Eph 3 :21 Unto him be glory in the Church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages
World Without End Amen

Inquiry into the Nature, Progress, and End of Prophecy
"the period for the fulfillment of all prophecy has long ago passed away"

Dr. Samuel Lee
(1849)

Table of Contents

Preface

In Three Books

  1. One The Covenants

  2. An Exposition of the Vision of the Prophet Daniel

  3. An Exposition of the Revelation of St. John

Book One: One The Covenants

Book Two: An Exposition of the Vision of the Prophet Daniel

Book Three: AN EXPOSITION OF THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

BOOK III.

AN EXPOSITION OF THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

Chapter I.

ON THE WARNINGS GIVEN TO THE CHURCHES OF ASIA.

Sect. I.—On the Author, Writer, Scope, and Period of the fulfilment, of this Revelation.

IT is not my intention here to discuss the question as to the genuineness of this Book, or to present to the reader a critical verbal commentary upon it. I shall take it for granted that the Book is genuine, because this has been proved again and again by the ablest writers, as I also shall that the received Text is generally correct. Where indeed any good reason presents itself for thinking differently, I shall give it, with such emendations as the place may seem to require. In the main however, we shall find that the text, as we have it, is sufficiently correct for our purpose; which is to ascertain its theological scope and bearing, not its mere verbal peculiarities, analogies, or the like.—

Having then, so far considered the nature of the Covenants, and the Book of the prophet Daniel, in connexion with their periods and events, as found in both Testaments; we may now come to " the Revelation," and consider its several exegetical particulars in detail, and thus connect in one great whole, as far as we may be able, the testimony of Jesus, which is,—as it assures us,—the spirit of Prophecy.

The first verse of this Book tells us, that it is " The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him" (i. e. in order to reveal Him to the world), " to shew unto His servants things which must" (i. e. at that time) " shortly come to pass1." It is added, "And he sent and signified it

1 Gibbon sneeringly says of this Book, "A mysterious prophecy, which still forms a part of the sacred canon, but which was thought to favour the exploded sentiment" (i.e. of Christ's reign on earth), "has very narrowly escaped the proscription of the Church."—It is very true, many of the Churches, hating the heresy of Cerinthus, and unable to understand this book, rejected it, because it went, as they thought, to establish a carnal millennium. The best account of this affair will be found in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius (Lib. vu. c. xxv), where we have Dionysius of Alexandria thus expressing himself: " Ego vero librum ilium rejicere omnino non ausim, prsesertim cum multi ex fratribus eum magni faciunt. Sed hujusmodi de illo opinionem con-cipiens quasi sensus mei modum excedat, arcanam quandam planeque admirabilem singularum rerum intelligentiam latere existimo." The same was probably the opinion of those brethren here mentioned. If so, the probability is strong, that it always had its admirers, and those men on whose judgment no one need be ashamed of relying. If Gibbon had evinced such a mind, he would have shewn a higher order of intellectual power than he has done. We are next edified by the story of the exclusion of this Book from the Canon, by the Council of Laodicea: and next, with Gibbon's reasons why it has been thought so, much of by the Greek, Roman, and Protestant Churches : and by the latter, because of the advantage of turning those mysterious prophecies against the See of Rome. But, in all this, not the Book, but the men, have been to blame. Milman tells us here in a note, that the exclusion of the Apocalypse is not improbably assigned to its obvious unfit-ness to be read in Churches. And yet, parts of it are read in our own Church, and certainly these are not very obviously unfit for this purpose. Had it been better understood, no book could have been more fit. No portion of Scripture is, in my opinion, more edifying. " Wet-stein's interpretation, differently modified (?), is adopted by most continental scholars." (Milman's Gibbon, Vol. n. p. 303. Ed. 1838.) Which however, is any thing but very explicit.

232 REVELATION, CHAP. I

by His angel to His servant John : who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw:" that is, The Evangelist and Apostle John, who testified of the Word (John i. 1, 7, 15,19, 32, 34 ; xxi. 24, 25) : also of the things which he had seen (so 1 John i. 1), "That... which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon"...(ver. 3) " That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you." All which allusions were, no doubt, given to assure us, that he was the writer of this Book.—I shall not dwell further upon this point now.

We are told moreover, that the things so revealed were " shortly'1'' to " come to pass:" which must, in the general

REVELATION, CHAP. I. &C. 233

acceptation of language, imply at no very distant time2. Let us examine the several places, in which the same is in effect said; and hence ascertain whether we can fix the period had in view. In verse 3 we have, " The time is at hand:" which must, as before, signify some period then soon to commence. In verse 19, John is commanded to write, "the things which" (now) " are, and the things which shall be hereafter:" i.e. to take place after those then in being, and, as it should seem, soon to succeed them. The Greek is more specific, and has, the things that shall be after these. Of the things which then were, the account of the seven Churches following, formed an important part: the things which should shortly come to pass, another; which should seem to imply events such as should materially affect these, and soon to happen.

It is said again (chap. iii. 11), " Behold, I come quickly3." We have here, Christ's coming coupled with judgments which should try the whole world (ver. 10). But this was, as we have seen, to take place with power, and to commence within the generation then existing. By Christ's coming quickly therefore, must of necessity be meant, His coming during the period of Daniel's seventieth week, that is, at the time of the End4 generally, when judgment should first be executed upon the Jews, in the fall of their City and Sanctuary, and in their final dispersion; and secondly, upon the Desolator himself, the Persecutor termed the Little Horn, who should make war upon the Saints, and whose body should then be

2 So also St. Paul (Rom. xvi. 20), " The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly :" i. e. by the power of Christ shortly to be revealed, as foretold by the Prophets generally, and limited in time by Daniel to his seventieth mystical week.

3 Vitringa says here, " Quis enim ab hoc distinctus (i. e. from Christ's final coming to judgment) peeulians ille sit Domini adventus ad Eccle-siam Philadelphenam, nemo facile explicabit." This is, no doubt, an insuperable difficulty to the followers of Mr. Mede, as also is,—and for the same reason,—" the day of the Lord," and its equivalents. They never could see, that an end was determined, and that the period for this was also determined. This was indeed the day for the recompense of the controversy of Zion, in which this Church should, and did, rejoice.

4 Page 107, seq., above.

234 REVELATION, CHAP. I. &C.

given to the burning flame. Christ's coming " in the clouds," has already been considered (p. 108, seq. above).

If we now turn to Chap. xxii. 7, 12, we shall find two repetitions of this: viz. " Behold, I come quickly:" which must, of necessity, be understood in the same sense. It is said again (ib. ver. 10), " Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand." But in Daniel (chap. viii. 26) it is said, " Shut thou up the vision: for it shall be for many days." And again (chap. xii. 4), " Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end :" and (ver. 9), " The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." The reason for not sealing the words of this prophecy is therefore, this: viz. " the time is at hand ;" but in Daniel, the reason for sealing the words, and shutting the book was, because the vision had many days to run: and to a period then distant, viz. that of the end. Now the extreme end of Daniel's period was, as we have seen, the close of his seventieth week, which was to be signalized by the fall of the persecuting Power, named the Little Horn, and the giving of the fifth universal Empire to the Son of Man. This coming quickly therefore, and time then at hand, could not, in the nature of things, be of an extent so great as that had in view in Daniel, as far as the terms used may be relied on; and, from what we have seen, the generation then existing, and even St. John himself, were to witness its commencement at least, as " the beginning of sorrows:" while its termination could not exceed that noted above. And, once more, St. John's " quickly," and " at hand," virtually identify themselves here with Daniel's period of the end. Both the terms used therefore, and the events given for the purpose of limiting this period, conspire in assuring us, that the language used by St. John, is to be taken in its common and usual acceptation, and in no other.

This Chapter (xxii. 20) again, repeats this " Surely I come quickly ,•" which as before, must refer to Christ: and here, the declaration is strengthened by the term " Surely." I will only add, the repetitions of this enouncement must have been given, for the purpose of making it both prominent and important: which, accompanied as they are, and as shewn above, could not have been intended to carry the reader beyond the period so qualified, and so particularly and fre-

REVELATION, CHAP. I. &C. 235

quently brought before us. The time had in view therefore, by the Apocalypse, must have long ago passed5.

sect. II.—On the General Scope of the First Three Chapters of the Revelation, and first Vision of St. John.

it must appear from the general declarations of these Chapters, that Christianity had, at the time of their revelation, been generally received; for they extend to the uni-

5 It will be worth while here to notice Vitringa's objections to this conclusion, particularly as he is one of the ablest and best informed writers on this Book. Grotius and Hammond, he tells us, confine it to 500 years at farthest: while both most inconsistently add 1000 years for its duration beyond the times of Constantine. Most inconsistently indeed! Vitringa then introduces the metaphysical consideration of all duration of time being as nothing, with respect to eternity. Very true: but, Has this any thing to do with our question ? Besides, if we allow ourselves this latitude of criticism, every consideration about periods of time must be cast to the winds! This principle is, therefore, bad. He next tells us that, from the times of Domitian to the present, sixteen centuries had passed, and that the Lord had not thus come. I remark, This is to argue on his own grounds, and these assumed as true: which in fact they are not! The Lord has indeed come: but not in his sense of these terms. He next argues from the words "yet a little while" (Haggai ii. 6), to shew, that 500 years at least must be meant. I remark, not a word about" while" is found in the original Hebrew here, nor in any one of the ancient versions. All the place says is, Yet (there is) one (thing), Is it a small one 1 or the like. Then the shaking of the heavens and earth is mentioned. Which of these is most suitable to the context, let the reader judge.—He next carries us to Malachi iii. 1, 2, where he translates repente, and interprets by "quanta." But here he is palpably wrong: meaning in this place, beyond all doubt, suddenly, not soon! and so it has usually been taken. His last refuge is the consideration that, because these things were to begin in the days of John, it is accordingly said, they should soon come to pass. I answer, If we had means no better than these, for determining the end of these things, the case might be as he would have it. It has been shewn above,—and will again be shewn in the sequel,—that we have indeed better means. This question need not therefore, be further urged for the present. That the Prophets do occasionally represent times, at a great distance, as present to them, is true enough: so that even the Grammar is greatly affected by it (See my Heb. Gram,. Art. 231, seq.): but this is a thing very different from the reasoning of Vitringa: and cannot be appealed to, in settling any question about the times of events.

236 REVELATION, CHAP. I. &C.

versal Church, as it also must, that the Church was then implicated in certain corruptions; and likewise, that persecution was inflicted on it to some extent6; not indeed to that which it was doomed eventually to suffer7. And, on both these accounts apparently, these warnings and encouragements were given to it, in its universal character by St. John. We shall presently see, from the terms used, that, under these seven Churches, the whole Christian Church is addressed; for certainly, the Gospel had been preached to every 'creature under heaven in the days of St. Paul8. The mystery of iniquity evidently had, as in his days, begun at least to work; while the fuller tide of this, with its attendant tribulations, was as yet future in the views of the Evangelist John.

It, should seem evident moreover, from these considerations, as also from others to be noticed, that Jerusalem had not yet fallen: and this receives considerable strength from the circumstance, that not so much as a single allusion to it, as a fact, is to be found in the whole Book: while many certainly are, to the predictions of its fall'1. And if this be the case, St. John could not have written it when exiled by Domitian to the Isle of Patmos (chap. i. 9), because this Emperor was not in power till after the fall of the holy City. " / John," says the writer of this Book, " was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus.'1'' Which does not neces-

6 And hence (chap. i. 9) John says, " I.. . am your brother and companion in tribulation." And again (chap. ii. 9), "/ know thy. . . tribulation," &c. Again (ver. 13), " Antipas my faithful martyr." And ib. ''Satan's seat. . .Satan dwelleth;" ver. 14, "them that hold the doctrine of Balaam," ver. 15, "the Nicolaitanes;" ver. 20, "that woman Jezebel;" chap. iii. ver. 9, " the synagogue of Satan," &c. abundantly imply, that " the mystery of iniquity" had begun to work, and produced its fruits.

' So Chap. ii. 10, " Fear not those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days." But forty-two months, or 1260 days, or 85 days, or time, times, and a half; i. e. the last portion of Daniel's seventieth week, is the period elsewhere assigned to these tribulations. However varied therefore, these descriptions may be, the thing meant in them all, is identically the same.

8 See p. 129 above.

9 As we shall see.

REVELATION, CHAP. I. &C. 237

sarily mean, that he was there on account of persecution for the word of God (much less in the times of Domitian); but it may be, for the purpose of preaching, just as Paul was at this or that place, for the same purpose; and, as Asia seems to have fallen under the charge of St. John, it is not improbable he may, long before he became Bishop of that diocese, have made it the particular object of his care. It is true, tradition makes Patmos the place of John's exile under Domitian; but this seems to have no better authority than that of conjecture.

It should also seem from the expression, " I come quickly" noted above, that our Lord had not yet come in Power, in any case. If he had so come, with reference to Jerusalem, the form would rather have been, Behold, I come again, or a second time; or, as in His prediction10, Behold, after the tribulations, i. e. as already inflicted, I come again. But we have nothing bearing the least resemblance to this: whence, it is but reasonable to conclude, that our Lord had not yet so appeared in Power, in any instance. Jerusalem was therefore, in all probability, still standing; but was soon to fall, and that Wicked one to be revealed. To the same effect, " Behold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see him," &c. which is said of something not yet done. And, alluding to this, our Lord Himself says to the Jews, (Matth. xxvi. 64), " Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven:" which is but an echo to what we have (ib. xvi. 28), " Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the

10 In all places of this sort, we are necessarily brought to Daniel (chap. vii. 13, seq.), "Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven . . . and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom," &c. So Matth. xxvi. 64, " Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man" sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." See p. 108, above. So also in the egress from Egypt, the power of Jehovah appeared visibly in the cloud (Exod. xiv. 20; xvi. 10, &c. Comp. Is. iv. 5, for a defence to his people; Chap. xix. 1, to destroy his enemies). In Deut. xxxi. 15, it is said, "The lord appeared. . . in a pillar of a cloud." Where however, there was no personal appearance whatever. Comp. Ps. i/xviii. 34; xviii. 9—19 ; civ. 3, seq. Nah. i. 3, seq. Zech. ix. 14, seq., &c. all speaking of the revelations^of Christ.

238 REVELATION, CHAP. I. &C. [bk. in. ch. k

Son of Man coming in his kingdom:'1'' and this, as already noticed, must be limited to the judgment to fall on Jerusalem ; for many then living would see it: while none could survive to the period, in which the fall of the Roman persecuting Power should take place. It is to this last therefore, that we must refer the prediction (in Matth. xxiv. 30), viz. " Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes op the earth mourn11," &c., both because it exceeds the limit of time marked in the first case by our Lord, and also that of the space then had in view, which must have been Jewry only ; while we have here, " all the tribes of the earth" But, according to the terms of St. John, this coming in the clouds had not yet taken plaoe in any case. Jerusalem could not therefore have yet fallen: nor could this have been written in the times of Domitian.

The next thing to be observed here, is the dignity of Him who is the Author of this whole Book. Tt is said (chap. i. ver. 5) to be "from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first-begotten from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth:" that is, de jure, not at this period de facto. A little lower down, it is said of Him, that He is " the Alpha and Omega," " the beginning and the ending12," " the Lord which is, and which was, and which is to come:" and (ver. 11) " The first and the last." And again (ver. 17), "I am the first and the last:" " I am He that liveth, and was dead;...and have the keys of hell and of death" In these former expressions, the titles assumed are those of jehovah Himself, besides whom there is no revealed God; in the second, those which refer to Christ,—God and Man, —and can possibly refer to no other person. When we are told that " His hairs were white like wool," we are necessarily brought back to our second Vision of Daniel, where, as then noticed, the Son of Man is brought to the Ancient of days : but here, Christ is made " Him which was, and is, and is to come:" and again, He has " the keys of hell and of death:" that is, the insignia of judgment. " Out of his mouth" too, goes forth (ver. 16) " a two-edged sword :" i. e.

11 See pp. 107, seq. and 127, seq. above.

12 Isai. xt,,!. 4; xiav. 6; xLviii. 12. Rev. xxii. 13, with their parallels.

REVELATION, CHAP. I. &C. 239

" the Word of God," which is " the sword of the Spirit," wherewith he smites the earth, and destroys by His denunciations (i. e. the breath of his lips) the wicked13. Our Lord is here depicted therefore, in His rightful character, as God-man, i. e. in His humility, and as having suffered death: in His power, as Prince of the kings of the earth, and, as God the Word, enouncing both the eternal blessings and terrors of the Almighty.

Sect. III.—On the more Important Particulars of Chaps. -I. II. III.

I shall not deem it necessary to note every particular mentioned in this Preface, but only such as seem important to the purposes of our inquiry. It is said then, Chap. i. ver. 20, " The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven Churches." It is one admirable feature of this Book, that it occasionally supplies us with its own interpretation of its most difficult parts. These we shall notice as we proceed. We are here accordingly informed, that by the " seven stars'" are meant, the angels, or presiding ministers, of the " seven Churches :" i. e. as stated above, of the whole universal Church: and that, by the Candlesticks, these Churches themselves are meant. When we read therefore, of a Candlestick's being removed, we are to understand the removal of some one such Church.

We should observe in the next place, that every warning here given, involves some condition, with its consequence, e. g. (chap. ii. 5) " Repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick ...except thou repent." Of this character are all the rest. And if so, we have no prophecy here: this is doctrine, and nothing else: it foretells nothing positively: and therefore, it is not prophecy in the strict acceptation of that term. To talk then, of the desolate state of any such Church as

13 Isai. xi. 4.

14 The number seven here, although restricted verbally to the seven Churches of Asia, need not, in a book so manifestly mystical as this is, be supposed to mean nothing more than what these words imply. We shall presently see,—as we have in some places of the Prophets,—that the content cannot be made out, under any such assumption.

240 REVELATION, CHAP. I.

particularly named here, evincing the fulfilment of prophecy, is to talk wide of the mark. And, if by these seven Churches we are to understand the universal Church, then will such interpretation be still worse. But, if we take this as the enouncement of a doctrine,—for which indeed its very terms are sufficient vouchers,—then we shall see, not only in the desolate state of those Churches, but in the removal of those of Africa, Arabia, Persia, and of many other places, the infliction of these very judgments of God. They were all thus warned: they disregarded the warning, and they were accordingly laid aside. Nor need these warnings be confined to those times, as indeed the nature of all doctrine requires. They bear as much on us, as they did on the Churches then : and the truth is, the consequences are now as plainly to be seen, as they are with reference to those Churches, wherever these warnings are, or are not, attended to: while, considered as prophecies, strictly speaking, they have neither meaning in their terms, nor the possibility of correct application in the facts.

" Thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes" (ib. ver. 6). From the occurrence of this term again (ver. 15), in the same context with " them that hold the doctrine of Salaam," Vitringa has been induced to believe, that by Nicolaitanes is meant, the same thing as would have been, had the word Balaamites been used15; and hence, that this term is not derived from the name of Nicolas the deacon: his conclusion is, that everything said by the early Fathers of the Church on this subject, is not to be regarded. I must say with Mosheim16,—respecting, as I very highly do, the merits of Vitringa,—I am still inclined to believe, that the tradition of these Fathers is not to be wholly disregarded. Some of them too, lived near enough to these times to have known whence the name originated : and certainly, those who have so spoken of it were no visionaries.

From what is said of Balaam here, i. e. "who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock (i. e. in the Midianitish women17) " before the children of Israel" (i. e.) " to eat things

15 On Apocal. chap. ii. 6, &c.

16 "Demonstratio Seetee Nicola Harum," &c. Dissert, ad Hist. Eccles. pertin. Vol. i. p. 425. Ed. 1743. 17 Num. xxv. 1, seq.; xxxi. 16.


REVELATION, CHAP. II. 241

sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication:" no doubt need remain as to what these Nicolaitanes were. The Platonic doctrine of a community of women, had most likely been received among them: and this, as a temptation to embrace their views, was no doubt held out to all: coupled, —for nothing less could be expected,—with "forbidding to marry18,1" and " abstaining from meats," unless these were first offered to idols: for fanatics are commonly rigid in exacting from their followers, every particular distinguishing their party.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches: To him that overcometh will 1 give to eat of the tree of life" (ver. 7). That this is a general enouncement of doctrine, directed to all Believers, there can be no doubt: nor can there, that what is said here by the Spirit, is also said to all the Churches. The thing promised too, can be nothing either less or more than the great privilege of Christianity as taught to all by the Apostles, by virtue of which alone, men should be restored to the image of Him that created them, and even to higher privileges than those of Eden, and even to eat of the fruit of the tree of life. (See on chap. xxii. 2, 17.) We have here therefore, neither Jewish, nor Gnostic, Millennium. We have the pure enouncements of Christianity only, and those in which believers should be made complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

" The devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried : and ye shall have tribulation ten days" (ver. 10). From this, as also from (chap. iii. 10), viz. " The hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them," it must be evident, that the persecutions and trials foretold, by Daniel and others, must be had in view. In Daniel we have (chap. xi. 35), " Some of them of understanding" (i. e. " some of you," here) " shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make white, even to the time of the end: because," it is added, "it is yet for a time appointed." The " ten days" of John must therefore, be the same with this " appointed time," and " end," of the Prophet; who also

18 Their general doctrine was, that marriage was of the devil, as shewn above, p. 116.

242 REVELATION, CHAP. II. .

tells us, that they should be given into the hands of the Power who should be the minister of Satan, during the period of a time, times, and the dividing of time: that is, during the latter half of his seventieth week (Chap. vii. 25; xii. 7. See on Rev. xii. 14, &c. below). John's "ten days" therefore, is a mere indefinite manner of speaking, as in Gen. xxiv. 55, Heb. ") some days, or a decade: or, as we would say, some nine days, or a fortnight: our Authorized Version is therefore lax here. But we have a more sure means of determining the " time," or " end appointed," as we have already seen. This therefore, as before, must have been written before the times of Domitian. And again, " the crown of life" promised in this verse, can mean nothing more or less, than the crown which St. Paul, declared was laid up both for himself, and for all believers, having fought the good fight, and perseveringly kept the faith19.

" He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death" (ver. 11). That is, every one that so overcometh throughout the whole Church, as before. See what is said on this subject, chap. xx. 14, and xxi. 7, 8, below. "Where Satan's seat is" (ver. 13). The Church of Pergamos is here addressed, where it is most likely Satan's service was in high repute; but the particulars we are not told. Nor can it be ascertained who the faithful martyr " Antipas" was. It is evident that he must have suffered before John wrote this; and therefore, considerably before the commencement of the general persecutions. He probably fell,— as Paul very nearly did,—(Acts xiv. 19, &c.) by the malice of the Jews. The seat of Satan however, in this Book generally, is certainly heathen Rome. Still, before the general persecutions, Jerusalem might be so styled with the greatest propriety: and here, both James the brother of John, and Stephen, fell by the atrocity (see chap, xi, 8) of its Rulers.

" To him that overcometh will I 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" (ver. 17). By " the hidden manna" is probably meant, that which the manna, laid up20, mystically

19 2 Tim. iv. 8. 20 Bxod. xvi. 33.


REVELATION, CHAP. II. 243

implied, namely, Christ; and this He Himself seems (John vi, 32, 36, inclus.) to say: i. e. I will feed his soul with the provisions of my Church, so that, in a spiritual sense, he shall neither hunger nor thirst, but shall ever have the greatest abundance. I greatly doubt whether any reference is had in the terms " white stone," to any Grecian or Roman usage, as supposed by the commentators generally, of which a sufficient specimen may be seen here in Vitringa. This " white stone"" was, as it should seem, to contain " a new name," written by the finger of God as in the tables of the Law. Of this Isaiah will give us some account (chap. Lxii. 2), " The Gentiles," he tells us, "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 name21."

We have reference again made to this (chap. iii. 12), " Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God" (i. e. such as Jachin and Boaz were in that of the Jews22)..."and," it is added, "/ will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God; and I will write upon him my new name." This new name can be none but Christian; whether we find it on the white stone so given, or, as the name of the believer's God (Christ), or as the name of the New Jerusalem, which is the Christian Church. To have this so written therefore, upon him, and upon his stone, appears to have reference to Deut. vi. 8, seq., where we have, " Thou shalt bind them" (i. e. God's words) "for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes," &c. which the Jews understanding literally, applied in their phylacteries; when the intention is, that they should be written on the table of their hearts. Not unlike this is Num. xvii. 2, 3, where every man is commanded to take a rod, and according to the house of his fathers (i. e. tribes), to write his name upon it. Upon that of the tribe of Levi, Aaron's name was to be written. Here, upon white stone, i. e. pure, and as subject to no decay, is the name Christian to be written.

21 See Acts xi. 26, where supposed by some, not without reason, to signify given oracularly, or by inspiration*

22 1 Kings yii. 21.


 

244 REVELATION, CHAP. II.

No tribular distinction now existing, the rod is out of place, for the believer is now to be a pillar in his Redeemer's holy City, and the material of this is to be that of the rock, white, pure, and enduring; and so far is he to be a Cephas, or Peter23, both as to faith and practice.

Again, " A...name...which no man knoweth, saving he who receiveth it:" i. e. involving " the mystery of godliness:'''' the realization of the power of the Spirit, which the world knoweth not, because it seeth him not2. Hence it is said, " The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.'" Ps. xxv. 14, &c. See Prov. iii. 32, &c. Where, it is remarkable enough, the Hebrew term signifying also foundation, is always used.

This is not therefore any Greek or Roman tessera, nor is it either a white, or black, calculus used by them in judicial proceedings: it is the insignia of the profession of citizenship, &c., just as the name on the tribular rod, or the text written on the door-posts, or frontlets, with the Jews; marking at once their religious profession, and tribular place and station: while, under the New Covenant, the name Christian includes all this in a, spiritual sense; and its essential properties are, to be written on the heart that has been purified by faith.

"Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel," &c. (ver. 20). Allusion is here evidently made to the wife of Ahab (1 Kings xvi. 31, &c.), who stirred up her husband to every species of spiritual fornication; and, among other things, to seek the life of the prophet Elijah, so that he exceeded in wickedness all that had gone before him. That some such Jezebel, or Balaam, or leader of the Nicolaitanes, was in Thyatira at this time, is very probable, although we have no historical record of the fact. The heresy of Simon Magus had, in one shape or other, evidently taken its stand here: and, as these Churches represented all others, the same was no doubt true of many of them also. The mystery of iniquity had been some time at work, and alas! how rapidly does it usually make its way!

"I gave her space to repent...and she repented not" (ver. 21). "And I will kill her children...and all the

1. Rock, or Stone.  John xiv. 17, &c.


REVELATION, CHAP. II. 245

Churches shall know," &c. Here "All the Churches," (ver. 23). It will be observed we are now told, that " she repented not;" and hence, the warnings so given, as well as the judgments so threatened, must have been intended for all the Churches so circumstanced.

"But unto you...and as many as have not this doctrine ...I will put upon you no other bur den... hold fast till I come" (verr. 24, 25). From which it is manifest, that there was a true Church in Thyatira, and that the Apostolic recommendation (Acts xv. 28, seq.) to abstain from meats offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication, is the " none other burden1'' laid upon it here. By " holdfast," &c. seems to be meant, take care that, during the time of sifting and trial, presently to come upon the whole world (chap. iii. 10. Comp. Matth. xxiv. 13), your faith fail not. Then comes the promise :—

" He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end" (i. e. every believer so doing until the end should arrive), " to him will I give power over the nations; and he shall ride them with a rod of iron" „.." even as I received of my Father" (verr. 26, 27). Christ gives to his servants, and "first-fruits'"'' here, the privileges and powers assigned to Himself by the Father. To them it was given, as His ministers, to erect His kingdom. They were to judge the world ; with the sword of the Spirit issuing from His mouth, in His holy word, they were to slay the wicked; and, by the same means, also to give salvation, light, and newness of life, to every one who should receive their testimony. As ministers, these would occupy His place and do His work, not by their own wisdom or might, but by virtue of that which should attend them, as He promised, " Lo, I am with you always even to the end of the world:" and, as this is delivered generally as a doctrine, it need not be restricted to the end intimated in prophecy, properly so called.

"And I will give him the morning-star :" (ver. 28), that is, my own enlightening Spirit and power. In Chap. xxii. 16, Jesus says of Himself, 'I am... the bright and morning-star." He also says, " 1 have sent mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the Churches:" where, be it observed, we have nothing limiting this to the seven Churches of Asia: what is said, is directed to the Churches generally. And

246 REVELATION, CHAP. II.

here, the subject-matter is the same as it is in all these addresses. All the Churches are therefore meant in each case; and this "bright and morning-star'"'' is, in like manner, promised to all. The doctrine too, is that of Apostolic Christianity, and of all times.

In 2 Pet. i. 19, this " morning-star" is styled " the day-star" (i. e. lit. light-carrier), and it is given together with the recommendation, to " take heed to the more sure word of prophecy, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until," it is said, " the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts:" as if the careful study of Prophecy would necessarily lead to this heavenly light. The Revelation of St. John was evidently given to guide and aid this study, and therein to reveal both to the understanding, and the affections, of the believer the light of life, which is to be found in the face of Christ Jesus alone. " / will give him the morning-star,'1'' is therefore much the same thing as to say, / myself will come to him, and make my abode with him. (Comp. John xiv. 18—24, and Rev. iii. 20, seq.)

The first intimation we have of Christ under the figure of a star, is in Num. xxiv. 17, in these words : "There shall come a star out of Jacob", " and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and He shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth." That is, Moab, as an opposer of Israel, shall be utterly destroyed: he shall be overcome by the sword of the Spirit, which is to proceed out of the mouth of this Ruler. The children of Sheth were now all mankind: those of Cain having perished by the flood. These as mere natural men shall, in like manner fall, and be raised to a new life by virtue of the law to be maintained under the Sceptre of Christ (as Shiloh), to whom the gathering of the nations shall be.

We have a manifest allusion to this in St. Luke (chap. i. 78), " Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-spring" "from on high hath visited us." It is added, by way of comment, " To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Again in the Song of Simeon (ib. ii. 32), "A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy" (true) "people Israel." To the same effect Isaiah (chap. ix. I, seq.), " Arise, shine, for thy light is come," &c...

REVELATION, CHAP. II. 247

" And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.'1'' And Malachi (chap. iii. 2), "To you that fear my name"" (i. e. the believing Remnant of Israel) " shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings" Where, it will be observed, the figure is changed, while the Person meant is clearly the same.

What might have induced the wise men of the East (Matth. ii. 2) to follow the guiding of a star to Bethlehem, it is impossible to say with certainty. The probability is strong that, as a tradition of the coming of Christ, had certainly made its way far and wide in the world25, some divine intimation was made to these sages, that, if they followed the star then appearing,—in an extraordinary manner of necessity, for this was an extraordinary period as to miraculous appearances and operations,—they would find Him in a state of infancy, and just born. But here, in St. John and St. Peter, this star was, in its enlightening and healing influences, to arise in the hearts, and to shine in the lives of them who should receive it: where, as in other instances noticed above, the natural phenomenon is made to intimate the spiritual privilege.

Chapter iii.

Verr. 1—6, contain the epistle to the Church of Sardis; where, as in our former cases, there appear to be only a few names to live. To this few it is said (ver. 4, seq.), "They shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy." We are taught (chap. xix. 8) that by "fine linen, white and clean" is meant " the righteousness of saints." It is in this place mentioned, as " the wedding garment'''' of the spouse of Christ; i. e. of His Church; and, of necessity, of every real member of it. And, as it is the custom in the East to give the garment to be worn at a feast, to every one who is to partake therein26, so here this garment is necessarily the gift of the Bridegroom, Christ.

25 The best work that I have seen on this subject, is the Praeparatio Evangelica of Eusebius: a work which every student of Theology should carefully read. Dr. Gaisford has conferred a great benefit on the Church, by printing a very good Edition of it.

26 It is the custom in the East to give a garment, and Sometimes other ornaments with it, to persons invited to feasts, and even to those presented to any great man.

248 REVELATION, CHAP. III.

We have some intimation of this garment, and its gift, in Isaiah (chap. Lxi. 10): " / will greatly rejoice in the lord," it is said, " my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe op righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride odorneth her self with her jewels." (Comp. verr. 1—7). In this manner was the returning Prodigal clothed, even with the best robe, (Luke xv. 22); the fatted calf was killed, and all were called upon to eat, drink, and be merry, because a lost child, and one as good as dead, had returned to the house of his Father: which evidently refers to the coming in of the Gentiles. It is in this way too, that the righteousness of Christ is made over to Believers, through faith even as it was to Abraham (Rom. iv. 3, &c.) : He is put on as it were, (Rom. xiii. 14: Gal. iii. 27, &c.) and hence, they appear before God without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing: in Him they have become new creatures, and have thus been restored to the image of Him who created them. Hence it is also said, ib. ver. 5, " 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 holy Angels." Such an one is therefore, impervious to the second death (chap. xx. 19, &c.): he shall pass from death to life, and not come into judgment, (i. e. condemnation, John v. 24).

It is said of the sinful party here, " If therefore thou shalt not watch" (i. e. to repentance), " / will come as a thief" $c. where reference is had to Matth. xxiv, 43, seq.: " If the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh," i. e. to execute his fierce anger, both on the disobedient Jews, and the opposing Gentiles, within the period determined for this, as we have already seen ; and hence, to supply vouchers of a judgment to come, applicable at once to all times, places, and persons.

From verse 7 down to verse 14, we have the warning of the Church of Philadelphia: Here however we have nothing in the shape of rebuke, except as directed against unbelieving Jews. It is added by way of encouragement, (ver. 10), " Because thou hast kept the word of my patience,


REVELATION, CHAP. III. 249

I mil also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." If then we take this as prophecy, and apply it to the Church of Philadelphia, it will follow, that this Church should still remain in its integrity; but the fact is, it has, like all the others, fallen ! The " little strength"" which should be so aided as to overcome the temptation to afflict the world, must in fact have disappeared, and judgment have fallen upon it, as in the case of the Churches of Africa, to the uttermost. This can therefore be no prophecy; it is a doctrine, as before, and nothing else.

We then have (ver. 9), judgment denounced on the Jews" who are here, as before (ch. ii. 9), " The synagogue of Satan." It is said, "Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." That this contains no promise of conversion, must be evident from

2. It is truly marvellous that Vitringa could see here, and in Chap, ii., nothing but Judaizing Christians. The text in each case affirms, that " they say they are Jews, but are not." If the New Testament usually styled the Christians Jews, there might have been some ground for this: but it does directly the contrary. In the Church all are one: out of the Church, all are under the curse. Vitriiiga however, sees in the term Jew, rn'TT1 OTVT ? chap. ii. 9) Confessor: i. e. pros se ferens veram Judei confessionem. " Erant itaque," adds he, " inter Christianas, qui bo appellari et denominari cupiebant Judaeos" &c. And so the proof is made out! Once more, " Swayayrj hie est my ccetus, conventus . .. Jacobus . . . Christianorum Coetum (Epist. ii. 2) et Paulus (Heb. x. 25)." Both of which however, in this sense, are any thing but certain: each being most likely, to be taken in their common untechnical acceptation, as our Authorized Version has rendered them. Much the same is again said here, but nothing is proved. " Sensus est," he says, "fuisse qui jactaverint, se veram profiteri fidem in Christum, et hoc nomine se a communione verce AEcclesice separaverint." But this again, is only conjecture, and that too, without the least ground for it! And again, " Judaei in Apocalypsisunt Christiani:" which is assertion only! All of which however, receives, as he thinks, sufficient proof from its being said, "Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet," &c. as if this must necessarily mean, their return to the true Church; and because this was to be expected from such, more than it could from Jews. It is astonishing, that so able a man should have odfered arguments so weak as these: but the fault lay in his system, which rarely ventures out of the region of conjecture.

250 REVELATION, CHAP. III.

the context, as well as the threatening manner in which it is given. If however, we turn to the original enouncements of it, no doubt will remain on this point. We have then. (Isai. lx. 14), " The, sons also of them that afflicted thee," (i.e. "people as of Gomorrah,"" who afflicted the true Zion in the days of the Prophet,) "shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet, and they shall" (thus virtually) call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel."1 A Synagogue of Satan, such as we now have before us, could recognize the power of this Zion, in none but a secular sense :—and in this sense the Jews have been compelled to worship it:—which must be intended here. Besides, Zion is nowhere said in a religious sense, to be an object of worship to any people; nor, from the nature of the case, can she be.

We have again (Rev. ver. 8), "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it," that is, of entrance to the Zion of God. " Thy gates," says Isaiah (chap. lx. 11), shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring unto thee," (more literally, in unto thee,) " the forces of the Gentiles." So also (Rev. xxi. 25,) "And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there shall be no" (spiritual) " night there." Such is the Zion into 'which this Church of Philadelphia had entered, and was then so found in the estimation of Him "who hath the key of David." The exhortation now is (ver. 12), "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." What this Church had received from the Apostles, was wholly adequate to the securing of this ; it wanted therefore neither the Jewish, nor Heretical, Millennium of that, or any other period. Then follows (ver. 12), the general declaration, already considered, viz. "Him that overcometh,'"1 would Christ "make a pillar in the temple of his God." all are then (ver. 13) called upon to " hear," as before, " what the Spirit saith to the Churches"

The last warning is addressed to the Church of the Laodiceans (verr. 14—22). It commences with, " These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" all of which is a periphrastic description of Christ, amounting in value to his titles as given in the preceding addresses, though verbally differing from them.

REVELATION, CHAP, III. 251

The first of these I take to be the Syro-Chaldaic  Amen,Syr. .vn] stabilis, assiduus, &c. of which the Hebrew JD» Amen,—used adverbially as a term of asseveration,—is only another, and equivalent form. With the definite article, as in the Greek

The permanent, faithful, true, or the like. It should be remembered that, in the times of St. John, the Syro-Chaldaic prevailed in Palestine: the purer Hebrew had ceased to be spoken. We have indeed this Heb. in Is. lxv. 16. in the phrases, " the God of truth," more literally, God of (him that is) true, or of a true one. Which will bring us to the diction of St. John, (1 Ep. v. 20), " That we may know Him that is true", " and we are in Him that is true," " even in his Son Jesus Christ." It is evident too, from the context in Isaiah, that the person of Christ is there meant. We need not therefore suppose, with Vitringa, after Kimkhi, that here put for the word is intelligible enough as it stands.

" The faithful and true witness;" i. e. " who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession" (1 Tim. vi. 13). Faithful and true moreover, in viewing, and judging of, the faith and conversation of His professing people, as in these addresses. Faithful also to his own word; e. g. " Him that confesseth me before men, him will I confess before my Father and the holy angels" So (ver. 5), " /will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name," &c. Faithful and true too, in preserving His believing people on earth "from the hour of temptation" (ver. 10), so that they shall not be hurt even by the second death. He is also faithful in judging, and finally avenging himself on His, and their, enemies, as judge of the quick and dead. Nor can any thing more clearly or satisfactorily evince this, than do the facts connected with this Book.

" The beginning of the creation of God:" i. e. not in a passive, but the active sense: signifying, among other things, Principatus, Potestas, and the like; and so the Syriac, " Illud principium creaturae Dei:" more literally, That Head of the creation of God; that is, He who acted

252 REVELATION, CHAP. III.

as its Head, and sole Governour. To this, some bring Prov. viii. 22. " The lord possessed me (Heb. 133J3, lit. acquired me, made me his own) in, the beginning of His way." (the beginning, &c. without "in" Heb. i3 which will then mean the Origin, Head, Commencement; and, by a metonymy, Him who was so. We have in Deut. xxxii. 21 a similar use of the word in, So he saw (viewed) a Commencement, or Headship, for him: i. e. a state in which his authority would take its rise. The LXX. give here: the Vulgate principatum, which is better: the Samaritan, " Et fecit prcerogativum swam,"  which the New Testament will throw the best light: e. g. Eph. iii. 9.  (God) who created all things by Jesus Christ.'1'' And (ib. 11.)  "According to the eternal purpose, which he (God) purposed in Christ Jesus." Better perhaps, of the dispensations which He purposed : i. e. not only as to creation, but to all pertaining to Religion. Of the first, Solomon speaks fully in Prov. viii. 27—31: of the last, ib. verr. 32—36, inclus. Comp. Col. j. 15, 16, where should imply primogenitus, as to dignity and pre-eminence, rather than any passive sense, as to birth. See also John i. 1, 2, which brings us to the other titles of divinity ascribed by our Lord to himself, in these three first chapters of the Revelation; and all is consistent.

From ver. 15 down to ver. 19, this Church is severely rebuked, and warned how to avoid the consequences threatened. Its fault was lukewarmness, the most subtle and fatal perhaps, that can attach itself to any Church, and sufficient, as it is declared here, to bring about its utter rejection. Let this never be forgotten. The counsel given (ver. 18) is, " Buy of me gold tried in the fire...and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed...and anoint thine eyes wiih eye-salve, that thou mayest see :" because " In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom, and knowledge" (Col. ii. 2), because He i» " Jehovah our Righteousness " (Jer. xxiii. 6), and because He " is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." (1 Cor. i. 30).

Ver. 19. " As many as I love, I rebuke," &c. is now given to assure this lukewarm body, that the severity had

REVELATION, CHAP. III. 253

recourse to was in the sincerest love. It is added: " be zealous therefore, and repent.'1'' The Chapter now concludes with a general invitation to all, and intended, no doubt, to apply to the Church of all times and places: not as a prophecy, but as a monition: " Behold, I stand at the door and knock; z/'any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in unto him, and will sup with him, and he with me." That is, if any such (—nay, if any even out of the Church) do this, then will I come in the power of the Spirit, and will sup with him. Which can be understood of nothing short of Almighty power, and ubiquity, in Him who makes the promise. The same is true of the next verse, " To him that over-cometh," sec., where the promise is to bestow eternal life, honour, and glory, on all so opening to the Redeemer, who stands as it were, and knocks at the hearts of all believers, by His word, His preachers, the suggestions of conscience, the unsatisfying things of time and sense, and in the dread anticipatings of eternal damnation. Let then every one, who hath an ear, hear attentively what the Spirit, in so much love and truth, says to the Churches.—

We learn two important things therefore, from this Preface, or Introduction, to the Revelation. I. The truth, that notwithstanding the fact, that Christianity was preached and seconded by the exertion of miraculous powers, it is not to be presumed that it will always be so maintained; but rather, that, if its followers forsake their first works, that is, as received by Apostolical enouncement and exemplification, their candlesticks, although retaining some portion of divine light, will be removed, just as they have been in the case of the Churches here addressed. For, as this involves a question of principle only, no increase of Christianity effected, even by miraculous power—were that possible—can interfere with it : degree being altogether excluded. The Revelation therefore, if it supplies us with the brightest view of Christianity,—as it certainly does—it does at the same time most effectually admonish us, that this can be known and felt, only by the cultivation of a true and lively faith, such as was realized by the Apostles, and Apostolic Believers, of its times. II. That the Author of the things brought here to our notice, is the Son of God, " God revealed in power." These declarations are therefore worthy of all acceptation, as they are

254 REVELATION, CHAP. III.

most instructive and edifying. They are the enouncements of Him who was, and is, and is still to come, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Judge. "This prophecy " therefore, and all "prophecy," the spirit of which is " the testimony of Jesus," proceeds from Christ, as the One, and same great Author of it all. The Prophets spake as they were moved by the Spirit of Christ28. St. John here did the same thing; and the amount, as we shall see, of these his visions is, a synopsis of all that they had said, presenting and supplying at the same time, the best means for understanding them.

We learn moreover from this Preface, as we also do from other parts of the New Testament, that, how perfect soever Christianity itself was in the Apostolic times,—and it was ever in principle entirely so,—its professors were in character, as were whole Churches, of a very various sort. And this, supposing no irresistible influence exercised upon them, is what would necessarily be the case, and ever will be. Nevertheless, the Apostle tells us, that, at this very time, Believers were complete in Christ, the head of all principality and power: that they were the very members of His body, and of His flesh and bones; that is, in a spiritual sense: that they were temples of the Holy Ghost; were citizens of the City of the living God, and had come to the true Zion, and actually sat in heavenly places with Christ; and, that this was the case in many, no one need doubt. He adds, that if an Angel from heaven preached anything beyond what had been preached to them, and had been received by them, he was to be considered as accursed, and as a minister of Satan29. It was not therefore, the men, but the thing, to which they were to look, and under which they were to grow up to a meetness even for heaven. Christianity still holds out the same to us; and vain must the expectations of those be, who look for something better ; because, neither here, nor elsewhere, is anything beyond this promised.

There is one consideration more ; it is, That this Book was written at a time when it was especially necessary to warn the Church of the things soon to take place. It had been warned to expect its Lord, who had said He would

28 1 Pet. i. 11. 2 Pet. i. 21.

29Gal. i. 8, 9.


 REVELATION, CHAP. III. 255

come as a thief (Rev. xvi. 15) in the night, and as the waters of the flood30. The expectations of His coming are accordingly insisted upon, by the writers of the New Testament. In the Revelation, John gives—after our Lord and the Prophets generally—the signs and other means whereby believers should know how, and when, this should take place. The highly figurative character of this Book was necessary, on some other accounts. I. For the purpose of bringing the mystical enouncements of the Prophets to bear on the events then to take place; and so to supply the best means of interpreting them. The enouncements of John are, as it will be seen, easily identified with those, to which they were intended to call our attention. Hence, these supply the surest clue to their meaning. II. In order to avoid giving offence to the Powers that then were, so as to make this Book a ground for persecution, this mystical style was likewise necessary. Had it plainly affirmed that the Roman Power, then bearing universal sway, should within a certain time fall for ever, and Christianity prevail; Who does not see, that the body in whose possession it was found, would be proscribed as a mere political party, whose object was to stir up the world to rebellion, and to bring about a new state of things in its own favour? and thus, under the pretence of a purer Religion, to have in view nothing beyond secular power and aggrandisement!

No sort of accusation was left untried during the Persecutions, as the writers of those times inform us: and surely, such an opportunity as this would have afforded, could not have been overlooked. But, as our Revelation presents itself under signs and symbols, and in highly figurative and mystical language, it would be to all but well-read believers in the Scriptures, a perfectly sealed. Book; and such it certainly was. Hence it is said, " Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy:" that is, so read and hear, as to understand what they unfold, and thence " keep" (i. e. observe to do) " those things which are written therein ; for the time'''' (i. e. then of experiencing them) " is at hand." I would rather read however, " he that read-

30 Matth. xxiv. 38, seq.

256 REVELATION, CHAP. III.

eth, and they that hear the words of prophecy31, and," (i. e. generally) " keep those things which are written therein" (i. e. as revealed in this Book); "for the time is at hand " i. e. when the instructions, encouragements, and great end had in view, should be above all things necessary to the work and warfare of faith. In this point of view, this admonition could not but be important to the Church. The world, but particularly the Church, was now to be tried in a way never before known (Dan. xii. 1, sec.). To the support of the Church this Revelation brought all the testimony of Scripture, both to assure it of victory, and to supply it with encouragement sufficient for all its wants. And, what is best of all, it brought this in strains of the purest piety, and in the fullest exhibition of spiritual consolation. In this particular too, it can never cease to administer the greatest blessedness.

31 In chap. xxii. 18, we have in this latter place, may signify generally the declaration, preaching, or the like, of this Book, not prophecy properly so called: for the fact is, there are no original predictions given in it. St. Peter speaks of the blessedness of attending to prophecy in his days (2 Ep. i. 19), as noticed above. I think therefore, that prophecy generally is rather meant in each case here.

Chapter II.

ON THE SECOND VISION OF ST. JOHN, AND FIRST SERIES OF EVENTS.

Introduction to the Opening of the Seals.

WE now come to the fourth Chapter of this Book, in which we have a general description of Christ sitting in judgment, with the powers of heaven and earth in attendance. His Elders, the twelve Heads of the several tribes of the Remnant of Israel, are here joined with the twelve Apostles and Heads of the Church under the New Covenant : thus symbolizing the whole united in one Body, and Christ as its supreme Head. The same thing,—as we shall see,—is done in the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem; of which, one of each of the twelve tribes forms the gates1. This City is therefore at once precious, splendid, firm, and durable, as founded by God Himself; and it is " at unity with itself.'1'' The thunderings, lightnings, and voices, seem to represent the judgments which God would inflict upon His enemies, in establishing this Church, together with the enouncements of these.—The parallel places, given in the margins of our Bibles (verr. 1—3), will point out the prophecies, and other enouncements referred to : and here Daniel vii. 9, should be particularly considered. The "four beasts" (verr. 6, 7), would have been better translated, "four living creatures" They appear to symbolize the combined powers of nature, or it may be the angelic hosts, as in the Cherubim2 : and hence as ready, at the command of the Judge on the throne, to execute His judgments upon the earth.

We have in the next Chapter (v.), a general description of this Judgment; of its execution and consequences. " The Book" i. e. the Holy Scripture, particularly of the Old Testament, the Visions of which were sealed up in Daniel unto the time of the end, is here (i. e. in the time of the end,) opened by the Lamb; that is, by the ministry of Christ

1 Chap. xxi. 12, seq. below.

3 On these more particularly see Chap. xt. 2, &c. below.

258 REVELATION, CHAP. IV.

primarily; and then, secondarily, by that of His Preachers. This primary act of opening is here carried on through seven stages; in other words, the seals are made to be seven, and each of these is said to be opened, some time after its immediately preceding one. The number seven is used here, as it should seem, indefinitely: and is perhaps intended to correspond to some extent, to the seven days of Daniel's mystical seventieth week (in its seven days), during which, the Covenant was to be magnified with the many.

This number seven may therefore, involve the events of the period termed the last days, ends of the world, or the like, as noticed above3; and if so, the period implied will, at its close, find all completed: and we have accordingly, (chap. v. 9—14 inclus.) the New song, so often brought before us by the Psalmist4, and repeated at the close of each vision in this Book,—as we shall see,—which commemorates the full reign of Christ on earth, and His saving health made known to all nations. We have here therefore, a general view of the great subject before us, developed in its means, viz. the power of Christ in His word, as opened both theoretically and experimentally by Himself,—for none other can effectually do this;—with its object and end, the redemption and salvation of all men, of every kingdom and nation under heaven : for here, the reign of "the Son of Man" is exhibited as universal and complete.

Sect. I.—On the Opening of the First Seal.

the sixth Chapter begins with the opening of these sealed Scriptures, and its consequences; with this, the ministry of Christ to both Jew and Gentile. It should be borne in mind, that Jewry has now no covenanted privileges, any more than the unconverted nations. The Jews had rejected and crucified the Saviour, and with more than Gentile hostility persecuted and slain His ministers: on this account they had been broken off as branches to be gathered and burned5. They are mentioned in this Book therefore, as those who

3 Pp. 99—132.

4 Ps. xxxiii. 3; xcvi. 1; xcviii. 1; also Isai. xLii. 10, &c.

5 Rom. xi. 17. Isai. xxvii. 11.


REVELATION, CHAP. VI. 259

call themselves Jews, but are not; but are the synagogue of Satan6: while Jerusalem itself receives no better a title, than that of a spiritual Sodom and Egypt7. The Apostle Paul, much to the same effect, pronounces Jerusalem that now is, in bondage with her children, and cast out as was Hagar with her eon. He also declares that the Jerusalem,—which was then above,—is the mother of us all8. Circumcision too, he affirms, is a mere cutting or concision; while the true circumcision, that of the heart, is the property of the Church9, and not to be found under the worn-out system of Moses. This then being the case, neither Jerusalem, nor its Jews, had any right whatever to honourable mention in this Book ; and none such have they. They were manifestly obnoxious to the judgments to be poured out; and, we shall presently see, they are not lost sight of in this respect, by St. John.

The first thing presented to us here (ver. 2), is One riding on a white10 horse. A crown was given to him, " and he went forth, conquering and to conquer.'1'' By which we are perhaps to understand, that the first gleam of divine light derived from the opened Scriptures, is the power of Christ going forth to salvation. Here, more particularly, Christ revealed not in weakness, but as crowned for the diffusion of Divine truth throughout the world, for the establishment of His everlasting kingdom, and to recompense the controversy of Zion: and in this, to consign His adversaries to open shame and contempt. And, let it be observed, this is seen by St. John not in the heaven of disembodied spirits, but " in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." See chap. i. 7, seq., where we have Christ speaking from the clouds of heaven, and declaring His dignity and power. This vision,—as indeed every other in this Book,—exhibits the execution of Christ's judgments as issu-

6 Rev. ii. 9 ; iii. 9, above.

7 Chap. xi. 8.

8 Gal. iv. 25, 26.

9 Philip, iii. 2, 3.

10 By which is perhaps meant, the purity of the doctrine of Christ. " Fine linen white and clean," marking in this Book the righteousness of His saints: and, as the horse may here symbolize His ministers, its whiteness may have been intended to intimate this. Whiteness too, occasionally implies prosperity, and the like, as in " White as snow in Salmon." Ps. Lxviii. 14. See my Note on Job vi. 16, and Lex. Heb.  p. 698.

260 REVELATION, CHAP. VI.

ing from the heavens; i. e. as from the clouds. See p. 107, seq., above.

One prophecy referred to here is, Ps. xlv, where we have (ver. 4, seq.), " And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness."..."Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies ; whereby the people fall under thee." We have then (ver. 6), the Divinity of this conqueror, as cited by St. Paul (Heb. i. 8), "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" &c. And (verr. 10, 11) we have the marriage with His spouse, His Church: and then (ver. 16), the offspring, to be "Princes in all the earth :" i. e. the Son of Man, in his spiritual seed, inheriting as kings and queens the possessions of the whole world, and so fulfilling the promise made to Abraham, as the Father of many nations. (Let the parallel places here be examined.)

If we now turn to Zech. ix. 13, we shall find the same thing foretold more fully, and specifically. "When," it is said, " I have bent Judah" (as a bow) "for me, and filled the bow with Ephraim" (i. e. as with arrows, in the two houses so united), "and raised up thy sons, O Zion" (i. e. the spiritual and true Zion), "against thy sons, O Greece" (i. e. the philosophy of whom shall then, as a religion, be put down), " and made thee as the sword of a mighty man" (i. e. as in Ps. xlv. 3, seq). "And" it is added, " the lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning'" (such was His coming to be, Matth. xxiv. 27, &c.)..."77»e Lord of hosts" (ver. 15) "shall defend them"...(ver. 16) "They shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land" (i. e. among the Gentiles). These must necessarily be the Escaped of Isai. Lxvi. 18, seq.: " / will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall see my glory ...I will send those that escape of them unto the nations,.. and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles." Then follows (ver. 24) the fall of the transgressors, whose " carcases" (for these would be spiritually dead) should be " an abhorring unto all flesh." We have here therefore, Christ going forth in His ministers, conquering and to conquer, with the judgment to be executed by Himself, first upon the Jews, and secondly, upon the unbelieving Gentiles. Comp. Ps. ex. 5—7, where the same gene-


REVELATION, CHAP. VI. 261

ral judgment is had in view; also Num. xxiv. 8, Deut. xxxii. 23, particularly as to the Jews: so Ezek. v. 16, 17: and more generally Deut. xxxii. 41—44 exclus. Ps. xviii. 14, 47—50 inclus. Ps. vii. 12,13, comp. verr. 5—9 inclus. Ps. xxi. 3 : " Thou settest a crown of pure gold on His head.'"'' ..." Thine hand" (ver. 8, 9) " shall find out thine enemies,'1'' &c. "Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven...when" (ver. 12) " thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings,'1'' &c. Ps. cxx. 4 ; cxLiv. 6, 9. All of which evidently refers to this period, and its events.

It was thus therefore, that Christ should be revealed not in person, but in Power, and this by His ministers in nature, the thunder, lightning, i. e. arrows of fire (Ps. vii. 14,); of pestilence, famine (Ezek. v. 16, 17), earthquakes, and the like: also by His ministers in grace, His Apostles, their Associates and Coadjutors, as taken out of the Remnant of Israel (see Zech. viii. 11, 13, inclus.), united inseparably under David their spiritual King, and going forth conquering and to conquer.

This will introduce us to two other places in Zechariah, which are, perhaps, incapable of being understood under any other point of view. There can perhaps be no doubt that, under the building of the Temple by Zerubbabel, was shadowed out the building of that greater Temple, or rather City of God, to be erected among the Gentiles: and that hence it is, the coming of Him who was to be styled the Branch, is so often and pointedly brought before us. We have, Chap. i. 18, four horns, which are said (ib. 19) to be those powers that had scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Four carpenters (i. e. Builders) then appear, who had been sent to fray these first away, and to cast them out as Powers of the Gentiles. In verse 16, this rebuilding of God's house is clearly had in view; and under it, the building of that better house, which should, as a house of prayer, be erected among the nations.

We have again (ib. Verr. 8—12), apparently these same restorers, given under the figures of four men riding on horses; the first on a red horse, as also the second; the third on a speckled, and the fourth on a white, horse. These are now sent (ver. 10) " to walk to and fro through the earth;" i. e. the whole earth: and the consequence is (ver. 11), " all the

262 REVELATION, CHAP. VI.

earth sitteth still, and is at rest." These should seem therefore, to be the ministers of the Prince of peace; for in Him only, is real and lasting rest and peace to be found. The restoration is here therefore, not that of Jews to Canaan, but of the true and spiritual Zion, in Jerusalem during its times of course, but after these, throughout the whole earth as to the land of promise, the. spiritual Canaan, according to the terms of the everlasting Covenant. We have here therefore, as before, the ministry of the pious Remnant, or Escaped, symbolized by the outgoings of horses of various colours, the object and end of which is, quietness and rest.

There is a repetition of this given (ib. chap. vi. 1, seq.), " I looked, and behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains... In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot were white horses ; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses." I remark, we have the number four here, as in both the instances noticed above. The explanation given (ver. 5) is this: "These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth:" that is, for the purpose of executing His purposes throughout it. Two of these then go forth towards the north; and two apparently, towards the south, and this in obedience to the command (ver. 7), " Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth :" that is, through the whole earth. We are then told (ver. 8), that " these that go toward the north country have quieted my " (i. e. the Lord's) " spirit in the north country :" implying,—as it should seem, and as in the former cases just noticed,—that all the others succeeded in a similar way.

We next have (ver. 12) the growing up of Him who should be styled " the branch," and who should build the greater Temple of the lord : and this must, from the next verse, mean the coming and rule of Christ, which should affect all nations by the permanent blessing of the New Covenant. Again (in ver. 15), the calling in of the Gentiles is evidently brought before us. These four chariots with horses, or these four spirits, sent out to quiet the Spirit of the Lord, must therefore imply, the reconciling of the world to God, by the ministry of the New Testament; or, as in (ver. IS), "He shall build the temple of the loud; He shall

REVELATION, CHAP. VI. 263

bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne" (comp. Luke i. SI); "and He shall be a priest upon His throne"1"1 (i. e. for ever, after the order of Melchizedek), " and the counsel of peace shall be between them both:" i. e. this King, and His thus acquired subjects, i. e. between God and man. These four spirits must then, be understood as animating Christ's ministers thus sent forth, apparently into the four quarters of the world, for the purposes just mentioned.

We may now return to Rev. vi. 2, where, as we have seen, Christ is exhibited as going out conquering and to conquer. He is the First here therefore, the Leader, Head, and Principal, in this great work and warfare; just as we shall see Satan is, in that of opposing Him (on Rev. xii. 1, seq., below), "-The testimony of Jesus is" (therefore) " the spirit of prophecy'1'' in principle ; just as the denial of Him is, that of the Father of lies and god of this world. Let this not be forgotten. We have here therefore, the outgoing of Christ in His Apostles, for the purpose of establishing His kingdom, by the instrumentality of His Word, aided by His presence, and by the exertion of miraculous power, as intimated by these Spirits, or Powers.

Sect. II.—On the Second Seal.

we have in the next place, an exhibition similar to those just noticed in Zechariah, in which Christ's ministering servants are sent forth under Him, One, on a "red horse"" (ver. 4); " and power was given...to take peace from the earth." i. e. to be the innocent cause of this, as foretold by our Lord in the words, "Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword" &c. (Matth. x. 34. Comp. Luke xii. 49—58, inclus.). It is added, " And there was given to him a great sword :" that is, the word of God, whereby His ministers should spiritually slay: in other words, " with the breath of His lips" they should slay, i. e. denounce slaughter on, the wicked (Isai. xi. 4). And, as this is here said to take place upon the opening of the second Seal, the time had in view should seem to be, that following the commencement of the Apostolic preaching, and preceding the fall of Jerusalem: for the place referred to in Isaiah, must be applied to the Jews.

264 REVELATION, CHAP. VI.

The red colour of this horse is sufficiently explained by the sword given, shewing that much blood should be shed,— as indeed was the fact,—in consequence of the preaching of the Gospel at this early period; for we find that Stephen was stoned, James the brother of John was killed with the sword, as probably was Antipas the faithful martyr noticed above. It appears also from Acts xxvi. 10, that, under the persecution carried on by Saul, many of the Saints were shut up in prison and actually put to death, according to his own statement.

Sect. III.—On the Third Seal.

here we are told (ver. 5), that a black horse was seen, and that he who " sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand." By the colour black here, is probably implied great affliction: blackness, darkness, gloom, and the like, being generally put in Scripture to represent this; while whiteness, light, brightness, &c. are, to signify prosperity, happiness, and success11. By the balances seems to be meant, that it was the office of this minister, to weigh and determine, according to the everlasting Gospel, the sinful state of the world; and to denounce thereon,—unless they should repent,—tribulation, mourning, and woe. Much to the same purpose John himself (chap. ii. 2), " Thou hast tried " (i. e. thus examined12) "them which say they are Apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." It is added (ib. ver. 5), "Repent, and do the first works; or else I will... come ...and will remove thy candlestick." That is, as thou hast tried these, weighed them, and found them wanting, and hast made known to them the sad consequences ; so have I weighed thy works, and I warn thee, that, unless thou also repent, thy light shall be withdrawn, and the blackness of darkness shall be thy portion.

The consequence of this use of the balances, is thus given in the next verse (C), in the denunciation of a dearth: " A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley

See the Note in my Job just now referred to. 12 See on Ch. xi. 1, seq. below.

REVELATION, CHAP. VI. 265

for a penny." If then, we may take the opening of these seals respectively, as intimating the particular day of Daniel's seventieth week corresponding thereto; then must the opening of this third seal, approach the period of the fall of Jerusalem ; and the dearth had in view, may comprehend that foretold by Agabus, as also that which should afflict Jerusalem during its siege, or indeed, any other which should happen within these times. If we now turn to Moses and the Prophets, we shall find it repeatedly foretold, that famine, and pestilence its usual attendant, should fall in all their terrors upon the Jews at this time. For example, Lev. xxvi. 14, seq.: "If ye will not hearken...I will even appoint over you terror...your land shall not yield her increase, neither the trees of the land yield their fruits...I will send the pestilence among you, and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy... And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters, shall ye eat.™ Comp. Deut. xxviii. 22—25, 33, 39, 40, 42, 48—57. Isai. v. 13; xiv. 30, 31 ; u. 19, 20. Jer. v. 15—18; xiv. 13— 3 7, &c. So our blessed Lord Matth. xxiv. 7, " There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." See also the parallel places.

Let us now see what Josephus says of these times, and those shortly preceding them (Antiq. xv. c. ix. 1), " Now on this very year, which was the thirteenth year of the reign of Herod, very great calamities came upon the country; whether they were derived from the anger of God," &c...."for, in the first place, there were perpetual droughts, and for that reason the ground was barren, and did not bring forth... and after this barrenness of the soil, that change of food, which the want of corn occasioned, produced distempers in the bodies of men, and a pestilential disease prevailed," &c. This famine, which lasted for two years, happened, as we are told in a note by Whiston, in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth years before the Christian era. This was therefore, a little before our period: still, it was in accordance with the declarations of Moses and the Prophets, and sent no doubt as a warning judgment.

As to the famine in the times of Claudius Caesar, foretold by Agabus, he says (Antiq. m. c. xv. 3), " When Claudius was Emperor of the Romans...and when so great a

266 REVELATION, CHAP. VI.

famine was upon us...one tenth-deal13 (of wheat) was sold for four drachmae," &c. See also Book xx. c. ii. 5, ib. c. v. 2. Again (Wars, Book v. c. x. 2), after giving a frightful description of the murderous character of the disaffected, during the siege of Titus, Josephus tells us, that "many there were indeed who sold what they had for one measure : it was of wheat, if they were of the richer sort; but of barley, if they were of the poorer. When these had so done, they shut themselves up in the inmost rooms of their houses, and ate the corn they had gotten," &c. Again (Book vi. c. iv. 4), we have the account of a woman who cooked and ate her own child. (See my Theophania of Euseb. p. 253, seq.) And that all this came upon the Jews, because transgressors had now come to the full, Josephus will bear sufficient testimony (Wars, Book v, c. x. 5. My Theoph. p. 255, seq.). " It is...impossible to go distinctly over every instance of these men's iniquity...neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness," &c. The office therefore, of this second Minister so sent out is, to inflict the scourge of famine, pestilence, and the like, as foretold by our Lord, and His Prophets.

"Hurt not the oil and the wine" could hardly be intended to be literally understood, because the terms "Hurt not," imply the contrary. The meaning apparently is, Inflict no evil on those who are planted within my vineyard, the oil and wine of whom is for the healing of the nations. The same thing is perhaps said in " the trees," where it is said (chap. vii. 3), "Hurt not the earth...nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads:" (comp. ix. 4), that is, Inflict no judgment until these, so designated here, are put into a state of safety: and again (ver. 4), the holy Remnant of the Jews is particularly had in view: to these are then added (ver. 9), multitudes innumerable from among the Gentiles. If we now turn to Chap. xiv. 1, seq., we shall find, that this same "hundred and forty-four thousand," sealed from among the Jews, are

'8 Without entering into any discussion on the relative value of money in these days, or the quantities here mentioned, it is certain from the context, that the dearth was very great.


REVELATION, CHAP. VI. 267

said to be " the first-fruits,"—i. e. as of trees, &c. of the earth,—secured, " to God and the Lamb." This must therefore, of necessity, fall within the period of the Apostolic preaching, and the first half of Daniel's seventieth week. That " the end" is not come must be evident from the fact, that we have here four seals still to be opened, and in (chap. xiv. 6) its parallel, an Angel is to publish the everlasting Gospel among the Gentiles. That the sealing and destruction, here had in view, should particularly affect the Jews, we shall further see when we come to consider this latter place.

Sect. IV.—On the Fourth Seal.

under the opening of this seal we have, " a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him." It is added, " Power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.'1'' If then, these seven seals correspond to the seven days of Daniel's seventieth week, this fourth seal will answer to his fourth day; that is to say, it will exceed the period assigned to the fall of the Temple and City of Jerusalem: for this was to take place in the midst of this week, after which a time, times, and the dividing of time, should follow: that is, a period mystically designated by 3-|: and which we shall presently see, John makes to signify " three days and a half," also "forty-two months," and again, " twelve hundred and sixty days;" each of the two last being equal to three years and a half, i. e. taking this period as one of seven years. We are now therefore, beyond the line which divides this period, from that of the Apostolic preaching.

Judgment has now therefore, been executed on those Jews who were not planted as trees in the courts of the house of the Lord; i. e. in His spiritual vineyard : they would therefore, be neither the oil nor the wine had in view above, nor had they received the saving mark of redemption in their foreheads'*; and, accordingly, the minister on the black horse, having weighed and found them wanting, had consigned them to famine, mourning, and woe, and with these all those

14 See on Chap. vii. 3, below.

268 REVELATION, CHAP. VI.

plagues of the siege, pestilences, and dearths, foretold by our Lord and the Prophets. And again, " the fourth part of the earth" must now be considered, as extending to such proportion as this of the whole creation, and to the execution of such judgments as should be executed upon the Gentiles. For upon them, together with the Jews, were the severest judgments to be inflicted, during the latter portion of this mystical week, both according to our Lord, and all the Prophets. It may be doubted however, whether "power... over the fourth part of the earth," &c. as generally understood, gives the sense of this place. I am inclined to think that the meaning is, over that fourth part, or quarter, of the earth, which was supposed in these times to be habitable: i. e. every part of the habitable world. The Arabs have still this usage, viz.: ^X^^] «_j . lit. fourth part of the inhabited (i. e. land), by which they understand the whole habitable world. It is accordingly added here, " to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth" (i. e. the whole earth). Besides, these judgments did, as we shall see, fall in these times upon all nations.

We have here therefore, the judgments to be poured out, " after the tribulation of those days:" i. e. of the fall of Jerusalem, under which " all the tribes of the earth should mourn'''' (See p. 127, seq.), and when He should have "sent His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,'1'' and Himself should go forth with the whirlwinds of the south ; of which more presently: which must of necessity be extended to the whole world, and fall in with the last half of Daniel's mystical week, as just mentioned: we shall see moreover, under our third Vision, that sword, famine, and the like, did destroy to an incredible amount within this period.

Sect. V.—On the Fifth Seal.

we have now (ver. 9, seq.) a view of the souls of " them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony'1'' (of Jesus) "which they had holden." Their cry is, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the" (whole) " earth f" The answer given is, that " they should rest yet fob a little

REVELATION, CHAP. VI. 269

season, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were" (had been), " should be fulfilled." It is said elsewhere, in answer to the question, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?"—that is, if we date this from the time of their commencement, in the wrath poured out upon Jerusalem (Dan. xii. 1, 6, 7), to their final termination and close,—" A time, times, and a half." In Rev. xii. 6, this period is measured by " a thousand two hundred and threescore days:" and is (ver. 14) thus identified with Daniel's period, " a time, and times, and half a time." Again (Rev. xiii. 5), power is given to the Persecuting Rule "to continue forty-two months:" i. e. equal, of course, to the 1260 days just mentioned (or 31 years), and identical with Daniel's time, times, and a half, We have moreover, another designation of this period, in the very terms of the answer given to the souls of these martyrs (chap. xx. 3), " After that," i. e. Satan's previous binding, "he must be loosed for a little season." The next verse here (4) informs us, that after this, "judgment is given unto them"" (that is, of necessity, the judgment foretold by Daniel chap. vii. 9, 11, in which the body of the beast is destroyed, by being given to the burning flame. See also verr. 26, 27). This "little season" must here therefore, of necessity, signify what the other periods, so differently designated, also must, that is, the last half of Daniel's seventieth week.

By " the first resurrection" (Ch. xx. 5), should seem to mean, of those who are elsewhere styled, " the first-fruits to God and to the Lamb" (ib. ver. 6). And if so, the thousand years during which they had lived and reigned with Christ (ib. ver. 4), must imply the period termed a thousand years, during which Satan is said to be bound (ib. ver. 2): and must be the period of the Apostolic preaching, during which our Lord assured His disciples, that He had give them authority over every power of the enemy15; and so that the strong man16, now bound, should no longer keep his house and goods in peace.—But, more on this in our next Vision. It must likewise, be that day of the Lord, said by St. Peter to be as a thousand years, and which

Luke x. 19, &c. 18 Matt. xii. 29.


270 REVELATION, CHAP. VI. .

should reveal such a judgment of fire, as should " dissolve11" the elementary system then existing, and, after which, new heavens and a new earth should be given to the faithful who should endure.

By the " little season" here therefore, is evidently meant, the time within the latter half of Daniel's seventieth week, during which further persecutions and martyrdoms should take place. .Throughout this, these martyred saints are instructed to wait, and until the full cup of persecution should have been drunk by their brethren, and the destined time of trying and purifying the new Church, or new Jerusalem, should be fulfilled, and " the end of the matter" (Dan. vii. 28) have arrived. We have therefore under this seal, a continuation of the judgments commenced under the last, and to be poured out on the ministers and followers of the Little Horn, which should make war upon the saints, and which will be more particularly described hereafter.

Sect. VI.—On the Sixth Seal.

the opening of this seal occupies the whole of the events had in view from verse 12, Chap. vi. to the e