'.Qis:ff&. i:^ PRESENTED TO THE LIBRARY- OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY W sec li BY r f/It^s. Alexander Ppoudfit. f-^ u:^' 1 ...J COMMENTARY. WITH NOTES, ON PART OF THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION OF JOHN. By the late JOHN SNODGRASS, D D. MINISTER OF THE MIDDLE CHURCH OF PAISLEY. PAISLEY : PRINTED BY NEILSON AND IVSIR* 1799, ADVERTISEMENT. THE following work, tho' incomplete, and at- tended with all the difadvantages of a poft- humous publication, will be found, it is hoped, not unworthy of attention. It is the fruit of deep thought and laborious reiearch. The learned and pious author, it is well known, had carefully ftu- died the book of the Revelation of John. He had perufed and examined with much attention the works of the moll eminent commentators upon that interefting portion of holy writ. In a courfe of lectures delivered during the years 1792 — 6, he had explained it to his congregation ; and the interpretation which he had given of it, there is reafon to believe he intended to convey- to the public from the prefs. An affiicling difor- der, which at laft terminated his valuable life, pre- vented the execution of this delign. Of his ma- nufcript, written originally in (hort hand, he had been able to tranfcribe but a part, and that not in perfect connection, or with all the minute atten- tion, either to accuracy or elegance, which he would undoubtedly have given it in perufmg it with [ iv J with a view to immediate publication. What now appears is a Commentary with Notes upon chap- ter I. chapters IV, XVI. inclufive, and chap. XX. 7 15. together with t'lree Dillertations upon very curious fubjecls, viz. The Four Beafts, the Four and Twenty Elders, and the Number of the Beaft. In the Commentary, which forms the body of the work, the author firll endeavours to afcer- tain the precife import of the feveral prophetical vifions exhibited to the apoftle ; and then deter- mines, and with great probability, the fucceilive events, in the hiilory of the world, and in the hiftory of the Chriftian church, in which thofe myf- terious vifions received their accomplifhment. In the Notes fubjoined to each vifion he gives a concife, but clear, view of the opinions of the moft celebtated commentators refpeding the fub- jed which he has difcuffed, and ftates his reafons for differing from them. Thus the work, imper- fed as it is, will be found interefling and inflruc- tive. It is far from being a mere compilation of the fentiments of others j the author was well a- ble to think for himfelf : in many places he will be found original : many of his conjedures are entirely his own ; fome of them perhaps are An- gular ; all of them however will be acknowledged ingenious J and they who do not admit them^ may, at C V J at leafl, be inftrucled by the manner in which they are difcuffed, perhaps furprifed at the evidence with which they are fupported. With all the proofs which this work furnlflies of the author's deep thought and great erudition, ftill to thofe who were ftrangers to him, it will convey but a very inadequate idea of his enninent talents ; they however who knew him will recognize him in every page; and amongthe candid and impar- tial it willbe nodifcredittohis memory. His memory will be long cheriflied and refpedled by many ; and by thofe who had accefs to a more intimate acquaintance with him, who knew his diftinguifli- ed powers, his favourite ftudies, and his habits of clofe and accurate thinking, thefe remains will be highly prized as an affeding and inftruclive me- morial of his efteemed friendfhip and edifying ccnverfation They will perufe with pleafure the following delineation of his character, which form- ed the conclufion of a fermon preached in the Middle Church of Palfley on Sabbath the ift day of July 1 707, at the defire of the prefbytery, on oc- cafion ot the author's death, by his intimate friend, the Rev. Mr. Balfour of Glafgow. His text «as Heb. xiii. 7, 8. " Remember them which have " the rule over you, who have fpoken unto you *' ihe V^ord of God : whofe faith follow, confi. ^* dering the end ot their converfation. Jefus " Chrift Chrlil the fame yefterday, and today, and for " ever." " If I have pjivcn a true account of the charader, du'ies and objecls of the rulers referred to in (>ur text, fuch furely ought to be the character of every public teacher of the rch'gion of Jcfus ; but, ahis ! how few attain to it ? Highly honoured is that man, who is thus diflinguifned by the gifts and graces of the Holy Gho(l : Happy are the people who have enjoyed the paUoral care of fuch a (hep- herd. If fenfible of (uch a niercy, they cannot hut innurn when deprived of it — they need, and will receive, tlic fympathy of all who truly value a gofpcl miniflry. — You of this congregation ought to know its value, for you have enjoyed its high- eft advantages under one of the ableft minifters of the New Teftannent. I cannot think that I fay . too much, when 1 apply to your late worthy Paf- tor every part of the defcription in our text ; for vhile he had flie rule over you, as a fervant of CiiriR, and the niiniiier of your choice, he main- tained lliat fpirituiil authority, only by fpeaking to you the word of G(^d, and exhibiting a faith and converfation beconung the gofpcl. While the graces and viitu'.s of C^hrirtianity adorned his privLi^o cl':»raclcr, ihcfe (lione confpicuous in his public cilice. « His C vii ] <« His faith as a Chriftian did not fland in the wifdom of men, but in the power of God. No one was capable of nicer fpeculations, or could more accurately inveltigate the truth of the gof- pel, and weigh every fpecies of evidence with which it was revealed and is tranfmitted to us, yet he pofTefled a more divine faith, than could be in- fpired or fuppor^ed by mere reafon. Highly cul- tivated as was his underftanding, he never was a- fhamed to refign it to the fupreme authority and influence of the truth and Spirit of God for di- rection and determination in every religious prin- ciple, as well as in all moral practice. Indeed he gloried in afcribing, and in teaching others to af- cribe, every peculiarity of Chriftian charader, pri- vilege and profpe<5l, to the fovereign felf-moving love of God, the infinitely nieritcrious righteouf^ nefs of the Redeemer, and the efFeclual influence of the Holy Ghoft.-- None who knew him, will fuppofe, that this manner of thinking or fpeaking proceeded from mental weaknefs, want of infor- mation, or wild enthufiafm.— They muft have had very partial knowledge of him indeed, or ftrong prejudice againft him, who do not readily own that his natural powers were great— his fenfe flrong and manly— his genius fertile— his applica- tion to every ufeful ftudy intenfe and fuccefsful— and his knowledge of men and books in every branch of literature uncommonly extenfive.— Thefe [ vili J Ihefe qualifications, added to a chearful, fecial temper, while they fitted him to be an inftrudive companion, inclined him to focial intercourfe ;— not indeed with every company, however mixed or frivolous, far lefs with the licentious or pro- fane, but with the friends of reafon, religion and virtue. With thefe he was always happy, and never failed to make them happy. All who were acquainted with his worth, therefore, w^ere covet- ous of his improving, entertaining converfation. He knew well how to animate it with inforoia- tion-.-dignify it with argument--folemnizc it with ferioulnefs, and enliven it with anecdote.— What rendered his company the more agreeable and de- fired, was his ability to converfe with the moft learned, and his condefcenfion and eafy accommo- dation of himielf to thofe of very inferior know- ledge and capacity. " But what chiefly deferves our attention is, that while furniflied with real erudition, and qualified to make a confiderable figure in the learned v/orld. Lis highcft and unccafing ambition was to grow in and communicat-e facred, fcriptural knowledge.- Jndccd he excelled in Biblical learning, and facred criticifm---thcfe enabled him often to throw light on dark and diflicult pafTages, and to flrike the attentive hearer with ingenious remark and illuf- iraiion. With critical difquifition however, and a lively C ix ] a lively fancy, he always mingled found dodrine, folid practical inflrudlion, and deeply iiiipreflivc addrefs. While he fearched the fcriptures daily, to increafe his own religious knowledge, he la- boured to teach others how to compare fpiritual things with fpiritual, and to apply them to the advancement of true vital piety, and univerfal goodnefs. Confidering the fcriptures as divinely infpired, and profitable for doctrine, reproof, cor- rection, and inftruclion in righteoufnefs, he fo ap- pealed to them, as to make it evident, that he never wi(hed his opinion or words to be farther regarded than they agreed with the word of God, He was ever anxious that none might receive the gofpel from him, or from any other, as the words of man, but as it is in truth the word of the liv- ing God. Thus divinely directed, and directing you, all his views in preaching centered in Chrift, and the falvation which is in him. To command faith and affecfiion, obedience and fubmiffion, he fet forth and recommended the Saviour of linners not only by the higheft perfection of human cha- racter, but with ail the atributes of true and pro- per divinity ; with all the merit and grace of the only appointed and accepted High Prieft over the Houfe of God ; with all the fupreme majefty o£^ the King of Zion ; and the almighty grace of the author of eternal falvation. b "^ « As [ -^ ] *' As he began, iq he uniformly condu(rt€d his ininiftry, by preaching, '• not himlelf, but Chiiil " Jcfus the Lord, and himfcU" your iervant for *' Jeluo* lake/' Ihis was not only his fubject and folemn profellion when he firll addrefied you fro:n the place where I now (land, but it was the unvarying aim of all his niiniitrations ; and what ih )uld ever endear him to your memory is, tiiat hU only dcfire of life was to refume this grandeft and mod: intercfting theme, and with his life powers of hcaltli and voice to prefs it upon your hearts in all its importimce and influence. Of thefe things you will recoiled Oriking proofs, not only in all his fer-rions, but in his prevailing tem- per and uniform conduct. Did he not learn of his Divine Ma(ler to be meek and lowly in heart and manners? Tho' he was contInu;.\lly adding to his (lock of menial endowments, he was not wife in his own conceit, nor pufl^d uo with his fupe- rior and gr nving knowledge. So far was he from the pri le )f oilcntation and bjaRing, that public dury aloije brought ium into vic^; and when dif- chargC-1, he wasgiad to return to the quiet retreat and humble walks of private iludy and domedic li*e. This however was not the unvv^iilins: mo- ilelly of a feeble, irref)lure, or timid mind. Few men acled with more decifion and couracre, inde- p'JiKlcncc and energy. When any object po^dJcd real C xi ] real magnitude and importance, of which he was a ready and accurate judge, he fhrunk not from the acknowledgement and purfuit of it on ac- count of any difficulty or danger. With equal wifdom, firmnefs and zeal he maintained it againft all oppolition. There can be no doubt that he was fonder of home, and of his ftudy, than of any public appearance. But if it was difficult to draw him forth, when convinced that it was duty, he chearfully obeyed the call, and then appeared with greater advantage and more effect. " While he yielded to convidion, he detefted the fupplenefs of temporizing compliance. In the caufe of truth, elpecially evangelical truth, he ne- ver flinched — he fought the good fight, he kept the faith— warmly attached to the Sterling principles of civil and religious liberty, he abhorred every encroachment upon them, while he was equally a zealous and fleady friend of lawful authority and good order. While animated with the pureft pa- triotifm, he was not lefs animated with univerfal benevolence. His great and good mind wiihed and fought peace and falvation to them who were afar off, as well as to them v»^ho are nigh. The honour and applaufe—the pleafures and wifhes of this world made but a flight impreffion on his mind. Tho' able to fill any flation m the church, with perfonal credit and public honour, he never fought C X" ] fought great things for himfelf — while others, of much inferior talents, prciTed forward to hold the pre-eminence, he delighted in the enjoyment of the fhade—He loved the place of his fachers— he was attached to Paifley— he was attached to you of this congregation. To improve his own mind in private, and be ufcful to you in public, in pro- moting your beft, your eternal interefts, fcemed to be the height of his ambition here. — Bilt his great Lord found ufe for him in a better world — lie is entered into his Divine Mailer's joy — Wc are left in the Vale of lears — to lament our lofs, purfue our journey, and prepare for a happy eternal reunion in the heavenly manfions. COMMENT ART ON TH£ REVELATION. IhTRODUCTIOK TN this Work I addrefs myfelf to Intro- thofe who acknowledge the v!!r^O facred authority of this myfterious, but very interefting Book, and therefore I Ihall fcarcely tr.ke any notice of the evidence of its di- vine original, farther than what anfes from the accomplilhment of the prophefies which it contains. This indeed is an evidence of the A moft ( 2 ) Intro. moO: fatisfving nature; for it is ilucbon. v^^ God alone that can declare the end from tlie beginning, and Ihew tlic things that are to come hereafter. It is an evidence likewife that is flill increafmg as thefe predidions are gradually fulfilled; not only by alFording additional examples of the difcoveries which have been made by the all-difcerning Spirit of God ; but in ftrengthening the interpretation, by the corrcf- pondence between the connected chain of prophefy, and that of hiflorical facts and events, in a great variety of inltances, and through a long period of time. Though perhaps none of the apoftolic writings were more uni- verHilly acknowledged than this Book, for more than an hundred years after its publication, it will not appear furprifing, to thofe who are ( 3 ) are acquainted with its hiftory, that for fome ages afterwards it fliouid have been but partially received. Reafons abundantly convincing have been affigned for this, by writers upon the fubjeft. But it is not a little aftonilhing, that its authenticity Ihould be called in queftion by men profeffing a zeal for the fcripture, at this diftant pe- riod, when the providence of that God, by whom it was infpired, has confirmed and demonilrated it in the ilrongeft manner, in the cor- refponding hiftory, both of the world and of the church. This fliews an obilinacy of difpofition which is very little honourable to thofe who poflefs it, becaufe there is no evading the force of this argimient, biu by fome of the very fame means which infidels have employed to undermine the credit of the ancient prophefies. We ( 4 ) rntro- We have the teftimony of the \,yy^ apoflle himfelf, that he received this Revelation w^hile he v/as ba- niflied in the ifle of Patmos ; and we learn from the teftimony of Antiquity, that this was in the perfecution that was raifed againft: the Chriftians by the Emperor Do- mitian. It is therefore, with good reafon, that the learned and in- duftrious Dr. Lardner has fixed the date of this Book to the year of our Lord g6. 1 know that feveral commentators, and, critics of great name *, have ftrongly contended, that it ought to be carried back o to a much earlier period, and that it can fcarcely be later than the time of Claudius, or of Nero. Thofe who underftand this Book, chiefly * Grotius, Hammond, Lightfoot, Sir Ifaac Newton, Bifliop Newton, &c. { 5 ) chiefly as a prophefy of the de- intro- ftru(5tion of Jerufalem, and the s^^y^ fufferings of the Jews, are obhged, in point of confiilency, to feeic for this early date. But it is rather a. fufpicious circumftaace, when, in order to accommodate its date to a particular fcheme of interpreta- tion, we find the cleareft teilimony of Antiquity {a) rejeded, and, ia oppofition to it, the whole evi- dence refted on a vague and in- confiftent affertion of a writer of acknowledged inaccuracy (^). Ihis queftiort (a) This teftlmdny Is given us by Irenseus, to whom the current opinion of the fecond century muft have been well known ; and as he was in his early years a difciple of Polycarp, the difciple of John, he could fcarccly be miftaken about the mat- ter of fa£l, having probably learned it from that ve- nerable martyr, who delighted much in telling anec- dotes concerning him. (b) Epiphanius, who Uved at the end of the fourth century. ( 6 ) Intro- qiicflion however has been dif- '^;^^^^ cuncd in a manner fo full and fa- tisfadory, that it is fufficient to re- fer at the foot of the page to the writers by whom it has been treated (r). 1 fhall (r) See Laraner, Mill, AVolfli Curn^ philol. vol. Vtb, and Vitringa upon the Apociilypfe. The lad of thcfe learned writers fets the inconfiflency of E- piphanius in fo Itrong a light, that I cannot forbear quoting the pafTage in his own words. « Epipha- * niii?, in Aloc;oiuni hacreu exponenda ct refellen- « da, bis mcrncnit exilii Joannis in Patmo fiib Clau. ' ' dio ; fed ita, uc ipfe fui errorls manifeftum fuerit ' indicium. Prior locus In hunc modum legitur : «< Ob id dehide Sp. S. Joanncm, invitum licet, ac « religlone quadam zz animi nioderatione dcfugien- *« teni; ad fcribcndum evangelium impuHt ; attlxla «» jam ?.t:tate, utpote qui jam nonagelimiiin annum. *« r.etaiis excederet, poQcjuam ex Patmo infula re- «< verius efiet -, quod quidam Claudio imperante ** contigit." Poftquam vero, fub finem hujus dlf- « difputatlonis, ubi dire£ls de Apocalypfi ag't, fic « habit : ** Qni cum olim, imperante Claudio Cae- " fare, vatecinium illud edidcrit, cum in Patmo in- r^^ which appears in his Golpels and Fpiftles." This is held forth as an unanfwerable argument, and it muft be confelled that it is very fpecious. But when it is oppofed to clear and fatisfying teftirnony, like other arguments, which have been lo employed, it will be found to be of unequal weight. That the ftile of the Apocalypfe runs more into the Hebrew idiom, than that of the other writings of the Apoftle, is not to be denied : but this is to be accounted for upon a very diflerent principle from that of its early publication. The apof- tle had, for a confiderable time, been in a great mcafure excluded from human fociety. This circum- ftance alone will account for his na- tive idiom returning more ftrongly upon him. But it is probable, that ifiL ( 9 ) ill his folitary exile he would be Intro- much employed in reading the an- v^^^vO cient prophecies concerning the Meiliah and his kingdom, and in recolle6ling the many wonderful things which he had heard from his blefled mouth ; and that he would be much employed likewife in a6ts of devotion, all which would be conceived in his native language. This would increafe the efFe6l in a very confiderable degree. But, a- bove all, it muft be obferved, that there he was chiefly engaged in con- verfing with his divine Lord, with angelic beings, and with the ipirits of juil men made perfect ; that there he feems to have been caught up into the heavenly fandluary, and to have been prefent at its elevated worfliip, which was reprcfented as carried on after the manner, and confequently in the language of the temple fervice ; and that he be- B held ( lo ) fntro- held many wonderful vifions, where K^yy^^ Jewiili fcenes, and objeds, and cuf- toms, were almofl: conftantly before him. It is not to be doubted then, that the language of thefe vifionary fcenes mud have been Jewifli like- wife, and that all the explanations which he received refpecting them, muft have been communicated in that language. This would bring the mind of thfe apoftle as complete- ly under the influence of the terms and idioms of his native language, as the firfl moment after he came out of Palefline. And w^hen it is "added, that through a great part of this book he was only performing the ofiice of a tranflator, and that too upon a fubjev5l of prophecy, where no latitude of phrafe could be permitted, but the very mode of cxprcflion muft be ftri6lly retained, I conceive it will fully account for ull tliofe Hcbraifms, and even bar- barifms. ( ^^ ) barifnis, as they have been called, Intro- by which this book is fo remark- \^^^^^^ ably diftinguiflied, evei> from the earlier writings of this apoftle. Let us beware however of ima- gining that the language of this Book, to which the fe verity of cri- ticifm has been fo liberally applied, is calculated either to disfigure, or to difgrace the truths which it con- tains. On the contrary, by imbib- ing the fpiric of an ancient lan- guage, diftinguiflied alike for its fimplicity and its vigour, it is per- haps the more accommodated to the importance and elevation of the fubjech upon which it is employed ; and by the air of antiquity which it has thus acquired, it preferves to prophecy its folemn, and its vene- rable afpeft. I only add, that in the judgement even of the learned Ben- gelius himfelf, notwithftanding its want of elegance and polifli, it be- comes comes plcafant, by cuftom, and has a dignity belonging to it that is fiiited to the court of heaven [a]. We fee then that the grand ar- gument, for the early publication of this book, falls entirely to the ground, and that (/;) there is no fuf- ficient {a) " Hebraifmus," fays he in his Adpiratus crl- ticus, " regnat libro, prima fpecie inlolens et afper, ** fed revera cum adfueveris, non folum tolerabilis, ** fed etiam dulcis, ac plane cosleftis Ailo curix *^ dignus." {/>) I have omitted the authority of fo late and fo obfcure a writer as Aretas for the early publica- tion of this book, as unworthy of notice. I have likewife paflcd over the llory which is told by Cle- mens Alcxandrinus, refpeifting a young man, whom John, after his return from Patmos, committed to a certain bifliop, and whom, when he had afterwards become the leader of a bpnd of thieves, he pur- fued, riding and running after him, with a kind of youthful vigour, as too vague and uncertain to found any argument upon it. It is told by a per- fon who lived at a great diftance, and had httle opportunity of examining into the truth. It is a Aory ( 13 ) ficient reafoii for departing from imro- the date which we have ahxady af- f^^^ iigned it. The apoftle had com- mitted it to writing in the time of his banifliment in the ifle of Pat- mcs, but it probably could not be pubUflied till his releafe ; and it is evident, that the whole firil chapter is only a fort of proem or introduc- tion, which the apoftle drew up after he had left the ifland, and when he was about to fend it a- broad among the Afiatic churches. This ftory almoft without a name. Neither the young man himfelf feems to have been known, nor the bifhop to whom he was committed, nor the city in which he lived. The only circumflance that is taken notice of, is that which is leaft likely to have been remembered, the circumflance of the time in which it happened. The ftory likewife bears ftrong marks of exaggeration upon it, and there- fore it is not Improbable that it might at length be fixed to an advanced period of the apoftle's life, ia order to render it the more marvellous. ( 14 ) infro- Tliis preliminary part, even in V^^ry^^ point oi: tatcc, and propriety ot compofition, might Hand the tell of the niceft criticifm. By the fim- pUcity of tlie narration the fenfe is obvious at once. By the afFeftion- atenefs of the addrefs, the heart is touched and engaged. By the cha- racter and circumftances of the writer, a venerable apoflle and fa- ther, juft emerged from fuffering, bearing his Mailer's mefTage, which he had received in his fcqueftered fohtude, the mind is compofed in- to the mod devout attention : and by the ilriking fcenc which he be- gins to open, the imagination itfelf is awakened, our fpiritual curiofi- ty, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, is roufed, and we are put into a pro- per pofture and frame for contem- plating all the interefling wonders that are afterwards to be difcloled. DISSER" DISSERTATION L ON THE FOUR BEASTS, Defcribed Rev. iv. 6, 7, 8. 6. And in the midH of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beafts, full of eyes before and behind. 7. And the firft beafl: was like a lion, and the fecond beaft like a calf, and the third beaft had a face as a man, and the fourth bead was like a flying eagle. 8. And the four beafts had each of them fix wings about him, and they were full of eyes within ; and they reft not day and night, faying, Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. i HIS group of figures forms Divert, one of the moll difficult of fymbo- lical reprefentacions We know fo little of the apparatus that belongs to v.-^vhJ ( '6 ) Diilert. to the throHc and majefly of God, K,^0y-sJ that wc muiT: feel ourfelves parti- cularly at a lofs in attempting to decypher a fct of" emblems fo fu- blimely myfterious. The impro- priety of our tranflation, in calling tiiem " Bcaits," has been often ob- fcrved ; yet it is difficult to fublti- tute another appellation in its room, which fliall not be liable to excep- tion. When we refleft that the He- brew noun .in, v/hich Ezekiel ufes in a fimilar vifion, as John does C^oK in this, is properly applied only to living fubftances of the brute creation, the exprelfions, " Animate beings, Living creatures," and fuch like, which have been confidered as improved tranllations, will be found far too general and indclinite. In- deed it is abundantly evident, that it was fonic kind of animal forms which both the prophet and the a- poftle ( 17 ) poftle meant to exprefs by the terms DiiTert; they have made life of ; and thefe v^ry^J they defcribe with as great clear- nefs of language as the fubjedl v/ill admit of. At the fame time it is to be obferved, that they were no real fubftances which they beheld, but only emblematical figures, fhadow- ing forth fome kind of intelligen- ces, under animal appearances and forms. But the great queftion up- on this vilion of the apollie is, what thofe intelligences are which are thus reprefentcd ? In anfwer to this queftion I obferve, that, for va- rious reafons, they cannot be un- derftood of Chriftian churches to- wards the four corners of the world, reprefented, as the venerable Mede fuppofes, by four animals, in allu- fion to the figures upon the ftand- ards of the four camps of the If- raelites, around the tabernacle in C the ( 18 ) the wildernefs. For, firft, thcfe in- telligences, whatever they repre- fent, performed fuch offices as the church cannot do. They called the attention of John to the events which were to take place at the open- ing of four of the feals ; and one of them gave to the feven angels the feven vials full of the wrath of God : and (chap, xiv.) they are repre- fented as diftindl from the true church, which is introduced fing- inga new fong before them. With refpeft to the allufion which is here fuppofed, there is no fufficient rea- fon to believe that there were any fuch figures upon the flandards of the Ifraclitcs. The opinion has no better foundation than a bare Jew- ifli tradition, without the fmallefl intimation in fcripture to fupport it. ( 19 ) it {a). And it is by no means prob- able, that the Jews, confidering their natural pronenefs to idolatry, fliould have been permitted to have fuch a ftrong incitement to it, as the figures of animals upon the ftandards, after which they were to march in their journey through the wilderneis. If this had been the cafe, they might with more propriety have faid of them, than of the golden calf, *' Thefe be thy " Gods, O Ifrael, which brought *' thee up out of the land of Egypt." It (a) It is true that Mede underftands in^n f^ral. Ixviii. lo. as referring to thofe figures, and renders it, after Jerom, " Animalia tua." But it leems to be ufed theie in a fenfe fomewhat un- common, to denote what fuftains hfe ; as it does Ifa. Ivii. lo. and Bp. Lowth translates the verfe *< (as for) thy viBual, i. e. the food which thou " gaveft them, they dwelt in (the midft) of it." See Exod. xvi. 13—15. Num. xi. 31, 32. Sec alfb Parkhurft's Lexicon n>n. DifTert. I. ( 20 ) It is likewife to be obferved, that, upon this principle, the vifion does not give us a juft reprefentation of the faft ; for it makes the congre- gation nearer to the throne than the elders or priefls ; wliereas, in the wildcrnefs, thefe lafl were nearefl the tabernacle, and the congrega- tion was encamped around them [a), I onlv (n) Mede endeavours to make the vifion and the fact to agree by a inofl: arbitrary interpreta- tion : Me underftands the words, '-^ f^'-^^ 'rov ^^"vau yx.i hvkXu tov S^ovouy to fignify, in the middle of the fides of a quadrangle, on the outfide of the elders, having a common center with the throne, which he fuppofes to be quadrangular likewife. But this interpretation is too artllicial and drain- ed for the ingenious author ever to have propof- cd, had it not been neceflary to the fcheme he had adopted. Do not the words, '-" f'-"'^ -^"^ ^i^'^o--^ "-«' y.vx,\u Tou ip'jvov, much morc naturally denote the near fpacc about the throne (which probably was of a tranfparent nature) fo near indeed, that to the eye of the npoAle, at a diftance, fome of the fioures ( 21 ) »" I only add one other circumftance, Dii^ert. which overturns the whole fcheme v,^vO of interpretation founded on this opinion, which is, that the order in which the beafts are enumerat- ed in the viiion, does not agree with their fuppofed order upon the ftandards of Ifrael. In the vifion, the calf is the fecond, and the maji the third; but in the account of the encampment, Numb, ii, the calf, fuppofed to be Ephraim's ftand- ard, is the third, and the man, fup- pofed to be Reuben's, is the fecond. This, therefore, mull occafion an unavoidable miftake, in looking for the accomplilhment of the firft four feals, as Mede and his fol- lowers do, from thofe refpe6live quarters, where the figures were fuppofed anciently to be ftationed. For figures would appear as within the throne, while others were {landing around it ? ( 22 ) Diflert. For fevcral of the rcafons alrea- \^^^y^^ dy mentioned, the limilar curious interpretation whieh Dr. Wall pro- pofes muil: like wife be reje6fed. He conceives thefe beads to be four churches, keeping up the con- liant ufe of prayer and praife, (they and the four and twenty elders be- longing to them), or rather the Chriilian church in four feveral ages. Firfl, the primitive church, like a lion, with the ftrength of faith and patience. The fecond, like an ox, labouring under hardfliip and per- fecutions, and incumbrances of he- retics, till the time of Conftantine. The third, under the Chriflian em- perors, had a face like a man. The fourth, the church in the time of the apoftacy ; it is reprefented, ch. xii. 14. as having two wings of a great eagle, to fly into the wilder- nefs ; and here, the reprefentation is ( 23 ) is of an eagle flying. He further D^^^rt, obferves, that ch. v. 9 fhews plain- v.^^ ]y, that both they and the four and twenty elders muft Iiave been Chrif- tians^ and out of feveral nations; and, ver. 14. they faid Amen to the prayers and praifes of the angels, and of all earthly and heavenly creatures. And as the voice of one of thefe animals was like thunder, chap. vi. I. he quotes St. Jerom, fay- ing, that the Amen of a large con- gregation of Chriftians ufed to be fo in his time. This interpretation, it mult be allowed, is ingenioully fancied. But a queftion occurs, not very confiftent with it ; name- ly, why was not the period after the apoftacy reprefented likewife by another animal ; for if this were the meaning of the vifion^ it is fcarcely to be thought, that fuch a glorious ftace of the church would be ( 24 ) DifTert. be entirely neglefted ; not to men- \^^^'^u ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ would be much more properly reprefented, as having a face like a man, than that under Conftantine. But, it appears from the reafons already afligned, re- fpecling the offices of thefe emble- matical figures, that they cannot be underftood of Chriilian churches in any fituation or in any period. I Ihall have oecafion afterwards to Ihew, that their being thought to join with the elders in finging the fong of the redeemed, is indeed a mifapprehenfion, and with refpect to the amen which this curious an- notator takes notice of, it certain- ly was not that expreffion which the firft bead uttered, when his voice was like thunder, bin a very folemm call of attention, which no Chriilian congregation could be fuppofcd to deliver. The ( 25 ) The fame reafons conclude as Difiert: I. ftrongly againft thefe beafts being v^^y^i^ emblematical of the excellent and zealous minifters of the gofpel, which feems to be a favourite and prevailing opinion among expofitors. But the mofl extraordinary in- terpretation of thefe myilerious fi- gures is that of the learned and entertaining Parkhurft, who under- ilands them to be cherubic animals, emblematical of the ever blefled Trinity, in covenant to redeem man, by uniting the human nature to the fecond Perfon. This interpretation he has drawn up in a very ingeni- ous and plaufible form, and has en- deavoured to fupport it by a variety of paffages, both in the Old and New Teflament fcriptures. One in- fuperable objecStion, as may be thought, he feems to get over with the greatelt eafe ^ I mean that which D arifes ( ^6 ) DiiTert. arifcs from the beafts repeating v^,^..^^^ that folemn adoration, Holy^ holy, holy, Lord Cod Ahnighty, *which was, and is, and is to come: and likewife falling down before the Lamb, and worfliipping God who fat upon the throne. His anfwer to the firft part of this obje6lion, he thinks is as fa- tisfaftory as it is Ihort ; namely, that the emblems arc rcprcfented as con- felhng to the realities, and proclaim- ing theglory of that i7c'/K,Z?(?/y,Z?o/K-^^^^, three perfons and one Jehovah, in the knowledge of whofe power, u- nity, perfonality, and union with man, they were intended in the moft ftriking and convincing man- ner CO inftrucSt mankind. But how is it poffible they could Iiave this intention, v/hcn, in order to under- lland them, we muft firlt be ac- quainted with a very obfcure and fanciful philofophy, the very prin- ciples ( ^7 ) ciples of which are far removed ^'^^''^^' from the ordinary courle of human v^y^o inveftigation. Were mankind in- deed as much verfant, as our learn- ed and ingenious author, in what he calls the material trinity of na- ture ; the fluid of the heavens, con- fiding of the fire at the orb of the fun, reprefenting the Father; the light ifTuing from it, denot- ing tlie Word ; and the grofs air, conftantly fupporting and con- curring to the adlions and effedts of the other two, reprefenting the Holy Ghoft: — had they faculties to perceive as clearly as he, that the ox or bull, on account of his horns, the curling hair on his forehead, and his unrelenting fury when provoked, is a very proper emblem of fire ; that the lion, from his ufual tawny, gold-like colour, his flowing mane, his fliining eyes, and ( 23 ) Diflert. and his prodigious ftrength, is a i^yyj proper emblem of light ; and like- wife the eagle, of the fpirit, or air in action, from his being chief a- mong fowls, from his impetuous motion, and from his towermg and furprifmg flights in the au' — were they as fully perfuaderl as he, of of the folidity and juftnefs of thefe ftrangely fancied emblems, then there might be fome ground for imagining that they were intended to inftruft mankind, in the moft ftriking and convincing manner, in the important do6lrines which have been mentioned, as well as in the doctrine of man taken into the ef-< fence, by the union of the faces of the lion and the man. But as thefe are attainments which, it is to be feared, very few can boafl of, it is certainly not to be credited, that when God meant to inftiuft man- kind { ^9 ) kind, in the moft ilriking and con- Diirert, vincing manner, in fome of the li.. moft precious truths which revela- tion contains, he fliould fpeak to them in a language which fcarce- ly any could underftand. With re- fpeft to the cherubic animals fal- ling down before the Lamb, and worfliipping God who fat upon the throne, he thinks that nothing more was meant by this, than either a ceffion of the adminiftration of all divine power to Chrift, God-man ; or a declaration of the divine per- fons by their hieroglyphical repre- fentatives, that he muft reign till his enemies are made his foot- ftool. This he grounds upon pro- ftration being the ufual fymbolical a6t, as it ftill is in the eaft, not on- ly of divine worlhip, but of acknow- ledging the regal power to be in the perfon fo worfiiipped. But the fame { 30 ) DiiTert. fame obfervation will apply to this ' , anfwcr as to the former. For how improbable is it, that a do6trine of fuch vaft moment as that of our Lord's fupreme and univerlal do- minion, which is taught fo clearly in other parts of fcripturc, jfliould, under the notion of additional in- formation, be intimated in this lat- eft book of the facred canon in fo obfcure a manner, that not one of a thoufand can apprehend the mean- ing. We have therefore ample reafon to conclude, that thefe myfterious figures are not emblematical of the ever bleiled Trinity, in covenant to redeem man by the union of the human nature to the fecond Perfon; and we have feen that they cannot denote Chriftian churches in t!ie different corners of the world, or in different periods of time ; nor can they ( 31 ) they denote the excellent and zeal- Difet. ous minifters of the gofpel. They v.,,^v^ mull however be underftood of created intelligences, but intelli- gences probably of the moft exalt- ed kind. Of this, their nearnefs to the throne of God is a high indica- tion. EzekieFs vifionary forms feem to have been appendages of the throne which was then in mo- tion. Therefore they moved as it moved, and Hood when it flood. But here the throne is at reft, and they are ftationed in the circle, or fpace, immediately around it. With refpecl to fuperior created intelli- gences, they feem all to be com- prifed under the general appella- tion of angels. But w^e know not what gradations of being this ap- pellation may contain. Angels do not, like men, fpring from one common and origmal flock ; a cir- cumftance ( 32 ) DiiTert. cumflancc which neceflarily bounds y^^^y^^ and narrows the diftinftions among the race, fo that a general famenefs of intelleftual chara6ler muft per- vade the whole. Their faculties are probably much more diverlified ; and we have reafon to think, that there are gradations among them of a very elevated range. Nay, it is not unlikely, that there may be fome individuals among them as far fuperior to the reft, as thefe are to the human fpecies ; and as ange- lic fpirits are conftantly exhibited in fcripture as the attendants upon the Divine Majefty, and as the mi- nillers of the heavenly court, it may naturally be fuppofed, that thofe individuals who arc of the moft exalted diarafter, would occupy fuch a ftation as that which is here afligned to thefe animal ap- pearances, and forms, and therefore they ( 33 ) they may well be underflood, I will Difler;, | not fay, to be reprefented by them, ^..yy^U for a reafon which will afterwards occur, but to be concealed under ! them. j But indeed it is not of fo great importance to inquire minutely in- [ to the character of thefe intelli- gences, or whether there are only ; four of this high and fupereminent characT:er, as to difcover the pur- : pofe for which they are introduced. I am inclined to think, that they adl here entirely in an official ca- pacity ; and that they are introduc- j ed, in allufion to the pomp and \ magnificence of the oriental courts, to perform fuch offices as are cal- ; culated to ftrike the minds of the fpedatcrs with folemnity and awe. To this every thing that is faid refpefting them exadtly agrees. \ Their acls of worlhip are all fuch i £ us i ( 34 ) DifTert. as indicate an official charaLT:er. ^^^.y^ Tlicy arc few in number : they are little varied ; and they arc per- formed in fuch circumftances as heighten the grandeur and folcm- nity of the fcene. Their divine culogium, Holy^ holy^ holy^ Lord God Almighty^ who *wasy and is^ and is to comcy which they are reprcfented as incelTantly repeating, cannot be fo naturally underftood in any other fenfe as that of a public and fo- lemn proclamation, fitted to roufe and to maintain the deepeft vene- ration in ail who hear it. In the fame official characSler they feem to be reprcfented, fometimes be- ginning the high celeftial anthems, and giving ghry^ and honour^ and thanks to Him that fat on the throne^ ivho livcth for ever and ever; iome- times again, concluding w^ith a loud and ( 35 ) and folemn ^/7?^;?. Andthisisthefub- Diflert. ftance of all that is recorded refpe6l- \,.^y^ ing their ads of worfhip. The oiher offices which they performed^ mark the fame diftin(5live and pubHc character. Each of them, in his turn, announced the fcenes which were difplayed at the opening of the firft four feals, not to John on- ly, but likewife, as appears from the whole ftrain of the defcription, to all the heavenly inhabitants, an- gels as well as men, and called their attention to behold them. And when the vengeance of God was to be completely executed up- on the enemies of his church and people, one of them was the minif- tering fpirit, who folemnly deliver- ed the vials of the fiercenefs of his wrath into the hands of the angels who were commiffioned to pour them out. Thefe intelligences then. appear ( 3f5 ) Diifert. appear evidently to be exhibited in V.,^^^o«^ Chriftian church, or where are Chrhlian minifters, either in this prophecy, or in any other pare of fcripture, reprefented by luch a number? The fuppofition tnar it aUudes to the twelve patriarchs, and twelve apoftles, does not ac- cord v/ith either interpretation : and the more ingenious ccnjedlure of Mede, that it alludes to the Priefts and Levites in the encamp- ment of the Ifraelites in the wil- dernefs, who were afterwards di- vided into twenty- four courfes, ftands at variance with the faft in fome important circumftances. For, firfty as Markeus juftly obferves, thefe Priefts and Levites were not feated on thrones. It is farther to be remarked, that if thefe are the perfons who are here referred to, they ( 48 ) DiiTert. they muft be underftood to be ex- II. \^,yy-^ hibitcd in their facerdotal robes, which they never appeared in all at once, but only by turns, and when they were performing the duties of their facred office. Be- fides, if this were the model from which the defcription is taken, as the elders feem to perform the of- fice of fingers, as well as of priefts, their number fliould have been forty-eight at lead ; nay, if the the Levites are to be included, no lefs than feventy-two ; for there were twenty-four courfes of fingers appointed by David, fuitable to the twenty-four courfes of Prieds and twenty-four of Levites. We muft therefore rclinquiili thcfe in- terpretations as inconfillent with jj.ift imagery, difcordant with fadl, and therefore, in all probability^ unilluftrative of the objeds which the ( 49 ) the fpirit of prophecy had here in Diflert. view. V^'v-O It is of much importance to ob- ferve, that the figures in thefe vi- fions have not only an emblemati- cal, but likewife a prophetical meaning. We have feen this al- ready, in the profpedls of provi- dence which the four beafts exhibit, and therefore it is not unnatural to fuppofe, that fomething prophe- tical may likewife be intended by the four and twenty elders. It will readily be allowed, that if there had been only twelve elders, in- ftead of four and twenty, they would have been underftood of the twelve apoilles, and of them alone ; and I confefs I am inclined to think that, by keeping them in our eye, we may flill arrive at the true interpretation. To them every part of the defcripcion agrees, G the ( 50 ) DiiTert. the number alone excepted ; and \^y.y,^ this, I conceive, is to be accounted for from fome events which are predicted in the courfe of thefe prophecies, and which thofe facred perfonages, who are here introduc- ed, were probably intended to re- prefent. It is a melancholy truth, that the primitive church which was formed by the apoftles, after having triumphed over the pride of Paganifm, fell into obfcuriry, and was gradually diminiflied, till at length it feems to have been loft, the two witneffes, who had prophe- ficd fo long in fackcloth, being flain. This, however, was only like the feed which dies before it is reproduced. The church was to revive ; and, in her fecond appear- ance, was to attain a far greater ex- tent and luftre than in her firft. This was to be accompliflied under the ( 51 ) the influence of the apoflolic doc- DUiert. trine, and the exertions of apoftolic o^yO men, whom God was to raife up and qualify for th€ arduous enterprife, by pouring out his Spirit upon them in an extraordinary ineaiure. With what eafy fimpHcity then, was this glorious event, the future renova- tion of the church, reprefented, by adding thefe fecond apoftles, if I may fo denominate them, unto the firft, and in the anticipating ililc of prophecy, exhibiting them both to- gether in the charafter of four and twenty elders, fitting in triumph around the throne. Only admit this interpretation for a moment, and obferve, how exactly it accords with every circumftance which is related concerning them. The ve- ry name E/der is a title of office, an appellation of high refpedl; and, as we learn from fcripture, not un- worthy even of an apoltle. The per- fons { 52 ) DiWert, fons tliiis rcprcfcntcd, had early ^^^ryvJ difcoverics of what was afterwards to be more fully revealed, as holy and infpired men might be fuppof- ed to have ; and therefore one of them was able to comfort John, who appeared there only in the character of a fpedlator, though not an unintereftcd one, by informing him, that the Lion of the tribe of Judah had prevailed to open the book, and to loofe the feven feals thereof. The white robes, in which they were clothed^ denote their high acceptance with God, both in their charadler, and in their fer- vice. Ihe crowns of gold upon their heads, and the thrones upon Avhich they are feated, denote their dignity^ and victory, and triumph. And by the harps, and golden vials in their hands, they are elegantly rcprcfcntcd leading on the prayers and ( 53 ) and the praifes of a people yet un- DiiTert. born, who were to be called and ^.^^^ysj fandlified unto the Lord. As a fpechnen of that animated fervice, they offer a high afcription of praife and adoration to the Lamb for his redeeming grace, and for the exalted honour to which they were raifed, m being made kings and priefts unto God, in the pro- fpeft of that glorious period when, in the mumphs of religion, they fhould reign upon the earth. Ac- cordingly, it is not a little remark- able, that the only occalions upon which we find them introduced, are thofe which have refpeft to that elevated ftate of the church on earth, chap. xix. 4. They are introduced, at the deflruftion of Babylon, upon the near approach of the latter day glory, falling down and worfliip- ping God, 'w^jo fat upon the throne^ fay- ( 54 ) Differt. ing^ in addition to the praifcs of the \^ry^^ faints, Jmcn: Hallelujah. Likewife, at the found of the feventh trumpet, when there were great voices in heaven, faying, 7he kingdoms of ibis world are become the kingdoms of our Lordy and of his Chrifl^ and be foall reign for ever and ever ^ thc four and twenty elders, who fat before God on their feats, fell upon their faces, and worfliip- ped God, faying. We give thee thanks^ O Lord God Almighty ! who art^ andwafi^ and art to come^ becaufe thou hafl taken to thee thy great power and baft reigned. And v/l;cn the great mukitude, which no man could niimber, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, ftood before the throne, and before the Lamb, finging their fong of thankfgiving and triumph, one of the elders fhews plainly how deeply he was interelled in their happinefs, by exciting the attentive curiofity i 55 ) I curiofity of John, that he might Diflert. j defcribe them to him. v..-rrO Thefe circumllances lead us plainly to perceive to what great objeds the attention of the elders was particularly turned ; that they were the future triumphs of the church to which they were to minifter. It is not neceffary to determine whether there fhall be precifely twelve perfons who fhall be the leading inftruments in raif- ing up the church at the glorious period already mentioned, and who fliall be fo eminently difcinguiilied by the gifts and graces oF the Spirit, that they may be ranked in fome refpedt with the apoflles themfelves. I fee no impropriety however in fuppofing that this may be really the cafe. But it is fufficient for the purpofe of this vifion, that men of fuch a fpirit fliall then be raifed up, i 56 ) Diflert. up, eminently qualified for the ar- V^^py^O cluous \^ork, and remarkably dif- tinguifhcd for their fuccefs in it. I fliall only fm'ther obferve, that it is perfeftly in the manner of fcrip- tiirc to reprefent eminent faints long fince gone into heaven, as ap- pearing upon earth again, when others of a fimilar fpirit come in their room. In this very prophecy, for inftance, the ancient martyrs are reprefented as raifed from the dead, w^hen perfons of their luperior character and temper fhall appear again in the church. It was in like manner foretold, that Elias fliould come again before the appearance ot the Mefliah : but we know, from the event, that it was not Elias to whom the prediftion re- ferred, but a perfon of a fmiilar chara(!:T-er, John, the Baptift. If then it had been the defign of pro- phecy ( 57 ) phecy, upon any occafion, fymboli- Difl^ert. cally to reprefent the two reform- v^^yO ations that were to be efFedled by thefe extraordinary men, how could this have been more limply, and at the fame time more fignificantly done, than by an exhibition of two Eliafes inftead of one ? In like man- ner; what can more naturally re- prefent a firft and fecond conver- fion of the world to Chriftianity, than the doubling of the number of apoftles, as the dignified inftru- ments by whom they fhould both be accomplifhed ? H A COM« COMMENTARY ON THE REVELATION. GHAR I. JL HE firft three verfes are pro- CHAP. perly the title of the book, and al- ^.^^y^ though, at firft fight, they feem to have been prefixed by a diflfercnt hand, yet this is not probable, as we know of no infpired man to whom it may be afcribcd, and as it ^s much in the manner of this apoftle to fpeak of himfelf in the third per- fon. ( 6o ) CHAP, fon *, which, by the way, is one of vJ^^ the internal proofs of the authen- ticity and genuinenefs of the whole. EXPLANATION OF THE TITLE. Verfe i. The Revelation of Jefm Chriji^ which God gave unto him^ to Jhew unto his fervants things which muji Jhort- ly come to pafs^ and he fent and Jignified it by his angel unto hisjervant yohn. This book is called a Revelation^ which properly fignifies a difcovery, or manifeftation, of any objeft that lies out of view. Here it iignifies a prophetical difcovcry of the fu- ture events relating to the ilate and circuintftances of the church, and of the world, fo far as they ftand connedled with one another, from * See John xix. 26, 35. and 3kXi. 20, 24. ( 6i ) from the days of this apoftle to the CHAP, end of time. It is called the Revela- \^y^^ tion ofjefiis Chrift^ becaufe this difco- very was made by him. It is ad- ded, which God gave unto h'lm^ which can be underftood only in refpeft of his mediatorial character: that he might JIkw unto his fervants^ in- cluding in this appellation, the mi- niilers of the gofpel, and likewife all the faints : the things which muji fiortly come to pa/s ; meaning thofe great prophetical events which were foon to begin to receive their ac- complifhmerit ; and he /ent and figni" Jied it by his angel unto his fervant John^ employing, as appears from the fub- fequent part of this book, fome- times one, fometimes another of thofe celeftial fpirits to aflift the apoftle in apprehending the vi- fions which he beheld \ Verfe ^ Mr. Lowm^in and others obferve, that, in the ( 62 ) CHAP. Verfe 2. Who bare record^ of the ^^/.^ word of Gody and of the icjlimony *" ofjefm Chrtjl^ and of all things that hefaw — giv- ing a faithful account of the fcheme of flyle of prophecy, every thing is called an angel that notifies a meffage from God -, and are of o- pinion, that all that is meant by the expreflion here is, that John received the revelation m vi- fions, or fenfiblc reprefentations : But it is evident, that this is a plain and fimple narration, and there- fore is to be underftood in the common meaning of language. *> This is likewife perfe£i:ly in the manner of the apoftle John. Sec John xix. 35. ^ I cannot think, with fome learned expofitor^, that the apoftle here refers to what he had for- merly teftificd or recorded in his gofpel. It- is cer- tainly more natural to underftand him as referring to the revelation of which he was juft now fpeak- ing, and upon the detail of which he was imme- diately to enter ; and when we confider the na- ture of that revelation, it determines the fenfe of thefe exprefiions, the luord of God^ to the fcheme of things which is there dlfclofed, and the tejii- nwny of Jefus Chri/l feems befl to be underftood, not ( 63 ) of divine providence and grace, CHAP, which was certified to him in the ftrongeft manner by the Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, in the various and wonderful vifions which he laid open before him. Thefe aftonifliing difcoveries the apoftle well knew to be of the greateft importance to Chriftians, and therefore he takes the earlieft opportunity of recommending them to their moft earneft attention, by the following ftriking obferva- tion. Verfe 3. Blejfed is he that readeth^ and they that hear the words of this pro- phecy^ and keep thofc things which are written therein^ for the time is at hand. Thofe not of the tcftlmony to his charafler, which is con- tained in this book, but of the teftlmony which he gave to the things which the apoftle heard and faw. See chap, z^xii. 2o. <<-rrO ( 64 ) CPIAP. Thofe who attend to the repre- \,.yy>U fcntations which are here exhibited, fliall derive great inftru6lion and benefit from them. By contem- plating before hand the important events of Providence that are after- wards to be reahzed, they Ihall come prepared to every occurrence when it ariives, and fliall feel themfelves enabled to look forward to the end of all things with confidence and joy. And even at that early period it was immediately intereiling to the church, becaufe the time when they were to begin to be accom- pliflied was very near. OF THE ADDRESS AND SALUTATION. This book, by its being infcrib- ed to particular churches, hath fomething of the form and appear- ance of an epiftle. But this appear- ance ( ^5 y 1 ance is inftantly dropped ; and, ex- CHAP, cept when addreffing unto them the v^.y^y^^ epiflles of Chriil^ the writer takes i no further notice of them, either ! by direction, or reproof, or encou- j ragement, through the whole of the narration. He exprefles no ' particular aifeftion for them, does not requell their prayers, fends no ] falutations of the Chrillians to j them, but only concludes with a 1 fliort form of benediftion. The addrefs runs in the follow- ing fimple terms. Ver. 4. John^ to the /even churches which are in j^fia ; — -which feven * churches are afterwards particular- ly named. Perhaps it may here be proper to obferve, that, though this book was addrelled equally to all thofe churches, it is not likely that the apoftle would fend more than one copy among them, efpecially I conlidering ( 66 ) CHAP, confidcring his great age, and the 4_^ time and labour which would be necefTary to write fo large a book ('). It is probable that this copy would be left at Ephefus, a place for which he (^) The infirmities which the apoftle mufi then have felt, add further evidence to this opinion. Ecclellaftical hiftory rcprefents him as under great bodily weaknefs after his return from Patmos -, as able to do little more than repeat his favourite ex- hortation to Chriftian charity or love. The poor accommodation, and Icanty fubliftence which he received, during his baniiliment, would naturally bear hard upon his conftitution, and very probably the intenfcnefs of the extafy in which he muft often have been held, and the radiance of the viiions which were cifplayed before him, would contribute to produce a greater degree of debility than he would otherwiie have experienced. At any rate, how little is to be expected, in the way of bodily labour, from an eld man at nearly the age of an hundred years. All thefe things confidered, the writing out of a fingle copy was perhaps too much for him to do, had it not been done at intervals in Patmos, fo \ that he had nothing but the introdu^lion to prefix *o it afterwards. ( (>! ) he feems to have had a particular fa- chap. vour. Poffibly he might refide there v.^y^ at that very time, and deliver it to the angel, or minifter, of that church, with his own hand ; with an injunction to fend it to the other churches, that they might take co- pies of it, and return it. The manner of the falutation differs confiderably from that of the other epiftolary writings. The apoftle fays, Grace be unto you and peace ^ thereby undoubtedly praying for all fpiritual bleffings to them. He adds — From him 'which is^ and ivbich was, and which is to come — by whom he evidently means the Father. But the difficulty lies in underftanding the following expreifions, when he fubjoins — and f torn the /even fpirits which ate before the throne. They cer- tainly cannot be underftood of any created fpirits however exalted, Thefe ( 68 ) Thefe are limited in their faculties, and dependent upon God as well as we, and therefore how could they cither hear or anfwer his requefts ? And if we believe the Son to be a divine perfon, it is very unnatural to fuppofe that a fet of beings, which are only mere creatures, fliould intervene between the Fa- ther and him in this prayer for all the variety of bleffings, which all the varied lituations and charafters of every individual belonging to thofe churches might ftand in need of. It is much more fuitable to the true Chriftian docSlrine upon this important point, as well as to the manner of the apofllcs in fuch fa- lutations, to undcrftand the txpref- fions as denoting the divine all-per- fec?t Spirit himfelf. It has often been obferved ih^i /even was a number of perfedion among the Jews, and therefore i ( 69 ) therefore it would be well under- chap. Hood to exprefs the fenfe which is yi^,^ now affigned to it ; his being before the throne ofGod^ may be confidered as denoting his conftant readinefs to execute his office. The apoftle concludes his fa- lutation, by praying for grace and peace to them, as from the Fa- her and the all-perfedl Spirit alike, fo alfo 'from Jefus Chr'ift^ the faithful witncfs^ the firfl begotten from the dead^ and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Thefe unqueftionably are cliaraders peculiar to Ghrift. But how is he to be underftood as the faithfid witnefs^ in contradiltinftioa to all the prophets who have wit- neilecl in the name of God? Did not they bear faithful teftimony in the truths which they delivered? It mull be acknowledged that they did. Yet our Lord Jefus is called, by ( 7° ) CHAP, by ^vay of diflincStion and eminence, V^-v-vJ Tb(^ Faith/id IVi/ne/s, and well does he merit this appellation. He tef- nfies concerning God in a manner far fuperior to them : For m man hnawcth the Father but the Son^ and he to *whum the Son JJjall reveal him. There- fore we find him faying to Nicode- mus, We Jpcak that we do know^ and tcjlify that ive have fecn ; for no man hath Li/cendcd up into heaven hut the Son ofman^ ivho is in heaven. Hence his tefti- mony is incomparably beyond that of the ancient prophets, who often did not underftand the things which they teftiiied: whereas our Lord was intimately acquainted with all the truths which he deli- vered, and was able to explain the reafons upon which they ftood. With refpect to the nature of of the teftimony wdiich he bore, it mud have carried a convi6lion along ( 71 ) along with it beyond that of any cllAP. other teftiniony. He not only \^^^^y^^ maintained it with firmnefs, and fealed it with his blood ; but he did what no other witnefs ever did, or could do: He refted the great ftrength of his teltimony, not even upon his death, but upon his refurreftion from the dead ; and he plainly hitimated, that if he did not rife again his teftimony w^as not true. Therefore the apoftlc immedi- ately takes notice of this circum- fiance, and fpeaks of him as the fit Jl begotten from the dead. But he feems i to employ it particularly for the comfort of his difciples, coniidering his refurredion as the firft fruits, and therefore the pledge and ear- ned of their future refurredlion. It is altogether unnecellary here to enter into any argument about thofe ( 7^ ) CHAP, thofc who were raifed from the 1. ^yry^y dead prior to our Lord's rcfurrec- tion, as if tliis invahdated what is here aflerted ; for every attentive reader mufl obferve, that it is only in the view of his rifing as a public perfon, that he is here fpoken of. His rifing, as the head of a body, which was afterwards to be raifed in its order, and of which his re- furreftion was the pledge. Any re- furreftion, therefore, of private per- fons that might have taken place be- fore his, in whatever way it might be accounted for, cannot afleft this great and leading principle. In- ftances of this kind could be no pledge of the refurreftion of others, as his refurreclion was. And there- fore, as he is the only perfon that has rifen in a public charadler, as the head of a great body that was to follow, he is ftyled, with great propriety ( 73 ) priety and truth, the fir. fl begotten from CHAP. the dead^ juft as Paul ftyles him, in \^^y^ the fame verfe, the firjl fruits of than thatjlept. The lall charadler under which he is here defcribed, is that of the Prince of the kings of the earth. This may be underflood as fignilicantly infinuating his univerfal and fu- preme dominion. But we fhould perceive its particular intent and e- nergy ilill better, did we conlider it as denoting his abfolute power over all earthly potentates, which the original word* properly fignifies, and under it the ruler of the ki?2gs of the earth. How admirably adapted are thefe titles to the inftrudtion and com- fort of the faints ! while the apoftle prays for blellings to them from a- bove, he exhibits the Father in the eternity and unchangcablenefs of K his * ap;r6-'J'. ( 74 ) CHAP, his majefty; — the all-perfcft Spirit, V^^ry^^ iri his gracious and conftant agen- cy; and the divine Redeemer as the rcvealer and teftifier of the ways of God to men ; as the fure witnefs, or martyr, who confirmed his doc- trine, not only by his death, but by lliewing that death had no power over him : who rofe triumphant from the grave, and now reigns in glory in the heavens, ordering all things for his people's good. What fentiments of hope and confidence and joy, are thefe profpev5ls of the divine nature fitted to infpire ! The apoftJe feems to have felt all the ar- dour of adoring gratitude, in con- templating the wonders of that grace which he was now imploring for tlie faints, and therefore he breaks forth into this animated fong of praife : — C////# .J ( 75 ) CHAP. Unto him that loiyed iis^ and waJJj- v^^-yxJ ed us from our fins in his own bloody and h2th made us kings and priefls unto God and bis Father^ to him be glory and domi^ nion for ever. Amen. The immediate objeft of this doxology is the Redeemer himfelf, the great difpenfer of divine bene- ficence to men. It was he that lov- ed us^ and that loved us to fuch aa amazing degree as even to lay down his life for us. He poured out his precious blood to cleanfe our fouls from guilt, and thereby to prevent us from finking down into perdi- tion. Not only fo, he has likewife raifed us to the higheft honours, combining in our charader all that was ever reckoned great and vene- rable upon the earth, making us kings and priefls unto God ; giving us near •,-^ ( 7G ) \P. near acccfs to God, even in this world, and quickening us together with himfelf, and raifing us up, and making us to fit together with him in the heavenly places. To hiin this enraptured apoille ^L^crihcs glory and Jom'imo?i for evcr^ and ever, — Ano- ther plain aft of worfliip addreffed Chrift, and therefore a confirming evidence of his divine character and Godhead. This glory of his fiiall foon be made manifeft. For, Ver. y. Behold^ be cometh 'with clouds^ and every eye Jl^all fee h'lm^ and they alfo ' iz'bich pierced him. And all kindreds of the earth (hall wail lecauje of him. Even fo. Amen. Chrift's coming in clouds, in the language of fcripture, fignilies his coming in the glory of his power. ■ In ( 77 ) In this manner he fliall certainly chap. come at the end of this world. v,^v^ Then indeed every eyejloall/ee blm^ and they alfo who pierced him. But it can- not be faid, in the proper meaning of language, that all the kindreds^ or tribes, of the earth JJjall wail becau/e of him [^). For though this fliall be a day of horror and lamentation to the wicked, it Ihall be a day of glad- nefs (*) I know, that in the prophecies of this book, the earth is fometlmes put for the world, in con- tradiftin^lion to the church, and that the inha- bitants of the earth are put for the ungodly and wicked, upon whom the woes of divine judge- ment were to fall. And I fliould reckon it a juft and fatisfying interpretation of the expreffion here, to underftand it in this manner, had the a- poftle begun to open any of thofe fcenes in ■which the church and the world are diftinguifhed from, one another, under the notion of an heavenly and an earthly ftate. But nothing of this kind being as yet introduced, it appears too unnatural and violent for an enquiring mind to acquiefce in. ( 78 ) CHAP, nefs and triumph to the righteous. y^y^^ But there arc otlier flrong reafons to induce us tounderftand the com- ing of Chrift, in this pallage, not fo properly of his laft magnificent ap- pearance, as of his coming by the difplay of his fupreme dominion, and of his fovereign grace, in the various difpofitions of providence which are afterwards unfolded. There he evidently ftands forth as the protcftor of his church, againil all the power and policy of this world, and fl:iews that in him the ancient prediftion is accomplifhed, Rule thou in the mldjl of thine enemies. There he appears as the juftifier of his people's caufe, in taking ven- geance on their moft haughty per- fecutors ; firft, in the dcftruftion of Rome heathen, afterwards in the deftrudion of Rome antichrifti- an ; and of the Turkifli empire, that ( 79 ) that wide extended tyranny, which chap has fo long obftruded the progrefs ^• of Chriftianity, and difcovered the mofl: contemptuous and virulent enmity againll it. At length he appears in the glory of his fpiritual conqueft, bringing all the nations in fubje(5lion under him. Then it may be faid with great propriety, in the language of this prophecy, that every eye Jh all fee him^ and feeing him fhall fubmit unto him, ajid (even) they alfo which pierced hhn ; for then his ancient people, penetrated with a fenfe of their attrocious guilt, and of the juft and exempla- ry punifliment under which they have fo long been lying, fliall re- turn unto him again. — They fliall return, according to the ancient patterns of repentance, with weeping and lamentation^ and mourning : and thus all Mildreds of the earthy or rather, as ( So ) ^^^^' as the words more properly lignify, V-/v^^ all the tribes of the land, mean- ing the whole of the tribes of Ifra- el, wherever they are fcattered a- broad over the face of the earth, Jldall wail becau/e of him (''). • Of (^) This paffage has more difficulty in it than moft perfons, at firft fight, would imagine. It has been generally underftood of what is called the fecend coming of Chrift : But commentators feem all to have been confcious that it was fome- what unnatural for the apoftle to feize upon the extremity at once, and to ufher in a long and complicated fcries of predications with the laft ap- pearance of Chrill: upon the earth, and ftill more to fpeak of this as if it were not at any great dif- tance. Therefore thofe who have gone into this opinion, endeavour to account for the apparent improbability, from the practice which is obferv- ed in human compofitions, in fometimes placing the uhimate object to which they refer in their very front, not confidering that a perfon under the inilucnce of prophetic infpiration cannot be fuppofed to att.'nd to the rules of human art. Others ( 8i ) Of this coming of Chrift in a CIIAP.^ glorious manner, in the courfe of v.^ry>j thefe prophecies, the apoftle brings L an Others again have been fo much ftruck with the allufion to a pafTage in ancient prophecy, that they have underftood this coming of Chrift en- tirely of the converlion of the Jews, and there- by have given it a fenfe as unnatural as the for- mer. The allufion to Zachariah's prophecy of that grand event, is indeed too evident to pafs unnoticed. The prophet fays, they JJjall lock upon him ivhom they have pierced^ and ntGurn for him. The apoftle fays, they ivho pierced him Jljall fee him. He adds, in the very expreflions of our Lord, which probably glance at the fame object, and all the tribes of the earthy or of the land, fjidl wail becaufe of him. And when we confider the" extraordinary, and perhaps miraculous difplay of the power and grace of the Redeemer that (hall then take place, we fliall not be furprifed at his being reprefented as coming even in the clouds, upon that occafion. But thofe who reftricl the coming of our Lord, which is here fpoken of, folely to that event, can never give an adequate meaning to thefe exprefnons, and every eye fhall fee • ( 82 ) CHAP, an elegant proof, from the defigna- K^y-ysj tions which he heard him aflume. But wc fhall enter more cafily into his fie hlin ; bcfides the improbability of the apoftle*s fingling out any one important event in this pro- phecy, and caUing it the coming of Chrift, while he pafTes by all the reft. But if we underftand this paflage, as I have above explained it, of Chrift's coming in his glorious power, by the ac- complifhment of thofe various revolutions of pro- vidence, which are afterwards predicted, every circumftance will appear natural and eafy; and though we cannot fuppofe that the all-infpiring Spirit of God is guided by the rules of human Compofiiion, yet we fee a peculiar propriety and beauty in his direcSling the apoftle to infert in the very introdutStion to thefe prophecies, this decla- ration of the all-difpollng agency of Chrift, which was to be illuftrioufly difplayed in a variety of in- ftances in the events to which they referred. I cannot forbear adding to this note, though already too long, that when we fpeak of the reco- very of God's ancient people, we muft not reftriiSt the meaning to thole who are properly called Jews, but muft extend it to the whole of the tribes of ( 83 ) his meaning, if we take the laft CHAP. two words of this verfe, and make ^^^^y-sj them the beginning of the next, rendering of Ifrael. Thefe, we have every reafon to believe, ' from the ancient prophecies, jfliall be recovered as well as the other. What can we make of the following prophecies, unlefs we underftand them in this extenllve im- port, Ifaiah xi. ii, 12. And it Jhall come to pafs in that dayy that the Lord JJjall Jet his hand again the fecsnd time to recover the remnant of his. people which Jhall he lefty from Ajjyriay and from Egypty and from Pathrosy and from Ciijhy and from Elaniy and from Shinary and from Hamathy and from the^ ijlands of the Jea. And he fj all Jet up an enfign for the nations y and Jljall ajj'emhle the outcajls of Ifrael^ and gather together the dijperjed of Judah from the four corners of the earth, Jer. xxxiii. 7. And I will cauje the captivity of Judahy and the captivi- ty of IJrael to returny and will build them as at the frfl, Hofea i. 1 1. ThenJJjall the children of Ju- dahy and the children of Ifrael ^ be gathered together^ and appoint themf elves one heady and they Jljall come up out of the land : for great Jhall be the day ofjez- reeh ( 84 ) CHAP, rendering tliem according to their import, in the following manner. I. Vcr. 8. Tesy verify^ Cf^^J I am Jl- phd and Omega, the beginning and the ending, reel. It may be faid Indeed, that the defcrlption may be a hyperbolical way of expreffing the ho- nour and dignity to which the Jewifli people fhall flill be raifed, by a comparifon with the times of their higheft profperity of old. But what autho- rity has any perfon for fuch an interpretation ? Nothing can be more certain than that wc have the very fame ground for expecting the reftora- tion of the ancient Ifraelites as of the Jews. It is declared as plainly as the other, and indeed in language of the very fame import \ and as they cannot with any plaufibility be fuppofed to have returned with the Jews from their captivity, which fome have imagined *, we muft look for this e- vent at a period as yet to come. Is it not flrange then that this part of the prophecy fliould be fo little thought of, the attention of Chriftians be- ing almoft entirely confined to the other .^ It is not * See Whitaker's hiflorv of Aiiaaifm. ( 85 ) endings faith the Lord^ which isy and CHAP. which wasy and which is to come^ the ^.^r^xJ Almighty. t Thefe words exprefs fo flrongly the eternal power and Godhead of the Redeemer, that there is no e- vading their force, but by proving, what no perfon has yet been able to do, that they are fpoken, not by the Son, but by the Father, The manner in which they are intro- duced, not eafy to account for this, except upon the principle that this people are probably long fince funk among the nations, and therefore that it would be an ufelefs miracle to diftinguifh them, as this could not admit of any evidence. Upon the fame principle, the refurrefllon of the body has been controverted, as a miracle to no pur- pofe, becaufe any other body would do as well. But we cannot be guilty of a higher degree of prefumption, than when we pretend to interpret what God has declared, not of what he has faid he will do, but of what we think proper for him to do. { 86 ) CHAP, juced, afFords the higheft probabi- v„^.y^ lity, that they were fpoken by the Son. The declaration which they contain, confifts of two parts, which I conceive have a very different meaning and objeft. The firfl: is a proverbial phrafc, I am Alpha and 0- mega f^J, which is immediately ex- plained by the following words, the begi titling and the enditig. This is not to be underflood of the eternity and unchangeablenefs of our Lord's exiftence, for then the expreliions, which isy and which was^ and which is to comcy would be a mere repetition without the lead additional mean- ing. But it is to be underflood of his pledging himfelf as the divine accomplifhcr of the whole feries of the prophecies of this book from beginning (•) The firft and the laft letters of the Greeks. ( 87 ) beginning to end (^) ; and, as the fe- CHAP- curity for this could only reil upon v.^^^^^ the unchangeable eternity and om- nipotence of his nature, therefore it is fubjoined, y27/Vy& the Lord \ which isy and which was^ and which is to comc^ the Almighty^ afcribing in the clear- eft and moft energetic language, thefe incommunicable perfections to (^) This is agreeable to the manner in which the Jews employed this proverbial phrafe. ^o far from its being conddsred as a necelTary expref- iion of eternity, we find them applying it to the beginning and ending of the law of God. Thus, Lightfoot quotes feveral palTages from the writings of their Rabbies — where they fay, " Abrah-^m " and Sarah performed all the law from Aieph to *^ Thaw." And again, *« He that walks in inte- << grity, is as if he performed all the law from " Aleph to Thaw." And as I conceive that al- moft the whole of this book is a tranflation by the apoftle himfelf, I have no doubt that this pro- verbial declaration, in the form in which he re- ceived it, would run in the common Hebrew terms. ( 88 ) CHAP, to himfelf, and thereby giving the s^jTYsJ ftrongcil pollible aflurance that all his prcdic5lions fliall be nioft cer- tainly fulfilled. Ver. 9. / John^ "who alfo am your brother and companion in tribuipiion^ and in the kingdom and patience ofjefus Chrijt^ was in the ijle that is called PatmoSy for the word of Cod^ and for the tcflimony of Jefus Chrijl. There is fcarcely any thing in this verfe that requires interpreta- tion. It may be proper, however, to give fome account of the occa- fion and circumftances of the apof- tle's banifliment. In the year 95 the Emperor Domitian began to perfecute the^ church ofChrift. A- mong thofe who fufFered in that fiery trial was this venerable man, whom his mauerhad fo highly ho- noured, .A ( 89 ) noured, and who was now far ad- chap. vanced in labours and in years, He was charged with fedition, the very name of which excites the jea- loufyof tyrants : and what was the fedition of which he was guihy ? Had he difturbed the order of fo- ciety ? No, Had he relaxed the ob- Hgations of fubjedls to their rulers ? No. He had only preached the glad tidings of the gofpel of peace. But to Ihake the imperial fuperftition by this novel doftrine was at that time reckoned fedition. The apof- tle therefore was found guilty, and condemned. The frequent punifli- ment that was then inflided for this crime, was banifliment. Small and defert illands, or at leaft thofe that were very poorly inhabited, were commonly chofen as the places for infliding the fentence. Patnios an- fwered to this defcription in both M thofe O-^tnJ CIIAP. 1. t 90 ) thofc refpet^s (*). Thither there- fore was John baniflied for the word of Gndy and for the tejllmony of Jcfus Chrifl^ and there he received thofe magnificent vifions which are the fubjed: of: this book. On the detail of (*) This ifland, now known by the name of Palmofa, was anciently fuppofed to be about thirty miles in circumference, but modern geographers have reduced it to a much narrower compafs. It lies off the coaft of Afia, in the ^gean fea, a- bout thirty miles from Miletus. Its furface is mountainous, and its foil is rocky and barren. Bochart obferves, that in the Arabic paraphrafe, it is written BatmoSy and thinks it derived this ap- pellation from its producing the turpentine tree (terebenthus) which both in the Syriac and Chal- dee is called nearly by the fame name. This a- grees well with the nature of the country, for Haflclqueft found this tree growing wild upon the rocks of Mount Tabor. In this ifland, legend has prefcrved the houfe in which St. John lived, which the inhabit^^.nts call the Apocalypfe. ( 91 ) of the introdudlory one he imme- diately enters, when he fays, Ver. I o. / was in the Spirit on the Lord^s day^ and heard behind mc a great voice as of a trumpets To be in the Spirit^ here, fignifies to be thrown into an extafy by the miraculous energy of the Holy Spi- rit. By the Lord's day^ is evidently to be underilood, the day which Chriftians have kept facred in ho- nour of their Divine Mafter ever fmce his refurreftion from the dead ; and a great voice^ as of a trumpet^ de- notes, a voice very ftrong and fo- lemn, and awful C). This voice fpake unto him, Ver. CHAR I. i^) I take the words to fignify properly, a voice as of a great trmrpei^ intimating, that it could be compared to no ordinary trumpet, and perhaps alluding ( 92 ) CHAP. Ver. II. Saying I am Alpha and 0- \^^y^ mega, thejirjl and the lajl, (words which have been ah'eady explained) a?id what thoufeejl \^\ write in a book, and fend it alluding to the great trumpet, the fignal of the di- vine prefence at the giving of the law. See Exod. xix. C^) What thou fecjly muft be underftood as fig- nifying ivhat thou pah fee ,- for as yet he had {ttn nothing. It is a ftrange notien which has been entertained by fome, that John faw all the vifions of this book in one day. This will appear quite incredible, when we confider that he muft then have written them all on the fame day likewife ; for we learn, from chap. x. 4. that it was his practice to write each vifion immediately after he beheld it. Add to this, not only the time which muft have been fpent in contemplating thofe vi- fions, but the time which it muft have taken to explain them to him the time which muft have pafled while he was eating the little book ; that is to fay, meditating upon its contents, and digefting them in his thoughts ; and finally, that the apoftlc was then advanced to an extreme old age; ( 93 ) it unto the /even churches which are in CHAP. AfM', unto Ephefus^ and unto b?nyrna^ ^^yy^ and unto PergamoSy and unto Thyatira^ and unto Sardisy and unto Philadelphia^ and unto Lao dice a. Ver. 12. ^nd I turned to fee the voice that /pake with me ; and^ being turn- ed ^ I f aw /even golden candlejlicks. Thefe are afterwards explained by our Lord himfelf, as fignifying churches ; and what can be a fitter emblem of the illumination and fervour of a fociety of Chriftians than a burning lamp 1 Ver. 13. And^ in the midjl ofthefeven candkjlicksy age *, that he wrote In a foreign language, and wrote probably in capitals, as is the cafe in the ear- lieft manufcripts which have come down to us, and we fliall plainly perceive that, without a mi- racle, for which there is no reafon, all this varie- ty of employm,ent muft have required a much longer period. { 94 ) CHAP, candlejlichy ONE like tmto the/on ofman^ This defcription is altogether of a myftical nature ; and though the apoflle only fpeaks of him as one like unto a Son of inan^ intimating, that his appearance was in human form ; yet it is evident that he at length underflood him to be the Son of God. The manner of his drefs u- nites in it the dignity both of pried and king. His head and his hair ; or, in proper Englifli, the hair of his head being *white as wool^ as white as fnow^ re- presents him in the venerable cha- racter of age, the emblem of wif- dom. His eyes being as ajiame ofjire^ denotes his all-penetrating difcern- ment. Hisjeet being like pure bra/s^ as if they buriied in a furnace^ fignifles the purity and firmnefs of his conduft. And his voice being like the found of m,my waters^ ( 95 ) waters^ to any one who has ever had CHAP. occafion to obferve the awful roar- ^..ry-vy ing which the ocean fometimes makes upon the fliore, will recal an idea at once highly majeftic and fu- blinie. His having in bis right hand fevenjiars^ intimates, the fupport and diredlion ;which he affords to his faithful minifters. The two-edged /wordy which went out cf his mouthy is the emblem of his vengeance. And his C9untenance as the fun Jloin'mg in his Jlrengthy as it does not require, fo it abfolutely annihilates all illuftra- tion. The apoftle next informs us of the effeft of this magnificent vifion upon himfelf, and of the condefcen- fion and grace of his Almighty Lord, which he then experienced. Ver. 17. And when T faw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand ( 96 ) J ' hand upon me^ f^y'^^S-* ^^^^ ^^^ ^ ^^^ ^'^^ ^'•^^v"^ Jirjl and the lajl^ ithe great condu6lor of the affairs of my church and people :) Ver. 1 8. Even the living Being him- felf ; (this is the exaft rendering of the words : our tranflation infi- nitely diminifhes the fenfe :} And I was dead^ and behold I am alive for ever^ more. (Intimating, that his prieft- hood was unchangeable ; and there- fore, as St. Paul had ftrongly argu- ed, he was able to fave to the very end of time, at leaft till he fliould deliver his church out of all her troubles). Upon hearing this re- viving truth, the apoftle was filled with ardour, and could not refrain €xprelling his cordial acquiefcence, by interpofing his amen. When the Saviour again proceeds and have the keys of hell and of death. That is to ( 97 ) to fay, have abfolute authority over death and his dark domains : or, perhaps the meaninp; may be more fimply, and at the fame time more accurately exprefled, by under- ftanding hell and death, as fignify- ing, the deadly prifon of the grave, of which the keys were in his hand; intimating, that none Ihould go down into it, or fall under its pow- er, without his orders ; and that none could be detained in it when he fhould command their releafe (^). N Here CHAP. I. (^) No fatlsfying evidence has yet been brought to fhew that hadesy here, and in other places, ren- dered hell, ever lignifies in the New Teftament the ftate of feparatc fpirits at large. It is moft commonly ufed to iignify the grave. We have every reafon to believe that this is the fenfe of it here, and that the expreffions hades and death, ac- cording to the Hebrew idiom, denote properly the deadly hades or the grave. This is reprefent- ed ( 98 ) CHAP. Here he lecms particularly to com- O'VN^ fort his fainting apoftle, by making: him to unclerftand that he has pow- er to fupport the imbecility of na- ture, even when apparently fmking i down into the grave ; and that none of his difciples need to feel any ap- prehenfions, even upon entering into its gloomy manlions. There : they can receive no injury, and ; they fliall be railed up to endlefs ] joy- Thus, wonderfully reftored by I the power and grace of his Divine ] Mailer, the apoftle receives the fol- ' lowing in{lru(5tion from him. i Ve; cd under the notion of a prUoii, or ftrong hold, of which our Lord has the keys, to ihut tip in it, or to preferve from it, as he pleafes. What ^ ilriking proof is this of his fovereign power, by which he is able both to fcive and to deflroy. ( 99 ) CHAP. 1. Ver. I g. Write the things which thou K^^ry^ hajl feen^ and the things which are^ and the things which Jhall he hereafter^ Ver. 20. The myjlery of the /even Jiars^ which thou fawejl in my right handy and the /even golden candlejlicks. The fcven Jlars are the angels of the feven churches^ and the feven candleficks are the feven churches. ' It is matter of fome difficulty to interpret thele apparently plain and flmple words. If we under- fland them as an injunction to the apoftle refpccfting the whole of the revelations contained ia this book, then the meaning will be, give an account, in writing, of the vifion which thou hart beheld ; likewife of the prefent ftare of the Afiatic churches, as I fiiall defcribe it, and of t loQ ) CHAP, of the difcoverics relating to future ^^^^^^^ times which I fliail reveal. But I ftrongly fufpecl, from what is faid in the 20th verfe, that this is not the true interpretation. The terms in which this in j motion is convey- ed, feem to reftrift it to what the apoftle had already beheld. Write^ fays the exalted Saviour, the things which thou hajl fceri^ EVEN the things "which a7'c^ mid the things "which Jljall he after thefcy the myjlery of the feven Jlars^ and of the feven golden candlcficks ; inti- mating, one fliould think, very plainly, that thefc ftars and candle- fticks, in their myfiical import, re- fpedted both the things which then were, and the things which fliould be after them. But it v/as necciTary that their emblematical meaning Ihould likewife be fpecificd ; there- fore tlicy arc afterwards explained, as ( ^ol ) as denoting fevcn gofpel miniilers chap. I. and gofpel churches. This affords a ftrong prefuinp- tion, independent of all other cir- cumftances, that the following e- piftles to thofe miniilers and chur- ches, not only defcribe their cliarac- ter and ftate at that time, but like- wife that they have a prophetical afpect, and are addreffed to them, as types of fmiilar charadlers and conditions of the church in aftei* ages. CHAP. ( I<^2 ) CHAP. IV. CHAP, ryi 1^'- X HE grand prophetical difcove- lies which it was the purpofe of this book particularly to delcribe, were exhibited to the eye of this won- dering apoille, upon a very fublimc and magnificent theatre. Thither he is careful to condudl his reader, before he enters upon the intcrcil- ing detail. This is an excellent preparative to the ftudy of thefe prophecies. The aitonifhing mag- nificence of the fcene arrefts the at- tention, and wraps up the foul in the mofh elevated contemplation. The awful folemnity with which the o- pening of the book of thefe prophe- cies was accompanied, fixes down upon \ ( 103 ) tjpon the mind a fenfe of their valt chap importance ; and the glory of the heavenly world, which is ^here fo ftrikingly difplayed, will fupport and animate the ferious enquirer while he traces the various and difEcultfteps of the church in her progrefs to that exalted Hate. This chapter, and the following, are w^holly taken up in thefe fublime defcriptions. And though they are carried on with great iimplicity and exaftnefs, the apoftle telling us what he faw and heard, perhaps as clearly as words could exprefs ; yet, as might well be expeded upon fuch a fubje6t, we Ihall find it fometimes hard to underftand his meaning, Ver. I . After this I looked^ and heboid^ a door was opened in heaven ; and the jirjl voice which I heard^ was as it were of a trumpet talking with me^ which faid^ Come up \^/y^ ( 104 ) CHAP, up hither^ and I ^jdiU Jljew thce^ things \^^y\^ ivhich mujl he hereafter. He here intimates, that another magnificent vifion was about to be exhibited to his view, after the tran- favSlions refpc(5ling the former were finifhed ; but whether immediate- ly, or at fome diilance of time, he gives us no ground to determine. He informs us, that as he looked ; pro- bably, while he was devoutly mu- fing, with his eyes lifted up to hea- ven, he faw a ftrange and wonder- ful fight. He beheld, as if an en- try was opened into heaven, the ethereal vault appearing to be rent, or leparated, in fuch a manner as that he could penetrate a little into the glory that was within. It is likewifc not improbable, that it ap- • peared lowered upon that occafion ; or, in the beautiful language of fcripture, \ ( 105 ) fcripture, that the heavens were chap. bowed., or bended downwards, that k^^s^ fo he might more eafily hear the voice which fpake to him, and o- bey its direction in going up thi- ther. He does not feem as yet to have beheld any of the heavenly beings. But he heard the voice of his Divine Matter ('), faying, Come O up (') I have faid, that this was the voice of his Divine Mafter ; and I think myfelf warranted in this by the apoftle's words, though it does not ap- pear in our Bibles. Our tranflators have well fup- plied „y before ';7viw7^sy>j in the former part of the verfe, which, by the fame analogy, ought to be fupplied before xiyo^j-« in the latter, thus ««/ 'wip^y*? '» 'XouTn '♦)» /ixovffa us aa.X'Xiyyoi Xotkovtrr,; /u.i~* t/jtcv (r,y) ?-i'yovc» the exacl rendering of which is : And the firfc voice which I heard, as of a trumpet, talking with me, laid ; and can it be doubted, that by the firft voice, which he heard, he here refers to the voice which he heard in the ilrfl villon, and which he defcribes as a great voice of a trumpet. This voice he well knew again, when it was now expected, and there- fore he fliews no anxiety to difcover v/hofs voice it was, as he formerly .did. "S { io6 ) \ CHAP, i/j) b'lthcr^ and I 'will JJjew thee things | V^^^^^y!^ which viujl he hereafter ; denoting, that : this was to be the general fcene of ; thofe prophetical vifions which he was afterwards to behold. , Ver. 2. And immediately I was in the ' Spirit y and behold a throne was fet in hea^ : vejiy and one fat on the throne. ] Ver. 3, And he that fat ^ isoas to look \ upojiy like a jafper^ and a far dine flone ; and there was a rainbow round about the ] I throne y in fight like unto an emerald. \ To be in the Spirit, denotes, as | was formerly obferved, to be wrapt i up in a fpiritual extacy, and to per- ceive fublime and heavenly vi- fions (^ ). This was certainly the cafe {^) When the apoftle tells us again, that he was in the Spirit, are we not led to conceive that there was feme confiderable interval between this and the former vifion, in which he was not in the Spirit* ..J IV. ( 107 ) cafe with the apoftle upon this oc- chap. cafion, when he felt himfelf in- ilantly tranflated to heaven, and both faw and heard thofe wonder- ful things which he goes on to re- late. The firft object that engages his aftonifhed contemplation was a fplendid and glorious throne, which he beheld in heaven, and Jehovah himfelf reprefented as feated upon it, not by any bodily appearance, or fliape, but by fignificant and ftriking emblems. Ke was to look upon like a jcifpc}\ and a far dine ft one ; the one, by its mild and placid af- fpeft, fitly denoting his clemency and mercy ; the other, by its bright and fiery fplendour, reprefenting his holinefs and juftice. The very circumftance spirit, but left to his ordinary perceptions ? This circuinftance increaf^s the improbability of their interpretation who think that this, revelation was ail given in one day^ ( io8 ) : CHAP, circumflancc of his being fcated up- ^^_. on the heavenly throne was fym- bohcal of the fovercignty of his power ; while the figure of a rain- : bow encircling the throne, chiefly made up of a beautiful and fhin- ! ing green, like that of the emerald, was ftrongly expreflive of his faith- fulnefs. How naturally may vv^c \ fuppofe the language of the holy I Pfalmifl to come into the apoftle's mind upon this occafion : 0! Lord ■ God of Ho/is y "who is a Jlrong Lord like \ unto thee^ or to thy faithfulnefs round about \ thee P Jujtice and judgment are the habi- tation of thy throne^ mercy and truth go ' before thy face C)» : But i {') It Is not a little furpriiing, that Mr. Lownian i fhould Tc'yzil as fanciful the emblematical interpre- \ tation of this defcription ; efpecially, when we fmd i i him, at the fame time, adopting its leading import. ! He feems to have thought with Vitringa, and others, I that the apoftle beheld the appearance feated upon ■'■ the 'i ( I09 ) But while he was devoutly fur- CHAP. IV. veying this magnificent difplay of i^^v^J the glory of Jehovah^ his attention was turned to a variety of different appearances, which tended greatly to elevate his mmd, ^nd gave vaft folemnity to the fcene. Let us fol- low the throne ; but it is certain that there is not the moft diftant intimation of this in the whole of the defcription. The evident fimilarity of this vifion, to that of the throne of God which Ezekiel faw, where the figure of a man was beheld, is too loofe a foundation for fupporting this opinion. There is ftrong reafon to beUeve, that the perfon who is there reprefented, is he who was afterwards to appear as the Son of man. But the perfon who is reprefent- ed here, muft be underftood to be the Father ; and therefore it was fit that the fpirituaUty of the di- vine nature fliould not be confounded with the ap- pearance of any bodily fhape. Emblematical co- lours, and figures, and appearances then, are all that we have to go upon in forming that concep- tion of the divine majefty which is here certainly intended to be conveved. ( no ) ^iv^^' low him in his fimple and admira- V^^^v-O blc defcription. Ver. 4. And j'ound about the thront ivcrc four and twenty feats ; and upon the fats I fiiv four and twenty elders fittings cloathed in white raiment ; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. It is matter of much enquiry, •who thefe four and twenty elders were, that were feated about the the throne, each on a feat, or little throne, apart by himfelf. This I have already endeavoured to invefti- gate in a feparate differtation ; I fliall only here obferve, that they mufl: liavc been perfons of high dillinftion in the church, as they had fuch an honourable ftation af- figned them about the throne. Their white raiment is a mark of their acceptance and triumph ;. and ( iir ) and the golden crowns upon their chap. heads, are exprellive of the dig- v,^,,,^y^ nity and glory to which they are raifed. Ven 5. Arid out of the throne pro- ceeded lightnings^ and thunders^ and Thefe awful appearances were the frequent attendants of any glo- rious difplay of the divine prefence and majefty in ancient times. The giving of the law has been com- monly mentioned as an inftance of this, and the fublime defcripcion of the divine prefence by David, in the xviiith pfalm ; by Ifaiah, chap. Ixiv ; by Micah, chap, i ; and by Ha- bakkuk, chap, iii 5 are all inftances of the fame kind. But what is more precifely to our prefent pur- pofe C 112 ) CHAP, pofe, when Ifaiali beheld the Lord IV. ^ s^y^^^j fitting upon his throne, and his train fiUing the temple, the vifion was accompanied with awful ap- pearances of a iimilar nature ; voi- ces were heard ; the polls of the door were moved at them ; and the houfe was filled with fmoke *. In all thefe inftances, the charader of God is difplayed as the judge and ruler of his people, and as taking vengeance on his enemies. The fame thing, no doubt, is intended here: and it was fit that the divine majefty fliould be exhibited in this tremendous view upon the delivery of a train of prophecies, predic- ting mifery and deilruclion upon the wicked. ■and * Ifalah vi. ( "3 ) ''^and there were /even lamps of Jirc CHAP. burning before the throne^ which are the v^^yO feven fpirits of God. Ver. 6. And before the throne^ there was afea of glafs^ like unto chryjlal — The allufion, in this vifion, to the facred things in the ancient temple at Jerufalem, is fo very ob- vious, that it has been taken notice of by almoft all expofitors. Here we are tauj?:ht to fpiritualize its furniture. What can be more pure, and aftive, and penetrating, than a flame of fire ? And vvrhen we con- template this in its feven fold, that is to fay, its perfect radiance, how apt and lively the image which it fupplies of the illumination, and power, and agency of the feven Spirits ; or, as the meaning certain- ly is, of the all-perfecT: Spirit of God, denoted here, in like man- p ner ( IH ) CHAP, ner as in the firft chapter, hy this v^^,^y^ number of perfedion. He is re- prefented in this vilion before ihe throne, for the reafon that was there alligned, to denote his con- flant readinefs to execute his office in behalf of his church and peo- ple. With refpeft to the fea of glafs, like unto chryftal, which the apof- . tie faw before the throne, there can be little doubt that it was intro- duced, in allufion to the brazen la- yer in the temple (^) ; and it is a high indication of that purity and fanc- tity of character, which is necelTa- ry in making a near and folemn approach unto God. This feems more natural tlian to underftand it as expreflive of the atoning blood of Chrift, which is particularly fet forth in a fubfequent part of the vifion, (*) Salomon maile a molten Sea, i Kings vii. 23. ( 115 ) vilion, by the emblem of a Lamb chap. that was llain. ^.•v^ — atid in the 7nidjl of the throne^ and roufid about the throne^ were four beafs full of eyes before and behind, Ver. 7, And the frf beaji was like a lioUy and the fecond beajl like a calf and the third beaf had a face like a 7nan^ and the fourth beaf was like afying eagle. Ver. 8. And the four beafs had each of them fix wings about him ; and THEY Y7E'Ris. full of eyes within; and they ref not day and nighty fay^^^S-* ^6'> ^^(^'> ^^^^Jy Lord God Almighty^ which wasy and is^ and is to come *. Ver. 9. And when thofe beafs give glory and honour^ and thanks to him that fat on the throne^ who Uveth for ever and ever : — ^— This * For the meanings of thefe verfes, fee DiiTer-- tation II, ( "6 ) CHAP. IV. V^VN-'' This afcription of glory and ho- nour, and thanks, mull be differ- ent from the other a6l of worfliip, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almigh- ty. The former they are reprefent- ed as continually engaged in : this belongs only to particular occa- fions ; namely, the great evolutions of providence refpe^ling the church on earth. In thefe the ciders are efpecially and deeply interefted, and therefore they are with great pro- priety introduced upon thefe occa- fions as in the two following verfes ; Ver, ID. T^he four and twenty elders fall down before hhn that fat on the throne^ and worjlj'ip him that liveth for ever and ever, and cafl their crowns before the throne^ faying^ Ver, II. Thou art worthy^ 0 Lord^ to receive glory^ and hoiwur^ and power^ for ( 117 ) for thou hajl created all things^ and for CHAP. thy pleafure they are and were created, V.^v^ Here God is reprefented as the great proprietor of all things, by whom they were brought into be- ing, and for whofe glory they were made ; and from this afcription of glory and honour and power to him, we may reafonably conclude, that it refers to fome great interpo- fitions of his fovereign dominion, for the deftrudlion of his enemies, and the lafety and profperity of his church on earth. CHAP. ( n8 ) CHAP. V. CHAP. Ver. I. yind I Jaw in the right hand of \^^y%J him that fat on the throne^ a book^ written within and on the hackfidc^ fealcd with feven feals. This is the vifion which ftands immediately conneclcd with the developement of the myfteries of providence, which the apoftle after- wards defcribes. The book which he faw was the book of providence, containing the grand events that were to take place refpefting the church, and fome of her greateft enemies, from the days of the apoftle to the end of time. It was full of important matter, therefore it is faid to have been written within^ ( 119 ) Within^ and on the backfide. In or- der to underfland this, we muft firft be told that it was not in the form of modern books, but confiil- ed of fheets of parchment, rolled upon one another around a cylinder, and writtenuponbothj[ides('), which was feldom done, except when the infide could not hold all the writing : it was fealed with (b) feven feals, at the opening of each of which, one entire part, full of em- blematical reprefentation, feems to ^ have CHAP. V. (^) Vitringa's reafon for underftanding tlie words in this verfe is quite unanfwerable ; namely, that if the backlide here did not refer to the writ- ing, but only to thefealing of the book, it would not have been mentioned at all, becaufe there was no other place upon which it could be fealed but on the backlide. (^) Only one of thefe however appeared at a time. When the firft was opened, and the part belonging to it rolled off, then the fecond appear- ed, and fo on to the laft. ( 120 ) CHAP, have come off. This book was held V. K^Y^^ in the right hand of him that fat on the throne, intimating, that the knowledge of future events belongs only to God. But we fee, from what follows, that he can communicate it to whom he pleafes ; but that it is only to objefts of his peculiar fa- vour to whom this privilege is grant- ed. Therefore the apollle fubjoins, Ver. 2. And I Jaw a Jlrong angel pro- claiming with a loud voicCy Who is worthy to open the book^ and to loofe the feals thereof. From the anfwer to this queflion it appears, that fuch were the dif- coveries which this book contained, that it required the higheft charac- ter and merit to be permitted to . take it out of the hand of him that fat upon the throne, and to look upon it. Accordingly it is faid, Ver. ( 121 ) Ver 3. ^d no man in heaven^ nor CHAP, V. in earthy neither under the earthy was \^^S^ able to open the book^ neither to look there- in» The word *tranfla ted 7W7nan^o\\g\it to be rendered no one^ meaning no creature in heaven ; that is, no an- gel: norinearth, thatis,noman : nor under the earth \ that is, no demon, or departed fpirit ; who have long been fuppofed to be poirefTed of fupe- rior knowledge. None of thefe were permitted to open the book, or fo much as to look upon it. This filled the apoftle with great anxiety and grief, as he infoi*ms us, Ver. 4. And I wept much becaufe no man was found ^worthy to open^ and to read the book^ neither to look thereon. Q^ But. * »S eir ( 122 ) CHAP. Biit his foiTOw was foon relieved V. v^^^^y^^j by one of the elders, who faid unto him, Ver» 5» — weep not: behold the Lion of the tribe of Juda^ the Root of Bavid^ hath prevailed to open the book^ and to loofe the feven feals thereof There can be no doubt that the perfon here meant is the Lord Jefus Chrift. But the myftical defcription requires to be explained. He is cal- led the Lion of the tribe of Juda^ as com- mentators have well obferved, in reference to Jacob's prophecy, G>en, xlix. 9. whofpeaksof Judahundei; the emblem of a lion's whelp, chiefly on account of this great and mighty one, who was to rife out of that tribe: and he is called the Root of David^ as he is David's Creator and Lord, at the fame time that ( 123 ) that he fprang from his family, CHAP, according to the fiefh. The inti- v.^ynJ mation, that he had prevailed to open the book, and to loofe the feven feals thereof, while it filled the apoftle with joy, roufed his atten- tion to difcover, if poflible, this wonderful pcrfon. This he inti- mates in the following words : Ver. 6. And I beheld^ and' lo^ in the midjl of the throne^ and of the four beafls^ and in the m'ldjt of the elders^ flood a Lamb^ as it had been fain^ having feven horns y and feven eyes^ which are the feven Spirits of God fent forth into all the earth. Nothing can be more evident than that the four beafts are here reprefented as very near the throne, and nearer, indeed, than either the elders or any of the other beings that are mentioned. It is quite ne- ceflary ( 124 ) CHAP, ceflary fo to underftand the paflagc, ^^y^y^ otherwife it would give no determi- nate defcription of the place in which the Lamb was beheld, which it certainly was intended to do. This entirely overthrows the in- terpretation of Mr. Mede, whoplaces them at a diftance from the throne, towards the oppofite quarters of the world. The apoftle, then, beheld this myflical perfon, as it were, in the midfl of the throne, which muft have been tranfparent, and hence become a throne of mercy and of grace; he carried the marks of his propitiatory facrifice along with him, in appearing as if he had been Jlaiiu He appeared likewifc, having /even horns^ the emblem of fu- preme authority and power; and [even cyes^ denoting, his having the all-perfe6l Spirit of God. Need we wonder then that he prevailed to open the ( X25 ) the bgok^ and to loofe the feven feals thereof, CHAP, His fupreme dignity and excellency \,y^^ made him worthy to do it, and by his poileffing the all-perfeo: Spirit of God, he was completely quali- fied to be the interpreter of the counfels of God to his church and people. This Spirit is further faid to be fent forth into all the earth ; inti- mating, that Chrill, in whom he dwells, manages, by his influence, all the concerns of his church in every part of the world. This won- derful perfon the apollle heheld, 'till Ver. 7. — he came and took the book out of the hand of him that fat upon the throne. The Lamb's taking the book out of the hand of him that fat up- on the throne, occafioned great ex- ultation C 1^6 > CHA.P. ultation and praife among the hea- \.,^ry>U vcnly holts, as we learn from the following verfes. Ver. 8. u'l/id when he i^d taken the book^ the foui' beajls^ and the four and twenty ehiers^ fell do%vn before the Lamb^ having every one of them harps ^ and gol- den vials full of odours^ which are the prayers of faints. The learned reader, by looking into the original language, will ea- fily perceive that it was only the four and twenty elders who had the harps, and golden vials full of o- dours, the term i^'^x^m) agreeing on- ly with them, and not with (^(^a) the beafts, who therefore ought not to be underftood to join in the follow- ing fong, any farther than by their devout and cordial amen. The elders, however, Ver. < 127 ) CHAP. V. ' Ver. 9. — 'fii^ig ci 7iew fong^ faymg^ V^'VO Thou art worthy to take the book^ and to open the feals thereof; for thon waft fain^ and haft redeemed us to God by thy bloody out of every kindred^ and tojigue^ and peo^ pky and nation ; Ver. I o. And hafl made us unto our God^ k'mgs afid priejisy and we fh all reign on the earth. Thefe elders underftood well the wonderful foundation on which the honours of the Lamb are raifed ; that they arife from the ignominy and fufFerings of his crofs. There- fore they faid,yor thou wafi fain^ and haft redeemed us to God by thy bloody out of every kindred^ and tongue^ and people^ and nation ; and haft made us unto our God kings and pricfts^ and we ft: all reign on the earth. This reign on the earthy as I have already fiiewed, is to be underftood of the future triumphs of ( 1^8 ) CHAP, of Chrillianity in the world, when V. V.^^,Y^; it fliall bring all nations in fubjec- tion to it. This exalted fong, how- ever, did not reft with them ; it was taken up by a vaft mukitude of an- gels about the throne, as we learn from the following verfes. Ver, II. / beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne^ and the 'beajls^ and the elders^ and the number of them was ten thoufand times ten thoufand y and thoufands of thoufands^ Ver. 12. Saying with a loud voice ^ nsoorthy is the Lamb that ivas fain^ to re^ ceive povoer^ and riches^ and honour^ and glory ^ and blefing^ Though the four beafts and the elders are mentioned, (v. iij yet they are not to be underftood as joining in the fong at prefent, but only the angels who were round a- bout .J ( 129 ) bout the throne, and round about CHAP. V. the beafts and the elders, whofe \^y^ number was fo great that it is de- fcribed in a language denoting that they were innumerable; and though they could not apply the merits of this wonderful perfon to themfelves, yet they cheerfully paid him their jjiifl: homage of ado- ration and praife. But the fong at lafl: became univerfal, and conclud- ed with one grand afcription of glo- ry and praife, to him that fttteth upon the throne^ and to the Lamb^ Ver. 13. And every creature^ which is in heaven and on the earthy and under the earthy and fuch as are in the fea^ and all that are in them^ heard /, faying^ ^^^f" fingy and honour ^ afid glory ^ and power ^ be unto him that fitteth upo7i the throne^ and Unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Who that reads this animated R paflage ( I30 ) CTIA?. paflRige, and believer it to be the V.^^^ revealed \voi'd of God, can enter- tain a doubt of th'e true and proper divinity of the Lord Jefus ; here the plaineft a6ls of adoration are paid to him that it is poffible for words to exprefs. We fee not only the fpirits of juil men made perfeft, but we fee all the angels of God worfhip- ping him ; and, as if it were meant on purpofe to cut off the poor fub- terfuge of only inferior homage be- ing paid to him, we fee them pay- ing their adorations equally, and in the very fame expreflions, to him that fitteth upon the th'one^ and to the Lamb, In order to add the greater lolemnity to this elevated fcene, and to ftrike the greater reverence and awe, the four beads, by them- ' felves, when the fong was conclud- ed, fubjoincd their amen \ and like- wife ( 13^ ) wife the four and twenty elders per- C^l ap. formed a diftind: acl of worfhip, v.,^-y-w proftrating themfelves before the throne. Thus we immediately read, Ver. 14. And the four beaJIs faidy Amen, And the four and twenty elders fell down and worfJdipped'him that liveth for ever and ever. THE ( 13^ ) THE OPENING OF THE SEALED BOOK. 1 agree, in the general principle, with that clafs of expofitors who underftand the prophetical repre- fentations which were exhibited at the opening of all the feals, except the laft, as referring to the great e- vents that took place in the Roman Empire, from the date of this pro- phecy till its fall and ruin. The pofterior date of this prophecy to the dcftru6lion of Jerufalem be- ing fo well verified by the teltimo- ny of antiquity, excludes the in- terpretation of thofe who under- ftand them of the events which oc- curred J ( ^33 ) curred among the Jews, from the time of the afcenfion of our Saviour, till the fignal defolation of that de- voted people. And thofc who un- derftand them chiefly of the ftate and circumftances of the church in the latter times of the Roman Em- pire, deftroy the confiftency of the reprefentations ; being obliged, in fome inftances, to make them de- note the church, in others, the ftate* Befides, from the difficulties they have to encounter, they are fome- times reduced to the neceflity of underftanding even the interpre- tation of the figures in a myfti- cal fenfe ; not to fpeak of the fcanty evidence, which, in fome cafes, is produced of their accom- plifhment in the period of hiftory to which they are referred. Diffi- culties no doubt will occur upon every ( 134 ) every fcheme : but that fcheme is certainly entitled to the beil recep- tion where the difficulties are leaft, and where all the principal objefts find an eafy and an adequate illuf- tration. This is the great principle which I have purfued in the fol- lowing interpretation; with what fuccefs muil be left to others to de-. termine. CHAP. ( ^35 ) THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SEAL, CHAP. VI. Ver. I. And I Jaw ^ when thi La?nb opened one of the feals^ and I heard as it yj were the noife of thunder^ one of the four V^vO beajls^ faying ^ Come^ and fee. Ver. 2. And I faWy and behold^ a white horfe ; and he that fat on him had a boWy and a crown was given unto hiniy and he went forth conquering^ and to con- quer. We have feen already that the Lamb had taken the book out of the right hand of him that fat on the \ throne. ( U6 ) CHAP, throne. Now he begins to open the V,.„^y^ feals of it. This book was in the i ancient form of Iheets, or detached | pieces, rolled one over the other. At ; the opening of each feal, one of ] theie was unrolled, and its contents \ of confequence difplayed. What is i faid to have been feen, muft be un- derftood to have been certam objects i exhibited by painting, or fome other means, upon thefe Iheets, without any writing except what might be necelTary to explain the reprefenta- tion : even this explanation may \ have been given in fome other way, i Many commentators have thought that there is a meaning couched i under the charadlers of the beajls^ \ as they are here called, or the liv^ | ing creatures^ who give intimation of the opening of feveral of the ; feals. This opinion is harmlefs in , thofe ( 137 ) thofe who underftand thefe crea- chap. tures tojfignify minifters of the got- 1^^*. pel, for it has no neceiTary effedl upon the interpretation of the pro- phecy. But if they are under- ftood to be the figns of the fe- veral quarters of the camp of the ancient IfraeUtes, it limits the prophecy to particular circum-^ ftances, and obliges us to look for the accomplilhment of the different reprefentations in that quarter to which the ftandards refped:ively be- longed. As I think both thefe opi- nions are without foundation, I reckon it improper to reft any part of the interpretation upon them. The only fure ground upon which we can proceed, is to look for thofe events in hiftory which come up to the full meaning of what is here reprefented. S Thefe ( us ) CHAP. Thefe living creatures are pro- y^^y^y^ bably to be underftood as acSling here in an official capacity. They feem appointed to call the attention of the apoftle, and perhaps of the ' heavenly hofts themfelves, to the wonders that were to be difclofed. i The firft of them Ipoke with a I voice like thunder, faying, Co7?2e and fte. The apoftle drew near, and he beheld, on the flieet that was now opened or unrolled, the following j ftriking reprefentation, a perfoii riding on a white horfe. A boiv was in his \ hand^ or upon his Ihoulder, which ■ denoted that he was a warrior;-—^ crouon *w as given him^ intimating, that he was to be a mighty potentate ; — the very colour of the horfe was ] expreffive of triumph. And he \ went forth conquering and to conquer {^), ' Interpreters | * (•) It is remarkable, that this and the following reprefentdtions, , ■\ { 139 ) Interpreters have general ly agreed chap, in underftanding this reprefentation v^/^yO to fignify the conquefts and tri- umph of the Saviour, in the propa- gation and progrefs of the gofpel, and in bringing the people in fub- jedlion under it. What has appa^ rently given rife to this interpreta- tion is, the apparent fimilarity of this defcription to the prophecy of our Lord's fpiritual victories in the xlvth pfalm. Yet, when attentively examined, there will be found very little fimilarity between them ; and there is evidently nothing in this defcription that will not apply to any reprefentations, feem to have been animated. We are led to conceive, from the manner of the de- fcription, that the apoftle faw fome perfon putting a crown upon the head of this rider ; that after this, the fcene began to be in motion, and he appeared to ride forth in purluit of the viv^ title of Auguftus in lllyricum. He marched directly to Rome, and was declared Emperor by the fenace. Thefe ambitious officers made the empire a fcene of blood. A cruel war immediately enfued , Niger was totally overthrown ; but not till after thefe terrible battles, in the lall of which twenty thoufand men are faid to have been flain upon the fide of Niger alone. But Severus feems ftill to have been under apprehenfions from a- notherdiftinguiflied character. Glo- dius Albinus was at that time go- vernor of Britain. He was as much the favourite of the fenate, as Se- verus by his cruelty had made him- felf the objeft of their abhorrence* He had got himfelf declared Empe- ror in that province. From tlience X he ( I62 ) CHAP. -j^Q paflcd into Gaul, where he was \„yy%j oppofed by Severus with a great army. A battle was fought upon the plains of Lyons, one of the moll fierce and bloody recorded in hif- tory ; in which, though with the utmoft danger to himfelf, Severus overcame and flew his rival. Thus, till he was firmly efl;abli£hed upon the throne, the empire was a fcene of difcord and flaughter. Indeed the whole of Severus's reign is marked with cruelty and blood. Upwards of forty fenators, in the courfe of a few days, fell a facri- fice to his jealoufy or revenge ; and at another period a confiderable number more; befides a great bo- dy of people of an inferior rank. His fon Caracalla, who fucceed- to the empire (A. D. 2 1 1,) was diftin- guiflied for nothing but the moft Iiorrid opprelTion and cruelty. He began ( i63 ) began with the murder of his bro- chap. ther Gera, who was his colleague ^^* in the government, and evidently fliewed, in a number of fhocking inftanees, that he took pleafure in the miferies, and even in the de« ftrudlion, of his fubjects. But no- thing can let forth his monftrous barbarity in a more dreadful light, than the maflacre of the inhabitants of Alexandria. To encreafe the horror of the fcene, he had ap- pointed it to be executed in the night. It is fcarcely poffible to de- fcribe it in any adequate terms. The city overflowed with blood; the houfes were filled with flain ; and returning light difcovered in every flreet a dreadful fpeftacle of the devaftation which the remorfelefs tyrant had produced. But his cruelty was not yet fatiated. Next day he ifTued out his commands that the flaughter ( i64 ) CHAP, flaughter fliould be renewed^ that y^^^lj he might have the pleafure of be- holding it from the temple of Sera- pis in which he was lodged ; nor did he put a period to the carnage till he had left only a few of the in- habitants to deplore the unparallel- ed butchery ('). During this long feries of op- preffion and mifery the Roman power was gradually diminiflied ; the foldiers became profligate and unmanageable ; the government was almoft diforganized, and the diforders continued unremedied in the following reigns of Macrinus and Eliagabolus, and received only a temporary check after the death of (*) The only reafon that feems to be affigned for this maffacre is, that it was in revenge of the fatirical feverity with which he had been glanced at by the inhabitants of that city,, in conlequencc of the death of Geta. ( 1^5 ) of the lafl; of thofe emperors, the chap. VI moft extravagant and the moil con- v^^vs-^ temptible of tyrants. It appears then what reafon we have for fixing the commencement of the period of this feal at the be- ginning of the reign of Commodus in the year i8o, and for conti- nuing its duration to the death, or rather the murder, of Ehagabolus, in the year 222 C)» But (^) With refpe^t to the meaning and application of this, as of the former feal, there is no great diverfity of opinions among the moft eminent ex- politors. Mede underftands it of the civil wars in which the empire was involved in the times of Trajan and Hadrian, occafioned by the infurrec- tion of the Jews, and of the dreadful {laughter which thev produced. In this opinion he is fol- lowed by Goodwin, Fleming, Waple, Lowman, Newton, and likewife by Abbadie, only with this difference, that he reftricls thofe internal commo- tions to the reign of Hadrian. Durham, follow- ing CHAP. But let US not turn away our eyes i^^^^^Y^ from this melancholy fcene, with- out refle6ting on the flriking pic- ture it exhibits of the inftability of worldly greatnefs. Where were now the fplendid conquefts of Trajan, fo recently andlo rapidly made ? Thofe rich ing the opinion of fome foreign divines, undero ftands it of the perfecutions of the church, and applies it to thofe that took place under Nero and Domitian. The worthy author feems to feel the difficulty in which he is involved in fuppofing that the church is here called the earthy from which peace ivas to be taheriy and endeavours to extricate himfelf from it as well as he can. He produces chap. ill. lo. vii. i. xii. 9. xiii. 14. and xiv. 6. as a proof that the church is in this boolc fome- times called the earth. This however is fo far from being clearly the fenfe of earth in any of thofe paflages, that, I am afraid, the enquiring reader will be ready to think, that it is attempting to prove one thing by another, which is at leaft not more certain or evident than itfelf. I only fubjoin the Interpretation of Vitringa, who under- flands ( 1^7 ) rich and exteniive territories, which he added as appendages to the mag- nificence of the Roman empire, had been already refumed by their former lords. Where were now the profperity and the glory of the times of the Antonines ? They were exchanged, alas, for oppreffion and murders, and for their neceflary attendants, CHAP, VI. {lands this feal, chiefly, as a prophecy of the Diocletian perfecution. This learned expofitor takes no notice of the difficuhy which Durham felt, but endeavours to obviate an objection arifing from the phrafe, that they Jhould hill one another^ by denying that it necellarily denotes mutual flaughter, which rarely happens in the cafe of per- fecution, and we are fure did not take place at that time, by quoting Matt. xxiv. lo. and Gal, V. 26. where he thinks it muft be differently un- der ftood. This however, it will be allowed, is not the moft natural fenfe of the expreffion, and therefore it is againft an interpretation, which at befl can only be founded on high probability, when the words muft be ftrained in order to make, it out. ( 168 ) ^vi^^'* attendants, infurrc6lion and revolt. ^^>vO But this proud and imperious ty- ranny muft be brought low. The God who rules over the kingdoms of the earth had determined it, and we behold the firfl awful ftep of its decline marked with the horrors of confufion and of blood. At the fame time, can we but admire the dignified attitude in which the apoftle appears, when de- livering thefe grand and intereiling prophecies! Though fufFering under the hand of a wicked tyrant^ we fee him looking down with con- tempt upon his unhallowed domi- nation, and denouncing upon it calamity and judgment. Though carried an exile into a defolate ifland, and regarded by an over- bearing policy as entirely fubjugat- ed to its power, he is raifed to an authority and greatnefs incompar- ably { i6g ) " i ably above it ; and wc behold him, CHAP. VI. in this, and fome of the following v,^-y%j prophecies, pointing the weapons of the almighty againft it for its de- ftruftion. What can be more noble than to fee the defpifed fiflierman of Bethfaida holding the faces of monarchs in his hand, and fliewing how He that fitteth in the heavens fhall deride them, how he fliall vex them in his fore difpleafure. " Let God arife and let his enemies be fcattered !" THE ( I70 ) \ THE OPENING OF THE THIRD SEAL. ^ 1 VI. CHAP. Vcr. 5, ^nd when he had opened the third feal^ I heard the third beajl fay^ Come and fee. And I beheld^ and lo^ a black horfe ; and he that fat on him had a pair of balances in his hand, Ver. 6. And I heard a voice in the midfl of the four beafls fay^ A meafure of ivheat for a penny ^ and three meafures of barley for a penny ; and fee thou hurt not the oil afid the ivine. Under this feal, we have a fliort period of reformation in the Roman government, which feems to have put a flop for a little to the progrefs of its decline, and to have afforded a tranlient ( 171 ) CHAP. VI. tranfient interruption of that dread ful train of calamities with which ^^^''y^ it was both preceded and followed. The rider here is mounted upon a black horfe, the emblem of gravity and fadnefs ; and he has a pair of balatices hi his handy the emblem of equity and order. There is evi- dently an intimation of great fear- city, approaching to famine, at the time of his appearance : but the re- gulations v/hich he adopts feem to produce moderate plenty. There- fore there is a voice from the midft of the four living creatures, which fays, A meafiire of ivheat for a penny ^ and three vieafures of barley for a penny. It has been much difputed by interpreters, whether this is a de- Icription of fcarcity, or of plenty. A greek proverb, preferved by Eraf- mus, has been repeatedly quoted upon the fubjeft, which rather leads ( ^7^ ) CHAP, leads to confider it as a defcription VI. ^^.y,^ of fcarcity : " Sit not dov/n upon thy {chcemx^ or) meafure." The meafure has be^n fuppofed to be fuch a quantity as is fuflicient for a man's fuftenance for a day ; and a Denarius^ which we render penn\\ to be the price of a day's labour. According to this eftimate, it muft . te a- defcription of fcarcity ; al- though not fo great a fcarcity as has been commonly underflood ; for if a man lived upon barley, he would be able to earn three days provi- fion by one day's labour. It is not however certain that the " choenix" or " meafure" was only fuch a quantity as is here fuppofed ; or that a day's wages was only a " denarius'* or penny. The reafon given for this laft fuppofition is, that in our Lord's parable of the labourers in the vineyard, every man is faid to have ( ^73 ) have received "a penny" or denarius CHA?. for his day's work. Bat it is pro- K^^rr^ bable that at the period to which this prophecy refers, when luxury fo much abounded, and when taxes were fo heavily impofed, the price of labour muil have been greatly advanced. With refpedl to the chcsnix it is by no means certain what quantity it contained. But even fuppcling it was only a day's fuilenance for a man, he would fubfift upon barley almoft for a whole week, by two days labour, even at a penny a day. Let us fuppofe he gained three de- narii,or pennies, in two days, which is not unlikely in a ftate into which riches had flowed in a very high degree fince our Saviour's time, and two days labour would maintain a man for a week and a third. Let us confider too, that this is the fup- pofed (,'74 ) CHAP, pofed price of the moll common ^^.J^i and meaneft labour, and that all the artizans in the comitry may be al- lowed to earn much higher wages, and we fhall fee, that this cannot be underftood to be defcriptive of fcarcity. Upon fuch a fuppofition, how forced the interpretation of the injundlion delivered by the voice, " and fee thou hurt not the oil and the wine," as if this denoted a fcar- city even of thofe articles likewife ('), contrary to the uniform meaning of the expreffion, from which it is ob- vious, that they were not to be in- jured, but were to be preferved in plenty, fo that a little of thefe com- forts might fometimes fall to the lot even of the poor labourer. When we put all thefe circum- ilances together, we cannot under- lland (") See Lowman upon this place. C 175 ) Hand this to be a defcription of a chap. time of fcarcity : neither do I fup- \,^y^ pofe that it is a defcription of great abundance. This will be allowed to be as bad for the interefts of a ftate or people as the other. It en- courages idlenefs ; it provokes diffi- pation ; and it is well known that diforders in a ftate are produced equally by wantonnefs on the one hand, and oppreffion on the other. I have only further to obferve, that the pair of balances in the hand of this rider, have been very impro-^ perly connected by interpreters with the barley and the wheat, as if thefe commodities were to be weighed out with the moft fcrupulous exact- nefs, whereas it is evident, they were fold by meafure. This emblem is meant to charaJ The author of the hiftory of tlie DecHne and Fall of the Roman em- pire, while he affc(5ls to discredit fome of the alarmmg tokens of the juil judgement of Heaven which have now been recited, gives an ac- count of this period, fufficiently ftriking, at once to verify and ap- propriate, the prophetical defcnp- tion which we are nowconfidering. The paffage is too remarkable not to be inlerted at lengch. ' Our habits of thinking," fays he, " fo fondly conneft the order of the univerfe with the fate of man, that this gloomy period of hiftory has been decorated with inundations, earth- qviakes, uncommon meteors, pre- ternatural darknefs, and a crowd of prodigies fidlitious or exaggerated/ But a long and general famine was a calamity ( 200 ) CHAP, calamity of a more ferious kind. It s^^^^y^ was the inevitable confequence of rapine and opprellion, which extir- pated the produce of the prefent, and the hope of future harvefts. Famine is almoll always followed by epidemical difeafes, the effedls of fcarcity and unwholefome food. Other caufes mull however have contributed to the furious plague, which, from the year 250, to the year 265, raged without interrup- tion in every province, every city, and almoft every family of the Ro- man empire. During fome time 5000 perfons died daily in Rome, and many towns that had cfcaped the hands of the barbarians were entirely depopulated. *i We have the knowledge of a very curious circumftance, of fomc ufe perhaps in the melancholy cal- culation of human calamitiesr An cxaft ( 201 ) exa6t regiiler was kept at Alcxan- chap. dria, of all the citizens entitled to , ^^' . receive the diftribution of corn. It was found, that the ancient num- ber of thofe comprifed between the ages of forty and feventy had been, equal to the whole fum of claimants, from fourteen to fourfcore years of age, who remained alive after the reign of Gallienus. Applying this authentic fact to the mofl correft tables of mortality, it evidently proves, that above half the people of Alexandria had periflied ; and could we venture to extend the analogy to the other provinces, we might fufpedl that war, peftiience, and famine, had confumed, in a tew years, the moiety of the human fpecies *." C c Such Gibbon, v i, ch, x* Sub fin. ( 202 ) CHAP. Such then are the characSlers of ^•v\J ^^is fad and eventful period: famine, peftilence, and war, ragingwirh un- common and continued violence : chara6ters that fo exaftly, and fo awfully, correfpond to the propheti- cal defcription, as to leave the mind almoftv^ithouta doubt, that this was the period to which it referred ; efpe- cially when we add, what is by no means improbable, and what ap- pears likewife to have been matter of faft, that fierce and ravenous animals, feeling themfelves undif- turbed, in confequence of the de- population of the country, multi- plied apace, and at length, embol- dened by their number and compel- led by want, entered even into villages and towns, and deftroyed the inhabitants. There is Hill one other calamitous circimiftance to be fubjoined to this detail ; that in the "i! ( ^o3 ) the reign of Gallienus, the empire chap. was torn by ufurpation ; no lefs . J^^^ than thirty tyrants C; being faid to have ftarted up at once, who all came to a miferable end, as did like- wife that whole lift of emperors which we have been recounting. The period of this feal may be confidered as terminating with the murder of Gallienus ; thefe fcenes of horror being in a great meafure removed during the fubfequent reigns, till the time of Diocletian* Jt therefore fills up the term of 46 years, beginning in the year 222, and ending in the year 26S (^). Dreadful is the fituation of a peo- ple when their enormities have drawn (•) Gibbon maintains that they were only nineteen. (b) It is unnecelTary to narrate the opinion of Mr. Mede refpeding the import and the accom- plilhment ( 204 ) CHAP, drawn down the judgements of God VI. upon them. In fuch a cafe, all the power and policy of this world can bring no relief; and even the greateft empires upon earth are as weak and defencelefs as the meaneft creature that crawls upon the ground. plifhment of this feal, as it correfponds in general with that which I have above dehvered ; only he inchnes to underftand the beafts of the earthy of the thirty tyrants, who were the inftruments of thofe judgments, and who raged Hke favage beafts hi the empire. He grounds this interpretation upon the change of the conftrudlion here \ but Jolm often changes the conftru(flion without changing the meaning. The learned reader will find a remarkable inftance of this kind, chap, xviii. 12. Lowman underftands, and applies this feal in the fame way with Mede, but he extends it from tht;y ear 211, to the year 275 : while Ab- badie extends it from the beginning of the reign of Commodus in the year 180, to the perfecution by Diocletian in the year 303, and explains the name ( 205 ) ground. In this melancholy hif- C^^P- tory, we perceive, how various are v^^^y^O the means by which the vengeance of heaven may be inflifted; and when this vengeance is once exert- ed, the time cannot be diixant when the Mamc Death of him that fat upon the hoffe, to denote that the throne of the empire, during that period, would be a deadly throne to thofe who fat upon it. Durham underftands this feal, of the perfecution of the church under Diocletian But it mull be difficult to give a diftincl and proper meaning to famine y and efpecially to pejlilence upon this interpretation, becaufe this laft, at leaft, is a judgement immediately from God. David knew this di(lin<5lion well, when he choofed the peftilence, and probably even famine, in pre- ference to the fword, faying, " let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great, and let me not fall into the hands of man. So the Lord fent a peftilence upon Ifrael.'' It is not very fatisfying to expound them in a general way> as this worthy interpreter does, of the greateft depth CHAP. VI. ( 206 ) the dominion of the proud Ihall be deftroyed. But we obferve here, as in other cafes, that the judgements of God tend only to blind the minds, and to harden the hearts of the impenitent. That devoted people \vhofe depth of affliftlon In which the church is involv- ed, and to affert that any one of thefe having been found to fignify affiidion or perfecution to the church, the fame thing muftbe underftood of all. I lliallonly fubjoin the interpretation of Vitringa, who following the opinion of fonie divines about the time of the reformation, underflands this Teal to prefigure the Saracens^ and the Turks, by whom God broughc a fevere fcourge upon the ChriftianSjfor their grofs and fhameful corruption. He takes the rider to be the angel of death, and the bufmefs which is here afligned him, both in his nature and extent, comports well with the mifftries which have been produced by thofe de- luded and daring people. He obferves from Leucnclavius, that the whole of their law and re- ligion Vi. ( 207 ) whofe hiftory we have been furvey- chap. ing, confidered the chiiftians as the caufe of their calamities. They thought the indulgence tranced to them increafed the anger of their gods { and therefore they pointed their refentment and enmity the more againft them. This however only Vigion is fangulnary, and therefore they have brought blood and flaughter wherever they have come ; they have laid wafte the finefl: countries, and made them deferts for wild beafts, in confe- quence of which famine and peftilence have fre- quently enfued. He obferves that this calamity happened towards the end of the period which he allots to the preceding feal : for Mahometaniim, which began in the time of Heraclius, had in- creafed by the time when the difTentions of the Monothelites were lighted up. Afterwards the Turks, bur (ling forth from Tartary by the gates of Caucalus, firil: fliewed themfelves in Aiia in that very age in which the Chriftians in the eaft were contending fiercely about images. C 208 ) CHAP ^"^y liaftencd the overthrow which VI. they were loon to meet with. " How terrible art thou in thy works, O God ! at thy rebuke the fons of tlie mighty are aftoniflied. Thou, even thou art to be feared, and who may Hand in thy fight when once thou art angry 1" THE ( 209 ) THE OPENING OF THE FIFTH SEAL. Ver. Q. And 'when he had opened the CHAP. fifth feal^ I faw under the altar the fouls of them that were fain for the word of \ God^ and for the tefimony which they \ held, j Ven I o. j4nd they cried with a loud j voice^ faying^ How long^ 0 Lord^ holy^ \ and triie^ dof thou not judge and avenge ' 9ur blood on them that dwell on the earth I i Ver. 1 1. And white robes were given \ unto every one of them ; and it ivas faid unto them^ that they fiould ref yet for a I little feafon^ until their fellowrferva?its \ and their brethren that fhould be killed^ as \ they were ^ fjould be fulfilled, j D d The I ( 2IO ) CHAP. Ti"^e great intent of this prophe- K^^y^Kj tical rcprefentation is obvious and plain It denotes a time of fevere and unrelenting perfecution by the mod palpable and ftriking images. In this character of atrocity and horror, is the heathen Roman em- pire here exhibited, ftretching forth its hand againft the church, and thereby filling up the meafure of its iniquity to its deftruclion. The prophecy feems to intimate, that this haughty, perfecuting power, had been permitted long to exercife its cruelties upon the church. This is probably the emphafis of the ex- prefTion uttered by thele bleeding fpints, 0 Lord, bow long. Difficulties arifc however about the circumftan- ces of the vifion. The fouls of the iTi a r t y r s a r e r e p r e f e n t e d a s lying under the altar. But what are we to under- lland by thefe fouls lying under the altar? ( 21^ ) altar? Are we to undcrftand them ^^!/^^' of their bodies, as fome interpre- \..^n-o ters contend ? Molt certainly this is not the meaning; for the bodies of the beafts that wereflain of old, lay upon the altar, not under it. But the blood, when they were killed, flowed down beneath the altar ; and let it be obferved, that the blood was confidered as the life or foul of the animal. John, therefore, in this vifion, beheld the life, or the foul, riflng up again at the foot of the altar, and crying for ven- geance. But hov/ are w^e to underftand this as being feen in heaven ? The altar of burnt-offering was without the fan6luary, and therefore cannot confidently be placed in heaven ; nor can fouls be reprcfented there as of a vindi6live difpofition. In anfwer to this, I would obierve, that it U'VnJ ( 2 12 ) \ CHAP ^^ appears by various paiTages in ^ VI- this book, that the heaven, into which the apoftle was taken up, '' had the whole temple and all its ^ furniture Handing in it : and as | thcfe fouls, pleading for vengeance, ^ mull be undcritood in a figurative \ fenfe upon every fcheme, there ■ cannot, one fhoultl think, be any | impropriety, nay, rather there is a i particular beauty and energy, in \ underftanding this as a ftrong inti- \ mation that the juftice of their ' caufe called loudly for vengeance, ! and fliould certainly obtain it White \ robes being given them^ denotes the tri- ': umphant and glorious iflue of their | unjuft and cruel fufferings : and j their being commanded to rej for a \ little fcafon^ fignifies, thut notwith- \ Handing the juftice of tlicir caufe \ dniving judgements after it, yet its ' agency was to ceafe, as it were, or to \ ( 213 ) to be fufpended, for a little, till their cHAP. fdlow-fervants^ and their brethren^ who were to be killed^ as they were^ Jljould be fulfilled. The period of hiftory to which this prophecy belongs may be de- termined with coniiderable eafe and certainty. It mud be remarkable both for the feverity, and for the duration of the pcrfecution wdiich takes place under it ; and we are to look for it, according to the order of thefe prophecies, after the com- phcated calamities that have been already defcribed, and before that aftonifhing revolution which the opening of the next feal fo awfully difplays. In the reign of Diocletian, then, it has commonly been fup- pofed, we meet with a perfecution, which, both for its feverity and for its duration, is fully adequate to what we are here led to expect. Let us VI. ( 214 ) CHAP. "US take a view of this melancholy i^lL^ fcene, although perhaps it will ap- pear, that, awful as the fpecSlacle is which it prefents, it does not come up to-the full import of this pro- phetical reprefentation. Soon after Diocletian was raifed to the imperial throne, he afTumed Maximian as his fellow-Emperor, and fhared equally with him the authority and the glory of the go- vernment. About ten years after- wards, when the empire was pref- fed by furrounding enemies, the two emperors adopted Galerius and Conftantius Chlorus as Csefars, vefled with proconfular power, and who fliould fucceed them in the empire. Of thele, the former was an invete- rate enen>y of the Chriftians, and at laft ftirred up Diocletian to en- deavour by the mod violent perfe- cution to deftroy them. This per- fecution ( 2T5 ) fecution began in the year 303, and chap continued, with relentleis fury, ^^• through the long period of ten fuc- ceeding years. Chriftians of all ranks were dragged to punifhment. The cruelty of their perfecutors refpe^led neither the blooming beauty of youth, nor the infirmities of advanced age. But while it was marked with the moft unfeeling vi- olence, it had the calmnefs to con- fider by what means it might beft prolong and multiply the agonies of its vidtims The followers of the Saviour, therefore, were not mere- ly beheaded, or caft into the fea, or killed with the fword ; they were crvicified, they were fcourged to death, their limbs were drawn a funder, and their flefh at intervals was torn with pincers from their bones : not to mention various o- ther methods of torture, too fliock- ing, ( ^t6 ) j iiig, aiul ibmctuucs too indecent, to j M. he dekribed. j ^^ It is impolUblc to ixckon up the j number ot Ghriftians who lullered I under this dreadful l^erfecution• But it we conlider, that it extended ahnoll over the whole Roman em- ^ pire, not excepting even Britain it- ielf, and that it has been computed t that more than 300,000 perithed bv I it in Egypt alone, we Ihall be afto- \ niflied at the immcnlity ot the num- -^ hcTy which, upon the moil mode- ] rate calculation, muil be luppofed* Indeed it appears to have had for its obiecl the total extermination of the ChriAian name; and it was prole* I cuted with unwearied aliiduity till ^ the dclign was thought to be com- | pleted, ^ Such then was the violence, and 1 foch the extent, of this tremendous 1 and long continued perfecution ; and i ( 217 ) and is it not natural to fuppofe, that CHAP, a period, at once fo calamitous to \,,yy^ the church, and fo ruinous to the empire iticlf, fhould be particularly- taken notice of in this feries of pre- dictions. But I cannot pcrfuadc myfelf, that the fpirit of prophecy confines his views to this melancholy peri- od^ in the aiFecfting reprefentation that is now before us. We have feen the vengeance of Heaven pour- ed out repeatedly upon the empire, under fome of the foregoing feals, in a variety of terrible judgements with which it was vifited. It is not a little remarkable, however, that not the fmalleft hint has been given of the caufe of thefe judge- ments. But we cannot hefitate to afcribe them to its enormous wickednefs, and particularly, to its oppofition to Chriftianity, and E e its ( 2i8 ) CHAP it:s perfccuting the chiircb. Wc , ^^^' have undoubted evidence, from hif- tory, that this was its characler in former periods. In many of the preceding reigns, the Chriftians •were treated with great injuftice and crueky, as well as in the pre- fent. This was the cafe under Ne- ro, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, and even the Antonines themfelves. Ii was likewife the cafe under Scverus, Maxim^n, Decius, and Valerian. In thofe reigns, vaft multitudes of Chriftians were ruined in their fub- ftance, were baniflied, imprifoned, and put to death. But in none of them, were they driven to fuch ex- tremity of luffering as in the reign of Decius ; the perfecution under whom, though fliort in its continu- ance, fcarcely yielded in fcverity to that which was raifed by Diocletian, The perfecution under Valerian did not ( 219 ) not wear a much milder afpe6l. chap. And now, v/hen the church was a^ ^^' , gain plunged into the depths of tribulation, and was fubje6led anew to all thofe horrible cruelties which fhe had already fo often and fo long experienced ; what can be more na- tural, than for thofe holy martyrs, who were flain for the word of God, and for the tellimony which they held, to be reprefented as crying^ and as crying even with a loud voice ^ How lofig^ 0 Lord^ holy and true^ dojl thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? 1 cannot help thinking therefore, that, though the fpirit of prophecy fecms to point diredlly at this peri- od, in which the church was filling up that which remained of her af- flidlions from her heathen enemies, he hath refped:, likewife, to all that fucceffion of fufFerings which Ihe had ( 220 ) ^y^^' had formerly endured. Upon this V^v^ ground alone we can perceive, not only the propriety, but likewife, the afFefting energy of that part of the martyrs' expoftulation, 0 Lord I bow long — • It may be faid indeed, that, by fuppofmg the cry of thefe martyrs to be uttered only towards the clofe of this perfecurion, after it had car- ried on its ravages almoft for ten years, we may fee the propriety of the expreflion in a light fufficiently flriking. But it ought to be conli- dered, that this deftroys the mean- ing of the anfwer which they re- ceived, when it was faid, that they Jldould rejl for a little feafon. Upon this fuppofition, there was no feafon re- maining, till judgement was to be executed upon their enemies. That period, fo fatal to them, and fo joy- ful to the faints, was then certainly at ( 221 ) at hand. Then their heathen per- cHAP, fecutors were to be caft down from ^^' . their feats. Then the power was to be wrefted out of their hands. They were to be degraded and over-* thrown ; many of them were to fuffer great calamities and judge- ments ; and the Chriftians, whom they abhorred, were to triumph over them. But, if we underftand the cry to have been uttered at the commence- ment of this perfecution, every cir- cumftance will be clear and confift^ ent. It was certainly upon their heathen enemies that the vengeance was to be taken. It was from them that they had fufFered fo many cru- elties ; and to none but them could they be fuppoled to refer, when they requefted that they might be aveng- ed on thofe that dwelt on the earth. But this vengeance was ftill at the diltancc ( 222 ) CHx\P. dillance of ten years of afHiftion ; y^^^^,,^^ during which their fcllow-fervants and brethren, who were to be kil- led as they were, ftiould be fulfil- led ; and that period may with great propriety be called a little feafon^ in comparilon of all that length of time to which it is here evidently oppofed, in which opprelTion and calamity had been their general lot. Can we fail to admire then the wifdom. of infpiration, that, while with one hand, as it were, it points direftly at this awful period, the moft diftxeffing to the church that had hitherto appeared, with the other, it direds us to all tliofe long continued fufFerings which their heathen perfecutors had formerly inflifted upon them In this way, it informs us what was the general ftate of the church under that haughty ( 223 ) haughty tyranny of Rome. It ex- cHAP. plains the caule of thofe terrible Zllj judgements which had already been poured down upon the empire ; and {hews, that the time for the deliver- ance of the faints was at no great diflance. All this is done, in the moft fimple and admirable manner, by the lingle expreffion, 0 Lord^ how lofig — and by intimating that they were to reft yd for a little fcafon. What a Ihocking pifture does this prophecy exhibit of the deep depravity of the human heart ; that a dodrine fo fublime and fo bene- volent as that which Chriftianity teaches, fhould be regarded with enmity and abhorrence ; and that its humble and harmlefs votaries, breathing nothing but peace and love to men, fliould be fo unjuftly and cruelly treated. This however is only an evidence of what the fcripture , ( 224 ) vt^ ftripture has declared, that the carnal W"Y*^ mmd is enmity againjl God : and, though it may feem llrange to fome, and perhaps unaccountable, that God fhould permit the wicked to make fuch ravages upon his church and people ; yet he has wife and holy ends to anfwer by it. It is for the trial and triumph of their faith, that it may be found ever to praife, and honour, and glory, at the ap- pearing of Jefus Chrift. It is like- wife for the conviftion of an unbe- lieving world, by fhewing what the power of almighty grace can do. Who but muft have been ftruck with the conftancy of thofe holy martyrs, when they appeared rif- ing fuperior to all their fufFerings, and fhewing a fortitude, even in the mod excruciating deaths, beyond that of the mod celebrated heroes ! who could but admire their amiable and ( 22 ) and elevated fpirit, when viewing them in thofe awful moments, wrapt up in the praifes of God, and recommending the religion for which they fuiFered, in the moll ear- neft manner, to all around them, as of the laft importance to their eter- nal interefls ! Such an ailonifliing phasnomenon mult have been well adapted to make men enquire into its caufe ; and in confequence of this, there is every reafon to fup- pofe, that they would feel them- felves convinced and perfaaded of the truth. Indeed the frequent and fevere pcrfecutions which took place after miracles had ceafed, feem to have been intended as a fucceda- neum to them ; and experience has amply Ihewn, that they have been the means of gaining many con- verts to Chriftianity. Well mighc it be faid then, that the blood of F f the CHAP- VT. CHAP. VI. ( 226 ) the martyrs was the feed of the church. Every drop of that preci- ous blood that was unjuftly and cruelly Ihed, may be confidered as a grain of corn caft into the ground, and ready to fpring up into an abundant harvett — But deplorable is the ftate of thofe who are given up to the commiffion of fuch atro- cious wickednefs : the blood of the faints calls loudly for vengeance on them; and, in the train of thofe predi6liops, we have occafion repeat- edly to obferve this vengeance exe- cuted in an exemplary and awful manner. It may indeed be delayed for a little, but it fliall certainly at length overtake the wicked ; for tbe Lord knoweth how to i^cfcrvc the iinjiijl to the day of judgement to he pumJJjed (*). ['') The ingenioiis and learned Mede fixes the commencement ( 227 ) commencement of this feal to the year 268, when the fifteen years peftiience was over ; and carries it down to the end of the Diocletian perfecution. He underftands the martyrs being required 10 reft for a little feafon, to intimate, that their caufe was not to be avenged till the total overthrow of the empire under the trumpets. This, according to him, was accomphflied in the year 542. But how 240 years Ihould be called a little feafon, in comparifon of the former, to which it is nearly equal, it is not very eafy to conceive. This ob'- je<5tion is greatly increafed by the interpretation of Waple, who lengthens out the little feafon^ till the time of God's laft vengeance upon anti- chrifl, under the Vials. Durham underflands this feal, as expreflingno new matter at all, and as taking up no length of time ; but as added to the former by way of explanation and comfort, iii reference to the fuffi^rings of the faints under them. But it would certainly require very ftrong reafons to prove, contrary to the uniform charac- ter of all the other feals, and even of the trum- pets and vials which ftiicceed them, that this produced no new matter, and took up no time. This is a point, however, that the worthy author entirely palTes over, Abbadie, while he int-rprets the vifion of the perfecution under Diocletian, differs ( "8 ) differs from moft expofitors. He, Indeed, iinder- ftands the fouls of the martyrs here, of their dead bodies, as fome had done before him ; but he ingenioufly contends, that the white robes being given them, intimates the impreffion of their innocence which was made upon the mind of Conftantius ; and that their being ordered to reft for a little leafon, denotes the abatement of the perfecution, from the reiignation of Diocletian and Maximian, when the empire was divided betwixt Conftantius and Galerius, till the laft victory of Conftantine over Licinius, when palms were put into the hands of Chriftians, in addition to their white robes, as an emblem, not only of their innocence, but of their ;triumph. But how it could be faid to the martyrs in general that they were to rejly in the fenfe of this interpreter, while the perfecution was ftill going on with as much violence as ever, in one half of the empire at leaft, and only abated in the other, does not appear. In order to have rendered this interpre* tation confident, it would have been necefTary to have (hewn, that this profpecl of reft was only intimated to the martyrs in the weftern parts of the empire. I conclude with the opinion of the learned Vitringa, who underftands this prophe- cy, of the perfecutions of the Waldenfes and Albigenfes ( 229 ) Albigenfes, the Bohemian brethren, and the martyrs of the reformed church : the white rohesy of God's vindicating the caufe of thefe martyrs at the time of the reformation ; and their rejling for a little feaforiy of their Waiting with patience till that period. THE ( 230 ) THE OPENING OF THE SIXTH SEAL. CHAP. Ver. 12. And I beheld when he had ^^' opened the fixth feal^ a fid lo^ there was . a great earthquake; and the fun became as black as fackcloth of hair^ and the moon became as blood : Ver. 13. And the flars of heaven fell unto the earthy even as a fig-tree cafleth her untimely figs when fhe is fhaken of a mighty wind. Ver. 14. And the heaven departed as a fcroll when it is 7'olled together ; ana every mountain and ifiand were moved out of their places. Vcn 15. Andthekijigs of the earthy and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains^ and the mighty men^ and ( ^31 ) and tvery hond-man and every free-man^ CHAP. hid them/elves in the densy and in the rocks \^^ym^ of the mountains ; Ver. 16. And f aid to the mountains and rocks y Fall on us^ and hide us front the face of him that fitteth on the throne^ and from the wrath of the Lamb ; Ver. 17. For the great day of his wrath is come ; and who fhall be able to Jiand I . The opening of this feal far ex- ceeds that ot any of the former, in the awful magnificence andfubhmi- ty of the defcription ; a greater and more terrible event, therefore, muft certainly be meant, than any that has hitherto been predicted. This in- deed is fo remarkably the cafe, that, did not the circumftances of the prophecy forbid the interpretation, we fliould naturally underftand it of the diflblution of the world, and C 232 ) CHAP, and the end of all things. There VI. \^ysj '^^^^ ^ great earthquake ; the fun was da7'kefiedy a?id the moon put en the ap^ pearance of bloody the flars of heaven likewfe fell to the earth. Thefe ap- pear to have been the eff'efts of the earthquake, particularly the lafl, the convulfion being fo great, that the flars themfelves feemed to be violently tofled and Ihaken, as a fg-tree is fhaken by a mighty wind: at lail the heavenly canopy itielf was removed and withdrawn, as a fcroll when it is rolled together. Every mountain and ifland likewife were moved out of their places ; and the wicked, great and fmall, were filled with horror, as if the judgement were at hand. I'hcy cried to the mountains and rocks ^ Fall on us^ and hide us from the face of him that fitteth upon the throne^ and from the wrath of the Lamb ; for the ( 233 ) the great day of his wrath Is co?ne^ and cHAP. who pall he able to Jla?id I It is certain lY^^ however, that ic cannot refer to the dilTolution of the world, or the end of all things ; for another feal re- mains to be opened, difclofmg pof- terior events refpecling the church, before that period arrives. Nor is it neceffary fo to underdand the de- fcription,aseveryone who is acquain- ted with prophetic language, mufl be fenlible. An earthquake, accord- ing to that language, fignifies the Ihaking and overturning of a politi- cal conllitutionand government : the fun being darkened, and the moon turned into blood, denote diilrefs and calamity to the rulers of the world : the ftars of heaven falling to the earth, denotes, that the teach- ers of religion, efpecially thofepof- feffing political power and influ- ence, are tlirown from their fta- G g tions : ( 234 ) Ci-lAP. tions: the heaven departing as a ^^^^^y^ fcroll rolled up, denotes an entire change in the political or religious fyftem : and fo of the other circum- Itances that are mentioned, Iji the regular feries of thefe feals then, we are come to an event of great impor- tance and magnitude, and in which many of the ftriking figures here made ufe of, may feem to receive their accomphfhment. I mean the overthrow of Rome pa- gan, and the introduftion of Rome chriftian, in the time of Conftantine the Great. This was a time of great difafter and calamity to the heathen rulers. Maxentius, who had ufurped the imperial dignity, in fighting againfl Conftantine, was drowned in the Tiber, with many of his men and fome of his chief officers : his head was next day fe- vered from his body, v/hich had been ( ^35 y been found funk in the mud, a hu- cttap, miliating fpedlacic ; and when Con- \^^-y-^j ftantine made his pubhc entry into Rome, he cauled the head to he car- ried upon a pole before his army, to convince the people that the ty- rant was dead, as they durft not ex- prefs their rejoicing till that event was fully afcertained. Maximin, likewife, who reigned in the eaft, being defeated in battle at Heraclea by Licinius, threw off his purple robes, and croffing the Bofphorus, fled in the difguife of a ilave to Nicomedia : thence, taking his v/ife and children along with him, and ftill purfued by Liciniiis, he conti- nued his flight through Cappadocia till he reached Tarfus, where, in a fit of difpair, he put an end to his life by poifon. After his death, his children and relations were public- ly executed, his wife was drowned irx. ( ^3^ ) CHAP. jQ ^i^Q river Orontes, and all his mU Crv-^' niftcrs and favourites fliared in his ruin. At Antioch, Theotechnes a celebrated magician, and all his aflbciates were publicly put to death, after being obliged to difco- ; verthe impoftures with which they i had deceived the people, and ftirred i them up againft the Chriftians. j Candidianus, the fon of Galerius, ^ ^ was murdered by order of Licinius. Valeria, the daughter of Diocletian, j and widov^ of Galerius, hearing of | his death, fled from Antioch with j her mother Prifca, and wandered about in difguife for fifteen months : they were at length difcovered at Theilalonica, and being apprehend- i ed, they were immediately behead- j ed, and their bodies thrown into the i fea. In this remarkable and awful ' manner, were the families of thofe ! three cruel perfecutors of the \ church, ■ ( ^ri ) church, Diocletian, Galerius and Maximin, utterly cut off and de-^ ftroyed. Conftantine likewife fhut up the heathen temples, ftripped them of their riches, their ornaments, and even of their idols ; and ordered all the revenues belonging to them to be applied to ufeful purpofcs in civil life ; in confequence of vv^hich, not only were the heathen priells ruin- ed, but the gods themfelves, the Pythian, and Sminthian Apollo, the mighty Pan, v^hich, after the Per- iian war, all the cities of Greece had confecrated, with the Tripod of Delphos, and whatever blind anti- quity had for ages worfhipped, were dragged publicly about the ftreets, and either dafhed in pieces, or pre- ferved merely as elegant produc- tions of art to adorn the palaces and public buildings. Thus, the pagaa ( ^38 ) CHA?. V^S^^ heaven itfelf might be fajd ^Vlf ^^ have departed, and its hiniina- ries to have fallen to the earth. The enemies of the church too, we have feen, and even thofe of high- eft rank and authority, fuffered awful difafters and calamities ; to which the fun becoming black as fackcloth of hair, and the moon being turned into blood, may be fuppofed to refer. I am inclined however to think, that, though the prophecy certainly points to this event, it has not in it its full ac- complilhment: it feems to look forward from the deftrucTiion of Rome pagan, to the parallel and much greater event, the deftru(5lion of Rome papal, in v/hicb Chriftiani- ty itfelf had been paganized ; and in this fmgle prediftion, 1 imagine it defcribes them both. The fmiting and darkening of the heavenly bo- dies. ( 239 ) dies, in the language of prophecy, CHA.P. denotes the fall of kingdoms and y^^^^O empires : now there was no fuch fall happened when Rome became Chriflian. The civil government continued the fame as before ; and, though, upon that occafion, many- great men fufFered, as we have feen, as well as many of inferior rank, yet there is nothing in the hiftory that can lead us to fuppofe that they im- puted their fufFerings to the wrath of the Lamb. On the contrary, this happened in the common courfe of war ; and they feem rather to have imputed them to the anger of their gods, for their negledcing to pay them their accuftomed homage. But at the deftrudion of Rome pa- pal, all thefe magnificent and awful figures receive their full accom- pliflimcnt. Then the ftate of things, both civil and ecclefiaftical, is en- tirely ( HO ) 'yf^^' tirely changed : this agrees exa6lly V.-^'VsJ to the great earthquake, and to the fmiting and deflroying of the hea- venly bodies, and to the whole politi- cal heavens being removed. Then too, as we have every reafon to fup- pofe, perfons of every rank and dcfcription fhall be filled with terror and defpair, on account of the aw- ful judgements which will come upon them ; and the prophetic lan- guage will be found by no means too ftrong, when it reprefents the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man and free-man, as faying to the mountains and rocks, fo/I on iis^ and hide us from the face of htm that fittcth upon the throne^ and from the wrath of the Lamb. Then they cannot but know that their ca- lamities proceed from this fource. The .XL ( 241 ) The iimiliarity of the defcriptions likewife, chap. vi. 12. and xvi. 18. the laft of which unqueftionably foretels the fall of Rome antichrif- tian, is very remarkable. In both cafes there was a great earthquake, though the lafl was greater than the firft, the civil as well as the reU- gious fyftem being then quite over- turned ; in both cafes the mountains and the illands are reprefented as re- moved, places of fecurity and refuge for the Wicked being taken away ; wdiich will be far more remarkable in the latter cafe than it was in tlie former. It is true that in the firft, the wicked are reprefented faying to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from him that fitteth on the throne ; in the laft, they are faid to blafphemc God, becaufe of the plague of the hail ; but thefe are by no means inconfift- H h ent ( 242 ) CHAP, ^^^^ with one another : the devils in ^^' the place of torment, which is a place ot horror and defpair, do not refrain from blafpheming God. Such then is the fenfe in which I underfland this remarkable paC- fage. It is precifely in the fpiric of the double fenfe of prophecy, as every one who has ftudied that fub- je6t muft befenfible, where the fe- condary meaning, is often the full and adequate accomplifliment. It preferves the feries of predidtions^ by underflanding it at firft of the fall of Rome pagan ; while, by fuppofing the fpirit of prophecy to look forward to the parallel and more awful event, it gives the ex* preffions their full and adequate im- port, which when they arc reftricted to the former,cannot exactly bemade out. There fcems likewife to be a iparcicular propriety, when the rife of ( H3 ) of that corrupt perfecuting power chap- is about to be defcribed, in eiv- ^^^• ing the church the confolatlon of an anticipating profpe6l of his fall ('). (^) Mede, Durham, Jurleu, Lowman, and others, underftand this feal only of the change of religion in the Roman empire, under Con- ftantine the Great, which, we have feen, does not come up to the full lignificance of the emblems which are here employed. While the learned Vitringa underftands it entirely of the deftruction of papal tyranny and fuperftition, which is yet future ; and thus, without a forced interpretation of the former feals turning them away from their natural objects, the feries of predictions is broken, aad the fixth feal made to ftand at a vaft diftance from all the reft. Forbe» fius, again, underftands it to be a defcription of the calamities brought upon the Roman empire, by the irruptions of the barbarous nations, the Goths, Vandals, Alans, Perlians, Hunns, &c. not confidering that the judgement would then fall upon the feat of the church, whereas, ac- cording ( 244 ) cording to this prophecy, it muft have beea upon her enemies, who are here reprefented as terrified at the wrath of the Lamb. Markius undeiftands it of the judgement of the great day •, the reafons againft which have been for- merly ftated. CHAP. ( 245 ) CHAP. VIL Ver. I. And after thefe things^ I Jaw CHAP. four angels fland'mg on the four corners of the earthy holding the four winds of the earthy that the wind fjould not bloiv on the earthy 7ior on the fea^ nor on any tree. Ver. 2. jdfid I faw another angel afcending from the eafl^ having the feal of the living Gody and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels , to w>hom it tvas given to hurt the earth and the fea; Ver. 3. Sayings Hurt not the earthy neither the fea^ nor the trees ^ till we have fcaled the fervants of God in their fore-^ heads. This v^^^Y^ ( 246 ) CHAP. This vifion, every one muft fee, VIL ^ \^y^^ is of quite a different character from any of the former : it is inter- pofed between the opening of the lixth and the feventh feal, and therefore we muft look for its ac- compHfliment at that period. It prefages a time ot fevere trial and danger to the fervants of God ; in- timated by tbe four winds being let loofe to hurt the earthy and the fea^ and the trees : at the fame time it holds out a divine fecurity which the faints fliali enjoy in the midil of all this danger ; denoted by their being fealed in their foreheads with the feal of the living God ; and, what is very important and remark- able thefe deftructive winds are not allowed to blow till this divine fecurity is given. It is of little con- fequence to enquire who thefe four angels are: they are plainly the minifters ( HI ) minifters of providence toreftrain, char for a time, the evils that were com- v^^^.^,^ ing upon the world. It is of more importance to know who that other angel is, who is fpoken of as afc ending from the eajly and having the feal of the living God, He muft certainly be underltood to be a divine perfon, from his office of fealing the eleft, which fuppofes the knowledge of the heart; and who elfe can he be but our Lord and Saviour himfelf ? He is often reprefented in Scripture as an angel; and may properly be faid here to ffcend from the eafi^ as he took his rife in Judea, which lay call of the fcene of this vifion : and though the office of fealing the faints is affigned in fcripture to the Holy Spirit, whom the learned Vitringa underllands to be the angel here, yet, the Father himfelf is likewife faid ( 248 ) CHAP, f^id to feal them 0), and therefor^ ^JLj ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ reafon why the Son may not leal them alfo. Befides, the .feahng of the Spirit, as it is inward upon the heart, is here fuppofed to be done aheady, by their being tbc fcrvants of God ; whereas, this fealing was performed upon their fore- heads, and denotes more properly their open and firm profellion of pure Chriflianity, in the midft of tlie greateft dangers, and their being kept through faith, by the power of God, from the corruptions and pollutions with which they were furrounded. It remains now to enquire, what is the prophetical import of the blowing of the four winds ^ and what are the events in which this prophecy is fulfilled. The winds here (») 2 Cor. i. 21. ( 249 ) here certainly denote calamities, judgements, and evils, and there- fore cannot be meant of the doc- trines of the gofpel, as fome under- ftand them ; on the contrary, we are here led to expecJt great commo- tions and dangers. When the four winds are let loofe at once to ftrug- gle with one another, what dread- ful confufion do they produce ! Here the claflical reader will readily re- collecSt Virgil's defcription of the llorm which fcattered iCneas's fleet, and deftroyed fo great a part of it (^j. But the queftion ilill remains I i what (^) Venti, velut agmine fa£lo. Qua data porta, ruunt, et terras turbine perfiant. Iricubuere mari, totumque a fedibus imis Una Eurufque Notufque ruunt, creberque proccUis Africus, et vaftos voloent ad lidera, fluctus. Eripiunt fubito nubes ccelumque diemque Teucrorum ex oculis : ponto nox incubat atra : Ijitonuere polij & crebris micat ignibussether. 1.83. ( 250 ) CHAP. Vil. what are the evils which are de^ noted by thofe winds, when they were permitted to blow ? Are they the errors and herefies with which the church was Ibon after this rent and convulfcd ; fuch as the Arian, and Photinian, Apollinarian and Macedonian herefies ? Or, are they the whole of the calamities which occurred through the whole of the Papal tyranny and fuperftition ? In- deed there is every reafon to under- ftand them in this extenfive mean- ing. They were all dangerous and hurtful to the faints ; but, amidft them all, the faints were to be kept fare and entire ; and accordingly, in the begiiming of the xiv. chap, we fee them appearing in full num- ber, llandmg with the lamb on mount Sion, having the Father's name written on their foreheads ; which muft be the fame thing with the ( 251 ) the feal here mentioned ; for the cH \R Jewifh feals had no figure, or image ^ Jj engraved on them, but only an m- fcription or motto ; bcfides the dif- coveries of antiquarians, we have a feal with the infcription upon it introduced, 2 Tim. ii. 19. on one fide were thefe words, " The Lord knoweth them that are his/' on the other, " Let every one that nameth the name of Ch^ift depart from ini- quity." There were an hundred and forty and four thoufand fealed of all the tribes of Ifrael ; a defi- nite number, even the number of perfeftion, being put for an indefi- nite one ; and the tribes of Ifrael being put for the true Ifrael of God. Among profefling Chriftians, however, vaft numbers died during that long period of evil. Thefe, in the tender mercies of God, were tranllated to the world of bliis and perlcclion ( 252 ) CHAP, perfeclion above. Therefore the apoftle records another viiion which he faw, for the confolation of the faints. Ver. 9. After this I beheld^ and^ lo^ a great 7mdtitude^ which no man could number^ of all nations and kindreds^ and people^ and tongues^ flood before the throne^ and before the Lamb^ clothed with white robes ^ and palms in their hands ; Ver, to. And cried with a lotid voice ^ faying^ Salvation to our Gody which fitteth upon the tloroncy and unto the Lamb. Ver. II. And all the angels food round about the throne^ and about the elders and the four beofs^ and fell before the throne on their faces, and wtcrf dipped Gody Ver. J 2. Saying, Amen : Bl effing^ and glojjy and zvifdom, and thankf giving ^ and honour^ and power ^ and mighty be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen, While ( ^53 ) AVhile the apoftle was thus fur- chap. veying the vaft fociety of faints and I!^*! angels in wonderful and deliglitful contemplation, one of the Elders, wifliing to recal his attention to the palm-bearing multitude, afked him, as he tells us, the following quef- tions. Ver. I 3. — JVbat are thefe which are arrayed in white robes ^ and whence came they?. Ver. 74. Afid[{d.yshc)Ifaidunto him^ Sir ^ thou know eft , And he /aid unto me^ thefe are they which came out of great tribulation^ and have wafljed their robes ^and ?nade them white in the blood of the Lamb. Ver. 15. Therefore are they before the throne of God^ and ferve him day and night in his temple : and he that ftteth on the throne fball dwell among them, Ver. r6. They foall hunger no more^ neither thirf a?iy more; neither jhall the fun light on them^ nor any heat. Ven ( 254 ) CHAP VII. ' Ver. 1 7. For the Lamh^ 'which is W'YX-^ in the midjl of the throne^ Jhall feed them^ and fhall lead them unto living fountains cf water : and God foall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Though I will not deny that this defcription may have a reference to the profperity and glory of the church in the latter day, yet it cer- tainly runs far too high to be ever fully verified in this v^orld. What a poor fenfe can be put upon thefe expreffions, they fhall hunger no morey neither thirjl any morey neither foall the fun light on theniy nor any heat ; for the Lamb which is in the midfl of the throne foall feed themy and foall lead them unto living fountains of waters y and God f id all wipe away all tears from their eyes : What a poor fenfe, I fay, can be put upon thefe cxprellions, if we underlland them of any thing lefs than the heavenly ( 255 ) heavenly happinefs and elory. It chap, VII. may be faid indeed, that this is the v>^v>^ manner in which the profperous Hate of the church is defcribed in the Old Teflament prophecies, and therefore, it is not ftrange that it fhould be fo defcribed in the New. But who can Ihevv that the fpirit of prophecy in ancient times did not look beyond the earthly accomplilh- rnent, to that fuperior happinefs and glory which it will uflier in, and defcribe them both at once ? Befides, this reprefentation of the glorious reward of the fiifFerings of the faints, is fitly introduced here, that they may be fupported by the faith of it under their greateft trials, as knowing that the fufferings of this preient time were not worthy to be compared with the glory that fliould be revealed in them. And finally, when founderftood, it makes the ( ^5^ ) CHAP, the ferics of prcdiclions to barmo- VII * i^.,_j nize : wc fee, that notwithftanding this vaft muhitude exahed to the heavenly manfions, the church on earth Hill continued ; new converts were raifed up to fill their room, and preferved in the dark night of apoftacy and danger; and when the day of deliverance began to dawn, we fee the church appearing in her integrity, even the fame one hun- dred and forty and four thoufand Handing upon mount Sion, with the Lamb at their head ('). (^) Commentators have taken very different views of this chapter, and underllood it in very- different fenfes. Durham underftands the pro- phecy of the winds which it contains, of the errors and herefies which rent and convulfed the churcli in the fourth century, and not of outward calamities: and lie gives this plaufible reafon for his interpretation, that though faints are to be ' preferved from fpiritual calamities and evils, they are ( ^Sl ) are not to be prefer ve J from thofe of a temporal nature. But why not admit along with thefe here- fies, the idolatries and pollutions of the church of Rome, from which they were certainly to be pre- ferved ? The introdu6tion of image woriliip, may be fitly reprefented by winds ftriving, for it bred great commotions in the church for a coniiderable time. The learned Vitringa underftands it as a part of the lixth feal ; and with lefs probability than Durham, he underftands the winds to be thofe great commotions which caufed the earth- quake •, and the fealing of the fervants of God, as denoting their fecurity and prefervation amidft thofe awful judgements, by which myftical Ba- bylon* fhall be overthrown. Biflaop Newton likewife confiders this vilion as a part of the fixth feal, for a different reafon, namely, that the feventh feal was not yet opened, as if no difcovery could refer to that period till it was opened : he gives no higher meaning to the fealing of the fervants of God, than, that great numbers, both of Jews and Gentiles, were bap- tifed into the ChriPiian faith, and made open profeffion of the gofpei % and he childilhly con- ceives that the feahng on the forehead, refers to K k that ( 258 ) that corruption of Chriftian worfhlp, the mak- ing the fign of the crofs upon the forehead in the adminiftration of baptifm in the Romifh and Englifh churches, and at what they call confirmation, an ordinance of their own inven- tion. THE ( 259 ) THE OPENING OF THE SEVENTH SEAL. CHAP. VIII. Ver. I. And^ when he had opened the feventh feal^ there was filence in hea^ ven about the /pace of half an hour. Ver. 2. And I f aw the feven angeh which flood before God ; and to them were given feven trumpets. Ver. 3. And another angel came^ and flood at the altar ^ hdving a golden cenfer ; and there was given unto him much incenfe^ that he fJoould offer it with the prayers of all faints^ upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Ver, ( 26o ) CHAP. Ver. 4. Andthc fmoke of theincenfe^ i^,.,^^ 'which came with the prayej's of the faints^ afcended up before God^ cut of the angeFs hand. Ver. 5. A fid the angel took the cenfer^ and filled it with fire of the altar ^ and caft it into the earth : and there were voices^ and thiinderings ^ and lightnings^ a?jd an earthquake. It is as great an error to look for too mvich in the emblenas of pro- phecy, as for too little. The inge- nious inventions of Mede, upon this occalion, are too remarkable not to be taken notice of. He finds the prayers of all faints, here fpoken of, to be the prayers of tlie martyrs, under the fifth feal, cry- ing to God for vengeance ; and the fire taken from the altar and caft upon the earth, to denote the an- fwer ( a6i ) CHAP. fwer to thofe prayers, in the awful vni.* judgements which were to come ^^^^^^ upon their enemies, under the trumpets. Both thefe, I am afraid, are too fancifully devifed, and the expreffion, prayers of all fmnts^ is un- luckily too comprehensive to be confined only to martyrs : likewife the notion, that the fiknce in heaven for half an hour alludes to the temple fervice, when the people prayed filently without, during the time that the prieit burned the incenfe in the fanftuary, will hot accord with the defcription, becaufe, the filence for half an hour, feems to have been before the incenfe was given to the angel to offer. I therefore think we have a more fure and fuf- ficiently important meaning, by un- derftanding the great filence in hea- ven, of a folemn and fignificant paufc, ( 252 ) CHAP, paufe, to roufe and command atten« VIII. |.^Qj^ ^^ j-j^^ awful fcenes that were foon to be mtroduced ; and which were quickly announced by Jre taken from the altar and cajl upon the earthy which occafioned voices^ and thunders^ and lightening^ and an earthquake^ the emblems of fore judgements ; and likewifeby underflanding thefilence to denote a certain period of reft and quiet ftill remaining, before thefe awful judgements commenc- ed. On the other hand, I think the learned Vitringa goes to the oppofite extreme, in confining the feventh feal, to the filence in heaven for half on hour, which he under- Ilands of the peaceful ftate of the church after the fall of antichrift ; and confiders the trumpets as be- ginning a new feries of prophecy. Notwithftanding there is certainly not ( 263 ) not the fmalleft hint of a new ferics, but every mark of a continuation of the former, as the connexion of the paflage plainly flicws. We ftiall therefore proceed to the interpretation of the circumftan- ces that were exhibited on founding the trumpets. CHAP. ] VIIT. j The _ ( 264 ) THE SOUNDING OF THE FIRST TRUMPET. CHAP. Ver. 6. And the /even angels which ^^^^* had the /even trumpets^ prepared them." felves to found. Ver. 7. The Jirjl angel founded ('), and there folloived hail^ and fire mingled njDith bloody and they njoere cafi upon the earthy and the third part of t?'ees was- burnt upy and all green grafs was burnt up. The (") Among the Jews, trumpets were not only ufed at their folemn and joyful religious feftivals, butlikewife as the iignal of war, and the call to go forth to battle : fee i Cor. xiv 8. The found of a trum.pet, therefore, \i properly employed in this prophecy, as the prelude of calamity, devaf- tation and woe. ( ^65 ) The feven angels, here fpoken chap; of, are not properly angels, but the viii. minu1:ers and inftruments of the divine judgements upon the earth. The plague of the firft trumpet, confifted in a terrible ftorm of hail and lightning mingled with blood. Blood fliowered down from hea- ven may appear a very unnatural, though, at the fame time, it mull be allowed to be a very fignificant and awful emblem : but, not to mention that the prophetical images are not confined to what is natural, this defcription is not fo extrava- gant, as fome may imagine. Show- ers, apparently of blood, are well attefted to have fallen in different places ; water has appeared to be turned into blood : and the re- fearches of modern times have ena- bled us to explain the caufe, L 1 The C 206 ) CTTA?. The diligent Swammcrdan re- s^^y^yf^^^ lates, that, as he was fitting one day in his cabinet, he heard a great rumour and alarm among the peo^ pie. When he had enquired into the caufe of it, he found it was oc- calioned by the water of Leyden being turned, as they thought, into blood : but by an examination of it he found, that the change of colour w^as derived from the greenifli red monocukis, a minute animal, found in it in great numbers : juft as the luminous appearance of the fea, by night, at certain times, has been lately dilcovered to be caufed by the nereis noftiluca. But, not to infift on obfervations oh this kind, no emblems can more fir6nglv reprelent the impetuous violence of a fierce and bloody ene- my over-running and dcftroying a country, than thofe which are here employed ; ( ^^^1 ) employed ; a ftorm of hail and light- iiing which produces fadden and great deftruftion. This mingled with bloodj indicates great ilaugh- ter, as well as devaitation. We have therefore a ftrikins: accom- plifhment of the prophecy of the firft trumpet^ in the irruptions of the barbarous nations into the Ro- man empire, which happened at this period, and the deftru<5lion and milery which they produced. But, as I confider the firft four trumpets to be a prophecy of- the four re- maining fteps of the fall ot the Roman empire, till its final Extermi- nation, I confine the firft trumpet to the calamities which itliifFered from Alarie. About the year 395, Alaric at the head of his native Goths and other barbarous people, by the in- fti^ation of Rufinus, the ambiti- ous minifter of Arcadius, who grafp- ed CHAP. VIII. ( 26S ) CHAP, ed at fovereign power, laid wafte ^^yy^ all Thcllaly, Pannonia, Macedonia, and Thrace ; and entering into Greece, thefc barbarians commit- ted the greateft cruelties wherever they went, putting all to the fword who attempted the fmalleft refift- ance, and lending the whole wealth of the rich provinces, and even the women and children who fell into their hands, to the diftant countries from w^hence they came. They likewife laid wafte the whole coun- try bctw^een the Adriatic and the Euxine fea ; the wretched inhabi- tants, to efcape death or captivity, hiding themfelves in dens and caves of the earth. Some years after this, there were likewife dreadful earth- quakes in moft provinces of the caft : the cities of C onftantino- pie and Chalcedi^n were violently fliaken; many houfes were bu^nt with ( 269 ) with lightning ; and the fea, over- flowing its banks, laid whole pro- vinces under water. In the year 400, the Goths, who had been driven out of Greece by Stilicho, ruflied into Italy under their general Alaric, and Radagaifus king of the Hunns, and ravaged the country to a wide extent. Their flay in Italy at this time, however, was not long ; but, two years after, Alaric invaded that country anew, and finding no army to oppofe him, he laid vvafte the provinces of Vene- tia and Liguria, and made imperial Rome itfelf to trem^ble. But Stili- cho marching his troops unex- peftedly into Rhsetia, gave him bat- tle at Pollentia, and reduced him to fuch difficulties as obliged him to fue for peace. In the year 404, the barbarous nations again invaded Italy, led on by C 270 ) viu. ' ^y Radagaifus, king of rhe Hunns; ^^"-'''v^ Their number was very great ; fo -lie writers reckoning it not Jcis tlim four hundred thoufand. The lords who commanded them, are faid by a contemporary writer, to have been not lefs than twelve hundred. The news of their approach made all Italy and Rome to tremble. Sti- licho, however, fell upon them with his troops unexpeftedly, and gained a complete victory ; an hun- dred thoufand of the enemy being flain in battle : the remainder he af- terwards befieged among the moun- tains of Fefula^, to which they had fled, and reduced them to luch llraits, that Radagaifus their leader, in attempting to make his efcape, fell into Stilicho's hands, and was put to death : his men, deferted by their leader, and deititute of pn?vi- fions, funk into defpondency, and gave ( 271 ) gave themfelves up to the Romans in fuch numbers, that they were fold Uke beads at a crown a head ; but being infefted with difeafe, in confequence of the famine which they endured in the mountains, they all died in the courfe of a few days. The empire, however, obtained but a very temporary relief from calamity, even by this extraordi- nary viftory ; for, at the end of tlie year 406, the Alans, the Vandals, and the Suevi, broke into Gaul, and committed dreadful ravages : they carried Mentz by ftorm, de- llroyed the city, and maffacred many thoufands of the inhabitants. They likewife took, and laid in aflies, Worms, Strafburg and Spires ; and over- ran and wafted the whole coun- try, from the ^Ips to the F^renees^ and from the Rhine to the Ocean, In CHAP* VIII. ( 272 ) GHAP. In the mean time, the Roman army viii. y^^^y^ in Britain revolted, and chofc Con- ftantine, a private foldier, to be emperor; who, paffing over into Gaul, foon made himfelf mafter of all that country, and was at laft ac- knowledged by Honorius as his col- league. Not long after, Italy was again alarmed by Alaric and his barba- rians ; and Rome itfelf was fo clofe- ly belieged, that a famine and pefti- lence began to reign in the city, by which the inhabitants were reduced to the utmoft extremity, and at laft obliged to fend out deputies to treat with Alaric, who, for a great price, agreed to raife the fiege. He retired with his army to Hetruria, from thence, after a fliortftay, the empe- ror being unwilling to fulfil the treaty, he returned to Rome, and blacked it up a fecond time. Having made { 273 ) made himfelf mafter of the caiftle ^yifi^' at the mouth of the Tiber, where Vs-rrO all the public provifions were lodg- ed, the gates of the city were im- mediately thrown open to him. He obliged the inhabitants to renounce their allegiance to Honorius, and to acknowledge Attalas, prefect of the city, for emperor. » In the year 410, a dreadful fa- mine raged in Italy : the people, for want of bread, 'were reduced to the neceflity of feeding upon chefnuts, and the famine ftill increaiing, hu- man flefli was publicly fold, and even mothers were faid to have de- voured their own offspring. In the mean time, Alaric, irri- tated by a new provocation, appear- ed again before the imperial city, blocaded it on every fide, and at laft carried it by affault. The fol- diers were allowed to plunder the M m inhabi- via. ( 274 ) CHAP, inhabitants, but were ftrlflly en- joined to fpare their lives, except- ing thofe whom they found in arms; and above all, not to pollute the churches, by fliedding the blood of thofe who had fled to them for re- fuge. Thus, on the 24th of Auguft, in the year 410, that proud and lofty city, which had triumphed over fo many nations, and extended its do- minions over all the known world, was taken by a barbarian, who had fcarcely a foot of ground which he could call his own ; and having en- riched herfelf, for many ages, with the fpoils of the plundered nations, flie fuflered in her turn the fame ca- lamities which flie had fo often brought upon others. After plun- dering the city for feveral days, the foldiers fet it on fire, and reduced it to a heap of aflies ; many of the inhabitants ( 2/5 ) inhabitants likewife were murder- ci^ap. ed, notwithftanding the orders of \J^^ the general ; and a dreadful ftorm of thunder and lightning faPing upon the city, completed its ruin and increafcd the horror of the fcene. How apt and awful an arcom- plifhment have we then, in this hif- tory, of the prophetical emblems which are here made ufe of! As a proof that they exprefs fuch events as thofe to which we have applied them, we may obferve, that the ancient prophets defcribe fimilar calamities by the very fame em- blems. Thus Ifaiah defcribes the invafion of Ifrael by the king of Affyria, chap. xxix. 6. Behold the Lord hath a mighty ajid ftrong one^ which as a tcivpejl of hall and dejlroyhig Jlorin^ as a jfiood of mighty waters overflGWing^Jhall cajl ( 276 ) CHAP, cafl down to the earth with the band : VIII. *^ i^y^^ and lizek. chap. xiii. 1 3. prophefy- ing againft the ill tempered wall of peace which the falfe prophets had raifed ; Thus faith the Lord God, I will even rent it with a Jiorm of wind in my fury, and there fhall be an overflowing fhower in 77iine anger, and great hailflones in my fury to confume it ; that is to fay, this wall of peace fhall be broken down by a powerful and furious enemy, who, like a violent ftorm, fliall carry all before them. And thus, the hail and the fre mingled with blood, which followed the found- ing of the firft trumpet, aptly de- note the dreadful calamities which took place in that period which we have now been reviewing; while the third part of the trees being burnt up, and all the green grafs, indicates the deflrudlion which came upon all ranks, ( '^ll ) ranks, high and low ; trees denot- chap- ing: perfons of high rank, and the ^^^^• grafs the common people (*;. (*) Forbelius underftands the judgement an- nounced by this trumpet, to be upon the church ; and the fire, to be the fire of contention, pro- ducing the frigid hail of contracted affections, and the cold rains of felf-love. The blood mingled with thefe, he takes to be, either the Gentile perfecutions, or the cruel contention under Conftans, Conftantius, and Valens. Durham underftands this trumpet, of the im- pious herefy of Arius, which was both very pef- tilent in itfelf, and ftained far and wide with the perfecution of the oithodox. Mede, Bifliop Newton, Jurieu, and others, underftand it, to be a judgement upon the empire, as above. The learned Vitringa explains it of difeafe, famine, and fword, coming upon the empire, efpecially between the times of Trajan and Gallienus ; but including likewife any other periods at which they may have happened ; and thus making the accomplilhment of prophecy ioofe and uncertain. Several other commentators think that the occur- rences in the Roman empire, are too mean an object for the fpirit of prophecy to pay {o great attention f 278 ) attention to in this and the preceding vlfions ; not coniidering that this great empire was the fubje^l of prophecy from early times i as we fee in the book of Daniel ; and again, in after times, in the writings of the Apoftle Paul, to whom it was declared, " that the man of fin fhould not be revealed, till it, (i. e. the Roman empire,) fhould be taken out of the way." How reafona- blc then to fuppofe, that a detail of his rife and progrefs, fhould be preceded by a defcription of the various fteps by which that empire fhould be brought down to deflru(Slion. THE ( 279 ) THE SOUNDING OF THE SECOND TRUMPET. Ver. 8. And the fecond angel founds CHAP. ... . , VIII. ed^ and as it were a great mountain burn- 1 ing with fire was cafi into the fea^ and the third part of the fea becajue blood: Ver. 9. And the third part of the creatures which were in the fea^ and had life^ died; and the third part of the foips were defiroyed^ A mountain is a natural emblem of ftrength j a mountain in motion denotes ftrength coming againft thofe towards whom it is direfted ; and a burning mountain in mocionis oneof the moftawful emblems of de- ftrud:ion that can well be conceived. Ihis V^Y^^ ( 28o ) CHAP. This burning mountain was caft Into CX^ i>-^^ fi<^7 that is, among the people; as the fea, in the language of pro- phecy, denotes. // turned the waters into blood; denoting great flaughter : arid killed the third part of the creatures that were in the fea^ and had life ^ and de- Jiroyed the third part of the fiips ; mean- ing, that the riches and ilrengthof the empire were greatly injured by it. This emblem, I conceive, to have been fully verified in Genferic, king of the Vandals, when, at the defire of the Emprefs Eudoxia, to revenge the death of her huiband, he came over with a great fleet from Africa, having 300.000 men on board, in- vaded Italy, and took and pillaged Rome itfelf. He and his people re- mained fourteen days in the city, not only plundering private houfes, but ftripping the public buildings of ( 28l ) of their precious ornaments, and chap^ even the churches of their facred ^^^^.J^ vellels. They took a vaft number of captives : Genferic himfelf for- ced the imperial palace, and feizing on the treafure and rich furniture with which it was ftored, put them on board a veffel to be carried to Africa. The Emprefs Eudoxia and » her two daughters, v»rere compelled to follow the conqueror. Having thus fpoiled the city of all its wealth and valuable orna- ments, among which are faid to have been the facred veflels which Titus had formerly taken out of the Temple of Jerufalem, he fet fail, and returned with his fleet to Africa. The fuccefsful attempts v>^hich had now been repeatedly made upon Italy and Rome, and the weaknefs with which they had N n been ( 282 ) CHAP, been oppofed, invited the barbar- K^^^^^Ysif ^^^ nations to make frefli inroads upon the empire. Thefe were evils which Genferic drew in his train, and therefore are to be taken into the accomphftiment of the prophecy which we are now ex- plaining. Let us turn our eyes then, for a moment, upon thefe dreadful calamities. About this time, the Burgundi- ans, who had been removed from the banks of the Rhine, and had long dwelt among the mountains of Savoy, feized upon the fouth of Gaul, and made themfelves mafters of Lyons The Vifigoths likewife, under Theodoric their king, having almoft wholly reduced Gallicia, en- tered Lufitania, fubdued fevcral of its cities, and even Merida itfelf, the metropolis. Returning to Gallicia, they committed great cruelties in the ( 28 ) the city of Aftorga, into which they had been admitted in a friendly manner ; they plundered and mur- dered mofl ol: the inhabitants, fet fire to the city, and carried into captivity all whofe lives they had fpared, both clergy and people. In the year 459, an army of Vifi- goths, lent by Theodoric into Spain, wafted the province of Boetica ; while the Suevi over-ran Gallicia upon the fouth, putting all the in- habitants to the fword. The lame year, the city of An- tioch in the eaft, was almoft utterly' ruined by an earthquake. The year following, the Roman fleet was attacked by the Vandals in the bay of Alicant, with luch fuc- cefs, that moft of the fliips were taken, and carried in triumph to Africa, Not CHAP. Vlli. CHAP. VIH. ( 284 ) Not long after this, Genferic gained another fignal vidlory over the Roman fleet, on the flibres of Africa. He burnt many of their fliips, took feveral more, funk others, and obliged the reft to fave thcmfelves by flight. By thefe difaftrous events, the empire was fo wafted and weaken- ed, that it was now faft hurrying on to its fall. And the whole of the period now under confideration, was a feries of fuch fevere, fuch awful, fuch general calamity, as corxies up in every refpec^t to the ftrong emblematical description by which it is here reprefented C.\ {^) Bifiiop Newton underfrands the events which accompanied the fciuiding of this trumpet, to reprefent thofe calamities which were produced by^ the ccr.quefts of Atiila, and his incurficns into ( 285 ) into the empire. Hence, from the order of events, he is obliged to interpret thofe which followed the next trumpet, with no propriety, of Genferic king of the Vandals. Durliam explains this of the lofty ambition of ecclefiafdcs, and their hot contentions about the primacy, after the council of Nice. THE ( 286 ) VIII. THE SOUNDING OF THE THIRD TRUMPET. . CII AP. Ver. 1 o. j^^jd the third angel found- ed^ and there fell a great Jlar from hea- ven^ burning as it were a lamp^ and it fell upon the third part of the rivers^ and upon the fountains of waters : Ven I I. ^nd the name of the far is called Wormwood : and the third part of the waters became ^wormwood \ and many men died of the waters ^ becaife they were made bitter. I cannot think, v^ith the learn- and ingenious Mede, tliat the circumftance which attended the founding of this trumpet, figni£ed the depofition or degradation of Au- guftulus, ( 287 ) guftulus, whom he fuppofes to be CHAP* repreiented by the great ftar which ^^^^^O fell from heaven. Upon this fup- pofition, no good account can be given of its falling iipo7i the third part of the fountains of waters^ or, of men dying of the waters^ becaufe they were made bitter. That interpreter himfelf feems fo fenfible of this^ that he does not attempt any ex- planation of that circumflance, and thereby leaves the mind of the rea- der quite unfatisfied. Neither cati I think with Bifliop Newton, that this emblematical reprefentation has a reference to Genferic, king of the Vandals ; for with no propriety can he be reprefented by a flar fal- ling from the imperial heaven^ as he never belonged to it. But if we underftand it of Ricimer, and of the mifchiefs which he did to the empire, we fliall find, I prefume, a very ( 288 ) CHAP, very apt and adequate accomplidi VIII. ment of the whole of the defcrip- tion. This Ricimer was a very ex- traordinary cha rafter. Though he feems to have been of Gothic ex- traction, he ferved from his youth in the Roman armies, and acquired fuch reputation for his warHke achievements, that at length he was raifed to the higheft dignities ; being made commander in chief of all the Roman forces in the weft, patrician, and fon-in-lawto the em- peror.. But his ambition was un- bounded and daring ; he prefumed to create and depofe emperors, at his pleafure ; and, excluded by birth from affuming the purple himfelf, he delighted in fhewing that he could embroil thofe who wore it. Impelled by the irreliftable force of his ambition, he murdered four emperors ; three of whom had been raifed ( 289 ) i-aifed by himfelf to the throne. At chap, laft, elated with his vidlory over w^^j!^ Genferic, whom he had utterly de- feated at fea, upon the fliores of Corfica, and afraid of the emperor Anthemius, whom he had raifed to the crown in oppofition to the de- mands of Genferic, he openly re- volted, and at the head of the bar- barians in the Roman fervice, be- lieged Rome, where the emperor then was. The citizens, notwith- ftanding the famine and plague which forely afflidled them, made a vigorous reliftance, expelling fuc- cours out of Gaul under the com- mand of Bilimer, who haftened to their relief. Bilimer at length ar- rived with a confiderable army, but was totally defeated by Ricimer^ who, encouraged by the vidlory he had obtained, prefTed the fiege more ftrenuoufly, till at laft, entering by a O o breach ( 290 ) breach into the city, he wafted it with no lefs fury than Alaric or Genferic had done, allowing his nien not only to plunder, but to commit all manner of cruelties. He caufed Anthemius his father-in- law to be put to death, and Oly- bhus to be proclaimed emperor in his room. Here then we have a charafter in whom iheftriking emblems that attended the founding of this trum- pet, feem to be completely realized. By the high rank and authority which he held in the empire, he may be confidered as a ftar in the imperial heavens ; by his revolt, he appears, as a ftar fliooting out of its place: he is properly called njuorm- wood on account of the bitter fuffer- ings which he occafioned : and, al- though Italy and Rome were the chief ( 291 ) chief fcene of his operations, yet, Chap. in his revoh he may be faid to have ^'^^^« fallen upon the rivers^ and fountains of water^ as it was a great encourage- ment to the depredations and cruel- ties of the barbarians, in the pro- vinces, by which their ivaters were made hitter^ and many died. His example, likewife, excited the revolt of the other barbarians in the Roman fer- vice, w^ho chofe Odoacer for their leader. By him, Auguftulus the lafl: emperor was flripptd of the impe- rial dignity, and put into a ftate of confinement. After this, he cauf- ed himlelf to be proclaimed king of Italy, and thus put an end to the very name of empire in the weft. Thus, Italy and its proud me- tropolis, which, for fo many ages, had given law to the world, was enilavcd ( 292 ) CHAP, enflaved by an obfcure barbarian, VIII. u r -1 1 • s^y^^.-^ whoic family, country, and nation, are not certainly known. This revolution happened in the year 476, TH£ . -j ( 293 ) THE SOUNDING OF THE FOURTH TRUMPET. Ver. 1 2. And the fourth angel Jhtind- edy a?id the third part of the fun was fmitten^ and the third part of the moon^ and the third part of the Jiars ; fa as the third part of them was darkened^ and the day fhone not for a third part of ity and the night likewfe. The former trumpet brought us to the death of Ricimer, and the degradation of Auguftulus. This announces the total extinftion of the Roman Government: an event which is exprcfled, by a third part of the fun being fmitten^ and a third part of the moon^ and a third part of the fl^rc ; on ( 294 ) CHAP- or, in other words, the fun, moon, ^J;^ and ftars being (mitten, in a third part of the world : meaning the Roman empire. The fmiting and darkening of the heavenly bodies, fignifies, in the language of pro- phecy, the falling of kingdoms, and the deftruclion of governments : thus, Ezekiel defcribes the deflruc- tion of the kingdom of tgypt, chap, xxxii. 7, 8. This extinction of the Roman government did not happen till the deftrudlion of the kingdom of the Oftrogoihs in Italy, in the year 556 : after which, that country was go- verned with an abfolute fway, by the lieutenants of the Emperor of the taft. The firft of thefe was Longinus, fcnt thither by the em- peror Jullin 2d, who changed the whole form of government, abo- ' lifhed the ienate, the conluls, and all ( 295 ) all the former magiflrates, and ap- chap. pointed a new governor in every ^^^^^^. city ; over all of whom he prefided Under the title of Exarch of Raven- na, the place where he had his re- fidence. Thus, the Roman Government was finally deilroyed, its lights were extinguiflied, Rome itfelf was de- graded to a poor dukedom, and even made tributary to Ravenna, which fhe formerly had govern- ed («)• Ven (*) Durham interprets this fourth trumpet, of the great decline of learning, and learned men, in the church, in the fixth century ; and of the darknefs of error, when the ancient herelies were revived, particularly the Eutychian, which the emperor Analtafius approved and cherilhed : then too, primitive zeal and piety were greatly eclipfed. Vitrlnga llkewife refers it chiefly to the church ; but he fixes the period to which it belongs towards the clofe of the fourth century, between the rife pf arianifm, and the fpoiling of the CHAP. VIII ( 296 ) Ver, 13. And I beheld, and heard an angel Jly'tng through the m'ldjl of hea-- ven^ faying with a loud volce^ Woe^ woe^ woe to the inhahiters of the earthy by reafon of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to found. This vifion is an awful notice to the Roman church and people, now fallen into great corruption, of the much heavier judgements, which their increafing wickednefs was yet to bring down upon their guilty heads, under the three trumpets which were yet to found. THE the empire by the Goths : this he feems to have done, chiefly with a view to interpret the next trumpet of the irruptions of that people, and the calamities they produced. At this time, however, he thinks the majefty of the empire was degrad- ed ; and the lights of the church, the patriarchs and the bifhops, figured by the moon and the ftars, were obfcured by ignorance and corrup* tion. ( ^91 ) THE SOUNDING OF THE FIFTH TRUMPET. CHAP. IX. Ver. I. And the ffth angel founded, CHAP. and I faw a Jlar fall from heaven unto \^\cs^ he earth : and to him ivas given the key of the bottomlefs pit. Ver. 2. And he opened the bottomlefs pit ; and there arofe a fmoke out of the pit^ as the fmoke of a great furnace ; and the fun and the air were darkened by reafon of the fmoke of the pit. ~ ' Ver. 3. And there came out of the fmoke locufs upon the earth : and unto them nvas given power ^ as the fcorpions of the earth have power, Ver. 4. And it was commanded them that they fioould 7iot hurt the grafs of the P p earthy ( 298 ) CHAP, earthy 71 cither any green things 7ieither any »^_^. tree ; but only thoji men which have 7iot tht feal of God in their foreheads* Ven 5, And to them it was given that they Jloould not kill thcm^ but that they _ Jldoidd be tormented Jive mo7iths : and their tormc7it was as the torment of a fcorpion^ ivhen he friketh a man. Ver. ^6. and in thofe days Jh all men feck death ^ and Jhall not find it ; and fh all defire to die^ and death Jhall flee from them. Ver. 7. And the fhapes of the locufls were like unto horfes prepared unto battle ; and on their heads ^ were as it were crow7ts' like goldy and their faces were as the faces of men, Ver. 8. And they had hair as the hair of women ^ and their teeth were as the teeth of lions, Ver. g. And they had breaflplates^ as it were breafiplates of i7'on ; and the foimd of ( 299 ) of their whigs was as the found of cha- CHAP; riots of many horfes running to battle. Ver. I O. And they had tails like unto fcorpionSy and there were fings in their tails : and their power was to hurt men five months, Ver. If. And they had a king over themy which is the angel of the bottomlefs pity whofe name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddouy but in the Greek tongue he hath his name Apollyon. Ver. 1 2. One woe is paf ; and be-- holdy there come two woes more hereaff. ter. Commentators have comldered this vifion as particularly obfcure, and difficult of interpretation : yet, it feems to receive a very probable meaning, and a very adequate ac- compliftimcnt, when it is under- floodof the inroads of the Saracens into the Roman empire; and of the dreadful IX. ( 3^o ) CHAP, dreadful dcvaftation which they \,yy^ produced, Tbe Jiar falling from hea^ ven will not, indeed, apply to Maho-f met, as he never was a teacher, either in the heaven of the church, or of the empire. But why may we not underftand it of the old fer- pent himfelf, who was once in hea- ven, and fell from it by his apof- tafy ? He is fitly reprefented as a Jlar that had fallen from heaven ; and when the great Lord of all, is pleafed to permit it, has with great propriety, the key of the hottomlefs pit given to himy to let forth his emiffa- ries upon the earth, The fmoke that rofe out of the pit^ denotes the dark deiufion of Mahometanifm which then arofe, and which, by the groll- nefs of its errors, darkened the fun and the air. The locufts that came out of the fmokey were the vaft legions of Saracens, who were infected with ( 30I ) with that delufion, and who had CHAP, power given them to produce great ij^ deftruftion in the empire. Their being commanded, mA to hurt the grafs of the earthy neither any green things neither any tree ^ myftically fignifying neither fmall nor great, probably refers to the orders of their leaders, who ufed to give them inftruc5lions of this kind ; which affords an in- ternal proof, that the prophecy be- longs to them. Their tormenting 7nen for five months^ alludes to the length of their warlike campaigns, which were not commonly beyond that period ; another internal evidence that this is the true application of the prophecy : and the mifery to which they reduced their number- lefs captives, made men weary of their lives ^ and to feek death when they could not find it. The crowns of gold wihich they had on their heads^ denote their turbans ( 302 ) CHAP, turbans adorned with gold ; and their ^^^y^ hair as the hair of women^ refers to the long hair which that people delight- ed to wear, and which they plait- ted, and ornamented, in various ways. The Jlings in their tails^ may be referred, either to their barba- rities, and the dcvaftation which they every where left behind them ; or, to the poifon of their dodlrine, which they carried along with them, wherever they went- The king whom they had over them^ can be no other than the old ferpent, the deftroying angel, who releafed them from the pit ; as appears from his very names, Abaddon^ and Apollyon^ which fignify a DeJ}royer\ a proof that our interpretation of the Jlar that fell from heaven^ is juft. When all thefe circumftances are confider- ed, it feems rather furpriling, that commentators Ihould have found this ( 3^3 ) this prophecy fo difficult of applica- chaP. tion ; as there are fcarcely any of the ^^• prophecies of this book, that have been more minutely fulfilled. It likewife agrees exactly to the order of time in which the feveral vi- fions are arranged ; for it was in the year 606, that Mahomet began to affume the charafter of a prophet. His flight from Mecca to Medina, from whence the Hegira is comput- ed, was in the year 622, Then he announced to his difciples, that his religion was to be propagated by fire and fword. Accordingly, the year following, he fet the example of this, in robbing and plundering all who would nor fubmit to him, and embrace his religion. His fini adventure, was his attacking and beating the traders of Mecca, though guarded by a thoufand men. In his perpetual wars, he comforted ( 304 } ciikV, comforted the friends of thofe who iX. W,<*^v%^ had fallen in battle, by alluring them, that, as the time of life was determined by God, they died no fooner than they muft otherwife have done : and moreover, as they died fighting for the faith, the crown of martyrdom, and the joys of paradife, would be their ever- lading and diftinguifhed recom- penfe. Atlaft, about the year 631, this arch-impoftor died, having taken the cities of Mecca and Medina, and fubdued almoft the whole of Ara- bia : thus eftablifliing a new religion and a new empire, with a more rapid and extenfive progrefs, than, had ever, till then, been known. After his death, the Saracens be- came the fcourge and depredators of Afia, Africa, and Europe. They took Damafcus ; reduced Egypt and Syria ; ( 30S ) Syria ; befieged and took Jerufalcm ; chap* laid wafte Armenia, and conquer- yi^^ ed Africa. But they were chiefly deftrudtive in their incurlions into the Roman empire. The hiftory of thefe, however, would require a much larger detail than can be inferted here. Let it therefore fuffice, in general, to ob- ferve, that they not only lett the inhabitants in great mifery, depriv- ing them of their property and means of fubfiflence, but they fometimes even tortured on the rack, thofe whofe lives they had fpared. Well then might the torment which they infli6ted, be compared in this prophecy to ibe torment of a fcorpion when he Jlriketh a man. We are told, v. 12. that one woe is pajl^ in the accomplifliment of the laft trumpet, but that two more Q^ q woes ( 3o(J ) CHAP, woes come hereafter meaning, in the IX. . . , ^^^^^.^ two remaining trumpets that were to found (*). (=*) The learned Vitrlnga underflands this trumpet, of the irruptions of the Goths, under Alaric and Ataiilphus, which, by the order of thefe prophecies, obliges him to go into a very unnatural and forced interpretation of feveral of the former, without pollefling any fuperior ad- vantage to recommend it. Mr. Durham, again, explains the locuJIs, of the corrupt and deflru^live monks, and their kifigj of antichrifi: ; not confi- dering, that, as the judgement of this trumpet fell chiefly upon idolaters, and thofe that were funk in fuperftition and corruption, it is not like- ly, that he or his inftruments would torment perfons of this defcription. Cluverus, following the ancients, underflands this trumpet, of here- tics and their falfe dotTcrine : thus giving the emblem a meaning which is quite unknown in fcripture ; locuJIs being ufed there only to iignlfy deftroying armies j and the emblem is certainly very apt, whether we coniider their vaft num- bers, the fwiftnefs of their progrefs, or the de- vaftation which they produce ; the land where- ever ( 3°7 ) fver they come, though as the garden of Eden before them, being as a barren wildernefs behind. It is an amazing inftance of the power of God, and very humiliating to human pride, that he can make fo weak and contemptible a creature, an inftrument of deftrui^lion to man. This indeed is often effected by means even of the fmallefl of the animal creation. The celebrated Linnecus concludes an efTay upon infects with this rem.ark ; " Thefe are the armies of the Moft High, to punifh difobedient nations. Every band has its orders to fulfil, in the diftribution of reward and punifhment. If he decree to chal- tize mankind, a ilngle fpecies of thefe animals is multiplied as the fand of the fea, who perform, their divine commiffion. Is the grafs of the earth to be cut off.'' Many legions of the Phal?ena Craminis arc at hand •, one kind deftroys corn, another devours our pot herbs, another our cheefe and our meal, another our flefii meat, another our clothe^, another the ribs of fliips. But who can enumerate their multiplied tribes ? The Supreme Difpofer of all things, gives his command to thofe minute animalcules, the Sirones, and the whole man becomes one loath- fome contagion. Not to mention thofe m.inifters of difeafe and death which bring down upon us the plague, the fmall pox, the fpotted fever, and other infecliouS;>. ( 3o8 ) infedlious, and fpreading diforders." From thefe obfervations we may fee with what propriety any, even of the meaneft of the animal creation, may be employed as emblems of a deftroying army : but of all the tribes, none couid be more fitly chofen than the locufi:, both from the qua- liti*f:s formerly mentioned, and from its martial appearance in making its inroads, and from the ar- mour, both oficnlive and defeniive, with which it is furnifhed, its body being covered with a kind of coat of mail, and its limbs armed with fawSo THE ( 309 ) THE SOUNDING OF THE SIXTH TRUMPET. Ver. I 3. And thefixth angel found- CHAP. ed^ and I heard a voice from the four \,^^-y%J horns of the golden altar which is before God^ Ver. 14. Saying to the fixth angel which had the trumpet^ Loofe the four an^ gels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. Ver. 15. And the four angels were loofedy which were prepared for an hour^ ^nd a day^ and a month ^ and a year^ for to fay the third part of men. Ver. j6. And the ?iumber of the ^eirmy of the horfemen were two hundred thoifand thoufand : and I heard the number of them* Ver, ( 3IO ) CHAP. Ver. 17. Jnd thus I fciw the horfes \^Y^^ ^^ ^'^^ i^///o;/, ajid them that fat on them^ having breajlplates of JirCy and of jacinEl^ and brimflone : and the heads of the horfcs ivere as the heads of lions : and out of their vioiiths if lied frey and fmoke^ and brhn- Jlone. Ver, 18. By thefc three was the third part of mankind killed^ by the fire^ and by the fmoke^ and by the brimfone^ which iffiied out of their mouths^ Ver. 1 9. For their power is in their mouthy and in their tails: for their tails were like unto ferpents^ and had headsy and with them they do hurt. Ver. 20 And the rcfl of the men ivhich were not killed by thefe plaguesy yet repented not of the works of their hands y that they fhould Jiot worfoip devils y and idols of goldy and filvery and brafsy and floney and of wood: which neither can feCy nor bear^ nor walk .- Veh v-ryO ( 3" ) Ver. 2 1. Neither repented they of their murders^ nor of their forceries^ nor iX. if their fornication^ nor of their thefts. The prophecy of this trumpet has received fo exadl an accomplifli- ment, in the incurfions of the Turks into the empire, and the ravages which they committed, that I think it not only unneceffary, but impro- per to feek for another. The four angels^ denote the four kingdoms, or governments, into which the Turks v^ere divided, when thcyfirll crofled the Euphrates, and invaded the neighbouring regions of Afia and Syria : or, perhaps, more ftridl- ly, the kings, or princes who pre- fided over them. Thefe feveral go- vernments bordered on the Euphra- tes ; one feated at Bagdad, another at Damafcus, the third at Aleppo, and the fourth at Iconium. They were ( 3'2 ) CHAP, were reftrained from extending ^^^_i their conquefts to any diftance, which the prophecy expreffes, by the angels being bound in the river Eiiphra- tes. 'The reflraint was impofed on them for a confiderable time, by the arms of Tamerlane the Tartar conqueror; flill longer, by their own civil wars ; and by the Cru- faders, or, as Mede pleafantly calls them, the Chriftian Argonauts, who in their expedition to Jerufalem, having vanquiflied Soliman, Sultan of the Turks, drove them back to the Euphrates (^J. They (*) The whole period of this reftraint, the prophecy exprelTes, by an hoiiry and a daxy and a monthf and a year ; which Mede, and others, underftand of the time which was limited for the Turkiih conquefts j but which is more naturally interpreted of the hour, and day, and month, and year, when they were permitted to carry de- vaftation and mifery into the furrounding coun- tries. ( 3^3 ) They were at that time formed cHaP. into one great government, known ^^• fince by the name of the Ottoman empire: fome account of which, and of its conquefts here referred to, I fliall give in the words of the celebrated hiftorian, of the decline and fall of the Roman empire. " The Ottoman empire," fays he(*), R r " began tries. Therefore, they are faid to have been pre- pared unto the hour, and day, and month, and year, *°' »r5i/*a,',a£yoi £/j Tjjy «^av x.r. X. mcanino- the precife time when they were to be loofed, or allowed to go forth. This fhews us how the armies of the princes of this world, are prepar- ed of God, to accomplifh the ends of his provi- dence, and are entirely under his direction and controul. How fecure and happy then, are the people whofe God is the Lord ! The greateft power upon earth fhall not be able to hurt them. No power upon earth, ever fent forth fuch armies of cavalry, as the Turks have done, yet they could not ftir one foot till the angel was fcnt tO' loofe them. (*) Chap. Ixlv. ( 3^4 ) " began under the Caliph Othman^ about the year 1^199. The circum- ftances of the time and place were propitious to his independence and luccefs. The Seljukian dynafty was no more ; and the diftance and de- cline of the Mogul khans, foon enfranchifed him from the controul of a fuperion He was fuuated on the verge of the Greek empire : the Koran fancSliCed his holy war again!! the infidels ; and their poli- tical errors unlocked the paffes of Mount Olympus, and invited him to defcend into the plains of Bithy- nia. " Iji the year 1 299,Othman firfl in- vaded the territory of Nicomedia. 'i he annals of the 2-th year of his reign, exhibited a repetition of the iair c inroads ; and his hereditary trc ops V ere multiplied in each cam- paign, by the accefLon of captives and ( 3^S ) and volunteers. Prufa furrendered, in his old age, to the anus of his fon Orchan. " All the troops of Othnaan confill- ed of Turkman cavalry ; who ferved vi^ithout pay, and fought without difcipline: but a regular body of infantry was firft ellabliflied and trained by the prudence of his fon. He like wife formed a train of bat- tering engines for the ufe of fieges ; and the firfl fuccefsfui experiment was made on the cities ot Nice and Nicomedia. He vanquifhcd and wounded the emperor Andronicus the younger ; and he fubdued the whole province, or kingdom, of Bithynia, as far as the fhores of the Bofphorus and Hellefpont. The inaiitime country, from the Pro^ pontis to the Mseander and the Ifle of Rhodes, was finally loft about the 30Ch year of Andronicus the cMerv ( 3i6 ) elder. The captivity, or ruin, of the feven churches of Afia, was confummated ; and the barbarous lords of Ionia and Lydia, ftill tram- ple on the monuments of clafTic andChriftian antiquity. In the lofs of Ephefus, the Chriftians deplored the fall of the firft angel, the ex- tindlion of the firfl candleflick, of the Revelation : the defolation is complete ; and the temple of Diana, or the church ot Mary, v^ill equally elude the fearch of the cu- rious traveller The circus and the three ftately theatres of l.aodicca, are now peopled with wolves and foxes ; Sardis is reduced to a mifer- able village ; the God of Mahomet is invoked in the mofques of 1 hya- tira and Pergamus ; and the popu- loulnefs of Smyrna is fupported by the foreign trade of the Franks and Armeiiians, ( 2>n ) Armenians. Philadelphia alone has CHAP, been faved. Encompaffed on all iJfj fides by the Turks, her valiant citi- zens defended their religion and freedom above fourfcore years ; and at laft capitulated with the proudeft of the Ottomans. In the year 1 341 the Turks firft entered Europe : and in the reign of Amurath I. in 1360, their conqueils were rapid and extenfive. That vidlorious prince fubdued, without refiflance, the whole province of Thrace, from the Hellefpont to the Hxmus, and the verge of the capital. The Sclavo- nian nations fubmitted to his power. But after the battle of Caffova, when walking over the field in all the pride of victory, a Servian foldier ftarted from the croud of dead bo- dies, and Amurath was pierced in the belly with a mortal wound. '' His C 3^8 ) CUA.V, " K^s ^^^y Bajazet I. invaded, ^^- with impartial ambition, the Chrif- tianand Mahometan prnices of Eu- rope and Afia. Whatever yet ad- hered to the Greek empire, in Thrace, Macedonia, and Theffaly, acknowledged a Turkifli mailer. In the battle of Nicopolis in 1396, Ba- jazet defeated a confederate army, under Sigifmond the Hungarian king, confining of an hundred thou- fand Chriftians, who had proudly boafled, that if the iky Ihould fall they could uphold it on their lances. The far greater part were flain, or driven into the Danube : and Sigif- mond, efcaping to Conftantinople, by the river and the Black Sea, re- turned, after a long circuit, to his exhaufted kingdom. A body of 1000 French knights had joined Si- gifmond ; many of them fell in the battle 5 and thofe of them who had ( 3^0 ) had furvived the flaughter of the ^.jj^p day, were, excepting only twenty- IX. four, led before the throne of the tyrant, and as many as refufed to renounce their faith, were fuccef- fively beheaded in his prefence. " In the year 1400, Tamerlane made war againft Sultan Bajazet, and checked his ambitious deligns. He invaded Syria, facked Aleppo, reduced Damaicus to afhes, and eredled a pyramid of ninety thou- fand heads on the ruins of Bagdad. Marching into the heart of the Ot-^ toman empire, he defeated, and took prifoner, Bajazet, in the me- morable battle of Angora. The haughty Sultan is faid afterwards to have been carried about in an iron cage, on a waggon, in Tamer- lane's perpetual marches. In 1405, the conqueror of Afia was met by the angel of death, in the neigh- bourhood ( ,32^ ) bourhood of Otrar, when he was carrying his victorious arms into China* " In 1422, Amurath II. bcficged Conftantinoplc, but without fuccefs, though the Turkifli cannon were firft pointed againlt its walls and bulwarks. The final conqueft of that city, and with it the extin6lioa of the Roman empire in the eafl, was left to be acc6mplifhed by his fon, Mahomet II. The inftruments of deilruftion, which had been pre- *pared by this ambitious tyrant, were the moft tremendous that had ever appeared in the world. A Da- nifh, or Hungarian deferter, is faid to have call that enormous cannon, which required a ball of ilone of fix hundred pounds weight, was drawn by fixty, fome fay feventy, yoke of oxen, and which, when it was firft difcharged by way of ex- perimenr^ ( 321 ) periment, alarmed with the Ihock chap- of the explofion, thofe who were yl^^ upwards of twelve miles diftant. The city was at length befieged, both by fea and land ; fourteen bat- teries thundered at once upon its walls ; the ancient engines of de- flruclion were likewife employed. But the Greeks made a vigorous and obftinare refiftance. I mean not to enter into a detail of the circum- fiances of this daring and bloody enterprife. Let it fuffice to obferve,^ that after a fiege of fifty-three days j the proud metropolis of the eaft was entirely fubdued : thoufands were inftantly cut to pieces by the barbarians ; and the laft Conftan- tine, having prudently call away the purple, fell imdiftinguiihed, and was buried under a mountain of flain. The plunder of the houfes and of the churches was immenfe ; S f but f 3^2 ) but the number, and lituation of^ the captives were mofl afFefting. No regard to rank or (ex was paid by the unfeeling conquerors. Fvcn the neareft kindred were not allow- ed the melancholy comfort to fpend their miferable days together. They were rudely torn from each others embraces ; and above fixty thoufand of that devoted people, were dif- perfed in diftant iervitude through the Turkifli provinces." Thefe conquerors, like the for* mer, are reprefented with flings like fcorpions, intimating, that they would alfo endeavour to inftil the poifon of their falfe religion where- ver they went ^*> {') Lowman objefls ftrongly to this Interpre- tation of the prophecy, becaufe it places its ac- compUfhment far too late for the order of thefe predictions, (that is to fay, the order which he eftabhflied,) and therefore he is obliged to divide th& ( 3^3 ) ^ the hiftory of the incurfions of the Saracens Into two parts, and to apply the preceding vifion to the former, and this vifion to the latter. The fym- bolical defcriptions are fo diverie, that they feem plainly to denote two di{lin»5t people, fimilar indeed in fome things, but very different in others , on this account he is obliged to give a different turn to the very remarkable prediction of the ufe of gun-powder in this viHon, becaufe he applies it to a period long before its invention. He therefore fuppofes the fire, and fmoke, and brimftone, iffuing out of their mouths, to denote only the terror of their appearance when marching to war : a fenfe too general and inadequate for an inquiring mind to acquiefce in : and though it has been objected, that the fire, and the fmoke, and the brimftone, are improperly reprefented as comifig cut of their mouthsy yet, nothing can be more natural than this reprefentation, when we confider them in the attitude of riding up againft an enemy, and firing their pieces a:5 they went. :hap. ( 3H ) CHAP. Xo Ver. I. ^nd I faw another mighty aJigel come dow7i from heaveft^ clothed with a cloudy and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the fun^ and his feet as pillars of fire. Ver. 2. And he had in his hand a little book open : and he fet his right foot upon the fea^ and his left foot on the earthy Ver. 3, And cried with a loud voice ^ as ivhen a lion roareth : and when he had cried^ fven thunders uttered their voices. Ver. 4. And when the fven thun^ ders had uttered their voices^ I wjs about to writCy and I heard a voice from hea^ veny { 3^5 ) ven^ faying unto me^ Seal up thofe tbiiigs cviK!? which the /even thunders uttered^ and write ^• them not. Ver. 5. And the angel which I fanxx Jland upon the fea^ and upon the earthy lifted up his hand to heaven^ Ver, 6. And /ware by him that liveth for ever and ever^ who created heaven and the things that therein arCy and the earth and the things that therein are^ and the fea and the things which are therein^ that there fhoidd be time no longer : ^ Ver. 7. But in the days of the voice ef the feventh atigel^ when he fhall begin to founds the myfiery of God fhould be finifhed^ as he hath declared to his fervants the prophets, Ver. 8. And the voice which I heard from heaven fpake u7ito me again and faid^ Go^ and take the little book^ which is open in the hand of the angel which flandeth upon the fea and upon the earth. Ver. ( 32^ ) CHAP. Ver. Q. And I went unto the anve!^ X and fald unto h'lm^ Give me the little bock. And he /aid unto me^ take it^ and eai it up : and it foall make thy belly liiicry but it Jhall be in thy mouth fweet as ho- ney, Ver. lo. A7id I took the little book out of the angeV s hand^ and ate it up ; and it was in my mouth fweet as honey : and as foon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter. Ver. II. And he f aid unto me y Thou viufl prophefy again before many peoples^ and nations^ and tongues^ and kings. K has been much difputed by commentators, what is to be under^ Hood by the Httle book, which the apoflle faw in the angel's hand : whether it was a book of prophecy, or the gofpel revelation, or the re- maining part of the fealed book, or a different one, Mede fuppofes that ( 327 ) that it contained the occurrences of Providence refpeJling the church, as tlie other did refpefting the em- pire ; and he thinks it goes hack again to the apoftle's time ; ground- ing this opinion, upon wh^t is cer- tainly a very flight foundation, that the apoftle was told, that he muft prophefy again before many peoples, &c. Thofe who hold it to be the gofpel revelation, give no fa- tisfying account of the apoftle being commanded to eat it, and of its being fweet in his mouth, but mak- ing his belly bitter. They make it indeed, to fignify the fcriptures be- ing given to the people at the time of the reformation, becaufe it is re- prefented as open in the angel's hand ; and yet none but the apoftle was allowed to take it from him ; which, upon this interpretation, looks rather as if it were to be con- fined CHAP. X. CHAP, fined to the office-bearers in the ^^^J^ church. With refpeft to the angel ; when we confider the magnificence of the defcription, and its fimilarity to that of the Saviour, in the firfl chapter, and to that of God fitting upon the throne, in the fourth, and that he is called an angel, a defig- iiation of office, there can be little doubt that the fame divine perfon, the Lord and Saviour himfelf, is here to be underilood. His /wearing by him that liveth for ever and ever, can be no objeftion to this interpreta- tion, v/hen wx find God himfelf fwearing to confirm his promife, Heb. chap. vi. 17. This glorious perfon fet his right foot on the fea, and his left foot on the earth, intimating, that the world, and all things in it, were fubjedt to him 3 and he cried with a loud voice as when a lion 7-oareth : the word which is here employed, is C 329 ) is that which donotes the lowing of an ox ; but it has been obferved by nacuralifts, that, when the old lions have taken any prey, they call up m their young, wich a cry like the lowing of a cow ; and in- deed from Sparman's account of the roaring of the lions, there feems to be a conliderable liniilarity be- tween their founds : he expreffes the found of the lion's roaring, by the two vowels uo no ; fo chat the in- accuracy, if there be any, of ufing the other expreflion, muftbeof the flighreft kind : rather, perhaps, it is chofen on purpofe, to denote venge- ance and deftrudlion But, what is of more importance to be confider- ed, when he had cried ^ feven thunders uttered their voices^ and when the apof- tle was going to write what the feven thunders uttered, a voice from heaven commanded him to fed them T t" up (33^) CHAP, up and not to write them. It is thought \^^^^^L; by fome expofitors, that thefe thun- ders, in the courfe of the following p^edidtion, are opened, as they ex- prefs it, into diftinft voices. But they muft have been diftinft voices at firft, otherwife it is not eafy to conceive how the apoftle could write them : with regard to their after opening, it feems to reft upon no folid foundation, for there is not the fmalleft mention of them in any future predidlion. It has been much inquired, what the meaning of thefe thunders is ; though fome have en- deavoured to check this inquiry, by remarking the impropriety, or rather prefumption, of fearching into what God has ordered to be fealed up. But the learned Vitringa Ihrewdly obferves, that if God did not mean that wefhould know any thing of thefe thunders, he would not ( 33^ ) not have revealed any thing by- John refpeding them, but paffed over the whole in filence. This author, therefore, after inquiring into their myfterious import, thinks he has not only unfolded it, but likewife has difcovered the reafon why it was to be fealed up, and not written : and indeed it mult be con- feffed, that the manner in whieh he underflands, and applies, their meaning, is very plaufible and ftrik- ing. He confiders thunders as the emblems of unexpected events, that were to fall out like lightning and thunder, filling all places with noife and confternation wherever they were : and he applies them, in this paflage, to the crufades, or the ex- peditions which were carried on to the Ho^y Land by the European na- tion, to deliver it out of the hands of the Saracens and Turks. Thefe^ he ( 332 ) CHAP, he obferves, by the noife, and ter- X. ^^,^^y^ ror, and calamity, which they oc- cafioned, poffeffed all the characters of myftical thunders. Thefe com- motions were fo great, that they feemed to fliake heaven and earth. In the Councils in which they were decreed, particularly the Clermont, under Urban II. and the Lateran, under Innocent III. fuch was the concourfe of people of all ranks, and fo great the commotion, the bufinefs was carried with fo much noife, and with fuch acclamations of all, that the lion never roared fo loud and terrible. Thefe expedi- tions, likewife, were fo new, and flrange, and remarkable, that hif- tory, ancient or modern, has Icarce- ly any thing that can be compared wuth them. Befides, it will not be denied, that in thefe extraordinary motions, there was an evident dif- play { Z2>i ) play of the Divine judgements. It. cilAP. appeared from the event, that thefe -^• expeditions deftroyed a very great, and an almoil incredible number of people. They emptied Europe, at ' that time abounding in population, of many hundred thoufands of its inhabitants, who miferably perifli- ed, either by the guiles of the Greeks, or of the Saracens and, Turks, or in battles and fieges, or by ftorms at fea, or by the leverity and, hardships of their marches. At the lame time the Saracens and Turks, in this obftinate war, fufFer- ed inciedible damage, and many fore difafters, and were deprived for a time, of the moft flourifhing part of their empire in Afia. Here is a certain depth of Divine judgement, which we are altogether unable to ^ fathom. God puniflied the blind fuperflition of the Franks, by the Saracens ( 334 ) CHAP. Saracens and Turks; and now he ^^^If fubdues tbeir ferocity by the Franks ; and teaches them that he is at no lofs for a rod to chaftife and rcllrain them. But what is remarkable, and particularly to our purpofe, is, that the expeditions by the weftern croi- faders, were exadtly feven in num- ber. The firil, that celebrated one of Hugo the Great, the brother of Philip king of the Franks, and of Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lor- rain, and of other princes of excel- lent valour, who led a chofen army into Afia, in the year icgb. The next, that of Conrad IIL emperor of Germany, and Louis Vil. king of France, in the year 1J47. The third, that of the emperor Frederic Barbarofla, in the year 11 89. The fourth, that of Philip Auguftus, king of France, and of Richard, king of England, in the year dqi. The ( 33^ ) The fifth, that of the Flemings and CHAP. Venetians, under Balduin and Dan- v^^„^*^^ dalo. The fixth, that of Andreas, king of the Hungarians, in 1217- 18. The feventh, that of Louis IX. in the year 1248. And may it not be afligned as a reafon, why God would not have thefe efFefts and confequences of the thunders writ- ten, that, although they were me- morable events, they could not be more fully recorded, without dif- turbing the prophetical account of other occurrences, of much greater moment to the church, from the contemplation of which, God would not take off the attention of the reader of this prophecy. Nor were thefe expeditions worthy of being more fully narrated, as they were undertaken in folly, and terminated in difafter and difgrace. This is confeiled even by their hiftorians themfelves. C-'^r^ ( 33^ ) CHAP, themfelves. William of Tyre, ill the preface to his hiltory, obferves, « there is nothing that occurs in the deeds of our princes, which a wife man would reckon worthy to be committed to memory.' The declaration which the angel voluntarily confirmed v/ith an oath, in the terms of our tranflation runs thus, '' Tbat there Jhould be time no lon^ gcr; but, perhaps more agreeably to the original words (^J, That the time Jhall not he yet ^ or, as fome critics ren- der them, that delay Jhall not be longer ; either way the meaning is the fame ; namely, that the time of taking vengeance upon the enemies of the church, was not yet arrived, but that it Ihould take place at the founding of the feventh trumpet : or, according to the laft renderings Delay ( 337 ) Delay of that vengeance fliould chap, be no longer than the iounding of ^• the feventh trumpet; for then the myftery of God fliouhl be finiihed ; the great myilery of fo long permit- ting the prevalence of corruption and oppreilion : then the time vv\ould certainly come, when the dead^ that is, the dead vci2.xtyxs^ fiould be judged^ or avenged, a?td vohen God fiould re- vuard his faints^ and them that fear his name^ frnall and great ^ and fiould de^ Jlroy them which dejlroy the earthy chap. xi. 1 8 That the little book which the angel had in his hand was a book of prophecy, is evi- dent from the apoftle being direcft- ed to eat it^ as the ancient pro- phets ate their prophecies, that is, attentively perufed them, and pon- dered them in their thoughts. 7 his the apoftle did ; and it was in his month fweet as hofiey^ d'nt it made his belly U u bitter J ( 338 ) biiter^ intimating, that the events which it contained, were partly pro- fperous and partly adverfe, occafion- ing a mixture of joy and grief ; and not, as commentators have thought, that the mere difcovery of future events was the caufe of his joy ; for fuch a difcovery had been long fa- milar to him in the courfe of thcfe vilions. In confequence of his eat- ing this book, it was faid to him, Thou muji prophefy again before many peoples^ and nations^ and tongues^ and khigs. Commentators have much per- plexed and bewildered themfelves, in determining what to make of this little book, even when thev agree in confidering it as a book of prophecy. In confequence of the notions they have entertained re- fpe6ting it, they have divided the whole of the Revelation into two parts ; ( 339 ) parts ; one of wliich they call the ftal prophecy, and the otlier, the book prophecy: forgetting that the former was a book prophecy, as well as the latter. Nor has it been an cafy mat- ter to determine the contents of this little book, what they are, and where they are to be found. Vi- tringa overthrows completely the fcheme of Mr. Mede, who fuppofes that the little book goes back to the fame period when the former com- menced, and predicfts the fate of x\vt church unto the end of time, by obferving, that, according to Mede's own fcheme, the prophecy of this book is introduced between the fixth and the feventh trumpet, and confequently before the former feries is concluded, which not only is highly improbable, but throws the whole into confufion. The truth is, that the contents of the little CHAP. X ( 3P ) CHAP, little hook are no where related, X. ^^^^Y^ nor do we know, but by conjcc5lure, of what they conlifted. It feems to have been meant folely for the apoille's ufe, and perhaps contained fuch a defcription of thofe events whicli he afterward beheld in vifion, as might enable hirn more clearly to underirand them. This, indeed, feems to have been the chief intent of this whole vifion, and was pro- bably matter of more importance ' than we are apt to imagine : for, what deferves to be remarked, we find, that, after all, an angel was fent down from heaven to fliew hirn many things, and to explain many things to him, which he would not otherwife have underftood. CHAP. ( 34« ) CHAP. XL Ver. I. And there was given me a cHAPa ' reed^ like unto a rod ; and the angel Jlood^ ■^^' \ faying^ Rife^ and meafure the temple of Gody and the altar ^ and them that worjhip therein. Ver. 2. But the court which is with- out the temple leave out^ and meafure it not ; j for it is given unto the Gentiles : and the \ holy city fhall they tread' under foot forty ' and two months. \ In thefe and fome following verfes, we have a lively defcription of a time of deep corruption in the weftern church, and of great diffi- culty C 342 ) CHAP, culty and danger to the faithful \^rY\j fervants of God, who muft now fe- parate from that corrupt body, and fuffer all the violence of their re- fentment and enmity. By the em- blem of the apoftle meafuring the temple and the altar, but leaving out the court which is without, is llrongly intimated, that God was now about to make a vifible dillinc- tion, between his faithful fervants, and thofe corrupt profelTors of Chrif- tianity, who had profaned the tem- ple of the Lord, by pagan and idolatrous worfhip, and polluted it by their abominations and ciuelties. The meafuring reed which was given him, denotes the word of God, with which the church was to be mea- fured, that every thing in it might be according to the pattern fliewn in the mount of revelation ; while the outer courts or that great body who had ( 343 ) had fo long aflumed the name of ^^^^p^ the church, was to be rejefted ; its xr. whole extent, and even what was called the holy cit}\ being given unto the Gentiles^ meaning thofe corrupt and paganifed profelTors, who Jloould tread it under foot forty and two prophetical months (^), or 1 260 years. During this period, the true church was for the moft part fcarcely vifible ; being cither fliut up within the walls of the fandluary ; or, according to ano- ther vifion, concealed in an obfcure retreat in the wildernefs, whither Ihe had fled. But even in this time of darknefs and corruption, witnelles for the truth fhould be raifed up. Ver. 3. And I will give pozver unto my tzvo witneJftSy and they fhall prophefy a thoufand (*) Prophetical months ; months of 30 days, and in which each day is accounted a year. XL ( 344 ) CH AP thoufand two hundred and three/cere days^ clothed in fackcloth, Vcr. 4. Thefc are the two olive trees ^ and the two candlejllcks Jlandhig before the God of the earth. In this prophecy, the Spirit of God fpeaks of the witnelies to the truth, as two, in allufion to the tefti- mony which the law requires ; and prohably, as would feem from the following part of the dcfcription, in more immediate allufion toZeru- babel and Jofhua ; for they are re- prefented as two olive trees ^ full of the precious doftrine of the fpii it of truth himfelf, fimilar to Zechariah's vifion, chap. iv. 3. and as two candle^ flicks plenteoufly fupplied with the oil of this precious doftrinc, and fending forth its light and comfort in the midft of furrounding dark- nefs ; thereby flicwing the grofs errors V.-orO ( 345 ) errors and corruptions in which c^ap: mankind were held ; and doing; the ^^' fame office in a fpiritual fenfe, in building up the temple of the Lord under the reign of myftical Baby- lon, that Zerubabel and Jofhua did under ancient Babylon. We are further informed refpeft- ing ihefe witneiles : Ver. 5. ^/id if any man will hurt them ^ fire proceedeth out of their mouthy and devour eth their enemies-; and if a?iy man will hurt them^ he mufi in this manner be killed, » Here commentators have juftly obferved, that theie witnefles are compared to fome of the greateft prophets in ancient times, and par- ticularly to Mofes, and Elias, who brought fire upon the enemies of God, and confumed ihem. We X X mufl ( 346 ) CHAP, muft not conceive, however, that XI. \^y^ this was done by the witnejfTes in a ftridl and literal fenfe ; but only that they denounced the awful judgements of God, fitly repre- fentedbyfire, againft thefe wicked perfecutors : and therefore the fire of thefe judgements, thus denounc- ed, is with great propriety, repre- sented as com'mg out of their mouths. It is ftill further declared refpedling them: Ver. 6. Thefe have power to fiut heaven^ that it rain not in the days of their prophecy ; and have power over waters to turn them to bloody and to fmite the earth with all plagues^ as often as they will. The allufion to Mofes and Elias is ftill kept up, as every one who knows their hiftory will obferve. But we muft underftand this in a fpiritual C 347 ) fpirimal meaning, as an intimation, that, in the time of their prophecy, there fhould be a great want of the heavenly evangehcal doArine,in theperfecutingantichriftianchurch; as there was great want of rain to the IfraeHtes in the time of Elias. This doftrine is often, in fcripture, compared to rain C) ; and therefore it is here myltically fo reprefented. Likewife, they have power over waters to turn them into blood : their falutary doftrine, through the wickednefs of thofe who rejedl it, being made the occalion of war and llaughter, by perfecuting men, which at laft turned to their own 4^fti"u6lion ; " God giving them blood to drink, for they were worthy." Rev. xvi. 6* Laftly ; they had power to finite the earth with all plagues ^ as often as they would* The CHAP. XI. (*) Ifa. V. 6. and Iv, ii, ( 348 ) CHAP. The prophets are often faid in fcrip- ^^y^ ture, to do the things which they prcdlSl and denounce. Thus God fays to Ifaiah, when he was to denounce the awful judgement ot fpiritual blindnefs and ftupidity upon the IfraeHtes, chap. vi. lo Make the heart of this people fat^ and make their ears heavy ^ and font their eyes ; lejl they fee nvith their eyes, and hear with their ears^ and underfand with their hearty and convert and be healed. This explains the meaning of the witnefles fmiting the earth with all plagues : namely, by denouncing them againft the wick- ed, as from the mouth of God, who remarkably, and awfully, accom- plifhed what they had fpoken : and this w^as bpaight about apparently with fo great facility, that they feemed to be able to do it as rften as they pkafcd. Yet, notwithflanding this tremendous power, what is very ( 349 ) very remarkable, and fhews at once ghap, the malice aiid intatuation ot their ^^• enemies, and the length they ihouid ^ be permitted to go, thcnigh they Ihould not finally prevail, it is faid; - i Ver. 7. y^;;// when they Jhall have Jjtiijljed their tefilmciiy^ the beojl that \ aft € tide I h out of the bottomlefs pit fhall -^ make war againfi ihem^ and foall overcome I them, and kill them, i "Ver. 8. Atid their dead bodies foall i lie in the fi^eet of the great city^ which fpiritually is called Sodom and Egypt ^ where \ alfo our Lord was crucifed, \ Ver. g. And they of the people^ and j kindreds^ and tongues^ and nations fhall fee their dead bodies three days and an half \ and fall not ftffcr their dead bodies to ■ be put in graves. ■ Ver, ! o. And they that dwell upon the earth foall rejoice over them^ and make \ merry^ ( 35« ) CHAP, merry ^ and fiall fend gifts one to another; ^^*^ becaufc thefe two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. The meaning only is, when they fmll be finifhing their mourning tef- timony, and ready to put off their fackcloth, for we fhall fee them contuiuing their teftimonyftill, the beaft, who is afterwards defcribed as afcending out of the abyfs, for John had not yet feen him, was to make war againft them, and over- come them, and kill them By the Beafl here, we arc to underftand the Romifti antichrifl, in all the debafe- ment of his fuperflition, and in all the height of his favage tyranny. At the period here referred to, he perfecuted thefe witnefTes with fuch fevere and unrelenting cruelty, that they were evidently borne down, and at lafl difappeared as perfons deadj; ( 351 ) dead; being apparencly deftroyed ^^^^p^ by the violence of the perfecution. •^^• But not fatisfied with rooting them out from the earth, thcfe wicked men treated their memory with the greateft abhorrence and contempt ; here fymboHcally cxprefTed, by ex- hibiting their dead todies three days and an halfy a fliocking and loathlome fpedlacle, in the moft piiMic Jlreet of the great c'it}\ which fpiritiially is called Sodom a?id Egypt^ where alfo our Lord was crucified This is a flrikin^ de- fcription of myftical l^ahyl :)n, by fome of its prominent features : it is called Sodom^ becaufe of the abo- minations of which it is full ; and it is called Egypt^ becaufe of its cruel oppreffion and perfecution of the people of God. It feems like- wife tacitly to be compared to Jeru- falem, that devoted city, where alfo •ur Lord wa's crucified. Their bodies . are ( 25^ ) CHAP, are reprefented as lying in the ftreet V.^ry-L/ ^^ ^^^^ great city three days and an half, which cannot be undcrftood literally, becauTe the time would be too (hort tor them that dwelt upon the earth, meaning their pcrfecutors every where, ^a rejoice over them, and to fend gifts one to ajiother, and to make merry. \i, therefore, it denotes a de- finite time, we miift underftand it at leaft to be three years and a half, a day for a year, accordmg to the language of prophecy. But the fpirit of the predidion feems to be, that this Ihould be a time of great affli6tion to the church, which fliould then be in iheloweft ftate of depreffi(^n ; the witneiTes for the truth being perfecuted and flain, almofl: as fc^on as they appeared. Some have thought that it was not the enemies, but the friends of the witnefles, who would not fuffer their CHAP. \^y^^^ ( 3^3 ) their dead bodies to be put in cjrives, But thefe perfons are dcfcribed as xi. theyof the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, adefcription which, in the language ol* this pro- phecy, denotes the ilibje6ls of Anti- chrift. Thus they are explaiied ro John exprefsly, chap, xvii 15. "The waters which thou faweft, where ihe whore fitteth, are peoples, and mul- titudes, and nations, and tongues.'* But what is mod remarkable of all ; while their enemies were looking upon them, afid rejoicing that they were unable to torment them any more, by awakening the horrors of confcience within them by their faithful teltimony ; they were fecn to revive : Ver. II. ^nd after three days and an halfy the Spirit of life from God entered into theniy and they flood upon their feet ; Y y and ( 354 ) CHA.P, mid great fear fell upofi them which faw The Spirit of life from God eiitered into them^ and they flood npen their ftet ; the meaning is, they were raifed up and honoured to bear teftimony again : this is myftically, to be refo?-^ ed to life, wlien they are revtored to their office of witneffing ; their mouths being again opened, which for a time had been ftiut in filence. Their teflimony to the truth, like- wife, was dehvered with great power ; for God in his wonderful providence, when all things feem- C(l to be in a hopclefs condition, quickly raifed tip learned and pious men, and endued them with the fame fpirit with which the perfe- cutcd and flain witnelles of Chrift had been moved; they, to the great terror of their adveriaries, taught the ( 355 ) the fame dodrine, and profelled CHAP* the fame faith that the witnefles ^.^^^ had done: they propofed anci vindi- cated the truth with fo much evi- dence and boldnefs, that the former witMefles might with great proprie- ty be faid to live in them. Belides all this ; the favour of God wonderful- ly protected them, lo that their ene- mies \yere not able to huit them. This, the following words fymbo- lically and magnificently declare ; Ver. 1 2. And they heard a great voice from heaven^ faying unto them^ Come up hither. And they afcended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. Their enemies beheld them, no doubt, with rage and diiappoint- ment, when they were placed en- tirely out of their reach. 1 caiiiioc tniiik^ ( 356 ) thirk, vith incft corrrr.cntators, thiu the wiincffes here, derived their fecuiity from an arm of f e(h ; it was fiom the wonderful inteijcfi- tion, and prot(<5lion of God, by whom even ihe greateft earthly povver*^, were reftrained fiom hurt- ing them. This divine intcrpofi- t'on, as it better fuits the emblem of their being taken up to heaven in a cloudy fo would it be much more confentaneous to the nature of the Redeemer's kingdom, which, he ex- prelsly te'Ls us, is not of this world, and therefore he wQuld not allow his fervants to fight. But while the faithful witnefles of God v^ere thus wonderfully preferved, the judge- ments of heaven were poured forth upon their enemies ; for, Ver. 1 3 l^he fame hour there was a great earthquake y and the tenth part of the city ( 357 ) 0ity fell, and in the earthquake were fmn qy{^ of men feven thoufand : and the remnant ^^' were affrighted^ and gave glory to the God 0f heaven. In that fame hotlr ; that is, much about that time, there was a great earthquake; an eaithquake, in the language ot prophecy, denotes com- motions and changes m the rtates and governments of this world; and the fliakmg was fo great that a tenth part of the city (^meaning myfti-* cal Babylon; fell By a tenth part, we are to under ftand a conliderable part ; called a tenths probably in al- lufion to the ten kingdoms of which myiHcal Bahylon was made up. ' This tenth part of the city y^//; it fell, in the fenie of falling off from Babylon, and being loft to its inte- reft; and in the earthquake^ meaning the great change which it produced, were ( 3S8 ) CHAP, ijoere Jla'in of men f even thoufajid ; in the \,^f-^r^^ original it is names of men^ which may lignify perlons, or individuals. Accordingly, Bcza renders the words capita hominum^ heads of men. But as John writes much in the Hebrew idiom, he moft pr()bai3ly means inen of name, that is, men of rank* and diftindlion ; efpcciaily as the de- ftrudlion ot fucli a number of them, involving that of a much greater number of the common people, is an efFe<5t more adequate to the great- nefs of the cauie ; only leven thou- fand being too few to have fullered in the tall of the tenth part of that vail city Thi. ir behig JJain, however, in he myMical language of prophe- cy, may, perhaps, only fignify, that they peri/hed in refpeB of their rank, dif tiuElion, and ojices, 1 he remnant, it is, faid, were if righted, and gave glory to the^God of heaven: a plain evidence that ^.yy^sJ ( 359 ) that this cannot be, as Mede thinks, CHAP, the fame prophecy with that of the xi. fihh vial ; for there *' the people repented not, but blafphemed God, becaufe of their plagues, and of their lores " This prophecy concludes with the following fignificant exprelli- ons ; Ver. 14. The fecond woe is pq/l ; and^ behold^ the third woe cometh quick" ly* Words which clearly determine that the prophecy belongs to the time of the lixth trumpet, to which we fliall fee that leveral of the judgements of the third woe muft likewife be referred. This inrereding prophecy, fo far as it refpefts the flaying of the wimefTes, and their being revived, and ( 3^0 ) CHAP. ^^^ taken up ro heaven in a cloud, ^^ feems ftiU to wait for its accomplifh- rnenc. We have feen, indeed, the temple meafured, in the church's e- mcrgingtrom corruption, while the outer court was delivered over to the Gentiles to be trodden down of them: and we have ieen taithhil wimefles raifed up from time to time, to teftify againil the prevail- ing corruption ; but we have not yet feen the extindion of the witnef- fes. or the laft fufferings of the church, which the full meanmg of the prophecy undoubtedly denotes : for, after the witnefles were (lain, they revived, and were taken up to heaven in a cloud, in the fight of their enemies ; and immediately there was an earthquake, and the feventh trumpet founded^ and the kingdoms of this world became the kingdom of our Lord and of his Chrifl ; nothing that has ( 36i ) ! has yet occurred in hiftory comes chap. up fo the meaning oi this defcrip- ^'- \ ... v^^vO I tion. The flaying of the witnefles i of pre-r tended friends, or from the daring attacks of profefled enemies, Ver. 6. And the woman Jled into the wil'iernefs, where Jhe hath a place prep ar'- ed of G'd that they Jhould^ feed her there a thoufand two hundred and threefcore days. Here we are informeH that, nor- withllanding all the malice and fury ( 3S2 ) CHAP, fury of the dragon, the true church , ^ * herieli (liould iikc\»'ilc be nrelci vcd upon the earrh ; although !"d-ed, for a long fime, in a very ol>lcnre and oppreffed concHn»)n ; tor ti^e ' woman fled i/ito the wiuicrnefs, an cx- preffion denoiing a ictreai irom enemies, and danger; and there, as in a place prepared ot God for her, flie was wonderfully protected and fuftained, for the fpace of one thoufand two hundred and tliFee- fcore years ; a day, as almoil all ex- pofitors agree, being here put for a year. Ver. 7. Aftd there was war in hea-^ vcn^ Michael and his angels fought againjl the dragon^ and the dragon fought and his ungeh ; Ver. 8. /^^h'i prevailed not ; neither was their place any more in heaven, Ven ( 3^3 ) Vcr. 9 ^/?^ the great dragon was CHAP. tajl out. that old ferpcnt called the devil^ v^U«»-/ xind Satan^ which deceivcth the whole world : be w. js cafi out into the earthy and his angels were cajl out with him. We learn from thefe verfes, that, dviring tlvis period, a hard conflidt was maintained by the fairiitul fol- lowers of Chrift at^ainfl: iher ene- mies. This Vv^as reprefented to the mind of this apoflle under the aw- ful figure of armies fighting in the flcy. On the one fide was Vlichael, the prince of tlie people of God, the crptain of falv^aaon, attended by his angels; on i\\^ other fide, the dragon and his angels. But thele were uueqiia] to the conreft, and, far from prevailing, were dri- ven totally off the field, fo that they had no pi ice in heaven .ray more. Tills evidently denotes, in th^ language of ( 3^4 ) CHAP, of prophecy, a diminution of power, XII y^^^y^ and a declcnlion of authority ; and that too, as immediately appears, in a humiliatit g degree; for the great dragon himfelf, even that old ferpent, the origin of all mifchief and evil, who is emphatically ftiled th^ devil, the calumniator, the accu- ferof the people of God, and *S'^/^/;, their inveterate foe, who, to ufethc language of Daniel in another cafe, hud wcixed greats in the inftruments of his power and his malice, even to the bojl of heaven^ he was cafl down to the earth, and thefe his angels, with him, Ver. lo. And I heard fcontinues the apoftle,) a loud voice faying in hea- ven^ Now is come falvation^ and flrength^ and the kitigdom of our God^ and the power of his Chrifl ; for the accufer of our IrethreH ( 385 ) brethren is cojl down^ which acaifeth them cHAP, before God^ day and night, Ver I T. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb^ and by the word of their te/limony ; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Ver. 12. therefore rejoice^ ye heavens^ und ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth mid of the fea I for the devil is come down unto you ^ having great wrath ^ becaufe he knoweth that he hath but a fhort time. The vidlory, which the chureh obtained under her glorious king and head, ic is natural to fuppofe, would not pafs uncelebrated. But it is remarkable that the fong of triumph was heard only in heaven ; probably for this reafon, that the faints on earth had new fuflerings to encounter. Neverthelefs, it was the period of the commencement C c c of XII. ( 376 ) CHAP, of the church's deliverance, and y^^^^_^ therei-ore, with great propriety, it was announced and celebrated, as we have already heard, by the faints '^j above, who have more ex- tenfive views of the plans of Pro- vidence than we. This was intend- ed for the encouragement and com- fort of the church militant on earth, at the time to which it refers. The manner in which they obtained this vi^lory is likewife ce- lebrated, and the heroifm which they difplayed ; for, continues this heavenly long, They overcame him by the (*) Though this fong feems to have ftruck the ear of the apoftle as uttered by one loud voice, vet, there is no room to doiibt that it arofe from the united and harmonious voices of many ; pro- bably, of the whole redeemed fociety in heaven : that it v9-as not fung by angels is evident, for they who uttered it fpeak of the faints on earth as their brethren ; but we no where read of fuch a relation fubfifting between angels and men. ( 387 ) - the blood of the Laml^ by the faith of chap. which they were fupported and ani mated, under their greateft fuffer- ings ; and by the word of their tcflimony^ which carried an energy along with it that overpowered the enemy : and, penetrated by the lively fcn- timents of redeeming grace, they loved not their lives unto the deaths but cheerfully refigned them in their mailer's caufe. In confequence of this fignal viftory, and the pro- fpefts of providence which it laid open, the cekilial fpirits^ confifting both of- angels and of glorified faints, are called to rejoice, fo that the heavens themlelvcs might re- found. But the concluding part of this fong gives intimation to the in* habitants of the earth and of the fea, that the devil was come down unto them in great wrath ^ knowing that his time was- hut fjort. This is, by tar, the moil difficult ( 388 ) CHAP, difficult part to explain. By the in" \,^ry^sj habitants of the earth and of the fea^ we cannot here underftand the enemies of God and of his people, as is commonly fuppofed : thefe are cer- tainly not the objedls of the devil's perfecuting rage : his fury is point- ed againft the church ; and there- fore the true fei vants of God muft be the perfons who are here intend- ed. The defeat and degradation which he had fuflered on their ac- count, tended only to exafperate him the more againft them ; and the apprehenfion which he felt that his reign would be but floor t^ inflamed his relentment to a high degree. But why are they defcribed as the inhabitants of the earth and of the fea^ which has been thought to Itidicate that they were of a worldly charac- ter ? This is the circumftance which has milled expofitcrs. It is, how- ever ( 389 ) ever, only intended to mark the chap, \ IT place ot their abode, as within the ^J^^^ limits of his authority ; either more immediately within the body ot his empire, or in the diftant or mari- time provinces. Ver. 1 3. u^nd when the dragon faw that he was cajl unto the earthy he perfe* cuted the woman which brought forth the man child. Ver. 14. And to the *wo7nan *were given two wings of a great eagle^ that Jhe might fiy into the wildernefs^ into her place ^ wihere Jhe is nourijloed for a timCy and times ^ and half a time^ from the face &f the ferpent. Ver. r^. And the ferpent cajl out of his mouth water as a food after the wo-* inan^ that he might cauje her to be carried away of the food. The efFedls of the dragon's en- raged malice, and the future fuf- ferings ( 390 ) CHAP, ferings of the church arlfmg from ^^^ it, arc here molt ftrikingly defcrib- ed. He immediately fets himfelf to perfecute the woman which had brought forth the man child. He had, however, no fmall difficulty in accompHfliing his aim : for, as will afterwards appear, the woman, long before this time, was in her wildernefs ftate, and therefore the expreffions that are here made ule of, ought to be thus rendered ; Bia to the woman bad been given f^ two whigs of J great eagle^ fo that JJoe had fed into the wildernefs^ into her place ^ from the face of the ferpent : and there Ihc was nouriflied i-or a time^ and times^ and half time^ that is for three years and a hall" : each year being, agreea- ble to ancient computatioUjjSodays ; aud (=*) The norlil: is here put for the pUip°rfe(!>, as in feveral other piaces : fee Grotius on Matt. xiv. 3, and on Rev. xix. 19. ^^y^sJ ( 3V ) and a day being aflumed for a year, ^.^^p makes the whole amount to 1260 Xii. years ; the precife time that was for- merly fpecified. Nothing can be more lively and beautiful than tore- prefent the flight of the woman, as performed by whigs of a great eagle. It is the emblem of a fafe retreat ; and has fomething very tender and afFe6fing in it, when we confider it in allufion to the won- derful providence of God towards his ancient people; when, in his own emphatical language, he bare them upon eagles wings, and carried tbeni all the days of old. Now the church was removed out of the ferpent's reach, and had lain concealed for ages from his light. Bur he at length defcried her, and in the fury of his malice, he cafl out of his month isoater^ as a floods making armies, the inftruments of his vengeance, to rufli ( 392 ) CHAP, rufh forth upon her with violence ^^^J^, ^^ deflroy her. Let us liear bow his exterminating fcheme was dif- appointed, Ver. 1 6. And the earth helped the wommiy and the earth opened her mouthy and /wallowed up the flood which the dragon cafl out of his mouth. Incidents occurred in the con- du6t of providence, which as effec- tually checked the progrefs of his armies, as if the earth had opened its mouth and fwallowed them up : and thus the woman was pre- ferved amidft all his attempts againft her. Ver. 17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman^ and went to make war with the remnant of her feed ^ which keep the ( 393 ) the commandments of Gody and have the CHAP. XII. tejlimony of J ejus Chryt, V,^vv> This new difappointment added fuel to his rage, which he could now expreft onlv by perfecuting thofe of her feed who dill remained lurking in different parts of his do- minions. Thefe were diftinguifhed from others, by not following the commandments of men m matters ot religion, but the command- ments of God; and by taithtully adhering, both in principle and praftice, to the fimplicity of the tnuh as it is in [efus, amidfl all the corruption which prevailed around them. There are fcarcely any of the vifions in this long feries of prophe- cy, which have been more mifun- derftood and mifinterpreted, than this which we have been furveying. It is almoft univerfally referred lo D d d the ( 394 ) CFIAP. the pcrfecution of the church under \^^^,,y^.^ pagan Rome, to her apparent ad- vancement and triumph in the time of Conflantine, and to the ad- yeife incidents which occurred be- tween his reign and the rife of An- tichrilt. One fliould have thought that the inconfiftencies of this inter-, pretation were too obvious, for in- genious and learned men to have either propofed or adopted it. Upon this principle, the apoftle, under the notion of a prophetical vifion, is made to fee what was then paft, namely, the fufterings which the Chriftian church had endured prior to the time when it was exhibited. He is made to fee the Roman em- pire, wirh fevcn crowned heads or governments, when it fliould have appeared only with fix ; this vifion having nothing to do with the fe- venth, as that head did not arife, according to this interpretation, till the { 39^ ) the period here referred to was over, chap Then they, who thus iaterprec the ^^*- prophecy, are obhged to break the order of the narration itlelf, by fuppofing that the woman's flight is introduced in the fixth verle, not in its proper place, as that event, accorduig to tuem, was pofterior to the war in heaven, which is atier- wards mentioned, when the devil was caft out into the earth, in the time of Conjftantine, and his place was not found in heaven any more ; although not long after he rofe to greater power than ever. Finally, they interpret the JJjort time which was allotted him for perfecuting the Chrifcians, after he was cad dovv^n into the earth, to be the whole length of the reign of Anti- chritt, no lefs than one thoufand two hundred and threefcore years ; which is certainly very improperly called Jljorty as it is more than dou- ble ( 396 ) ble the time in which lie had for- merly been permitted to exercifc his cruelueb upon them. Allthele inconiillencies and contradictions, do unavoidably occur upon this in- terpretation ; a fure evidence that it cannot give the fenfe of this viiion. Ihe truth is, that the vifion be- longs cnicfly to the times of Anti- chrill himiell:: but as fome of the circumitances allude to the pagan Roman empire, therefore it is car- ried on under one general emblem, which may very properly reprefent them both. It we fo underiland it, the former inconiillencies and ein- barraffments will all vanilh, and we Ihall contemplate its important difcoveries, in a clear and latistying light. We lee the difficulty ot pro- pagating the goipel truth through the wide extent of the Koman em- pire, under the notion of a woman travaihng ( 397 ) travailing in birth, and pained to be CHAP, delivered. Her diftrefs muft, at ^^^.^^S this time, have been occafioned by the dragon in his pagan charadler, who is reprefented as threatening and annoying her, and lying ia wait to devour her child v/hen he fliould be born. As foon as the birth was accomplidied, in the downfal of paganilm, and the tri- umph of Chriftianity in the time of Conftantine, we behold the af- flidlion and obfcurity into which the church was quickly to fall, and under which fhe was long to conti- nue in the days of Antichrift, re- prefented by the woman's flight into the wildernefs, that flie might efcape the effects of his infidious malice. Here now, it is evident, he muft have carried on his defigns againft her, under the femblance of a Chriftian chara6ter, though it was, in reality, that fame charafter of Antichrift XII. ( 39S ) CHAP. Antichrifl, in which he afterwards openly appeared, when he adted under his leventh head. And there fecms to be a peculiar propriety in introducing him here in this his laft, and moft monftrous charaftcr, as manifefting, before hand, his enmity againft the church, in order to intimate that now was the period when Antichrift's influence com- menced, and when the foundation of his kingdom began to be laid. Hence, likewife, the church would be lignificantly warned of the fuf- ferings Ihe was to meet with under his tremendous reign, that flie might begin to prepare for her wil- dernefs ftate. As a further proof that the dragon was intended, in this vifion, to reprefent the proud Romifli Antichrillian, as well as pagan tyranny, we fee him noi only with feven heads, but with i<::ven crowns, having the feventh head crowned ( 399 ) crowned as well the reft ; which was cHaP. moft exadly and literally verified, . ^^^' when Pope Daniafus 11. firft caufed himfelf to be crowned, a ceremony which has fince been obferved by all his fucceflbrs, with this only diffe- rence, that, from the time of Urban V. the crown was changed from a fmgle, to a triple one, to fliew that Chrift's vicar on earth is pofTeiled of a threefold power, the pontifical^ imperial, and royal. The fanic thing is likewife evident from this other circumitance, that the dragon fwept down with his rail the third part of the ftars of heaven, and caft them to the earth ; w.hich is but of forced application to the impe- rial government, upon any of rhe interpretations which have been commonly ofFered ; but if we un- derftand it of the papal dominion, the fenfe is natural and eafy ; for then, this part of the vifion will be of ( 40O ) I CHAP, of the fame import with DanieFs ' Xll %^^^Y\j IMe horn^ by whom three of the i firfl: horns were plucked up by the roots ; meaning the Grecian power in Italy, and that of the Lombards, I and Franks, all which he deftroyed to make way for himfelf. Thefe ! are here reprefented by the third part ^ of the Jlars of heaven^ three being the neareft to the third part of ten that can be exprefled in whole numbers. This is a circumilance too impor- tant to be omitted, where the pro- grefs of Antichriftian ambition and tyranny is meant to be defcribed; and yet, if we explain it away from this paflage, where it is fo clearly exprefled, we fliall look for it in vain in any other part of thefe pro- phecies. From all thefe obfervati- ons, and indeed from the whole ftrain and fpirit of this vifion, it is evident, not only that the dragon denotes Rome Antichriftian, as well as. ( 4^' ) as Rome pagan, but the oppofition chap, he gave to the woman before the '^1\ was delivered of her child, belongs to her pagan characfter; whereas, that which he occafioned after- wards, can only be underllood of him in his Antichriitian character, becaufe the times of his pagan au- thority were now no more. We have feen already, how fhe brought forth her manly off pring, in the dodtrine of heavenly truth which fhe iflued forth into the world, and which was finally to bring all nati- ons in fubjedlion under it ; and we are given to underftand, that it was taken immediately into the divine prote6lion, and prelerved as fafe amidft all the errors which after- wards aroie, as if it had been taken up to God, and to his throne In the mean time the church was fall removing into the wildernefs, v/here flie was to remain for one thouiand E e e tW€) ( 402 ) CHAP, two hundred and thrcefcore pro- ^^ phetical days, meaning the years of her exile, and of her lorrow. Du- ring this period, the battle in heaven is fought, by which the audacity and fury of Antichrift, and his fatal repulfe and degradation, are exhi- bited in a very ftriking manner. This interefting and aftonifhing fight was moft feafonably introduc- ed, both for a warning and a con- folation to the church ; that fhe might prepare for the fufFerings which awaited her; and, that flie might hold faft her confidence a- midfl the cruelties of her enemies, aflured that fhe was foon to be crowned with viftory and triumph. In the following part of the vifi- on, we behold this interefting fight exemphfied and verified upon the earth. For 'when the dragoii faw that he was cajl unto the earthy he mmediately fet himfelf to perfecute the woman* Here it ( 403 ) it is of chief importance, to fix the chap. time when the draran was call ^^^* down. It could not be in the tirne of Conftantme; for it could not then be faid that b'u place 'a- as not found in heaven any more^ as \ve fee him, quickly after, rifing to a degree of power and influence beyond what he had ever formerly attained. We muft therefore feck for it in the ftages of his declining authority, when he was expofed as Antichrift unto the eye of the world. And he was fo expofed, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, by the Waldenfes and Albigenfes, Chrif- tians inhabiting the vallies of Savoy, Piedmont and the South of France, They had then become very nume- rous ; in confequence of Vv^hich, his charadler, was, by great multi- tudes, held in abhorrence, and his authority treated with contempt. This exafperated his fury againft the ( 404 ') GHAP. '^^ woman^ whom he had not lately ^^^' perceived ; for fhe had been hid for ages in her wilder nefs ftate ; but he now difcovered her in her retreat, and, as the vifion reprelents it, cajl out of his mouth "water ^ as a jlood after her^ to dejlroy her. In Scripture, the inroads of a powerful and enraged enemy are admirably depifted by an overflowing torrent, which car- ries devaflation and ruin wherever it comes. Such was the dreadful calamity with which the church was now threatened, when fhe was to be found only among the obfcure inhabitants of the vallies. Pope Innocent III. excited both princes and people to exterminate them by a crufade. No lefs than five hun- dred thoufand, it is aflerted, under the fign of the crofs, marched forth againft them ; and the murders which they committed, of perfons of every age and condition, are toofliocking t0 ( 405 ) to relate. At length, however, ac- chap. cording to the ftriking reprefenta- v-^^^O tion in the vifion, the earth helped the woman. The wars in Italy between the Pope and the Emperor giving a different direction to the papal force, fw allowed up the flood', and other lands afforded the church, for a time at leafl, a more fecure and peaceful abode. But the greatefl fall which the dragon experienced was at the time ' of the reformation ; and then too his anger was kindled into a flame. 7 he emperor Charles V. and the Roman pontiff entered into an al- liance for the extirpation of that alarming herefy, as it was called. The church was again to be expof- ed to the fury of her enemies. The dominions of the Eleftor of Saxony, one of her befl fupporters, were invaded in his abfence. His army was afterwards defeated by the em- peror ( 4o6 ) CHAP, peror atMulhaufcn, andhehimfelf Iw^rw^ made prifoner. The church was then fuflering feverely, from the oppreffions of the emperor's bro- ther in Bohemia. But the earth nowy in a very remarkable manner, helped the woman. Maurice, the in- vader and ufurper of Saxony, broke his alliance with the emperor, en- tered into a treaty with Henry II. of France, traverfed the upper Ger- many with his troops, every where reftoring the rejefted minifters to their churches, marched rapidly to Inlpruck in order to feize the empe- ror, who with difficulty faved him- felf by flight, This extraordinaiy incident, illued in the peace of Paf- fau, and the lecurity of the protef- tancs in Germany. But ftill the rage of the dragon was; unabated. Baffled in his attempts to recover the revolted dates and kingdoms, he went to make war w^ith the true > followers ( 4^7 ) followers of Jcfus, many of whom chap. remained in diiferent parts of his ^^^• dominions. This he did, by the cruel perfecutions which he every where raifed againft them, by various maf- facres which he inftigated ; particu- larly the horrid maffacre of Paris ; and by the permanent maflacres of the infernal tribunal of the inqui- fition C;. (*) The general judgement of commentators upon this vifion is, that it reprefents the ftate of the church prior to the reign of Conilantine the Great, her perfecutions under the pagan Roman emperors, her deliverance and exaltarion when the empire became Chriftian, as It is commonly expreffed, and when Satan, who had fo long ruled there, was caft out of his feat, and fi lally, her fubfequent ftate of oblcurity and fuffcring till Antichrift arofe. They differ, however, confiderably in their interpretation of the feverai parts of the vifion. By the chi/d which the wo- man brought forth, Markius underftands Chrift himfelfj and by his ^e^ng taken up to God and to his throne^ \i\% aiSlual afceniion in heaven. But when { 4o8 ) when the apoftle wrote, this was long paft, and therefore cannot be the import of this propheti- cal vilion. Forbes, Mede, Durham, Waple, and others, underftand by the man child^ Chrif- tian converts, thus making the mother and the child to be the fame , and by his being caught up to God and to his throne, they underftand the ex- alted ftate of the church, in the time of Con- ftantine, though there cannot be a doubt, that her finking down into corruption is from thence to be dated. The war in heaven between Michael and the Dragon, they interpret of the ftruggle between Chriftianity and paganifm, under the heathen Roman emperors, and the fufFerings which the church then endured *, although, by the fcheme which they lay down, the fame thing was juft now reprefented by the woman in labour. The water which the dragon cajl out of his mouthy and the earth helping the woman, they think, de- note the Arian and other herefies, which fprung up in the church, the tide of which was ftemmcd by the decrees of general councils by which they were condemned. But Waple, Bifhop Newton, and others interpret the water, of the incurfions of the barbarous nations into the Roman empire •, while they difl'er much about the manner in which they were fwallowed up by the earth. I only further take notic - of the opinion of the learned Vitringa. He interprets the man ( 409 ) man child, of Conftantine the Great, in which he is followed by Bifhop Newton ; although that emperor retained the heathen office of Pon^ tifix Maximus till his death, favoured the Arians, perfecuted the orthodox, and was not even bap- tized into the Chriftian faith till the time of his laft licknefs. He likewife interprets his being caught up to God and to his throne, of his being raifed, by a remarkable difpofition of Providence to the throne of the empire. He underftands the ivoman^s Jlying into the ivildernefsy of the church being moved to the weft among the barba- rous people, where fhe had not formerly a place ; and coniiders this as refpefting three different periods : ift. The time when arlanifm prevailed ; 2d, The time when monafteries w-re founded in the weft, which were a retreat to the pious from the influence of furrounding corruption : 3d, The time when the church, having difappeared in the eaft, was preferved in Germany and France. He explains the water which the ferpent cajl forth after the woman, of the inroads of the Saracens into Spain and France ; and the earth opening her mouih and /wallowing it up, cf the complete and terrible victory which Charles Martel obtained over them in the year 732 ; which effe of prophecy immediately fubjoins : Ver. 1 o. He that leadeth into captivi- ty^ Jh all go into captivity : He that killetb with the fwordy mujl be killed with the /word. Here is the patience and faith of the faints. Then he fhall perceive that this haughty perfecuting power Ihall be brought down to deftru6lion, and the people of God delivered from his hands ; and when it is confider- ed that thofe who maintain their integrity in the midil ot all thefe temptations, have the witnefs in themfelves that they are deftined to happinefs, what can be a ftronger encouragement to exercife patience, and to place their trull and confi- dence in the Lord. Nothing can be more evident, than ■ . 1 ( 422 ) i CHAP, than that this monftrous animal t_^ reprefents the different kingdoms into which tlie Roman empire was j broken down and divided, all har- monized and united under the fo- vereign pontill, notwithflanding their different and fometimes oppo- fite interefts. 1 his produced a go- ! vernment of lo flrange and fmgu- lar a nature, that one fiiould think it fcarcely poffible to miftake the meaning of a defer ipt ion, fo re- markably adapted to all its diflin- i guifhing charafters. The feat of ! this government is plainly fixed at | Rome, the (even hilled city. It was the feventh form of government which had exilled in that city. It was exercifed over ten different i kingdoms into which the empire ; had been divided ; which have been enumerated, though with fome trifling differences, by almofl: all ex- politors. Its authority was the greateft { ( 423 ) ^rreateft rhat ever the world beheld ; CHAP, for not only the people in general, i^.^^-/ but the greateft princes and mo- narchs, were in ablolute fubjeftion to it ; and even their crowns and kingdoms entirely at its difpo- fal. The head of this government laid claim to divine perfection : nay, to ule the language of fcripcure, fitting in the temple of God^ he exalted himf elf above all that is called God^ or that is wo?f dipped ; and, pretending to be the father and the guide of the church, he perfecuted its genuine members with the moft unrelenting .cruelty. When we look into the papal hiilory, we fee thefe characters ex- hibited in a long detail. The bi- fhop of Rome early afpired to power and pre-eminence ; and his influ- ence fo rapidly increafed, that, be- fore the end of the fixth century, it became an object of anxiety and ap« prehenfioa ( 424 ) CHAP, prehenfion to the Roman emperor ^™J^ himfelf. In the year 606, the title of univerfal bifhop was conferee! upon him by Phocas, an execrable tyrant and parricide. But he had exercifed the prerogative long be- fore. The rich and extenfive patri- mony which belonged to the See of Rome, enabled the Roman Pontiff to maintain a fplendor, fuited to the dignity he had affumed. What con- tributed much to his aggrandife- ment, in this early period, was the weak and impolitic condu6l of the emperor Leo Ifauricus, in ifluing an edi(St againft the worfhip of i- magcs, and requiring them every where to be pulled down. The en- forcine of this cdi6t kindled a war in Italy : the emperor was exafpe- rated : Gregory II. at that time Pope, whom his jealoufy had imprudent- ly threatened, and whofe life he had attempted, ilrenuouily exhort- ed .J C 425 ) cd the people to continue ftedfaft in chap: , . ^ . ' xiii. the faith. Their Ipirits were in- ^^w^ flamed ; the cities of Italy revolted, and the Romans, choofing magi- ftrates for themfelves, became a diftmft body politic, with the Pope at their head. In the year 756, Pe- pin, king of France, put the Pope in pofleffi^n of the exarchate of Ravenna and Pentapolis, a confider- able track of country now known by the name of IVlarca d'Ancona. But ic was not till the year 876, that he became a temporal prince ; when the fovereignty of thofe parts was yielded to St, Peter by Charles the bald. Yet it was not from his be- coming a temporal prince, a cir- cumflance upon which commenta- tors lay fo much ftrefs, that he de- rived that extraordinary power which he pofleffed. It was from the progrefs of fuperftition and the in- H h h fluei;ce ( 4^6 ) CHAP, fluence he thereby obtained over Xiii. ^j^^ minds of the people. So great was the weight of his authority, that, feveral years before his getting the grant of the terri- tories already mentioned, the crown of France, in confequence of his de- cifion, was transferred from one race of kings imto another ; and, in the year 796, he had the addrefs to raife Charlemaigne to the imperial do- minion, by putting an imperial crown upon his head while he was kneeling at the altar, and hold- ing him forth to the people as crowned by the hand of God. Thefc however were only the infant exer- tionsof his ambition. He afterw^ards laid claim to infallibilty, and to fu- preme and univerfal dominion* He aflumed the moft blafphemoas titles; mofl holy, and moft bleffed ; the lord of the univerfe, the father of kings, and the light of the world. And ( 4^7 ) And fuch was his infolence of pow- CHAP, er, that wc find him, at length, de- throning and excommunicating princes, and threatening with the fevereil punifliments, all who ven- tured to dilpute his authority, or difregard his commands. Thekmgs and potentates of this world were now entirely at his beck. Thefe he employed as the inftruments of his fury, to execute his vengeance a- gainft the faints. The cruelties which he exerciled upon them were unparalleled. Let the vallies of Piedmont and its neighbourhood, the forefts of Germany, and almofl: every country in Europe, bear wit- nefs, what multitudes of innocent victims have fallen by his murder- ous hands. Indeed fuch was the horrid fuccefs of his perfecutions, that, at one period, he feems to have almoft exterminated the holy progeny trom the earth j fo com- pletely ( 428 ) ^^AP. pletely was the prophecy fulfilled, ^Y^^ that hejfdould make war with the faints and overcome them (*), VISION (*) There is little diverfity of opinion among expofitors refpe^iing the beaji itfelf which this prophecy defcribes. They differ widely howe- ver about the head that was nvounded, and the heal- ing of his deadly wound, Mede, Durham, and Waple underftand it of the fixth head, which they think was wounded to death in the fall of idolatry under the Chriftian emperors ; and that it was healed by the reftoration of idolatry under the papal dominion. Jurieu, Lowman, Napier^ and Bilhop Newton interpret its being wounded^ of the fall of the imperial government at Rome. But the two former underfland /// being healed^ of the revival of a fimilar government under the popes, while the two latter underftand it of the empire being again reftored under Charle- maigne. Againft all thefe interpretations Vitringa objects, as Parens had done before him, that they make the beaft to be wounded before he exifted : He likewife thinks, that the head which was wound-' edy is that which muft be healed. He further underftands \\\tfeven heads oj the beajly to be feven popes, ( 429 ) Popes, who diftinguifhed themfelves, by raifing the authority of the Romilh church to the higheil pitch, and by perfecuting the faints and triumph- ing over them. Of thefe, he thinks five were before the reformation, namely Gregory VII. A- lexander III. Innocent 111. Boniface VIII. and John XXII. two after the reformation, Paul III. and Paul V He fuppofes that Alexander III. the firft perfecutor of the Waldenfes, was the head that ivas ivounded to deaths in the feventeen years oppreffion which he fufFered from the emperor Frederic Brazen Beard, as he was called •, and par- ticularly in the difaftrous defeat of his allies and of the Romans, many thoufands of whom pe- rifhcd by the arms of Frederic, while he himfelf with difficulty made his efcape. But, after all, he obferves, he triumphed over the emperor at Ve- nice, who there threw himfelf at Alexander's feet, deprecated his vengeance, and worfhipped him : and hence the papal authority immenfely in- creafed in the judgement of the people. Behold then, fays this learned expofitor, the head of the beaft wounded to death, and, contrary to all hu=» man expe<^tation, healed. ( 43^ ) VISION OF THE TWO HORNED BEAST. Ver. 1 1. And I beheld another heajl CHAP coming up out of the earth, and he had XliL <^ r J ^^'yg^^ two horns like a lamby and he /pake as a dragon. This beaft, in like manner as the former, is to be underftood of a bo- dy politic. He is reprefented with two horns like a lamb^ denoting the twofold power which he allumed, of opening and Ihutting the gates of heaven and hell at his pleafure ; and, delineating at the fame time one of his principal features, that, under the colour of the moft artlefs fimplicity and mildnefs, he fhould have the audacity to fpeak like a dragon ; difcovering both his fub- tilty ( 431 ) tilty and his virulence as occafion CKAP. required. He is further reprefent- \^^!^ ed, as coming up out of the earthy which has been commonly underftood, to denote his growing up in a filent and imperceptible manner, as a plant out of the ground. But the idea of the growth oi 2l plant is cer- tainly very incongruous to that of an animal afcending, or rifmg up, out of the earth. Is it not fufficient for the purpofe of this vifion, while it alfo preferves the propriety of the figure, to fuppofe him making his appearance in a fituation which was fitted to fupply plenty of pro- vifion to nourifh him. Ihis there- fore, I conceive, is the natural and adequate interpretation. But if we are to pufh it to any further meaning, I fhould choofe to under- fland it as fignifying, that this ex- traordinary animal arofe out of the rich temporalities which the clergy at ( 432 ) ^xia' ^^ ^^^^ ^™^ enjoyed. This beaft Kyy^^ appears likewife to be intimately conne(5ted, if not united, with the former : therefore it is added, Ver. 12. ^?id he exercifed all the power of the firjl beajl before him, atid ccmfeth the earthy and them which dwell therein^ to worfhip the frjl beaft ^ whofe deadly wound was healed. 'The power of the firfl beafl^ which the other is here faid to exercife, muft be underftood of a power c- qual to that which was derived from the combined influence of the potentates of this world ; and it was exercifed before h'lm^ that is, in ho- nour of him * ; and was indeed the means by which he rofe to his great nefs. He llkewfe caifed the in- bitants * So the original word is iifed, Luke iv. 7. and it is the only fenfe In which it can here be under* flood. ( 433 ) bitants of the earth, wherever the in- Ch,^^- fluence of his enflaving docrrine ex- \^^y\j tended, or the terrors of his threat- enings reached, to wor/hip the jirjl beajl^ as he now appeared in a new and aftonifhing form, healed of his deadly wound, and beyond all ex- peftation entering on the poilef- fion of fovereign and univerfal do- minion. Ver. 1 3. And he doth great wonders^ fo that he maketh Jire come doivn from hea^ ven on the earthy in the fight of 7nen. Ver. 14. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earthy by the means of thofe iniracles which he had power to do in the fight of the beaf^ fiyi^^g io them that dwell on the earthy that they fdould make an /- 7nage to the beaf which had the wound by afwordy and did live> The wonders which he perform- ed, however, were only falfe and ly- I i i ing ( 434 ) i ™;^J^' in^ wonders. But he knew that, : Vi^VH^ ill thofe times of ignorance, they would produce the defired effeft, in ] confounding the fenfes of the peo- ; pie, fo that at length he might at- ; tempt his daring projeft of terrify- ing them outright, by appearing to ' br'mg down Jire from heaven in their pre- fence. Nay, we are told, that by thefe ^ pretended miracles, which he per- formed in honour of the bead, he \ deceived to fuch a degree theju that \ dwelt upon the earth, meaning the peo- \ pie under his influence, as to make ' them enter into his views, in viak- ' ing an image to the beaf^ who was now beginning to live under another \ head, notwithttanding his former head being wounded to death. The j word rendered image^ in this place, i feems to be ufed, tofignify a model, i i or pattern, aficr which any thing ; is i ( 435 ) is to be made(M; and fuch an i- CHAP, mage for the feven headed monfter, v^^^^y^^ we fliall afterward obferve, this lamb-hke beaft did acftually form {}>). But what is very extraordinary, the pattern which he formed he had the facuhy of endowing with life, or fpirit, that it could enforce its ex- ample, and carry it into efFedl. This extraordinary circumftance the a- poftle immediately defcribes ; Ver. 15. ^nd he had power to give life unto the image of the beajl^ that the image of the beajl Jhould both fpeak^ and caufe that as many as would not worjloip the image of the beajl Jhould be killed. His (") So the correfponding Hebrew term Is ufed, Geu. i. 26. and in fome other paiTages. (b) When the people are faid to ha- tion of antichrift under a different form. Napier fo underftands it ; and interprets the two horns of his fplritual and temporal power. This feems likewife to have been the opinion of Juricu, For- bes, and Durham, who likewife interpret this beaft in general of antichrid, only they feem to underftand his two horns as denoting his hypo- crify, that, under the humility and fimplicity of the lamb, he fhould exert the fubtilty and power of the dragon. Mede, Waple, and Newton, un- derftand this beaft to denote the Roman hierar- chy, though they differ confiderably in the fenfe which they afcribe to his horns. The firft, inter- prets them of his twofold power of binding and loofing : the fecond, of the two co-ordinate hier- archies of the eaftern and weftern empire : the third, of the two bodies of regulars and feculars in the Romifh church. Lowman makes this beaft to fignify the temporal jurifdicftions and roy- alties, which were annexed to many bifhoprics in Germany, and which have long had fo much weight in the affairs of the empire This coali- tion of powers, he feems to think, likewife,. is the image of the beaft which is afterwards defcrib- ed. ( 4f7 ) cd, as it refembles the powers of the papacy, or firft: beall, and has been conftantly eipployc^d to promote his intcreft. With refpe^l to the image of the beaft in this prophecy, Napier underftands it of the new empire under Charlemagne, which^ he thinks, was an image of the former one under the Roman emperors. Mede interprets it of the ten horned beaft, or the papal empipe, under- (landing by the firft beaft, of which it was an i- mage, the Pagan Roman empire -, and he is fol- lowed by Durham, Jarieu, and Waple. fhefe expofitors, however, feem not to have confidered, that the beaft is ftill the fame beaft when he ap- peared under the feventh, as he was under the fixth head, and therefore, this interpretation is chargeable with the evident impropriety of mak- ing a thing the image of itfelf. Bifiiop Newton again, following Coccerus, makes this image to fignify the pope himfelf ; which, as Markius juft- ly obferves, deftroys the propriety of the figure altogether ; uniefs we could fuppofe that a prince dould be the image of a kingdom, or the head the image of the body : though his own fancy, that it fignifies the pope's legates, is little more fatisfying* Notwithftand ng the length of this note, I can- not withhold from the curious reader the opinion of the learned Vitringa. By the two horned beaft, he underftands the Francifcan and Domi- RiGan Friars, efpeciaily the latter j by its horns, their ( 448 ) ■ their preaching and their miraclss ; and by the image of the beaft, the tribunal of the inquifi- tion, which he calh a moft wicked and deteftable inftitution •, in which there is the livelleft repre- fentation of the fupreme authority which the Romifh church ufurps over the confciences of men, and of the tyranny which flie exercifes over the people. DISSERT- ( 449 ) DISSERTATION III. ON THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST. Ver. 1 8. Here is wlfdom. Let h'lm that hath underftand'ing count the number of the beaji ; for it is the number of a man ; and his number is fix hundred three/core andfx. Perhaps none of the apocalyptic myfteries are more hard to refolve than this one upon which we are now to enter. Of this, its having employed the attention of learned and ingenious men for fo many centuries, Lll ( 450 ) ITiflcrt. HI. centuries, to fo little effccl, is a dif- ^^'^^''^ coiirac^ing proof. We ought not, however, to give up the matter in delpair: on the contrary, we ought, by all means, to endeavour to toroi an opinion refpefting it. Every miflakcn attempt to penetrate into its meaning will be like the fliut- ting up oi- a falfe entry, till, at laft, none but the true one will be left. It may be proper, firft of all, to take notice of the methods which have been chiefly employed, to give a fatisfying illuilration of this cu- rious point. A numerous clafs of commenta- tors go upon the principle of find- ing out the name of the bcaft, in a word, the letters of which fliali form the number here laid down : and the words Lateinos, Romiith, Ludovicus, and many others have been produced as fuch. This modd of iiiterprctation is as early as the the ( 45^ ) the time of Iren^us, the difciple of ^^^^^^^t- iii. Polycarp, the difciple of fohn, by Vw^nrv-> whom it feems firft to have been fuggefted, and it has been followed in modern times by Napier, Dau- buz, Bp. Newton, and many others. I believe, however, it has fcarce- ly given fatisfadlion to any inteiU- gent inquirer. The great variety of words in which this number may be found, renders it loofe, and in- confequential. It will apply equal- ly, and the application of ic has in- deed been made, to Pagans and Ma- hometans, as well as to antichrift. But the fevereil confutation of it is that the Papifls have fliewn, in fome inftances, that it may be applied even to proteftants ihemfelves. Others have gone cabaliftically to work upon this dark and diffi- cult queftion, by interpreting the meaning of the name, or word, upon which they fix, fucii as Jdo~ nikam^ ( 452 ) ^111^* n'tkam, which fignifics a Lord rifwg ^-^'VNj' jtp^ and whofe family confided of 666, Ezra ii. 13. and Sethur^^wmh. xiii. 13. the letters of this number is found, and which fignifies hidden or myjleryu 7 his mode of interpreta- tion was introduced by Mr. Brough- ton, the great EngUfli Rabbi, in Queen Elizabeth's time, and it has been adopted by Lightfoot, Vitrin. ga, and others. It feems however as little fatisfadory as the former. The circumftances of coincidence, in all the examples that have yet been propoled, are too flight and trivial to have been pointed at by the fpirit of prophecy, in this im- portant and inftrucStive enigma. This has led fome curious in- quirers to aflumc a principle diffe- rent from either of the former, and to confidcr tl»is number as charac- teriftic of the falfe church in the lame manner as the number 144,000 (chap* C 453 ) (chap. xiv. i.) is chara6lerifl:ic of Jn^^ * the true. In this clafs we may *^-^"^ rank the names of Forbes, Mede, Durham, and Potter, which lail has been followed by many others. This ingenious man fell upon the device of reducing the numbers to their refpeftive roots. The fquare root of 144 is 12, which denotes the true apoftolic church, and conveys the idea of perfed: fymmetry and perfeft firmnefs. The neareft fquare root of 666 is 25, which fignifies that antichrift fliould be a body po- litic which fliould as much aff'e6t the number 25 as its diftinguifli- ing number, as God feems to have employed the number 12, in efta- blifhing his church. This the learned author fpecifies in a great variety of inilances. He tells us they made 25 gates to the city Rome ; they divided the city at firft into 25 parilhes, over which they ict ( 4s'4 ) DifTert. {q^ ^c Cardinals, in 2c churches: K.,^r^ and at lafl their creed was coni- priled in 25 articles ; befides feveral other things of lefs importance. This is perhaps fpecious, but I am afraid it will not Hand the teft of a flrift examination. It is to little purpofe to tell us what has taken place in the city Rome, for no perfon fuppofes that this is the extent of the papal hierarchy or dominion ; and yet matters have been greatly al- tered in this refpedl, even in that city It is no extraordinary thing, furely , to find almoft any particular number repeatedly occurring a- mongft an endlels variety of ob- jefts, and through a long period of time. Almoft all the inftances which have been mentioned have changed in number duiing the courfe of that period ; and fome of them, particularly the addition of the 25th gate, took place before the ( 455 ) the man of fin was properly reveal- Differt. III. ed. But after all, how does this ^^^^,^1^ refolve the hard and difficult quef- tion ? If 25 is rhediftinguilhing and favourite number, the fquare of it is only 625, and by no rules of a- rithmetic, without a moft arbitrary addition, is it poffible to bring out of it that diftinguifliing number, by which this apocalyptic beaft is cha- raflerized. I aftly, there are fome who rejedt all thefe methods of calculation, tor the fimple and plaufible opinion, that the number 666 refpefts the time of antichrift's rife. This they calculate in various ways, accord- ing to their feveral hypothefes. This was the opinion of Bullinger, and Nathaniel Stevens, and it has been followed by Lovv^man and other commentators. I fliall only obferve refpefting it; that the queftion is evidently propofed as a trial of wif- dom ( 456 ) ^^IlT' ^^^ ' ^^^ ^^'^^^ ^^^'^^ ^^^^^^ iindojlanding V.XY^ count the jiumher of the beajl^ but it it contained nothing more than this plain and eafy import, it would cer- tainly require no great fliare either of wifdom, or underftanding to find it out. It may perhaps be thought pre- fumpruous to attempt to folve this difficult problem, when the endea- vours of the learned, the judicious, the penetrating, and the ingenious, feem entirely to have failed. But is it not piopofed to our attentive and ferious enquiry ? Is not the fcripture Undent exhorted to fearch out its meaning ? Let us not there- fore flirink from the duty to which wc are called, becaufe the labours of others hav^c not been crowned with fuccefs. In order, if poffible, to difcover its hidden import, I would obferve, that, whatever our mode of calculation may be, it muil evolve ( 457 ) evolve the dillindlive chara6ters of Divert. antichrift, of which ic is certainly o^vxi^ the fymbol. And what are his dif- tindiive, and moil prominent cha- radters ? Has he not been diftin- guifhed, through the whole of his reign, by the moil enormous fuper- ftition, and the moil infolent and unrelenting tyranny ? Add to this, a blafphemy which is tremendous, and you complete the defcription. Whatever therefore exhibits thefe in a confpicuous light, gives us a view of antichriil in his grand and diilinguiihing features. I obferve farther upon this myilerious point, that nothing is more iniiiled upon, in this book of prophecy, as cha^ radleriilical of the antichriilian ilate, than that of ancient Babylon, If therefore we find any thing there^ that comes up to the import of this paiTage, it is an additional evidence M m ra that ( 458 ) DifTert. that we have hit upon its real mean- III. . ^ Now, in furveying thehiftoryof that ancient ftate, the hnage on the plains of Dura^ fpoken of by Daniel the prophet, feizes our attention as probably much to our purpofe. It was 60 cubits high, and 6 cubits broad. It was made of gold. All nations were commanded to fall down and worfliip it. And, if any perfon refufed, he was to be caft into the midfl of a burning furnace. Here was a fuperilition, great and magnificent : It was enforced like- wife by a tyranny, fevere and un- feeling; and it was attended with a blaiphemy moll audacious and Shocking : For who is that God, faid Nebuchadnezzar, that Ihall deliver you out of my hands ? What a ftriking emblem is this of the lead- ing charadtcrs of the papal beaft. Let us blend, or incorporate itwith his ( 459 ) his monftrous figure, as it is defcrib- DifTert. ed at the beginning of this chap- s^vO ter, and we fhall fee the number come out exactly as the apoftle has ftated it. Nothing can be more na- tural and fimple than this opera- tion. In muhiplying the height of this image by the ten horns of the beaft, we have the number 600 : and in muhiplying the breadth of the image, by the ten horns, and by the laft head of the beaft, the only one which denotes antichrift, that is to fay in multiplying the breadth by 1 1, we have the number 66 ; the two together amounting to 660, the very number that is here put down. By this eafy operation, we fee the fpirit of ancient Babylon transfuf- ed, with increafed energ v ,int ) her monftrous antitype. By the firft multiplication, we perceive that the fuperftition of myftical Babylon fliould be of a far more gigantic fize ( 46o ) jjj^ ^^' than that of ancient Babylon, even V-^vsta/ as ten is greater than one ; and by the fecond mviltiplication, we learn that this enormous fuperftition, to- gether with the tyranny with which it was continued, and by which it was fupported, was to extend, in one great body, over all the king- doms which belonged to the beaft ; and was to be entirely under the management of antichrift as the governing head, which carried blaf- phemy upon it, as its very name. Here then we have a folution of this very difficult queftion, which, while it gives us the exaft number of the beaft which the apoftle puts down, exhibits a moft ftriking pidlure of antichrift in all his diftinguilhing features. It Ihews that the fpirit of God does not deal in cabaliftical conceits about names, and words, \ and letters, and the fecret powers of numbers, according to the in- terpreta- ( 4^1 ) terpretations which have been com- Diflert. monly given; but that, while we ^^^^yO have the number entire by which the beaft is denoted, we have it con- nefted with a fet of characters, which are not only applicable to him in the cleareft manner, but which diftinguifh him from every other power which has appeared in the world. There are feveral other circum- ftances by which this interpretation may be corroborated. Firft of all, I fubmit it to the judgement of the curious inquirer, whether there is not a note of difcovery to be obferv- ed in the intimation concerning the number of the beaft, when we are told that it is the number of a man. Nebuchadnezzar's image is allow- ed to have been of human form, and when its number is blended with that of this monftrous animal, it gives us again the number of an- tichrift ( 462 ) chrift, which is the number of a man. Nebuchadnezzar's image likewife was worfhipped with all manner of mufical inftruments ; this happily reprefents the well known pomp and pageantry of an- tichrift in his idolatrous worfhip. The image, we are farther told, was made of gold, and, as has been thought, even the gold of the tem- ple of Jerufalem was employed to make it ; and does not this mofl ftrikingly fet forth, how antichrift has perv^erted the pure and facred materials of heavenly truth, to e- reft a fyftem of corruption, the mofl tremendous that ever the world beheld. Thofe who refufed to wor- fliip Nebuchadnezzar's image, were three children of the captivity: likewife thole who firft oppofed an- tichrift were three, whom he thought he had held in captivity under him. Firft the Waldenfes and Albigenfes, ( 4^3 ) Albigenfes, who are fcarcely to be ^hl^' diftinguilhed from one another : '^^^'v^ and foon after the Bohemian bre- thren and WicklifF, with his follow- ers in England : Finally the three children were to be burnt with fire, and it is not a little remarkable that burning with fire feems to have been a favourite method of de- ftroying heretics under the papal perfecution. Let me only further obferve, that, if we fuppofe that this image was intended by the fpirit of prophecy to lead us to the foluiion of this curious and inftruc- tive enigma, we lee an important reafon for Daniel's being fo minute and particular as to give- us the ex- aft number of its dimeiifions, for which upon any other principle no reafon can be affigned. Nor can the great difproportion of it parts be accounted for, but by its being intended to indicate, that the fyf- tem ( 4^4 ) Diflert. tcm of fuperftitioii and tyranny, of \,yy^ which it was the model, and which was afterwards to rife to luch an extravagant pitch fliould at length be crulhed down by its own enor- mous weight. VISION ( 465 ) VlSiON OF THE LAMB AND HIS REDEEMED WITH HIM, CHAP. XIV. CHAP. Ver. T. And I looked, and^ lo^ a Lamb •^^^* Jlood on the mount Stony and with him an hundred forty and Jour thoufandy having his Fathers name written in their for e^ heads. Here we are prefented with a view of the true church of Chrift emerging from that ftate of obfcu- rity in which Ihe had been hid for ages. The apollle beheld her as a feparate fociety, ftationed on N n n mount ( 466 ) CHAP, mount Sion, the ancient emblem of :xiv. ^^^^y,^ her flabihty and elevation, with the Lamb, as her Prince and Saviour, at her head. This fociety had his Father s name written in their foreheads ^ lignifying, that they were thechofen people of God, and confecrated tohis honour : the number an hundred forty and four thoifand of which they were compofed, is perhaps in- tended to intimate, that they are the fame feleft apoftolical fociety who were fet apart and fealed with the feal of God at the beginning of the - apoftacy, and, O aftoniflimg effedt of the power and grace of Jehovah, are now produced entire and un- fpotted, notwithftanding all the a- bominations wdiich had fo univer- fally prevailed. When they thus appeared, heaven itfelf feems to have been moved at the fight ; for the apOiUe adds, Veh 2. ( 467 ) CHAP. Ver 2. And I heard a voice from X^^- 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 : Ver. 3. And they fnng as it were a new fong before the throne^ and before the four bcafs^ and the elders ; and .no man could learn that fong ^ but the hundred and forty and four thoufand^ which were re^ deemed from the earth. The heavenly church, upon this occaiion, tuned their voices and their harps together. The fympho- ny w^as beyond defcription grand and folemn. It ftruck the ear of our aftonifhed prophet hke the diftant mingled found of many waters rufhing, or like the rolling noife of a mighty thunder. Thefe, howe- ver, were fo delightfully moduiat- edj that they feemed at the fame time. ( 468 ) ^x v^ time, as if they had been played V-^'vx^ Ujjon any of the fweeteft mufical inftruments. In this admirable way, a new fong^ as if it had been made for the occafion, was fung by the celeftial choir, in the prefence of Jehovah, expreffive of the praifes of that grace, by which this favour- ite fociety had been fo wonderfully preferved ; a fong therefore accom- modated to their experience and feelings, and which none other up- on earth could either adopt, or un- derftand. The following diftinclion of their charadler completes the defcription. Ver. 4. Thefe are they which were not defiled with women ; for they are vir- gins, Thefe are they which follow the Lamb whitherfoever he goeth* Thefe were redeemed from among men ^ being the firfi fruits unto God^ and to the Lamb. Ver. 3. And in their mojith was found no ( 469 ) no guile ; for they are without fault before CHAP. the thro7ie of God. lI-yO Thefe perfons were diftinguifti- ed from the whole of the corrupt mafs that furrounded them, by a variety of prominent and charafter- iftical features. As chaile virgins to Chrift, they kept themfelvcs pure from all pollutions of idols, repre- fented in prophecy by the defile- ments of fornication. Their whole principles and condudl were regu- lated entirely by the doctrine and laws of Chrift : to him they adher- ed, with the moft inviolable attach- ment, in every fituation, and thus they followed the Lamb whitherfoever he went. By feparating themfelves en- tirely from all connexion with an- tichrift, they were manifefted as the firfl'fruits of the redeemed from his horrible bondage, which were af- terwards to be followed with a plen- tiful ( 470 ) CHAP. |;jful harveft. Finally, they were V^^^v>*/' found finccre and without offence be- fore the throne of God^ however much they were traduced and condemned at the tribunals of the wicked. This vifion points lo evidently at the Waldenfes and Albigenfes, that I cannot hefuate in thus applymg it. Every circumftance which it de- fcribes agrees exactly with their charafter and hiflory. It was chief- ly in their fequeftered vallies, that the church obtained an afylum, for fo long a period, from the malice of her enemies : the whole world, they only excepted, having gone wandering after the beaft. But, what is precifely to our purpofe, by the beginning of the thirteenth cen- tury, their numbers had greatly encreafed, and they had fpread their influence to a coniiderable extent. Then too, they appeared as a dif- tin(5t ( 47^ ) tinft and feparate fociety, maintain- chap. ing the purity and fimplicity of y2i^ Chriftian faith and practice, which were every where elfe corrupted and debafed ; and thus, that part of the vifion, the LamFs Jlandiiig on mount Sion^ with aft hundred forty and four thoufand^ having his Father s name on their foreheads^ was fully verified. They likewife abhorred and exe- crated the abominations of the Ro- mifh church ; acknowledging only the authority of Chrift in matters of religion, as appears by their con- feffions of faith, which are Hill ex- tant ; and giving themfelves up en- tirely to his unerring diredlion, wherever he fliould lead them, even if he ftiould bring them to fufier- ing and to death, as their after per- fecutions afteclingly teilify. How exad: the defcription then of their character in the Itile of this prophe- cy ! The/e are Jhey who were not dcjlled with ( 473 ) CHAP XIV. * '^omen ; and who follow the Lamb whi*- ^^y^ therfoever he goeth. One other circum- ftance remains to be taken notice of, which is, their holy and exem- plary lives, the truth and certainty of which, their enemies themfelves have unwillingly attefted. One of of them for inftance, declares " That it has contributed fomewhat to the eftablilhment of thefe Waldenfes, that, except what they have done againft the Romifh faith and reli* gion, in other things they lead al- moft a purer life than the reft of Chriftians." And another intro- duces his defcription of their cha- racter by obferving, " That heretics are known by their manners and by their words, for they are regular in their manners and modeft in their deportment :" upon which the venerable Ufher,by whom thefe teftimonies are collefted, makes the following juft and pertinent re- mark, ( 473 ) mark, * moll wretched times indeed CHAP, when regularity of manners and ^^^^ modelly of deportment are the dif- tinguitliing badges of heretics !' But what completes the argument, thefe were the firft people who af- ferted their independence of the Pope and of the Romifli Councils, and obtained deliverance from that bon- dage ; and therefore they are cal- led, in this prophecy, the frjl fruits unto God and to the Lamb. The harveft which has followed already, has not been inconfiderable : their doc- trine fpread abroad ; the flames of perfecution were unable to deftroy it : it made its progrefs into Ger- many, into Bohemia, and into Bri- tain itfelf, and prepared the way for the reformation, about three cen- turies after, by which the rights of confcience have been afferted, and the knowledge of the truth diffufcd through fo many lands. O o o How ( 474 ) CHAP XiV. How diflinguifliing the honour V-^^r^ of thefc faithful followers of Chrift in times of the greateft difficulty and danger ! They were indeed hated and perfecuted by a wicked world around them : but they were cele- brated in heavenly fong as beloved of God, and have been long lince exalted to the higheft happinefs in the joyful regions above, while their enemies have been fuffering in the abodes of mifery and defpair. Even in this world, their praifes have gone abroad into all the churches, and their memory will be held in high eftimation by the faints in every fuccecding period unto the end of time. How en- couraging, and edifying, the tefti- mony they have here received ! Let tis, who have much lefs temptation to fliake us, imitate their fidelity and ( 4^5 ) 5, and af] elevated and heavenly temper (^> CHAP and firmnefs, and afpire to their xiv. (=) Forbes underftands this prophecy, cf the church in her obfcure and lurking ftate under an- tichrift : But how then could (lie be reprefented as -appearing openly with the Lamb upon mount Siofi ? Parseus, Jurieu, and Bp. Newton, under- ftand it of the church during the whole period from the rife of antichrift to the time of the re- formation : but this interpretation is evidently li- able in part to the fame objection. Durham ap- plies it to the Bohemians, as well as the Walden- fes ; not confidering, that thofe were part of the increafe after- the firft fruits had been gathered. Mede makes no particular application of it, but only confiders it as a reprefentation of the church, as faithful to the Lamb, in the midil: of that world of nominal Chriftians, who all followed the beaft. Lowman confiders it, as giving a view of the church, arrived at a ftate of perfect religion and happinefs, in the heavenly world. The learned Vitringa fo far takes it up in its juft prophetical import, in applying it to the Waldenfes, particu- larly at the time when they broke oiF from the Romifh church, and appeared openly againft her. But he ftrangcly interprets the harpers and the fmgers ( 476 ) Jingers of WIcklifF and his followers In England, and John Hufs, Jerom of Prague, and their fol- lowers in Germany ; and after them the Tabo- rjtes, and then the Bohemian brethren. He un- derftands their fong to be their confeffion of faith, which none at that time could underftand, or approve of but the Waldenfes alone. This he fupports by the following curious pafTage of their hiftory preferved by Camerarius and Perrin. " The Bohemian brethren, the true remains of the Huflites, having feparated entirely from the com- munion ot the Romifli church, when they un- derftood that there was a fmall body of the anci- ent Waldenfes in Auftria, fent two paftors, and as many elders to them, to inquire into their doc- trine, their difciphne, and manner of life, who were joyfully received by the Waldenfes, and af- ter explaining their faith and praiSlice, they were made known to one another to their mutual con- folation. But the Waldenfes, having learned from rhe Bohemian brethren that there were fome things in which they were Aill deficient, for inftance, that they did not fufficitntly avoid the commui.ion of Popery, that they profefled Chrift too timidly, and were too careful of worldly things, they received the admonition with thank- fulr.el.v, and prtfited by it." This ,fays the in- genious expulitoi) was to harn the fong of ihe Bo' hemians. ( 477 ) m'lans. But the interpretation is too forced to fatisfy the plain and fimple inquirer. I only fur- ther obferve upon this vifion, that it is difficult to conceive, with Mede, that the name in their foreheads denoted baptifm, when the papifts had this badge as well as they j and fo far from re- nouncing it when they received the mark of the beaft, they placed a greater dependence on it than had been done before. VISION ( 478 ) VISION OF THE ANGEL WITH THE EVERLAS ING GOSPEL, &c. CHAP. Ver. 6. And I faw ajiother atwel fly XIV. . o ^y ^^^v-O 'in the midjl of heaven, having the ever-^ lajling go/pel to preach unto them that dwell on the earthy and to every nation^ and kindred^ and tongue^ and people^ Ver. 7. Sayings with a loud voice ^ Fear God^ and give glory to him ; for the hour of his judgement is come ; and 'wor- Jhip him that made heaven^ and earthy and thefea^ and the Jountains of waters. The angel whom the apollle be- held flying in the midft of heaven, is liere called another angel^ which feems to have puzzled even the moll ( 479 ) mofl judicious expofuors. But is it ^^r^^' not probable, that fome angel in- \.^ry^ terpreter had been with him in the preceding vilion, as upon feveral o- ther occaiions, to inform him of the character of that holy fociety which he fo exadlly defcribes. Let this probable fuppofition be admit- ted, and it folves the difficulty at once. This angel feemed Iwift to execute his commiffion, in carry- ing abroad to the nations of the world, the everlajlhig gofpel ; meaning, the ancient and primitive gofpel, which had been wonderfully pre- ferved and handed down, even by its enemies. What a lively intima- tion, that the period was now arriv- ed which fliould not terminate till ic fpread its influence over every land. The angel likewife loudly called upon men to feai- God^ and give him gler)\ becaufe of the judgements he was to execute upon tlie enemies of ( 48o ) CHAP. q£ jjjg people, for the appointed fea- V^YN.; fon of thefe judgements was ap- proaching ; therefore they fliovild learn both the impiety and the fot- tiflinels of giving homage to any creature, either in heaven, or on earth, and pay their adorations to the Almighty Creator alone. Does not every reader perceive that this is another lively prophetic intima- tion of the bleffed eifedls which Ihould be produced by the difcove- ries of heavenly truth, with which the period here referred to fhould be illuminated, and by the tremen- dous judgements that fhould then be poured out upon the wicked. But the fcene is further opened by the voice of the fecond angel which is next defcribed. 8. And there followed another angel ^ fay -^ ing^ Babylon is fallen^ ?s fallen^ that great city. ( 48i ) city^ lecaufc Jhe made all nations drink of CHAP. the wine of the wrath of her fornication. V.,^yO If we may judge from the event, this angel probably followed the former at a confiderable diftance ; for he feems to proclaim the fall of myftical Babylon, that city of ex- tenfive fway, as at hand. Her fall is not to be underitood as coming in the way of natural decline, but in the way of judgement, and aw- ful deftru6lion, as appears from the reafon which is fubjoined, becaufe Ihe had deeply corrupted the na- tions, by every feducing art, and drawn them into all her abomina- ble idolatries, here defcribed, by making them to drink of the inflaming zvine of her fornication. But another angel ftill is introduced, before this final judgement upon Babylon is ac»- tually inflidted, thus denouncing P p p vengeance ( 482 ) CHAP, vengeance upon alliier friends and XIV. Ver. 9. yirui iht third angel followed \ them^ faying y iv'itb a loud voice ^ If any '1 man ivorfolp the hcajl and his imagc^ and \ receive his mark in his forehead ^ or In his . handy Ver. 1 o. The fame Jhall drink of the wine of the wrath of Gody which Is ponred out \ without mixture y Into the cup of his indlgna- ' tlon ; and he fjall be tormented with f re and brlmfone. In the prefence of the holy " angels y and In the prefence of the Lamb : ^ Ver. II. y/W the f moke of their tor- i me?tt afcendcth up for ever and ever : and i they have no rcfl day nor nighty zvho wcr- \ flolp the beaf and his Image ^ and whofoever \ recelveth the mark of his name. ! Nothing can be more awful than ^ this denunciation. The language j is too expreffive both of the feverefl i temporal judgements, and of ever- \ lading I XIV. ( 483 ) lifting puniflimcnt, to require to be chap. explained. It only remains that it be deeply pondered by thofe who either by efpoufing the fuperftition of antichrift, or even contributing to maintain his caufe,may bein danger of incurring this terrible doom. And let it be obferved, that it is repre- fented as one of the moft aggravat- ing circumftances in their mifery, that it is Vvithout the fmallcft com- miferation to alleviate its horrors ; even the compaffionate Lamb him- felf, in the midft of approving an- gels, beholding their torments un- moved (^), This likewife, it appears, fliall be a time of fevere trial and fufFer- ing to the people of God. There- fore it is added, Ver. {^) I have taken no notice of the hard expref- flOll xiKioac^fiivou ^aK^areVy y. IC 23 I COnceive thC fenfe which is given in our tranflation is well fup- ported by the icarned Gataker and others. CHAP. XIV. ( 4S4 ) Ver. 12. Hdre is the patience of the (aiiits : Here are they that keep the com-* mandments of God and the faith of Jefiis. They fliall rhen be made mani- feft, by the conftancy of their obedience, and the firmnefs of their faith, and the calmnefs of their fub- million under all their fulferings ; for through much tribulation they muft enter into the kingdom of God : therefore the happy deliver- ance of the faints from this world of forrow, was impreiled upon the mind of the apoftle in the folema and affecSting manner, which he goes on to relate, Ver. 13. A?id I heard a voice from 'heaven^ faying unto me^ Write: Bleffed are- the dead, which die in the Lord from hence^ forth ; yea^ faith the Spirit^ that they may rejl ( 485 ) reft from their labours ; and their works do CHAP, /// 7 XIV. Jo How tbem» V^vW This voice was uttered for the confolation of fufFering Chriflians, that their faith might not fail ; not that the faints who died before that period were not happy as well as they; this is not the meaning of the expreffion from henceforth in this verfe : it only means, from the time of their deaths and denotes, that immedi- ately after they had finiflied their la- hours and fufFcrings upon the earth, they fliould enter into a moft blef- fed reft in heaven, where their toils and forrows fhould be crowned with everlafting joy. This was in- tended for the encouragement of the faints, particularly at that peri- od ; and the folemn manner in which the aflurance is given, by the Spirit of truth himfelf, is ftrongly fitted { 486 ) CHAP, fitted to animate and comfort their XIV. \^y^y^ fouls C). This vifion of the three angels in (^) I cannot but think that the mode of inter- pretation, which the learned Vitringa applauds, in joining «'»'«c"^' to 'o^votrxutrovrxi, in this pafiage, is very conftrained. Nor do I fee any need for fuch a tranfpofition of this particle, which has fo much difturbed expofitors : The fenfe is eafy and natu- ral without it : Bleffcd are the dead which die in the Lcrdy 'a'^x^n from henceforth, or rather,yrcw nawy if our language would admit of fuch an ex- preflion ; evidently referring to the moment of their death which had juft now been fpoken of. As little can I fuppofe, that the dead ivho die in the Lord are to be underftood only of martyrs. Not only the expreflion does not require to be fo reftriaed, (fee i Cor xv. i8 ) but if it were, the confolation would be with-held from m^any for whom it was certainly intended, even from all thofe holy men who Ihall then be found lirug- gling againft corruption, and maintaining their integrity in the midft of danger, without being ever brought to the trial of fealing their teftimo- ny with their blood. . ^ ( 48; ) in fucceffion one to another, em- chap; XIV. braces the whole of that period y^^^^y^ which commenced with the re- pubHcation of the gofpel to the na- tions of the world, after it had been fo long fliut up by antichrift, and which terminates with his deftruc- tion. 'The frjl angel represents the reformation, begun by Luther, and carried on by many zealous and a- ble divines, by which fo many kingdoms broke off from the domi- nion of antichrift, and liberty of preaching the gofpel has been af- forded in fo m.any lands. The ap- pearance of the fecond angel cznnox. be earlier than the beginning of thofe political convulfions, by which the fall of fpiritual Babylon fliall beac- compliflied. One of thefe, I con- ceive, has already taken place, and the efieft of it has been fo great, that it has not only fliaken the pa- pal dominions, but has filled almoft all ( 488 ) ^y^' all Europe with confternation. The ^•w; principles to which it has given birth, are the moft unfriendly to antichrift's power of any that have ever been laid down ; particularly that one of withholding from religion all civil fupport, without which his kingdom cannot exiil. If thefe principles then fliould fpread their influence, (and they appear to be very infectious,) it is eafy to fee that the fall of myftical Babylon muft be at no great diftance. Tbe third a?igel will probably appear foon after the fecond; for then, the judgements upon antichriil will haflen on apace. But his voice will be chiefly heard from the time of the drying up of the great river Euphrates till the battle oi Armagiddon. During that period, every pofllble artifice will be employed in fupport of the laft interefts of tyranny and fuper- ftition ; and the enmity and cruelty of C 489 ) of antichrift aeainft the people of CHAP. '^ ^ XIV. God will again break forth. This v^^y-y^ will be a trying time to Chridians. Every fedudlive allurement, and e- very terrifying menace, Ihall be made ufe of, to gain their compli- ance with the iniquitous fyllem, which at the fame time fliall be co- loured over with every fophiftical recommendation. It was therefore necellary^ that an antidote fliould be provided againft fo great a danger. This is done by the voice of the third ange/y who, in the clear accompliili- ment of prophecy, and in the aw- ful appearances of providence a- gainft thefe enemies of God, will, folemnly, and loudly, proclaim the guilt and danger of all who Hand in connection with them ('). Qiiq (^) Mede thinks the preaching of the firfl: angel was fulillled about the year 720, in the Greek and Oriental churches ; the evangelizing angel then flying in t/:e top of heaven^ that is, in a high and ( 490 ) and lofty place, as he did not employ mean and vulgar men for his inftruments, but the high powers in the Chriftian world, the emperors at Conftantinople, Leo Ifaurus, Conftantinus Ico- nomachus, Leo Armenius, Michael Balbus, and Theophilus •, all of whom, but elpecially the firft two, by their decrees and edi^ls, ftrenuouily op- pofed image and faint worfliip. He thinks the preaching of this angel was heard, not only in the ealt, but likewife in the weft, in the year 790, in the fynod of Frankfort under Charle- magne ', in which the worfhip of images, and the fecond Nicene Council, which eftablifhed it, were condemned. The fecond angel he takes to be the Waldenfes and Albigenfes. The preaching of the third angel, the moft illuftrious of all, he underftands to be fulfilled in the work of Luther and his fucceffbrs. — Bifhop Newton follows him exactly in all the parts of this interpretation But thefe expolitors have, certainly, gone much too far back in fearch of thefe angels. How could the firft angel, for inftance, be faid to preach the gofpel to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, at the period they aflign to him, when, for ages after, it continued to be corrupt- ed, till its ciiaracSt'tr was entirely defaced ? Not to fpeak of the ftrange incongruous notion, of emperors J ( 491 ) emperors preaching the gofpel by decrees and e- dids. And how could it be then faid that the hour of God's judgement was come, meaning e- vidently his judgement againll Babylon, which was to terminate in her fall, when fhe had not nearly attained the height of her domination ? — Durham underftands the preaching and procla- mations of the three angels, to be nothing more than the different fteps, or ftages, of the work of the reformation. Firft, Luther, preaching only againft indulgences, purgatory, and fuch like grofs and fcandalous errors : afterwards, as he grows in light, alTuming the province of the fecond angel, declaring Rome to be Babylon, and the Pope antichrift, and foretelling the ruin of both : and laftly, the reformers, in the charac- ter of the third angel, requiring Chriftians to fe- parate entirely from the communion of the Ro- mifh church. But did the reformers conlign to eternal mifery all who continued in the com^i munion of that church, or were they warranted fo to do ? Yet this is properly the bufinefs of the third angel, and mall: belong to a time when God's judgements againll her are made manifeft. — Somewhat analogous to this laft interpretation is that of the learned Vitringa. He underftands the firft angel, to denote Luther and his fellow- labourers, in the reformation, who flood at the tead of that ^reat work. The fecond angel, he refers ( 492 ) he refers to, what he calls, the fecond age of ths reformation ; and feems to point at Calvin, the moft diftingulfhed character of that period, as the perfon in whom he was realized. The third angel, he referves for the third age of the refor- mation, embracing a period of great trial and per- lecution to the church. This, he thinks, began to be fulfilled in his time, in the perfecution of the Gallic reformed church, and in the preach- ing of faithful witneiTes, whom God railed up to declare his judgments againft thoie who fhould apoftatize from the faith even in thefe trying cir- cumftances. But he thinks it will be {till more fully accompliflied, in the preaching of zealous and holy minifters, during the great and more general affliction which ihall precede the found- ing of the laft trumpet. For the reafons I have affigned, and others that might be mentioned, I conceive that we are now under the voice of the fecond angel. We are not yet fuffcring perfecution, but we are fuf* fering great decline, which fhall grow deeper and deeper till the general converfion. Previous to that time, the church fliall be a Utile one and a mean one ; nay, flie fiiall be even forfaken and hat- ed, fa that no man Ihall go through her, (Ifa. Ix. 15, 22 ) and her ftrength and fpirit fliall be fo wafted that fhe fliall feem as dead (Rom. xi. 15.) Let us not be furprized then, though infidelity fliould C 493 ) ihould increafe. Indeed I look for Its increafe -, and likewifc for the increafe of human fchemes of religion, under the name of Chriftianity, in which its holy and heavenly do6lrine is not to be found, till God write folly upon all thefe efforts of human wifdom,by the univerfal impiety and cor- ruption which they fhall produce : after which he will manifeft the power of his own grace and truth, in quickening a world dead in trefpaffes and lins. In the mean time, hatred and con- tempt fhall be the lot of the faithful upon the earth, and both the arts of fedudion, and the arm of violence, will be employed againft them. Let us therefore liften with folemn attention to our Lord's declaration, which relates as I con- ceive to the fame period •, " Behold, I come as a thief. BlefTed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments." Rev. xvi. 15. VISION ( 494 "^ VISION OF THE SON OF MAN WITH THE SICKLE IN HIS HA.ND. v^v^ CHAP. XIV. Ven 1 4. And I looked^ and behold a white cloudy and upon the cloud one fat^ like unto the Son of man^ having on his head a golden crown ^ and in his hand a Jharp fickle. Here begins the dcfcription of a very awful vifion, rcprefenting the judgements of God upon the wick- ed, to their total deftruilion. The apoftle was again wrapt in prophet- ic extacy : his eyes were opened up- on a new and wonderful fcene: He beheld a fplendid cloudy the emblem of ( 495 ) of maicfty, defcend from heaven, chap. XIV till it came down to the earth 0. v,,,^yO In the perfon who fat upon it, he recognized the appearance of his divine Mafter himfelf. Upon his head was a crown of gold ^ the enfign of fovereign empire, and in his hand was a Jharp fickle^ the emblem of fwift deilruilion to his enemies. While he mufed upon this auguft and fo- lemn appearance, the fcene inftant- ly filled up, and haftened to a con- clufion. See it reflected, with ad- mirable fimplicity, from his devout and feeling mind, in the following part of the defcription. Ver. 15. And another angel came out of the temple^ crying with a loud voice to him that fat on the cloudy "Thriift in thy fickle^ (=*) The cloud, it is evIJent, muft have appear- ed defcending till it hovered upon the ground, for the perfon who fat on it, was able to thruft in his fickle into the harveft. CHAP, fickle, and reap : for the time is come for XIV. J ^ r J V^^py^ thee to reap ; for the harvejl of the earth is ripe, Ver. 1 6. And he that fat on the cloud thrufi in his fickle on the earth ; and the earth was reaped. In order to fet forth the juftice of the punilh merit which was now to be executed, and to heighten its folemnity and awe, an angel, called another in reference to thofe of the former vilion, is introduced com- ing out of the temple, expreffing his high approbation of it ; and in- timating, that (inners, by the dread- ful progrefs of their wickednefs, were become ripe for vengeance. This inftru6live apparatus over, the inftrument of mifery is ftretched forth, and they arc cut down and deftroyed by it. Inftantly another reprefen ration was exhibited, ftili more ^tremend- ous ( 497 ) ous than the former, of which we chap* have the following vivid and im- ^^^^ preilive defcription. Ver. 1 7. ^/id another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven^ he alfo having a Jharp fickle. Ver. 1 8. And another angel came out from the altar^ which had power over fre ; and cried with a loud cry to him that had thefharp fickle^ f^y'^^g^ T^hriifl in thy fharp fickle^ and gather the clufers of the vine of the earthy for her grapes are fully ripe, Ver. 1 9. And the angel thrufl in his fickle into the earthy and gathered the vine of the earthy and cajl it into the great wine-^ prefs of the wrath of God* Left it fliould be thought that Chrift himfelf was to appear in per- lon, to take vengeance upon his e- nemies, the fcene is again renewed under the emblem of a vintage ; R r r and ( 498 ) CHAT5. and an angel of deftruftion comes XIV ^_^^^ forth from the temple in heaven^ 'not the church, fiirely, for prophecy does no warrant the fuppofition that the church Ihall execute this judge- ment, but, as it were, ; from the im- mediate prefcnce of God, and fur- nifhed hkewife with ^Jloarp fickle, to intimate his being the commiliion- ed executioner of the divine ven- geance. He feems, however, not to have been authorifed to ftrike the fatal blow, till another angel arriv- ed, giving him iaftrudions to that efFecfb. 7 his was the angel of juf- tice, fymbolically charafterifed by his coming iorxh frojn the altar of fa- crifice, and his having power over Jire. the emblem of incenfcd ven- geance. In confequence of thofe inftruftions, he appears, not only to have gathered the clujlers of the vine of the earthy but to have cut down the vme iileli", and to have caft all into ( 499 ) into the wine-prefs of the wrath of God, Hence we learn, that the arm of power cannot deftroy even the wicked themfelves, till the juftice of heaven is pleafed to commif- fion it. But when a people are be- come ripe for judgement, and the fentence is gone forth againft them, dreadful are the calamities which may then be expcfted. Nothing can be more tremendous than the concluding fcene of this vifion ; when the apoftle beheld, CHAP. XIV. Ver. 20. And the wine-prefs was trod- den without the cit)\ and blood came out of the wine-prefs ^ even unto the horfe- bridles ^ by the fpace of a thoufand and fix hundred furlongs. Ihe wine-prefs here, can be no o- ther than what is called in a fubfe- quent vifion, /Z?^ wine-prefs of the fierce- nefs and wrath of Almighty God^ and he who ( 500 ) ^xiv^ who trod it, as we are there inform- W./'v^w ed, is that glorious perfon, wbo hath on his vejlure^ and on his thigh ^ a name *u ritten^ King of Kings^ and Lord of Lord. It was trodden without the clty^ probably meaning the city Rome itielf ; and blood came out of the wine- prcfs to a wide extent ; and even unto the horfes bridles^ a proverbial expref- fion denoting great and terrible flaughter. The two diftin6l reprefentations of which this vifion confifts, in their great intent and meaning, like Pha- raoh's dream, are one. Their ob- je6l is ro delineate the deitrucStion of myllical Babylon, which the third proclaiming angel, immediately preceding, had pronoiuiccd to be fallen. 1 hey are therefore of the fame import with the battle of the great day of God Almighty^ which is after- wards defcribed, when the beafl and tJjQ falfe prophet *were taken ^ and cajl Into the ( 501 ) the burning lake^ and the remnant were CHAP. Jlain with the /word of him that fat on the \^y^ horfe^ and all the fowls were filled with their flefij. f xix. 10.) The vifion has been fuppofed further to intimate, that the fall of Babylon ftiall be ac- compliflied by two feparate and lig- nal ftrokes of judgement, with a confiderable fpace of time interven- ing, fimilar to the fpace which in- tervenes between the harveft and vintage. For this, however, there does not feem to be any fatisfying reafon. In the prophecy of Joel, to which this defcription alludes, and which probably relates to the fame event, no fuch interval is to be found. On the contrary, the vin- tage feems to be haftened, in fuch a manner, as rather to be before, than after, the harveft : for by'the time that the harveft was ripe for the fickle, the prefs is faid to be full and the fats to overflow, Joel iii. 13. Befides, ( 502 ) xrv^' Befides, in the more particular ac- V^^v^ count of the fall of Babylon, under the vials, there is nothing that o r- relponds to this fuppofition ; for, inftead of two^ we find no lefs than feveKy fignal llrokes of judgement coming upon her, by which flie was gradually brought down, till flie was finally ruined. The truth is, that, in this vifion, the harveft and vintage are reprefented toge- ther, in order to give an adequate view of the complete defolation and awful mifery with which her fall Ihall be attended. The appearance of Chrift firft, and then of an angel, to execute the tremendous punifh- ment, denotes, that the dilpofitions of providence (hall be fo extraordi- nary, as to manifeft the power and prelence of him, who Jhall break his enemies to pieces like a potter s vejfel^ even while he carries on his defigns by the inflruments of his vengeance upon ( S03 ) upon the earth. This Ihall be moft chap. oi all remarkable at the conclufion >^^ryO of the fcene, when the ivine-prefs was trodden without the city^ which is re- prefented as his particular pro- vince *, fo that blood foall come out of it even to the borfe-bridles ^ by the /pace of a thoufandandfix hundred furlongs. The laft judgement on antichrift is re- prefented, upon all occalions, by e- very thing that can ftrike the mind with confternation What can more ftrongly defcribe either the facility with which he and his fup- porters fhall be deftroyed, or the infupportable fufFerings which they ftiall endure, than grapes cruflied by the feet of him that treadeth the wine-prefs. But when we fee blood ifluing from it, and flowing / d.eeply, to a vafl: extent, the vail is thrown * See Ifa. Ixiii. Rev. xix. ( 5^4 ) CHAP, thrown alide, and we become al- XIV. ' V^v-o nioft witneffes of the dreadful llaughter. Two circumftances are here recorded, which deferve par- ticular attention. The firft refpedls the place of this final defolation, the other the compafs to which it will reach. « * * * * CHAP. "^^ Here there is unfortunately a chafm in the Manufcript, which deprives us of the ingenious author's conjectures upon this curious and Inte- refting fubjed. ( s^s ) CHAP. XV, Vcr. I. jind I /am another fign in heaven^ great and marvellous^ /even angels having the /even loft plagues : for in them is filled up the wrath of God. Ver. 2. And I faw as it were a fea of glafs mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the viEiory over the beafiy and over his image^ and over his marky and o-» ver the number of his name^ fiand on the, fea of glafs y having the harps of God. Vef. 3. And they fing the fong of Mo^ fesy thefervant of God ^ and thefong of the Lamby faying ^ Great and marvellous are thy works y Lord God Almighty ; Jufi and true are thy ways, thou King of faints. Ver. 4. Who fhall not fear thee^ O S f f Lord^ ( 5c6 ) CHAP. Lord^ and glorify thy name ? for thou only \ K^^-y^tj art holy : for all nations fall come and wor- foip before thee ] for thy judgements arc \ made manfef, Ver. 5. And after that I looked^ and ; behold^ the temple of the tabernacle of the ; teflimony in heaven zvas opened : i Ven 6. And the fcvcn angels came i cut of the temple^ having the feven plagues ^ i clothed in pure and vohite Unen^ and having \ their breafts girded iiith golden girdles, Vcr. 7. And one of the four beafs gave unto thefevcn angels feven golden vials \ full of the wrath of God ^ who liveih for ever and ever, \ Ver. 8. Aiid the temple was filled with 1 fnioke from the glory of God^ and from his j power ; and no man was able to enter into the temple till thefevcn plagues 0/ the feven \ angels were fulfilled. This vifion exhibits a very mag- 1 nificcnt fccne which the apoflle be- ! held, fitted to ilrilie the mind with folemn 1 ( 507 ) folemn attention and awe, in the chap. profpcdt of the pouring out of the \^y^ feven vials upon the enemies of the church of God, which were to ter- minate in their total overthrow. The apoftle was again taken up in- to heaven, where he faw another fign befides thofe which he had for- merly defcribed, a fign too of great and portentous import. He faw feven angels^ having the feven lafl plagues^ in which were filled up the wrath of God. He faw likewifc, as it were, 2ifea of glafs mingled with fire ; and what was particularly interelling, he faw thejn that had gotten the viEiory over the beafi^ and over his image^ and over his mark^ and over the number of his name ^fi and up^ on the fca of glafs ^ having the harps of God, The fong which they fung he feems diilinftly to have heard, and a noble ad it was of adoration, dox- ology, and praife. It is not an eafy matter to illuftrate the myftical im- port V.^'V^ ( 508 ) CHAP P°^^ ^^ thefe fublime and magnifi* XV. cent emblems. Beautiful is the in- terpretation of the learned and in- genious Mede : he confiders this fcene as defcriptive of the deliver- ance which the faithful received at the time of the reformation, who, he thinks, are here reprefented, even while (landing upon the brim of the fea of glafs, in which they had been wifliing themfelves from their former pollutions, exulting in the wonders which God had wrought in their behalf, and fing- ing the fong of vidory, and tri- umph. But, not to fay that the ap- pearance of the fea of glafs as mingled with fire, has no meaning upon this interpretation, thewhole of this vifion has fo evident a reference to the deUverance of God's ancient people out of Egypt, that one can- not help being inclined to under- ftand the fea of glafs mingled with fire ( 5o<5 ) fire in allufion to the Red Sea, fo fa- CHAP. XV mous in the hiftory of that extraor- v.>^vO dinary event. It is furprifing that the learned and good Vitringa Ihould be fo much offended with this interpretation, calling it an idle fancy of fome expoiitors, though he offers no reafon againft it, but what arifes from the unneceflary, and indeed, groundlefs, fuppolition, that the Red Sea myftically denotes the world of the ungodly. But when we confider this fea of glafs mingled with fire, in allufion to the Red Sea, nothing can be more apt and ftriking than the fenfe which it exhibits. It gives us a view of the people of God, in their efcape from myftical Egypt, ftanding as it were upon the oppofite fliore of the Red Sea ; on one hand, contemplat- ing with wonder and gratitude,their deliverance from fpiritual thral- dom; on the other, looking for- ward, CHAP. XV. ( 510 ) ward, by faith, to the pouring out of the vials, by which the deftruc- tion of their enemies was to be completed. This interpretation is confirmed by other circiimftances in the defcription. What an ana- logy is there, for inftance, between the plagues upon antichrift, and thofe upon Egypt ! The fong which they fmg is in the fame fpirit with that which the Ifraelites fang upon the fliore of the Red Sea, and there- fore is properly called the fong of Mofes^ the fcrvant of God^ that is, the fong which he taught the chil- dren of Ifrael to fing upon that oc- calion ; and, when underftood in its fpiritual meaning, is properly called the fo?ig of the Lamh^ that is, the fong with which he fills the mouths of his people for the far greater deliverance which he has wrought for them, of which the former was only a faint and diflant type. CHAP. ( 511 ^ CHAP. XVL I Ver. I. Aftd I heard a great voice out of the temple^ fiyi^g to the /even angels^ Go your ways^ and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. Ver. 2. And thefirfl went^ and poured out his vial upon the earth ; and there fell a noifome and grievous fore upon the men which had the mark of the beaft^ and upon them which worfhipped his image. Ver. 3. And the fecond angel poured out his vial upon thefea ; and it became as the blood of a dead man : and every living fold died in thefea. Ver. 4, And the third angel poured out ( 5^2 ) CHAP, out his vial upon the rivers and fountains ■^^^* of waters ; and they became blood, Ver. 5. And I heard the angel of the waters fay^ Thou art righteous y 0 Lord^ which art ^ and wajly and JJmlt be^ becaufc thou hajl judged thus : Ver. 6. For they have Jhed the blood of faints and prophets ^ and thou haf given them blood to drink ;for they are worthy. Ver. 7. And 1 heard another out of the altar fay y Evenfo^ Lord God Almighty ^ true and righteous are thy judgements, Ver. 8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the fun ; and power was given unto him to fcorch men with f re. Ver. 9. And men were fcorched with great heat^ and blafphemed the name of God, which hath power over thefe plagues : and they repented not to give him glory. The Notes on the preceding chapt>^r, and the Commentary and Notes upon this pallage have not been found. POURING ( 5'3 ) THE POURING OUT OF THE FIFTH VIAL, Ver. lo. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the the feat of the heajl ; and his kingdom was full of darknefs, and they gnawed their tongues for pain. Ver. II. And blafphemed the God of heaven hecaufe of their pains and their fores ^ and repented not of their deeds. By the feat of the beajl^ upon which this vial was poured out, we are to underftand his authority and domi- nion ; a featy or throney being the em- blem of fixed authority, and of fet- tled empire. The very foundations then, of antichrift's dominion were T 1 1 to CHAP. XVI. ( 5H } CHAP, to be Ihaken by the pouring on: of ^^^^2]* t^^^s ^'^^^* '^'"^^ confequence was, that his kingdom was Jilled with darhnefs, a deep and melancholy gloom per- vaded the minds of his fubjefls. Their anxiet^v^ was fo. great, that it is exprefled by one of the ftrongefl natural fyraptoms, as if they gnawed their very tongues for pain : yet, the fare evidence of approaching ruin, tbey repented not of their deeds^ but, in the midft of their pains and of their fores ^ they hlafphemed the God of heaven^ not only by perfifting in the folemn mockery of their fuperftition, after ail the judgements they had fuller- ed, but by calling in religion itfeif, to jullify the violation of the firft principles of nature, in fupport of that fytlem of tyranny, which had fo long been exercifed over both the bodies and minds of men. The pouring out of tliis vial fcems at this time to be receiving its C 5^5 ) its accomplilhment, in one of the CHAP, moft extraordinary political events, ^,^yO that perhaps the hiftory of the world affords, the fall of an oppreilive and arbitrary monarchy in France, and the eftablifliment of a different form of government in its room. No where did fuch a revolution feem more improbable; for no where did defpotifm feem more firmly eftabliflied, no where was it formed into a more perfedl fyftem. A powerful nobility, an interefted clergy, and a numerous army, con- curred to fupporc the throne. The caufes that wrought its overthrow were various. One of the moft obvi- ous and moft immediate, was, the defire of deprefling a rival nation, and, with that view, forming an al- liance with her colonies againft her. In order to render this interference popular, arguments, juftifying the caufe of the fubjedt againft the fo- vereign, ( 5«6 ) CHAP, vereign, were induftrioufly circu- ^ V 1 s^^ry^O lated throughout the kingdom. Men eagerly read, they thought, and entered warmly into the fubjeft. With deep intereft they contemplat- ed the example of a fet of feeble colonies, fcattered upon a diftant and wide extended fliore, com- bating the efforts of one of the moft powerful governments on earth. They were taught to rejoice in their fuccefs. But the exertions on the part of France which contributed to that fuccefs completed the de- rangement of her finances, and called for an enormous increafc of tlie na- tional burthens, Recourfe was had to a remedy, plaufible, but danger- ous to the monarchy. The States general were called together. They met, full of the fpirit which many writers had long been endeavour- ing to diffufc, which the court it- felf had unintentionally cheriflied. They ^( 517 ) They completely overturned the an- CHAP, tient government; if it may not, v^ryO with more propriety, be faid to have been overturned by the fpirit of a people living three thoufand miles dillant. Thus, by a lingular combination of circumftances, that Sun of the antichriflian world, which we have feen under the for- mer vial, for more than a century, fcorching men with the intenfenefs of hisheat,andfpreadingdevaftation all around him, was extinguifhed in the billows of the Atlantic ocean. This is an event fo ftrongly damp- ed with the hand of Providence, that a contemplative and ferious mind cannot but regard it as of a very prognoflicating import. It is not to our purpofe here, to examine the principles of government which the founders of the new republic have laid down. The influence of thefe principles ( 5^8 ) CHAP, principles has already fpread to a Jv V I, K„^0y^ confiderable extent, and has occa- fioned a high degree of anxiety and alarm. The meafures which have been adopted with refpcdt to reli- gion, pointed perhaps at the de~ ftruiftion of Chriftianity itfclf, have greatly alarmed many ferious minds. But let the Chriftian difmifs his fears: Chriftianity re- quires not to be fupported by car- nal weapons and the arm of flefli. All flie aiks is liberty topublifli her do6trines, and difpenfeher ordinan- ces ; and this, notwichftanding their enmity againft her, their own prin- ciples have conftrained the Frencli rulers to afford. Not genuine Chrif- tianity and pure religion, but the fabric of fuperftition, muft fall, when deprived of the props of wealth and power. Never therefore was there an event more threatening to tlie dominion ( 5^9 ) CHAP dominion of antichrift than this : xvr.* no wonder then that his kingdom ^^-^'v*^ JJjould be full of darkncjs^ that per- turbation and horror Ihould over- fpread his realms* But have they repented of their wickednefs in con- fequence of the judgements of God thus vifibly faUing upon them ? Are they nor as mad in their idolatry and fuperilition as before? And do not the fupporters of idolatry and fuperftition grofsly blafpheme the name of the Moll High, when they call it the caufe of religion, and the caufe of God C). (') The great Napier makes the pouring out of this vial, to be the diminifhing of the Roman em- pire, by the Turklfli power, which arofe about the year 1051. Jurieu underftands it of the re- moval of the Popes to Avignon, and the grand ichifm of the weft, and fixes its beginning to the year 1305. Vitringa and Lowman interpret it of the reformation by Luther. But Mede, Durham, Waple, and Markius, underftand this vial to be poured ( 520 ) poured upon the city of Rome itfelf and to accom- plifh its deftru£tion : only with this difference that the laft takes in the neighbouring part of Italy along with the city. But thefe worthy and learned expofitors feem here to offend againfk their own profeffed principles, by preferring the literal before the fymbolical import. THE ( 521 ) THE POURING OUT OF THE SIXTH VIAL. Ver. 1 2. And the fixth angel poured CHAPJ out his vial upon the great river Euphra^ ^^^^ tes ; and the water thereof was dried up^ that the way of the kifigs of the eafi might he prepared. This part of the defcription in- forms us, that the judgement of this vial does properly confift in the drying up of the great river Euphrates^ ' whatever the meaning of that em- blem may be ; and that the defign of its drying up is to prepare the way for certain perfons, who are here called, the kings of the eajl ; an em- U u u blem CHAP, blcm perhaps as o'oicure as the for- nier. The fubfequcnt part of the de- fcription refpcc5ls the confequences of tliis judgement, in the prepara- tions of the enemies of the truth for one great and united effort, in defence of thofe fyftenis of civil op- preiiion and religious delufion, to which they formerly owed all their importance, and now, perhaps, their exiilence iifelf. Thefe are brought about by the moft affiduous and artful intrigues, as the apoftle very plainly intimates in the following verfes : Ver. 1 3. y^/iJ Ifdw three iindeanfpU ritSy Tike frogs ^ come out of the 7nouth of the dragon^ and out of the mouth of the beaf^ and Old of the ynouih of ihefalfc prophet. Ver 14, For they are the fphits of devils^ wcrhbtg vuracles^ which go forth iinlo thehhigs of the earthy arid of the whole world^ ( 5^3 ) world y to gather them to the battle of that v vi ' great day of God Almighty. v^^vvj Thefe^/V/Vj- are the infligators of revenge, and the agents of tyranny and fuperftition ; they are iStly rc- prefented as coming out of the mouth of the drago7i^ and out of the mouth of the heajl^ and out of the mouth of the falfe pro^ phct^ as they are fent forth to pro-, mote their interefts, and ad: under their refpec5live influence. They are compared to frogs^ who dehght in llagnant and corrupted waters ; and therefore fitly denote the advocates of a bafe and corrupted poHcy. They are further defcribed as of a very wicked and deviUfh temper ; as full of malice and fubtlety ; as uling e- very falfe and dclulive art to accom- plifh their defign. But they do not perceive that tliey are only bringing up the kings of the earthy and their armies, to receive the vengeance of Heaven, ( 5^4 ) CHAP. Heaven, in their fipnal deftru6lion ; XVI. ^ V^^y^ in refpeft of which, the time of their mad and impious conflid: is, emphatically, and awfully, {tiled that great day of God Almighty. This however will be a time of trial and danger to the people of God, and therefore the Saviour is introduced addreffing to them this gracious ad- monition ; Ver. 1 5, Behold y I come as a thief: hlejfed is he that watcheth^ aftd keepeth his garmetitSy lejl he walk naked^ and they fee hisfhame. The coming of Chrifl here, is to take vengeance upon his enemies, which to them will be fudden and uncxpecfted ; and perhaps many of the faints themfclves may be infen- fible of the danger of being con- nedled with them, till his judgc- pients be made raanifeft, when they will will endeavour to efcape for their ^-^y/*^ lives, like perfons fleeing naked v»>'vW from a houfe w^hich is broke open by thieves. Therefore watchful- nefs, and maintaining the graces of holinefs in a lively exercife, here reprefented by bodily clothing, are recommended to all. Ver. 1 6. ^nd he gathered them toge^ ther imto a place called^ in the Hebrew tongue^ Armageddon. This is the place where the fatal battle was to be fought, and hither the kings of the earth were gather- ed to the final deftrudion (*). The (') Dr. Doddridge, after feveral commentators, fuppofes that it was God who gathered them to- gether, and fubjoins the following obfervation. « This feems a memorable circumftance : they were the dragon's army, yet God aifembled them. Such oblique intimations of the interpolition of Providence are wonderfully inftrudive, and they are CHAP. ( 5^^ ) 7^^ ^reat river Euphrates^ upon which this vial was poured out, de- notes, as I conceive, the great Ger- manic body, or, as it is pompoufly and impiouily ililed, The Holy Ro- man Empire. This has been the great bulwark of myfiical,, as that ri- ver was of anticjit^ Babylon. The entire fubjection of Germany to the empire of Charlemagne, and the forced converfion of the Saxons, by whom it was chiefly inhabited, greatly extended the dominions and encreafcd the power of the Pope, At the fame time, the capitularies of nrc fcattered up and down in many places of the facred writings.'* The obfervation is excellent, but I am afraid the cxprcfllon opc's dominions ; and obfervcs, that this vial fcems to intend an invalion of thefc by the Turks, who are now the eafiern neighbours of Italy. It would be tedious to collc«St all the interpreta- tions which have been offered of the name Arma-^ geddon, and it could aSbrd no entertainment, ex- cept ( 537 ) cfept to thofe who are verfant in that kind of learning, to arrange the various methods of form- ing the compound Hebrew word, of which it is fuppofed to conlift, Jerom's interpretation has, in part, been often mentioned by expofitors, (al- though, as Markius juftly obferves, they leave us flill in the dark refpe£ling the Hebrew words of which he compounded it). He feems however to liave been by no means fatisfied what was its genuine import •, for he tranflates it in all thefe different ways, cofifurreBio teEli ; five, confurreElio In prior a : fed melius mons e latrunculisy five, mons glohofus ; expreflions of a very dark and enigmati- cal meaning, and which probably would have been little attended to, had it not been out of refpc^l to their learned and venerable author. The interpretation of Drulius, which is follow- ed by Fleming, is more eafy and intelligible : he renders it r^l^ K:2-in the definition of their army. Markius renders it, ryt3 rrmn excidium per ana^ themay utter dejiruciion by a curfe ; but the mean- ing is not different from the former : it only ex- preffes it a little more emphatically. Vitringa thinks it is compounded of "^-t and ^^'^'^ the motm-- tain of Megeddoy or, as he tranflates it, the moun^ tain of dejlrti^ion. This indeed is the mofl com- mon way of fitting the Hebrew to the Greek let- ters ; it is adopted by Lowman and Waple, but Y y y the ( 538 ) ' the term is chiefly underftood in allufion to a place of that name repeatedly mentioned in the Old Teftament. Forbes thinks it is here alluded to in a twofold refpe^l 5 to denote, i/, The deftruc- tion of the enemies of the church, as ot Jabin and Sifera, at the waters of Megeddo : 2^, That from this vi£lory, fuch mourning of the Jews fhall a- rife, although of a different kind, as they made formerly for the death of Jofiah in the valley of Megeddo. It is eafy to fee that this groundlefs fuppofition is formed only for the purpofe of that interpretation of the vial, which this author has thought proper to adopt. Upon the whole, I in- cline to think that the name Armageddon is chief- ly introduced as a moft fignificant prophetical ap- pellation, by which the field of the battle of the great day of God Almighty fhall be diftinguifhed, on account of the complete and tremendous ruin in which antichrift and his followers fhall there be involved : and, that any allufion it may have to Megeddo of old, can only be in reference to the deftru(Sllon of the army of Jabin by the Ifraelites in the neighbourhood of that city. This may be glanced at, by way of heightening the defcription, in the two following refpeOs. i/?, As it was a complete and total defirupyO in the fliort emphatical expreffion, // is dojiCy that the meaiures of his vengeance upon them are now com- pleted. • Ven 18. And there were voices^ a?td thunders^ and lightenings ; and there was a great earthquake^ fuch as nvas not Jince men were upon the earthy fo mighty an earthquake y andfo great. Thefe expreffions are defcriptive of the prefence of God, when he comes to execute the fury of his vengeance upon his enemies. The ancient prophecies are full of fimi-» lar defcriptions upon fuch occafions. Then a Jire goeth before hiwy and burneth tip his enemies round about. Then his Ughte?iings lighten the worlds the earth aljh beholds and trembles. Such is the lan- guage in which they announce the fignal y^yy^u ( 542 ^ CHAP f^S^^^ judgements of Heaven upon XVI. the wicked, and it is the beft com- ment that can be given upon this paflage. But it ought to be obler- ved, that the revolutions which fhall take place, in confequence of the pouring out of this vial, Ihall be the moft aftoniftiing that ever the world beheld. This is intimated by the great earthquake which it produc- ed, fuch as was not fmce men were upon the earth. Ver. 19. jdnd the great city was di^ vided into three parts ^ and the cities of the nations fell : and great Babylon came in re^ memhrance before God^ to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fercenefs of his wrath* Such are the terrible effecfls with which this mighty earthquake was immediately followed. Antichrift's kingdom, here denoted by the great city^ ( 543 ) city^ was rent into three parts, and ^yvf flood an awful monument of the v,^v^ judgement of the Ahnighty. And the cities of the nations felly the rich com- munities among the various people of his dominions, which traded for his intereft, were overthrown ; and great Babylon^ or Rome itfelf, came in remembrance before God^ the day of ven- geance, which had long feemed to tarry, was now arrived, when God was to execute upon her the fierce- nefs of his wrath, which not only was to work her utter deftruftion, but in fach a terrible manner, that, like an inflaming and intoxicating dr.iught, it was to drive her to all the madnefs of defpair, Ver. 20. And every ifland fed away ^ and the mountains were not found. This accounts for the horror of the fituation in which flie was in- volved ; ( 544 ) CHAP, volved ; for every place of refuge, ^^^' or flielter, to which Ihc might be- take herfelf in her extremity, was entirely removed. Ver. 21. y/W there fell upon me?i a great hall out of heaven^ every Jlone about the weight of a taletity and vieti blafphemed God becaufe of the plague of the hally for the plague thereof was exceeding great. How fudden and awful the ruin which this plague muft produce ! and how audacious the obftinacy of thef(p wretched viftims of incenf- ed vqngeance, that the greater the judgments which they fufFer, the more their iniquities and blafphe- mies are increafed. * "^ '^' ^' * SATAN ( 545 ) SATAN LOOSED OUT OF HIS PRISON. CHAP. XX. 7 10. Ver, 7. And when the thoufand years are expired^ Satan Jloall be loofed out of his prifon. The powerful reftraints that had been laid upon him, during that happy period of the profperity of the church, fliall then be removed. Ver. 8. And he pall go out to deceive the nations 'which are in the four quarters of the earthy Gog and Magogs to gather 1a 7. 7. them ( 546 ) X \ ' ^^^'^ together to battle ; the number of whom Vi^-v^^ IS as the fa?id of the fea. Immediately upon his releafe he fliall difcover his wonted enmity a- gainft the church, in ftirring up the wicked nations, the inftruments of his malice, by every infidious arti- fice, to unite their power and policy for her deftruclion. Of thefe he Ihall find abundance ready to adopt and execute his plan, even Gog and Magog, whofe multitudes arerepre- fented as innumerable, like the fand of the fea. Ver. Q. And they ivcfit up on the the breadth of the earthy and compaffed the i:amp of the faints about ^ and the beloved city : and f re came dozvn from God out of heave?iy and devoured them. We have here a view of the pro- grcfs, and of the iflue, of this for- midable ( 547 ) midable expedition. They march- ed up their army of fuch a vail ex- tent, that it feemed to fill the whole breadth of the earth. They even compajfed the camp of the faints ^ and the beloved city^ and feem to have been juft ready to make their grand af- fault, when they were fuddenly de- ftroyed by Heaven's almighty ven- geance, in a manner as evident, and as awful, as if fire had come down from heaven to devour them. CHAP. Ver. I o. j^nd the devil that deceived thejn^ was cajl into the lake of fire and hrim^ foncy where the beafi and the falfe prophet arc ; andfijall be tormented^ day and nighty for ever and ev€r. What a monument of the power and juftice of God is here. The arch enemy himfelf is at laft vifited for all the wickednefs which he has done. He is caft into the unquench- able ( 548 ) CHAP. XX. * able lake, where he finds fome of ^^^^'^'^^^^ his chief agents before hini, and he and they are tormented together, without mtermillion, and without end. In this prophecy we have an ac- count of the laft eflort of the great adverfary againft the church of Chrift. His exertions upon the earth had been long reftrained. He is now permitted, for a feafon, to renew them : and heinftantly goes forth to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them to- gether to make waragainftthefaints. Who thefe laft inftruments of liis malice fliall be, or in what parts of the world they fliall be found, is one of the moft difficult of our apo- calyptical inquiries. Any light which is afforded us rcfpc6ling it, is too feeble to direct us through the dark extended gloom which lies in ( 549 ) in our way. It has indeed been CHAP. fuppofed, that the Gog and Magog v^^v%-> here defcribed, are the fame with Gog and his confederates againft whom Ezekiel's prophecy (chap, xxxviii.) is directed, and that the va- rious circumftances which are re- corded in the ancient prophecy may lielp us to interpret this. But that the perfons alluded to in both pro- phecies are the fame, is an opinion that cannot eafily be maintained. I readily allow, that two or more prophecies, though they contain very different circumftances, may relate to the fame event : as one pro- phet may notice circumftances which are omitted by another. But v/hen an Old and a New Teftament prophet both refer to the fame e- vent it is certainly very improbable, that the later fhould defcribe it in obfcurer and more general terms than the former, who had prophe- fied ( 550 ) C*H AP XX. ' ficd of it almoft feven hundred years ^^^'v-v^ before, and ftiould not add a fingle circumftance to throw further hght upon it. Ezekiel, however, has de- cided this matter himfelf, by liiew- ing that his prophecy relates to an event which muft belong prior to that here defcribed. For, after fi- nifhing the account of the deilruc- tion of Gog and his multitudes, he adds, So the hoiife of If r a el Jh all know that I ain the Lord their God^ from that day and forward. I' hey fo all know that I am the Lord their God^ who caufed them to he led into captivity among the heathen : but I have gathered them into their own lajid^ and have left none of them any more there^ neither %vill I hide my face any more from them^ for I have ponred out my fpirit upon the houfe of Ifrael^ faith the 1 ord God^, Does not this lead us direcSl- ly to the refettlement of the houfe of * Ezek. xxxix- 22, 28, 29. ( 55^ ) of Ifrael in the land of their fathers, chap. and by no means to the end of the ^^• millennium ? Can it be imagined, that that people fliould not have had fufficient evidence that the Lord was their God, till after they had, not only been almoft miraculoully reftored to the promifed land, but had enjoyed a thoufand years' unin- terrupted profperity in it ? that even this Ihould not fatisfy them, till they had witnelled the complete de- ftru6lion of Gog and Magog, the laft enemies of the church on earth ? Befides, upon this interpretation, the allurance that they fliould con- tinue in the divine favour, and be no more caft off, would be unne- ceflary, as the confummation of all things muft then be at hand. But, not to dwell longer on arguments of this kind, how is it polfible to give a meaning to thefe, and fimi- lar expreffions in the prophecy, / wi/l CHAP. XX. ( 55'- ) will bring thee agairijl my land^ thtit the heathen may know me when IJljall be fane - tified in thce^ 0 Gog^ before their eyes f , if we refer it to that period, when there Ihaii be no heathen but Gog himfelf and his muhitiidcs ; and when they fliall all perifli in one common dcdruftion ? Not\vithftaildingthis,itis ftill main- tained, that the leading circumftan- ces of the Htuation of the Ilraelites, at the time when Gog lliall invade them, as represented by Ezekiel, are fiich as can accord only with the end of the millennium. They are reprefented as rich, as living in fe- ciirity, and as- having loft the know- ledge of the art of war, circumftan- ccs which arc fappofed to indicate the lapfe of a long period of prof- pcrity and peace. But let it be ob- fcrved, that no reafoning can be more t Ezek. xxvv'.li. i6. See alfo v, 23, CHAP. XX. ( 553 ) more fallacious than drawing con- clufions from what takes place in v-^v-Vi' the ordinary courfe of things, to what may be expedled under an ex- traordinary, and almojft miraculous, difpenfation. Who will prefume to aflert, that He who makes the wil- dernefs a fruitful field, and who has the treafures of the world at his dif- pofal, cannot foon blefs his people with plenty in their new fituation? Let us not forget what happened to their fathers in their early hiftory. Unlikely as it was that they fhould be pofleffed of wealth, when they were groaning under their lervi- tude in Egypt ; yet, by the time when they left that kingdom, their property was of magnitude fuffici- ent to become a fpur to the ven- geance of their oppreflors ; fo that prompted by avarice itfelf, Tbe ene-- my /aid y I will purfue^ I will overtake^ I will divide the fpoiL I find no cvi- 4 A dence ' ( 554 ) cttAP. dencc from prophecy that at the in- v^^^ysi^ vafion of Gog, they are reprefented as having loll the art of war, but only that they did not cxercife it. And with refpeft to then' hving in fecurity, and without apprehenfion of any hoftilc attack, it is enough to- obfervc, that, their prefervation in that happy land, will probably •be fo much under the immediate prote(5tion of Heaven, that it will re- quire little of thofe means of de- fence, on which the ftates and go- vernments of this world have hi- therto fo greatly depended. Let mc only further obferve, that, fo far as this fecurity is an argument upon the point before us, it concludes inore for the beginning than for the end of the millennium 5 for then' the church mufl feel apprehenfion, if any external circumftances can cccafion it, as they muft have learn- ed clearly from this prophecy in the ( 5SS ) the Revelation, that when the thou- chap. XX. fand years were expired, both Gog \,^yy^ and Magog, with an immenfe mul- titude of people, were to come up a- gaiatl them. It appears then, that thefe prophecies relate to two very- different events ; and I have been at more pains to fet this matter in a juft and fatisfying light, becaufe it is nccellary to the interpretation which I am now to offer. The firft of thefe prophecies feems here to be confidered as a type or figure of the other ; and the at- tempt of the laft enemies of the church on earth, feems to be fet forth in allufion to that of the laft enemies of the ftock of Ifrael as a diflinft and feparate people. At the fame time, it ought to be obferved, that we are under particular difad- vantage in tlie interpretation of this concluding prophecy, becaufe even that ( 5S^ ) CHAP, that which is the type of it is not K^.y^ yetreahzcd. If we take up the appellation in the literal fenfe, it will not be very difficult to determine where the country of Gog is to be found. The learned Bochart has fliewn with great probability, that it lies on the weft fide of the Cafpian Sea ; of this the very names of the places in that neighbourhood are a confiderable prefumption ; fuch as Gogarene, for inftance, and Caucafus, which has no very remote affinity to Gog- haufcn, the ftrong hold of Gog; though it is not eafy to reconcile this with the Geography of John's prophecy, which places Gog and Magog in the four quarters of the earth. But the difficulties in the literal fenfe are indeed infurmount- able, and have thrown commenta- tors into perplexity and contradic- tion. How can wc fuppofe, in the ftria ( SS7 ) ftrift and proper meaning of the chap. terms, that an army of fuch prodi- \,^>r^ gious extent as to fill the breadth of the earth, fliould march upon that breadth which mull be occu- pied by the church, and that too, only in order to compafs the camp of the faints, while in the mean time they mull be invading it ; that they fliould adlually compafs that camp, though its boundaries were fpread over Europe, Afia, Africa, and America ; that they fliould obey the orders of one or two leaders, which they could not hear, and make one united attack in their different quar- ters, though the diftance fhall be fo immenfe, they muft be abfolute ftrangers to each other's motions. This is a fuppofition, the very idea of which not only mocks probabili- ty, but baffles all conception. We mull therefore relinquilh the literal fenfe of this prophecy that we may difcover ( 558 ^ CHAP, difcover its myftica] and genuine t^T, import. With this view I conceive it is by no means neceflary, to go to the extremities of the world among rude and barbarous nations, (who, it is thought, Ihall then be pufhed to its moft diftant corners,; in fearch of thofe enemies of the chvirch who are here defcribed. They fhaU then be found, if I miftakc not, fettled in all the various territories where the churchfliallbeeftabhflied; and, what may feem ftrangeft of all, they fliall migrate to thefe fettlemenrs even from the bofom of the church it- felf. What has been already ob- ferved concerning the ftate of things in the the time of the millennium, will ferve greatly to illuftratc this curious point. There we have fetn, that, by a wonderful efFufion of the Spirit from on high, Chriftianity fhall beat down all oppofition be^ fore it, and Ihall extend its heavenly influence ( 559 ) influence over all the eartKr There CHAP, we have like wife feen, what admir- v^^^y^ able order, what exahed purity, and what an ardent fpirit of piety, and devotion, ihall every where prevail. An evil feed notvvithfland- ing, and a root of bitternefs, we have reafon to believe, fhall Itill remain* Thefe, partly awed by the wonder- ful interpofitions of Providence, and partly from other caufes, fhall, for a time, appear in concord and amity with the faints, and perhaps allume fomcthing of the femblance of their holy and elevated temper. But, as their heart is all the while unchanged, the native enmity will ftill remain, and will at length ilifcover itfelf, in a deep diflike to a flare of things where they can find no gratification, and in an im- patience of the reftraints under which they are held. The fury of their pent-up evil propenfities will at ( 5^0 ) CHAP, laft burft forth with violence. XX. \,^rr%j Their diforders will become appa- rent. They fhall be cafl out from the communion of Chriftians ; and, finding themfelves the objects of general contempt and averfion, they will naturally feek to withdraw from a fociety the enjoyments of which they can never relifli, and the regulations of which they can- not endure. They fhall probably find a retreat at fome corner of that church to which they belonged. For, though the church in general Ihall be in perfe6l harmony, under the fame doctrine and under the fame order ; yet its different depart- ments will admit of fome diltinc- tions, from their natural fituation, and from the people of which they confift. Tehre fliall be, for inftance, not only the diftinc^tion of the Jew- i(h and Gentile churches, but like- wife, we may prefume the churches of ( iSi ) of Britain and Ireland, of Germany, Tartary, and Greece; the Ameri- can and African churches, through all their extenfive divifions, and fo of other parts of the world. In all thefe places, we may reaionably fuppofe, that thofe who are enemies to the fpirit and power of religion will find fome corners for retreat. There they fhall be joined from time to time, by thofe of a fimilar charader, as they fpring up in the countries to which they belong. At length, by the acceliions they Ihall have received, and by their own progreffive increafe, they fhall become conliderable bodies of peo- ple ; each having laws and regula- tions peculiar to itfelf. Thus, in a manner pcrfeftly natural and pro- bable, infidel and wicked nations fliall grow up upon the borders of the churches, perhaps in all the different countries of the world. 4 B Thefe, CHAP.' XX. ( 5^^ ) ^xx^* Thefe, by the end of the millenni- V^yx*/ um, will be great and powerful, their borders gradually extending, as thofe of the churches are con- tracted ; and, taken all together, theic numbers may be faid to be like the [and of the fca. They fhall how- ever, be rellrained from hurting the faints ; nor fhall dare to make any attempt againft them during the whole of that period. But when Satan {hall be permitted to go forth and inftigate their malice, then fliall they form their fchemes of con- queft and devaftation : their prepa- rations will be quickened ; their forces, through extenfivq countries wu'll be combined ; they fhall cor- refpond with one another in their moft diftant fettlements, in order to make their feveral aflaults againft the faints at the fame time. The prin- cipal attempt will probably be made upon theu' richefl territory and their moft ( 5^3 ) mofl flourifliing ftate, or where they CHAP. XX. are mofl ftrongly fortified by na ture itfelf, called in this prophecy the camp of the faints^ and the beloved city. By ftriking a decifive blow a- gainft them there, they may hope more eafily to difperfe and extermi- nate them in other places, as well as to ihare a fpeedy and valuable booty But the iiTue will be their own fignal and total deftruclion, and that too, in an immediate and awful manner from heaven itlell- : the famts being wondertully de- livered, and having nothing to do but to ftand ftill and fee the falva- tion of God. But it will be afked, with what propriety are thefe enemies dillin- guithed by the apellations of Gog and Magog, when they feem to be made up of all the different people of the world, and aie aflually re- prefented as dwelling in the four quarters ( sH ) XX.* quarters of the earth? This quef- ^-•'V^ tion is unanfwcrable upon the hte- ral interpretation ; but in the pro- phetical feni'e it admits of an eafy 1 fohuion. Nothing is more com- \ mon in prophecy, than to call one \ thing by the name of another to i which it bears a flriking refem- \ blance. Examples of this will oc- cur fo readily to every one who is i acquainted with that fpecies of i writing, that it is almoft unnecef- ! fary to mention them. Papal Rome^ ; for inftance, is called in thcfe pro- ' phecies, not only Babylon, but like- ; wife Itgypt*, becaufc of its idola- ' '\ try, and of its being a criiel oppref- for and perfecutor of tlie people of God ; and Ifaiah reprcfents fome of i the l;ift enemies of the church by i Edom, one of her ancient enemies, i and calls them by that name f . Upr i on ■' •' Rev. xi. 9. f Ifaiah Ixiii. 3. I C 5^5 ) on this fame principle, John was di- ^^]^' re(5led to proceed in the paffage be- V^'vV fore us. It had been prophefied, before, that Gog in the land of Ma- gog, was to be the laft enemy of the Jews as a diftindl people ; that he was to make his attack upon them immediately before the commence- ment of the millennium. How na- tural was it then to defcribe the laft enemies of the church in general, after that long period of peace and profperity had elapfed, by the ap- pellations which belonged to thofe v/ho had laft preceded them. And when we confider the fimilarity of their charafter, and the correfpond- ing greatnefs of their combined forces, the defcription is at once moft fignificant and inftrudtive* Much light no doubt will be thrown upon this prophecy, when that which is ics type, or emblem, fliall be realized. In the mean time it helps ( 566 ) XX. ' helps the weaknefs of our concep- ^•^"Y^ tions to view it in connexion with it. Such then is the evidence for the fenfe which I have given of this difficult prophecy, fo far as any thing can be called evidence upon ' fo obfcure a lubjedl. The impro- babilities of former interpretations are avoided ; we fee a juft and ea- fy application of the very appella- tions which are here made ufe of, and an important reafon foradopting them; and ^every circumftance, fo far as we have gone, exactly fuits the defcription. Let me only further obferve, in order to make the coincidence complete, that Gog and Ma- gog will ftill be found in the Jour quarters of the earthy as the pro- phet defcribes them, even in the ilridl and literal lenfe of the expref- fion ; and that not only with relped: to ( S^7 ) CO the church in general, but like- chap. wife with refpedt to all the de- ^J?Lj partments of which it is compof- ed. I fufpedl however, that this is not the meaning of the expref- ilion here, but that it is ufed in the fenfe of every where ^ over the wide extent of the earth, as we find Mark ap- plying the equivalent expreflion, *' Then fliall he fend his angels, and gather together his t\t ( 570 ^ CHAP. tions upon the Gog of Fzckie), in order, if poflible to difcover the grand event to which that prophecy is pointed. I hope it is unneceflary to add any further reafons to fhew, that it relates to a very different pe- riod, and embraces a quite different objefl:, from the prophecy we have now which, he fuppofes, the church fhall extend her wings over all the earth, How arbitrary thefe conjeftures are I leave it to every reader to con- fider. Not to mention, that the church, in all probability, fhall be both very extenlive and po- pulous upon the American continent, of which he takes no notice •, the fuppofition of a fecond period of Aill higher improvement and much greater enlargement to the church after the glo- rioup millennium fhall have elapfed, is an idea of which none of the prophets feem to have had any difcovery. — Finally, Forbes, Durham, Jurieu, Markius, Lowman, and Newton, determine lit- tle concerning the nations here referred to, but only conlider them in general as the laft enemies of the church : both Jurieu and Newton confef^ fing that who they fhall be they cannot pretend to fay with any degree of certainty. ( 57^ ) ^ now been furveying. It has indeed ^^^^^* been attempted to reduce us to a di- v^vnJ lemma in this inquiry. The war of Ezekiel's Gog, it is faid, mufl: ei- ther be that of John's Gog and Ma- gog, or elfe it muft be the battle of Armageddon; becaufe the revela- tion takes no notice of any interme- diate one : but it cannot be the bat- tle of Armageddon, becaufe there, it is alledged, the Jews fliall be the aggreflors, and therefore it muft be that laft attempt againft the church which John defcribes. That the Jews are to be the aggreflors at the battle of Armageddon, or mdeed that they are to be there at all, 1 do not fee any fatisfying evidence, ei- ther in Rev. xix 1 1, which is brought to prove it ; or in any part of the prophetic writings. I have fliewn io fully already the abfurdity ot i- magining that the people of God fliall go forth with the fword to ac- compliih ( 572 > CHAP. XX. complifli the prophecies, and to re- venge themfelves of their enemies, that it is unneceflary to infill fur- ther upon it. And with refpcft to the other part of the argument, it is certainly a too hafty conclufion, that there fliall be no warUke operation between the battle of Armageddon, and the appearance of Gog and Magog, becaufe nothing of this kind is mentioned by John in the Revelation. This laft of the pro- phets is fo much taken up with the Romifli antichrifl in the fecond part of his prophecy, that he pays fcarce- ly any regard to what is palling in other parts of the world ; but, after finifliing the dcfcription of his lig- nal ruin, proceeds immediately to the happy Hate of the millennium church. But it is evident that other and great revolutions mull take place before the commencement of that happy period. Thefc however, as XX. C 573 > as they are connefted with the re- chap, iloration of the Jews to the land of their fathers, are left to be gather- ed from the intimations which the Old Teftament prophets have given refpe(5ling them. I conceive then, that Ezekiel, in the war of Gog, prophecies the fall of fuperftition and tyranny in the eaft, in like manner as John has given an account of the battle of Armageddon in the weft. This will be occalioned by the refettlementof the Jews in their ancient territory. But the great Turkifh power muft be broken before that event ; and the land emptied of its inhabitants for their reception Their migra- tions to that land will occajGon the firft alarm to the various potentates which furround it. Vaft bodies of them fliall pafs through Gomer and Togarma of the north quarters, pro- bably the whole of thofe who are fcattered ( 574 ) CHAP, fcattered over the various countries XX. ^.^'V'^ of Europe. Great numbers fliall pafs through Perfia, chiefly thofe perhaps that are of the houfe of If- rael : and a vail concourfe of them, \ we may fuppofe, fhall meet on the fouth extremity of Judea, from Afia on the eaft, and from Egypt and Lybia on the weft. The neighbour- ing powers however, benumbed with conftcrnation at fo ftrange a light, and under the energy of a divine reftraint, fhall not interrupt their progrcfs. There they fhall live under a government of their own, conftrufted. we may be aflur- ed^ upon principles the moft favour- able to human happinefs. Under its equitable laws and benignant inftitutions, and in the habitual ex- ercile of fobnety, induftry and eco- nomy, but above all, by the blefling of God attending them, the people fliall eiijoy every external comfort, and ( 575 ) and ftiall profper and multiply a- ^^^ pace. But they fliall be objefts of jea- ^-^v>-^ loufy and vengeance to wicked princes, and to the dark votaries of fuperftition, who will unite their forces to exterminate a people whom they will confider as highly dangerous to tolerate. The prime inftigator and chief conductor of this enterprife is diftinguifhed by the name of Gog, which, I am in- clined to think, is only a borrowed appellation, under which fome re- mains of the broken Turkifh power is alluded to. The reafon of this conjecture is, becaufe this fame Gog is introduced exciting thofe who had been, and ftill continued, under the influence of his extenfive fuperftition, and engaging them in his defign. It is probable then that in this ancient prophecy, tranfport- ed beyond the exiftence of that once great and terrible empire, we con- template ( 576 ) CHAP, template him who was its laft head* -X.A. K^r^/^u who when the government was broken to pieces, being driven from his imperial city, was forced to take refuge with his fliattered army a- mong the mountains on the v/efl fide of the Cafpian Sea. Tlicre, we may fuppofe, fupported by his Tar- tar auxiharies, which are very nu- merous, he will endeavour to efta- blilh the remains of his power and greatnefs ; and, fecuring the attach- ment of his eaftern provinces, and fortifying their boundaries, he may Hill be a very confiderable indepen- dent prince ; and, what is one of his fpecific characters, he will liter- ally be prince of Mefheck and Tu- bal, thefe being part of the provin- ces which he fhall flill retain. It is a fuflicient reafon for his being pro- phetically called Gog, that he pro- ceeded originally from his country. But I fufped: it is intended likewife, for ( 577 ) for an obfcure intimation, that he chap. Ihall then be found aftually refid- \^rysJ ing upon his border, and it is a good reafon for his being faid to be influenced by the love of fpoil, though ading clyefly from a diffe- rent motive, that the people of that country have been long accuftomed to plunder. Feeling himfelf fo far recovered, and indulging a fecret hope that he may yet be able to re- conquer fome of the countries which he had loft, he will naturally avail himfelf of thejealoufy which will be entertained of the new and profperous fettlement of the Jews, and will be aftive in perfuading the neighbouring governments to join in one grand and decifive enterprife againft them. He fliall fucceed in his defign. Great and extenfive Ihall the combination be. It fliall confift of Lybians, Ethiopians, or Egyptians, Arabians, and Perfians, 4 D befides ( 57^ ) CHAP, befides the multitudes which Gog XX. ^^^j-Y^ Ihall bring forward. All thefe, blended by the fame fuperllition, and filled with the fame enmity a- gainft Jews and Chriftians, fhall be fit inftruments for the purpofes of their leaders ; and, we learn from the prophecy, that Gog himfelf, at the head of his northern legions, who is certainly moll interefted in the fuccefs of the expedition, Ihall take the chief command. How far they ftiall penetrate into the Jewifli territory, or what ravages they Ihall commit, we cannot determine ; but it feems as if they fhould fpread confiderably over the mountains of If] ael *, and be permitted to pillage the people t> though we read of none of them perifhing by their hand. They feem miraculoufly to be reftrained from hurting their perfons J, the weapons which they poin t * Izek. xxxvlil. 21. f Ezek. Xxxix. 10. $Ez.xxxix. 3. ( 579 ) point againft them falling out of their hands ; till, at length, that great but motley army, fretted with difappointment, and quarrelling perhaps about the fpoil, or from national differences entering in a- mong them, turn their fwords a- gainft one another, and are finally deftroyed in a mod terrible manner by the vifible judgements of Heaven, The efled of thefe, extraordinary judgements will be very great. They will flrike the unenlightened people with conflernation and awe, and make them know and turn unto the Lord ; for thus fays God, / will fit my glory among the heathen^ and all the heathen Jh all fie my judgement that I have executed^ and my hand that I have laid upon them. The people like- wife, for whom this wonderful in- terpofition fhall be made, will be re- garded with high eftimation : their policy CHAP. XX. ( iSo ) CHAP XX.* policy will be admired ; and the fa- ^^-y^"^ vour of Heaven fo remarkably at- tiending them, will add to the na- tive evidence of gofpel truth which they fhall then profefs : Their civil and religious principles therefore ihall have a rapid and extenfive fpread, and eaftern tyranny and fuperftition Ihall fly before them over all thofe vaft regions where they have fo long prevailed. Such are the happy and grand effedls which Ihall be occafioncd by the wonderful conduft of Providence towards that ancient people. Well then may we fay, with the apoftle Paul, " If the fall of them was the ^ riches of the world, and the dimi- nifliing of them the riciies of the Gentiles, how much more their fulnefs ! And if the cailing of them away be the reconciling of the world, what fhall the receiving of them be but life from the dead i" VISION ( 58' ) VISION OF THE DEAD STANDING BEFORE GOD TO JUDGEMENT. Ver. II, — — 15. Ver. II. And I faw a great white throne^ and him that fat on it^ from whofe face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was fou?id no place for them. The throne which the apoftle beheld, we have reafon to beheve, was of a bright and fliining whitc- nefs, as the expreffion frequently denotes, like the cloud of glory in the tabernacle. The perfon who fat upon it could be no other than his chap: XX. ( 5^4 ) CHAP XX. * his divine Matter himfelf, as the ^•^v^ fcripture repeatedly teltifies» and the greatnefs of his majefty, is very pow- erfully delcribed by the earth and the heaven jiying away at his prefence^ fo that they could not be found any more(^). Then (*) I fee no propriety in having rccourfe here to a myftical fenfe of this fublime and magnifi- cent defcription, as if only the prefent worldly os- conomy were reprefented as having fled away from before the Judge. This is fufficiently intimattd bv the judgement itfelf, which muft conclude that ceconomy •, and befides it is evident, that it can have no longer any exiftence, when the world itfelf, to which it belonged, has pafled away. This the apoftle beheld in vifion ; and, in the fenfe in which it is plainly to be underftood, we need not trouble ourfelves in reconciling it with other pafTages of fcripture, as it is only a vifion- arv movement to ftrike the mind with inftant ve- neration, and to put it in a proper pofture for con> templating with holy awe the folemn and intereft- ing fcene which enfues. One cannot help being furprifed then to find the learned Vitringa blam- ing the dulnefs of his genius for not having dif- covercd a meaning which the very defcription it* felf jentirely fuperfedcs. ( 583 ) Then the judgement did fit, the fo- CHAP. lemnity and the juftice of which, \^y,^ together with its awtul iflue, the following vcrfes moft ftrikingly de- lineate. Ver. 12. Jnd I /aw the dead fmall and great Jland before God ; and the books ISO ere opened; and another book was open-' ed which is the book of life ; and the dead were judged out of thofe things which were written in the books ^ according to their *works. Here we fee perfons of every rank and condition in life repre- fented as (landing before the Judge. His divine charafter is aflerted ; He is called God; and indeed the of- fice which he fuftains demonftrates tliat character, as nothing lefs than divine and infinite perfe(5lion is ne- ceflary to difcharge it. The judge- ment is reprefented as unerringly righteous ; C 5B4 ) ^xx^' righteous ; in allufion to the moft K,yy^ perfedt forms of judicature with which we are acquainted, under the notion of dooh^ in which the law of God and the adlions of every man are fuppofed to be written. Thefe books were opened, and a?20' ther book was opened^ which is the book of lifiy in which the names of the re- deemed are underftood to be regif- tered, and their converfion and fpi- ritual progrcfs to be marked ; and out of thefe books, upon the fureft principles of equity and truth, the dead were judged according to their works, ^}. Ver. (*) I uncierftand not any of thefe books to be ibe book of confcience as commentators have fup- pofed. Confcience is more properly the vvitnefs who bears teftimony to the truth of the accufa^ tiori, and obliges the the fmner to acknowledge the juftice of the charge. And with rcfpcct to the faints, their juftification proceeds upon the merits oi the Saviour being reckoned to their account. ( 585 ) Ver. 1 3. And the fea gave up the ^^xlf ' dead which were in it; and death and v^^vvJ hell gave up the dead which were in them : and they were judged^ every man accord'^ Ing to their works. Though the earth and the heaven, in this vifion, fled away at the pre- fence of the Lord, yet the dead,- it appears, were previoufly yielded up, whether they had perifhed by fea, or had died upon land, and were buried ; all were delivered up, and left, with the living who re- mained, Handing before God. Their flation is represented as aerial, and awful. The earth and thefe vifible heavens in this vifion being remov- ed, and nothing appearing through the immenfe expanfe but the world of happinefs and glory above and the unquenchable devouring lake below. Death and hell, meaning the gravef''), 4 E who (°) The word which is here tranflated heUy has been commonly underftood to fignify the feparate ( 5^^ ) CHAP. XX. who had feized and retained men under their dark dominion for fo many ages, are here elegantly per- fonified ftate both of good and bad men between death and the refurre(Sl:ion : but I do not find it fo uf- ed by the infpired vvriiers. The truth is it is ne- ver ufed in a good, but always in a bad fenfe in fcripture. The only paiTage in which it feems to refer to the invifible world, is Luke xvi 23. where it is evidently taken in a bad fenfe, for the rich man in hell <* lift up his eyes being in torments/' But it is commonly ufed to fignify the grave. Thus A(5ls ii. 27. Thou ivilt not leave my foul in hell y the only meaning of which is, as the argu- ment clearly determines, Thou wilt not leave my dead body in the grave, a fenfe fo indifputablc, that the learned Beza thought himfelf juflified in giving it even as a tranflation in his firft edition of the New Teftament, though afterwards he altered it, upon the principle of its deviating too much from the ftri£l interpretation of the terms. And Rev vi. 8. when death is riding forth in his conquefts, hell, or the grave, is beautifully reprefented as follow- ing after him, like a devouring monfter, to fwal- low up thofe whom he had killed. The expref- lion has the fame meaning in thofe places where death and hell are mentioned together, and even in that paflage where it is faid " that the gates of hell r 5^7 ) fonified, and introduced refigning chap. all their conquefts ; after which ^^* they are call, along with the other enemies of the people of God, into the lake of fire, which is the fe- cond death: thereby fignificantly intimating that they fhould never be able to hurt them any more. It is added, Ver. 14. And whofoever was not found written in the book of life^ was cajl into the lake of fre. Hence we learn, that there is no poffible way in which a finner can efcape that tremendous fentence, but in being redeemed unto Gd by the blood of the Lamb ; and, in evidence of this, his name being found in the book of life. Every other perfon, whatever hope he might hell fhall not prevail agalnft the church," the moft probable meaning is, that the church fhould ftill ' endure, notwithftanding her perfecutions j the all-devouring jaws of the grave itfelf not being a«. b'le to deftroy her. ( 588 ) CHAP, might formerly have eprertained of ^VV, mercy, having nothing then to look for but the lake of fire. This is one of the mod folcma and afFcfting rcprcfentations of the laft and general judgement that is any where to be met with. It teaches us, that it is to be a real judgement, which fome have de- nied ('';, for the books were opened, and (^) Dr. M'Night feems to think that the cha- racSters of the righteous and the wicked (liail bif difcriminated at th^: general judgmenr, not by any fcrrard inquiry, but only by the kind oF body in which each fiiall appear ; the righte- ous being railed with glorious bodies, but the wicked, as he thinks, with flelhiy, mortal, and corruptible bod es, like thofe in v;hich they died, and no change bjing to pafs on the bodies of fuclx of them as ilrall be found alive upon tbe earth, at the coming of Chrift: ; whence he concludes, that the whole proceis of the judgement will be completed at once. But he ieems not to have conlidcred that there are dilierent degrees of cha- radlers both among the righteous and the wicked, for which h's hypothefis makes no provilion •, and h:s ( 589 ) and a real difcovery was made of chap. ^ XX. the chara6lers and condu6l which \^^rv-sJ they contained. It teaches us alfo that it ihall be a moft ftridt and im- partial judgement ; for every mart was judged according to his works ; and that, not in kind only, bat alfo in meafure or -degree. Finally, it teaches us, that none fliall efcape that univerfal judgement ; the great fliall not be exempted, nor the fmall . overlooked ; and there is no dark^ jiefs or Jloadow of death where the workers of iniquity can conceal the mf elves. In vain fliould they then cry to the rocks and to the moun- tains to fall on them and cover theniy for both the earth and the hea- ven, according to this vifion, are fled away, and all things are naked his ruppofitlon, that the wicked fliall be raifed with bodies like to thofe in which they died, would often reverfe the dirtindtions of chara£ler among them, and make feme of the moft wicked to ap- pear lefs fo than others who had made a much fmaller progrefs in fin than they. ( 590 ) CHAP- naked and opened unto him with v,^v^ whom we have to do. Seeing then that thcfe things are fo, ** what man- ner of perfons ought we to be in all holy converfation and godlmefs, looking for and hading unto the coming of the day of God ?" But though I have not a doubt that this vifion relates to the laft and general judgement, and therefore have fo applied it in the interpreta- tion, yet I conceive it is introduced in this prophecy, chiefly in refpe^t of the enemies of God and of his people, and particularly, in refpeft of thofe who were the abettors or fupporters, rather than the original inventors of their ichemes of wick- ednefs, in order to manifeft before- hand their tremendous and everlaft- ing doom. This feems perfeftly in the train and fpirit of the preceding predidions. The apoftle had al- ready fet forth the temporal judge- ments in which thefe enemies had awfully ( 591 ) awfully periflied : he had likewife Ihewn us the beaft and the falfe prophet caft into the lake of fire ; and, laft of all, he had fhewn us the devil himfelf caft in befide them: but neither the remnant that were flain by the fword of him that fat upon the horfe*, nor the multi- tudes whom the devil had deceiv- ed f , have been exhibited in their e- vcrlafting condition till this vifion, where they are made to ftand be- fore God at the judgement, and are condemned to the fame place of torment. This is the more remark- able, as no judgement is in thefe vifions reprefented to be held upoa the beaft, or the falfe prophet, or upon Satan the great deceiver; their charadlers being fo notorious that it feems confidered as unnecellary. But as many of the reft have been drawn in occafionally upon princi- ples of worldly policy of a more ge- neral * Rev. xix. f Rev. xx. CHAP XX. C 592 *> neral nature, and whofe charafters do not appear till they are fully in- veftigated, therefore they are here brought forward, and we may con- fider along with them all the con- cealed and half covered eneniies of God, both fmall and great, in every age. Their characters are laid open, and they are thruft down to the fame agonizing lake, in the terri- ble regions of cverlafting woe. It is a further confirmation of the fenfe which I have offered, that though the faints are reprefented to be prefent at the judgement, yet it feems nor to be the defign of this vifion to fee before us their final condition ; and therefore we read notliing of their fentcnce, but only of their exemption from punifli- ment,in confequence of theirnames being written in the Lamb's book of life. * FINIS. ^' :? m