t:k'sri:t:!u!L;t:eceE2eefciEeL-k-tcfc:fciEtt:cci£i:ucccEC y f5 y "BUY TZE TR7TH, AND SELL IT NOT." El lu! y — FROM THE y AGENTS AND BRANCH OFFICES. D I IfNTERMTIONAL %&m l|||SSIONARY ^OCIETY | tj Of S£Trs3a.tlx-a.a,3r .i\.d.^S33.tx=ts. 1^ M o fc3 ORUANJZKi) AUGUST 13, 1S74. g g i E Ei.D S. N. HASKELL, President, South Lancaster, Mass. ^j y W. C. WHITE, Vice-President, Oakland, California. R ^ Miss M. L. HUNTLEV, Secretary, South Lancaster, Mass. ^ M NELLIE E. SISLEY, Ass't Sec, Battle Creek, Mich. {| V ^ R Shelf. PRINCETON, N. J. -^^ Sec/zon....S.kk^. Number E 'CO'pUIJlH . H W Ui rim, rBa Lllllo — 1" m^T7-In^u-^;la^>3 o u\;a,Tr»v.T o , vucr^^ .^^o.v.x.^,-^ j^^...4x.^x vw.,^-.- ^j- H bvitioii of from (itteen t » twent.v niillioas pages anMuall,y. It also embraces in its ob- pj B ject all benevolent and missiouarv cft'.)rts. Large deposits of publications are kept, |5 y constanth- under the direction of a-ents (see above), of whom they can bs obtauied in B y the English, German, Italian, Danish, and Swedish languages. Corresp mdence is B y solicited with those wishing further information. B E ^ yiEEEBEEISE3!5EEEBEEEEEECir:r^!!lEEEEE?SEEEKEEEEEEEEC:EE:r; THOUGHTS, Critical aitir ^radical, BOOK OF REVELATION. By URIAH' SMITH, Author of "Thoughts ox Daniel," "Max's Nature and Destiny," "Thk Sanctuary and its Cleansing," "The United States in Prophbct," AND other Works on Bible Subjects. Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged. BATTLE CREEK, MICH.: Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association. 18 81. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by URIAH SMITH, In the Ofllce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. REVIEW AXD HERALD, Printers, Electrotjpers, aad Binders. PREFACE An increase of knowledge respecting the prophetic por- tions of the word of God, was to be one of the characteristics of the last days. Said the angel to Daniel, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end : many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased ; " or, as Mich^elis' translation reads, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even unto the time of the end, when many shall give their sedulous attention to the understanding of these things, and knowledge shall be increased." While it is true that, of later years, knowledge has marvelously increased in every department of science, yet it is evident that this prophecy specially con- templates an increase of knowledge concerning those proph- ecies that are designed to give us light in reference to the close of this dispensation, and the setting up of the everlast- ing kingdom of God. The fulfillment of the prophecy in the increase of this knowledge, is one of the pleasing signs of the present time. For about half a century, light upon the pro- phetic word has been increasing, and shining with ever- growing luster to our own day. In no portion of the word of God is this more apparent than in the book of Revelation ; and we may well congrat- ulate ourselves in this ; for no other part of that word deals so largely in prophecies that pertain to the closing scenes of this earth's history. No other book contains so many chains of prophecy reaching down to the end. In no other book is the grand procession of events that leads us through to the termination of probationary time, and ushers us into the (3) [y PREFACE. realities of the eternal state, so fully and minutely set forth. No other book embraces so completely, as it were in one grand sweep, all the truths that concern the last generation of the inhabitants of the earth, and sets forth so comprehen- sively all the aspects of the times, physical, moral, and political, in which the triumph of earthly woe and wicked- ness shall end, and the eternal reign of righteousness begin. It is to call attention especially to these features of the book of Revelation, which seem heretofore to have been too gen- erally overlooked, or misinterpreted, that these Thoughts are now offered to the public. No effort to arrive at a correct understanding of the book of Revelation needs any apology. The Lord of the prophecy has himself pronounced a blessing updn him that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein ; for the time is at hand. And it is with an honest purpose of aiding somewhat in arriving at this understanding, which is set forth by this lan- guage as not only possible but praiseworthy, that the follow- ing pages have been prepared, and are now commended to the careful and candid attention of the reader. U. S. Battle Creek, Mich., 1881. THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION, INTRODUCTION The Revelation, usually termed "The Apoca- lypse," from its Greek name, 'A7ro/cdAvi/)ff, meaning "a disclosure, a revelation," has been described to be "a panorama of the glory of Christ." In the Evan- gelists we have the record of his humiliation, his condescension, his toil and sufferings, his patience, his mockings and scourgings by those who should have done him reverence, and finally his death upon the shameful cross, — a death esteemed in that ae'e to be the most ignominious that men could inflict. In the Revelation we have the gospel of his enthrone- ment in glory, his association with the Father upon the throne of universal dominion, his overruling providence among the nations of the earth, and his coming again — not a homeless stranger — but in power and great glory to punish his enemies and reward his followers. "A voice has cried in the wilderness, 'Behold the Lamb of God ;' a voice will soon proclaim from Heaven, 'Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah!'" Scenes of glory surpassing fable are unveiled (5) Q THOUOHTS ON THE REVELATION. before us in this book. Appeals of unwonted power bear down upon the impenitent from its sacred pages, in threatenings of judgment that have no parallel in any other portion of the book of God. Consolation which no language can describe is here given to the humble followers of Christ in this lower world, in glorious views of Him upon whom help for them has been laid, — Him who has the key of David, who holds his ministers in his own right hand, who, though he was once dead, is now alive forevermore, and assures us that he is the triumph- ant possessor of the keys of death and the grave, and who has given to every overcomer the multi- plied promise of walking with him in white, having a crown of life, partaking of the fruit of the tree of life which grows in the midst of the Paradise of God, and being raised up to sit with him upon his own glorious throne. No other book takes us at once, and so irresistibly, into another sphere. Long vistas are here opened before us, which are bounded by no terrestrial objects, but carry us forward into other worlds. And if ever themes of thrilling and impressive interest, and grand and lofty imagery, and sublime and magnificent description, can invite the attention of mankind, then the Revelation in- vites us to a careful study of its pages, which urge upon our notice the realities of a momentous future, and an unseen world. -'At M Cliiij)tef I. ^^ THE INTRODUCTORY VISION. The book opens with the announcement of its title and a benediction : — Verses 1-3. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass ; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John, who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein ; for the time is at hand. The Title. The translators of our common ver- sion of the Bible have given this book the title of " The Revelation of St. John the Divine." In this they contradict the very first words of the book itself, which declare it to be "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is the Revelator, not John. John is but the penman employed by Christ to write out this Revelation for the benefit of his church. There is no doubt that the John here mentioned is the person of that name who was the beloved and highly favored one among the twelve apostles. He was evangelist and apostle, and the writer of the gospel and epistles which bear his (7) 8 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: name. See Clarke, Barnes, Kitto, Pond, and others. To his previous titles he now adds that of prophet ; for the Revelation is a prophecy. But the matter of this book is traced back to a still higher source. It is not only the Revelation of Jesus Christ, but it is the Revelation which God gave unto him. It comes, then, first, from the great fountain of all wisdom and truth, God the Father ; by him it was communicated to Jesus Christ, the Son ; and Christ sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John. The Character of the Booh. This is expressed in one word, "Revelation." A revelation is something revealed, something clearly made known, not some- thing hidden and concealed. Moses, in Deut. 29 : 29, tells us that "the secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those things which are revealed belong unto "us and to our children forever." The very title of the book, then, is a sufllicient refutation of the popular opinion of to-day, that this book is among the hidden mysteries of God, and cannot be understood. Were this the case, it should bear some such title as "The Mystery," or "The Hidden Book ;" certainly not that of "The Revelation." Its Object. " To show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass." His servants — who are they ? Is there any limit ? For whose benefit was the Revelation given ? For any speci- fied persons ? For any particular churches ? For any special period of time ? No : it is for all the church in all time, so long as any of the events CHAPTER /, VERSES 1-3. 9 therein predicted remain to be accomplished. It is for all those who can claim the appellation of " his servants," wherever or whenever they may live. But this language brings up again the popular view that the Revelation is not to be understood. God says it was given to show something to his ser- vants ; and yet many of the expounders of his word tell us that it does not show anything, because no man can understand it ! As though God would undertake to make known to mankind some im- portant truths, and yet fall into the worse than earthly folly of clothing them in language or in figures which human minds could not comprehend ! As though he would command a person to behold some distant object, and then erect an impenetrable barrier between him and the object specified ! Or as though he would give his servants a light to guide them through the gloom of night, and yet throw over that light a pall so thick and heavy that not a ray of its brightness could penetrate the obscuring folds ! How do they dishonor God who thus trifle with his word ! No : the Revelation will accomplish the object for which it was given, and "his servants" will learn therefrom "the things which must shortly come to pass," and which con- cern their eternal salvation. His Angel. Christ sent and made known the Revelation to John by " his angel." A particular angel seems here to be brought to view. What angel could appropriately be called Christ's angel? May we not find an answer to this question in a 10 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. significant passage in the prophecy of Daniel ? In Dan. 10 : 21, an angel, Avhich was doubtless Gabriel (see Dan. chaps. 9, 10, and 11 : 1), in making known some important truths to Daniel, said, "There is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince." Who Michael is we easily learn. Jude, verse 9, calls him the "arch- angel." And Paul telh "us that when the Lord de- scends from Heaven, and the dead in Christ are raised, the voice of the archangel shall be heard. 1 Thess. 4:16. And whose voice will be heard at that amazing hour when the dead are called to life ? The Lord himself replies, "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice!' John 5 : 28 ; and the previous verse shows that the one here referred to, whose voice shall be heard, is the Son of man, or Christ It is the voice of Christ, then, that calls the dead from their graves. That voice Paul de- clares is the voice of the archangel ; and Jude says that the archangel is called Michael, the very per- sonage mentioned in Daniel ; and all referring to Christ. The statement in Daniel, then, is, that the truths to be revealed to Daniel were committed to Christ, and confined exclusively to him, and to an angel whose name was Gabriel. Similar to the work of communicating important truth to the "beloved prophet," is the work of Christ in the Revelation of communicating important truth to the " beloved disciple ;" and who, in this work, can be his angel, but he who was engaged with him in CIIAVTEli 7, VEJiSES 1-3. \\ the former work, that is, th& angel Gabriel ? This fact will throw light on some points in this book, while it would also seem most appropriate that the same being who was employed to carry messages to the principal prophet of the former dispensation, should perform the same office for him Avho corre- sponds to that prophet in the gospel age. See on chapter 19 : 10. The .Benediction. "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy." Is there so direct and formal a blessing pronounced upon the reading and observa^nce of any other por- tion of the word of God ? What encouragement, then, have we for its study 1 And shall we say that it cannot be understood ? A blessing oifered for the study of a book which it can do us no good to study ? Men may assert, with more pertness than piety, that "every age of declension is marked by an increase of commentaries on the Apocalypse," or that "the study of the Revelation either finds or leaves a man mad;" but God has pronounced his blessing upon it, he has set the seal of his approba- tion to an earnest study of its marvelous pages ; and with such encouragement from such a source, the child of God will be unmoved by a thousand feeble counterblasts from men. Every fulfillment of prophecy brings its duties ; hence there are things in the Revelation to be kept or performed ; practical duties to be entered upon as the result of the accomplishment of prophecy. A notable instance of this kind may be seen in 12 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. chap. 14 : 12 : " Here are they that ke^p the com- mandments of God and the faith of Jesus." But, says John, " The time is at hand." Another motive offered for the study of this book. It be- comes more and more important as we draw near the great consummation. On this point we offer the impressive thoughts of another : " The importance of studying the Apocalypse increases with the lapse of time. Here are 'things which must shortly come to pass.' Even when John bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw, the long period within which those successive scenes were to be realized was at hand. If proximity then constituted a motive for heeding those contents, how much more does it now ! Every revolving century, every clos- ing year, adds to the urgency with which attention is challenged to the concluding portion of Holy Writ. And does not that intensity of devotion to the present, which characterizes our times and our country, enhance the reasonableness of this claim ? Never, surely, was there a period when some mighty counteracting power was more needed. The Reve- lation of Jesus Christ, duly studied, supplies an appropriate corrective influence. Would that all Christians might, in fullest measure, receive the blessing of 'them that hear the words of this prophecy, and that keep the things which are written therein ; for the time is at hand.' " Following the benediction, we have the dedica- tion : — CHAPTER 7, VERSES 4-6. 13 Verses 4-6. John to the seven churches which are in Asia : Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come ; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne ; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The Churches in Asia. There were more churches in Asia than seven. We may confine ourselves to that western fraction of Asia, known as Asia Minor, or we may include still less territory than that ; for in that small portion even of Asia Minor, where were situated the seven churches which are men- tioned, and right in their very midst, there were other important churches. Colosse, to the Chris- tians of which place Paul addressed his epistle to the Colossians, was but a slight distance from Lao- dicea. Miletus was nearer than any of the seven to Patmos, where John had his vision ; and it was an important station for the church, as we may judge from the fact that Paul, during one of his stays there, sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus to meet him at that place. Acts 20 : 17-38. At the same place he also left, in good Christian hands no doubt, Trophimus, his disciple, sick. 2 Tim. 4 : 20. And Troas, where Paul spent a season with the disciples, and having waited till the Sab- bath was past, started off upon his journey, was not far removed from Pergamos, which is named among the seven. It becomes, therefore, an interesting 14 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. question, to determine why seven of the churches of Asia Minor were selected as the ones to which the Revelation should be dedicated. Does what is said of the seven churches in chap. 1, and to them in chaps. 2 and 3, have reference solely to the seven literal churches named, describing things only as they then and there existed, and portraying what was before them alone ? We cannot so conclude, for the following reasons : — 1. The entire book of Revelation, see chap. 1 : 3, 11, 19; 22:18, 19, was dedicated to the seven churches. Verse 11. But the boo]<: was no more applicable to them than to other Christians in Asia Minor, those, for instraice, who dwelt in Pontus, Ga- latia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, addressed in 1 Peter 1 : 1, or the Christians of Colosse, Troas, and Miletus, in the very midst of the churches named. 2. Only a small portion of the book could have personally concerned the churches named, or any of the Christians of John's day ; for the events it brings to view were mostly so far in the future as to be be- yond the lifetime of the generation then living, and with which they could consequently have no per- sonal connection. 3. The seven stars which the Son of man held in his right hand, verse 20, are declared to be the angels of the seven churches. The angels of the churches, doubtless all will be agreed, are the ministers of the churches. Their being held in the right hand of the Son of man denotes the upholding power, guidance, and protection, vouchsafed to them. But there were CHAP TEE 7, VERSES Jf-6. 15 only seven of them in his riglit hand. And are there only seven thus cared for by the great Master of assemblies? May not, rather, all the true ministers of the whole gospel age derive from this representa- tion the consolation of knowing that they are upheld and guided by the right hand of the great Head of the church? Such would seem to be the only con- sistent conclusion. 4. Again, John, looking into the Christian dispen- sation, saw only seven candlesticks, representing seven churches, in the midst of which stood the Son of man. The position of the Son of man in their midst must denote his presence with them, his watch- care over them, and his searching scrutiny of all their works. But does he thus take cognizance of only seven individual churches in this dispensation? May we not rather conclude that this scene repre- sents his position in reference to all his churches dur- ing the gospel age? Then why were only seven mentioned? Seven, as used in the Scriptures, is a number denoting fullness and completeness, being, doubtless, a kind of memorial of the great facts of the first seven days of time which have divided all ages into cycles of wrecks. Like the seven stars, the seven candlesticks must denote the whole of the things which they represent. The whole gospel church in seven divisions or periods must be symbol- ized by them. And hence the seven churches must be applied in the same manner. 5. Why, then, were the seven particular churches chosen that are mentioned ! For the reason, doubt- 16 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: less, that in the names of these churches, according to the definitions of the words, are brought out the religious features of those periods of the gospel age which they respectively represent. For these reasons, we understand by "the seven churches," not merely the seven literal churches of Asia which went by the names mentioned, but seven periods of the Christian church, from the days of the apostles to the close of probation. See on chap. 2, verse 1. The Source of Blessing. "From Him which is, and which was, and which is to come," or is to be, — an expression which signifies complete eternity, past and future, and can be applicable to God the Father only. This language, we believe, is never applied to Christ. He is spoken of as another person, in distinction from the being thus described. The Seven Spirits. This expression probably has no reference to angels, but to the Spirit of God. It is one of the sources from which grace and peace are invoked for the church. Chap. 22 : 9. On the sub- ject of the seven spirits, Thompson remarks: "That is, from the Holy Spirit, denominated 'the seven spir- its/ because seven is a sacred and perfect number; not thus named as denoting interior plurality, but the fullness and perfection of his gifts and opera- tions." Barnes says, " The number seven, therefore, may have been given by the Holy Spirit with refer- ence to the diversity or the fullness of his operations on the souls of men, and to his manifold agency on the affairs of the world as further developed in this CHAPTER /, VERSES 4-6. 17 book." Bloomfield gives this as the general interpre- tation. His Throne. The throne of God, the Father ; for Christ has not yet taken his own throne. The seven spirits being before the throne " may be intended to designate the fact that the Divine Spirit is ever ready to be sent forth, in accordance with a common representation in the Scriptures, to accomphsh im- portant purposes in human aifairs." And from Jesus Christ. Then Christ is not the person who, in the verse before, is designated as "Him which is, and which was, and which is to come." Some of the chief characteristics which per- tain to Christ are here mentioned. He is The Faithful Witness. Whatever he bears witness to, is true. Whatever he promises he will surely fulfill. The First Begotten of the Dead. This expression is parallel to 1 Cor. 15 : 20, 23 ; Heb. 1:6; Rom. 8 : 29, and Col. 1 : 15, 18, where we find such expres- sions applied to Christ, as, "the first-fruits of them that slept," "the first-born among many brethren," "the first-born of every creature," and "the first-born from the dead." But we do not think that these expressions denote that he was the first in point of time to be raised from the dead; for others were raised before him. That would be a very unimpor- tant point ; but he was the chief and central figure of all who have come up from the grave ; for it was by virtue of Christ's coming work and resurrection that any were raised before his time. In the purpose of Revelation. 2 Ig TBOtfOBtS OK fHi: REVELATION'. God, he was the first even in point of time as well as in importance ; for it was not till the purpose of Christ's triumph over the grave was formed in the mind of God, who calleth those things that be not as though they were, Rom, 4 : 17, that any were re- leased from the power of death, by virtue of that great fact which was, in due time, to be accom- plished. Christ is therefore called the "first begotten of the dead," chap. 1:5, the "first-fruits of them that slept," 1 Cor. 15 : 20, the "first-born among many brethren," Kom. 8:29, and "the first-born from the dead," Col. 1 : 18. In Acts 26 : 23, he is spoken of anS " the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people," or the first who hy rising from the dead should show light unto the people. See the Greek of this passage, and Bloomfield's note thereon; also, Man's Nature and Destiny, chap. 17. The Prince of the Kings of the Earth. Christ is Prince of earthly kings in a certain sense now. Paul informs us in Eph. 1 : 20, 21, that he has been set at the right hand of God in the heavenly places, " far above all principality, and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." The highest names named in this world, are the princes, kings, emperors, and potentates of earth. But Christ is placed far above them. He is seated with his Father upon the throne of universal dominion, chap. 3 : 21, and ranks equally with him in the overruling and disposition of the nations and aflfairs of earth. CtTArT^n 7, VERSES Jf-G. lO In a more particular sense Christ is to be Prince of the kinffs of the earth when he takes his own throne, and the kingdoms of this world hecortie the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, when they are given by the Father into his hands, and he comes forth bear- ing upon his vesture the title of " King of kings and Lord of lords," to dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Chap. 19:16. Unto Him that Loved Us. We have thought that earthly friends loved us, a father, a mother, brothers, and sisters, or bosom friends, but we see that no love is worthy of the name compared with Christ's. And the following sentence adds intensity of meaning to the previous words : " and washed us from our sins in his own blood." What love is this ! " Greater love," says the apostle, " hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." But Christ has commended his love to us in that he died for us while we were yet sinners. But more than this — • "hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." From being leprous with sin, we are made clean in his sight; from being enemies, we are not only made friends, but raised to positions of honor and dignity. This cleansing, and this kingly and priestly exaltation — to what state do they pertain? to the present or the future? Chiefly to the future; for it is only then that we shall enjoy these blessings in the highest degree. Then, after the atonement has been accomplished, are we absolutely and forever free from our sins; here they are pardoned only on condition, and blotted out only by anticipation. But 20 tbovquts o^ Tirij revelation'. when the saints are permitted to sit with Christ on his throne, according to the promise to the victo- rious Laodiceans, when they take the kingdom under the whole heaven and reign forever and ever, they will be kings in a sense that they never can be in this present state. Yet enough is true of our present condition to make this cheering language appropriate in the Christian's present song of joy; for here we are permitted to say that we have redemption through his blood, though that redemption is not yet given, and that we have eternal life, though that life is still in the hands of the Son, to be brought unto us at his appearing ; and it is still true, as it was in John's and Peter's day, that God designs his people in this world to be unto him a chosen generation, a royal (kingl}^) priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. 1 Pet. 2 : 9 ; Rev. 3 : 21 ; Dan. 7 : 18, 27. No wonder the loving and beloved disciple ascribed to this Being who has done so much for us, glory and dominion, forever and ever. And let all the church join in this most fitting ascription to their greatest benefactor and dearest friend. Verse 7. Behold, He cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him ; and all kin- dreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. He Cometh with Clouds. Here John carries us for- ward to the second advent of Christ in glory, the climax and crowning event of his intervention in behalf of this fallen world. Once he came in weak- ness, now in power ; once in humility, now in glory. CHAPTER 7, VERSE 7. 21 He comes in clouds in like manner as he ascended. Acts 1 : 9, 11. His Coining Visible. " Every eye shall see him ; " that is, all who are alive at the time of his coming. We know of no second coming of Christ that shall be as the stillness of midnight, or take place only in the desert or the secret chamber. He comes not as a thief in the sense of stealing in stealthily and quietly upon the world, and purloining goods to which he has no right. But he comes to take to himself his dearest treasure, his sleeping and living saints, whom he has purchased with his own precious blood; whom he has wrested from the power of death in fair and open conflict; and for whom his coming will be no less open and triumphant too. It will be with the brilliancy and splendor of the light- ning as it shines from the east to the west. Matt. 24 : 27. It will be with a sound of a trumpet that shall pierce to earth's lowest depths, and with a mighty voice that shall wake the sainted sleepers from their dusty beds. Matt. 24 : 31, margin ; 1 Thess. 4:16. He will come upon the wicked as a thief, only because they persistently shut their eyes to the tokens of his approach, and will not believe the declarations of his word that he is at the door. To represent two comings, a private and a public, in connection with the second advent, as some do, is a libel upon the Advent name and faith. And They also ivhich Pierced Him. They also (in addition to the every eye before mentioned) who were chiefly concerned in the tragedy of his death ; 22 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. they shall behold him returning to earth in triumph and glory. But how is this ? They are not living as this dispensation draws to its close; and how, then, shall they behold him ? Answer : by a res- urrection; for there' is no other avenue to life to those who have been once laid in the grave. But how is it that these wicked persons come up at this time ? for the general resurrection of the wicked does not take place till a thousand years after the second advent. Chap. 20 : 1-6. On this point, Daniel informs us. He says in chap. 12 : 1, 2 : — "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people ; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time ; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting- life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Here a partial resurrection is brought to view, or a resurrection of a certain class of each, righteous and wicked, before the general resurrection of either class. Many, not all, that sleep shall awake. Some of the righteous, not all of them, to everlasting life, and some of the wicked, not all of them, to shame and everlasting contempt. And this resurrection transpires in connection with the great time of trouble such as never was, which just precedes the coming of the Lord. May not "they also which pierced Him," be among those who then come up to CHAPTER 7, VEBSE 8. 23 shame and everlasting contempt ? What could be more appropriate, so far as human minds can judge, than that those who took part in the scene of our Lord's greatest humiliation, and other special leaders in crime against him, should be raised to behold his terrible majesty, as he comes forth triumphantly, in flaminor fire, to take venoreance on them that know not God and obey not his gospel ? See Thoughts on Daniel 12 : 2. The ChurcJis Response. " Even so, Amen." Though this coming of Christ is to the wicked a scene of terror, it is to the righteous a scene of joy. " When the world's distress comes, then the saints' rest comes." That coming which is with flaming fire, and for the purpose of taking vengeance on the wicked, is to recompense rest to all them that be- lieve. 2 Thess. 1 : 6-10. Every friend and lover of Christ will hail every declaration and every token of his return, as glad tidings of great joy. Verse 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Ahnighty. Here another speaker is introduced. Previous to this, John has been the speaker. But this verse has no connection with what precedes, nor with what follows. Who it is who here speaks must be determined, therefore, by the terms used. We have here the expression again, "which is, and which was, and Avhich is to come," which has already been noticed as referring exclusively to God. But it may be asked. Does not the word Lord denote that 24 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. it was Christ ? On this point, Barnes has the fol- lowing note : " Many MSS. instead of ' Lord/ Kvgio^, read 'God,' ^e6^, and this reading is adopted by Gries- bach, Tittman, and Hahn, and is now regarded as the correct reading." Bloomfield supplies the word God, and marks the words " the beginning and the ending" as an interpolation. Thus appropriately closes the first principal division of this chapter, by a revelation of the great God of himself, as a being of an eternity of existence, past and future, and of almighty power, and hence able to perform all his threatenings and his promises, which he has given us in this book. Verse 9. I John, who also am your brother, and com- panion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. The subject here changes, John introducing the place and the circumstances under which the Rev- elation was given. He first sets himself forth as a brother of the universal church, and their companion in the tribulations incident to the Christian pro- fession in this life. And in the Kingdom. These words have been the occasion of no little controversy. Does John really mean to say that Christians in the present state are in the kingdom of Christ; or, Lq other words, that Christ's kingdom had already been, in his day, set up ? If this language has any reference to the present state, it must be in a very limited and accommodated sense. Those who take the ground CHAPTER 7, VERSE 9. 25 that it has its apphcation here, usually refer to 1 Pet. 2 : 9, to prove the existence of a kingdom in the pres- ent state and to show its nature. But, as was re- marked on verse 6, the literal reign of the saints is yet future. It is through much tribulation that we are to enter into the kingdom of God. Acts 14 : 22. But when the kingdom is entered, the tribulation is done. The tribulation and the kingdom do not ex- ist contemporaneously. Murdock's translation of the Syriac of this verse omits the word kingdom, and reads as follows : " I John, your brother, and partaker with you in the affliction and suffering that are in Jesus the Messiah." Wakefield translates : " I John, your brother, and sharer with you in enduring the affliction of the kingdom of Jesus Christ." Bloom- field says that by the words tribulation and patience, "are denoted afflictions and troubles to be endured for the sake, and in the cause, of Christ : and BaaiXeia [kingdom] intimates that he is to be partaker with them in the kingdom prepared for them." He says that "the best comment on this passage is 2 Tim. 2:12," which reads: "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." From all which, we may safely conclude that though there is a kingdom of grace in the present state, the kingdom to which John alluded is the future kingdom of glory, and the suffering and patience are preparatory to its enjoyment. The Place. The isle that is called Patmos. A small, barren island, oflT the west coast of Asia Mi- nor, between the island of Icaria and the prom- ontory of Miletus, where in John's day existed 2g THOUGHTS ON THE liEVELATION. the nearest Christian church. It is about eight miles in length, one in breadth, and eighteen in circumference. Its present name is Patino or Pat- mosa. The coast is high, and consists of a suc- cession of capes which form many ports. The only one now in use is a deep bay sheltered by high mountains on every side but one, where it is pro- tected by a projecting cape. The town attached to this port is situated upon a high, rocky mountain rising immediately from the sea, and is the only inhabited site of the island. About half way up the mountain on which this town is built, there is shown a natural grotto in the rock, where tradition will have it that John had his vision and wrote the Revelation. On account of the stern and desolate character of this island, it was used, under the Roman Empire, as a place of banishment, which accounts for the exile of John thither. The banishment of the apostle took place about the year A. D. 94, as is generally supposed, under the Emperor Domitian; and from this fact the date assigned to the writing of the Revelation is A. D. 95 or 96. The Cause of Banishmient "For the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." This was John's high crime and misdemeanor. The ty- rant Domitian who was then invested with the imperial purple of Rome, more eminent for his vices than even for his civil position, quailed before this aged but dauntless apostle. He dared not permit the promulgation of his pure gospel within the bounds of his kingdom. He exiled him to lonely CHAPTER L VERSE 10. Patmos, where, if anywhere this side of death, he might be said to be out of the world. Having con- fined him to that barren spot, and to the cruel labor of the mines, the emperor doubtless thought that this preacher of righteousness was finally disposed of, and that the world would hear no more of him. So, doubtless, thought the persecutors of John Bun- yan when they had shut him up in Bedford jail. But when man thinks he has buried the truth in eternal oblivion, the Lord gives it a resurrection in tenfold glory and power. From Bunyan's dark and narrow cell there blazed forth a spiritual light, which, next to the Bible itself, has built up the interests of the gospel ; and from the barren isle of Patmos, where Domitian thought he had forever extin- guished at least one torch of truth, there arose the most magnificent revelation of all the sacred canon, to shed its divine luster over the whole Christian world till the erd of time. And how many will revere the name of the beloved disciple, and hang with delight upon his rapturous visions of heav- enly glory, who will never learn the name of the monster who caused his banishment. Verily, those words of the Scriptures are sometimes applicable, even to the present life, which declare that " the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance," but " the name of the wicked shall rot." Verse 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. In the Spirit. Exiled though John was, from all of like faith, and almost from the world, he was not 28 TEOUOHTS ON THE REVELATION. exiled from God, nor from Christ, nor from the Holy- Spirit, nor from angels. He still had communion with his divine Lord. And the expression, " in the Spirit," seems to denote the highest state of spiritual elevation into which a person can be brought by the Spirit of God. It marked the commencement of his vision. On the Lord's Day. What day is intended by this designation ? On this question four diffei-ent positions are taken by different classes. 1. That it means the gospel dispensation. 2. That it means the day of Judgment, the future " day of the Lord " so often brought to view in the Scriptures. 3. That it means the first day of the week ; and 4. That it means the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord. To the first of these positions it is sufficient to reply that the book of Revelation is dated by the writer John, in the isle of Patmos, and upon the Lord's day. The writer, the place where it was written, and the day upon which it was dated, have each a real existence, and not merely a symbolical or mystical one. But if we say that the day means the gospel dispensation, we give it a symbolical or mys- tical meaning, which is not admissible. Besides, this position involves the absurdity of making John say, sixty-five years after the death of Christ, that the vision which he records was seen by him in the gos- pel dispensation, as though any Christian could pos- sibly be ignorant of that fact ! The second position, that it is the day of Judg- ment, cannot be correct ; for while John might have CHAPTER /, VERSE 10. 29 had a vision concerning the day of Judgment, he could not have had one on that day when it was yet future. The word translated " on " is en (h), and is defined by Robinson, when relating to time, as fol- lows : " Time %v}ien, a definite point or period, m, during, on, at, which anything takes place." It never means about or concerning. Hence they who refer it to the Judgment day, either contradict the language used, making it mean " concerning " in- stead of " on," or they make John state, if we may coin a word, a most distortionate falsehood by saying that he had a vision upon the isle of Patmos, over seventeen hundred years ago, on the day of Judg- ment, wdiich is yet future ! For the third view, that by " Lord's day " is meant the first day of the week, a view by far the most generally entertained, we inquire for the proof. What evidence have we for this assertion ? The text itself does not define the term Lord's day; hence if it means the first day of the week we must look elsewhere in the Bible for the proof that that day of the week is ever so designated. The only other inspired writers that speak of the first day at all, are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul ; and they speak of it simply as the first day of the week. They never speak of it in a manner to distinguish it above any other of the six working days. And this is the more remarkable, viewed from the pop- ular standpoint, as three of them speak of it at the very time when it is said to have become the Lord's day by the resurrection of the Lord upon it, and so TnomETs oil the mevelatioN'. two of them mention it some thirty years after that event. But it is said that the term " Lord's day " was the usual term for the first day of the week in John's day. Where is the proof of this ? It can- not be found. But we have proof of just the con- trary. See " History of the Sabbath," and " Com- plete Testimony of the Fathers," by Andrews, pub- lished at the Review Office, Battle Creek, Mich. If this was the universal designation of the first day at the time the Revelation was written, the same writer would most assuredly call it so in all his subsequent writings. But John wrote his gospel after he wrote the Revelation, and yet in that gos- pel he calls the first day of the week, not Lord's day, but simply " first day of the week." For proof that the gospel was written at a period subsequent to the Revelation, the reader is referred to the fol- lowing authorities : Religious Encyclopedia, Barnes Notes (gospels), Bib. Die, Cottage Bible, Domestic Bible, Mine Explored, Union Bib. Die, Comprehen- sive Bible, Paragraph Bible, Bloomfield, Dr. Hales, Home, Nevins, and Olshausen. And what still further disproves the claim here set up in behalf of the first day, is the fact that neither the Father nor the Son have ever claimed the first day as their own in any higher sense than they have each or any of the other laboring days. They have never placed any blessing upon it, nor attached any sanctity to it. If it was to be called the Lord's day from the fact of Christ's resurrec- OUAPTKR /, VEJtSE Id. ^1 tion upon it, Inspiration would doubtless have some- where so informed us. But there are other events equally essential to the plan of salvation, as for in- stance, the crucifixion and the ascension ; and in the absence of all instruction upon the point, why not call the day upon which either of these occurred, the Lord's day, as well as the day upon which he rose from the dead ? The three positions already examined having been disproved, the fourth now demands attention, namely, that by Lord's day is meant the Sabbath of the Lord. And this of itself is susceptible of the clearest proof: 1. When God gave to man in the beginning six days of the week for labor, he ex- pressly reserved the seventh day to himself, placed his blessing upon it, and claimed it as his holy day. 2. Moses told Israel in the wilderness of Sin, on the sixth day of the week, " To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." We come to Sinai where the great Lawgiver proclaimed his moral precepts in awful grandeur ; and in that su- preme code, he thus lays claim to his hallowed day : " The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day ; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." By the prophet Isaiah, about eight hundred years later, God spoke as follows : " If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on MY HOLY DAY, .... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord," 32 THOVOHTS OK THE REVELATION. etc. We come down to New-Testament times, and He who is one with the Father, declares expressly, "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Can any man deny that that day is the Lord's day, of which he has emphatically declared that he is the Lord? Thus we see that whether it be the Father or the Son whose title is involved, no other day can be called the Lord's day but the Sabbath of the great Creator. One more thought, and we leave this point: There is in this dispensation one day distinguished above the other days of the week as the Lord's day. How completely does this great fact disprove the claim put forth by some that there is no Sabbath in this dispensation, but that all days are alike. And by calling it the Lord's day, the apostle has given us, near the close of the first century, apos- tolic sanction for the observance of the only day which can be called the Lord's day, which is the seventh day of the week. Verse 11. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last ; and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia ; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. On this verse Dr. A. Clarke remarks, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and] — This whole clause is wanting in A B C ; thirty-one others ; some editions ; the Syriac, Coptic, ^thiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, Arethas, Andreas, and Primasius. Griesbach has left it out of the text." CBAPTER /, YURSES 12-18. 33 He also states that the phrase " in Asia," is wanting in the principal MSS. and versions, and that Gries- bach has left it out of the text. Bloomfield also marks the clause, " I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and " — as without doubt an interpola- tion, and also the words " in Asia/' It would then read, " Saying, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches; unto Ephesus," etc. See translations of Whiting, Wesley, Ameri- can Bible Union and others. Compare remarks on verse 4. Verses 12-18. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candle- sticks ; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow ; and his eyes were as a flame of fire ; arid his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace ; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword ; and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not ; I am the first and the last ; I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death. I Turned to See the Voice; that is, the person from whom the voice came. Seven Golden CandlesUcks. These cannot be the antitype of the golden candlestick of the ancient typ- ical temple service ; for that was but one candlestick Revelation. 3 34 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. with seven branches. That is ever spoken of in the singular number. But here are seven, more properly lamp-stands than simply candlesticks ; stands upon which lamps are set to give light in the room. And they bear no resemblance to the ancient candlestick^ but are distinct, and so far separated from each other that the Son of Man is seen walking about in the midst of them. The Son of Man. The central and all-attractive figure of the scene now opened before John's vision, is the majestic form of one like the Son of man, rep- resenting Christ. The description here given of him with his flowing robe, his hair white, not with age, but with the brightness of heavenly glory, his flaming eyes, his feet glowing like molten brass, and his voice as the sound of many waters, cannot be excelled for grandeur and sublimity. Overcome by the presence of this august Being, and perhaps under a vivid sense of his own unworthiness, John fell at his feet as dead ; but a comforting hand is laid upon him, and a voice of sweet assurance tells him to fear not. It is equally the privilege of Christians to-day to feel the same hand laid upon them to strengthen and comfort in hours of trial and afiliction, and to hear the same voice saying unto them, Fear not. But the most cheering assurance in all these words of consolation, is the declaration of this Exalted One who is alive forevermore, that he is the arbiter of death and the grave. " I have," he says, " the keys of hell [af^^c, the grave] and death." Death is a con- quered tyrant. He may ply his gloomy labors age CUAPTEFx, /, VEliSJES 19, 20. 35 after age, of gathering to the grave the precious of the earth, and gloat for a season over his apparent triumph. But he is performing a fruitless task ; for the key to his dark prison-house has been wrenched from his grasp, and now rests in the hands of a mightier than he. He is compelled to deposit his trophies in a region over which another has absolute control ; and this one is the unchanging friend and the pledged redeemer of his people. Then grieve not for the righteous dead ; they are in safe keeping. An enemy for a while takes them away ; but a friend holds the key to the place of their temporary con- finement. Verse 19. Write the things which thou has seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be here- after. A more definite command is given in this verse to John to write the entire Revelation, which would re- late chiefly to things which were then in the future. In some few instances, events then in the past or then transpiring were referred to; but these references were simply for the purpose of introducing events to be fulfilled after that time, and so that no link in the chain might be lacking. Verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars wliich thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches ; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. To represent the Son of man as holding in his hand only the ministers of seven literal churches in Asia 36 THOUGETS OK TEE MBVELATIOir. Minor, and walking in the midst of only those seven churches, would be to reduce the sublime representa- tions and declarations of this and following chapters into comparative insignificance. The providential care and presence of the Lord are with, not a speci- fied number of churches only, but with all his peo- ple ; not in the days of John merely, but through all time. "Lo! I am with you alway," said he to his disciples, "even unto the end of the world." See remarks on verse 4. ^^g?^*4»*^^ dlik|)tei' II. THE SEVEN CHURCHES. Verse 1. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus, write : These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks ; 2. I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil ; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars : 3. and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. 4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5. Remember, there- fore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works ; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nic- olaitanes, which I also hate. 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. The Church of Ephesus. Some reasons why the seven churches, or more properly the messages to them, should be regarded as prophetic, having their application to the seven periods of the Christian age, have been given in the remarks on chap. 1:4. It may here be added that this view is neither new nor local. Benson quotes Bishop Newton as saying: — • (37) 38 THOUGHTS 02^ THE REVELATION: "Many contend, and among them such learned men as More and Vitringa, that the seven epistles are prophetical of so many successive periods and states of the church, from the beginning to the conclusion of all." Scott says, " Many expositors have imagined that these epistles to the seven churches were mystical prophecies of seven distinct periods, into which the whole term, from the apostles' days to the end of the world, would be divided." Althoup'h neither Newton nor Scott themselves hold this view, tlieir testimony is good as showing that such has been the view of Tnany expositors. Matthew Henry says : — " An opinion has been held by some commentators of note, which may be given in the words of Yitringa : ' That under this emblematical representation of the seven churches of Asia, the Holy Spirit has delineated seven different states of the Christian church, which Would appear in succession, extending to the coming of our Lord, and the consummation of all things. That this is given in descriptions taken from the names, states, and conditions of these churches, so that they might behold themselves, and learn both their good qualities and their defects, and what admonitions and exhortations were suitable for them.' Vitringa has given a summary of the arguments which may be alleged in favor of this interpretation. Some of them are ingenious, but they are not now considered suffi- cient to support such a theory. Gill is one of the principal of the English commentators who adopt this CHATTER II, VERSES 1-7. 39 view, that ' they are prophetical of the churches of Christ, in the several periods of time, until he ap- pears again.' " It appears from the authors above cited, that what has led commentators of more modern times to discard the view of the prophetical nature of the messages to the seven churches, is the comparatively recent, and unscriptural doctrine of the temporal millennium. The last state of the church as de- scribed in chap. 3 : 15-17, was deemed to be incom- patible with the glorious state of things which would exist here on this earth for a thousand years, with all the world converted to God. Hence, in this case, as in many others, the more scriptural view is made to yield to the more pleasing. The hearts of men, as in ancient times, still love smooth things ; and their ears are ever favorably open to those who will prophesy peace. The definition of the word Ephesus is, desirable, which may well be taken as a good descriptive term of the character and condition of the church in its first state. Those early Christians had re- ceived the doctrine of Christ in its purity. They enjoyed the benefits and blessings of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They were noted for works, labor, and patience. In faithfulness to the pure principles taught by Christ, they could not bear those that were evil, and they tried false apostles, searched out their true characters, and found them liars. That this work was done by the literal and par- ticular church at Ephesus, we have no evidence; 40 THOUGHTS ON THE MEYELATION. there is nothing said about it by Paul in the epistle he wrote to that church ; but it was done by the Christian church as a whole, in that age, and was a most appropriate work at that time. See Acts 15 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 13. The Angel of the Church. The angel of a church must denote the messenger or minister of that church ; and as these churches each cover a period of time, the angel of each church must denote the "ministry, or all the true ministers of Christ during the period covered by that church. The different messages, though addressed to the ministers, cannot be understood to be applicable to them alone ; but they are doubtless addressed to the church through them. The Cause of Complaint. "I have somewhat against thee," says Christ, " because thou hast left thy first love." " Not less worthy of warning than departure from fundamental doctrine, or from script- ural morality, is the leaving of first love. The charge here is not that of falling from grace, nor that love is extinguished, but diminished. No zeal, no suffering, can atone for the want of first love." — Thompson. The time never should come in a Chris- tian's experience, when, if he was asked to mention the period of his greatest love to Christ, he would not say. The present moment. But if such a time does come, then should he remember from whence he is fallen, meditate upon it, take time for it, and carefully call up the state of his former acceptance with God, then haste to repent, and retrace his CHAPTER II, VERSES 1-7. 41 steps to that desirable position. Love, like faith, is manifested by works ; and first love, when it is at- tained, will always bring first works. The Threatening. "I will come unto thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." The coming here mentioned must be a figurative coming, signifying a visitation of judgment, inasmuch as it is conditional. The re- moving of the candlestick would denote the taking away from them the light and privileges of the gospel, and committing them to other hands, unless they should better fulfill the responsibilities of the trust committed to them. But it may be asked, on the view that these messages are prophetic, if the candlestick would not be removed any way, whether they repented or not, as that church was succeeded by the next, to occupy the next period ? and if this is not an objection against regarding these churches as prophetic ? Answer : The expiration of the pe- riod covered by any church is not the removal of the candlestick of that church. The removal of their candlestick would be taking away from them privi- leges which they might, and should, longer enjoy. It would be the rejection of them on the part of Christ, as his representatives, to bear the light of his truth and gospel before the world. And this threatening would be just as applicable to individ- uals" as to the church as a body. How many who professed Christianity during that period, thus came short and were rejected, we know not; doubt- less many. And thus things would go on, some 42 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. remaining steadfast, some backsliding, and becom- ing no longer light-bearers in the world, new con- verts meanwhile filling up the vacancies made by- death and apostasy, until the church reaches a new era in her experience, marked off as another period in her history, and covered by another message. The Nicolaitanes. How ready is Christ to com- mend his people for whatever good qualities they may possess ! If there is anything of which he ap- proves, he mentions that first. And in this message to the church of Ephesus, having first mentioned their commendable traits, and then their failures, as if unwilling to pass by any of their good quali- ties, he mentions this : that they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which he also hated. In verse 15, the doctrines of the same characters are condemned. It appears that they were a class of persons whose deeds and dectrines were alike abominable in the the sight of Heaven. Their origin is involved in some doubt. Some say that they sprang from Nicolas of Antioch, one of the seven deacons ; Acts 6:5; some, that they only attribute their origin to him to gain the prestige of his name; and others, that the sect took its name from one Nicolas of a later date, which is probably the nearest correct. Concerning their doctrines and practices, there seems to be a general agreement that they held to a com- munity of wives, regarded adultery and fornication as things indifferent, and permitted the eating of things offered to idols. See Rel. Encyc, Clarke, Kitto, and other authorities. CHAFTEli II, VERSES 1-7. 43 The Summons to Attention. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." A solemn manner of calling universal attention to that which is of general and most mo- mentous importance. The same language is used to each of the seven churches. Christ, when upon earth, made use of the same form of speech in calling the attention of the people to the most important of his teachings. He used it in reference to the mission of John, Matt. 11 : 15, the parable of the sower, Matt. 13 : 9, and the parable of the tares, setting forth the end of the world, verse 43. It is also used in rela- tion to an important prophetic fulfillment in Rev. 13:9. The Promise to the Victor. To the overcomer it is promised that he shall eat of the tree of life that grows in the midst of the paradise, or garden, of God. Where is this paradise ? Answer. In the third Heaven. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 12:2, that he knew a man, referriug to himself, caught up to the third Heaven. In verse 4, he calls the same place para- dise ; leaving only one conclusion to be drawn, which is, that paradise is in the third Heaven. In this par- adise, it seems, is the tree of life. There is but one tree of life brought to view in the Bible. It is men- tioned six times, three times in Genesis, and three times in the Revelation ; but it is used every time with the definite article the. It is the tree of life in the first book of the Bible, the tree of life in the last ; the tree of life in the " paradise " (Septuagint) in Eden at the beginning, and the tree of life in the paradise 44 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. of which John now speaks, in Heaven above. But if there is but one tree, and that was at first upon the earth, it may be asked how it has now come to be in Heaven ? To which the answer would be that it must have been taken up, or translated to the par- adise above. There is no possible way that the same identical body which is situated in one place can be located in another but by being transported bodily thither. And that the tree of life and paradise have been removed from earth to Heaven, besides the nec- essary inference from this argument, there is good reason to believe. In 2 Esdras 7 : 26, occurs this language : "Behold, the time shall come, that these tokens which I have told thee shall come to pass, and the bride shall ap- pear, and she coming forth shall be seen that now is withdrawn from the earth." There is an evident allusion here to " the bride, the Lamb's wife," Rev. 21:9, which is the " holy city, New Jerusalem," verse 10, Gal. 4 : 26, in which is the tree of life, Rev. 22 : 2, which is now "withdrawn from the earth," but which will, in due time, appear and be located among men. Rev. 21 : 2, 3. The following paragraph on this point, we quote from Kurtz' Sacred History, p. 50 : — " The act of God in appointing the cherubim ' to keep the way of the tree of life,' Gen. 3 : 24, in the garden of Eden, likewise appears not only in an as- pect indicating judicial severity, but also in one which conveys a promise full of consolation. The blessed abode from which man is expelled, is neither CHAPTER II, VERSES 8-11. 45 annihilated nor even abandoned to desolation and ruin, but withdrawn from the earth and from man, and consigned to the care of the most perfect crea- tures of God, in order that it may be ultimately re- stored to man when he is redeemed. Rev. 22 : 2. The garden, as it existed before God 'planted' or adorned it, came under the curse, like the remainder of the earth, but the celestial and paradistical addi- tion was exempted, and intrusted to the cherubim. The true paradise is now translated to the invisible world. At least a symbohcal copy of it, established in the holy of holies in the tabernacle, was granted to the people of Israel, after the pattern which Moses saw in the mount, Ex. 25 : 9, 40, and the original it- self, as the renewed habitation of redeemed man, will hereafter descend to the earth. Rev. 21 : 10." To the over comer, then, is promised a restoration to more than Adam lost ; not to the overcomers of that state of the church, merely, but to all overcom- ers of every age ; for in the great rewards of Heaven there are no restrictions. Reader, strive to be an overcomer ; for he who gains access to the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, shall die no more. Time of the first church, to the close of the first century, or to the death of the last of the apostles. Verse 8. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna, write : These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive ; 9 ; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty ( but thou art rich) ; and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10. Fear none of those things which 46 THOUGHTS OK THE REVELATIOK. thou slialt suffer ; beliold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried ; and ye shall have tribula- tion ten days : be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 11. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. It will be noticed that the Lord introduces himself to each church by mentioning some of his character- istics which show him to be peculiarly fitted to bear to them the testimony which he utters. To the Smyrnian church, about to pass through the fiery ordeal of persecution, he reveals himself as one who was dead, but is now alive. If they should be called to seal their testimony with their blood, they were to remember that the eyes of One were upon them, who had shared the same fate, but had triumphed over death, and was able to bring them up again from a martyr's grave. Poverty and Riches. "I know thy poverty," says Christ to them, "but thou art rich." Strange para- dox, this may seem at first. But who are the truly rich in this world? Those who are "rich in faith" and "heirs of the kingdom." The wealth of this world, for which men so eagerly strive, and so often barter away present happiness and future endless life, is "coin not current in Heaven." A certain writer has forcibly remarked, " There is many a rich poor man, aiid many a poor rich man." Say They Are Jews and Are Not That the term Jew is not here used in a literal sense, is very evi- dent. It denotes some character which was approved by the gospel standard. Paul's language will make CHAPTER II, VERSUS S-11. 47 this point plain. He says, Rom. 2 : 28, 29: "For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew [in the true Christian sense] which is one in- wardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God." Again he says, chap. 9:6, 7 : "For they are not all Israel which are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children." In Gal. 3 : 28, 29, Paul further tells us that in Christ there are no such outward dis- tinctions as Jew and Greek, but that if we are Christ's then are we Abraham's seed [in the true sense], and heirs according to the promise. To say, as some do, that the term Jew is never applied to Christians, is to contradict all these inspired declarations of Paul, and the testimony of the faithful and true Witness to the Smyrnian church. Some were hypocritically pretending to be Jews in this Christian sense, when they possessed nothing of the requisite character. Such were of the synagogue of Satan. Tribulation Ten Days. As this message is pro- phetic, the time mentioned in it must also be re- garded as prophetic, which would denote ten years. And it is a noticeable fact that the last and most bloody of the ten persecutions continued just ten years under Diocletian, from A. D. 302 to A. D. 312. See Buck's Theol. Die, pp. 332, 333. It would be difficult to make an application of this language on the ground that these messages are not prophetic ; for in that case, only ten literal days could be 48 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATIOK. meant ; and it would not seem probable that a per- secution of only ten days, on only a single church, would be made a matter of prophecy. Again, apply this persecution to any of the notable persecutions of that period, and how could it be spoken of as the fate of one church alone ? All the churches suffered in them ; and where, then, would be the propriety of singling out one, to the exclusion of the rest, as alone involved in such a calamity ? Faithful unto Death. Some have endeavored to base a criticism on the use of the word unto, in- stead of until, as though the idea of time was not involved. But the original word, axgi, rendered unto, signifies, primarily, until. No argument, however, can be drawn from this for consciousness in death. The vital point for such an argument is still lack- ing ; for it is not affirmed that the crown of life is bestowed immediately at death. We must conse- quently look to other scriptures to learn when the crown of life is given; and other scriptures very fully inform us. Paul declares that this crown is to be given at the day of Christ's appearing, 2 Tim. 4 : 8 at the last trump, 1 Cor. 15 : 51-54 when the Lord shall himself descend from Heaven, 1 Thess. 4 : 16, 17 ; when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, says Peter, 1 Pet. 5:4; at the resurrection of the just, says Christ, Luke 14 : 14 and when he should return to take his people to the mansions prepared for them, that they might ever be with him. John 14 : 3. Be thou faithful until death ; and having been thus faithful, when the time comes that the saints of God are rewarded, you shall receive a crown of life. CHAPTER II, VERSES 12-17. 49 The Overcomers Reivard. " He shall not be hurt of the second death." Is not the language Christ here uses a good comment upon what he taught his disciples, when he said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell " ? Matt. 10 : 28. The Smyrnians might be put to death here; but the future life, which was to be given them, man could not take away, and God would not ; hence they were to fear not those who could kill the body, — to " fear none of the things which they should suffer ; " for their eter- nal existence was sure. Smyrna signifies myrrh — fit appellation for the church of God, while passing through the fiery fur- nace of persecution, and proving herself a " sweet- smelling savor unto him." But we soon reach the days of Constantine, when the church presents a new phase, rendering a far different name and another message applicable to her history. According to the foregoing, the date of the Smyr- nian church would be A. D. 200-823. Verse 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos, write : These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges : 13 : I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is ; and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling- block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrified Revelation. 4. 50 TSOtTGltTS 0^ TitlS REV^LATIOI^. unto idols, and to commit fornication, 15. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. 16. Repent ; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches : To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Against the church of Smyrna, which has just been considered, there was no word of condemna- tion uttered. Persecution is ever calculated to keep the church pure, and incite its members to piety and godliness. But we now reach a period when influ- ences began to work, through which errors and evils were likely to creep into the church. Pergamos signifies height, elevation. The period covered by this church may be located from the days of Constantine, or perhaps rather from his professed conversion to Christianity, A. D. 323, to the establishment of the papacy, A. D. 538. It was a period in which the true servants of God had to struggle against a spirit of worldly policy, pride, and popularity, among those who professed to be the followers of Christ, and against the virulent workings of the mystery of iniquity, which finally resulted in the full development of the papal man of sin. Where Sedan's Seat Is. Christ takes cognizance of the unfavorable situation of his people during this period. This language is not probably designed to denote locality. As to place, Satan is everywhere CRArTER II, VERSES 12-17. 51 where Christians dwell. But there are times and seasons when he works with special power; and the period covered by the church of Pergamos was one of these. During this period, the doctrine of Christ was being corrupted, the mystery of iniquity was working, and Satan was laying the very foun- dation of that most stupendous system of wicked- ness, — the papacy. Here was the falling away fore- told by Paul in 2 Thess. 2 : 3. Antipas. That a class of persons are referred to by this name, and not an individual, there is good reason to believe ; for no authentic information re- specting such an individual is now to be found. On this point, Wm. Miller says : — " It is supposed that Antipas was not an individ- ual, but a class of men who opposed the power of the bishops, or popes, in that day, being a combina- tion of two words, anti, opposed, and Papas, father, or pope, and many of them suffered martyrdom, at that time, in Constantinople and Rome, where the bishops and popes began to exercise the power which soon after brought into subjection the kings of the earth, and trampled on the rights of the church of Christ. And for myself, I see no reason to reject this explanation of the word Antipas in this text, as the history of those times is perfectly silent respecting such an individual as is here named." — Millers Lectures, pp. 138, 139. Watson says, " Ancient ecclesiastical history fur- nishes no account of this Antipas." Dr. Clark men- tions a work as extant called the " Acts of Antipas," 52 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION'. but gives us to understand that it is entitled to no credit. The Cause of Censure. Disadvantages in situ- ation are no excuse for wrongs in the church. Al- though this church lived at a time when Satan was especially at work, it was their duty to keep them- selves pure from the leaven of his evil doctrines. Hence, they were censured for harboring in their midst those who held the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitanes. See remarks on the Nicolaitanes, verse 6. What the doctrine of Balaam was, is here partially revealed. He taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel. See a full account of his transactions and their results, in Num. 22-25, and 31 : 13-16. It appears that Balaam desired to curse Israel for the sake of the rich reward which Balak offered him for so doing. But not being permitted by the Lord to curse them, he resolved to accomplish essentially the same thing, though in a dijBTerent way. He there- fore counseled Balak to seduce them, by means of the females of Moab, to participate in the celebra- tion of the rites of idolatry, and all its licentious accompaniments. The plan succeeded. The abom- inations of idolatry spread through the camp of Israel, the curse of God was called down upon them by their sins, and there fell by the plague twenty- four thousand persons. The doctrines complained of in the church of Pergamos were of course similar in their tendency, leading to spiritual idolatry, and an unlawful con- CHAl'TER II, VERSES 12-17. -53 nection between the church and the world. Out of this spirit was finally produced the union of the civil and ecclesiastical powers, which culminated in the formation of the papacy. Reioent. By disciplining or expelling those who hold these pernicious doctrines. If they did not do this, Christ declared that he would take the matter into his own hands, and come unto them (in judg- ment) and fight against them (them who held these evil doctrines) ; and the whole church would be held responsible for the wrongs of those heretical ones whom they harbored in their midst. The Promise. To the overcomer it is promised that he shall eat of the hidden manna, and receive from his approving Lord a white stone, with a new and precious name engraved thereon. Concerning manna that is "hidden," and a new name that no one is to know but he that receiveth it, not much in the way of exposition should be required. But there has been much conjecture upon these points, and an allusion to these may be expected. Most commentators apply the manna, white stone, and a new name, to spiritual blessings' to be enjoyed in this life ; but, like all the other promises to the overcomer, we think it refers wholly to the future, and is to be given when the time comes that the saints are to be rewarded. Perhaps the following from the late H. Blunt, is as satisfactory as any- thing that has ever been written upon these several particulars : — " It is generally thought by commentators that 54 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. this refers to an ancient judicial custom of drop- ping a black stone into an urn when it is intended to condemn, and a white stone when the prisoner is to be acquitted ; but this is an act so distinct from that described, 'I will give thee a white stone,' that we are disposed to agree with those who think it refers rather to a custom of a very different kind, and not unknown to the classical reader ; according with beautiful propriety to the case before us. In primitive times, when^traveling was rendered diffi- cult from want of places of public entertainment, hospitality was exercised by private individuals to a very great extent, of which, indeed, we find fre- quent traces in all history, and in none more than the Old Testament. Persons who partook of this hospitality, and those who practiced it, frequently contracted habits of friendship and regard for each other, and it became a well-established custom among the Greeks and Romans to provide their guests with some particular mark, which was handed down from father to son, and insured hos- pitality and kind treatment whenever it was pre- sented. This mark was usually a small stone or pebble, cut in half, and upon the halves of which the host and the guest mutually inscribed their names, and then interchanged with each other. The production of this tessera was quite sufficient to insure friendship for themselves or descendants whenever they traveled again in the same direc- tion ; while it is evident that these stones required to be privately kept, and the names written upon CHATTEli TI, VEBSES lS-29. 55 them carefully concealoil, lest others should obtain the privileges instead of the persons for whom they were intended. " How natural, then, the allusion to this custom in the words of the text, ' I will give him to eat of the hidden manna ! ' and having done this, having made him partake of my hospitality, having recog- nized him as my guest and friend, I will present him with the white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, save he who receiveth it. I will give him a pledge of my friendship, sacred and inviolable, known only to himself." On the new name, Wesley very appropriately " Jacob, after his victory, gained the new name of Israel. Wouldst thou know what thy new name will be ? The way to this is plain, — overcome. Till then, all thy inquiries are vain. Thou wilt then read it on the white stone." Verse 18. And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira, write : These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass ; 19 ; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works ; and the last to be more than the first. 20. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufierest that woman Jezebel, which call- eth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21. And I gave her space to repent of her fdi-nication, and she repented not. 22. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribula- tion, except they repent of their deeds. 23. And I will kill 56 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: her children with death ; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts : and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 24. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak, I will put upon you none other burden. 25. But that which ye have al- ready, hold fast till I come. 26. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations : 27 : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers ; even as I received of my Father. 28. And I will give him the morning star. 29. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. If the period covered by the Pergamos church has been correctly located, terminating with the setting up o£ the papacy, A. D. 538, the most natu- ral division to be assigned to the church of Thya- tira would be the time of the continuance of this blasphemous power through the 12C0 years of its supremacy; or, from A. D. 538, to A. D. 1798. Thyatira signifies, "sweet savor of labor," or "sacrifice of contrition." This would well describe the state of the church of Jesus Christ during the long period of papal triumph and persecution. This age of dreadful tribulation upon the church such as never was (Matt. 24:21), improved the real condition of believers. Hence, they receive for their works, charity, service, faith and patience, the commendation of Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire. And works are then again mentioned, as though worthy of a double commendation. And the last were more than the first. There had been CHAPTER II, VEBSES 18-29. 57 an improvement in their condition, a growth in grace, an increase in all these elements of Chris- tianity. This church is the only one that is com- mended for an imj^rovement in spiritual things. But, as in the church of Pergamos, unfavorable cir- cumstances were no apology for false doctrines in the church, so in this church, no amount of labor, charity, service, faith or patience, could compensate for a like sin. A rebuke is therefore given them for suffering in their midst — • That Woman Jezebel. As in the preceding church, Antipas denoted, not an individual, but a class of persons ; so, doubtless, Jezebel is here to be under- stood in the same sense. Watson's Bible Dictionary says, "The name of Jezebel is used proverbially. Kev. 2 : 20." Wm. Miller, Lectures, p. 142, speaks as follows : — "Jezebel is a figurative name alluding to Ahab's wife, who slew the prophets of the Lord, led her husband into idolatry, and fed the prophets of Baal at her ow^n table. A more striking figure could not have been used to denote the papal abominations. See 1 Kings, chaps. 18, 19, and 21. It is very evident from history, as well as from this verse, that the church of Christ did suffer some of the papal monks to preach and teach among them. See the ' History of the Waldenses.' " The Comprehensive Commentary has the follow- ing remark upon verse 23 : " Children are spoken of, which confirms the idea that a sect and its prose- lytes are meant." The judgments here threatened 58 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. against this woman are in harmony with the threat- enings in other parts of this book against the Romish church, under the symbol of a corrupt woman, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. See chaps. 17-19. The death which is threatened is doubtless the second death, at the end of the one thousand years of Rev. 20, when the risfhteous retribution from the Searcher of "the reins and hearts " of all men will be given. And further, the declaration, " I will give unto every one of you according to your works," is proof that the address to this church looks forward prophetically to the final reward or punishment of all accountable beings. And all the Churches Shall Know, etc. It has been argued from this expression that these churches could not denote seven successive periods of the gospel age, but must exist contemporaneously, as otherwise all the churches could not know that Christ was the searcher of the reins and hearts from seeing his judgments upon Jezebel and her children. But when is it that all the churches are to know this ? It is when these children are punished with death. And if this is at the time when the second death is inflicted upon all the wicked, then, indeed, will " all the churches " as they behold the infliction of the Judgment, know that no secret thing, no evil thought or purpose of the heart, has escaped the knowledge of Him who, with eyes like flames of fire, searches the hearts and reins of men. I Will Lay u2')on Yow none other Burden. A CHAFTEB II, VEBSES 18-20, 59 respite promised the church, if we rightly appre- hend, from the burden so long her portion, — the weight of papal oppression. It cannot be applied to the reception of new truths ; for truth is not a burden to any accountable being. But the days of tribulation that came upon that church, were to be shortened for the elect's sake. Matt. 24 : 22. " They shall be holpen," says the prophet, " with a little help." Dan. 11:34. "And the earth helped the woman," says John. Rev. 12 : 6. Hold Fast till I Covie. These are the words of "the Son of God," and bring to our view an un- conditional coming. To the churches of Ephesus and Pergamos, certain comings were threatened on conditions : " Repent, or else I will come unto thee," etc., implying visitations of judgment. But here, a coming of altogether a different nature is brought to view. It is not a threatening of punishment. It is suspended upon no conditions. It is set before the believer as a matter of hope, and can refer to no other event but the future second advent of the Lord in glory, when the Christian's trials will cease, and his efforts in the race for life, and his warfare for a crown of righteousness, be rewarded with ever- lasting success. This church brings us down to the time when the more immediate signs of the soon coming ad- vent began to be fulfilled. In 1780, eighteen years before the close of this period, the predicted signs in the sun and moon were fulfilled. See on chap. 6:12. And in reference to these signs, the Saviour go THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATIOm said: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and Hft up your heads ; for your redemption draweth nigh." In the history of this church we reach a point within eighty-two years of the present time (1880), and must conclude that some whose religious experience commenced back under that period, will live to behold the Lord ap- pear to consummate the hope of his people. To such, the exhortation is, " Hold fast till I come." Till the End. The end of the Christian age. "He that shall endure to the end," says Christ, "the same shall be saved." Matt. 24:13. Is not here a like promise to those who keep Christ's works, do the things he has enjoined, — ^keep the faith of Jesus ? Chap. 14 : 12. Power over the Nations. In this world, the wicked bear rule, and the servants of Christ are of no esteem. But the time is coming when right- eousness will be in the ascendency ; when all un- godliness will be seen in its true light, and be at a heavy discount; and when the scepter of power will be in the hands of the people of God. This promise will be explained by the following facts and scriptures: 1. The nations are to be given by the Father into the hands of Christ, to be ruled with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces like a pot- ter's vessel. Ps. 2 : 8, 9. 2. Associated with Christ when he thus enters upon his own work of power and judgment, are to be his saints. Rev. 3 : 21. 3. They are to reign with him in this capacity for one thousand years. Chap. 20 : 4. 4. During this CHAPTER II, VERSES 18-S9. 61 period, the degree of judgment upon wicked men and evil angels is determined. 1 Cor. 6 : 2, 3. 5. At the end of the one thousand years, they have the honor of sharing with Christ in the execution of the sentence written. Ps. 149 : 9. The Morning Star. Christ says in chap. 22 : 16, that he is himself the morning star. The morning star is the immediate forerunner of the day. What is here called the morning star, is called the day- star, in 2 Pet. 1 : 19, where it is associated with the dawn of the day. " Until the day dawn, and the day-star arise." During the saint's weary night of watching, they have the word of God to shed its needful light upon their path. But when the day- star shall arise in their hearts, or the morning star be given to the overcomers, they will be taken into so close a relation to Christ that their hearts will be fully illuminated with his Spirit, and they will walk in his light. Then they will no longer need the sure word of prophecy, which now shines as a light in a dark place. Hasten on, glorious hour ! when the light of Heaven's bright day shall rise upon the pathway of the little flock, and beams of glory from the eternal world shall gild their ban- ners. Cl^iiptef III. THE SEVEN CHURCHES CONTINUED. Verse 1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write : These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars ; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die ; for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3, Re- member, therefore, how thou hast received, and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in wliite, for they are worthy. 5. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white rai- ment, and I will not blot out his name out of the bool? of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and be- fore his angels. 6. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. If the preceding churches have been correctly ap- plied, the period covered by the church of Sardis, must commence about the year 1798. Sardis signifies, "prince or song of joy; or, that which remains." We then have before us, as con- stituting this church, the reformed churches from the date above-named to the great movement which marked another era in the history of the people of God. (63) CHATTER in, VERSES 1-6. 63 The great fault found with this church is, that it has a name to live, but is dead. And what a high position, in a worldly point of view, has the nominal church occupied during this period ! Look at her high-sounding titles, and her favor with the world. But how has pride and popularity grown apace, until spirituality is destroyed, the line of distinction between the church and the world is obliterated, and these different popular bodies are churches of Christ only in name. This church was to hear the proclamation of the doctrine of the second advent, as we learn from verse 3 : " If, therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief." This implies that the doctrine of the advent would be proclaimed, and the duty of watching enjoined upon the church. The coming is unconditional ; the manner only in which it would come upon them is conditional. Their not watching would not prevent the coming of the Lord ; but by watching they could avoid being overtaken as a thief. It is only to those who are in this condition that the day of the Lord comes unawares. "Ye, brethren," says Paul, " are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief." 1 Thess. 5 : 4. A Few Names even in Sardls. This language would seem to imply a period of unparalleled worldli- ness in the church. But even in this state of things^ there are some whose garments are not defiled, some who have kept themselves free from this contam- inating influence. James says, " Pure religion, and undefiled before God and the Father is this : To visit 64 THOnOHTS ON THE REVELATION. the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unsjMted from the world.'' James 1:27. Shall Walk with Me in White. The Lord does not overlook his people in any place, however few their numbers. Lonely Christian, with none of like precious faith with whom to commune, do you ever feel as though the hosts of the unbelievers w^ould swal- low you up ? You are not unnoticed or forgotten by your Lord. The multitude of the wicked around you cannot be so great as to hide you from his view. And if you keep yourself unspotted from surround- ing evil, the promise is sure to you. You shall be clothed in white, the white raiment of the overcomer, and walk with your Lord in glory. See chap. 7 : 17 : " For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." White Raiment. Being clothed with white rai- ment is explained in other scriptures to be a symbol of exchanging iniquity for righteousness. See Zech^ 3 : 4, 5. " Take away the filthy garments from him," explained by the language that follows, "Be- hold I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee." " The fine linen," or the white raiment, " is the right- eousness of saints." Eev. 19 : 8. The Book of Life. Object of thrilling interest ! Vast and ponderous volume, in which are enrolled the names of all the candidates for everlasting life ! And is there danger, after having our names once CHAPTER III, VERSES 1-6. (]5 entered in that heavenly journal, of having them blotted out? Yes; or this warning would never have been penned. Paul, even, feared that he him- self might become a castaway. 1 Cor, 9 : 27. It is only by our being overcomers at last that our names can be retained in that book. But all will not over- come. Their names, of course, will be blotted out. And reference is made to some definite point of time in the future for this work, " I will not," says Christ, in the future, blot out the names of the over- comers, which is also saying, by implication, that at the same time he luill blot out the names of those who do not overcome. Is not this the same time mentioned by Peter, in Acts 3:19: " Repent ye, there- fore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord " ? To say to the overcomer that his name shall not be blotted out of the book of life, Ls to say also that his sins shall be blotted out of the book wherein they are recorded, to be remembered against him no more forever. Heb. 8:12. And this is to be when the times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord ; may we not also add, in that other language of Peter, when the day-star shall arise in our hearts, or the morning star be given to the church, just pre^^ous to the advent of the Lord to usher in the glorious day ? 2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 2 : 28. And when that hour of decision shall come, which can- not now be a great way in the future, how, reader, will it be with you ? A¥ill your sins be blotted out, and your name retained in the book of life ? or will Revelation. 8 66 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. your name be blotted out of the book of life, and your sins left to bear their fearful record against you ? The Presentation in Glory. " I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." Christ taught here upon earth, that as men confessed or denied, despised or honored, him here, they would be confessed or denied by him before his Father in Heaven and the holy angels. Matt. 10 : 32, 83 ; Mark 8 : 38 ; Luke 12 : 8, 9. And who can fathom the honor of being approved before the heavenly hosts ? Who can conceive the bliss of that moment when we shall be owned by the Lord of life before his Father, as those who have done his will, fought the good fight, run the race, honored him before men, overcome, and whose names are worthy, through his merits, of standing upon the imperishable record of the book of life forever and ever ! Veuse 7. And to the angel of tlie church in Philadelphia, write : These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, 8, I know thy works ; behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it ; for thou hast a Httle strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie ; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of tempta- tion, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11. Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12. Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of CHAPTER III, VERSES 7-13. (37 my God, and he shall go no more out ; and I will v/rite upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of Heaven from my God ; and I will write upon him my new name. 13. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Philadelphia signifies brotherly love, and expresses the position and spirit of those who received the Ad- vent message np to the autumn of 1844. As they came out of the sectarian churches, they left party names and party feelings behind, and every heart beat in union, as they gave the alarm to the churches and to the world*, and pointed to the coming of the Son of man as the believer's true hope. Selfishness and covetousness were laid aside, and a spirit of con- secration and sacrifice was cherished. The Spirit of God was with every true believer, and his praise upon every tongue. Those who were not in that movement know nothing of the deep searching of heart, consecration of all to God, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, and pure, fervent love for each other, which true believers then enjoyed. Those who were in that movement are aware that language would fail to describe that holy, happy state. The Key of David. A key is a symbol of power. The Son of God is the rightful heir to David's throne ; and he is about to take to himself his great power and reign ; hence he is rc])resented as having the key of David. The throne of David, or of Christ, on which he is to reign, is included in the capital of his kingdom, the New Jerusalem, now above, but which 68 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: is to be located on this earth, where he is to reign for- ever and ever. Rev. 21 : 1-5 ; Luke 1 : 32, 33. He that Openetli and no Man Shutteth, etc. To understand this language, it is necessary to look at Christ's position and work as connected with his min- istry in the sanctuary or true tabernacle above. Heb. 8:2. A figure, or pattern of this heavenly sanctu- ary once existed here upon earth in the sanctuary built by Moses. Ex. 25 : 8, 9 ; Acts 7 : 44 ; Heb. 9 : 1. 21, 23, 24. The earthly building had two apart- ments, — the holy place and the most holy place. Ex. 26 : 33, 34. In the first apartment were the candle- stick, the table of shew-bread, and the altar of in- cense. In the second, were the ark which contained the tables of the covenant, or ten commandments, and the cherubim. Heb. 9 : 1-5. Likewise the sanctu- ary in which Christ ministers in Heaven has two apartments. Heb. 9 : 24. See also verses 8 and 12, and chap. 10 : 19, in each of which texts the words rendered " holiest " and " holy place " are plural in the original, and should be rendered holy places. And as all things were made after their pattern, the heavenly sanctuar}^ has also furniture similar to that of the worldly. For the antitype of the golden can- dlestick and altar of incense in the first apartment, see Rev. 4:5; 8:3; and for the antitype of the ark of the covenant, with its ten commandments, see Rev. 11 : 19. In the worldly sanctuary the priests min- istered. Ex. 28 : 41, 43 ; Heb. 9 : 0, 7 ; 13 : 11, etc. The ministry of these priests was a shadow of the ministry of Christ in the sanctuary in Heaven. en AFTER in, VERSES 7 -IS. 69 Heb. 8 : 4, 5. A complete round of service was per- formed in the earthly tabernacle once every year. Heb. 9 : 7. But in the tabernacle above, the service is performed once for all. Heb. 7 : 27 ; 9 : 12. At the close of the yearly typical service, the high priest opened the door of the most holy place of the sanct- uary, to go in and make an atonement, called the cleansing of the sanctuary. Lev. 16 : 20, 30, 33 ; Eze. 45 : 18. At the same time the service of the first apartment, or holy place, ceased. Lev. 16 : 17. A similar opening and shutting, or change of minis- tration, must be accomplished by Clirist, when the time comes for the cleansing of the heavenly sanctu- ary. And the time did come for this service to com- mence at the close of the 2300 days in 1844. To this event the opening and shutting mentioned in the text under consideration can appropriately ap- ply ; the opening being the opening of his ministra- tion in the most holy place, and the shutting, its cessa- tion in the first apartment, or holy place. Dan. 8:14. Verse 9 probably applies to those who do not keep pace with the advancing light of truth, and who op- pose those that do. Such shall yet be made to feel and confess that God loves those who, not rejecting the past fulfillments of his word, nor stereotyping themselves in a creed, continue to advance in the knowledge of his truth. The Word of My Patience. Says John in Rev. 14:12, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Those who now live in pa- 70 TEOUOIITS ON THE REVELATION. tient, faithful obedience to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will be kept in the hour of temptation and peril just before us. See chap. 13:13-17. Behold, I Gome Qidcldy. The second coming of Christ is here again brought to view, and with more startling emphasis than in any of the pre- ceding messages. The nearness of that event is here urged upon the attention of believers. The message applies to a period when that great event is impending. And in this we have most indu- bitable evidence of the prophetic nature of these messages. What is said of the first three churches contains no allusion to the second coming of Christ, from the fact that they do not cover a period dur- ing which that event could be scripturally expected. But we come down to the Thyatiran church, a few of whose members would probably live to behold the advent of the Lord in glory, and, as if then the time had come when this great hope was just be- ginning to dawn upon the church, the mind is car- ried forward to it by a single allusion : " Hold fast till I come." We come down to the next state of the church, the Sardis, the church which occupies a position still nearer that event, and the great proclamation is brought to view which was to her- ald it, and the duty of watching enjoined upon the church ; " If thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief." We reach the Philadelphian church, still further down in the stream of time, and the nearness of the same great event then CHAPTER III, YEBSES 7 -IS. 71 leads Him who "is holy and true," to utter the stirring declaration, "Behold, I come quickly." How evident is it from all this that these churches occupy positions successively nearer the great day of the Lord, as in each succeeding one, and in a continually increasing ratio, this great event is made more and more prominent, and more definitely and impressively urged upon the attention of the church. Faithfulness Enjoined. " Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Not that by our faithfulness we are depriving any one else of a crown ; but the verb rendered, to take, has a number of definitions, one of which is "to take away, snatch from, deprive of!' Hold fast that thou hast, that no man deprive you of the crown of life. Let no one, and no thing, induce you to yield up the truth, or pervert you from the right ways of the Lord ; for by so doing they will cause you to lose the reward. A Pillar in the Temple. The overcomer in this address has the promise of being made a pillar in the temple of God, and going no more out. The temple here must denote the church ; and the promise of being made a pillar therein is the strongest promise that could be given, of a place of honor, permanence and safety in the church, under the figure of a heavenly building. And when the time comes that this part of the promiwse is fulfilled, probation with the overcomer is past, he is fully established in the truth, and sealed. " He shall go 72 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. no more out ; " that is, there is no more danger of his falling away ; he is the Lord's forever ; his sal- vation is sure. But they are to have more than this : From the moment they overcome, and are sealed for Heaven, they are labeled, if we may so express it, for the New Jerusalem. They are to have written upon them the name of God, whose property they a,re, the name of the New Jerusalem, to which place they are going, not Old Jerusalem, where some are vainly looking ; and they have upon them the new name of Christ, by whose authority they are to receive everlasting life, and enter into the l^ingdom. Thus sealed and labeled, the saints of God are safe. No enemy will be able to prevent their reaching their destination, their glorious haven of rest, Jerusalem above. Yerse 14. And unto the angel of the church of the La- odiceans, write ; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God : 15 : I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. 16. So then because thou art luke- warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked : 18 : I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich : and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy naked- ness do not appear ; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. 19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten ; be zealous, therefore, and repent. 20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, CHAPTER III, VERSES U-22. 73 and he with me. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Laodicea signifies t}ie judging of the people ; or, according to Cruden, a just people. This message brings to view the closing scenes of probation. It re- veals a period of Judgment. It is the last stage of the church. It consequently applies to believers un- der the third message, the last message of mercy be- fore the coming of Christ, chap. 14 : 9-14, while the great day of atonement is transpiring, and the inves- tigative Judgment is going forward upon the house of God, — a period during which the just and holy law of God is taken by the waiting church as their rule of life. These Things Saith the Amen. This is then the final message to the churches ere the close of proba- tion. And though the description he gives to the in- different Laodiceans, of their condition, is fearful and startling, nevertheless it cannot be denied ; for the Witness is " faithful and true." Moreover he is " the beginning of the creation of God." Some understand by this language that Christ was the first created being, dating his existence far back before any other created being or thing, next to the self -existent and eternal God. But the language does not necessarily imply this ; for the words, " the beginning of the cre- ation," may simply signify that the Avork of creation, strictly speaking, was begun by him. And it is ex- pressly declared that " without him was not anything 74 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. made that was ^ade." Others, however, take the word agxv to mean the agent or efficient cause, which is one of the definitions of the word, understanding that Christ is the agent through whom God has cre- ated all things, but that he himself came into exist- ence in a different manner, as he is called " the only begotten" of the Father. It would seem utterly inap- propriate to apply this expression to any being cre- ated in the ordinary sense of that term. The charge he brings against the Laodiceans is, that they are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. They lack that religious fervency, zeal, and devotion, which their position in the world's closing history, and the light of prophecy beaming upon their pathway, de- mand that they should manifest; and this luke- warmness is shown by a lack of good works ; for it is from a knowledge of their works that the faithful and true Witness brings this fearful charge against them. I Would Thou, Wert Cold or Hot. Three states are brought to view in this message : the cold, the lukewarm, and the hot. It is important to deter- mine what condition they each denote, in order to guard against "svrong conclusions. What the term hot means, it is not difficult to conceive. The mind at once calls up a state of intense fervency and zeal, when all the affections, raised to the highest pitch, are drawn out for God and his cause, and manifest themselves in corresponding works. To be lukewarm is to lack this zeal, to be in a state in which heart and earnestness are wanting, in which there is no CHAPTER III, VERSES U-22. 75 self-denial that costs anything, no cross-bearing that is felt, no determined witnessing for Christ, and no valiant aggression that keeps sinews strained and armor bright ; and, worst of all, to be entirely satis- fied with that condition. But to be cold — what is that ? Does it denote a state of corruption, wicked- ness, and sin, such as characterizes the world of un- believers ? We cannot so regard it, for the follow- ing reasons : — 1. It would seem harsh and repulsive to represent Christ as wishing, under any circumstances, that per- sons should be in such a condition ; but he says, " I would thou wert cold or hot." 2. No state can be more offensive to Christ than that of the sinner in open rebellion, and his heart filled with every evil. It would therefore be incor- rect to represent him as preferring that state to any position which his people can occupy while they are still retained as his. 3. The threat of rejection in verse 16 is because they are neither cold nor hot. As much as to say that if they were either cold or hot, they would not be rejected. But if by cold is meant a state of open worldly wickedness, they would be rejected therefor very speedily. Hence, such cannot be its meaning. We are consequently forced to the conclusion that no reference is had whatever to those outside of his church, by this language of our Lord, but that he re- fers to three degrees of spiritual affections, two of which are more acceptable to him than the third. Heat and cold are preferable to lukewarmness. But 76 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. what kind of a spiritual state is denoted by the term, cold ? We may remark first that it is a state oi feel- ing. In this respect, it is superior to lukewarmness, which is a state of comparative insensibility, indiffer- ence, and supreme self-satisfaction. To be hot is also to be in a state of feeling. And as hot denotes joy- ous fervency, and a lively exercise of all the afiec- tions, with a heart buoyant with the sensible presence and love of God, so by cold would seem to be denoted a spiritual condition characterized by a destitution of these traits, yet one in which the individual feels such destitution, and longs to recover his lost treasures. This state is well expressed by the language of Job, " Oh that I knew where I might find Him ! " Job 23 : 3. In this state there is not indifi'erence, nor is there content; but theie is a sense of coldness, unfit- ness, and discomfort, and a groping and seeking after something better. There is hope of a person in this condition. What a man feels that he lacks and wants, he will earnestly strive to obtain. The most discour- aging feature of the lukewarm is that they ai-e con- scious of no lack, and feel that they have need of nothing. Hence it is easy to see why our Lord should prefer to behold his church in a state of com- fortless coldness, rather than in a state of comfortable, easy, indifferent lukewarmness. Cold, a person will not long remain. His efforts will soon lead him to the fervid state. But lukewarm, there is danger of remaining till the faithful and true Witness is obliged to reject him as a nauseous and loathsome thing. I Will Spue Thee out of My Mouth. Here the CHAPTER III, VERSES U-22. 77 figure is still further carried out, and the rejection of the lukewarm expressed by the well-known nauseat- ing effects of tepid water. And this denotes a final rejection, an utter separation from his church. Rich and Increased in Goods. Such the Laodi- ceans think is their condition. They are not hypo- crites, because they " know not " that they are pooi*. miserable, blind, and naked. The Counsel Given Them. Buy of me, says the true Witness, gold tried in the fire, that thou may est be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. This shows at once to the deceived Laodiceans the objects they lack, and the extent of their destitution. It shows, too, where they can ob- tain those things in which they are so fearfully poor; it brings before them the necessity of speedily obtain- ing them. The case is so urgent that our great Ad- vocate in the court above sends us special counsel on the point; and the fact that He who has conde- scended to point out our lack, and counsel us to buy, is the one wdio has these things to bestow, and in- vites us to come to him for them, is the best possible guarantee that our application will be respected, and our requests granted. But, by what means can we buy these things? Just as we buy all other gospel graces. " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isa. 55 : 1. We thus buy, by the asking ; 78 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. buy, by throwing away the worthless baubles of earth, and receiving priceless treasures in their stead ; buy, by simply coming and receiving ; buy, giving noth- ing in return. And what do we buy on these gra- cious terms? -Bread that perishes not, spotless rai- ment that soils not, riches that corrupt not, and an inheritance that fadeth not. Strange traffic, this ! Yet thus the Lord condescends to deal with his peo- ple. He might compel us to come in the manner and with the mien of beggars ; but, instead of this, he gives us the treasures of his orrace, and in return re- ceives our worthlessness, that w^e may take the bless- ings he has to bestow, not as pittances dealt out to mendicants, bub as the legitimate possessions of hon- orable purchase. The things to be obtained demand especial no- tice. They are enumerated as follows : — 1. Gold Tried in the Fire. Gold, literally con- sidered, is the comprehensive name for all worldly wealth and riches. Figuratively considered, it must denote that which constitutes spiritual riches. What grace, then, is represented by the gold ? or, rather, what graces ? for, doubtless, no one single grace can be said to answer to the full import of that term. The Lord said to the church of Smyrna that he knew their poverty, but they were rich ; and the testimony shows that their riches consisted of that which was finally to put them in possession of a crown of life. Says James, " Hearken, my be- loved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom CHAPTER III, VEIiSES H-22. 79 which he hath promised, to them that love him ? " "Faith," says Paul, "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." To be "rich toward God," rich in the spiritual sense, is to have a clear title to the promises, to be an heir of that inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for us. " If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3 : 29. And how do we obtain this heirship ? In the same way that Abraham obtained the promise ; that is, through faith. Rom. 4 : 13, 14. No won- der, then, that Paul should devote an entire chapter in Hebrews (chap. 11) to this important subject, setting forth the mighty achievements that have been accomplished, and the precious promises that have been obtained, through faith; and that he should, in the first verse of the next chapter, as the grand conclusion to his argument, exhort Christians to lay aside every weight, and the sin (of unbelief) that so easily besets them. Nothing will sooner dry up the springs of spirituality, and sink us into utter poverty in reference to the things of the kingdom of God, than to let faith go out and unbe- lief come in. For faith must enter into every ac- tion that is pleasing in his sight ; and in coming to him, the first thing is, to believe that he is ; and it is through faith, as the chief agent under the grace which is the gift of God, that we are to be saved Heb. 11:6; Eph. 2:8. From this, it would seem that faith is a principal 80 THOUGHTS ON THE BEVEL ATIOK. element of spiritual wealth. But if, as already re- marked, no one grace can answer to the full import of the term gold, so, doubtless, other things are in- cluded with faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for," says Paul. Hence hope is an inseparable accompaniment of faith. Heb. 11:1; Kom. 8 : 24, 25. And again Paul tells us that faith works by love, and speaks in another place of being "rich in good works." Gal. 5:6; 1 Tim. 6:18. Hence love cannot be separated from faith. We then have before us the three objects associated to- gether by Paul in 1 Cor. 13, — faith, hope, and char- ity, or love ; and the greatest of these is charity. Such is the gold tried by fire which we are coun- seled to buy. 2. White, Raiment On this point there would not seem to be much room for controversy. A few texts will furnish a key to the understanding of this expression. Says the prophet, Isa. 64 : 6, " All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." We are counseled to buy the opposite of filthy rags, which would be complete and spotless raiment. The same figure is used in Zech. 3 : 3, 4. And John, in the 19th chapter of the Kevelation, verse 8, says plainly that "the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." 3. The Eye-salve. On this there is as little room for a diversity of opinion as upon the white rai- ment. The anointing of the eyes is certainly not to be taken in a literal sense ; and, reference being made to spiritual things, the eye-salve must denote that by w hich our spiritual discernment is quickened. CHAPTER III, VERSES U-22. 81 There is but one agent revealed to us in the word of God by which this is accomplished ; and that is the Holy Spirit. In Acts 10 : 88, we read that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost." And the same writer through whom came this Revelation from Jesus Christ, wrote to the church in his first epistle, 2 : 20, as follows : " But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." In verse 27, he enlarges upon this point thus : " But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you ; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." By referring to his gospel, it is found that the work which he here sets forth as accom- plished by the anointing, is exactly the same that he there attributes to the Holy Spirit. John 14 : 26 : " But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." See also John 16 : 13. Thus, in a formal and solemn manner, are we counseled by the faithful and true Witness, under the figures of gold, white raiment, and eye-salve, to seek from him, speedily and earnestly, an increase of the heavenly graces, of faith, hope, charity, that righteousness which he alone can furnish, and an unction from the Holy Spirit. But how is it possi- ble that a people, lacking these things, should think Kevelation. 6 82 THOUGHTS Oir THE REVELATION'. themselves rich and increased with goods ? A plau- sible inference may here be drawn, which is perhaps also a necessary one, as there is room for no other. It will be observed that no fault is found with the Laodiceans on account of the doctrines they hold. They are not accused of harboring any Jezebel in their midst, or countenancing the doctrines of Ba- laam or the Nicolaitanes. So far as we can learn from the address to them, their belief is correct, and their theory sound. The inference, therefore, is that, having a correct theory, therewith they are content. They are satisfied with a correct form of doctrine without its power. Having received light concerning the closing events of this dispensation, and having a correct theoretical knowledge of the truths that pertain to the last generation of men, they are inclined to rest in this, to the neglect of the spiritual part of religion. It is by their actions, doubtless, not by their words, that they say they are rich and increased with goods. Having so much light and so much truth, what can they want be- sides ? And if, with a commendable tenacity they defend the theory, and in their outward life con- form to the increasing light upon the command- ments of God and the faith of Jesus, is not their righteousness complete ? Eich and increased in goods, and needing nothing ! Here is their failure. Their whole being should cry out for the Spirit, the zeal, the fervency, the life, the power, of a living Christianity, and their righteousness should consist in a swallowing up of self and all its w^orks in the merits of their Redeemer. CHATTER III, VERSES U-22. 33 The Token of Love. This, strange as it may seem, is chastisement. " As many as I love I re- buke and chasten." If we are without chastise- ment we are not sons. Heb. 12. "A general law," says Thompson, "of his gracious economy is here set forth. As all need chastisement in some meas- ure, they in some measure receive it, and thus have proof of the Saviour's attachment. This is a hard lesson to learn, and believers are dull scholars ; yet here and throughout God's word and providence it stands, that trials are his benedictions, and that no child escapes the rod. The incorrigibly misshapen and coarse-grained blocks are rejected, whilst those chosen for the glorious structure are subjected to the chisel and the hammer. There is no cluster on the true vine but must pass through the winepress. 'For myself,' said an old divine under affliction, 'for myself, I bless God, I have observed and felt so much mercy in this angry dispensation of God that I am almost transported. I am, sure, highly pleased with thinking how infinitely sweet his mercies are, w^hen his judgments are so gracious.' In view, then, of the origin and design of the chastisements you receive, ' Be zealous and repent.' Lose no time ; lose not a blow of the rod, but repent at once. Be fervent in spirit. Such is the first appliance of en- couragement." Be Zealous and Repent. Although, as we have seen, the state represented by coldness is preferable to one of lukewarmness, yet that is not a state in which our Lord ever desires to find us. We are 34 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. never exhorted to seek that state. There is a far better one which we are counseled to attain; and that is, to be zealous ; to be fervent ; and to have our hearts all aglow in the service of our Master. Christ Knocking at the Door. Let us listen again to the author above quoted : " Here is the heart of hearts. Notwithstanding their offensive attitude, their unlovely character, such is his love to their souls that he humbles himself to solicit the privi- lege of making them blessed. 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.' Why does he ? Not because he is without home elsewhere. Among the man- sions in his Father's house there is not one en- trance closed to him. He is the life of every heart, the light in every eye, the song on every tongue in glory. But he goes round from door to door in Laodicea. He stands at each, and knocks, because he came to seek and to save that which is lost, be- cause he cannot give up the purpose of communi- cating eternal life to as many as the Father has given him, and because he cannot become known to the inmate unless the door be opened and a wel- come given him. Have you bought a piece of ground ? have you bought five yoke of oxen ? is your hat in your hand, and do you pray to be ex- cused ? He knocks and knocks. But you cannot receive company at present ; you are worn out with labor ; you have wheeled round the sofa ; you are making yourself comfortable, and send word that you are engaged. He knocks and knocks It is tho hour for church prayer-meeting, or for GHAPTEIi III, VEliSES 14^22. 35 monthly concert; there is opportunity to pay a Christian visit to an individual or a family; but you move not Oh, nauseous lukewarm- ness ! Oh, fatal worldliness ! The Lord of glory comes all the way from his celestial palace — comes in poverty, in sweat, in blood — comes to the door of a professed friend, who owes all to him, and cannot get in ! — comes to rescue a man whose house is on fire, and he will not admit him 1 Oh, the height, the depth of Jesus Christ's forbearance! Even the heathen Publius received Paul, and lodged him three days courteously. Shall nominal Christians tell the Lord of apostles that they have no room for him ? " // Any Man Hear My Voice. The Lord entreats, then, as well as knocks. And the word if implies that some will not hear. Though he stands and knocks and entreats till his locks are wet with the dews of night, yet some will close their ears to his tender entreaties. But it is not enough to simply hear. It is to hear, and open the door. And many who hear at first the voice, and for a time feel in- clined to heed, will doubtless, alas ! fail in the end to do that which is necessary to secure to themselves the communion of the heavenly guest. Reader, are your ears open to the entreaties which the Saviour directs to you? Is the sound of his voice a welcome sound? Will you heed it ? Will you open the door and let him in ? Or is the door of your heart held fast by ; heaps of this world's rubbish which you are unwill- | ing to remove ? Remember that the Lord of life ' gQ THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION'. never forces an entrance. He condescends to come and knock, and seek admittance ; but he' takes up his abode in those hearts only, where he is then a welcome and invited guest. And then the promise! " I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." How forcible and touching the figure ! Friend with friend, par- taking of the cheerful and social meal ! Mind with mind, holding free and intimate converse! And what a festal scene must that be where the King of glory is a guest ! No common degree of union, no ordinary blessing, no usual privilege, is denoted by this language. Who, under such tender entreaty and so gracious a promise, can remain indifferent ? Nor are we required to furnish the table for this exalted guest. This he does himself, not with the gross nu- triment of earth, but with viands from his own heav- enly storehouse. Here he sets before us foretastes of the glory soon to be revealed. Here he gives us ear- nests of our future inheritance which is incorrupt- ible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Verily, when we shall comply with the conditions and receive this promise, we shall experience the rising of the day-star in our hearts, and behold the dawn of a glo- rious morning for the church of God. The Final Promise. The promise of supping with his disciples is made by the Lord to them, before the final promise to the overcomer. This shows that the blessings included in that promise are to be enjoyed in this probationary state. And now, superadded to all these, is the promise to the overcomer. " To him CHAFTEB III, VERSES U-22. 87 that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Here the promises of the Lord culminate. From being at first rebell- ious, and then fallen, degraded, and polluted, man is brought by the work of the Redeemer back into rec- onciliation with God, cleansed from his pollutions, redeemed from the fall, made immortal, and finally raised to a seat upon the very throne of his Saviour. Honor and exaltation could go no further. Human minds cannot conceive that state, human language cannot describe it. We can only labor on till, if overcomers at last, we shall " know what it is to be there." But there is in this verse not only a glorious promise, there is also an important doctrine. We learn by this that Christ reigns consecutively upon two thrones. One is the throne of his Father, the other is his own throne. He declares in this verse that he has overcome, and is no,w set down with his Father in his throne. He is now associated with the Father in the throne of universal domin- ion, placed at his right hand, far above all princi- pality, power, might, and dominion. Eph. 1 : 20- 22, etc. While in this position, he is a priest-King. He is a priest, " a minister of the sanctuary ; " but at the same time he is " on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens." Heb. 8 : 1, 2. This position and work of our Lord was thus predicted by the prophet Zechariah : " And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts 88 THOUGHTS ON THE BEVELATIOK. [God], saying, Behold the man whose name is the Branch [Christ] ; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. . . . And he [Christ] shall sit and rule upon his [God's] throne ; and he [Christ] shall be a priest upon his [God's] throne ; and the counsel of peace [in the sac- rifice and priestly work of Christ in behalf of re- penting man] shall be between them both." Zech. 6 : 12, 13. But the time is coming when he is to change his position, and, leaving the throne of his Father, take his own throne; and this must be when the time comes for the reward of the over- comers; for when they enter upon their reward, they are to sit with Christ on his throne as he has overcome and is now seated with the Father upon his throne. This change in the position of Christ is set forth by Paul in 1 Cor. 15 : 24-28, as fol- lows : — " Then cometh the end, when he shall have de- livered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he shall have put down all rule and all au- thority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." C:EArTER III, VERSES U-22. gQ The truths taught in this portion of Scripture may perhaps be most briefly expressed by a slight paraphrase, and by giving, in every instance, in- stead of the pronouns, the nouns to which they re- spectively refer. Thus : — " Then cometh the end (of the present dispensa- tion), when Christ shall have delivered up the king- dom (which he now holds conjointly with the Fa- ther) to God, even the Father; when God shall have put down all rule and all authority and power (that is opposed to the w^ork of the Son). For Christ must reign (on the throne of his Father) till the Father hath put all enemies under Christ's feet. [See Ps. 110 : 1.] The last enemy that shall be de- stroyed is death. For God (then) hath put all things under Christ's feet. But when God saith, All things are put under Christ (and he commences his reign upon Lis own throne), it is manifest that God is ex- cepted, who did put all things under Christ. And when all things shall be subdued unto Christ, then shall Christ also himself be subject unto God that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." That this is a correct version of this scripture may be easily verified. The only question that can be raised is concerning the persons to whom the pronouns refer ; and any attempt to make the pro- nouns refer to Christ, which in the foregoing para- phrase are referred to God, will be found, when traced through the quotation, to make poor sense of the lanf^uasre of Paul. From this it will be seen that the kingdom which 90 THOUGHTS ON THE HEVELATION. Christ delivers up to the Father, is that which he holds at the present time upon his Father's throne, where he tells us he is now seated. He delivers up this kingdom at the end of this dispensation when the time comes for him to take his own throne. After this, he reigns on the throne of his father David, and is subject only to God, who still retains his position upon the throne of universal dominion. In this reign of Christ the saints participate. " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me upon my throne." " And they lived," says John, dating from the first resurrection, chap. 20 : 4, " and reigned with Christ a thousand years." This we understand to be a special reign, or for a special purpose, as will be noticed in that chapter ; for the actual reign of the saints, is to be " forever and ever." Dan. 7 : 18, 27. How can any earthly ob- ject divert our gaze from this durable and heavenly prospect ? Thus close the messages to the seven churches. How pointed and searching their testimony ! What lessons do they contain for all Christians in all ages ! It is as true with the last church as with the first, that all their works are known to Him who walks in the midst of the seven golden candle- sticks. From his scrutinizing gaze nothing can be hid. And while his threatenings to the hypocrites and evil workers, as in justice they may be, are awful, how ample, how comforting, how gracious, how glorious, his promises to those who love and follow him with singleness of heart. dlikptef IV. A NEW VISION. THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY. Verse 1. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in Heaven ; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me ; which said, Come up hither and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. After This. In the first three chapters John presents the vision he had of the Son of man, com- prising a description of his majestic person, and a record of the words which, with a voice as the sound of many waters, he was heard to utter. A new scene and a new vision now open before us ; and the expression, " after this," does not denote that what is recorded in chapter 4, and onward, was to take place after the fulfillTYient of every- thing recorded in the three preceding chapters, but only that after he had seen and heard what is there recorded, he had the nev/ view which he now in- troduces. A Door Was Opened in Heaven. Let it be no- ticed that John says, "A door was opened in Heaven," not into Heaven. It was not an opening of Heaven itself before the mind of John, as in the case of Stephen, Acts 7:56, but some place or apart- ment in Heaven was opened before him, and he was (91) 92 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION'. -^———^—— — ^'^ permitted to behold what was transpiring within. That this apartment which John saw opened was the heavenly sanctuary, will plainly appear from other portions of the book. Things Which Must Be Hereafter. Compare with this, chap. 1:1. The great object of the Revelation seems to be the presentation of future events for the purpose of informing, edifying, and comforting the church. Verse 2. And immediately I was in the Spirit ; and, be- hold, a throne was set in Heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3. And he that sat was, to look upon, like a jasper and a sardine stone : and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 4. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats : and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment ; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. 5. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices : and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. In the Spirit. Once before we have had this ex- pression, namely in chap. 1 : 10, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day," where it was taken to express the fact that John had a vision upon the Sabbath or Lord's day. If it there expressed the state of being in vision, it would denote the same thing here; and, consequentl}'', the first vision ended with chapter 3, and a new one is here introduced. Nor is it any ob- jection to this view that John, previous to this, as is learned from the first verse of this chapter, was in such a spiritual state as to be able to look up and see a door opened in Heaven, and to hear a spiritual CHAFTER ir, VERSES 2-5. 93 voice like the mighty sound of a trumpet caUing him up to a nearer prospect of heavenly things. It is evident that there may be such states of ecstasy in- dependent of vision, just as Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, could look up and see the Heavens opened, and the Son of man on the right hand of God. To be in the Spirit denotes a still higher state of spirit- ual elevation. On what day tliis vision was given we are not informed. Bemg fully wrapped again in heavenly vision, the first object which he beholds is a throne set in Heaven, and the Divine Being seated thereon. The description of the appearance of this personage clothed in the mingled colors of the jasper, frequently a purple, and the blood-red sardine stone, is such as to suggest at once to the mind a monarch vested with his royal robes. And round about the throne there was a rainbow, both adding to the grandeur of the scene, and reminding us that though he who sits upon the throne is an almighty and absolute ruler, he is nevertheless the covenant-keeping God. The Four and Twenty Elders. The question once proposed to John concerning a certain company, has frequently arisen concerning these four and twenty elders : " Who are these ? and whence came they ? " It will be observed that they are clothed with white raiment, and have on their heads crowns of gold; which are both tokens of a conflict completed and a victory gained. From this we conclude that they were once participants in the Christian warfare, once trod, in common with all saints, this earthly pilgrim- 94 TEOTTOHTS O.V THE REVELATION: age, but have overcome, and for some good purpose, in advance of the great multitude of the redeemefl, are wearing their victor crowns in the heavenly- world. Indeed, they plainly tell us as much as this, in the song of praise which they, in connection with the four beasts, ascribe to the Lamb, in the 9th verse of the following chapter : " And they sung a new song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." This song is sung before any of the events in the prophecy of the seven seals transpire ; for it is sung to set forth the worthiness of the Lamb to take the book and open the seals, on the ground of what he had already accomplished, which was their redemption. It is not, therefore, thrown in here by anticipation, having its application in the future ; but it expresses an abso- lute and finished fact in the history of those who sung it. These, then, were a class of redeemed persons, re- deemed from this earth, redeemed as all others must be redeemed, by the precious blood of Christ. Do we in any other place read of such a class of redeemed ones? We think Paul refers to the same company when he writes to the Ephesians thus: " Wherefore he saith, when he [Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men." The margin says, he led a " multitude of captives." Eph. 4 : 8. Going back to the events that occurred in connection with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, we read, " And the graves OMAJPT^U lY, VERSES 2-5. 95 were opened. And many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his res- urrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." Matt. 27 : 52. Thus the answer to our question comes back, gathered unmistakably from the sacred page. These are some of those who came out of their graves at the resurrection of Christ, and who were numbered with the illustrious multi- tude which he led up from the captivity of Death's dark domain, when he ascended in triumph on high. Matthew records their resurrection ; Paul, their as- cension ; and John beholds them in Heaven perform- ing the sacred duties which they were raised up to accomplish. In this view we are not alone. Wesley speaks as follows concerning the four and twenty elders : " Clothed in white raiment.] This and their golden crowns, show that they had already finished their course, and taken their places among the citizens of Heaven. They are never termed souls, and hence it is probable that they had glorified bodies already. Compare Matt. 27:52." The Seven Lamps of Fire. In these lamps of fire we have an appropriate antitype of the golden can- dlestick of the typical sanctuary, with its seven ever- burning lamps. This candlestick was placed by di- vine direction, in the fii-st apartment of the earthly sanctuary. Ex. 25 : 31, 32, 37 ; 26 : 35 ; 27 : 20 ; etc. And now when John tells us that a door was opened in Heaven, and in the apartment thus dis- closed to view he sees the antitype of the candlestick 96 TEOZfOETS ON TEE REVELATION. of the earthly sanctuary, it is good proof that he is looking into the first apartment of the sanctuary above. Verse 6. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal ; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7. And the first beast was like a lion, and the sec- ond beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him ; and they were full of eyes within : and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9. And when those beasts give glory, and honor, and thanks to Him that sat on the tbrone, who liveth forever and ever, 10, The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the tlirone, saying, 11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power ; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and v/ere created. The Sea of Glass. Not composed of glass, but a broad expanse, resembling glass ; that is, says Green- field, transparent, brilliant. This idea is further carried out by its being likened to crystal, which is defined to mean "anything concreted and pellucid, like ice, or glass." The position of this sea is such as to show that it bears no analogy to the laver of the ancient typical service. It may extend under, and be the foundation of, the throne, and even further, of the city itself. It is again brought to view in chap. 15 : 2, as the place where the overcomers, in the ecstatic joy of final victory, will soon stand. CHAPTER IV, VERSES 6-11. 97 The Four Beasts. It is a very unhappy transla- lation which has given us the term " beasts " in this verse. The word C^ov, denotes properly a living creature. Bloomfield says, " ' Four living creatures ' (not beasts). So Heinr. renders it The pro- priety of this correction, is now, I believe, gener- ally agreed upon by commentators. The word is very different from drjgloi', used to designate the pro- phetic beasts in the 13th and following chapters. (Scholefield.) It may be added that Bulkeley ad- duces several examples of ^ojop, to denote not only creature, but even a human being; especially one from Origen who uses it of our Lord Jesus." Similar imagery is used in the first chapter of Ezekiel. The qualities which would seem to be sig- nified by the emblems, are strength, perseverance, reason, and swiftness, — strength, of affection ; per- severance, in carrying out the requirements of duty ; reason, in comprehending the divine will ; and swift- ness, in obeying. These living beings are even more intimately connected with the throne than the four and twenty elders, being represented as in the midst of, and round about, it. Like the elders, these, too, in their song to the Lamb, ascribe to him praise for having redeemed them from the earth. They there- fore belong to the same company, and represent a part of the great multitude who, as already de- scribed (see remarks on verse 4), have been led up on high from the captivity of death. Concerning the object of their redemption, see remarks on chap- ter 5 : 8. Revelation. 7 ♦ 98 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. They Rest Not. " Oh ! happy unrest ! " beauti- fully exclaims John Wesley ; and the theme of their constant worship is, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." No sublimer strain ever issued from created lips. And they repeat it " day and night ; " or, continually ; these terms only denoting the manner in which time is reckoned here ; for there can be no night where the throne of God is. We mortals are apt to tire of the repetition of the simple testimony we bear here to the goodness and mercy of God ; and we are sometimes tempted to say nothing, because we cannot continually say something new. But may we not learn a profitable lesson from the course of these holy beings above, who never grow weary of the ceaseless repetition of these words, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Al- mighty;" and to whom these words never grow old ; because their hearts ever glow with a sense of his holiness, goodness, and love ? Their praise does not become to them monotonous ; for with every utterance they gain a new view of the attributes of the Almighty ; they reach a greater hight of com- prehension in their vision of his perfections; the horizon expands before them ; their hearts enlarge ; and the new emotions of adoration, from their new stand-point, draw from them a fresh utterance of their holy salutation, new even to themselves, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ! " So, even with us here, though remarks are often repeated in reference to the goodness, the mercy, CHAPTER IV, VERSES 6-11. 99 and the love of God, the value of his truth, and the attractions of the world to come, these should not grow stale upon the ear; for w^e should all our lives be rising to new conceptions of the blessings unbraced in these glorious themes. Concerning the expression, "which was, and is, and is to come," see remarks on chap. 1 : 4. " Thou Art Worthy, Lord, to receive glory and honor and power." How worthy, we never shall be able to realize, till, like the holy beings who utter this language, changed to immortality, we are pre- sented faultless before the presence of his glory. Jude 24. Tliou Hast Created All Things. The works of creation furnish the foundation for the honor, glory, and power ascribed to God. " And for thy pleas- ure," or through thy will, Sia t6 -Qhlrjiia gov, they are, and were created. God willed, and all things came into existence ; and by the same power they are preserved and sustained. 'jimim^m^^ Cl\kj)tef Y. THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY CONTINUED. Yerse 1. And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals. A new chapter here opens, but not a new scene. The same view is still before the mind of the apos- tle. By the words, "him that sat on the throne," is evidently meant the Father, as the Son is subse- quently introduced as "a Lamb as it had been slain." The book which John here saw, contained a revelation of scenes that were to transpire in the history of the church to the end of time. Its being held in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne may signify that a knowledge of the future rests with God alone, only so far as he sees fit to reveal it to others. The Booh. The books in use at the time the Revelation was given, ^were not in the form of books as now made. They did not consist of a series of leaves bound together ; but were composed of strips of parchment, or other material, longer or shorter, one or more, and rolled up. On this point, Wesley remarks : — " The usual books of the ancients were not like (100) CHAPTER F, VERSE 1. \^\ ours, but were volumes or long pieces of parch- ment, rolled upon a long stick as we frequently roll silks. Such was this represented, which was sealed with seven seals. Not as if the apostle saw all the seals at once ; for there were seven volumes wrapped up one within another, each of which was sealed ; so that upon opening and unrolling the first, the second appeared to be sealed up till that was opened, and so on to the seventh." On the same point, Scott remarks : " It appeared as a roll, consisting of several parchments, accord- ing to the custom of those times ; and though it was supposed to be written within, yet nothing could be read till the seals were loosed. It was afterward found to contain seven parchments, or small volumes, each of which was separately sealed ; but if all the seals had been on the outside, nothing could have been read till they had all been loosed ; whereas the loosing of each seal was fol- lowed by some discovery of the contents of the roll. Yet the appearance on the outside seems to have indicated that it consisted of seven, or at least of several, parts." Bloomfield says, "The long rolls of parchment used by the ancients, which we call hoohs, were seldom written but on one side ; namely, that which was, in rolling, turned inward." So, doubt- less, this book was not written within and on the backside, as the punctuation of our common ver- sion makes it read. " Grotius, Lowman, Fuller, &c.," says the Cottage Bible, " remove the comma 102 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. thus : ' Written within, and on the back (or out- side) sealed/ &c." How these seals were placed, is sufficiently explained in the notes from Wesley and Scott, given above. Verse 2. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3. And no man in Heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. The Challenge. God, as it were, holds forth this book to the view of the universe, and a strong angel, one doubtless of great eminence and power, comes forth as a crier, and with a mighty voice challenges all creatures in the universe to try the strength of their wisdom in opening the counsels of God. Who can be found worthy to open the book and loose the seals thereof ? A pause ensues. In silence the uni- verse owns its inability and unworthiness to enter into the counsels of the Creator. " And no man in Heaven," ovSziq, not merely no man, but no one, no be- ing in Heaven. Is not here proof that the faculties of angels are limited, like those of man, in respect to penetrating the future and disclosing what is to come? .Ind when the apostle saw that no one came forward to open the book, he greatly feared that the counsels of God which it contained, in reference to his people, would never be disclosed, and in the natural tender- ness of his feelings, and concern for the church, he wept much. "How far are they," says Wesley, CHAPTER F, VERSES 5-7. 103 " from the temper of St. John, who inquire after any- thing rather than the contents of this book ! " Upon the phrase " I wept much," Benson offers the following beautiful remarks : " Being greatly affected with the thought that no being whatsoever was to be found able to understand, reveal, and accomplish the divine counsels, fearing they would still remain concealed from the church. This weeping of the apostle sprang from greatness of mind. The tender- ness of heart, which he always had, appeared more clearly now he was out of his own power. The Rev- elation was not written without tears, neither with- out tears will it be understood." Verse 5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not : behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth in- to all the earth. 7. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. Not long is John permitted to weep. God is not willing that any knowledge which can be of bene- fit to his people, shall be withheld. Provision is made for the opening of the book. Hence, one of the elders says to him, " Weep not ; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." Why one of the elders should im- part this information to John, in preference to some other being, does not appear, unless it is that hav- 104 THOUGHTS OJ^ THE JtEVELATIOK. ing been redeemed, they would be especially inter- ested in all that pertained to the welfare of the church on earth. Christ is here called the " Lion of the tribe of Judah." Why called a lion? and why of the tribe of Judah ? As to the first, it is probably to denote his strength. As the lion is the king of beasts, the monarch of the forest, he thus becomes a fit emblem of kingly authority and power. " Of the tribe of Judah." Doubtless he receives this appellation from the prophecy in Gen. 49 : 9, 10. The Root of David. The source and sustainer of David as to his position and power. That David's position was specially ordained of Christ, and that he was specially sustained by him, there can be no doubt. David was the type, Christ the antitype. David's throne and reign over Israel was a type of Christ's reign over his people. He shall reign upon the throne of his father David. Luke 1 : 82, 33. As Christ appeared in the line of David's descendants when he took upon himself our nature, he is also called the offspring of David, and a root out of the stem of Jesse. Isa. 11 : 1, 10 ; Rev. 22:16. His connection with the throne of David being thus set forth, and his right thus shown to rule over the people of God, there was a propriety in entrusting to him the opening of the seals. Hath Prevailed. These words indicate that the right to open the book was acquired by a victory gained in some previous conflict. And so we find CHAFTEB F, VERSES 5-7. 105 it set forth in subsequent portions of this chapter. The very next scene introduces us to the great work of Christ as the Redeemer of the world, the shedding of his blood for the remission of sin, and the salvation of man. In this work he was sub- jected to the fiercest assaults of Satan. But he en- dured his temptations, bore the agonies of the cross, rose a victor over death and the grave, made the way of redemption sure, triumphed ! Hence the four living beings and the four and twenty elders sing, " Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." John looks to see the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and beholds a Lamb in the midst of the throne and of the four living beings and the elders, as it had been slain. In the Midst of the Throne. Doddridge trans- lates thus : " And I beheld in the middle space be- tween the throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, there stood a Lamb," &;c. In the center of the scene was the throne of the Father, and standing in the open space which sur- rounded it, was the Son, set forth under the sym- bol of a slain lamb. Around these there stood those saints who had been redeemed : first, those represented by the four living creatures, then the elders forming the second circle, and the angels, verse 11, forming a third circle. The worthiness of Christ as he thus stands forth under the figure of a slain lamb, is the admiration of all the holy throng. 106 THOUOETS ON THE REVELATION-. As It Had Been Slain. Woodhouse, as quoted in the Comprehensive Commentary, says : " The Greek implies that the Lamb appeared with a wounded neck and throat, as if smitten at the altar as a vic- tim." On this phrase Clarke says : " As if now in the act of being offered. This is very remarkable ; so important is the sacrificial offering of Christ in the sight of God, that he is still represented as being in the very act of pouring out his blood for the offenses of man. This gives great advantage to faith ; when any soul comes to the throne of grace, he finds a sac- rifice there provided for him to offer to God." Seven Horns and Seven Eyes. Horns are sym- bols of power, eyes of wisdom ; and seven is a num- ber denoting completion or perfection. We are thus taught that perfect power and perfect wisdom inhere in the Lamb, through the operation of the Spirit of God, called the seven spirits of God, to denote the fullness and perfection of its operation. He Game and Took the Booh. Commentators have found an incongruity in the idea of a lamb's taking the book, etc., and have had recourse to sev- eral expedients to avoid the difficulty. But is it not a well-established principle that any action may be attributed to a symbol, which could be appropriately performed by the person or being represented by the symbol ? And is not this all the explanation that the passage needs ? The lamb, we know, is a sym- bol of Christ. We know there is nothing incongru- ous in Christ's taking a book; and when we read that the book was taken, we think of the action not CHAPTER V, VERSES 8-10, I07 as performed by the lamb, but by the one of whom the lamb is a symbol. Verse 8. And when he had taken the book, the four , beasts and four and twenty eklers fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. 9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof ; for thou wast slain, and hast re- deemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; 10 ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; and we shall reign on the earth. Vials Full of Odors. From this expression we get an idea of the employment of those redeemed ones represented by the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders. They have golden vials or vessels full of odors, or, as the margin reads, incense, which are the prayers of saints. This is a work of ministry such as pertains to priests. Says Scott : " It is indisputably manifest that the four living creatures join in, or rather lead, the wor- ship of the Lamb as having redeemed iJierri to God ; and this proves beyond controversy that part of the redeemed church is mea.nt by this emblem, and not angels whose worship is next described, but in lan- guage evident^ different." A. Barnes, in his notes on this passage, remarks : " The idea here is, therefore, that the representatives of the church in Heaven — the elders — spoken of as 'priests' are dascribed as officiating in the temple above, in behalf of the church still below, and as of- fering incense while the cliurch is engaged in prayer." The reader will remember that in the ancient typ- 108 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. ical service, the high priest had many assistants ; and when we consider that we are now looking into the sanctuary in Heaven, the conclusion at once follows that these redeemed ones are the assistants of our great High Priest above. For this purpose they were doubtless redeemed. And what could be more appropriate than that our Lord in his priestly work for the human race, should be assisted by noble mem- bers of that race whose holiness of life and purity of character had fitted them to be raised up for that purpose. See remarks on chapter 4 : 4. We are aware that many entertain a great aver- sion to the idea of there being anything real and tangible in Heaven ; and we can easily anticipate that the views here presented will be altogether too literal for such. To sustain themselves in their position they dwell much on the fact that the language is highly figurative; and that we cannot suppose there are or were any such things in Heaven as John describes. We reply that, though the Revelation deals largely in figures, it does not deal in fictions. There is reality in all the scenes described ; and we gain an understand- ing of the reality, when we get a correct inter- pretation of the figures. Thus in this vision, we know that the One upon the throne is God. He is really there. We know the Lamb symbolizes Christ. He too is really there. He ascended with a literal, tangible body ; and who can say that he does not still retain it ? If, then, our great High Priest is a literal being, he must have a literal place CHAPTER F, VERSES 8-10. 109 in which to minister. And if the four living creat- ures and the four and twenty elders represent those whom Christ led up from the captivity of death at the time of his resurrection and ascension, why are they not just as hteral beings while there in Heaven as they were when they ascended ? The Song. It is called " a new song," new prob- ably in respect to the occasion and the composi- tion. They were the first that could sing it, be- ing the first that were redeemed. They call them- selves kings and priests. In what sense they are priests has already been noticed, they being the as- sistants of Christ in his priestly work. In the same sense probably they are also kings ; for Christ is set down with his Father on his throne, and doubtless these, as ministers of his, have some part to act in connection with the government of Heaven in reference to this world. The AnticijxU ion. " We shall reign on the earth." Thus, notwithstanding they are redeemed, and surround the throne of God, and are in the presence of the Lamb that redeemed them, and are sur- rounded with the angelic hosts of Heaven, where all is glory ineffable, their song contemplates a still higher state, when the great work of redemption shall be completed, and they, with the whole re- deemed family of God of every age, shall reign on the earth, which is the promised inheritance, and is to be the final and eternal residence of the saints. Rom. 4 : 13 ; Gal. 3 : 29 ; Ps. 37 : 11 ; Matt. 5 : o ; 2 Pet. 3 : 13 ; Isa. Go : 17-25 ; Rev. 21 : 1-5. 110 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: Verse 11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the eld- ers ; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; 12 ; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. The Heavenly Sanctuary. How little concep- tion have we of the magnitude and glory of the heavenly temple ! Into that temple John was in- troduced at the opening of chapter 4, by the door which was opened in Heaven. Into the same tem- ple, be it remembered, he is still looking in verses 11 and 12. And now he beholds the heavenly hosts. 1. Round about the throne are those repre- sented by the four living creatures. 2. Next come the four and twenty elders. 3. Then John views, surrounding the whole, a multitude of the heavenly angels. How many ? How many would we be likely to suppose could convene within the heav- enly temple ? " Ten thousand times ten thousand," exclaims the seer. In this expression alone we have one hundred millions ! And then, as if no arithmetical expression was adequate to embrace the countless throng, he further adds, " And thou- sands of thousands ! " Well might Paul call this, in Heb. 11 : 22, "an innumerable company of an- gels." And these were in the sanctuary above. Such was the company that John saw assembled at the place where the worship of a universe centers, and where the wondrous plan of human redemption is being carried forward to completion. And the V HAFT Eli F, VERSES 13, IJ^ \\\ central object in this innumerable and holy throng, was the Lamb of God ; and the central act of his life, which claimed their admiration, was the shed- ding of his blood for the salvation of fallen man ; for every voice in all that heavenly host joined in the ascription which was raised, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Fitting assemblage for such a place ! Fitting song of adoration to be raised to Him who by the shedding of his blood became a ransom for many, and who, as our great High Priest, still pleads its merits in the sanctuary above in our behalf. And here, before such an august assemblage, must our characters soon come up in final review. What shall fit us for the searching ordeal ? And what shall enable us to rise and stand at last with the sinless throng above ? Oh, infinite merit of the blood of Christ ! which can cleanse us from all our pollutions, and make us meet to tread the holy hill of Zion ! Oh, infinite grace of God ! which can prepare us to endure the glory, and give us boldness to enter into his pres- ence, even with exceeding joy. Verse 13. And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor, and glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. 14. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped Him that liveth forever and ever. A Glean Universe. In verse 13 we have an in- 112 THOUGHTS OJSr THE REVELATION. stance of what very frequently occurs in the Script- ures, namely, a declaration thrown in out of its chronological order, for the purpose of following out to its completion some previous statement or allu- sion. In this instance the time is anticipated when redemption is finished. In verse 10, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders had declared, " We shall reign on the earth." Now the prophet's mind is caught right forward to that time. The greatest act of Christ's intervention for man, the shedding of his blood having been introduced, noth- ing could be more natural than that the vision should, for a moment, look over to the time when the grand result of the work then introduced, should be accom- plished, the number of the redeemed be made up, the universe be freed from sin and sinners, and a uni- versal song of adoration go up to God and the Lamb. It is futile to attempt to apply this to the church in its present state, as most commentators do, or to any time in the past since sin entered the world, or even since Satan fell from his high position as an angel of light and love in Heaven. For at the time of which John speaks, every creature in Heaven and on earth, without any exception, v/as sending up its anthem of blessings to God. But to speak only of this world since the fall, cursings instead of bless- ings have been breathed out against God and his throne, from the great majority of our apostate race. And so it will ever be while sin reigns. We find, then, no place for this scene which John describes, unless we do go forward, according to the CHATTER V, VEESES 13, U. 113 position above taken, to the time when the whole scheme of redemption is completed, and the saints enter upon their promised reign on the earth, to which the living creatures and elders looked for- ward in their song in verse 10. With this view, all is harmonious and plain. That reign on the earth commences after the second resurrection. Dan 7 : 27 ; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21 : 1. At that resurrection, which takes place a thousand years subsequently to the first resurrection, Rev. 20 : 4, 5, occurs the per- dition of ungodly men. 2 Pet. 3 : 7. Then fire comes down from God out of Heaven and devours them. Rev. 20 : 9 ; and this fire that causes the perdition of ungodly men, is the fire that melts and purifies the earth, as we learn from 2 Pet. 8 : 7-13. Then sin and sinners are destroyed, the earth is pu- rified, the curse with all its ills is forever wiped away, the righteous " shine forth as the sun in the kino'dom of their Father," and from a clean uni- verse, an anthem of praise and thanksgiving as- cends to God. In all the fair domain of the great Creator, there is then no room for a vast receptacle of fire and brimstone, where myriads, preserved by the direct power of a God of mercy, shall burn and writhe in unspeakable and eternal torment. In this glad anthem of jubilee there is no room for the discordant and hopeless wailings of the damned, and the curses and blasphemies of those who are sinning and suffering beyond the pale of hope. Every rebel voice has been hushed in death. They have been burned up root and branch, Satan Revelation. 8 114 T mm JITS on the revelatioi^. and all his followers, deceiver and deceived. Mai. 4:1; Heb. 2 : 14. Into smoke have they consumed away. Ps. 37 : 20. Like the perishable chaff have they vanished in the flames. Matt. 3 : 12. They have been annihilated, not as matter, but as con- scious and intelligent beings ; for they have become as though they had not been. Obad. 16. To the Lamb, equally with the Father who sits upon the throne, praise is ascribed in this song of adoration. Commentators, with great unanimity, have seized upon this as proof that Christ must be co-existent with the Father ; for otherwise, say they, here would be worship paid to the creature which belongs only to the Creator. How does it prove this ? We read that Christ is the beginning of the creation of God, Rev. 3 : 14, where see note, and that all subsequent creations of conscious intel- ligences or inanimate things, were made through him. John 1:3; Heb. 1:2. The word "by" in both these instances is from the Greek Sia. To all beings, therefore, of a lower order than himself, Christ holds the relation of joint-creator. Could not the Father ordain that to such a being, worship should be rendered equally with himself, without its being idolatry on the part of the worshiper? He has raised him to positions which make it proper that he should be worshipped, and has even commanded that it should be done; neither of which acts would have been necessary, had he been equal with the Father in eternity of existence. Christ himself declares that " as the Father hath life CffAPTER V, VERSES 13, U- 115 in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." John 5 : 26. On another occasion he says, All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Matt. 28 : 18. Paul declares of Christ that the Father has highly exalted him and given him a name above every name. Phil. 2 : 9. And the Father himself says, " Let all the angels of God worship him." Heb 1 : 6. These testimonies show that Christ is now an object of worship equally with the Father ; but they do not prove that with him he holds an eternity of past existence. Coming back from the glorious scene anticipated in verse 13, to events transpiring in the Heavenly sanctuary before him, the prophet hears the four living creatures exclaim, Amen. Their exclamation thus comes in as a response to what is said in verses 12 and 18. And the four and twenty elders then fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever. dliiiptef VI, THE SEVEN SEALS. Yerse 1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying. Come and see. 2. And I saw, and behold a white horse ; and he that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquer- ing and to conquer. Having taken the book, the Lamb proceeds at once to open the seals ; and the attention of the apostle is called to the scenes that transpire under each seal. The number seven has already been noticed as denoting in the Scriptures completion and perfection. The seven seals, therefore, em- brace the whole of a certain class of events, reach- ing down to the close of probationary time. Hence to say, as some do, that the seals denote a series of events, reaching down perhaps to the time of Constantine, and the seven trumpets another series from that time further on, cannot be correct. The trumpets denote a series of events which trans- pire contemporaneously with the events of the seals, but of an entirely different character. A trumpet is a symbol of war. Hence the trumpets denote great political commotions to take place (116) CH AFTER T7, V FUSES 1, 2. \Yl among the nations during the gospel age. The seals denote events of a religions character, and contain the history of the church from the opening of the Christian era to the coming of Christ. Commentators have raised a question concerning the manner in which these scenes were represented before the apostle. Was it merely a written de- scription of the events, which was read" to him as each successive seal was opened ? or was it a pic- torial illustration of the events which the book con- tained, and which was presented before him as the seals were broken ? or was it a scenic representa- tion which passed before him, the different actors coming forth and performing their parts ? Barnes decides in favor of calling them pictorial illustra- tions. For he thinks a merely written description would not answer to the language of the apostle, setting forth what he saw ; and a mere scenic representation could have no connection with the opening of the seals. But to this view of Barnes' there are at least two serious objections : 1. The book was said to contain only writing within, not pictorial illustrations ; and 2. John saw the char- acters which made up the various scenes, not fixed and motionless upon canvass, but living and mov- ing, and engaging actively in the parts assigned them. The view which seems most consistent to us, is, that the book contained a record of events which were to transpire ; and when the seals were broken and the record was brought to light, the Bcenes were presented before John, not by the de- 118 THOUGHTS OJS' THE REVELATION: scription being read, but by a representation of what was described in the book, being made to pass before his mind in living characters, in the place where the reality was to transpire, namely, on the earth. The first symbol, a white horse, and the rider who bears a bow and to whom a crown is given, and who goes forth conquering and to conquer, is a fit emblem of the triumphs of the gospel in the first century of this dispensation; the whiteness of the horse denoting the purity of faith in that age, and the crown which was given to the rider, and his going forth conquering and to make still further conquests, the zeal and success with which the truth was promulgated by its earliest ministers. To this it is objected that the ministers of Christ and the progress of the gospel could not be prop- erly represented by such warlike symbols. But we ask. By what symbols could the work of Chris- tianity better be represented when it went forth as an aggressive principle against the huge systems of error with which it had at first to contend ? The rider upon this horse went forth. Where ? His commission was unlimited. The gospel was to all the world. Yerse 3. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4. And there went out another horse that was red ; and power was given to him that sat thereon to take 'peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another ; and there was given unto him a great sword. CHAPTER VI, VERSES 3, 4- 119 Perhaps the first noticeable feature in these sym- bols, is the contrast in the color of the horses. This is doubtless designed to be significant. If the whiteness of the first horse denoted the purity of the gospel in the period which that symbol covers, the redness of the second horse would denote that in this period that original purity began to be cor- rupted. The mystery of iniquity already worked in Paul's day ; and the professed church of Christ, it would seem, was now so far corrupted by it as to require this change in the color of the symbol. Errors beofan to arise. Worldliness came in. The CD ecclesiastical power sought the alliance of the secu- lar. Troubles and commotions were the result. The spirit of this period perhaps reached its climax as we come down to the days of Constantine, the first so-called Christian Emperor, whose conversion to Christianity is dated by Mosheim in A. D. 323. Of this period Dr. Rice remarks : " It represents a secular period or union of church and State. Constantine aided the clergy and put them under obligations to him. He legislated for the church, called the Council of Nicsea, and was most promi- nent in that Council. Constantine, not the gospel, had the glory of tearing down the heathen temples. The State had the glory instead of the church. Constantine made decrees against some errors, and was praised, and sufiered to go on and introduce many other errors, and oppose some important truths. Controversies arose, and when a new em- peror took the throne, there was a rush of the 120 THOUGHTS ON THE BEVELATION. clergy to get him on the side of their peculiar ten- ets. Mosheim says of this period, ' There was con- tinual war and trouble.' " This state of things answers well to the declara- tion of the prophet, that power was given to him that sat on the horse "to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another ; and there was given unto him a great sword." The Christianity of that time had mounted the throne, and bore the emblem of the civil power. Verse 5. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo, a black horse ; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. How rapidly the work of corruption progresses ! What a contrast between this symbol and the first one ! A black horse ; the very opposite of the first. A period of great darkness and moral corruption in the church must be denoted by this symbol. By the events of the second seal, the way was fully opened for that state of things to be brought about which is here presented. The time that intervened between the reign of Constantine and the establish- ment of the papacy in A. D. 538, may be justly noted as the time when the darkest errors and grossest superstitions sprung up in the church. Of a period immediately succeeding the days of Con- stantine, Mosheim says : — CHAPTER VI, VERSES 5, 6. X21 " Those vain fictions which an attachment to the Platonic philosophy, and to popular opinions, had en- gaged the greatest part of the Christian doctors to adopt, before the time of Constantine, were now confirmed, enlarged, and embellished in various ways. Hence arose that extravagant veneration for de- parted saints, and those absurd notions of a certain fire destined to purify separate souls, that now pre- vailed, and of which the public marks were every- where to be seen. Hence also the celibacy of priests the worship of images and relics, which, in process of time, almost utterly destroyed the Christian religion, or at least eclipsed its luster, and corrupted its very essence in the most deplorable manner. An enor- mous train of superstitions was gradually substituted for true religion and genuine piety. This odious revolution proceeded from a variety of causes. A ridiculous precipitation in receiving new opinions, a preposterous desire of imitating the pagan rites, and of blending them with the Christian worship, and that idle propensity wdiich the generality of mankind have toward a gaudy and ostentatious religion, all contributed to establish the reign of superstition upon the ruins of Christianity. Accordingly, frequent pilgrimages were undertaken to Palestine, and to the tombs of the martyrs, as if there alone the sacred principles of virtue, and the certain hope of salva- tion, were to be acquired. The reins being once let loose to superstition which knows no bounds, absurd notions and idle ceremonies multiplied almost every day. Quantities of dust and earth brought from 122 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. Palestine, and other places remarkable for their sup- posed sanctity, were handed about as the most power- ful remedies against the violence of wicked spirits, and were sold and bought everywhere at enormous prices. The public processions and supplications by which the pagans endeavored to appease their gods, were now adopted into the Christian worship, and celebrated in many places with great pomp and mag- nificence. The virtues which had formerly been as- cribed to the heathen temples, to their lustrations, to the statues of their gods and heroes, were now at- tributed to Christian churches, to water consecrated by certain forms of prayer, and to the images of holy men. And the same privileges that the former en- joyed under the darkness of paganism, were con- ferred upon the latter under the light of the gospel, or, rather, under that cloud of superstition which was obscuring its glory. It is true that, as yet, im- ao^es were not very common ; nor were there any statues at all. But it is at the same time as un- doubtedly certain as it is extravagant and mon- strous, that the worship of the martyrs was modeled, by degrees, according to the religious services that were paid to the gods before the coming of Christ. " From these facts, which are but small specimens of the state of Christianity at this time, the discern- ing reader will easily perceive what detriment the church received from the peace and prosperity pro- cured by Constantine, and from the imprudent meth- ods employed to allure the different nations to em- brace the gospel. The brevity we have proposed to CUAPTEB VI, VEIiSES 5, 6. 123 observe in this history prevents our entering into an ample detail of the dismal effects that arose from the progress and the baneful influence of superstition, which had now become universal." Again he says, " A whole volume would be requi- site to contain an enumeration of the various frauds which artful knaves practiced, with success, to delude the ignorant, when true religion was almost entirely superseded by horrid superstition." — Eccl. Hist. J/ih Cent., part ii., chap. 3. This extract from Mosheim contains a description of the period covered by the black horse of the third sea] that answers accurately to the prophecy. It is seen by this how paganism was incorporated into Christianity, and how, during this period, the false system which resulted in the establishment of the papacy, rapidly rounded out to its full outlines, and ripened into all its deplorable perfection of strength and stature. The Balances. " The balances denoted that relig- ion and civil power would be united in the person who would administer the executive power in the government, and that he would claim the judicial authority both in church and State. This was true among the Roman emperors from the days of Con- stantine until the reign of Justinian, when he gave the same judicial power to the bishop of Rome." — Miller's Lectures, p. 181. The Wheat and Barley. " The measures of wheat and barley for a penny denote that the members of the church would be eagerly engaged after worldly 124 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. goods, and the love of money would be the prevail- ing spirit of the times; for they would dispose of anything for money." — Id. The, Oil and Wine. These " denote the graces of the Spirit, faith and love, and there was great dan- ger of hurting these, under the influence of so much worldly spirit. And it is well attested by all his- torians that the prosperity of the church in this age produced the corruptions which finally terminated in the falling away, and setting up the Antichristian abominations." — Id. It will be observed that the voice limiting the amount of wheat for a penny, and saying, "Hurt not the oil and the ^"ine," is not spoken by any one on earth, but comes from the midst of the four liv- ing creatures ; signifying that, though the under shep- herds, the professed ministers of Christ on earth, had no care for the flock, yet the Lord was not unmind- ful of them in this period of darkness. A voice comes from Heaven. He takes care that the spirit of worldliness does not prevail to such a degree that Christianity should be entirely lost, or that the oil and the wine, the graces of genuine piety, should en- tirely perish from the earth. Verse 7. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse ; and his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. CHAPTER VI, VERSES 7, S. 125 The color of this horse is remarkable. The colors of the white, red, and black horses, mentioned in the preceding verses, are natural ; but a pale color is un- natural. The original word denotes the "pale or yellowish color" that is seen in bliglited or sickly plants. A strange state of things in the professed church must be denoted by this symbol. The rider on this horse is named Death ; and Hell (d^Tjc, the grave) follows with him. The mortality is so great during this period that it would seem as if " the pale nations of the dead " had come upon earth, and were following in the wake of this desolating power. The period during which this seal applies can hardly be mistaken. It must refer to the time in which the papacy bore its unrebuked, unrestrained, and perse- cuting rule, commencing about A. D. 538, and extend- ing to the time when the reformers commenced their work of exposing the corruptions of the papal sys- tem. " And power was given unto them " — Jam, says the margin ; that ls, the power personified by Death on the pale horse; namely, the papacy. By the fourth part of the earth is doubtless meant the ter- ritory over which this power had jurisdiction ; while the terms, sword, hunger, death (that is, some inflic- tion which causes death, as exposure, torture, etc.), and beasts of the earth, are figures denoting the means by which it has put to death its martyrs, fifty millions of whom, according to the lowest estimate, call for vengeance from beneath its bloody altar. 126 TmtTOBTS OJH THJE! BEVEL ATlO:^. Verse 9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held ; 10 ; And they cried with a loud voice, saying. How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? 11. And white robes were given unto every one of them ; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fel- low-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. The events set forth as transpiring under the fifth seal, are, the crying of the martyrs for ven- geance, and the giving to them of white robes. The questions that at once suggest themselves for solu- tion are. Does this seal cover a period of time ? and if so, what period ? Where is the altar under which those souls were seen ? What are these souls ? and what is their condition ? What is meant by their cry for vengeance ? What is meant by white robes being given to them ? When do they rest for a little season ? and, What is signified by their breth- ren being killed as they were ? To all these ques- tions, we believe a satisfactory answer can be re- turned. 1. The Fifth Seal Covers a Period of Time. It seems consistent that this seal, like all the others, should cover a period of time ; and the date of its application cannot be mistaken, if the preceding seals have been rightly located. Following the period of the papal persecution, the time covered by this seal would commence when the Reformation began to undermine the Antichristian papal fabric, CRAPTSR Vi, VEBSES 9-11. 127 and restrain the persecuting power of the Romish church. 2. The Altar. This cannot denote any altar in Heaven ; as it is evidently the place where these victims had been slain, the altar of sacrifice. On this point, Dr. A. Clarke says : "A symbolical vision was exhibited in which he saw an altar. And under it the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God — martyred for their attachment to Christianity, are represented as being newly slain as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in Heaven." A confirmation of this view is found in the fact that John is behold- ing scenes upon the earth. The souls are represented under the altar, just as victims slain upon it would pour out their blood beneath it, and fall by its side. 3. The Souls under the Altar. This representa- tion is popularly regarded as a strong proof of the doctrine of the disembodied and conscious state of the dead. Here, it is claimed, are souls seen by John in a disembodied state ; and they were con- scious, and had knowledge of passing events ; for they cried for vengeance on their persecutors. This view of the passage is inadmissible, for several reasons : 1. The popular view places these souls in Heaven ; but the altar of sacrifice on which they were slain, and beneath which they were seen, cannot be there. The only altar we read of in Heaven is the altar of incense ; but it would not be correct to represent vic- tims just slain as under the altar of incense, as that altar was never devoted to such a use. 2. It would 128 THOUGHTS ON THE BEVELATION. be repugnant to all our ideas of the heavenly state, to represent souls in Heaven shut up under an altar. 8. Can we suppose that the idea of vengeance would reign so supreme in the minds of souls in Heaven as to render them, despite the joy and glory of that ineffable siate, dissatisfied and uneasy till vengeance was inflicted upon their enemies ? Would they not rather rejoice that persecution raised its hand against them, and thus hastened them into the presence of their Redeemer, at whose right hand there is fullness of joy, and pleasures fore verm ore? But, further, the popular view which puts these souls in Heaven, puts the wicked at the same time in the lake of fire, writhing in unutterable torment, and in full view of the heavenly host. This, it is claimed^ is proved by the parable of the rich man and Laza- rus. Now these souls, brought to view under the fifth seal, were those who had been slain under the preceding seal, scores of years, and most of them cent- uries, before. Beyond any question, their persecu- tors had all passed off' the stage of action, and accord- ing to the view under consideration, were suffering all the torments of hell right before their eyes. Yet, as if not satisfied with this, they cry to God, as though he was delaying vengeance on their murderers. What greater vengeance could they want ? Or, if their persecutors were still on the earth, they must know that they would, in a few years at most, join the vast multitude daily pouring through the gate of death into the world of woe. Their amiability is put in no better light even by this supposition. One C II AFTER ri, runs US 9-11. 129 thing, at least, is evident : The popular theory con- cerning the condition of the dead, righteous and wicked, cannot be coi-rect, or the interpretation usu- ally given to this passage is not correct ; for they de- vour each other. But it is urged that these souls must be conscious ; for they cry to God. This argument would be of weight were there no such figure of speech as per- sonification. But while there is, it will be proper, on certain conditions, to attribute life, action, and intelligence, to inanimate objects. Thus the blood of Abel is said to have cried to God from the ground. Gen. 4 : 9, 10. The stone cried out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber answered it. Hab. 2 : 11. The hire of the laborers kept back by fraud* cried, and the cry entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Jas. 5:4. So the souls mentioned in our text could cry, and not thereby be proved to be conscious. The incongruity of the popular view on this verse is so apparent that Albert Barnes makes the follow- ing concession : " We are not to suppose that this literally occurred, and that John actually saw the souls of the martyrs beneath the altars — for the whole representation is symbolical ; nor are we to suppose that the injured and the wronged in Heav- en actually pray for vengeance on those who wronged them, or that the redeemed in Heaven will continue to pray with reference to things on earth; but it may be fairly inferred from this that there will be as real a remembrance of the wrongs of the Revelation. 9 130 TEouoHTs On tee revelation. persecuted, the injured, and the oppressed, as if such a prayer was offered there ; and that the oppressor has as much to dread from the divine vengeance as if those whom he has injured should cry in Heaven to the God who hears prayer, and who takes ven- geance." — Notes on Rev. 6. On such passages as this, the reader is misled by the popular definition of the word soul. From that definition, he is led to suppose that this text speaks of an immaterial^ invisible, immortal essence in man, which soars into its coveted freedom on the death of its hindrance and clog, the mortal body. No in- stance of the occurrence of the word in the orig- inal Hebrew or Greek will sustain such a definition. It of tenest means life ; and is not unf requently ren- dered person. It applies to the dead as well as to the living, as may be seen by reference to Gen. 2 : 7, where the word " living " need not have been ex- pressed were life an inseparable attribute of the soul; and to Num. 19 : 13, where the Hebrew Con- cordance reads, " Dead soul." Moreover these souls pray that their hlood may be avenged, an article which the immaterial soul, as popularly understood, is not supposed to possess. We regard the word souls as here meaning simply the martyrs, those who had been slain, the words " souls of them " be- ing a periphrasis for the whole person. They Were represented to John as having been slain upon the altar of papal sacrifice, on this earth, and lying dead beneath it. They certainly were not alive when John saw them under the fifth seal ; for he CHAPTER VI, VERSES 9-11. 131 again brings to view the same company, in almost the same language, and assures us that the first time they live after their martyrdom is at the res- urrection of the just. Rev. 20 : 4-6. Lying there, victims of papal blood-thirstiness and oppression, they cried to God for vengeance, in the same man- ner that Abel's blood cried to him from the ground. The White Robes. These were given as a par- tial answer to their cry, " How long, O Lord, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood ? " How was it ? They had gone down to the grave in the most ignominious manner. Their lives had been mis- represented, their reputations tarnished, their names defamed, their motives maligned, and their graves covered with shame and reproach, as containing the dishonored dust of the most vile and despicable characters. Thus the church of Rome, which then molded the sentiment of the principal nations of the earth, spared no pains to make her victims an abhorring unto all flesh. But the Reformation begins to work. It begins to be seen that the church is the corrupt and disrep- utable party, and those against whom it vents its rage are the good, the pure, and the true. The w^ork goes on among: the most enliohtened nations, the reputation of the church going down, and that of the martyrs coming up, until the corruptions of the papal abominations are fully exposed, and that huge system of iniquity stands forth before the world in all its naked deformity ; while the mar- tyrs are vindicated from all the aspersions under 132 THOtlOHTS ON THE REVELATION. which that Antichristian church had sought to bury them. Then it was seen that they had suffered, not for being vile and criminal, but "for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held." Then their praises were sung, their virtues admired, their fortitude applauded, their names honored, and their memories cherished. White robes were thus given unto every one of them. The Little Season. The cruel work of Romanism did not instantly cease as the light of the Reforma- tion began to dawn. Not a few terrible outbursts of Romish hate and persecution were yet to be felt by the church. Multitudes more were to be pun- ished as heretics and join the great army of mar- tyrs. The full vindication of their cause was to be delayed a little season. And during this time, Rome added hundreds of thousands to the vast throng of whose blood she had already become guilty. See Buck's Theological Dictionary, Art. Persecution. But the spirit of persecution was finally restrained ; the cause of the martyrs was vindicated; and the little season of the fifth seal came to a close. Verse 12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake ; and the sun be- came black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood ; 13 ; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together ; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief CHAPTER VI, VERSES 12-17. 133 .captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains ; 16 ; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb ; 17 ; For the great day of his wrath is come ; and who shall be able to stand % Such are the solemn and sublime scenes that transpire under the sixth seal. And a thought well calculated to awaken in every heart an intense interest in divine things, is the consideration that we are now living amid the momentous events of this seal. Between the fifth and sixth seals there seems to be a sudden and entire change in the language, from the highly figurative to the strictly literal. Whatever may be the cause of this change, the change itself cannot well be denied. By no prin- ciple of interpretation can the language of the pre- ceding seals be made to be literal; nor can the language of this any more easily be made to be figurative. We must therefore accept the change, even though we should be unable to explain it. There is a great fact, however, to which we would here call attention. It was to be in the period cov- ered by this seal that the prophetic portions of God's word were to be unsealed, and many run to and fro, or "give their sedulous attention to the understanding of these things," and thereby knowl- edge on this part of God's word to be greatly in- creased. And we suggest that it may be for this 134? THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. reason that the change in the language here occurs, and that the events of this seal, transpiring at a time when these things were to be fully understood, are couched in no figures, but laid before us in plain and unmistakable language. The Great Earthquake. The first event under this seal, perhaps the one which marks its opening, is a great earthquake. As the more probable ful- fillment of this prediction, we refer to the great earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755. Of this earthquake, Sears, in his " Wonders of the World," pp. 50, 58, 381, says : — "The great earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, extended over a tract of at least 4,000,000 of square miles. Its effects were even extended to the waters in many places where the shocks were not perceptible. It pervaded the greater portion of Europe, Africa, and America ; but its extreme violence was exer- cised on the south-western part of the former. In Africa, this earthquake was felt almost as severely as it had been in Europe. A great part of Algiers was destroyed. Many houses were thrown down at Fay and Mequinez, and multitudes were buried beneath the ruins. Similar effects were realized at Morocco. Its effects were likewise felt at Tangiers, at Tetuan, at Funchal in the island of Madeira. It is probable that all Africa was shaken. At the north, it extended to Norway and Sweden. Ger- many, Holland, France, Great Britain, and Ireland, were all more or less agitated by the same great commotion of the elements. Lisbon (Portugal), CHAPTER F/, VERSES 12-17. 135 previous to the earthquake in 1755, contained 150,000 inhabitants. Mr. Barretti says that 90,000 persons are supposed to have been lost on that fatal day." . On page 200 of the same work, we again read : " The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept — it was beyond tears — they ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and as- tonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, * Misericordia — the world's at an end ! ' Mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately many ran to the churches for protection ; but in vain was the sac- rament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people, were buried in one common ruin." The Encyclopedia Americana states that this earthquake extended also to Greenland, and of its effects upon the city of Lisbon, further says : " The city then contained about 150,000 inhabitants. The shock was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large and public buildings, and more than one-fourth of the houses. In about two hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days, that the city was completely desolated. The earth- quake happened on a holy day, w^hen the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped." If the reader will look on his atlas at the coun- 136 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. tries above mentioned, he will see how large a por- tion of the earth's surface was agitated by this awful convulsion. Other earthquakes may have been as severe in particular localities ; but no other one combining so great an extent with such a de- gree of severity, has ever been felt on this earth, of which we have any record. The Darkening of the Sun. Following the earthquake, it is announced that " the sun became black as sackcloth of hair." This portion of the prediction has also been fulfilled. Into a detailed account of the wonderful darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780, we need not here enter. Most per- sons of general reading, it is presumed, have seen some account of it ; besides, many are living who have no need of the written description, having been eye-witnesses of the extraordinary scene. The following detached declarations from different testimonies will give an idea of its nature. " In the month of May, 1780, there was a terrific dark day in New England, when ' all faces seemed to gather blackness,' and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee lived ; ' men's hearts failing them for fear ' that the Judgment day was at hand ; and the neighbors all flocked around the holy man," who " spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude." — Tract I^o. 379, Am. Tract Society — Life of Edward Lee. "Candles were lighted in many houses. Birds were silent and disappeared. Fowls retired to CHAPTER VI, VERSES 12-17. 137 roost. It was the general opinion that the day of Judgment was at hand." — Pres. Divight in Ct. His- torical Collections. " The darkness was such as to occasion farmers to leave their work in the field, and retire to their dwellings. Lights became necessary to the trans- action of business within doors. The darkness continued through the day." — Gages History of Roivlei/y Mass. " The cocks crew as at daybreak, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this unusual aspect of the heavens was very great." — Portsmouth Journal, May W, 184S. " It was midnight darkness at noon-day Thousands of people who could not account for it from natural causes, were greatly terrified ; and, indeed, it cast a universal gloom on the earth. The frogs and night-hawks began their notes." — Pr. Adams. " Similar days have occasionally been known, though inferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of these phenomena are un- known. They certainly were not the result of eclipses." — Sears Guide to Knowledge. The Moon Became as Blood. The darkness of the following night. May 19, 1780, was as unnatu- ral as that of the day had been. "The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not^ 138 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impen- etrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes, was equally invisible with the blackest velvet." — Mr. Tenny of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage to the " Historical Society." And whenever on this memorable night the moon did appear, as at certain times it did, it had, according to this prophecy, the appearance of blood. And the Stars of Heaven Fell. The voice of history still is, Fulfilled! Being a much later event than the darkening of the sun, there are multitudes in whose memories it is as fresh as though it were but yesterday. We refer to the great meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833. On this point one extract will suffice. " At the cry, ' Look out of the window,' I sprang from a deep sleep, and with wonder saw the east lighted up with the dawn and meteors I called to my wife to behold; and, while robing, she exclaimed, ' See how the stars fall ! ' I replied, ' That is the wonder ; ' and we felt in our hearts that it was a sign of the last days. For truly ' the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig- tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Rev. 6 : 13. This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphor- ical. Yesterday, it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by aster in Greek and stella in CHAPTEIi VI, VEESES 12-17. 139 Latin, the smaller lights of heaven. The refine- ment of modern astronomy has made distinction between stars of heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore, the idea of the prophet, as it is expressed in the original Greek, was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday, so as no man before yes- terday had conceived to be possible that it should be fulfilled. The immense size and distance of the planets and fixed stars forbid the idea of their fall- ing unto the earth. Larger bodies cannot fall in myriads unto a smaller body; but most of the planets and all the fixed stars are many times larger than our earth ; but these fell toward the earth. And how did they fall? Neither myself nor one of the family heard any report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt, to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the proph- ecy before quoted : * The stars of heaven fell unto the earth.' They were not sheets, or flakes, or drops, of fire ; but they were what the world un- derstands by falling stars ; and one speaking to his fellow, in the midst of the scene, would say, ' Sae how the stars fall ! ' And he who heard would not stop to correct the astronomy of the speaker, any more than he would reply, 'The sun does not move,' to one who should tell him, ' The sun is ris- ing.' The stars fell ' even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from several trees 140 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. shaken, but from one. Those which appeared in the east, fell toward the east ; those which ap- peared in the north, fell toward the north ; those which appeared in the west, fell toward the west ; and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the Park), fell toward the south. And they fell not as ri'pe fruit falls ; far from it ; but they flew, they were cast, like the un- ripe, which at first refuses to leave the branch, and when, under a violent pressure, it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, straight ofl", descending ; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force, but each one falls on its own side of the tree." — Henry Dana Ward. These signs in the sun, moon, and stars, are the same as those so strikingly predicted by onr Lord and recorded by the evangelists, Matt. 24, Mark 18, and Luke 21. In these records not only the same signs are given, but the same time is pointed out for their fulfillment ; namely, a period commencing just this side of the long and bloody persecution of the papal power. In Matt. 24 : 21, 22, the 1260 years of papal supremacy are brought to view ; and "immediately after the tribulation of those days," verse 29, the sun was to be darkened, etc. Mark is still more definite and says, "In those days, after that tribulation." The days, commenc- ing in A. D. 538, ended in 1798 ; but before they ended, the spirit of persecution had been restrained by the Reformation, and that tribulation of the CHAPTER VI, VERSES 12 11. \^\ church had ceased. And right in this period, ex- actly at the time specified in the prophecy, the ful- fillment of these signs commenced in the darkenincr of the sun and moon. The first instance of the falling of the stars, worthy of any notice, though others of local and minor importance may be mentioned before it, took place in 1799. To the great display of 1833, by far the most brilliant of any on record, we have already referred. Of the extent of this shower. Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College, a distinguished meteorologist, says, '' The extent of the shower of 1833, was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth's surface ; from the middle of the At- lantic on the east, to the Pacific on the west ; and from the northern coast of South America, to un- defined regions among the British possessions on the north, the exhibition was visible, and every- where presented nearly the same appearance." From this, it appears that this exhibition was con- fined exclusively to the western world. But in the year 1866, another remarkable occurrence of this kind took place, this time in the East, nearly as magnificent in some places as that of 1833, and vis- ible, so far as ascertained, throughout the greater part of Europe. Thus the principal portions of the earth have now been warned by this sign. Observation has shown that these meteoric dis- plays occur at regular intervals of about thirty- three years. The skeptic will doubtless seize upon this as a pretext for throwing them out of the cat- 142 THOUOSTS ON THE REVELATION: alogue of signs. But if they are not more than ordinary occurrences, the question is to be an- swered why they have not occurred as regularly and prominently centuries in the past as in the last hundred years. This is a question science cannot answer ; nor can it offer anything more than con- jecture as to their cause. One significant fact will be noticed in connection with all the foregoing signs : They were each in- stinctively associated in the minds of the people, at the time of their occurrence, with the great day of which they were the forerunners. And on each occasion the cry was raised, "The Judgment has come," " The world's at an end." But the objector answers, These phenomena in the sun, moon and stars cannot be signs of the end ; because there have been many instances of such oc- currences ; and pointing to some ten other periods of remarkable darkness, besides that of 1780, and to several occurrences of falling stars, or meteoric showers, he asks with an air of triumph which one we will take for the sign. That this is not a fan- ciful representation of the objection the following facts will demonstrate : — In 1878 we noticed in one of the leading dailies of Chicago a question from a correspondent in Ver- mont, and the reply given by the paper, as fol- lows : — "Will you give the causes (and proof) of the 'dark day' in 1780, the 19th of May, I believe. An ' Advent preacher ' has been preaching in this chatteu VI, veeses 12-17. 143 neighborhood, and alhided to it as a sign of the de- struction of the world." And the reply is given thus : — " The dark day of 1780 was produced by entirely natural causes, and was about as much a sign of the destruction of the world as of the advent of the po- tato-beetle. The darkness, said Dr. Samuel Tenney, of Exeter, N. H., was produced by common clouds. Between these common clouds and the earth inter- vened another stratum of great thickness. As the stratum advanced, the darkness commenced and in- creased with its progress. The uncommon thickness of this stratum was occasioned by two strong cur- reints of wind from the southward and westward, condensing the vapors and drawing them in a north- west direction. The density of this stratum was owing to the vapor and smoke it contained. These so-called dark days have not been uncommon, being known in 366 B. C; 295 B. c; 252 A. D.; 746, 775, 1732, 1762, 1780, 1783, 1807, 1816. The one was as prophetic as any other and no more so." It would have been a little more to the satisfac- tion of any one who wishes to know the reasons of his faith, if the writer of the reply had stated where he found his evidence for all his assei'tions. And we would like a little light on such points as this : From what came that " stratum of great thickness " ? Of what was it composed ? How was it formed ? This fellow's explanation amounts to just this : It was dark because there was great darkness. He simply states the fact in another form, and calls 144 THOUGHTS ON THE BEVELATIOX. that an explanation. His own statement needs explaining as really as the one to which he refers. " The uncommon thickness of the stratum was caused by two strong currents of wind," etc. How did those winds chance to come just then, and just when there were vapors to condense ? And what caused the vapors ? Then how could currents from the west and south draw the vapors in a north-west direction ? Common philosophy would assign them, under such circumstances, a north-east direction. Our friend must be careful or he will make the dark day to be a greater phenomenon than we have ever claimed. But, further, we would ask how, according to the reply above given, the words of our Lord can ever be fulfilled. He says that the sun shall he darkened; and he means the literal sun; for he speaks of men and things on the earth in contrast with it ; Luke 21 : 25 ; and he says that when it is thus darkened it is a sign of the end ; for when we see these things come to pass, he tells us that we are to know that he is near, even at the doors. But according to the writer of the foregoing, there never can be any sign of this nature. He declares there never has been in the past ; and suppose such a phenomenon should occur again ; would it be a sign ? Not in his eyes ; for the hypothesis of vapors, winds, natural laws, and common occurrences, would instantly fly to his scofiing lips. But something of this kind is to con- stitute a sign ; for the Lord himself has declared it ; and we would like to ask the objector how a dark- CHAPTER VI, VERSES 12-17. 145 ening of the sun should differ from that of 1780, to answer to the prophecy and constitute a sign ? But, it is urged, there . have been many such events, hence it can be no sign ; and seven dark days are mentioned by our writer befoi-e 1780, and three since, for which, however, he forgot to give his au- thority. But how does it happen that nobody has seemed to pay any attention to these days, or make any account of them ? and why is it that all fix upon May 19, 1780, as the only one worthy of spe- cial note, giving it by way of distinction, the title, The Dark Day ? The answer is obvious. It occupies a pre-emi- nent position in this respect. It towers up far above all others as the one alone remarkable and note- worthy for its awful phenomena. But we are not left to decide the matter from this evidence alone ; for our Lord has not only told us that such an event should occur as a sign of his com- ing, but he has told us also %ulien it should occur. " Immediately after the tribulation of those days," says Matthew. Mark is more definite and says, " In those days after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened," etc. Mark 13 : 24. The " days " are the days of papal supremacy, the 1260 years from 538 to 1798; the tribulation is the oppression of Christians by the Catholic power till restrained by the work of the Reformation. The tribulation may be said to have ceased about the middle of the 18th century. The " days " ended within two years of the close of that century. Thus by the fixed Revelation. lO 146 THOtTOMTS ON THE REVELATION. terms of the prophecy we are shut up to a period of about fifty years in length, and ending in 1798, in which to look for that darkening of the sun which was to be a sign of the Lord's soon coming. Again, the darkening of the sun was to be the second great event to take place under the sixth seal. Rev. 6 : 12. The first and the one which marked the opening of that seal, was a great earth- quake, shown to be, by comparison with the pre- ceding seals, the great earthquake of Lisbon, Nov. 1, 1755. Between this point and the end of the papal period in 1798, the sun was to be darkened as a sign of the end. Here we are shut up to a period of time positively only forty-three years in length, in which to look for that darkening of the sun which was the subject of the prediction. Now it matters not if our opponents should claim seven thousand dark days instead of seven, as notable as the one of 1780, it would not affect the prediction or the sign in the least degree. It matters not how many nor what kind of dark days there may have been in other ages, we look for one which was to take place in that brief, specified period as the pre- dicted sign. We fix our eyes upon that time, and what do we behold ? We find not only the darkening of the sun, as foretold, but we find a dark day so much more notable than all others, that it is set forth by way of pre-eminence as " the dark day," while in general history all others are passed by in silence. From one point it is very strange that people can CHAPTER VI, VERSES 12-17. \^ overlook considerations of this nature which are so decisive upon this question. From another, it is not. What a man does n't want to see he can very easily keep from seeing. But the lack both of in- clination and ability we apprehend is accounted for by the prophet Daniel, when he says, " the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall un- derstand." Of the dark day, Webster's Unabridged Diction- ary, editions of 1869 and 1870, page 1556, says: — "Dark Day, The. May 19, 1780 ;— so-called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day ex- tending over all New England. In some places persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds sang their evening song, disappeared, and became silent ; fowls went to roost ; cattle sought the barn-yard ; and candles were lighted in the houses. The ob- scuration began about ten o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with different degrees of duration in different places. For several days previou.s, the wind had been variable, but chiefly from the south-west and the north-east. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known." While the learned editor of Webster's Dictionary testifies so positively that " the true cause of the phenomenon is not knoiun," it is remarkable how flippantly many smaller minds proceed to offer their explanations, and account for it from natural causes. Those who lived at the time, and had at least as 148 THOTTOETS OIT TKB HDVELATION'. good an opportunity to mark all its strange features and unnatural manifestations as people of the pres- ent time, were filled with awe at the occurrence, and for years, so long as the memory of it lasted, were unable to explain it ; but their degenerate sons, the wondrously wise generation of the present, living over a hundred years from the time of its occur- rence, and having never seen anything of the kind, assume to explain it with all the nonchalance with which they would tell us that two and two make four. As the time when we were to look for the be- ginning of the signs is so definitely located, it is further objected that thfe falling of the stars in 1833 cannot be one of the signs, because, according to Mark 13:24, 25, they also should have fallen within those days, or previous to 1798, as this event is immediately connected by the word " and " to the sicrns in the sun and moon. We reply by calling attention to the fact that there are more events than simply the falling of 'the stars that are linked to the series by the word " and." Thus, " And " the stars of heaven shall fall, "and" the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken, " and " then shall they see the Son of man coming, "and" then shall he send his angels to gather the elect. Now the language certainly is not designed to convey the idea that all these things were to take place within those days ; for^ in that case, we should have the coming of Chris t itself take place before the days ended. Verse 29, CHAPTER VI, VERSES 12-17. 149 stating the conclusion of the argument, says, " So ye in like manner when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh even at the doors." Matthew puts it in still stronger language, when he says, " So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [margin, he, Christ] is near, even at the doors." But it would be absurd to say that we must wait till the coming of Christ takes place before we can know that it is near, even at the doors. These facts, then, plainly appear : That a series of associated events is given us, covering quite a period of time, beginning at some point in the past, and reaching down to, and including, the second coming of Christ. The beginning of the series is placed at a point before the close of a certain pro- phetic period designated as " those days," namely, the 1260 years of papal oppression upon the church ; but the end of the series Hes far outside of that period, as already shown. Now, the question to be decided is. How many events of the series given us are to be looked for before the date by which "those days" are limited, that is, before 1798, where the 1260 days, or years, terminated ? The only data we have upon which to frame an answer are the facts already noticed ; namely, that the events begin within that period, but close out- side of it ; and no specified number is given as be- longing to that period. The conclusion is therefore inevitable that if the first one of the events designated comes to pass 150 TROUOHTS ON THE REVELATION. within the specified time, the prophecy is fulfilled, though all the others lie outside of that time. Had the sun alone been darkened before 1798, it would have been sufficient to fulfill the prophecy. The moon, even, might have been darkened this side of 1798 without vitiating the prophecy in the least degree. The sun and moon were darkened together in 1780, eighteen years before the days ended ; the stars fell in 1833, thirty-five years after the end of the days. We have reached the year 1880, eighty- two years this side the ending of the days, and the shaking of the powers of heaven is yet future, but not far distant, as other prophecies show ; and in immediate connection with that, as Joel and John plainly declare, the coming of the Lord is to take place. If the objector still insists that according to our application the stars should have fallen before 1798, because it says, " And the stars of heaven shall fall," we reply that then all the other events should also have taken place before 1798 ; for they are con- nected in the same way. But this we have shown to be absurd. And the Heaven Departed as a Scroll. In this event our minds are turned to the future. From looking at the past and beholding the word of God fulfilled, we are now called to look at events before us, which are no less sure to come. Here is our position unmistakably defined. We stand be- tween the 13th and 14th verses of this chapter. We wait for the heavens to depart as a scroll when CHAFTEB VI, VERSES 12-17. 151 it is rolled together. And these are times of un- paralleled solemnity and importance ; for how near we may be to the fulfillment of these things we know not. This departing of the heaven as a scroll is what the evangelists call in the same series of events, the shaking of the powers of the heavens. Other scriptures give us further particulars concerning this prediction. From Heb. 12:25-27, Joel 3:16, Jer. 25 : 30-33, Rev. 16 : 17, we learn that it is the voice of God as he speaks in terrible majesty from his throne in Heaven, that causes this fearful com- motion in earth and sky. Once the Lord spoke, when, with an audible voice, he declared to his creat- ures the precepts of his eternal law; and the earth shook. He is to speak again, and not only the earth will shake, but the heavens also. Then will the earth " reel to and fro like a drunkard ; " it will be " disolved," and " clean broken down ; " Isa. 24; mountains will move from their firm bases; islands will suddenly change their loca- tion in the midst of the sea ; from the level plain will arise the precipitous mountain ; and rocks will thrust up their ragged forms from earth's broken surface ; and while the voice of God is reverberating through the earth, the direst confusion will reign over the face of nature. Then will the world's dream of carnal security be effectually broken. Kings who, intoxicated with their own earthly authority, have never dreamed of a higher power than themselves, now 152 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: realize that there is One who reigns King of kings; and the great men behold the vanity of all earthly pomp, for there is a greatness above that of earth ; and the rich men throw their silver and gold to the moles and bats, for it cannot save them in that day; and the chief captains forget their little brief authority and the mighty men their might; and every bondman, who is in the still worse bondage of sin, and every freeman, all classes of the wicked, from the highest to the low- est, join in the general wail of consternation and despair. They who never prayed to Him whose arm could bring salvation, now raise an agonizing prayer to rocks and mountains to bury them forever from his presence. Fain would they now avoid reaping what they by a life of lust and sin had sown. Fain would they now shun the fearful treasure of wrath which they have been heaping up for themselves against this day. Fain would they bury themselves and their catalogue of crimes in everlasting darkness. And so they fly to the rocks, caves, caverns; and fissures which the broken sur- face of the earth now presents before them. But it is too late. They cannot conceal their guilt nor escape the long-delayed vengeance. " It will be in vain to call, Rocks and monntains on us fall, For His hand will find out all, In that day." The day which they thought never would come, has at last taken them as in a snare ; and the in- CHAPTER VI, VERSES 12-17. 15 3 voluntary language of their anguished hearts, is, " The great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand ? " Before it is called out by the fearful scenes of this time, we pray you, reader, give your most serious and candid attention to this sub- ject. Many now affect to despise the institution of prayer. But at one time or another all men will pray. Those who will not now pray to God in peni- tence, will then pray to the rocks and mountains in despair. And this will be the largest prayer-meeting ever held. As you read these lines think whether you would like to have a part therein. Adventists are now in the minority; but they will then be in the majoiity ; for all the world will be Adventists. But alas ! with the great mass their belief will come too late to do them any good. Ah I better far To cease the unequal war, While pardon, hope, and peace may yet be found; Nor longer rush upon the embossed shield Of the Almighty; but repentant yield. And all your weapons of rebellion ground. Better pray now in love, than pray ere long in fear. Call ye upon Him, while He waits to hear; So in the coming end When down the parted sky The angelic hosts attend The Lord of Heaven, most high, Before whose face the solid earth is rent. You may behold in him a friend omnipotent, And safely rest beneath his sheltering wings, Amid the ruin of all earthly things. Cl\k|)tef VII. THE SEALING OF THE 144,000. Verse 1. And after these things I saw four angels stand- ing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2. And I saw another an- gel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God ; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. The chronology of the work here introduced, is established beyond mistake. The sixth chapter closed with the events of the sixth seal ; and the seventh seal is not mentioned until we reach the opening of chapter 8. The whole of chapter 7 is therefore thrown in here parenthetically. Why is it thus thrown in at this point ? Evidently for the purpose of stating additional particulars concerning the sixth seal. The expression, "after these things," does not mean after the fulfillment of all the events previously described; but after the prophet had been carried down in vision to the close of the sixth seal, in order not to break the consecutive order of events, as given in chapter 6, (154) CEATTEIt VII, VERSES 1-3, 15 5 then his mind is called to what is mentioned in chapter 7, as further particulars to transpire in con- nection with that seal. Then we inquire, Between what events in that seal does this work come in ? It must transpire before the departing of the heav- ens as a scroll; for after that event there is no place for such a work as this. And it must take place subsequently to the signs in the sun, moon, and stars ; for these signs have been fulfilled, and such a work has not yet been accomplished. It comes in, therefore, between the 1 3th and 14th verses of Rev. 6. But there, as already shown, is just where we now stand. Hence the first part of Rev. 7 relates to a work, the accomplishment of which may be looked for at the present time. Four Angels. Angels are ever-present agents in the affairs of earth ; and why may not these be four of those heavenly beings into whose hands God has committed the work here described : to hold the winds while it is God's purpose that they should not blow, and to hurt the earth with them when the time comes that they should be loosed ; for it will be noticed, verse 3, that the " hurting " is a work committed to their hands equally with the " holding," so that they do not merely let the winds go, when they are to blow ; but they cause them to blow; they impel forward the work of destruction with their own supernatural energy. But the hurting process here brought to view does not include the seven last plagues. That work is given into the hands of seven special angels ; this, into the hands of four. 156 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. Four Corners of the Earth. An expression de- noting the four quarters, or the four points of the compass, and signifying that these angels, in their particular sphere had charge of the whole earth. The Four Winds. Winds, in the Bible, symbol- ize political commotion, strife, and war. Dan. 7:2; Jer. 25 : 32. The four winds, held by four angels standing in the four quarters of the earth, must de- note all the elements of strife and commotion that exist in the world ; and when they are all loosed, and all blow together, it will constitute the great whirlwind just referred to in Jeremiah. The Angel Ascending from the East. Another literal angel, having charge of another specific work. Instead of the words " ascending from the east," some translations read, " ascending from the sun rising," which is a more literal translation. We understand the expression to signify manner rather than locality; that as the sun arises with rays at first oblique, and comparatively powerless, but increases in strength until it shines in all its meridian power and splendor, so the work of this angel would commence in weakness, move onward with ever-accumulating influence, and close in strength and power. The Seal of the Living God. This is the distin- guishing characteristic of the ascending angel. He bears with him the seal of the living God. From this fact and the chronology of his work, we are to determine, if possible, what movement is symbol- ized by his mission. CHAPTER VJl, VERSES IS. 157 The nature of his work is evidently embraced in his having the seal of the living God ; and to ascer- tain what this work is, we therefore inquire what this seal of the living God is, which he bears with him. 1. Definition of the term. A seal is defined to be an instrument of sealing, that which " is nsed by individuals, corporate bodies, and States, for making impressions on wax, upon instruments of writing, as an evidence of their authenticity." The original word in this passage is defined, " A seal, i. e., a signet ring ; a mark, stamp, badge ; a token, a pledge." Among the significations of the verb are the following : " To secure to any one, to make sure ; to set a seal or mark upon anything in token of its being genuine or approved ; to attest, to con- firm, to establish, to distinguish by a mark." By a comparison of Gen. 17:11, with Rom. 4:11, and Eev. 7 : 3, with Eze. 9:4, in connection with the above definition, the reader will see that the words token, sign, seal, and mark, are used in the Bible as synonymous terms. The seal of God as brought to view in our text is to be applied to the servants of God. We are not, of course, to suppose that in this case it is some literal mark to be made in the flesh, but that it is some institution or observance having special reference to God, which will serve as a " mark of distinction " between the worshipers of God, and the wicked around them. 2. The use of a seal. A seal is used to render valid or authentic any enactments or laws which a 158 THOXTGHTS ON TEE BEVEL ATION. person or power may promulgate. Frequent in- stances of its use occur in the Scriptures : In 1 Kings 21:8, we read that Jezebel " wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal." These let- ters then had all the authority of king Ahab. Again, in Esth. 3:12, "In the name of king Ahas- uerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring." So also in chap. 8:8," The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse." 3. Where a seal is used. Always in connection with some law or enactment that demands obedi- ence, or upon documents that are to be made legal or subject to the provisions of law. The idea of law is inseparable from a seal. 4. As applied to God. We are not to suppose that to the enactments and laws of God binding upon men, there must be attached a literal seal, made with literal instruments. But from the definition of the term, and the purpose for which a seal is used, as shown above, we must understand a seal to be strictly that which gives validity and authenticity to enactments and laws. This is found, though a literal seal may not be used, in the name or signature of the law-making power, ex- pressed in such terms as to show what the power is, and its right to make laws and demand obedi- ence. Even with a literal seal, the name must al- ways be used. See the references above given. An instance of the use of the name alone seems to occur in Dan. 6:8: " Now, O king, establish the CBAPTER VII, VERSES IS. 159 decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not;" that is, affix the signature of royalty, showing who it is that de- mands obedience, and his right to demand it. In a gospel prophecy found in Isa. 8, we read: " Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." Verse IG. This must refer to a work of reviving some of the claims of the law in the minds of the disciples, which had been overlooked, or perverted from their true meaning. And this, in the prophecy, is called sealing the law, or restor- ing to it its seal, which had been taken from it. Again, the 144,000, who, in the chapter before us, are said to be sealed with the seal of God in their foreheads, are again brought to view in Kev. 14:1, where they are said to have the Father's name written in their foreheads. From the foregoing reasoning, facts, and declara- tions of Scriptures two conclusions inevitably fol- low: — 1. The seal of God is found in connection with the law of God. 2. The seal of God is that part of his law which contains his name or descriptive title, showing who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule. The law of God is admitted by all disinterested evangelical denominations to be summarily con- tained in the decalogue, or ten commandments. We have, then, but to examine these commandments, to IQQ THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. see which one it is that constitutes the seal of the law, or, in other words, ma]ces known the true God, the law-making power. The first three command- ments mention the word God ; but we cannot tell from these, who is meant ; for there are multitudes of objects to which this term is applied. There are "gods many and lords many," as the apostle says. 1 Cor. 8:5. Passing over the fourth commandment for the time being, the fifth contains the words Lord and God, but does not define them ; and the remain- ing five precepts do not contain the name of God at all. Now what shall be done ? With that portion of the law which we have examined, it would be impos- sible to convict the grossest idolater of sin. The wor- shiper of images could say. This idol before me is my god, his name is god, and these are his precepts. The worshiper of the heavenly bodies could also say. The sun is my god, and I worship him according to this law. Thus, without the fourth commandment, the decalogue is null and void so far as it pertains to enforcing the worship of the true God. But let us now add the fourth commandment, restore to the law this precept, which many are ready to contend has been expunged, and see how the case will then stand. As we examine this commandment which contains the declaration, " For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is," etc., we see at once that we are reading the requirements of Him who created all things. The sun, then, is not the God of the decalogue, but He who made the sun. No object in Heaven or earth CHAPTER VII, VERSES 1-3. 161 is the being who here demands obedience ; for the God of this law is the one who made all created things. Now we have a weapon against idolatry. No'v this law can no longer be applied to false gods, who " have not made the heavens and the earth." Jer. 10:11. Now the author of this law has de- clared who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule ; for every created intelligence must at once assent that He who is the Creator of all, has a right to demand obedience from all his creatures. Thus, with the fourth commandment in its place, this wonderful document, the decalogue, the only document among men which God ever wrote with his own finger, has a signature ; it has that which renders it intelligible and authentic ; it has a seal. But without the fourth commandment, it lacks all these things. From the foregoing reasoning it is evident that the fourth commandment constitutes the seal of the law of God, or the seal of God. But the Scrip- tures do not leave us without direct testimony on this point. We have seen above that in Scripture usage, sign, seal, token, and mark, are synonymous terms. Now the Lord expressly says that the Sabbath is a sign between him and his people. "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep ; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations ; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31 : 13. The same fact is again stated by the prophet Ezekiel, 20 : 12, 20. Here the Lord Revelation. 11 162 THOUGHTS ON TEE REVELATION. told his people that the very object of their keep- ing the Sabbath, that is, observing the fourth com- mandment, was that they might know that he was the true God. It may be said that the Sabbath was only a sign between God and the Jews. True, when this was spoken, the Jews had been separated from all other nations, to be God's people and the depositaries of all divine truth in the earth. But when they through disobedience were broken oft", and the Gentiles grafted in through Christ, becom- ing "Israelites indeed" and "Jews inwardly," would not the declaration apply equally to them ? Thus the fourth commandment, or the Sabbath, is taken by the Lord as a sign between him and his people, or the seal of his law in both dispensa- tions ; the people by that commandment signifying that they are the worshipers of the true God, and God by the same commandment making himself known as the great Creator of all things. In harmony with this we notice the significant fact that whenever the sacred writer wishes to point out the true God in distinction from false gods of every description, an appeal is made to the great facts of creation upon which the fourth com- mandment is based. See 2 Kings 19 :15 ; 2 Chron. 2:12; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 115:15; 121:2; 124:8 134:3; 146:6; Isa. 37:16; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12 Job. 9:8; Isa. 51:13; Jer. 10:10-12; Ps. 96:5 Jer. 32:17; 51:15; Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:23, etc. We refer again to the fact that the same com- CHAPTER ril, VERSES 1-3. 163 pany, who in Kev. 7 have the seal of the living God in their foreheads, are brought to view again in Rev. 14:1, having the Father's nayne in their foreheads. This is good proof that the " seal of the living God " and the " Father's name " are used synonymously. The chain of evidence on this point is rendered complete, when it is ascertained that the fourth commandment, which has been shown to be the seal of the law, is spoken of by the Lord as that which contains his name. The proof of this will be seen by referring to Deut. 16:6 : " But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there shalt thou sacri- fice the passover," etc. What was there where they sacrificed the passover ? There was the sanctuary, having in its holiest apartment the ark with the ten commandments, the fourth of which declared the true God, and contained his name. Wherever this was, there God's name was placed ; and this was the only object to which the language could be applied. Having ascertained what the seal of God is, we are prepared to proceed with the application of the prophecy. By the scenes introduced in the verses before us, namely, the four winds apparently about to blow, bringing war and trouble upon the land, and this work restrained till the servants of God should be sealed, as though a preparatory work must be done for them to save them from this trouble, we are reminded of the houses of the Is- raelites marked with the blood of the paschal lamb, 164 THOUGHTS ON THE BEVELATIOm and spared as the destroying angel passed over to slay the first-born of the Egyptians, Ex. 12, also of the mark made by the man with a writer's ink- horn, Eze. 9, upon all those who were to be spared by the men with the slaughtering weapons who followed after ; and we conclude that the seal of God, here placed upon his servants, is some dis- tinguishing mark or religious characteristic, through which they will be exempted from the judgments of God that fall on the wicked around them. As we have found the seal of God in the fourth commandment, the inquiry follows. Does the ob- servance of that commandment involve any pecul- iarity in religious practice ? Yes, a very marked and striking one. It is one of the most singular facts to be met with in religious history that, in an age of such boasted gospel light as the present, when the influence of Christianity is so powerful and wide-spread, one of the most striking pecul- iarities in practice wdiich a person can adopt, and one of the greatest crosses he can take up, even in the most enlightened and Christian lands, is the simple observance of the law of God. For the fourth commandment requires the observance of the seventh day of each week as the Sabbath of the Lord ; but almost all Christendom, through the combined influence of paganism and the papacy, have been beguiled into the keeping of the first day. A person has but to commence the observ- ance of the day enjoined in the commandment, and a mark of peculiarity is upon him at once. He is Cir AFTER VII, VERSES 1-3. 165 distinct alike from the professedly religious and the unconverted world. We conclude, then, that the angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, is a divine messenger in charge of a work of reform to be carried on among men in reference to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The agents of this work on the earth are of course ministers of Christ ; for to men is given the commission of in- structing their fellow-men in Bible truth ; but, as there is order in the execution of all the divine counsels, why may not a literal angel have the charge and oversight of this work ? We have already noticed the chronology of this work as locating it in our own time. This is further evident from the fact that, as the next event after the sealing of these servants of God, we behold them before the throne, with palms of victory in their hands. The sealing is, therefore, the last work to be accomplished for them prior to their redemption. In Rev. 14, we find the same work again brought to view under the symbol of an angel flying in the midst of heaven with the most terrific warning that ever fell upon the ears of men. We shall speak of this more fully when we reach that chapter. We refer to it now,- as it is the last work to be ac- complished for the world before the coming of Christ, which is the next event in the order of that prophecy, and hence must synchronize with the work here brought to view in Rev. 7 : 1-3. The IQQ THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION". angel with the seal of the living God, in chapter 7, is therefore the same as the third angel of chapter 14. And this view gives additional strength to our view of the seal. For while as the result of the work in chapter 7, a certain company are sealed with the seal of the living God, as the result of the third message of chapter 14, a company are brought out rendering scriptural obedience to all the " corti- mandments of God," Verse 12. But there is no commandment of the decalogue except the fourth, upon which the Christian world theoretically needs reforming ; and that this is the representative ques- tion in this message is evident from the fact that the keeping of the commandments, observing, with all the other moral precepts, the Lord's Sabbath, is what distinguishes the servants of God from those who worship the beast and receive his mark, which is, as will be hereafter shown, the observance of a counterfeit Sabbath. Having thus briefly noticed the main points of the subject, we now come to the most striking feat- ure of all. In exact accordance with the foregoing chronological argument, we find this work already being fulfilled before our eyes. The third angel's message is being proclaimed ; the angel ascending from the east is on his mission ; the reform on the Sabbath question has commenced ; it is surely, though yet in comparative silence, working its way through the land ; it is destined to agitate every country entitled to the light of the gospel ; and it will result in bringing out a people prepared for CHAPTER VII, VERSES 1-3. 167 the soon coming of the Saviour, and sealed for his everlasting kingdom. With one more question, we leave these verses upon which we have so lengthily dwelt. Have we seen among the nations any movements which would indicate that the cry of the ascending angel, " Hurt not," etc., by the blowing of the winds, " till we have sealed the servants of God," has in any manner been answered ? The time during which the winds are held could not, from the nature of the case, be a time of profound peace. This would not answer to the prophecy. For, in order for it to be manifest that the winds were being held, there must be disturbance, agitation, anger, and jealousy among the nations, with an occasional out- burst of strife, like a fitful gust breaking away from the imprisoned and struggling tempest. And these outbursts must be suddenly and unexpectedly checked. Then, but not otherwise, would it be evi- dent to him who looked at events in the light of prophecy, that the restraining hand of Omnipotence was laid, for some good purpose, upon the surging elements of strife and war. And such has been the aspect of our times for more than thirty years. Commencing with the great revolution of 1848, when so many European thrones toppled into the dust, what a state of anger and political unrest has existed among all the nations of the earth ! New and unlooked-for complications have suddenly sprung up, throwing matters into apparently in- extricable confusion, and threatening immediate 168 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: and direful war. And now and then the conflict has burst forth in fury, and a thousand voices have been raised to predict that the great crisis had come, that universal war must result, and the ter- mination no man could foretell; when suddenly and unaccountably it has been extinguished, and all subsided into quiet again. The terrible rebellion in our own land of 1861 to 1865 is a notable in- stance. By the spring of the latter year, so great had become the pressure upon the nation for men and means to continue the war that it began seriously to impede the progress of the work symbolized by the ascending angel, even threat- ening to arrest it entirely. Those interested in these truths, believing that the time had come for the application of the prophecy, and that the words of the angel, " Hurt not," etc., indi- cated a movement on the part of the church, ac- cordingly raised their petitions to the Ruler of na- tions to restrain the cruel work of tumult and war. Days of fasting and prayer were set apart for this purpose. The time at which this occurred was a dark and gloomy period of the war ; and not a few high in political life predicted its indefinite continuance, and an appalling intensity of all its evils. But suddenly a change came ; and not three months had elapsed from the time of which we speak, ere the last rebel army had surrendered, and the last organized rebel had laid down his arms. So sudden and entire w^as the collapse, and so grate- ful were all hearts at relief from the pressure of the CHAPTER VII, VERSES 4-S. 169 terrible strife, that the nation broke forth into a song of Jubilee, and these words were conspicuously displayed at the national capitol : " This is the Lords doing ; it is marvelous in our eyes!' There are those who believe there was a definite cause for this sudden cessation of the strife, of which, of course, the world is but little aware. The sudden conclusion of the German-French war of 1870 and the recent war between Turkey and Russia may be cited as still later examples. Perhaps further events of this kind are yet to be witnessed to ful- fil more completely this feature of the prophecy. Verse 4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed ; and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepth- alim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand. 7. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8. Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. The number sealed is here stated to be one hun- dred and forty-four thousand ; and from the fact that twelve thousand are sealed from each of the twelve tribes, many suppose that this work must have been accomplished as far back at least as about the beginning of the Christian era, when these tribes 170 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. were literally in existence. They do not see how it can apply to our own time when every trace of dis- tinction between these tribes has been so long and so completely obliterated. We refer such to the .opening language of the epistle of James : " James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greet- ing: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations," etc. Those whom James here addresses, are, 1. Christians; for they are his brethren. 2. They are not the converts to Christianity from the Jews, the twelve tribes of his own day ; for he addresses them in view of the coming of the Lord. See chapter 5. He is thus addressing the last generation of Christians, the Christians of our own day ; and he calls them the twelve tribes scattered abroad. How can this be ? Paul explains in Kom. 11 : 17-24. In the striking figure of grafting which he there introduces, the tame olive tree represents Israel. Some of the branches, the natural descendants of Abraham, were broken off because of unbelief (in Christ). Through faith in Christ the wild olive scions, the Gentiles, are grafted into the tame olive stock, and thus the twelve tribes are perpetuated. And here we find an explanation of the language of the same apostle : "They are not all Israel which are of Israel," and " he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, . . . but he is a Jew which is one inwardly." Rom. 9 : 6-8 ; 2 : 28, 29. So we find on the gates of the New Jerusalem, which is a New -Testament or Christian, CHAPTER VII, VEIiSES 4-8. 17X not a Jewish, city, the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the foundations of this city are inscribed the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Rev. 21 : 12-14. If the twelve tribes belong exclusively to the former dispensation, the more natural order would have been to have their names on the foundations, and those of the twelve apostles on the gates ; but no, the names of the twelve tribes are on the gates. And as through these gates, so inscribed, all the redeemed hosts will go in and out, so, as belonging to these twelve tribes will all the redeemed be reck- oned, whether on earth they were Jews or Gentiles. Of course we look in vain for any marks of dis- tinction between the tribes here on earth ; for since Christ has appeared in the flesh, the preservation of the genealogy of the tribes is not necessary. But in Heaven, where the names of the church of the first-born are being enrolled, we may be sure there is order, and that each name is enrolled in its proper tribe. It will be observed that the enumeration of the tribes here differs from that given in other places. The twelve sons of Jacob who became the heads of great families, called tribes, were, Eeuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Aser, and Joseph. But Jacob, on his dying bed, adopted the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, to constitute two of the tribes of Israel. Gen. 48:45. This divided the tribe of 172 THOUGHTS ON THE BEVELATIOK. Joseph, making thirteen tribes in all. But in the distribution of the' land of Canaan by lot, they num- bered but twelve tribes, and made but twelve lots ; for the tribe of Levi was left out, being appointed to the service of the tabernacle, and having no inheritance. But in the passage before us, Ephraim and Dan are omitted, and Levi and Joseph put in their places. The omission of Dan is accounted for by commentators on the ground that that tribe was the one chiefly addicted to idolatry. See Judges 18, etc. The tribe of Levi here takes its place with the rest, as in the heavenly Canaan the reasons for their not having an inheritance, as in the earthly, will not exist; and Joseph is probably put for Ephraim, it being a name which appears to have been applied to either of the tribes of Ephraim or Manasseh. Num. 13 : 11. Twelve thousand were sealed "out of" each of the twelve tribes, showing that not all who in the records of Heaven had a place among these tribes when this sealing work commenced, stood the test, and were overcomers at last. For the names of those already in the book of life will be blotted out, unless they overcome. Be v. 3 : 5. Yerse 9. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, 10, And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the CHAPTER VII, VERSES 9-12. 173 throne on their faces, and worshiped God, 12, Saying, Amen ; Blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. The sealing having been accomplished, John be- holds a countless multitude worshiping God in rap- ture before his throne. This vast throng are un- doubtedly the saved out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tono;ue, raised from the dead at the second coming of Christ, showing that the sealing is the last work accomplished for the people of God, prior to translation. Verse 13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me. What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and whence came they? 14. And I said unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple ; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fount- ains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. The questions proposed by one of the elders to John, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they ? taken in connection with John's answer, Sir, thou knowest, implying that he did not know, would seem to be devoid of all point, if they had reference to the whole of the 174 TSOTTGHTS ON THE REVELATION: great multitude now before him. For John did know who they were, and from whence they came ; inasmuch as he had just said that they were people^ redeemed of course, out of all nations, kindreds, people and tongues ; and John could have answered, These are the redeemed ones from all the nations of the earth. But if a special company in this vast throng were referred to, distinguished by some special mark or position, then it might not be so evident who they were, and what had given them their peculiarity; and the questions as applied to them would be appropriate and pertinent. We there- fore incline to the view that attention is called to a special company by the questions which were pro- posed by one of the elders; and no company is brought to view to which special allusion would more naturally be made, than to the company spok- en of in the first part of the chapter, namely, the 144,000. John had indeed seen this company in their mortal state as they were receiving the seal of the living God amid the troublous scenes of the last days ; but as they here stand among the re- deemed throng, the transition is so great, and the condition in which they now appear so different, that he does not recognize them as the special com- pany which he saw sealed upon the earth. And to this company, the language that follows seems to be specially applicable : — 1. They came out of great tribulation. While it is true in some degree of all Christians that they must "through much tribulation enter into the CHATTER VII, VERSES 13-17. 175 kingdom of God," it is true in a very emphatic sense of the 144,000. They pass through the great time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Dan. 12:1. They experienced the men- tal anguish of the time of Jacob's trouble. Jer. 30 : 4-7. They stand without a mediator through the terrific scenes of the seven last plagues, those exhi- bitions of God's unmingled wrath in the earth. Rev. 15: 16. They pass through the severest time of trouble the w^orld has ever known, although they are delivered out of it. 2. They wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. To the last generation the testimony is very emphatic on the subject of obtaining the white raiment. Rev. 3 : 5, 18. And though the 144,000 are accused of rejecting Christ and trusting to their own works for salvation, because they refuse to violate the commandments of God, Rev. 14 : 1, 12, in the great day that cal- umny will be wiped off*. It will be seen that they have rested their hope of life on the merits of the shed blood of their divine Redeemer, making him their source of righteousness. There is peculiar force in saying of these that they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, 3. Verse 15 describes the post of honor they occupy in the kingdom, and their nearness to God. In another place they are called "the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb." Rev. 14 : 4. 4. In verse 16, it is said, " They shall hunger no 176 THOUOHTS ON THE BEVELATION. more, neither thirst any more." This shows that they have once suffered hunger and thirst. To what can this refer? As it doubtless has reference to some special experience, may it not refer to their experience in the time of trouble, more especially during the plagues ? In this time the righteous will be reduced to bread and water; and though that "will be sure," Isa. 33: 16, enough for suste- nance, yet may it not be that, when the pastures, with all fruits and vegetation, are dried up, Joel 1-: 18-20, and the rivers and fountains are turned to blood, Rev. 16:4-9, to reduce their connection with earth and earthly things to the lowest limit, the saints who pass through that time will be brought occasionally to the extreme degrees of hun- ger and thirst? But the kingdom, once gained, "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more." And the prophet continues in reference to this company, "Neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat." "We remember that the 144,000 live through the time when power is given unto the sun " to scorch men with fire." Rev. 16 : 8, 9. And though they are shielded from the deadly effect which it has upon the wicked around them, we cannot suppose that their sensibilities will be so blunted that they will feel no unpleasant sensations from the terrific heat. No, as they enter the fields of the heavenly Canaan, they will be prepared to appreciate the divine assurance, that the sun shall not light upon, or injure them, nor any heat. 6. And the Lamb shall lead them. Another tes- CHAPTER VII, VERSES 13-17. 177 timony concerning the same company, and applying at the same time, says, " These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." Rev. 14:4. Both expressions denote the state of intimate and divine companionship to which the blessed Re- deemer admits them in reference to himself. The psalmist in the following beautiful passage seems to allude to the same promise : " They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures." Ps. 36 : 8. The phrase- ology of this promise to the one hundred and forty- four thousand is also partially found in the follow- ing glowing prophecy from the pen of Isaiah : " He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth ; for the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. 25:8. Revelation. 12 dl^kptef YIII. THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. We name as the subject of this chapter the seven trumpets, as these constitute the main theme of the chapter, although there are other matters intro- duced before the opening of that series of events. The first verse of this chapter relates to the events of the preceding chapters, and should not, we think, have been separated from them by the division of the chapter. Yerse 1. And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour. The series of the seven seals is here resumed and concluded. The sixth chapter closed with the events of the sixth seal, the eighth commences with the opening of the seventh seal, causing the seventh chapter to stand parenthetically between the sixth and seventh seals, thereby showing that the sealing work of that chapter belongs to the sixth seal. Silence in Heaven. Concerning the cause of this silence only conjecture can be offered — a conject- ure, however, which is supported by the events of the sixth seal. That seal does not bring us to the (178) C HAFT Eli VIII, VEIiSES 1-3. 179 second advent, although it embraces events that transpire in close connection therewith. It intro- duces the fearful commotions of the elements de- scribed as the rolling of the heavens together as a scroll, caused by the voice of God, the breaking up of the surface of the earth, and the confession at last on the part of the wicked that the great day of God's wrath is come. They are doubtless in mo- mentary expectation of seeing the King appear, in, to them, unendurable glory. But the seal stops just short of that event. The personal appearing of Christ must therefore be allotted to the next seal. But when the Lord appears, he comes with all the holy angels with him. Matt. 25: 31. And when all the heavenly harpers leave the courts above to come down with their divine Lord as he descends to gather the fruit of his redeeming work, will there not be silence in Heaven ? The length of this period of silence, if we con- sider it prophetic time, would be about seven days. Verse 2. And I saw tlie seven angels which stood before God ; and to them were given seven trumpets. This verse introduces a new and distinct series of events. In the seals, we have had the history of the church during what is called the gospel dispen- sation. In the seven trumpets, now introduced, we have the principal political and warlike events which were to transpire during the same time. Verse 3. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much 180 THOUGHTS OK THE REVELATION: incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand, 5. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth ; and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. Having, as it were, in verse 2, brought out the seven angels, and introduced them before us upon the stage of action, John for a moment, in the three verses last quoted, directs attention to an entirely different scene. The angel which approaches the altar is not one of the seven trumpet angels. The altar is the altar of incense, which in the earthly sanctuary was placed in the first apartment. Here, then, is another proof that there exists in Heaven a sanctuary with its corresponding vessels of service, of which the earthly was the figure, and that we are taken into that sanctuary by the visions of John. A work of ministration in the sanctuary above, for all the saints, is thus brought to view. Doubtless the entire work of mediation for the people of God during the gospel dispensation, is here presented. This is apparent from the fact that the angel offers his incense with the prayers of all saints ; and that we are here carried forward to the end, is evident from the act of the angel in filling the censer with fire and casting it unto the earth ; for his work is then done; no more prayers are to be offered up mingled with incense ; and this can have its appli- cation only at the time when the ministration of Christ in the sanctuary in behalf of mankind has CBAFTER VIII, VERSES 3-6, 181 forever ceased. And the events that follow this act of the angel, namely, voices, thunderings, light- nings, and an earthquake, are exactly such as we are elsewhere informed transpire at the close of human probation. See Rev. 11:19; 16 : 17, 18. But why are ^these verses thus thrown in here? Answer. As a message of hope and comfort for the church. The seven angels with their warlike trum- pets had been introduced ; terrible scenes were to transpire under their sounding; but, before they commence, the church is pointed to the work of mediation in their behalf above, and their source of help and strength during this time. Though they should be tossed like feathers upon the tumultuous waves of strife and war, they were to know that their great High Priest still ministered for them in the sanctuary in Heaven, and that thither they could direct their prayers, and have them offered with incense to their Father in Heaven. Thus could they gain strength and support in all their calam- ities. Verse 6. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The subject of the seven trumpets is here resumed and occupies the remainder of this chapter and all of chapter 9. The seven angels prepare themselves to sound. Their sounding comes in as a comple- ment to the prophecy of Dan. 2 and 7, commencing with the breaking up of the old Roman empire into its ten divisions, of which, in the first four trumpets, we have a description. 182 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. Verse 7. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth ; and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. A full exposition of the seven trumpets is given in a work entitled " An Exposition of the Seven Trumpets of Rev. 8 and 9," published at the Re- view AND Herald Office, Battle Creek, Mich,, to which the reader is referred for a more extended examination of the subject. To that work we are chiefly indebted for the extracts given below. Mr. Keith has very justly remarked on the sub- ject of this prophecy : — ■ "None could elucidate the texts more clearly, or expound them more fully, than the task has been performed by Gibbon. The chapters of the skeptical philosopher, that treat directly of the matter, need but a text to be prefixed, and a few unholy words to be blotted out, to form a series of expository lec- tures on the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation." "Little or nothing is left for the professed inter- preter to do but to point to the pages of Gibbon." The first sore and heavy judgment which fell on Western Rome in its downward course, was the war with the Goths under Alaric, who opened the way for later inroads. After the death of Theodosius, the Roman emperor, in January 395, before the end of the winter, the Goths, under Alaric, were in arms against the empire. "Hail and fire, mingled with blood, were cast upon the earth." The terrible effects of this Gothic CHAPTER VIII, VERSE 7. 183 invasion, are represented as "hail," from the fact of the northern origin of the invaders ; " fire," from the destruction by flame of both city and country ; and "blood," from the terrible slaughter of the citizens of the empire by the bold and intrepid warriors. The blast of the first trumpet has its location at the close of the fourth century, and onward, and refers to these desolating invasions of the Roman empire by the Goths. I know not how the history of the sounding of the first trumpet can be more impressively set forth than by presenting the graphic rehearsal of the facts stated in Gibbon's history, by Mr. Keith, in his Signs of the Times, Vol. I, pp. 221-233. " Large extracts show how amply and well Gib- bon has expounded his text, in the history of the first trumpet, the first storm that pervaded the Ro- man earth, and the first fall of Rome. To use his words in more direct comment, we read thus the sum of the matter : The Gothic nation was in arms at the first sound of the trumpet, and in the uncom- mon severity of the winter, they rolled their pon- derous wagons over the broad and icy back of the river. The fertile fields of Phocis and Boeotia were crowded with a deluge of barbarians; the males were massacred; the females and cattle of the flaming villages were driven away. The deep and bloody traces of the march of the Goths could easily be discovered after several years. The whole ter- ritory of Attica was blasted by the baneful presence 184 THOUGHTS ON- THE REVELATION. of Alaric. The most fortunate of the inhabitants of Corinth, Argos, Sparta, were saved by death from beholding the conflagration of their cities. In a season of such extreme heat that the beds of the rivers were dry, Alaric invaded the dominion of the West. A secluded ' old man of Verona,' the poet Claud ian, pathetically lamented the fate of his con- temporary trees, which must hiaze in the conflagra- tion of the whole country : [note the words of the prophecy, — 'the third part of the trees was burnt uId\ and the emperor of the Romans fled before the kinof of the Goths. " A furious tempest was excited among the na- tions of Germany ; from the northern extremity of which the barbarians marched almost to the gates of Rome. They achieved the destruction of the West. The dark cloud w^hich was collected along the coasts of the Baltic, burst in thunder upon the banks of the Upper Danube. The pastures of Gaul, in which flocks and herds grazed, and the banks of the Rhine, which were covered with elegant houses and well-cultivated farms, formed a scene of peace and plenty, which was suddenly changed into a desert, distinguished from the solitude of nature only by smoking ruins. Many cities were cruelly oppressed or destroyed. Many thousands were in- humanly massacred. And the consuming flames of war spread over the greatest part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul. "Alaric again stretched his ravages over Italy. During four years, the Goths ravaged and reigned CHAPTER VIII, VEBSE 8. 185 over it without control. And, in the pillage and fire of Rome, the streets of the city were filled with dead bodies ; the flames consumed many public and private buildings; and the ruins of a palace re- mained (after a century and a half), a stately mon- ument of the Gothic conflagration. "The concluding sentence of the thirty-third chapter of Gibbon's History, is, of itself, a clear and comprehensive commentary ; for, in winding up his own description of the brief, but most eventful period, he concentrates, as in a parallel reading, the sum of the history, and the substance of the predic- tion. But the words which precede it are not with- out their meaning: 'The public devotion of the age was impatient to exalt the saints and martyrs of - the Catholic church on the altars of Diana and Her- cules. The union oi the Roman empire was dis- solved; its genius was humbled in the dust; and armies of unknown barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions of the North, had established their victorious reign over the fairest provinces of Europe and Africa.' "The last word, — Africa, — is the signal for the sounding of the second trumpet. The scene changes from the shores of the Baltic to the southern coast of the Mediterranean, or from the frozen regions of the North to the borders of burning Africa. And instead of a storm of hail being cast upon the earth, a burning mountain w^as cast into the sea." Verse 8. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea ; 186 TEOUOHTS ON TEE REVELATION. and the third part of the sea became blood ; 9 ; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died ; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. The Roman empire, after Constantine, was divid- ed into three parts ; and hence the frequent remark, "a third part of men," etc., in allusion to the third part of the empire which was under the scourge. This division of the Roman kingdom was made at the death of Constantine, between his three sons, Constantius, Constantine II, and Constans, Con- stantius possessed the East, and fixed his residence at Constantinople, the new metropolis of the em- pire. Constantine the Second held Britain, Gaul, and Spain. Constans held Illyrica, Africa, and Italy. (See Sabine s Eccl. Hist, p. 155.) Of this well-known historical fact, Albert Barnes, in his notes on Rev. 12: 4, says: ''Twice, at least, before the Roman empire became divided permanently into the two parts, the Eastern and the Western, there was a tripartite division of the empire. The first occurred A. D. 311, when it was divided between Constantine, Licinius, and Maximin; the other A. D. 337, on the death of Constantine, when it was divided between his three sons, Constantine, Con- stans, and Constantius." The history illustrative of the sounding of the second trumpet evidently relates to the invasion and conquest of Africa, and afterv/ard of Italy, by the terrible Genseric. His conquests were, for the most part, NAVAL; and his triumphs were "as it were a great mountain burning with fire, cast into CHATTER VIII, VERSES 8, 9. 187 the sea." What figure would better, or so well, illustrate the collision of navies, and the general havoc of war on the maritime coasts ? In explain- ing this trumpet, we are to look for some events which will have a particular bearing on the com- mercial world. The symbol used, naturally leads us to look for agitation and commotion. Nothing but a fierce maritime warfare would fulfill the pre- diction. If the sounding of the first four trumpets relates to four remarkable events which contributed to the downfall of the Roman empire, and the first trumpet refers to the ravages of the Goths under Alaric, in this we naturally look for the next suc- ceedinsT act of invasion which shook the Roman power and conduced to its fall. The next great invasion was that of " the terrible Genseric/' at the head of the Yandals. His career was marked by the years A. D. 428-4G8. This great Vandal chief had his headquarters in Africa. But, as Gibbon states, " The discovery and conquest of the Black nations (in Africa), that might dwell beneath the torrid zone, could not tempt the rational ambition of Genseric ; but he cast his eyes toward the sea ; he resolved to create a naval loower, and his bold resolution was executed with steady and active perseverance." From the port of Carthage he repeat- edly made piratical sallies, and preyed on the Ro- man commerce, and waged war with that empire. To cope with this sea monarch, the Roman emperor, Majorian, made extensive naval preparation. Three hundred long galleys, with an adequate proportion 188 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. of transports and smaller vessels, were collected in the secure and capacious harbor of Carthagena, in Spain. But Genseric was saved from impending and inevitable ruin by the treachery of some pow- erful subjects, envious or apprehensive of their mas- ter's success. Guided by their secret intelligence, he surprised the unguarded fleet in the bay of Car- thagena ; many of the ships were sunk, or taken, or burnt, and the preparations of three years were destroyed in a single day. Italy continued to be long afflicted by the inces- sant depredations of the Vandal pirates. In the spring of each year they equipped a formidable navy in the port of Carthage, and Genseric himself, though at a very advanced age, still commanded in person the most important expeditions. The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, Liguria, Tuscany, Campania, Leucania, Brutium, Apulia, Calabria, Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus, Greece, and Sicily. The celerity of their motion enabled them, almost at the same time, to threaten and to attack the most distant objects which attracted their desires ; and as they always embarked a sufficient number of horses, they had no sooner landed than they swept the dismayed country with a body of light cavalry. A last and desperate attempt to dispossess Gen- seric of the sovereignty of the seas, was made in the year 468, by Leo, the emperor of the East. Gibbon bears witness to this as follows : — CHAPTER VIII, VERSES QQ" Here we have indeed the number of a man, even the "man of sin;" and it is a little singular, per- haps providential, that he should select a title which shows the blasphemous character of the beast, and then cause it to be inscribed upon his miter, as if to brand himself with the number QQQ. Thus closes chapter 13, leaving the people of God with the powers of earth in deadly array against them, and the decrees of death and banishment from society out upon them, for their adherence to the truth. Spiritualism will be, at the time speci- fied, performing its most imposing wonders, deceiv- ing all the world except the elect, Matt. 24 : 24 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 8-12. This will be the "hour of temp- tation," or trial, which is to come upon all the world, as mentioned in Rev. 3 : 10. What is the issue of 284 THOUOHTS ON TEE BEYELATIOK. this conflict? This important inquiry is not left unanswered. The first five verses of the following chapter, which should have been numbered as a part of this, complete the chain of this prophecy, and reveal the glorious triumph of the champions of the truth. NOTE. *'It is a canon of interpretation of frequent use in the exposition of the sacred writings that verbs of action some- times signify merely the mXl and endeavor to do the action in question. Thus in Eze. 24 : 13 : 'I have purified thee, and thou wast not purged;' i. e., I have endeavored, used means, been at pains, to purify thee. John 5 : 44 : ' How can ye believe which receive honor one of another ; ' i. e. , endeavor to receive. Rom. 2:4:' The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ; ' i. e. , endeavors, or tends, to lead thee. Amos 9:3:' Though they be hid from my sight ia the bottom of the sea ; ' i. e. , though they aim to be hid. 1 Cor. 10 : 33 : 'I please all men ; ' i. e. , endeavor to please. Gal. 5:4:' Whosoever of you are justified by the law ; ' i. e. , seek and endeavor to be justified. Ps. 69 : 4 : ' They that destroy me are mighty ; ' i. e. , that endeavor to destroy me. Eng. , ' That would destroy me. ' Acts 7 : 26 : ' And set them at one again ; ' i. e. , wished and endeavored. Eng. , ' Would have set them. ' " diiiicptef xiy. TRE THREE MESSAGES. Verse 1. And I looked, and, lo, a lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, ha\dng his Father's name written in their fore- heads. 2. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder ; and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. 3. And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and be- fore the four beasts, and the elders ; and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4. These are they which were not defiled with women ; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he go- eth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. 5. And in their mouth was found no guile ; for they are without fault before the throne of God. It is a pleasing feature of the prophetic word that the people of God are never brought into positions of trial and difficulty and there left. Taking them down into scenes of danger, the voice of prophecy does not there cease, leaving them to guess their fate, in doubt, perhaps despair, as to the final result; but it takes them through to the end, and shows the issue in every conflict. The first five verses of Rev. 14, are an instance of this. The loth chapter closed, (285) 286 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: with the people of God, a small and apparently weak and defenseless company, in deadly conflict with the mightiest powers of earth which the dragon is able to muster to his service. A decree is passed, backed up by the supreme power of the land, that they shall worship the image, and receive the mark, under pain of death if they refuse to comply. What can the people of God do in such a conflict, and in such an extremity ? What will become of them ? Glance forward with the apostle to the very next scene in the programme, and what do we behold ? The very same company standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb, — a victorious company, harping on sym- phonious harps, their triumph in the courts of Heaven. Thus are we assured that when the time of our conflict with the powers of darkness comes, deliverance is not only certain, but will immedi- ately be given, being the next event in our history, the glorious rest after the weary pilgrimage, the glorious consummation of a life of toil, suffering, and ceaseless conflict here. That the 144,000 here seen on Mount Zion, are the saints who were just before brought to view as objects of the wrath of the beast and his image, several considerations show : — 1. They are identical with those sealed in Rev. 7, who have already been shown to be the right- eous who are alive at the second coming of Christ. 2. They are the overcomers in the sixth, or Phil- adelphian state of the church. See Rev. 3 : 11, 12. 3. They are " redeemed from among men," verse CHATTER XIV, VERSES 1-5, 287 4, an expression \Yliich can be applicable only to those who are translated from among the living. Paul labored, if by any means he might attain to a resurrection out from among the dead. Phil. 3: 11. This is the hope of those who sleep in Jesus — a resurrection from the dead. A redemption from among men, from among the living, must mean a different thing, and can mean only one thing, and that is translation. Hence the 144,000 are the liv- inor saints who will be translated at the second coming of Christ. Where is the Mount Zion where this company is seen standing? The Mount Zion above; for the voice of harpers, which no doubt is uttered by these very ones, is heard from Heaven; the same Zion from which the Lord utters his voice when he speaks to his people in close connection with the coming of the Son of man. Joel 3: 16; Heb. 12: 2G-28; Rev. 16: 17. A just consideration of the fact that there is a Mount Zion in Heaven, and a Jerusalem above, would be a powerful antidote against the hallucination of the doctrine called " The Age to Come." A few more particulars only respecting the 144,000, will claim notice in these brief thoughts. 1. They have the name of the Lamb's Father in their foreheads. In chapter 7, they are said to have the seal of God in their foreheads. An important key to an understanding of the seal of God is thus furnished us; for we at once perceive that the Father regards his name as his seal. That com- 288 THOUGHTS oy the revelation mandment of the law which contains God's name is therefore the seal of the law. The Sabbath com- mandment is the only one which has this ; that is, that contains the descriptive title which distin- guishes the true God from all false gods. Wherever this was placed, there the Father's name was said to be; Deut. 16: 6; and whoever keeps this com- mandment has, consequently, the seal of the living God. 2. They sing a new song which no other com- pany is able to learn. In chapter 15 : 3, it is called the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb. The song of Moses, as may be seen by reference to Ex. 15, was the song of his experience and deliverance. Such therefore is the song of the 144,000. No others can join in it; for no other company will have had an experience like theirs. 3. They were not defiled with women. A woman is in Scripture the symbol of a church ; a virtuous woman representing a pure church, a corrupt wo- man an apostate church. It is then a characteristic of this company that at the time of their deliver- ance they are not defiled with, or have no connec- tion with, the fallen churches of the land. Yet we are not to understand that they never had any connection with these churches ; for it is only at a certain time that people become defiled by them. In chapter 18:4, we find a call issued to the people of God while they are in Babylon, to come out, lest they become partakers of her sins. Heeding that call, and leaving her connection, they escape the CIT AFTER XIV, VEMSES 6-12. 289 defilement of her sins. So of the 144,000. Though some of them may have once had a connection with corrupt churches, they sever that connection, when it would have become sin to retain it longer. 4. They follow the Lamb whithersoever he go- eth. We understand that this is spoken of them in their redeemed state. They are the special com- panions of their glorified Lord in the kingdom. Chap. 7:17, speaking of the same company, and at the same time, says : " For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shcxll lead them unto living fountains of waters." 5. They are "first-fruits" unto God and the Lamb. This term appears to be applied to dift'er- ent ones to denote especial conditions. Christ is the first-fruits as the antitype of the wave-sheaf. The first receivers of the gospel are called by James 1 : 18, a kind of first-fruits. So the 144,000 ripen- ing up for the heavenly garner here on earth, dur- ing the troublous scenes of the last days, being translated to Heaven without seeing death, and occupying a pre-eminent position, are in this sense, we understand, called first-fruits unto God and the Lamb. With this description of the 144,000 tri- umphant, the line of prophecy commencing with chapter 12, closes. Verse 6. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him ; for the hour of his Judgment is Kevelation. 19 290 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. come ; and worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8. And there follow- ed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9. And the third angel fol- lowed them, saying with a loud voice. If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in h's fore- head, or in his hand, 10, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation ; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb ; 11 ; And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever ; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12. Here is the patience of the saint ; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The First Message. Another scene, and another chain of prophetic events, is introduced in these verses. In this and the two following messages, we have what is known as the three angels' messages of Rev. 14. The first angel is called another angel in verse 6, because John had already seen one flying through heaven in a similar manner. Chap. 8 : 13. He proclaims the gospel, not a new one, but the everlasting gospel, called in Matt. 24: 14, " the gos- pel of the kingdom." But while it is the same gospel, there are particular features which consti- tute the burden of this message, chief among which, as shown in verse 7, is the ^nearness of the king- dom. Says an eminent writer on the prophecies, " The burden of this angel was to be the same gos- pel which had been before proclaimed, but con- CHAPTER XTV, VERSES 6-12. 291 nected with it was the additional motive of the proximity of the kingdom. No mere preaching of the gospel without announcing its proximiti/ could fulfill this messag^e." This messaore therefore can- not symbolize the preaching of the gospel by the apostles ; for they only reasoned of a judgment to come, indefinitely future. Moreover they cautioned every one against entertaining the idea that the day of Christ was at hand, till after the great papal apostasy, and the predicted career of the Man of Sin, who was, according to other prophecies, to rule for 1260 years, or to 1798. And we may add that the prophecies, upon which this proclamation is based, were closed up and sealed to the same time, 1798. This message cannot be given by any class of people except those who live when the end is just at hand. The Advent proclamation, especially from 1840 to 1844, completely answers to the prophecy, and is the only great religious movement which can be pointed to as its fulfillment. The judgment an- nounced is shown by arguments which the designed brevity of this work will not here admit, to be the Investio-ative Judorment, which the reader will perceive must take place before the coming of Christ ; for when Christ comes it is already decided who of the dead shall be raised, and who of the living are worthy to be changed. That investi- gative work we believe commenced in the sanctu- ary above, when this message ceased as a leading proclamation, at the close of the prophetic periods in 1844. On this and the followincr messao-es we 292 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. are the more brief here, as they are set forth in a separate work published at the Review Office, Bat- tle Creek, Michigan. The Second Message. The second angel announces the fall of Babylon. What is Babylon ? The figure is taken from the ancient city of Babylon; and that received its name from the confusion of tongues which there took place ; hence we understand that by this symbol is meant all forms of false and apos- tate religion, "Whose creeds are various as her costly towers." In other scriptures also this spiritual Babylon is set forth under the symbol of a great city, and in Rev. 16 : 19 it is presented in three divisions, which we understand to be Paganism, Catholicism, and backslidden Protestantism. The verse before us applies evidently to that division in which the bur- den of the proclamation of the three messages is found, which is the last-named. It must apply also to that division in which it was possible for a still greater moral declension to take place ; which again was the last-named ; for Paganism had always been a false religion, and' Catholicism always a corrupt one. Rev. 18 : 12, shows the fall of Babylon to be a moral fall, a giving away to ungodliness and spir- itual darkness and deception, which finally calls down from heaven upon the constituent parts of this great city literal judgments of the severest kind. The fall is caused by a rejection of the great truth of the soon-coming of Christ sent forth from Heaven in such majesty and power. C HAFT Eli XIV, VERSES 1-12. 293 By the wine of wrath (not anger, but intense passion or desire) of her fornication we understand her false doctrines and pernicious errors. Of these she has caused all nations to drink. A message of truth was sent, which, if received, would have healed her of her dissensions, uniting the professed followers of Christ upon the great truth of the soon- coming^ of the Son of man. But instead of receiv- ing the truth, she clung to her errors, and by spread- ing them among the nations has stood directly in the way of the advancement of the truth in the earth. Thus having grieved the Spirit of God, that Spirit has been withdrawn, and a moral fall is the result. The spirit and power of genuine Christian- ity has departed from the professed churches of our land. An abundance of statistics to prove this, may be seen in the work above referred to. The Third Message. The third angel follows with a message of the most fearful import. From the language in which it is expressed, we understand at once that it is designed to warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, and prepare them for that time when the decree shall be issued enforcing such worship, as noticed in the previous chapter. This is the issue, then, to which the world is to be brought ; namely, to refuse the mark of the beast and thus become exposed to the wrath of anti- Christian, earthly powers ; or, to receive the mark of the beast, and brave the unmixed wrath of God. The Mark of the Beast It now becomes a matter of solemn moment to inquire what this mark of the 294 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION: beast is, against which there is uttered so terrific a warning. No warning more terrible is found in all the Bible. The position against w^hich it is uttered must therefore be a most heinous and Heaven-dar- ing one. And is it possible that the world will never know what this sin is ? This is not possible. God does not so deal with his creatures. He does not punish the wicked without their knowing, or having full opportunity to know, for what cause the punishment is inflicted. Hence we argue that this question is not an unfathomable mystery ; but that all may know what constitutes the mark of the beast, and how they may avoid receiving it. The message containing this warning is the last to be given before the revelation of the Lord from heaven ; for the next event in this line of prophecy is the coming of one like the Son of man on the great white cloud. And since, as shown on chap- ters 6 and 7, we have reached the last days, and the coming of Christ is at the door, the time has come for the proclamation of this message; and hence we argue again that the time has come when it should be known what the mark of the beast is. Yet how few ever think on this point ! and how much less still is the number of those who have a position which they can offer with any semblance of proof as the truth in the matter ! This subject is so fully discussed in publications issued at the Review Office, that a mere outline is all that need here be presented. The subject of the seal of God is explained at length on Eev. 7, to CHAPTER XIV, VEltSES 6-12. 295 which the reader is referred, as the same reasoning will apply largely to the subject before us. The beast whose mark men are here warned against receiving, is the one brought to view in Rev. 13 : 1-10. This we have already shown to be the Papal Roman power, the same as the little horn of Dan. 7 : 8. The beast of Rev. 13, was to claim worship from those who dwell upon the earth ; the little horn of Dan. 7, was to claim the power to change times and laws; while the Man of Sin, another name for the same power, was to oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped. If he exalts himself above God, he must claim that his laws shall be obeyed in preference to the laws of God. Mark it well ; there is absolutely no other way in which he can exalt himself above God. We are now prepared to inquire for proof that the Papal power has tampered with the law of God, or attempted a change in the ten command- ments ; and that if the ten commandments are understandingly kept as changed by that power, instead of as originally given by the great Jehovah, then the law-changing power is worshiped instead of the law-making powder. Paul has said, " Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey ?" Rom. 6 : 16. It has already been shown that the little horn is identical with the beast against the worship of which the third anfrel's messao-e warns us. In Dan. 296 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. 7 : 25, it is said of this power, that " he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws ; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." The laws here spoken of must be the laws of the Most High, even as the saints connected therewith are the saints of the Most High. Earthly powers have a right to change human laws; but the laws here spoken of are such as this power could only think to change, as a mark of its anti- Christian presumption, but not in reality be able to change. And this change pertains to the moral law of God ; for it is a law with which the saints have to do during the 1260 years of Papal supremacy, which period is wholly in this dispensation. The ceremonial law is therefore out of the question. Then we ask, "Who has fulfilled this remarkable prophecy ? Who has changed or attempted to change the law of God ? To come more directly to the point. Who has changed the Sabbath ? And let it be noticed, that it is nowhere in the Scriptures intimated that there Would be any change made or attempted, in the law of God, except by this pow- er; therefore whatever change has been made in God's moral code, it has been done by this power. Let those consider well this fact, who claim that the Sabbath was changed by the Lord Jesus or his apostles. The great change in the law which the church of Borne claims to have made, and which it labors CHAPTER XIV, VERSES 6-12. 297 hardest to impress upon the minds of its disciples, is the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. On this point it is un- necessary to quote from Protestant authors. Eoman Catholics themselves admit it ; and not only so, but they boast of it as an evidence of the right and power of their church to legislate in divine things. For evidence on these points, the reader is referred to " The Catholic Catechism of the Christian Religion," " Milner's ' End of Controversy,' " " CathoKc Chris- tian Instructed," "Abridgment of Christian Doc- trine," and "Doctrinal Catechism," — all Catholic works of standard authority. From the "Abridg- ment of Christian Doctrine " we give the following question and answer : " Question. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days ? Answer. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of ; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church." And the " Doctrinal Catechism " says : " Question. Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept ? Answer. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her ; — she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no scriptural authority." Here, then, we have the mark of the beast, — a 298 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION. sabbatic institution put in place of the original in- stitution of Jehovah, and brought forward by the Romish church itself as the badge and token of its power to change the law of the Most High. And he who, with this plain fact before him, shall de- liberately yield to the claims of this anti- Christian power, in opposition to the plain requirements of the Creator, will thereby acknowledge the supremacy of the laws of the beast, become a worshiper of the beast instead of the great Jehovah, and receive the mark of the beast instead of the seal of the living God. It will thus be seen that a person does not have the mark of the beast in the Scripture sense, except by a voluntary obedience to the authority of the beast, with the issue fairly before him. The observ- ance of the first day of the week, under the uncor- rected supposition that it is a scriptural require- ment, cannot constitute the mark of the beast. God takes into account the light a person has, and the motives from which he acts. He who was the light of the world once said to the Jews, " If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin ; but now they have no cloak for their sin." John 15 : 22. Hence Christians of past ages who have died in the observance of this institution, unaware of any connection between it and the enactments of the beast, and supposing, the while, that by ob- serving Sunday they were rendering obedience to the requirements of God, — can they be said to have had the mark of the beast ? By no means. The GHAI'TEli XIV, VERSES 6-12. 299 honesty of purpose with which they lived up to the best hght they had, will be a guarantee of their acceptance with God. Hence, again, it cannot be said of any at the present time, that they have the mark of the beast. But the true church must not come up to the hour of translation encumbered, however unwit- tingly, with Papal errors and institutions; and be- fore we come upon the issue brought to view in chapter 13: 15-27, light must be given upon the mark of the beast, and an effectual warning be uttered against its reception. The third angel's message, now in full process of accomplishment before us, is therefore timely and important. It is a summons to the faithful to make speedy prepara- tion for the coming issue. For a full discussion of the subject of the Sab- bath, and a history of its change to the first day of the week, showing the part the Papacy has acted therein, the reader is referred to " The History of the Sabbath," by Eld. J. N. Andrews, issued by the S. D. A. Publishing Association, Battle Creek, Mich. The Punishment of Beast Worshipers. These shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. When is this torment inflicted? Some apply it at the end of the future one thousand years, Rev. 20: 2. But we do not think it is of necessity located there. Chapter 19: 20 shows that there is at the second coming of Christ, what may be called a lake of fire and brimstone, into which the beast and false prophet are cast alive. This can refer only to the 300 THOUGHTS OX THE REVELATION destruction visited upon them at the commence- ment, not at the end, of the thousand j^ears. Again, there is a remarkable passage in Isaiah to which we are obliged to refer in explanation of the phraseol- ogy of the threatening of the third angel, and which unquestionably describes scenes to take place here at the second advent, and in the desolate state of the earth during the thousand j^ears following. That the language in the Revelation was borrowed from this prophecy can hardly fail to be seen. After describing the Lord's anger upon the nations, the great slaughter of their armies, the departing of the heavens as a scroll, etc., it says: "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recom- penses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for- ever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever." Isa. 34: 8-10. And since there is to be a lake of fire at the end of the thousand years, we can only con- clude that the destruction of the living wicked at the commencement, and the final doom of all the ungodly at the end, of this period, are very similar. Duration of the Punishment. The terms forever and ever cannot here denote eternity. For where is this punishment inflicted? On this earth, or Avhere there is succession of day and night. This is fur- ther shown from the passage in Isaiah already re- CHAPTER XIV, VERSES 6-12. 30I ferred to, if that is, as we suppose, the language from which tliis is borrowed, and appHes at the same time. That language is spoken of the land of Idu- mea. But whether we take this to mean literally the land of Edom, south and east of Judea, or to represent, as we think it does, this whole earth at the time when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion comes, in either case the scene must eventually terminate; for this earth is finally to be made new, cleansed of every stain of sin, every vestige of suflfering and decay, and to become the habitation of righteousness and joy throughout eternal ages. The word, atuv, here trans- lated "forever," Schrevelius, in his Greek Lexicon, defines thus: "An age; a long period of time; in- definite duration; time, whether lonp-er or shorter." For a discussion of the meaning of this term, see the work, " Man's Nature and Destiny." The period of the third message is a time of pa- tience with the people of God. Paul and James both give us instruction on this point. Heb. 10: 36; James 5: 7, 8. Meanwhile this waiting com- pany are keeping the commandments of God, the ten commandments, and the faith of Jesus, all the teachings of Christ and his apostles as contained in the New Testament. The true Sabbath as con- tained in the commandments is thus brought out in vivid contrast with the counterfeit sabbath, the mark of the beast, which finally distinguishes those who reject the thu'd message. 302 TEOUOETS ON THE REVELATION'. Yerse 13. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them. 14. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15. And another an- gel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud. Thrust in thy sickle and reap ; for the time is come for thee to reap ; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth ; and the earth was reaped. Events grow solemn as we near the end. It is this fact which gives to the third angel's message, now going forth, its unusual degree of solemnity and importance. It is the last warning to go forth prior to the coming of the Son of man. We are fast passing over a line of prophecy which culminates in the revelation of the Lord Jesus from Heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance on his foes, and to reward his saints. Not only so, but we have come so near its accomplishment that the very next link in the chain is this crowning and momentous event. And time never rolls back. As the river does not flinch and fly as it approaches the precipice, but bears all floating bodies over with resistless power, and as the seasons never reverse their course, but summer follows in the path of the budding flg-tree, and winter treads close upon the falling leaf, so we are borne onward and onward, whether we will or not, whether prepared or not, to the unavoidable and irreversible crisis. All! how little dream the CHAPTER XIV, VERSES 13-16, proud professor or the careless sinner of the doom that is impending ! And how hard for even those who know and profess the truth to realize it as it- is ! John is commanded by a voice from Heaven to write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; and the response of the Spirit is, "Yea, that they may rest from their labors, and their Avorks do follow them." From henceforth must signify from some particular point of time. What point? Evidently from the commencement of the message in connection with which this is spoken. But why are they blessed? There must be some special reason for this. Is it not because they escape the time of fearful peril which the saints are to en- counter near the close of their pilgrimage? And while they are blessed in this respect, in common with all the righteous dead, they have an advantage over them in being doubtless that company spoken of in Dan. 12: 1, who are raised to everlasting life at the standing up of Michael. Thus escaping the perils through which the rest of the 144,000 pass, they rise and share with them in their final triumph here, and occupy with them their pre-eminent place in the kingdom.* In this way we understand their works follow them: These works are held in re- * We understand that all who die in this message help compose the 144,000, inasmuch as just that number is sealed in the sealing work of Rev. 7, which is but another prophecy of the third an- gel's message. Those who, having had an experience in this work, go down into the grave, are an exception to the general statement that they (the 144,000) come up through great tribulation. The 304 THOUGHTS ON THE MEVELATION. membrance, to be rewarded at the Judgment; and the persons receive the same recompense they would have had, had they lived and faithfully endured all the perils of the time of trouble. It will be noticed that in this line of prophecy, three angels precede the Son of man on the white cloud, and three are introduced after that symbol. We understand that literal angels are engaged in the scenes here described. The first three have charge of the three special messages, and may also symbolize a body of religious teachers. The mes- sage of the fourth angel we understand to be uttered after the Son of man takes his seat upon the white cloud, having finished his priestly work, but before he appears in the clouds of heaven. As the lan- guage is addressed to Him who is seated upon the white cloud, having in his hand a sharp sickle ready to reap, it must denote a message of prayer on the part of the church, after their work is done, and probation has ceased, and nothing remains but for the Lord to appear and take his people to himself. It is doubtless the day-and-night cry, spoken of by our Lord in Luke 18 : 7, 8, in connection with the coming of the Son of man. And this prayer will be answered. The elect will be avenged. He that is seated upon the cloud will thrust in his sickle, fact that they are raised from the dead does not conflict with the testimony of verse 4, that they are "redeemed from among men," that is from among the living ; for they are raised only to mortal life, and receive immortality or redemption by translation just like those of the righteous who have never passed through the grave. CHATTER XIY, VERSES 17-20. 305 and the saints, under the figure of the wheat of the earth, will be gathered to the heavenly garner. *' And He that sat on the cloud," says the proph- ecy, "thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." By this language we are car- ried down past the second advent, with its accom- panying scenes of destruction to the wicked, and salvation to the righteous. Beyond these scenes we must therefore look for the application of the fol- lowing verses: — Verse 17. And another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp siclde, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth ; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine- press, even unto the horses' bridles, by the space of a thou- sand and six hundred furlongs. The last two angels have to do with the wicked — the wicked, most fitly represented by the rich and bloated clusters of the vine of the earth. May it not be that the closing doom of that class, at the end of the thousand years, is here presented, the prophecy thus making a final disposition of both the righteous and the wicked; the righteous clothed Avith immor- tality, and safely established in the kingdom, the wicked perishing around the city at the time of its ultimate location upon the earth? Revelation. 20 306 THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION'. The angel comes out of the temple, where the records are kept, and the punishment is determined. The other angel has power over fire. This may have some connection with the fact that fire is to be the element by which the wicked are at last to be de- stroyed ; although to carry out the figure, the wicked, having been likened to the clusters of the vine of the earth, are said to be cast into the great wine- press, whicli is trodden without the city. And blood comes out of the winepress even to the horses' bridles. We know that the wicked are doomed to be swal- lowed up at last in a flood of all-devouring flame descending from God out of Heaven. But what pre- liminary slaughter may take place among the doomed host, we know not. It is not improbable that this language will be literally fulfilled. As the first four angels of this series denoted a movement on the part of the people of God, the last two may denote the same ; for the saints are to have some part to act, in meting out and executing the final punishment of the wicked, 1 Cor. 6:2; Ps. 149 : 9. Thus closes this chain of prophecy — closes as others close, with the complete triumph of God and Christ over all their foes, and with the glorious sal- vation that awaits the faithful followers of the Prince of life, forever secured. dlikptef XV. ■ THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES. Verse 1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire ; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy ; for all nations shall come and wor- ship before thee ; for thy judgments are made manifest. 5. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in Heaven was opened ; 6 ; And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 7. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. 8. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power ; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. Thus reads the fifteenth chapter entire. By it we are carried bacli to a new series of events. (307) 308 THOUGHTS OX THE BEVELATION: The whole chapter is but an introduction to the most terrific judgments of the Ahnighty, that ever have been, or are to be, visited upon this earth in its present state ; namely, the seven last plagues. The most that we here behold is a solemn prepara- tion for the outpouring of these unmixed vials. Verse 5 shows that they transpire subsequently to the last ministration in the sanctuary; for the temple is opened before they are poured out. They are given in charge to seven angels, and these angels are clothed in linen pure and white, a fit emblem of the purity of God's righteousness and justice in the infliction of these judgments. They receive these vials from one of the four beasts. These beasts were decided (see Thoughts on chap. 4,) to be a class of Christ's assistants in his sanctuary work. How appropriate, then, that these should be the ones to deliver to the ministers of vengeance, vials to be poured upon those who have slighted Christ's mer