Srom f ^e &i6rarg of Q5equeaf^eb 65 ^im to t^ &i6ran? of (pttnceton C^eofogtcaf ^eminarj .F73 THE APOCALYPSE ITS OWN INTERPRETER. I.oNimN : SpoTTlswooiiBH .mil Siuw, NowstriTlSininri'. APOCALYPSE ITS OWN INTEEPEETER, BT THE APPLICATION OF A SOUND AND ANCIENT EULE FOR THE INTERPRETING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE: TO WHICH IS ADDED A SHORT SERIES OF DISSERTATIONS ON SYMBOLICAL PROPHECY, ITS NATURE AND DESIGN. BY THE VEN. JAMES W. FOESTER, LL.D. ARCHDEACON OF AGHADOE, AND VICAR-GENERAL OF LIMERICK. " 'Tis of one of the darkest books of the Scripture, that it is said, ' Blessed ; he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy.' " The Honourable Robert Boyle. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET; P«6It^]^cr in (©riftnary I0 '^n iMajrsftS' 1853. TO THE REV. JOHN JEBB, A.M. RECTOR OF PETERSTOW, DIOCESE OF HEREFORD. My dear Friend, I HAVE long wished to enjoy the opportunity of inscribing to you, the nephew and representative of Bishop Jebb, and also my own most valued and cherished friend, the following view of the Apocalyptic Prophecies. This view has been taken from the outline which appears to me to have been laid down in the Apo- calypse itself ; and it is a view, in several respects, peculiarly my own. I had, from a child, been A 2 VI DEDICATION. familiar with the Prophecies, having been trained by a religious mother, from almost infant years, in a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. And she being, herself, particularly interested by the pro- phetical books, gave my mind an early and decided turn for the study of Prophecy, and I was soon tolerably acquainted with some of the principal Commentators. In after-years, however, I felt much discouraged in the study, by the visionary and, as it struck me, presumptuous interpretations indulged in by se- veral writers of the day on this subject ; and, still more, by palpable failure in the calculations and predictions of some among them. This feeling led me to consider and examine the Apocalypse as a book or writing in itself, without reference to the other prophetical books, or to any other writings, historical or otherwise : 1 took this course in order to ascertain how the Apocalypse would, per se, present itself, on such a view; and the result (>f this investigation I give in the following work, wherein I propose to treat of some leading pro- phetical symbols on new principles. DEDICATION. Vll But I should here premise, that the substance of what I now proceed to give was read by me, in a series of Dissertations on Prophecy, from the chair of our Limerick Diocesan Clerical Society, in the years 1839 and 1840. A selection from those Dissertations, as then delivered, I append to my present work ; — parti- cularly with respect to the "Day for a Year" theory, — to prove that it is fairly to be deduced from Scripture ; and also, that the fourth kingdom, of Daniel, is the Roman Empire, — the last, to be on earth, of secular dominion. It is necessary that I should endeavour, as far as in me may lie, further to establish these so gene- rally received theories, — my view of Prophecy being grounded on the proposition, that they are sufficiently tenable. I next proceed to offer the Apocalypse as its own Interpreter ; and for that end, I distribute the whole into a series of sections, arranged according to my own special division, with an exposition of each as I go along, — to show how remarkably Vlll DEDICATION. those sections correspond with and explain each other, and how far tliey may, or may not, be syn- chronous. Believe me to be Your ever affectionate friend, JAMES W. FORSTER. Aghadoe Archdeaconry, May 11. 1853. CONTENTS. Page Introduction ro the Apocalypse - - - 45 SECTION I. The Vision of Alpha and Omega - - - - 48 SECTION II. The Epistles to the .Seven Churches - - - 50 SECTION ni. The Vision of the Throne and Temple of God in Heaven - 57 SECTION IV. The Vision of the Seven Seals - - - - 69 SECTION V. Tlie Vision of the Seven Trumpets, with the Witnesses - 95 SECTION VI. The Vision of the Woman clothed with the Sun - - 135 Notes on Section VI. - - - - - 144 SECTION VII. The Vision of the Two Beasts - - - - 147 Notes on Section VII - - - - - 161 X CONTENTS. SECTION VIII. Page The Vision of the Three Herald Angels with the Harvest * and Vintage of the Earth - - - - 164 SECTION IX. The Vision of the Seven Vials - - - - 173 SECTION X. The Vision of the Great Whore, and the Fall of Babylon - 1 79 Notes on Section X. - - - _ - 195 SECTION XL The Vision of the Rider on the White Horse : the Armies of Heaven: Satan bound 1000 years : the First Re- surrection and the Millennium - . . 200 SECTION XII. The Vision of Satan loosed : the Revolt of Gog and Magog : the Day of Judgment .... 235 SECTION xra. The Vision of the New Heaven and the New ICarth - 239 SECTION XIV. The Vision of the Bride — the Lamb's Wife, and the New Jerusjvlem ---..- 242 SECTION XV. The Vision of Alpha and Omega ... 247 Conclusion or tiik Proi-ukcy - - - - 249 CONTENTS. XI DISSERTATION I. Page Strictures on some recent Interpretations of Prophecy - 253 DISSERTATION II. The probable reasons for there being two classes of Pro- phecies in the Holy Scriptures - . _ 268 DISSERTATION III. The " Day for a Year " theory considered - - 284 Notes on Dissertation III. - - - - 331 DISSERTATION IV. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of the Quadripartite Image - 336 DISSERTATION V. Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts - - - 356 Notes on Dissertation V. - - - - 365 DISSERTATION VI. Daniel's Vision of the Ram and He-goat. - - - 368 DISSERTATION VII. On the Contents of the Little Book. — Rev. x. 2. - - 381 The Apocalypse arranged in Sections ; and distri- buted according to the Laws of Hebraic parallelism - 405 Final Notes -.-... 465 Passages of Holt Scripture quoted or explained - 475 Index ------- 477 THii: APOCALYPSE ITS OWN INTERPRETER. The sound and ancient rule, of making Holy Scrip- ture its own interpreter, is in no case, perhaps, more important, than when applied to the inter- pretation of the Apocalypse. With a view, therefore, to employing more effec- tively this orthodox canon of sacred criticism, I have divided the Book of Revelation into a series of sections more or less, as I conceive, correlative throughout. These sections thus afford the clearest evidence, in several particulars, of reciprocal iden- tity, and reflect, thereby, mutual light so vividly as to elucidate, when taken all together, what might have been obscure or dark, in each, when separately viewed. The Apocalypse is, on all sides, confessed to be a mysterious and, apparently, an involved writ- ing ; and this appears, doubtless, to have been so desio;ned. Z THE APOCALYPSE ]\Iuch varied learning has been expended, on its exposition, by great and venerated names. That learning, however, has not been expended in vain : for great light has been thrown, in various points of view, on the Propliecies at large ; while an inva- luable repository and treasury has been furnished and replenished with all manner of store, both for i^resent and future use. But the expenditure, hitherto, I apprehend, of things thus new and old, has not always been so wisely applied, as to make provision for the many complicated and difficult questions, which must necessarily arise from the effort to adjust the order of the several prophetical visions (as seen by St. John) to the current of his- torical events. Here, I think, lies one of those rocks, on which " much learning " has often split. It appears to have been a first principle of inter- pretation, for the most part, to make the order, in which the visions of the Apocalypse are given in the book itself, concur, as nmch as possible, with the order of historical events. I say as nmch as possible, — because there are some of those visions tlie s^^nchronism of which it would be hardly pos- sible to deny. Such, for instance, as the vision of the two Witnesses, with those of the Woman in the AVilderness, and of the two Beasts. ])Ut, in all other respects, generally speaking, most connnen- tators make the earlier visions of the book (the Seals, for instance) to represent the occurrences of the earlier ages only ; the next in order (the Trumpets) to foresliow the occurrences of the middle ages; and tlie succeeding visions (the A'ials) ITS OWN INTERPRETED. 3 are referred to the last ages of the entire ante- millennial dispensation. In this inquiry, however, into the nature and design of the Apocalypse, it is my object to show, that these three visions — of Seals, Trumpets, and Vials — are not subsecutive ; and that each of them, though not concurrent from the first, 3'et reach down, all taken together, to the consummation of all things. And this, I think, I shall still more distinctly exhibit in the course of my sectional comments. I proceed, then, according to the rule I have proposed to myself for the interpretation of the Apocalypse throughout. I take the book itself, in the first instance, as my sole guide. I follow no preceding commentator. Wherever any of the writers, Avho have applied their labours to its exposition, are in accordance with those views which the collation of the sections in the order pro- posed, would fairly suggest, I adopt their interpre- tation so far. But, wherever they are at variance with those views, I venture to suggest my own opinion, reverentially, as to the probable meaning and design of the Holy Spirit on such points. The Book of Revelation contains certain pro- phetic symbols which have been the subjects of investigation, more or less, in every age of the Church of Christ, since St. John first wrote the vision, and published it to the Churches. The chief of those symbols I conceive to be the seven Seals, the seven Trumpets, and the seven •Vials. B 2 4 THE Al'OCALYrSE The three series appear, to me, to run, in a certain graduated i-ehition to each other, througliout the Apocalypse, from chapter vi. to the end, as I shall endeavour to show in the progress of this work. These symbols seem to be the framework, — as it were the bones or skeleton of the body, — all the other symbols, — as it were the flesh. Up to the time at which I began to study the Apocalypse, apart from any other book or comment, I had never been led to question the generally re- ceived theory, that the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Vials were consecutive ; — the seventh Seal containing the seven Trumpets, and the seventh Trumpet containing the seven Vials. The three series so forming one catena from the first Seal to the last Vial ; each series being as if linked or hooked on to the other. V)\xt when I sat down, specifically, to consider and examine the Apocalypse as a writing in itself, — the first thing that struck me was a singular coincidence observable in the three series (Seals, Trumpets, and Vials) as represented in vision to ►St. John. There appeared to be a cognate paral- lelism running throughout the first four periods of the three series. The first four Seals, for instance, disclose four horses, four riders, and four living creatures (or " beasts," as the word is improperly rendered in our version), respectively. Tlie first four Trumpets produce effects on the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 5 earth, the sea, the rivers with the fountains of waters, and the sun. And the first four Vials affect earth, sea, rivers with fountains of waters, and sun, respectively, also. In the fifth period of each series, however, we observe a remarkable change ; something like, as I would illustrate it, a change of key in a musical composition. In the fifth period of the Seals, for instance (instead of any thing connected with horses, or riders, or living creatures, as disclosed in the first four periods), we have the souls of martyrs, under the altar, crying for vengeance on their perse- cutors. In the fifth period of the Trumpets, then (instead of short representations of judgments in- flicted— cast as if from Heaven — upon the earth, the sea, the rivers with the fountains of waters, and the sun), we have the bottomless pit opened, and locusts coming out of its smoke ; while there is a detailed description of the shapes, qualities, ap- pointmeiits, and proceedings of those locusts given in every particular. And here it may be observed that, immediately previous to the sound of this fifth Trumpet, St, John " beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to the inhabit- ants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound." The fifth Trumpet, then, let it be borne in mind, is the first Woe. B 3 6 THE AFOCALYl'SE And in the fifth period of the Vials, instead of general descriptions of the effects produced on earth, sea, rivers with fountains of waters, or the sun, as in the preceding four, the fifth Vial is described as being poured out on a particular spot, the seat or throne of the beast. The sixth period of each series seems to take its character from the preceding fifth. In the fifth Seal, the cry of martyred saints is followed by the wrath of the Lamb, ending in the total destruction of his and their enemies and per- secutors. In the fifth Trumpet, the locusts are followed by the Euphrataean horsemen, resembling, in some re- markable particidars, the locusts themselves. And, in the fifth Vial, the judgment inflicted on the throne of the Beast (his kingdom being full of darkness) is followed by the drying up of the river Euphrates, and the approach of some personages or powers (whoever they may be) denominated " the kings of the East," in whose way, it would seem, the Beast and his kingdom might, hitherto, liave stood. While the seventh period in each series seems to relate, immediately, to the closing scene of this present dispensation and order of things, both in Church and State. For, on the pouring out of the seventh Vial, " a great voice, out of the temple of heaven, from the throne," announces, " It is DONE." On the sounding of the seventli Trumpet, "great voices in lieaven" amiounce, " Tiie kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 7 and of his Christ." And on the opening of the seventh Seal, " There was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour : " an apt symbol, it would seem to me, of the millennial peace and reign of the Church on earth, for a thousand years, pre- vious to the day of judgment, and of her subsequent rest, eternal in the heavens. I was greatly struck with all these very notable relations and coincidences ; and, for a while, was inclined to look on the synchronous hypothesis as likely to prove the right one. This hypothesis is, that the same events were foreshown by dif- ferent representations, or under a variety of phases ; as they were, for instance, in the two dreams of Pharaoh (the ears of corn and the kine), which related to the same period of time and the same events (the fourteen years of plenty and of fa- mine): or in the compound image, and the four beasts, in Daniel ; which visions, each of them, represented the very same things also, namely, the four great empires : or, in the ram and he-goat of another vision ; which signified the same as the bear and leopard of a former. On further consideration, however, I was not satisfied with either hypothesis, consecutive or syn- chronous. With respect to the former, there were two weighty objections. 1. The events, foreshown under the sixth Seal, appear to have had no adequate fulfilment according to the consecutive hypothesis : none, I mean, suitable to their tremendous import. According to that hy- pothesis, the establishment of Christianity in the B 4 0 THE APOCALYPSE Empire on the ruins of the heathen Mythology; the sanguinary struggles which, at that period, did take place ; and the short peace of the Church under Con- stantine, were the events foreshown by the sixth and seventh Seals. These, no doubt, Ave re events of great importance ; but the symbols, thus supposed to represent such events, appear, in my judgment, to point to a far more terrific scene, and far more glorious and blessed consummation. The sixth Seal, I conceive, points to the destruction of the Beast and the false Prophet, with the kings of the earth and their armies, by the Rider on tlie white horse, when He shall come, as described -in chapter xix., to " smite the nations, to rule them Avith a rod of iron, and tread the Avinepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." And the seventh Seal points, I think, to the ^lillennium, the reign of the Church on earth, in peace for a thousand years. This coming of the Rider on the Avhite horse I suppose to be figurative or sym- bolical ; as Avas His going forth, under the first Seal, on the same white horse, " conquering and to conquer" (literally), "and thai He should conquer.''^ For it strikes me that these two figurative comings of Clirist are, above all other, distinctly set forth in the New Testament, — the first by our Lord Himself, as His coming to "destroy His mur- derers and burn up their city" (the destruction of Jerusalem) : the second, by St. Paul, as " the brightness of His coming" to destroy " tlie ^law of Sin," whom " He shair\prcviously and gradually) "consume" (away) "by the Spirit of His mouth." ITS OWN INTERPRETEE. 9 The first, I conceive to be represented in the Apocalypse (chap, vi.), on the opening of the first Seal, by the Rider on the white horse. The second (chap, xix.), on the appearance of the same Rider and His white horse, followed by " the armies in heaven." His personal comings appear to be two- fold also : His first, when He came to visit us in great humility ; His second, when " He shall come, with power and great glory, to judge the quick and dead." Taking this view of the several comings of our Lord, alluded to in the Scriptures, I, in common Avith many others, look on the Millennium as 2i figu- rative, not a personal reign of Christ on earth : but as Christ reigning, by His Spirit, in His purified Church, which, as a wife, makes herself ready to receive Him. The second objection, in my mind, to the con- secutive hypothesis, is this: that taking into con- sideration the striking description of the Sealed Book (chap, v.), and the circumstances attend- ant on its being opened, I cannot think its Seals to be only the earlier links of a prophetic chain, to be followed on by the other symbols — the Trumpets and the Vials. I can hardly imagine that the hypothesis, which supposes the seventh Seal to contain the Trumpets, and the seventh Trumpet to contain the Vials, within their re- spective periods, assigns sufiicient dignity to that series of symbols (the Sealed Book) which the Lamb alone could unfold, while the other symbols (the Trumpets and the Vials) were displayed by his attendant angels. In truth, when we reflect 10 THE ArOCALYPSE upon the fiict, that the Book, scaled with seven Seals, was seen by St. John in the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne set in heaven : that angelic proclamation was made to find one wortliy to open the liook, and loose tlie Seals thereof: that no one in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the Book, neither to look thereon ; none to open and read what was written therein, nor even to look upon the outside : that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, alone, prevailed to open the Book, — and in His character of a Lamb as it had been slain, came and took the Book out of the right hand of llim that sat upon the throne: that, immediately, the full-voiced choirs of angels and all the company of heaven, the ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, burst forth, saying, with a loud voice, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing :" that, "every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth uj)on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." When we reflect on all this glorious imagery, is it to be said, that the Book thus opened amidst the acclamations of the universe, reaches no fur- ther down than the Jirst links of a chain^ which chain is to be continued on, in the Trumpets sounded, and in the Vials poured out by ministrant angels only? that it readies, in fact, no further ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 11 down than the earlier ages of the Church Militant? Or, is it too much to say, that it reaches down to the final blessedness of the Church Triumphant ? vSurely, no. And, then, with respect to the seventh Seal containing the Trumpets, and the seventh Trumpet the Vials, I do not see how such can be called a continuation of the Sealed Book. For the Trumpets do not begin to sound on the opening of the seventh Seal ; nor the Vials to be poured out on the sounding of the seventh Trumpet. Each series seems to be distinct. Each is closed with "lightnings and thunderings, and voices." So that each, as seen by St. John, appears to be a separate vision in itself. These were the objections, I was inclined to think, which lay fairly against the consecutive, or rather (according to the hypothesis which I now question), more properly speaking, the suhsecutive theory. I was then led to reconsider the synchronous hypothesis. But, in the course of investigation, there appeared to lie an objection to this latter, no less insurmountable than the objections which affected the former hypothesis. The objection is this : the Vials are called " the seven last plagues, for, in them, is filled up the wrath of God." These last plagues cannot, then, synchro- nize with the Seals and Trumpets throughout. I do npt, however, apprehend them to be wholly con- secutive. Neither do I think that the Trumpets synchronize, throughout, with the Seals, though not wholly consecutive either. 12 THE APOCALYPSE I shall, therefore, now proceed to offer, for con- sideration, a third hypothesis, which may be termed intermediate, — a middle term between the other two. I propound it for inquiry. All I say for doing so is this — the question, as to the right interpretation of the Apocalypse, must, I believe, be admitted to stand, in some measure, still an open one. It will hardly be asserted that an infallible judgment has, as yet, been given, so as to set the question at rest in all its bearings. What I would ask, is no more than to put this intermediate hypothesis, as I term it, on its trial at present, and examine evidence for and against it. The view, then, which I propose to take of the three series of symbols (Seals, Trumpets, and Vials), now before us, is this: — The Sealed Book is the Book of the Church. The seven Seals, succes- sively, show the general state of the Church, in out- line, at the different periods from the promulgation to the consummation of Christianity. Again, Tlie Trumpets sliow the successive judgments, in outline also, on secular or imperial Borne (the first Beast of chap. xiii.). And, lastly, the Vials show the judgments, in like manner, on Eccle- siastical, or Papal and Mahometan Borne* (the • I say, Mahometan Rome — for Constantinople was, oncCy the seat of lionian Empire — was styled Roma Nova. And the Turks, when it came into tlieir possession, "claimed for their city the proud name of Xcw Rome." The title of Caesar was assigned to the Turkish monarchs, and that even before the capture of Constantinople. (Vide " Institutes of Tiraour.") Soliman the Magiiilicent was accustomed to say, "that whatso- ITS OWN INrEEPRETEPv. 16 second Beast or false Prophet.) Now, it 7iiay be observed that, in these three series of symbols (Seals, Trumpets, and Yials), there seems to be no little congruity between the symbols themselves and the things symbolized, according to my view, proposed above. A Seal, as we find in numerous passages of the sacred writings, is used to designate God's mark set upon His own — by which He appropriates them to Himself. It is a fit symbol, therefore, for the prophetic history of the Church (Christ's own inheritance). And, when we consider what each or ever belonged to the empire of Rome, was, of right, his; foras- much as he was rightfully possessed of the Imperial seat and sceptre of Constantine the Gi-eat, commander of the world." And, accordingly, we find, in the histories of the wars between the Imperialists and the Turks, that the German Emperor and the Turkish Sultan have been at times denominated " The rival Ceesars of Vienna and Constantinople." Here, then, we have the vnaffe form of the first beast (the Roman Empire or secular tyranny) in the East, as well as in the West. While we have the apostasy represented by Ma- hometanism in the former, and by Popery in the latter, — the two horns of the second beast (the ecclesiastical tyranny) cor- responding with the two little horns in the visions of Daniel, — the one coming forth from a horn of the Grecian goat, the other coming up among the horns of the fourth beast. This is my hypothesis, — and, I feel strongly inclined to think that Con- stantinople will, again, be the seat of Roman Empire, not in image form, but, in bond fide Imperial rule, when the Russian Czar (q.d, Csesar) shall realise the claim of Soliman, and that in both the hemispheres : shall be (in concentred power) " the Beast that was, and is not, and yet is." " And when he coraeth he must continue a short space '' — previous to that day, " the day of the wr^^th of the Lamb." 14 THE APOCALVrSE those Seals, except the seventh, discloses, they are, indeed, appropriate to the history of the Church Militant, or in a state of suiFering here in earth. A Trumpet is, pre-erninently, the military instru- ment : a fit symbol, therefore, for the prophetic denunciation of judgments on a pre-eminentl3Mnili- tary and persecuting power, by hordes of military barbarians. And a Vial, or rather a ciq) or hoicJ., which is the proper signification of the original word, is used, throughout the Scriptures, to denote the manifestation of the wrath of God, more especially, as coming directly, as if from liis own hand : a fit symbol, also, for prophetic denunciation of judg- ments to be inflicted on an apostate Church or State, by plagues which destroy, not the body only, the temporal part, but the soul, the spiritual part, also, by the pestilential vapours of strange doctrines, of damnable heresies, of false religions ; those strong delusions sent by God, upon those whom He has given up to a reprobate mind, from the smoke of the bottomless pit. I shall now proceed to interpret, briefly, these several symbols, in their order of time, according to my hypothesis. The Seals, then, I assume, begin with the first preaching of the Gospel ; the armed and crowned Kider on the white liorse, in the first Seal, being Christ himself, attended by His ministers of ven- geance, the armies whicli He employs while His Church is mihtant in earth ; and these arc, AVar on tlie red horse in the second Seal, — Faniine tlie ITS OWN INTEEPRETER. 15 sequent of War, on the black horse, in the third Seal, — and Pestilence, that follows in their train, on the pale horse, in the fourth Seal. The fifth Seal shows the souls of the martyrs, under the altar, while they cry for vengeance on their perse- cutors. Now I would premise that the first four Seals embrace the period of the ten persecutions, in- cluding the destruction of Jerusalem, under the heatheyi Roman Empire, down to the time when the empire became, professedly. Christian under Con- stantine the Great. The fifth Seal, then, I would assume, brings down the general course of events connected with the history of the Church, to that period, when, the ten persecutions having ceased, the cry of the bleeding Church, symbolized by the visions of the souls of martyrs under the altar, might well be supposed to have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. The short peace of the Church, as it may be called, when Christianity became the established religion of the State, might, for a while, seem, in some degree, as if an answer to that cry. But to prevent the indulgence of too fond a hope, somewhat, perhaps, like the hope of the Disciples, after the dreadful night of the Pas- sion was over, and the day of the Resurrection had dawned, when they inquired, " Lord, wilt thou, at this time, restore again the kingdom to Israel?" — to prevent the indulgence of any such hope of per- manent peace at that time, — the fifth Seal announces that the tribulations were not ended — " that they" (the martyrs) " should rest yet, for a little while, 16' THE ArOCALYPSE until tlieii- fellow-servants, also, and their brethren that should be killed as they were, should be ful- filled." This fifth Seal, as I have already observed, differs from the four preceding Seals in a remarkable manner — not being, to use my former illustration in the same key with them. Now, when we take into consideration, together with this change of key in the Seals, the similar change so remark- able in the fifth periods of the Trumpets and the Vials, respectively, it looks very like an intima- tion that something out of the ordinary course of events was then to commence taking place. Here, then, in the view which I now take of the Apocalyptic Symbols, here the first Trumpet sounds; and sounds for the opening judgments on imperial or secular Rome in her Christianized state. For, I believe, it will be admitted that the decay of the Western Empire may be dated from the period when Constantine, making Byzantium the seat of Government, laid the foundation of the Eastern Empire. And that was the period when the Em- pire became professedly Christian. In effect, the historian of " The Decline and Fall" appears so to date it, for he seems to insinuate that Christianity was the cause of that decline. It was then, I M'ould maintain, that the judgments, symbolized by the seven Trumpets, began to be inflicted. Be- fore that time, when in her heathen state, Rome does not appear to have been so much the re- cipient (if I may so express it), as she was the dispenser of judgments. Ilcr part iu the scheme ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 17 of Providence, I conceive to be symbolized by the red horse and his rider, that followed in the train of Him who "went forth conquering and to conquer." She was to execute His vengeance upon an apostate people, and their desecrated temple. She was to scourge the rest of the na- tions with her wars, foreign and domestic ; Avhe- ther waged for the aggrandisement of her empire, or arising from the contests of competitors for her imperial throne : war thus preparing the way for Famine, and Pestilence, and the Beasts of the earth, — the four sore judgments of the Almighty Conqueror. And being, pre-eminently, the perse- cuting power, she was, above all, perhaps, appointed as a "rugged nurse" to the infant Church ; to strengthen its tender limbs by the hardships of persecution ; to purify its gold in the furnace of affliction ; to consolidate its bulwarks, and cement its living stones with the blood of Martyrs : and thus, as the unconscious agent of its Divine Head, to fit that Church for standing the storms of ages down to the present time, and, from hence- forth, for ever. This, it seems to me, was the providential ofl&ce of imperial Rome, in her heathen state. When, therefore, the judgments denounced in the first four Seals had been inflicted, the fifth Seal is opened, and, according to my hypothesis, the first Trumpet sounds. Hitherto, though the Empire from time to time suffered severely, on several sides, from the inroads of Goths, and Scj^thians, and Persians, especially during tlie c 16 THE ArOCALYrSE reigns of Decius, Gallus, and Valerian ; yet Clau- dius II. , Aurelian, Carus, and, last of all, Con- stantine the Great, for a time, restored its pristine grandeur, as when " it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet." " He drove back the Goths with tremendous slaughter." " The latter part of his reign," say historians, " was peaceful and splendid. Ambassadors, from the re- motest Indies, came to acknowledge his authority. The Persians, who were ready to make inroads, upon finding him prepared to oppose, sent, humbly, to desire his friendship and forgiveness." " But he then conceived and executed the bold measure of transferring the seat of government from Rome to Constantinople." " The Empire, before, had been in a declining state, but this gave precipitation to its downfall; it never after resumed its former splendour." " Its western head, from that period, gradually declined, until its last spark of power was extinguished under Momyllus Augustulus." Christianity, doubtless, had no small share in " the decline and fall" of this stupendous power. It was, like " the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, to break in pieces and consume all the kingdoms, and, itself to stand for ever." ]\[r. Gibbon, therefore, though without acknowledging, without knowing, perhaps, we ought to say, that all earthly glory should lade away before " the Sun of Kighteousness," was not altogether wrong in attributing to Christianity "the decline and fall" of the IJonuin Empire. The Ciuirch, from the pei'iod of opening (he fifth ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 19 Seal to the present time, appears, in the vision of " The Sealed Book," for the most part to have been essentially in the same state throughout. And, there- fore, as I conceive, she is still under the dispensation of the fifth Seal. Wars, famines, pestilences, and persecutions have, ever since, been " running," as it were, " perpetual circle," from without. While, within^ false doctrines, heresies, and schisms still vex her counsels, still disturb her peace. The first five Seals, in effect, may be said to relate, in one way or other, to every period of the Church's course until the end shall come. Throughout the entire of that course Christ is riding on " conquering and to conquer." Through- out the entire of that course, from time to time, War rides " his red horse," with " the great sword given to him." Throughout the entire of that course, from time to time. Famine, on his " black horse," " with the pair of balances in his hand," doles out the scant supply. Throughout the entire of that course, from time to time. Pestilence, re- presented by Death, on his " pale horse," is " fol- lowed- by Hades," to receive the thousands of his slain. And throughout the entire of that course, from time to time, also, the cry of suffering saints (like the groan of the whole creation described by St. Paul) is heard by Him who will, one day, avenge their blood. For " the day of his wrath " shall come, on the opening of the sixth Seal, when the Rider on the "white horse" shall, again, be seen (chap, xix.), no longer followed by the swords of this world with all their fearful train, but fol- c 2 20 THE ArOCALYPSE lowed by the arinies in heaven, to smite tlic na- tions. When " the Beast and the false Prophet that wrought miracles before his face, and the kings of the earth and their armies shall be ga- thered together to the great day of Almighty God," the battle day of " Armageddon." AVe are enabled by histor^^, however, to assign with probability a j^r/mary fulfilment to each of the five Seals; more particularly as they are successively represented in the vision. The period when the Rider on the white horse first went forth (chap, vi.) was, I assume, at the original promulgation of Chris- tianity, continuing down to the destruction of Jeru- salem: that Coming, for which St. John was to tarry, the destruction of Jerusalem, having taken place, ac- according to the best authorities, before the A])Oca- lypse was seen by the Apostle. Now, if ever there was a period in which a particular war might be said to be a striking representative of war in general, surely that war in which God's ciiosen peo[)k', His holy city, and the temple in wliich His glory had been seen, were all destroyed, was pre-eminently such. For it was, as all authorities agree, perhaps, the sword's most fearful day. AVe learn also, tliat at this period, and for some time after the de- struction of Jerusalem, icar was the prevaihng judgment: thai famine, in an extraordinary de- gree, followed in the subsequent period : that pestilence, in a like singularly marked manner, brought up the rear of the j^receding judgments. AVhile it is very remarkable, that, after the fonrtii Seal is opened, and pestilence, or "death" on the ITS OWN INTERPKETER. 21 " pale horse," rides on, followed by Hades, we read that power was given unto them^ namely, the red, the black, and the pale horses, or their riders, to kill Avith sivojrl, and hunger^ and death^ as if re- capitulating the distinct judgments of the second^ the third^ and the fourth Seals; intimating, at the same time, that they should all three, in turn, visit and re-visit, over and over again, the scenes of such judgments, in ceaseless change, until the final catastrophe should come on. To them is added their natural consequence, that other of God's " four sore judgments" spoken of by Ezekiel, " the noisome beasts of the earth." And accordingly we find that wild beasts invaded the plague-desolated habita- tions of men, as the historians of the period in question attest. The Church, then, as T have before observed, is still under the dispensation of the fifth Seal, or, per- haps, more properly speaking, of the first five Seals taken together ; for they all appear to come under the denomination of what has been aptly termed germinant prophecy. Or, as she is represented by other symbols (chaps, xi. and xii.), " the outer court" is still "trodden under foot by the Gen- tiles;" "the witnesses" are still "prophesying;" "clothed in sackcloth;" "the woman" is still "in the wilderness." But, meanwhile, judgments upon the Church's enemies have been ever since in pro- cess of infliction, up to the present moment ; and will go on until the predicted time shall be accom,- plished. I shall not ht-re enter on particulars, but give i2 THE AruCALVrSE only a rapid outline of what may, possibly, be tlie correspondence of events, generally speaking, with the prophetic intimations given in the Apocalypse. The first Trumpet (hail, fire, and blood upon the earth), I would say, relates probably to those wars and commotions with which the Western Em- pire especially was harassed, immediately after the time of Constantine ; caused by the unceasing con- tests between his sons, as well as other members of his family, who, though professing to be Christians, were no better than his heathen predecessors. There was one battle in particular, about the year 350, between his son Constantius and the usurper Mag- nentius, who set himself up as Western emperor, in which the latter was defeated with great loss : and all authors agree, that this battle proved disastrous to the Western Empire, and greatly accelerated iis fall. The second Trumpet (the mountain, burning with fire, cast into the sea) may, probably, relate to the taking and sacking of Rome by Alaric, king of the Visigoths, in the year 410. Tlie third Trumpet (the star called wormwood, which fell upon the rivers, &c.), relates, perliaps, to the ravages of Attila, surnamed the Scourge of God, with his Huns, in 442 : or Genserick, with his Vandals, in 455 : or both. And the fourth Trumpet (by which the sun was Bmitten) most probably relates to the capture of Rome by Odoacer, King of the Heruli, in 47(1, when tlie Western J^npire was extinguished. The fifth Trumpet exhibits the remarkable ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 23 change of key, to which I have already alhided as peculiar to the fifth period in each series. This, there can be little question, relates to Mahomet and the Saracens, the Locusts of the vision. There is hardly necessity to enter here on any detail in proof. The opinions of commentators on this point are familiar to all who have bestowed any attention on the Prophecies; but here, ac- cording to my hypothesis, the first Vial is poured out. The fifth Trumpet, let it be borne in mind, is called the first looe. It was at this period, I assume, that the Power was first revealed, which had so long been working more secretly in the Church, namely, " The Son of Perdition" — *' The Mystery of Iniquity." The o Kari^wv — he, who letted or hindered, had been " taken out of the way" — the Western emperor was no longer even a name. " The Man of Sin," therefore, being now so far revealed, becomes the subject of those Divine judgments on the Apostacy, such as I have supposed the Vials to represent. The Locusts of the fifth Trumpet, the reader will observe, hurt those men only who had not the Seal of God in their foreheads. They are not to kill, but only to torment^ as with the torment of a scorpion^ for a certain period. And the first Vial (which I sup- pose to be poured out at the same time that the fifth Trumpet sounds) causes a noisome and grievous sore upon tha jnen that had the mark of the Beast, and worshipped his image. Here we have an exact Epanodos*: these two * See Final Note A. c 4, 24 TEIE ArOCALYI'SE symbols being so interwoven as to give some inti- mation that they are synchronous. 5th Trumpet. Those men which have not the Seal of God in their foreheads ; Their torment as the torment of a scorpion. 1st Yial K noisome sindi grievous sore ; Upon the men which had the mark of the Beast. There is in this Epanodos, as we view these two passages thus correlatively phiced, a remark- able instance, if I may be allowed the expression, of the unities being preserved. The fifth Trumpet sounds, and the first Vial is poured out (according to my hypothesis) at the same time and place. But at the period when St. John saw the vision of that Trumpet, the Beast had not been revealed to liim. He was ignorant of the existence of either Beast, at that stage of " the Kevelation whicli God gave unto him." He had, however, previously seen the servants of God sealed in their forelieads (chap, vii.) ; and, therefore, those men on wliom the judgments of the fiftli Tnmqiet (chap, ix.) were executed, are represented to him as not having the Seal of God in their foreheads. But the ]k\ist was afterwards revealed to him (chap, xiii.) ; and wlien lie saw the vision of \.\\t\first Vial (chap, xvi.), tlien those same men, on whom the judgments of that Yial were poured out, are represented to him as having the mark of the Beast. By tliis ITS OWN INTEEPRETER. 25 accurate adaptation of the symbols thus repre- sented, the action is at unity with the time and the place. For it may fairly be inferred, that where the mark of the Beast is^ there the Seal of God is not; and, vice versa., where the Seal of God is not^ there the mark of the Beast is. They who are in any measure a^em must be so far 6ai[xouiu)rjBig, For, in as much as they are godless, by so much are they "devilish." Yet, it by no means follows (if we suppose the Beast to signify an apostate Power which has been long since revealed, and is still in existence), that we must thereby " consign to irretrievable daya- nation almost the whole mass of Christendom for more than a thousand years," as some writers aver that we do. For, be it observed, — the judgments denounced under the fifth Trumpet and the first Vial, are temporal judgments; — "torment as the torment of a scorpion ;" and "a noisome and grievous sore ; " not to kill but to flague and tor- ment. In fact, there is but one passage in the Apocalypse which explicitly denounces irretrievable damnation on the adherents or followers of the Beast. We read (chap. xiv. 6.) of "an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the ever- lasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth." By this representation I would under- stand the testimony borne against the apostacy from the time of its rise ; at first by individuals, from time to time, here and there ; and afterwards by Avhole Churches and States, since the period of the Reformation. Then follows another anirel 26 THE APOCALYrSE announcino^ some fearful si^^ii of divine ven^jjcance o o o as having just taken place (in what manner we cannot at present tell), namely, the fall of Babylon. Then, but not until then (be it observed), a third angel follows, denouncing on those who, after so manifest a sign of the visitation of God, should still persevere in believing the lie, — "If any man worship the Beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wrath of God, be tormented with fire and brimstone, have no rest day or night, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth for ever and ever." From the consideration of this vision of the three angels, we may learn that the long-suffering Providence of God will not be prompt, in the extreme, to visit on individuals, or generations, the evils of any systems under which it has pleased Him that they should be born, and enter on their state of trial, for this their mortal period of exist- ence. He, who in the days of heathen super- stition "winked at those times of ignorance," is the same, — the Father of mercies still. And the same allowance, we may believe, will still be made, in times to come, — until such 7ine- quivocal manifestation shall be shown of Divine Judgment on every false or erring system of religion, however plausible or seductive it may have been ; such express declaration of the Divine will, as to what men are to believe and do ; such clear revelation of Divine Trutli detecting, as with alight from the Heaven of Heavens, every falhicy ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 27 or " deceivableness " of "the devil or his agents;" such open demonstration of tlie whole duty of man with regard to God, — as to leave no ground for mistake, no excuse for misconception ; so that nothing but that wilful rejection of Truth, that hardened resolve to sin against light, that raging opposition to every thing good, — which the devil himself has shown, and will show unto the end, — nothing but the dreadful mind that is in " the father of lies," the enemy of all righteousness, and also in those who, like the Jews of old, choose to be the children " of their father the devil," could " gainsay or resist." Surely, then, allowance will mercifully be made for the invincible ignorance of countless multitudes, with regard to mistaken views, which the stringent prejudices of early education (over which they had no control) have rivetted, as it were, on their con- sciences, and welded into their hearts. Multitudes of pious souls, devoted to their God, we may confidingly believe, have gone to everlasting rest, though, here below, connected with an erroneous system of religion. Multitudes, who have been wholly unconscious of the evil, while imbibing, at the same time, all the good, with which such system has been, providentially, suffered still to remain impregnate. But, to return to the consideration of the cor- respondence between historical events, generally speaking, and the prophetic intimations given in the Apocalypse, while we view the three woe Trumpets and the seven Vials conjointly : — The 20 THE APOCALVrSE fifth Trumpet, or Saracenic woe, might be said, perliaps, to last during tlie periods of the first and second A'ials. The first Vial was poured out on the earth, probably, when the Saracens invaded the Holy Land, and took Jerusalem in 637. This was fifteen years from the Hegira. The second A'ial was poured out on the sea, probably, when the Saracens turned their arms against "the isles of the Gentiles," and conquered Spain in 713. The sixth Trumpet introduces the Turkish part of the woe. And I suppose the third and fourth Vials to be poured out during the continuance of that part. The third was poured out on " the rivers and fountains of waters," probably fore- showing the terrific progress of " the horsemen loosed from the great river Euphrates." And the fourth Vial was poured out on the sun, most likely signifying the capture of Constantinople in 1453. I am of opinion, that we are still under that first part, or blast, of the second woe (sixth) Trumpet. For though the Turkish power seems fast on the decline, yet the characteristic feature of its religion, represented by the smoke from the bottomless pit, still obscures the light of Christianity in the East, — the Cross is there still subject to the Crescent. Now, when we take into our consideration the striking coincidences between the first icoe (fifth Truini)ct), and the first Vial, to which I have already drawn attention, might we not find some- thing like a clue to the received nomenclature of the last three Trunqx-ts, namely, icoe Trumpets, ^^'hile these thi'ee Trumpets are successively sounding, the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 29 seven Yials, according to my hypothesis, are, suc- cessively also, pouring out. Here, then, would be a double manifestation and process of judgment going on at the same time ; — the two anti-Chris- tian powers, — the secular and the ecclesiastical, — (the first and second Beasts, chap, xiii.), which had been all along playing into and strengthen- ing each other's hands, in opposing and per- secuting the Church and Saints of God, — both those anti-Christian powers mutually plagued. Viewing, then, the progress of these three woe Trumpets in this light, namely, as in conjunction with the seven Yials, we shall find that each party^ has to bear the burthen of the other, along with its own, in appalling and unceasing reciprocity. The Saracens and Turks, while they wreaked God's vengeance in " the day of trouble and distress, the day of wasteness and desolation, the day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities and against the high towers" of the Eastern Empire^ at the same time poured out the Vials of the wrath of God upon its apostate Churchy and had well nigh extinguished the very name of Christianity in the East. The Western limb of Antichrist did not entirely escape the angel of the bottomless pit, " which hath his name Apollyon," as Spain and other countries of Europe, more or less, could testify in the middle ages. The march of the destroyer was, however, checked, and he was driven back, like the Assja^ian of old, into his own land. But let net this Westeni limb — the infidel and 30 THE APOCALYPSE apostate states and clmrelics of Europe — think, tliat "the bitterness of death is past." God has other " men of His hand," more ruthless still, to execute Ilis vengeance; — the remaining Vials of His wrath are now impending, to be poured out upon them. I conceive we are still under the fifth Seal, the sixth Trumpet, and the fourth Vial. The cry of suffering saints — "How long, 0 Lord, Holy and true, dost Thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? " still " entereth into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." The Turkish blast of the second woe (or sixth Trumpet) still, though faintly, sounds, — And the fourth Vial is not yet quite drained : the Lifidel still occupies Constantinople, once the sun of Christendom after Rome began to decline. As to what is to come, it is not for man to say. Conjectures, however, sometimes with advantage, will float on the mind. I had before observed that the sixth Trumpet introduced the Turkish woe. And I supposed the third and fourth Vials to be jxjured out during its continuance. This part of the woe is likely soon to end. The expulsion of the Turk from Constantinople may not be far off. The Russian Emperor may, perhaps, at no distant day, take the place of the Sultan. And should France once enter into a compromise with Russia, an event of which symptoms have before now ap- peared, the matter would soon be brought to a crisis. The C/ar might then, in favt^ and, most likely, in title also (as sitting on the throne of Con- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 31 stantiiie), be saluted Caesar and Roman Emperor — and, like Charlemagne, be crowned perhaps, as such ; not in the image likeness, however, but in the bond fide reality ; and that by the Pope himself. Things as strange have taken place in these latter days ; and the Pope and Czar have held friendly conference in Rome. This contingency I have treated on more at length in a separate dissertation, one of a series on the nature and design of Symbolical Prophecy ; in which I maintain that t'he fourth Beast (Daniel, vii. 19.) signified the Roman Empire (as so many com- mentators hold), and that that Empire will be in existence until the end of the present dispensation. This treatise will be found in its place, in the sequel. The fifth and sixth Vials may then, on the fore- going supposition, be poured out during this revival of the old Roman Empire, and under the remaining period of the sixth Trumpet. For that Trumpet ceases not to sound until after the slaying and resurrection of the witnesses, and the events which are to take place immediately previous to the sound- ing of the seventh Trumpet, the third and last woe. For, it may be observed, the sound of the sixtli Trumpet seems as if suspended in mid-blast at the end of chap. ix. by the appearance of the Mighty Angel with the little Book in his hand, — when he "cried as a lion roareth," and "seven thunders," as if in answer, " uttered their voices ; " — when he " sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, that the time shall not be yet" (this seems to be the proper version of the passage), " but, in the days of 32 THE APOCALYPSE tlic voice of the seventh angel, when he shall he soundin\xi we read no- where in the Apocalypse that the tliinl woe is j^ast. We may, however, conclude that tliere was no necessity for such niinounccment. The fmi'^Iiin;/ of the AfyMery of" find speaks for itself. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 45 INTRODUCTION TO THE APOCALYPSE. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass ; and He sent and signi- fied it by His angel unto His servant John, who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testi- mony of Jesus Christ, and of the things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the Avords of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein ; for the time is at hand. "John to the Seven Churches which are in Asia : Grace be unto you, and peace from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne ; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, He cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see Him ; and they also which 46 THE ArOCALYPSE pierced Him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." The Revelation is of Jesus Christ, given unto Him, by the Father, as the one ^lediator between God and Man ; and sent and signified to the Apos- tle, by an angel, to show unto the Church the things which were immediately to commence taking place ; and which were, successively, to take place unto the end of all things. This is the received meaning of the passage. An angel was thus commissioned to reveal those mysteries to one, who had himself borne his record and testimony in the Gospel and Epistles, which bore his name or designation. The diligent study, by reading, hearing, and keeping the things written in this Book of Revela- tion, is there forcibly inculcated. A blessing is pronounced on all who do so, accompanied by the solemn monition, — " for the time is at hand." This applies to all, at every period of the Church Militant, from the first throughout, until her Lord shall come. " The time is at hand " in every age. The Apocalypse, being the great canon of Pro- phecy for the Christian Dispensation, is in process of fulfilment every day. Some one portion of this canon is, during that course, ever at hand to mark the time. The i>rimar]) address of the Apocalypse was to the Seven Churches of Asia ; and it appears to have been published, and received by those Churches, quickly after it had been written. But it is just as specially addressed to every Church, in every place, at every [)criod of time since the days of ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 47 St. John. This primary address, in connection with the succeeding passage, is inexpressibly sublime. Grace from the Glorious Trinity ; — Doxology to the Redeemer, from His first coming to visit us in great humility, — through that blessed season when His Church shall have peace on earth, and all her sons be made kings and priests unto God ; — to the great and terrible day when He shall come with clouds to judge the quick and dead. 48 THE ArOCALYPSE SECTION I. THE VISION OF ALPUA AND OMEGA. The primary address concluded, the voice of the Lord Himself bursts on the ear : — "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, saith the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." As the scenes of the visions in the Apocalypse are laid, sometimes on earth, sometimes in Heaven, it is to be observed that this first vision was beheld by the Apostle on earth : — " I, John, who am also your brother and com- panion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle tliat is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 1 was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a Trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the Eirst and the Last : and what thou seest write in a book, and send it unto the Seven Churches which are in Asia ; unto Epliesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." In the next place we have the awful description of the Alpha and Omega: — " And I turned to see the voice that spake witli me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candle- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 4& sticks ; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one Hke unto the Son of Man, clothed with a gar- ment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a o-olden o-irdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire ; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace ; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars ; and out his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword ; and his countenance was as the Sun shineth in his streno;th. And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me. Fear not, I am the first and the last : I am he that liveth, and was dead ; And, behold, I am alive for ever- more, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the ano;els of the seven Churches ; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." The Alpha and Omega having commanded the Apostle to write, proceeds at once Himself to dictate the Epistles to the Churches. 50 THE APOCALYPSE SECTION 11. THE EPISTLES TO THE SEVEN CIIURCUES. These Epistles are of far more importance to the Church Universal, in every age and place, than may be generally supposed. They are, indeed, spe- cially addressed, in the first instance, to the seven Churches of Asia. 13ut, from the whole internal evidence it seems clear, that, in the several matters of approval or rebuke, of gracious promise or of awful threatening, of exhortation or of warning, of outward profession and practice, or of inward frames and feelings, — as far as the seven Churches of Asia were concerned, so far the Church Universal, until her warfare be accomplished, is specifically, and fully, and critically concerned also. I think that, in these Epistles, we shall find, for evil as for good, the first principles, in embryo, of all that since has been, and will be to the end, unfolded in the history of the Church. The works of faith, the labours of love, the pa- tience, the godly sincerity, the poverty of si)irit, the riches of grace, the manifold tribulation, the Mar- tyr's witness to the truth, the testimony of Jesus, the wholesome hatred of false doctrines, the charity, tiie service, the indomitable zeal, the victorious endurance to the end, in a word, all the blessed seeds and IVuits of liiture growth and maturity in the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 51 Church Universal, are to be discerned distinctly on the one hand; while, on the other hand, will be found, no less distinctly marked, the backslidings, the fall- ings away, the strange doctrines, the heresies and schisms, the evil deeds, the living death, " neither cold nor hot," the lukewarm spirit, and the worldly mind, the Mammon -worship, and the love to have pre-eminence, the spiritual fornication, and the idolatrous apostasy, by which the same Universal Church has, ever since, been more or less infected and infested. And, together with these, are noti- fied those hours of temptation that shall come upon all the world, to try all them that dwell upon the earth. AH these varied features of good or evil, these notes and marks of the Spirit of Truth, or the Spirit of delusion, which have adorned or polluted the Church from age to age, are to be found, pri- mordially, in the Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia. In the Jezebel of Thyatira we have, in minia- ture, the great "Whore of Babylon." In chapter ii. 20 — 24, we have an epitome of chapters xvii. and xviii., wherein the mother of harlots and abomi- nations of the earth is depicted at full length ; — thence-forward to be exhibited still more and more distinctly, as time rolls on, until the end, in the jj-orking of the Mystery of Iniquity. While the oft-repeated proclamation by the voice, " as of a trumpet," of the King of Kings himself, resounds throuo^hout the world from ao;e to age, — "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches." 52 TIIIC AI'OCALYl'SE " Unto the angel of the Church of Epliesus write; Tliese tilings, saitli He that holdeth the seven stars in liis right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks ; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil ; and thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars ; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy lirst love. Kemember, therefore, from Avhence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and Avill remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. lUit this thou hast, that thou hatcst the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath ah ear, let him hear what the Spirit saitli unto the Churches; To him that overcomcth will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." " And unto the angel of the Churcli in Smyrna write; These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead, and is alive ; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer : behold, the devil shall cast some of you into ])i-ison, that ye may l)c tried ; and ye shall have tril)ulation ten days: be thou faithful unto (K-ath, and I will give thee a crown of life. lie that hath an ear, let ITS OWN INTERPKETER. 53 him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches ; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." " And to the ans^el of the church in Pero-amos write ; These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges ; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches ; 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." " And unto the angel of the Church in Thyatira write ; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass ; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwith- standing I have a few things against thee, because 54 THE Al'OCALYrSE thou siiffcrest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to connnit fornication, and to eat tilings sacrificed to idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication ; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the Churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts; and 1 will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I sa}-, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak ; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations ; and he shall rule them with a rod ; 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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." " And unto tlie angel of the Church in Sardis write ; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for 1 have not found thy works ])erfeet before God. Bemember, therefore, how thou hast received and heanl, and ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 55 hold fast, and repent. If, therefore, thou shalt not Avatch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments ; and they shall walk with me in white : for they are worthy. He that over- cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." " And to the angel of the Church in Philadel- phia write ; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth ; I know thy works : behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie ; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly : hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 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 E 4 56 THE APOCALYPSE name of the city of my God, which is New Jeru- salem, which Cometh down out of heaven from my God : and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." " And unto the angel of the church of the Lao- diceans write; These things saith tlie Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God ; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot : I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest I am rich, and in- creased with goods, and have need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked : I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of th}' nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten : be zealous therefore and repent. Be- hold, I stand at the door and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that ovcrcometh will 1 grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." ITS OWN INTERPEETER. 57 SECTION III. THE VISION OF THE THRONE AND TEMPLE OF GOD IN HEAVEN. In this section we have, as described by St. John, that mystic scene in which the vision of the Sealed Book was disclosed to the Apostle. " After this I looked, and, beheld, a door was opened in heaven : and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee thino-s which must be hereafter." o This first voice, which St. John now hears, seems likety to have been the same which had spoken to him (chap. i. 10), the voice of Alpha and Omega. " And immediately I was in the Spirit : and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone ; and there was a rain- bow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." Immediately on hearing that voice the Apostle " was in the Spirit," in that state of trance in Avhich all connection with, or apprehension of, earthly matters and worldly concerns appears to have been supernaturally suspended, when he be- holds a door opened in heaven, and is called up thither. Here, then, the scene is changed from 58 THE APOCALYPSE earth to heaven. God the Father is evidently re- presented as sitting on the throne ; and the repre- sentation is such, we may observe, as to give no appearance of distinct shape or form, but merely an outline of inexpressible glory. " And round about the throne were four and twenty seats : and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment ; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thun- derings and voices : and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, Avhich are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal : and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a fiice as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him ; and they were full of eyes within : and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almiglity, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Ilim that sat on tlic throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty ciders fall down before Ilim that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive gloiy and honour and power : for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure tlicy are and were created." ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 59 St. John may thus be said to have been admitted into " the Temple of God in heaven." This very plainly appears so to be ; first, from the throne of God being there ; then, from the four and twenty elders, the priestly representatives of the Church ; then, from the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne ; then, from the four living creatures, the Cherubim ; then, from the altar of incense ; and, lastly, from its being said of those " who came out of great tribulation," as there represented ; " therefore are they before the Throne of God, and serve him, day and night, in his Temple.^^ All this rej)resents the very same place which is called (chapters xi. 19. and xv. 5.) "the Temple of God in heaven." After the vision of the Throne, and one that sat thereon, the next appearance observed by the Apostle was the circle of four and twenty seats round about the Throne, and the four and twenty Elders sitting clothed in white raiment ; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. These elders are very justly considered by com- mentators in general, to represent the Universal Church, under the Old and the New Testament Dispensations, the Jewish and the Christian : their number denoting the twelve Patriarchs, and the twelve Apostles; and their crowns of gold, be- tokening, that they are one day to be kings as well as priests unto God. Then follows the description of the " seven lamps of fire burning before the throne," which are " the seven Spirits of God." Some commen- 60 THE APOCALYPSE tators suppose these lamps to signify the seven Archangels, who, as Gabriel in the visions of Daniel, and in that of Zeehariah in the Temple, are said to " stand in the presence of God." Other commentators, and I think with more probability, are of opinion that the Holy Ghost is here repre- sented; the mystical number seven signifying per- fection, as well as being emblematical of the mani- fold operation of the Spirit. Next in order, the Apostle sees the " sea of glass ;" — " then, the four living creatures ; " — and lastly, " the altar of incense." It appears, from this entire description of the throne set in heaven, that reference is had to the scenery of the Temple at Jerusalem, and also to the passages (Isaiah, vi. 1 — 6., Ezekiel, i. 4 — 28., and X. 1 — 22.) descriptive of the Seraphim and Cherubim. The four living creatures^ which is the literal and proper translation of the word two. (not beasts^ as in our version it has been not happily rendered), are evidently the same as the Cherubim in Ezekiel, combined, as it would appear, with the Seraphim in Isaiah. Accordingly, in the first chapter of Ezekiel throughout, the word ren- dered beasts in the Apocalypse, is, by the same translators, rendered living creatures. And (in chapter X. 15.) the prophet himself tells us tlnit the Cherubim is the living creature Avliich he had seen before (chap. i.). These living creatures, we read in the Apoca- lypse, "rest not day and niglit, saying. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 61 and is to come," being the same Doxology, nearly, as the song of the Seraphim, heard in the Temple by Isaiah (chap. vi. 3). " And when those living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever;" we read that " the elders fall down before him that sat on the thi-one, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying. Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honour and power : for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." From these two distinct Doxologies, one respon- sive to the other, it may be plainly inferred, — that the four living creatures are distinct from the four and twenty elders, both in nature and office, — that the living creatures are of angelic nature ; the Cherubim and Seraphim, perhaps, representing that nature ; and the elders, of human nature, representing the Church on earth. The living creatures rest not day and night praising God, while the elders are continually responding to their hymn. I call attention to this distinction here ; because some commentators are of opinion that they are both of the same nature, or representatives of the same nature — namely, tlie human. This opinion is grounded on a subsequent passage in the vision, on which I shall observe, in order, as I proceed. We now come to the vision of the Sealed Book. " And I saw, in the right hand of him that sat 62 THE APOCALYPSE on the Throne, a Book written within and on tlie backside, sealed with seven Seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice. Who is worthy to open the Book, and to loose the Seals thereof? And no one in heaven nor in earth, nei- ther under the earth, was able to open the Book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, be- cause no one was found worthy to open and to read the Book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me. Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." This I am persuaded is the most important pas- sage for the rig^it interpretation of " the words of the prophecy of this book," to be found in the Apocalypse. I have already expressed myself to that effect. It is, in my opinion, the key to the entire series of the Revelation of St. John through- out. The Book sealed with seven Seals contains, I think, the " semina rerura," the germinant prin- ciples of all things, from the first promulgation of Christianity to the consummation of the ^lystery of God; — from " the Voice of one crying in the Wil- derness" to the Day of Judgment;— from " the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ " to that " end, when lie shall have delivered up the me- diatorial kingdom to the Father, that God may be all in all." Nothing could be done for disclosing the course of propliecy until this Book was opened. St. John sees this liook in tlie i-i.iilit liaiid of ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 63 Him that sat on the Throne. He hears the pro- clamation of the angel — " Who is worthy to open the Book and to loose the seals thereof?" No one creature was found throughout the universe, who could attempt to open it. The Apostle is dis- tressed, and weeps with disappointment. He is comforted by one of the elders, with the assurance that the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to open it. And He then sees in the midst of the Throne the Lamb of God, Avho takes the Book. " And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the Throne and of the four Beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the Throne. And when he had taken the book, the four living crea- tures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; and we shall reign on earth." In this passage, there occurs an expression which has led some commentators to imagine, that the living creatures and the elders are of the same nature — namely, the human. " Who hast re- 64 THE APOCALYPSE deemed us to God by thy blood ?" Now I would say that due attention to the whole description of the throne set in heaven, and of the several persons or beings that are within it or around it, might have elucidated the matter in question, and shown that there was no necessity, from the con- sideration of the words " redeemed us by thy blood," to conclude that the living creatures are of the same nature as the " redeemed ones," of whom the elders are the representatives. I have already shown that the living creatures are the Cherubim, as described by the prophet Eze- kiel, and, if so, not of the nature of men. And, as I have observed just before, when the living crea- tures sing the " thrice Holy," the elders fall down and worship in response. In the passage, however, now to be considered, thoufrh the livino; creatures fall down with the elders, it does not follow that they join them in "the new song;" for we find, after this song, and the song of the angels, and the song of every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, that the four living creatures say " Amen," while the elders again fall down and wor- ship Ilim that liveth for ever and ever. The elders, as the representatives of the Ciiurch, evidently ap- pear in the priestly character. They are clothed in white raiment, having harps, and golden vials, which are tlie prayers of the Saints. l>ut liarps and vials are hardly appropriate to figurative hiero- glyphs, sucli as the living creatures are described (chap. iv. 7.). "ICxaa-roj (each), then, may fairly ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 65 be referred to the Trpfo-^urspoi (^elders), without in- cluding the ^Coa. {living creatures). I find that Dr. Doddridge, in his " Expositor," plainly understood it so to be. He says : — " And when He " (the Lamb) " had received the Book in the manner I have described, the four living crea- tures, and the twenty-four elders, fell down before the Lamb, in token of reverence and adoration, and these elders appeared as a choir of humble wor- shippers in the Temple of God, having every one harps of gold, with which they played in sweet harmony to aid the music of their voices, and they had also golden vials or censers full of perfumes, which are the prayers of Saints ; for, as I under- stood these elders to be the representatives of the Church, I apprehended that, in allusion to the in- cense offered in the Temple while the people were praying, this circumstance had a reference to prayer, and was intended to show how acceptable it is to God, when it proceeds from a holy and an upright heart." (See " Family Expositor," in loco.) From all that has been said, taken together, and, in addition to all, when we bear in mind that, in the description of the several classes of beings around and in the midst of the Tlirone, the first described are the elders ; the next, the seven Spirits of God ; then, the four living creatures ; and, lastly, in the midst of all, the Lamb as it had been slain ; — there appears quite sufficient ground for the assertion, that the elders and the living creatures are to be considered as beings, of natures quite distinct. 66 THE APOCALYrSE I liave entered, perhaps, more at large into the ex- amination of the question, as to identity or diversity between the elders and the living creatures, than may be thought necessary. It is, however, of im- portance, as far as may be possible, by a fair and accurate collation of relative passages, Avhere such are to be found, to endeavour to establish, in every instance, uniformity in the interpretation of the Apocalypse. That the elders here represent the Church, and that the living creatures are the Cherubim, or, in some sense or other, representatives of the angelic nature, is, I believe, a very generally received opinion among commentators. There appears, indeed, more, and stronger ground for tins opinion, than the one passage in the song we have been just examining affords, in support of the supposition, that the ciders and the living creatures are of the same nature, or both repre- sentatives, in some respect or other, of the human nature. I apprehend more misinterpretation of the Scrip- tures to have arisen, from grounding upon an iso- lated passage a dogma, often very paradoxical, than people are aware of; when a careful examination of relative or correlative passages would solve the difficulty, and bring out the unforced and common- sense meaning. r>ut, to resume the subject of the elders^ song, as I would call it exchmveh/^ we have in the passage still before us the most striking proofs, it may ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 67 reasonably be said, of the elders therein de- scribed being the representatives of the Universal Church. " Thou hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us, unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth." The elders are, in number, but four and twenty ; and yet they are said to be taken out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. They cannot be understood as four and twenty individuals ; but, unquestionably, as figurative emblematical repre- sentatives of the great multitude redeemed, the collective body, the whole state of Christ's Church, Militant and Triumphant. " And we shall reign on the earth." These words I take to be prospective : to have reference to the Millennial state of that Church, — when (the beast and the false prophet being destroyed, in other words, the secular power and the ecclesiastical tyranny being at an end) the Church shall serve her King of Kings, and reign herself in all peace and godly quietness, for a thousand years on earth; while the martyred Saints of the first Resurrection, having ascended into heaven, shall there reign with Christ during that Millennium, the last thousand years of His Mediatorial Kingdom, when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power, — all enemies under His feet, — the last attempt of the devil being brought to nought, — and Death, the last enemy, destroyed. F 2 68 THE APOCALYPSE Then shall the whole multitude of His redeemed ones, first and last, at the general Resurrection on the last Day, have their perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, and reign with Him in Glory everlasting, where God shall be all in all, for ever and ever. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 69 SECTION IV. THE VISION OF THE SEVEN SEALS. From the vision of the Throne, and Temple of God in heaven, we pass to the opening of the seven Seals. The scene of this vision is still laid in the heavenly Temple. When the first four Seals are, successively, opened, one of the four living creatures, successively also, in a voice of thunder, calls to the Apostle to " come and see." This summons shows that it was in the Book with the seven Seals itself (and not by their effects upon the earth), St. John saw the vision of the first four Seals. The vision of the fifth Seal is seen under the altar, in the heavenly Temple also. The vision of the sixth Seal, when the sun became black and the moon as blood, when the stars fell from heaven and the heavens departed as a scroll, is, doubtless, be- held in the same Book, and, of course, in the same Temple. And the seventh Seal, the " silence in heaven," could have been witnessed by the Apostle in no other place, than the Temple of God in heaven. The seven angels are, also, seen by him receiving their trumpets there. But there does not appear to be anything in his thus seeing them, to connect those trumpets with the seventh Seal, as if they were contained in that Seal, and formed part and parcel of it. The intervening vision of the incense offered with the prayers of the Saints on the golden altar 70 THE ArOCALYI'SE before the Throne, is beheld also in the " Temple " by St, John, and appears to have no connection with the seven angels, who had just before received their trumpets. This, I think, I shall be able to show, when I come to the exposition of the seventh Seal. " And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the Seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see." The opening of the first four Seals is announced, severally, by one of the four living creatures. This would indicate that they, as the immediate and peculiar attendants on the Divine Glory (the Cherubim), so acted in virtue of their office. The Seraphim (Isaiah vi. 3 — 7.), discharged a like duty. They repeat " the thrice Holy," as do the Cherubim, here, in the Apocalypse; and one of them laid the live coal upon the prophet's mouth, and pronounced him clean ; thus preparing him for the Divine com- munication which immediately followed. And, in like manner, the call of the living creature, " come and see," appears to have given permission to the Apostle, and, perhaps, qualification also, to approach the Throne, and behold the first Seal disclose its mystery. " And I saw, and behold a white horse : and He that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown was given unto Ilim : and he went forth conquering and to conquer." A very general opinion among commentators is, that the Rider on the white horse represents Christ; and that the same Kider, on the same white horse, appears again to conquer (chap. xix. 14). Some ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 71 writers, however, think that the Riders in the first four Seals represent Roman Emperors in succession, and that the Emperor Trajan is represented in the first Seal. He was a native of Crete, an island where the use of the bow was pre-eminently cultivated, the Cretans being the most celebrated archers among the ancients ; and the Rider on the white horse, in the first Seal, being represented as armed with a bow, and the white horse being peculiar to a tri- umphant Roman Imperator, Trajan, is therefore, fixed upon as being that Rider. Now, it seems to me, in the first place, that this application falls immeasurably below the all- glorious scene presented in the fourth chapter of the Apocalypse. So much so, that if the allusion be admissible on such a subject, it would bring to mind the " Mons parturiens" of the fabulist. Let us for a moment conceive the Omnipotent on His Throne in heaven, the Lion of the tribe of Judah in His might, the acclamations of angels and archangels, and the company of heaven, with every creature on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, all that are in them all, brought forward in this scene, to hail the advent of a Roman Emperor ! ! ! There are, no doubt, several striking points of accordance between the several judgments de- nounced under the first four Seals, and the wars, the famines, the pestilences, and ravages of the beasts of the earth, which took place under the several Emperors who reigned during the first ages of Christianity : and so far there would be a partial ful- F 4 72 THE ArOCALYPSE lilment, pro tempore, of those judgments observable. There is, in Hkc manner, in the forty-fifth Psahn, a primary reference to King Solomon, while the pro- phecy could hefuljilled only in the person of the King of Kings. And it is further remarkable, that, in this very Psalm, we have the Royal Conqueror in the first Seal, singularly foreshadowed. " Gird thee with thy sword upon thy thigh, 0 thou most ]\Iighty ; and in thy Majesty, ride on ; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things ; thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever." Here, as in the first Seal, we have the horse and his Rider; the arrows of the bow, the crown of Majesty, and the everlasting dominion of the Almighty Con- queror. And, in the next place, when it is borne in mind, as I have before observed, that (in chap, xix.) a Rider on a white horse apjxiars, who is, confessedly, the Lord from heaven, with many crowns upon His Head, armed with a sharp sword to smite withal the nations; to rule them with a rod of iron, and to tread the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God ; we clearly have here, as Mr. Faber and others have noticed, the same Rider on the Avhite horse as in the first Seal. He there went forth conquering: He now comes to conquer, once for all, and to complete his conquests. He went forth with a bow to open the warfare with His lighter forces, — the hosts of this world ; He now comes with armies clothed in the panoply of heaven, to smite with the " utterly destroying sword." He first wore a single crown, He now wears many crowns, won while " travelling," "ryv (lite- ITS OWN INTERPKETEK. 73 rally) " marching in the greatness of His strength." All this singularly accords with St. Paul's prophecy concerning the " Man of Sin," — " whom the Lord shall consume, wear, by degrees, away (avaXoxrei) with the Spirit of His mouth ; and destroy, abolish, bring to nought (xara^-yi^a-si)^ with the brightness of His coming." From the part of the Prophecy already examined, as, indeed, from its whole context and connection, the most reasonable view to be taken of the Reve- lation of St. John appears evidently to be this, that it is a prophetical representation of the history of the Church, in connection with the history of the world, wrapped up in a variety of symbols, and conveyed in a series of visions to the Apostle. In order, however, to give this outline effectually, and to make it complete, it Avould be necessary to set forth the entire subject-matter from the beginning to the end. " The whole Body," from Him " who is the Head," throughout " every joint," is to be pre- sented to our view, if we are to understand " the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ." The Book of Revelation, I consider as the Canon of Prophecy, nar s^o^tjv^ exclusively belonging to the Christian Church ; and, in the opening of the first Seal, we unquestionably have the opening of that Canon. All that precedes the opening of that Seal is but preliminary. The whole glorious scene of the Throne set in heaven was revealed to the Apostle, apparently for the purpose of leading the way to the one point, — the opening of the Sealed Book. The first Personage, therefore, to be intro- duced, as he is the last to leave the scene, must be 74 THE APOCALYPSE the Alpha and Omega. He opens, as He closes, the entire Kevelation, from its beginning to its end. And He it is, most certainly, who (chap, xix.) closes the present state of things on earth, when he comes to destroy the Man of Sin, the lieast and the false prophet, previous to bringing in the Mil- lennial state of the Church. Surely, then, He it is who must begin this dis- l^ensation, when "the Gospel of the Kingdom" is first preached. It is most accordant with the natural order of such a work as the Apocalypse ; and I think it must be most obvious to the reader that it is so. He who decisively conquers at the last, must be the same who first went forth " con- quering and to conquer ; " or, more literally, " con- quering and that He should conquer." There has been a notion entertained by some commentators that, as St. John was to write " the things which he had seen, and the things that are, and the things which shall be hereafter;" — namely, the seven stars which he had seen in the right hand of the Son of ]\Ian, and the seven golden candlesticks, and the visions of futurity which were about to be revealed, — therefore every event so revealed must be considered as future, from the time when the Revelation was given. And if so, then the first going forth of Christ to preach " the Gospel of the Kingdom" having taken place up- wards of sixty years previous to the date of the Apocalypse, it would follow, that Christ could not have been represented as the Rider on the white horse in the first Seal. Such an opinion, how- ITS OWN INTEKPRETEK. 75 ever, from the very nature of the subject, seems wholly untenable. In giving a view, under sym- bolical representations, of the state of Christ's Church Militant here in earth, which T take to be undoubtedly the primary object of the Revelation, it would be necessary, as I apprehend, to represent the whole state of that Church from the very first. We have a striking case in point, afforded in Ne- buchadnezzar's dream of the compound Image, which represented the four great empires to be on earth. The king's thoughts came into his mind upon his bed, what should come to pass hereafter ; and the prophet Daniel tells him that, by the vision he had seen upon his bed, God, " who revealeth secrets, was making known to him what should come to pass hereafter ^^^ — "what shall be in the latter days." Now, it is to be observed, that the first Empire, represented by " the head of gold," was in existence at the time Nebuchadnezzar himself saw the vision, and had been in existence ages before. But an adequate representation or view of the quaternion of Empires could not be given, unless the four were represented from first to last. And if so, no more could a perfect representation of the state of the Church be given, if her whole state were not set forth from the beginning. As well might Nebuchadnezzar's Image, in his dream, be repre- sented headless, as the Church, in the panoramic view here given, be represented without her great Head, going forth conquering and to conquer, from the first throughout ; though His course had com- menced a good while before St. John saw the Apo- 76 THE APOCALYPSE calypse; and the first great blow had been struck, the first signal victory achieved, twenty or thirty years previously, by the destruction of Jerusalem. " And when He had opened the second Seal, I heard the second living creature say, Come and see." " And there went out another horse that was red : and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another : and there was given unto him a great sword." This second horse and horseman, I conceive to represent war in general. The expressions, " to take peace from the earth," and " that they should kill one another," "and there was given unto him a great sword," convey the idea of its being a description of the nature and effects of war in it- self, as well as of the means by which war is carried on, summed up in its well understood emblem, — the sword ; rather than any express reference, limited to any individual chief, or to any particular war. At the same time, however, the period succeeding the first propagation of the Gospel, afforded a fulfil- ment, for the time being, of the second Seal, in the Jewish wars, and in the destruction of Jerusalem. I cannot, however, agree with tliose who think that the second Seal is to be limited to that period alone. I consider that it has a prospective reference to all those wars, and rumours of wars, which should liereafter mark tlie victorious progress of the Almighty Conqueror, " until the end sliall come." "And when He had opened the third Seal, I ITS OWN INTEKPRETER. 77 heard the third living creature say, Come and see." " And I beheld, and, lo a black horse ; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the living creatures say, A measure of wheat for a penny ; and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." This third Seal self-evidently denotes " the evil arrows of the famines," which the same Conqueror doth send upon the inhabitants of the earth, from time to time, until all be fulfilled, " which shall be for their destruction," if they repent not: while there was a fulfilment, for the time being, of this third Seal also, in the particular famine, which followed in the train of those bloody wars preceding ; a time of dearth so grievous, that the daily wages of a labourer (the Koman penny) would obtain no more than the daily allowance of food for one man. " And when He had opened the fourth Seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say. Come and see." "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell fol- lowed with him." This is, unquestionably, the visitation of those pestilences, sent at sundry times and in divers maladies, to cut off man and beast ; which have so often swept away whole communities in the cities of the plague ; and which, as in the preceding Seals, fulfilled, for the time being, this fourth Seal also : for "the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the 78 THE APOCALYPSE sickness that destroyeth in the noon day,'* did fear- fully follow in the footsteps of that famine, as the contemporary historians have related, — when Death, on his pale horse, rode over all, and Hades followed, to receive the thousands of his slain. " And 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." In this passage, there is manifestly a recapitula- tion of the second, third, and fourth Seals ; and it further distinctly states what the respective horses and their riders actually represented ; namely, not Roman Emperors specifically, but, generically, the deadly attendants on their rule, War, Famine, and Pestilence. These horses and their riders, there- fore, are allegorical personifications. Individual Emperors, it is true, might be said to kill -with the sword ; but it could not be properly said of any among them, that they were to kill with famine or pestilence, except as far as such visita- tions should happen to be consequences of the ra- vasres of war. But this is not the intimation con- veyed in this passage. Each rider is, specifically, to kill with his own weapon, — the SAVord, the famine, or the pestilence. And then, as a joint work of the whole three, the necessary result of their re- spective ravages, they are to kill with the beasts of the earth also. Which latter would necessarily increase wlierever the population of a country shoukl be so thinned away, Uut there is one further circumstance licre to be ITS OWN INTEEPRETER. 79 observed on : — The Rider in the first Seal is not recapitulated with the other three. He is evidently distinct from them. Is He not, then, the Captain of the Lord's Host, " going forth, conquering and to conquer"? they. His attendant ministers. His armies upon earth, to execute His wrath ? " A crown was given unto Him " (the Rider in the first Seal), but not to any of the other three. Yet, if they all represented Roman Emperors, they should have crowns likewise. Is there not here a direct allusion to the following passages? " Thou settest a crown of pure gold upon his head;" " Thou crownest him with glory and honour ; " " We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour ; " " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." " And when He had opened the fifth Seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held : and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, 0 Lord, Holy and True, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" " And white robes were given unto every one of them ; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow- servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." Under these five Seals appear to be represented the propagation of Christianity, — .the wars, — the famines, — and the pestilences, — together with the suff'erings of the Church, — which took place during the period embracing the destruction of Jerusalem, 80 THE ArOCALYPSE and the ten general persecutions, down to the time when the heathen mythology was about to be su- perseded by the establishment of Christianity in the Empire. The fifth Seal represents the souls of the martyrs, as if crying for vengeance on their persecutors. These martyrs are there represented as being admitted into that noble army, and clothed with white robes, in token of having finished tlieir victorious course on earth. But they are told tiiat they must wait for a while longer, until the full complement of their glorious ranks should be filled up. The general opinion of commentators on this passage seems to be, that the sixth Seal was the an- swer to that cry, by the subversion of heathenism, and the establishment of Christianity in its stead. That there was a primary fulfilment of the first five Seals at that juncture, and by those events, I do not question. In my opinion, however, it was but a primary, and a shadowy fulfilment also. Here, all the commentators with whom I am acquainted, have taken, if not altogether an erroneous, yet certainly a very inadequate view of the Ajiocalyptic prophecy. The whole scenic representation of persons and events in connection with the " Book sealed with seven Seals," impresses the mind as being of such fiugust and awful character, as might have been suflicient to preclude the idea of taking merely such a view. A far more glorious view presents itself to the mind, than could be realized by such an in- choative, and merely typical fulfilment. AVhat, after all, was that primary establishment of Christianity — ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 81 what the subversion of heathenism, — what that short, that so called peace of the Church under Constantine the Great? The Church, at that period, had manifested symptoms of daily increasing progress in " the mystery of iniquity." Heathen- ism still showed signs of life; the snake, though scotched, was not killed ; and it gave, even then, indications of revival in a more specious, but more insidious form, within the bosom of the Church herself. The peace spoken of, or rather the mere cessation of war, soon brought forth, as such nega- tive peace invariably does, the rank vegetation which affords shelter and nutriment to that " rep- tile race" which, like the adder, stingeth to the death. " The world," with its spring- tide of pomps and vanities, now flowed in upon the Church ; "the flesh" rejoiced " in the fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness, that was in her;" and "the devil" knew and seized his hour for unfolding that mystery of iniquity, which has ever since been working progressively, and which has yet to exhibit its worst abominations on the earth, before it be for ever rooted out. " And I beheld when he had opened the sixth Seal, " And, lo, there was a great earthquake ; and the Sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the Moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and Q 82 THE ArOCATATSE island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid them- selves in the dens and in the rocks of the moun- tains ; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand ? " When this passage is carefully examined, and duly weighed, can it be reasonably maintained that such a prophecy as it contains, has been, as yet, adequately fulfilled ? The general interpretation already adverted to, has been, that it was fulfilled when Christianity was established on the ruins of heathenism ; that "the great earthquake" signified the commotions which then took place in the Roman Empire ; that " the sun becoming black" signified the abolition and extinction of heathen secular power ; that " the moon becoming blood " signified the subversion of the heathen mythology ; the stars falling from heaven, the displacing of the heathen deities ; — in fact, that everything predicted under the sixth Seal, related to the events which occurred in the time of Constantine, and to the changes and revo- lutions which then ensued. That such primary and shadowy fulfilment was designed, 1 have already admitted, liut the word- ing of this passage seems to indicate a far more terrific and decisive fulfihnent yet to come. This ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 83 plenary fulfilment, in my apprehension, will take place, when the Rider on the white horse (chap. xix. 11.) shall go forth to the destruction of the Beast and the false Prophet, as He did, in the outset of His course, to the destruction of Jeru- salem, under the first Seal. This view will be fully developed in Section XII. " And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the Seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying. Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." I do not understand the words, " After these things," as implying that what St. John saw, here, with respect to the sealing of the servants of God, took place, subsequently, in order of time, to the events described in the sixth Seal. I think the ex- pression, " After these things," means, after he had seen the Seal opened ; for it appears that the work of destruction, described in the Seal, is here sus- pended : " the angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea," are restrained from letting go the winds, until the servants of God are sealed. This sealing must have related to something in con- nection with " the wrath of the Lamb," poured out on the persecutors of the martyrs at the opening of G 2 84 THE APOCALYPSE this sixth Seal. These martyrs are represented, under the fifth Seal, as crying for vengeance on tliose persecutors ; and, at the same time, they are desired to wait " a little while," and white robes are given them. When, therefore, this sixth Seal is opened, that wrath is inflicted on their enemies; and the martyrs, " they who came out of great tribulation," " are clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." The wrath on the one, and the glorification of the other, equally appertain to the sixth Seal. The sealing of those servants of God, here de- scribed, has reference, I think, to their resurrection. St. John had seen their souls in the fifth Seal : he sees the resurrection of their bodies in tlie sixth. There is a relation, between sealing with the seal of God, and the resurrection, which is very striking when we advert to some passages in St. John's Gospel, and also in St. Paul's Epistles to the Ephesians and the Romans. In St. John (vi. 27.), we read, " Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the son of man shall give unto you ; for him hath God the Father sealed." Now, if it be asked, for what purpose was He thus sealed? I would answer, — for the resurrection: sealed, in tlie first place, for His Own Resurrection ; and then, as being the First-fruits, sealed for tlie resur- rection unto eternal life of all those who should believe on Ilim. In Ilis discourse on tliis occasion, lie repeatedly refers to the Resurrection. Thus, in verse 39., " This is the Father s will which hath ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 85 sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day." Again, verse 40., " And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Again, verse 43., " No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him ; and I will raise him up at the last day." Again, verse 54., " Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." From all this, it appears that it was for this purpose God the Father sealed Him — for the Resurrection of His Own Body first of all, " that he might be the author of eternal salvation" — in other words, of " everlasting life " — " unto all them that obey him." Again, in St. John (iii. 33.), the Baptist says, " He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true." And what is this testimony? The 36th verse tells us: " He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life;" thus countersealing the Seal of God the Father, by receiving the testimony of Him who was sealed, as Man, unto that life eternal. Let us now hear St. Paul. (Ephes. i. 13, 14.) " In whom, also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession ; " the meaning of this passage I conceive to be, that we are sealed by the Spirit of promise, which is a pledge to us of our G 3 86 THE APOCALYPSE inheritance, until that pledge be redeemed by our being put into actual possession of what Christ has purchased for us. And this view is further supported by another text (chap. iv. 30.), "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." The question remains, — what is that special purchase, and what the redemption of the pledge ? The answer is to be found in Romans (viii. 22, 23.), "For we know that the whole creation groanetk and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but our- selves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." The purchase, then, is everlasting life: the redemption of the pledge (that promise of eternal inheritance) is the resurrection of our body: and the day of redemption, is that great Last Day. Then shall all the faithful have their perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in His eternal and everlasting glory ; when their adoption, that is their sonship, shall be for ever perfected. This perfect consummation in the Apocalypse affords ground for believing, those martyred saints, " who came out of great tribulation," shall attain, when they shall reign Avith Christ a thousand years before the general Resurrection at the Last Day; while the Church below shall reign in peace on earth, until her Lord shall come, with "ten thousand of His Saints" (namely, the partakers of the first Resurrection) to judge the quick and dead. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 87 In this view of the vision, the sealing of the ser- vants of God, and their consequent glorious state, as here described, cannot refer merely to the Chris- tians being preserved from the calamities which befel the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem, or to the deliverance of the followers of Christ from their cruel sufferings, on the cessation of the perse- cutions (especially the tenth), which is the general interpretation given to this passage; but over and above any such primary, shadowy fulfilment, the vision now under our consideration self evi- dently relates to the resurrection of the martyrs^ whose cry was heard from under the altar on the opening of the fifth Seal. Of this noble army the glorious ranks shall be completed by the last slaying of the witnesses (literally the martyi-s), just before the full wrath of the Lamb shall be poured out on the Apostasy; — when " they shall ascend up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies shall behold them." This is " the first resur- rection." " And T heard the number of them that were sealed : and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the chil- dren of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah Avere sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Neph- thalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed tAvelve thousand. Of 88 THE APOCALYPSE the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thou- sand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand." These, there can be no question, arc tlie martyrs of the Jewish church converted to Christianity. There are twelve thousand of each tribe sealed. But, here, it is evident, that a definite number is put for an indefinite. They are the first sealed, because inheritors of the promise, and to them first was the word of God spoken, and they were the elder brethren, the first called. " After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands •, and cried with a loud voice, saying. Salvation to our (Jod which sitteth upon the throne, and unto tlie Lamb." Here, it would appear, we have those whose souls St. John had seen under the altar ; to whom white robes had there been given, Avhen it was said unto them, "that they should rest yet a little season, until their fellow servants (that is, their fellow martyrs) should be killed as they were:" Here we have them all, from first to last. Gentiles as well as Children of Israel, in tlie glory of the first Resur- rection, admitted together to the full participa- tion of Eternal Life, before the throne, in the im- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 89 mediate presence of God and of the Lamb, to " see Him as He is." "And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders, and the living crea- tures, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying Amen : Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever." In this doxology, the angel-choirs praise and magnify their God for the glorification of His martyred Saints. We now come to a passage which, if any thing were wanting to the proof, I conceive puts the question at rest as to the fact, that those first- fruits of all tribes, and nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, do, bond fide, represent the happy and holy ones that shall have part in the first Resurrection ; and who shall constitute those myriads of His attendant Saints, " when," accord- ing to St. Jude, " the Lord shall come to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are un- godly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." For this final proof, other texts significantly prepare the way. " Do ye not know," saith St. Paul, "that the Saints shall judge the world?" "Know ye not," saith the great Apostle, — himself among the noblest chiefs of that martyr host, — "know ye not that we shall judge angels?" The Apostle here, I think, alludes to the Saints of the first Resurrection being assessors of the Almighty 90 THE APOCALYPSE Judge, sitting on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, the nations of the Gentiles, and, also, the angels which kept not their first estate, and are reserved, under darkness, unto the Judg- ment of the Great Day. We now come to the passage itself: " And one of the elders answered, saying unto me. What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they ?" As though he had said, Do you recognise them ? The Apostle's response tells us he did not : " And I said unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me. These are they which came out of great tribulation," — evidently alluding to the souls which St. John had, a short time before, seen under the altar (together with their brethren that should be killed, as they were, in after times) : — " These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple : and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither tliirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Now, to interpret this passage so as merely to convey, in metaphorical and mystical language, a description of the tranquil state, and prosperous circumstances, of the Churclics, after tlic perse- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 91 cutlons had ceased, and the rulers of this world were no longer the accusers and murderers of the brethren, appears to fall far short of adequate, or even sound, interpretation. Another scheme of fulfilment has been put forward by some critics ; namely, that the prophecies contained in the Apo- calypse all relate to the wars, and the civil com- motions, connected with the destruction of Jeru- salem, a period of not more than three years and a half. Such a scheme I dismiss without com- ment, as a tissue of German myths, unworthy of consideration. The description of the blessed and glorious state in which the sealed servants of God are, in this vision, seen by St. John, critically coincides with that of the beatific vision after the general Resurrec- tion, at the Last Day, as given in chapters xxi. xxii. That there are two Resurrections plainly set forth in the Apocalypse is self-evident. St. Paul appears to allude to the same truth, 1 Corinthians, XV. 23, 24. The coming of Christ there spoken of, seems to be the coming of the Rider on the white horse (chap. xix. 11.) to destroy the Beast, and the false Prophet. That coming, like His coming, in the first Seal, to destroy Jerusalem, is apparently a figurative coming. Then it will be, we may believe, that those Saints, the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb, His faithful witnesses, His martyr host, shall be raised from the dead, and have their per- fect consummation, a thousand years before the End shall come. But, if there be these two yZ THE ArOCALlTSE Jvesurrections here set forth, then the description of the state in the first, and in the second, must be one and the same : the state described must be, in both, alike heavenly. These same martyrs, as par- takers of the first Resurrection, are repeatedly brought before us in the Apocalypse as we proceed. " And when he had opened the seventh Seal, there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour." This seventh Seal, while it may primarily shadow out the transient peace of the Church under Con- stantine the Great, yet ultimately, and xar' s^o^r,Vj I am fully persuaded, foreshows the Millennium. I cannot subscribe to the theory, that the seventh Seal contains the seven Trumpets. I do not see sufficient ground for such a notion in this passage : " And I saw the seven angels which stood before God ; and to them were given seven Trumpets." St. John had, previously, and all along, from the opening of the door in heaven, seen those seven angels before the throne. He now appears to see them incidentally, as if receiving their com- mission, presented with the seven Trumpets. His thus seeing them at this juncture does not con- nect those Trumpets with the seventh Seal. For, before the sounding of the Trumpets, another scene takes place. " And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer ; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And tlie prnycrs of ITS OWN INTERPllETER. 93 the saints ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth : and there were voices, and thunderings, and light- nings, and an earthquake." All this is considered, by many commentators, as having a prospective view to the fearful calamities, which w^ere to follow on the sounding of the Trumpets; the Church as if arraying herself in the panoply of prayer to meet the coming storm. I am disposed, however, to take a very different view. I altogether doubt its connection with the Trumpets. I look upon the passage in question as closing the vision of the Seals, by a symbolical repre- sentation of the blessed state of the Church during the Millennium, and in the prospect of that " excel- lent glory " thereafter to be revealed ; a repre- sentation exhibiting an uninterrupted spiritual intercourse between this world, and that world above ; between the Church of the Saints at peace on earth, and the Church of the first Kesurrection triumphant in heaven. I think the vision represents the fervent ex- halation of prayer and praise, ascending, "instant," " without ceasing," for a thousand years. The angel here introduced, "having a golden censer," it may be, represents the Angel of the Covenant Himself, our great High Priest, to whom much incense is " given, that He might offer it with the prayers of all saints" (all the congregation of the Church below being now, indeed, holy unto the 94 THE APOCALYPSE Lord, every one of them), and from the same censer return that offering to the earth, with living fire from the golden altar before the throne of God in heaven : thus baptizing all in the fulness of the gospel promise, with fire and the Spirit. The lightnings, and thunderings, and voices, from out of the throne, which preceded the opening of the Sealed Book, here close the vision of the Seals. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 95 SECTION Y. THE VISION OF THE SEVEN TRUMPETS, WITH THE AVITNESSES. " And the seven angels which had the seven Trumpets prepared themselves to sound." The scene of this vision appears to be laid on earth. The judgments revealed by the Trumpets must have been seen by St. John on earth, as they took effect. It would appear that the seven angels, after having received their commission in the heavenly Temple, came out to sound their Trumpets. We shall find as we proceed that the seven angels, with the last plagues, received their Vials in that Temple, and came forth to pour their Vials out. It may be presumed, then, that the same proceeding may have taken place in the vision of the Trumpets. This passage I conceive to be the proper com- mencement of the vision. I am also of opinion, in conformity with the hypothesis which I have ventured to lay down, that this vision of the seven Trumpets reaches to the end of the existing system of human affairs ; and, from thence, to the Day of Judgment. This vision of the Trumpets, although, as a vision, it was seen by St. John after the vision of the Seals was concluded by the opening of the seventh 9G THE APOCALVrSE Seal, yet, as to the historical events to which it relates, commences its series of action on the opening of the fifth Seal ; when the cry of the souls under the altar had been so far answered, as to tell them, that they were to wait until the slaughter of their brother martyrs should be ful- filled. Then (the full complement of their mar- tyred brethren being made up by the slaying and resurrection of the witnesses, the secular polity and the ecclesiastical apostasy being both destroyed), the seventh Trumpet shall sound, and open the scene for the J\Iillennium to begin. This consum- mation will be, the peace of the Church, the Elders' reign on earth. For what does that seventh Trum- pet announce ? " The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." Surely this annunciation has not yet been fulfilled. A figurative, or grant, a primary, fulfil- ment has been shadowed out, by the establislnnent of Christianity in the Empire by Constantine the Great : but such a fulfilment must fall far short of the glorious consummation. This topic, however, I shall treat more fully under the head of the seventh Trumpet in its proper place. " The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up." I have already stated the view I take of the first Trumpet. It is, in general terms, the same as that taken by the principal commentators. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 97 The events foreshown by the sounding of the first Trumpet, according to Lowman and others, appear to have been, in all probability, the " bloody wars in Constantine's family ; which, with the in- vasion of the neighbouring barbarians, almost ruined the whole strength of the Roman Empire, fell heavily on its great men, and particularly on the family of Constantine, which, during this period, was quite extinguished. The trees are supposed by commentators, to signify the great men and chiefs of the Empire." Upon the view taken in my hypothesis here, under the first Trumpet, the Roman Empire, at that time professedly Christian, begins to undergo the judgments she had earned for herself in her heathen state, by her persecutions of the martyrs under the first four Seals, There had been symptoms of declension for some years before this period ; but, now, the tide of ven- geance, in answer to the martyrs' cry, seems to have set in. "And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea : and the third part of the sea became blood ; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died ; and the third part of the ships were destroyed." This Trumpet, according to the same commenta- tors, foreshows the ' the invasion of Italy by the Northern nations, and the taking of Rome by Alaric general of the Goths, who plundered it and set it H 98 THE APOCALYPSE on fire ; and this calamity was followed by the spoil of the greatest part of Italy for many years.' " And the tliird angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters ; and the name of the star is called Wormwood : and the third part of the waters became wormwood : and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter." The next ravagers, after Alaric and his Goths, were Attila and his Huns, who committed fearful devastations, calling himself the scourge of God. He was followed, withtn two years after, by Gen- seric and his Vandals, who took Rome, plundered, and almost destroyed it. " And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars ; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a tliird part of it, and the night likewise." Under tlie blast of this Trumpet it is likely that Odoacer, king of the Heruli, took liome, and caus- ing himself to be proclaimed King of Italy, put an end to the Western Empire. Thus, under the first four Trumpets, the Empire was attacked and ravaged, land, sea, and rivers; till, finally, its sun was darkened, its imperial throne subverted, and an end put, for the time, to the very name of the Western l^^mpire. " And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice. Woe, Avoe, woe, to the iiihabiters of the earth, by reason ITS OWN INTERPKETEll. 99 of the other voices of the Trumpet of the three angels, which are yet" to sound." Here commences the most important era of the Apocalyptic prophecy, as it respects the events of the latter times ; the first rise of the Archheresy and imposture of Mahomet in the East, and of the Papal Apostasy in the West. Twelve centuries have elapsed, since the voice of the first Woe Trumpet has been heard : at no time, however, throughout that lengthened period, has more earnest interest been taken, by " the inhabiters of the earth," in these sounds of woe, than at the present moment. Particular attention is called to those woes, to each and every one of them, by the angel flying through the midst of heaven. We, of the present day, are drawing near, we little know how near it may be, to one of the most fearful of them all. There is every reason to believe, and to expect, from the sure voice of prophecy, as well as from the signs of the times, that " peace will soon be taken from the earth," not to return, for any stay, till "the harvest of the earth be reaped," and "the winepress of the wrath of God be trodden." "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth : and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great fur- nace ; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth : and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the 100 THE APOCALYPSE earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree ; but only those men which have not the Seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tor- mented five months : and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it ; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle ; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold ; and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women ; and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates of iron ; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails ; and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name ApoUyon." The almost universal voice of commentators pro- claims Mahomet and the Saracens to be the fallen star, and the locusts, of this first woe. It is, indeed, almost impossible to mistake the obvious adaptation of antitype to type, of the real to the symbolical, which is here to be observed. It is an idle notion to tliink of disputing or escaping such remarkable correspondency. And it appears ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 101 to me that it was most specially, as well as provi- dentially so ordered. For while, on the one hand, it seems evidently to have been the design of Him who "sent and signified the Revelation to His ser- vant John," that it should not be too readily understood, until events should "open its dark sayings," as age after age rolled on : on the other hand, it was deemed necessary, we may reverentially infer, to afford some clue to guide research, by marking more specifically some one or two points of observation, so as to serve for general landmarks, in order that we might be able to discover, at least so far, our position, in the providential scheme, both as to time and place. Otherwise, the involved nature of the prophetical visions (designedly involved, I believe) would have precluded, almost totally, our being able to form any reasonable conjecture what- ever, as to type or antitype ; thereby neutralizing wholly the repeated Divine injunctions to exercise, on our part, "the mind that hath wisdom;" to " know the Scriptures;" and even "to count the mystic number ;" to commence with the Spirit that searcheth out the deep things of God, seeking dili- gently, to what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in the prophets did refer, when it testified, long before they come to pass, the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the Glory that should be revealed hereafter. In the first place, the extraordinary transition, or change of key, as I have termed it, might, very naturally, draw attention to this fifth Trumpet; then its being termed a woe Trumpet, and the first 102 THE Al'OCALYPSE woe ; then the very detailed description of the agents that were employed to execute the Divine judgments, on the men who had not the Seal of God upon them ; and then, the remarkable points of symbolical resemblance between the indigenous destructive insect of Arabia, and the Arab tribes, the aboriginal followers of Mahomet. Now, if we were to suppose that the lifth and sixth Trumpets contained no more in the descrip- tion of their effects than we find in the preceding four, we might then judge how obscure and vague the vision of the Trumpets would be, as to giving us any guidance towards ascertaining the probable position of fulfilments, with respect to time or place, in any one point, throughout the Trumpet series. Let us suppose that the fifth Trumpet announced no more than this, — that a star fell from heaven to earth ; that he had the key of the bottomless pit ; that he opened the pit ; that a smoke, as from a furnace, arose and darkened the sun and the air; we should have, on this supposition, only just as much revealed in the fifth Trumpet, as in any of the preceding four ]jut the lengthened detail, which we have in this fifth Trumpet, — the locusts and their description ; the addition of the scorpion's tail to the body of the natural locust; the faces of men, — the hair of women, — the sound of their wings as the sound of horses running to battle ; the king over them, whose name is " the destroyer"; with several other particulars, — singu- larly symbolize the envenomed imposture, the beards of men, and, at tluj same tinit-, tlic long and braided ITS OWN INTERPBETER. 103 tresses of women, the fiery-footed steeds, — the whirlwind charge, — and the false prophet-chief of the Saracens. At the sound of this first woe Trumpet, according to my hypothesis, the first Vial is poured out on the apostasy (the second Beast j, so that the three woe Trumpets and the seven Vials run on concur- rent to the end. "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." " And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the Trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand : and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the liorses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone : and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions ; and out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails : for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the H 4 104 THE ArOCALYPSE works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, 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." This sixth Trumpet proclaims as distinctly the advance of the Turks, as the fifth had sounded the charge of the Saracens ; and, with the latter period of this sixth Trumpet, the present " inhabiters of the earth" have specially to do. Before this sixth Trumpet shall have ceased to sound, the harvest of the earth shall be reaped, and the Judg- ment of God poured out upon the Beast and the false Prophet, in the same hour with the resurrec- tion of the Witnesses. Before this sixth Trumpet shall have ceased to sound, the fifth Vial, according to my hypothesis, shall be poured out on the apos- tasy, and tlie sixth Vial on the Euphrates, previous to the closing scene of the present Dispensation. This closing scene, in other words the Millennium, will, I conceive, take place on the opening of the seventh and last Seal, the sounding of the seventh and last Trumpet, annd, to receive a mark in their riglif hand, or in their foreheads. Anil that no man might buy or sell, save he that ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 151 ; First Beast. Second Beast. had the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity : he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith Here is wisdom. Let him that of the saints. hath understandinjj count the num- ber (jf the beast : for it is the num- ber of a man ; and his number is six hundred threescore and six. In the parallel thus instituted, we find that, when the second, or dragon-speaking beast rises out of the earth, the dragon himself is worshipped. This appears plainly to imply, that the dragon of the heathen Ji^mpire, who had given his power and throne, and authority to the first beast, — the professing Christian Empire — is here, once more, introduced to his former haunts at court, as if by a side door, through the friendly offices of an influ- ential courtier there. Now, what can this mean ? Nothing else, I think, but the revival of demon worship, as it ex- isted in the dragon's ceremonial of old ; only, now, under a specious guise, the adoration of saints and angels. How this second beast, though looking like a lamb, has spoken as a dragon, the history of Papal Rome has borne, and will bear unto the end, un- equivocal testimony. As the parallel proceeds, we find that, while " they worshipped the dragon " thus, " they wor- shipped the beast," also, " whose deadly wound was healed." This, we find, was done at the instigation of the dragon-speaking beast. 152 THE APOCALYPSE It is an unquestionable fact, easily to be gathered from history even by superficial readers and ob- servers, that the two powers, the secular and the ecclesiastical tyrannies, have been all along reci- procally and essentially necessary to the rise and progress of each other. It was the Emperor that conferred temporal dominion on the Pope. It was the Pope that re- stored imperial rule, after it had been wounded, as it were, to death. This we may observe as we go on with the parallel. It is very evident that each, at times, in turn, has found the alliance of the other absolutely indispensable to their respectively mutual existence. They often, it is true, were at variance, sometimes even to deadly feud ; but in their case, as in others, according to the proverb, the amantium tree have always hitherto been found the redintigratio amoris ; while their common sub- jects were ever sure to reap the bitter fruits of their unholy alliance. And here I would ask. Is not the present day, in this aspect, pregnant with a portentous future ? But as the parallel goes on, the correspondent proceedings of the two beasts remarkably illustrate each other. While the second beast is " doing great wonders," the first beast is given a mouth " speaking great things." While the one, by false miracles, by sleight of hand in pious frauds, by juggling tricks, and cunning craftiness, and barefaced falsehoods, is deceiving them that dwell on the earth, the other is uttering blas- phemies. The duration of liis power, however, \; / ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 153 is here determined for a certain period — forty- two months. About this stage the power of the Greek Emperor was on its wane in Italy ; particularly towards the close of the parallel. At this period it may be observed, that the first beast's blasphemies against God, his persecution 'even to extermination of the saints, and his tyranny over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations, attain that pitch of diabo- lical power and rage which the prophecies give the ''- Church and the world to expect in those last days, when " the perilous times shall come in their full development." While the terrible anathemas of th6 second beast, upon all who bore not " the mark," keep pace with the blaspheming tyranny of the first, until the day of divine wrath shall inter- pose, and beast and false prophets be cast into the lake of fire. This interpretation is sustained throughout by the facts of history. The Pope, who was sorely beset by the Lombards (his power or influence, at least in secular afixiirs, being all but brought to an end), had recourse to the King of France for aid. Pepin vanquished the Lombards, took from them the Exarchate of Ravenna, which of right belonged to the Greek Emperor, and conferred it on the Pope and the pseudo-successors of St. Peter. Soon after, when the Pope's newly acquired temporal power was in jeopardy, Charlemagne, the successor of Pepin, came to the rescue, and con- firmed his rule. 154 THE ArOCALYPSE Then it was that the Pope, impressed with the necessity of having an imperial power again to lean on, conceived the idea of persuading the people of Rome to elect Charlemagne Emperor of the West ; and, following up this design, without previous concert or notice, he suddenly, in the face of the congregation, in St. Peter's, placed the im- perial crown upon his head. This revival of the Empire I conceive to be the image of the beast " which had the wound by a sword and did live;" which the dragon-speaking beast caused the dwellers on the earth to make. This most remarkable event will be treated more fully in a separate dissertation. Since writing that dissertation, however, an important passage in the " Histoire Universelle " of Bossuet has come under my observation. The unintentional testimony of such a writer, on such an occasion, is beyond exception. The Bishop of Meaux would have been among the last to en- tertain the thought, that the Pope was the second, the dragon-speakhig beast, who had persuaded the people to make an image to the first beast ; or that the King of France, on whose head the crown had been placed, was tliat image. Yet in Bossuet's Universal History, after stating that Irene had been acknowledged sole Empress at Constantinople, the author goes on to say, " The Romans, despising her government, went over to Charlemagne, wlio subdued the Saxons, checked the Saracens, destroyed heresies, protected the popes, won inlidel nations to Christianity, restored ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 155 the sciences and ecclesiastical discipline, assembled famous councils, where his profound learning was admired, and made not only France and Italy, but Spain, England, Germany, and almost every country, feel the happy effects of his piety and justice." " At length, in the eight hundredth year of our Lord, that great protector of Rome and Italy, or rather of the whole church and all Christendom, being elected Emperor by the Romans, without his knowledge, and crowned by Pope Leo III., who had prompted the Roman people to this choice, became the founder of the new empire, and of the temporal greatness of the Holy See." Could language describe a more complete fulfil- ment of a symbolical prophecy than this passage affords ? It will be objected, perhaps, that Charlemagne well deserved the eulogium of Bossuet. No doubt, to a considerable extent, he did. He was, for his sera, as far as we can know, a wise, enlightened, learned, and devotional prince, who in these re- spects well deserved the title of " Great." But it is not so much with individuals we have to do. Some there were, popes as well as emperors, of, generally speaking, unimpeachable character, and many the reverse. It is with the system only, however, that we have to deal. And the history of Europe, since the re-establishment, in the image- form, of imperial rule, bears unequivocal testimony to the fact, that the imperial power and the eccle- siastical apostasy have, throughout, aided and 156 THE APOCALYPSE abetted each other, in upholding an idolatrous tyranny, and in persecuting the churches and the saints of the Most High. But with respect to the concluding members of this parallel, — the rigid exaction of popish observ- ances, and the terrors of popish excommunication, fully answer, to the " jot and tittle," the mark of the beast ; and the prohibition to buy or sell with- out the qualification of that mark, is a most striking coincidence between the language of the symbolical vision, and the present matter-of-fact reality. The full development, however, of the secular and ecclesiastical tyrannies, in their most fearful phases, is yet to come. After that consummation, the captor shall himself be led captive, and the slayer be slain. Here will be the end of the two beasts. And " here is the patience and the faith of the saints." In their patience shall they possess their souls unto everlasting life. The last point for consideration in this vision, is the name of the beast, and the number of his name. Among all the various conjectures since the apostolic days, the first that was suggested is de- cidedly the l3est. The Lateinos of IrenoBus, in the second century, not very long after the first pub- lication of the A])ocalypse, is the sole interpre- tation, which will stand the test. That the diplitliong civras an ancient spelling of the Latin language, instead of the vowel /, cannot be questioned ; and the same diphthong e* to ex- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 157 press i long is (in itself) a very striking charac- teristic of the Greek idiom.* " And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount of Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder : and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps : and they sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders : and no man could learn that song but the hundred forty and four thousand which were re- deemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whither- soever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile : for they are without fault before the throne of God." The destruction of the beast's rule, as may be gathered from chap. xiii. 10., being accomplished, we find again introduced here, the same one hun- dred forty and four thousand whom the Apostle saw when sealed in their foreheads, at the hour when the wrath of the Lamb was poured out under the sixth Seal. I have given ray view of that seal- ing in Section IV. Though the Lamb and the one hundred forty * See Note at the end of this Section. 158 THE APOCALYPSE and four thousand are here brought to St. John's view, yet the scene is not changed from earth. This glorious vision seems to descend to the Mount of Sion, as if the most appropriate place for the Jewish martyrs of the Church to be seen in their glorified state by the Apostle. Their song, we may perceive, is heard by him from heaven, " as the voice of many waters" at a distance ; and it is the same song which is sung by their brethren of the Gentile church, along Avith them, when he saw, in the next vision, the " sea of glass, and them that stood thereon, having the harps of God." These are the same as the " harpers harping with their harps" in this vision of the hundred forty and four thousand. Here, as well as before, the Jewish portion of the Church has precedence, as the elder brethren. In my view of the Apocalypse, the martyred saints of the first Resurrection, those whom St. John had, first of all, seen under the altar when the fifth Seal was opened, are again presented, in this and the succeeding vision, as having finished their course, and attained the everlasting palm of victory in the triumphant train of the all-glorious Conqueror. Commentators in general consider this passage, and the other passages where the saints in glory are represented as praising God in His immediate Presence, as intended to encourage and cheer their brethren on earth, under their unparalleled suffer- ings, to endure unto the end. Lowman observes, " xVs the description of the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 159 melancholy state of the Church and of the world during the periods of persecution, might be apt to discourage good Christians and the faithful worship- pers of God, the scene of the vision is now changed from earth to heaven, from a view of the Church under the persecution of the beast, to a view of it in the presence of the Lamb, delivered from its state of corruption and oppression, and arrived at a state of perfect happiness." This view, no doubt, in a general way, may give some idea of the meaning of those passages. Ac- cording to this view, it seems as if the glorified saints were introduced somewhat like the chorus of a Greek play, to perform a similar office. I think, however, that there is a more specific view to be taken of these passages. In my view, these saints in glory are not so much the representatives of the Church above at large, as, specifically, the martyred saints of the first Resurrection ; not in the intermediate state of separate existence, that of the soul when apart from the body, but in that state, when the body of their humiliation shall, itself, be fashioned like unto the glorified body of the Captain of their Salvation. In that separate state, indeed, the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, — the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, — are, in joy and felicity, waiting for their perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in the eternal and everlasting glory. But it may be observed, that in all those passages where glorified saints are introduced throughout the 160 THE APOCALYPSE Apocalypse, they are represented as standing before the Throne in the full perfection of their being. In this passage they are to be considered as having, for a short time, descended with the Lamb from the courts above, to reascend again ; for St. John immediately after hears their voices from heaven. Before the opening of the seventh Seal they are represented as being those who came out of great tribulation, — as having washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb, — as being before the Throne of God, serving Him day and night in His Temple ; — He that sitteth on the Throne dwelling among them ; — that they shall hunger no more nor thirst any more ; — that the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne feeds them, and leads them unto living fountains of waters ; — and that God wipes away all tears from their eyes. I would ask, then, Could words express more unequivocally the perfect consummation and bliss of the Resurrection state unto Life Everlasting? They are the words and images made use of in the last two chapters of the Apocalypse, to represent the eternal state of all the blessed after the great general Resurrection at the last day. But in chap. xi. 11. we have the actual resurrection and ascension of those martyred saints described ; the Spirit of life from God enters into their dead bodies ; they stand upon their feet, a great voice from heaven calls them up thither, and they ascend up to heaven in a cloud, while their persecutors actually behold tlie wondrous scene. And then (chap. XV.) we shall find that the brethren of those \ <- o < p^ pq H if J III III III II ll 11 II ll 111 1? i!f e g s i!t a & I i SI I II -i ° -3 -g is I il 8 o "3 s I J itfilllli = a § - ^ .5 ^ •s g I ■= -S so 2 mil il f ^ I? I S i ^ s li £ .2 •S 1 il b f-' 3 J ■s g I eg ^ 8 Is gill -E. 3 1 1 ^ ^ S ^ 5 'I I irS OWN INTERPRETER. 16 1 one hundred forty and four thousand, they who should afterwards be killed as those were, having fulfilled their testimony, having gotten the victory over the beast and his image, and his mark, and the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass having the harps of God singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, — the very song which the one hundred forty and four thousand (the voice of harpers harping with their harps) are singing to- gether with them. NOTE ON SECTION VIT. That the diphtho7ig ei.'] It has been abundantly shown by Mr. EUiot, in his " Horae Apocalypticae," that the word in question was spelled with the diphthong by se- veral early writers of acknowledged learning; though it has been erased by librarians, and omitted by copyists, in dealing with and transcribing the writings of ancient authors, and the single vowel i substituted for it. " As if" (observes Mr, Elliot) "Rome was frightened at the name of Aareii^oy." That the diphthong ei was in use among the Romans to express long i down to, and even later than, the reign of Augustus, has also been shown. I would here add one authority, not to be questioned, which I have not met with among the many aheady produced on this subject. Rollln, In his Manicre dc I'Etude de la Langue Latine, writes thus: — " Les anciens confondoient quelquefois Ve et Yi dans lecrlture, et ap- paremment aussi dans la prononciatlon. Quintilien re- marque que de son terns on ecrivoit here au lieu d'heri: M 162 THE APOCALYPSE qu'on trouvoit dans plusieurs livres sibe et quase au lieu de sibi et quasi, et que Titc-Live avolt ainsi ecrlt. De la vient sans doute que ces letties se mittent indiffereramcnt dans de certain cas: pelvem ou pelvim ; nave ou navi, De la vient aussi que, comme dans la diphthongue ei, Ve etoit fort foible, et que Ton n'y entendoit presque que 1'/; cette dernierc Icttre est demcuree seule dans de certains mots : omiiis pour omneis ; ce qui est si coniniun dans Salluste. " Crassus dans Ciceron reprochea Cotta qu'en retranchant IV, et pesant trop sur Ve dans la diphthongue ci, il ne pro- non9oit pas comme les anciens orateurs, mals comme Ics moissonneurs, qui au raport de Varron disoient vellam pour veillam ou villam." The passage here cited from Cicero is from the De Oratore, liber ill. xii. 46. " Quare Cotta noster, cujus tu ilia lata, Sul[)ici, non- numquam imitaris, ut iota litcram tollas, et E plenissimum dicas, non mihi oratores antiquos, sed messores videtur imit«i'i." — See Rollin's ]\Ianiere de TEtudc, vol. i. p. 241. To this I would add, that in the Codex Boerncrianus, edited by jSIatthajus, containing thirteen of St. Paul's Epistles, the manuscript of which is referred by Griesbach to the ninth or tenth century, the dii)hthong ei is most cojjiously used in conmion with the single i, and that indiscriminately ; sometimes the diphthong, sometimes tiie single vowel, being used, in the same words, as they occur in different places. Kuster says, that " this loose mode of writing" or rather spelling " was common to almost all ancient librarians." It is evident, tiiereforc, from all this taken together, that the dii)hthong ci to express i lung was of ancient usage ; and, to this day, it is preserved in the German language. The very word in question is so spelled Latri7iisc/ie, Lateiner. Such being the case, wc may be sure that the cxpurgators of Home have not been idle in the erasure- department with the writings of the fathers. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 163 In the fall perfection of their heiny.'] Not so with respect to the souls under the altar. They are represented, not as standing before the throne, like the great multitude which no man could number, but as if in a secluded and concealed place, there awaiting that blessed consummation. M 2 164 THE APOCALYPSE SECTION VIII. THE VISION OF THE THREE HERALD ANGELS WITH THE HARVEST AND VINTAGE OF THE EARTH. " And I saw another angel fly in tlie midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel in his hand to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him ; for the hour of His judgment is come : and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. "And there followed another angel, saying, Baby- lon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. " And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand ; the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, wliich is poured out without mix- ture into tlie cup of His indignation ; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the pre- sence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb : and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever: and they have no rest day nor night who worsliip the beast and his imnge, and whoso- ever rcceiveth the mark of his name." ITS OWN INTEKPKETER. 165 This vision, which I would denominate the Vision of the three herald Angels, together with the harvest and vintage of the earth, belongs, I think, to the contents of ^' the little book." It is not stated in this vision what is to be its duration, as is stated in the preceding visions of the witnesses, the woman, and the two beasts. We cannot, therefore, determine whether it is synchronous with them all throughout, or not. It is possible that it may ; that the preaching of the everlasting Gospel therein described may be coeval with the testimony of the Witnesses, from the date of the apostasy, whatever that date may be. I am more disposed, however (its date not being spe- cified as in the case of the Witnesses), to think that its commencement may be of later date. At the same time, I make no doubt but that it synchronizes with the later portion of the witnesses' course. I think it may perhaps be dated from the opening era of the glorious Reformation, and goes down to the time when the Witnesses shall have finished their testimony. I think, also, that very possibly a most striking period of the first Angel's flight may have its fulfilment in the Bible Societies, which have been so very remarkable in these latter days, in common with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the other missionary enterprises ; societies, through whose faithful agencies the ever- lasting Gospel is indeed now preached unto all them that dwell upon the earth, being translated and published in the several languages of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. M 3 166 THE APOCALYPSE Commentators, in general, seem to consider this vision of the three Angels as already fulfilled. Bishop Newton thinks, that " by the first Angel calling upon men to worship God, we are to un- derstand the opposers of image-worship in the eighth and ninth centuries, especially Charlemagne ; that by the second Angel, proclaiming the fall of the Mystic Babylon or Rome, we are to under- stand, particularly, Peter Yaldo and those who con- curred with him, the Waldenses and Albigenses ; and that by the third Angel, we are to understand Martin Luther and his fellow reformers." The Bishop on this head further says, " A learned and ingenious friend refers these three angels to later times, and supposes that they are an immediate prelude to the fall of Antichrist, and the Millen- nium. But," continues the Bishop, " the clue that has principally guided mc through both parts of the Revelation, is following the series of history, and the successive order of events." — " After the de- scription of the two beasts, secular and ecclesias- tical, whose power was established in the eighth century, there would be a very large chasm without the prediction of any memorable events, if these prophecies relate to the time immediately preced- ing the fall of Antichrist, and the ]\Iillennium.'' In this passage of Bishop Newton, we have, I think, an instance of adherence to the principle, which I have before now observed on, namely, that of making the order in wliicli the Apocaly])tic visions were seen and recorded by St. John, necessarily concurrent with the order of historical events. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 1G7 This principle, when implicitly followed up without reserve, has often involved no little incongruity of exposition among the commentators. The fact is, I feel persuaded, that the first Angel, with the ever- lasting Gospel, has been flying ever since the Re- formation at least — that he is now flying, and will fly until the end of the present dispensation. And with respect to the proclamations of the second and third Angels, I fully agree with the Bishop's friend, that they will, one after the other, be an immediate prelude to the fall of Antichrist, and the Millennium. I have already offered the conjecture, that the proclamation of the second Angel will refer to some event, or some providential combination of events, so striking, as absolutely to preclude the slightest doubt that the apostasy has been smitten actually by the hand of God. Then, and net till then (in what way it would be not only vain,, but unlawful to conjecture), shall the third Angel proclaim irretrievable " damnation " on the incor- rigible adherents of that apostasy. " Here is the patience of the saints : here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them." This passage, I think, relates to the same mar- tyred saints as before. The Apostle who saw these things, here calls M 4 168 THE APOCALYPSE attention to the glorious consummation to which, possessing their souls in patience, according to the precept of their ever blessed Master, those mar- tyrs had invariably pressed forward. " Here," saitli St. John, " are they that keep the command- ments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Now what is that consummation ? "I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from* henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them." To suppose that this passage is nothing more than a general assurance of the blessedness which awaits all true Christians, at all times, does not, in my mind, give that special, that appropriate, or, if the expression in its original and literal meaning might be here allowed, that dramatic view of the vision, which the passage so strikingly presents. For the Apocalypse, it must be allowed, is the representation of places, persons, and events, by scenery and action, as well as by dialogue. The patience of the saints may here be exem- plified, by pointing to the dead bodies of the Wit- nesses (literally, the martyrs), " Here are they," — and a voice from heaven responds, " lilessed are the deady There can be no question but that these words are applicable to all the faithful dead, in every age and place ; and so they are applied by our Chiu'ch in licr glorious l>urinl Service. Jkit, in their first delivery, tlicsc words seem to liave been personally peculiar to the martyred saints of the first Resur- rection. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 169 In the several visions throughout the Apocalypse, by which the outline of events in the history of the Church is depicted with such varied selection of concomitant circumstances in each vision re- spectively, the same martyred saints appear to be introduced at the closing scene of each such vision. They are introduced just before the opening of the seventh Seal. They are introduced just before the sounding of the seventh Trumpet. They are introduced, at the close of the vision of the two beasts, in the vision of the hundred and forty and four thousand. And, at the close of this vision of the three Angels (which I conceive the harvest and vintage of the earth to be), those blessed dead are gloriously introduced, as I shall now proceed to show. " And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle and reap : for the time is come for Thee to reap ; for the har- vest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth ; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire : and cried to him, with a loud cry, that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth ; for her grapes are 170 THE APOCAIATSE fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the enrth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress w^as trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse-bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." This whole passage I have stated to be a continua- tion, or rather the close, of the vision of the three Angels. At first view, this passage might seem to have some reference to the Day of Judgment ; '' one like the Son of Man sitting on a white cloud." The sequel, however, will show that it has not such reference. He has on his head a golden crown, indeed, but he has a sharp sickle in his hand; and another angel cries to him to thrust in his sickle and reap the earth. Another angel has a sharp sickle also ; and he is desired to gather the clusters of the vine of tlie earth, and to cast them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The winepress is trodden, and the blood which flows out reaches unto the "horse-bridles," — an expression well known among ancient writers to signify tre- mendous slaughter. The winepress being without the city, shows its extraordinary magnitude ; and the space of ground covered with blood, the fearful extent of the Divine Judgment. So that, alto- gether, this vision of the harvest and vintage of the earth accords well with tlie day of wrath of the Lamb under the sixth Seal, but represented here under other emblems of God's wrath. " And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having tlie seven last ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 171 plagues: for in them is filled up the wrath of God." During the vision of the harvest and vintage of the earth, the scene appears to be gradually trans- ferred, again, to " the Temple of God in heaven." For St. John now sees therein the seven angels, having the seven last plagues of God. These, as well as the seven angels who had the Trumpets, Avere among the number of those whom he beheld stand- ing before and round about the throne, when the door was opened in heaven, and the Apostle first saw that throne, and Him that sat thereon. He, there- fore, sees the angels of the Vials as he had seen the angels of the Trumpets before, as if receiving their commission some time before they proceeded to exe- cute that commission ; for another vision intervenes with each. The vision, here, is the Sea of Glass. The vision, intervening with the Trumpets, had been the incense ofi'ered up with the prayers of the saints. In neither instance do I conceive that those intervening visions relate to what is to fol- low, but to that which had preceded ; the incense, with the prayers of the saints, relating to the seventh Seal, the vision of the sea of glass, relating to the harvest and vintage of the earth ; the one repre- senting the close communion of the Church below with the Church above, during the Millennium, under the seventh Seal, — the other representing the martyred saints of the first Resurrection, after the harvest and vintage of the earth, singing the Song of Moses and the Lamb in the Temjole of Pleaven, while they rejoice at the happy prospect of the Church on earth, inasmuch as the judgments 172 THE APOCALYPSE of God having been now made manifest, all nations should come and worship before Him. This song is the same which the Apostle heard from heaven, as the voice of many waters, when he saw the hundred and forty and four thousand at the close of the vision of the two beasts. Here, I think, St. John gives us distinctly to understand, that the heavenly Temple had been opened, not only for the angels of the Yials to come out, but that it was open all the time while the song of Moses and of the Lamb was sung, for he must have seen those angels in that Temple before that son^r beo^an. " And after that I looked, and, behold, the Tem- ple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony in heaven was opened." Our version is not distinct enough in the first words of this passage. The words of tlie original are, — "After these things (ju-era raura). Now the trans- lation, " after tliat^'^ would lead us to suppose, that it was not until after the song had been sung the Temple was opened ; whereas I should under- stand " these tilings^'' to have reference to all the things which had been revealed in the vision of the three angels with the harvest and vintage of the earth. Besides, in our version, after the word '■^ oj^enecV (chap. xv. 5.), there is only a colon, where, according to the original text, there should be a full stop. Here close, I apprehend, the contents of the little book. We now proceed to the last of tlie three main visions of the Apocalypse, — mimely, the 1 "uih. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 173 SECTION IX. THE VISION OF THE SEVEN VIALS. " And the seven angels came out of the Temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four living crea- tures gave unto the seven angels seven golden Vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever." Before I proceed to the consideration of this vision, I would observe, that, with respect to the theory of the seventh Trumpet containing the seven Vials, the bare view of the Apocalypse, when read, in regular course, consecutively, might suffice to refute any such idea. Several long visions of the little book's contents intervene between the seventh Trumpet and the first Vial ; and there is no concatenating link, whatever, ap- parent between the one series and the other. The seven angels had the seven plagues when they came out of the Temple, and yet we find that, afterwards, one of the living creatures gave those angels seven golden Vials full of the wrath of God. I should understand from this, that those seven angels had been formally set apart, at the first, to be the ministers of the seven last plagues: and, probably, had some general indication to mark 174 THE APOCALYPSE their intended oSice; but that, after they came out of the Temple, they were specially charged with the seven golden Vials. " And the Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power ; and no man was able to enter into the Temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." Here the Temple scene is evidently closed, till after the vision of the fall of Babylon (chap, xviii.), that is, until the seven plagues should be fulfilled. " And I heard a great voice out of the Temple saying to the seven angels. Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth." This first Vial, as I have already observed, is poured out when the fifth Trumpet (first woe) sounds. The apostasy, with all its attendant circum- stances, which had been revealed to St. John in the contents of the little book, is now, in its avowed action and operation, a fit subject for the exercise of those Divine Judgments, as symbolized by the seven Vials. I have already stated tliat I shall not enter, in this exposition, on the historical (h^tail which has been so amply and learnedly set forth, by so many distinguished writers on Prophecy. It Avould be only to rei)eat what they have so fully and so well laid down. I have, before now, pointed attention to the striking correlative contrast to be observed, between the Seal of God, and the Mark of the lieast, — ITS OWN INTERrKETER. 175 between the torment of a scorpion, and the grievous sore, which is so remarkably exhibited in the two symbols — the fifth Trumpet and the first Vial. The first Vial, therefore, as well as the fifth Trumpet, relates, I think, to the judgments as being simultaneously inflicted on the two Powers, — the Secular Tyranny and the Ecclesiastical Apostasy, symbolized by the two beasts (chap. xiii.). These judgments were executed by Mahomet and the Saracens. " And the second angel poured out his Vial upon the sea ; and it became as the blood of a dead man : and every living soul died in the sea." The judgments of the second Vial I would attribute to the Saracens also, when they entered Europe. (See Harmony.) " And the third angel poured his Vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the Avaters say, Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say. Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments." The third Vial, as well as the sixth Trumpet, 1 would assion to the first inroads and ravao-es of the Turkish hordes on the Eastern Empire. It is to be observed, here, that those appalling ravages are particularly and fearfully forced upon our view, by the angel of the waters blood- 176 TnE APOCALYPSE stained as they Avere by the tremendous visitation. That Empire had shed, in common with her sister of the West (upon whom also that Turkish woe fell grievously), the blood of saints and prophets. Therefore the righteous judgments of the Lord had given them blood to drink. " And the fourth angel poured out his Vial upon the sun ; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues : and they repented not to give Him glory." This fourth Vial I would refer to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when the same Turks, under Mahomet the Second, stoi'mcd the city, and put an end to that Eastern Empire. And liere Ave are told that, though men were thus scorched with fire, still they blasphemed the name of God, and repented not to give Him glory. For, under all these judgments, the impenitent Churches of the Apostasy still continued to worship " demo7is" and ^^ idols'' (images) as before, (chap. ix. 20.) " And the fifth angel poured out his A'ial upon the seat of the beast ; and his kingdom Avas full of darkness ; and they gnaAved their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." The fifth Vial, 1 think, is yet to be poured out. The sixth Trumpet still continues to sound, until the sixtli Seal, the great Day of the Avrath of the Lamb, shall be opened. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 177 " And the sixth angel poured out his Vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together unto a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." The sixth Vial is to be poured out on the Euphrates, preparatory, I conjecture, to the resto- ration of the Jews. The particulars attending this sixth Vial are more remarkably expressed than those attending any of the others — the three unclean spirits of demons, gathering the kings of the whole world to the battle of God Almighty. These particulars are to be specially kept in mind as we proceed. I shall show, in due place, their very striking, and unquestionable connection with the Rider on the white horse, followed by the armies which are in heaven, (chap. xix. 11.) Attention, indeed, seems to be specially called to these particulars, by the words, " Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth." After all these notes of preparation, we learn nothing of the terrible results in the annunciation 178 THE ArOCALYTSE of the sixtli Vial. And even when the seventh Vial is poured out, we learn no more about it, than, — " It is done." " And the seventh angel poured out his Vial into the air ; and there came a great voice out of the Temple of heaven, from the Throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and tlmnders, and lightnings ; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." The vision of the Vials closes with the " voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake," as did the visions of the Seals and Trumpets before them. AYe must look, then, for the account of particulars, with respect to the sixth Vial, and the battle of Armageddon, furtlier on, by prolepsis or anticipation. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 179 SECTION X. THE VISION OF THE GREAT WIIORE, AND THE FALL OF BABYLON. " And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell : and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent : and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." The vision now before us, — the Judgment of " the great Whore," and the fall of Babylon, — is evidently an episode, introduced by the mention of Babylon here. This name had occurred in the Apocalypse but once before, as if incidentally, in the proclama- tion of the second angel (chap. xiv.. 8.). We learn, here, that, in consequence of great Babylon being come " into remembrance before God, the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, that every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." Here we have a general intimation of the results of the sixth Vial, as beino; somewhat of the same nature with the 180 THE APOCALYPSE judgments Inflicted on the opening of the sixth Seal, — as well as those under the sixth Trumpet, — but no particulars. This episode-vision, then, like a great parenthesis, interrupts for a while the main and manifest thread of the narrative. But it is, necessarily, introduced at this point of it. The roll of prophecy could not, intelligibly, pro- ceed without it. And it could not have been introduced, before or after, without deranging the inimitably-harmonized order of the whole. This, I am prepared to show as we proceed. " And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven Vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither ; I will show thee the Judg- ment of the great Whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness : and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet- coloured beast, full of the names of blas- phemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication : and upon her foreliead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Gkeat, the mother of harlots and ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and wlicn I saw her, I wondered with ^rreat admiration. And the aiiiicl ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 181 said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel ? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns." There is something very remarkable in this vision, not only with respect to what it contains, but to the manner, also, in which the revelation is made. It is not ushered in by a great voice out of the Temple in heaven, or by a mighty angel coming down in awful majesty, or by a sign or a wonder in heaven, great and marvellous. There is a familiar expression in the tone and address of the angel, one of those which had the vials, who came and talked with the Apostle, saying, "Come hither, and I will show thee the Judgment of the great Whore." The quietness of this introduction strikingly intimates the pause which has taken place, in the representation of those terrible prodigies, which were eventually to shake, not the earth only, but also heaven. St. John is then carried in the Spirit into the wilderness. Hence it would appear, that the apostate Church is herself now driven into the wilderness, where the true Church of Christ had so long been sojourning. But there is one remark- able difference between them. The harlot is not borne there, as was the Spouse of Christ, on eagles' Avings. She is carried thither on " the scarlet-co- loured beast, full of names of blasphemy." No spiritual rock follows her : no pillar of fire, or of cloud J is there for light or shelter. Her carcase 182 THE APOCALYPSE shall fall in that wilderness, from whence the Lamb's wife shall enter her long-promised inherit- ance on earth, — millennial peace and rest, — pre- vious to her eternal rest in heaven. It was nothing strange that St. John *' should wonder with great admiration," when he saw upon the forehead of the woman the name written. When he saw her, after having made the kings of the earth, and the inhabitants of the earth, drunk with the wine of her fornication, herself drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus ; " for he then knew, as Dr. Doddridge has well expressed it, " that she represented a society that would call itself Chris- tian, and pretend a regard for Jesus and the Saints, in the midst of all this cruel persecution of them ; and also, for the honour of God, amidst all tliese unparalleled idolatries and immoralities," This he knew when the angel told him of the woman, and of the beast that carried her. " The beast that thou sawest was, and is not ; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition ; and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold tlie beasr fliat was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind tliat hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And tliere are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when lie cometh, he must con- tinue a short space. And the beast that was, and ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 183 is not, even he is tlie eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." This passage plainly appears to be enigmatical, and to have been expressly intended so to be. It has afforded commentators, in general, much ground for conjecture. Bishop Newton has given, in out- line, the leading features of the subject, with likelihood enough. But there are several points, in the angel's explanation to St. John, which, if duly attended to, might lead to a more definite understanding of the passage. The beast here spoken of, there can hardly be any question, is the Roman Imperial Power. When the Apostle sees him in this vision, the beast is near his end. When he saw him (chap, xiii.), the beast was at his first rise, as the Roman Imperial Power become a Christian Power, under Constantine, at Constanti- nople. It is further said of this beast, by the angel, " that he was, and is not, and yet is." Now, in the vision of the two beasts (chap, xiii.) we find that the second beast there, caused an image of the first, the Imperial beast, to be made ; which image is made, also, to assume, as far as circum- stances might allow, the designation and rule of the first beast in his Imperial state. This Imperial beast, then, according to my view, " zras," so long as a Roman emperor, bona Jide, as such, was in exist- ence. But when the empire in the East, as well as in the West, was overturned, then he " is not." Still, however, in a certain sense, he might be said to exist in a representative or locum tenens point of view; and then it might be said of him, that he ^'■yet N 4 184 THE APOCALYrSE 25," though not in his original state. But when lie comes again, {?i propjid persond, then he comes as the beast originally " was,'^ and then it may be said of him, once more, that he actually and bojid Let it now be observed, that on his last coming, he is to ascend out of the bottomless pit. The angel then proposes the subject as an exer- cise of the Apostle's intellectual powers, *' Here is the mind which hath wisdom ; " and he proceeds still further to give St. John a clue to the " mys- tery of the beast." " The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." It is evident, as Bishop Newton observes, that the city on seven mountains must be Rome. *' Historians, geographers, and poets, all speak of the city with the seven hills." And he further says, " It is observed, too, that New Rome or Con- stantinople is situated on seven mountains." The Bishop, however, thinks this coincidence of no im- portance one way or other ; for he says, " Besides the seven mountains, other particulars must co- incide, which cannot be found in Constantinople." I do not agree with Bishop Newton in this last particular. I think New Rome is to be taken into the account as well as Old Rome. At the time of the first beast's rise (chap, xiii.), I think it evident that New Rome or Constantinople must have been the seat of Imperial government ; and, also, that Constantinople, before tlie closing scene of the j^resent dispensation, is most likely to be the seat of Roman Imperial government again. But of this ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 185 I shall further treat, when expoundhig the vision of the fall of Babylon (chap, xviii.). " And there are seven kings." It would appear that the well-known passages of the two great Roman historians, Livy and Tacitus, who have given the enumeration of the several forms of government, which had existence, from time to time, from the building of Rome to the reign of the first emperor, are here alluded to by the angel. It is of no consequence whether those historians were quite accurate, in their detail of those several forms, or not. Some commentators are disposed to question their accuracy. But it matters not. It was the popular acceptation at the time, and that would be quite sufficient for the purpose of the vision. Five of these forms of government were at an end ; and the existing one was the Imperial. " Five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come." It appears, also, that the one to come will be the last, and that it is, at this present time, yet to come; for it is said, that "when he cometh, he must continue for a short space, and go into perdi- tion." In the meanwhile, that is, between the fall of the last bond fide Roman emperor, and the rise of the one which is not yet come, the image- empire has held its vice-rule, and might so far be almost supposed to be the seventh king, or form of government ; — for, in the next passage, it is said that the beast to come, is the eighth ; but it is im- mediately given to be understood, that, though he 186 THE APOCALYPSE might appear to be an eighth, yet he is, after all, no more than one of the seven. There remains one more particular to be here observed : the beast to come " shall ascend out of the bottomless pit." Now the first beast, wlien St. John saw him (chap, xiii.), rose up out of the sea. But, when he comes again, he is to rise from the pit. There is some remarkable change in the character of the beast, intimated, I suspect, in this announcement. The beast described (chap, xiii.), was, there can be no question, professedly, a Christian Power, however, in process of time, apostate. This beast, when he comes again, Avill, I apprehend, be an infidel Power, with which, for her own more effec- tual aggrandizement, as well as to compass the de- struction of the Peformation, the apostate Church will make common cause. Of such a coalition, por- tentous signs are, just now, to be observed. And these two will play into each other's hands, until the time shall come (a time noticed in this chap, xvii. 16.), when the beast and his confederated kings shall turn on the apostate one, and worry her to death. The ten horns, we read, are ten kings, which had received no kingdom when the Apostle saw the vision, but " who receive power as kings one hour, with the beast," that is, during the beast's term of rule ; for they will soon be destroyed to- gether, when the Lamb shall overcome thern, and with them all the *' peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues," that U[)lioId tiie apostasy. Before that time, howevci-, shall arrive, they ITS OWN INTERPRETER, 187 shall all " hate the whore, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." And, in so doing, they shall, unconsciously, be " fulfilling the will of God." After this, in the vision, Rome is again marked out as the city of the apostasy, " which reigneth over the kings of the earth." "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power ; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily Avith a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the ha- bitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abund- ance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works ; in the cup which she liath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her ; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine ; and she shall be utterly burned witli fire ; for strong is the Lord God who 188 ' THE APOCALYPSE judgctli her. And the kings of the eartli who have committed fornication and lived deliciously Avith her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her ; for no man buyeth their mcrcliandise any more : the merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and all thyme wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after, are departed from thee, and all things Avhich -Nvere dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich l)y her, shall stand afar off" for the fears of her tor- ment, weeping, and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and pre- cious stones, and pearls ! For in one hour so great riches is come to nougiit. And every ship-master, and all tlie company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, AVhat city is like unto this great city ! and they ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 189 cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness ! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets ; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musi- cians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee ; and no craftsman of what- soever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee ; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee ; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee ; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee : for thy merchants were the great men of the earth ; for by thy sorceries were all na- tions deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." Here, we may presume, that the second herald angel (chap. xiv. 8) is again brought forward to give a full account, in every particular, of the fall of Babylon, which he had, in that former vision, proclaimed. The commencement of his proclama- tion, in each vision, is a quotation from Isaiah (chap. xxi, 9.), denouncing the fall of the literal Babylon of old. The Apocalyptic Babylon is, by the most approved commentators, held to be the Roman 190 THE APOCALYPSE apostasy, in its aggregate system, secular as well as ecclesiastical, whether the actual city of Komc be included or not in the description here given. This vision is plainly modelled on Ezekiel (chap. xxvii. xxviii.) denouncing the city and prince of Tyre. Hence, it might be fairly inferred, that, lierc, an individual city may, possibly, be designed. It has, however, been objected, that, in many of its circumstantial features, the description does not quadrate with the literal city of Rome. The Ba- bylon of the Apocalypse is represented as, pre-emi- nently, a maritime and mercantile place ; which, certainly, Rome, merely as a city, is not, nor ever was. Her power, no doubt, in her day of empire, extended, far and wide, over seas as well as lands. But she never could realize the picture of a city with a crowded sea-port, " whose cry Avas in the ships." This, certainly, was specially true with respect to Ezekiel's prophetic denunciation on Tyre. But if such a city be required to stand for the delineation in the Apocalyptic vision, such a city, to the very letter, may yet be found to realize the prophetic description; — the city which has been named, from its foundation. New Rome, or Constantinople. It has often struck me that commentators have, for the most part, strangely enough overlooked Con- stantinople in their views of the Apocalypse. The Imperial beast (chap, xiii.) must have been the Byzantine Roman empire, professedly Christian, under Constantine. It appears, from the plain language of the text alone, without the gloss or ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 191 aid of any comment, to have been the successor of a former Imperial power, which may be styled the Drao^on empire ; a fit emblem of the old Roman Empire in its heathen state. The expulsion of the heathen Gods from the heaven, which, in the mind of the heathen world, they were supposed to occupy, is very intelligibly set forth (chap. xii. 7 — 9.) by an allusion to the original expulsion of the devil and his angels, out of heaven itself. It is, then, with Constantinople, as far as the seat of empire may be supposed to be concerned, that the prophecy has immediately to do. It was a Con- stantinopolitan emperor, also, who gave the man of sin his first unequivocal note and mark of Anti- christ, when Phocas granted the title of Universal Bishop to the contemporary Pope of Rome, Leo III. For that such title Avas the sign of Antichrist, we have no less authority than that of the preceding Pope, Gregory the Great. And a hond fide emperor, possessing the throne which the beast (chap. xiii. 2.) derived from his dragon predecessor, — such an emperor was to be found at Constantinople still, for nearly a thousand years after the subversion of the Western Empire, at Rome, under Morayllus Augustulus, from 476 to 1153. With these matters of historical fact before me, while I would chiefly lean to the view I have al- ready stated — namely, that the Apocalyptic Baby- lon embraces the entire Roman apostasy in its aggregate system, secular as well as ecclesiastical, East as Avell as West, yet I cannot, at the same 192 THE ArOCALYrSE time, overlook the one fact, that the seven-hilled city, which was represented to St. John in this vision, must have been New Rome or Constanti- nople ; for Old Rome, at the time, was not the seat of f^ovcrnment. Old Rome, however, I conceive to be all along included in the prophecy, but not so as to exclude New Rome, which, under Con- stantine and his successors, answered ijiso facto the description of a city, " whose cry was in the ships," like Babylon of old, " and wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness." This vision of the fall of Babylon appears to subdivide itself into seven parts. There is, first, the annunciation of her fall by the angel, for her dissolute abominations ; then, the call to God's people to come out of her, that they be not par- takers of the plagues which are so fearfully to lay her waste ; then, the lamentations of the kings of the earth over her ; then, the lamentations of the merchants of the earth over her in like manner ; then, the lamentations of the ship-masters and sailors to the same effect; then, tlic call to apostles and prophets to rejoice over her ; wliile, like a great millstone, she is sunk in the depths of the sea, in silence and in darkness for ever ; and lastly, the Alleluias of the Saints, praising God for her fall ; as we shall see further on. In the separate lamentations of the three classes of persons here described, there is something pe- culiarly remarkable. The k'nKjf^, the merchants^ and the ship-masters^ each niid all, conclude their ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 193 several lamentations in the same strain. " Alas, alas, that great city! for in one hour her judgment is come ; in one hour her riches come to nought ; in one hour is she made desolate." Can there be any connection between the one hour in these three passages, and the one hour in which the ten horns (chap. xvii. 12.) receive power, as kings, 07ie hour with the beast ? The general interpretation of the last passage is, that they receive this power in the same hour with the beast, " at the same hour or point of time," says Lowman. In other words, that their power is, when received, co-existent with the beast's, while he exercises power. Now, it would seem, from the threefold repetition of the one hour in these several lamentations, as though some specific, and very brief point of time was alluded to, in which the destruction of Ba- bylon Avas completed. The several parties seem *' astonied " at the suddenness, and instantaneous consequents of the stroke. These kings, who, we read, hated the whore, made her desolate, ate her flesh, and burned her with fire, now appear to repent them sorely of their angry outbreak ; for it would seem that, as if, in a paroxysm of fury, and at the instigation of the beast, they had turned with blind rage upon the Apostasy, until they find that they have de- stroyed the most able auxiliary to their own tyran- nical and oppressive proceedings, as well as the pander to their luxurious licentiousness. But it was God tliat put into their hearts to execute this o 194 THE ArOCALYPSE purpose, — his long threatened wrath on the incor- rigibly apostate Church ; thus bringing on her swift destruction by the hands of that same infidel Power, with wlioin slie had made pact and compact for her own abandoned purposes. "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and power unto the Lord our God ; for true and righteous are his judgments : for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said. Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four-and- twenty elders, and the four living creatures, fell down and wor- shipped God that sat on the throne, saying. Amen ; Alleluia." This song, in heaven, of thanksgiving for her destruction, closes the episode of the Judgment of the great whore. And in this Kpinikion^ or Song of Triumph, on the fall of r>abylon, we have the same " great multitude," the same " loud voice," and the same " salvation to our God," as in the song of the glorified martyrs (chap. vii. 9, 10.): the ^p/Xof TToXug, the ^ojvr) [xsya7\r,j juul rj (rtorr^^la no (r)Bio rj[xwv. There can be no question, therefore, that the martyred saints of the first llesurrection conclude the occurrences of this vision with their triumphant hymn, as tlicy conclude so many other visions in the Apocalypse. ITS OWN INTERPRETEIl. 195 NOTES ON SECTION X. This vision is plainly modelled on Ezekiel (chap, xxvii. and xxviii.). It is very remarkable that, In two Instances, a vision and denunciation from the prophecy of Ezekiel is, as it were, transferred to the Apocalypse of St. John, or, rather, reproduced there : namely, the vision of a roll of a book, and the denunciation of the city and Prince of Tyrus. The vision of the little book has already been noticed (Sec- tion v.), and the denunciation of the Apocalyptic Babylon is now to be considered. That the transfer or reproduction, in both these instances, was, for some particular purpose, designed by the Holy Spirit, admits not the shadow of a doubt. Tyre and her prince were, in fact, but the faint prototypes of subjects and events of far surpassing import- In the 28th chapter of Ezekiel, for instance, let us omit the special application of the prophecy to the Prince of Tyrus, and then let us read the passage : " Thus saith the Lord God : Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas ; yet art thou a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God : behold thou art wiser than Daniel ; there is no secret that they can hide from thee : with thy wisdom and with thy understanding, thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures : by thy great wisdom, and by thy traf- fic, hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches : therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God ; behold, therefore, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the o 2 10()' THE ArOCALYPSE pit, and thou slialt die the deaths of them that arc shiin in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou say before him that slayeth thee, I am God ? But thou shalt be a man and no God in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumciscd by the hand of strangers, for I have sjiokcn it, saith the Lord God." No language could designate more graphically than some of the expressions in this passage do, " that man of sin, the son of perdition ; 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, showing himself that he is God." The succeeding passage in Ezekicl to the same effect is very striking, — " Thus saith the Lord God : Thou scalest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden, the Garden of God ; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond ; the ber^d, the onyx, and the jasper ; the sap- phire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold ; the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth ; and I have set thee so : thou wast upon the holy mountain of God ; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. J5y the mul- titude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned : therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God : and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thcc. Thou hast defded thy sanctuaries by the nudtitude of thine ini(iuities, by tlic iniijuity of thy traffic; therefore will 1 bring forth ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 197 a fire from the midst of tliee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee : thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Commentators are of opinion that this passage is one continued strain of ironical sarcasm and taunt directed against the King of Tyrus. In this opinion, I cannot acquiesce. For, however it may have been applicable to the King of Tyrus (nnd, of this, we of the present day can form no judgment whatever), to me it plainly sets forth simultaneously, in conjunction with the preceding passage, the Papacy, and the Apostasy of the Church of Kome. In the opening of the latter passage, a state of purity and primeval holiness appears to be manifestly represented. Is not this the representation of a state answering to that of the primitive Church of Rom^, the beloved of God, called holy; for which Church the Apostle Paul thanked his God, through Jesus Christ, that " her faith was spoken of throughout the whole world " ? Such was her state, until iniquity was found in her, and by the multitude of her merchandise she was filled with violence, and her sanctua- ries defiled by the iniquity of her traffic; and this, until she shall be cast as profane out of the mountain of God, and the covering cherub be destroyed from the midst of the stones of fire, and until she be cast to the ground and laid before kings that they may behold her. In other words, until the prophecy shall be accomplished (Rev. xvii. 16.), " the ten kings shall hate the Whore, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire : " when a fire from the midst of her shall devour her ; when the people shall be astonished at her ; when she shall be a terror, and never shall be any more : when (Rev. xviii. 21.) " that great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." o 3 198 THE APOCALYrSE By reason of her costliness. When Constantine fixed on the site of the new city, it is described by historians as having *' all the advantages which nature could possibly confer upon any single spot. It was shut in from hostile attack, while it was thrown open to every commercial benefit. Almost within sight, and within an e.osy acces- sible distance, were Egypt and Africa, with all the South and AVcst, on the one hand ; on the other were Pontus, Persia, and the indolent and luxurious East. The Medi- terranean sent up its wealth by the Hellespont, and the Euxine sent hers down by the Bosphorus. The climate was the most bland and temperate to be found on the surface of the globe; the soil the most fertile in every pro- duction of the earth ; and the harbour the most secure and capacious that ever opened its bosom to the navigation of mankind : winding round its promontories, and swelling to its base, it resembled the cornucopia of Amalthca filled with fruits of different kinds, and was thence called the " Golden Horn." " On one side of him (Constantine) rose the forests of !Mount Ilicmus, whose arms ramify to the Euxine and the mouth of the Bosphorus, covered with wood ; these gave him an inexhaustible supi)ly of timber, which the current of the strait floated down in a few hours into his harbour, and which centuries of use have hardly yet thinned, or at all exhausted. On the other, at no great distance, was Perconnessus, an island of marble rising out of the sea, af- fording that material ready to be conveyed, by water also, into his harbour, and in such abundance, that it affords at this day, to the present masters of the city, an inexhaustible Btorc." * The writer of tlic article " Constantinople," in the London Encyclopaidia, observes, — • Sec " Constantinople Illustrated," Historical Sketch, p. 4., hy the Rev. Kobert "NValsli, LL.D., Chaplain to the British Kmbassy at the Ottonuui I'orti;. ITS OWN INTERrKETER. 199 " No situation can combine greater advantages : the Euxine Sea on the north, and the Mediterranean on the south, open to its commerce easy communication with the most fertile and important nations of the three continents; and nothing can be more superb than the view presented by the adjacent country as the traveller approaches it. The city seems to rise from the bosom of the sea like the vision of an enchanter's wand, the seven hills upon which it is built successively presenting themselves." Such a city as this, when its present indolent possessors shall be driven out, an event so likely to take place before very long, may again be the seat of universal em- pire, and the throne of the C^sars be again established there, in more than its pristine power. The Russian autocrats, in succession, have long had their eyes fixed on Constantinople. The Emperor Napoleon, when he invaded Russia, had Constantinople ultimately, there is reason to believe, in view for himself, there to revive, ipso facto, the Roman Imperial dynasty. As the signs of the times, just now, seem to portend, there may yet (perhaps at no distant period) arise another struggle between the rulers of France and Russia for this great prize; and the conflict between the Kings of the South and of the North (Daniel xi. 44.), have then and there its final, and most signal accomplishment. The schism betvveen the two apostate Churches, of the East and of the West, may at length be soldered up ; and the Man of Sin, Avith the Woman seated on the scarlet-coloured Beast, — the mystery of iniquity, with the kings of the earth, — may, just before their own fall and destruction for ever, perpe- trate their last auto-da-fe upon the Saints of the Most High, After this evil consummation, the apostate Church being first wasted by the infidel State, they shall both be cast into the lake of fire. 200 THE ArOCALYPSE SECTION XL THE VISION OF THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE: THE ARMIES OF HEAVEN: SATAN BOUND 1000 YEARS: THE FIRST RESURRECTION AND THE MILLENNIUM. "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying. Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent rcigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and f^ive honour to him : for the marria"-e of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which arc called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me. These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me. See thou do it not : I am thy fellow-ser- vant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus : worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The episode of tlie fall of r>ubylon being con- cluded, a voice comes out of the Throne calling on the servants of God to praise Him: and again the ITS OWN INTERPEETER. 201 Apostle hears the voice of the great multitude, with their psalm of thanksgiving, not now for the fall of Babylon — that is over, but for the marriage of the Lamb, now come. Here, I think, the hea- venly song gives prelude of the Millennium, — the state of the Church on earth in righteousness and peace ; when mercy and truth shall, indeed, have met together, when righteousness and peace shall have kissed each other; when truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven ; a perennial spring, and ever- ripening sun ; when righteousness shall go before him, and shall set us in the way of his steps. Thus shall the bride, the Lamb's wife, get ready to be presented as a glorious Church, a Church with- out spot, when she shall see him face to face, and be with him where he is, in the everlasting glory, throughout the countless ages of eternity. The Millennial state, then, will be the proximate state of preparation for the state of endless blessed- ness, in the glory that shall be revealed hereafter. Blessed, then, are they who are called to this mar- riage supper ; so the angel, who showed the Apostle these things, commanded him specially to write down, while he adds, " These are the true sayings of God." We may here conjecture, the angel might have perceived that St. John was about to demon- strate some extraordinary feeling of reverential and grateful respect towards himself, for all the wonders he had just revealed. He, therefore, dis- tinctly tells the Apostle, that all he had heard were the true words of God only, and were so to be un- 202 THE ArOCALYPSE derstood by St. John. This, however, did not pre- vent the Apostle's demonstration of worship. And the angel was obliged to meet it with the peremp- tory prohibition, " See thou do it not." Offer not to me, or to any other creature, the worship which is God's alone. That Divine worship, Tr^oo-xuvryo-*^, was intended by the Apostle, appears from this, that the angel applies the same term to the worship of God, which St. John's act had intended for himself. It is possible that the Apostle might have conceived this angel to have been the great Angel of the Covenant, the Lord Himself; for, in the description of this angel (chap, xviii. 1.), it is said that he ^' came down from heaven, having great power ; and the earth was lightened with his glory." But, be this as it may, a more awful interdict could not be laid on the creature-worship of the Church of Rome, and, above all, on her most blas- phemous Mariolatry, than this " true saying of God," by the mouth of His angel, has thus laid, in this passage of His Holy Word. The long episode we have just considered being now closed, we come to a passage which bears self-evidence of its being the sequel of the sixth Vial. To exhibit this connection in the clearest point of view, I shall previously reintroduce, here, the pouring out of that Vial. " And the sixth angel poured out his A'ial upon the great river T^uphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the Kings of the East might be prepared.* And I saw three unclean • Sec Final Note C. ITS OWN INTEEPKETER. 203 spirits like frogs come out of the moutli of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather themselves together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behol4, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together unto a place called in the Hebrew tongue Arma- geddon." We have here, in prophetic figure, one of the opposing armies, in full force and equipment, taking up its ground on the battle field. Let us now view the advance of the adverse host, and see them both join battle. " And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse ; and he that sat upon him was called faith- ful AND TRUE, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns ; and he had a name written, that no man knew but him- self. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron : and he treadeth the wine- press of the fierceness and wrath of Al- mighty God And he hath on his vesture and on 204 THE ArOCALYPSE his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God ; that ye may eat the fles^ of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them tliat had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain Avith the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that lie should deceive the nations no more, till the tliousand years sliould be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season." Tliis evidently is the field of Armageddon : " the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 205 battle of the great day of God Almighty" (chap. xvL 14.). For, that it is to be fought on the field of Armageddon, a review of the leaders, and some other circumstances of the vanquished powers, will prove beyond a question. The dragon, the beast, the false prophet, and the kings of the earth, with their armies, which were gathered together unto the place called Ar- mageddon, under the sixth Vial, are each and all gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and his army, in the battle just now detailed. The field of Armageddon is called, in the vision of the sixth Vial, the battle of that great day of God Almighty ; in the vision of the white horse and him that sat on him, the fowls of heaven are summoned by an angel to the supper of the great God. One army only is brought befoi'e us in the first vision ; but both armies appear in the second, and the leaders of the conquered with their hosts, are there finally disposed of. The beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire ; the kings of the earth, with their armies, are slain by the sword of him that sat on the horse ; and the dragon is bound a thousand years in the bottomless pit. In the first vision, the field of battle is named ; in the second, the battle itself is fought. Now, if it should be asked,Why is the description of the battle so long suspended by an intervening vision, after the vision^had been seen in which the field of battle was marked out, as if the fight were just about to begin? the answer seems obvious. 206 THE ArOCALYPSE It was necessary that a disclosure of the Judgment of tlie great Whore, and the fall of Babylon, should be made before tlie end should come ; but the battle is itself the end, and, after that, the disclosure would be wholly purposeless, and therefore could have no place. The seventh Vial, accordingly, without giving any particulars, announces merely that "it is done." The intervening vision then dis- closes a full detail of all that was necessary to be known, setting forth several matters and circum- stances which naturally led to the terrible catas- trophe. " And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which liad not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such the second death hath no power ; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign Avitli Him a thousand years." The battle of that great day of God Almighty being now won, it remains to give reward to the faithful soldiers of the Lamb, " who had fallen in their Master's service ; wlio had loved not tlieir lives unto the death," from the iirst martyr to the last. St. John then sees the thrones of judgment ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 207 which their Lord had promised them, while He was on earth among them (St. Matthew, xix. 28). St. John then sees, again, the souls from under the altar in the Temple of God in heaven, which he had before seen on the opening of the fifth Seal (chap. vi. 9.); and he sees, also, the souls of all those who had, since then, fallen in their conflict with the beast ; and, after that, he sees them all, from first to last, raised from the dead, to reign with Christ, and be with him, where he is, a thousand years before the rest of the dead should be raised. If the plain meaning of words, the literal meaning, be, in any instance, ascertainable, this must be the meaning of the passage now under consideration. That a literal resurrection of the martyrs is to take place a thousand years previous to the general resurrection of the dead at large, is here distinctly set forth, and cannot be reasonably questioned. As Avell might the litei'ality of the Resurrection at the Last Day be questioned. What is predicated in this passage of the one, is predicated of the other. If the Last Resurrection be literally real, so must be the First. This passage of the Apocalypse has perplexed commentators, from almost the earliest ages down to the present day, perhaps more than any other. Yet, in itself, as it stands in the text, it seems to be one of the most explicit passages in the entire prophecy. It plainly declares a first Resurrection, setting forth, in the most intelligible language, the 208 THE APOCALVrSE mortal state, the intermediate state, and the re-living state, of the partakers of tliat Resurrection ; we have them tliat -were slain^ — we have their departed soids, — and we liave their souls and bodies once more rejuined. Still, however, it has most unac- countably embarrassed expositors. It has been in- terpreted symbolically, mystically, and spiritually, as it is said, until it might appear almost to mean nothing ; at least nothing, to such purpose, as a passage so weighty might reasonably be supposed to call and direct attention. By some, indeed, it has been literally understood, as revealing expressly a first Resurrection. But, by most interpreters, it is involved w^ith such incongruous and visionary views, and wrapt in such a tissue of inexplicable difficulties, as to embarrass tlie subject still more and more. A very few, 1 believe, have adopted a middle terra of interpretation, which easily accords with a reason- able consideration of this passage. This middle term is, a Millennium, without a personal reign of Clirist on earth attended by his first Resurrection Saints. But there is no ground whatever for such a reign in this passage. The thousand years are brought to a close without the most remote allusion to such a reign. Tiie elders, indeed, the representatives of the Church before the throne (chap. v. 10.), glorify the Lamb for being " made kings and priests unto God," saying, " And we shall reign on earthy But the " Witnesses," the martyred saints of the first Resurrection, '"'ascend to heaven in a cloud, while tlieir enemies behold them." It is in ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 209 heaven, then, I am persuaded, that the martyrs will be, with the Lamb where he is ; while the Church shall reign on earth under a still more immediate dispensation of the Holy Ghost, making trium- phant progress towards that spotless state, where the Lamb shall present her to himself in the Ever- lasting Glory. On the contrary, according to the theory of a personal reign of Christ on earthy besides the depar- ture from a plain, simple view of what the passage gives us to understand expressly, there is, by the unwarranted introduction of extraneous matters, a strange confusion of inconsistencies involved. The idea of bringing down Christ in " the body of his Glory," that body in which he sits on the right hand of the "Father in his throne," at- tended by his glorified Saints, in " bodies fashioned like unto his body," to dwell on earth with men in this, our mortal state, jars so discordantly upon the mind, — in a subject sacred above all human conception, — as to be wholly inadmissible. Indeed, so much are the advocates of this theory aware, imperceptibly to themselves, of its repugnance to the fitness of things, that they are forced, uncon- sciously, to confuse and confound the everlasting state hereafter, as described in chapters xxi. xxii., with the Millennial state on this present earth ; — present, 1 say, for it will not be until the Day of Judgment that this present earth shall pass away. A theory like this, I repeat, is wholly inadmissible, — which would curtail " the Revelation of Jesus 210 THE APOCALYPSE , Christ," taken as a whole, of its glorious consum- mation in the Heaven of Heavens. The Millennium is plainly a temporal state, — *' When the thousand years are expired." The state, after the Day of Judgment, is, as plainly, eternal, — " They shall reign for ever and ever." Such arbitrary dislocation as that just observed on, however otherwise intended, is, after all, pre- sumptuous dealing with the Word of God. The beatific state described in the last two chapters is as distinct from the millennial state as eternity is from time. It is, then, expressly declared, that this revival of the martyrs " is the first resurrection"; and that the happiness of those who thus partake of it is so complete, that, " over such, the second death hath no power." The meaning of which words would appear to be, that their time of trial being over, and their everlasting state of glory irrevocably fixed, these martyrs should be seen, at the great Day of Judgment, not as persons to be tried, but as assessors of the Almighty Judge. It may here be observed, that, in the consum- mation of the awful change from this present state of things to that of the millennium, angelic agency may, in all likelihood, be employed; that the ar- mies which are in heaven may be sent forth to fight the battle of the great God. It may also be, that the Lord Himself will appear, as He did to Saul of Tarsus, in the way ; that the glory of the Conqueror with many crowns may then be seen " as ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 211 the lightning shineth from one end of heaven to the other." St. Paul writing to the Thessalonians on the subject of the man of sin, speaks of " that Wicked" as one " whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the bright- ness of his coming." The Spirit of his mouth, no doubt, is the preaching of the Gospel. His Word, thus preached, has been gradually wearing away the dominion of that wicked one; but his final destruction is reserved by the Lord for the brightness of his own coming. To what coming, then, does St. Paul allude ? Not to the Day of Judgment, for the man of sin, the false prophet, will be destroyed, " cast alive into the lake of fire for ever," a thousand years before the Day of Judgment, by the Rider on the white horse. It, therefore, must be the coming, — literally the appearance or presence^ of that Rider followed by the armies of heaven. This, however, by no means necessarily implies a personal coming on earth to reign there, visibly, in the body of his glory ; but perhaps some such appearance or presence as Saul saw on the day of his conversion. And, as the appearance which the apostle then saw led to his conversion, so a similar appearance, after the ascension of the witnesses, may lead to a like effect, when " the remnant give glory to the God of heaven." The question naturally arises, whether the conversion of St. Paul may not be a type of conversion on a far more extended scale ? — the conversion of countless millions, when the Rider p 2 212 THE APOCALYPSE on the white horse, followed by the armies in heaven (whatever may be the nature of that ap- pearance, or of the agency then to be employed) shall destroy the man of sin, and all those who shall to the end persist in upholding the great apostasy. For it might here be considered, whether "the sword which proceedeth out of his mouth" (Rev. xix. 21.) be not the same as " the Spirit of his mouth" (2 Thess. ii. 8.). And, if so, then the remnant (Rev. xix. 21.) may not be actuaUy slain as with a sword ; but, the enmity which was in their hearts being slain by the power of the AVord, they may be converted and healed. We read that, after the resurrection and ascen- sion of the witnesses (Rev. xi. 13.) "the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." The remnant, therefore, in both in- stances, may, it is most likely, be one and the same. And thus, perhaps, the prophecy of Isaiah (Ixvi. 8.) may have its accomplishment, — as if "the earth be made to bring forth in one day, or a nation be born at once ; for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." It might here be objected that, at the conclusion of the vision of the Rider on the white horse, it is said the fowls were tilled with the flesh of those that were slain, — and that, therefore, they were all actually slain as with a sword. But this may refer, not to the vast multitudes at large who shall be then assembled, but only to those — and they, ])robably, will be very many — who shall persist unto tin.' last in upliolding the apostasy. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 213 Let a parallel now be drawn between the single conversion of St. Paul, and the multitudinous, simultaneous conversions here supposed to take place. St. Paul had " persecuted the Church of God." He tells us himself that he " was, before, a blas- phemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but he obtained mercy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief." He thought he was doing God service. " He verily thought with himself that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And many of the saints did he shut up in prison, having received authority and com- mission from the chief priests; and when they were put to death he gave his voice against them. And he punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme ; and being exceed- ingly mad against them, he persecuted them even unto strange cities." Thus was he the stern and uncompromising commissione7' of the apostate priests and rulers of the Jews ; but not in the mind and spirit, most assuredly, of that generation of vipers, " who were of their father the devil." Therefore, He, who knew what was in the depths of the heart of Saul of Tarsus, vouchsafed, not by an angel, as in the case of Cornelius, but by Himself, in his divine glory, to appear to him, and appoint him his own chosen vessel, to bear his name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. It may be said, that, as Saul of Tarsus was to be one of the apostles, it would be indispensable 214 THE ArOCALYPSE that he should receive his call and mission directly and personally from the Lord himself. But this consideration by no means need preclude the con- jecture, that the individual conversion of St. Paul may have an antitype in the wide-spread conver- tion of countless]multitudes, just before those days, Avhen, the fulness of the Gentiles being come in, and the dispersed of Israel restored, " all shall know the Lord from the least unto the greatest," " when the earth shall be filled with the know- ledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Does not this intimate some extra- ordinary manifestation of his glory to be one day seen even on this earth? In following on the parallel I have here insti- tuted, we have every reason to believe that the last days of this present state of things will be perilous times indeed; that the apostasy, conjoined w^ith infidelity, will have attained the very climax of iniquity ; that the Churches, in which the light of the Gospel shall have still slione forth, being wasted and consumed in the fires of persecution, faith shall hardly be found on earth. But, at the same time, it may not be too much to suppose, that there may be, at such a juncture, many, nay vast multitudes, who, like Saul of Tarsus, may be giving their voices against the saints, and con- senting unto their deaths, nay, be the zealous agents in the deeds of the apostasy, and yet, like him, obtain mercy, because tliey may be doing it ignorantly in unl>clief, thinking, in sincerity and singleness of heart, that they are doing God service. ITS OWN INTERPRETEE. 215 If it be said that all this is mere conjecture, I reply, be it so. I am, however, prepared, by an induction of particulars from the Scriptures at large, to set the question at rest as to the visible appearance of the Son of Man long previous to the Day of Judgment, but not personally to reign on earth, as so many have supposed; an appearance which shall meet all the doubts of Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics, — " and speak peace unto the heathen ; " an appearance which (as an infidel once said he should require) shall be, indeed, " a revelation written in the skies." " The glory of the Lord," rnn^ "inD, the glory of Jehovah, is that very glory which Moses solicited to see, when he said, " I beseech Thee show me Thy glory." (Exod. xxxiii. 18.) It is an expres- sion which occurs in about thirty-five passages of the Old Testament. In by far the greater number of those passages, it denotes (see Park- hurst's Lexicon) " a supernatural, visible appear- ance of fire, light, or splendour, which showed Jehovah to be peculiarly present. This glory was sometimes in a human form, prefiguring the future incarnation of Jehovah, as for instance, that over the cherubim in Ezekiel (i. 26.), and several other passages." Throughout Exodus and the following books of Moses, we meet such passages as these, " And in the morning, then shall ye see the glory of the Lord." " And behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud." " And the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you." " And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people." " And there came a fire out p 4 216 THE APOCALYPSE from before the Lord, which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel." " And Korah gathered all the congregation against Moses and Aaron unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation." " And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation, and behold the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared." In the books of Kings and Chronicles, also, we find, " The priests could not stand to minister, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord." And in Ezekiel it is written, " As the appearance of a sapphire-stone was the likeness of a throne ; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of His loins even upward, and from the appearance of His loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of One that spake." " Then I arose and went forth into the plain ; und behold the glory of the Lord stood there, as tlie glory whicli 1 s;iw by th(! river of ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 217 Chebar." " Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house ; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory." " And the glory of the Lord de- parted from ofi" the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim." " And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city." " And behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east ; and His voice was like a noise of many waters, and the earth shined with His glory. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is towards the east." From these passages we learn, that the glory of the Lord therein described, was not a mere meta- phorical expression designed to convey to us some idea of what eye hath not seen ; but an actual ap- pearance, not only to inspired prophets, but, on very many occasions, to the assembled multitudes of the children of Israel. But besides those passages which thus describe appearances of that glory, visible to mortal eyes, which have, in old time, actually taken place, there are several others which occur, in the Old Testa- ment likewise, bearing prophetic testimony to a like appearance which is yet to come. The first of these passages is very remarkable, from its connection with a passage in which is de- scribed one of those appearances of the glory of the Lord, which was plainly visible to all the chil- 218 THE APOCALYPSE dren of Israel at the time. In Numbers (xiv. 10.) we read, "And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel." Now, in the 21st verse of the same chapter, after the Lord (whose glory was at that very moment visible to all their eyes) declared that he had, at the intercession of Moses, pardoned the iniquity of the people on that occasion, — and just before he had further declared, that none of those among the people who had seen his glory, and his miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness, should ever see the land which he had promised to their fathers, but that their carcasses should fall in the wilder- ness, — at this solemn juncture the Lord said, " Truly I live, and all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." The whole representation is most striking. At the very time when the glory of the Lord was standing visible to all the children of Israel, his voice, out of tliat glory, announced to all present, that the day sliould come, when that very glory which tlien filled the tabernacle, should fill all the earth. And, may it not be fairly inferred, tliat, as the one was visible to mortal eyes, so, also, sliould be the other? But it is still further worthy of remark, that this very annoimcement is given three times in the course of the Old Testament; — on this first occa- sion, by the voice of tlie Lord lumself from the Excellent Glory, when lie stood above the che- rubim in the tabernacle before all Israel ; then Ijy the prophet Isaiah ; and lastly, by the prophet llabakkuk. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 219 In Isaiah (xi. 9.), instead of ^^ glory ^^^ we have the word " knowledge.'" " The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." But in the next verse Ave find the glory. " And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an Ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek : and His rest shall be glory. ''^ The word in the Hebrew is glory ^ — not, as in our version, glorious. It is glory^ however, in the margin. The third occurrence of this announcement, as alluded to above, is to be found in the prophet Habakkuk (ii. 14.), "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Here we have the knowledge in the passage of Isaiah, and the glorij in that of Numbers, presented at one view. The prophet Habakkuk had been indignantly be- wailing the iniquity of his people. In answer, he is shown the fearful vengeance, which the Lord will take on them by the sword of the Chaldeans. On hearing this he expostulates, and remonstrates against that vengeance being executed by a nation still more wicked than the Jews. He is then told that he must wait in faith, — that the Chaldeans shall, themselves, be visited in vengeance for their rapacity, their oppression, and their cruelty exer- cised on the Jewish nation ; that, in all these things, " the disposing is of the Lord" ; and that the time will come, when " the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea," — that is, I conceive, a 220 THE APOCALYPSE perceptive cognizance of the actual jDresence of that glory, by all the inhabitants of the earth. This passage of Habakkuk is, I believe, gene- rally understood as implying, that there shall be a time wlien the saving knowledge of true religion, in all its glorious fruits, shall overspread the earth. This, undoubtedly, will be the result and consum- mation. But, as I believe, it is first to have a more literal fulfilment. There is, indeed, every reason to believe, that im- mediately before the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in like a flood, and the return of Israel like a mighty tide, some extraordinary manifestation of Jeliovah's glory will be vouchsafed to all the dwellers upon earth. The slower process of the propagation of the Gospel hitherto going on, could not, humanly speaking, compass such a universal, simultaneous, and instantaneous movement. That propagation, as it has been going on from the first preaching to the present time, has, under the Holy Spirit, been all along accomplishing an indispensably necessary and blessed work ; but still, like the preaching of the Baptist, it is only 'preparing the way of the Lord. There is a remarkable correspondence, not ex- actly in the words of the expression, but in the thing expressed, l)etween the afore-cited passage, " the earth shall be filled witli the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea," and our Lord's own prophetic description of, apparently, the same scene, — " As the lightning that ligliteneth out of ITS OWN INTEKPKETER. 221 the one part under heaven shineth unto the other part under heaven ; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be in His day." Isaiah (xi. 10.) enters at full into the pro- ceedings attendant and consequent upon that coming. " In that day there shall be a Root of Jesse^ which shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glory." " And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Fathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the Islands of the Sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemhle the out- casts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the/cwr corners of the earth." Let this be now collated with our Lord's own announcement. " Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven : and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with, power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other." " 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Behold your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, until the time shall come, when ye shall say. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." 222 THE APOCALYPSE These two passages, the one from the prophet Isaiah, the other from our Lord's own lips, give the same outline of tliat coming or appearance of the same Lord, which will immediately precede the coming in of the fulness of the Gentiles, and the consequent restoration of Israel. It could not be the Day of Judgment that he liere alluded to ; — it would be then too late for the children of Jerusalem to bless his cominjr. And if the rest, or standing-place of His Pre- sence, as alluded to by Isaiah (xi. 10.), above the cherubim in the tabernacle of the congregation was glory, much more shall His rest or standing- place, in the tabernacle of the clouds of heaven, exceed in glory. Ijut, with regard to this coming in the clouds of heaven, it is to be observed, that there was to be, as may be plainly gathered from our Lord's dis- course in several particulars, a preliminary ful- filment of his coming, if the expression be allowed, immediately before the destruction of Jerusalem ; — a prelude, as it were, to that great and terrible day, when the Rider on the white horse, the King OF KINGS AND LoRD OF LORDS, shall tread the wine press of tlie fierceness and wratli of Almighty God, and the beast and the false prophet sliall both be cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brim- stone. Before that destruction there were great signs, and fearful sights, from heaven, as botli Jewish and heatlien writers have attested ; when the IJoman eagles were gatliering together about tlie carcass of the city devoted to destruction. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 223 Our Lord goes on to say, " Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be dark- ened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken." The original word euQswg may signify suddenly or unexpectedly^ as well as immediately^ and may not mean, here, that these terrific portents were to follow immediately after the actual destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and the Roman soldiers. These portents seem to denote a great political and social breaking up of the kingdoms and consti- tutions of the world at large, which has hardly, as yet, taken place to that extremity which our Lord's words, in this passage, plainly appear to imply: and certainly his following announcement has not yet been fulfilled, — " And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." This, his announcement, must, I conceive, be taken in its most literal sense. " And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." That this coming will be sudden and unexpected at the time, both his own often repeated words, and other Scriptures, bear unequivocal testimony. But even were it to be admitted, that suQiwg is never to be understood as meaning suddenly, still there would be ground for the view which some commentators have taken of this passage, namely, that " the tribulation of those days," as far as the Jews are concerned, is not yet over. 224 THE APOCALYPSE The Jews, I tliink, as a distinct people, are througliout this passage distinctly to be kept in view ; and, unquestionably, with respect to them, the da3^s of tribulation are still going on. There is one authority for such a view which cannot be questioned. Our Lord had said before, " Verily I say unto you, ye shall not henceforth see Me, until the time shall come, when ye shall say. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Now there can be no question that the tribes (4)fj?val) spoken of (St. Matt. xxiv. 30.) are the tribes of Israel, hi the first place, Judea and all the country of Israel is called, pre-eminently, the earth or land (15 yr^). But even, without taking it in that sense here, the whole earth may be under- stood,— that earth over which all the tribes of Israel have been scattered, and from which they are to be gathered together again. Now taking these two passages at one view (St. Matt, xxiii. 39., and xxiv. 30.), the Jews have not as yet said, " Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord;" therefore they have not as yet seen him ; therefore his sign did not appear in heaven iiiimediatehj after the actual destruction of the city of Jerusalem ; and therefore their days of tribulation are not yet ended ; therefore, our Lord's predictions (xxiv. 29, 30.) arc yet to be fulfilled. There is another passage of Scripture, written several years after the destruction of Jerusalem, which exactly accords with the one we have been just considering. It occurs at the opening of Re- velation (i. 7.): " Behold, He cometh with clouds; ITS OWN INTEEPRETEE. 225 and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him : and all the tribes " (<^uXa)) (not "kindreds") " of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen." The wail of the tribes in this passage, and the mourning of the tribes in our Lord's prediction, (St. Matt. xxiv. 30.) are each expressed, in the original, by the one word, ;^o\}/ovra/. This verb signifies, " to beat one's self, particularly the breasts, with the hands in lamentation." It does not denote the wailing of the wicked at the day of judgment. That is expressed by another word (^XauSixog). But the expression ^6->povrai would rather denote grief, sorrow, or softened, penitential emotion ; such as we may conceive the emotion of the people to have been " who came together to that sight" on Calvary, and " beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts and returned." Dr. Doddridge well observes, in a note on this passage, (St. Luke, xxiii. 42.) " The conviction -pro- duced by the prodigies which then took place, un- doubtedly made way for the conversion of such a multitude by the preaching of the apostles, on the descent of the Spirit, which was but seven weeks after, when these things were fresh in their memories." Some such-like emotion we may well conceive the tribes of Israel to feel hereafter, and the descend- ants of those who pierced Him, descendants who had hitherto evinced that they " allowed the deeds of their fathers" by continuing so long to reject their own Messiah ; well may we conceive those Q 226 THE APOCALYPSE tribes so to feel, when they shall see that Son of Man coining in the clouds of heaven, and then, as if with one voice, from the depths of their hearts, to cry out, " Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." It appears to me that, in their general ac- ceptation, those passages which speak of Christ's coming in the clouds of heaven, are, by most writers, supposed to have reference to the Day of Judgment ; while there are many, on the other hand, who think that a personal coming, imme- diately preceding the Millennium, to reign on earth for the thousand years, is the event here fore- shown. It strikes me, however, that the simple collation of the passages which relate, in any way, to a future coming of our Lord, may go far to prove, that the coming in the clouds of heaven, and the coming to judgment at the Last Day, do not refer to one and the same advent, but to two distinct comings of the same Lord ; neither of them, perhaps, to be a coming, in person, upon the earth that now is. In the one advent I conceive, he will show him- self with glory in the clouds, the armies of heaven in his train, to all the dwellers upon earth. In the other, he will sit on the throne of his glory, and all the hoi}' angels with him, where, the earth and the heaven having fled away from his face, " the dead, small and great, shall stand before God." There appears to be one feature in those pas- sages wliich plainly describe tlie Day of Judgment, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 227 which distinguishes them from all other notifications of his coming ; and that is, the final separation of the wicked from the righteous, and the respective judgments pronounced on each. The most remarkable of those texts is St. Matt. XXV. 31., " When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : and be- fore him shall be gathered all nations : and he shall separate them one from another." " Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed, inlierit the kiiigdom: — then shall he say also to them on his left hand. Depart, from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire ; and these shall go away into everlasting p)unishment : but the righteous into life eternal.'^ The parable of the talents, which precedes this in the same chapter, is to the same effect. The faithful servants enter into the joy of their lord : the unprofitable is cast into outer dark- ness. The parable of the ten virgins, is to the same purport also : the wise go in to the marriage ; the foolish are shut out. There are two more parables (St. Matt. xiii. 37. 49.) which have the same distinguishing feature. The first is that of the tares of the field. The field is the world : the good seed, the children of the kingdom : the tares, the children of the wicked one. The latter are cast into a furnace of fire : while the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. The second parable, to the same effect, is the net cast into the sea. " So shall it be at the end Q 2 228 THE APOCALYPSE of the world ; the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from the just." There is another specific notification of the Last GreatDay(St. John,v. 28.). " The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth : they that have done good unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." St. Paul, on the other hand, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (chap, xv.), gives a description, throughout, of the resurrection of the righteous, without allusion to the wicked. But, in this context, the Apostle seems to have more particularly in his view the Saints of the first Resurrection ; for, in the twenty-third verse he says, speaking of the Resurrection in general, ** But every man in his own order." " Christ the first fruits." Our Lord's resurrection, which took place about twenty years before St. Paul wrote this Epistle, is here to be understood. And, in this all-glorious event we have the first stage of that order. "Afterwards they that areChrist's at his coming: " literally, his appearance or presence, the very word {7rapouut, in ITS OWN INTERPRETEK. 241 the passage now before us, we have her prepared, 73roi/xao-ju,sv73v, and adorned, xsHoa-fxT^ixivT^Vj — the per- fect tense passive, denoting preparation perfected. The renovation of all things is then described. The universe is the blessed habitation of the righteous, where God dwells among them, and the Lamb is present with them. It is not for us to inquire what the precise meaning of a new heaven and a new earth may be. Wherever be the habi- tation of the Saints, there " will the Tabernacle of God be with them, and God himself will dwell Avith them, and be their God." " These words are faith- ful and true. The Alpha and Omega hath said it The fountain of the water of life is freely open for them all. They that overcome shall inherit all things. ^^ 242 THE ArOCALYPSE SECTION XIV. TTTE VISION OF THE BUIDE THE LAMb's UIFE, AND THE NEW JERUSALEM. " And there came unto me one of the seven Angels which had the seven A^ials full of the seven last Plagues, and talked with me, saying. Come hither, I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God : and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal ; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel : on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the walls thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth : and he measured the city with a reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and tiic In'eadth and the heiglit oi' it are equal. And he ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 243 measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto glass : and the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the se- cond, sapphire ; the third, a chalcedony ; the fourth, an emerald ; the fifth, sardonyx ; the sixth, sar- dius; the seventh, chrysolyte ; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz ; the tenth, chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls ; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. " And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the Sun, neither of the Moon to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory, and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that de- fileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie : but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. R 2 244 TIIK APOCALYPSE *' And he sliowed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse : but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there ; and they need no candle, neither light of the Sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever." It is to be observed, in the exposition of tliis section, that, as one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials, was sent to show St. John the Judgment of the great Whore of Ijabylon, the city ^vhich ruleth over the kings of the earth, so it is one of the seven angels which had the seven Vials, " the very same, we may believe," who is sent to show the A])Ostle the Jh-ide, the Lamb's Wife, the holy city, the new Jerusalem. The invitation of the angel is the same in both instances, — " Come hither, I will show thee." Hence Ave may, without hesitation, rest assured, that, as tJie ijrcat cifi/, tlie holy Jerusalem which St. John saw descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, represents the true Churchy the Bride, tlie Lamb's Wife, so the great ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 245 city that ruleth over the kings of the earth (chap. xvii. 10.), represents the Apostate Churchy Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots. The angel who showed the one, now shows the other to the Apostle. If the one city be a church, so is the other. The new Jerusalem is the Bride, the Lamb's Wife ; of course, the Church of Christ. Babylon the Great is the Mother of Harlots ; of course, the Church of the Apostasy. It is vain to think of saying, that the great city which ruleth over the kings of the earth represented, in the vision, heathen Rome, as some have contended. From what has been already stated, it is clear, that the woman whom St. John saw on the scarlet- coloured beast, represented Papal Rome, the Church of Rome, and all over whom she rules. There is another particular to be observed with respect to the angels of the Vials. They are re- presented (chap. XV. 6.) as " clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles." This gives these angels an eccle- siastical appearance or character, and would tend to corroborate the theory, that the Vials denoted the judgments to be inflicted on the apostate ecclesiastical power. If so, one of those angels would be the most appropriate minister to show St. John, first, the Church of the Apostasy, and, then, the true Church of Christ, spotless, in her glory everlasting. The description of the Ncav Jerusalem is mys- tical, throughout, in the highest sense of the word. The summing up of the whole is glorious beyond R 3 246 THE APOCALYPSE expression or conception of man or angel. " The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it. The glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. And Ilis servants shall see His face, and they shall reign with Him for ever and ever." ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 247 SECTION XV. THE VISION OF ALPHA AND OMEGA. " And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true : and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly : blessed is he that keepeth the say- ings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me. See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book : worship God. And he saith unto me. Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous," let him be righteous still : and he that is holy, let him be holy still. " And, behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." St. John again falls down before the angel. We K 4 248 TUE APOCALYPSE cannot conceive how it was that the Apostle should, a second time, be overtaken thus. It may, however, be observed, here, that just as the angel had concluded by telling the Apostle, that the Lord God Almighty had sent him to shew him these things, the voice of the Lord himself is heard, — " Behold, I come quickly." St. John, then, might have been overpowered by the ecstatic scene, so as to be unable to distinguish the voice of the one from the other ; and, not knowing what he did, might have fallen down, as if in worship, before the angel. The same peremptory prohibi- tion, however, is repeated, " Sec thou do it not : worship God," and leaves all creature worshippers Avithout the shadow of excuse. After the angel's admonition, it would appear, that the voice of the Lord again is heard, giving the solemn warning, that the time is at hand ; and as that time shall find men at its coming, whether unjust or polluted, or righteous or holy, so shall they remain for ever. " And, behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." He closes the awful revelation as he had opened it, — " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." ITS OWN INTEUrRETEK. 249- CONCLUSION OF THE PROPHECY. '• Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book : and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. " He which testiiieth these things saith. Surely I come quickly ; Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." The conclusion of the prophecy gives a short application of the whole matter. First, as to the blessedness of that living spirit of obedience, which 250 THE ArOCALYrSE, ETC. tlirough Divine f^race, gives the privilege of access to the Tree of Life, and entrance into the city of God. Then, as to the wretchedness of those, whose corrupt hearts, and evil doings, exclude them from the paradise and courts of the ]\Iost High. After this, the Lord, He who created David, and condescended to be David's Son, declares that He Himself sent his angel to testify all these things to the Churches. The Holy Spirit then gives the urgent invita- tion, " Come." The Church takes up the word, and gives it also : " Let him that hcarcth, say. Come." Then follow the awful denunciations on all those, who, wilfully, add to, or take from, the words of the Look of this prophecy. This warning equally applies to every word of Cod. The addition to that word, — or the subtraction from that word, — or the suppression of that word, — or the suspen- sion of that word, — whatever be the motive or the purpose, whether to lord it over God's heritage, or to make merchandise of men's souls, or for filthy lucre's sake, or through compromise of principle for worldly favour or advantage, such addition, such subtraction, such suppression, such suspension, such compromise, will bring down, more or less, the wrath of God on tliose, who, icilfully, thus offend, even to provoke Him to take away their part out of the book of life. He that testifieth these things, the Lord Himself then, finally gives the word, — " Surely I come (juickly." Amen. " J'!ven so, conit', Lonl Jesus." DISSERTATIONS ON SYMBOLICAL PROPHECY, &c. 253 DISSERTATION I. STKICTURES ON SOME RECENT INTERPRETATIONS OF PROPHECY. (being the fikst of a series of dissertations read from the chair of the clerical society of the diocese of LIMERICK, TUESDAY, MAY 5tH. 1840, BY ARCHDEACON FOR- STER.) My Reverend Brethren, Before I enter on the subject which has been noticed for this day's dissertation, — " The contents of the Little Book — Rev. x. 2.," I must beg leave to premise that, since our last meeting I have been reading a work, entitled " Discourses on the Pro- phecies relating to Antichrist, in the writings of Daniel and St. Paul, preached before the University of Dublin, at the Donnellan Lecture, 1838, by the Rev.* James Henthorn Todd, B.D., Fellow of Trinity College, which has recently been published." As these discourses bear, in some measure, on the subject which I have undertaken to treat ; and come into collision with the view which I propose taking of the two Beasts in the Apocalypse (chap, xiii.), as well as with the most generally received inter- pretation of the prophecies at large ; and, moreover, * Now Dr. Todd. 254 THE APOCALYPSE as ]\Ir. Todd's Lectures have already been, and are likely to be still more, canvassed by the public, it becomes necessary to offer, on the present occa- sion, a few observations upon them, before I proceed with my subject. I shall, therefore, state some of the leading topics of those Lectures as briefly as I can, commenting on each as I proceed. Mr. Todd sets out with inculcating the duty of studying the unfulfilled prophecies ; while he insists that the obscurity of prophecy was not intended as a prohibition to the study of it. He maintains, further, that the ancient expositions of prophecy ought not to be overlooked : that the meaning of the prophecies was not necessarily unknown to the ancients: and that Mede's (the so generally received) theory is not supported by Scriptural authority. Now, with regard to the first toj)ic, namely, the duty of stud}'ing the unfulfilled prophecies, I quite agree with Mr. Todd, inasmuch as I hold it to be our duty to study the prophecies at large. There is a Divine command so to do; and there is a blessing specially appended to the study. So far we are agreed. There is much more said on this point by this learned divine, than could well be brought before you on the present occasion. I shall only observe, that he seems to think there is not so much obscurity in prophecy as is generally supposed. I aj)[)re]ien(l, IVom tlie })roposition he lays down in the ojx'iiiiig of Ills first lecture, that he thinks ut, most likely, by ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 265 tradition from the days of St. Paul. Yet the very strong presumption, deduced from this tradition, that the Roman emperor was the let or hinderance, is repudiated as of no account by some recent commentators, — a singular mode of supporting their own proposition, viz., " that the meaning of the prophecies was not necessarily unknown to the ancients." I can account for their incon- sistency in one way only: they do not wish to allow, that Rome could be the subject of the pro- phecies respecting the latter times, or that Rome is the fourth empire, or prophetic kingdom. They are of opinion that those latter times are to be restricted to the last three years and a half of the present dispensation ; and, if so, it would never do to admit, that so early as the days of the last emperor who reigned at Rome, " the Man of Sin" was about to be revealed. For, by such an admission, their evident effort to get the church of Rome out of her anti-Christian position would be completely foiled. A curious specimen of inconsistency is here exhibited. When the Fathers, and the primitive Church, take that view of the prophecies, which would represent the Man of Sin as an individual man, and transfer his ap- pearance to the last 1260 literal days of the time of the end, Mr. Todd seems to think that they are the very best guides we can take for the right in- terpretation of those prophecies ; but when, as in this case, the primitive Church seems to have looked on the Roman emperor as the barrier between them and Antichrist ; or when, as in the instance 266 THE APOCALYPSE of the Collyridian heresy, the rise of Saint wor- ship in the fourth century, St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, denounced it as fulfiUing St. Paul's prediction about the " doctrines of devils " (the worship of the dead, as he terms it), Mr. Todd does not press the authority either of primitive Church, or Father, upon us. Here, however, let me be distinctly understood. When I question the authority of the Fathers, or of the ancient Church, as to their interpretation of prophecy, I am far from under-rating the unspeak- able importance of their testimony to " the truth as it is in Jesus," or the bright excellence of the examples which they show forth. I hold in deep reverence those burning and shining lights of Chris- tian antiquity. I delight to go back in spirit to those ancient, and, in very many respects, holy and happy times. Yet still I do not look upon the Fathers as infallible, or the first ages of the Church as impeccable. But there is one point of view in which I look upon the Fathers as invaluable; a point of view which is admirably expressed by Bishop Burnet, in his History of his own Times. " The Fathers are vahiable for their sense of spiritual tilings, and of the pastoral care ; they give us just and elevated notions of our sacred function ; they at once teach and inspire that preparation of mind, that inward vocation, tluit strictness of life, that deadness to the world, and that constant application to the doing of good, which becomes our sacred pro- fession." But unless the Fathers had some special revcla- ITS OWN INTERPKETER. 267 tion with respect to the prophecies which relate to the latter times, or, at least, some fuller exposition of those prophecies from the Apostles and Evange- lists, than have been given in the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles, or the Apocalypse, I do not conceive the opinions of the Fathers, on this head, to be worth more than the opinions of any other learned and intelligent commentators ; in this respect, indeed, they are worth less, that, in prophetical interpreta- tion, later commentators have the advantage of the history of subsequent events. While, then, it is freely admitted, that the mean- ing of the prophecies was not necessarily unknown to the ancients, it by no means follows, that they knew more than could be discovered by those, who, in after times, have had the benefit of history, the history of God's Providence for near two thousand years, to aid them in their investigations. It is said by Mr. Todd, in support of primitive authority, that the ancients were more unanimous in their interpretations than we are ; and so they might very naturally be more unanimous. They had but a very narrow field, comparatively, to work in ; and yet their opinions on several points were very strange — the Millennium, for example. Mr. Todd admits this, but says that modern opinions (Mede's,and the Newtons', and others' I suppose) are just as strange. Perhaps it may be the case. But I am greatly mistaken (the comparison being fairly instituted) if they, the ancients, with some excep- tions I will grant, would not be found to leave us, of these latter days, far behind in wild, extravagant theories. 268 THE APOCALYPSE DISSERTATION II. THE PROBABLE REASONS FOR THERE BEING TWO CLASSES OF PROPHECIES IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. It is evident that there are two classes of pro- phecies in Scripture ; namely, historical and sym- bolical. In the historical class, events are pre- dicted, much in the same language (though more concisely), and in the same ordinary words and terms, as are afterwards made use of in the his- torical records of those events. The historical prophecy states, that such or such an event is to take place, in connection with a cer- tain order of things, in the course of, or at, or after, a certain period of time. The expressions employed, are the well-known and acknowledged terms which describe, definitely^ the things meant to be expressed. Proper names of persons and places are given ; and periods of time are marked out, by terms in ordinary use, — terms wliich properly express things. For instance, in the historical prophecies, years are always expressed by the word literally signifying a year, — in Hebrew DJtl^, n:6t>, DOt!^, so named from the revolution of the seasons; — in Greek £j/iavroj, so named for the same reason; and also by erog. The same usage is observed with respect to the other divisions of time, days, &c. It is also to be remarked, that unwonted numbers of days are ITS OWN INTERPRETEE. 269 not used, in the historical prophecies, to express any period of time, which could be more concisely and conveniently expressed by years. We have not, in the historical prophecies, thousands, or even hundreds of days, to express a predicted period of time. We have every more extended period ex- pressed by years. The number of days used, in the historical prophecies, to express any particular portion of time, does not exceed forty. Fifty, and fifty-two, are used, several times, in other parts of Scripture. But the greatest numbers used in any part, are the 150 days' duration of the Deluge, and the 180 days' duration of the feast of Ahasuerus, in the book of Esther. No greater number is used in any part of Holy Scripture, except in the sym- bolical prophecies. Now, to count by days, instead of weeks or months, so far as forty or fifty, or fifty-two, is a more concise mode of computation to that amount, than to say one month and ten days, for forty ; or a month and two weeks and six days, for fifty ; or a month, three weeks, and one day, for fifty-two. With respect to the 150 days that the waters of the flood prevailed upon the earth, it maybe remarked, that the whole time, and every event, prophetical or historical, con- nected with the period, from the time Noah entered the ark, till the dove found rest for the sole of her foot, is counted by days. This, therefore, is a remarkable, as well as an isolated instance. While, to mark that days were, in this instance, to be understood as natural days, we read that " in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, 270 THE APOCALYPSE Noah entered into the Ark ; and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat : " a com- putation comprising the 150 days. In the next place, with respect to the 180 days of the feast of Ahasuerus, in the Book of Esther, it may be said that the exact number of the days (180) would more graphically describe the daily repetition of festivity, than to have said it lasted six months. At all events, I think it can hardly be said or argued from these two instances, that the sacred writers were as much accustomed to compute a period of time which included several years, by the number of days or months therein contained, as by the years themselves. Let us now view and examine the features of the symbolical prophecies. In this class, we find no proper names of persons, or places, nor have we the ordinary modes of computing periods of time. Neither have we any thing analogous either to the natural, or the artificial, state of things in tliis world. AVe have monstrous, anomalous hieroglyphs, hav- ing no counterpart in nature. And we have effects upon communities of men, such as never can be imagined to take place, according to the literal meaning of the words of those prophecies. We further have, in keeping with this imagery, the duration of those phantasms stated in a most unusual mode of computation. We have thou- sands of days, and sometimes an equivalent num- ber of months, instead of the more obvious mode of stating that duration simply in years. And, ITS OWN INTERPRETEPw 271 further still, we have another obscure period stated, as if equivalent to the days and the months, viz. time and times, and a half. The Hebrew words iy, py, V^"^^? signify time or times in the most indefinite sense ; and might signify a day, or might signify a thousand years. The Greek word xaipog, by which the LXX translate the original, is the word made use of in the Apocalypse, and is, also, a most indefinite term. It is very correctly, in our version, translated " a time" and in the plural " times." I shall have more to say on this head when I come to consider the " day for a year " theory. In the next place, we have those symbolical pro- phecies explained by an angel ; but the explanation is almost as obscure as the symbol. Thus much, however, is explained, — that the beasts, the heads, the horns, signify empires, kingdoms, kings. We learn, also, that those powers are to cause great revolutions, and produce terrible effects, in the world, — revolutions and effects, which could not be accomplished in a few hundred days. For empires, which, we know, were typified by the Beasts of Prophecy, are the growth of ages, not of three years and a half. Such a theory is self-evi- dently untenable. But, though so much is explained by the angel, there is nothing further revealed, as to the duration of those powers. That matter is left to its original obscurity in the symbolical vision itself. In chap. viii. Daniel, for instance, is told of the two thousand three hundred days being the dwmtion of the visio7i, not by the ex- 272 THE APOCALYPSE pounding angel, but by " the numberer of secrets," or " wonderful numberer," (as we have it in the margin of our version), evidently no created angel. This "^vonderful numberer" does not ex- pound to the prophet ; he merely states the du- ration of the vision, and commands the attendant angel, Gabriel, to expound it. But, in that exposition, as I have already observed, nothing is said by the angel, as to the duration of what was symbolized in the vision. And when, after- wards (chap, xii.), the prophet is told of the " time, times and a half," and the thousand two hundred and ninety, and the thousand three hun- dred and five and thirty days of the vision, it is not from the expounding angel that he hears it, but from " the man clothed in linen," who, from his description (chap, x.), it appears, was no created angel, but the Angel of the Covenant himself. That " the wonderful numberer," and " the man clothed in linen," is one and the same, we may infer from comparing the two passages (chap. viii. 13., and xii. G.). In the first, Daniel "hears" one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that " certain saint " which spake (" certain saint " should be translated, " the wonderful numberer," or " the numberer of secrets "), " How long shall be the vision ?" " and He said unto me. Until two thousand and three hundred days." In the second of those passages, we read, " And one said unto the man clothed in linen, — how long shall it be to the end of these wonders ?" and the prophet hears the man clothed in linen declare, that " it shall be ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 273 for a time, times, and a half." And, in verse 11., this mysterious personage says to Daniel, " It shall be for 1290 days," and, inverse 12., "for 1335 days." The respective duration of certain portions of the luhole vision, we may infer to be intended. What- ever difficulties may lie in the way of reconciling these several periods with events afterwards, one thing seems clear, that it is the same person who speaks in both passages, and that He alone, and no expounding angel, declares the times of the vision. Now, these times being wrapt up in such obscurity of expression, in the first place, and not afterwards explained, as the other circumstances of the vision, more or less, are, appear to be times which the " Father hath put in His own power." On the whole, I am disposed to think, it was not intended that we should clearly and indubitably discover those times in every point : — that there is a mist or haze cast over them, while, at the same time, we are desired to exercise our minds by studying those periods in all their bearings, and all this for wise reasons, which I shall advert to by and by. In the Apocalypse, the duration of the several visionary actors, if I might so speak, is revealed to St. John in the course of the visions themselves. This revelation of Ihe several periods, is part of each vision in itself; not specifically declared, by any person, to the Apostle, as it was to Daniel, and not adverted to, at all, by the angel who explained the other visionary circumstances. AYe may observe the same hazy veil here, also. I would, T 274 THE Al'OCALYrSE tliereforc, protest against the pereiiiptory assertion that days and months are always to be litendhj understood ; and that the " day for a year" theory is '' wholly untenable." Between these two classes of prophecy, — the historical and the symbolical, — there is, it must be confessed, an evident, striking, and complete contrast. There is no necessity for recapitulat- ing this contrast. But there is one point I will save. If congruity be observed in one of those classes, we may fairly look for congruity in the other. Now, in the historical prophecies, all tlie parts are congruous. If certain events are to take place, or certain persons are to take their part in the process of those events, the time is so marked out, as to coincide with the actual period of those events, as well as with tlie natural term of existence with regard to the persons to be engaged. For instance, — in Jeremiah's prophecy of the seventy years' captivity, the event of the deliverance took place in seventy years ; and the time is neither too short, nor too long, for the actual period which elapsed, between Nebuchad- nezzar, the captor, and Cyrus, the deliverer. I am not, here, entering into the chronological question, as to the exact number of the years, from the destruction, to the actual rebuilding of Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city: Cyrus com- menced its restoration. But everything is con- gruous in the prophecy. Seventy years do not give too long a period for tlie natural lives of indi- viduals, between the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and ITS OWN INTEEPRETEE. 275 Cyrus ; whicli period includes the reigns of Evil- merodach and Belshazzar. So we shall find it to be with all the historical prophecies. In fact, they could not be true prophecies, if there were any violation of the unities of action, time, and place. The same unities, we may fairly expect to find preserved in the symbolical prophecies. They are preserved in the parables of our Lord. I therefore take my stand u2?on the preservation of the unities in prophecy — symbolical as ivell as historical. If it has pleased the Holy Spirit to represent a great empire under the symbol of a mighty animal, a fierce wild beast, it would not do to attribute to the animal the longevity of the empire, — a period of one or two thousand j^ears. Xow, in the symbolical prophecies, we have, in the beasts, the witnesses, and the woman in the wilderness, creatures whose natural lives could not exceed a certain period. Twelve hundred and sixty years would far ex- ceed the term, and mar unity as to time. Surely, then, the substitution of " a day for a year," for which we have sufficient authority in Scrip- ture, as I shall prove, meets the point in ques- tion, and completes the verisimilitude. I admit, indeed, the 1260 daj^s to be far within the or- dinary existence of any of the personce dramatis here introduced to our view; but the admission implies no breach of unity with regard to time. For the existence of an animal, whether man or beast, may be within the period of twelve hundred and sixty days ; while it would be a gross breach of unity to extend it to twelve hundred and sixty years. T 2 276 THE ArOCALYl'SE AVhy, then, is the term of duration not stated in years instead of days, — three years and a half in- stead of twelve hundred and sixty days ? Plainly because, if the ftict should be, that a long series of events is prophetically represented in those vi- sions, then, if the periods were stated in the ordi- nary reckoning of time, they would naturally be understood in the literal sense, and the real intent of the prophecy wholly misunderstood. Whereas, by their being stated in such a way as to admit of some question, the freedom of human agency is not interfered with, and they who have " the mind that hath wisdom " may have some clue, in some mea- sure, to find out the truth. I may be censured for making use of dramatic terms in a theological argument ; but, after all, those prophetic representations do partake of tlic nature of what is technically called tlie drama ; — and there, we know, that within a sliort space of time, a much longer space is supposed to elapse. Still, however, the unities are to be preserved. From the view which I have just given of the I)roi)hecies in general, there can be little question, it may be presumed, as to the fact, that there are two classes of those prophecies to be found in the Scriptures. I sliidl proceed, therefore, to consider the i)njbable reasons for there l)eing two classes : one class as plain as the most matter-of-fact, liis- torical record ; the other, obscure and enigmatical. It catmot surely be resolved into mere arbitrary will and pleasure (with reverence be it 8])oken), on the part of the Holy S[)irit, that, at one time, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 277 a plain prediction should be delivered ; at another, that, over the prediction, a veil of symbols should be thrown. I cannot think arbitrary will and pleasure can properly be adduced to account for this difference. I know it will be said, that we have no right to question the Divine motives; that it is unwarranted presumption to inquire why God adopts such a course in one instance, and a dif- ferent course in another. In the abstract, I admit, we certainly have no such right. And if such question be made in the spirit of unbelief or cavil, as in the case of the captious Jews, then it is profane presumption ; and the Apostle's rebuke is in point, " Nay but, 0 man, who art thou that repliest against God ?" But, on the other hand, if we be expressly commanded by the Holy Spirit to exercise " the mind that hath wisdom," — if to in- quire into the most abstruse prophecies be wisdom, — if "he that hath understanding" be desired "to count," if Ave be exhorted to " search what^ or wliat man?ier of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in the prophets, did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory which should follow; "* — if we are thus to search things which the angels desire to look into, I say we have a right, a right of Divine authority, to examine and consider the probable reasons why there should * I would here call attention to the very striking expression " lohat or ichat manner of time" riru, y ttoToj', Kcupor (1 Pet. i. 10, 11.), as if St. Peter here ulluclcd to the two descriptions of prophetical time, — the ordinary and the symbolical. T 3 278 THE ArOCALYPSE be two classes of prophecies in the Holy Scriptures. And I say it here more especially, because it is insinuated by the literal interpreters of symbolical prophecy, that it is presumption to entertain such questions, or to put forward " objections " which, they say, "are founded on a sort of reasoning that seems highly improper, when applied to in- spired writings, and to the dealings of Almighty God with his creatures." The truth, I believe to be, that there is more of the pride of human intellect in the literal-in- terpretation theory of symbolical prophecy, than its propounders are aware of. There is, in some minds, a strong repugnance to the notion, or the feeling, that there are things which they cannot clearly comprehend in the dealings of Almighty God. It is some such turn of mind, 1 appre- hend, which leads to that summary solution of all difficulties in the ways of Providence, or in tlic scope and object of Divine purposes ; namely, that God has absolutely willed, and irrespectively de- creed, everything that takes place in the universe. In this summary way, all questions as to tlie origin of evil, as well as every other difficulty which can occur, are at once disposed of; and the disagreeable consciousness of baffled attempts to " be as gods," quietly got rid of. Instead of humbly acknowledging that God's ways are past finding out, and leaving it to Him, in his own good time, to clear up all that is now dark and incomprehensible, and show that " the Judge of all the earth will do right," there is such a disposition ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 279 of mind as would induce the effort to bring every- thing down to the level of human, comprehension. This mode of attempting to sever the Gordian knot goes to set the pigmy on a level with the giant : in things sacred, its effect would be to place the child of dust beside the Arch-angel next the Throne. And so it is with the difficulties of prophecy as well as of Providence. There may be, often, a se- cret displacency at the idea of being kept in the dark, of not being able to make out things clearly, which will lead to the desire of interpreting what is difficult and abstruse, by what is plain and ob- vious, and dealing with symbolical prophecies on the same principle of interpretation, as with the historical, — namely, that as the one is to be under- stood literally^ so must the other. Now, God does nothing without design and plan; and every circumstance connected Avith the course of Divine action is taken (so to speak) into the Divine consideration. But if, as none can ques- tion, this be so, the symbolical prophecies may be readily accounted for. I therefore conclude that the obscurity is a designed, pre-ordered point of difference between the symbolical and the his- torical prophecies. That there is this difference between the two classes, cannot rationally be ques- tioned. Who then will venture to pronounce, that this difference was not designed ? or, that it is a distinction without a difference ? On this point, then, I shall take, as my text, an observation of Dr. Blayney, in his Comment on T 4 280 THE APOCALYPSE the Prophecy of Zechariiih — " that he (ZechaTiah) is, in some degree, obscure, and hard to be under- stood, is not to be questioned. And which of the ancient prophets is not so? It is of the nature of prophecy to affect a degree of abstruseness, before the accomplishment, in order not to clash with the freedom of human agency. And there is no doubt, that some of Zechariah's predic- tions relate to matters that are still involved in futurity." In accordance, then, with Dr. Blayney's observa- tion, I would ask, — Why did not St. Paul commit to writing what he communicated orally to the Thessalonians, with respect to the let or hinderance that was then in the way, and prevented the Man of Sin from being then revealed? Why is the seven-hilled city, whose destruction is described in the Apocalypse, called Babylon the great, — and Sodom, — and Egypt, — and the place where our Lord was crucified ? It cannot be here as- sumed that either Sodom, or Egypt, or Jerusalem was literally meant, for we read that the great city was only spiritually so called ; and so called, I would conclude, because it was the design of the Spirit of Prophecy, that the real name of the city should be concealed ; and that, for more reasons perhaps than one. In the first place, not need- lessly to alarm the fears, or gratuitously to arouse the jealousy, of lieathen Pome. It miglit, tliere- lore, very reasonably be expected that the Holy Spirit would veil imder visionary symbols, and typical p'jri'jds, the events wlii«jh were to take phice ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 281 hereafter, in order to save the infant Church from the consequences of any unnecessary ahirm being taken, by the then ruling powers, if those events were more literally predicted. A literal prediction would have brought, perhaps, gratuitous persecution on the Christians of that day, as persons who were setting forth revoki- tionary principles, under the mystical guise of figurative representations. They had enough to suffer without being thus exposed, on so plau- sible a ground, to suffer more. And, in the next place, for ought we know, the naked, undisguised statement (if given in the prophecies relating to the latter times, namely, that the christianized Eoman empire was the secular beast, and the Komish church or Papacy the spiritual beast, of the Apocalypse) might interfere with the course of events. Or, in the third place, a literal prediction might lead to the corruption, or (if possible) to the destruction, of tlie prophetical Avritings in the dark ages, by those very persons who, at the very time when they were bringing the apostasy to maturity by revealing the Man of Sin, had, them- selves, the sole charge, humanly speaking, of those very writings. We have an instance to this effect (Jeremiah, xxxvi. 23.), where Jehoiakim burned the roll which the prophet had dictated to Baruch, that he might read it before the king and his princes. In this case, however, there was still a prophet in Israel ; and Jeremiah was commanded to write another roll, with all the words of the former, and to add many words besides therein. 282 THE APOCALYrSE But tlic case with respect to the Apocalyptic roll was very different. The voice of inspiration ceased with St. John. It was the Divine will that the canon of Scripture should be closed ; and other means were provided for the safeguard of the true word of prophecy, — namely, the mysterious veil of symbolical representation. ^Ve know that, in general, God works by oixli- nary means and agents, without having recourse to miraculous interposition, except upon extraor- dinary occasions. Nothing, perhaps, so far as we can see, short of a miracle, could have preserved the sacred writings, if Daniel and St. John had distinctly told the world, that the Roman Empire, from its commencement to its end, was represented by the Beast which was to be "given to the burning flame," "to be cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone," — or if St. Paul had declared, that the Bishop of Home was to be a representative of the " ^lan of Sin," and the Church of Rome an " Apostasy." Besides, in the fourth place, the guilt and condemnation of multitudes might, perhaps, be aggravated tenfold, when they should be found sinning against clearer light, without the plea of that ignorance which, when God sees fit to leave men in it. He " winketh at it." " If ye were blind ye should have no sin, but now yc say we see, therefore your sin re- maincth." Nor are we to imagine, that a greater degree of light and knowledge would have been a preserva- tive from error; our Lord has declared, "If thoy ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 283 believe not Moses and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." With this view of the Divine Providence, I have ever been accustomed to justify, in my own mind, the dealings of the " Father of Mercies," in leaving, as he has done, from the beginning to the present time, so vast a majority of his intelligent creatures on earth, in ignorance invincible, and, humanly speaking, by them unavoidable. These are the probable reasons, antecedently, for there being two classes of prophecies in the Holy Scriptures. One class, clear as the sun, — the other class. Providentially veiled in mysterious obscurity. 284 THE ArOCALYl'SE DISSERTATION III. THE "DAY FOR A YEAR" THEORY CONSIDERED. • I USE the expression, the " day for a year," because it is tlie literal translation of the words, in Numbers xiv. 34., and in Ezekiel iv. 6. ; where it is, in both places, repeated twice. The passage in our version is, "I have appointed thee" (Kzekiel) "each day for a year." The passage in the original is, " a day for a year, a day for a year, I have given that to thee." Our version well expresses the meaning of the passage ; but there is something remarkable in the repetition, " A day for a year, a day for a year," as if to draw attention to the point. Tliis " day for a year" theory is the key to the figurative interpretation of the symbolical prophecies. It is, of course, the great point of attack on the part of those expositors, who are anxious to make it appear that Rome, if the subject of prophecy at all, is not, at all events, the fourth kingdom of Daniel's visions, nor the beast of the Apocalypse. The expositors, to whom I allude, are accustomed to animadvert, very freely, upon the shifts, and accom- modations, and extremities to which the exigencies of a t/ienn/^ as they sny, drive their antagonists. All I shall say at present on this matter is, tliat the exigencies of the literal-interpretation theory ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 285 drive its upholders, sometimes, to such lengths, as to leave us at a loss (speaking in the mildest terms applicable) to know what to think of them. In order to make their point good, that Kome is not the fourth kingdom of prophecy, they gravely suggest, and that upon rather questionable autho- rity (a Spanish ecclesiastic), that there may have been no change of empire or kingdom when Cyrus took Babylon, but only of dynasty; that it still remained the Babylonian kingdom; and that Persia, if so, was not the second kingdom after it. I advert to this point here by anticipation, because I know it has much to say to the modern attacks on the " day for a year " theory. I know it is not, generally speaking, fair to impute motives prepa- ratory to impugning principles. But the present are portentous times. The " Seducing spirits " of evil are now, more than ever perhaps, abroad. The Belial of Jesuitism, " who can make the worse appear the better reason," and his coadjutor, the Beelzebub of infidelity, lurk at every turn. We should all of us, then, though we differ in theory,' take good heed lest we might be ignorant of Satan's various devices; while, at such a time, even be- tween friends, the delicacy of forbearance might, sometimes, be carried too far. Nay, at such a time, we should, if " the Faith " required, " bear back both friend and foe." I purpose returning to the subject, with respect to the succession of the pro- phetical kingdoms, when I come to the considera- tion of the fourfold compound image in Daniel. I trust tlien to bring such a continuous stream of 28G THE APOCALYrSE evidences, from Isaiah, Jeremiali, and Daniel, to bear upon the assumption that Babylon and Persia were one and tlie same kingdom, as, I venture to say, will overwhelm it ; and the united voice of the prophets silence its defenders. I now proceed to consider the very unqualified assertion that the " day for a year " theory is an untenable assumption. Mr. Todd quotes Mr. Mait- land, Wagenseil, and others, who, as he asserts, have "completely refuted" it. I must be allowed, how- ever, to examine the refutation, before I can take for granted the assertion, however peremptory. I do not see how Wagenseil's criticism bears, with any force, upon the question. Days may signify a yeai\ it is true, from the passages J\lr. Todd adduces (Lectures, p. 20.), but this does not prove that a day might not be used, in a symbolical pro- phecy, to signify a year also. The plural, days^ may signify an indefinite period ; and so the Avord is rendered in the Vulgate, Numbers ix. 22. And, after all, Wagenseil says that a day is not to be un- derstood, in Numbers xiv. 34. or Ezckiel iv. 6., as yraminatically meaning a year. " Hie ergo vox dies ad annum significandum, pAy-s/c^, ut ita loquar, adlii- betur, non graimnatice." I do not see why the sig- nification should be so plain, as to give, at once, the plain import ; for, if so, there would be no necessity for the veil of an ambiguous expression ; and the concealing design of a symbolical prophecy Avould be frustrated. Be this, however, as it may, 1 do not presume to enter the lists witli Wagenseil in J lebrew criticism, liut it is to me ratlier unaccountable ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 287 that, on sucli a subject (no matter what their learning and scholarship), a Spanish priest, and a German philologist, should be of such authority ■with Mr. Maitland and Mr. Todd; while the greatest names on the other side of the question, are treated, so unceremoniously, as visionary theo- rists. The eager anxiety shown to impugn the "day for a year " theory betrays, however, something be- yond what is expressed. There is no consideration whatever allowed for the question, whether there might not be some reasonable ground for the mysti- cal adumbration of a longer period of time under the disguise of a shorter one, in order to shade from the common gaze, things not fit or convenient, at present, to be blazoned to the world at large. Such was our Lord's method : *' Therefore speak I unto them in parables." And to wdiom did he thus speak ? To the multitude. But to those, "to whom it was given to know the Mysteries of the kingdom of God " he explained. I will put a case for fair consideration. Let us suppose, and let it be admitted merely for the sake of the argument, that, at the time those prophecies were delivered, it was the Divine pur- pose to veil, in a certain measure, and to a certain degree, their full import ; and this, for a certain time. Such a supposition is not too much to be assumed. I would ask, then, could there have been conceived an apparatus more completely cal- culated, or more admirably adapted, to suit such purpose, than the symbolical prophecies of Holy Scripture ? And I would further ask, — if the sym- 288 THE APOCALYPSE bolical figures employed in those prophecies be tlie sliadows of certain realities, why sliould not the periods of time, therein specified, partake of the same shadoAvy import also ? If the vision of a rapacious beast of prey ver}^ suitably shadows out an armed, conquering, tyrannical power, why might not it be presumed that a day might, also, in vision, be employed to shadow out its congener^ a year ? There is a figurative corrclativeness be- tween a beast of prey and a domineering conqueror, whether the conqueror be an individual or a state politic. There is a still nearer relation between a day and a year. In this instance, there is a natural homo- (/cneiti/hatwQQn the symbol andthe thing symbolized. J3ut we have, also, in Holy Scripture, instances of periods of time being represented, not only by most ungenerical (if I might employ such a term), but by most irrelative symbols : for example, in the dreams interpreted by Joseph. In those visions, we have days represented, by the branches of a vine, and by white baskets. We have years represented, by fat and lean kine, and by ears of corn. And if those symbols had not been interpreted by Divine Keve- lation, it would have been hardly imagined that they represented periods of time. Some connection, it is true, might be made out between a fat ox, or a full ear of corn, and a season of plenty, — and between a lean ox, or a blasted ear of corn, and a season of famine : but can we })erceive any connec- tion between a day and the branch of a vine, or a white basket ? If, then, such far-fetched symbols are, in these instances, made use of, is it only one ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 289 of those wild expedients, to wliicli notliing but the exigency of a theory could drive so many and such learned men, who have adopted the far more ob- vious conclusion, that, as each vision is symbolical, so everything contained in it is symbolical likewise? A ravenous wild beast very fitly represents a rapa- cious political power ; and, as a day might, perhaps, be said, generally speaking, to bear the same pro- portion to the ravages of an individual wild animal, as well as to the natural term of its life, that a year bears to the far more extended and prolonged ravages of a tyrannical empire, therefore the day, in the dreaming vision, symbolizes the year, in the waking reality. Is this nothing but an ex- pedient, suggested merely by the exigency of a theory ? And here, as we have been adverting to Pharaoh's dreams, I would observe that, in the interpretation of those dreams, there is, perhaps, a clue given to the repetition in each instance. Numbers xiv. 34. and Ezekiel iv. 6., "A day for a year, a day for a year," by the reason assigned in Genesis xli. 32., for there being two dreams ; " And for that the dream is doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God." The repetition, itself, marks particular attention called to the design had in view in recording that repetition. The repeti- tions, also, when God spake to Moses in the burning bush, " I have seen, I have seen," and in Isaiah, " Thou shalt keep him in peace, peace," denote something peculiarly impressive. Now, in the repetition of " A day for a year, a day for a u 290 THE APOCALYPSE year," there seems something peculiar also. "Wlie- ther, in both instances, attention is called there- by to the facts stated in each (Numbers and Ezekiel), or whether something further might have been intended, namely, a clue to the right under- standing, in this respect, of the symbolical pro- phecies at large, is more than either the indubitable requirement of Bishop Horsley, or the grammatical one of Wagenseil, or Mr. Maitland and Mr. Todd, echoing both, can determine. j\Icre verbal criticism may be pressed into their service; but common sense, and philosophy, too, are, I think, on the other side. And as Hebrew criticism is not, at all times, very satisfactory, so, much must be left to conjecture in very nice points. It is not like the Greek and Latin languages, which are far more definite as well as copious, while the immber and variety of writers afford abundant aid in arriving at philological accuracy. But leaving, for the present, abstract criticism out of our view, I shall go at once to the light which Holy Scripture has thrown, and perhaps specially, on this subject. The passages I allude to are well known. And wliile they are, too dogmatical^, relied on by one class of commentators, as giving the express warrant of Scri[)turc for the " day for a year " theory, they are quite as dogmatically, and with much less reason, set aside by tlie other class, as liaving nothing wliatever to say to sucli a theory. Dicta- toriid asserti(jn, however, on either side, is no ad- vance to a conclusion. Let us then fairly try the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 291 question. The first passage is in Numbers xiv. 34., where, on the return of the spies who were sent out to search the land of Canaan, the people are told that, " after the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days (a day for a year, a day for a year), ye shall bear your ini- quities, even forty years." Now this, I freely admit, by no means goes so far as unquestionably to prove, that the days mentioned in the visions of Daniel and St. John, are to be understood as representing years. But it does go thus far : it shows that Scrip- ture does recognize the representation of the longer term by the shorter one. The next passage, equally well known, is in Ezekiel iv. G., where the prophet is, typically, to bear the iniquity of Israel and Judah. " Lie thou on thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days : so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again upon thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days : I have appointed thee a day for a year, a day for a year." In this passage, a day is appointed and constituted s]pe- cijically^ the representative of a year. In the former passage (Numbers) it is not so specifically constituted. It might be understood as signifying that, for their forty days' sin, they should undergo u 2 292 THE ArOCALYPSE a forty years' pcnulty. The passage in Ezckiel is, therefore, still more to the point than the passage in Numbers. The whole transaction related in the chapter was typical, symbolical, and prophetical. A\'h ether the Avhole took place in vision, or whether the prophet actually lay upon his side for so many days, it might not be easy to determine ; nor is it of any great consequence. On consideration of the context, however, the probability seems to be, that all was transacted in vision throughout. The prophet appears to have been in a series of visions, from the opening of his prophecy (chap, i.), to chap. xi. 24., except for a short time, as related in chap. iii. 15, — when he sat with them of the cap- tivity, at Telabib, by the river Chebar, and remained " astonished among them seven days." He does not, however, appear to have spoken to them during that period. He is again in vision immediately after the seven days. He is then commanded to shut himself up in his house, where he is to be " in ))ands," to be dumb, and not to go out among the people, all the days prescribed to him in chap. iv. 8. He is to listen there, while the Lord speaks to him ; but he himself is not to speak to the people, till the Lord shall open his mouth. He then hears all the words of the Lord in the four following chapters, until the beginning of the eighth, where we find him still in his house, where the elders of Jiulah were sitting before him. He does not i\\> pear, however, to have spoken to them, even then. J>ut he is immediately carried by the Spirit, in the visions of God, to Jerusalem ; and, after he had seen ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 293 those visions tliere, he is brought back in vision to the river Chebar again, and there we read that the vision he had seen went up from him. And, then, he spoke unto them of the Captivity, all the things that the Lord had showed him. Up to that period, he was in vision or a trance, it would appear, with- out intermission, except in the instances I have referred to. At all events, it does not appear that he spoke unto the people, until " the vision he had seen went up from him" (chap. xi. 24.). But afterwards, in chap, xii., when he is com- manded to be a sign unto the people, in removing from his dwelling in their sight by day, and bringing out his furniture in their sight by day also, and digging through the wall in like manner, to carry it out thereby, and carrying it on his shoulder by twi- light, — he says, " And I did as I was commanded," meaning to say, in every particular, as he reca- pitulates them in verse 7. And again, when he is commanded to be a sign, in not mourning for the death of his wife, he says, " In the evening my wife died, and in the morning I did as I was commanded." Whereas, in chap, iv., there is no mention whatever of his having actually performed what he is tliere commanded to do. Whence it may be inferred that all was transacted there in vision only, as it was in St. Peter's case, when he fell into a trance (Acts, X. 11.). Taking this view of the matter, we have here a case in point, which may fairly be taken to illustrate the visions of Daniel and St. John. If Ezekiel's visionary performance of the typical signs, chap, iv., u 3 294 THE ArOCALYPSE is represented as continuing for a certain number of days^ the visionary duration of Daniel's symbols was to be for a certain number of days also. And the several things which the prophet saw taking place in the vision, such as the taking away of the daily sacrifice by the little horn, and the cleansing of the tabernacle afterwards, are measured, as to the length of time, from the occurrence of the one to the occurrence of the other, by " days " or " times." So, also, in St. John's visions, the continuance or duration of the visionary beasts, of the witnesses, of the woman, and of the treading down of the outward court, is measured by " days," " months," or " times." In Ezekiel's vision, however, we have tlie days declared as representing years, while, in the visions of Daniel and St. John, they are not so de- clared. But it is not difficult to account for the omission in these latter. Tlie prophecy contained in Ezekiel's vision could hardly " clash with the freedom of human agency^ In a great measure, that vision related to things past as well as things to come. It is supposed to include the time from the beginning of Jeroboam's reign, the commence- ment of national idolatry, to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Besides, in those days, wlien the prophecies could be known but to a few persons, on account of the scarcity of books ; and as heathens, who knew but little, and cared less, about such things, were to be the agents in fulfdrmg them; there could be no danger of ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 295 such prophecies clashing with the freedom of human agency. But, in the visions of Daniel and St. John, wherein, it is possible, may be given, as is so generally believed, the history of the Christian Church, its connection with the Secular Power, the tyranny of the Ecclesiastical Power in the Church, and the false and apostate doctrines which have been fostered in her bosom, — when all this may, perhaps, be shadowed out in those prophecies, it is not too much to say, that over them it was requisite to throw a veil of mystery. It is not presumptuous to infer, that those latter prophecies were not to be so clearly set forth as the former ; the design of the diversity, probably, being, that the full explanation of the one should serve as a key to the right interpretation of the other. I would say, moreover, that if, in Ezekiel's vision, the matter had not been so distinctly explained, it would have been subject to the same difficulty, and the same objection would be raised, with respect to the " day for a year " theory, as in the visions of Daniel and St. John. In taking this view, which I believe to be the correct one, of Ezekiel, iv. 6., still, however, I would not dogmatically assert, that the passage goes " indubitably" to put the question beyond dispute. But it does go further than the former passage (Numbers, xiv. 6.) to neutralize Mr. Maitland's comjylete refutation, as Mr. Todd terms it, of the " day for a year" theory, on the ground of its having no countenance whatever in Scripture. 296 THE APOCALYPSE There is, unquestionably, more foundation for that theory in these two passages, taken in connec- tion, than Mr. Maitland and ^Ir. Todd could bring against it, were they to search the entire canon. There is certainly nothing in that canon of Scripture directly against it ; nothing even indirectly adverse, so pointed, as these two passages are in its favour. All that can be said against the theory is this, — We have " years," in historical prophecies, evidently given as literal years ; and have no express declara- tion in Scripture, that a day^ in symbolical prophecy, is always to be understood as representing a year. But to take such ground, it should, first, be shown, that there is no variety of expression or of figure employed in the representation of similar, or of the same subjects, in any instance whatever, in the writings of the prophets. " King " and '* kingdom," for example, seem to be applied, sometimes the one term, sometimes the other, to the same subject, viz. the symbolical beasts in Daniel. 1 know that this application has been questioned, but it has not been disproved. As to variety of figure and symbol being so employed, there can be no question. I would contend, therefore, and it is all I desire to contend for at present, that the " day for a year" theory is not altogether so untenable an as- sumption ; and that we (the mystical interpreters) have, at least, as fair grounds for our assumption, as the literal interpreters can possibly have for theirs. But further, with respect to the " day for a year" theory, 1 would ask, whetlier those new interpreters can show any reason wliy the period so often stated, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 2i)7 both in Dimiel and the Apocalypse, under the several denominations of days and times, and, in the latter, under that of months, why that period is never once stated under that of years ? We have " 1260 days," we have " 42 months," we have " a time, times, and a half." Now the term " three years and a half" occurs twice in the New Testament, as used by our Lord and St. James, where there was neither symbol nor prophecy in question ; srr] and sviauroug, not xaifiovg, are the words used. Why are these words never used in those symbolical prophecies afore- said ? Until a satisfactory reason can be given, no one is justified in positively asserting that those several periods, as stated in those prophecies, must be literally understood. Why should mystery be affected, if mystery were not, in a measure at least, intended? the mystery of an ambiguous term, Avhen an obvious one was at hand ? And this de- parture from the use of ordinary famihar terms is more worthy of attention when we bear in mind the one fact, that days to such an extraordinary amount, or months beyond a year, or the indefinite terms " time, times, and a half," are never used in Scripture to express particular periods of time, except in the visions of Daniel and St. John. But, from the very nature of the phenomena, and from the undeniable obscurity, consequently, of sym- bolical prophecy, I think it evident that the Holy Spirit did intend there should be difiiculty, and conjecture, and doubt, in the interpretation : that it should be, more or less, a matter of question, at least as to detail; that it should not be a self-evident proposition. If so, the purpose intended would not 298 THE ArOCALYPSE be answered, were there to be given any " one in- dubitable instance," such as Bishop Horsley would require, in which a day, in symbolical prophecy, was always to be understood as a year. The literal term, signifying a year, miglit as well be used at once, without the periphrastical style of expressing it by the days or months which it contains. Now, the fact is, that, with but one exception, the term year is not used in symbolical prophecy. The exception is the prophecy in chap. xx. 2. 4. of the Apocalypse, where Satan is bound for a thousand years, and the saints are to reign throughout those years. There is another sym- bolical prophecy in the Apocalypse (chap. ix. 15.), in which the word year is used, — where the four angels are said to be " prepared for an hour, a day, a month, and a year." With respect to this pas- sage, I am inclined to agree with the interpreters who understand these terms, not as representing so many distinct prophetical periods, but as intimating that the angels were to be at all times prepared. To my apprehension, the article in the passage points out this sense, — " B\g ttjv wpav" — for the hour, and day, and month, and year; — that is, prepared to execute the Divine commission at any time, or for any time, that God should appoint. And this, in contrast to their predecessors, the symbolical locusts, Avhosc commission it appears to have been (vv. 5. 10.) to commit their ravages (like the na- tural locusts) only five months in each year. But, in the prophecy respecting the Millennium, tlic term ^'■years'' is made use of to signify a pro- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 299 phetical period, in a symbolical prophecy. This instance is brought forward, by Mr. Todd, to show the inconsistency of the mystical interpreters. If they understand the years literally in this instance, why not in every other ? The prophecy is sym- bolical. I answer, for the very best reason that can be given, — because they have the word literally signifying years, not times, Ittj, not xmpohg^ in this prophecy. They have, therefore, the strongest ground for interpreting literally. Besides, this prophecy relates to a period beyond the pale of the present dispensation, which is to end with the destruction of the beast and the false prophet, the judgment of the great Whore, and the fall of the mystical Babylon. It might not, for that period, be deemed necessary to conceal the actual time of the thousand years, under any of the figures employed to veil the periods antecedent to the great cata- strophe. After that, there would be nothing to clash with the freedom of human agency in the revelation of the Divine purposes. " His will" shall, then, " be done in earth as it is in heaven." Again, should this period prove (as many have conjectured) to be the seventh chiliad of the world from the Creation, there might be good reason why the thousand years should be stated in the pro- phecy, although symbolical, as literal years ; namely, that the Church Catholic, for whose patience, con- solation, and hope, throughout the whole course of its progress from beginning to end, we may assur- edly believe '' these things were written afore time," might be divinely enabled to endure unto the end. 300 THE ArOCALYPSE ** Here is the patience and the faith of the saints," saith the apostolic prophet. Time is the essence of the idea. How could patience and faith be exer- cised in three years and a half? exercised as we know the patience and faith of the cloud of witnesses have been exercised all along, from the first ? A short period of astounding prodigies (the view taken by the literal interpreters), when, at every moment, a visibly present Grod might be expected to appear, would, in comparison, be indeed a light exercise of that faith and patience which, in the Church's infant days, " inherited the promises, not having received them ; but, having seen them afar off, were persuaded of them, and embraced them." So short a period would be a light exercise of that hope which, against hope, believed in hope ; of that patience, in which all the followers of Christ are to possess their souls, while they run the race that is set before them. The patience and faitli of the saints are to be exercised during the " continu- ance" of the beast. But, according to the literal interpretation theory, the exercise is to be only during the last three years and a half of the present dispensation. The maintainers of that tlieory would, no doubt, admit that the patience and faith of the saints are to be exercised in every age. This, however, will not do in the question now be- fore us. The patience and faitli which St. John has forc- signified, are to be exercised during the " continu- ance" of the beast. P>ut, according to those in- terpreters, the exercise must be limited to their ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 301 measurement of the period, — three years and a half; while the generations which have rolled on since the Apostle's day, and we ourselves of the present day, and those who shall succeed us in the days to come, until the arrival of those three years and a half, have had, have, and shall have nothing, per- sonally, to do with that particular exercise. In fact, in this view, the symbolical prophecies of Daniel and St. John, together with St. Paul's predictions of the apostasy and the Man of Sin, and the mys- tery of iniquity, though it was in existence even in the Apostle's own day, were not written for our learning, nor for our ensample, nor for our admo- nition, inasmuch as, according to the litei^al fulfil- ment theory of such prophecies, none of us are among those upon whom the ends of the world are come. Such a theory, as its consequences may show, is contrary to God's dealings with his ancient church of Israel ; contrary to every thing we are taught in Scripture ; contrary to every analogy. For (allowing every thing possible for its importance), what could be the exercise of patience and faith during that short period to come, when contrasted with the long^ and dreary, and weary night of dark- ness, in which God's " witnesses " (whether Ave be allowed to learn it from the Apocalypse or not) have been and are prophesying in sackcloth, in much tri- bulation : in which the Church, the spouse of Christ, the woman clothed with the sun (whether we learn it from the Apocalypse or not), has been and is in the wilderness of this world. " The court without" has been and is " trodden down" by gentilized Chris- 302 THE APOCALYPSE tians, wlio, though they profess to know God, yet in their works deny Him. The secular tyranny has been and is tearing and rending like a beast of prey; and the spiritual despotism ravaging all along, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, or, as the Apostle has foreshown it, looking like a lamb while speaking as a dragon. Such is the truth of the case. If so, a theory, like that of the literal interpreters, which would gainsay this truth, is an unphilosophical mis- interpretation of the " sure word of prophecy." I say this under the conviction, that the time has specially arrived for all who are, in principle, of the One Catholic and Apostolic Church, to stand to that everlasting principle. The time, if ever, is now come, to protest against " the apostasy," not in the spirit of dissent, or infidelity, or political bitterness, but in the spirit of God's witnesses, bearing testi- mony to the faith, as " once delivered to the saints." But to return to the further consideration of the "day for a year" theory. Mr. jMaitland, in his examination of Mede's arguments, has given a catalogue of " prophecies which predict a period in terms of days," and submits, " Whether any one of them is to be understood of years?" Tlicse \)Yo- phecies are, " the predictions respecting the deluge;" " yet seven days and I will cause it to rain forty days and forty nights : " Joseph's interpretation of the butler's and tlie baker's dreams : the predic- tions respecting the plagues of Egypt, that they should be inflicted or removed on the next day: the prediction to Joshua that, on the seventh day, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 303 the walls of Jericho should fall: the prediction of Elisha, at the siege of Samaria, that the next day there should be a measure of fine flour sold for a shekel ; and Jonah's prophecy that, in forty days, Nineveh should be destroyed: our Lord's prediction that, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so He should be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth ; and that, in three days. He would rebuild that Temple which they should destroy: and the passage in the Apocalypse relating to the ten days of persecution. These are the prophecies which Mr. Maitland adduces. And he leaves it to the judgment of the reader to say, whether days here are not to be literally interpreted, as meaning natural days. Now, in the first place, I would observe, that the prediction, respecting the ten days, in the Apocalypse, does not properly belong to such a catalogue. It is not a prophecy in which there can be no question as to days being intended to be lite- rally understood. They may be, and are by several writers, mystically understood. With respect to the second prophecy in his catalogue, which he " particularly recommends to the attention of those who talk of symbolical prophecies, and argue that, in the explanations of them, we must exj)ect the periods to be mystically expressed," I answer, that the periods in these dreams are mystically ex- pressed. Those periods are doubly expressed, by " branches of a vine," and by " white baskets." AYith respect, then, to these dreams, I would ob- 304 THE APOCALYPSE serve, that tliey are not at all to be considered as forming a case in point for Mr. Maitland, and do not belong to such a catalogue as he professes to adduce. There is a manifest want of fairness in ^Ir. Maitland's argument.* The interpretations are not the dreams. And 3'et Mr. ]\laitland puts forward, as he conceives, conclusively, what he draws from the interpretations, as if drawn from the dreams themselves. In the dreams of the chief butler and baker, there is no mention of any period of time; no term by which it could possibly be understood, that any period of time was intended to be expressed. Had the dreams run thus, — had the butler dreamed that he saw a vine, and that he took the grapes and pressed them into a cup, and, after three days, that he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; — and if the baker had dreamed that he was preparing baked meats for Pharaoh, and that, after three days, as he was carrying them to Pharaoh, the birds picked them out of the baskets on his head ; and that Joseph said to the one. After three days you will be restored to your office ; and to the otlier, After three days you will be liangcd ; — if such had been the terms of the dreams, then, I say, we should have an indubitable instance, in each dream, of a day, in a symbolical prophecy, being, literally, to be understood as a natural day, being interpreted as such, from God, by Jose})!!. J>ut we have, in those dreams, no period of time • Sec " Drcaiub uiid Interpretations." ITS OWN INTERPRETEE. 305 expressed at all. It never could have been imagined, that any period of time was intended. Nothing is to be found in the order in which the circumstances were stated to Joseph, to give any clue to the meaning, or lead him to declare that "the three branches were three days, " — that " the three bas- kets were three days;" — no connection whatever between a vine branch, or a white basket, and a day, except there was something in the hiero- glyphics of Egypt to connect them. This, how- ever, would be unhallowed ground to look to. The interpretation, we are told, was from God. So that, without a Divine revelation, the dreams, in this respect, could not have been interpreted. With respect, indeed, to some circumstances of the dreams, very probable conjectures might have been formed. The giving the cup into Pharaoh's hand, might have been looked upon as a favourable prognostic ; the birds picking the meats, as the reverse. But no one could have supposed that either the branches or the baskets represented days. The other day-prophecies, given in Mr. Maitland's catalogue, are to be literally understood, because they were the plain, matter-of-fact predictions of events about to take place after a certain time, and the events have proved the truth of the predictions. But the two passages which I have been just ex- amining do not belong to that class. The prediction concerning the ten days, in the Apocalypse, is plainly open to discussion as to its literal, or mystical interpretation ; as to its being a symbolical, or an historical prophecy. 306 THE APOCALYPSE Tlic other passage, so far as the dreams go, has nothing to do either witli the historical prophecies, or with the symbolical prophecies of Daniel or St. John. There are no periods of time actually expressed in those dreams, as is the case in the visions of the beasts, the witnesses, the woman in the wilderness, &c. Joseph's interpretations, indeed, do come under the head of historical pro- phecy, — the plain, matter-of-fact prediction of events, afterwards to take place. But the dreams themselves, properly speaking, come under neither of those heads. It appears, therefore, that Mr. !Maitland has taken nothing by his motion, when he " particularly recommended these dreams to the attention of those who talk of symbolical pro- phecies, and argue that, in the interpretation of them, we must expect the periods to be mystically expressed." I would ask him, Iiow would he interpret the terms which are used in these dreams to express periods of time, otherwise than mystically ? Would he interpret them literally ? and assert that vine branches, ichite baskets, and days are all synonymous terms? If, then, such figures be employed to express, in vision, periods of time, as called for the interven- tion of the inspired patriarch to interpret them, is it an unwarrantable assumption, on our part (the mys- tical ex[)ositors), to interpret the congenerous term (lays, wljere days occur in such extraordinary num- bers as they do in the visions of Daniel and St. John, by the generic term years; more especially when they have such a clue in Holy Scripture as the texts in ITS OWN INTERPKETER. 307 Numbers and Ezekiel, to lead them to a mystical interpretation ? We now come to Mr. Maitland's catalogue of the year-prophecies. The first of these is the bondage of Abraham's posterity in Egypt, during 400 years. The next, the seven years of plenty and of famine predicted by Joseph to Pharaoh. Then, the forty years' wandering in the wilderness. (A period, be it observed, represented by the forty days, during which the spies searched out the land.) Then, the seven years of famine predicted by Elisha. Then, the sixty-five years respecting Ephraini. Then, the three years respecting Moab. Then, the se- venty years respecting Tyre. Then, the two years relating to Jechoniah's return. Then, the seventy years' captivity. And, lastly, the forty years' deso- lation of Egypt. On making this enumeration, he asks, " Is there any prophecy which is known to have been fulfilled in a given number of years, the period of which had been specified otherwise than by years ?" He excepts the seventy weeks of Daniel, because he thinks that weeks or sevens of years were as well understood by the Jews, as weeks or sevens of days. I shall come to this prophecy by and by. But with respect to the catalogue of year-pro- phecies (I use the term to distinguish it from the day-prophecies, as I have termed Mr. Maitland's preceding catalogue), I think the second passage adduced in this catalogue, is subject to the same objection, as the second passage in the former, — both relating to Joseph's interpretation of dreams. The butler's and the baker's in the former, — Pha- X 2 308 THE APOCALYPSE raoh's in the catalogue, I am now about to loring under consideration. In the dreams of Pharaoh, as in the other dreams, there is no actual spe- cification of any period of time. The periods in- tended, are represented by the anomalous symbols of kine and ears of corn, as 1 have already stated. These dreams, therefore, do not, in this respect, come under the head, either of historical or sym- bolical prophecies, such as the visions of Daniel and St. John. As far as these dreams in themselves go, they are neither like the plain, matter-of-fact statements of historical prophecy, nor have they in them the actual specifications of periods of time (whether mystical or otherwise) which Ave find in the mysterious visions of Daniel and the Apoca- lypse. This passage, therefore, in Mr. Maitland's catalogue of year-prophecies, is an exact parallel witli the corresponding passage in his catalogue of day-prophecies. Joseph's interpretation, however, here, as in the former instance, does come under the head of historical prophecy. The parallel, therefore, I hold to be exact. And the two pas- sages, so far as his (Mr. Maitland's) pur[)ose in bringing them forward is concerned, must stand or fall together. But there is one particular to be observed in this latter catalogue (the year-prophe- cies), namely, that the period, signified as years, is stated in the proper, well-known tenn, which lite- rally expresses and means a year, — in the Hebrew n^ti^, and its inflections ; in the Greek erot;, in like manner: and not iy and its inflections, or xai^oV; which are the indefinite terms always used to ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 309 express a period equivalent to the extraordinary numbers of days, or months, to be found in the symbolical prophecies. The other passages in his catalogue of year- prophecies are to be literally un- derstood, the several periods being expressed in literal, defined terms, years, not times, as the ori- ginal is accurately rendered in our version ; not to speak of the events having afterwards proved the exactness of the predictions. If I am wrong in this critique on Mr. Maitland's catalogues of day and year-prophecies, I am open to conviction. I feel persuaded, however, that I am not. But, before I leave this subject, I would observe, that there was not anything in the dreams of Pha- raoh, or in those of his officers, which might be supposed to lead Joseph, naturally, to the right interpretation of them, more especially with re- spect to the periods of time intended. The inter- pretation was Divinely revealed to him. We read, " And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it : and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it ; " or, as we have the more accurate rendering in the margin of our version, — " when thou heareth a dream, thou canst interpret it;" "and Joseph answered Pha- raoh, saying. It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." I have already mentioned that Mr. Maitland excepts the seventy weeks of Daniel from his cata- loorues, because he thinks that weeks or sevens of years were as well understood by the Jews, as X 3 310 THE ArOCALYTSE weeks or sevens of days, and that D»/'D» (days) arc added to D^yHtS^ (sevens) to mark it weeks of days. He admits, however, that there are instances in which D'yiJi^ (sevens) occur, without the addition of I:3\t2» (days) ; and instances of D^J^^SS^ (sevens) with- out any adjunct. In those instances, D'V^ti^ (sevens) unquestionably signify weeks of days. There is a very striking instance in Genesis xxix. 27, 28., where V1\i^^ signifying evidently a week of days, twice occurs, Avithout the adjunct D'l!3^ to mark it; while, in the same passage, when seven years are intended, there is the adjunct of years to mark it, ^''W V^tl^ occurs twice. Still, Mr. Maitland thinks those instances of little consequence ; and that " it was not the custom of the writers of the Scriptures to calculate time by weeks of days." Now, I conceive that this custom, so far as it obtained, took its rise from Leviticus xxv., where they were commanded to reckon sevens of sab- batical years ; and that this custom does not su- persede the original division of time into weeks of days, Avhich was evidently the division at the Creation. The institution of the Sabbath at tlic very commencement of time, as far as this our world is concerned, proves that weeks, (sevens) of days, must have been the primeval division of time ; and that the after-custom among the Jews arose, upon what might be termed an accommodation principle, from the command in Leviticus xxv. And though they would be naturally more accus- tomed to what was prescribed in Leviticus, which bore date from the commencement of their polity, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 311 than they could be to the due consideration of Daniel's seventy weeks, a prophecy which was delivered after the subversion of that polity by Nebuchadnezzar ; yet, from their previous custom, that period of seventy weeks, though it has ever been to them a sad stumbling-block, has, neverthe- less, been looked upon by the Jews as signifying weeks of years. Still, however, their view of it has been, and is, so undefined, that they have never learned so to apply it as to find out, in that pro- phecy, the period when Messiah was to be cut off. Whence I conceive that there is hardly more ground in Scripture for assuming that weeks (sevens) are to be understood, at times, as signify- ing years, than there is for assuming that days are to be understood, at times, also, as signifying years. The instance in Leviticus appears, to me, not more indubitable for the one, than the instances, in Numbers and Ezekiel, are for the other. The sum of my argument is, that the measuring of time by weeks of days, is as old as the Creation, and was God's own measurement. The subsequent com- mand in Leviticus to reckon weeks of sabbatical years, led to the custom of applying Q'V2^( weeks) to years as well as days, when occasion might require. I do not find, however, an instance of the plural WVl^ having the adjunct of D3Ji^ (years), when signifying weeks of years. When D'y ^tt^ is used as a numeral, signifying, not weeks or sevens, but seventy, we do find the adjunct of Ul^ (years). Hence I should be led to infer that, when Daniel, in chap, x., marks the D^VH^ as weeks of days, by adding D\!D* 312 THE APOCALYl'SE (days), he did it for the purpose of specially distinguishing the weeks in chap, x., from the ■weeks preceding in chap. ix. Not that D'D* (days) were absolutely necessary to show that he meant weeks of days (for we have, elsewhere, U^y2tl^ without an adjunct, evidently meaning weeks of natural days), but merely to set a special mark upon the difference that should be observed between the " seventy weeks numbered on his people" in chap, ix., and the three weeks during which " he (an individual) mourned " in chap. x. I look, therefore, upon the distinction in chap. x. as a clue to the right interpretation of the Wy2^ preceding in chap. ix. ; while, at the same time, the veil of mystery is not so entirely removed, as to put the question wholly out of controversy, whether weeks of years, or weeks of days, were intended. In consequence of this uncertainty, it is open to those Avhose purpose it might not suit to have U^y2^ understood as weeks of years, to argue that there was no indubitable proof of their being so intended, there being a diiference of opinion among commentators on the subject. In tins wa}-, the Holy Spirit appears here to have provided that prophecy should, in no case, necessarily clash with the freedom of human agency. Let us now, hoAvever, examine the original ground for sometimes interpreting D'VUti^ weeks of years, and compare it with the ground which so many writers conceive they have for sometimes interpreting days as years. In Leviticus xxv. we have sabbaths of years, — ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 313 that is, every seventh year is to be a sabbath, or sabbatical year. Seven of these are to be num- bered,— this would give seven times seven years; so that the space of time occupied by those seven sabbatical years would be forty-nine years. Now all this is in connection with the primeval Sabbath, or seventh day of rest. The original word y2ti^ means sufficiency, completeness, because God then completed, finished, the work of creation. Hence, as that completion was comprized within seven days, the original word yilJi^ came to signify the number seven. The seventh year, then, accord- ing to the command in Leviticus, was to be a year of rest, in like manner as the seventh day, by primeval institution, was a day of rest. Seven of these sabbatical years Avere to make, as it were, one grand week of sabbatical years to introduce the high sabbath-year of Jubilee: somewhat in like manner was it with respect to the feast of weeks ; they were to number seven weekly sabbaths, making up, as it were, a week of sabbaths to introduce the day of Pentecost. In the one case, the year of Jubilee (the fiftieth year) was to be, especially, a holy year, a year of liberty, throughout the land. In the other case, the day of Pentecost (the fiftieth day) was to be " a sabbath of memorial," " a holy convocation." There is nothing in this appointment, to my apprehension, to establish Mr. Maitland's proposi- tion, that the word D^J^lIi^ was understood by the Jews to signify weeks of years, as well as weeks of days ; and, " that " (in fact) " it was not the 31-4 THE APOCALYPSE custom of the writers of the Scriptures to calcu- late time by weeks of days." AVhen the Jews did, at times, understand the word D^V^ti^ as weeks of years, I should be inclined to think it must have been by what might be termed mystical, or pro- phetical accommodation, arising from the peculiar circumstances connected with the use of the word in whatever passage it might occur. For instance, as I observed before, the addition of DV'J* (days) to D^yiti^ (weeks) in Daniel, chap, x., to mark it, specially, as weeks of natural days, affords a clue to the presumptive meaning of the same word D^V2ti^ (weeks) in the preceding chapter, ix., where it occurs several times without the addition of D'/t2^ (days). This circumstance, with a reference, at the same time, to the sabbatical years in Le- viticus, might, very naturally, lead those who were not warped by the exigency " of a theory," to infer that, as, in one passage, natural weeks of days are plainly marked out, so in another, where they are not so marked, some mysterious meaning was intended ; and, if so, weeks of years would, at once, suggest itself as the most probable interpre- tation. Let us, now, bring into comparison with this theory of the weeks, the " day for a year " theory, and see whether there may not be as good ground for the one as for the other. We have in Daniel and St. John certain periods of time, as I have already observed, expressed in very unusual terms. We have a far greater number of the shorter divisions of time, than are ever in any other in- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 315 stance so used, employed to express a certain period, which would be more comraodiously ex- pressed by two or three of the longer divisions. I believe, generally speaking, it has ever been the usage, when a period of time is to be expressed which exceeds a certain number of days, to express it by weeks ; — after a certain number of weeks, by months ; — after a certain number of months, by years. There are, it is true, in Scripture and elsewhere, isolated instances of reckoning time by daySy after the period has exceeded weeks or months. But this may be satisfactorily accounted for, as I have already shown, in several of those instances. I would here, however, offer some further observations to the same effect. A parti- cular day, the day of Pentecost for instance, is to be ascertained, reckoning from another specified day. Now, the fiftieth day, from a certain date, could not be exactly ascertained by saying, a month and three weeks, for this would not give the fiftieth day. The fact speaks for itself that the most commodious way of measuring time, in such a case, would be by days, not by weeks or months. The same might be said, perhaps, of every other instance of the same nature, in which a greater number of the shorter divisions of time are used, than lie within the compass of the proximate longer divisions. But, in Daniel and St. John, we have certain periods used, expressed by such a num- ber as 2300 days. We have, also, other very large numbers. There is something very remarkable with respect to the number of days, 1260. This 31G THE APOCALYPSE period is also expressed by forty-two months, when it might have been simply expressed by three years and a half. There is another point some- what still more remarkable. The same period is expressed by an indefinite measure of time (if what is indefinite can properly be called a mea- sure), which might not signify, as I have before observed, more than a day, or which might signify 1000 years; the original word, ly, signifying any portion of time, backward or forward, past or future, from eternity to eternity. In one passage of Job, it signifies time backward, from the beginning. In another, as well as in the Psalms and in Isaiah, it signifies time onward, futurity, eternity to come, " for ever." This term, indefinite in the extreme, is used to give, as if in a longer division of time, the amount of either of the shorter divisions previously given; — to give the amount (whatever might be the real period intended) of the 12 GO days, or tiie forty-two months, respectively. If the days and months were intended as natural days and months, the " time, times, and a half," or " the dividing of a time," would signify, as a matter of course, three years and a half Why not, then, state the period intended in the prophecy, simply in the definite, well-understood phraseology of three years and a half, instead of a phrase which, according to the context in which it may hnppen to stand, might signify any period, from eternity past, to eternity to come ? For no other reason, I believe, than tliat it was the design of the Holy Spirit to throw a veil over the subject-matter of the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 317 prophecy ; which veil, they who exercise " the mind which hath wisdom," according to St. John, may raise, and behold the truth; but which, on the other hand, they whose conscience, or whose convenience, or whose fancy it might suit, may, if they so please, leave as it lies, and profess that, as they see nothing mysterious in the matter, they must take every thing in the plain, literal sense of the terms in question. Such persons, with the disciples of old, when our Lord spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, would have understood him as speaking of the leaven of bread. The fact is, the exigencies of the literal interpreta- tion scheme, as applied to the symbolical prophe- cies, involve great inconsistencies. The Hebrew and Greek words 1^ and xaipog signify " occasion " and " opportunity," as well as time ; and, being thus indefinite, their proper meaning, in any passage where they occur, is to be determined by the context in which they happen to stand, and the circumstances connected with that context. It will be said, however, that we have a sym- bolical prophecy, in which " times " are to be interpreted literally as years, — namely, Nebu- chadnezzar's dream of the tree. Let us ex- amine this passage. " Seven times " were to pass over the stump of this tree. Daniel interprets this tree as signifying Nebuchadnezzar himself. He declares that all there shadowed out as be- falling the symbolical tree, was, in reality, to be- fal the king. But does the prophet interpret the 318 THE APOCALYPSE "times" as years ? Docs lie say that seven ycars^ during Avhicli Nebuchadnezzar was to be " driven from men," were to "pass over him?" He does not. In this particular of his interpretation, and in this alone, he adheres to the symbolical terms of the dream, and says that " seven times " are to " pass over him." And when the monarch hears the voice which fell from heaven, upon his making his vain- glorious boast, the " seven times" are again repeated as the term of chastisement. In this context, as a term within the compass of an individual's life must be limited to a comparatively short period, it is very naturally concluded by com- mentators, that years must have been intended. It is probable, therefore, that years, in this case, give the right interpretation of the otherwise inde- finite term " times." The conclusion, however, which I would draw from the absence of any exi)licit declaration, in the solution of this dream, as to the actual period, is, that it was designed a veil should be cast over the actual period, so as to leave, in every case where the indefinite term " times " is made use of, a ques- tion still open for conjecture as to the period actually intended. In Nebuchadnezzar's case, it might have been seven months or seven weeks, if only the period were sufiicient to let " Ins hairs grow like eagles' feathers," or " his nails like birds' claws." And when the term, whatever it might mean, had expired, we are not told, even then, that years were intended, but "at the days" (still an indefinite period) we read that Nebucliadnezzar's ITS OWN INTEEPKETEE. 319 " understanding returned unto him." But in the absence of any other historical record of the duration of this king's madness, one thing is cer- tain, that the Scriptures do not tell us in plain terms that years were intended by the expression times ; while the fact, that Nebuchadnezzar's throne was reserved for him, until his recovery, by his courtiers and lords, would rather favour the sup- position, that his madness (though specially sent from God) being probably a species of lunacy, did not extend to so long a period as seven years, and that " months, after all, might have comprized " the actual duration. Hence I would infer, that, in this case, as in all others of the kind, by the use of a symbolical indefinite terra, care has been providentially taken, that prophecy should, in no case, clash with the freedom of human agency ; that the use of such indefinite terms should, until God's own time shall arrive, leave the question open as to the period actually intended. But Mr. Maitland contends that, even though the Jews did understand weeks as signifying weeks of years as well as weeks of days, yet it cannot be shown that they ever considered a day as signify- ing a year. To meet this assumption, I would say that the Jews were vitally concerned in the one ques- tion, and not so, merely as Jews, in the other. The prophecy of the seventy weeks was inti- mately connected with their polity. The whole period of those seventy weeks was to be comprized 320 THE APOCALYPSE within the period of their existence as a nation. They were to be the actors in its fulfihncnt : — Messiah was to be cut oif before their final disper- sion. Every thing predicted in that prophecy, was to take place before the destruction of Jerusalem. They were, therefore, prepared, we may believe, chiefly by the ordinance in Leviticus x., to under- stand the prophecy ; to understand it at least in some measure, though the event has proved that they understood it to little purpose. The intimation, however, of " a day for a year," I am inclined to think, was not so much intended for " Israel after the flesh," as for us, the spiritual Israel. My reasons for so thinking are these: — The Jews had nothing, during tlieir continuance as a nation, to whicli they might be led to apply the " appointment " of a day to represent a year, in Numbers xiv. 34. The lock, if I may be allowed the illustration, had not as yet been made, which that key was to open ; in fact, the key appears to have been made long before the lock. Accordingly, we find nothing in their history, as recorded in Scripture, nothing in any of the prophe- cies previous to the commencement of the Captivity, to which this intimation in Numbers miglit be ap- plied. Sliortly after the Captivity commenced, wlien Ezekiel had been carried captive with Jehoiachim, this clue to the prophetical interpretation of " a day for a year," appears to have been more elaborately provided. Still, however, it has little, if any thing, to do with tlie Jews ; tlieir peculiar polity, that is, their polity under a long line of proi)hets ITS O^YN INTERPRETER. 321 and inspired writers, was nearly at an end. Ezekiel was in captivity when, after the long lapse from the time of their wandering in the wilderness (Num- bers xiv. 34.), the intimation of "a day for a year" was renewed (Ezekiel iv. 6.). And it was nearly seventy years after that renewal, when the Captivity was drawing towards its close, that the first prophecy, in which we find such extraordinary numbers of days stated as a prophetical period, was delivered by Daniel. Let it, then, be borne in mind, that when Ezekiel's clue, as I have termed it, was given (chap, iv.), it related, as far as the Jews were concerned, for the most part, to their past history, their history as far back as the commencement of national idolatry, in the reign of Jeroboam. With the exception, then, of pourtraying the approaching siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the vision was not prophetical. It did not (with the exception just noticed) predict what was to come ; it referred to what was past. This vision of Ezekiel, for I think all here was transacted in vision, is a very remarkable one. The minute directions to the prophet for pourtraying the siege, lying on his sides, and preparing his food during the period he was to be a sign unto the people, must ever draw special attention to this passage. And yet, when it is considered that by far the greatest part of that emblematical j^eriod related to the past, it does not fully appear what the whole design and purport of the vision really was. At first view, it would seem that the object was to let the people see how the impending calamity, in the y 322 TIIK ArOCALYrSE destruction of their city, was the consequence of a long period of previous iniquity, provoking God's anger, and bringing down his heavy judgment upon them. Still, however, the emblematical re- presentation seems too elaborate for such a purpose only. May it not, then, have been part of the Holy Spirit's design to draw attention to the renewed " appointment " of a " day" to represent a " year," so strikingly marked, and so emphatically expressed? thus, perhaps, indirectly preparing a key to the right interpretaticn of those mysterious prophecies, which were soon to be delivered by Daniel, and, in after-ages, by St. John. The sum of what has been said is this : — The first " appointment " of " a day for a year " was made in the time of Moses ; the second was made after the Captivity had commenced ; in the interval between, nothing whatever appeared, in the inspired writings, to which that " appointment " (supposing it to have some further object than what is actually stated in Numbers and Ezekiel) could be applicable ; and it was not for nearly seventy years after the second "appointment" in Ezekiel iv. that a pro- phecy was delivered (Daniel viii. 14), to which the "day for a year" could bear any application. Shortly after the delivery of the prophecies re- lating to the 2300, the 1290, and the 1335 days, the voice of inspiration ceased ; there was no more a prophet in Israel, — until the new Dis- pensation dawned, and John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Klias. During the intermediate period, the matter rested ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 323 as it was ; there was no further light from Scrip- ture to bear upon it ; and, as to there being no notice taken of the point in question (the *' day for a year") by Rabbins and Talmudists since, it mat- ters nothing. They who so miserably missed the mark in the right application of the seventy weeks, a prophecy in which they were themselves so deeply concerned, could hardly be supposed likely to give serious attention to the other symbolical prophecies of Daniel, to which, in consequence of their abuse of the former, they have been perhaps judicially blinded. I have already stated that the literal interpreters conceive that " weeks " (sevens) were indifferently applied, by the Jews, to years as well as days ; in fact, that they were not in the habit of reckoning by weeks. Mr. Maitland himself, indeed, has ad- duced three or four instances, in which the term weeks, without the word days being added, does signify weeks of days ; but he seems to set little account by those passages, — while he maintains that, at all events, no argument can be grounded on the seventy weeks of Daniel, in favour of the " day for a year " theory ; for that the Jews were not in the habit of calculating time by weeks (weeks of days, he means). Now " we find " (see authorities cited by Park- hurst in a note under the word y2^ in his Hebrew Lexicon) "that, from time immemorial, the use of this period has prevailed among all nations, without any variation in the form of it. The Israelites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Arabians, Indians, and, in a Y 2 324 THE APOCALYPSE word, all the nations of the East have, in all ages, made use of a week consisting of seven days. AVe find the same custom among the ancient Romans, Gauls, Britons, Germans, the nations of the North, and of America. ]\Iany vain conjectures have been formed con- cerning the reasons and motives, which determined all mankind to agree in this primitive division of their time. " Nothing but tradition concerning the space of time employed in the creation (formation) of the world could give rise to this universal, imme- morial practice." " The months " (of the ancient Scandinavians) " were divided into iceeJcs of seven days, a division which hath prevailed among almost all the nations we have any knowledge of, from the extremity of Asia to that of Europe." The authori- ties for these quotations are to be found in Park- hurst's Hebrew Lexicon, 8vo. p. G76. If, then, the statements in these quotations be cor- rect, what is to be said of Mr. Maitland's proposition, which (to neutralize the argument that might fairly be adduced, in countenance of the "f/ay for a ?/iit ]\Ir. Todd, I apprehend, feels the force of this dilemma, and sees further on tliis ix)int than per liaps he may be aware. lie obviously iXTceives, that, if it be once conceded that the seventy weeks arc to ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 325 be considered as weeks of years^ th^e "^ay for a year" theory would not be so utterly "untenable an assumption " as Mr. Maitland Avould make it out to be. Mr. Todd declines entering on the con- sideration of that celebrated prophecy. He says, he is not satisfied, with any of the attempts that have been made to explain it. It may be, he in- sinuates, weeks of days^ after all, which were in- tended ; and, if so, the prophecy is, as yet, unful- filled. It is very unfortunate that " the exigency of a theory" (I use his own words) should impel him to such a length, as to induce the hazard of a conjecture, which would tend to subtract, from the evidences of Christianity, one of the most unequi- vocal proofs that Jesus is the Messiah. If that prophecy be as yet unfulfilled, — then, "Messiah" has not, as yet, been "cut off;" "the transgression " has not been " finished ;" " an end of sins " has not been "made;" nor, "reconci- liation for iniquity;" nor "Everlasting Righteous- ness brought in ; " nor " the vision and the pro- phecy sealed up ; " nor " the Most Holy anointed." If this be so, — who shall presume to charge the Jews with blasphemy, when they solemnly curse the Lord Jesus as an impostor ? Surely Mr, Todd does not want to extricate the Jews, as well as the Papacy, out of their anti- Christian position. The course, however, pursued by Mr. Todd, the attempt, indirectly, even to hint a doubt as to whether that prophecy has been as yet ful- filled, is, in my sober judgment, fraught with in- calculable dano-er. It furnishes the Jew as well 6^Zb THE ArOCALYrSE as the infidel with ready arms to assail tlie truth of the fact, that the Being, whose advent, and whose death, we Christians commemorate, is, in- deed, the Christ. The common-place objection, — the difference of opinion among commentators, — is brought to bear on this case, as it is on every other where such difference may happen to occur. " The great differences among commentators," says Mr. Todd, " as to the commencement and ending of the seventy weeks, seems hardly consistent with the supposition that the prophecy is fulfilled." ]kit what, after all, is this difference of opinion ? AVhether the commencement of the seventy weeks should be dated from the decree of Cyrus, or the subsequent one of Darius the Mede, or tlie more effectual decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus. The first two prepared the way ; the third effected the restoration. Now, I will venture to say that, in order to ascertain the commencement of the seventy weeks, we should reckon backwards from the termination ; from the time that Messiah ivas cut off. If, then, we ascend the scale of time, from the period of the death of Christ, as far back as 490 years, we shall come to tlie seventh year of Artaxerxes; wlien Ezra returned from captivity witli a body of Jews, and, bond fide, revived the Jewisli worship, and re- stored the Jewish polity. " Differences of opinion among commentators!" Why, if mere diflerence of opinion were allowed to be, I will not say a valid, ])ut a probable, or even a possible, argument ngaiiist such a proposition ITS OWN INTERPKETER. 327 as tlae one in question, namely, that the seventy weeks were fulfilled at the death of Christ, it would give a TToti (rrdj to the grand artificer of evil, from whence he might hope to raise from its groundwork and dash to pieces (et dovarov) the whole super- structure of Divine Revelation. Whatever differences there may be among com- mentators, as to settling the minor pointsof the ques- tion with respect to the comxmencement or ending of the predicted period, one thing is as sure as the AVord of God can make it, that the twenty-fourth verse of the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel has been fulfilled at the death of Jesus Christ. There is but one opinion among those commentators, who believe this prophecy to foreshow the advent and death of the Messiah, as to its being " the clearest and most express prediction, in the whole Bible, concerning the time of his coming and death." " The events, which preceded and followed the coming and sufferings of the Messiah, having been so punctually fulfilled, afford a double confirma- tion of his being the same person prophesied of, and afterwards crucified ; nor can the}^, with any probability of truth, be applied to any other." Sir Isaac Newton represents " this illustrious prophecy as the foundation of the Christian religion." Ano- ther commentator says, " that if he had hitherto lived an infidel, the conviction wrought in him by a just consideration of the certain sense mid j^erfect completion of this Divine Oracle was so full, that he should feel it his duty to do and suffer all that was possible for human nature, supported by Divine ;^28 THE ArOCALYPSE ^ace, rather than forfeit his faith." (See Bishop Mant's Commentary in loco.) I must confess, for my OM'n part, that I was startled when I first read the note, respecting the seventy weeks, at the opening of ]\Ir, Todd's fifth Lecture. I was more than startled, I was shocked, to find the prophecy, which so triumphantly con- founds both Jew and infidel, so lightly disposed of; as if it made little or no diflerence as to the main point (the tnith, or rather the strongest proof of the truth, of Christianity), whether weeks of years, or weeks of days, were to be understood ; in other words, whether this prophecy had, or had not, been fulfilled at the death of Christ. In my apprehension, thcdifierence between these views is most serious. It is my conviction, that if it could be once generally received, that the i)ro- phecy of the seventy weeks might, possibly, be as yet unfulfilled, many of those who are not capable of sifting the question for themselves, but who rely upon the authority of others in such matters, might be sadly shaken in their faith ; nay, that there are those upon whom such an intimation miglit come like the heart-stroke which, when some long and fondly cherished object has been suddenly taken away, often leaves a void never to be filled again. How many may there be to whom that prophecy, as it stands in the book of Daniel, seems to fore- show, without question, the first coming and the death of Messiah ; to whom it speaks, as if a voice direct from "the Ancient of Days," — as if it were "the conuiiandment" itself which '• came forth " to ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 329 the attendant angel, and as if Gabriel himself had " shown " them the vision, and made them " under- stand" it. When such a mind as Sir Isaac Newton's looked upon that prophecy as the foundation of the Chris- tian religion, how many minds may there be, how- ever far below his standard, who view it in the same strong light. And how many such may there be, who, if once bewildered, could not, as the great philosopher could, ever get right again. In up- holding the received view of the prophecy, I speak my own feelings on the subject. That prophecy, as signifying weeks of years, long since fulfilled, has ever been to me a polar star : as signifying weeks of days yet ?mfulfilled, it would be but a transient meteor. It might as well be said to sig- nify weeks of moinents ; and to have been fulfilled, while the angel was speaking to the prophet. Before I conclude, I would throw out one sug- gestion in the way of caution. If the mystical in- terpreters should be mistaken in their views, they will, in the end, incur no harm : there is no pre- sumptuous recklessness of theory in looking around, as enjoined by our Lord himself, to see, whether, by discerning the face of the religious and political skies, in the world at large, from age to age, they might not discover, in the signs of the times, the gerniinant fulfilment of the prophecies. If that fulfilment, however, should, after all, be re- served for the last three years and a half of the present dispensation, they will be just as well pre- pared for it, as those who now differ from them 330 THE AFOCAIATSE can be. But if the literal interpreters slioulJ be mistaken, what do they incur ? They have been turning aside the current of their own minds and thoughts from what has been passing around them, as time rolls on ; and diverting, as far as in them may lie, the minds of others also, from inquiries, in which, all " the inhabiters of the earth " have such woe-fraught concern * ; while they (the literal in- terpreters) have been speculating on the phantas- mata of a future, short, and distant period. That there will be a fearful aggravation in the last stage of the great spiritual apostasy, there can be little question. But symptoms of the malady, in the w^orking of " the mystery of iniquity," have been accumulating, age after age, even from the apostolic days. Surely, then, each access of symp- tom, and each diagnostic, should be carefully watched, and diligently studied. The crisis, at length, will probably take place, when secular infidelity, and the ecclesiastical apos- tasy, shall exhibit the mark of undisguised coali- tion. After a while, the former will overpower the latter (Rev. xvii. 1(3.), and then shall come the final dissolution of the entire system ; and the beast with the false proplict, will both be "cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. xix. 20.). • Sec Kcv. viii. 13. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 331 NOTES ON DISSERTATION III. P. 324. last line. If it be once conceded,'} The incon- sistency involved by such concession has been so ably ani- madverted on by a sound scholar, the late Rev. William Tomes, that 1 shall give the criticism in his own words. " The Rev. Mr. Dodsworth, who has lately presented us with a new scheme of the Revelation, cites the Rev. S. R. Maitland, of Gloucester, in confirmation of his own opinion, that the 1260 days are reallT/ 1260 days, and that they do not represent 1260 years. To the arguments in support of that interpretation which assigns 1260 years to the period of 1260 days, he allows no weight. Those ar- guments are chiefly derived from the celebrated prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel, each week standing for a week of years : to them he replies, — " It may he observed, that in these Lectures, it is assumed, that the forty -two mojiths, or twelve hundred and sixty days, viean forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days. Those who loish to see this subject fully discussed, are re- ferred to the tracts of the Rev. S. B. Maitland, of Glou- cester, whose arguments against a mystical interpretation of these periods are unanswered, and I believe unanswerable. " The principal grounds upon which the mystical inter- pretation has been contended for, are these : First, that in the case of DanieVs famous prophecy of the seventy iveeks (chap, ix,), the event has proved that this period is to he interpreted of seventy weeks of years : he7ice it is inferred, that a clay is put for a year ; a7id if this he so in one prophecy, it is but consistent to adopt the same mode of computation in other prophecies of the same loriter. " The answer to this is, that Daniel docs not speak of 332 THE ArOCALVrSE (lays at all in this -pro-pliccy (o/'cliap. ix.) ; the original word translated ' xoeek ' does not mean ' seven days,'' hut simply seven. Hence it is maintained that the period specified is most naturally seventy sevens of years, tcithout any mys- tical interpretation tchatever. Thus, the icltolc argument is founded upon the accidental circumstance of the tcord week being used in our translation instead of the icord seven. — p. 129. " This is a very shallow criticism. lie observes : ' Daniel does not speak of days at all in this prophecy. The ori- ginal word translated iceek does not mean seven days, but simply seven ; ' that is, it is not a substantive, but a nu- meral adjective. It may be enough to ask in reply, — How did the Rev. Mr. Maitland arrive at this learned dis- covery ? And what are his authorities ? He confounds two words that are used in the Bible with uniform dis- tinctness, — yatJ', the numeral seven, and yn:;', seven days. They arc different in signification. Daniel uses both words in the j)lural number in chap. ix. 24., and the latter, in verse 27., in the singular number, each in different sig- nifications, yinti* occurs in the sense of sevc7i days in Gen. xxix. 27, 28 : * Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.' Here, obviously, V2::\ seven days or weeks, is difl'erent from the numeral y^L", seven, united to years. " To mark the distinction between the numeral seven and the appellative weeks in Daniel ix. 24., several ancient manuscripts, thirteen of Kcnnicot and four of De llossi, write fully □'•yn::' witii a i. All the ancient versions afford the same interpretation in the above-cited places. Tlie Septuagint have e^Bofius, a week, and not evrra, seven. The Vulgate has also licbdomas, a tvcrh, and not scptem, sn^eyi, as the meaning of ynL". " AVc now see what value is to be placed on the uncpiali- licd praise, bestowed, by Mr. Dodswortli, on the arguments ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 333 of Mr. Maitland, against a mystical interpretation of 1260 clays. He observes, — " They are unanswered^ and I believe una nsiver able. — p. 129. " It is a pity, that some person before now has not an- swered these ' unanswerable argviments.' " A very slight knowledge of Hebrew grammar might have set these gentlemen right." (See " Scripture Doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ, considered with special reference to the difficulties of Premillennarianism." — Appendix No. 4. By the Rev. William Tomes, A.B., Chaplain on the Madras Establish- ment, Madras. Printed at the Vepery Mission Press of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1838.) Mr. Tomes has also observed that, " Hebrew numerals, in the plural, are always used in a decimal ratio : conse- quently, if D"'y3tr be always a numeral adjective, and never an appellative substantive, then D''J?2:^' D^yiC must signify seventy times seventy, or 4900 days, instead of 490." I would ask, what would Mr. Maitland make of that amount ? How will he reconcile it with his own view of this celebrated prophecy? Mr. Todd, indeed, apprehends, that the prophecy is, as yet, unfulfilled. If so, then the Messiah is not yet come I And well may the Jews persist in their assertion, and cite, in its support, the opinion of a very learned Christian divine ! P. 326. 1. 7. The great differences among commejitators,'] Difficulties have been started by commentators, which, on examination, do not appear to exist. The great qucestio vexata among them is to be found in Daniel, chapter ix. verse 27., where it is said that " in the midst of the week he shall cause the oblation to cease." This had led many to suppose that the death of Christ took place in the middle of the last or seventieth of Daniel's weeks; which, in reckoning backward, would bring the 334 THE APOCALYPSE period tlircc years and a half earlier than the seventh of Artaxcrxes, when the decree was made to restore the Jewish polity. But the difficulty here arises from trans- lating the original word "ivn, midst, instead of half, as Pridcaux, in his Connexion, lias Aery plainly shown that the rendering ought to be. " In the half of the week he shall cause the oblation to cease," — that is, during the entire half, his ministry shall have that effect ; and, as His death was the last act of that ministry, of course, it must have taken place at the end of that half. Now, the half here spoken of, must have been the latter half of that one week, in which He was to " confirm the covenant with many." For, if we examine the point fairly, with the light which other passages of Scripture throw upon it, we ai-e clearly led to tiiis conclusion, and thus easily find the solution of the difficulty. The seventieth week was the one during which IMessiah was to " confirm the covenant with many." The process of that confirmation was to occupy the entire of that week, from its commencement to its end. It is evident that this confirmation was to be cffiictcd during our Lord's ministry. Now, that ministry is known not to have been so long as seven years, — not to have exceeded the half of that period. "What he did not do pcrsonalh/, however, in confirming that covenant, he did by his forerunner, John the Baptist. We must go back, then, to the first preaching of the Gospel; which actually took place at the commencement of that seventieth week. And we read, in the opening verse of St. Mark's gospel, that " The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," was at the time, when " the voice of one crying in the wilderness " was first heard, " Prepare ye tlie way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Then was the beginning of confirming the covenant. The B;i[)li6t'd ministry lasted about three years and a ITS OWN INTERPRETEE. 335 half; the first half of that seventieth week. St. John comraenced his ministry A. d. 27. He was imprisoned in the course of the year 30. Then commenced our Lord's distinctive ministry apart from St. John's, for both had been going on, some time before, together. This distinctive ministry continued until the end of 33, when Christ was crucified. Thus we have here, in Daniel, the prophecy that Messiali was to confirm the covenant for one week ; and we have, in St. Mark, — from " the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," by " the voice of one cry- ing in the wilderness," to the death of Christ, — exactly seven years ; Daniel's seventieth week of years. P. 327. 1. 5. The ichole superstructure of Divine Revela- tion.'] If 1 speak strongly, here, and in other places, I do so in consequence of the peremptory and supercilious tone in which the generally received theory of "a day for a year" has been disposed of by the literal interpreters of the sym- bolical prophecies ; and, as a commentator myself, nmst protest against such an assertion as the following : — " The untenable assumption, that days, in prophetical language, denote years, is an assumption, which an eminent living writer (Mr. Maitland) has so completely refuted, that no theory, built upon it, can now be considered as requiring any further confutation," 336 THE APOCALYrSE DISSERTATION IV. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the quadripartite IMAGE. I shall now make some observations on Mr. Todd's view of the quadripartite image (Daniel ii. 31.). I have already observed, that the literal interpreters are of opinion that no prophecy has been, as yet, fulfilled, if we have not had such manifest proof of its accomplishment as cannot be questioned. But, to make this out, they go strange lengths ; for, according to their theory, Daniel's four beasts, or kingdoms, are yet to come. And the compound image would unquestionably be sent forward, if possible, to the same shadowy point in fiituro : as far, indeed, as it could be attempted, the effort has been made. l>ut there is one punctum stans which will not move for- ward for them, do what they may; that is, the " head of gold." The image represents four king- doms, or empires, as the prophet has told us ; in fniuro^ all of them, ]\Ir. Todd, perhaps, would say, — only that Daniel, in his interpretation of the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, has distinctly marked the era of the first kingdom — " Thou, 0 king, art this head of gold." Here we have a_//.fvv/ ])oint, which will cna])le us to hold fast the members of the image from being ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 337 transferred to the distant ages of futurity ; — which will keep those members in successive contact with each other, from the head down ; and which will prevent the dismembering of this image. Yet, strange to say, Mr. Todd, though he must admit that the head of gold, the first kingdom, did flourish 3000 years ago, thinks it not at all hn- probable, that the remaining three, the silver, the brass, but, at all events, the iron, are yet to come. He talks much about the presumption which would attempt to define what might, or what might not, in the course of events, be likely to be the subjects of prophecy ; that events, which may appear to us of great or paramount importance, may, in the eye of God, be of little or none ; that, in prophecy, " He may pass over without notice ten or twenty centuries, and crowd into the events of a few short years the fulfilment of all that is foretold." This is all, in the abstract, very specious and reve- rential. The Almighty may, unquestionably, do what he wills with his own. But it is a very slight argument on which to ground a theory contrary to every analogy, and to every thing that might be brought to bear upon it from the prophecies relating to the Jewish Dispensation ; a theory in- congruous and anomalous in the extreme ; to say nothing of its being at variance with the opinions of the greatest names, who have devoted their minds and learning to the study of the prophecies. This, however, it may be retorted, is only abstract reasoning in return. I will come, therefore, to proof positive. Mr. Todd suggests, on rather ques- z 338 THE ArOCALYrSE tionablc aatliority (the authority of a Spanish priest, possibly a Jesuit), that, so far from being under the necessity of admitting the silver portion of the image to signify the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, there was, in fact, no change at all ; that the Babylonian empire did not terminate on the taking of Babylon ; that there was only a change of dynasty or sovereigns ; — Belshazzar dethroned and slain ; — Darius and Cyrus succeeding him. Lacunza, as quoted by Mr. Maitland and Mr. Todd, who first, I believe, put this point forward, wished, no doubt, to extricate the Papacy from its so apparently anti-Christian position. lie suggests, also, tliat Persia was not inferior to Babylonia, and, therefore, could not have been the second kingdom foretold: — " After thee shall arise another king- dom inferior to thee." ]\Iust there be a trigonometrical survey of the two empires, before Lacunza and Mr. ]\Iaitland would allow that Persia was inferior to Babylonia, and therefore the second kingdom ? And yet the actual extent of their respective territories is to be made tlie test as to the fact, whether or not Persia was tlie silver portion of the image. This is mere trifling with prophecy ; it savours of special pleading. Why make such stress upon an expression, whicli can be fairly understood in several liglits? lu the first place, the liabylonian empire, mixed up as it Avas with the Assyrian, was superior in point of antiquity. The city of Babylon, there is reason to think, was founded at the confusion of tongues ; when they said, " Let Ub build us a city and a tower irS OWN INTEEPRETER. 339 whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name." Babylon, then, appears to have been, in pomt of time at least, the first monarchy or ruling power on earth. Under Semiramis, Babylon was one of the wonders of the world; and though Nineveh, for a time, competed with her for superi- ority, and, for a time, was the superior, yet, in the end, Babylon resumed her primacy, and, under the magnificent reign of Nebuchadnezzar, was "the lady of kingdoms," " tlie glory of the Chaldees' excellency." " Is not this great Babylon that I have built," said the monarch, when he surveyed its magnificence, " for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" Then, when we bear in mind the courtesy, the respect, the reverence always shown, even by the commissioned prophets, the ambassa- dors of the ]\Iost High himself, to the ruling powers, heathen though they were, thus recognizing the power of Him by Avhom kings reign, can we be sur- prized that the prophet should have acknowledged, in his interpretation of the Babylonian monarch's dream, the superiority of Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom over all the kings and kingdoms of the earth, whether past, present, or to come ? Then let us compare this fourfold metallic image, in the prophecy, with the descriptions given us by the ancient poets of the four ages of the world, — the golden, the silver, the brazen, and the iron ; — the first, the most precious of all metals; the second, less valuable, but harder, and fitter for use ; the z 2 340 THE APOCALYPSE third, of still lower value, but mucli more effective as an implement of destructive power ; and the fourth, intrinsically, the least valuable of all, but the hardest, and, in the hand of power, the most destructive, which can break in pieces all the rest. And are we now to be told, that Persia, being not inferior to Babylon, could not have been the second kingdom foretold in the vision ? If so, the Grecian empire was not inferior ; — if so, the Homan empire, most assuredly, was 7iot inferior ; — and if so, the Babylonian empire must be still in existence. AVhat a tissue of absurdities would not this proposition go to weave ! Yet this proposition has staggered Mr. ]\Iaitland. He says, " The arguments of Lacunza on this point I know not how to answer." I will refer him to an authority, where he will find them answered long ago : " to the Law and to the Testimony." I will set in array Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel, against Lacunza, Mr. Mait- land, and Mr. Todd. But, before we proceed, I shall make one furtiier observation. Lacunza and ^Ir. ]\Iaitland say that Persia was not inferior to Babylon. " The realm of Grecia," then, according to their view, was the second kingdom, and of course, in their interpretation, inferior to Babylon. I would ask, then, do they mean to say, that Grecia, when it actually comprized r)al)ylon and all her depen- dencies within the limits of its own empire under Alexander the Great, was inferior to Babylon? They might probably say, No; we contemplated ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 341 Grecia as it existed previous to Alexander's in- vasion of Asia; and then, though Grecia was a warlike nation, yet it was far inferior to Babylon in extent and power. If such should be the an- swer to my question, all I shall say is, that Persia must be contemplated in exactly the same point of view ; that is, not as when she afterwards included all Asia nearly in her sway, but as when her hardy mountain tribes, under the military genius of Cyrus, whom " the Lord anointed to break in pieces the gates of brass," first invaded the Babylonian terri- tory to besiege the city. In fact. Media and Persia were provinces, and, as such, at one period, had formed a part, of the Babylonian empire. They afterwards revolted, and succeeded in overturning the mother kingdom ; so that, except Lacunza could have made it out that a part might be greater than the whole, Persia was undoubtedly inferior to Babylon, at the time that the prophet Daniel inter- preted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and, from that period, until Cyrus took the city. Here is a dilemma for Mr. Maitland ; and he may take whichever horn he pleases. Persia and Grecia were either inferior or not inferior to Babylon. Whatever be predicated of the one, must be predicated of the other also. If Persia was not inferior, neither was Grecia. If Grecia icas inferior^ so was Persia ; and, if so, had the better claim to be, according to Daniel's inter- pretation, the second kingdom. Mr. Todd, however, seems inclined to dispose of the question in a sum- mary way. He thinks that the second kingdom has not yet appeared; that the silver, the brass, and the Z 3 342 THE ArocALYrsE iron portions of the fourfold image, represent three kingdoms yet to come. I have observed more at length on this point than it intrinsically deserves. It is as weak an effort to prop so untenable an argument as could possibly be made ; and it would be scarcely worth the trouble of refuting it, were it not one of those points on which the subversion of a long and well- established system of prophetical interpretation has been attempted, and by which the attention of too many, at the present juncture, has been turned away from " discerning the signs of the times," especially " this time." But to proceed to the denunciations of the tliree prophets against Babylon. The first prophecy against Babylon is to bo found in the thirteenth chapter of Isaiah. I sliall not, liowever, in the catena of passages which I here subjoin, give the references to chapter and verse. The several passages may easily be found in the Bible, with the aid of a Concordance ; and I prefer giving those passages thus in full, to a mere general reference. I wish to let the voice of the prophets be heard in unbroken continuity. The first prophecy is, *' The burden of Inibylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amos, did see. Behold, I will stir up tlic Medes against tliem, whicli sliall not regard silver ; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows shall dash the young men to pieces ; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb ; their eye shall not spare chil- dren. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 343 beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation ; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there ; neither shall the shep- herds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there ; and the wild beasts of the island shall cry in theh' desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces ; and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged." " Thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased ! The golden city ceased ! The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers." " Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers ; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of Hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water ; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of Hosts." This prophecy was delivered nearly 200 years before the taking of Babylon by Cyrus. The next prophecy of Isaiah is, " Go up, 0 Elam, besiege 0 Media, for thus hath the Lord said unto me, Set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot with a couple z 4 344 THE ArOCALYPSE of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen ! " Again, " Thus saith the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel : For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. They shall lie down together, they shall not rise : they are extinct, they are quenched as tow." And again, " Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth." " Come down, and sit in the dust, 0 virgin daugh- ter of Babylon, sit on the ground : there is no throne, 0 daughter of the Chaldeans : for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones, and grind meal : uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers." — " Sit tliou silent and get thee into dark- ness, 0 daughter of the Chaldeans : for thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms. Thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever : I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children ; but these two tilings shall come to thee in a moment, in one day, the loss of children and widowh'^d. Thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and therdMs none else beside me. Therefore shall evil come it^n thee ; thou shalt not know from whence it risetli^ and mischief shall fall upon thee ; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon tlice." This evidently alludes to the astrologers, the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 345 Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, whom Belshazzar " cried aloud to bnng in," when he saw the hand- writing on the wall, in that night when this pro- phecy (uttered 200 years before) was fulfilled ; when the Lord opened before Cyrus the two-leaved gates ; when He brake in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron, — the brazen gates and iron bars, of Babylon. So far the prophet Isaiah, with whose predic- tions the terrible denunciation of the Psalmist so fearfully coincides : " 0 daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed ; happy shall he be that re- .wardeth thee as thou served us. Yea, blessed shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." Let us now hear the prophet Jeremiah, referring to the very time when Cyrus took the city. " And it shall come to pass when seventy years are ac- complished, that I will punish the king of Baby- lon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their ini- quities, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pro- nounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations." " The word that the Lord spake against Baby- lon, and against the land of the Chaldeans, by Jere- miah the prophet. Babylon is taken, Bel is con- founded, Merodach is broken in pieces. Eemove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, for lo, I will raise and 31G THE ArOCALYPSE cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country : and they shall set themselves in array against her ; from thence sliall she be taken : their arrows shall be as of a mighty, expert man ; none shall return in vain, and Chaldea shall be a spoil : all that spoil her sliall be satisfied, saith tlie Lord. Every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about : all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she hatli sinned a";ainst the Lord. Shout airainst her round about : her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down : for it is the vengeance of the Lord : take vengeance upon her ; as slie hath done, do unto her. Cut off tlie sower from Babylon, and him that handleth tlie sickle in the time of harvest : a sound of battle is in the land, and of great de- struction. IIow is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken ! How is Babylon become a desolation among nations ! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art taken, 0 Babylon, and thou wast not aware : thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord. The Lord hath opened His armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of His indignation : for this the work of the Lord God of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from the uttermost l)orders, open her storehouses : cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly : let nothing of her ])e left. Call together the archers against r.aby- lon ; all ye that bend the bow, camp against it ITS OWN INTElirEETEH. 347 round about : let none thereof escape. Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord. Behold, I am against thee, 0 thou most proud, saith the Lord of Hosts : for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up : and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him. A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the liars ; and they shall dote : a sword is upon their mighty men ; and they shall be dismayed. A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her ; and they shall become as women ; a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed. A drought is upon her waters ; and they shall be dried up. Therefore the wild beasts of tlie desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein : and it shall be no more inhabited for ever ; neither shall it be dwelt in from generiition to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities, saith the Lord ; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man abide therein. Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. They shall hold the bow and the lance : they are cruel, and will not shew mercy : their voice shall roar like the 348 THE APOCALYPSE sea, and tlicy shall ride upon horses, — every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, 0 daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble ; anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail." Let us compare this pro- phecy of Jeremiah, near fifty years before, with the actual fulfilment in Daniel : " Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts trou- bled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. Then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished." But let us hear Jeremiah again : — " Tlierefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, tliat He hath taken against Babylon ; and His purposes, that He hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans. Thus saith the Lord ; liehold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind ; and will send unto Babylon fanners that shall fan her, and shall empty her land ; for in the day of her trouble they shall be against her round about. Against him that bend- etli, let the archer bend his bow, and ngainst liini that lifteth liimself up in liis brigandine : and spare ye not her young men ; destroy ye utterly all her host. Thus the slain shall fall in the land of tlic Chaldeans, and they tliat are thrust througli in her streets. Babylon hath been a g(jlden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken; the ITS OWN INTERPEETER. S-iO nations have drunken of her wine, therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed. Make bright the arrows; gather the shields ; the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the king of the Medes : for His device is against Ba- bylon to destroy it ; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of His temple. Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the w^atchraen, prepare the ambushes; for the Lord hath both devised and done that which He spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. 0 thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come. The Lord hath sworn by Himself, saying. Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillars ; and they shall lift up a shout against thee. And I will - render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil. Behold, I am against thee, 0 destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which de- stroyed all the earth ; and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain, and they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations ; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord. " Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations against her, call toge- ther against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz ; appoint a captain against her ; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpil- lars. Prepare against her the nations with the lings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all 350 THE Al'OCALYrSE the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow : for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Ba- bylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Baby- lon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds : their might hath failed ; they be- came as women ; they have burned her dwelling places, her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, and that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel ; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, it is time to thresh her ; yet a little while and the time of her harvest shall come. And Babylon shall become, heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an astonish- ment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. In their heat I will make their feasts, and make them dninken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpe- tual sleep, and not awake, saith the Lord. How is Slieshach taken ! And how is the praise of the whole earth surprized ! How is Babylon become an astonishment ainong the nations ! The sea is come up upon Babylon. Her cities are a desola- tion,— a dry land and a wilderness. And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up ; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him ; yea, the Avail of liabylon shall fall. And the whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain ITS OWN INTEKPKETER. 351 shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Ba- bylon, for the spoilers shall come to her from the north, saith the Lord. " As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall the spoiler come unto her, saith the Lord. " A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and de- stroyed out of her the great voice. Because the spoiler is come upon, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, and every one of their bows is broken. And I will make drunk her 'princes^ and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men : and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake, saith the king, whose name is the Lord of Hosts. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. " So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words ; then shalt thou say, 0 Lord, thou hast spoken against this place to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. And it shall be, when thou hast made 352 THE Al'OCALYl'SE an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Eupliratcs: and thou shalt say, Thus sliall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah." We now come, in Daniel, to the fearful con- summation of all that had been foretold. " Belshazzar the king made a great feast. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saAv the part of the hand that wrote. Then was the part of the hand sent from him, and this writing was the writing that was written — Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. This is the interpretation of the thing : Mene ; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Tekel ; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found Avanting. Peres ; thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. " In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom." Thus was fulfilled what Isaiah had prophesied 200 years before : — " Go up, 0 J'^lam ; besiege, 0 Media : Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Let us now compare witli this tremendous sum- mary of divine denunciation against Babylon, — pointing so distinctly to the actual, the horn) fide ^ subversion of the Jkibylonian kingdom or empire ITS OWN INTElintETEIl. l^f)^ by Cyrus, and the substitution of the Medo- Persian in its room, — with the arguments of La- cunza to the contrary. He argues, that, from Scripture, it may be shown there was no change of kingdom or empire, — that the r)abylonian empire still continued, — that the Medo- Persian did not supersede it, in the sense of such a change as that of the silver portion of the image superseding the head of gold, or as " another kingdom" " arising after Nebuchadnezzar." It was not, according to Lacunza, a subversion of the Babylonian kingdom, but only a change of sovereigns ; the empire still remaining one and the same. His first argument is grounded on the passage in Daniel, " And Darius the Median took the kingdom." In answer to this I would simply say, — it is the natural mode of ex- pressing the fact, that Babylon became absolutely subject to him. So does every conquered country to the conqueror. " William the Dutchman " (as Mr. Maitland rather unceremoniously desig- nates a monarch who, under God, delivered these countries from Pope and Popery, for whose happy and providential arrival among us a particular ser- vice of national thanksgiving was appointed*) does not supply a case in point. When King William III. arrived among us, he came not as a conqueror. He was invited by the nation, after the reigning monarch had broken his solemn compact with the Church, and State, and people of England. His consort was heir presumptive to the throne ; and * Perhaps Mr. Maitland uses tlic expression as being a[)po- site to " Darius tlie Median." A A 354 THE APOCALYPSE Kin or AVilliam was associated with her in the repjal power by the chief estates of the realm. If ^Mr. Maitland had gone back to William the Norman, he miglit have found a case, apparently at first view, more to his purpose. But even in that case, Eng- land was never subjected to France, as Babylonia was to Media and Persia. The next passage adduced by Lacunza is, — where, in Daniel, it is said that " Darius was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans." This is to be understood in the same sense as " taking the kingdom," in the former passage. The Median and Persian nionarchs continued, for a long time after the capture of Babylon, to reside there during the winter months. Babylon and Chaldea were a conquered city and country. And it was very natural to call the conqueror, while residing there, and holding his court there, the king of the place. The last passage adduced by Lacunza, is from Nehemiah, where Artaxerxes is called " the king of Babylon." But this may be accounted for on like ground ; as may, also, Ezra's having called " Cyrus king of Babylon." It is most likely those mo- narchs were residing at Babylon, when both Ezra and Nehemiah so styled them. Nehemiah's desig- nation of Artaxerxes, occurred, it is true, 100 years after the taking of Ikbylon by Cyrus. But this affords no ground for the supposition, that it was still tlie ]5abylonish empire that was in existence. We never read, after the night of that capture, of the laws, or decrees, or i)olity of the Chaldeans or ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 355 Babylonians. The style, from the outset of the con- quest, is " the laws of the Medes and Persians that alter not ; " a formula repeated in Daniel over and over again. It is also to be observed, that when, in process of time, the Persian branch of the empire took the lead of the Median, in other words, the words of prophecy, " when the horn that came up last became the higher one," it is no longer " the Medes and Persians^^ but " the Persians and Medes^ In the book of Esther, at the very time that Nehemiah called the Persian monarch " the king of Babylon," we read of " the power of Persia and Media," — " the princes of Persia and Media," — "the ladies of Persia and Media," — and " the laws of the Persians and Medes that alter not." AA 2 356 THE ArOCALYl'SE DISSERTATION V. Daniel's vision of the four beasts. The vision of the four Beasts exhibits a very strik- ing correspondency with the dream of the quadri- partite image. The only distinctive point between them is to be found in the representative emblems : the emblems in Nebuchadnezzar's dream being four metals; the emblems in Daniel's vision, four wild beasts. But we learn, from the interpreta- tion, that each set of emblems represents identical subjects, — namely, four kingdoms. So far, then, no question can exist. The only question is, whether the correspondency holds good in each particular to the two visions; whether the four metals, and the four beasts, represent, respectively, the same kingdoms. In the actual dream, as well as in the actual vision, per se, there is little that would imply a necessary relation between the first three members of each set of emblems, further than there being two sets of those emblems and four in each set. In the fourth of each, however, there is a correspon- dency. Each fourth emblem is destroyed, and, in that ruin, the destruction of each three preceding emblems is included. Let us, now, collate and examine the interpreta- tion of each set of emblems. We learn, from tliis interpretation, that thoy represent kingdoms; and ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 357 kingdoms, moreover, evidently in regular succession. With respect to the image, there can be no legiti- mate question ; no more than there could be, in the conformation of the human body, as to whether the head is joined on to the body, and the body to the limbs. The fact of the image of a human body being the aggregate emblem employed by the Holy Spirit in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, indisputably, infers regular and immediate succession. With respect to the four beasts, similar suc- cession is plainly denoted in Daniel's vision. Whether he saw the four beasts rise all together, or one after the other, from the sea, we are not in- formed in express terms. He may have seen them all together at first, as Nebuchadnezzar saw the image entire. Still, however, succession is marked as evidently, in the prophet's vision, as in the monarch's dream. Here is the order in which Daniel saw those beasts : — " The first was like a lion :" " and behold another beast, like to a bear:" — " after this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard:" "after this I saw, in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible ; and it was diverse from all the beasts that Avent before it." We now come to the consideration of the fourth emblem of each set, apart, for the present, from each preceding three. We learn from the interpretation of the dream that, "forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things ;" " and iron breaketh all these " (namely, the brass, the silver, and the gold) ; "so AA 3 358 THE ArOCALYPSE the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron," "and it shall hrcah in pieces and bndseJ' Then we learn, from the vision of the beasts, that " the fourth beast was dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ; and it had great i7vn teeth : it devoured and brake in ineces, and stamped the residue with the feet oi it.'''' And, afterwards, from the interpretation, we learn, that "the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces." We now come to the de- struction of the fourth emblem in each set. First, then, as to the image: — "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors ; and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them : and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." The inter- pretation of the dream, next, tells us, that, " in the days of these king.'^ shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom sliall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these king- doms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmucli as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold: the Great God liath made known to the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 359 king what shall come to pass hereafter." Now, by the expression " these kings,'' I understand "the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron;" a symbol designed to show that " the kingdom shall be divided;" in fact, to point out the divided state of the fourth kingdom in process of time : the ten toes of the image answering to the ten horns of the fourth beast, as well as to the ten horns of the first beast in the Apocalypse (xvii. 12), "which had received no kingdom as yet;" when, in after- ages, St. John saw that vision. I shall return, however, to this latter point in the course of this dissertation, and proceed, now, with some fur- ther consideration of the image. From the foregoing passages, in the interpreta- tion, as well as in the dream itself, it appears that Nebuchadnezzar was viewing and contemplating the image, as it stood, " till he saw that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces." It appears, also, that the stone smote the feet of the image immediately after being cut out, that the image was instantaneousli/ anni- hilated, and that " the stone " forthwith " became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." Here I agree with Mr. Todd, that Mede's theory, of the kingdom of the stone preceding the kingdom of the mountain, is not borne out by any one cir- cumstance, either in the dream, or in the interpre- tation. The stone appears to bear some allusion, perhaps, to " the stone which the builders refused." Its stroke, most likely, will be miraculous. In AA 4 360 THE APOCALYPSE other words, some supernatural intervention of " the faithful and true, whose name is called the Word of God," may take place, by angelic agency, by " the armies wliich are in heaven," before the reign of the saints shall commence on earth ; such a miraculous interposition, perhaps, as the " fire from God out of heaven," which, after the thousand years (Rev. xx. 9.), shall "devour" Gog and ]\Iagog's innumerable host. Let us now review the vision of the four beasts. AVe have succession here as plainly as in the image. AVe have the destruction of the one as well as of the other. And we learn the fate of the first three beasts, as well as that of tlie first three portions of the image. When the iron portion of the image is destroyed, the brass, the silver, and the gold are destroyed along with it. And, when the fourth beast is given to the burning flame, the prophet reverts to the three preceding beasts, and discloses their fate also : " As concerning the rest of the beasts, tliey had their dominion taken away." If it be asked, when was it taken away ? I would answer, — evidently when, in process of time, each succeeding one was deprived of its dominion by its successor. We read further, — " Yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time;" which words imply that, sooner or later, their lives were to come to an end ; that they were not to live for ever. Should it be asked, when is their death to take place? the natural answer would be, — that as the brass, the silver, and tlie gold of the image, partook of the destruction of the iron, — ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 361 SO the leopard, the bear, and the lion shall partake the fate of the nameless beast, and their bodies, with his, be given to the burning flame. If further proof be required, I would direct attention to the first beast in the Apocalypse (xiii, 2.), to show that as the brass, the silver, and the gold were in connection with the iron, when all were destroyed together, — so the leopard, the bear, and the lion were in connection with the fourth beast, when "his body Avas given to the burning flame ;" — for the Apocalyptic beast is de- scribed as having the body of a leopard, for "he was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion." Of this composite beast, the end is, — "he is cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." The succession, also, of a fifth kingdom is dis- tinctly set forth in each symbol ; in the dream, and in the vision : " The stone becomes a great mountain;" and "the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom." So that, as I have already observed, whatever be predicated of the one symbol, is to be predicated of the other. I have been thus full in drawing out the parallel between the dream of the quadripartite image, and the vision of the four beasts, because the literal interpreters think that there may be a gap of twenty or thirty centuries, between the kingdom represented by the golden head of the image, and those represented by its remaining portions; and that all the kingdoms represented by the four beasts may be, as yet, to come. But 362 THE APOCALYPSE they seem quite confident that the fourth kingdom (which they admit to be represented by the iron legs of the image, as well as by the fourth beast) is yet to come. This admission, must seriously impair their theory. They cannot, however, help making it. They cannot get over the striking fea- tures of identity between the iron portion of the image and the fourth beast, any more than they can get rid of the punctum. stans, with respect to the golden head. Yet they are decided in main- taining that the Roman empire was not that fourth kingdom. This assertion I shall proceed to examine. The strongest argument, with me, for the oppo- site opinion, is grounded on the principle that Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. Accordingly, we find in the Apocalypse (xiii. 1,2.) the description of a beast which answers very re- markably to the fourth beast of Daniel. There is one point of identity to which I have already called attention. Daniel's fourth beast is nameless. The three preceding beasts are, respectively, likened to three well-known animals, — a lion, a bear, and a leopard; and the Apocalyptic beast is likened to a compound of the same three animals ; thereby (though " their dominion," their imperial rule, " was taken away ") as unequivocally establishing their connection with tlie fourth beast '* at the time of his being given to the burning Ihime," as the brass, the silver, and tlie gold of the image were in connection with the iron, at tlie time of its being " broken to pieces." This Apocalyptic beast, which. ITS OWN INTERPRETEK. 36 in the end, is cast into the lake burning with fire, appears, unquestionably, to be the Roman empire, — the empire in existence at St. John's time. There is one fact to be kept in mind: the Holy Spirit, who inspired the prophet Daniel, inspired the Apostle John. Who, then, should venture to assert, that this remarkable coincidence was not designed ; that the two visions did not, specifically, i^late to the one subject, the Roman empire ? Now, without for a moment presuming to ques- tion the general proposition, that what appears great to us may be little in the sight of God, and vice versd, I must say, it seems rather para- doxical to suppose that the Roman empire has not been made the subject of prophecy ; Rome, which was to destroy the holy city, lay God's temple in ruins, leave not one stone upon another, and nearly exterminate his chosen people. Rome, it is true, is not specifically named in the prophecies ; and therefore, perhaps upon the assumption that the fulfilment of a prophecy must be as explicit as name, and place, and date can make it, the literal interpreters seem to have little or no hesitation in setting the Roman empire wholly aside, as having no prophetical relation. Let us try this question. Daniel's symbols, in the dream and in the vision, generally speaking, are literally explained, either directly or indirectly ; all, except the symbols which represent the fourth kingdom in each. The golden portion of the image is explained ; and the name of the empire signified is given. The silver, 364 THE APOCALYPSE and the brass portions are not, it is true, in that dream, designated by the respective names of the empires they represent : neither are any of the beasts in the vision so designated. But in the vision of the Kam and the He-goat, we have the names given us of two of the empires so repre- sented. We have, then, in one way or other, tlie names of three kingdoms or empires given in those prophecies, the Babylonian, the Persian, and the Grecian. The fourth is not so named. Nor, wlien represented under the symbol of a beast, is the name, or shape, or species of beast given. It is re- markable, also, that Rome is not once named in the propheticahvntings eitlier of the Old or of the New Testament ; and, in the Old, Rome is not named at all. Yet she must have been the subject of jirophecy in both, so far, at least, as the destruction of Jeru- salem is concerned. Rome, as well as Babylon, was the subject of prophecy, when Moses set before the Israelites the curses for disobedience : " The nation that the Lord was to bring upon them from tlie ends of the earth swift as the eagle flieth." Rome was, unquestionably, the subject of prophecy, when Clirist denounced Jerusalem as "the carcase round which the eagles should be gatliered together." Yet Rome is not named. Now, this utter silence of prophecy, in this respect, is very remark- able; and yet it would seem that the Jews did apprehend tliey were to be destroyed by Rome; " The Romans will come and take away our place and nation," was tlic language in which they ex- pressed tliat apprehension. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 365 NOTES ON DISSERTATION V. P. 359. 1. 26. Here I agree with Mr. Todd.'] It would seem evident, from the obvious reading of the passage, that, when the stone strikes its feet, the imnge at once falls to pieces. Nebuchadnezzar had been looking at the image as it stood, some time before it was struck by the stone. He then sees a stone cut out without hands, he sees it smite the feet of the image, he sees the whole image, in all its component parts, broken to pieces at once, and no place found for it or them, and he sees the stone become a great mountain, which filled the whole earth. All this, after he had been contemplating the image as it stood, appears to me to have been instantaneous, almost simul- taneous. There is no intimation here of a gradual process towards destruction, such as Mede's theory of the kingdom of the stone and the kingdom of the mountain would imply. The stone appears to be cut out the moment before the fall of the image, for the express purpose of causing that fall ; and the stone instantaneously becomes a moun- tain, and fills the earth. From every thing we read in prophecy connected with the closing scene before the ISIillennium, there is every reason to infer, that the destruction of the beast and the false prophet will be, in like manner, sudden and decisive, and the consequence sudden and decisive also. The state of the saints, just before that closing scene, will be at its lowest ebb. The beast is to overcome them. When the witnesses are killed, their enemies think they have freed themselves completely from what had been so long a thorn in their side ; and they begin to congratulate 366 THE APOCALYrsE one another on their emancipation, during the three days and a half (wliatcver be the period thereby signified) that the dead bodies of the witnesses lie unburied (whatever that may allude to) ; until, suddenly, the scene is changed, the witnesses are raised from the dead, taken up into heaven, their enemies are for ever struck down, and the remnant, struck with fear, " give glory to the God of heaven ; " that is, as I conceive, are converted and made the children of God ; converted by the manifest proofs of Divine interposition ; and made children of God by an overwhelming manifestation, and overflowing effusion, of the power and the graces of the Holy Ghost. It is thus I would interpret those texts — " The earth being made to bring forth in one day, and a nation being born at once" (Isaiah, Ixvi. 8.)> i. e. the fulness of the Gentiles coming in, followed by the restoration of Israel; and, " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts" (Zechariah, iv. 6.). The view, then, to be taken of the image seems to bo this, — that it gives an outline of secular dominion, from the very commencement of human polity, after the Flood (for prophecy has nothing to say of the antediluvian world), when " they said, Let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name." AVe know that the image represented four great kingdoms, since called empires. We know the first of these was the Assyrio-Babylonian ; the embryo of which, there can be little question, was the unfinished tower of Babel, when, on the confusion of tongues, they left oflT, for a while, to build the city, till Nirarod resumed the work. Here, then, wc have in that image, as it stood, the aggregate of secular dominion from first to last. Though the imperial power of the first three kingdoms had long ceased, yet secular dominion, in some form, has, all along, subsisted among tiicm. ITS OWN INTERPRETER, 367 P. 363. 1. 3. The empire in existence at St. John's time.'] Upon taking a summary view of the image, the four beasts of Danielj and the first beast of the Apocalypse combined, it seems plainly to appear, that the four beasts represent the same kingdoms that are represented by the four portions of the image. Mr. Todd, however, thinks otherwise ; though, at the same time, he admits that their close is simultaneous. This point being admitted, in connection with the fact, that there are four denominations in each series, all, respec- tively, representing the same subject, — namely, ki7i(/~ doms, affords the strongest presumptive evidence that their commencement is also simultaneous. At all events, one does not precede the other, so as to be concluded before that other commences. And when it is taken into con- sideration, that the first beast of the Apocalypse is com- pounded of the first three beasts in Daniel's vision ; that they are incorporated with him, as the brass, the silver, and the gold of the image are with the iron ; that he is declared by the angel to be the power that, in St. John's day, reigned over the kings of the earth ; that he is cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone, at the same time that Daniel's fourth beast is given to the burning flame, — and all this, just before thrones are set, and judgment given to " them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God," that is, just before the saints of the Most High take the kingdom and possess it for ever and ever ; when all this is taken into consideration, we have abundant proof that the fourth beast of Daniel represents the Roman empire. 368 THE APOCALYPSE DISSERTATION VI. Daniel's vision of the ram and the he-goat. Having given a brief sketch of the view which ^Ir. Todd has taken of the visions of the quadripartite image and of the four beasts, I proceed to the vision next in order, that of the Ram and the Ple-goat. Mr. Todd is greatly inclined to think (I use his own words) that the kings of Media and Persia, foretold in this vision, as well as the king of Grecia, who is to vanquish them, are yet to come. Which is to say, that neither Darius the Medc, Cyrus the Persian, nor Alexander the Great, is alluded to in this vision. This, to say the least of it, is certainly a very bold assumption. I shall meet it, however,, by simply stating, first, whatever we have in pro- phecy that may bear upon this vision ; secondly, whatever history may afford us as having a like bearing ; and then by comparing the results. In the first place, then, I will go back to the fixed point, the golden head of the image. That symbol unquestionably represents the liabylonian empire, as it stood under Nebuchadnezzar: — "Thou, 0 King, art this head of gold." Here we have a symbol representing, at once, a kingdom, and one of its kings. So far we have the sure word of pro- phecy explicitly given us. We are not left to con- jecture as to wliether that head of gold may be ITS OWN INTERPEETER. 369 past, present, or to come. Its chronological posi- tion is accurately and absolutely fixed. We are then told that the kingdom, signified by this head of gold, is to be succeeded by another. Now, the way in which one kingdom succeeds another, is by the subversion of the former. And we have a prophecy, delivered 200 years before Nebuchad- nezzar's vision, by Isaiah, declaring that this Ba- bylonian kingdom was to be subverted by the Medo-Persian : " Go up 0 Elara, besiege 0 Media, Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Hence, we have abun- dant ground for ascertaining and establishing the immediate point of contact between the two king- doms, and, of course, it follows, between the head and breast of the image. There can be no gap here of " ten, twenty, or thirty centuries between them." Now let us turn, for a moment, from the testi- mony of prophecy to that of history on this point. Sacred history tells us, that Babylon was taken, and the kingdom subverted, by Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Persian. Profane history concurs with the sacred narrative in telling us the same thing. And by both it has been ever represented as a putting down of the one, and a setting up of the other. Yet, there are some writers now-a-days who would fain persuade themselves, in order to make a case for a favourite theory, that there was no subversion after all, but only a change of the reigning monarch ; a change not differ- ing materially from the change which takes place, when a reigning monarch dies, and is succeeded by B B 370 THE ArOCALYrSE anotlier, who may happen to be of a different family or nation ! Let us now come to the vision of the Ram and the Goat. The Kam, we learn from the prophet, signifies this very Medo-Persian kingdom ; the kingdom which, as Isaiah had foretold, was to subvert the Assyrio-Babylonian. Yet, according to Mr. Todd, the vision does not refer to the time of Darius or Cyrus, or to the events which then took place. " He is inclined to believe that those countries, once the seat of such mighty empires, are destined once more to recover their long-lost power, and that in them shall be enacted the last great and fearful struggle between the prince of this world and the armies of the living God." According to this theory, neither Cyrus, who is actually marked out by name in pro- phecy 200 years before his time, nor Alexander, whose conquest of Persia, afterwards, was scarcely short of a miracle, — neither of these most remark- able personages, one the founder of the Persian empire, the other its subvertcr and the founder of the Grecian ; nor Persia nor Grecia of their day, had any thing to do with the vision of the Ram and the He-goat, though they are represented in the vision itself expressly as being the symbols of those very empires. This is, indeed, an extraordinary theory. lUit let us examine the arguments put forward to sup- port it. " The common interpretation," Mr. Todd says. " appears to fail in explaining the two horns of the Ifani, one of which was higlier than the otiicr, and ITS OWN INTEEPRETEll. 371 both of which were broken by the Goat." He ad- mits, indeed, there " are some striking coincidences between the career of Alexander, and the projDhetic history of the great horn of the Goat." But then he says, " It must be remembered, that Persia had swallowed up Media, before either was invaded by Alexander, and that, therefore, the Ram should have had but one horn at the time he was van- quished by the Goat." This, it must be confessed, is strange reasoning, hardly deserving the name of argument. Yet, on reasoning like this, Mr. Todd would ground the assumption, that neither Darius, nor Cyrus, nor Alexander the Great, nor Media, nor Persia, nor Grecia, in their times, is alluded to in the vision of the Ram and Goat. Let us, however, try this argument. It should be remembered, that the vision was seen by Daniel, before the personages or powers represented in the vision had appeared upon the stage ; at all events, before the fall of Babylon. The Ram, therefore, of course, w^as seen as he appeared in the commencement of his career, namely, with his two horns, signifying the two powers, Media and Persia. It is true, in the course of that career the latter power becomes predomi- nant ; and takes the lead, afterwards, in all events connected with the progress of those powers. Persia, though secondary to Media at their outset, by degrees takes precedency. This very circum- stance in the history of those powers is adverted to in the vision. The Ram had two horns; the horns were high, but one higher than the other, BB 2 372 THE ArOCALYPSE and the liif^her came up last. Dani(,'l thus sees tlic Jiam, at his first rise, with his two horns ; and it does not follow, because the second horn, in process of time, becomes the principal, that therefore the first becomes extinct, which I suppose Mr. Todd means, when he says, " that Persia had swallowed up Media before cither was invaded by Alexander." It might as well be said that England had swal- lowed up Ireland at the Union, and therefore the latter is extinct. But the question, as I have ob- served in another place, has been already settled beyond controversy. The sacred Idstory tallies ex- pressly with the prophetic symbol. Immediately after the fall of Babylon, Media had precedency; for we read, in Daniel, of "the law of the Medcs and Persians, which altereth not," and this repeated several times over; but in the book of Esther, near a century afterwards, at the feast of Ahasuerus, we read of the power of Persia and Media, the princes of Persia and ^ledia, the ladies of Persia and Me- dia, and the laws of the Persians and Medes, which alter not. At all events, however, the superstructure sought to be raised on sucli a foundation is wholly unte- nable : I mean the theory that, whereas the Ram is represented in the vision with two horns, and whereas, at the time of Alexander's conquest, it should be represented with but one, therefore the Media and Persia of that day arc not the Media and J*crsia alhided to in Daniel's vision, but a Media and Persia yet to come. Such a superstructure on such a foundation, I repeat, is but " the baseless fabric of a vision." ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 373 It miglit be said, perhaps, in defence of such an argument, that when a change takes place in the appearance of the Goat, that change is distinctly marked in the vision itself; when the great horn is broken, the Goat no longer appears as a unicorn, but as having four horns; and, therefore, when there is a change in the tjiing represented, there should be a corresponding change in the symbol. To this I would reply, when Alexander died, his kingdom was at an end : " Four kingdoms stood up out of his nation, but not in his power." The author of the book of Maccabees tells us*, that his servants and their sons reigned after him ; announc- ing thereby, that there was an end of Alexander, or of the great horn of the he-goat. But there was not an end of Media: when Persia became the higher horn of the two. Media still existed, though inferior to the other; instead of Media and Persia, it was Persia and Media : the Ram, accordingly, is repre- sented with two horns to the last. But if it be objected that the two horns, being said to be kings, must be limited to the individual monarchs Darius and Cyrus, and that they were no longer in exist- ence when their empire was overturned by Alex- ander ; to this it may be replied, that it does not appear from the Hebrew original, or the Septuagint version, that the horns of the Ram are thus limited: " The Ram which thou sawest having horns, — the kings of Media and Persia : " the sense of which passage is, the horns of the Ram signify or repre- sent the kings. The Septuagint has king instcnd * I Maccab. i. 8, 9. BB 3 374 THE APOCALYPSE of kings. Now, the term Ungs or hmrj^ liere used, seems to imply, not merely individual monarchs, though individuals, as such, may be included, but, also, the kingly power, a generic use of the term equivalent to kingdom. For it is remarkable, that, when an individual monarch is specially al- luded to, we are told tjiat the great horn of the Goat is the first king, to distinguish him from his successors ; and, then, i\\Q four horns arc said to be four kingdoms. From all this I should be disposed to argue, that king and kingdom, though not arbi- trarily used as synonymous, are mutually conver- tible terms ; and that where an individual monarch is specially intended, the term king is not left to the conjecture that it may signify a race or dynasty of kings, but the number of the individual is given, — " the great horn is t\\Q first king." On the ground, however, that the Kam is repre- sented, throughout the vision, with his two horns, Mr. Todd, Avhile obliged to admit, that there are some striking coincidences between the career of Alexander and the prophetic history of the great horn of the Goat, would contend, that his victories are not foretold in the vision at all. He attempts to corroborate this assertion, by maintaining fur- ther, that the four horns which came up when the great horn was broken, do not represent Alexander's successors. He says, " It would be easy to show that the division of the empire of Alexander into four kingdoms after his death, not- withstanding the confidence with which it has been asserted by commentators on prophecy, is a fact of which no satisfactory evidence has ever been pro- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 375 ducecl : for the truth is, that Alexander's empire was divided into many more than four petty sove- reignties, which continued in a state of constant change for several years ; and it would have been as easy to have produced twelve or more subdivi- sions, had so many been required by the prophecy, as four." Now, let us take a brief view of some leading points in the history of Alexander's successors ; and let us see whether the historical evidences adduced by the commentators to whom this learned writer alludes, are so unsatisfactory as he would have us believe. I will not enter at any length into details on the present occasion : a very brief view is quite sufficient for every reasonable purpose. It never was the design, for it has never been the usage, of the Spirit of Prophecy to give a minute or elaborate detail of events. They are given, as I have observed before, always in general outline. Some points, at different distances along that out- line, are fixed upon, to mark the truth of the sure word of prophecy. These are generally striking points ; but it is not absolutely necessary that they should be alwaj^s such : neither would the omis- sion to mark prophetically many striking events which have since taken place, in the least degree affect the credit of the prediction. Any selection out of the vast multitude and variety of events and incidents which should after- wards take place, any choice which the Spirit, in his wisdom, T*ight think fit to make among " the things that are to come to pass hereafter," would, as B B 4 376 THE APOCALYrSE the events should be found to correspond with the prediction, be quite sufficient to establish its credit as a Divine revelation ; and to show that the pro- phets *' spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Let us then compare the few particulars marked out in the vision, with the records which history has transmitted. We read in prophecy, that the he-goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken. AYe read, also, in the interpretation of the prophecy, that the great horn was the first king, and that he was to have no successor of his own family ; that his successors were to stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. Now, wliat do we read in history ? We read that Alexander was the first king of that Grecian empire which sub- verted the Persian ; that he was cut off in the very zenith of Grecian power ; in prophetic language, ** when he had waxed very great, when he was strong,*' strong in such a degree as that power never was before, and never has been since. We then read, in prophecy, that for this broken liorn, " came up four notable ones toward the lour winds of heaven"; and avc read, in the interpreta- tion, that these horns signify four kingdoms. What do we read in history? Though Mr. Todd affirms there never has been any satisfactory his- torical evidence that Alexander's empire was di- vided into four kingdoms, we read that Alexander appointed no successor to his empire, further than to say, as is reported of him, " Let it be given to the worthiest." He left sons ; but, tliougli })artially successful attempts were made to place some of his ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 377 family on tlie throne, especially on that of his pa- ternal kingdom Macedonia, they all in the end failed. " His family was exterminated," observes Bossuet, " without the least remaining traces of them in history, and most of them were taken oiF by miserable deaths." Here, then, in the actual historical fulfilment, we have the great horn of the prophecy altogether broken. Now, with respect to the four succeeding horns, we read in history, that the partition of Alex- ander's empire among his generals, made immedi- ately after his death, did not subsist for any length of time, and was hardly carried into effect. Egypt was the only portion of that empire, which, under Ptolemy Lagus, remained unbroken from that pe- riod. He was Governor of Egypt at the time, and maintained himself in his government, until the fourfold partition was actually made, when he was confirmed in his power. The other portions of the empire were unsettled, and became the scenes of bloody contests ; the other governors claiming the exercise of an independent and sovereign power, each in his particular province. But though they claimed this exercise, yet, out of professed veneration for the memory of Alexander, they did not any of them assume the title of king, until all of his race, who had from time to time been placed for a little while on the throne, were extinct. This was not until eighteen years after the death of Alexander ; still, there was, even then, no formal, or stipulated assumption of the royal title. Some of the governors did take it, others did not. At that period, there were five who were leading 378 THE ArOCALYPSE chiefs, and possessed the principal power among them, — Ptolemy, Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Antigonus. Antigonus was a restless spirit, attempted to take Egypt from Ptolemy, and was the first of Alexander's captains who assumed the royal title, as if he thought to keep up the unity of the great horn. Upon this, the other four united their forces against him, the consequence of which coalition was the celebrated battle of Ipsus, in which Antigonus was slain. " The four victorious chiefs, then, by a formal treaty, distributed the dominions of Antigonus among themselves, adding them to those they al- ready possessed, under the appellation of so many kingdoms ; authorizing, by a solemn compact, each of themselves to assume the royal title, and ac- knowledging one another as sovereigns, who were independent of any superior power." This took place twenty-three years after the death of Alex- ander. It was the most remarkable event which occurred, from that period, down to the death of Antigonus. Let us now sum up this histo- rical evidence, which ^Ir. Todd says is so unsatis- factory. In the first place, we have the great horn broken by the death of Alexander. AVe find him, though lie left sons and a brother, leaving his dominions among his principal officers ; in fact, he left each of them, as it appears, in occupation of that pro- vince, the government of which he had assigned to each in his own lifetime, when he was lord para- mount. We have tliosc olliccrs, while they bore al>s()lute sway, eacli in liis respective [)rovinec, still ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 379 showing so much respect for Alexander's memory, as not to assume the royal title until his family was extinct. We then have four of them uniting to decide the question as to who should rule ; and, after their victory over Antigonus, settling it defi- nitively among themselves, that there should be a fourfold partition. But Mr. Todd would say, that this fourfold par- tition did not hold good throughout the entire term of what is called the Grecian empire. Now, I conceive that the fact of such a partition having been made at all, would be quite sufficient to mark the correspondence of prophecy with the general course of events. This partition, however, was not an ephemeral matter after all. Three of the divisions con- tinued as they were then applotted, until the Grecian empire merged in the Roman. Egypt continued under the Lagid^, until the death of Cleopatra, when it became a Roman province ; Syria, under the Seleucidae, until Pompey, in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanus, reduced it, likewise, to a Roman province ; and Macedonia, though it frequently changed masters, continued a distinct kingdom, until Persius, its last king, was subdued by Paulus Emilius, and Macedonia, like the others, became a province of Rome. The fourth kingdom, Thrace and Bithynia, was very soon dismembered. Lysimachus, whose por- tion it was, after a reign of twenty years, fell in battle ; and, his family becoming extinct, the king- dom fell to pieces. But that event by no means neutralizes or invalidates the fact of a fourfold par- 380 THE APOCALYrSE tition having been, by a solemn compact, once dis- tinctly made. Another objection to the generally received theory is, that India and the states of Greece, pro- perly so called, were not included in the partition at Ipsus ; and, therefore, that it was not a partition of the whole of Alexander's empire. This appears to be a puerile objection : as if every particular in detail, throughout the course of events, was to be accurately marked out in the prophecy ; or, as if it were to be asserted, that, because a town or dis- trict of a kingdom should happen to be in rebellion, the kingdom it belonged to would be no longer a kingdom. This might be predicated of the states of Greece, especially of Athens. They sometimes affected independence, and at other times paid dearly for the attempt. As to India, it does not appear that India formed any part of his empire, properly speaking, at the death of Alexander. When he conquered Porus, he restored him his kingdom ; and, according as he subdued the other Indian princes, he gave their dominions to Porus. But it matters little whetlier India was or was not included. The fact of Alexander's empire having been virtually distributed into four divi- sions after the battle of Ipsus, is not at all aflected by this consideration. To sum up the main points of prophecy and his- tory,— we have the great liorn and Alexander tlic Great ; we liavc the four horns and the fourfold partition at Ipsus. I tliink we want no more. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 381 DISSERTATION VII. ON THE CONTENTS OF THE LITTLE BOOK. — EEV. X. 2. The Apocalypse, by the great majority of approved commentators, is considered to contain the pro- phetic history of the Church of Christ, in con- nection with the outline of events which should take place on the great theatre of the world ; Avhere the Church is to fulfil her mission, and the Provi- dence of God to be displayed, from the promulgation of Christianity to the consummation of all things. This ante-historical outline, if it may so be called, is veiled under a great variety of symbolical repre- sentations. Some of these are unquestionably syn- chronous throughout. Others of them, though not synchronous in their commencement, yet seem to be synchronous in their close. I have, on a former occasion, treated, at some length, on the partly syn- chronizing class of symbols ; namely, the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Vials. But, in " the little book," we have three symbols uniformly synchronous throughout : namely, first, the prophesying of the witnesses in sackcloth, while the court, without the measured temple, is trodden under foot by the Gentiles ; secondly, the woman in the wilderness ; and thirdly, the two beasts. These three repre- sentations appear to have the same duration as- signed to each: to one, " 1260 days "; to another, 382 THE ArOCALYPSE " 42 months"; and " a time, times, and half a tune," as an equivalent, to the third. There is a fourth symbolical vision, appertaining, I hold, to "the little book," the duration of which is not specified. It may, possibly, be coeval with the preceding three ; but I should rather say, it might have its commencement with the opening of the Refor- mation, and terminate at the same point of time with the others. This fourth vision I would term the vision of the three herald angels, with the harvest and vintage of the earth. These four vi- sions, I conceive, " constitute the contents of" the " little book." The little book, which St. John received from the angel, is similar to the roll of a book which the prophet Ezekiel had received. The one, it follows, is to be interpreted by the other. The prophet's roll was full of lamentations, and mourning, and woe: and the description of the state of Israel and Judah, at that period, which immediately follows his reception of the roll, to- gether with the heavy calamities impending over both kingdoms, must be considered as tlie contents of Ezekiel's roll. In like manner, "the little book," which the Apostle was commanded to take, has for its contents, it may be presumed, the description of the state and sufferings of the Christian Churcli, under the tyranny of the Gentiles, tlie dragon, and the two beasts; both the churches, in their re- spective dispensations, being so visited ior their manifold corruptions. I look upon the contents of St. John's little book ITS OWN INTERPKETER. 383 in the light of on episode, intimately connected with the main subject, and specially introduced to prepare the Apostle, as well as his readers in after- times, for the events which the vials foreshow. The vials being, in my view of the prophecy, de- scriptive of the judgments to be inflicted on the second beast, or the ecclesiastical apostate power, it was necessary to give some information respect- ing that beast, before the judgments on him and his adherents should be shadowed out, as they are by the vials ; and, at the same time, to give some account of the state of the Church, which was to suffer so severely, as well as of the general cause of that suffering. In the first vision, then, of " the little book," we have the measuring of the temple, for the purpose, it would seem, of fencing in " the altar and them that worship therein," while the court without is trodden under foot by the Gentiles ; and the two witnesses of God prophesying the whole of the time. This is all one vision : more properly speaking, perhaps, it is the vision of the mighty angel whose face was as the Sun, and his feet as pillars of fire, who set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth, whose voice was as when a lion roareth, — who gave St. John the little book, and the reed to measure the temple of God. This angel, I conceive, Avas the Great Angel of the Covenant, the Lord himself. The description resembles most strikingly that of Christ in the first chapter ; and, in his declaration to the Apostle, 384 THE APOCALYrSK he says, ''/will give power unto wy two witnesses, and they shall prophesy." Let us, now, unbiassed by any favourite theory, read and mark the contents of this " little book " in the several visions there recorded. Could there be given a more graphical outline of what has taken place in the Church and in the world, for the last ten or twelve centuries, than that given in this little book? I freely grant, that if we are to enter into an analysis of its parts, if we are to set about interpretation in detail, we shall not find it an easy task to particularize the corre- spondence between the several links in the prophe- tical chain, with the links in the historical chain. Still, however, the truth of the outline is unques- tionable. The lights and shades are not so dis- tinctly brought out or relieved, as to enable us to trace nicer touches. There is a veil of shade per- vading and clouding the whole, which liitherto has baffled the most scrutinizing inquiry. When, how- ever, the time for clearing up shall come, it will then, doubtless, be seen that, all the while, there was truth of detail tliroughout. Has not the Church been in a state critically corresponding, as to the great leading features, with the figurative repre- sentations given in this " little book " ? I will not pretend to decide whether interpreters have been right or wrong in endeavouring, miinitcly, to trace this correspondence. When they have not been too fanciful, or t(jo dogmatical, in tlieir propo- sitions, I incline to think they have l)cen right in cautiously pursuing the investigation. The pursuit is sanctioned, nay enjoined, l)y the voice of ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 385 Him who " sent and signified these things, by his angel, to his servant John." I think, therefore, it is not justifiable to come to the conclusion, that, because commentators are not agreed upon the several points, because the soundest among them are often the most cautious in coming to a positive conclusion upon almost any point, — it is not, I repeat, justifiable to decide, as some do now-a-days, that the whole theory of history and prophecy being correlative, is untenable^ that there must be a gap of, perhaps, two thousand years ; and, at the end, something like the wild, incongruous fantasms of a dream, as the final fulfilment of these prophetic Scriptures. For they might just as well deny that the beasts themselves are symbolical and figu- rative representations, and contend that they are, one day, to appear with all their heads and horns, as to deny, so dogmatically as they do, that the several periods of time assigned for their course of action, may be symbolical and figurative at the .same time. There is one objection, which the literal inter- preters are fond of stating as incontrovertible ; namely, that some commentators fix upon certain facts, respecting either persons, or events, which have acted their part, or taken place, — in days long since past, as fulfilling certain predictions, while others see that fulfilment in far more recent transactions. The reply to this objection is, that prophecy has, often, a twofold fulfilment, a more immediate and an ultimate fulfilment. The 72 nd Psalm, for exam- ple, is prophetic of Christ, and of the glories of his c c 386 THE APOCALYPSE kingdom ; yet it was, in the first instance, composed expressly to anticipate the glory of King Solomon. We often see a striking resemblance between a train of circumstances and events which have taken place in one age, and another train in after-ages : the whole phenomena, in the one case, as if copied in the other; similar prognostics leading to similar results. Again, in the relations of type and anti- type, individuals and circumstances upon a small scale, so correspond Avith subsequent phenomena, as to be the representatives of persons and things of surpassing magnitude. Now, let us remember that all things, whether small or great, past, present, or to come, are, alike, at one glance, before the eye of the Spirit of Prophecy. Where, then, is the inconsistency of supposing, that the all-seeing Spirit should select, out of the vast variety of incidents, those which would answer a twofold purpose ; and thus the fulfilment, in one age, be a type of fulfil- ment in ages yet to come ? I shall now simply state what I conceive to be the outline in the vision of the witnesses. Tlie Temple of God is the Church of Christ; the court without, is that portion Avhicli is dese- crated by the Apostasy ; the witnesses symbolize the general testimony, borne in some way or other, and at all times, against that apostasy, — God never leaving himself witliout a witness. There are, on this subject, several striking coincidences, and fair conjectures, which 1 omit to notice. Tliey are fa- miliar to all whom I address. I proceed to the vision next in order, — tlie AVo- ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 387 man clothed with the Sun. In this vision, the woman represents the Church. The great red dragon re- presents the heathen Roman Empire: an appropriate emblem. Satan, indeed, seems to be so identified with that empire, that the common appellation will answer both. For, is not the devil called the God of this world ? Did he not say, speaking of the kingdoms of this world, " All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them ; for that is deli- vered unto me ; and to whomsoever I will I give it " ? He speaks, here, as if he had an indefeasible right of possession. But, though he had no such right, yet, for purposes which we cannot fathom, God permitted him to assume it. I conceive, then, that there is a direct connection between Satan and a heathen, particularly a persecuting heathen power. I do not mean between him and all the individuals belonging to such an empire, but, between him and the system of such a power. The war in heaven (in allusion, perhaps, to some event before this world was made) seems here to represent the subversion of paganism, and the esta- blishment of Christianity under Constantino. Still, the old serpent contrives to keep up his persecution of " the woman," the symbol of the Church. She is still " in the wilderness," the same length of time that " the court without" is trodden down, and the witnesses are prophesying in sackcloth. The two beasts also "continue" the same length of time. Now all this, as we go on, gives more and more an outline which, not only those who are conversant with history and critical inquiry can recognize as c c 2 388 THE APOCALYrSE having been, so f\ir, fulfilled by the course of events, but wliich may be readily perceived by those who have read the Scriptures, and possess even ordi- nary information on historical or critical subjects. The broader and bolder strokes of the prophetic pencil cannot well be mistaken, unless by those who are predetermined to maintain some favourite view. We know what paradoxical theories have been advanced and supported, and that by men of learning. The more minute touches, however, of the same pencil, have not been, as yet, cleared out, as they will be, one day, by the agency of time. AVe now come to the thirteenth chapter, to the consideration of which, the remarks which I have already made on the contents of *' the little book " are preliminary. In the opening of this chapter, we liave the description of a beast, which appears to be tlie fourth beast of Daniel. In the book of Daniel, that fourth beast, indeed, is not described, as to shape or species, further than its having iron teeth, and ten horns. But (assuming the fourth beast to represent the Roman Empire) his representa- tion, in the Apocalypse, under Grecian and Eastern symbols, — the leopard of Greece, the bear of Per- sia, and the lion of Babylonia, — seems to refer to the period, when Constantine removed the scat of empire, at least of government, from Home to By- zantium, or from west to east. St. John did not see the first rise of the Roman Empire here. It must have been some remarkable change in that empire, which is represented as if a new rising. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 389 It rises from the sea as Daniel's beast did. It rises, after the dragon empire had been subverted. There is evidently a change in its aspect. It is no longer the empire of the dragon, but it has the power, and the throne, and the great authority of the dragon, delegated to it, and this by the dragon himself. My view, as already stated, of this symbol, is, that the Roman Empire being no longer professedly heathen, the dragon had no further direct connection with it ; that the same Roman Empire being no longer a Western power, as to the seat of govern- ment, it is represented under its Eastern symbols ; which all along appertained to it in reality, it having superseded, in fact almost incorporated, its predecessors, at least so far as any of them had any title to be called an Empire^ — that is to say, pos- sessed dominion beyond the respective boundaries of their own immediate countries. Assuming then, that the first beast of St. John is the fourth beast of Daniel ; that he rises, before the Apostle, under his eastern symbols ; that we have him represented, here, as the professing Christian Empire established by Constantine at Byzantium ; — let us proceed, on these premises, to follow on the examination of this vision. The entire course of this beast's progress, from his rise to his destruction, is described. Let us view this progress, from his rise to his fall, as it is described in chap. xiii. 10. And let us mark the several stages of that progress, as we go along. First, then, we have the beast, as he rose before 390 THE ArOCALYPSE St. John. The first change in liis appearance takes place, when one of his heads is wounded unto death. This change, I consider to be the destruction of the Western Empire, and the capture of Rome by Odoacer, 150 years after the rise of the beast. The next change is the healing of this deadly wound, which, we may suppose, took place, when Narses, the general of the Eastern Emperor Jus- tinian, retook Eome, from the barbarians, about 74 years after, and drove them out of Italy. Kome, though it did not again become the seat of govern- ment, was nevertheless restored to be an integral part of the empire. The deadly wound was thus healed. It is remarkable that Odoacer, upon taking the city, though he assumed tlie title of King of Italy, and the form of the Itoman municipal government was kept up by the Goths, yet would not assume the Imperial purple. So that, during the interval (74 years) between his taking the city, and its recovery by Narses, Rome was not an Imperial city. By the destruction of the Western Empire, it is further observable, provision, appa- rently, is made for the fulfilment of St. Paul's pre- diction, 2 Thessalonians, ii. 7. The let or hinderance being once taken out of the way, that is, in unfigu- rative language, the emperor being taken out of the way of the Pope at Rome, the em])ire has never been replaced in that city. I shall show, however, as we proceed, how, in ni}^ opinion, the Imperial beast lias virtually been continued. When his deadly wound is described as healed, we read, that " all the world" (the earth is the wcjrd in the originiil) ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 391 '' wondered after the beast" At this period, I think, was the rise of the second beast, described in the 11th verse. There can be no question as to the second beast being,' for a great part of the prophetic period, con- temporaneous with the first beast. For " he exer- ciseth all the power of the first beast before him ; " that is, evcoTTiov^ before his face. We read, in the 4th verse, that, " after the deadly wound Avas healed, they worshipped the dragon.'' Let us now draw a parallel between the two beasts ; and in the 1 1th verse, where the rise of the second beast is de- scribed, we read " he spake as a dragon.'^ The dragon, then, it would seem, though not occupying the foreground, as in the heathen Roman Empire, is all the time behind the scene. He is no longer in dii^ect communication with the Chris- tianized EmjDire ; but he appears to have had an intermediate agent, a diplomatic envoy, to keep up the communication indirectly. According to my pa- rallel,— as soon, therefore, as the dragon-speaking beast rises, the dragon himself is worshipped ; and this, apparently, at the instigation of the second, or dragon-speaking beast. Does not this worship of the dragon seem prophetic of the return of demon worship into the empire, under Christian guise ? when Christian saints were put in the place of heathen heroes and demi-gods, who, the Psalmist tells us, were demons ; the actual statues of the one species of worship, sometimes, being transferred to the other, and the Pantheon changed into a Pan- demonium. c c 4 302 THE ArocALYrsE According, then, to the parallel here instituted between the two beasts, when the dragon, who gave his power to the beast, is worshipped, the second beast, who spake as a dragon, at that very junc- ture, rises on the stage. To pursue the parallel, we read, immediately after, in the fourth verse, that " they (all the earth) Avorshipped the beast " (the first beast), " saying, who is like unto the beast, who is able to make war witli him?" While, in the 12th verse, we read that the second beast " causeth the earth, and them that dwell therein, to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed." The parallel goes on to the end, in some points more striking, perhaps, than in others, but still, side by side, — particularly towards the close; where it may be observed, that the blasphemies of the first beast against God and them that dwell in heaven, his persecution, even to extermination, of the saints, and his tyranny over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations, attain to that pitch of diabolical power and rage, which the prophecies give the Church and world to expect, in those last days, when the perilous times, in their full development, shall come. All this time, the terrible excommunications of the second beast keep pace with the blasphemies of the first, until the day of Divine wrath shall interpose, and tlie beast and tlie false propliet sliall be cast int(j the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. There have been several theories with respect to these two beasts. Some conuncntators tliink tl)at tlie ITS OWN INTEEPRETER. 393 beast, first described, is the fourth beast of Daniel, and that the second beast is the Papacy. Others are of opinion that the second is the Romish hierarchy; the two horns signifying the two branches of that hierarchy, — the regulars and the seculars, — the monks and the parish priests ; and that the Pope is the ima^e which the second beast causes to be made of the first. Others, again, suppose that the first beast is the Papacy, and the second, the hierarchy. There has been another view taken of these beasts by the author of " Mahometanism Unveiled." It is to this effect, — that the first beast is the Papacy, and the second Mahometanism. Now, if the prophecies of Daniel and St. John have so far been fulfilled, as they, who look to history for the fulfilment of prophecy, are disposed to think, I conceive that Mahometanism must be taken into account, if an adequate fulfilment be looked for. If we think there has been an apostasy in the Western or Latin Church, there has been, assuredly, a like apostasy in the Eastern or Greek Church. Of the two, I would say, the Eastern was the worse. The East, it is well known, was the cradle of heresy; and the Eastern Church, it is to be feared, was but too much disposed to be its nursing-mother. In this hive nestled, in disgusting swarms, the wildest and most odious heresies. Here, also, be it observed, the Christian demon worship took its first rise, there is every reason to believe, in the sect of the Collyridians, who first paid divine honours to the Virgin Mary. " Shall I not visit for these things ? saith tlie 394 THE APOCALYPSE Lord." And has not that Church been visited, in judgment, from the smoke of the bottomless pit, by the most overwlielming of all the heresies that have as yet appeared, — the Mahometan imposture ? The Eastern Church, thus frightfully tainted with heresy, has been visited for her apostasy in this respect, by a baleful tyranny of heretical growth, which has nearly blotted out her name in the East. The AYestern Church was not thus heretical in the proper sense of the term ; but she was corrupt and apostate : and she has been visited by a ty- ranny within herself, bred in her own womb, gnawing her own bowels, " hourly conceived, and liourly born," " With conscious terrors vexing her around, That rest or intermission none she finds." The parallel of resemblance which these two otherwise hostile tyrannies. Popery and i\Iaho- metanism, exhibit to each other, is mysteriously wonderful. The work to which I have alluded lias established this parallel most unequivocally. It is distinctly to be observed " in the contemporary rise of Popery and Mahometanism, as the Western and the Eastern Antichrist, — in the corresponding titles and offices of the Popes and Caliphs, — the connnon appeal of the rival superstitions, under these op- posed heads, to the sword,— the coincidence in their giving birth alike to numerous sects of religious so- litaries, fraternities, and associations, especially to certain //<(?/ir//c'ti/i/ orders ; — the relation of Popery and Mahometanism, as, together, the parents, or ITS OAVN INTERPRETER. 395 rather the latter the parent, and the former the nurse, of the scholastic theolog}^, — the opposed schools re-producing some of the fruits of early Chris- tianity, in the growth of ascetics, fatalists, mystics ; — the injunction of celibacy by the Western Anti- christ, and its observance, as a religious ordinance, by the dervises and other devotees of the Eastern Antichristian tyranny." There is much more to the same purport, if time would allow me to adduce it. Hence the author is led to the theory, that the first beast represents the Papacy, and the second Mahometanism, Now, in his parallel between the • two little horns in Daniel, the one supplanting three of the fourth beast's horns, the other coming out of one of the four horns of the Grecian goat, he has conclusively established the point, that the Pope was represented by the former, and Mahomet by the latter. But I cannot quite agree with him in supposing the first beast in the Apocalypse to be the one, and the second beast to be the other. He goes upon the assumption that, in Scriptural language, the earth signifies the East, and the sea the West. He, certainly, shows that the Mahometans them- selves make a like distinction ; — the earth, say they, is* given by God to the believers (meaning the East to themselves) ; but the sea to the infidels (meaning the West to the Christians). Still, how- ever, I do not think there is sufficient ground to establish this point. All Daniel's beasts, eastern as well as western, rise from the sea, and from a stormy sea, too, to signify the turbulent character of secidar dominion. 39G THE APOCALYPSE St. Jolin's first beast rises out of the sea also ; and has every appearance of being the same as Daniel's fourth beast. And it is to be observed, that all the earth is said to wonder after this sea beast. I think this, in limine^ goes against the sup- position, that sea and earth, respectively, mean the AVest and the East, as contradistinguished from each other. Besides, the supposition that the first beast is a spiritual power, leads to the confounding of the secular and the spiritual tyrannies, a confusion into which commentators so generally fall. At one time, this first beast is, according to circum- stances, said to be the secular, at another time, the spiritual. The author is obliged, himself, to ad- mit, that, by the first beast, we nmst understand the Papacy, not specifically, but in its generic cha- racter; that is, as I understand it, as embracing the whole of the Antichristian tyranny, secular as well as spiritual. I am of opinion, however, that the two should be kept distinct throughout, though continually acting in concert. My view, then, is, that the first beast is the secular power, rising out of the sea, the s3'mbol of turbulence, and also of Gentilism as distin'guished from the inheritance of Israel, called, especially, the holy earth, or land. Now, the Jewish polity may be said to be more of an ecclesiastical or spiritual nature, than any other. At first it was a theocracy. The adoption of a monarchy was, evidently, a departure from the fin'm of government laid down ])y Moses. And, after the Captivity, in which the ITS OWN INTERPRETER. Sd7 monarchy was abolished, so far as the Jews were allowed, by their several Gentile oppressors, to have any concern in their municipal or civil go- vernment,— a theocracy, in effect, was the form. It was so under the Maccabees ; it was so in our Lord's time, at Jerusalem ; the chief priest was, in great measure, the civil magistrate ; and it con- tinued so, more or less, until the destruction of the whole polity, together with the city itself. The Jewish polity or system, and the various things connected with it, are used by the sacred writers, not only of the Old, but, also, of the New Testament, to typify corresponding things in the Christian Church. Now, Judea was called "the earth," distinctively, by those writers, as contra- distinguished from the rest of the nations, which are often called " the sea," and " the isles of the sea." Might not, then, the rising of the second beast out of " the earth " signify his spiritual, or ecclesiastical character ; his connection with the type of all eccle- siastical polity, which the Jewish polity certainly w^as ; and thus to distinguish him from the first beast, who was aboriginally Gentile, and is repre- sented, accordingly, as rising out of " the sea" ? On this hypothesis, I would view the first beast, as the secular power, or the Koman Empire in its Chris- tianized form : and the second beast, as the spiritual or ecclesiastical power, comprizing both the East- ern and Western Churches ; both corrupt, both visited for their corruptions by a dreadful twofold apostasy, represented by the two horns of the second beast, the spiritual and apostate beast. 398 THE APOCALYPSE In this view, we liavc both the Churches, and their respective visitations, before us at once. AVe have, also, two apocalyptic horns corresponding with the two little horns in Daniel, and that with- out confounding so often the secular and spiritual tyrannies together, which every other theory is more or less disposed to do. The Western horn, as I would term one of the horns of the second beast, has, probably, more notice given to it, in the description of the second beast, than is given to the other or Eastern horn. Tliat is, the description refers, perhaps, more to the Papacy than to Mahomet. And justly so; for the Papacy has had more to do, and for a much longer time, as to the effects of its operation liitherto, with the Western Church, than Mahomet- anism has had to do with the Eastern. In fact, Mahometanism has prostrated the Eastern Church long since, and has stood, for four centuries, growl- ing over its prey. Things have been at a stand, in some measure, ever since. Not so in the West. Popery has held the West- ern Church in active and laborious thraldom all along, though more under the guise of a friend, or like a wolf in sheep's clothing; and her work of slavery in chains is still going on, now, perhaps, more than ever. The description of the second beast proceeds to say, that he i)ersuaded them that dwell on the earth to make an image to the first beast. This seems to refer to the crowning of Charlemagne Emperor of the West, by Leo III. Charlemagne, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 399 it is said, did not look for the dignity ; at least did not seem to seek it, though very well pleased to obtain it. But the Pope had made it a point with the people of Rome to elect the King of France, Eoman Emperor ; and, amidst their acclamations, suddenly, in the assembly, put the Imperial crown upon Charlemagne's head. Let us compare this transaction with the making of the image in this chapter (xiii. 14.). Charle- magne was created Augustus and Caasar, and the empire was called the Holy Roman Empire (a name of blasphemy) ; it has continued ever since, under different modifications it is true, but still it has continued an image, at least, of what it once was. Though the Emperor no longer retains the title Emperor of Germany ; though the Constitution of the German Diet was changed, when Napoleon assumed, and thought to perpetuate in his own family, the Carlovingian Dynasty, creating, doubt- less as a preliminary step, his son King of Rome, — still there remains the German Confederation, and the Austrian Emperor is still its President. The image, at least, is still in existence, — "the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." We cannot, therefore, allow, Avhile there are such probabilities before us, that the Roman Empire is absolutely extinct. Mr. Todd admits that the fourth kingdom is to be in existence at " the time of the end," but contends that the Roman Empire, being long since extinct, cannot be that fourth empire. It is true, indeed, that it no longer exists in the form in which it did of old. But, before 400 THE APOCALYrSE any one should dogmatically assert that it is extinct, or that its existence " in the shadowy sense is not an intelligible sense," namely, its exist- ence in the European commonwealth of kingdoms nominally under an Imperial head, — it would be but right to inquire, whether this image aspect of its existence, be not actually pointed out in prophecy, and the difficulty of understanding its existence in such a sense, there provided for. The ten horns of the beast, signifying ten dynasties (not in exist- ence, be it remembered, at the beast's first ap- pearance), give, at the first glance, the idea of a confederation of powers, independent in many respects, but in some sense, and for some special purpose, united under one common denomination, one federative head. Here, then, in the prophecy itself, we have the idea put forward of a" shadowy existence." • This fact, though not absolutely proving the point, that the German Empire is the representative, or image, of the old Roman Empire, is yet quite suf- ficient to neutralize the whole chain of argument, by which Mr. Todd seeks to show the absurdity of supposing the Roman Empire to be, in any intel- ligible sense, in existence, since the taking of Con- stantinople by the Turks. Let us now look around, and see whether we may not discern, in some measure, the signs of the times. Tiic image of the Iloman l^mpirc, in the West, is now almost evanescent. The lociuii tcnoi-'^ of the Eastern l^iipire, the Ottoman power, which, ITS OWN INTEKPRETER. 401 with respect to that empire, bears somewhat of the nature of an image also, is, to all appearance, swiftly, though silently, flitting away. But there is a power, a very extraordinary power, when we consider its comparatively recent rise among the powers of Christendom, and this an Imperial power, which has been, for the last century, watching, like a beast of prey, for the fall of the once gigantic terror of Europe, the Ottoman Porte. You will anticipate my allusion to the Russian Empire. The contemplation of this power has often raised in my mind misgivings as to the generally received theory of the four empires ; the Roman being the fourth and, of course, the last. This Russian power, threatening portentously to become a far greater power than it has yet been, great as it has been, and now is, — appeared to me to shake the claim of Rome to be the fourth empire, until I saw, as I now think I do see, the position which this power may, one day, occupy, and this, perhaps, no distant day. It is well known that Russia has been looking, eagerly, though stealthily, to the occupation of Constantinople. It would seem to have been tlie policy of her Imperial family, for some time past, to have a prince of the family named Constantine, as if to be ready for this Eastern seat of empire. Her policy, for many years, has been tending that w^ay. Indeed, the wonder is, when the Turkish power seems to be breaking up, like Daniel's little horn, " without hand," and to be nearly " come to his end," — the wonder is, that the Russian Ca3sar D D 402 THE APOCALYPSE has not been, ere this, in possession of Constanti- nople. The time, however, is not yet come. The hand of God, the arm of the Lord, is reining him back. But, in all human probability, Constantinople will, one day, in despite of the other powers of Eu- rope, be in the possession of the Russian Autocrat. And, if so, what more likely, than that he should proclaim himself the successor of the Roman Em- peror, and another Constantine yet sit on the throne of the Ccesars, — " The beast that was, and is not, and yet is." When we contemplate the Turkish Empire, comprizing within its range (for Persia and all the other ^lahometan powers may probably share its fate) the three great empires of antiquity, — when we contemplate this vast CNtent merging into con- junction with the present Russian power, — is it unlikely, that the beast may once more be sren upon the seat (the throne) which the dragon gave him, with power and great authority, such, it may be, as neither Constantine the Great, nor Augustus himself ever wielded ? This. I admit, is conjecture, but it is such con- jecture as any moderately clear-lieaded person may fairly deduce from the signs of the times ; conjecture which any one is fully justified in deducing, by the declaration of the angel who shewed these things to the Apostle John, — "Here is the mind that hatli wisdom." — "Let him, that hath understanding, count." The Eastern or (Jrcc-k Church has been declining, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 403 ever since Mahometanism took its place at Con- stantinople. Mahometanism, in its turn, there is every likelihood, may soon, itself, fall; and the Eastern Church may again raise her head, though still apostate. For she does not appear to have learned righteousness from her long night of affliction. She still goes after her idols, as her sister in the "West is going. Now, let us bear in mind that the Russian Empire is in connuunion with the Greek, or Eastern Church. If that Empire should, then, in the unsearchable disposals of Al- mighty God, be, hereafter, the ruling power on earth, the Greek Church may possibly vie with the Roman in her palmiest days, •' when she sat like a queen, when she glorified herself, and said, I shall see no sorrow." The result may be, that the sore, long-standing schism between the rival Churches, at length, being healed, both together shall, in the end, exhibit the last abominations of the great apostasy, and both together perish. Before I conclude, 1 would point to the remark- able fact, as bearing upon the conjecture which I have now submitted for consideration, that when he who, in modern times, made the most gigantic effort, perhaps, ever made since the first conqueror drew his sword, — when Napoleon struck his grand blow for universal empire in the East as well as in the West, he was foiled, under Providence, by the power of Russia, — this formidable power which seems only biding her own time to strike for the same. It is wonderful, to me, how the lessons of those D D 2 404 THE ArOCALYPSE ITS OWN INTERPRETER. great events which have been taking place upon the stage of the world within the memory of the present generation, seem to be thrown away upon the people of the world. The attempt and failure of the French Emperor with an armament compared to which the array of Xerxes, though vastly more numerous, was but as a flock of finches to a flight of falcons, seems well- nigh forgotten. As if the surface of the political deep had never been ruflfled, statesmen and politi- cians seem to be going on their way " delicately," as if " surely the bitterness of deatli " were " past." * • This Dissertation was written in 1840; and read, at the time, to the Clerical Society of Limerick. The state of the public mind, at that period, in all appearance, was accurately what is represented in the text. How far that state of mind was justified, subsequent events, which have nearly shaken Europe to its foundations, may be left to tell. So Air, however, from the fondly-anticipated peace and prosperity being realized, wliat have we beheld, within the last i'cw years, but " distress of nations with perplexity," followed by signs still more omi- nous, that " these things are but the beginnings of sorrow ! " All this, however, is only in fulfilment of the sure word of prophecy, as to " what shall come to pass in the latter days." APOCALYPSE ARRANGED IN SECTIONS ; AND DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OP HEBRAIC PARALLELISM. »D 3 THE APOCALYPSE ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 407 Introduction. Chap. i. 1 — 7. inclusive. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, To show unto his servant things which must shortly come to pass ; And he sent and signified it by his angel unto 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. Blessed is he that readeth, And they that hear the words of this prophecy. And keep those things which are written therein ; For the time is at hand. John to the seven churches which are in Asia : Grace he unto you and peace From him which is, and which was, and which is to come ; And from the seven spirits which are before his throne ; And from Jesus Christ, toho is the faithful witness. And the first begotten of the dead, And the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us. And washed us from our sins in his own blood. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, To him be glory and dominion, For ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds ; And every eye shall see him. And they also which pierced him ; And all kindreds of the earth shall wall because of him ; Even so. Amen. D D 4 408 THE APOCALYPSE Section I. Chap. i. 8. to tlie end. I am Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the Ending, saith the Lord ; AVhich i3, and which was, and which is to come. The Almighty. I John, who also am your brother. And companion in tribulation, And in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, Was in the isle that is called Patmos, For the Word of God, And for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, The First and the Last. And what thou seest, write it in a book, And send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; Unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, And unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto l*hila- delphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with mc : And being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks ; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, Clothed with a garment down to the foot. And girt about the paps with a golden girdle. IJis head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow : ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 409 And his eyes toere as a flame of fire ; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace ; And his voice as ^e sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars ; And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword ; And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me. Fear not : I am the First and the Last ; I am he that liveth, and was dead ; And behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen ; And have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen. And the things which are. And the things which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand. And the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches : And the seven candlesticks which thou sawest, are the seven churches. Section II. Chaps, ii. and iii. to the end. Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write ; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand. Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candle- sticks ; 410 THE APOCALYPSE I know thy works, ami thy labour, and thy patience, And how thou canst not bear them wliich are evil ; And thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not. And hast found them liars ; And hast borne, and hast patience, And for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee. Because thou hast left thy first love. Kemember therefore from whence thou art fallen. And repent, aud do the first works ; Or else I will come unto thee quickly, And remove thy candlestick out of his place. Except thou repent. But this thou hast. That thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitaues, Which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh I will give to eat of the tree of life, Which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 2. And unto the angel of the Church in Smyrna write ; These things saith the first and the last, Which was dead, and is alive ; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich ;) And I know the blasphemy of them which say they arc Jews, and arc not. But are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those thiny:s which thou shalt suflcr. ITS OWN INTEKrRETER. 411 Behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison ; that ye may be tried ; And ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death. And I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. 3. And to the angel of the Church in Pergamos write ; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges ; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is ; And thou boldest fast my name, And hast not denied my faith, Even in those days wherein Antipas loas my faithful martyr. Who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee. Because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, Who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, To eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication ; So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, Which thing I hate. Kepent : or else I will come unto thee quickly. And will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 412 THE APOCALYPSE He that hath an ear. let hhn hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; 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, \\ hich no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. And unto the angel of the Church in Thyatira write ; These things saith the Son of God, Who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, And his feet are like fine brass : I know thy works, and charity, and service. And faith, and thy patience, and thy works ; And the last to he more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, Because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a pro])hctcs?!, to teach And to seduce my servants to commit fornication And to cat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication. And she repented not. Behold I will cast her into a bed, And them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, Exce{)t they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death ; And all the churches shall know That I am he which scarchoth the reins and hearts; And I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thvatir;i, ITS OWN INTERrRETER. 413 As many as have not this doctrine, And which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak, I will put upon you none other burthen. But that which you have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end. To him will I 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 Avill give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 5. And unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write ; These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars ; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die : For I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard. And hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief. And thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their srarments ; 414 THE APOCALYPSE And they shall walk with me in white ; for they are worthy. lie that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment ; And 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. lie that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 6. And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, lie that hath the key of David, He that opencth, and no man shutteth. And shutteth, and no man openeth ; I know thy works ; behold, I have set before thee an open door. And no man can shut it; For thou hast a little strength, And hast kept my word. And hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, Which say they are Jews, and arc not, but do lie; Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, And to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, Which shall come iipon all the world. To try them that dwell upon the earth. I'ehold, 1 come (piiekly : ITS OWN INTERPRETKR. 415 Hold that fast which thou hast, That no man take thy crown. 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, winch is new Jerusalem, Which Cometh down out of heaven from my God; And I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write ; These things saith the Amen, The faithful and true witness. The beginning of the creation of God ; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 80 then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou say est, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing ; And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miser- able. And poor, and blind, and naked : I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; And white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed. And that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear ; 416 THE APOCALYPSE And anoint thine eyes with eycsalvc, that thou niayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten ; Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Bcliold, I stand at the door, and knock ; If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my thi'one, Even as I also overcame, And am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Section III. Chaps, iv. iuid v. to the end. After this I looked. And, behold, a door was opened in heaven ; And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me ; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the Spirit ; And behold, a throne was set in heaven. And onr sat on the throne, And he that sat was to look upon like a jap])er and a sar- dine stone. And t/irrc was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 417 And round about the throne were four-and-twenty seats ; And upon the seals I saw four-and-twenty elders sitting, Clothed in white raiment ; And they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thun- derings and voices ; And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. Which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal ; And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, Were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, And the second beast like a calf. And the third beast had a face as a man. And the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him ; And they were full of eyes within, And they rest not day and night, saying. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Wliich was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks To him that sat on the throne, Who liveth for ever and ever, The four-and-twenty elders fall down Before him that sat on the throne. And worship him that liveth for ever and ever. And cast their crowns before the throne, saying. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power ; EE 418 THE Al'OCALYPSE For thou hast created all things, And for thy pleasure they are and were created. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne A book written within, and on the backside. Sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice. Who is worthy to open the book. And to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth. Was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, Because no man was found worthy To open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not ; Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, Hath ])rc vailed to open the book. And to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld ; And lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders. Stood a Lamb as it had been slain, Having seven horns and seven eyes, A^'hich arc the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came, and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book. The four beasts and four-f///^/-twenty ciders fell down before the Lamb, Having every one of them harps, And golden vials full of odours, which nio the ])raycrs of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take tlic book ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 419 And to open the seals thereof; For thou wast sJain, And hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, Out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; And we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld ; And I heard the voice of many angels Round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders ; And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand. And thousands of thousands, Saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain To receive power, and riches, and wisdom. And strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven. And on the earth, and under the earth. And such as are in the sea, and all that are in them. Heard I, saying. Blessing, and honour, And glory, and power. Be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, And unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. And the four beasts said Amen. And the four-a;2c?-twenty elders fell down And worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. Section IV. Chaps, vi., vii., and viii. 1 — 5. inclusive. 1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, 420 THE ArOCiVLYPSE One of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And 1 saw, and behold a white horse : And lie that sat on him had a bow; And a crown was given unto him ; And he went forth, conquering, and to conquer. 2. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that loas red ; And power was given to him that sat thereon To take peace from the earth, and that they sliould kill one another ; And there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say. Come and see. And I beheld, and lo, a black horse ; And he tliat sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, And three measures of Imrley for a penny ; And sec thou hurt not the oil and the wine. ■4. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a ])ale horse ; And his name that sat on him was Death ; And Hell followed witli him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth To kill with sword, and with Imnger, And with dealli, and with the bea^?ts of the earth. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 421 And when lie had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain For the word of God, and for the testimony which they held; And they cried with a loud voice, saying. How long, O Lord, holy and true. Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood On them that dwell on the earth ? And white robes were given unto every one of them ; And it was said unto them, That they should rest yet for a little season, Until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they loere, should be fulfilled. 6. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal. And lo, there was a great earthquake ; And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, And the moon became as blood ; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. Even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs. When she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together ; And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men. And the chief captains, and the mighty men, And every bondman, and every freeman. Hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains ; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us From the face of him that sitteth on the throne, E E 3 422 THE APOCALYPSE And from the wrath of the Lamb ; For the great day of his wrath is come ; And who shall be able to stand? And after these things I saw four angels Standing on the four corners of the earth, Holding the four winds of the earth, * That the winds should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, Having the seal of the living God : And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels To whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees. Till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were scaled; And tliere were sealed an hundred a)id forty otid four thousand Of all the tri1)cs of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda ircre sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Keuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad toere sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of IManasses joere scaled twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. ( )f the tribe of Levi rcerc sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon trere sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Josejjh were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were scaled twelve thousand. After this I bcluld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could nnml)er, Ol" all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongucp, Stood before the throne, and before the Lamli, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 423 Clothed with white robes, and pahns in their hands ; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, whidi sitteth upon the throne. And unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, And about the elders and the four beasts. And fell before the throne on their faces. And worshipped God, saying, Amen, Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, And honour, and power, and might, Be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they ? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me. These are they which came out of great tribulation. And have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, And serve him day and night in his temple. And be that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them. And shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 7. And when he had opened the seventh seal. There was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, E E 4 424 THE APOCALYPSE And to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, Having a golden censor, And there was given unto him much incense. That he should offer it with the prayers of all saints Upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, ichich came with the prayers of the saints, Ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, And filled it with fire of the altar, And cast it into the earth : And there were voices, and thunderings, and light- nings, and an earthquake. Section V. Chap. viii. 6,, ix., x., xi. to the end. And the seven angels which had the seven trunii>ets pre- pared themselves to sound. 1. The first angel sounded : And there followed hail, and fire mingled with Moi>d, And they were cast upon the earth ; And the third part of trees was burnt up, And all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded : And as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea ; And the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in tlic sea, and had life, died ; And the third part of the ships were destroyed. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 425 And the third angel sounded : And there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp ; And it fell upon the third part of the rivers, And upon the fountains of waters ; And the name of the star is called Wormwood : And the third part of the waters became wormwood ; And many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. 4. And the fourth angel sounded : And the third part of the sun was smitten. And the third part of the moon. And the third part of the stars. So as the third part of them was darkened ; And the day shone not for a third part of it. And the night likewise. And I beheld. And heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven. Saying with a loud voice. Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth By reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound ! 5. And the fifth angel sounded : And I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth ; And to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit ; And there ai-ose a smoke out of the pit, As the smoke of a great furnace ; And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit : 426 TIIK APOCALYPSE And there came out of tlic smoke locusts upon tlie earth : And unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth liave power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, Neither any green thing, neither any tree ; But only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them. But that they should he tormented five months ; And their torment 7vus as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it ; And sliall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts iccre like unto horses pre- pared unto battle ; Ami on their heads tcere as it were crowns like gold. And their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women. And their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions. And there were stings in their tails: And their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, I finch is the angel of the bottomless pit, Whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, Hut in the Greek tongue hath his name ApoUyon. One woe is past ; /irtff behold, there come two woes more hereafter. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 427 6. And the sixth angel sounded : And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed. Which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year. For to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand : And I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, Having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brim- stone ; And the heads of the horses xvere as the heads of lions ; And out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, By the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails ; For their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, And with them they do hurt. 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. And idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood. Which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk ; 428 THIi APOCALYl'SJ: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries. Nor of their fornications, nor of their thefts. And I saw auotlier mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud : And a rainbow loas upon his head, And his face was as it were the sun, And his feet as pillars of fire : And he had in his hand a little book open ; And he set his right foot upon the sea. And his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as iclien a lion roareth : And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write : And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me. Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which 1 saw stand upon the sea, and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven. And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever. Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, And the earth, and the things that therein are. And the sea, and the things which are therein. That there should be time no longer ; But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound. The mystery of God should be finished, As he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, (io and take the little book which is open ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 429 In the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea, and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up ; And it shall make thy belly bitter, But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up ; And it was in my mouth sweet as honey ; And as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again Before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and And there was given me a reed like unto a rod ; And the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, And the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not, For it is given unto the Gentiles ; And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give potoer unto my two witnesses. And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks Standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them. Fire proceedeth out of their mouth, And devoureth their enemies : And if any man will hurt them. He must in this manner be killed. 430 THE APOCALYPSE These have power to shut heaven, That it rain not in the days of their prophecy ; And have power over waters to turn them to blood, And to smite the earth with all plagues, as often n^ they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them. And shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, AVhich spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, AVhere also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations Shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, And shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them. And make merry, and shall send gifts one to another ; Because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half The spirit of life from God entered into them, And they stood upon their feet ; And great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud ; And their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earlhquakc, And the tenth part of the city fell. And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand : ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 431 And the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe Is past ; j47id behold, the third woe cometh quickly. 7. And the seventh angel sounded ; And there were great voices In heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms Of our Lord, and of his Christ ; And he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders which sat before God on their seats. Fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast, and art to come, Because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged. And that thou shouldest give reward unto thy ser- vants the prophets, and to the saints. And them that fear thy name, small and great. And shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven : And there was seen in his temple the ark of his tes- tament : And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderlngs. And an earthquake, and great hail. 432 THE ArOCALYPSE Section VI. Chap. xli. to the end. 1. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; A woman clothed with the sun, And the moon under her feet, And upon her head a crown of twelve stars ; And she being with child, cried. Travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared anotiier wonder in heaven ; And behold, a great red dragon. Having seven heads and ten horns, And seven crowns ujwn his heads. vVnd his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, And did cast them to the earth ; And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered. For to devour her child as soon as it was born. 3. And she brought forth a man child. Who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron ; And her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, Where she had a place prepared of God, That they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 4. And there was war in heaven ; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon ; ITS OWN INTEEPRETER. 433 And the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not ; Neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, Which decelveth the whole world : He was cast out into the earth. And his angels wei-e cast out with him. 5. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation and strength. And the kingdom of our God, And the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down. Which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, And by the word of their testimony; And they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore, rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea ! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath. Because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth. He persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, That she might fly into the wilderness, into her place. Where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time. From the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman. That he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. F F 434 THE APOCALYPSE 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 the dragon was wroth with the woman, And went to make war with the remnant of her seed, Which keep the commandments of God, And have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Section VII. Chap, xiii., *xiv. 1 — 5., inclusive. And I stood upon the sand of the sea. And saw a beast rise up out of the sea. Having seven heads and ten horns, And upon his horns ten crowns. And upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard. And his feet were as the feet of a bear. And his mouth as the mouth of a lion : And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death ; And his deadly wound was healed ; And all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, AVho is like untu the beast Who is able t(j make war with him? And there was given unto him a month speaking great things and I'laspliciuies ; ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 435 And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, To blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them ; And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. Whose names are not written in the book of life Of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man hath an ear, let him hear : He that leadeth into captivity shall go into cap- tivity : He that killetli with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 2. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth ; And he had two horns like a lamb. And he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him. And cause th the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast. Whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, So that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth By the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast ; Saying to them that dwell on the earth, r F 2 486 THE APOCALYPSE That they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, That the image of the beast should both speak. And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast, should be killed. And he caused all, both small and great. Rich and poor, free and bond. To receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell. Save he that had' the mark, or the name of the beast, • Or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; For it is the number of a man : And his number is six hundred threescore and six. And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the IMount Sion, And with him an hundred forty and four thousand, Having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, As the voice of many waters, And as the voice of a great thunder: And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps ; And they sang as it were a new song Before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders : And no man could learn that song \M\i the hundred avcl forty and four thousand, Which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women ; for they are virgins ; These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he troeth. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 437 These were redeemed from among men. Being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile : For they are without fault before the throne of God, Section VIII. Chap. xiv. 6., xv. 1 — 5. inclusive. I. 1. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven. Having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, And to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice. Fear God, and give glory to him ; For the hour of his judgment is come ; And worship him that made heaven, and earth. And the sea, and the fountains of waters. 2. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, Because she made all nations drink Of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 3. And the third angel followed them, Saying with a loud voice. If any man worship the beast and his image. And receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, r r 3 438 TilK APOCALYPSE The same shall drink of the wine of the wratli of God, Which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation ; And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone In the presence of the holy angels, and in the i)resence of the Lamb ; And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; And they have no rest day nor night, ^\"ho worship the beast and his image, And whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints : Here are they that keep the commandments of God, And the faith of Jesus. 4. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence- forth ; That they may rest from their labours. And their works do follow them. ir. 1. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, Having on his head a golden crown. And in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, Crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud. Thrust in thy sickle, and reap ; For the time is come for thee to reap ; For the harvest of the earth is ripe. ITS OWN INTERPRETEK. 439 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; And the earth was reaped. 2. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven. He having also a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, Which had power over fire. And cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle. And gather the clusters of the vine of the earth j For her grapes are fully ripe. 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. And the winepress was trodden without the city. And blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles. By the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. III. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous. Seven angels having the seven last plagues ; For in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire ; And them that had gotten the victory over the beast, And over his image, and over his mark. And over the number of his name. Ft 4 440 THK Al'(^CALYPSE Stand on the sea of glass, having; the harps of (tocI. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, And the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord God Almighty ; Just and true are thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, And glorify thy name ? For tlwu only art holy ; For all nations shall come and worship before thee ; For thy judgments are made manifest. And after that I looked, and behold, The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. Section IX. Chap. XV. 6., xvi. 1 — 18. inclusive. I. And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, Clothed in pure and white linen, And having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto tiie seven angels seven golden vials Full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; And no man was able to enter into the temple Till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. ITS OWN IHTERFKETEK. 441 And I heard a great voice out of the temple Saying to the seven angels, Go your ways. And pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 11. 1. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth ; And there fell a noisome and grievous sore Upon the men which had the mark of the beast, And upon them which worshipped his image. 2. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea ; And it became as the blood of a dead man : And every living soul died in the sea. 3. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters. And they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say. Thou art righteous, O Lord, Which art, and wast, and shalt be. Because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And thou hast given them blood to drink. For they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say. Even so. Lord God Almighty ; True and righteous are thy judgments. 442 THE APOCALYPSE 4. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun ; And power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, And blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues ; And they repented not to give him glory. 5. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast ; And his kingdom was fiJl of darkness ; And they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven Because of their pains and their sores, And repented not of their deeds. 0. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; And the water thereof was dried up. That the way of the kings of the east might be pre- pared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs Come out of the mouth of the dragon, And out of the mouth of the beast, And out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they arc the spirits of devils, working miracles, Jfltirh go forth unto the kings of the earth and of tlic whole world, To gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almiglity. Behold, I come as a thief. ITS OWN INTERPRETER, 443 Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his gar- ments, Lest they walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place Called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 7. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air ; And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying. It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings ; And there was a great earthquake. Such as was not since men were upon the earth, So mighty an earthquake, and so great. Section X. Chap. xvi. 19., xvii., xviii., xix. 1 — 4. inclusive. 1. And the great city was divided into three parts. And the cities of the nations fell ; And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, To give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, And the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven. Every stone about the weight of a, talent ; And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; For the plague thereof was exceeding great. 444 THE APOCALYPSE II. And there came one of the seven angels which hud the seven vials, And talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither ; I will shew thee the judgment of the great whore That sitteth upon many waters ; With whom the kings of the earth have committed forni- cation. And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness ; And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast. Full of names of blasphemy. Having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour. And decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. Having a golden cup in her hand Full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead a ivas name written. Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints. And with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : And when I saw her I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, "Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell tliee of the mystery of the woman, And of the beast that carrieth her, AVhich hath tlie seven heads and ten horns. The beast tliat thou sawest was, and is not ; And shall ascend out of the bottomless i)it, and go into perdition : ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 445 And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, Whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world : When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings ; Five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come ; And when he coraeth, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, Even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, And goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, AVhich have received no kingdom as yet, But receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind. And shall give their power and strength Unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, And the Lamb shall overcome them : For he is Lord of lords. And King of kings : And they that are with him are called. And chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me. The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast. These shall hate the whore, And shall make her desolate and naked. And shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree. And sive their kingdom unto the beast. 446 THE APOCALYPSE Until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city Which ruleth over the kings of the earth. III. 1. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven. Having great power ; And the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fixllen. And is become the habitation of devils. And the hold of every foul spirit. And a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the kings of the earth have committed fornica- tion with her. And the merchants of the earth arc waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 2. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, That ye be not partakers of her sins. And that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, And God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, And double unto her double, according to her works: In the cup which she hath filled fill to her douljlo. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deli- ciously. So nuich torment and sorrow give her: ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 447 For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow ; And shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, Death, and mourning, and famine ; And she shall be utterly burned with fire ; For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornica- tion and lived deliciously Avith her. Shall bewail her, and lament for her. When they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment. Saying, Alas, alas, that great city, Babylon, that mighty city ! For in one hour is thy judgment come. 4. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her ; For no man buyeth their merchandise any more ; The merchandise of gold and silver. And precious stones, and of pearls. And fine linen, and purple, And silk, and scarlet. And all thyme woods, and all manner vessels of ivoiy. And all manner vessels of most precious wood, And of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours. And ointments, and frankincense. And wine, and oil. And fine flour, and wheat. And beasts, and sheep. And horses, and chariots, and slaves, 448 THE ArOCALYPSE And souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, And all things which were dainty and goodly are de- parted from thee, And thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things which were made rich by her. Shall stand afar off for fear of her torment. Weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city ! That was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet. And decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls ! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And cvei-y shipmaster, and all the company in ships, And sailors, and as many as trade by sea. Stood afar off, and cried. When they saw the smoke of her burning, Saying, What city is like unto this great city ! And they cast dust on their heads. And cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city ! Wherein were made rich all that liad ships in the sea. By reason of her costliness I For in one hour is she made desolate. 5. Rejoice over her, thnu heaven. And yp holy apostl< s and prophets! For God hath avcn;:;cd you on her. ITS OWN INTERPRETEK. 449 IV. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great mill- stone, And cast it Into the sea, saying. Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he he, shall be found any more iu thee ; And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee ; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee ; And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee ; For thy merchants were the great men of the earth ; For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints. And of all that were slain upon the earth. And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluiah ; Salvation, and glory, and honour. And power, unto the Lord our God:] For true and righteous are his judgments : For he hath judged the great whore. Which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, And hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluiah. G G 450 THE APOCALYPSE And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four-and-twcnty elders and the four beasts Fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluiah. Section XL Chap. xix. 5., xx. 1 — 6. inclusive. I. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, And ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude. And as the voice of many waters. And as the voice of mighty thundcrings, saying, Alleluiah ; For the Lord God omnipotent reigncth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him ; For the marriage of the Lamb is come, And his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white ; For the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto mc, write, lilesscd are they which are called unto the marriage 8uj)pcr of the Lamb. ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 451 And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me. See thou do it not ; I am thy fellow-servant, And of thy brethren which have the testimony of Jesus : Worship God : For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. II. And I saw heaven opened, And behold a white horse ; And he that sat upon him ivas called Faithful and True, And in righteousness doth he judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire. And on his head ivere many crowns ; And he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself ; And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : And his name is called The Word of God . And the armies which icere in heaven followed him upon white horses, Clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, That 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 and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written. King of kings, and Lord of lords. G G 2 452 THE ArOCALYPSE III. And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; And he cried with a loud voice, Saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God ; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, And the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, And the flesh of horses, of them that sit on them. And the flesh of all men, loth free and bond. Both small and great. IV. And I saw the beast. And the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together To make war against liim that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken. And with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him. With which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast. And them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant wore slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, Which sword proceeded out of iiis mouth : And all the fowls of the air were filled with their flesh. And I saw an angel come down from heaven. Having the key of the bottomless pit. And a great chain in liis hand. And he laid hold on tlic dragon, that old serpent, ITS OWN INTERPRETER. 453 Which is the Devil, and Satan, And bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, And shut him up, and set a seal upon him. That he should deceive the nations no more. Till the thousand years should be fulfilled ; And after that he must be loosed a little season. VI. And I saw thrones. And they sat upon them, And judgment v^as given unto them ; And / saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, And for the word of God, And which had not worshipped the beast, neither hiB image. Neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands : And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again Until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- rection : On such the second death hath no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, And shall reign with him a thousand years. G G 3 454 THE ArnCALYPSK Section XII. Chapter xx. 7. to the end. And when the thousand years arc expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which arc in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and ISIngog, To gatlicr them together to battle, The number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, And compassed the camp of the saints about, and the be- loved city : And fire came down from God out of heaven, and de- voured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, Where the beast and the false j)rophet an; And shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat onit, From whose face the earth and the heaven Hed away; And there was found no place for then). And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; And the books were opened : And another book was opened, which is f/ic lionh of Life : And the dead were judged out of those tilings whicii were written in the books, According to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it : And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them ; And thishop Horslcv." ITS OWN INTEEPEETER. 46t Towards the end of this Section (iv.) p. 65. 1. 20, Bishop Jebb further observes : — " That which I have ventured to call the introverted parallelism, is a species of epanodos ; and in " every instance of it, the reasons may- be clearly shown, why this order has been chosen." In this same Section, p. 59, 1. 19, the Bishop calls attention to the importance of Hebraic Parallelism for the interpretation of Scripture. '' Meantime, obscurities in abundance remain in the Sacred Volume ; most of all, perhaps, in the books most susceptible of involved versicular arrangement, — the writings of the prophets : and it were presumptuous to conjecture, but more presumptuous to limit, the possibilities of future discovery in the much-frequented, but entangled walks of prophetic interpretation, by those who shall bring along with them prudence, penetration, perseverance, but, above all, a properly chastised imagination, to the study of Hebraic parallelism." Again : — " The object of the epanodos, it will be recol- lected, is to place first and last, the leading, characteristical, and emphatical propositions or members of a paragraph or subject ; and to place in the centre those members, which are subordinate in importance, or less prominent in the scope of the existing subject matter." — Sect. xii. p. 243. 1. 14. I will give one specimen more from *' Sacred Literature," which throws beautiful, and most valuable light, on the vision of the harvest and vintage of the earth. — Rev. xiv. 14. iriiJb-^ov TO SpsTravov crov, Kot Bspcaov OTL rfkOs aoi rj &pa tov ^spiaai' on £^rjpdv0r] 6 ^spcafMOS T7]S yrjs. TTS/xylrov gov to hpsiravov to o^v ' KoX Tpvyrfaov tovs fSoTpvas Trjs ajXTreXov ttjs yijs' OTL rjKfxacrav al Ic instances of, 23. 39. 463. Epiphanius, 206. Episcopalians, symbolized by one of the witnesses, 1 18. Eruvin, 261. Eupbriitcs, drying up of, 32. 177. F^xekicl's four sore judgments, 21.; visions of heaven, 60. 64. 109. 190. \9.').; typical vision, 294. .321.; virion of the roll of the Iwok, 382. Faber, Rev. G. S., 72. Fire proceeding out of the witnesses' mouths, 116. Fleming, Rev. Rob., 34. Flood caused by the red dragon, 143. Forster, Rev. C, JVIahometanism Un- veiled, 393. German Empire, 399, 400. Gibbon, 16. 18. Glory of the Lord, phrase explained, 215—219. Gog and Magog, 122. 235. 240. 360. Gospel, propagation of the, 220. Grecia, kingdom of, in Daniel, .340. Gregory the Great, 191. i.'3J. Griesbach, 162. Gunpowder first used, 105. Harvest and vintage of the earth, vision of, 169. Heaven and earth, new, vision of, 239, Horns, the two little, in Daniel's vision, 13. 2.32. Horns, the ten, 186. Horsley, Bishop, 264. 290. 298. Hosea, 141 Idol worship, 391. Incense and prayers of the Saints 171. Infidel power, future rise of, 186. Intermediate hypothesis, neither wholly synchronous, nor wholly consecutive, proposed, 1 2. Introduction, St. John's, to the Apo- calypse, 45. Ircnaus, 156. Isaiah's vision of heaven, 60. Jeremiah's prophecy of 70 years' cap- tivity, 274. JtToboam, revolt of, 131. Jerusalem, New, 240. 242, 24.'). Je«s, restoration of, 177. Jezebel of 'Ihyatirn, 51. John the Baptist, the antitype of Elijah, 126. 262—263.322.; mi- nistry of, 334 — 335. Jonah's history, and our Lord's appli- cation of it, 303. Jose]>h's interpretations of vision*, 288 302—309. INDEX. 479 Joshua's prediction of the fall of Jericho, 302. Joshua, in Zechariah, 115. 130. Judgment, the last, 226, 227. 230— 237. Kennicott, Dr., 332. Key, changes of, in Apocalypse, 5. 16. 101. Kings of the East, 32. Kuster, 162. Lacunza, 338. 340. 353, 354. Lamb of God, vision of the, 63. Lateinos, the number of the beast, 156. 161. Leaven of the Pharisees and Sad- ducees, 317. Locusts, the Saracens, 23. 102. Lowman, 97. 158. 193. Mahomet, 23. 100. 175. Mahometanism, 12, 13. 99. 237. 394. 403. Maitland, Rev. Dr., 256. 261. 286, 287. 290. 295, 296. 302—309. 313. 319. 323—325. 331—335. 338. 340, 341. 354. Malaehi, prophecy of, 125. Man of Sin, 23. 73. 211. 2.32. 264, 265. 301. Mant, Bp., Commentary, 328. Mariolatry, 202. Matthffii, 162. Mede, 254. 264. 302. 359. 385. Michael fighting with the dragon, 138. Millennium, 8.34,35. 67. 96. 121. 145. 171. 201. 208. 298. Missionary Societies, 165. Mystery of Iniquity, 23. 37. 301. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the image, 75. 336—355. 368. ; of the tree, 317—319.; kingdom, 339. Newton, Bishop, 105. 108. 112. 117. 166. 183, 184. Newton, Sir Isaac, 261. 327. 329. Nineveh, 329. Odoacer, 390. Olive trees in Zechariah, 129. Pale Horse, Rider on, 15. 19.. Papacy, rise and progress of the, 37. 99. 232. Papal Rome, the first beast, 12, 13. Parable of tares in the field, net cast into the sea, the talents, and the ten virgins, 227. Parkhurst, 215. 323, 324. Paul, St., conversion of, 211. Pepin, 153. Personal reign of Christ , i 0 Pharaoh, two dreams of, 7. Phocas, 191. 233. Pope, declared universal Bishop, 14 9.; given temporal dominion, 152. ; sought aid of France against the Lombards, 153.; obtained exar- chate of Ravenna, 153. Popery and Mahometanism, parallel between, 394, 395. Presbyterians, symbolized by one of the witnesses, 118. Prideaux, 334. Prophecy does not enter into a minute detail of events, 375. Prophecies, literal, 255. 257. 259. 278. ; unfulfilled, 256. ; two classes, historical and symbolical, 268. ; historical, 268. 270. 274. ; sym- bolical, 255. 257. 270. 275. 279. 329, 330. ; year, of Dr. Maitland, 307. Ptolemy Lagus, 377. Ravenna, exarchate of, 1 53. Red Horse, Rider on, 14. 17. 19. Reformation, a great verity, 133. ; foretold, 140. Reformed body, the two great divi- sions, regular and irregular, 132. Renovation of all things, 241. Resurrection of witnesses, or first Resurrection, 33. 38. 67. 87. 89. 119. 158, 159. 168. 171. 194. 207. 208. 210. 228. ; St. Paul's view of, 228—230, Resurrection, the general, 42. 160. Resurrections, two, in the Apocalyps6, 91. Revelation, Book of, the Canon of Prophecy, exclusively belonging to the Christian Church, 73. RoUin, 161. 378. Roman Empire, 147. 149.; foretold by Daniel, 363, 364. Rome, heathen, providential office of, 16. ; taken by the Goths, 97. ; by Odoacer, 149. ; recovered by Narses, 149. 390. 480 INDEX. Rome, Papal, 184. 187. Russian Empire, prospects of, 30. 199. 4<)1— 104. Sabbatical years, SIO. Saracens, 23. 29. 100. 105. 175. Sutan, not symbolized by tlie great red dragon, 148. ; cast out from heaven, 121.; loosed, 235, 236. Satanic influence, 43. Scandinavian months, 324. Sea of glass, 171. Seal, symbolical meaning of, 13. ; is used by St. John, 84. ; by St. Paul, 85. Seals, seven, object of, 12.; interpre- tation of, 15. ; vision of, 69. 76. ; the first four, 4. ; opening of, 70. ; the first five, 19. ; fifth seal, 5, 6. 15 — 17. ; vision of, 69. ; sixth seal, 8. 19. 1 76. ; seventh seal, 92. Sealed Book, 9. 12. 61. Sealing of the servants of God, 83, 84. 87. 157. Septuagint, 332. 373. Seraphim, 61. 70. Seven Churches of Asia, St. John's address to, 50. Seven Heads and Siven Hills, 184. Seven Kings of Ronu-, 185. Seven Lamps of fire, 59. Seven Plagues, 171. Sevens of years and days, 309 — 311. 332. Seventy Weeks of Daniel, 307. 309. 311. 319. 324 — 326. 328. 331. 334. Signs and prodigies before the de- struction of Jerusalem, &c. 38. Silence in heaven, 7. Soliman the .Magnificent, 12. Solomon, i)rimary reference to, in the Psalms. 72. Son of the Church, difence of the phrase, as applied to our Lord, 144. •Son of Perdition, 23. Song of the 144.000, 158. S