
them.] No name is given. No form is described. Only an
awful, mysterious presence. This is perhaps the moment of
It needs no human description nor interpretation. Heretics
might say in Paul's day that "the resurrection is passed already" (
The Last Judgment, page 40.
c2. xx. 12-. The Raised Dead (from the earth).
12-. And I saw the dead, the great and small, standing
before the throne;
G.L.T.Tr.WH. and RV. read (...) (thronou)
throne, instead of (...) (theou) God.
This judgment is different from all the others. It differs from the first (xix. 11), in that that was a judicial act of summary retribution. And it differs from the others in that it is a deliberate session; a formal process of judgment deciding according to the evidence produced.
Nothing is said as to the contents of these books. In iii. 5;
xiii. 8; xvii. 8; xx. 12, 15; xxi. 27 we read that "the book of life"
contains "names," and probably names also fill these "books."
In the Old Testament also, it is mentioned (
We need not speculate as to what is written in these books. Nor can we tell whether this other book— book of life— mentioned negatively, to exclude those not named in it; or positively, to embrace those who are. What we do know is that "the first resurrection" is specifically called "the resurrection of life"; and that those who have part in it will not be reckoned with "the rest of the dead which lived not again till the thousand years were finished." The words, "according to their works" looks as though there may be two classes of these "dead." But where the Word is silent, it is better for us to be silent also.
d2. xx. -12. Their Judgment.
-12. And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works.] These books, as Alford says, seem "the vouchers for the Book of Life." If so, they contain the evidence to show cause why the names are not written therein. There is no account of any name being found in the Book of Life. One thing, however, is clear, and that is, that the church of God cannot be here; for the standing of its members is not of works at all; but is wholly of grace.
c3. xx. 13-. The Raised Dead (from the Sea).
13-. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and Death and the Grave (Hades, i. 18; vi. 8) gave up the dead that were in them:] It is a question there of resurrection; and the language used is meant to include the unburied as well as the buried. There is nothing said about "souls," but only of persons raised from the dead.
d3. xx. -13. Their Judgment.
-13. And they were judged, each one, according to their works.] The Sinaitic MS. reads condemned instead of judged, but the latter word implies the former, if that is "the resurrection of condemnation" spoken of in other scriptures.
c4. xx. 14. Death and the Grave.
14. And Death and the Grave were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire.
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "the lake of fire."
In either case "the rest of the dead" would not include the
Church, or Israel, or the Elect Remnant, nor the names of those who
make up the superhuman wild Beasts of
No one can say which of these two views is correct. Nor can it be necessary for us to know.
Thus ends the description of these five judgments which conclude the last Vision of things "on earth;" and which have to do with the earth "which now is."
The structure of this Seventh (and last) Vision "on Earth" has been given and its members expanded, showing the five final judgments, as to their order.
But there is a further inter-relation between these five, if we look at them as a whole; and have regard to the events themselves, rather than their connection with "Men" and "Satan." The first and second judgments form one member, thus making four members in all, arranged as a simple alternation:—
The Seventh Vision "on Earth."
A1 | C | a | xix. 17-19. War. Before the
Millennium.
& b | 20, 21. The lake of fire.
Beast cast into it.
B1 D | c | xx.
1-3. Satan bound.
d | -3. Nations not deceived for 1000 years.
A2 | e | 4. Thrones.
f | 5-. Rest of dead.
g | -5. First resurrection.
h | 6. Its privileges.
B2 |
D | c | xx. 7. Satan loosed.
d
| 8. Nations deceived.
C | a | 9. War. After the
Millennium.
b | 10. The lake of
fire. Satan cast into it.
A3 | e | 11. Great White Throne.
f | 12-14. Rest of dead.
g | -14. Second death.
h | 15. Its subjects.
Thus we see one beautiful structure contained within the other; both perfect; showing how intimately these five members are related, and revealing a further hidden correspondence between them.
The next Vision introduces us to the eternal state of the New Heavens and the New Earth, and those who shall dwell therein.
B. Chaps. xxi. 1— 5.
This member corresponds with the member B (chaps. ii. and iii.). Those chapters are occupied specially with the people who will be on the earth during the Day of the Lord and in the Great Tribulation— concluding days of the old earth. These chaps. xxi. 1— 5, are occupied with the New Earth and the people who shall dwell therein, after all those judgments are ended.
This large member is divided into three parts:—
B., xxi. 1— 5. The People of the New Earth.
B | A | xxi. 1, 2. Visions: (Heavens and Earth,
etc.).
B | 3-8. Voices.
A | xxi. 9— 5. Visions: (the Bride).
These again may be divided up and expanded. We will give each, in order:—
A | a | b | xxi. 1-. Vision. "And I saw."
c | -1. The New Heavens and New
Earth.
a | b | 2-. Vision. "And I
saw."
c | -2. The New
Jerusalem.
In this former Vision (A) two things are seen. (1) The New Heavens and Earth, and (2) the New Jerusalem.
In the latter Vision (A. xxi. 9— 5), we have the second Vision enlarged, extended, and more fully described. The two series of Visions are separated by the voices (B. xxi. 3-8).
Apart from what God is pleased to show us, and tell us, nothing could possibly be known by mortal man.
All imaginations, therefore, are worse than useless; they are misleading. Hence the importance of these significant expressions "And I saw," "And I heard," "And I saw."
The whole of this member (xxi. 1— 5) must be taken as coming after the judgment of the Great White Throne.
Some have looked on these two chapters as merely containing further details concerning the Millennium. But the fact of the New Heavens and the New Earth; and the passing away of the former heavens and earth; and of there being "no more sea," quite precludes the possibility of this being a mere recurrence to former things, and the filling in of further details.
This will be seen as we proceed.
a. xxi. 1. The New Heavens and Earth.
xxi. 1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for
the former heaven and the former earth were passed away, and there was
no more sea.] Here again we have the same remarks to make
as were made with reference to the "first" and "second" resurrections.
It is the former earth that had passed away, to give place to that
which is not called the second but the "new." As we there
said, the first heaven and earth "which then was" (i.e.,
Tradition talks about "the end of the world"; and consequently
errs, "not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God." There will be
an end of this age, but not of the world, as man thinks and speaks.
There are other scriptures which speak of this passing away
(see
All will be "new." The word rendered "new" ((...), kainos) means new, not merely as to time, but as to kind and as to quality.
The heaven will be "new"; the earth "new"; for there will be "no more curse," and therefore no more sin, or suffering, or sorrow.
Among these new things will be
a. xxi. 2. The Holy City.
xxi. 2. And I
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "John."
B | d | e | 3-. A loud voice.
f | -3, 4. Things uttered { Good
bestowed, verse -3.
{
Evil removed, verse 4.
d | e | 5-. He that sat on the
throne.
f | -5-8. Things uttered {
Good bestowed, verses 5-7.
{
Evil removed, verse 8.
d. (above), xxi. 3. The Loud Voice, and Things Uttered.
xxi. 3. And I heard a loud voice out of the
throne
So L.T.A. WH. and RV. Tr. and Textus Receptus, B., &c.,
read "heaven."
T.Tr.WH. text, RV. marg., omit "and be their God." L.A. and
WH. marg. RV. agree with AV.
The blessed condition of the inhabitants of the New Earth is next further described.
4. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes;
and death shall be no more, neither sorrow nor mourning, nor crying;
neither shall there be any more pain: because the former things are
passed away.] Every tear, for there are many tears, and
many causes for them. Death no longer, no more dying beds, funerals, or
graves. Sorrow ceases. Mourning is at an end: and crying shall be
hushed and pain unfelt (
We have further voices in the next verses, 5-8.
d. xxi. 5-8. He that sat on the Throne, and Things Uttered.
xxi. 5. And He that sitteth upon the throne said,
"Behold, I make all Things new." And He saith,
L.T.Trb. A. WH. and RV. omit to me.
"Write: because these words are faithful and true."
(6) And He said to me,
"They
So L.T.Tr. Ab. WH. and RV.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV., read (...) (tauta)
these things, instead of (...) (panta) all
things.
These are the words from the Throne. The command to write these things implies that the others had already been written.
Three times we have the expression "and He said":
(1). All is to be made new;
(2). All is faithful and true; and
(3). All is accomplished which had been foretold and
decreed.
John sees first the New Earth, then the Holy City; then he hears of the blessings for the inhabitants of the city; and finally, the causes which shall have contributed to the exclusion of those who have no part in it.
The "fearful" are those who, through fear,
apostatise: (the law provides for the cowardly, such as those
in Gideon's army,
We now come to the final two visions of the Bride and the City, described in xxi. 9— 5.
A.,
xxi. 9— 5. Vision.
The Bride or the Holy City.
A | g | xxi. 9-21. Description. } The Holy City.
h | 22-27. Privileges.
g | xxii. 1, 2. Description. } The
Blessed Country.
h | 3-5. Privileges.
g. (see above), xxi. 9-21. Description. The Holy City.
xxi. 9. And there came
Omit (...) (pros me) to me, G.L.T.Tr.A.
WH. and RV.
"Come hither, I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife."]
Here we are told exactly what was going to be shown to John. It was one of the Seven angels who had already shown John "great Babylon."
In order to see the harlot city (xvii. 1), John is taken into the wilderness (xvii. 3). To see the Holy City he is carried to a great mountain. (xxi. 10).
It was the same with Ezekiel in chap. xl. 2.
We are not left to our own imagination as to what this Holy City is. We are distinctly told that it is i.e., represents or contains "the Bride."
In chap. xix. we had the wife, (...) (gune). Here we have the Bride, (...) (numphe). The one was before the Millennium; the other, the latter, is after it.
It does not say that the latter was then and there formed, but only that, at that point of the Vision, John saw it "coming down from heaven," where it had been; but, for how long we are not told.
If the wife (chap. xix) was Israel; then this Bride is not Israel, but "of Israel."
We must remember the three distinct "callings" revealed in Scripture.
(1). We have the earthly calling of Israel, called out from
all nations, for blessing in the Land. Israel was the "wife," and is so
spoken of all through the Old Testament; and the marriage will be
consummated when
(2). We have "the heavenly calling," distinctly spoken of as
such in
In spite of the earthly promises to Israel, and in the midst of all those who cherished those earthly promises, there was an elect "heavenly calling" of those whose hopes were not earthly, but heavenly. They looked for no earthly portion, but they looked forward with a heavenly hope to a heavenly blessing. As it is written:
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced
them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims (
When the angel, therefore, says to John (
It will also be noted that the names "on the GATES" of the
city are "the names of the twelve TRIBES of the children of Israel"
(
If this be not "the CITY" for which they and the Elect Remnant looked, then we ask, for what "City" did they look? Certainly not for an earthly city; but for this, of which we now see them, its blessed and happy inhabitants. No other city has these foundations; no other city has apostles and prophets to prophesy concerning God as its builder. God builds one City, His prophets and apostles are all concerned for the building of the City of the eternal ages. Their message concerning this city came from its builder and maker. The builder of it puts their names in the foundations of its walls; and the adornment of its foundations are the names of the twelve apostles. No other city could have such immortal, priceless foundations. Blessed foundations. This was the city; for this alone has foundations, all others will have vanished in smoke; this abides. This, then, is what Abraham, and his seed, by faith, looked for. This is the Holy City.
(3). Then, we have the other "calling," of which we read in
If we identify the calling of the Church of God with the other callings we cannot but have confusion.
Here, in
This effectually disposes of the figment of "Apostolic
Succession," which would never have been seriously entertained had not
the truth connected with the Mystery been lost. And we ought to note
that while the Twelve Apostles are thus separated off from the Church,
the Apostle Paul was specially raised up to a different position
altogether, and is identified with the Mystery.
In harmony also with this is the teaching of
EPHESIANS V. 25-33.
Christians, in their selfishness, intrude themselves into the place of others as the Bride, and thus lose the blessed enjoyment of their own place which is theirs as part of the Bridegroom!
The Bride and the Bridegroom, though in a sense one, are yet
distinct. And it is clear from all the scriptures relating to the
Mystery, that the members of Christ's Body are part of the Bridegroom
Himself. Whereas the elect Old Testament saints will form the Bride.
See
True, the Apostle might address the saints concerning his
desire to present them "as a chaste virgin to Christ" (
So, in
The one thing that is clear, is that the Church is the Body of Christ; and that the members of that Body being "in Christ," are PART OF THE BRIDEGROOM. They cannot possibly, therefore, be the Bride herself as separate and distinct from the Bridegroom.
Another thing that is certain is that the mystery of the
Church was not revealed in the Old Testament, but was "hid in God"
(
It is one thing to see an illustration of the Church in the Old Testament; but it is quite another thing to say that this is there revealed, which God distinctly declares was not revealed!
GEN. xxiv.
has been, for example, widely taken as typical of Christ and
the Church. Isaac is taken as the bridegroom, and Rebekah as the Church
or the bride. True, the chapter is illustrative, but not of
the Church. The bridegroom and the bride were both "ready" before
either was called to the marriage. The bride was found in the house
of Abraham's brother. Very special injunctions were given that she
was not to be of "the Canaanites." "But," said Abraham to Eliezer,
"thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred and
take a wife unto my son Isaac... thou shalt take a wife for my son
from thence." Great emphasis is placed on this important
condition in verses 3, 4, 7, 37, 38. Abraham and Nahor were brothers,
and by Isaac's marriage with Rebekah, and Jacob's marriage with her
brother Laban's daughters (Leah and Rachel), the whole house of
Nahor was absorbed into the family of Abraham! In direct contrast
with this, it is again and again affirmed that the Church is composed
of both Jews and Gentiles. These together make up, with Christ
the Head, "one new man" (
Rebekah therefore represents, not the Mystery of Christ and
the Church, but that great cloud of witnesses (the Old Testament
saints), who, in the old dispensation, sacrificed, as she did, all
worldly advantages for the Lord's sake. It is for these He is preparing
that "city which hath foundations," and of which He Himself is the
Divine Architect. And truly, it is said of these, "if they had been
mindful of that country from whence they came out (as Rebekah came),
they might have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better
country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city" (
It seems to us, therefore, quite clear that neither the "wife"
in chap. xix. nor the Bride in chap. xxi. is the Church of God. The
former is clearly referred to in the Parable of the "Ten Virgins"
(
But, to return to this "Holy City," we repeat that all in this chapter (as in this whole Book) is intensely real.
It is a real city. Yet Barnes says, "no man can suppose that this is literally true." No! We do not "suppose" it, because we believe it to be true; and we find it easier to believe what God says, than to understand man's interpretation of it. It is strange that while materializing all really spiritual truths, interpreters should protest against the materialisation of those who would understand this of a literal city.
All other cities are shadows, if you like: for they all pass away; consequently, if this city be not real, then there never could have been the idea in God, of a city. We should have a word for which there would be no thought: a shadow without a substance!
Yes, this city is real, and its eternal duration is real also: for "there shall be no more curse" (xxii. 3).
This shows that it cannot refer to Millennial times, for the curse is seen in all its sin and wrath immediately on its close.
"Come and I will show thee the Bride," the angel says.
xxi. 10. "And he carried me away by (the)
spirit (or in spirit) to a mountain great and
high, and showed me the holy
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "the great."
Barnes, in loco.
For many generations no swans were known other than white ones; and our experience would have lead us to conclude that all swans were white. But now we know that in Australia there are black swans.
The experience of the savage is that wood will float, and iron will sink: hence, he will conclude an iron ship to be an impossibility.
Many things we once thought, when measured by our experience, to be absurd have been proved to be the contrary.
And so it will be with this wondrous city. Absurd! It would be absurd if God had no new and glorious things in store for man in a new Earth. Why is a new Earth less absurd than this Holy City? With man it may be impossible; and it may seem improbable. But "with God all things are possible." And he has prepared us for the revelation of it by saying to John "Write, for these words are faithful and true" (verse 5). In the face of this declaration, Who shall dare to question the reality of this description? Man only exposes his folly and ignorance when he dares to question whether this is a literal city. Great Babylon was a literal city. Herodotus tells us that it was 120 furlongs on each side. Why should not this Holy City be 12000? Babylon had a wall 50 royal cubits wide and 200 in height. Why should not a wall of this Holy City be 144 cubits high? Babylon had 100 gates of bronze. Why should not this have 12 gates of pearl? In other words, why not believe what God says? It is simpler, easier and happier.
There is a striking resemblance here to the earthly city
described in
But the two cities are distinct in their origin and source; and therefore not likely to be identical in their dimensions or character. Those who take the earthly city and the heavenly city to be the same, will necessarily be confused in their minds, and with their pens.
As to its light. There will be "no need of the sun." Its light
is mysterious. Man once thought he knew all about "light," and raised
objections against
Let us listen further to God's description of this Holy City:
xxi. 12. And it had a wall great and high, and twelve
gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which
are (the names
L.Trb. Ab. add "the names."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read on them.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "twelve."
Three is the number of Divine perfection;
seven of spiritual perfection; ten of
ordinal perfection; and twelve of
governmental perfection.
The woman in chap. xii. had the changeful moon for her foundation. Great Babylon had the Wild Beast. But this city has twelve foundations.
The names inscribed thereon are the names of the Twelve
Apostles of the Lamb. The Twelve who followed the Lord Jesus, the Lamb
of God, when on earth. These are separated from the other apostles,
given after the Ascension of Christ, to the Church of God (
All this shows that Israel is in question here, and not the Church of God. The Church is part of the Bridegroom, and will then be "with Christ." This city is separate from Christ, and occupies a distinct and separate position as the Bride.
The Twelve Apostles are associated with the Twelve Tribes, and
not with the Church of God. Paul's name is not here, nor are the other
subsequent apostles of the Church. Abraham "looked for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (
The Dimensions of the City.
xxi. 15. And he that talked with me had a measuring-rod of gold to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. (16) And the city lieth four square, and its length is as great as its breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, 12,000 stadia (Eng., furlongs). The length and the breadth, and the height of it are equal. (17) And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.] This means that, in the matter of measure, angels and men use the same.
In
When a square is given, it is usual to state the measure of
one of the sides definitely, as in
In this case, the city will be 1,500 miles square. Otherwise the whole measure is first given, and then we have to divide it into four before we can have the measure of the sides, which is the point in question.
The "wall" is quite a different matter. That is 144 cubits high, equal all round.
We have the shadow of it in
The inhabitants in this glorious dwelling dwell upon the Mount of God, and therefore the measurement belongs to its height, as well as to its length and breadth; and as Mount Sinai was once fenced off, so also is the New Jerusalem. At Sinai, Israel was outside the fence; but inasmuch as Moses, Joshua, and the Elders of Israel were admitted within the bounds, we see foreshadowed this city of the New Jerusalem. Under these conditions, therefore, the measure 12,000 refers to but one side; otherwise, the height of the city is not specified at all, which would be necessary if only the sum total of the four sides had been given.
Some have taken the measure 12,000 furlongs to be that of the
circumference. But to this it may be answered that, as only one
measurement is given, it must belong to one item of the city; because,
otherwise, he gives a measurement which must first be divided by four
before we know the length, breadth, and height; whereas, if he gives
the measurement in one direction, and then tells us that all the other
directions are equal to the one given, we have everything clear,
without any roundabout way of getting at the thing intended. And, as we
have to do with the Mount of God, which is the throne of God (
The Materials of the City.
xxi. 18. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. (19) And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was a jasper (dark green, and transparent, with red veins): the second, a sapphire (azure blue, almost transparent): the third, a chalcedony (a kind of agate or onyx, probably bluish-white, and semi-transparent): the fourth, an emerald (a vivid green): (20) the fifth, a sardonyx (a mixture of chalcedony and cornelian, a flesh colour): the sixth, a sardius (probably the cornelian, the red being sometimes vivid): the seventh, a chrysolite (yellow or gold in colour, and transparent): the eighth, a beryl (of a sea-green colour): the ninth, a topaz (to-day a yellow, but among the ancients it was a pale green): the tenth, a chrysoprasus (pale yellow and green, classed by moderns under topaz): the eleventh, a jacinth (a deep red flame colour or violet colour): the twelfth, an amethyst (a violet colour).] It is somewhat difficult to identify these stones with exactness, some of them being of various colours. But if we made a selection from the above, where we have a choice, they may be arranged thus:
X { Green (Jasper)
Blue (Sapphire)
Blue (Chalcedony)
Green (Emerald)
Y { Red
(Sardonyx)
Red (Sardine)
X { Yellow (Chrysolite)
Green (Beryl)
Yellow (Topaz)
Green (Chrysoprasus)
Y { Violet
( Jacinth)
Violet (Amethyst)
It will be observed that the twelve are arranged, according to colour, into sets of four alternating with sets of two; each pair of two differing from the pair of fours by being similar (Red and Violet respectively).
The first pair of four is arranged as an introversion, the second pair is arranged as an alternation.
xxi. 21. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates respectively was of one pearl: and the street (or street material) of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass] The word "street" can scarcely mean that the city had only one thoroughfare; so that it seems better to take the word generally, as denoting the street material of which all the streets were made.
(...) (plateia), however, means any wide, open space, such as the large, central square common to most cities; and this is included, if we take it of all the space not built on; or as the street material, which is gold instead of mud.
The Plateia will doubtless be a broad open space. A place for public gatherings. Not a street, as we know it. For this Plateia has the River of Life flowing through it, and the Tree of Life growing in it. Thoroughfares there will of course be; but there is a reason for this wide, open space. It reproduces Paradise.
The twelve gates imply the thoroughfares; but the gates are not for defence; only for ornament: and therefore constructed with that view.
h., xxi. 22-27. Privileges.
xxi. 22. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb, are the Temple of it.] No temple or "place of worship" is needed; for the whole city is hallowed and pervaded by the presence of God. This fact separates that part of the book from the former part, where the temple is seen (iii. 12; vii. 15; xi. 1, 16-19; xiv. 15, 17; xv. 5, 6, 8; xvi. 1, 17); and shows that we are here carried far beyond millennial times.
xxi. 23. And the city hath no need of the sun, neither
of the moon, that they should shine on her:
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (aute) on
her, instead of (...) in her, or it.
24. And the nations
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "of the saved."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and honour."
What is the origin of these Nations (
Now, as sin broke out in the garden, so also once more, sin breaks out among the nations under the Lord's Sovereignty after the Millennium.
The question is, do the terms "Gog and Magog" (xx. 8) include
every nation (apart from Israel) at the end of the Millennium?
The terms Gog and Magog imply that only certain nations are concerned,
and their locality also indicates the same thing— dwell at the "four
quarters of the earth." They are those that are fartherest away from
the capital of the earth— four corners. "The nations that are in the
four corners of the earth." The devil's deceit includes the same idea
that Jeroboam acted out
The "four corners" then represent the extreme limits of the earth, which has Jerusalem for its centre; so that the points of the compass, N.S.E.W. are related to Jerusalem, and mean the fartherest habitable parts of the earth in these directions.
Going up "upon the breadth of the earth" suggest a considerable width of territory, practically unoccupied; hence, that the people of Gog had purposely got as far away from the centre of government as they could. As their hearts were far away, so they removed their persons; hence, Satan would easily find entrance to their foolish minds, to set up their own government, and then go en masse armed to throw off the yoke and get possession of the wonderful tree.
This leaves it open, that, at the end of the Millennium, the
same experience will obtain as at the beginning: namely, that there
will be "nations" for the Lord's right hand, or in other words, there
will be nations to introduce to the New Kingdom upon the New Earth, and
with this we may connect the Lord's promise to Abraham,
We notice also, the same characteristic of the "goats"
But only "kings" will "enter into" the city. This looks as if these "kings" were something more than individuals selected out of the nations to rule them.
The words, "of the saved," are spurious, being a later
addition, arising from the traditional belief that there are only two
classes—"saved and lost." But, as we have before observed, there are
several classes of the saved, as there are several resurrections,
differing in glory as star differs from star. Here, then, there are the
nations with their kings; there are the citizens of this holy city;
there is the Bride; there is the Church of God (occupying the highest
place of all). The nations are not the Church; neither are the citizens
of this holy city. But the mystery of Christ and the Church has its own
peculiar privilege and destiny described in its own Church Epistles.
Subordination is the Divine plan of government, for eternity as well as
for time. Israel will be subordinate to the Twelve Apostles; the
overcomers will have precedence over the nations (
xxi. 27. And there shall never enter into her anything unclean, or whosoever worketh abomination, and a lie (or a lying abomination): but only (lit., except) those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.] This does not imply that there will then be any unclean thing that could enter in to defile it. It merely contrasts this with all other cities which have ever existed. It follows from this, that the nations then on the earth, and their kings, are written in the book of life. It also follows that these, being among the saved, there must be different parties of saved ones. All saved from the same eternal doom, but not all saved for the same state in glory. All will be in the eternal glory, but in different positions. The nations will occupy their own place; while Israel and the Church will occupy theirs, respectively.
The "working abomination" refers to idolatry: either to the
making of idols
See
The following first five verses of chap. xxii. form part of the last of these Visions. There ought never to have been a chapter division here. Chap. xxi. should end at xxii. 5; and chap. xxii. should commence at xxii. 6; containing, as it does, the Conclusion of the book, and corresponding exactly with the Introduction in chap. i, as we shall see below.
It is the description of Paradise Regained which is the great
subject of these five verses. It is not what man would have imagined,
for he looks for an unsubstantial, spiritual existence. But here we
have substance, and realities far grander than those in the book of
Genesis. Here is the complement of
g. xxii. 1, 2. Description.
Paradise regained and Eden restored.
xxii. 1. And he showed me a
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "pure."
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH and RV. read (...) (eti)
longer, instead (...) (ekei), there.
We have the city and its light; and the river and trees; and
the relations of the citizens and nations to all. It was promised to
the overcomers in
That "tree of life" was intended to preserve Adam and Eve in life. But the fall entailed the loss of that wondrous gift. The man was driven out of the garden for the special reason that it should not be possible for him to eat of it: for the reason given is, "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life; and eat and live for ever."
It is clear from this that the "tree of life" was the means by which Adam would have lived on for ever. Hence in the very day of his disobedience he was cut off from it, and his death was certain and sure.
So important was it that he should not "live for ever" in his sin and shame, that Cherubim and a flaming sword were placed to keep and preserve both it and him from this evil.
Eternal life was to be obtained and enjoyed henceforth only in and through Christ. "The Tree of life" was to be preserved; and here it is in Paradise, restored. No mere present "intermediate state" as Tradition teaches; but a future glorious restoration of the Paradise lost. The tree of life will also be restored; and, by its leaves, life will be preserved and prolonged for ever and ever. No created being can stand apart from the Creator. The very mention of the Tree immediately brings to mind the curse, and we are told that it will then be no more.
The Bible begins with the description of man in Eden, the garden of the Lord, the Paradise of God. What God's counsels were with regard to that garden are not revealed; for all was broken by the entrance of the old Serpent: and not until he shall have been cast into the lake of fire, will those counsels, for man, be renewed, restored, and carried out.
Elohim had created man; and, as Jehovah Elohim, He visited man
in that garden — revealing Himself and His wondrous works to man (
Students of God's Word have lost sight of all this foundation truth. It lies on the very threshold of the Scriptures, and is of infinite importance if we would understand all that is subsequently revealed.
The one question henceforth is, How shall man get back to that
Paradise which he has lost? The very next chapter tells us. In
"Nothing in my hand I bring."
In the other, independent, rebellious man says the opposite — "Something in my hand I bring." This is the one thing common to all systems of religion. They quarrel and fight to the death over the question as to what that "Something" is to be: but they are all at one in agreeing that it must be something. And so the weary conflict has gone on, and will continue to the end.
It is that end which we have before us here. And it is the object of the Apocalypse to tell us how that end will be reached.
"The Jew, and the Gentile, and the Church of God" (
"The Church of God" will have been caught up to meet the Lord in the air, long before this, to enjoy its blessed portion for ever with the Lord.
"Israel" will have been "planted" in its own inheritance.
And now the Gentile, mankind as a whole, will regain the
Paradise lost; and, in Eden restored, will have the glories and joys of
God's manifested presence, as described in
Tradition has made the Word of God of none effect. Paradise is
always used in Scripture of a definite place from Genesis to
Revelation. It is described in
Man ignores all this, and has turned Paradise into a present place, to which he has given his own name, and calls it "the Intermediate State" — a term unknown to Scripture! There is no "tree of life" in it; and no "water of life." It is man's Tradition pure and simple; and is a poor substitute for the substantial glories of Divine revelation.
If Tradition be true, then
The "Higher Critics" tell us that the Paradise of
There are not two Paradises in the place of the one that was
lost. Hence, by receiving and holding Tradition, they thus practically
"take away from the words of this book" (xxii. 19) all that is said
about it: for that solemn warning is given in immediate connection with
this "water of life," (verse 17), and this "tree of life" (verse
14).
See further on this subject, Things to Come (vol.
viii.), May, 1902.
The word "servants" (verse 3) tells us that the church of God
is not here. They shall "see His face" refers back to our first
parents, who hid themselves among the trees of the garden. They shall
reign in a higher sense than those in
This is the brief summary of the New Heavens and the New Earth; of Paradise regained; of the Holy City, and its inhabitants; and all the people of the New Earth. More is said below.
A. xxii. 6-21.
The Conclusion of the
Whole Book.
This Conclusion is modelled precisely on the same lines, as to structure, as the Introduction. It is brief and very impressive. Its scope seems to be to anticipate the difficulties of the reader, by assuring him again and again as to the solemnity and truth of the words of this book.
Their absolute truth and certainty are pressed upon us. Thrice it is repeated in this Book that these sayings are "faithful and true": xix. 9; xxi. 5; xxii. 6. In the Introduction and Conclusion it is (three times) affirmed that these words came from God (and not, therefore, from John, though they came through John): in i. 1 and xxii. 6, 16. In both also is a blessing pronounced on the readers and keepers of this book: i. 3 and xxii. 7.
This is what the Book claims to be. If these claims be not true, then the book is nothing better than a forgery; and is unworthy of our attention or consideration.
It seems to be the one great purpose of this Conclusion to press these claims upon us in the strongest possible manner.
Four times we have the person testifying; and four times the things testified. Four times we have the nearness of the Advent proclaimed; and four times the blessing announced.
The following is the Structure, and when we compare it with the Introduction, we shall at once see that it is constructed on the same model:—
A., xxii. 6-21. Conclusion.
A | A1 | a1 | 6-. The Angel
testifying.
b1 | -6. The things
testified. "Which must speedily come to pass." (Compare i. -1).
B1 |
c1 | 7-. Advent. "Behold, I come quickly."
d1 | -7. Benediction. "Blessed is he..." (See i. 3-).
A2 | a2 | 8, 9. The Angel
testifying.
b2 | 10, 11. The things
testified. "The prophecy of this book" (i. 3, "the time is at
hand").
B2 | c2 | 12, 13.
Advent. "Behold, I come quickly..."
d2 |
14, 15. Benediction. "Right to the tree of life."
A3 | a3 | 16. The Angel
testifying. "I Jesus have sent mine angel" (i. -1-).
b3 | -16-. The things
testified. Jesus the hope of Israel (i. 4).
B3 |
c3 | -16. Advent. The person of the coming one described
as "the Morning Star."
d3 | 17. Benediction. "Come" and take "the water of
life."
A4 | a4 | 18-. Jesus Himself
testifying. "I testify" (i. 17, 18).
b4 | -18, 19. The
things testified. "If anyone..."
B4 |
c4 | 20. Advent. "Surely I come quickly" (i. 7-). Promise
and answering cry.
d4 | 21. Benediction. "The grace of our Lord" (i. 4,
5).
The First Four Members.
a1. xxii. 6-. The Angel Testifying.
xxii. 6-. And he said unto me,] It is the angel of i. 1, reassuring John as to the truth of what he had been "sent" to show and to tell him.
b1. xxii. -6. The Things Testified.
-6. "These words are faithful and true: and the Lord
God of the spirits
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (pneumaton)
spirits of the, instead of (...) (ton hagion) the
holy.
c1. xxii. 7-. The Advent.
7-. And
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."
d1. xxii. -7. The Benediction.
-7. blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book.] Again the blessing of i. 3 is repeated, showing the importance of the study of this book. And it is "this book"; not merely certain parts of it, but the book as a whole. The Lord does not say who understand it, but who "keep its sayings" in their hearts, for the time is at hand; i.e., the time next in order to the present.
No other dispensation is to intervene, and the sayings of this book are to be kept for the time that is at hand.
The Second Four.
a2. xxii. 8, 9. The Angel Testifying.
8. And I John was he who heard and saw these
things.
This is the order of the words according to G.L.Tr.A. WH.
and RV.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit (...) (gar)
for.
b2. xxii. 10, 11. The Things Testified.
10. And he saith unto me, "Seal not the words of the
prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand."] This
command is in contrast with chap. x. 4, where it is a special prophecy
in the midst of general prophecies, and is to be sealed up. It is in
contrast also with
When the Angel commanded Daniel to seal up the Vision, he
immediately added, "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried;
but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall
understand" (
When the Angel, here, commands John not to seal up the prophecy, similar words are immediately added:
11. He that is unjust (pres. part. of
condition), let him act unjustly still (aor., relating
to acts, not to condition): and he that is defiled
(morally polluted), let him defile himself still: and he that
is righteous, let him work
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (dikaio sunen
poiesato) let him work righteousness, instead of (...)
(dikaiotheto) let him be righteous.
(1) "Seal not the words." Proclaim them; make them known; even though evil men go on in their wickedness, and the righteous in their righteousness. Yea, though none heed them, and the wise reject them, "Seal them not." The injunction is for those who shall belong to the period when that which is now called "the time at hand" shall have become time present. In that case, they belong to the time of the Apostasy.
(2) "The time is nigh." Let men go on their way; the time is
short. As though it said, in the spirit of
(3) A third reason follows. Let the wicked go on with his wickedness, and the righteous in his righteousness. My advent is near; and my judgment and my reward are with me.
c2. xxii. 12, 13. The Advent.
12.
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "and."
L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (estin)
is, instead of (...) (estai) shall be.
d2. xxii. 14, 15. The Benediction.
14. Blessed are they that do His commandments
(or wash their robes
This is the reading of L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV., instead of
"keep His commandments," as in the AV. The MS. authorities are divided;
the Vatican MS. (B) supporting the AV., and the Alex. (A) and Sinaitic
(...) supporting the RV. Thus both are ancient, and the reading of A
and (...) may have been originally a marginal gloss, finding its way
later into the Text.
The Coptic Version also has the "commandments"
reading as do the Fathers Tertullian, A.D. 200; Cyprian, Bishop of
Carthage, 248-258; Tichonius, 390; Andreas, Cent. x.
It is curious that, though the great Vatican MS. (B)
supports the AV., the Vulgate does not follow it, but reads "that wash
their robes," according to the Codex Amiatinus (A.D. 541) in Florence,
and the Codex Fuldensis (Cent. vi.). Three Fathers also support the
Vulgate reading, viz., Primasius (Cent. vi.); Fulgentius, Bishop in
Africa (508-533); and Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria (326-373).
The Clementine Vulgate (Authorized by the Council of Trent)
adds, "in the blood of the Lamb," though there is no Greek MS.
authority for it whatsoever.
All the Romish Versions (including, of course, the English
"Douai"), being made from the Clementine or Tridentine Vulgate,
naturally have the full reading— "that wash their robes in the blood of
the Lamb"— the latter part being quite unauthorized by any Greek
Text, as we have said. They have this reading solely on textual
grounds, and not because of any Romish or Protestant reasons.
The two readings are much alike,
(...)
(...)
The upper line is "that wash their robes." The lower line
is "that do his commandments." The difference is exceedingly small,
especially when we remember the (...) is frequently written (...). It
looks as though the upper line was the original reading; but many hold
the opposite view.
In any case it is entirely a question of reading
and not of translation.
15. Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolators, and whosoever loveth and practiseth a lie] These are not on the new earth. They are "without," and, according to xxi. 8, will have then been cast into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. The expression "dogs" is used in accordance with Eastern idiom of all unclean, vile, and injurious persons.
The Third Four.
a3. xxii. 16-. Jesus Himself Testifying.
xxii. 16-. I Jesus sent mine angel (i. 1) to testify unto you] It is the Lord Himself again, and the pronoun is emphatic.
b3. xxii. -16-. The Things Testified.
-16-. these things in the assemblies] It is to the assemblies of chaps. ii. and iii. that these things were and will be specially testified. For them, this book will have its special interpretation. The application is for all the servants of God (i. 1) now, and in all time; but the interpretation is specially for the assemblies who will be on the earth during the fulfilment of "the prophecy of this book."
c3. xxii. -16. The Advent.
-16. "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the
bright, the Morning Star."] These titles are essentially
and exclusively Jewish: and proclaim their owner as the coming one who
shall confirm and fulfil all the promises made unto David. The Lord
Jesus is at once the "Root" whence David sprang, and the "Offspring"
which sprang from David. (See
But there is a third title — "The Morning Star," which ushers
in the Eternal day. The reference is to
d3. xxii. 17. Benediction.
17. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come thou, And
let him that heareth (these things) say, Come thou.
And he that thirsteth, let him come. And he who willeth (or
desireth to enter), let him take of the living water
freely.] This defines the Blessing, and goes back to the
very beginning, embracing the enjoyment of all that was then lost. In
"And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live for ever; therefore the Lord God sent
him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he
was taken. So he drove out the man, and he placed (as in a Tabernacle)
at the east of the Garden of Eden, Cherubim, and a flaming sword, which
turned every way to keep (or preserve,
In contrast with the Expulsion from "the tree of life" we have here, at the close of the Apocalypse, "right to the tree of life" (verse 14); and the Invitation to "the water of life." The seed of the woman had been bruised in the heel; the Serpent's head has been crushed. Hence the invitation "Come" can now be sent forth.
Man, who had been "sent forth" and "driven out," now at length sees Paradise restored, and hears the blessed invitation, "Come."
It is interesting to note how this invitation is given.
The Spirit first gives forth the welcome word, "Come."
The Bride who has been revealed from heaven repeats it.
Those who are athirst, and all who will are invited to come and "take the water of life freely."
Israel, who ought to have been the Bride, was blessed, and entrusted with the charge to "be a blessing" and to bring in full earthly blessing. Israel should have brought back Paradise again.
But Israel was unfaithful, and instead of being a Bride,
became a harlot (
Beautiful it is to see the recovered position of the Remnant, as the Bride, giving the invitation to "come" into Paradise restored.
The first Paradise was in the keeping of Adam and his Bride.
The man did not lose it for his race. He was "not in the transgression"
(
But now, all is reversed. Satan is cast into the lake of fire; and it is the Bride who is privileged to say "Come!"
"The woman being deceived" was the cause of the sentence to go forth; but now, in this blessed time of reversal, she is the one to say "Come!"
The second man, the last Adam, has "restored all things" and "made all things new."
In this we see that Genesis is the book of the
beginnings; and the Apocalypse is the book of the
endings, the complement of Genesis.
In the previous Benediction (verse 14), the blessing consisted in the right to eat of "the tree of life." In this it is the invitation to come and drink of "the water of life."
The first dread sentence is thus reversed, and the New Earth becomes Paradise restored.
"The Tree of Life," and the Water of Life" are the great central subjects of the New Earth.
The Fourth (and Last) Four.
a4. xxii. 18-. The Lord Jesus Himself Testifying.
18-. I
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. read (...) (marturo ego)
I testify, instead of (...) ( summarturoumai gar)
for I jointly testify.
b4. xxii. -19, 19. The Things Testified.
-18. If anyone add unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19)
And if anyone take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree
So G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV.
There may be a still more literal interpretation which only those will understand whose lot will be cast in that dispensation of judgment.
c4. xxii. 20. The Advent.
20. He who testifieth these things saith, "Surely I come quickly. Amen."] So it will verily be.
This is the final announcement of the coming advent of the Lord Jesus. It is given by Himself. This is the one great subject of the whole book. It is all "prophecy," and this final promise is the key to its interpretation. To this, the Apostle, and all who hear, and read, and keep the words of the book of this prophecy, respond with holy, heart-felt desire.
Come, Lord Jesus] the use of the word "Lord" characterises the utterance as John's: for none of His people were ever so irreverent as to address Him merely as Jesus. He Himself may do so, and say "I, Jesus." The Holy inspiring Spirit may call Him "Jesus." But it is irreverence of the grossest kind for His people ever to address Him other than as Lord, Master, Saviour, or Christ. John speaks of Him here, and also in the Benediction that follows, as "Lord."
The Lord may condescend to call us "brethren" in holy, infinite condescension; but it is quite a different thing for us to call Him "our elder brother." One great lesson and effect of this book will be to inspire us with greater reverence for Him who is at once the author and subject of the Revelation.
Yea: in very deed and truth (He says) "I am coming," and we reply, Amen, let it be verified: Come, Lord Jesus; let Thy parting promise be speedily fulfilled.
d4. xxii. 21. The Benediction.
21. The grace of
G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "our."
L.T.A. RV. (text, not margin), omit "Christ." WH. put it in
brackets.
The Textual critics, as well as the oldest MSS., are much
divided as to these last four words. The weight of evidence is against
"you," and in favour of "saints."
On the Relation of Astrology to the Apocalypse.
The Apocalypse has been branded by the enemies of revealed truth as a sacred fiction; and the very early Christians had to bear the charge of Pagans that on account of there being such a resemblance between it and the worship of the SUN, as Tertullian says, they (the Christians) were only looked upon as another sect of sun worshippers, and that the construction of the book, and the symbols employed, are but borrowed ideas from Pagan Mysteries.
The conditions under which the apostle received these unfoldings as to himself, and the manner of presentation — by word and scenically portrayed — are said to be after the same order and with the same formula as that used by the hierophant in his dealings with the aspirant as he goes through the ordeal of initiation into those mysteries.
But this, instead of being a difficulty, is really a help to the understanding of the book, when we take into account the conditions of the period at which it was written, and the purpose God had in view in making this the closing book of Inspiration; for it not only reflected upon the idolatry then prevailing, but looked onward to the great apostacy of the last days when that idolatry shall through Satanic energy again prevail and become the established religion of humanity.
There is such a thing as Divine irony. It is used with great effect when Elijah confronts the priests of Baal. So, here, the priests of Baal are once more to be met; and they are challenged with their own weapons.
When Jehovah was about to interfere on His people's behalf,
and accomplish their deliverance from the tyranny of Pharaoh, He spake
thus to Moses, that not only man and beast should suffer, but "against
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I AM JEHOVAH" (
This but foreshadows the days in which John was to prophesy. When established religion will be set up in a more blasphemous and defiant form, it will not only be the worship of demons — gods — and departed heroes; but also a living MAN who shall declare that he is GOD; at the same time blaspheming the God of Heaven. Then it is that we see the very weapons of their false philosophy turned against the foe to their eternal shame.
God graciously gave to Moses the evidence of the power He was about to delegate to him and also to Aaron in the first sign before they went into Pharaoh, when the rod which was cast on the ground became a serpent.
This is a well-recognised performance of all magicians to the present day. When they both went into Pharaoh with the magicians, every man's rod did the same, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. To the King it was but the performance of another magician. This is an instance of the very weapons of the magicians' art being used against them. In the case of the sixth plague it is equally evident, for according to Gleig quoted in The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation, "there were several altars upon which human sacrifices were occasionally offered when they desired to propitiate Typhon (the Serpent), the Evil Principle." The victims were burned, their ashes gathered, and the priests cast them into the air in order that evil might be averted from every place to which they were wafted. Moses does the same; but affliction followed to King and people.
Then follows a blow against the worship of Osiris and Isis — the Sun and the Moon — who were supposed to control the elements. Jehovah strikes a blow against such wicked pretensions, and for three days the place is wrapped in "darkness that might be felt," and in this way God again asserted His supremacy.
The great blow of all was reserved for the last. The worship of the Sun-God was the prevailing worship of Egypt, and human sacrifice was followed in its ritual.
"The sacrifice of the firstborn in honour of the Sun-god (Osiris) was one of the most notorious rites of the ancient Semitic worship. The first month of the year, and the first sign of the Zodiac referred to this sacrifice, called 'the Sacrifice of Bel.' It is to Accad, and not to Phoenicia, that we must look for the origin of human sacrifice in Western Asia. This inference is verified by two cuneiform texts in which mention is made of human sacrifice. We have clear indications in these of the sacrifice of children, such as took place in Carthage, in Phoenicia, and in Palestine — also in the British Isles" (Trans. Bib. Arch., iv., p. 25, taken from Trans. Victoria Inst., xiv. p. 113).
This was the last and most staggering blow at their idolatry. This final plague brought down their whole system of religion at one blow, convincing both Pharaoh and the Egyptians that they had to deal with one who was above all gods, and declared his name, "I AM JEHOVAH."
This review of Israel's history in their beginnings prepares us to look for the same analogies in their future deliverance which the Book of Revelation records, the circumstances being in a very large measure parallel; Idolatry, as we have stated, being restored and established as the "religion of humanity." This shows why there is a very great similarity between the plagues of the one and the judgments of the other.
We have before us a book of 800 pages, in which the writer labours to prove that in this Revelation we have nothing more than an imitation of the mysteries or the revelations of Ceres. But as paganism will be again revived, and demon gods worshipped, and a greater than Pharaoh dispute God's title to deliver His people, the same procedure is adopted as when He fist brought them out of Egypt, and blow follows blow, growing in intensity, and the very ceremonies observed common to initiation.
Yea, with greater blows, and with judgments of greater
intensity, will Jehovah assert His glory and His power. See
Extract from The Origin of Pagan Idolatry, by the Rev. George Stanley Faber, B.D., book vi. pp. 642 and 643:—
"The whole machinery of the Apocalypse, from beginning to end, seems to me very plainly to have been borrowed from the machinery of the ancient Mysteries: and this, if we consider the nature of the subject, was done with the very strictest attention to poetical decorum.
"St. John himself is made to personate an aspirant about to be initiated: and, accordingly, the images presented to his mind's eye closely resemble the pageants of the Mysteries, both in nature, and in order of succession.
"The prophet first beholds a door opened in the magnificent temple of heaven: and into this he is invited to enter by the voice of one, who plays the hierophant. Here he witnesses the unsealing of a sacred book: and forthwith he is appalled by a troop of ghastly apparitions, which flit in horrid succession before his eyes.
"Among these are pre-eminently conspicuous a vast serpent, the well-known symbol of the great father; and two portentous wild beasts, which severally come up out of the sea and out of the earth.
"Such hideous figures correspond with the canine phantoms of the Orgies which seemed to rise out of the ground, and with the polymorphic images of the principal hero-god who was universally deemed the offspring of the sea.
"Passing these terrific monsters in safety, the prophet, constantly attended by his angel-heirophant who acts the part of an interpreter, is conducted into the presence of a female, who is described as closely resembling the great mother of pagan theology.
"Like Isis, emerging from the sea and exhibiting herself to the eyes of the aspirant Apuleius, this female divinity, upborne upon the marine wild-beast, appears to float upon the surface of many waters. She is said to be an open and systematical harlot; just as the mother was the declared female principle of the fecundity, and she was also propitiated by literal fornication reduced to a religious system: and, as the initiated were made to drink a prepared liquor out of a sacred goblet; so this harlot is represented as intoxicating the kings of the earth with the golden cup of her prostitution.
"On her forehead the very name of MYSTERY is inscribed: and the label teaches us that, in point of character, she is the great universal mother of idolatry.
"The nature of this Mystery the officiating hierophant undertakes to explain: and an important prophecy is most curiously and artfully veiled under the very language and imagery of the Orgies. To the sea-born great father was ascribed a three-fold state; he lived, he died, and he revived: and these changes of condition were duly exhibited in the Mysteries.
"To the sea-born wild beast is similarly ascribed a three-fold state; he lives, he dies, and he revives. While dead, he flies floating on the mighty ocean, just like Horus or Osirus or Siva or Vishnou: when he revives, again like those kindred deities, he emerges from the waves: and, whether dead or alive, he bears seven heads and ten horns, corresponding in number with the seven ark-preserved Rishis and the ten aboriginal patriarchs.
"Nor is this all: as the worshippers of the great father bore his special mark or stigma, and were distinguished by his name; so the worshippers of the maritime beast bear his mark, and are equally decorated by his appellation.
"At length, however, the first or doleful part of these sacred Mysteries draws to a close, and the last or joyful part is rapidly approaching. After the prophet has beheld the enemies of God plunged into a dreadful lake or inundation of liquid fire, which corresponds with the infernal lake or deluge of the Orgies, he is introduced into a splendidly illuminated region, expressly adorned with the characteristics of that Paradise which was the ultimate scope of the ancient aspirants: while, without the holy gate of admission, are the whole multitude of the profane, dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolators and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
"The comparison might have been drawn out to a greater length; but these hints may suffice."
He also remarks that:
"in the celebration of the mysteries, things were scenically and therefore literally exhibited" (Faber p. 149, vol. iii.).
One great fact is clearly established — for it was not many years after the writing of the Apocalypse, in the early centuries, that this book was discredited by the Fathers.
Jerome says that the Greek churches rejected it. When it first appeared it was not only attacked by the Eastern Christians, but, according to them, victoriously refuted: and it was looked upon by them as being at the best an obscure and bad poem on the SUN in spring. (Epist. xcciii. ad. Dard, quoted from Mankind: their Origin and Destiny, p. 511).
This is taken from a work, the purpose of which is to prove that the Apocalypse is not a Divine Revelation at all. Many have arrived at this conclusion besides this author; that not only this book, but that the whole Bible is written and constructed from the mysteries of Paganism. Even that excellent and reverent writer (Mr. Faber) asserts that the Apostle John used the ideas and phraseology of the mysteries, the basis of them being Serpent and SUN worship with the host of heaven.
"Occulus, who was a pupil of Pythagoras, says, 'The universe considered as a whole, displays nothing to us which betrays a commencement, or which foretells destruction; no one has seen it created, or increased, or improved, or deteriorated, or decreased; it is ever the same, existing in the same way, always equal, or similar to itself!' " (cap. i. para. 6, Origin and Destiny, p. 394).
Further evidence is forthcoming to show that there was design in the figuration of the Constellations. This is from the Babylonian tablets known as the Creation Legend. It states that "some divine personage prepared the mansions... He fixed the stars. Even the Lumasi" (which word Prof. Sayce translates as meaning 'the Sheep of the Hero,' the Hero being the Sun). The conclusion arrived at is that the divine arranger fixed the constellations for each of the twelve months. (See Primitive Constellations, Robert Brown, Junr., vol. ii. p. 1, 1900).
An interesting account is also given of a recent scene on the
Euphrates. It is called a prayer meeting of Star worshippers. The
writer says that "to the number of about four thousand they still
survive in their native land, principally along the banks of the
Euphrates. They call themselves Mandaites, possessors of the 'Word,'
the 'LIVING WORD.' " Our capitals.
They erect their "MISHKNA" or tabernacle. "Towards midnight the Star worshippers, men and women, come slowly down to the Mishkna by the riverside... a signal is given, and a procession of priests moves to the Mishkna. One 'deacon' holds aloft the large wooden tau-cross... The sacred book SIDRA RABBA is laid upon the altar, folded back where the liturgy of the living is divided from the ritual of the dead. The high priest takes a live pigeon," extends his hands towards the polar star, upon which he fixes his eyes, and lets the bird fly, calling aloud, "In the name of the living one, blessed be the primitive light, the ancient light, the Divinity self-created" (Ibid., pp. 177-8).
"...Here, as so frequently, terrestrial ritual is based upon, and is a 'pattern' of 'things in the heaven.' " (Ibid., p. 185).
"The stars near the Centaur permitted the introduction of a further figure, the Wild-beast, which, originally forming part of the constellation, showed the triumph of the Sun-god over the Beast of darkness, and over his own solar Lion" (p. 241).
"... Such then were the principles which obtained in the formation of the primitive constellations. Religious and mythological ideas, already long current and venerated, were stamped upon the sky as sacred and celestial forms."
"... The system so formulated in the Euphrates valley was accepted and adopted in Western Asia. The constellations of Israelite and Phoenecian were those of Babylonian and Assyrian, even as Bel reappeared as Baal, and Istar as Ashtoreth" (Ibid., pp. 240-2).
"The southern heavens are a reduplication of the northern, and regarded as the watery region. In this region is Cetus, which tries to devour the child of the woman" (R. Brown, Junr., Law of Cosmic Order, Astrology in Apocalypse, p. 81).
"He casts forth a river, it is there on the planisphere. It flows down below the horizon into the underworld. This Cetus is the beast rising out of the sea.
"The Beast upon whom sits the woman is Babylon."
"In the planisphere she sits upon Hydra, the seven or many headed dragon, which issues from the Crater or Chaos. All the fowls were filled with her flesh. This is the crow devouring the Hydra" (p. 91).
"The Tribes were considered parallel to the Zodiacal signs" (p. 113).
"The Apocalypse is a magnificent dream of the final triumph of Christ over Antichrist, a glorious vision of the moral cosmos of God's world, wrought out in conflict with Anarchy, and practically a warning and a consolation to the people of God in the time of their persecution" (p. 92).
Mr. Maunder refers to a great astronomical revolution that took place subsequent to the first naming of the signs. "Five thousand years ago, the Zodiac was planned, with the Bull of Taurus for its leader. Aries was then the last and least important of the twelve. The next view that we get of the state of Astronomy is some 2,000 years later. The Ram of Aries is now the prince of the Zodiac, Taurus has dropped to a second place, and the Zodiac itself has suffered an important change... How that revolution came about we have at present no means of knowing; but it has hitherto interposed a great barrier to our learning either from classical literature or from myths or monuments, anything trustworthy as to the true origin of the constellations, for the reason that the sources we have been consulting are, in consequence of that revolution, as ignorant of the matter as ourselves..." (XIX. Century, Sep., 1900, No. 283, p. 459. Article, "The Oldest Picture Book of All").
All this evidence goes to show that there is more than meets the eye in this wonderful Book.
To the unenlightened reader there is much that is meaningless. But when we consider the grand scope of the Apocalypse we can understand why it should look backward to the beginning and onward to the end; writing folly on man's perversion of primitive truth, smiting with judgment those who will attempt to revive it; and showing that the God of heaven is high over the gods of the heathen. They will be unable to protect their worshippers when the living God shall arise to shake terribly the earth.
Genesis
1 1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:14 1:15 1:20 2 2 2 2 2 2:4 2:7 2:7 2:9 2:15 2:15 2:17 2:19 2:20 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3:1 3:1 3:3 3:8 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:19 3:22-24 3:24 3:24 3:24 3:24 3:24 3:24 3:24 4 4 4 4:10 4:10 4:14-16 4:17 5:24 6 6:2 6:9 7:4 7:4 9:8-17 9:26 9:27 10:2 10:2 10:5 10:8 10:8-10 10:9 10:10 10:10 10:20 10:31 11 11 11 11 11:2-9 11:31 12:5 13:16 14:18-22 14:18-24 14:21 15 15:1 15:5 17:9 17:14 17:20 18 19:24-28 22:1 22:12 22:14 23:4 24:2 28:3 31:20 36:6 37 37 37:9 37:10 40:12 40:12 40:13 40:13 40:20 41:42 42:18 46:15 46:26 46:27 47:9 47:28 49:6 49:8-10 49:19
Exodus
1 1 1:10 1:17-21 2:6 3:14 3:14 3:16 7:11 7:18-24 7:19 7:20-25 7:22 8:1-14 8:19 8:20 9:8-12 9:18-21 9:22-26 9:22-28 10:5 10:5 10:12 10:14 10:15 10:21-23 11:8 12:5 12:7 12:12 12:19 12:41 12:42 12:48 12:51 13:9 13:16 14:5 14:11 15 15 15 15 15 15:1 15:13 15:18 16:32-34 16:32-34 16:34 16:35 19:4 19:4-6 19:4-6 19:5 19:5 19:6 19:6 19:6 19:6 19:15 19:16 21:3 22:7 22:9 22:18 22:31 23:5 24 25:8 25:8 25:10-12 25:23-29 25:31 25:31-39 25:32 25:37 25:40 26:31 28:8-30 28:36 30:6 30:6 32:32 32:32 34:10 34:10 34:10 34:10 34:10 34:10 34:10 40:34-36
Leviticus
5:2 5:4 16:12 18:20-30 18:22 18:25 18:25-28 18:26 18:27 18:28 19:28 19:31 20:5 23:10 23:39-43 24:10-16 25:25 25:42 25:42 25:55 26:3 26:11 26:11 26:12 26:16 26:22 26:25-33 26:40-42 26:112
Numbers
10:9 11:19 11:19 11:20 11:20 11:34 11:35 12:10 14:33 14:34 16 21:6 23:9 24:7-9 24:17 24:17 24:17-19 24:17-19 25:1 25:1 25:3 28:2 31 31:1-15 31:8 31:16 31:35
Deuteronomy
4:2 4:12 4:15 4:16 4:19 4:19 4:28 5:26 5:26 5:26 6:37 7:7 7:7-9 7:8 7:8 7:8 8:5 8:5 9:22 11:14 11:24 12:31 14:1 14:1 18:9 18:10 22:40 22:41 23:14 25:5 27:15 28:10 28:15 28:27 28:35 28:46 28:49 28:59 29 29:18 29:18-21 29:20 29:20 29:29 30:1-3 31:19 31:19 31:26 31:29 32 32 32 32:1-43 32:1-43 32:8 32:8 32:11 32:12 32:17 32:22 32:24 32:30-33 32:32 32:33 32:40 32:41 32:41-43 32:43 32:43 32:43 32:43 33:2 33:3 33:3 33:25
Joshua
3:10 3:10 3:10 3:11 3:13 5:13 5:14 5:14 5:15 7:19 7:26 10:11 13:22 18:1 20:3 24:6 24:12 24:14 24:31
Judges
5:19 6:34 7:3 8:26 16:12 18:2 18:30 18:31
Ruth
1 Samuel
1:3 1:11 2:1 4:4 5:6 9:27 10:5 12:24 13:3 16:7 16:7 17:26 17:36 22:1 22:2 22:20-23 28:7 30:26
2 Samuel
1:19 1:23 1:25 3:17 5:10 6:2 7 7 7:12 7:13 7:15 7:16 15:1 15:10 16:23 17:4 17:11 22:3 22:40 22:41 22:43 23 23 23:13 23:18 24:13 24:13
1 Kings
2:16 5:5 6:11-13 6:13 7:13-22 7:45 7:50 8:1-3 8:10 8:11 8:33 8:35 8:37 8:37 8:59 10:8 11:5 11:26 12:22 12:27-33 13:2 14:24 16:30 16:30-34 16:33 17:1 17:1 18:13 18:14 18:19 18:28 18:38 19:4 19:10 19:18 21:25 22:19 22:19-22 22:19-38 22:22 22:23
2 Kings
1:10 1:10 1:12 2:3 6:25 8:1 9:7 9:7 9:22 9:25 9:26 9:30 16:3 17:13 17:23 17:25 19:4 19:16 21:13 23:11 23:13 23:29 24:1 24:8 24:12 24:20 25:2 25:8
1 Chronicles
5:21 10:13 17:3 21:12 23:3 23:4 24:3-5 24:5 25:1 25:3 25:6 25:31 26:17-19 27:1-15 28:11-13 28:11-13 28:19
2 Chronicles
3:15-17 3:17 4:22 5:11-14 6:1 11:2 15:3 15:5 15:6 16:14 18:18 18:21 18:22 20:19 21:4 21:11 21:17 22:1 22:10 22:11 27:2 28:9 28:24 29:3 29:25 31:1 32:6 35:22-25
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
1 2:7 2:8 5:13 10:19 16:4 16:9 16:10 20:5 26:6 33:4 38:4 38:7 38:8 38:23 39:19 39:25 39:25 40:18
Psalms
1:1 2 2 2:1 2:1 2:1-3 2:1-3 2:2 2:2 2:5 2:7-9 2:7-9 2:8 2:9 2:13-22 3:3 3:7 3:19 3:20 4:4 4:21 4:35 5:15 5:29 5:29 6:12-15 6:19 6:20 7:9 7:15 8 8 8 8:6-8 9 10:1 10:16 11:1 11:2 11:4-6 13:1 13:2 15 15:13 15:16 16:3 16:10 18:4 18:6 18:11 18:11 18:37-50 18:46-48 19 19 19:5 19:10 19:162 21:3 22:2 22:3 22:5 22:5 22:22 22:22 22:23 22:25 27:1-5 28:4 30:8 32:6 33:6 34:1 34:9 35:1-5 35:15 35:21 37 37:8 37:9 37:9 39:2 41:1 41:2 41:7 41:10 42:2 44:5 45 45:3-6 45:14 45:14 47:2 47:4 48:1 48:1 48:2 48:2 48:2 48:8 48:8 48:9 49:4 49:5-9 49:14 49:14 50:4 50:5 50:5 51:2 51:7 52 57 62:1 63:1 64:7-10 65:1 66:1-7 66:3 67:1 67:6 68:1-3 68:18 69:28 71:22 72:3 72:9 72:16 73 74:2 75:4 76:6 76:8 76:9 78:19 78:19 78:24 78:24 78:25 78:25 78:44 78:47 79 79 79:1-3 79:1-6 79:11 79:12 80:1 80:3 80:7 80:14 80:19 83:1-5 83:9 83:18 85:9 86:9-12 87 88:11 89 89:20-29 89:27 89:27 89:28 89:34 89:35 89:37 89:37 90:10 90:12 91 93 93 93 96:1 97 98:1-3 98:3 99
Proverbs
1:16 3:12 8:13 8:22-31 8:22-31 9:13-18 10:6 15:11 21:31 30:27 30:27
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
1 1:2 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10-15 1:16 1:18 1:21 1:21 2:2 2:11 2:11-17 2:12 2:16 2:19 2:19 2:21 3:7 4:2 4:3 4:4 4:5 4:5 4:6 5:30 6 6:4 6:10 7:14 8:8 8:18 8:19 9:5 9:6 9:6 9:7 9:7 9:11 9:16 9:20 10:7 10:28 11:1 11:4 11:4 11:6-9 11:7 11:9 11:15 11:15 11:15 11:16 11:16 11:16 11:16 12:6 13:1 13:6 13:6-13 13:9 13:9 13:12 13:18 13:18 13:19 13:20 13:21 14:12 14:16 14:17 14:19 14:24 16:4 19:1 21:9 21:9 22 22:15-19 22:22 22:22 22:22 23:18 24:4 24:6 24:8 24:8 24:10 24:10 24:14 24:17-21 24:19-23 24:21 24:23 25:7 25:8 25:8 26:5 26:8 26:9 26:9 26:20 26:20 26:21 26:21 27:15 27:18 28:14-18 29 29:11 30:6 30:26 30:26 30:30 31:3 31:8 31:9 32:1 33:24 34:1-8 34:4 34:6 34:11 35 35:10 37:1 37:4 37:16 37:17 40:1 40:2 40:2 40:31 41:4 41:4 41:4 41:4 41:4 41:5 42:1 42:7 43:4 43:4 43:4 43:17 43:25 44:6 44:9-18 44:19 44:28 45:14 45:18 47 47:5 47:7 47:8 47:8 47:9 47:9 47:9 47:9 47:9 47:11 47:12 48:12 48:20 49:3 49:5 49:6 49:8-10 49:9 49:10 49:16 50 50:2 51:6 51:16 52:9 52:10 52:11 52:15 53:2 53:7 54 54:4 54:5 54:5-8 54:5-8 54:10 54:10 54:11 54:12 55:1 55:1 55:2 55:2 55:3 55:4 59:10 59:10 59:18 59:19 59:19 60:3 60:14 60:14 60:19 60:19 60:20 60:20 60:21 61 61:1 61:2 61:2 61:2 61:2 61:6 61:6 62 62:1 62:2 62:2 62:4 62:4 62:4 62:5 62:5 63:1-6 63:1-6 63:15 64:6 65:4 65:15 65:16 66:5 66:5 66:15 66:16 66:16 66:23 375
Jeremiah
2:1 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:20 2:34 3 3:14 3:14 3:17 3:17 3:17 3:17 4:5 4:5-31 4:7 4:13 4:13 4:23 4:23 4:23-28 4:28 4:29 4:30 5:1 5:6 5:14 6:23 7:34 8:3 8:12 8:14 8:17 9:13-15 9:19 10:2-11 10:7 10:10 10:10 10:16 11:20 11:20 13:25 13:25 13:25 13:26 13:26 13:26 14:1 14:2 14:12 14:12 15:2 15:16 16:4 16:6 16:14 16:15 16:18 19:1 22:5 22:7 23:5 23:6 23:7 23:8 23:14 23:15 25 25:17-26 25:29-31 26:23 30 30:9 31:1 31:3 31:3 31:9 31:16 31:16 31:33 31:33 31:34 32 32 33:10 33:11 33:22 34 34 43:11 43:12 43:13 46:4-10 46:7 46:8 46:17 48:6 49:18 49:36 50 50:1 50:1-4 50:3 50:4 50:5 50:15 50:15 50:29 51:6 51:6 51:7 51:7 51:7 51:7 51:8 51:8 51:9 51:9 51:9 51:13 51:13 51:25 51:25 51:27 51:33 51:33 51:45 51:45 51:49 51:50 51:63 51:63 51:64 52:30
Lamentations
1:1 1:1 2:3 2:8 3:15 3:26 3:44 4:4-8 4:11 4:14 4:19
Ezekiel
1:4 1:4 1:7 1:13 1:24 1:26 2:9 2:10 3:4 3:10 3:27 4:4 4:5 4:6 4:7 4:10 4:16 4:17 5:2 5:12 6:11 6:12 7:20 8:3 9:3 9:4 9:4 9:4-6 10:2 10:20 11:24 11:25 13:5 13:9 13:11 14:11 14:13-21 14:21 14:21 16 16 16 16:8 16:8-10 16:15-17 16:26 16:46 18:4 18:20 20:35-38 21:27 21:42-46 23:3 23:4 23:8 23:19 26 26:21 27:13 28 28:13 29:5 29:21 30:3 32:7 32:8 32:22 32:24 32:26 33:26 33:27 34:23 34:24 34:25 35:6 36:8 36:13 36:17 36:24-28 36:25 37:10 37:27 38 38:5 38:8 38:16-23 38:20 38:21 39:6 39:17 39:21 39:25 39:29 40 40:3 43:7 43:7 43:7 45:2 47 47:12 47:12 48 48:16 48:16 48:30 48:35
Daniel
1:1 1:2 1:17 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2:18 2:18 2:18 2:19 2:19 2:27 2:28 2:28 2:28 2:29 2:29 2:29 2:30 2:34 2:35 2:35 2:35 2:37 2:37 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:39 2:40 2:42 2:44 2:44 2:45 2:47 3 3:4 3:5 3:25 4:13 4:34 4:34 6:20 6:26 6:26 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7:2 7:2 7:6 7:7 7:8 7:8 7:8 7:9 7:9-14 7:9-27 7:11 7:11 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:17 7:17 7:18 7:18 7:18 7:18 7:19 7:19 7:20 7:21 7:21 7:21 7:21 7:21 7:21 7:22 7:22 7:22 7:22 7:23 7:25 7:25 7:25 7:25 7:26 7:26 7:26 7:27 7:27 7:27 7:28 7:31 8 8:5 8:7 8:10 8:17 8:19 8:20 8:21 8:23 8:23 8:24 8:24 8:25 8:25 8:26 8:27 9 9:3 9:4 9:4-19 9:6 9:10 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:27 10 10:5 10:6 10:6 10:13 10:14 10:21 10:21 10:21 11 11 11:5 11:14 11:20 11:21 11:21 11:23 11:31 11:32 11:33 11:36 11:42 12:1 12:1 12:1 12:1 12:1-3 12:2 12:2 12:4 12:4 12:4 12:7 12:7 12:8 12:9 12:10 12:13
Hosea
1:10 2 2:3 2:3 2:3-10 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:11 2:14 2:14 2:15 2:15 2:16 2:16 2:19 3:2 4:1 4:1-3 4:6-7 4:17 7:12 8:1 8:14 10:8 11:1 11:1 11:4 11:9 12:8
Joel
1:6 1:15 2 2 2:1 2:10 2:11 2:16 2:19 2:28 2:28-32 2:30 2:30 2:31 2:31 2:31 3:1 3:2 3:2 3:9-11 3:12 3:12-15 3:13 3:16 3:20 3:21
Amos
1:4 1:7 1:10 1:12 3:7 3:7 4:13 5:18 5:20 5:25 5:26 7:8 7:9 8:9 8:11 8:11-14 8:12 8:14
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
1:7 3:8 4:7 4:8-10 5:1 5:2 7 7:15 7:15 7:16 7:17
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
1:2 1:3 1:3 1:7 1:14 1:14 1:14-16 1:14-16 1:14-16 1:14-18 2:3 2:11 3:8
Haggai
1:6 1:6 1:11 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:21 2:22
Zechariah
1:3 2:1-5 2:10 3:1 3:2 3:5 3:8 4 4 4:6 4:7 4:10 5 5 5:1-11 6:12 6:13 9 9 9:9 9:9 9:10 10:10 10:11 11:1-9 11:5 11:9 11:13 12 12:4-8 12:9 12:10 12:10 12:10 12:10-12 12:11 13:2 13:7 14:1 14:4 14:7 14:9 14:16 14:16-19 14:17 14:20 14:20 14:21
Malachi
3:3 3:3 3:7 3:16 4:1 4:3 4:5 4:5
Matthew
1:1 1:21 2:4 2:7 3:2 3:11 4:1 4:6 4:8 4:17 4:23 5:10 5:10-12 5:12 5:18 5:31 5:33-37 5:39 5:41 5:45 8:16 8:20 8:20 8:24 8:29 9:13 9:34 10:1 10:1-8 10:22 10:22 10:22 10:32 10:32 10:33 10:33-42 10:39 10:41 10:42 11:1-6 11:3 11:14 11:14 11:15 11:15 11:15 11:15 11:17 11:20-24 11:23 11:27 12:7 12:40 12:43-45 12:45 13:10 13:10-16 13:11 13:15 13:16 13:24 13:30 13:35 13:37 13:37 13:39 13:39 13:40 13:41 13:49 13:49 14 14:15 16:16 16:19 16:21 16:27 16:28 17:18 19:28 19:28 19:28 19:28 20:2 20:9 20:28 21:4-11 21:38 21:40 21:43 22:2 22:3 22:41-46 22:44 23:20 23:21 23:22 23:34 23:35 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24:3 24:4 24:4-6 24:5 24:5 24:5 24:5 24:6 24:6 24:6 24:6 24:6 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:8 24:8-28 24:9 24:9 24:9 24:9-27 24:10 24:10 24:11 24:13 24:14 24:14 24:15 24:15-28 24:15-28 24:24 24:24 24:27 24:29 24:29 24:29 24:29-30 24:30 24:30 24:30 24:30 24:30 24:30 24:30 24:30 24:30 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:31 24:35 24:37-42 24:38-44 24:43 24:43 24:43 24:44 24:49 24:50 24:51 25 25 25 25 25:31 25:31 25:31 25:31 25:31-46 25:31-46 25:41 26:10 26:45 28:1
Mark
1:23 1:26 1:27 3:2 4:11 4:12 4:23 4:29 4:37 5:5 6:20 6:35 8:34 8:35-37 8:38 8:38 8:38 9:17 10:4 12:6-8 12:36 13:9 13:14-23 13:14-23 13:22 13:22 13:24 13:24 13:25 13:30 13:31 13:32 13:34-37 13:34-37 13:36 14:6 14:25 14:62 15:43 16:2 16:9 16:11
Luke
1:5 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:10 1:17 1:17 1:19 1:22 1:31-33 1:31-33 1:32 1:32 1:32 1:32 1:33 1:66 1:68-79 1:76 1:77 1:78 2:14 2:19 2:25 2:29 2:30 2:32 2:32 2:35 2:36-38 4:5-7 4:6 4:6 4:7 4:7 4:15 4:16 4:18-20 4:25 4:29 4:33 4:36 4:42 5:26 5:27 6:7 6:9 7:19 7:20 7:21 8:23 8:27 8:28 8:31 8:52 9:24 9:26 9:39 10:18 10:18 11:7 11:47-51 11:50 12:5 12:8 12:8 12:8 12:9 12:9 12:35-38 12:35-40 12:35-40 12:37 12:39 12:46 12:52 12:53 13:15 13:28 14:1 14:14 14:15 14:27 14:35 15:26 15:32 16:17 16:23 17 17:10 17:20 17:22 17:22 17:22 18 18:1-8 18:1-8 18:1-8 18:7 18:7 18:7 18:7 18:8 18:8 18:8 18:11 18:12 19:27 19:27 19:38 19:38 20:34-36 20:42 20:42 21:12 21:12 21:20-24 21:24 21:24 21:24 21:25 21:25 21:27 21:32 21:34 21:34-36 21:36 22:29 22:29 22:30 22:30 22:30 23:30 23:43 23:43 24:1 24:21
John
1:1 1:2 1:14 1:15 1:27 3:6 3:22 3:29 4:24 4:25 4:48 4:50 5:2 5:4 5:19 5:20 5:25-27 5:27 5:29 5:35 6 6 6:14 6:69 7:35 8:44 8:55-59 9:24 9:40 9:41 10:24 11:24 11:25 11:25 11:26 12:13 12:25 12:29 12:31 12:31 12:31 12:31 12:31 12:33 13:2 13:7 13:27 15:15 15:15 15:20 16:1-4 16:11 16:13 16:21 17:15 17:24 18:36 19:34 20:1 20:17 20:17 20:19
Acts
1 1:7 1:9 2:12 2:19 2:27 2:29 2:30 2:31 2:34 2:38 2:41 2:43 2:43 2:47 3:14 3:19 3:19 3:19 3:20 3:20 3:20 4:24 6 7:7 7:38 7:43 7:56 7:56 8:26 8:26 8:29 8:39 9:24 9:30 10:17 11:28 11:28 12:10 12:21-23 12:23 13:16 13:20 13:26 13:34 13:36 13:43 14:15 14:22 15:16 15:17 15:18 16:16 16:16 16:16-18 17:33 19:4 19:32 19:39 19:41 20:7 20:24 20:28 20:28 21:2 21:3 21:21 23:35 24:15 24:25 26:6 26:6-8 26:7 26:22 27:40 28:17-28 28:25 28:25 28:25 28:25 28:26 28:26 28:26 28:26 28:28
Romans
1:1 1:7 1:9 1:18 1:19-23 1:22 1:23 1:32 1:32 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:8 2:9 2:16 2:26 3:15 3:22 4:16 4:17 4:20 4:25 5:4 5:16 8 8 8 8 8:1 8:7 8:15 8:15-17 8:19 8:19 8:19-21 8:19-21 8:22 8:33 8:37 8:39 9:1 9:26 9:28 11 11:4 11:11-36 11:25 11:25 11:27 11:29 11:29 11:33 12:19 13:1 13:4 14:9 14:9 14:9 14:10 15:8 15:8 15:8 15:8-12 15:19 16:18 16:19 16:25 16:25 16:25 16:25 16:25 16:26 16:26 16:26
1 Corinthians
1:3 1:7 1:7 2:9 2:10 2:14 3:9 4:1-5 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:15 5:2 6:3 6:11 7:22 7:22 7:30 10:20 10:32 10:32 12:3 12:9 12:13 12:28 14:6 14:12 14:26 14:32 15 15 15:25 15:41 15:41 15:51 15:51 15:51 15:51 15:51 15:51 15:52 15:52 15:55 15:55 15:55 16:2 16:9
2 Corinthians
1:2 1:20 2:9 2:12 3:3 4:4 5:10 5:15 5:17 6:2 6:6 6:6 6:10 6:17 6:17 6:18 6:18 6:18 7:8 11:2 11:2 11:3 12:1 12:1 12:2 12:2 12:4 12:4 12:4 12:7 12:9 12:15 15:55
Galatians
1:4 1:8 1:10 1:12 1:12 1:15-17 1:17 1:17 1:18 2:1 2:2 3:11 4:1-7 4:7 4:7 4:19 4:21-31 5:4 5:20 6:17 6:17
Ephesians
1:2 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:6 1:9 1:9 1:16 1:17 1:17 1:18 2:2 2:2 2:14 2:14-17 2:15 2:20 3:1-4 3:1-4 3:3 3:5 3:9 3:9 3:10 3:10 3:11 4:11 4:11-15 5:17 5:25 5:32 5:32 6:6 6:11 6:12 6:28 6:29
Philippians
1:1 1:1 1:2 1:3 1:6 2:10 2:15 2:17 2:22 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:19 3:19-21 3:20 3:20 3:20 3:21 3:21 3:21
Colossians
1:2 1:5 1:5 1:12 1:15-17 1:15-19 1:16 1:17 1:18 1:26 1:26 1:28 2:2 2:3 2:10 2:14 2:15 3:4 3:11 3:23 4:3 4:12
1 Thessalonians
1:1 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:3 1:5 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 2:13 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4:13 4:15-17 4:16 4:16 4:16 4:16 4:16 4:16 4:17 4:17 5 5:1 5:1 5:2 5:2 5:3 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:21 5:21 6:21
2 Thessalonians
1:1 1:2 1:3 1:6-8 1:7 1:7 1:7-10 1:8 1:10 1:10 1:10 2 2 2 2:1-3 2:1-12 2:1-12 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:3 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9-11 2:9-12 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:12 3:5 3:5
1 Timothy
1:2 2:14 3:2 3:6 3:7 3:15 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 4:1 4:1 4:1 4:1-3 4:3 4:8 5:21 5:21 6:1 6:2
2 Timothy
1:3 1:9 2:3 2:10 2:12 2:17 2:18 2:18 2:21 2:24 3:8 4:4 4:6
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
1 1:3 1:6 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:13 1:14 1:14 1:14 2:3 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:6 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:11 2:14 3:1 3:6 3:12 3:14 3:23 3:23 4:3 5:1 6 8:2 8:5 8:5 8:5 9:1 9:1 9:2 9:4 9:10 9:10 9:12 9:14 9:23 9:23 9:23 9:26 9:27 10:13 10:16 10:17 10:22 10:37 10:37 11:10 11:13-16 11:15 11:16 11:35 12:22 12:26 13:8 21
James
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:3 2 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:10 4:4 5:7 5:8 5:9 5:9 5:9 5:12 5:14 5:14 5:17
1 Peter
1:1 1:1 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:13 1:19 1:20 1:20 2:5 2:5 2:9 2:11 2:16 2:18 3:18 3:18 3:19 3:19 3:19 3:19 3:20 4:13 5:8 5:8 5:13
2 Peter
1:1 1:16 1:17 1:18 2 2:1 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4-7 2:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:7 3:7 3:7 3:7 3:7 3:7 3:7-13 3:8 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:10-12 3:12 3:13 3:13 3:13
1 John
2:13 2:18 3:2 3:12 5:20 5:20 5:20
Jude
1:1 1:3 1:4 1:5-8 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6-8 1:9 1:9 1:11 1:11 1:14 1:15 1:20
Revelation
1 1:1 1:1 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:8 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10 1:10-19 1:11 1:13 1:13-16 1:18 1:18 1:18 1:18 1:20 2 2 2 2 2 2:2 2:3 2:4 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:11 2:14 2:14 2:16 2:17 2:17 2:18 2:19 2:19 2:20-24 2:23 2:26 2:26 2:26 2:26-28 2:26-28 2:27 2:29 3:1 3:3 3:3 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:5 3:7 3:8 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:17 3:18 3:19 3:19 3:20 3:21 3:21 3:21 3:21 4 4:8 4:11 4:11 5 5 5:6 5:6 5:9 5:9 5:10 5:10 6 6 6 6:8 6:9 6:9 6:10 6:10 6:10 6:12-17 6:13 6:15 6:16 7 7 7 7 7 7:1-8 7:2 7:2 7:9-17 7:14-17 8:1-6 9:2 9:11 9:20 9:20 9:21 9:21 10:5 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:7 11 11 11 11 11:1 11:2 11:4 11:7 11:7 11:14 11:15 11:15 11:17 11:17 11:17 11:18 11:18 11:18 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12:7 12:7 12:10 12:10 12:14 12:14 12:14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13:1-10 13:2 13:5 13:5 13:5 13:5 13:5-7 13:6 13:6 13:6 13:6-8 13:7 13:7 13:8 13:8 13:8 13:10 13:11-18 13:13 13:13-15 13:14 13:14 13:16 13:17 13:17 14:1 14:2 14:4 14:10 14:11 14:14 14:14 14:14 14:15 15 15:3 15:3 15:4 15:5 15:7 16:10 16:13 16:14 16:16 17 17 17:1 17:1-4 17:2 17:4 17:4 17:5 17:5 17:7 17:9 17:10 17:10 17:10 17:10 17:10 17:15 17:18 17:18 18 18 18 18:2 18:2 18:4 18:5 18:6 18:6 18:6 18:7 18:8 18:8 18:13 18:20 18:21 18:23 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19:1 19:5 19:7 19:7 19:7 19:8 19:8 19:8 19:8 19:9 19:9 19:10 19:11 19:11 19:11-16 19:14 19:15 19:19 20 20 20 20 20 20:1-3 20:1-3 20:1-3 20:4 20:4 20:4 20:4 20:4 20:4-6 20:4-6 20:5 20:5 20:6 20:6 20:6 20:6 20:6 20:6 20:7-10 20:7-10 20:8 20:8-10 20:9 20:9 20:13 20:14 20:14 21 21 21 21:1 21:1 21:3 21:4 21:4 21:6 21:9 21:9 21:12 21:23 21:24 21:24 21:24 21:27 22 22:1 22:1-5 22:3 22:16 22:16 23:1-5
Tobit
Judith
Wisdom of Solomon
2 Maccabees
3 Maccabees
Sirach