.
 
 THEOLOGICAL TRANSLATION FUND. 
 
 As it is important that the best results of recent theological 
 investigations on the Continent, conducted without reference to 
 doctrinal considerations, and with the sole purpose of arriving at 
 truth, should be placed within the reach of English readers, it is 
 proposed to collect, by Subscriptions and Donations, a Fund 
 which shall be employed for the promotion of this object. A 
 good deal has been already effected in the way of translating 
 foreign theological literature, a series of works from the pens of 
 Hengstenberg, Haevernick, Delitzsch, Keil, and others of the 
 same school, having of late years been published in English, 
 but as the names of the authors just mentioned will at once 
 suggest to those who are conversant with the subject the 
 tendency of these works is for the most part conservative. It 
 is a theological literature of a more independent character, less 
 biassed by dogmatical prepossessions, a literature which is repre- 
 sented by such works as those of Ewald, Hupfeld, F. C. Baur, 
 Zeller, Eothe, Keim, Schrader, Hausrath, Noldeke, Pfleiderer, 
 &c., in Germany, and by those of Kuenen, Scholten, and others, 
 in Holland, that it is desirable to render accessible to English 
 readers who are not familiar with the languages of the Continent. 
 The demand for works of this description is not as yet so widely 
 extended among either the clergy or the laity of Great Britain 
 as to render it practicable for publishers to bring them out in 
 any considerable numbers at their own risk. And for this reason
 
 the publication of treatises of this description can only be secured 
 by obtaining the co-operation of the friends of free and unbiassed 
 theological inquiry. 
 
 It is hoped that at least such a number of Subscribers of One 
 Guinea Annually may be obtained as may render it practicable 
 for the Publishers, as soon as the scheme is fairly set on foot, to 
 bring out every year three Svo volumes, which each Subscriber 
 of the above amount would be entitled to receive gratis. But 
 as it will be necessary to obtain, and to remunerate, the services 
 of a responsible Editor, and in general, if not invariably, to pay 
 the translators, it would conduce materially to the speedy suc- 
 cess of the design, if free donations were also made to the Fund ; 
 or if contributors were to subscribe for more than one copy of 
 the works to be published. 
 
 If you approve of this scheme, you are requested to commu- 
 nicate with Messrs. Williams and Norgate, 14, Henrietta Street, 
 Covent Garden, London, and to state whether you are willing to 
 subscribe ; and if you are disposed to assist further, what would 
 be the amount of your donation, or the number of additional 
 copies of the publications which you would take. 
 
 We are, your obedient servants, 
 
 JOHN TULLOCH, H. J. S. SMITH, 
 
 H. B. WILSON, H. SIDGWICK, 
 
 B. JOWETT, JAMES HEYWOOD, 
 
 A. P. STANLEY, C. KEGAN PAUL, 
 
 W. G. CLARK, J. ALLANSON PICTON, 
 
 S. DAVIDSON, ROBT. WALLACE, 
 
 JAMES MARTINEAU, LEWIS CAMPBELL, 
 
 JOHN CAIRD, RUSSELL MARTINEAU, 
 
 EDWARD CAIRO, T. K. CHEYNE, 
 
 JAMES DONALDSON, J. MUIR. 
 
 The number of Subscribers is as yet far from that required to 
 cover the cost of the undertaking. But it is hoped that a con- 
 siderable accession will accrue as soon as the progress of the 
 scheme is further advanced.
 
 A Committee selected from the signataries of the original 
 Prospectus has agreed upon the following works to commence 
 the series : 
 
 BAUR'S CHRISTIANITY AND THE CHURCH IN THE FIRST THREE 
 
 CENTURIES. 
 
 ZELLER, THE ACTS OP THE APOSTLES CRITICALLY EXAMINED. 
 EWALD'S PROPHETS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 KEIM'S LIFE OF JESUS OF NAZARA. 
 BAUR'S PAUL, HIS LIFE AND WORK. 
 KUENEN, THE EELIQION OF ISRAEL. 
 BLEEK'S LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Of these, the following were published and included in the 
 First Year's Subscription : 
 
 KEIM (TH.), HISTORY OF JESUS OF NAZARA. Considered in its 
 connection with the National Life of Israel, and related in 
 detail. Vol. I. 
 
 BAUR (F. C.), PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST, his Life 
 and Work, his Epistles and Teaching. A Contribution to a 
 Critical History of Primitive Christianity. Vol. I. 
 
 KUENEN (A.), THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL. Translated by A. H. 
 May. Vol. I. 
 
 The Second Year's volumes consist of 
 
 KUENEN'S RELIGION OF ISRAEL. Vol. II. Translated by A. H. 
 
 May. 
 BAUR'S PAUL ; the second and concluding volume. Translated by 
 
 the Rev. Allan Menzies ; and, 
 BLEEK'S LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. Edited by the Rev. Dr. 
 
 S. Davidson. 
 
 The Third Year will embrace 
 
 KUENEN'S RELIGION OF ISRAEL ; the third and concluding volume. 
 KEIM'S JESUS OF NAZARA. Vol. II. Translated by the Rev. 
 
 E. M. Geldart. 
 EWALD'S PROPHETS OF ISRAEL. Translated by the Rev. J. Fred. 
 
 Smith.
 
 Beyond these, the following volumes are ready, or nearly so, 
 for the press : 
 
 ZELLBR ON THE ACTS. To which is prefixed Overbeck's Intro- 
 duction to the Acts from De Wette's Handbuch. Translated 
 by Joseph Dare. Edited by Dr. S. Davidson. 
 
 BAUR'S FIRST THREE CENTURIES OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 
 Vol. I., and the following volumes of EWALD'S PROPHETS and 
 KEIM'S JESUS. 
 
 We have also put in hand new and revised editions of the 
 first volume of KEIM'S JESUS and of BAUR'S PAUL, which, when 
 ready, we propose to exchange for the volumes first issued on 
 favourable terms to the Subscribers. 
 
 The following are also in the hands of Translators : 
 
 A SHORT PROTESTANT COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT ; 
 including Introductions to the Books by Lipsius, Holsten, 
 Lang, Pfleiderer, Holtzmann, Hilgenfeld, and others. 
 
 SCHOLTEN. ON THE GOSPEL OP Si. JOHN. 
 
 As a means of increasing the number of Subscribers, it has 
 been suggested to us that many of the present supporters will 
 probably be able to furnish us with lists of persons of liberal 
 thought, to whom we would send the Prospectus. We shall 
 thankfully receive such lists. 
 
 WILLIAMS & NOKGATE. 
 
 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, 
 LONDON, W.C.
 
 DR. FRIEDRICH BLEEK'S 
 
 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 LIC. TH. HOSSBACH, 
 
 MORNING AND ASSISTANT PKEACHKR IN THE JERUSALEM CHURCH IN BERLIN. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. 
 
 EDITED BY SAMUEL DAVIDSON, D.D. 
 
 WILLIAMS AND NOKGATE, 
 
 14, HENRIETTA STREET, CO VENT GARDEN, LONDON; 
 AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. 
 
 1875.
 
 LONDON I 
 
 PRINTED BY C. GREEN AND SOJf, 
 178, STRAND.
 
 PKEFACE OF THE EDITOR 
 
 AFTER the publishing house of G-. Reimar has issued Bleek's 
 Introductions to the Old and New Testament, his Lectures on 
 the Apocalypse now appear. The Editor undertakes the com- 
 mission entrusted to him the more willingly, as he is enabled 
 by it to pay publicly a part of the gratitude which he owed his 
 affectionate teacher, who had been to him a fatherly friend. He 
 had certainly many scruples about publishing the latter work. 
 Since Bleek had adapted these Lectures only to two hours in 
 the week in the Wintersemester, we cannot expect in them that 
 profundity and fulness of learning which has made his Epistle 
 to the Hebrews an epoch-making book in exegetical science. He 
 had farther to consider that, with a generosity worthy of recog 
 nition and which should put many scholars to shame, Bleek 
 had placed his Heft at the disposal of his former teacher, De 
 Wette, for the latter's labours on the Apocalypse, so that a con- 
 siderable portion of his researches was already contained in the 
 Commentary of this scholar. Besides, he had himself unfolded 
 his views in several Essays in different periodicals. Lastly, 
 immediately after his death, the more comprehensive Com- 
 mentary of Diisterdiek had appeared. Notwithstanding this, 
 the Editor, after obtaining the opinion of those more competent 
 
 2000266
 
 iv PREFACE OF THE EDITOR. 
 
 than himself, still thought that he should no longer retard its 
 publication. In the first place, Bleek himself had frequently 
 expressed a wish to collect, in a connected work upon this book 
 together with a commentary, the scattered results of his re- 
 searches on the Apocalypse already published ; and though such 
 a work, supposing God to have spared him longer to us, might 
 have proved more comprehensive than these Lectures, I still 
 think it will gratify the theological world to have his researches 
 before them even in this form ; so much the. rather, that Apo- 
 calyptic literature, and therefore the Apocalypse of John, was the 
 subject of his continual study from youth, as his first Inquiry 
 into the Sibylline books, in the journal edited by Liicke, De 
 Wette and Schleiermacher, and the Eesearches and Criticisms, 
 afterwards contained in the Studien und Kritiken, testify. More- 
 over, Bleek is so generally esteemed on account of his modera- 
 tion and love of truth in criticism and exegesis, and on account 
 of his clearness of statement, that even though his results are 
 only the same with those already known, the researches being 
 his have their special value for theologians. And in my opinion, 
 although it does not become me to pass sentence on the work 
 itself, it will be found that many things are established more 
 definitely, sharply and clearly, than had been done in his separate 
 treatises on this subject, or by De Wette and Diisterdiek. His 
 "AUgemeine Untersuchungen liber die Apokalypse," is certainly 
 a model of clearness and acuteness, as well as of sobriety of cri- 
 ticism, which even those who do not agree with his results must 
 acknowledge. 
 
 Bleek read seven times on the Apocalypse ; the last time, in the 
 Wintersemester 1856-57, for thirty-six hours. Since, as is well
 
 PREFACE OF THE EDITOR. V 
 
 known, he wrote out his Lectures, the business of the Editor was 
 confined, at most, to alterations in style, and the correcting of 
 some quotations, together with the deciphering of the manuscript, 
 which was sometimes rather illegible. Here it may be remarked 
 that the section on the history of the use of the Apocalypse, as 
 well as the researches on the book in general, were written 
 almost entirely anew for the last Lecture. The Special Inter- 
 pretation was written for the Lecture in the Wintersemester, 
 1841-42 ; since which it was enlarged and improved by marginal 
 notes for each following Lecture ; even entirely altered here and 
 there. Among the more important and notable works on the 
 same subject which appeared after Bleek's death, only Diister- 
 diek's Commentary has to be mentioned. But I believed that I 
 should abstain from noticing it by adding to the manuscript. A 
 critical examination of the views of Diisterdiek, on my part, ap- 
 peared to me unsuitable in a work of Bleek's, and even though 
 authorized, I could not do it for want of time. Besides, a mere 
 enumeration of the opinions of this scholar, whether in harmony 
 or not with Bleek, appeared to me the more superfluous, as his 
 fundamental views on the Apocalypse, though differing individu- 
 ally in many respects, are the same as those for which Bleek, as 
 one of the first, prepared the way in his earlier dissertations, and 
 procured general recognition. The second edition of Hengsten- 
 berg's Commentary presents so few deviations from the first, 
 that where he was quoted it was only necessary for me to sup- 
 plement the page of the first edition by adding that of the 
 second. When the printing had already proceeded as far as 
 twelve sheets, and the rest of the manuscript was no longer in 
 my hands, the treatise of Ewald appeared, " Die Johanneischen
 
 Vi PREFACE OF THE EDITOR. 
 
 Schriften ;" the second vol., containing the Apocalypse, presents 
 many variations from his earlier interpretations of single passages. 
 Under these circumstances I was obliged to restrict myself, from 
 the thirteenth sheet onward, in the passages where he is quoted 
 by Bleek, to remarks inserted in brackets [ ], usually, by the 
 addition (earlier), showing that Ewald now proposes another 
 interpretation. Other additions from my hand, chiefly mere 
 references to Bleek's earlier dissertations on the same subject, are 
 likewise marked by brackets. 
 
 May these Lectures, the last, as far as I know, that will appear 
 of Bleek's legacy, serve to keep the remembrance of the beloved 
 man in honour as a genuine Protestant inquirer, seeking only the 
 truth ; and may they keep awake and animate the spirit of a 
 truly believing, though not always orthodox, criticism and 
 exegesis ! 
 
 THE EDITOR 
 
 BERLIN, Augiist, 1862.
 
 LIST OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Contents of the Book 4 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 History of the Use of the Apocalypse in the Church . . 24 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Examination of the Book in general : 
 
 1. Chief Purport and Object of the Book . ' . 73 
 
 2. Unity and Date . . . . .114 
 
 3. Author . . . ' . . .121 
 
 4. On the Literary Form of the Book, particularly de- 
 
 scription in Yisions . . . . . 135 
 
 5. Canonicity of the Apocalypse . . . 137 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Special Interpretation . . . . 141
 
 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 THESE Lectures will be occupied with the interpretation of 
 the Apocalypse, the last book of the New Testament Canon, and 
 the only one which is entirely concerned with the future of the 
 Church. In the Old Testament Canon, there is, as we know, 
 a whole division which contains prophetic writings. The Old 
 Testament had essentially for its object to prepare humanity, 
 especially a chosen race, for the more perfect future which was 
 one day to be manifested, that is, in the New Testament. The 
 typical and prophetical must therefore have an essential place 
 beside the historical and legal; in other words, references to 
 the finished salvation which was to come one day, as well as 
 to the person of him through whom it should appear, and to 
 the same redemption in the collection of sacred writings which 
 make up the Old Testament Canon and were intended to form 
 a rule of faith and life for the people of the Old Covenant. 
 Circumstances must take another direction after the appearance 
 of Christ, and after the commencement of the New Covenant 
 brought about by him, as announced in the Old Testament. 
 Prophecy was not wanting here also, but prophecy in the more 
 restricted biblical sense, viz. that which is directed to the future 
 development and fulfilment of the kingdom of God. For since 
 the kingdom of God under the New Covenant also, arose in 
 human weakness and temporal limitation, and did not imme- 
 diately accomplish in a perfect manner the proposed conquest 
 
 B
 
 2 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 and subjugation of the world, neither individually nor generally : 
 the view of the members of the New Covenant must also be 
 directed to the future, to the further development and coming 
 fulfilment of the kingdom of Clod. Accordingly many references 
 to it are to be found in the writings of the New Testament 
 Canon also, both in the words of Christ, especially Matt. xxiv. 
 xxv., &c., and in the Epistles, especially 1 and 2 Thess., 1 Cor. ; 
 in a lesser degree in the others too. Nevertheless, the relation 
 is here different to that under the Old Covenant, because he who 
 alone can lead us to redemption, and to whom we must attach 
 ourselves in believing confidence, in order to be sure that we 
 shall not fail of it, is set before us in the person of the Ke- 
 deemer, in historical manifestation. Thus we are, above all 
 things, directed to look to him, the risen One, by whom alone 
 peace, comfort and happiness can be imparted, and in patient 
 waiting to commit to him the further development and accom- 
 plishment of God's kingdom. Therefore it is plain why the books 
 of the New Testament Canon are so predominantly historical 
 and didactic, and that, in regard to these elements, the prophetic 
 is very much in the background in comparison witli the Old 
 Testament Canon. The Apocalypse alone, as already indicated, 
 forms an exception. Nevertheless, there is no book of the New 
 Testament concerning which so many and such contradictory 
 views have been held always, even up to the present time, as 
 the Apocalypse, both concerning its origin, its value and the 
 credibility belonging to it, besides its aim and its interpretation, 
 as a whole and in particulars. With regard to the composition 
 of the book, it is pretty generally acknowledged that it belongs 
 to the later period of the apostolic age. The question especially 
 is, whether it was written before or after the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem by the Komans. As to the author there were three dif- 
 ferent views in the older Church, and also at a later period : 
 
 1, that the Apocalypse is the genuine composition of an apostle ; 
 
 2, that of a subordinate disciple of the Lord ; and 3, that it has 
 been supposititiously attributed to an apostle. Partly, but, as
 
 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 3 
 
 we shall see, only partly in connection with it, is the difference 
 of view concerning the value of the Apocalypse and the authority 
 belonging to it ; whether it be a true prophetical writing, resting 
 upon direct divine enlightenment, or only the poetical product 
 of human reflection and fancy ; or whether perhaps there be a 
 middle view. Still greater is the variety of opinions about the 
 proper object of the book, and the meaning of the whole as well 
 as of single parts. That we may be able to answer these ques- 
 tions, especially the latter, satisfactorily, it is proper that we 
 should (1) become better acquainted with the contents of the 
 book in its single parts. For this purpose I shall here give a sum- 
 mary description of these contents, keeping as much as possible 
 to the narrative and form of the book itself. Accordingly I shall 
 (2) give a survey of the external history of the Apocalypse in 
 the Church, its authority and use, and the chief interpretations 
 of it, through different centuries, from the earliest time in which 
 external evidences are to be found concerning its use. (3) We 
 shall add our own inquiries about the book in general, so far as 
 they properly precede the explanation of individual parts, and 
 are necessary for understanding it. These concern the purpose 
 of the book and the meaning of it in whole and in parts, as 
 well as the time of its composition, and its author. Lastly (4), an 
 explanation of the individual parts in succession. 
 
 B2
 
 I. 
 
 CONTENTS OF THE BOOK. 
 
 Ch. iv. 1 xxii. 5, forms the principal part of the book. That 
 which precedes, viz. ch. i. iii., may be regarded as a Prologue ; 
 and what follows, ch. xxii 6 21, as an Epilogue. 
 
 I. Ch. i. iii Prologue. The first 3 verses (i. 1 3) give as 
 it were the title of the book, or a general indication of its con- 
 tents, as a Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him 
 in order to show unto his servants things which must shortly 
 come to pass (a Set yfvea-dai tv Tax)> which Christ signified by 
 his angel unto his servant John, which latter witnessed what he 
 beheld (oo-o, ci8e) ; the word of God and the testimony of Jesus 
 Christ. Blessed are the readers and hearers of the prophecy who 
 keep what is written in it, for the time is at hand (6 yap Koupos 
 eyyvs). To this is appended (verses 4 8) the dedication of the 
 book by John to the seven churches of Asia (that is, proconsular 
 Asia), which are adduced by name later on. 
 
 Grace and peace are wished for them from God, from the seven 
 spirits before the throne of God and from Christ ; and they are 
 then referred to the certainty of the glorious appearance of Christ, 
 who shall come with the clouds of heaven, so that all shall see 
 him, those also who pierced him, and all kindreds of the eartli 
 shall wail because of him (KO^OVTOU). In the succeeding verses, 
 John (who again names himself as the writer, and indicates 
 himself as the brother of his readers, as their companion in 
 tribulation, in the kingdom and patience of the Lord) relates 
 the vision that appeared to him in the Isle of Patmos, where 
 he was for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus.
 
 CONTENTS OF THE HOOK. 5 
 
 He was in the spirit (ev Trvev/narC) on the Lord's-day (V rfi 
 KvpiaKij t'liJ-fpv), and heard behind him a loud voice, which com- 
 manded him to write what he saw and send it to the seven 
 churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, 
 Philadelphia, Laodicea. As he turns round to see* the voice, he 
 perceives seven golden candlesticks, and in their midst a shining 
 human form (o/xoiov vt dvdpioirov), holding in his right hand 
 seven stars. At this sight he falls as dead at the feet of the 
 appearing one, who, however, lays his hand upon him, and desig- 
 nates himself as the First and the Last, as he who had risen 
 from the dead, and would live for evermore, who had the keys 
 of death and of Hades ; and he commands him to write what 
 he saw, and its interpretation, and what should be hereafter 
 
 \ypa.\l/ov a (i8f<s KCU a. fl<rlv KCU a ^teAAei yivecrOai ficra. ravra) ', where- 
 upon the mystery of the seven stars in the right hand of the 
 Lord, and the seven golden candlesticks, is explained as referring, 
 the latter to the seven churches, the former to their dyyeAot. 
 
 There now follow (ii. 3), seven letters, which the Lord 
 commands John to write to each of those seven churches, or 
 properly to their ayyeAoi, who are to be viewed merely as the 
 representatives of the churches. The letters refer to the con- 
 dition of Christian faith and life in the individual churches, 
 and are partly laudatory, partly rebuking; the churches of 
 Smyrna and Philadelphia particularly receive praise, as not 
 having denied the name of the Lord under sufferings which 
 appear to have been inflicted upon the faithful by the unbe- 
 lieving Jews. The churches of Sardis and Laodicea especially 
 are censured the former because it believed it was living, w r hilst 
 it was dead ; the latter, on account of its great lukewarmness. 
 Praise and blame are mingled in addressing the three other 
 churches : the church of Ephesus is reproached because it had 
 left its first love ; those of Pergamos and Thyatira because they 
 suffered persons among them who did not abstain from the wor- 
 ship of idols and from uncleanness. All the letters close with an 
 exhortation, and promise to those who are constant and victorious
 
 6 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 in the fight ; whereupon, in the letter to Philadelphia, the Lord 
 promises ep^o^ai raxv (iii. 11). From several of these letters, 
 particularly that to Pergamos, it appears that the Christian 
 churches had to suffer many and even bloody persecutions. In 
 this letter to Pergamos, Antipas the martyr is mentioned by 
 name, who was murdered there ; but about him nothing further 
 is known. 
 
 II. Ch. iv. 1 xxii. 5, is the principal part containing a pro- 
 phetic revelation of the future. 
 
 Chapters iv. and v. again, prepare for it. 
 
 The seer relates how he was commanded by the voice (i. 10) 
 to enter through an open door into heaven (KCU 8eio) o-oi a S? 
 ra ravra). Forthwith the seer falls into rapture (ev 
 ), and beholds God in heaven sitting upon his throne in 
 glorious majesty ; round about him are twenty-four thrones with 
 twenty-four elders in white raiment and with golden crowns ; 
 from the throne of God proceed lightning and thunder, and 
 
 before it burn seven torches (a cori TO. CTTTO. Tri/tv/mra TOV 6eov) 
 
 and a crystal sea flows ; in the midst of the throne and round 
 about it are four different animal forms (the four cherubim), 
 each with six wings, full of eyes before and behind, who day 
 and night praise God, while they thrice call him holy ; at 
 which the twenty-four elders fall down and cast their crowns 
 before him, who, the Creator of all things, alone is worthy to 
 be praised (ch. iv.). The seer then perceives in the right hand 
 of God a book, written on both sides, sealed with seven seals. 
 When an angel asks aloud who is worthy to open the book and 
 to loose its seals, it is shown that none in the whole world is 
 able to do it. As the seer weeps on account of this, he is 
 quieted by one of the elders, who informs him that the Lion of 
 the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open 
 the book and to loose the seals thereof. The seer then perceives 
 the latter person in the form of a Lamb standing in the midst 
 of the throne, as it had been slain, with seven horns, and 
 seven eyes which are the spirits of God sent forth into all the
 
 CONTENTS OF THE 300K. 7 
 
 world. This Lamb then took the book out of the right hand of 
 God, whereupon the four cherubim and the twenty-four elders 
 fell down before the Lamb, with harps and golden vials full of 
 incense, " which are the prayers of saints." And they sang unto 
 him a new song, as one worthy to open the book, who had re- 
 deemed them to God by his bloody death, out of all nations, and 
 had made them kings and priests. 
 
 The numerous host of angels unite in this song of praise, and 
 all creatures in the whole earth praise God and the Lamb ; the 
 four cherubim say " Amen," and the elders fall down and wor- 
 ship. 
 
 With ch. vi. begins the opening of the book, which in the 
 sense of the Apocalypse contains the whole future of the Church 
 in its relation to the world, as pre-determined by God. This is 
 disclosed to the eyes of the seer gradually, at the gradual opening 
 of the seven seals. 
 
 What appears at the opening of the four first seals (vi. 1 8) 
 is but shortly stated. Each time one of the seals is opened, 
 the seer is asked by one after another of the cherubim to come 
 and see. There appear in succession four horses of different 
 colours a white, a fiery red, a black and a pale. The three 
 latter indicate by their colour, as well as by other signs, that 
 great plagues will come upon the earth ; according to the second, 
 war ; according to the third, scarcity of the most necessary 
 means of life. Upon the fourth sits Death, accompanied by 
 Hades, to whom power is given to destroy the fourth part of the 
 earth in different ways. 
 
 The first, the white horse, bears a rider crowned, going forth 
 conquering and to conquer, armed with a bow, whom we are 
 certainly not to consider as a tormenting spirit, as is often done, 
 but without doubt as the Lord himself, indicating the final vic- 
 torious issue of his struggle with the hostile powers. At the 
 opening of the fifth seal (vi. 9 11), the seer sees under the altar 
 (in heaven) the souls of the martyrs who were slain for their 
 Christian faith ; and they ask with a loud voice when at length
 
 8 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 the Lord, holy and true, would avenge their blood on the in- 
 habitants of the earth. They receive white robes, and are 
 directed to rest for a time, till their fellow-servants and brethren, 
 who like them should be slain, should be perfected. It is signi- 
 fied hereby that still further bloody persecutions should come 
 upon Christendom before due punishment should be executed 
 on the world on account of its hostility to the kingdom of God 
 and its members. 
 
 At the opening of the sixth seal (verses 12 17), fearful phe- 
 nomena appear, on account of which all men, botli great and 
 small, are afraid and in anguish, seeking in vain to hide them- 
 selves from God, and from the anger of the Lamb, since the 
 great day of his wrath is come, and no one can stand before him. 
 
 Before the opening of the seventh seal, a sort of intermediate 
 act (ch. vii.) follows. Four angels, who hold the four winds of 
 the earth, and have received po\ver to injure land and sea, get 
 from another angel the instruction not to do it till the servants 
 of God should be sealed on their forehead with the seal of God, 
 and be thus marked as belonging to Him. Then the seer hears 
 one hundred and forty-four thousand named as the number of 
 those who are sealed out of the twelve tribes of Israel, twelve 
 thousand out of each tribe, and beholds an innumerable company 
 out of all nations standing before the throne of God and before 
 the Lamb, in white garments, and with branches of palm in 
 their hands, who are described to him by one of the elders as 
 being those who have come out of great tribulation, who have 
 w r ashed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, and are 
 now under the immediate protection of God, and under the 
 guidance of the Lamb, who shall feed upon the life-giving 
 springs of water, being without hunger or thirst, without pain 
 and sorrow (to end of ch. vii.) 
 
 The seventh seal is now opened (viii. 1 and following). Yet 
 its collective disclosures do not appear at once (they are, as it 
 were, too comprehensive and weighty for that), but only gradu- 
 ally and in parts.
 
 CONTENTS OP THE BOOK. 9 
 
 After the silence of half an hour in heaven, trumpets are given 
 to the seven angels standing before God (verse 2). Another 
 angel offers upon the altar (in heaven) incense for the prayers 
 of all the saints; he then fills his censer with the fire of the 
 altar and throws it upon the earth, so that thunder, lightning 
 and earthquakes arise (verses 3 5). The seven angels prepare 
 to sound their trumpets, at which, each time, part of the remain- 
 ing contents of the book appears. What comes forth at the four 
 first trumpets is specified briefly, as it was at the opening of the 
 four first seals (viii. 7 12) ; mighty and wonderful phenomena 
 appear one after another (a) on the earth, (&) on the sea, (<) on 
 the rivers and fountains of waters, and (d) on the celestial bodies, 
 so that each time a third part of these elements is struck and 
 destroyed. Then, as a preparation for the remaining trumpets, 
 the seer hears an eagle flying through the midst of heaven pro- 
 claiming a threefold woe which should come upon the dwellers 
 of the earth, by the three remaining trumpet-voices (verse 13), 
 wherein it is signified that at the seventh trumpet the last and 
 greatest woe should appear. 
 
 The first of these three woes comes at the fifth trumpet 
 (ix. 1 12) ; the seer sees a star fall from heaven to earth and 
 disclose the abyss, out of which ascends dark smoke blackening 
 the air, and there come forth locusts which receive instructions 
 to injure only the men not marked with the seal of God upon 
 earth, and not to kill them, but to torment them for five months 
 with violent scorpion stings, so that they may wish for death 
 without finding it (verses 1 6). These locusts (verses 7 10) 
 are then more minutely described with regard to their extra- 
 ordinarily fearful form and agency. According to verse 11, they 
 have a king over them Abaddon, Apollyon, destroyer (verse 
 12). " One woe is past, and, behold, two more woes come here- 
 after." 
 
 More copious and compressed is the description of the second 
 woe (ix. 13 xi. 14), dividing into several sections. The first 
 (ix. 13 21) introduces the chief plagues of this woe. At the
 
 10 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 sounding of the sixth trumpet, four angels of destruction, bound 
 in the Euphrates, are loosed, and there appears a terrible army 
 of horsemen, whose number the seer hears as two hundred mil- 
 lions, horse and rider of fearful, horrible shapes ; out of the 
 mouths of the horses proceed fire, smoke and brimstone, which 
 three plagues are to kill a third part of the men upon the earth, 
 whilst the former plagues had only served to torment men vio- 
 lently ; but even these increased plagues do not move the rest of 
 men to repent, and to cease from the worship of demons and 
 idols, or from their murders, sorceries, fornications and thefts. 
 
 The following (ch. x.) makes no progress in the unveiling of 
 the future, but contains again, as it were, several episodes. The 
 seer sees another angel descend from heaven in shining form, 
 holding a small book open in his hand; who places his feet upon 
 earth and sea. At his cry the seven thunders utter their voices 
 at the same time. When the seer was about to write what they 
 uttered, he is forbidden to do it by a voice from heaven, where- 
 upon that angel, raising his right hand towards heaven, swears 
 by the everlasting Creator that there* should be no more delay 
 (xpovos OVKCTI eorrcu), but that, as soon as the seventh angel 
 should sound his trumpet, the mystery of God would be com- 
 pleted; as he had declared to his servants the prophets. At 
 the command of the heavenly voice, the seer was to swallow 
 that little open book, which is sweet as honey to his mouth, but 
 when he had swallowed it his stomach was bitter. Hereupon it 
 was signified to him that he should again prophesy respecting 
 many kings and nations. The seer now receives a measuring- 
 rod, with the command to measure the temple of God, the altar 
 (of burnt incense), and those worshipping there, but not the 
 court outside the temple, as that was given to the heathen, who 
 should tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months 
 (xi. 1, 2). Then the divine speech announces to the seer that 
 God M'ould cause his two witnesses to prophesy for 1260 days 
 (= forty-two months), clothed in mourning apparel (verse 3). 
 These two witnesses are then more clearly described as prophets
 
 CONTENTS OF THE BOOK. 11 
 
 enlightened by God and endowed with great power, who, after 
 having finished their testimony, should be overcome and slain 
 by the beast which ascended from the abyss ; their dead bodies 
 were to lie unburied during three and a half days in the streets 
 of Jerusalem (the great city which TrvcvpariKus is called Sodom 
 and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified), to the derision 
 and joy of the nations of the earth ; but afterwards they would 
 ascend to heaven, being again awaked by God, before the eyes of 
 their enemies, to the horror of those seeing it. At the same 
 time a great earthquake takes place, a tenth part of the city falls, 
 seven thousand men perish, the remainder are afraid and give 
 honour to the God of heaven (verses 4 13.) In the description 
 a change takes place (verse 11) in relation to the preceding; 
 a transition from prophecy in God's address to the seer, to the 
 form of vision, on which account, whilst the preceding verses 
 announce the impending future, the aorist is used in verses 1 1 
 13, so that the seer himself appears narrator in the vision. 
 Then it is said, in verse 14, " The second woe is past ; behold, 
 the third woe cometh quickly." 
 
 It agrees with this, that the seventh angel now sounds his 
 trumpet (verse 15) ; upon which it is made known by loud 
 voices in heaven that the world-kingdom lias become for all 
 eternity that of God and of Christ; and the twenty -four 
 elders, falling down, praise God that he has taken to himself 
 the power, and that the time of his judging the dead is come, in 
 order to reward his prophets, saints and worshippers, both great 
 and small, and to destroy the destroyers of the earth (verse 18). 
 
 Hereupon the temple of God in heaven opens, and the ark of 
 the covenant appears in it, and there are lightnings, voices of 
 thunder, earthquakes and great hail (verse 19). A nearer de- 
 scription, however, of the third and last woe, in the manner 
 expected from the preceding context, does not follow, at least 
 immediately. 
 
 In chapter xii. a great wonder which appeared in heaven is 
 spoken of. A woman, clothed with the sun, the moon under her
 
 12 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 feet, upon her head a crown of twelve stars, was with child, and 
 cried out in travail ; but Satan, as a great fiery-coloured dragon, 
 with seven heads, ten horns, and seven diadems, places himself 
 before the woman in order to devour the child which she was 
 about to bear. The boy, whom she brings forth, is indicated as 
 one destined to rule all nations with an iron sceptre, that is, as 
 the Messiah ; he is caught up to God and his throne, whilst the 
 woman flies into the wilderness, to a place which God has pre- 
 pared for her, to be nourished there for 1260 days (forty-two 
 months, or seven half years) (verses 1 6). A war now takes 
 place in heaven between Michael and his angels on the one side, 
 and Satan and his angels on the other, in which the latter arc 
 hurled from heaven to earth ; whereupon a voice in heaven pro- 
 nounces this as the victory of God and of his anointed, but invokes 
 a woe upon the earth and sea, because the devil has descended 
 to them and with great anger, since he knows that he has but a 
 short time, on 6\iyov KCU/JOV ?x 61 (verses 7 12). Satan, who was 
 hurled to earth, persecutes that woman (the mother of the Mes- 
 siah), who, being provided with eagle's wings, escapes to her 
 place in the wilderness, where she is nourished three and a half 
 times (according to verse 6, 1260 days) in safety from Satan. 
 Earth itself helps her in swallowing up the flood with which the 
 dragon endeavours to wash her away; whereupon Satan, full of 
 anger at the woman, proceeds to make war with the rest of her 
 seed (the remaining children of the woman) (verses 13 17). 
 
 The seer now denotes (xii. 18) as his standpoint (in the 
 vision) the sand of the sea, the sea-shore, and relates (xiii. 1 and 
 following) what presented itself to him there. He sees (ch. xiii.) 
 in succession two animals, the one ascending from the sea, the 
 other from the earth. The former (xiii. 1 10), which at a later 
 period (verse 14 and following) is denoted as the beast pre- 
 eminently (TO Orjpiov), in his outward form is represented as 
 similar to Satan, with ten horns, seven heads, and ten diadems 
 upon the horns ; upon the heads the name of Blasphemy. He 
 resembles a panther, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of
 
 CONTENTS OF THE BOOK. 13 
 
 a lion; Satan gives over to him his power and his throne 
 (verses 1, 2). One of the seven heads is, as it were, wounded 
 to death (verse 3 ; see verse 12 ; according to verse 14, with a 
 sword-wound) ; nevertheless, the deadly wound is healed, to the 
 astonishment of the world. This beast receives power for forty- 
 two months ; and the inhabitants of the earth, whose names are 
 not written in the Lamb's book of life, worship the beast and 
 the dragon, viz. Satan. At last it is emphatically expressed 
 (verses 9, 10) that those practising violence would surely meet 
 with corresponding punishment, but that here, on the part of the 
 saints, patience and faith prevail. The second of the beasts 
 ascending out of the earth has the horns of a lamb, but speaks 
 like a dragon ; farther on he is explicitly denoted as the false 
 prophet (xvi. 13, xix. 20, xx. 10). In relation to the first beast, 
 he appears in an inferior position, procures him worshippers, 
 leads men astray by means of great signs, induces them to make 
 an image of the beast and animates it ; whilst all who do not 
 worship this image are killed, and all who do not bear the name 
 of the beast, or the number of his name as a mark upon their 
 right hand or upon their forehead, are excluded from common 
 buying and selling (verses 11 17). " Here," it is finally said, 
 " wisdom prevails ; let him that hath understanding count the 
 number of the beast, for it is the number of a man (a/n0/*o? 
 avOpwirov), and the number is 666 (x)-" 
 
 The following chapter (xiv.) contains several single visions 
 which refer to the purity of the servants of God, to the blessed- 
 ness of those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and to the 
 judgment threatening the world, and especially the chief seat 
 of the hostile power upon earth, without directly involving 
 special progress in the unveiling of the future, namely, (a) 
 verses 1 5, where the seer beholds the Lamb standing upon 
 Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 worshippers, as first fruits 
 ransomed from the earth to God and the Lamb, who are without 
 falsehood and maiden-like, who follow the Lamb wherever he 
 goes, who alone can learn the new song which is sung in
 
 14 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 heaven before the throne, the cherubim and the elders; (6) verses 
 6 12, where three angels appear one after another; the first 
 to make known to rneii an everlasting gospel, and inviting them 
 to honour and worship the Creator of the world, since the hour 
 of his judgment has come ; the second, with the cry that the 
 great Babylon has fallen, she who made all nations drunk with 
 the intoxicating wine of her fornication ; the third, with the 
 threat of eternal pain of fire against all the adherents and wor- 
 shippers of the beast and his image (verse 11) : " Here is the 
 patience of the saints who keep the commandments of God and 
 the faith in Jesus" (verse 12); (c) verse 13, treating of a heavenly 
 voice, which commands the seer to write down, that blessed are 
 those who have died in the Lord from henceforth (even already), 
 that they shall rest from their labours, since their works follow 
 them ; (d) verses 14 20, reference to the execution of the divine 
 punishment on the earth, represented under a two-fold image 
 that of a harvest, which one similar to a son of man, who sits 
 upon a white cloud, and bears on his head a golden crown, 
 accomplishes with a sharp sickle on the earth ripe for harvest ; 
 and under that of a vine, which another angel gathers, whilst he 
 puts his sharp sickle into the vineyard of the earth and throws 
 the grapes into the large wine-press of the anger of God, which 
 is trodden outside the city, and out of which blood came forth 
 even to the bridle of the horses, 1600 furlongs wide. 
 
 There follows (xv. 16) a new vision of the seven last plagues 
 upon the earth. The seer sees upon a glass sea mixed with fire 
 the conquerors of the beast, of his image and the number of 
 his name, who on harps praise God with the song of Moses and 
 the Lamb, as the almighty and righteous Judge, to whose worship 
 all the nations of the earth should come (xv. 1 4). Then seven 
 angels come out of the open temple in heaven, to whom one of 
 the cherubim gives seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, 
 whereupon the temple is filled with smoke from the majesty of 
 God, so that no one can enter until the seven plagues of these 
 angels are past (verses 5 8, end). At the demand of a loud
 
 CONTENTS OP THE BOOK. 15 
 
 voice from the temple, the seven angels now pour out their vials 
 with the anger of God upon the earth (xvi. 1). The pouring out 
 of the four first vials (verses 2 9) is. but briefly presented. 
 What appears thereupon is quite similar to that which happened 
 at the sounding of the four first trumpets (viii. 7 12). The 
 first angel pours out his vial upon the earth, and the worshippers 
 of the beast are covered with a vicious poisonous sore; the second 
 pours his into the sea, which changes into blood, whereupon all 
 living beings in the sea die ; the third, upon the rivers and 
 springs of water, which likewise become turned into blood, 
 whereupon the angel of the waters praises God for this just judg- 
 ment, inasmuch as he has given blood to drink to those who shed 
 the blood of the saints and prophets, which price of the justice 
 of the judgment of God the altar confirms ; the fourth, upon the 
 sun, which burns men in the most violent manner, but without 
 changing their dispositions, since they still more blaspheme the 
 name of God, who has power over these plagues ; the fifth 
 plague-vial does not produce any other effect (verses 10, 11); it 
 is poured out upon the throne of the beast, whose kingdom is 
 darkened ; the people bite their tongue with pain, but, without 
 being converted, only blaspheming God the more. The sixth 
 trumpet is similar (ix. 13 21) to the sixth vial of torment 
 (verses 12 16) ; it is poured out on the Euphrates, the water of 
 which dries up, that the way may be prepared for the kings 
 of the east. The seer then sees three unclean spirits like frogs 
 go out of the mouth of the dragon, of the beast, and of the 
 false prophet, who, working miracles, collect together the kings 
 of the whole world to the battle of the great day of God's judg- 
 ment, at the place called in Hebrew Harmagedon ; whereupon 
 there is a reference to the suddenness of the impending appear- 
 ance of the Lord in an inserted admonition (verse 15). Finally, 
 the seventh angel pours out his vial upon the air, whereupon a 
 voice calls out of the temple from the throne, "It is done" 
 (yeyovev), and violent thunder, lightning and a great earthquake 
 arise ; the great city is divided into three parts ; the cities of
 
 16 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 the Gentiles fall, and Babylon the great comes into remembrance 
 before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of his wrath ; 
 islands and mountains disappear, and great hail falls from heaven 
 upon men; but they only blaspheme God on account of this 
 heavy plague (verses 17 21). 
 
 The following chapter (xvii.) contains a minuter interpreta- 
 tion of the beast, as well as his heads and horns, and of the city 
 already denoted (xiv. 8, xvi. 9) as Babylon ; which interpretation 
 is given to the seer by one of the plague angels, who leads 
 him in the spirit into a wilderness, where he sees a woman 
 sitting upon a crimson-coloured beast full of the names of blas- 
 phemy, with seven heads and ten horns (without doubt the same 
 that was introduced in ch. xiii., whose number there was specified 
 as 666) ; she is clothed in the most brilliant manner, and has in 
 her hand a cup full of the abominations and impurities of her 
 fornication, and by an inscription on her forehead is represented 
 as the mystical great Babylon, drunken with the blood of the 
 saints and the witnesses of Jesus, who sits upon many waters, 
 with whom the kings of the earth commit whoredom, and who 
 intoxicate the inhabitants of the earth with the wine of her 
 fornication (verses 1 7). The interpretation which the angel 
 gives is this: The beast, he says to the seer (verse 8), which 
 thou sawest was (fa before) and is not (KCU OVK t<mv, at this 
 moment he is not), and will corne up out of the abyss (appear 
 anew), and runs into perdition, to the astonishment of the 
 dwellers of the earth who are not written in the book of life, 
 when they see the beast that he was and is not, and (again) will 
 be (compare with this xiii. 3, xii. 14, according to which the beast 
 lives again after the deadly sword-wound of one of his heads). 
 Farther (verses 9, 10), the seven heads (of the animal) are (a) 
 seven mountains, upon which the woman sits (the great Babylon) 
 and (6) (are at the same time viewed from another aspect) seven 
 kings ; the five (ol irevrf, without doubt : the five first of them) 
 have (already) fallen ; one (the sixth) is (6 els mv) ; the other 
 (the still remaining seventh) has not yet come, and when he
 
 CONTENTS OF THE BOOK. 17 
 
 comes he shall (again according to God's counsel; that lies in 
 Set) only remain a short time, 6\iyov avrbv Set pflvat. It is 
 farther related (verse 11), and the beast, which was and is not, 
 is likewise the eighth itself, as it also e/c TWV OTTOC !<mv (is one of 
 the seven), and he runs into destruction. The ten horns of the 
 beast are explained (verses 12 14) of ten kings, who received 
 no kingdom, but only power as kings for a short time (/u'av 
 wpav) with the beast; they have one mind, and give their 
 power to the beast. They shall make war upon the Lamb, but 
 the Lamb, the Lord of lords and King of kings, together with 
 his called and chosen ones, shall overcome them. Farther, the 
 water upon which (according to verse 1) the whore (Babylon) 
 sat, signifies multitudes of nations and tongues (verse 15). The 
 angel then adds (verses 16, 17) that those ten horns and the 
 beast hate the whore (Babylon), destroy and kill her, eat 
 her flesh and burn it, since God has thus appointed them to 
 perform his counsel. And the woman thus the angel closes 
 his interpretation (verse 18) whom thou hast seen is the great 
 city that has dominion over the kings of the earth. 
 
 In the following section (xviii. 1 xix. 10) the fall of the 
 woman, the great Babylon, which was already (xiii. 8) announced 
 (compare also xvi. 10, xvii. 16), is farther treated of in several 
 paragraphs, (a) xviii. 1 3 : Another angel, whom the seer sees 
 descending from heaven, illuminating the earth with great splen- 
 dour, calls with a loud voice that she is fallen, and has become a 
 dwelling-place for demons and unclean birds, because she seduced 
 nations and kings to fornication (to the worship of idols), and 
 led an evil, riotous life. (J) Verses 4 20 : Another voice from 
 heaven commands the people of God to go out of her, that they 
 may not take part in her sins and be subjected to the plagues, 
 which are to be suddenly inflicted upon her, and in full measure, 
 so that the kings of the earth who committed whoredom with 
 her remain standing and weeping in the distance for fear of her 
 torments ; and the merchants and seamen who enriched them- 
 selves by her means lament over her destruction; heaven, the 
 
 c
 
 18 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 saints, the apostles and the prophets, on the contrary, rejoice 
 over her, because God has now avenged them upon Babylon. 
 (c) Verses 21 24: Here the sudden and total destruction of the 
 city is still more vividly portrayed by the symbolical acting of 
 an angel, who casts a millstone into the sea, and by the speech 
 attending the action : " Thy merchants " is the final sum of it 
 " were the magnates of the earth ; through thy sorcery all 
 nations were led astray, and in her was found the blood of the 
 prophets and saints, and of all slain upon the earth." (d) xix. 
 1 10 : The seer now hears repeatedly the voices of a great com- 
 pany in heaven, in which the cherubim and the elders worship- 
 ping unite ; praises and the invitation to praise God on account 
 of the righteousness of his judgment upon great Babylon, 
 whereby he has avenged the blood of his servants on her, and 
 that he has taken the sovereignty to himself, that the marriage 
 of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready, and 
 that she may adorn herself in shining clean linen, that is, with 
 the innocence or virtues of the saints (verses 1 8). The seer 
 is then commanded to write down, that blessed are they who are 
 invited to the marriage of the Lamb; and he is assured that 
 those are the true words of God (verse 9) ; but as he is about to 
 fall down and worship (before the angel), he is held back by the 
 exclamation, " I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren who 
 have the testimony of Jesus ; worship God ; for the testimony of 
 Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." 
 
 In the following section (xix. 11 xx. 3) the seer narrates 
 first the appearance of the Logos of God, as a conqueror in the 
 opened heaven, sitting upon a white horse in shining form, 
 bearing a name which no one knows except himself, his dress 
 dipped in blood ; in his train are the heavenly hosts upon white 
 horses, with garments of white pure linen; out of his mouth, 
 proceeds a sharp sword in order to slay the nations, whom he 
 shall rule with an iron sceptre ; he treads the wine-presses of 
 the divine anger ; upon his garment and upon his thigh he bears 
 the name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (xix. 11 16).
 
 CONTENTS OF THE BOOK. 19 
 
 An angel standing in the sun then calls to the birds to gather 
 themselves together to the feast of God, to eat the flesh of the 
 kings and rulers, and of all, great and small namely, of those 
 adversaries who were conquered in battle with the Lord (verses 
 17, 18). The seer then sees how the beast and the kings of the 
 earth collect themselves with their army, to war with him (the 
 Logos) who sits upon the horse and his army ; but the beast 
 and the false prophet are both seized and cast alive into the 
 burning pool of sulphur, the remainder (the kings and armies 
 allied with the beast) are killed with the sword proceeding from 
 the mouth of the Logos, and all the birds sate themselves with 
 their flesh (verses 19 21). Then the seer beholds an angel 
 descend from heaven with the key of the abyss and a great 
 chain ; he seizes the dragon, or Satan, binds him for a thousand 
 years, throws him into the abyss, and locks it up and seals (it) 
 over him (Satan), that he may not farther lead astray the nations 
 till the expiration of the thousand years ; nevertheless it is said, 
 
 pera. ravra Set avrov \vOfjvat. p.iKpov ^povov (xx. 1 3). 
 
 During that space of time a thousand years' reign of Christ 
 takes place upon earth (xx. 4 6). The seer perceives that the 
 judgment is. set, that the souls of the Christian martyrs, and 
 especially of those who have not consented to the worship 
 of the beast, again live and reign with Christ a thousand years, 
 whilst the remaining dead do not return to life till after the 
 expiration of the thousand years. " This is," it is said, " the first 
 resurrection ; blessed and holy is he who takes part in it : over 
 such the second death hath no power ; but they shall become 
 priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand 
 years." 
 
 The prophetical discourse continues still (verses 7, 8), but then 
 without farther notice (verses 9, 10) passes into the narrative 
 form of speech, as an indication of what was presented to the 
 prophet in the vision, as is also the case before (verse 6). The 
 substance is this : After the expiration of the thousand years, 
 Satan shall be loosed from his prison, and shall go forth to 
 
 c2
 
 20 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 mislead the nations at the four ends of the earth, Gog and 
 Magog, and to collect them, an innumerable host, to battle : they 
 march forth upon the breadth of the earth, encircle the camp 
 of the saints, the beloved city, but are consumed by fire from 
 heaven ; and their tempter, the devil, is cast into the pool of fire 
 and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet, 
 and they shall be tormented day and night to all eternity. 
 
 The seer now sees (ch. xx. 11 and following) a great white 
 throne ; before him who sits upon it disappear heaven and earth ; 
 before the throne stand the dead, great and small ; books are 
 opened (namely, wherein the conduct of each one is registered), 
 and another book, that of life ; the dead all together are judged 
 with respect to their conduct according to the evidence of the 
 books ; death and Hades are thrown into the pool of fire ; " this 
 is the second death, the pool of fire, into which each one is 
 thrown who is not found written in the book of life" (verses 
 11 15). Now follows (xxi. 1 xxii. 5) the last part of the pro- 
 phecy, or the last section of the chief part of the book, which 
 portrays at large the final development of the kingdom of God, 
 particularly the New Jerusalem the dwelling-place of the saints, 
 and the happiness of which they shall there partake. The seer 
 beholds a new heaven and a new earth, the first heaven and the 
 first earth having disappeared, and there is no more sea ; and 
 he sees Jerusalem, the holy city, descending out of heaven from 
 God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband ; she is indi- 
 cated to him by means of a voice coming from heaven, as a 
 tabernacle of God among men, who shall be his people, and he 
 will be God among them, wiping away all their tears, whilst 
 death shall exist no longer, neither sorrow nor misery ; for former 
 things are past (TO. irpwra a7n)A.0ev) (xxi. 1 4). He who sits upon 
 the throne says, " Behold, I make all things new ;" he commands 
 the seer to write that these promises are faithful and true ; lie 
 saith to the seer, " It is done ;" and designates himself the Ever- 
 lasting, who will give to the thirsty freely out of the spring 
 of the water of life, bestow the inheritance upon the conqueror
 
 CONTENTS OF THE BOOK. 21 
 
 as his son ; but will assign the unbelievers, the wicked and the 
 idolaters, their part in the burning pool of fire and brimstone 
 which is the second death (verses 5 8). The seer is now led 
 up in the spirit to a high mountain by one of those seven angels 
 with the vial of torments, and shown the bride of the Lamb, 
 the holy city Jerusalem, as she descends from God out of heaven 
 in divine majesty and splendour. It is then described more 
 minutely (partly similar to Ezek. xlviii.). It has twelve gates, 
 three in each quarter of the heavens, and at the gates twelve 
 angels, and engraved on them the names of the twelve tribes of 
 Israel ; its wall has twelve foundations (OepeXtovs), upon which 
 are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (verses 9 14). 
 At the measuring of the city by the angel who talks with the 
 seer, it is shown that it is four-cornered, its length and breadth 
 of similar extent, and also its height, 12,000 furlongs (which 
 would be 300 German miles). The measure of the walls amounts 
 to 144 ells; walls, city, gates and streets, are gold, precious stones 
 and pearls (verses 15 21). The seer does not perceive a temple 
 in the city, for its temple is the Almighty God himself and the 
 Lamb (verse 22) ; it also needs not the sun and the moon to 
 lighten it, since the majesty of God illuminates it and the Lamb 
 is its light (verse 23) ; the nations shall walk in its light, and 
 kings shall bring their glory and treasures to it ; its gates shall 
 not be closed by day, and night will not exist ; yet nothing pro- 
 fane shall go in, neither he who practises abomination and false- 
 hood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life 
 (verses 24 27). The angel shows the seer still farther a stream 
 of water of life, which proceeds from the throne of God and of 
 the Lamb (xxii. 1), in the middle of the street of the city ; upon 
 both sides of the stream is a tree of life which bears fruit twelve 
 times in the year, and whose leaves serve for the healing of the 
 nations (verse 2). Nothing accursed shall be any more; the 
 throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; his servants shall 
 serve him and behold his face, and bear his name upon their
 
 22 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 foreheads ; God himself shall be their light, and they shall reign 
 to all eternity (verses 3 5). 
 
 Here the properly prophetical and main part of the book, the 
 unveiling of the future of the kingdom of God, ends. 
 
 There follows still, 
 
 III. Ch. xxii. 6 21, an Epilogue, wherein is especially as- 
 serted the truth and certainty of these utterances, and it is 
 repeatedly expressed, that the time of fulfilment is near. So 
 first (verses 6, 7), where the angel assures the seer that these 
 disclosures are true and proceed from God, that the Lord will 
 come quickly, and that blessed are those who keep the words of 
 the prophecy of this book. John again designates himself as the 
 person who heard and saw these things ; he falls down before the 
 angel, but the latter holds him back, and at the same time com- 
 mands him not to seal the prophetic utterances of the book, since 
 the time of fulfilment is near (6 yap KCU/JOS eyyus mv), so that 
 there is no more time for men to change their former walk; the 
 Lord will come quickly, and his reward with him for each one 
 according to his conduct ; blessed are those who keep themselves 
 pure ; they shall have part in the tree of life and shall enter into 
 the city through the gates, whilst the idolaters and wicked of all 
 kinds shall remain without (verses 8 15). Jesus himself testifies 
 that he sent his angel to make known these things to the churches 
 (verse 16). "And the Spirit" it is farther said (verse 17) and 
 the bride say, ' Come;' and^let him that hears say, ' Come ;' and 
 let the thirsty one come ; whoever wishes may take the water of 
 life freely." The author again appears threatening the severest 
 divine punishment against all who hear the prophecies of this 
 book, if they presume to add or take away aught of the con- 
 tents (verses 18 20). "He who testifies this says, Yea, I come 
 quickly. Amen; come, Lord Jesus" (verse 20). The ending of 
 the book runs after the manner of a New Testament Epistle, 
 wishing divine grace to the readers (verse 21).
 
 II. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 I SHALL attempt to give here a historical survey of the leading 
 views and opinions which have been held one after another, 
 partly together, concerning the book, both (a) as to its origin 
 apostolic or not apostolic, its genuineness or spuriousness as 
 well as (6) its credit ; the authority ascribed to it in connection 
 with the view whether and to what extent the contents rest 
 upon actual and immediate divine revelation, by which the 
 visions were presented to the author in the manner here com- 
 municated, or whether the visionary character is to be viewed 
 only as a historical envelope, and the whole as a purely human 
 product ; finally, also, (c) as to the interpretation of the book, in 
 its totality and in single parts, in themselves and in their relation, 
 to one another ; wherein we must consider whether the several 
 visions form one connecting series with regard to their meaning 
 or several series running parallel ; how the several numbers in 
 the book are to be taken in themselves, and in their relation to 
 one another ; and especially whether the thousand years and the 
 thousand-years' kingdom are to be taken as a period of time and 
 a condition which has already begun, perhaps has entirely passed, 
 or as entirely future ; lastly, to what persons a single one, or in 
 a moral sense and collectively, the adversaries and hostile powers 
 which appear in the book are to be referred namely, the two 
 beasts ascending from the sea and from the earth, of which the
 
 24 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 former is mostly called the beast, KO.T ^o^>]v, and 666 given as 
 the number of his name. 
 
 I remark generally that with regard to no other New Testa- 
 ment book is there such a multitude of interpretations as about 
 the Apocalypse, especially among those interpreters who and 
 they are the greater number view it as a pure outcome of 
 immediate divine revelations. This necessarily implies that 
 they took the contents of single visions as definite predictions 
 of historical facts or relations which had already been fulfilled 
 in part in the former history of the church and the world, 
 or were still to be fulfilled in part ; and so they inquired what 
 parts of the book and what visions belonged to the former 
 category, what to the latter ; what was still expected, after 
 comparing what had already been. The whole was viewed as a 
 sort of prophetic calendar, which one need only consult in order 
 to know what epoch it is in the kingdom of God. Thus there 
 was a natural proneness among interpreters of different times 
 and different parties to find precisely their own times and their 
 own struggles in the book, and their adversaries and persecutors 
 depicted in the hostile powers that appear in it. The interpre- 
 tation of the Apocalypse has therefore borne a very subjective 
 character in many ways more than that of any other New Testa- 
 ment book, and has assumed a more objective character only in 
 union with a freer or larger view of its prophetic character or 
 the character of prophecy in general. Concerning the history of 
 the Apocalypse in the Church more at large, consult especially 
 Liicke's Versuch, &c. (ed. 1, 1832), ed. 2, Bonn, 1852, 3443, 
 pp. 516 651 ; the ecclesiastical tradition respecting the author 
 of the book; and 6885, pp. 9521070, a history of the 
 Interpretation of the Apocalypse.* For the last, compare also 
 De "Wette, Kurze Erklarung der Apocalypse (Exegetical Hand- 
 book of the New Testament, Vol. III. Part ii.), Leipzig, 1848 
 (2nd ed., with a Preface by Liicke, 1855), pp. 14 22. 
 
 * Compare respecting this work the copious review of Bleek's in the Theolog. Stud, 
 u. Krit., 1854, 4 Heft., and 1355, 1st Heft.
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 25 
 
 We shall here combine both points of view in our statement, 
 but must confine ourselves to the most important, the epoch- 
 making and chief representatives of the different opinions. Defi- 
 nite, certain or probable traces of the Apocalypse's use are not 
 to be found among the so-called Apostolic Fathers in their 
 writings that have been preserved. The contrary has been 
 asserted, it is true, namely, with reference to Hermas and Poly- 
 carp, with regard to the latter by Hengstenberg (die Offenbarung 
 des St. Johannes, fur solche die in der Schrift forschen, erlautert, 
 2 Biinde, the 2nd, in two divisions, Berlin, 1849 1851, Part ii. 
 pp. 97 and following); but in none of the. places quoted from 
 these authors does it appear likely on closer consideration that 
 they could have had in view or copied expressions of the Apoca- 
 lypse (see Liicke, pp. 518 524, 546 and following).* It is a 
 much disputed question whether Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, 
 is to be considered as a witness in this respect, who belonged to 
 the first half of the second century, and according to the state- 
 ment of Irenseus is said to have heard John (without doubt, the 
 apostle). Two Greek commentators on the Apocalypse, both 
 bishops of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Andreas and Arethas the 
 former of whom lived at the end of the fifth century, the latter 
 not much later speak of Papias as being among those older 
 teachers who testify to the credibility and inspiration of the 
 Apocalypse (TO 0eo7rveixrrov, aio7rrrov). Arethas only follows 
 Andreas in this statement, so that the latter alone is here taken 
 into consideration ; his evidence can only refer to the (lost) 
 writing of Papias (AoyiW KU/H<XKWV e^y^o-tis) ; for antiquity is 
 unacquainted with another work of Papias, and it admits of no 
 doubt that Andreas knew it, since he expressly cites a couple of 
 sentences of Papias's. Yet it is not likely, as has been often 
 assumed, that Papias should have quoted the Apocalypse ex- 
 pressly as a work of John's, and an apostolic one ; for in that 
 case the silence of Eusebius could not be explained ; for he ex- 
 
 * See Bleek's review of the work of Liicke in Theol. Stud. u. Krit. 1855, Heft. I. 
 p. 181 ft
 
 26 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 pressly quotes the witnesses of Papias concerning the authors of 
 New Testament writings (H. E. iii. 39), and also mentions else- 
 where the statements and opinions of the earlier church writers 
 about the Apocalypse, but does not say anything about Papias's 
 testimony, which he certainly would not have omitted if Papias 
 had expressly notified the same as an apostolic writing. After 
 this, it is not probable that Papias could have expressly cited the 
 Apocalypse. Nevertheless, Andreas, in another place, may have 
 believed himself justified in supposing that Papias laid stress 
 upon the Apocalypse. Papias, like most Christians of his time, 
 was a millennarian, and appears to have conceived in a sensuous 
 manner the idea of an impending thousand-years' reign of Christ 
 upon earth, and to have expressed that opinion in his work. 
 Eusebius (H. E.) means that Papias arrived at this opinion, 
 because he misunderstood the aTrooroAiKas Sn/yr/o-as ; and that he 
 did not rightly understand what was said in it, as being typical 
 and mystical. Now it is certainly unlikely that Eusebius in those 
 aVooroAiKcu 8ir/y^o-is should have thought of such a writing as 
 the Apocalypse ; or as Hengstenberg (ii. p. 107) still thinks, of 
 this book in particular (see to the contrary, Liicke, pp. 533 
 537). It is, however, very probable that Papias had not arrived 
 at his opinion without connection with the Apocalypse, and 
 that actual traces of an acquaintance with it were found in 
 his work, which induced Andreas to make that assertion. See 
 Stud. u. Krit. 1855, p. 182, for a Scholion upon the Apocalypse 
 (xii. 7 9), communicated by Cramer (in the Catena upon the 
 Catholic Epistles, with the Commentaries of (Ecumenius and 
 Arethas upon the Apocalypse : Oxford, 1840), in which a partial 
 proof may be seen that Papias made express reference to the 
 Apocalypse. 
 
 That Papias really knew and even esteemed the Apocalypse 
 is the more credible when we consider the testimony of Justin 
 Martyr, in his work, Dialogus cum Tryphone Judseo, the writing 
 of which falls in the year 140 A.D., nearly contemporaneous 
 with the work of Papias. He there appeals (ch. Ixxxi.) for
 
 USE OP THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 27 
 
 his belief in the future resurrection of the flesh and a thou- 
 sand-years' life in the New Jerusalem, expressly to the testimony 
 of the Apocalypse, and that too as a prophecy of the apostle 
 
 John : /cat fTTfiSrj Kai Trap rjp.iv a.vr}p TIS, <> ovofia 'Iwavv^s, cis TWV 
 aTrooToAtov TOV XpicrTov, v aTTOKaXtyfi yevop.v(j avrcJJ \iXia er-rj 
 Troiri<Tiv ev 'lepovcraA*)//, rovs TW rjp.erep<f Xp terry TTtcrreixravTas Trpoe^- 
 revcre, Kat /zero, rairra TTJV Ka$oAiKT)v Kat, owtAovrt <dVat, atwvtav 
 op-oOvfJiaSbv a/xa TTCIVTWV avaoracriv yevvycrecrflai Kat Kpicrtv. EuseblUS 
 
 (H. E. iv. 18) says that Justin makes mention in this Dialogue 
 
 of the Apocalypse of John, cra^ws TOV dwoa-ToXov avrrjv emu Xfywv. 
 
 Thus, as Justin here expresses himself against the Jew Try- 
 pho we are justified in supposing that what he says about the 
 Apocalypse was not only a private opinion of his, but an idea 
 current at his time in the Church, i. e. about the middle of the 
 second century ; and it is very probable that Papias also enter- 
 tained the same idea, and that the Apocalypse had such credit 
 as an apostolic writing of John's as early as the first half of the 
 second century. It was much the same after the time of Justin, 
 during the second half of the second century, when the eccle- 
 siastical view shows itself decidedly favourable to the apostolic 
 origin of the Apocalypse. Of this we find decided testimonies, 
 () with reference to Melito, Bishop of Sardis about 175, who 
 according to the testimony of Eusebius (iv. 26) and Jerome 
 (vir. illustr. 24), composed, among other things, a work upon 
 the Apocalypse. This implies perhaps, if not an explanation 
 of the whole book, at least some leading points in it ; such a 
 work may be considered as a not unimportant testimony for the 
 authority of the Apocalypse. (6) "With regard to Theophilus of 
 Antioch, of whom Eusebius (iv. 24) mentions that he used testi- 
 monies (jj.apTvpia^i) from the Apocalypse of John in a treatise 
 against Hermogenes ; this confirms the opinion that it was 
 then thought highly of in the church at Antioch and in the 
 district about there, (e) In the writing which the church of 
 Vienne and Lyons issued to the churches of Asia and Phrygia, 
 respecting the persecutions which they had to suffer (about the
 
 28 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 year 177). Eusebius (v. 1 3) has communicated an important 
 portion of it ; in which are to be found several unmistakable 
 allusions to the Apocalypse. In one of them it is said, in refer- 
 ence to the utterance (xxii. 11), tva rj ypa^r] irXijp^dy^ where it is 
 decidedly considered as a sacred canonical writing. We find also 
 that the principal witnesses for the existence of the New Testa- 
 ment Canon at the end of the second and beginning of the third 
 century, belonging to the churches in Gaul, in proconsular Africa 
 and in Egypt Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clemens Alexandrinus ex- 
 pressly recognize the authority and apostolic origin of the Apoca- 
 lypse, or pre-suppose it without further notice. About the same 
 time also, Apollonius, a writer of Asia Minor ; who, according to 
 Eusebius (v. 18), had taken proof quotations out of the Apoca- 
 lypse of John, in a treatise against the Montanists. 
 
 As to the interpretation of the Apocalypse at this period, the 
 thousand years (xx. 4 and following verses) are generally re- 
 ferred to a time entirely future, beginning with the glorious 
 appearance of Christ upon earth. From Justin Martyr (Dialogue 
 with Trypho, 81), we perceive that the New Jerusalem (Apoca- 
 lypse xxi. 2 and following), was viewed at least in part, as the 
 seat of the thousand-years' reign. The beast ascending up out 
 of the sea was referred pretty generally to the ruling powers of 
 the world then hostile to Christianity, viz. the Eoman (comp. 
 IrenaBus, adv. Haer. v. 26), where he says, in reference to the 
 ten horns (Apocalypse xvii. 12 and following), that the present 
 Roman kingdom was divided into ten kings or kingdoms, and 
 would be destroyed by internal division; and in the same 
 chapter (xxx.), from which we perceive that people were then 
 abundantly occupied with the deciphering of the number of the 
 name of the beast specified in the Apocalypse (xiii. 18), as well 
 as with the correct reading 616 or 666 and its explanation. 
 Irenseus, who looks upon the latter number as the decidedly cor- 
 rect one, specifies several possible explanations of it, among others 
 the following: That Aarcfvos is to be understood; an explanation, 
 with reference to the Roman empire, which at that time was
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 29 
 
 without doubt current in the Church, although Irenseus himself 
 does not approve of it, or perhaps ventures not to approve of it 
 openly, asserting a more general, more abstract, but also a less 
 clear explanation (compare Liicke, p. 959 and following). 
 
 There were not wanting, however, about this time, unfavour- 
 able opinions respecting the Apocalypse generally. We know of 
 Marcion that he had not the Apocalypse In his canon (Tertullian 
 adv. Marc. iv. 5 ; nam etsi apocalypsin ejus (Johannis) Marcion 
 respuit); but he had not in it as well the other Johannine 
 writings ; and it cannot be inferred from this that he did not 
 consider it a work of the apostle John. As he thought John a 
 judaizing apostle, he did not recognize what came from him 
 as purely Christian and canonical; from his whole dogmatic- 
 ethical turn of mind, he must have been particularly repelled 
 from a book like the Apocalypse. 
 
 The book must have found more acceptance among the Mon- 
 tanists, who spread themselves especially in Asia Minor, towards 
 the end of the second century, and who were distinguished by a 
 fanatical turn of mind. Without doubt they relied in a very 
 marked way upon the Apocalypse of all the New Testament 
 writings, for their enthusiastic millennarian hopes, and thereby 
 endeavoured to make the most of its prophecies, partly in a 
 grossly sensuous and fleshly manner. But a revolution was 
 introduced into the rest of the Church. Millennarianism the 
 expectation of a thousand-years' reign of Christ upon earth was 
 originally combined with the idea that it was to come in the 
 immediate future. As this did not take place, the milleimarian 
 expectation receded the more, or assumed a somewhat different 
 form ; and so did opinions about the Apocalypse, with regard to 
 its value or its significance. Opposition to fanatical Montanism 
 appears not to have been without influence upon it, and to have 
 called forth an unfavourable opinion in several points with 
 reference to the Apocalypse, mostly at the end of the second 
 and beginning of the third century. So (a) in Asia Minor, among 
 a small ecclesiastical party who had their seat chiefly at Thyatira
 
 30 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 in Lydia, of whom Ireneeus (adv. Haer. iii. 11) speaks, as well as 
 Philastrius (Haer. 60) and Epiphanius (Haer. 51); the last calling 
 them most suitably Alogi. They rejected both the Gospel of John 
 and the Apocalypse, as it appears, in opposition to Montanistic 
 misuse, and from a certain sober turn of mind which took posses- 
 sion of them against the doctrine of the Logos. They affirmed 
 with regard to both writings that they were not worthy to be in 
 the Church (OVK agio. vcu ev KK\r)(Tiy'), and that they were sup- 
 posititious works of the heretic Cerinthus. They certainly had 
 no historical or traditional grounds for such an assertion, but 
 merely advanced it to make the writings more odious. They 
 did not appeal to the tradition of the older Church for the 
 spuriousness of both writings, but to internal evidences in the 
 Apocalypse, according to the statement of Epiphanius ; among 
 others, chiefly to the letter addressed to the angel of the church 
 at Thyatira (ii. 18 and following), saying that there was no 
 
 Christian church there (KCU OVK In CKCI e/c/cX^crta X/aicmai/cov fv 
 varcipois, TTCOS <rvv fypd<j)7) rrf /AT) ova-rj). What was the real 
 
 meaning of this on their part does not clearly appear from the 
 citation of Epiphanius ; most probably it was that there was no 
 church there which could be viewed in truth as a church of 
 Christians, it being a chief seat of Montanism (comp. Liicke, 
 pp. 578 and following ; comp. p. 424). 
 
 (b) In Eome. Here the Presbyter Caius wrote a book, in the 
 beginning of the third century, against Proclus the Montanist, of 
 which Eusebius (iii. 28) has communicated some particulars. He 
 says Cerinthus fabricated in revelations purporting to be written 
 by a great apostle, wonderful things (repaToAoytas), pretending that 
 they were shown to him by an angel ; he said further that after 
 the resurrection the reign of Christ will be earthly (kviyuov), and 
 that the flesh (men in the flesh) walking in Jerusalem will again 
 serve lusts and desires. An enemy to the divine writings, he 
 taught, in order to mislead, that a period of one thousand years 
 was to pass in a marriage feast (v ya/io, lopr^ yiveo-0cu). It is 
 indeed disputed whether Gains here speaks of our Apocalypse
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 31 
 
 as a counterfeit work of Cerinthus, or of other apocalyptic 
 writings which Cerinthus had really written in the name of an 
 apostle, perhaps in imitation of the Apocalypse of John. At an 
 earlier period the words appear to have been taken pretty gene- 
 rally in the latter manner ; so Theodoret, who without doubt bor- 
 rowed it from Eusebius and only from this place, when he speaks 
 of aTroKaXui/'ets (Haeret. Tab. ii. 3), which Cerinthus devised, as if 
 he himself had seen them. It was not till a later period that 
 the words of Caius were referred in part to our Apocalypse. So 
 first Erasmus, whom Grotius (Spicileg. patr. 1 [1700] p. 312) 
 and many others have followed. This assumption has again 
 been disputed by other scholars ; most amply by Hartwig 
 (Apologie der Apok. Theil. i. pp. 33 228), as well as by Hug 
 and others. But if Cerinthus had really written other apoca- 
 lyptical writings under apostolic names, they would doubtless 
 have been known to Eusebius, and have received a definite 
 notice from him where he treats of Cerinthus. Such is not 
 found in him. Caius also would not have expressed himself in 
 
 this manner (o>s VTTO airoa-roXov /ieyaAov yey/aa/^evcov) if lie did not 
 
 mean our Apocalypse, which was circulated under the name of 
 a generally known and great apostle; but would have mentioned 
 the name of the apostle meant by him. I do not doubt, there- 
 fore, that Caius really thought only of our Apocalypse, so that, 
 in contest with the Moiitanist Proclus, he brings forward the 
 same idea concerning it as those Alogi did in opposition to the 
 Montanists. A list of the canonical books of the N. T., first 
 made known by Muratori (1740), belongs to about the same 
 time as Caius and likewise the Romish Church. In it the 
 Apocalypse is twice spoken of, and in a somewhat different 
 manner ; yet the way in which it is mentioned the second time, 
 in the chief place, is not plain, evidently from a corrupt text. 
 The view of Wiseler (Theol. Stud. u. Krit., 1847, pp. 846 sqq.), 
 according to which it is designated as a work not written by 
 John himself, like the Wisdom of Solomon, but by others in his
 
 32 LECTURES ON TEE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 name. In no case does the author speak of the origin of the 
 book in such an odious manner as Caius's. 
 
 (c) Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria (in Eusebius, H.E. vii. 25) 
 speaks of men before his time (rives TWV -n-pb -fj^v) who entirely 
 rejected the Apocalypse, who, going through it chapter by 
 chapter, proved it unintelligible ; holding that it was no revela- 
 tion generally, but that it was concealed under a strong and 
 thick covering of unintelligibleness, not composed by John, or 
 by one of the apostles, or of the ecclesiastical men, but was 
 falsely ascribed to John by Cerinthus. The men, therefore, 
 whom Dionysius has here in view, put forward the same asser- 
 tion about the origin of the book, as did the Anti-montanists of 
 Asia Minor, and the Eomish presbyter Caius, and it is also 
 very probable that he thought of these, particularly the former ; 
 in which case we must admit that they must have explained 
 themselves in writing more at length, concerning the matter and 
 their reasons, than is otherwise known to us. Yet it is possible 
 that Dionysius had others also in view in his own district, who 
 followed those individuals of Asia Minor and Caius in their 
 opinion about the origin of the book, and had tried to prove it 
 more amply. Thus much is evident, that they cannot have 
 relied upon an old tradition. 
 
 (d) In the Syriac Church. The ecclesiastical translation of 
 the Syrians, the Peschito, has not the Apocalypse, and none of 
 our four Catholic Epistles (2 Peter, Jude, 2 and 3 John) ; and it 
 may also be assumed with safety, that they were wanting to 
 it from the beginning; not, as Hug and others* have supposed, 
 removed from it at a later time. We may further conclude 
 from it, with tolerable certainty, that at the time of making the 
 translation, which falls towards the end of the second, or at the 
 latest at the beginning of the third century, the Apocalypse in 
 the Syriac national Church, whose chief seat was Edessa and 
 
 * Above all Thiersch, Versuch zur Herstellung des historischen Standpunktes fiir 
 die Kritik des nuen Testaments, p. 428 sqq.
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 33 
 
 the surrounding districts, had no canonical authority, and cannot 
 have been viewed as a genuine apostolic writing. Yet it cannot 
 be ascertained with any certainty, whether it may not have 
 had such authority there from the beginning, or whether it lost 
 it through opposition to Montanism, and especially Millenna- 
 rianism, as it did about the same time in some other parts of 
 the Church. 
 
 Yet the opposition to Montanism and Millennarianism in 
 general, did not universally exercise an influence in lowering the 
 credit of the Apocalypse as a canonical apostolic writing. As we 
 have seen above, that Apollonius brought forward proofs from 
 the Apocalypse in a work against the Montanists, and the Alex- 
 andrian Church-teacher Clemens often quoted it as an apostolic 
 writing ; so Origen also supposes it to be a genuine work of the 
 apostle John, the son of Zebedee, without even expressing a 
 doubt about the origin of the book. See especially the passage 
 from his Commentary upon Matthew, in Eusebius (H. E. vi. 25), 
 
 fypa^e 8e (the apostle John) KOI rrjv 'A-TTOKaXv^iv, KeAew#is o-to>7r^(rai 
 KCU fir) ypd\l/ai. ras TWV 7rra fipovirwv (/xuvas KT\. Origen was a de- 
 cided opponent of ordinary Millennarianism, and therefore what 
 appeared to favour this notion in the Apocalypse was set aside by 
 spiritual interpretation, which was not so hard for him on account 
 of his entire mystical and allegorical manner of explaining the 
 Scriptures. (See upon this point Lticke, pp. 328 sqq., 968 sqq.) 
 He promises, in his Commentary upon Matt. xxiv. 29, to work at 
 the Apocalypse in a special Commentary ; yet he does not appear 
 to have done it, and therefore we can ascertain his opinions 
 merely from single expressions in other writings. (See upon 
 this point Liicke, pp. 968 sqq., also pp. 328 sqq.) 
 
 Contemporary with Origen was Hippolytus, a Bishop, and a 
 Novatian, probably in the vicinity of Rome. From a statement 
 on a statue at Rome he had, among other things, treated of the 
 Gospel of John and the Apocalypse. This treatise has not come 
 down to us. But in that on Antichrist, as also in the newly- 
 
 D
 
 34 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 discovered </H/\oo-o</>ov/ieva belonging most probably to Hippolytus, 
 the Apocalypse is expressly cited as sacred, and as a writing of 
 the apostle John. In the former several things are to be found 
 which show us how Hippolytus partly interpreted the Apoca- 
 lypse. For example, by the number 666, he considers it most 
 likely that Aareu/os is meant, and understands the first beast 
 ascending out of the sea as indicating the near destruction of the 
 Romish kingdom (see Liicke, pp. 964 968). Cyprian also makes 
 much use of the Apocalypse, about the middle of the third cen- 
 tury, and employs it in the same manner as other recognized 
 writings of the New Testament, often quoting it under the name 
 of John, doubtless the apostle. As belonging to a somewhat 
 later period we mention Victorinus, Bishop of Petabio (Pettau), 
 in Pannonia, who died as a martyr (about 303). He wrote a 
 Commentary on the Apocalypse, as Jerome already asserts. Such 
 an one, and in the form of scholia, still exists under the name 
 of Vietorinus. Yet it is a disputed point whether it be the genuine 
 Commentary of Victorinus. The most probable opinion is, that 
 it is really his, but was copiously interpolated at an early time, as 
 the work, in the form in which it lies before us, contains much 
 that does not rightly agree. It may be supposed from the state- 
 ment of Jerome that the interpretation of Victorinus Was origin- 
 ally more thorough, and more decidedly millennarian than is now 
 the case, since the millennarian element does not entirely dis- 
 appear, but is very much obliterated, especially in the interpre- 
 tation of the thousand years and of the heavenly Jerusalem. He 
 reckons the thousand years during which Satan is bound from 
 the time of Christ's incarnation to the end of the world, and 
 expresses himself decidedly against the Cerinthian idea of a 
 thousand-years' earthly kingdom. Antichrist (xiii. 16) is ex- 
 plained of Nero to be resuscitated, a circumstance which, with- 
 out doubt, belonged to the original Commentary, as also the 
 hermeneutical principle, that the visions in the Apocalypse do 
 not everywhere form a continuous series and refer to successive
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 35 
 
 events, but form a series partly parallel. Thus he refers the con- 
 tents of the seven plague-vials in particular to the same thing 
 which appears in the seven trumpets. 
 
 Dionysius, of the Greek Church, belonging to a somewhat 
 earlier period as regards his opinions concerning the Apocalypse, 
 must now be noticed. He was Bishop of Alexandria after 248 
 died about 265. He was a pupil of and like-minded with Origen, 
 and a decided opponent of the milleiinarian mode of thinking. 
 He found this especially prevalent in the region of Arsinoe, where 
 they relied upon the writing of a Bishop Nepos in favour of it : 
 eAeyxos aAAr/yo/aio-Twv, in which the latter defended Millennarian- 
 ism in opposition to Origen's allegorical mode of interpretation, 
 and especially in relation to the Apocalypse. This work was 
 highly applauded in the district ; and a Millennarian party main- 
 tained its position there. On account of the disputes that arose 
 from this, Dionysius was induced (about 255) to go into that 
 country himself, where, after a three days' disputation, he suc- 
 ceeded in so influencing Korakion himself, the then head of the 
 Millennarian party, that he gave up his opinion. 
 
 After this, Dionysius wrote a treatise in two books, -n-ept ray- 
 yeAiwv, the second of which treated of the Apocalypse. Euse- 
 bius (vii. 25) communicates his opinions on this book at some 
 length. Dionysius shows himself to be a very acute and able 
 critic. He compares the Apocalypse with the Gospel and Epis- 
 tles of John, and believes himself justified in the opinion that 
 the former is not by the same writer as the latter. He adduces 
 (a) the custom of the apostle John not to name himself in his 
 writings, either in the Gospel or Epistles. On the contrary, the 
 author of the Apocalypse sedulously and repeatedly introduces 
 his name John. (5) The difference in statement, thought and 
 expression, in relation to which the Gospel and first Epistle are 
 so very similar, whilst the Apocalypse does not at all contain 
 so many ideas and expressions as occur repeatedly in those 
 writings. Here he adduces individual examples. He remarks 
 besides, that neither in the Epistles is mention made of the 
 
 D 2
 
 36 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPW:. 
 
 Apocalypse, nor in the Apocalypse of the Epistles, as one 
 might have expected if both were by the same author, (c) The 
 difference of language, since the Gospel and the Epistles are 
 written in good Greek, in well-turned and correct language ; 
 but the diction of the Apocalypse is full of barbarisms and 
 solecisms. On the other hand, Dionysius will not deny that 
 the Apocalypse is the work of a holy, divinely-inspired man, 
 and of a John, as itself asserts, only not the apostle John, the 
 disciple beloved by the Lord, the brother of James, whose it 
 does not give itself out to be ; nor of John Mark, the travel- 
 ling-companion of Paul and Barnabas, but of another John living 
 in Asia. He then mentions that two tombs of two different 
 Johns are to be found in Ephesus. In the same work, as Euse- 
 bius says, Dionysius had gone through the whole Apocalypse, 
 and had sought to show that it could not be understood literally 
 (Kara. TIJV Trpo-^tpov Sidvoiav) : he attributes to it, accordingly, a 
 spiritual meaning, in the manner of Origen, though he cannot 
 comprehend, as he says, the deeper meaning. A single, yet not 
 exactly a spiritual interpretation of his, has been preserved to 
 us from another writing, the Epistle to Hermannon, by Eusebius 
 (H. E. vii. 10), where he refers (Apocalypse xiii. 15) to the 
 Emperor Valerian and his persecution of the Christians. 
 
 As to a judgment upon the origin of the book, as well as its 
 canonical value, no certainty or uniformity is to be found in 
 the Church after the third century. The expressions of Euse- 
 bius, of Csesarea, clearly prove this as regards the first half of 
 the fourth century ; and he is the chief witness for the New 
 Testament Canon, in his Church History (written about 326). 
 He says, of the Apocalypse (B. iii. 424), that opinions upon it 
 
 even then wavered (TTJS 8e uTTOKaAi^ews e<f> (.Ko.Tf.pov eVi vvv irapa. 
 
 rots TroAXois TTfpif\KfTai ^ S6(i). He promises there to pronounce 
 judgment upon the book at a fit time, according to the testi- 
 mony of the ancients. Yet that was not done subsequently, in 
 a definite manner. In the principal passage on the Canon (ib. 
 ch. xxv.), where he divides into several classes the books which
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 37 
 
 belong to the New Testament Canon, or claim to be reckoned 
 among them, he expresses himself as uncertain whether he should 
 regard the Apocalypse as belonging to the first class, the Homo- 
 logumena ; or to the second, the Antilegomena, the latter of 
 which he himself marks as v66a ; he leaves this to the judgment 
 of individuals (eiye ^aveii^) ; saying that some dOtrovo-t this work, 
 others eyKpu/owi TOIS o/jtoAoyoujuevcKs. In Book iii. 39, he points 
 attention to the fact that Papias speaks of a second John 
 besides the apostle and evangelist viz. John the presbyter, and 
 bids us observe this, since it was probable that TOV Seirrepov, el 
 
 fJ.tj Tt e6e\OL TOV TTpWTOV, TT/V 7r' OVO//.O.TOS (j>epOfJi6Vr)V 'ItottVVOV OTTOKa- 
 
 X.VI//LV ewpuKevcu. To this supposition, brought forward by Diony- 
 sius, viz. that the Apocalypse was the work of another John 
 different from the apostle and evangelist, Eusebius himself in- 
 clines most favourably, although he does not venture expressly 
 to declare in favour of it ; perhaps he did not find it sufficiently 
 established in older ecclesiastical tradition so far as it was 
 known. Eusebius himself often cites the book as " The Eevela- 
 tion of John ;" nevertheless (H. E. iii. 18) h ry 'lomi^ov A.eyojuei/7/ 
 aTTOKaAt'i/'et ; and it is not unimportant that he does not once 
 quote the Apocalypse in his Interpretations of Isaiah and the 
 Psalms, although there were not wanting opportunities of citing 
 passages from this book ; and he also quotes from nearly all 
 other New Testament writings. The only explanation of this 
 is, partly that Eusebius himself was not certain whether com- 
 plete canonical authority was due to the Apocalypse ; and partly 
 he knew that such was denied to it by many, and therefore its 
 testimony would not be recognized. This was partly the case 
 with regard to the time after Eusebius ; though differently in 
 different parts of the Church, upon which I make the following 
 remarks. 
 
 (a) The unfavourable opinion which the presbyter Caius, in 
 particular, passed on the Apocalypse, in conflict with the Mon- 
 tanists, in the Latin Church, had no lasting effect. We find 
 indeed that Philastrius, Bishop of Brescia, in Uprer Italy ^fourth
 
 38 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 century, end), Hasres. 88, where he enumerates the books which 
 should be read in the churches, according to the prescriptions of 
 the apostles, does not mention the Apocalypse among them ; but 
 the reason of this is because he did not consider it suitable for 
 reading public in the churches, on account of the obscurity of 
 its contents, and not from any doubt of its origin or its authority ; 
 as he already, in a previous place (Haeres. 60), reckons those 
 among heretics who did not consider the Gospel and the Apoca- 
 lypse to be the works of the apostle John. We find it every- 
 where used in the Latin Church by the most distinguished 
 teachers, and without hesitation, as a genuine apostolic writing, 
 possessing complete canonical authority ; for example, by Hilary 
 of Poitiers, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, &c. Jerome (Ep. 129 
 to Dardanus) says of the churches of the Greeks that they did 
 not receive the Apocalypse, contrary to the Latins; and therefore 
 his opinion clearly is that the latter, as far as he knew, received 
 it. And (De Vir. Illustr. c. 9), where he speaks of the apostle 
 John and his writings, he names among the latter the Apoca- 
 lypse also, without once speaking of divergent views as to the 
 origin of the book, though he makes mention of such in relation 
 to the second and third Epistles of John. We find the Apoca- 
 lypse in the different lists of the New Testament Canon received 
 from the Latin Church after the end of the fourth century 
 the first being that of the Council of Hippo Bhegius, in the 
 year 393 directly adduced as an ecclesiastically canonical and 
 apostolic writing. Only Junilius, an African Bishop about the 
 middle of the sixth century, in his treatise De Partibus Legis 
 Divinse (i. 4), does not include the Apocalypse among the pro- 
 perly canonical books which are perfectse auctoritatis, and says 
 that there is much doubt about it still among the Easterns. Yet 
 this statement serves as proof that such scruples on the part 
 of the Latin Church of his time were not known to him. It 
 does not therefore probably refer to the Western Church of the 
 time, when the fourth Synod at Toledo (633 A.D.) speaks of 
 plurimi, who did not accept the authority of the Apocalypse, and
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 3$ 
 
 refused to preach (predicare) it in the Church of God. Never- 
 theless, the public reading of it in the Church may not regularly 
 have taken place even in the West, from the obscurity of the 
 contents. The above-named Synod itself designates the Apoca- 
 lypse as a work which was declared to be that of the evan- 
 gelist John and one of the sacred books by the help of many 
 councils and synodical decrees of the Eomish Popes ; and excom- 
 municates all who omitted predicare (it) a pascha ad pentecosta- 
 rum tempus in ecclesia. The authority of the book accordingly 
 in the "Western Church experienced no opposition, from the 
 middle ages till the time of the Eeformation, neither on the 
 part of the greater Church, nor on that of the lesser ecclesiastical 
 parties, although both used it for mutual warfare.* 
 
 (Z>) The Alexandrian Church also, after the fourth century, 
 agrees completely with the Latin Church in its judgment about 
 the apostolic origin and canonical value of the Apocalypse, 
 without the criticism of Dionysius appearing to have exercised 
 any influence upon it. It was unhesitatingly made use of by 
 the Alexandrian Church teachers as a work of the apostle John ; 
 as by Athanasius in the middle of the fourth century, who, 
 in his list of the New Testament Canon in his Epistola festalis, 
 adduces it directly among the canonical books, the only sources 
 of salvation ; as does also the o-vvo^ts T^S Ofias ypa(j>fj<s belonging 
 to the Alexandrian Church ; farther, the two Egyptian monks, 
 Macarius and Didymus, at the end of the fourth century ; and 
 later, Bishop Cyril of Alexandria (died 444), Isidore of Pelu- 
 sium, &c. We no longer find different views in this and following 
 time in the Alexandrian Church. Only Cosmas Indicopleustes, 
 who was a monk in Egypt in his later years, does not mention 
 the Apocalypse throughout the whole of his Topographia Chris- 
 tiana, even where he might have had occasion to name it. 
 
 (c) The conduct of the rest of the Greek Church at this time 
 
 * See Liicke, pp. 640 and following, upon Charlemagne's Capitulare Aquisgranense, 
 A.D. 789, ch. xx., where it is prescribed that only those Epistles settled by the; 
 Synod of Laodicea should be read in the Church.
 
 40 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 does not appear so uniform. As to the lists of the New Testa- 
 ment Canon belonging to that Church, that of Epiphanius (Haeres. 
 76) adduces the Apocalypse directly as a canonical writing ; and 
 
 in (Haeres. 77) he Says that Trapa. TrAeio-rois rj f3i/3Xos 7re7rt<rTeu/iev>; 
 
 KOI irapa TOIS 0eoa-f.ftf.a-t. We must here remark that Epiphanius in 
 former years had for a long time resided in Egypt. On the con- 
 trary, it is not at all presented among the number of the canonical 
 books of the New Testament in other lists of the Greek Church 
 of this time, although all the other books of the New Testament 
 are, namely, (1) in the Catech. iv. of Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem 
 (died 386) ; elsewhere in his Catechetics he takes notice of the 
 Apocalypse, but without naming and quoting it, even where the 
 contents gave him occasion to do so, e g. Catech. xv., where he 
 speaks of Antichrist, and does not refer to the Apocalypse, but 
 to Daniel, to Matt. xxv. and 2 Thess. ii. He even appears to 
 reject the testimony of the Apocalypse, as that of an apocry- 
 phal writing : jSao-iXtvo-fi 8e 6 'AvTi'x/oto-ros rpia KCU rf^iio-v \rt] r)6va' 
 OVK e a.TTOKpv(j>(av Aeyo/xev (ApOC. xiv. 14), a A Act /c TOV Aavi^A* (fir/a-l 
 
 yap K. T. X. (Dan. vii. 25). (2) In that of Gregory of Nazian- 
 zum, in Cappadocia (died 389), in his Carmina, No. 32, where, 
 after he has adduced all the other- books of the New Testament, 
 he concludes : ei n rovrwv IKTOS, OVK (,v -yv-rjo-iois. Nevertheless, he 
 quotes our book among them in his other writings, even as the 
 composition of John. (3) In the lambis ad Seleucum, perhaps 
 by a contemporary of Gregory of Nazianzum, viz. Bishop Amphi- 
 lochius of Iconium ; who adds, however, at the end of the list, TT)V 
 
 8' airoKaXv^iv rrjv 'Iwavvov irdXiv Ttves /ACV cyxpivoiKTiv, 01 TrAeiovs 8e 
 
 ye vodov Xcyowiv. (4) In the 60 Canon of the Council of Laodicea 
 (about 362), where, in the enumeration of the canonical books 
 of the Old and New Testaments, the Apocalypse is not mentioned 
 at all. Likewise (5) in the 85 Canon of the so-called Canones Apos- 
 tolici, which is also of the fourth or fifth century. It is not 
 unimportant that Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople (died 
 407), Theodore of Mopsuestia in Cilicia (died 429), and Theodoret, 
 Bishop of Cyrus in Syria (died in 457), never expressly quote the
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 41 
 
 Apocalypse, though they had many occasions for doing so in their 
 exegetical and other writings. Two other distinguished Greek 
 Church teachers of that time, the brothers Basil the Great and 
 Gregory of Nyssa, quote the Apocalypse as a writing of the 
 evangelist John, but both only once or twice ; and the latter 
 thus : the evangelist says ev a7ro/cpix/>ots ; which, however, is pro- 
 bably meant not in the sense of spurious, but only in that of 
 concealed, mystical. From what has been brought forward, it 
 follows that, if we except the Alexandrian Church, Jerome ex- 
 presses himself only a little too strongly when he (Ep. ad Darda- 
 num) says in general, that the ecclesise Grsecorum do not receive 
 the Apocalypse. The opinion about the book in the Greek Church 
 became more favourable after a time, and the opposition to it 
 gradually disappeared ; to which end the example of the Alexan- 
 drian as also the influence of the Latin Church, essentially con- 
 tributed. 
 
 To the latter time of the fifth and the first half of the sixth 
 century belong the Commentaries of the two Bishops of Caesarea, 
 in Cappadocia, Arethas and Andreas, upon the Apocalypse, which 
 consider it an inspired apostolical writing, and endeavour to give 
 authority to it. The spurious writings of Dionysius Areopagita 
 belong to about the same time, in one of which, namely, " Upon 
 the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy," is to be found a bombastic specifi- 
 cation of the biblical books; and among them the author represents 
 
 the Apocalypse as TT)V Kpv<f>iav KGU ^.WTIKT^V eVoi/'tav rov TWV [J.a.Or]Tcav 
 
 dya-n-rjTov KCU Becrireviov. Leontius Byzantinus, who last lived as 
 a monk in Palestine (sixth and seventh centuries), in a list of 
 the Old and New Testament books, and Johannes Damascenus 
 (died 755 in a convent at Jerusalem : De Fide Orthod. iv. 17), 
 enumerate the Apocalypse among the canonical books. It is true 
 that in the Stichometry of Nicephorus (Patriarch of Constanti- 
 nople, died 828), a list of the canonical and apocryphal books, 
 which is to be found at the end of his Chronography, the Apoca- 
 lypse is put in the Antilegomena of the New Testament ; biit this, 
 provided the list is really by Nicephorus and was not already
 
 42 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 found by him, is done only with reference to earlier doubts against 
 it which the author had perhaps learned from Eusebius, not with 
 reference to the scruples then prevailing in the Greek Church. 
 And so the fact that Theophylact never cites the Apocalypse has 
 its ground mainly in this, that he did not find it quoted by 
 Chrysostom, on whom he mostly relies. In general, the Apo- 
 calypse was hereafter questioned with regard to its apostolic 
 origin and canonical dignity, as little perhaps in the Greek Church 
 as in the Latin. 
 
 (d) It was otherwise at a later time in the Syrian national 
 Church. Here indeed we find that Ephraem Syrus (died 378) 
 uses the Apocalypse as an apostolic writing. Yet he arrived at 
 this conclusion only by means of his intercourse with the ortho- 
 dox teachers of other Churches, whose Greek writings, like the 
 Bible in the Greek language, were not unknown to him, although 
 we know that he was not so fluent in Greek as to be able to 
 converse with Greek Church teachers without an interpreter. 
 This had no real influence upon the general practice of the Syrian 
 Church. The circumstance that the ecclesiastical translation, the 
 Peschito, did not contain the Apocalypse, had the effect of causing 
 this book to be little known as a whole, and in general no 
 ecclesiastical use was made of it. Somewhat later, the authority 
 in which Theodore of Mopsuestia, whose follower was Nestorius, 
 stood, may have influenced the Nestorians, who had a learned 
 school at Nisibis, since he too does not appear to have recognized 
 the Apocalypse. But the Syriac-Monophysite Church also agrees 
 in the main. The Monophysites, it is true, came more into contact, 
 especially with the Alexandrian theologians and their theology, 
 nnd therefore their written canon may have influenced the former. 
 Thus we find that a Monophysite Bishop, Jacob of Edessa, whose 
 age, however, is uncertain (see Liicke, p. 646, Eemark), quotes the 
 Apocalypse as a Revelation of one of the Saints, viz. of John the 
 theologian (the place is xvii. 3 6), referring to Hippolytus ; and 
 we know that at the end of the eleventh century a Monophysite 
 Bishop, Dionysius Bar Salibi at Amida, wrote an interpretation
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 43 
 
 both of the other books of the New Testament and of the Apo- 
 calypse. But in general the latter was not looked upon as a 
 canonical writing among the Monophysite Syrians. The second 
 Syriac translation of the New Testament, the Philoxenian, made 
 by order of the Monophysite Bishop Philoxenus or Xenaias, in the 
 year 508, does not contain the Apocalypse any more than the 
 Peschito does. The Syriac translation of this book, first published 
 by L. de Dieu (1627), was not improbably made by Thomas of 
 Charkel, who revised the Philoxenian translation about 616, in 
 a monastery at Alexandria, and himself made a translation of the 
 Apocalypse, induced to do so by the authority attaching to this 
 book in Egypt. But the Apocalypse never formed an essential part 
 of the ecclesiastical Syriac translation, neither among the Nes- 
 torians (or the Chaldsean Christians, especially in Persia and 
 Armenia), nor also among the Monophysites (or Jacobites in the 
 Patriarchate of Antioch). To the former belongs Ebed Jesu (Me- 
 tropolitan at Nisibis, died 1318), who, in a list of Syrian authors 
 in rhyme, does not mention the Apocalypse among the New 
 Testament books (ch. ii.). To the Monophysites belonged Abul- 
 pharagius, or Gregory Barhebraus, Monophysite Bishop at Haleb 
 (died 1286), who directly disclaims the Apocalypse as the produc- 
 tion of the apostle John, declaring it to be a work of Cerinthus. 
 Not a single manuscript of the Peschito contains the Apocalypse, 
 and therefore it is not found in the first printed editions of that 
 translation, not in the first of all, which was prepared in Vienna, 
 1555, by Moses, priest at Merdin, and was sent to Pope Julius III. 
 by the then Jacobite (Monophysite) Patriarch Ignatius. But 
 subsequent editions of the Peschito first in the Paris and London 
 polyglotts included the Apocalypse according to the later trans- 
 lation published by L. de Dieu. 
 
 Thus the book never had any proper canonical authority in 
 the Syrian national Church, neither among the Nestorians, nor 
 among the Monophysites ; whilst it maintained its credit undis- 
 turbed in the rest of the Church, not merely in the Latin, but
 
 44 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 also in the Greek, during the whole of the middle ages down to 
 the Reformation. 
 
 As to the interpretation of the book in this period, I make the 
 following brief remarks. After Rome and the Roman empen >rs 
 were converted to Christianity, the fact exercised such an influ- 
 ence on the apprehension of the Apocalypse, that persons no 
 longer referred the hostile powers especially the beast ascending 
 out of the sea, the seven kings and the woman to heathen Rome 
 and the Roman emperors as such, but gave them a more general 
 application, viz. to the kingdoms of the world in general and its 
 chief cities, or to a still future kingdom of Antichrist and its 
 capital, or to the state of the world in general in opposition to 
 the Church. The millennarian mode of interpretation entirely 
 receded ; for Victorinus of Petabio already began the thousand- 
 years' reign with the first appearance of Christ at his incarna- 
 tion or his death, and viewed the thousand years only as a 
 symbolical number in a general way. The first resurrection 
 was referred in part to the rising of the world to a spiritual life, 
 or to the establishment of the Christian Church. 
 
 With regard to the relation of the different visions or series 
 of visions one to another, the synchronistic mode of apprehen- 
 sion was followed, as it was by Victorinus, so that in many ways 
 the later were referred to the same facts and relations as the 
 earlier; by which means, as was the case in the w r hole treat- 
 ment of the book, much arbitrariness was committed, and no 
 fixed rule followed. As to the Commentaries received by and 
 known to us, the first and properly the only one of the Greek 
 Church to be considered is that already mentioned, Andreas's, 
 who was Bishop of Csesarea and Cappadocia, belonging to the 
 end of the fifth century ; he proceeds in the manner of Origen, 
 distinguishes various senses, and endeavours everywhere to point 
 out the fulfilment of the prophecy. But in doing so he gene- 
 ralizes the concrete. The Commentary of Arethas (sixth cen- 
 tury), which we possess under the name of Oecumenius, is still
 
 l'*E OF THE A POCA L YP8E IN THE CHURCH. 45 
 
 less worthy of notice ; its relation to the Commentary of Arethas 
 is also very uncertain (see Lit eke, p. 472, Eernark, 991 and fol- 
 lowing). From the Latin Church at this time, an expositio in 
 Apocalypsin, under the name of the Donatist Tichonius, has been 
 preserved to us. It is also certain that this contemporary of 
 Augustine and Jerome wrote a commentary on the book. Yet 
 that cannot be regarded as the work lying before us, which 
 may have proceeded from the former as an extract, with the 
 separation of the Donatist element. Augustine himself and 
 Jerome did not write any commentary on the book ; neverthe- 
 less, intimations are to be found in their writings showing in 
 what manner they apprehended individual parts, especially in 
 Augustine (de Civ. D. xx. 7 17, on Apocalypse xx. xxi.). On 
 the other hand, w r e possess a complete commentary of Primasius's, 
 an African bishop about the middle of the sixth century ; and 
 shorter expositions by his contemporary Cassiodorus (Com- 
 plexiones Actuum apostolorum et Apocalypsis S. Johannis). 
 Both do not depart widely from the mode of interpretation 
 usual at that time ; as also two expositions belonging to the 
 eighth century, a shorter one of the Venerable Bede (died 738) 
 and that of the Gallic presbyter, Ambrosius Ansbertus (after 
 the middle of the eighth century). In the latter period of the 
 middle ages also, the Apocalypse was frequently treated exegeti- 
 cally in the Western Church, but without any of these composi- 
 tions having a scientific value. 
 
 The usual view of the time was that the thousand-years' 
 kingdom had already begun at the incarnation of Christ or 
 his death, and therefore people expected the end of the world 
 to come at the expiration of the thousand years after Christ. 
 On account of this, the mind of Christendom in the West, towards 
 the end of the tenth, and at the beginning of the eleventh cen- 
 tury, was very much excited in strained and anxious expectation. 
 But when no particular catastrophe happened at the time, the 
 minds of the people gradually became calm, and the opinion 
 prevailed all the more generally that the thousand years are not
 
 46 LECTURES OA T THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 to be understood as so many ordinary years according to our 
 mode of reckoning, but in a general way and as some sort of 
 symbolical apocalyptic date. But the relations of the times and 
 party considerations exercised great influence upon the definite 
 interpretation of the hostile powers. After the spread of Maho- 
 metauisni, it was usual to understand the beast with the false 
 prophet (ch. xiii. and following) of Mahomet and Mahometan- 
 ism. So especially at the time of the Crusades, when Pope 
 Innocent III., at the time he ordered a new crusade in 1215, 
 expressly asserted this interpretation, and announced withal that 
 the hostile power of the Saracens would soon be destroyed ; 
 referring the number 666 to so many years after the appear- 
 ance of Mahomet and the continuance of Mahometanism. Ne- 
 vertheless, there were other interpretations, suggested by the 
 relations of the times. Thus in the contests of the Romish 
 Church with the Hohenstaufen, the beast was interpreted of 
 this worldly power by the adherents of the former ; as in the 
 struggle of the Church with the sects and heresies which spread 
 especially after the end of the twelfth century, the false prophet 
 of the Apocalypse was referred to these latter. On the con- 
 trary, the same adversaries of the Romish hierarchy referred pre- 
 cisely to it and to the Pope, the beast full of names of blasphemy 
 and the false prophet ; so Frederick II., and also the heretical 
 parties of the time. This was done in a peculiar manner, in the 
 thirteenth century, by the stricter Franciscans, who attached 
 themselves especially to the interpretation of the Apocalypse* 
 which the Cistercian abbot Joachim of Flora, in Calabria (died 
 about 1201) published. Whether that was originally anti-Papal 
 is not certain (see Engelhardt, der Abt. Joachim, und das ewige 
 Evangelium, in his kirchengeschichtlichen Abhandlungen, 1832, 
 pp. 1 150) ; but it certainly had from the commencement a 
 millennarian character ; and was perhaps still further developed 
 by those stricter Franciscans in an anti-Romish sense. Other 
 
 * See concerning the interpretation, Liicke, pp. 1066 and following ; De Wette, 
 Commentar zur GfFenbarung Johannes, p. 15.
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 47 
 
 anti-Eomish parties also, as the Cathari, Waldenses, Wicklifites 
 and Hussites, made use of the Apocalypse in their polemics 
 against the Romish Church, although the individual sects did 
 it in a very different manner, while believing that the Papacy 
 was prophesied of as Antichristianism : and they thought they 
 were able to prove that the fall of it was near, even the very 
 year, when it should take place. But in recognizing the book as 
 an apostolic and truly prophetical writing, all parties in the 
 Western Church were then agreed. 
 
 At the time of the Reformation, critical doubts were again pre- 
 valent, as well about several other books of the New Testament, 
 as also about the origin of the Apocalypse. Erasmus, of Rotter- 
 dam, fell into a dispute with the Paris theologians about the 
 Apocalypse, because he maintained that doubts had for a long 
 time prevailed concerning it ; and that not only among heretics, 
 but orthodox theologians also, chiefly with regard to its author, 
 although they received it as a book written by the Holy Ghost. 
 He himself intimates several grounds of doubt without coming to 
 a determination ; but seems pretty clearly to incline to the view 
 that the Apocalypse is not a work of the evangelist and apostle 
 John, and is not quite equal in value to the other canonical books. 
 Carlstadt expresses himself of the same opinion, in two treatises 
 of the year 1520, a Latin and a shorter German one, as to what 
 books are canonical or sacred and biblical. He makes three dif- 
 ferent classes of biblical books, puts the Apocalypse in the third 
 and lowest, describes it as the least of the books of this order, 
 and hints that it was not written by the evangelist John. At 
 the religious conference in Berne, 1528, between Roman Catholics 
 and Reformed theologians, Swiss and South German, when the 
 Roman Catholics appealed to Apocalypse v. 8 on behalf of the 
 doctrine of the intercession of saints, Zwinglius rejected the testi- 
 mony, because the Apocalypse was no biblical book, nor even a 
 work of the evangelist John, but that of another John. Luther 
 before him had already expressed an opinion about the Apoca- 
 lypse much harsher and rougher, in his German translation. He
 
 48 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 gives prominence to a distinction among the New Testament 
 books, between those acknowledged as canonical or right books, 
 and those whose authority is not secure : the latter, in his opi- 
 nion, are the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistles of James and 
 Jude, and the Apocalypse. In his translation he assigns to these 
 four books the last place, and distinguishes them from the others 
 by numbering only the latter in the list of books prefixed, from 
 1 23, and then, after a short pause, he makes these four follow 
 without numbers, just as if they were not at all to be included 
 among the New Testament books. Luther wrote a preface to 
 the Apocalypse in the first edition of the German New Testa- 
 ment (1522), in which he expressed himself very strongly against 
 the book. He said he would allow every one to follow his own 
 opinion with regard to it ; he wished to force his judgment upon 
 no one ; but he could neither hold it to be apostolic nor prophetic, 
 and could not admit that it was prompted by the Holy Ghost ; 
 he held it almost similar to the fourth Book of Esdras, since it 
 has to do with visions throughout, contrary to the manner of 
 the apostolic and other prophetic books, and does not prophesy 
 in clear plain words. He was also offended at the expressions 
 of the book (xxii. 7 9, 18 and following), where those are pro- 
 nounced blessed who keep its words, and blessedness is denied 
 to such as take away aught from its contents, since it is so 
 obscure that no one knows what it really means ; that there are 
 much more noble books which should be maintained. He appeals 
 also to the fact that many of the old Fathers rejected the book. 
 He concludes, "Every one may judge of the book according to 
 his spirit; his own mind cannot adapt itself to the book, and 
 cannot value it highly, because Christ is neither taught nor 
 recognized in it." Instead of this preface, which perhaps may 
 have excited much offence, and is also openly unjust, at least 
 with regard to the last assertion (that Christ is not taught or 
 recognized in the book), Luther afterwards prefixed another 
 preface, not, as is frequently stated (also by Liicke, pp. 898, 1014), 
 first in 1534, but already in the Wittenberg edition of the New
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 49 
 
 Testament of the year 1530, which runs more smoothly, although 
 in the main it expresses the same doubts. He says that the 
 book in its past obscurity and uncertainty of interpretation is 
 still a concealed mute prophecy, and without its intended use 
 for Christendom ; that many had tried it, but up to the present 
 day had brought forth nothing certain ; that some had manufac- 
 tured out of their heads much unsuitable stuff, and put it into 
 it. On account of such uncertain interpretation and concealed 
 meaning, he had hitherto left it alone, especially since some old 
 Fathers did not consider the book as the writing of St. John the 
 apostle, as may be seen from Eusebius ; in such uncertainty he 
 would let it remain for his own part, without hindering anybody 
 from holding it to be by St. John the apostle, or whatever he 
 liked. Yet Luther makes an attempt to state the contents of 
 the Apocalypse according to the single visions ; referring indivi- 
 dual images to individual events and epochs in the history of 
 the Christian Church in succession. The bitter-sweet book (x. 10) 
 he refers to the Papacy with its great spiritual appearance. He 
 reckons the thousand years from the time of the composition of 
 the book down to Gregory VII., and fixes upon the number 666 
 (xiii. 18) as being so many years of the above-mentioned Pope, 
 the time of the anti-christian Papacy. Yet we may easily per- 
 ceive that Luther himself does not attach much weight to these 
 explanations of his. Already two years earlier he had published 
 an old Latin Commentary, sent to him in manuscript out of 
 Poland or Livonia, by an unknown author, but written before 
 the Council of Constanz (Commentarius in Apocalypsin ante 
 centum annos editus ;-Wittenb. 1528, 8), and accompanied it with 
 a Preface, in which he himself does not express an opinion on the 
 Apocalypse, but allows that Antichrist in it refers to the Eomish 
 Papacy. Luther's unfavourable opinion about the Apocalypse 
 exercised an influence upon the Lutheran Church for a long time. 
 After his example, people continued to separate those four books 
 from the proper leading ones of the New Testament. Somewhat 
 later, indeed, Martin Chemnitz, in his Examen Concilii Triden- 
 
 E
 
 50 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 tini (1565), began even to specify these four, to which the three 
 other Antilegomena of Eusebius, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, were 
 added, as the Apocrypha of the New Testament, i. e. as writings 
 whose origin is not sufficiently certified, and which therefore, 
 though useful for reading and edification, must not be applied in 
 establishing doctrines of faith ; as those to which canonical autho- 
 rity did not properly belong (see upon this, Gesch. des Kanons, 
 in my Einl. i. N. T. pp. 669 sqq., and my Einl. z. Hebr. Br. pp. 
 449 sqq.). Catholics, as well as Eeformed theologians, did not 
 take part in this proceeding in general ;* nor did Zwdnglius' con- 
 demnatory opinion with reference to the Apocalypse in particular 
 find any following in the Kefonned Church. Calvin makes use 
 of the book, without hesitation, as a canonical writing, even for 
 dogmatic proofs ; a certain shyness prevented him from treating 
 it exegetically in a continuous commentary. Beza, in his N. T., 
 tries energetically to refute objections against the authenticity of 
 the Apocalypse : in his remarks, he limits himself almost exclu- 
 sively to explanations of the meaning of words, abstaining almost 
 wholly from properly prophetic exposition. In the Lutheran 
 Church also, after the first half of the seventeenth century, theo- 
 logians gradually refrained from distinguishing two classes, of 
 different canonical authority, among the New Testament writings, 
 and therefore from questioning the Apocalypse with regard to its 
 apostolic origin, and from lowering it in comparison with other 
 writings. The interpretation of the book in the Protestant Church 
 was in general directed against the Papacy and the Eomish 
 Church ; the representation of the beast, of the false prophet and 
 Babylon, being referred to them. At the same time, no continuous 
 progression in the several visions was assumed, but parallels and 
 recapitulations running beside one another. So, among others, 
 Collado (Lausann. 1551), who assumed a complete parallelism 
 
 * Yet see upon Musculus in Lucke, 907. The Bernese Government hesitated to 
 permit the printing of a work by Bullinger on the Apocalypse (1557), because he 
 reckoned it among the canonical books, in opposition to Zwingli and the ecclesiastical 
 edition of the Bible.
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 51 
 
 between the seals, trumpets and vials of wrath ; partly, also, 
 Paroeus (1618), who, however, only views the seven seals and the 
 seven trumpets as running parallel, referring to the time between 
 Constantine the Great, on the one hand, with Boniface III. and 
 Mahomet, on the other; but the seven vials of wrath, to the 
 time to come, as far as Luther and thence to the end. Farther, 
 the Englishman, Joseph Mede, whose Clavis Apocalyptica ap- 
 peared at the same time with his Commentary upon the Acts, 
 1627, who finds in the first part of the book as far as the six 
 trumpets, ch. ix. inclusive, the destinies of the kingdom foretold ; 
 in the second part, those of the Church, running parallel with 
 the former ; but in the second part he assumes a number of 
 synchronisms. He places the thousand-years' kingdom, however, 
 at the end, departing from the usual interpretation, which makes 
 it to commence already with the first appearance of Christ, which 
 also was firmly held by most of the Protestant interpreters, in 
 opposition to the fanatical chiliasm of the Anabaptists and 
 others. The interpretations of these expositors individually were 
 very copious, wanting throughout in certainty, and presenting 
 little to promote scientific interpretation. Hugo Grotius (died 
 1645) departs most from the ordinary mode of interpretation. 
 He assumes in the book different visions, and visions received at 
 different times, of which those in the first part, as far as ch. xi. 
 inclusive, refer to the relations of the Jews ; the following, as far 
 as ch. xx. inclusive, to the relations of the Romans from Claudius 
 to Vespasian ; the remaining chapters to the later relations of the 
 Church, as far as the end. He reckons the thousand years from 
 Constantine the Great to the beginning of the fourteenth century, 
 when the Turks and Mahometanism penetrated into Asia and 
 Greece. Hence Grotius, with whom also Hammond and Clericus 
 agreed, entirely forsook the usual way of the Protestant Church 
 in applying the Apocalypse polemically against the Romish 
 Church, and in finding the destruction of that Church described 
 in it; yet a simple comparison of the contents of the book 
 does not make it at all probable that in his interpretation he 
 
 E 2
 
 52 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 attained to the proper aim and essential meaning of it, or that 
 lie penetrated into its depths. Of Catholic commentators be- 
 longing to this period, I name here only the three following : 
 (a) In the end of the sixteenth century, Francis Eibeira, pro- 
 fessor in Salamanca (1591), who tries to explain the book by 
 the relations of time as much as possible; for example, he 
 understands the Babylonian whore as heathen Eome, in oppo- 
 sition to the Protestants of the time. (6) Another Spaniard, 
 at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Jesuit Ludwig 
 ab Alcassar, whose copious Commentary (1614) attained great 
 authority in the Eomish Church. In apprehending the economy 
 of the book, he may be viewed, in a manner, as the forerunner 
 of Hugo Grotius ; he interprets v. 11 of the struggle of Christ's 
 church with the Jewish synagogue ; xii. 19, with Eoman hea- 
 thenism, both its worldly power and fleshly wisdom ; xx. 22, 
 of the victory, rest and glorious excellency of the Church, 
 (c) The French bishop, Jacob Benignus Bossuet (died 1701), who 
 as an interpreter of the Apocalypse (Commentaire sur 1'Apoca- 
 lypse; Paris, 1689, 8) also attained to great authority in the 
 Catholic Church, partly too outside the Church. His expla- 
 nation is allied to that of Alcassar and Grotius ; naturally in 
 opposition to the usual interpretation of Protestant expositors 
 against the Papacy and its hostility to the true Church of God. 
 He refers the thousand years (xx. 1 10) to the time of the 
 sovereignty of the Church upon earth; the preceding visions 
 (iv. 19), to the war of Judaism and that of Eomish heathenism 
 (especially under Diocletian) against the Church ; he also refers 
 the number 666 to Diocletian ; the letting loose of Satan at the 
 end of the thousand years, to the spread of the Turks in Europe 
 and to Lutheranism ; the last chapters, to the impending final 
 attack of Satan on the Church, and the general resurrection 
 immediately following it, with the last judgment.* 
 
 In opposition to Bossuet, appeared on the Protestant side 
 
 * On Noel Aubert de Verse, see Liicke, 1031 ff.
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 53 
 
 the Commentary of a Dutch theologian, Campegius Vitringa, 
 Professor at Franeker (died 1722), AvaKpicm Apocalypseos Joan- 
 nis Apostoli, &c., 1715 (1719 and 1721), a work distinguished for 
 philological erudition and accuracy, as well as its literary and 
 historical apparatus. He adheres in general to the mode of expo- 
 sition usual in the Protestant Church against the Romish, which 
 he seeks to justify against Grotius and Bossuet in particular. 
 Like many commentators of that time, he also understands the 
 Apocalyptic Epistles (ch. ii. iii.) as prophecy, as prophetically 
 showing forth the inner condition of the Christian Church, ac- 
 cording to the succession of the Epistles, in different periods, 
 from the date of the composition of the book up to that time ; 
 what follows, on the contrary, from ch. iv., as a prophecy of' the 
 outward destinies of the Church running parallel to its internal 
 condition, in several divisions again running parallel to one ; 
 another. He refers the seven seals (iv. 8) to the destinies of 
 the Church in general, from Trajan until the end of the world ; 
 viii. 11 he takes as a prophecy concerning Rome, both heathen 
 and papal/ under the figure of Jerusalem. In xii. 19 is more 
 exactly presented the struggle of the true Church of Christ 
 with Romish anti-christianism until its destruction; ch. xx., 
 the condition of the Church in Europe after the destruction 
 of anti- Christian Rome, and its triumphs over new enemies 
 who should arise at the end of the thousand-years' reign ; so 
 that he considers the millennial kingdom, which he understands 
 mystically as one entirely future. In ch. xxi. xxii., the eternal 
 blessedness of the Church triumphing over the whole world is 
 set forth. 
 
 Vitringa abstains from more exact chronological calculations 
 of the future, of the time of the fall of anti-christianism, &c. 
 But different attempts were made in different quarters, after 
 the beginning of the eighteenth century, to investigate the 
 future more closely, setting out with the idea of discovering the 
 chronological system of the Apocalypse, and herewith the time 
 of the final decisive leading points, and of determining the future
 
 54 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 according to year and day; in doing which the numbers in 
 the Apocalypse were compared with the Old Testament ones, 
 especially with those in the book of Daniel. I mention here 
 only the most famous and influential attempt of the kind by 
 Johann Albrecht Bengel (died 1762) : Erklarte Offenbarung 
 Johannes oder vielmehr Jesu Christi .... libersetzt und durch 
 die prophetischen Zahlen aufgeschlossen ; Stuttg. 1740, 8; again 
 printed 1834, 8 (as also with other writings of Bengel ; see Liicke, 
 p. 1039, f. Anm. a). He believed he was able to discover, by 
 means of several very complicated and artistic combinations, it 
 is true, that a prophetic month amounts to 15| years (namely 
 6 ~, according to xiii. 18, comp. with verse 5); accordingly a 
 prophetical day consists of nearly half a year ; an apocalyptic 
 S, 1111| years (^f^); the dAt'yos KCU/H* (xii. 12) - 888f years 
 the apocalyptic alwv (xiv. 6) = 2222| years, &c. Accord- 
 ing to Bengel also, the Apocalypse is taken up in great part 
 with a prophetic representation of the struggle of the true 
 Church of Christ with the Papacy and the world. He believes 
 he found the 18th of June, 1836, to be the date of the coming of 
 Christ after the last raging of Antichrist ; from that time Satan 
 should be bound for a thousand years, until 2836 ; the thousand- 
 years' kingdom of the saints in heaven was to begin in 2836, 
 lasting until 3836. 
 
 This apocalyptic system of Bengel found much acceptance, 
 even admiration and following, in a considerable portion of the 
 Evangelical Church, not merely in Wurtemberg, but also in 
 England and elsewhere, and has been firmly held in its essential 
 features even till later times, until it found its refutation in the 
 historical course of affairs, at least partly; as Bengel himself, 
 with all confidence in the correctness of his manner of interpre- 
 tation, expressed his opinion to the effect, that if the year 1836 
 should pass without perceptible change, undoubtedly there 
 must be a main fault in his system. Nevertheless, he thinks 
 that even if the disclosure of the numbers given by him should 
 be incorrect, which he is not, however, inclined to grant, still
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 55 
 
 the explanation of the things, together with their practical 
 application, will maintain its correctness. 
 
 But the entire Bengelian and similar modes of treating the 
 Apocalypse rest upon the supposition, not merely of the genuine- 
 ness and apostolic composition of the hook, but also upon its 
 inspiration in the strictest sense, viz. that it was communicated 
 to the apostle in its whole contents by immediate divine reve- 
 lation, and is therefore thoroughly credible in all its prophetic 
 statements, if it is only explained in a right way. Yet this 
 view of the book at the time of Bengel, about the middle of 
 the 18th century, was not the one generally prevalent in the 
 Protestant Church. On the one side, a freer, less strict view of 
 the character of prophecy in general was taken, whence there 
 arose a tendency to interpret the Apocalypse in a simple 
 manner ; and more by the relations out of which the book 
 arose, scruples about the apostolic origin of the book were 
 again rife, and it was soon attacked with great eagerness. The 
 latter attacks and disputes began already about 1730, and in 
 England too, first in the Greek English New Testament pub- 
 lished anonymously and by an unknown writer (The New 
 Testament in Greek and English, &c. ; London, 1729). The 
 editor in his remarks attacks the genuineness of the Apocalypse 
 in a very decided manner, relying mainly upon the criticism of 
 Dionysius of Alexandria. It is further assailed in a treatise 
 that likewise appeared anonymously (A Discourse, Historical 
 and Critical, on the Eevelation ascribed to St. John ; London, 
 1730). The author is the Genevan librarian, Firmin Abauzit, 
 distinguished for abundant erudition, who with much energy 
 seeks to show that reasons preponderate against the apostolic 
 origin of the book. He wrote the treatise originally in French, 
 and at the inducement of an English friend, in order to coun- 
 teract the assiduous study of apocalyptic chronology ; yet it was 
 at first published in the English translation. 
 
 A refutation of these two attacks by the English theologian, 
 Leonhard Twells, appeared in the third part of his criticism of
 
 56 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 that Greek-English edition of the New Testament, 1732. The 
 treatise relating to the Apocalypse is somewhat abridged in the 
 Latin translation taken by Wolf into his Curse Philol. et Criticoe 
 on the New Testament, and prefixed to the remarks upon the 
 Apocalypse. Twells knows how to make the most of external 
 as well as internal grounds in favour of the composition of the 
 book by the apostle John, with learning and sagacity, and his 
 defence met with much approbation. 
 
 The same Abauzit wrote another treatise which belongs to 
 this place (Essai sur 1'Apocalypse, 1730), in which he tries to 
 show that the book was written under Nero, and is in its pro- 
 phecy only a development of the sayings of Christ about the fall 
 of Jerusalem ; that all refers to the destruction of this Jewish 
 capital and the Eoman-Jewish war (ch. xxi. and xxii.) ; to the 
 more extensive spread of the Christian Church after that catas- 
 trophe. 
 
 Similar is the interpretation of Wetstein (De Interpretatione 
 libri Apocalypseos) in his New Testament, II. 889 and following ; 
 1752), who refers the main contents to the Eomish-Jewish war 
 and the contemporary civil war in Italy, but understands the 
 thousand years (ch. xx.) as the fifty years after the death of 
 Domitian until the insurrection of the Jews under Bar Cochba, 
 and takes the heavenly Jerusalem as a type of the great spread 
 and rest of the Christian Church after the complete subjection 
 of the Jews. Further, Johann Christoph Harenberg's (Professor 
 at Brunswick, died 1774) Erklarung der Offenbarung Johannis : 
 Es entwickelt sich zugleich die Frage, wo wir jetzt in der Zeit 
 der Anzeigen soldier Offenbarung leben; Braunschw. 1759,4), 
 which refers all to Jerusalem as far as ch. xviii., understanding 
 Babylon as that city ; but the following chapters he refers to 
 the development of the Christian Church till the last day. 
 
 Semler, on the contrary, in his edition of Wetstein's Libell. ad 
 crisin et interpretationem N. T. (1766), where he (pp. 217 
 246) gives Observatioiies breves de interpretatione Apocalypseos, 
 considers the book as chiefly directed against the Romans, the
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 57 
 
 protectors of idolatry and enemies of the Christian Church, but 
 views the prophetical images as merely borrowed from Jewish 
 Apocalyptic, without imputing to them any special value. In the 
 same treatise, Sernler also expresses doubts about the apostolic 
 origin of the Apocalypse. But the contest respecting it raged 
 far more vigorously in the German Protestant Church a few 
 years later, when Semler published the treatise of a defunct 
 theologian (Georg Ludwig Oeder, Dean at Feuchtwangen in the 
 Ansbach district, died 1760), "Christlich freie Untersuchung iiber 
 die sogenannte Offenbarung Johanuis, aus der nachgelassenen. 
 Handschrift eines frankischen Gelehrten," herausgegeben mit 
 einigen Anmerk. von J. S. Semler ; Halle, 1*769, 8. The treatise is 
 divided into two parts ; in the first, Oeder contests the genuine- 
 ness of the Apocalypse on historical grounds by considering the 
 testimonies of the ancients ; in the second, on dogmatic grounds, 
 from a consideration of its contents. He agrees with the Alogi 
 and Caius that it is a work of Cerinthus. Semler, in his re- 
 marks, almost everywhere approves of the judgment of Oeder. 
 Subsequently, Semler treated of the same subject still farther, with 
 reference to counter works that had appeared meanwhile : (a) in 
 his Abhandlung von freier Untersuchung des Kanons, Thl. i. ; 
 nebst Antwort auf die Tiibingische Vertheidigung der Apokalypse 
 (von Beust), Halle, 1771, 8 ; (6) in his Neuen Untersuchungen 
 iiber die Apokalypse, Halle, 1776, where he seeks to prove that 
 it was not at all known in the Church before the middle of the 
 second century, and that it was first brought to Italy and Gaul by 
 Montanists (in opposition to Knittel) ; and (c) in his theological 
 Epistles, two collections, Leipzig, 1781, 8 (against Hartwig). The 
 spuriousness of the Apocalypse was also sought to be proved (a) 
 by F. A. Stroth : Freymiithige Untersuchungen, die Offenbarung 
 Johannis betreffend (against C. F. Schmidt), mit Vorrede von 
 Semler, Halle, 1771, 8 : the treatise appeared anonymously ; the 
 author studied at that time in Halle, and afterwards became 
 rector in Gotha (died 1785) ; and (6) by Michael Merkel, candi-
 
 58 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 date of theology, in two treatises, Frankf. and Leipzig, 1782 and 
 1785 (against Hartwig and Storr). 
 
 The German theologians who sought to justify the apostolic 
 origin of the Apocalypse against these attacks of Semler and his 
 friends, have been already mentioned, for the most part inci- 
 dentally. Here belong (a) the Wiirtemberg Chancellor, Jeremias 
 Eeuss (1767 and 1772) ; (&) the Leipzig, afterwards Wittenberg 
 theologian, Christian Friedrich Schmidt (1771 and 1775) ; (c) 
 the Brunswick General Superintendent, Franz Antony Knittel 
 (1773) ; (c7) the Wiirtemberg theologian, Gottlob Christian Storr 
 (1782 and 1786). One of the most valuable among the apo- 
 logetic treatises of this time in favour of the Apocalypse is 
 the following : Apologie der Apokalypse wider falschen Tadel 
 und falsches Lob. Chemnitz 4 Theile, 1780-83. The writer is 
 Friedrich Gotthold Hartwig, pastor at Grosshartmannsdorf, near 
 Freiberg. The first part of the work, written with much cir- 
 cumspection and calmness, but with too great diffuseness, is 
 chiefly taken up with the investigation of the testimony of the 
 presbyter Caius, and with the refutation of the view that the 
 Apocalypse teaches an earthly kingdom of Christ ; the second 
 part, among others, with the investigation of the testimony of 
 Dionysius of Alexandria ; the third part answers Sender's reply 
 to the two first parts (in his Theolog. Briefe), and then seeks to 
 unfold the plan of the book as a symbolic-dramatic poem in 
 several acts and scenes ; the fourth part treats of (1) the apostolic 
 genuineness of the Apocalypse from internal signs (a) from the 
 seven epistles (ch. ii. and iii.) ; and (Z>) from the exact agreement 
 of the book with the other writings and entire character of John ; 
 giving (2) an answer to the historical grounds of doubt still 
 remaining, including a historical proof of the genuineness of 
 the book. But before this work of Hartwig, there had appeared 
 an exegetical treatise on the Apocalypse by J. G. Herder: 
 " MAPAN A9A," das Buch von der Zukunft des Heirn, des Neuen 
 Testamentes Siegel ; Eiga, 1779 (in Herder's Werken zur Eeligion
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 59 
 
 u. Theologie, Thl. xii.). He views the book as a work of the apostle 
 John, but refers the whole contents, as Abauzit among others did, 
 to the destruction of Jerusalem, which he also understands by 
 Babylon, and to the disturbances and wars in Palestine preceding 
 that catastrophe. In his letters on the Study of Theology (1780), 
 Part ii. Br. 21, he expresses himself to the effect that he viewed 
 the entire destruction of Jerusalem only as a sign, pledge, type of 
 the final and greater end of things, and that the proper object oi:' 
 prophecy is to develop this end in such sign and pledge. Yet 
 this point of view does not appear definitely in the interpreta- 
 tion itself. But he gives prominence to the practical particulars 
 whereby the Apocalypse is a book for all hearts and for all times. 
 By means of its warm and enthusiastic character, the Herder- 
 treatment of the Apocalypse obtained much approval in its time, 
 and succeeded in interesting many new friends in the book, 
 at least in directing them to its formal and aesthetic beauties. 
 Hartwig, in the above-mentioned work, attached himself specially 
 to Herder in the historical relations of the Apocalypse. 
 
 Fully two years later appeared the work of Johann Gottfried 
 Eichhorn, Commentarius in Apocalypsin Joannis, 2 vols., Gott. 
 1791, 8. He also considers the Apocalypse as a genuine writ- 
 ing of the apostle John, but brings out very little of its pro- 
 phetic character. With regard to its meaning, he agrees 
 essentially with the Strasburg theologian Johann Samuel Her- 
 renschneider (in his Inaugural Dissertation, Tentamen Apocalyp- 
 seos a capite 4 usque ad finem illustrandse ; Strasburg, 1786, 4). 
 Eichhorn takes the whole as a general poetical representation 
 of the victory of Christianity over Judaism which is symbol- 
 ized by Jerusalem; and over heathenism, which is symbolized 
 by Eome designated as Babylon ; referring the phenomena 
 of the fifth and sixth trumpets, exactly in the same way as 
 Herder, to definite historical relations in the Romish-Jewish war 
 which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem. In respect to 
 form, he views the Apocalypse as a drama with different acts 
 and scenes, as Hartwig and David Parseus (1628) did. This mode
 
 60 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 of treatment by Eiclihorn certainly met with opposition in his 
 time ; for example, from Joh. Friedr. Kleuker (Ueber den Ur- 
 sprung und Zweck der Offenbarung Johanuis ; Hamb. 1800), who 
 objected to it on the ground that the properly prophetic charac- 
 ter of the book was done away with. But in general it found 
 much approval. It had the effect of making people more dis- 
 posed to recognize the genuineness and the apostolic origin of 
 the book, even without regard to its prophetic value ; and it also 
 found many followers with respect to the main points of inter- 
 pretation, and the essential character of the whole. So also Joh. 
 Heinrich Heinrichs mostly agrees with the interpretation of 
 Eichhorn, in his Latin work on the Apocalypse, in the N. T. of 
 Koppe, Vol. X. 2 parts, 1818 21, who, however, tries to make 
 out that John the presbyter is the author of the book. Another 
 theologian, Paul Joachim Sigismund Vogel, in Erlangen (died 
 1834), had tried to prove in seven programmes (1811, 16, 4), 
 that the Apocalypse is the work of two different writers ; that 
 i. 9 xi. 29 was written by the apostle John ; the remainder, 
 probably by John the presbyter. An essay of mine, in the Theolog. 
 Zeitschrift, Heft 2 (Berlin, 1820), pp. 240315, " Beitrage zur 
 Kritik und Deutung der Offenbarung Johannis," the former edited 
 by Schleiermacher, De Wette and Liicke, refers to the two last- 
 named writings, namely, to the first part of Heinrichs' Commen- 
 tary and Vogel's Programmes. Some further contributions by 
 me towards this object are to be found in my Beitrage zur 
 Evangelien-Kritik (1846), especially pp. 182200, 267 fl. 81, as 
 well as in the before-mentioned copious review of the second 
 edition of Liicke's Einl. in die Apok. (Theolog. Stud. u. Krit., 1854, 
 Heft 4, 1855, Heft 1). In the first-named essay, I expressed my 
 opinion that the whole Apocalypse was, without doubt, from one 
 and the same writer, but was partly written before the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, partly (from ch. xii. onwards) after it. This I ex- 
 pressly retracted afterwards (in the Beitrage), and declared myself 
 in favour of the unity of the book, and the composition of the 
 whole not Ions before the destruction of Jerusalem. On the
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. Gl 
 
 other hand, I have also, at a later period, held firmly other lead- 
 ing points which I sought to make conclusive in the first trea- 
 tise, namely, (a) that the Apocalypse is not a work of the apostle 
 and evangelist John, nor even falsely attributed to him by a 
 later writer, but was composed by another John, the presbyter 
 of Papias; (&) that it is not, according to the view of Eich- 
 horn, merely a general poetical representation of the victory of 
 Christianity over Judaism and heathenism, but has the deter- 
 minate object of comforting and consoling the oppressed Chris- 
 tians of the time, by directing them to the nearness of the second 
 coming of the Lord to earth ; (c) that this advent of Christ is 
 annexed to the fall of anti-christian paganism and particularly 
 of Eome as its chief seat ; that, on the contrary, the destruction 
 of Jerusalem is nothing peculiar in the prophetic representation, 
 and that even the visions in the first part, particularly in ch. ix., 
 contain no references to definite historical events at the time of 
 the Romish- Jewish war, which the author may have had in view. 
 In these points, Ewald and De Wette, among succeeding inter- 
 preters of the Apocalypse, agree with me in the main. Ewald, 
 in his Latin work, by which the interpretation of individual 
 portions is very much advanced : Commentarius in Apocalypsin 
 Joannis exegeticus et criticus ; Gott. 1828, 8. De Wette, in his 
 Einl. in N.T., and his Kurze Erklarung der Offenbarung Johannis 
 (Kurzgefasstes exeget. Handb. liber das N". T., Band III. Thl. ii., 
 Leipzig, 1848, 8 ; 2 Ausg. mit Vorrede von Lticke, 1853). This 
 Commentary is the last work of De Wette (died the 16th June, 
 1849), closing his literary and theological career in a highly 
 worthy and edifying manner; particularly the Preface, written 
 amid the severe political and social relations of the time. The 
 Commentary itself is, with all its brevity, rich in matter and 
 instructive, both for the interpretation of single parts, as well 
 as for the right understanding of the object and spirit of the 
 whole book.* 
 
 * De Wette in his Commentary made much use of Bleek's Heft on the Revelation 
 of John, which the latter handed over to him complete.
 
 62 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 A very significant and important work is that of Liicke, already 
 mentioned in its first edition, which appeared a few years after the 
 Commentary of Ewald : Versuch einer Vollstandigen Einleitung 
 in die Offenbarung Johannes und in die gesammte Apokalyptische 
 Litteratur ; Bonn, 1832, 8 ; 2nd edition (Versuch einer Vollstandi- 
 gen Einl. in die Offenb. Job.., oder allgemeine Untersuchungen iiber 
 die Apokalyptische Litteratur iiberhaupt, und die Apokalypse des 
 Johannes insbesondere), Bonn, 1852. This second edition is almost 
 double the size of the first, fully thirty sheets more, and there- 
 fore as good as a complete revision. The work is divided into 
 h ree books : (1) Conception and History of Apocalyptic Lite- 
 rature. (2) Consideration of the Apocalypse of John. (3) Theory 
 and History of the Interpretation of the Book. With reference 
 to the explanation of the Apocalypse, Liicke had already, in an 
 earlier treatise, Theolog. Stud. u. Kritiken, 1829, Heft 2 (Apo- 
 kalyptische Studien, in Beziehung auf Ewald's Commentar), so 
 far approached nearer to Eichhorn, as to believe that not only 
 Eoman paganism but also Judaism is the anti-christianism which 
 is to be overcome, without assuming a definite reference to the 
 destruction of Jerusalem; and he held essentially the same 
 opinion in the work already named, as well as in the second 
 edition, although he admits that Jerusalem is not conceived of 
 in such absolute opposition to the kingdom of Christ, as Eome, 
 the new Babylon (against it, see my remarks in the Beitrage zur 
 Ev. Krit. pp. 187 ff. and Stud. u. Krit. 1855, p. 163). With re- 
 gard to the origin of the book, Liicke decides that it could not 
 be written by the evangelist and apostle John. In the first 
 edition, however, he had sought to make good the conjecture that 
 it was written in the apostle's name by another, not exactly 
 with the intention to deceive, who based it upon a revelation 
 communicated to the apostle, partly corresponding to what the 
 same apostle may have orally expressed, and developed it in 
 his own manner. (Schott, Isagoge in N. T., 116, Not. 5, had 
 already put forward a similar view, that some Aramaic notes, 
 made by the apostle John for his private use, lay at the foun-
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 63 
 
 dation of the visions communicated to him, which a pupil of 
 his worked out farther). Yet Llicke at a later period retracted 
 this view, in Theol. Stud. u. Krit, 1836. 3, pp. 654 if., and agreed 
 in the opinion that the book is the work of another John, who 
 wrote and published it in his own name. And he expressed still 
 more decidedly the same opinion in the second edition of the 
 Introduction, holding it as most probable that the author was the 
 presbyter of Papias. Very great care and diligence are here 
 applied in proving that the Apocalypse could not be written 
 by the author of the Gospel. Other scholars of later times, who 
 are likewise convinced that the fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse 
 cannot belong to one and the same writer, have decided that the 
 Apocalypse is by the apostle John, but not the Gospel. Thus Dr. 
 Christ. Friedr. Jak. Ziillig, Die Offenbarung Johannis vollstandig 
 erklart, 2 Thle., 1834, 41, 8. The first part is in a popular style, 
 for readers who are not learned ; a form of treatment which is 
 given up in the second part. The author refers the second part 
 of the book, with Herder and others, to Jerusalem and Judaism, 
 and explains Babylon of it also ; he advances besides many sin- 
 gular, unnatural explanations. Still much valuable matter is 
 to be found, especially in his remarks about the distinction 
 between the essential in the prophetic contents of the book and 
 the non-essential that belongs to prophetic form and dress. He 
 places the composition of the Apocalypse earlier than any other 
 of the more modern interpreters, 44 47 after Christ, and 
 ascribes it to the apostle John, though the latter did not write 
 the fourth Gospel. In the same light is the subject viewed still 
 more decidedly by the entire Tubingen school of Baur, which 
 considers it almost an article of faith that the apostle John wrote 
 the Apocalypse. Schwegler first expressed this opinion in his 
 treatise on Montanism (1841), and repeated it in his Nachapos- 
 tolisches Zeitalter, Band II. (1846), pp. 249 sqq., as well as Baur 
 himself (Kritische Untersuchung liber die 4 Kanonischen Evan- 
 gelien, pp. 345 sqq.), Schnitzer, Zeller, &c. These scholars find 
 in the Apocalypse the judaizing standpoint which, as they
 
 64 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 believe, must be pre-supposed in the apostle John, and there- 
 fore think themselves justified in refusing him the fourth 
 Gospel. 
 
 Ferdinand Hitzig tried to establish another view respecting 
 the author of the Apocalypse : Uber Johannes Marcus und 
 seine Schriften oder welcher Johannes hat die Offenbarung ver- 
 fasst? Zurich, 1843, 8. Dionysius of Alexandria had already 
 mentioned John Mark the evangelist, as one who might be con- 
 sidered the writer of the Apocalypse ; and Beza briefly mentions 
 the assumption. Hitzig, however, asserts decidedly that this 
 very person wrote the Apocalypse ; and is able to give some 
 plausibility to the assumption by his usual acute and confident 
 manner. Weisse agrees with him ; in a review of the book, Neue 
 Jen. A. L. Z. (1843), No. 225 sqq. The supposition is rejected 
 by Llicke, pp. 778 796, as it had been already by Ebrard in his 
 treatise : Das Evangelium Johannis und die neueste Hypothese 
 liber seine Entstehung (1845), pp. 137 217. 
 
 Ebrard declares himself decidedly in favour of identity of 
 authorship between the fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse, and 
 the composition of both by the apostle John. So also in his ex- 
 planation of the Eevelation of John (in the continuation of Ols- 
 hausen's Bibl. Commentary, Vol. VII.); Konigsberg, 1853. The 
 same has again been asserted in other quarters, in the last twenty 
 or thirty years, for example, by Kolthoff (Apocalypsis Johanni 
 Apostolo vindicata ; Copenhagen, 1834) ; by Dannemann (Wer ist 
 der Verfasser der Offenb. Johannis? mit einemVorwort von Liicke; 
 Hannov. 1841) ; by Guerike (lastly in the second edition of his 
 Introduction to the New Testament); by Hengstenberg (die Offen- 
 barung des h. Johannes, fiir solche die in der Schrift forschen 
 erlautert; Berlin, 1849-51, 2 vols., the second in two divisions; 
 2nd edition, 1861, without essential alterations), and by others. 
 A revolution in the interpretation of the book and the estimation 
 of its value as a prophetic writing, is connected with the fact of 
 taking the whole, as well as the single visions and images, as 
 absolutely inspired predictions of the fortunes of the Church in
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 65 
 
 its struggles with the world, and so rejecting the assumption of 
 a poetic envelope. 
 
 The political relations of the times exercised a particular 
 influence upon it at the time of the war of freedom, as it had 
 done before during the heavy oppression which weighed on 
 Europe, particularly on Germany ; and afterwards too, when the 
 minds of the people were directed in excited expectation to the 
 farther development of affairs, and were therefore led to seek for 
 disclosures respecting them in the prophetic parts of the Bible,, 
 particularly in the Apocalypse. This had the effect of leading, 
 men to use the book much, and also tended to refer its con- 
 tents in an especial manner to existing temporal relations a& 
 if foretold in it. Accordingly many interpretations of the book 
 appeared, for a long time only of a popular kind, without a 
 proper philological, historical foundation ; and without receiving; 
 particular attention from scientific theologians. I may mention 
 among these only the treatise of Friedr. Sander (Versuch eimer 
 Erklarung der Offenbarung Johannes; Stuttg. 1829, 8), who 
 agrees with Bengel in particular, and finds in many things the 
 relations and occurrences of his times, viewing 1847 as the 
 decisive year when the millennial kingdom should begin, yet 
 without disguising from himself the uncertainty of the calcula- 
 tion, so that he would not look upon it as a sure designation 
 of time. It was not till a somewhat later period that a stricter 
 representation of the prophetic character of the Apocalypse 
 in general prevailed among scientific Protestant theologians; 
 with which idea several attempts at interpretation appeared, 
 which do not, however, refer precisely all the single visions to 
 individual events in the history of the world and of the Church, 
 as did many earlier interpretations ; and do not differ very much 
 in their spirit from one another. I mention, in particular, the 
 following : 
 
 (1) J. Chr. A. Hofmann : Weissagung und Erfiillung, 2 Ha'lfte 
 (1844), pp. 300 378. He ascribes the Apocalypse to the apostle 
 and evangelist John and the age of Domitian, believing that the 
 
 F
 
 66 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 book may be best explained from this standpoint of the seer, 
 according to which the destruction of Jerusalem had already 
 happened a considerable time before. He does not assume a 
 continuous series of prophecies, but several series running in 
 part beside one another. For example, he characterizes it as 
 a false supposition that the events introduced by the seven 
 trumpets should follow the opening of the seven seals in temporal 
 succession. The woman (ch. xii.) he interprets as the Hebrew 
 Church ; the wilderness to which she flees, the land of Israel ; 
 but so as to refer the .contents of this chapter to the last time, 
 the last half week of years, assuming that the land of Israel 
 should actually become again the theatre of sacred history. He 
 understands Babylon of Eome, and the seven kings in ch. xvii., 
 not of single Roman emperors, but of seven different forms of 
 worldly power : (1) Asshur with Nineveh, (2) Chaldea with 
 Babylon, (3) Persia with Suza, (4) Greece, (5) Antiochus Epi- 
 phanes ; these are the five which had fallen ; (6) Rome's Caesar. 
 The seventh had not appeared at that time, which he takes to be 
 the Germanic empire, and explains the oXiyov /mi/cu of remaining 
 for a considerable time. The beast ascending out of the abyss 
 lie refers to Antiochus Epiphanes. Many things are not quite 
 clear, as Hofmann properly supposes. 
 
 (2) Hengstenberg. He also puts the writing of the book 
 under Domitian, towards the end of his reign. In this work, 
 produced under severe illness according to the Preface, he differs 
 from Hofmann in general, in explaining the Apocalypse as a 
 whole and in single visions, by the former history of the 
 world and the Church, viewing it for the most part as already 
 fulfilled, which involves the fact of generalizing very much the 
 interpretation of many single visions, pressing exceedingly the 
 individual contents in other cases as it serves his purpose. He 
 refers the prophecies of the book to the whole time, from the 
 seer's age till the New Jerusalem ; and withal to the external 
 destiny as well as the internal condition of the Church, parti- 
 cularly its struggles with paganism. He assumes in the book
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 67 
 
 a number (7) of independent and completed groups, each giving 
 prominence to special particulars, and supplementing one ano- 
 ther. He attributes only a general preparatory character to the 
 first of these seven groups (as far as ch xi. inclusive), i.e. to 
 the phenomena at the opening of the seven seals and at the 
 seven trumpet voices. The beast ascending up out of the sea, 
 with the seven heads, he understands of the world-power, hostile 
 to God in general, with seven phases ; and refers the five heads 
 notified as fallen to five earlier world monarchies (1) the Egyp- 
 tian, (2) Assyrian, (3) Chaldean, (4) Medo-Persian, (5) Grecian. 
 He takes the sixth the head wounded to death as the Roman 
 world-power. He views its apparently deadly wound as having 
 been inflicted upon it by Christ's atonement ; the seventh head 
 and the ten horns he refers to the Germans, their kings and 
 tribes, in round numbers, whose Christianizing (ch. xix.) is repre- 
 sented under the type of their conquest by Christ in battle. He 
 looks upon the thousand-years' kingdom as having already ex- 
 pired, referring it to the period from the Christianizing of the 
 Germanic nations to the expiration of the German kingdom, as 
 the devil was bound during that period, so that he includes in it 
 the period before and after the Reformation. He does not assume 
 any reference to the Romish Church as a power hostile either to 
 Judaism as such, or even to the worship of idols ; but considers 
 the essence of paganism here pictured to be only the fleshly mind 
 with its determined hatred against God, against Christ and his 
 Church. He does not accept the appearance of a personal Anti- 
 christ. He does not take the first resurrection in a literal sense, 
 but refers it to the blessedness which begins to the faithful 
 immediately at their departure from this life. The loosing again 
 of Satan he refers to our present time, especially after 1848, the 
 period of Gog and Magog. His looking at the phenomena of 
 modern times in a moral and religious aspect exercised an un- 
 mistakable influence upon Hengstenberg's interpretation of the 
 Apocalypse. 
 
 (3) Ebrard. This expositor, according to his own declaration 
 
 F2
 
 68 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 (p. 29), wishes to make a first attempt, different from all interpreters 
 of the book before him, to separate strictly and throughout the 
 interpretation of prophecy from the question of its fulfilment. 
 Yet the entire character of his interpretation does not exactly 
 produce the impression that he had this end in view through- 
 out, in good earnest. The way in which he interprets the seven 
 epistles (ch. ii. iii.) proves this ; for he believes that types of 
 the Church of later times are to be found in the condition of 
 the Asiatic Churches here represented, as in the four first 
 consecutively, from the apostolic time to the middle ages. He 
 has much in common with Hengstenberg and Hofmann, but 
 differs from them in many points ; amongst other things, in 
 assuming a definite reference to the Eomish Church and the 
 Papacy. He explains the seven heads of the beast as seven 
 monarchies, of which the first is Assyria ; the sixth represented 
 by the head wounded to death the Eomish, which is the beast 
 ascending out of the sea (ch. xiii.), the same as the whore or 
 Babylon (ch. xvii.) ; the ten horns are the Germanic and Slavic 
 peoples of the dispersed nations, which inflict the wound upon 
 the worldly power of the Eomans, and bring it almost to destruc- 
 tion, but again recover, and figure in the new Eoman empire 
 formed with 'Borne into the spiritual centre, which still exists, 
 compounded of Bomish and Germanic elements ; though in it, 
 since the thirteenth century, the Pope, instead of the Emperor, 
 always appears more and more as the real and ideal represen- 
 tative of such power. Of the Papacy itself, the Eoman Chair 
 as a spiritual power, he explains the beast ascending out of the 
 earth (the false prophet). He refers the seventh head to the fact 
 that those ten kingdoms, which first appear at the dispersion of 
 the nations, will one day emerge as an independent power in 
 place of the Eomish ; i.e. in the last time, that of Antichrist, yet 
 only for a short time ; whereupon the three-and-a-half years of 
 the personal Antichrist, Babylon's fearful destruction and Christ's 
 visible advent, will take place (ch. xvii. and following). He 
 understands the 42 months or 1260 days (XL 2, 3, xii. 6, xiii. 5)
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 69 
 
 as a mystic sign for the whole period from the destruction 
 of Jerusalem by Titus to the conversion and restoration of the 
 Jewish nation, or until the downfall of the Koman power, in its 
 second phase, after the healing again of the wound that had 
 appeared deadly ; in short, till the appearing of Antichrist, during 
 which time also fleshly Israel, in spite of their present unbelief, 
 will be wonderfully upheld. He understands the two witnesses 
 (ch. xi.) of the law and gospel. The three-and-a-half days (xi. 
 9, 11) he reckons, like the three-and-a-half times (xii. 14) as 
 three-and-a-half years. 
 
 (4) Carl August Auberlen : Der Prophet Daniel und die 
 Offenbarung Johannis, in ibrem gegenseitigen Verhaltniss be- 
 trachtet, und in ihren Haupstellen erlautert; Basel, 1854, 2 
 Aufl., 1857. Auberlen is chiefly concerned with the book of 
 Daniel, starts with it, and interprets the Apocalypse on its basis 
 (from ch. xii. onwards) ; as is also the case with the interpreters 
 already considered (2nd ed. pp. 266 and following). The beast 
 ascending out of the sea he also understands of the world-power 
 in general, and refers the seven heads of the beast to seven 
 universal monarchies, of which the five fallen are, according to 
 him, as well as Hengstenberg, the Egyptian, the Assyrian, Baby- 
 lon, Medo-Persia, Greece ; the sixth, the Romish kingdom ; the 
 seventh, the Germanic-Sclavonic kingdom, is that still continuing. 
 Peculiar to himself is the interpretation of the woman (xvii. 3 
 and following), whom he holds to be the same as the woman with 
 child (ch. xii.) ; this latter he understands to be the Church of 
 God in its Old Testament and in its New Testament form. The 
 wilderness to which she flies before the dragon (xii. 14), he 
 refers to the taking away of the kingdom of God from the Jews, 
 and its transference to the Gentiles, especially to Rome ; all the 
 time from the destruction of Jerusalem to the coming again of 
 Christ. He holds the great whore (ch. xvii.) to be the same 
 woman that sits upon the beast, understanding that the Church 
 of God in the world has become a whore through apostasy ; that 
 is, the whole of Christendom all over the world ; the Catholic
 
 70 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Church (the Roman and Greek), in a much deeper sense than 
 the Evangelical ; yet not that or any special single Church or 
 ecclesiastical party. He thinks that the seven hills (xvii. 9) 
 are, at the most, only an incidental allusion to Rome, which 
 should not be considered the proper sense of the passage ; by 
 the hills, great kings, the great world-powers, are much more pro- 
 bably signified ; that the beast slain as it were to death (xiii. 3) 
 points to similarity with Christ (v. 6) and signifies outward 
 Christianizing ; that the death- wound should be referred to the 
 seventh head, the seventh kingdom, which had become a Chris- 
 tian kingdom of the world, since the woman, the whore, allows 
 herself to be carried by the beast. The pointed opposition be- 
 tween world and church is done away with ; both make mutual 
 concessions : secularized Christianity and a Christianized world 
 is the fundamental type of the Christian centuries until the 
 wound of the beast should be healed. The same beast revives, 
 and returns put of the abyss, signifying that the Christian- Ger- 
 manic world should again fall away from Christianity (modem 
 paganism) ; that this healing of the wound of the beast has 
 already begun in our time, in the beastly outbreak of the 
 French Revolution, &c.; the eighth (xvii. 11) is the kingdom of 
 Antichrist, which is to bring the entire world of beastly exist- 
 ences into complete manifestation. Auberlen takes the thousand- 
 years' reign, as well as the first resurrection, in the proper 
 millennarian sense, as still future, yet he leaves it undecided 
 whether that number is intended to denote with chronological 
 precision the continuance of the kingdom. He thinks that it 
 should be especially taken in its symbolical significance ten 
 as the number of world-fullness, potentiated by the divine num- 
 ber three, viz. that the world is then actually penetrated by the 
 divine. 
 
 I omit here the interpretations of modern Catholic theologians, 
 as well as of non-German Protestants: see Auberlen, pp. 381 and 
 following, on two of the latter ; the Englishman Elliott (Horse 
 Apocalypticse, &c., 4th ed., London, 1851, 4 vols.), and the Gene-
 
 USE OF THE APOCALYPSE IN THE CHURCH. 71 
 
 vese Gaussen (Daniel le Prophete, edit. 1850, in several volumes). 
 Both interpret in an anti-Eomisli sense (especially Elliott), and 
 adopt far more and exacter references to chronology and the his- 
 torical relations of the Church down to our time than even the 
 last-named German interpreters. 
 
 [Eemark of the Editor : After Bleek's death there appeared as 
 a worthy conclusion to the Commentary of Meyer on the New 
 Testament, from Dr. Fr. Dlisterdieck, Kritisch-exegetische Hand- 
 buch iiber die Offenbarung Johannis (des Meyer'schen Com- 
 mentars 16. Abtheilimg). Diisterdieck returns to the beaten track 
 of Bleek, De Wette and Llicke. Whilst rejecting, on the one 
 hand, the idea developed by Eichhorn, that the Apocalypse is a 
 poetic description of the victory of Christianity over Judaism 
 and Paganism ; he opposes, on the other, those interpreters 
 who find the most specific predictions of time, from the period 
 of John to the final appearance of the Lord, whether they view 
 the Apocalypse as a prophetic compendium of Church history (as 
 Bengel), or (as Hofmann; Ebrard, Hengstenberg, Auberlen) find 
 described " the great epochs and leading forces of the develop- 
 ment of the kingdom of God in its relation to the world-power." 
 Like Bleek, he finds the object of the Apocalypse to comfort 
 oppressed Christians, by instructing them concerning the ap- 
 pearing of the Lord, wherein the present form of the Romish 
 world-kingdom appears to the author as the last phenomenon of 
 the kind that is to be overthrown by the speedy coming of the 
 Lord. Diisterdieck puts over against Eichhorn's " rationalistic 
 idea of inspiration," as well as Hengstenberg's " magic one," &c., 
 the "ethical" idea, according to which the prophetic vision, 
 which shapes itself by divine inspiration in the soul of the 
 prophet, is conditioned by the whole subjectivity of the man 
 (p. 45). This is pretty much the same view as that expressed 
 by Bleek (Section iii.), " that the visions and prophecies are 
 not an absolutely pure creation of the divine spirit; but that 
 human weakness, worldly or personal individuality, has more 
 or less influenced their form." But whilst it is uncertain to
 
 72 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Bleek whether the form of representation in the visions is not 
 a mere envelope (see Section iii. 4), Diisterdieck holds firmly 
 that the visions presented themselves to the writer just as 
 he actually describes them, only " that the objects viewed 
 shaped themselves in a moral way, according to the measure of 
 the prophet's human subjectivity/' Diisterdieck also contests 
 decidedly, as did De Wettc, Ewald, Llicke, Bleek, the authorship 
 of the Apocalypse by the apostle John ; and, like them, expresses 
 it as a possible conjecture that the writer is identical with the 
 presbyter John, who wrote the book shortly before the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem.]
 
 III. 
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 WE shall treat in succession : 1. Of its leading meaning and 
 object. 2. Of its unity and time of composition. 3. Of its 
 author. 4. Of its literary form, particularly the visions here 
 presented. 5. Of the canonicity of the book. 
 
 I. ON THE LEADING SENSE AND DESIGN OF THE BOOK. 
 
 We have seen how manifold the interpretations of the book are, 
 even with regard to chief points, down to the latest time, and that not 
 merely according to the different theological tendencies of inter- 
 preters, but also among those who take the same point of view in 
 general, especially the stricter one. These latter so far agree, 
 that they suppose the book to contain true disclosures of the 
 future, such as have found or will yet find their actual fulfilment 
 in the history of the Church. Yet we must not proceed at once 
 upon this supposition, even according to the character of pro- 
 phecy in general (upon which Bleek, Alttest. Einl. pp. 409 447) ; 
 here especially, since our judgment upon the origin of the book 
 is not yet established. We must therefore, a priori, suppose it 
 possible that the prophecy contained in the book, or much that 
 is prophesied in it, has not been fulfilled ; and in the manner in 
 which it is announced will not perhaps be fulfilled. We should, 
 therefore, honestly endeavour, a thing which Ebrard justly sets 
 forth as a condition of interpretation, not to be influenced by the
 
 74 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 later history of the Church in discovering the meaning of the 
 Apocalypse as a whole and in single parts. If we have searched 
 out the sense as far as possible from the book itself, we may 
 then direct our attention to this, viz. whether and how far it 
 has already been confirmed in the course of the Church, and 
 how far we are justified, accordingly, in expecting further verifi- 
 cation and fulfilment from the future. Another thing which I 
 w r ish to mention beforehand is this. The key to the under- 
 standing of the Apocalypse has been abundantly sought for in 
 the prophecies of the Old Testament, especially those of Daniel. 
 This appears natural, since so many prophetic representations 
 of the Apocalypse remind one unmistakably of Old Testament 
 descriptions, especially Ezekiel's and Daniel's. But the inter- 
 pretation of Daniel's visions themselves is still disputed in 
 many ways; then it is a main point in using them for the 
 interpretation of the Apocalypse, to know not merely the proper 
 original meaning, for example, of the visions of Daniel, but also, 
 and still more, the way in which they were apprehended, at the 
 time of the composition of the Apocalypse, among the Jews and 
 in the Christian Church. It is at least possible to suppose that, 
 even where the Apocalypse has borrowed certain images and re- 
 presentations from the Old Testament, for example from Daniel, 
 it has them in a different relation and a somewhat different 
 meaning to the Old Testament Scripture. But it is of import- 
 ance, for the proper understanding of the Apocalypse, to compare 
 throughout the religious conceptions and prophetic expectations 
 that prevailed among the later Jews and in the early Christian 
 Church, as we get to know them from other writings of the early 
 Christian Church, particularly the New Testament, and also from 
 those of the later Jewish literature ; since we cannot doubt that 
 these ideas were known to the author, and that he has had respect 
 to them in many ways. 
 
 If we pass to an examination of the literal leading sense and 
 design of the Apocalypse, we shall have no doubt, after the sur- 
 vey of the contents of the book previously given, that it is a
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 75 
 
 prophetic allusion to the future of the Church of the Lord until 
 its completion. As to the economy of the book in general, ch. i. v. 
 readily show that they are an introduction to the prophetic dis- 
 closures of the future communicated in the following chapters. 
 In them the seer is described to whom the revelation is communi- 
 cated ; the churches to which, in the first place, he is to commu- 
 nicate it ; the transporting of the seer into heaven before the 
 divine throne ; the book closed with seven seals, which contains 
 in itself the future; and he who alone is able and worthy to 
 open the book and to loose its seals. In the following chapters 
 the seven seals are successively loosed, and what takes place 
 thereupon is set forth ; a narrative which continues in uninter- 
 rupted succession as far as ch. xi. The seven seals are divided 
 into 4 + 3, or 4 + 2 + 1; the opening of the four first is but 
 briefly described, vi. 1 8 ; more fully is that of the two following, 
 verses 9 17. The opening of the seventh seal is at first somewhat 
 delayed by the preceding description of the servant of Christ with 
 the divine seal, ch. vii. : even after the opening of it, silence takes 
 place in order to fix the attention still more on its weighty contents, 
 which, however, do not appear at once, but in a gradual development 
 attaching itself to the trumpets of the seven angels. At this seven- 
 fold blowing of trumpets, a division into 4 + 3, or 4 + 2 + 1, 
 again takes place, similar to that of the opening of the seven seals. 
 What appears at the four first trumpet-sounds is again specified 
 very briefly and symmetrically (viii. 7 12) ; what was to be 
 expected at the last three is then (verse 13), notified as a three- 
 fold woe to the earth ; the two first woes, which appear at the 
 fifth and sixth trumpet-sounds, are then described somewhat more 
 fully, the former from ix. 13, as far as xi. 14. Hereupon it is 
 again pointed out that the third (therefore last) woe will come 
 quickly, and at the blowing of the trumpet of the seventh angel 
 the mystery of God will be fulfilled (x. 6 and following, xi. 14) ; 
 yet there is at the same time (x. 11) an intimation that the seer 
 had a further commission to prophesy about many kings and 
 nations. It is then related (xi. 15 and following) that the seventh
 
 76 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 angel caused his trumpet to sound. After the preceding, one 
 would expect that a description of the third and last woe would 
 immediately follow, with which agrees also what is notified in 
 heaven (verses 15 19) respecting the impression of this trumpet- 
 sound. Yet we are led away thence by the following visions, 
 from ch. xii. onward, which manifestly do not stand in so close 
 a relation to the preceding, as to contents and form, as the pre- 
 ceding chapters to one another. On the contrary, what follows 
 is closely connected with itself as far as the end, whilst the single 
 visions are closely united to one another, describing the conflict 
 of the Church of the Lord with the powers of the world and of 
 darkness till its complete victory. The last struggle which Satan 
 begins, and which ends for ever with his complete subjugation, 
 is described, xx. 7 10. To it is annexed a description of 
 the general resurrection, the last judgment, and the everlasting 
 glory of the faithful and pious, as well as the place prepared for 
 them after the renewal of heaven and earth. These representa- 
 tions have unmistakably a very poetical character ; and it is 
 clear that they cannot be meant literally, but have mostly a 
 figurative, symbolical sense : yet we may doubt how far this is 
 the case, and therefore such descriptions, particularly that of 
 eternal glory, are sometimes taken spiritually, sometimes more 
 sensuously and materially, according to the peculiar tendency of 
 the times and the interpreters. But there has always been much 
 more dispute in the Church about the meaning of the preceding 
 visions, with which is connected the idea when that everlasting 
 fulfilment of the kingdom of God is to appear, according to the 
 sense of our book, and what sort of catastrophes are to pre- 
 cede it. 
 
 We now consider the section immediately preceding (xx. 1 6). 
 The seer beholds the devil bound for a thousand years, thrown 
 into the abyss, and so deprived of his destructive influence 
 over the kingdom of God and its members. Farther, he sees 
 that the souls of the faithful who suffered death in confessing 
 their Lord, and did not give themselves up to the wicked one,
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 77 
 
 live again in order to reign a thousand years with Christ, whose 
 victorious advent was already described (xix. 11 21), to reign 
 as priests of God and of Christ, and as such not to die any more. 
 Here it is asked, (a) whether the thousand years are meant as pro- 
 per years according to men's usual mode of reckoning, or merely as 
 a symbolical way of counting, and in what sense ; and (6) when 
 the period begins. We have seen, in the latter respect, that many 
 interpreters, in opposition to millennarianism, have been of the 
 opinion that, by the thousand-years' reign of Christ, none other 
 can be understood than that which he established on earth at the 
 time of his incarnation, and which had begun even when the 
 Apocalypse was composed. This is the view which has prevailed 
 in the Catholic Church since the fourth century, which is also 
 to be found in Victorinus of Petabio, in most Protestant inter- 
 preters, as well as in Bossuet, &c. Others date the beginning 
 of the thousand-years' kingdom later, but yet consider it as 
 having not merely begun long since, but as already expired. 
 Thus Grotius (and those who follow him), who reckons the thou- 
 sand years from Constantino the Great on to the beginning of the 
 fourteenth century ; and lately Hengstenberg, who refers them to 
 the time from the Christianizing of the Germanic nations to the 
 expiration of the German empire. But here, first of all, the 
 former assumption, that the thousand years begin with the in- 
 carnation of Christ, is unmistakably against the meaning of our 
 book. A time of undisturbed peace belonging to the kingdom of 
 God is clearly represented, in opposition to the preceding one of 
 affliction and conflict, a time when the devil and his instruments 
 would be powerless to exercise any disturbing influence and power 
 over it, either in general or over individual members. Now the 
 time when the book was written, whether we regard it as early 
 or late, could not well be described in such a way, in contrast with 
 any earlier one. There can be no doubt that this thousand-years' 
 kingdom alludes to a time which had not begun when the book 
 was written, and to one in which the Lord should return to unite 
 his own people with himself in his kingdom. Accordingly we
 
 78 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 find tliis hope almost in the whole Christian Church of the first 
 age, the hope that the Lord would return, and that soon, no longer 
 in the lowly form of a servant, which he had assumed at his first 
 appearance upon earth, but in the complete glory and majesty be- 
 longing to him ; and that he would then join his own people to 
 himself in a kingdom of peace and undisturbed happiness, giving 
 them a share in his glory and power. It is grounded in the essence 
 of the historical manifestation of Christ at his incarnation, that 
 / prophecy revived with new power in his Church, pointing to the 
 
 /fulfilment of the kingdom of God and its complete victory over 
 the world. Old Testament prophecy had already directed atten- 
 tion to this ; but as the Messianic salvation expected at the first 
 appearance of Christ upon earth was not fully realized by his 
 own ministry or that of his disciples, Christian prophecy was 
 directed very soon in a special manner to a second future of the 
 Son of Man, to his glorious re-appearing. This is found even in 
 the sayings of Christ himself, as they were apprehended and com- 
 municated by the disciples," especially in the three first Gospels, 
 chiefly Matt. xxiv. xxv. In like manner, the same hope is found 
 in most of the New Testament writings, if not always expressly 
 stated, yet clearly lying at the foundation. 
 
 The raising of the deceased faithful from the dead in order to 
 participate in this kingdom, beginning with the return of the 
 Lord, is not peculiar to the Apocalypse. Already in Dan. xii. 2, 
 we meet with the promise that at the time of the people's re- 
 demption (the Messianic salvation) there would be a resurrection 
 of the dead ; of the pious to eternal life, of the wicked to ever- 
 lasting shame and contempt. In later Jewish theology, this idea 
 was developed into a two-fold resurrection : (a) of the pious, the 
 true people of God, at the appearing of the Messiah, when they 
 should be re-awaked to take part with him in his kingdom ; 
 (Z>) of a later general one, at the last day, for universal judgment. 
 Such distinction of two resurrections following each other closely 
 in time, we do not find definitely expressed in the discourses of 
 Christ. Yet the believers of the first age appear to have partly
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 79 
 
 adopted that view, namely, in such a way as to put the first 
 resurrection, that of believers, at the time of Christ's glorious 
 return. So we find it particularly in the apostle Paul, 1 Thess. 
 iv, 14 and following verses, with 1 Cor. xv. 22 and following, 
 51 and following. Paul, indeed, does not speak expressly of 
 the second resurrection, the general one, since he had no par- 
 ticular motive for doing so according to the object which he 
 there pursues. Yet it is implied unmistakably in 1 Cor. Here, 
 in the Apocalypse, the idea occurs in a more definite shape, 
 according to which true believers rise again that they may 
 participate in the thousand-years' kingdom, which is expressly 
 signified as the first resurrection; whilst the general judgment of 
 all the dead is placed after the expiration of these thousand years. 
 Accordingly we find, and still more definitely, a double resurrec- 
 tion, that of believers at the return of the Lord, and the second 
 general one at the last judgment, separated by different Church 
 teachers of the early centuries, particularly by Tertullian, Metho- 
 dius, Lactantius, &c. Undoubtedly, however, this idea was not 
 quite general even in the middle of the second century, as we see 
 most distinctly from Justin the Martyr (Dial c. Tryph. 80), where 
 he will not allow those to be Christians who denied the resurrec- 
 tion, and assumed that souls immediately after death were taken 
 up to heaven; but remarks that many pious and believing Chris- 
 tians denied a thousand-years' kingdom before the general resur- 
 rection, with whom, however, he does not agree. 
 
 As to the thousand years, we find opinions about the duration 
 of the Messianic kingdom among the later Jews very different. 
 The idea that seems to have prevailed among them at the time 
 of Christ was that it would be of eternal duration ; comp. John 
 xii. 34, and Eisenmenger, Entd. Judenthum (Konigsberg, 1711, 4) j 
 II. pp. 813 sqq. This idea might also have been founded on ex- 
 press utterances of the Bible. Yet other ideas also prevailed 
 which made the Messiah subject to mortality, and assigned 
 only a finite duration to his sovereignty with all its splendour. 
 These we find expressly in later times ; among others, that of a
 
 80 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 duration of forty years, of seventy years, of four hundred years 
 (so also 4 Esdr. vii. 28), of several thousand years, and also defi- 
 nitely of one thousand years (see Eisenmenger, 1. c. pp. 809 sqq.). 
 The latter duration, according to the assertion of several later 
 Jewish writings (see Eisenmenger, Wetstein ad Apoc. xx. 2), a 
 Rabbi Elieser, son of the Rabbi Jose, the Galilean, is said to 
 have stated, for which he relied upon Isaiah Ixiii. 4, " A day o 
 revenge was resolved upon by me " (^b? DJ73 n^), combining 
 the passage with Ps. xc. 3, " One thousand years are in thy sight 
 but as yesterday," which latter is also applied to the coming of 
 the Lord (2 Peter iii. 8). It cannot indeed be maintained cer- 
 tainly, but it is not unlikely, that the idea in this form was not 
 unknown to the Jews even in the apostolic age, whence it was 
 transferred in the Christian Church to the duration of the king- 
 dom beginning with the return of the Lord. Yet it is also 
 possible that it assumed this form in the Christian Church 
 itself. The combination of that passage in the Psalms with the 
 narrative of the creation of the world might have had some in- 
 fluence, from persons considering the latter as a type of the 
 destinies of the world, and therefore concluding that, as God 
 had created the world in six days and afterwards rested the 
 seventh day, so the world should be completed in six days, that 
 is, six thousand years ; but that the seventh day, that is, the 
 seventh millennium, should become a time of undisturbed rest and 
 Messianic bliss. So it is said expressly (Ep. Barnab. ch. xv.) that 
 God completed the world in six days, meaning that he would 
 complete everything in six thousand years ; since, according 
 to Ps. 1. c., one day is a thousand years ; and he rested on the 
 seventh day, signifying that the Son of God, appearing after 
 the dissolution of the present world -system, would keep a 
 glorious rest on the seventh day (xaXw? KaraTraiWrai). On 
 this, his sabbath, God would cause all things to rest, and then 
 make the beginning of the eighth day, that is, the beginning of 
 a new world. It is manifest that the same idea is found here, 
 in substance, as in the Apocalypse, that the kingdom of the
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE, 81 
 
 Messiah should last one thousand years after the second advent 
 of the Lord, and the renewal of the world be annexed to it. 
 When this Epistle was written cannot with certainty be deter- 
 mined ; in any case, later than the Apocalypse. Yet the relation 
 of both writings on this point is not of the kind that would 
 make it probable that the author of that Epistle borrowed the 
 whole conception from the Apocalypse. The brief manner also 
 in which it is stated in the Apocalypse, makes it probable that 
 the idea is not one newly expressed, but such as the author 
 already found, and might pre-suppose as not entirely unknown 
 to his readers ; whether, as already mentioned, it had first taken 
 tliis shape in the Christian Church itself, or had been found 
 by the latter in the Jewish Church. 
 
 As to the real significance of the thousand years, it is most 
 unlikely, from the probable form of the conception, that any 
 other definite period of time should be meant than that denoted 
 by the common use of language. Yet, on the other hand, it 
 is not probable that the number should be strictly pressed, in 
 the sense of our book, as a measured period of exactly one 
 thousand solar or lunar years ; but it may be assumed with pro- 
 bability, especially if the idea was already developed, at least it 
 may be supposed, that the number here is only retained as a 
 general expression to denote a very long period of undisturbed 
 repose and happiness for believers, beginning at the return of 
 the Lord. 
 
 We ask further, What does our book teach about the time 
 when the glorious appearing of the Lord will take place and the 
 thousand-years' kingdom begin, as well as the relations under 
 which this will happen ; what is to precede the catastrophe ; and 
 how is the Apocalypse related to the other writings of the New 
 Testament ? The Lord had expressly stated (Matt xxiv. 26 ; 
 Mark xiii. 32), and, according to Acts i. 7, even referred to it 
 after his resurrection, that to know the time and seasons, namely, 
 with regard to the coming of the kingdom of God in its com- 
 pletion, the Father reserved to himself ; and in Matt. xxiv. 14 
 
 G
 
 82 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Mark xiii. 10, the announcement of the gospel throughout the 
 whole world is specified by him as something which must pre- 
 cede. But, on the other hand, he exhorted the disciples to 
 be always ready to receive him worthily. To this the apostle 
 directed their attention primarily, and sought to direct that of 
 other believers, that their looking forward to the coming of the 
 Lord might be of use to them all, as an ever-living incentive, 
 urging them to dedicate all their powers to the Lord and to the 
 furtherance of his kingdom, that they might be found faithful 
 stewards of the talents he had entrusted to them. Yet it can- 
 not be denied that they generally cherished the hope that the 
 glorious appearing of the Lord was near, so that they themselves 
 or many of their contemporaries might perhaps live to see it. 
 This may be recognized by the way in which several discourses of 
 the Lord respecting the future, in the Synoptical Gospels, are re- 
 produced and brought into connection with one another. We 
 cannot but see that with the apostle Paul, especially in some 
 of his earliest Epistles, this point of time to his mind appeared 
 pretty near, so that he hoped to live to see the future advent of the 
 Lord (comp. 1 Thess. iv. 15 17 ; 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52). But the ex- 
 pectation appears to have receded into the background with him 
 at a later period. In James v. 7 11 also, the coming of the Lord 
 (17 irapova-ia TOV Kvpiov) is specified as near ; so also in the Epistle 
 to the Hebrews (see especially x. 37). The same hope may also 
 be discerned in our book, even in the first part of it. For when 
 the Lord (iii. 11) says to the ayyeAos of the church of Laodicea, 
 (pXo/jMi raxv, there can be no doubt, according to New Testament 
 usage as well as our book, that this is meant of the glorious 
 re-appearing of the Lord (see also i. 17). So, too, when it is said 
 immediately at the beginning (i. 3), 6 KCU/JOS eyyvs, there can be 
 no doubt that this refers to the nearness of the time to which the 
 hope of the believer was directed, when the complete inaugura- 
 tion of the kingdom of God should begin with the return of the 
 Lord (comp. Luke xxi. 8 ; Mark xiii. 33 ; comp. also Apoc. x. 6 
 and following : on xpovos ov/cert co-rat K. A..).
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 83 
 
 It appears, however, that our book does not merely specify 
 this catastrophe in general as one which is near, but endeavours 
 to indicate in a still more definite manner the point of its com- 
 mencement. But in what way this is done is very doubtful, 
 depending, as it does, upon the apprehension of the visions pre- 
 ceding the announcement of the thousand-years' reign. In general, 
 especially in the closely-connected visions (ch. xii. xix.), we find 
 the sense easily discernible ; that before the beginning of this 
 reign, the adversaries of Christ and his kingdom, the devil and 
 his associates, should be conquered by Christ and made power- 
 less with respect to the continuance of that kingdom, deprived 
 of all power to disturb its peace and happiness, after they had 
 previously made the most violent efforts against it. The general 
 idea lying at the foundation and confirmed by the whole history 
 is, that an extreme effort of the opposite spirit of evil, falsehood 
 and darkness, precedes every more important development of good 
 and of the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of truth, of light 
 and of peace, and would all the more precede the completion of 
 Christ's kingdom. Thus we find already in the prophets of the 
 Old Testament, that the announcement of the Messianic salva- 
 tion is usually appended to the most lamentable condition of 
 the people of God and their most violent oppression by enemies. 
 The discourses of the Redeemer also,, communicated in the Synop- 
 tical Gospels, make it obvious that his re-appearing will not take 
 place unless the greatest measure of suffering of all kinds for 
 the people of God shall have been previously filled up. But it 
 may be asked, in what manner, in what particular form, this 
 general idea is individualized in the Apocalypse. Here the de- 
 termination mainly depends upon the view taken of the powers 
 which are introduced as the adversaries and combatants of 
 Messiah and of God's kingdom. They are designated (from 
 ch. xii. onwards) as different beasts, presented to the eye of the 
 seer ; so that the question arises, for what are we to take these 
 beasts ? 
 
 First of all there appears (in ch. xii.) a great fiery-coloured 
 
 G2
 
 84 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 dragon, with seven heads and seven crowns upon it, as well as ten 
 horns. The interpretation of this is not doubtful, since he is 
 already (xii. 9) expressly designated as the devil and Satan. 
 Then appear (ch. xiii.) two other beasts, the one ascending out 
 of the sea, the other out of the earth. The former is repre- 
 sented in its outward form as similar to Satan, also with ten 
 horns and seven heads, but with ten crowns ; it is said of him, 
 that Satan has given up his might, his throne and great power to 
 him. He. is denoted as the first beast, and so distinguished (verse 12) 
 from the other one ascending out of the earth (TO irpurov 6i]piov) ; 
 but for the most part simply as the least (TO Ot]pLov). He is un- 
 mistakably the same beast (denied, but wrongly, by Zlillig, 
 Hofmann, Weissagung und Erfiillung, ii. 369, Ebrard) who is 
 again introduced (xvii. 3), where he is likewise described as having 
 seven heads and ten horns ; but where an unchaste woman, de- 
 noted as Babylon, sits upon him. The other beast (xiii. 11 and 
 following) ascending out of the earth has two lamb's horns, but 
 talks like a dragon. He is expressly described, in what follows, 
 as the false prophet (xvi. 13, xix. 20, xx. 10); and his employment 
 is to procure worshippers for the first beast, working for that 
 purpose by signs and wonders. The second beast appears gene- 
 rally as subserving the first. The latter seems, from the whole 
 description, the true counterpart of Christ, and armed with all 
 power by the devil to make the most strenuous exertions in 
 fighting against the kingdom of Christ and of 'God. The descrip- 
 tion of this beast is unmistakably borrowed from the represent- 
 ations given in the book of Daniel about an adversary of the 
 people of God, who endeavours in every way to oppress the 
 latter and to annihilate the worship of the true living God ; who 
 should even put himself in the place of God (see Dan. vii. 8, 
 xx. 21, viii. 23 25, and especially xi. 21 45.) These descrip- 
 tions in the book of Daniel refer, in the first place, to the Syrian 
 king, Antiochus Epiphanes, from whom the Jewish nation, par- 
 ticularly those who held firmly to the worship of Jehovah and 
 the law of their fathers, had so much to suffer. But as in the
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 85 
 
 book of Daniel the announcement of the commencement of the 
 Messianic salvation is annexed immediately to the representation 
 of the hostile attempts of that adversary against the worship and 
 people of Jehovah, as well as his final destruction, and is also 
 united to the resurrection of the dead, it was natural to take the 
 prince as the type of a still future adversary of the people of God, 
 immediately preceding the coming of the Messiah, and to regard 
 individual features in the description of his essence and working 
 as a direct prophecy of such an one. How far that was done among 
 the Jews as early as the time of Christ and the apostles cannot 
 perhaps be ascertained. Somewhat later, after the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, the idea of such an Antichrist, under the name of 
 Armillus, is found among them, whose origin and significance is un- 
 certain ; but his appearance is pictured by them in a very fabulous 
 manner, viz. that he should be born at Eome out of a stone pillar- 
 image, claim for himself divine honour, go to Jerusalem, and there 
 slay the first Messiah, the son of Joseph or Ephraim, but should 
 finally be destroyed by the second Messiah, the son of David. 
 This development of the conception certainly belongs to a later 
 time ; but the idea itself, of an Antichrist preceding the appear- 
 ance of the Messiah and to be overcome by him, may have been 
 already known to the Jews at the time of Christ. So much may 
 be regarded as certain, that the idea took shape in the Christian 
 Church somewhat early, and with reference to the time of the 
 glorious appearing of the Lord expected as near ; having been 
 specially borrowed from those passages of the book of Daniel. 
 We find it accordingly in the apostle Paul in one of his earliest 
 Epistles (2 Thess. ii. 3 and following), where he tells his readers 
 that they must not suppose the day of the Lord as too near, 
 as commencing immediately ; for before that, must appear o 
 
 av$po>7ros T^S u/^aprias, 6 wos TTJS aTrwAetas, 6 dvTiKtt/xevos K. iwre- 
 pcupd/ievos CTTI irtivTo. Xeyopevov Ofuv rj (re/Jour/m, coo-re avrov et's TOV vaov 
 TOV Oeov KaOio-ai aTroSeiKvwra eavruv OTL eortv 0eos (verses 3, 4), the 
 avo/xos, ov Kvptos 'Iiyo-ovs dveAei TW Trvev/JLori TOV cTTO/xaros OVTOV KCU 
 TJ/ 7TK/>avt T^S Trapowias O.VTOV (verse 8), oo corrtv ?y
 
 86 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Tropovcria KO.T evepyeiav TOV crarava eu Tracry Svvayuct KCU cnj/ieiois KCU 
 Tfpaa-i i/'euSous *. A. Daniel's description lies unmistakably at the 
 foundation of this one. How widely the expectation of such 
 an Antichrist, who should appear before the day of the Lord, 
 was spread among the Christians, at least in the latter time of 
 the apostolic age, appears especially from 1 'John ii. 18, &c., 
 iv. 3, where the apostle John, with undoubted reference to this 
 idea, gives his readers to understand that they had for a sign 
 of the eo-xarr? ci'pa being present, to wait for a single person to 
 appear as Antichrist, since many considered as Antichrists 
 had already appeared; for every one is to be looked upon as 
 such who denies that Jesus is the Christ. The first beast set 
 forth in the Apocalypse, partly with Danielic features, who in 
 vision ascends out of the sea, is unmistakably this Antichrist, 
 either as a single person or as a power and collective personality ; 
 for the appearing of Antichrist was to precede the coming of the 
 Lord, even according to the Pauline description. 
 
 But this idea of Antichrist appears in the Apocalypse modified 
 in a particular manner, and more definitely developed than in 
 Paul, for example ; so that we are led to direct our view to a 
 precise historical person, single or collective. The question then 
 is, what person we are to think of according to the purport 
 of the book. As, besides this beast who represents Antichrist, 
 a different one is introduced as the false prophet who procures 
 for him adherents and worshippers by his signs and arts, we 
 are led to suppose that Antichrist himself is not meant as a 
 spiritual power in particular, but rather as an outward worldly 
 power which Satan makes use of for oppressing the Church of the 
 Lord. The (10) crowns with which he is adorned intimate this 
 (xiii. 1, xvii. 3), and especially the fact that (xvii. 10 and following) 
 the seven heads and ten horns are expressly interpreted of kings. 
 The question then is, what worldly power is meant ? An index 
 to it was manifestly meant to be given in xiii. 17 and following, 
 when the number of the name of the beast is specified as 666. 
 Here it would be quite unnatural, since the name of the beast is
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 87 
 
 the point, to understand, as many earlier interpreters do, the 666 
 as a number of years during which the sovereignty of the beast 
 should perhaps last. Much rather we may assume with the greatest 
 probability that the single letters with which the name of the 
 beast is written give together, as ciphers, the sum before us. Even 
 here, however, it is disputed which language, the Hebrew or the 
 Greek, be intended ; and whether the determination of the value 
 of the letter is founded upon the one or the other ; besides, as we 
 have already seen, there is a sort of uncertainty in the text by 
 its having, besides 666, another and very old reading, 616. But 
 the usual reading has preponderating testimonies in its favour. 
 As to the former question, several of the most modern interpre- 
 ters who have attempted to decipher the number, believe that 
 they must assume the numeral value of the Hebrew letters. But 
 that is, a priori, improbable in a book written in the Greek lan- 
 guage, and in which we have no reason for supposing that it is a 
 mere translation from a Hebrew or Aramaic original, and which 
 is addressed chiefly to Christian churches in proconsular Asia, 
 where Greek was the only prevailing tongue even among the Jews 
 there. The way also in which the Infinite Eternal One is denoted 
 by aA.<a and w/^eya (i. 8, xxi. 6, xx. 13), leaves no doubt that when 
 a name is here designated by a number, without expressly ex- 
 plaining in what language, Greek letters are meant. Even if we 
 set out with this supposition, it will be always difficult and doubt- 
 ful to guess what (Greek) name is properly concealed under that 
 number; and the discovery that a definite name contains this 
 number as the value of its letters in Greek would not warrant 
 us to assume the correctness of the interpretation, if other hints 
 in the book respecting the beast did not agree. Here we are led 
 in the right way most correctly by the vision (ch. xvii.). There 
 sits upon the beast, as already remarked, an unchaste (idolatrous) 
 woman, who is described as the mystical great Babylon. This 
 can only be meant of a city which, like the old Babylon, at the 
 time of the dominion of the Chaldees, showed itself particularly 
 hostile to the people and worship of God ; the same (verse 6) is
 
 88 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 described as drunken with the blood of the saints and the wit- 
 nesses of Jesus, intimating that she had already inflicted bloody 
 persecutions upon the confessors of the Lord. The description, 
 so far, would at all events permit us, with Abauzit, Harenberg, 
 Hartwig, Herder, Ziillig, &c., to think of Jerusalem with reference 
 to the hostile attitude which this city had assumed against the 
 Lord and his confessors ; in which respect it is said of it (xi. 8), 
 that it KaAfiTou TTVfv/j.aTLKw's 26oo/x.a /cat AtyuTTTos. Yet it does not 
 apply to Jerusalem that the city (xvii. 18) is described as fiao-iXeiav 
 f^owa 7rt TWV /3a<riXeo)v rfjs yvjs, which leads us rather to think of 
 Eome. Still more decisive is verse 9, according to which the 
 seven heads of the beast refer to seven mountains upon which 
 the woman sits. Here it is quite unnatural when some interpre- 
 ters, as Hengstenberg and Auberlen, prefer to take the mountains 
 in a figurative sense as kingdoms, great kings, or world-powers. 
 Ebrard remarks rightly, that since the mountains appear in the 
 interpretation of the vision, they can only be meant in a literal 
 sense as real mountains, namely, seven mountains upon which 
 Babylon is situated. It has indeed been attempted, -even with 
 reference to Jerusalem, to point out seven hills there ; so Lake- 
 macher, Observat. sacr. Part iii. p. 288 (opp. Wolf), who names 
 as such, Zion, Akra, Moria, Bezetha, and the three points of 
 the Mount of Olives. But this is highly arbitrary. The Mount 
 of Olives lay outside Jerusalem, and least of all can it be sup- 
 posed that it should be reckoned as three different mountains. 
 The seven mountains obviously appear as something character- 
 istic and significant ; and they appear in such a manner only with 
 regard to Rome, of all cities of antiquity, so far as we know; so 
 that when a city, without further notice, was described as a seven- 
 hilled one, situated upon seven hills, all at once the thought of 
 Eome arose. The passages collected by Wetstein (ad 1. c.) show 
 how usual this appellation of Eome was. 
 
 If we cannot doubt after this that Eome is meant for Babylon, 
 the woman sitting upon the beast, the beast upon which she 
 sits must be thought of as standing in a special and near relation
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 89 
 
 to Eome, according to the purport of our book. We may sup- 
 pose accordingly, if we take in what has already been observed, 
 that the world-power in general is not meant by this beast, as 
 many take it (for example, Hofmann, Hengstenberg, Auberlen, 
 Ebrard, &c.), but, more definitely, the world-power at that time, 
 the Eoman monarchy, Eomanism. We may also conclude that 
 the name concealed under the number 666 must have a parti- 
 cular reference to Eome and Eomanism. The earliest interpreta- 
 tions of this number that have come down to us we find in 
 Irenseus (adv. Haeres. v. 30). He says one may find several 
 names in the 666, according to the Greek interpretaion of num- 
 bers ; and, as an example, he quotes three, in which the letters 
 
 together give 666. (1) Emvflas (5 + 400 + 1 + 50 + 9 + 1 + 200). 
 
 (2) Aarem>s (30 + 1 + 300 + 5 + 10 + 5*0 + 70 + 200). (3) Tem^ 
 T i T a v 
 
 300 + 5 + 10 + 300 + 1 + 50). Ireneeus says of the two last names, 
 they have some probability. Yet we cannot take into account 
 the last, Tetrav ; still less, the first, Euavflas. The middle expla- 
 nation, on the contrary, Aaretvos, must appear very suitable, 
 after what has been said ; and even Irenseus would have given 
 it more decidedly the preference, if a certain timidity, arising 
 from the power of Eome, still heathen at the time, had not 
 prevented him from speaking out more decidedly. Hippo- 
 lytus also holds, this interpretation as the most probable (see 
 Liicke, p. 967). It may be assumed, I believe, with great pro- 
 bability, that such interpretation, which is also approved of by 
 many later interpreters (also by Havernick and Elliott, Liicke, 
 ed. 2, pp. 284 and following), is not merely the correct one accord- 
 ing to the purport of the book, but that it has been handed 
 down by a kind of tradition from the time of its composition to 
 the age of Irenseus. 
 
 Besides the seven mountains of the city, seven kings also are 
 symbolized by the four heads of the beast, according to xvii. 10. 
 We have seen that many interpreters so also Hofmann, Heng-
 
 90 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 stenberg, Ebrard, Auberlen, &c. understand this of kingdoms, 
 of world-monarchies following one another in succession; the 
 first being looked upon either as the Egyptian or Assyrian ; the 
 sixth, as the then existing Roman one. But this interpretation 
 is decidedly at variance with the sense of the book, because, from 
 what has hitherto been said, the Eoman power is the beast 
 itself, not one of its single heads. Hence we are the more in- 
 duced to understand the seven kings of seven Eoman rulers. 
 And without doubt only seven emperors of Rome can be meant. 
 For when it is said (ib.) that five are fallen (01 Trev-re eVeo-av) and 
 one is (6 e?s ea-nv), the other is not yet come (6 aAAos OUTTW ?/A$ev), 
 this can only mean that just then, at the time of writing the 
 Apocalypse, or when the revelation communicated in it was re- 
 ceived, the sixth of the kings symbolized by the seven heads 
 was reigning, which can only be meant of a Roman emperor. 
 By the five, who in contrast with the sixth one still existing, are 
 denoted as ot TTCVTC, and as such reo-av, we can only understand, 
 in like manner, five Roman emperors, namely, those who preceded 
 the sixth, in immediate succession, in the government then exist- 
 ing ; we cannot doubt, also, that we have to commence the series 
 of these kings with him who was considered the first of the 
 Roman emperors, namely, with Augustus. It would indeed be- 
 possible to begin the series with Caesar, and then the sixth 
 would be Nero. Yet it is, as already said, more likely in itself 
 that the series begins with him who is actually recognized, like 
 his successors, as an independent ruler, as a king or emperor, 
 viz. with Augustus ; and that such is the meaning of our book 
 can be still less doubted for other reasons which will soon 
 appear. Hence the five first, who had fallen and were no longer 
 living and reigning, were the following : (1) Augustus, (2) 
 Tiberius, (3) Caligula, (4) Claudius, (5) Nero. The efs, of whom 
 it is said that he is (lo-nv), that is, then alive and reigning, would 
 then be the successor of Nero, who died A.D. 68, on the llth 
 June. Galba followed Nero, and we must think of him as the 
 then reigning emperor. But as he reigned for so short a time
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 91 
 
 (died AD. 69, January) and was not acknowledged in all domi- 
 nions of the Eoman empire, still less were Otho (died 69, the 
 16th April) and Vitellius (died 69, the 20th December), we may 
 >t least suppose that these three are not counted here, and 
 that Vespasian, if he reigned at that time, may be reckoned the 
 sixth. Meanwhile we will leave this undetermined, as we must 
 return to it again later on. Of the seventh king it is said (ib.) 
 that he (6 aAAos, that is, the one still remaining of the seven) had 
 not yet come, and that when he com.es he will only remain a 
 short time. With him the number seven of the kings, symbolized 
 by the heads of the beast, would then be completed. But an eighth 
 is spoken of (xvii. 11). We may suppose, a priori, of .this one, 
 because he passes beyond the number seven, that he has a special 
 significance. We are led to this when it is said the beast which 
 was and is not (o ?]v Kal OVK eWtv), is both the eighth and also of 
 the seven, e/c TWV OTTCI eo-Tiv, which, according to the contrast, 
 cannot well mean anything else than that he has already been 
 one of the seven. It appears to be signified that the character 
 of the beast, the idolatrous Eomanism and anti-christianism, 
 would manifest itself in a single emperor in such a manner as to 
 appear concentrated and personified in him, so that he may be 
 viewed as embodied anti-christianism. Accordingly he is de- 
 scribed, on the one hand, as a future one, as the eighth, therefore 
 as the second successor of the ruler then reigning ; on the other 
 hand, as already existing in the person of one of the seven, 
 without doubt as one of the five first that had already fallen. 
 This may be understood in a two-fold sense, either that in the 
 eighth the wickedness and whole anti-christian mind of the 
 beast, which had already appeared in one of the earlier kings in 
 an especial manner, should be repeated, so that he might so far 
 be considered a repetition of that earlier one ; or that after 
 the seventh, the earlier one should really return in person. 
 That the latter interpretation is the correct one, is show r n by 
 other passages of the book itself, particularly xiii. 3. It is said 
 there, namely, at the first appearance of the beast, the seer saw
 
 92 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 one of its heads wounded as if to death (u>s eo- 
 
 0aVarov) ; yet its (the beast's) deadly wound is again healed, to 
 
 the astonishment of the whole world ; with this comp. ib. verse 
 
 12 (TO Oripiov TO TT/DWTOV, ov Wepairevdij y irXrjyr) TOV Oa.vo.rov avrov), 
 Verse 14 (T$ 6ripiu>, o e^ei rrjv TrX'Tjyrjv Trjs p.a.ya.ipa.<s Kat efaa-cv). 
 
 These passages can only mean that the beast appeared mortally 
 wounded in one of his heads, impotent and destroyed, but re- 
 covered again. Corresponding to this is also xvii. 8, where it is 
 Said of the beast that he ^v Kat owe IO-TIV Kat peXXei dVa/foi'vetv K 
 rrjs apvcrcrov J and ID. j3\Tr6vT<i)v TO Oypiov, OTI rjv KOI OVK eo"Tt Kat 
 
 Trapeo-Tai ; verse 11, TO Orjpiov, o ^v /cat OVK eort. The beast is 
 accordingly described as even then apparently destroyed, but that 
 he should again appear, namely, to begin, with new strength and 
 renewed anger, a struggle with the confessors of the Lord. But 
 as it is said here, especially in the first passage, that one of the 
 seven heads appeared wounded to death, it is clearly implied that 
 one of the seven rulers, by whose deadly wound the beast was 
 rendered impotent, appeared to be destroyed, was not actually 
 dead, for that he still lives, and would again manifest himself as 
 the bodily Antichrist, and, according to the other passage (xvii. 11), 
 as the eighth of the kings, consequently after the death of the 
 successor of the emperor then reigning. The description of the 
 wound also, from which the beast appeared to be slain, is more 
 easily explained as a sword- wound (xiii. 1), on the supposition 
 that the sense is not identical merely with a collective or abstract 
 idea, that of Romanism or Paganism, the Roman monarchy and 
 such like. It is in the highest degree improbable that that mode 
 of expression would be applied, if such a relation were meant as 
 the weakening of the Roman power by other' nations ; to which it 
 has been repeatedly referred, or even (as Hengstenberg and Auber- 
 len take it), by Christianizing, by its outward conversion to 
 Christianity. The expressions appear natural only when they 
 are explained of a definite person. 
 
 The question then is, what person are we to think of according 
 to the purport of our book, that is, which of the seven first
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 93 
 
 Roman emperors, or rather of the five first, that had already fallen, 
 is the one whom we are here to suppose as the emperor who, 
 though considered dead, still lives, or will revive and again come 
 to light ? This does not immediately appear from the statements 
 of our book in themselves, but may perhaps if we compare the 
 hints here given with the ideas and expectations of the time as 
 known to us from other sources. Accordingly we cannot doubt 
 that Nero is meant, the fifth of the Eoman emperors, and the last 
 of those who are designated as having already fallen at that time. 
 Nero had fled from Eome when the Senate declared against him 
 and for Galba ; and when his pursuers were about to overtake him, 
 he killed himself with his sword, with the aid of his freedman 
 Epaphroditus (Sueton. Nero, xlix.). His corpse was interred with 
 solemnity. Nevertheless, the very general belief arose soon after 
 that he had not actually died, but was still living and staying on 
 the other side of the Euphrates, among the Parthians to whom he 
 had fled, and among whom he was collecting auxiliaries to return 
 again with them and conquer and destroy Eome. Suetonius (Nero, 
 Ivii.) relates that, soon after his death, edicts appeared as from one 
 still living, who would return within a short time to destroy his 
 enemies. This popular belief several times induced adventurers 
 to give themselves out as Nero, when they always found some 
 adherents. Such an one appeared immediately after his death, 
 and was able to collect about him a considerable faction in Greece 
 and Asia, until he was finally taken captive on Cythnus by Cal- 
 purnius Asprenas, and slain (Tacit. Histor. ii, 8, 9, where he at 
 the same time intimates that several of the kind appeared still 
 later ; comp. 1, 2 : Dio Cassius, Ixiv. 9, and Eeimar. ad h. 1.). 
 According to Zonaras (Annal. xi. 18), there appeared also, under 
 Titus, a false Nero, who got for himself a faction in Asia Minor, 
 advanced towards the Euphrates, increased his party still more, 
 and escaped at last to the Parthian king, who received him 
 out of hostility to Titus, and was even on the point of advancing 
 against Eome. This is very probably the same adventurer whom 
 Suetonius (1. c. Nero, Ivii.) mentions, although he says that he
 
 94: LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 arose twenty years after the death of Nero, which would have been 
 under Domitian ; he says of him, that he had made himself of 
 such repute among the Parthians,ut vehementer adjutus et vix red- 
 ditus sit (comp. Dio Chrysostom [under Domitian, Nerva, Trajan] 
 Orat. xx. de pulchritudine, pp. 371 D, who says, with reference to 
 Nero : /ecu vvv ZTI Tra'vres fTTiOvfiovo-i ffv, ol Se TrAetcrroi Kal OIOVTO.I). 
 The same belief is also found among the Christians a consider- 
 able time after the death of Nero, viz. that the latter still lived 
 and would return, in such a form, too, as to have the expecta- 
 tion of Antichrist connected with him. Nero, as the first of the 
 Eoman emperors who, after the great burning of the city of Rome 
 in July, 64, probably begun by himself, a fire which lasted eight 
 days and destroyed about two-thirds of the city, had inflicted 
 bloody persecutions on the Christians, pointing to them as the 
 originators of this fire, and so endeavouring to turn away the 
 suspicion of it from himself. He caused the Christians at Eome 
 to be tortured and put to death in the most revolting and cruel 
 manner, so that the impression produced by the horrors perpe- 
 trated remained indelible even to a later time. This persecution, 
 which found fuel against the Christians in the unfavourable 
 disposition of the heathen people, appears not to have been 
 so transient or partial, or merely confined to Eome, as is at 
 present generally supposed to be the case. It seems to have 
 lasted several years, and in many points to have entirely sup- 
 pressed the flourishing Christian church for a longer time. Even 
 without express commands from the emperor, it was natural that 
 the governors in the provinces should follow more or less the 
 example set them from above and in the chief city. The apostles 
 Paul and Peter, among others, were victims of this persecution. 
 To it, and the horrors attendant upon it, exhibited in Eome 
 against the adherents of the Lord, several references may be found 
 in our book, particularly xvii. 6, where the woman sitting upon 
 the beast, the mystic Babylon, i.e. Eome, is described as drunken 
 with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses 
 of Jesus ; in xviii. 20, where heaven, the saints, the apostles, and
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 95 
 
 prophets are summoned to rejoice over the fall of Babylon because 
 God has avenged them on her ; comp. xviii. 24 (/cat Iv avry 
 
 7r/30(/>77Twv KCU ayuov fvpeOrj /ecu TravTcov TCJV l<r(/>ayju,vwv eVi TTJS 
 
 Now it is not improbable that the Christians believed that the 
 time had come, even during this persecution, when, according to 
 divine decree, the kingdom of evil and of darkness should lead 
 on to the last and extreme battle against the kingdom of God, 
 resulting in its destruction; and that they already recognized 
 Antichrist in the cruel author of these sufferings, after whose de- 
 struction they hoped that the fulfilment of the kingdom of God 
 should take place. It might happen all the more readily, since, 
 on the one hand, after the disappearing of Nero, an essential 
 change in the outward relations of the Christian Church to the 
 world did not directly appear; and, on the other hand, the popular 
 belief considered him as still alive, expecting that he would 
 soon return with renewed strength. This idea shaped itself among 
 the Christians in such a way that he would still more manifest 
 himself in his essence as the bodily Antichrist. The idea may 
 be found very frequently re-appearing in the Sibylline Oracles ; 
 already in the fourth book, written about A.D. 79, 80, according 
 to clear signs. Here it is said, first of all (verses 116 and follow- 
 ing), with reference to Nero, that after the murder of his mother 
 and the accomplishment of many other abominable deeds, he 
 would flee invisibly out of Italy, as a fugitive, beyond the Eu- 
 phrates. After the destruction of the Temple and desolation of 
 the Jewish land has been spoken of, and the earthquake in Italy 
 (under Titus, A.D. 79) is described, we read (verses 132 and fol- 
 lowing) : "Then shall they discern the anger of God, because they 
 killed the innocent race of the pious (Christians) ; towards even- 
 ing war will arise, and the great fugitive of Rome (Nero) will 
 raise the sword, and with many myriads of men ride through the 
 Euphrates (return over the Euphrates)." Thiersch indeed (Ver- 
 such zur Wiederherstellung des historischen Standpunktes fur 
 die Kritik der neutestamentlichen Schriften, 1845, pp. 324 ff., 410 
 ff.), will not admit my acceptation of the Sibylline passage ; he
 
 96 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 refers it (so also Hengstenberg, Apok. ii. 1, pp. 107 ff.) to a past 
 historical fact, to the historical appearance of that false Nero 
 under Titus ; and he places the writing of these forty-two books of 
 the Sibyllines in a later period, in the second century, after Trajan 
 (see also Liicke, Nachtrage, p. 1071). But that conception of the 
 Sibylline passage with reference to an occurrence long since past 
 is certainly false ; and the view of the time of the composition 
 maintained by me is most probably the correct one (see Stud. u. 
 Krit. 1854, 4, pp. 977 ff.). More frequently does the same idea 
 about Nero occur again in other parts of these Sibylline writings, 
 which were composed somewhat later, especially in the fifth and 
 eighth books, of which the former in its present form and extent 
 was composed by a Jewish Christian living in Egypt in the begin- 
 ning of the reign of Hadrian ; but the latter seems to have been 
 written, for the greatest part, towards the end of the reign of 
 Marcus Aurelius, about A.D. 170 180. So Book v. 28 and follow- 
 ing, where it is said of Nero, that he, 8tvos o<is, although vanished 
 out of the sight of men, was still bringing destruction and would 
 return, giving himself out as a god, but would learn that he is 
 not so (verses 93 sqq., 130 sqq., 214 sqq., 361 sqq., 408 sqq., viii. 
 68 sqq., 145 sqq.). The same idea is found in the apocryphal 
 writing of Isaiah, dva/fortKov, which was written originally in 
 Greek by a Christian author, probably in the second century, and 
 still exists in an Ethiopic translation ; in its second part (from 
 ch. vi. on) the Visio Jesaise is also extant in an old Latin version. 
 Here (iv. 2), among other things, the prophecy is put into the 
 mouth of Isaiah, that when, after the ascent of Christ to heaven, 
 moral corruption would prevail in the churches, when people 
 would depart from the doctrines of the apostles and contend about 
 the return of the Lord, the prince of this world, Belial, should 
 descend from the firmament in the form of a godless king, the 
 murderer of his mother ; the saints would be delivered into his 
 hands ; the people would sacrifice to him, call him God, set up 
 his image in all cities ; but the duration of his sovereignty would 
 only be 3 years, 7 months, 27 days = 1335 days (Dan. xii. 2).
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 97 
 
 The Lord would then come with his angels and cast Belial into 
 Gehenna ; to which are appended the resurrection of the pious, 
 the destruction of the world, the last judgment, and the annihila- 
 tion of the wicked. As it runs in the apocryphal work of Isaiah, 
 Belial will descend in the form of Nero ; it is not expressed very 
 definitely that Nero should return in person ; yet such is probably 
 the meaning, as it is quite clearly expressed throughout the Sibyl- 
 line books. In this shape the idea continued among many even to 
 the fourth century and later. Lactantius, De mortibus Persequu- 
 torum, 42, says expressly, many believed that Nero still lived as 
 a fugitive murderer of his mother, a finibus venturum, ut qui 
 primus persequutus est idem etiam novissimus persequatur. Sul- 
 pitius Severus (in the fourth and fifth centuries) says expressly 
 that it was opinione plerorumque receptum, that Nero, whose 
 wound was not deadly, should appear as Antichrist. Histor. sacr. 
 II. xxviii. 1, xxix. 6 ; cf. Id. Dialog. II. ch. iv., where he quotes 
 in this respect the opinion of Martin of Tours, who distinguishes 
 Nero from Antichrist, and makes both appear together, the former 
 to subdue the West, the latter the East. Compare farther Jerome, 
 on Daniel xi. 28, where he says that many of the Christians ex- 
 pected Nero as Antichrist. Id. (in Isaiah xvii. 13) ad Algas. qusest. 
 ii. ; Augustin, de Civitate Dei, xx. 19. If now we consider this 
 idea about Nero, which maintained itself so long in the Church, 
 and is met with there soon after the death of the tyrant ; and if 
 we compare the passages relating to it in the Apocalypse, we 
 can hardly fail to see that the same idea lies at the basis of the 
 present description ; that Nero, the head of the beast, is appa- 
 rently killed by a sword-wound, from which he again recovers, 
 to the astonishment of the world; and that one of the seven 
 or of the first five Eoman kings will return as the eighth, 
 coinciding with the beast as the personal Antichrist, in order 
 to do battle against the kingdom of God and the confessors 
 of the Lord with all the power of Satan, until he himself be con- 
 quered by Christ and cast into the lake of fire. 
 
 It is not probable, after what has been said, that this idea 
 
 H
 
 98 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 about Nero returning as Antichrist was first adduced in the 
 Apocalypse, but rather that the book attached itself to an idea 
 which had already taken form among the people and in the 
 Christian Church, though it here appears modified in a particular 
 way, involving the more definite mark that he should return 
 as the eighth. More of this, however, by and by. But many 
 even of the special features in which the future appearance 
 of Antichrist is portrayed, or which are connected with it, find 
 their explanation in a comparison of the ideas and expecta- 
 tions of the time as known to us from other sources and existing 
 in the Sibylline books. To them belong the entire relation of 
 the beast to the woman sitting upon him, i.e. of Antichrist to 
 the city of Kom, the new Babylon. It might readily appear 
 strange that it is said, in xvii. 16, the beast (together with the 
 ten horns) shall make war upon the woman, destroy and burn. 
 But it corresponds to the entire conception, which we find re- 
 peated, particularly in the Sibylline books, that Nero, on his 
 return from the East with his confederates, should lay waste and 
 destroy the city of Eome which had cast him out. So Book v. 
 342 360. Here the terrible signs are described which shall 
 come to pass at the last time, whereby Italy in particular is 
 threatened with disasters ; from the farthest ends of the earth a 
 senseless mother-murderer will come (Nero, from beyond the 
 Euphrates) to overpower the whole earth, and forthwith to 
 occupy the city, because of which he himself perished (viz. 
 Rome), to slay many men and even great princes, and to burn 
 all, as he had already done before. Comp. Book viii. 70 sqq., 
 where it is intimated that the fugitive matricide should return 
 from the extremities of the earth, under Marcus Aurelius (under 
 whom this oracle was probably composed), and that Eome should 
 fall. Comp. ib. 145 sqq., where Ner.o is likewise spoken of as 
 one who should come out of Asia over the sea for Eome's de- 
 struction. 
 
 In the same way it is explained how, according to the purport 
 of our book, the ten horns of the beast, with the ten crowns,
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 99 
 
 should be taken. According to xvii. 12, they are also ten kings. 
 But because they are symbolized by another image than that of 
 the Eoman emperors denoted by the seven heads, it may be 
 supposed that they are not of the same kind, not perhaps ten 
 Eoman emperors following each other, attached to those seven, 
 in point of time. From the intimation given in the explanation 
 of the angels, they do not appear to be ten kings following one 
 another, but those who should receive power together, and at 
 the same time with the beast, just as kings ; acting unanimously 
 they should prove themselves entirely subject to the- beast, 
 deliver to him all their power, make war against the Lamb in 
 vain ; but in union with the beast tread down and burn (xvii. 
 12 17) the woman they hate (Rome). They appear, therefore, 
 as subordinate allies of Antichrist, who, at the return of Nero, 
 would march forth to fight against Rome as well as the kingdom 
 of God. This was expected of Asiatic and particularly of Parthian 
 princes, as appears from the passages in Roman writers formerly 
 adduced. The same may be found in several parts of the Sibyl- 
 line writings ; thus it is said of Nero, in the earliest of the passages 
 before quoted (Book iv. 135), that he would return with many 
 myriads of men over the Euphrates ; further, in v. 100, where 
 one is spoken of, who, as leader of the Persians, should make war 
 on the whole w r oiid and destroy everything, which is most probably 
 meant of Nero ; Book v. 143 sqq., where is mentioned Nero's flight 
 from Babylon, that is, Rome ; to which is appended his union witli 
 the kings of the Medes and Persians, as well as Rome's destruc- 
 tion ; Book viii. 9 sqq., where doubtless Nero is meant, when it 
 is said of one that he shall bring terrible evils upon men at the ' 
 last time, and lead formidable heathen kings to the West (there- 
 fore from the East). This idea probably lies at the basis of the 
 Apocalypse also, in the kings symbolized by the horns of the 
 beast, as confederates of Antichrist, where the number ten 
 must not be pressed, but can only be borrowed from Daniel's 
 description of the fourth beast (Dan. vii. 7) furnished with ten 
 horns. 
 
 H2
 
 100 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 This explains what another passage of the book means (xvi. 
 12), where we read that when the sixth of the plague-angels 
 had poured out his vial on the Euphrates, the waters of 
 the stream dried up, that the way might be prepared for the 
 
 kings of the East (iva. ITOI/XCUT^TT' r/ 6Sos TWV ^acriAewv TWV O.TTO 
 
 dvaroAwv ^iov). By these kings of the East we are without 
 doubt to understand the Asiatic princes of whom it was ex- 
 pected that they would conduct Nero back, who had been con- 
 cealed among them, as his allies. That they might proceed 
 freely and without hindrance, although in the service of Anti- 
 christ, to accomplish the divine purpose in reference to them (as 
 
 it is also said (xvii. 17) that God eSw/cev ets ras /capStas avTwv TTOirja-at 
 
 rrjv yvtofjLrjv avrov), the vision introduces the drying up of the 
 water of the Euphrates, which they had to cross in the march 
 against Eome. 
 
 As to the false prophet, we find already in the discourse of 
 the Redeemer (Matt. xxiv. 11 24; Mark xiii. 22) that before 
 his future coming many false prophets would arise, as well as 
 false Messiahs ; performing signs and wonders, leading many 
 astray, and attempting to seduce even the elect. Compare with 
 this, 1 Tim. iv. 1 sqq. In the Apocalypse, a single false prophet 
 is presented as assistant of Antichrist, in whom the essence of 
 false prophecy appears concentrated and personified by all the arts 
 of falsehood, even by signs and wonders directed to the further- 
 ance of idolatry and anti-christianism. In this development there 
 appears, as peculiar to the Apocalypse, the idea of a second indivi- 
 dual in connection with Antichrist, and working for him; the 
 idea, at least, cannot have been so general as that of Antichrist 
 himself; the powers and qualities also, in which he is here 
 depicted, are transferred in part to Antichrist himself. But we 
 have no reason to suppose that in the present description the 
 view of any single person, who had already appeared active, lay 
 at the foundation of it ; rather does it seem a prophetic descrip- 
 tion referring to the future, precisely like that of the return of
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 101 
 
 Nero as Antichrist, and that of the future appearing of the Lord 
 himself. 
 
 The same remark applies in general to the plagues standing 
 in close connection with the announcement of the appearance of 
 Antichrist, as well as of Christ ; those plagues especially which 
 are adduced in ch. xvi., as appearing upon the earth, while the 
 seven plague-angels pour out their vials in succession. Here we 
 may assume with certainty that single occurrences of the then 
 past or present are not depicted, but that we have a prophetic 
 representation of the future, of that which should take place at 
 or immediately before the return of the Lord; and it is only 
 possible that perhaps this thing or that, what happened just at 
 the time to which the book and its visions belong, formed the 
 substratum of the individual descriptions. 
 
 But it may be asked how these prophetic descriptions are re- 
 lated to our own past, present and future. Upon this I remark 
 briefly as follows : 
 
 (a) With reference to the thousand-years' reign. This appears 
 in the Apocalypse, not as the completion of the kingdom of God, 
 which according to our book takes place in the New Jerusalem, 
 but as a preliminary close of the conflicts of God's kingdom with 
 the world and its powers, a period of time denoted as a thousand 
 years, when the faithful and pious, particularly those who had 
 fallen asleep before and were awakened for that purpose, should 
 reign with Christ upon earth in undisturbed peace and happi- 
 ness, after the destruction of all earthly hostile powers and the 
 binding of Satan. We may view every epoch of the Christian 
 Church, in which an important progress of the kingdom of God, 
 with the conquest of hostile powers, takes place, as a partial fulfil- 
 ment of the utterances of Scripture, especially those about the 
 Lord's coming ; but in everything which the history of the 
 Church presents, only a partial and preliminary fulfilment, not 
 a complete one, is perceptible. As it is decidedly contrary to 
 the meaning of the Apocalypse to make the thousand-years' 
 kingdom begin with the incarnation of Christ, so that the author
 
 102 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 considered the time already present ; every view is inadmissible, 
 according to the purport of our book, which supposes the thousand- 
 years' kingdom as already expired or only begun. The interpre- 
 tation of Hengstenberg in modern times belongs to this category, 
 making it extend from the Christianizing of the Germanic nations 
 to the end of the German empire. Thus the times of the middle 
 ages, with the greatest splendour of the Papacy, and the age of the 
 Reformation, as well as that after the Eeformation, are supposed 
 indiscriminately to be the thousand-years' kingdom, including 
 times when the most horrible deeds were perpetrated by the 
 Bomish Church and other ruling powers against true confessors 
 of the Lord, as in the wars against the Albigenses and Waldenses, 
 against the Huguenots, in the Inquisition, and the night of St. 
 Bartholomew, as well as many others. Auberlen (pp. 415 sqq.) 
 refers to these very appropriately against Hengstenberg. It 
 may be affirmed with certainty that the seer himself would not 
 have found in these times the fulfilment of his prophecy respect- 
 ing a kingdom, before whose commencement earthly hostile powers 
 should be destroyed, and during which Satan himself should be 
 bound, and deprived of all power to injure the kingdom of the 
 Lord and believers. It is certain that we decide in accordance 
 with the sense of the book itself, when we consider the thou- 
 sand-years' kingdom as a state of development belonging to 
 the church or the kingdom of God which has not yet appeared, 
 no more than the glorious return of the Lord in close connec- 
 tion with it, and the first resurrection of the believing and 
 faithful awakened to participate in it. All this, according to 
 the meaning of our book, must certainly be taken literally ; not, 
 as Hengstenberg does, in relation to the happiness of believers 
 beginning at their death. 
 
 (&) With reference to Antichrist. In the past history of the 
 Church, it may be pointed out that every epoch which reveals a 
 special progress of the kingdom of God precedes a time in which 
 the anti-christian element comes forth with peculiar power ; and 
 every time of the kind may be considered as a partial and pre-
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 103 
 
 liminary fulfilment of the prophecies of Scripture respecting de- 
 struction and mischief in the last time, and so respecting the 
 appearance and activity of Antichrist. But it may be said, on 
 the other hand, that these prophecies have not yet found their 
 complete fulfilment, and that the author of the Apocalypse him- 
 self would have seen in none of the phenomena since the esta- 
 blishment of the Christian Church an entire fulfilment of the 
 visions in question. On the contrary, if we consider them accord- 
 ing to their essential meaning, we are led to think of a person's 
 appearance, before the glorious coming of the Lord, armed as an 
 instrument of Satan and with Satanic powers. None of the 
 adversaries of the kingdom of God has shown himself such ; con- 
 sequently we must think of a personal manifestation still future. 
 (c) Herewith we must not forget that, in all prophetic ele- 
 ments of Biblical doctrine, the properly dogmatic part of the 
 description and essential idea cannot be strictly separated from 
 the conscious or unconscious poetical and figurative element of 
 the envelope, before the complete fulfilment. As prophecies and 
 visions in the prophets of the Old Covenant are not an absolutely 
 pure creation of the Divine Spirit ; human weakness, national 
 or personal individuality, having always influenced more or less 
 their form, we must grant the same also in reference to the pro- 
 phetical intuitions of the apostles and New Testament writers, 
 and in relation to the visions of the Apocalypse, even if we 
 consider it a direct apostolic writing and its visions actually 
 presented to the apostle in immediate revelation ; still more 
 so, if this be not looked upon as certain. But we may even 
 now perceive this much, that the Apocalypse considers and 
 represents as pretty near both the glorious coming of the Lord 
 and the appearance of Antichrist. The thing is not peculiar 
 to the Apocalypse. As already remarked, it cannot be denied 
 that the Christians of the first time generally, and also the 
 New Testament writers, cherished the hope that the glorious 
 appearing of the Lord would not be very distant, would perhaps 
 take place in their own lifetime. Such form of hope was
 
 104 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 necessary to the believers of the time, to sustain them against 
 the manifold sorrows and struggles with which they had to 
 contend both outwardly and inwardly; and we shall do well 
 if, after their example, we continually keep in mind that future 
 as near ; like them, finding in it an incentive to direct all our 
 energies to this, viz. to be found by the Lord watchful and 
 true at any time he may come. Many exhortations of the 
 Lord himself as well as his disciples refer us to it ; and also 
 the Apocalypse most certainly. But this view of the nearness 
 of the glorious appearing of the Lord supposes that the utmost 
 exertions of the hostile powers, or the coming of Antichrist, 
 are impending ; and so Paul speaks of the appearance of the 
 av#/3W7ros TIJS a/Aaprias as the Apocalypse does of the last reve- 
 lation of the beast. Both writers do not keep themselves in 
 such generality ; they proceed in their announcements still more 
 definitely, but in a somewhat different manner. Paul speaks 
 of something (Thess. ii. 6 sqq.) or of some one stopping, hinder- 
 ing (TO Karexov and 6 Kar^wv), which must first give way, 
 before Antichrist, the man of sin, can appear ; what he means 
 he only intimates, but supposes it known to his readers ; what 
 it is, is doubtful in the highest degree among interpreters. But 
 it may be assumed with great probability that the Eoman mo- 
 narchy and its head at that time is meant ; and that the idea 
 is directly connected with the usual interpretation of the pro- 
 phecies of Daniel then prevalent in the Jewish as well as the 
 Christian Church, so that it is not essential to the peculiar 
 Christian consciousness of Paul ; nor would he himself have 
 claimed unlimited authority for his hints about the matter. 
 Besides, he does not expressly say how soon or long after the 
 removal of that Kar^wv Antichrist should appear, although an 
 expectation undoubtedly appears to lie at the foundation that it 
 should take place at a not very distant period. But the Apo- 
 calypse advances still more positively in the matter. It de- 
 scribes clearly as the personal Antichrist returning Nero, and 
 specifies definitely that he should appear as such after the reign
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 105 
 
 of the seven (first) Eoman emperors, symbolized by the seven 
 heads of the beast; the sixth of whom, according to xvii. 10, 
 was reigning even then; consequently, after the death or retire- 
 ment of the successor of the prince then reigning, who was to 
 continue only for a short time. In the former respect there is a 
 direct connection, as we have seen, with the ideas pretty gene- 
 rally diffused soon after the death of Nero in the Eoman kingdom, 
 and especially in Christendom ; how far this is the case with the 
 latter statement, or whether it be peculiar to the Apocalypse, 
 cannot be definitely ascertained. So far as the appearing of 
 Christ is connected with that of Antichrist, we must say that 
 the Apocalypse has sought to determine about the future of 
 the Lord and the complete manifestation of his kingdom, both 
 time and circumstances, in opposition to the declaration of the 
 Lord, according to which the Father has reserved this to him- 
 self. Hence it is natural to think that the Apocalypse, apart 
 from its other significance, can have no normative authority 
 for us in these particulars. But it is quite unsuitable, and is 
 shown in the preceding remarks to be against the meaning of 
 the book, to use its announcements according to some calcula- 
 tion or other for discovering the precise time or year when 
 the return of the Lord and other catastrophes connected with 
 it will happen. As to the plagues (ch. xvi.), they are expressly 
 
 described (XV. 1) as the last plagues (TrX^ya? ITTTO. rots eVxaras) ; 
 
 they stand in near relation to the appearance of Antichrist 
 and the coming of the Lord. For this reason it is inadmissible 
 to refer them to special events in the past history of the Church, 
 whether in the early centuries or later ; in none of them would 
 the seer himself have considered his vision fulfilled. The images 
 in which these plagues are introduced are of such a kind as 
 to make it unlikely that they are meant for announcements of 
 individual occurrences about to happen in this succession ; they 
 are only general images descriptive of the severest times for the 
 world, preceding the appearing of the Lord and the perfecting of 
 believers.
 
 106 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 The case is similar with regard to the visions of the first part 
 till ch. xi. end, where, from ch. vi. and onward, the seven seals 
 of the book of the future are opened ; and, from ch. viii. onwards, 
 what is shut up in the contents of the seventh seal is gradually 
 brought to light at the trumpeting of the seven angels. These, 
 too, are for the most part plagues which shall be poured out 
 upon the earth, and therefore we cannot but expect them to be 
 plagues preceding the appearing of the Lord, i.e. such as, accord- 
 ing to the purport of the book, would appear shortly. But it is 
 a question who is to be smitten by these plagues ; and how they 
 are related to the time of the seer. Here many interpreters are 
 of opinion that the visions all refer to Judaism and Jerusalem ; 
 not merely such interpreters as Abauzit, Hartwig, Herder, &c., 
 who even in the second part understand Jerusalem by Babylon, 
 but also those who interpret them rightly of Rome, as, for ex- 
 ample, Eichhorn. The contents of these visions are referred 
 to events and relations which immediately preceded the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem at the time of the Jewish-Roman war, 
 whether they be taken as prophetic indications of the same ; or, 
 with Eichhorn, as poetical representations of occurrences which 
 the seer lived to see. The latter is decidedly false. Ch. xi. has 
 given occasion for referring the whole to the destruction of the 
 Jewish land, and particularly of Jerusalem. Here, undoubtedly, 
 Jerusalem and a divine punishment to be inflicted on it are 
 expressly mentioned. But the manner in which they are spoken 
 of clearly shows that the Temple and city still existed at the 
 time of the vision. For, 
 
 (a) In verses 1, 2, it is only announced that the holy city would 
 be trodden down forty-two months by the heathen, and that the 
 forecourt of the Temple would be delivered over to them ; a 
 destruction of the city and of the Temple itself is not spoken 
 of here ; it is even signified unmistakably that they should be 
 placed under God's immediate protection. 
 
 (V) After speaking of two martyrs who were slain in the 
 city in which the Lord also was crucified, afterwards awaking
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 107 
 
 again and ascending to heaven before the eyes of their enemies, 
 it is said that a tenth part of the city would fall by a great earth- 
 quake and seven thousand men perish, and that the rest should 
 be terrified and give glory to the God of heaven (verse 13). The 
 description could not possibly have run in this strain if the de- 
 struction of the city had already taken place, not by an earth- 
 quake, but by heathen nations not a partial, but a complete 
 destruction of the city together with the Temple. In the Apo- 
 calypse a total destruction of the city and Temple is mani- 
 festly not spoken of; rather is the hope expressed that by the 
 destruction which God should bring upon a part of the city and 
 its inhabitants through an earthquake, the rest might be led to 
 repentance, and so be spared divine punishment ; that even the 
 Temple might remain safe, without being profaned by heathens. 
 For this very reason it is not allowable, as Eichhorn thinks, that 
 the destruction of Jerusalem should be intimated in the verses 
 immediately following (verses 15 19); where it is said that at 
 the trumpet of the seventh angel loud voices in heaven pro- 
 claimed that the kingdom of the world had become that of our 
 Lord and of his anointed who should reign for ever ; and that 
 the twenty-four elders in heaven praised God that he had taken 
 to himself the sovereignty ; that his judgment of the dead had 
 come, to give his prophets, saints and worshippers, great and 
 small, their reward, and to destroy the spoilers of the earth ; 
 finally, that in the midst of thunder, lightning and earthquake, 
 the temple of God in heaven had opened, and the ark of the 
 covenant appeared in it. Not the least hint is to be found here 
 of a destruction of the city of Jerusalem. Some justification of 
 the supposition that the expression may refer to this catastrophe, 
 could only be entertained if the preceding context contained 
 intimations that the discourse must be of it. But such is not the 
 case with respect to the preceding part of the chapter ; rather 
 the contrary. 
 
 In like manner (in ch. vi. x.), there is no intimation that 
 the plagues described there were specially inflicted on the Jewish
 
 108 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 land and people, or their chief city. Of the rider upon the 
 fiery-red horse at the opening of the second seal, it is said 
 that power is given him to take away peace from the earth, so 
 that men might slay one another (vi. 4) ; and of death and Hades 
 on the pale horse at the opening of the fourth seal, that power 
 is given them over the fourth part of the earth to slay with 
 sword, hunger, pestilence and wild beasts (vi. 8) ; but it is not 
 said that Judea in particular should be destroyed. It is very 
 unnatural, and there is nothing to justify it, when Herder, for 
 example, makes this to refer to individual historical events at the 
 beginning of the Jewish-Eoman war. The contents of the fifth 
 seal (vi. 9 11) point to the divine vengeance which should 
 come, not at once, but soon, upon those who slew the con- 
 fessors of the Lord because of their faith; yet they are not 
 designated as Jews, but as the inhabitants of the earth in 
 general, the Kcn-ci/cowres ITTI rijs yrjs ; by w r hich formula we are 
 rather induced to understand heathen nations. Here, therefore, 
 there is not the least intimation which would justify us in sup- 
 posing that in what follows the destruction of Jerusalem and 
 of the Jewish nation are represented as a punishment for their 
 unbelief, and their hostility to the confessors of the Lord. Quite 
 as little is there to be found in the description of the great and 
 fearful phenomena, at the opening of the sixth seal (vi. 12 17), 
 any hint that the inhabitants of the Jewish land in particular 
 should be overtaken or terrified by them ; rather are we induced 
 by verse 15, particularly by the /foo-iAeis rfjs yrjs, to think of 
 heathen kings. In the case of the fearful phenomena at the four 
 first trumpets (viii. 7 12), whereby in succession a third part of 
 the earth, of the sea, of the rivers and streams finally, of the 
 sun, moon and stars is struck and injured, there is absolutely 
 no intimation, and it would be very unnatural to adopt the 
 opinion, that the Jewish land especially is meant as the scene 
 affected. After the fourth trumpet-sound (viii. 13), a three-fold 
 woe is proclaimed by a voice from heaven as impending over the 
 inhabitants of the earth (TOIS KCH-CH/COW-IV eVt TVJS y-^s), by reason
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 109 
 
 of the remaining three trumpet-sounds ; where such designation 
 clearly shows that the plagues still impending and now adduced 
 cannot be intended for the Jews in particular. On that account 
 it is in the highest degree improbable that we should suppose 
 zealots and robbers to be intended in our book (as Herder, Eich- 
 horn, &c., think) by the fearful army of locusts, which, as the 
 first of the still remaining woes, appears at the fifth trumpet 
 (ix. 1 12) ; though Judea was fearfully plagued and desolated 
 by these zealots and robbers immediately before the Jewish- 
 Eoman war and during it. Nor by the myriads of riders, who 
 (ix. 13 21) appear as the second woe, at the sixth trumpet- 
 sound, should we understand the Eoman army under Vespasian, 
 as Grotius did. Least of all can it be conceived that both, viz. 
 the furious conduct of the zealots, with the attacks and desola- 
 tions of the Eoman army, can be described in this manner after 
 the destruction of Jerusalem. If the zealots had been meant 
 by the locusts at the first woe, without doubt these would have 
 been adduced as objects, not merely as instruments, of divine 
 punishment ; the raging of the zealots also would not be described 
 expressly as the thing by which men should not be killed, but 
 only fearfully tormented for five months, so that they would wish 
 for death without finding it. Just as little can the fact apply 
 to the zealots that all who were marked with the seal of God 
 as his servants and confessors of the Lord, and none else, 
 should remain exempt from this plague (ch. vii.) Nor can it 
 be supposed that the Eoman army under Vespasian, tolerably 
 numerous as it was, yet consisting only of 60,000 men an army 
 which advanced from Galilee and from the sea-coast against 
 Judea and Jerusalem could have been described in a manner 
 so fearfully hyperbolical, as would be the case if the plague of the 
 sixth trumpet referred to it ; for the number of riders advancing 
 from the Euphrates is specified as 200 millions, and the horses 
 are described as beasts which slay with their snake-like tails 
 and with their mouth out of which proceed smoke and brim- 
 stone. According to verse 18, a third part of men generally die
 
 110 LECTURES ON THE APOCAL YPSE. 
 
 by this plague ; and from the description of the crimes in verses 
 20, 21, whence the men who still remain do not desist, showing 
 no amendment after the plague, it clearly follows that heathen 
 and idolatrous nations are meant. Thus in the whole series 
 of visions (ch. vi. x.), nothing leads us to suppose that the 
 plagues introduced were directed especially against the Jewish 
 nation or their capital. We are, therefore, not justified in 
 concluding that the destruction of Jerusalem itself was meant 
 to be prophetically or poetically described in what follows ; 
 nor this, as we have seen, be expected after the way in which 
 ch. xi. speaks of punishment to be inflicted on a small part of 
 Jerusalem, while the rest of the inhabitants turn to God and 
 repent. 
 
 As to the proper interpretation of these images, it may be 
 gathered from the preceding remarks how I believe it should be 
 regulated. First of all, it is certainly false when the plagues 
 here described are referred individually to this or that event 
 happening during the Roman-Jewish war or before it. They 
 are plagues inflicted before the appearing of the Lord upon the 
 earth, because of its hostility to the kingdom of God ; and the 
 fact that they are here adduced before the judgment, which, 
 according to ch. xi., is to come upon a part of the city of 
 Jerusalem and its inhabitants so that the latter, as well as 
 the former, are thought of as close at hand shows that the 
 coming of the Lord himself was also expected as near. It is 
 also inadmissible to apply a definite fulfilment of single images 
 to the individual events and relations of later times. Agreeably 
 to the entire nature of the images, it is not probable that they 
 are meant for definite predictions of individual historical events ; 
 but only as general symbolical pictures, to represent manifold 
 divine judgments about to be inflicted on the world for its 
 sinfulness and enmity to the kingdom of God, even before the 
 last judgment expected at the coming of the Lord. One may 
 say, indeed, that partial fulfilments have already occurred in the 
 past history of the Church and of the world, and still occur
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. \\\ 
 
 repeatedly ; but this applies to tlie general idea which lies at 
 the foundation of the images, rather than to the contents of this 
 or that individual image. 
 
 As to the form of the images themselves in our book, it is 
 carried out in a peculiar manner. But, on the whole, they 
 are closely connected with the descriptions of the Old Testament 
 prophets, as well as with those of the later Jews regarding 
 the Messianic kingdom, and the afflictions and catastrophes pre- 
 ceding it; and are in part borrowed from these, more or less 
 plainly. For example, in the description of the swarm of locusts 
 appearing at the fifth trumpet (ix. 1 11), that of the book 
 of Joel evidently lies at the foundation of it, since a similar 
 plague of locusts is represented as a sign of the nearness of the 
 divine judgment-day, to which is attached immediately a divine 
 promise of the Messianic salvation. We must also look upon 
 the description of the two witnesses (ch. xi.), their martyrdom 
 as well as their glorification, as borrowed essentially from some 
 other source. According to the way in which they are described, 
 in one relation as well as another, it is in the highest degree 
 unnatural to understand by them law and gospel or their repre- 
 sentatives, as Ebrard, for example, does. The meaning is without 
 doubt that two human individuals, standing in an exactly 
 similar relation to the gospel, are depicted. And as it is said 
 of them that they appear in Jerusalem, and to their martyr- 
 dom is joined the announcement of the punishment impending 
 over a part at least of this city, Herder, Eichhorn, Heinrichs, 
 and Wetstein too, &c., supposed that two Jewish high-priests 
 were meant, Ananus and Jesus, who distinguished themselves 
 by their discretion while the city was threatened by the Romans ; 
 continually seeking to curb the blind rage of the zealots, and 
 to lead the people against them. The zealots, therefore, called 
 in the Idumseans to their aid. The two sought to hinder them 
 from entering, but in vain. The Idunifeans pressed into the 
 city, and in the night a massacre took place among the more 
 moderate party of the Jews, in which over eight thousand of
 
 1 1 2 LECTURES ON THE APOCA L YPSE. 
 
 them were slain ; the slaughter continued on the following day, 
 when both the high-priests were seized and murdered, and their 
 dead bodies thrown away unburied ; though, as Josephus says, 
 " the Jews are so much concerned about burial, that they even 
 take away and bury before sunset those executed" (B. J. iv. 5, 2). 
 Josephus says expressly, that the death of Ananus in a manner 
 laid the foundation for the conquest of Jerusalem; that with 
 him the walls sank, and the state went to the ground. But 
 it is impossible that these two men can be meant by the two 
 witnesses of the Apocalypse. However much the high-priests 
 may have distinguished themselves above the zealots by discre- 
 tion, yet, in a book like the Apocalypse, they cannot be called 
 witnesses for God's kingdom, especially as it is known of Ana- 
 nus in particular that he was a decided opponent of Christian- 
 ity, and even caused James, the Lord's brother, to be executed. 
 Of this also there can be no doubt, that what we read here is 
 not a historical or poetic description of a fact then patent, but 
 a prophetic vision of two martyrs who should appear in the 
 Jewish nation before the coming of the Lord, whose preaching 
 should not be attended with success among that generation, 
 but yet should glorify God after their death, and so bring about 
 the conversion of men. There evidently lies at the foundation 
 of this a general and comforting idea, confirmed by the history 
 of the Church at several periods, that the men by whom the 
 Church of the Lord is advanced with considerable success 
 as, for example, Luther are preceded by the efforts of others, 
 at a greater or less distance of time, who, having already recog- 
 nized the same need, worked to that end without similar favour- 
 able results men appearing even to fail, though their endeavours 
 are by no means to be regarded as lost. Bather should they be 
 viewed as essentially promoting the advent of that to which their 
 strivings are directed ; they themselves finding recognition and 
 glorification directly after their death. So, for example, John Huss 
 stands in relation to Luther. In such men, one may see partial 
 fulfilments of the vision without referring it precisely to them.
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 113 
 
 Much more probably are witnesses meant who precede as fore- 
 runners the last revelation of the Lord himself at his second 
 advent, as John the Baptist preceded the first coming of the 
 Lord. This idea is not peculiar to the Apocalypse, but was 
 doubtless met with before, partly in the Jewish Church, where 
 Elias in particular, and also Jeremiah and Moses, were expected 
 as forerunners of the Messiah. The idea was then transferred 
 in the Christian Church to the time of the glorious coming 
 of the Lord. That two prophets of the Old Covenant the one 
 Elias, the other Moses are here meant, may be assumed, as 
 we shall see, with great probability. Yet the description of 
 their activity is carried out in a peculiar manner, and connected 
 with the fate of Jerusalem. This depends, at least partly, upon 
 the position generally assumed in the book towards Jerusalem 
 and Judaism. 
 
 On closer consideration, such position appears quite different 
 from that assumed towards Rome and Eomanism. Rome is the 
 Babylon which is to be entirely destroyed ; and Romanism coin- 
 cides with anti-christianism. Not so Judaism. The book, indeed, 
 knows of Jews who slander the truth and form the synagogue of 
 Satan (ii. 9, iii. 9); but it designates them as persons who. are 
 not really Jews, having appropriated the name to themselves 
 falsely. This is a different fact from that which appears,, for ex- 
 ample, in John's Gospel, where 01 'lovSaiot, are so frequently 
 put, without further notice, to describe such as resist the Lord in 
 a hostile manner ; the chiefs of the people in particular. Jeru- 
 salem is undoubtedly designated as the city (xi. 8), ijfrts /caAeircu 
 7n/v/mT6Kws 2o8o/-ta K. AiyvTTj-os; and a divine punishment is inflicted 
 upon it. But it is also, in relation to the heathen, directly de- 
 scribed as the holy city (rr/v TroAtv -n)v ayLav, xi. 2), and as the 
 beloved city (xx. 9) ; only a small part of the city and its in- 
 habitants are destroyed ; whilst it is said of the rest that, full of 
 terror, they give the God of heaven the glory (xi. 13), intimating 
 in this connection that they themselves go in and are saved 
 with the remainder of the city and its Temple (xi. .1). On the 
 
 I
 
 114 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 contrary, it is repeatedly said of other men, the idolaters, that 
 they could not be induced to repent by the divine judgments, but 
 hardened themselves the more, and blasphemed God (ix. 20, 21, 
 xvi. 9, 11, 21). Undoubtedly the prominence given to the one 
 aspect as well as the other depends upon the human individuality 
 of the seer. As he himself belonged to the Jewish nation, he 
 appears attached to his people with true love ; and, although sorry 
 at their unbelief, he seems to have cherished the hope that they 
 would soon be all converted and form the stem of God's people. 
 This is discernible from the manner in which the believers are 
 presented to him in the vision (ch. vii.), who are marked with the 
 seal of God ; and from the hope that Jerusalem and its Temple 
 would be still farther the centre of the nation and of the worship 
 paid to the true, the living God. It appears therefore false, and 
 not in accordance with the purport of our book, to think, as 
 in particular Herder does, Eichhorn too, and in part Liicke, in 
 his two editions, that both Eomanisrn and Judaism are looked 
 upon as the anti-christianism to be conquered. 
 
 Thus much may suffice for preliminary observations on the 
 meaning and design of the book in general. With them are 
 connected such questions as the following : 
 
 II. ON THE UNITY OF THE BOOK AND THE TIME OF ITS 
 COMPOSITION (LiiCKE, 58 60). 
 
 Both should be treated together ; for, with the question about 
 the time of the book's composition or the reception of the visions 
 presented in it, we have to take into consideration whether 
 the work, as it lies before us, forms a unity, a connected whole, 
 written continuously without any break ; or whether it con- 
 sists of several parts, the composition of which, as well as the 
 reception of the visions related, belong to different times. It 
 cannot be mistaken that the second part (ch. xii.), is not con- 
 nected in such a manner with the series of preceding visions
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. H5 
 
 as one would properly expect from the whole course of the narra- 
 tive. Ch. iv. xi. form a closely connected series of visions, 
 which introduce the phenomena at the opening of the seven 
 seals of the book of fate ; and at the seventh seal the disclosure 
 of what was shut up in it is gradually linked on to the trumpets 
 of the seven angels. That which should appear at the three 
 last trumpets is (viii. 13) described as a three-fold woe still 
 impending over the inhabitants of the earth; then it is said 
 (ix. 12) that with the fifth trumpet one of these three woes is 
 past and two woes are still to come ; comp. x. 7, according to 
 which an angel swears that there shall be no more delay, but 
 when the seventh angel shall sound the mystery of God will.be 
 completed, according to his prediction to the prophets ; and 
 (xi. 14) that the second woe is past and the third cometh quickly. 
 As it is now said (xi. 15) that the seventh angel sounded his 
 trumpet, one would properly expect that the last woe should be 
 immediately introduced ; a description of the last plagues which 
 should be inflicted upon the whole earth before the return of the 
 Lord and the inauguration of his kingdom. With this agrees 
 also what follows, that at the trumpet of the seventh angel loud 
 voices had proclaimed in heaven that the kingdom of the world 
 had become the kingdom of our God and of his anointed, who 
 should reign to all eternity ; that the twenty-four elders in 
 heaven had praised God for having taken to himself the sove- 
 reignty; and that his judgment upon the dead had come in order 
 to give his prophets, saints and worshippers, great and small, their 
 reward, and to destroy the spoilers of the earth (verses 15 18). 
 This can only mean the last judgments at the second coming of 
 the Lord, forming the third woe. In connection with this appears 
 also ib. verse 19. When it is there said that the ark of the 
 covenant appeared in the opened temple of God in heaven, the 
 idea is attached to that of the later Jews, viz. that the ark of the 
 covenant '(which had been lost at the destruction of the Temple 
 by the Chaldeans, and which, since then, was no longer in the 
 Holy of Holies, neither in the temple of Zerubbabel nor in that of 
 
 I 2
 
 116 LECTURES ON THE APOCA L YPSE. 
 
 Herod) should again come to light at the appearance of the 
 Messiah or the commencement of the kingdom of God. An in- 
 timation is contained in this that the day of the Lord, the time 
 of the inauguration of his kingdom, had come ; and when it is said, 
 
 Still further, in the Same verse, Kal eyevovro da-Tpairal Kal <wvcu KCU 
 
 Ppovrai Kal o-eicr/ios Kal -^dXa^a /wyaA^, this, from its connection 
 with the preceding, can only be a hint or intimation of the divine 
 punishment just announced. Herewith we expect that the judg- 
 ment should now be directly and more minutely described as the 
 third and last woe, whose appearance is repeatedly announced 
 expressly and solemnly. But instead of that, we are (ch. xii.) 
 conducted to another series of intuitions clearly beginning with 
 the birth of the Messiah and his being caught up into heaven, 
 which soon followed that event. These, therefore, go back to an 
 earlier period in the history of the kingdom of God than that 
 spoken of in the preceding visions generally ; for all pre-suppose 
 Christ in his present condition, after returning to his heavenly 
 Father, and refer to relations of the future. Even Vitringa per- 
 ceived that the contents of ch. xii., &c., do not stand in a progres- 
 sive relation to the preceding visions. He makes a new series of 
 visions commence here, supposing them to run parallel with that 
 which appeared at the sixth and seventh trumpets ; so that the 
 catastrophes already announced are carried out here in a more 
 special manner. But this mode of interpretation is insufficient, 
 both because the preceding series of visions does not at all 
 appear concluded at the end of ch. xi., as one would expect if 
 the following were meant as nothing more than a repetition 
 and more specific delineation of what had appeared at the two 
 'last trumpet-sounds; and also because what follows (ch. xii.), as 
 already remarked, evidently refers to an earlier period of the 
 kingdom of God than the contents of the seventh seal ; generally, 
 indeed, to an earlier time than the standpoint whence prophecy 
 proceeds in all the foregoing ones. On the other hand, it is 
 still less admissible to assume, with Vogel, 1. c., that the second 
 part, ch. xii. xxii., was composed by itself as a writing origin-
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 117 
 
 ally independent of the preceding, and even by another author. 
 Not to speak of the great similarity of language and description 
 in both parts, which leaves no doubt of the writer's identity, there 
 are in the last part unmistakable retrospective references to the 
 first, which do not allow of the assumption that the one was 
 originally written without reference* to the other. Thus, for ex- 
 ample (xiv. 3, xv. 7), it is supposed as known that the wa 
 (cherubim) and the twenty-four Trpea-fivrtpoL surround the divine 
 throne, which could only be done in connection with the descrip- 
 tion given in iv. 46. In like manner, it cannot be" mistaken 
 that the 144,000 who (xiv. 1 sqq.) appear with the Lamb on 
 Mount Zion, bearing the name of the Lamb and his Father 
 written on their foreheads, have reference to iv. 7, where the 
 same number is given as that of the servants of God marked on 
 their foreheads with the divine seal. An independent prophetic 
 writing, also, could not commence, as in xii. 1, KCU a-^/j-eiov peya 
 (a(f>0r/ ev TW ovpaviS, even not without the KCU. There can be no 
 doubt that the second part was originally written with reference 
 to the first, and by the same author. I put forward the conjecture 
 in my treatise in the Theologische Zeitschrift, &c., that the Apo- 
 calypse, according to its original sketch, may have had another 
 conclusion, in which the prophecy after ch. xi. may have con- 
 tinued to its end in the same manner as it did before, but that 
 the author himself afterwards changed that original ending for 
 the present second part (ch. xii. xxii.), in which the prophecy 
 commences over again and is continued to its end, the completion 
 of the kingdom of God, on a somewhat different plan. Instead 
 of this, one might suppose it thus : that the writer originally 
 carried out his prophetic description only as far as the end of 
 ch. xi., and may have been prevented by some accident from 
 adding the termination immediately. Here it may be conceived 
 that, when he returned to it later, he continued and completed 
 his work in a manner somewhat different from the original 
 plan. In the treatise already named, I found a confirmation of 
 this assumption in the marks of date presented by both parts,
 
 118 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 according to which the first must have been written before the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem; the second part probably later and after that 
 catastrophe. But I subsequently retracted this assumption of the 
 composition of both at different times (Beitrage z. Evangel. Krit. 
 p. 81); and I believe, too, that no sufficient ground exists for it. As 
 to the first part, there can be no doubt in my mind that it was 
 written before the destruction of 'Jerusalem, which is now admitted 
 by many interpreters and critics ; for ch. xi. pre-supposes not 
 merely the existence of the city and Temple, but contains the 
 hope also that the latter would remain unprofaned and unhurt, 
 and that the inhabitants of the former should repent after the 
 punishment inflicted on a part of them, and so escape destruc- 
 tion. From other passages, especially vi. 9 11, it follows that 
 the Christians had then suffered from the world, and doubtless 
 the heathen world, bloody persecutions ; and that no small num- 
 ber of them had died as martyrs for their belief. This refers 
 most probably to the persecution by Nero (after A.D. 64). Ac- 
 cordingly the composition of the first part would fall between 
 64 70, since the persecution appears to have begun some time 
 a few years after 64, and at least some time before the de- 
 struction of the city, perhaps between 66 70, between the last 
 years of Nero and the beginning of Vespasian's reign. As to 
 the second part, it pre-supposes still more plainly that Eome had 
 then persecuted the Christians in a bloody manner ; Eome is de- 
 scribed as drunk with the blood of the saints and the witnesses 
 of Jesus (xvii. 6). Compare with this, xviii. 24, where it is said 
 that in it the blood of the prophets and saints and of all slain 
 upon the earth was found ; and xviii. 20, where the saints, the 
 apostles and the prophets, are addressed as the inhabitants of 
 heaven, as those whose blood God has avenged by the fall of 
 Babylon. This implies that several apostles had already died in 
 or by Rome ; or at least, after having been persecuted by it, were 
 now no longer alive. Yet these passages do not point directly to 
 a later time than that of Nero or the one immediately following ; 
 since in Nero's persecution the apostles ^Paul and Peter, at least,
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. HQ 
 
 died at Eome. But the chief passage which determines the date 
 of the second part is xvii. 10, in connection with what precedes 
 and follows. Hence we may safely assume, in my opinion, as we 
 have already seen, that it was written after the death or disappear- 
 ance of Nero, under his successor as the sixth of the Roman 
 emperors. It only remains uncertain whether Galba or Vespasian 
 is to be considered this successor. I declared in favour of the 
 latter assumption in the treatise before referred to ; for the former 
 there are, among more modern interpreters, Ewald, Llicke, 1st ed., 
 De Wette, Credner, Guericke, Introd. 2nd ed. Anything decisive, 
 either for or against the one or other, cannot, I believe, be main- 
 tained. Yet to me the probability of the latter outweighs that 
 of the former. Liicke, 2nd ed., also judges that the composition 
 falls most probably in the first time of Vespasian; as also Lie. E. 
 Bohmer (Ueber den Verfasser und die Abfassungszeit der Johann. 
 Apokalypse, und zur bibl. Typik ; Halle, 1855). I believe it may 
 well be conceived that a writer living in Asia Minor at the time 
 of Vespasian, might regard and describe him as the sixth of the 
 Roman emperors, as the successor of Nero, without reckoning 
 Galba, Otho and Vitellius, the first of whom reigned scarcely 
 seven months, and was generally recognized as emperor even a 
 shorter time, while the two others never got general recognition 
 at all, at least in the East. Suetonius (Vespas.), too, speaks of the 
 reign of these three only as a rebdlio trium principum. But the 
 most decisive reason for not putting the date under Galba, is the 
 circumstance that the idea of Nero returning as Antichrist appears 
 as one universally known and spread abroad, so that it is at 
 least probable that some time had elapsed since his death. One 
 may say also that, if the composition took place immediately 
 after the disappearance of Nero, he would not be described as 
 fallen (xvii. 10), but as still living; and his successor also would not 
 in any case be counted in the list. But if the writing did not actu- 
 ally take place till Vespasian, and the latter is meant by the sixth 
 Roman king then reigning, it agrees with the fact that the work 
 was composed before the occupation and destruction of Jerusalem
 
 120 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 with its Temple. And that Jerusalem still continued at the time 
 of the writing of the second part, is probable from the manner in 
 which (xx. 9), even after the expiration of the thousand years, the 
 abode of the saints, which the troops of Antichrist should attack, 
 is described directly as the beloved city ; whilst the New Jeru- 
 salem which descends from heaven is not spoken of till later, 
 after the renewal of heaven and earth (xxi. 9 sqq.); so that it 
 is at least very probable the writer had in view, in using 
 that expression, the earthly Jerusalem still standing. Here 
 also, as in ch. xi., the hope is involved that the city would 
 be preserved until the coming of the Lord, and form a local 
 centre of the kingdom of God. See also xiv. 20 (KCU ^<ni'i&i] 
 fj A-^i/os egwOev rrjs TroAews). Thus nothing is found in these data 
 contrary to the assumption that both parts were written at the 
 same time, either in the last months of Galba or the first year 
 of Vespasian. AVe must not leave out of account, in favour of 
 this, (a) that the apocalyptic letters (ii. 3) contain several allu- 
 sions to subjects and things which are treated more at length in 
 the second part, particularly in the description of eternal happi- 
 ness; cf. ii. 11 with xx. 6, 14, xxi. 8; iii. 12 with xxi. 2, 10, 
 and xix. 12, 16 ; ii. 7 with xxii. 2, 14, 19 ; iii. 5 with xx. 
 12, 15 ; so that it is probable the author had in his thoughts 
 this copious representation while he composed those letters ; 
 and (&) that at the end of x. 11 is found the express announce- 
 ment that the seer should still prophesy with reference to many 
 nations and kings. We cannot doubt that this is meant of 
 prophecies to be communicated in the book itself. And it con- 
 tains an evident intimation that the author designed to carry 
 out the prophecy still farther, as one would properly expect 
 from the point it had already arrived at. Such intimations would 
 not apply to the contents of ch. xi. (although Ewald refers 
 them to it), but to the prophecies in the second part, particularly 
 ch. xvii. It certainly appears to me undeniable that the prophecy, 
 after ch. xi., is continued in another way than we should have 
 expected from its previous course. But it seems likely that the
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 121 
 
 seer, after arriving at the decisive point where the description 
 of the last woe and the coming of the Lord were to follow, 
 cast a retrospective glance at the past of the Church in relation 
 to the world, and so began his description over again, con- 
 tinuing it in a different manner from that which was suited 
 to its previous envelope. Accordingly what properly forms 
 the third woe is introduced later, without being expressly de- 
 signated as such, in the plagues appearing at the trumpets of the 
 seven angels (ch. xv. sqq.), as well as in the descriptions attaching 
 to them. 
 
 The view found in Irenaeus is undoubtedly opposed to that 
 here adduced concerning the time of the writing of the Apoca- 
 lypse, viz. that it belongs to the reign of Domitian. But this 
 must certainly be looked upon as false, according to internal 
 evidence ; and it may be explained, perhaps, how such an assump- 
 tion, -even without resting on any properly authentic tradition as 
 to the composition itself, could originate pretty early in the 
 Church, by the supposition that the apostle John was the author ; 
 see Stud. u. Krit, 1855, pp. 219 sqq. I mention here but briefly 
 the view of Grotius, that the Apocalypse, although the work of 
 one and the same author, is made up of several visions written 
 at different times and in different places, before and after the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem; and the similar one of Schleierrnacher 
 (Einl. i. N. T.), that a number of single visions are put together 
 in the book which, proceeding perhaps from the same author, 
 were not originally considered as one. Hence he believes that 
 we must entirely give up all explanation of the book. 
 
 III. AUTHOR. 
 
 In the book itself John is repeatedly named as the writer, as 
 he to whom these visions were communicated and who w r rote 
 them down in accordance with the command given ; so in the 
 beginning, i. 1, 4, 9, and at the end, xxii.- 8. Here the question 
 is, firstly, which John is meant, the apostle or some other ? and,
 
 122 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 secondly, whether, particularly in the former case, the accounts 
 are reliable, or should be viewed only in the light of a literary 
 envelope, so that some other, in the name of the apostle John, 
 wrote and published the work ? The latter assumption, as we 
 have seen, is met with pretty early, and in such a form too as 
 that a heretic (especially Cerinthus) mischievously palmed the 
 book upon the apostle. At a later period the same view was 
 also maintained. But the assumption is inadmissible, because, 
 as we have seen, there is the clearest evidence that the book was 
 written before the destruction of Jerusalem, at a time when the 
 apostle John was certainly alive, and doubtless before the com- 
 position of his Gospel ; in that case, none would have easily ven- 
 tured to compose such a work in John's name ; and, had it been 
 done, the thing would undoubtedly have soon met with contra- 
 diction on the part of the apostle himself and his friends ; espe- 
 cially as John, according to all accounts of the ancients, lived in 
 his later years in those very districts to which the Apocalypse 
 is addressed, in proconsular Asia, where, or in the vicinity, it was 
 written beyond a doubt. If the Apocalypse had had such origin, 
 it would not have attained to the authority which it had already 
 acquired in the greatest part of the Church at an early period, until 
 persons took offence at the millennarian ideas. Even in the form 
 which Liicke attempted to give this view, in the first edition of 
 his Introduction, it is untenable. He thinks that intuitions lay 
 at the foundation, which the apostle John may have actually had, 
 and which another may have carried out farther agreeably to their 
 oral narration. A similar view was previously held by Schott, 
 who, in his Isagoge, 116, thinks that the apostle himself had 
 written down single parts in a fragmentary manner (in the Ara- 
 maic language), which another made use of subsequently, enlarging 
 and working them out in the present book. From the similarity 
 of the character and language of the whole book, such a redactor 
 must have elaborated the Johannine materials he found with the 
 greatest freedom, so that the whole was entirely his work, and 
 that in the early time specified ; since the characteristics leading
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 123 
 
 to it are so incorporated with the whole book, that they can- 
 not be considered merely as something already existing, which 
 the later redactor might have retained without regard to the 
 relations of his own time. But another would hardly have 
 ventured, at least in the lifetime of the apostle, to bring out 
 a work which asserts its Johannine character from beginning 
 to end ; nor could it have found acceptance in that case. Hence 
 the only question is, whether the John who describes himself as 
 the author and to whom the work belongs, is the apostle or 
 some one else. 
 
 Here the common opinion is, that the intimations of the book 
 respecting its author are decided in pointing him out as the apostle 
 and evangelist John. The question is, whether this be well founded. 
 The writer indeed names himself John (i. 1, 4, 9, xxii. 8), but 
 nowhere an apostle ; only John, servant of Jesus Christ (i. 1). 
 Such designation, indeed, cannot determine against his apostolic 
 dignity, but as little can it speak in favour of it ; it appears suit- 
 able alike for every teacher and worker in the service of the Lord, 
 even for Christians as such. It has been thought that such pas- 
 sages as verses 2, 9, lead one more definitely to the apostle and 
 evangelist only. But the former is not at all decisive, however 
 it be taken. It is usually referred to a testimony which the 
 seer and writer had given about the Gospel. Even then, how- 
 ever, no reference to the apostle and evangelist John would 
 be contained in it, for it would equally apply to any other dis- 
 ciple of Christ who had been active in the Lord's service. But 
 it is most probable, as we shall see, that the o? ^aprvp^a-e. TL>I> 
 
 Aoyov TOV Oeov K. rrjv p-aprvpiav 'I^crou Xpicrrov, 6'cra eiSe does not 
 
 refer to an earlier activity of the author as an eye-witness of 
 Christ in spreading the gospel by doctrine or writing, but to the 
 attestation of the contents of the Apocalypse itself that follow. 
 It is undoubtedly more probable in verse 9, where the seer says, 
 he, John, was in the isle of Patmos for the word of God and the 
 testimony of Jesus, and received the revelation there. That agrees 
 with an old tradition about the apostle John, which we find in
 
 124 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 ecclesiastical writers after the end of the second century, that he 
 was banished to this desert island by the Eoman emperor on ac- 
 count of his confession. A closer consideration, however, of the 
 accounts of the ancients themselves, shows clearly that anything 
 decisive and certain about such banishment was not known. 
 Their statements are somewhat ambiguous, particularly with re- 
 spect to the emperor under and by whom the thing is said to have 
 happened ; and therefore it may be assumed with great proba- 
 bility that the whole tradition rests merely upon this passage of 
 the Apocalypse, which might easily lead to the assumption, by the 
 way it is worded, that the seer John was banished to Patmos 
 on account of his Christian confession. It was therefore natural, 
 when once this John was assumed to be the apostle, that the 
 fact should soon fix itself in the form of a tradition about him, 
 although it referred originally to another witness of the same 
 name ; that which happened to one John might easily be trans- 
 ferred to another, to an apostle more distinguished and better 
 known. Whether the passage, when viewed by itself, independ- 
 ently of that later tradition, really implies a banishment of the seer 
 to that island, or at least a residence on it at the time of the recep- 
 tion of the visions and the writing of the book, may be seen ad h. 1. 
 What appears in the book itself to speak against an apostle as 
 author, is the passage (xxi. 14), K. TO rei^ * T *7 S ^oAews fx ov 0/*eAi'ovs 
 
 dwSeKO, KCU 7r' avrwv 8w8e/ca ov6fj.a.Ta TMV Sw^eKa uTrocrToAwv TOV dpviov. 
 
 This makes it much more probable that the seer and writer did 
 not himself belong to the number of the twelve apostles than that 
 he was one of them. On the other hand, if we consider how 
 so specific a value is put in this passage upon the rank of the 
 apostles, we are justified in supposing that, had the author be- 
 longed to their circle or wished to be considered one of it, he 
 would not have omitted, particularly in i. 1, to designate himself 
 expressly as such. A comparison of the other writings which we 
 have received from him also pronounces against the apostle 
 John, particularly the Gospel and first Epistle. We proceed on 
 the supposition that these writings are genuine works of the
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 125 
 
 apostle John, the son of Zebedee, the "beloved" disciple of the 
 Lord, in which, I believe, we are justified most decidedly (see my 
 Beitr. z. Ev. Krit. u. Vorles. iiber neutestam. Einl.). And it may 
 be asserted with the greatest probability that the same disciple 
 cannot be the writer of the Apocalypse. It cannot, indeed, be 
 denied that the Apocalypse presents great affinity to the other 
 writings of John, in idea, style and diction ; a fact that must not 
 be lost sight of, that we may be able to decide rightly about the 
 similarity of the works to one another. It may be granted that 
 the Apocalypse on the one hand, and John's other writings on 
 the other, are related to no other New Testament works so closely 
 as those two, i. e. to one another ; and that the reason of this lies 
 not improbably in a certain dependence of the one writer upon 
 the other, so that the author of the later writing or writings made 
 use of the earlier. But it is not of the kind to prove unity of 
 authorship, any more than the many cognate things presented, 
 for example, by the Epistle to the Hebrews and the first Epistle 
 of Peter to Paul's Epistles prove that the apostle Paul wrote 
 the former. What is still more important in our case than 
 relationship, is the dissimilarity which the writings before us 
 present in their entire character. This is such as cannot be 
 easily explained if we accept the writer's identity. First of all, 
 (a) as to style. In the Apocalypse, the whole structure of the 
 language is incomparably rougher, harder, more disconnected, 
 more hebraizing : greater grammatical incorrectness prevails 
 in it than in any other book of the New Testament. On the 
 contrary, the language of the Gospel, though not indeed pure 
 Greek, is yet, without comparison, more correct in a grammatical 
 point of view. Pionysius of Alexandria, 1. c. (Euseb. vii. 25), 
 rightly pointed attention to the difference ; he says that whilst the 
 Gospel and the (first) Epistle are written faultlessly, as far as the 
 Greek language is concerned, the language of the Apocalypse, on 
 the contrary, is in no wise aK/u/Jws e\.\rjvi(ovo-a; but that the author 
 of it uses barbarous idioms and even solecisms in abundance. To 
 refer to single instances of such grammatical errors, there are,
 
 125 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 i. 4, aTTo 6 wv /cat 6 rjv KCU 6 tp^ofJievos', ii. 20, TTJV yvvatKa crow 'le 
 
 q A.yovo-a K. A.; ill. 12, T>)S KCUV^S 'lepovtraXrjiJL, fj Kara/JatVovcra, and 
 
 many others of the kind, such as cannot be shown in other writ- 
 ings of John. Even apart from such incorrectnesses, the Apo- 
 calypse presents many peculiarities in the use of language which 
 are not found in the other writings of John ; whilst many singular 
 modes of expression in the Gospel and Epistles are wanting in 
 the Eevelation. To such things Dionysius of Alexandria has re- 
 ferred (see on this, Ewald, pp. 66 74; De Wette, 189; Credner, 
 266 ; Liicke, 2nd ed. pp. 662680). The difference in this re- 
 spect is recognized even by most of those who attribute all the 
 works to one and the same author, the apostle John ; they believe 
 that it arises either from a difference of time in composition, or 
 from the elevated and poetical character of the prophetic discourse 
 in the Apocalypse. Ebrard and Hengstenberg, in particular, look 
 at it in the latter light. Hengstenberg supposes that John wrote 
 the Gospel and Epistles in the condition of his ordinary con- 
 sciousness ; the Eevelation, on the contrary, when he was in the 
 Spirit, which spoke through him ; and this explains why he avoids 
 expressions which had assumed a permanent character in the 
 Christian use of language at his own time, even such as be- 
 longed to the characteristic peculiarities of his usual diction, as, 
 for example, wi) cuowos and Tria-Teveiv, so frequent in the Gospel ; 
 besides that the language of the Apocalypse, conformably to the 
 poetical character of prophetic discourse, adopts the full-sounding 
 and emphatic ; in which Hengstenberg includes the usual ISov, 
 whereas the Gospel, on the contrary, has i'Se ; as also the hebraiz- 
 ing, the rough, the abrupt. He has carried out and extended this in 
 a manner that borders on the absurd, and does not require refu- 
 tation; nor, indeed, is it capable of one. After the same fashion 
 Ebrard says, in the Gospel John attempted, standing freely above 
 his materials, to write as good Greek as possible for his readers, 
 and therefore he wrote better than was his wont ; whilst in the 
 Apocalypse he was overpowered by the remembrance of the 
 visions he had had, and could find no other language to express
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 127 
 
 such wonders than that of the old prophets. Hence he willingly 
 deals in a prophetic, antique, strongly hebraizing form of language, 
 and makes use of crudities intentionally, as i. 4, ii. 20. However 
 one may judge with respect to the visions of the Apocalypse 
 (see after), the matter cannot be looked at in such a light as that 
 the seer wrote them down in the shape they are now in, and the 
 whole book in the moment of his rapture, but later ; and even the 
 eyevo/zTyv . . eV liar/A^ (i. 9) leads with great probability to the sup- 
 position that at the time of writing he was no longer in Patmos. 
 The composition took place, therefore and the same holds good 
 of the visions and other prophecies in the Old Testament pro- 
 phets not in the state of rapture, but of thoughtful conscious- 
 ness. Though it be granted that the remembrance of what was 
 seen in ecstacy, and the subject generally, might exercise some 
 influence on the linguistic character of the book, it could not do 
 so to such degree, particularly in a grammatical respect, as to 
 account for the difference between the Apocalypse and the Gospel. 
 As to the other mode of explanation, by difference in time of 
 writing, it is undoubtedly in the highest degree probable that the 
 Gospel and first Epistle of John were not written till after the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, therefore later than the Apocalypse ; 
 and therefore one might suppose that the apostle John in the 
 interval had acquired a greater facility and correctness in Greek 
 writing by long intercourse with the Greeks in Asia. This explana- 
 tion entirely falls away if, with Ebrard, Hengstenberg and others, 
 we place the composition of the Apocalypse under Domitian, on 
 the basis of Irenseus's testimony. But even on our hypothesis, 
 the apostle John, at the time of writing the Apocalypse, must 
 have been considerably advanced in years, to the age of at least 
 sixty or more ; and it is scarcely likely that his whole Greek style 
 should have changed its character so essentially according to time, 
 as it must have done if he, the author of the Gospel and Epistles, 
 was also the author of the Apocalypse. We may add, what 
 Liicke pertinently remarks (2nd ed. pp. C64), that the language 
 of the Apocalypse, in point of fact, has in itself nothing of the
 
 128 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 bungling and the accidental, which proceed from a beginner ; but 
 something very constant, even, intentional, unfettered and usual ; 
 in short, a definite type, which scarcely permits transformation 
 and progress into the linguistic type of the Gospel and Epistles. 
 
 (V) Dionysius of Alexandria, in the passage already quoted, 
 directs attention to the fact, that the Apocalypse repeatedly 
 names John as the seer and author, whilst the apostle does not 
 name himself expressly either in the Gospel or the first Epistle. 
 On the contrary, it has been urged, as already by Eichhorn, that 
 the express mentioning of the name is conformable to prophetic 
 usage. This, indeed, is not absolutely correct, since it may be 
 admitted with tolerable safety that many prophecies were de- 
 livered, even by the Old Testament prophets, without mention of 
 their name, and were therefore attributed at a later time to 
 others than those they belonged to. Such a phenomenon is not 
 without importance in leading us to suppose, along with other 
 phenomena, that the apocalyptic John is different from the 
 apostle, the writer of the Gospel and Epistle or Epistles. But 
 one cannot view it as decisive, since it may be supposed that 
 the apostle, in a treatise written at another and earlier time, 
 followed a different method than his subsequent one in the 
 Gospel and Epistles. 
 
 (c) Of greater importance, and to be considered decisive, is 
 the difference of the two writings in regard to the ideas con- 
 tained in them, in relation to the whole spirit and character, the 
 entire picture, of their author and his position, which meet us 
 in reading them. Both the author of the Apocalypse and the 
 evangelist John appear as belonging to the Jewish nation, and 
 as Hebrews, inhabitants also of Palestine, since both are ac- 
 quainted with the sacred writings of their people, even in the 
 original language, and quote sentences from the Old Testament 
 not usually according to the LXX., but from their own transla- 
 tion of the Hebrew text itself. But the internal position of 
 both towards Judaism and the Jewish people seems very dif- 
 ferent, as we have already seen (p. 113). The author of the
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 129 
 
 Apocalypse is closely connected with Judaism, Jewish worship 
 and the Jewish people throughout, so that he seems to cherish 
 the hope that Jerusalem the holy and beloved city (xi. 2, 
 xx. 9) though experiencing a divine visitation, would still 
 continue with its sanctuary till the coming of the Lord, and, 
 during the thousand-years' kingdom, would be the central-point 
 of the people and worship of the true, living God. He describes 
 those members of the Jewish people who obstinately rejected 
 or persecuted the gospel as not really Jews, but persons who 
 falsely appropriated the name (ii. 9, iii. 9). On the contrary, 
 the Gospel of John uses the appellation ol 'louScuoi as a desig- 
 nation of the Jews who resisted the truth, particularly the chiefs 
 of the Jewish nation who were hostile to the Redeemer. One 
 might, at all events, suppose that the apostle John should have 
 got, through the destruction of Jerusalem, to the point of hoping 
 that the city would be the centre of the future Messianic king- 
 dom ; not that the internal character of his sentiments should 
 have been so revolutionized against the Jewish people, on the 
 occasion of an event which certainly claimed his entire sympathy, 
 as we must suppose it to have been, had the author of the 
 Apocalypse written the Gospel also subsequently, at most ten 
 or twenty years later. 
 
 (d) Reference to the approach of the glorious coming of the 
 Lord, as conqueror of the hostile powers, and for the inaugura- 
 tion of the kingdom of God upon earth, forms the central and 
 leading point in the contents of the Apocalypse. Though this 
 kingdom itself, the thousand-years' one, is but briefly described, 
 yet all that preceded only serves as a preparation for it, just as 
 what follows appears its farther completion. We find this ex- 
 pectation, it is true, in other New Testament writings, and it 
 is not foreign to the apostle John; doubtless 1 John ii. 18, 28, 
 is to be so explained. But in the Gospel, apart from xxi. 22 
 in the Appendix, there are no express or definite statements 
 about it, which is always no unimportant fact. Had the apostle 
 John, even forty years after the death and ascension of Christ, 
 
 K
 
 130 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 nourished this hope in such energetic liveliness and develop- 
 ment as we find it in the Apocalypse, we are justified in 
 assuming that he would have also maintained it at a later 
 time ; and that it would even appear through his historical re- 
 presentation of the Lord's life. If we regard him as the writer 
 of the Apocalypse, we might either think that he had conceived 
 these expectations in their present form in consequence of the 
 revelations wMch the Apocalypse itself brings before us; or 
 that he had cherished them in essence, even before the reception 
 of these visions, in consequence of the way in which he appre- 
 hended the discourses of Christ concerning the future develop- 
 ment of the kingdom of God, the last judgment, his union with 
 his own people after being taken away from the earth, &c. But 
 in the latter case, we should have expected that he would 
 communicate such discourses of the Lord in his Gospel also, 
 especially if he had held these expectations strongly for forty 
 years, in the way the Apocalypse shows them. Discourses of 
 a similar kind are certainly to be found in the three first Gos- 
 pels, but not, as already mentioned, in that of John, where the 
 utterances of Christ relating to the future all bear either a more 
 general or a decidedly spiritual character. Had the apostle 
 first arrived at Jus expectations in the apocalyptic form by the 
 visions imjparted to him, according to our book, we should infer 
 that they would not have generalized themselves so much at 
 a later time, and receded into the background. The destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, that took place meanwhile, might perhaps 
 have helped to modify somewhat the state of these hopes ; not, 
 however, to such a degree as would have been the case were the 
 author of the Apocalypse and of the Gospel the same, for we 
 find eschatological ideas in the same form essentially as that 
 which they have in the Apocalypse. 
 
 (e) It is true that 1 John ii. 18 sqq., iv. 1 sqq., speaks of Anti- 
 christ as the forerunner of the last day (the ea-xa-rrj ^pa). But 
 this is only regarded here, as we remarked already, as an idea 
 spread through Christendom, to which the apostle gives a more
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 131 
 
 general application than that which already prevailed, especially 
 as found in the Apocalypse. The apostle expressly exhorts his 
 readers not to look for a single individual coming as Antichrist, 
 because many Antichrists had already gone out into the world, 
 every one who denies that Jesus is the Christ being regarded as 
 such. Rather does a gentle polemic appear there against such 
 an idea of Antichrist as we find in the Apocalypse, and also in 
 2 Thess., viz. as a definite future person, in whom should be con- 
 centrated, as it were, the sum of all evil and destruction. This 
 also is no unimportant ground against the idea that the Apoca- 
 lypse might have been written by the apostle John, the author of 
 the Epistles, since it is improbable that the latter would have 
 given up and generalized, as is done in the letters, the very idea 
 of Antichrist definitely set forth in the Apocalypse in so de- 
 cided a way ; especially as we find it firmly held by other parties 
 in the Church long after the destruction of Jerusalem, and after 
 the expiration of the apostolic age in general, and that too in 
 the apocalyptic form and shape. 
 
 (/) Many other individual differences, both in the eschato- 
 logical department and in others not immediately connected with 
 it, between the Apocalypse on the one hand, and the writings of 
 John on the other, may be pointed out, leading more or less to 
 the assumption of different writers ; compare Llicke, 2nd ed. 48, 
 49. Of still greater importance in favour of this conclusion is 
 the fact that the Apocalypse betrays an entirely different culture 
 on the part of the author from the Gospel and the Epistles. The 
 writer exhibits far more learning than the evangelist, not merely 
 a relatively different, but another kind of education, both in 
 theological and other departments, so that he appears to be a man 
 who had been occupied with other branches of science from an 
 early period and in a wholly different manner from the evan- 
 gelist ; one who is inclined to a certain artificiality of represen- 
 tation and to rabbinic-cabalistical studies. It is not probable, 
 according to Acts iv. 13, where it is related, the Sanhedrists 
 had heard that Peter and John were avOpwiroi dy 
 
 K 2
 
 132 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 , that the apostle John should possess the very education 
 and learning which the Apocalypse manifests ; whose counterpart 
 is not found in the other writings of John. Hengstenberg, in- 
 deed, will not admit this ; he asserts that the learned and arti- 
 ficial character which the Apocalypse is said to have is partly 
 not in it ; that it is partly and in a like degree in the other 
 writings of John also, so that he takes into them many profound 
 references in a highly arbitrary way. See a fundamental refu- 
 tation of his views in Liicke, 2nd ed. 48. 
 
 If, after all this, we consider ourselves justified in supposing 
 that the Apocalypse cannot be a work of the author of the 
 Gospel and Epistles, therefore not of the apostle John, and if, on 
 the other hand, from what has been before advanced, the same 
 work is not spuriously attributed to the apostle, in whose name 
 it might have been written by a later person, it only remains 
 for us to assume, with Dionysius of Alexandria and others, 
 that it is the work of a different John. We have seen that 
 Hitzig asserts John Mark to be the author, the same who wrote 
 the second Gospel. But the grounds urged for this are not 
 reliable, and the supposition is in itself improbable, as has been 
 sufficiently proved by Ebrard, and especially by Liicke, 1. c. ; so 
 that I do not think it necessary to enter here into a farther dis- 
 cussion of the matter. Nor has this view met with approval 
 and assent in any quarter, except from Weisse. It is not likely 
 that this evangelist, who is constantly named Marcus at a 
 later period, should have described himself as John in the Apo- 
 calypse addressed to the Asia Minor churches, since he was 
 doubtless known to them as Mark. Ecclesiastical tradition 
 also knows nothing of the fact that Mark had his sphere of 
 activity in Asia Minor in later years, viz. in proconsular Asia. 
 For we must assume of the John of the Apocalypse, that he 
 resided in Asia Minor at the time of the composition of the 
 book, and was thought highly of as a teacher by the Asiatic 
 churches to which the seven Epistles are addressed, and for 
 which the book was chiefly written ; so that they were led to
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 133 
 
 think precisely of him and none else from the manner in which 
 he characterizes himself and speaks to them. 
 
 The existence in these regions of such a John, different from 
 the apostle, is known to us from unsuspected witnesses. Papias, 
 in his 6^y?;o-ets Aoyiwv Kiyna/cwv (Ap. Euseb. iii. 39), speaks ex- 
 pressly of a second John, besides the apostle, whom he desig- 
 nates the presbyter, 6 7rpes/3irre/jos, in distinction from the apostle, 
 and speaks besides of a certain Aristion ; so that he undoubt- 
 edly separates both from the apostles, while describing them as 
 those who had heard the Lord (/za#7?Tcts TOV Kvpiov). Guericke, 
 indeed, has tried to prove, in his treatise, Hypothese vom Pres- 
 byter Johannes (1831), that Papias does not speak of two dif- 
 ferent Johns, but only of one, the apostle ; he has repeated the 
 same thing also, with less confidence, in the first edition of his 
 Einl. i. N. T. p. 262, Anm. 4 ; and Hengstenberg has expressed 
 the same opinion, ii. 2, pp. 112 sqq. 2nd ed. ii. 387. But Guericke 
 himself, in the 2nd ed. pp. 147 sqq., confesses that there is more 
 in favour of the existence of the presbyter than against it. An un- 
 prejudiced consideration of the words of Papias leaves no doubt 
 that he really speaks of a second John, the presbyter, different 
 from the apostle ; and, indeed, he names him without any refer- 
 ence to the author of the Apocalypse, whereby the testimony in 
 regard to his actual existence is all the more unsuspicious. 
 Hence from the very mention, we may suppose with great pro- 
 bability that this presbyter John, and Aristion named with him, 
 had lived and worked in the district where Papias resided, 
 that is, in Asia Minor. Hierapolis, where Papias was bishop, 
 lay near (only six Eoman miles north) to Laodicea, one of the 
 seven churches addressed in the Apocalypse. Eusebius, in the 
 place already mentioned, is inclined to attribute the Apoca- 
 lypse to this presbyter John ; but not, as is usually and falsely 
 assumed, Dionysius of Alexandria, who does not mention him 
 directly. Eusebius also remarks that some said two persons of 
 the name of John had lived in Asia, Christian teachers, viz. 
 of the apostolic age, and two monuments were then shown at
 
 134 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Ephesus, both dedicated to a John a fact which Dionysius of 
 Alexandria also cites. If it were the case that the other John 
 lived and taught as a preshyter in the district where the apostle 
 was working in his later years, we may well conceive that the 
 two Johns were early confounded with one another ; that this 
 or that thing was transferred from the presbyter to the apostle 
 so well known in the Church, and thus a literary work which 
 belonged to the one might be attributed to the other; which 
 was undoubtedly the case with the Apocalypse about the middle 
 of the second century, as we see from Justin Martyr. Yet the 
 assumption of a presbyter John being the author of our book 
 would not be without difficulty had the apostle John lived beside 
 him in those regions at the time of its writing ; for in that case 
 the presbyter would not readily have designated himself, as here, 
 simply as John, servant of Jesus Christ, without definite sepa- 
 ration from the apostle of that name. But there is nothing to 
 prevent us from assuming, rather is it not unlikely on other 
 grounds, that the settlement of the apostle John in these parts 
 did not take place till after the writing of the Apocalypse (see 
 my Beitrage zur Evangelien-Kritik, pp. 194 sqq.). In that case 
 the presbyter John might very well call himself simply 6 'Iwaw^s, 
 addressing the churches standing in close connection with him, 
 in whose midst or the immediate neighbourhood he lived ; as he 
 would know that they could not remain a moment doubtful as 
 to his person. If, therefore, the Apocalypse and the fourth 
 Gospel are related to one another in the manner indicated in 
 these remarks, as far as the persons of their authors are con- 
 cerned, as well as the time and place of writing ; it must be con- 
 sidered very improbable, a priori, that the Apocalypse should 
 have been unknown to the apostle John when he wrote the 
 Gospel. And since, with all the essential difference of stand- 
 point between the two writings a fact which does not permit 
 us to attribute them to one and the same author there is 
 nevertheless, as already before intimated, a certain analogy and 
 relationship between them in individual descriptions and phrases,
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 135 
 
 the foundation of this cannot be in imitation of the Gospel by 
 the writer of the Apocalypse, as many have supposed ; but it 
 must rather be referred to the evangelist's use of the Apocalypse. 
 That such a thing has taken place, and exercised some influence 
 individually on the descriptions, we may well suppose, although 1 
 the assumption is not exactly necessary. 
 
 IV. ON THE LlTEKAKY ENVELOPE OF THE BOOK, ESPECIALLY 
 THE MODE OF DESCBIPTION IN VISIONS. 
 
 The Apocalypse immediately at the beginning, from i. 9 on- 
 wards, consists in the relation of visions presented to the seer ; 
 and even the contents of the apocalyptic Epistles to the seven 
 churches (ch. ii. iii.) were dictated to him by the Lord who ap- 
 peared in vision. Here one may ask, how we are to consider 
 this : merely as a literary envelope, a form chosen by the writer 
 with poetical license to present in a vivid and lively manner to 
 his Christian readers the sum of his prophetic hopes ; or as a 
 historical account of visions actually vouchsafed to him in the 
 manner and succession here adduced ? The same question may 
 also be put in reference to the visions of the Old Testament 
 prophets, as they are brought forward in their writings. As re- 
 spects individual ones, it cannot be decided with any certainty ; 
 it is not unlikely in general that with the later prophets it is in 
 part only a literary envelope, a form of composition which they 
 made use of to imitate the descriptions of older prophets, a 
 more vivid way of adducing what they wished to prophesy; 
 whilst in general, especially in the older prophets when nar- 
 rating the visions they beheld, there is no ground for doubting 
 that they were actually communicated to them, that the pro- 
 phetic intuitions were presented to them in visions, mostly 
 with a symbolic character (see Einl. ins. A. T. pp. 422 sqq.). 
 We know from authentic New Testament witnesses belonging 
 to the Church of the apostolic age, that visions were communi- 
 cated to the apostles Peter and Paul in particular when put into
 
 136 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 an ecstatic condition, in which symbolical images were brought 
 before their spiritual eye for the revelation of religious truth 
 (see Acts x. 10 sqq., xvi. 9 ; 2 Cor. xii. 1 sqq.). The same may 
 have been the case with them and other Christian teachers of the 
 time, more frequently than we find expressly stated. Hence we 
 need not hesitate to assume that such visions were communi- 
 cated to the writer of the Apocalypse also, though he did not 
 belong exactly to the number of the apostles. Yet we must 
 take into consideration the following particulars. In the first 
 place, we cannot think that the writer wrote down the entire 
 book and all the visions just as they are now in it, during the 
 ecstacy itself ; this cannot be assumed even of the visions in the 
 prophetic writings of the Old Testament. Still less can it be said 
 of a series of connected visions so comprehensive as those in the 
 Apocalypse. Besides, the introductory historical narrative, ch. i. 
 clearly shows that the whole must have been written down 
 afterwards in its present form ; and, as is highly probable from 
 verse 9, written when the seer was no longer in the isle of 
 Patmos. We may therefore assume, at all events, that the 
 writer did not note down the visions previously communicated 
 to him till afterwards, and as they presented themselves to 
 his memory. But we cannot well imagine, from the number 
 and extent of the visions and images, that the writer could have 
 reproduced them all most exactly, or all that was spoken to 
 him in ecstacy, verbatim ; we may rather take it as certain that, 
 in the later reproduction of the materials, the writer's own reflec- 
 tion involuntarily exercised some influence on the form and 
 combination of particulars, without our being able to discover 
 the extent of such influence. But we may go perhaps still 
 farther. It is difficult to imagine how such a number of images 
 and visions should have passed before the seer, after one another 
 immediately, as would appear from the description of the book. 
 In many of these individual images, it is not probable, from their 
 nature and from the mode in which they are carried out, that 
 they could have presented themselves in vision as actual phe-
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 137 
 
 nomena. In that case, instead of appearing sublime and bene- 
 ficent, they would be rather monstrous and repulsive ; for example, 
 the image of the Son of Man, i. 13 sqq. &c. Besides, not to men- 
 tion the fact that most of the images attach themselves more or 
 less closely to Old Testament descriptions, especially to those of 
 Daniel and Ezekiel whence they are borrowed, we see the artistic 
 and artificial in the connecting of the visions, and in the putting 
 together of the whole book. From a consideration of all these 
 particulars, it is very probable that we must either look upon the 
 whole representation in visions merely as a free literary en- 
 velope, such as is often found in Jewish and Christian writers of 
 that and later times ; occurring, for example, in the book of Enoch, 
 in the fourth book of Ezra, in the Apocryphon of Isaiah, &c. ; or 
 we must suppose, if visions were actually communicated to the 
 author with symbolic images referring to the future and ulterior 
 development of the kingdom of God, that he carried them out 
 afterwards with poetic freedom in individual parts, and their 
 connection with one another. In either case, it is understood 
 that the writer is not constant in the mode of representation by 
 visions, but uses the future tense for prophecy several times; 
 soon returning, however, to another mode, where the future pre- 
 sents itself as present to his eye. So ch. xi., xx. 7 sqq. 
 
 V. CANONICITY OF THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 We have seen how the canonical authority of the Apocalypse 
 was assailed or doubted at different times, as early as the second 
 century, and in the Greek Church for a longer period (in the 
 Syrian Church permanently) ; then at the Eeformation, and again 
 later ; suspicions and attacks of this kind having always gone 
 hand in hand with doubts and views about its origin, design and 
 chief meaning (see New Testament Introduction, pp. 671 sqq., and 
 my Essays on the Old Testament Apocrypha in the Theolog. Stud, 
 u. Krit. 1853, ii. pp. 283 298, upon the conception of the New
 
 138 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Testament Canon, as well as the requirements of a writing in 
 order to vindicate its canonicity, and the gradational differences 
 which must be admitted in this particular subject). Accord- 
 ingly, we cannot reckon the Apocalypse among canonical books 
 of the first class, if the results of our previous inquiry be correct, 
 but only (with many Greek Church writers and the older 
 Lutheran theologians) among the second class, both as to its 
 origin and contents. In regard to the former; among the 
 writings of the first times of the Christian Church, besides those 
 which merely relate the history of Christ with the origin and 
 early fortunes of the Church ; among such as are of a didactic 
 kind, the writers themselves appearing in them as teachers ; we 
 can attribute full canonical authority only to those which were 
 confessedly written by apostles, and to others merely a subordi- 
 nate authority as deutero-canonical writings. To this series the 
 Apocalypse belongs in regard to its author, if, according to our 
 view, it is the genuine work of a man who belonged, indeed, to 
 the number of the Lord's disciples, as he had heard the Lord 
 himself according to the assertion of Papias, but was not one of 
 the apostles. As to the book itself and its contents, we have not 
 to consider its aesthetic value in order to its right estimation ; 
 nor the artificiality in plan and details, with the great poetic 
 beauties by which it is distinguished, but only the religious- 
 moral, the dogmatic-ethical contents. Here we perceive that a 
 strong Christian thought may be recognized in the Apocalypse, 
 especially a believing, living confidence in the power of the 
 Spirit of the Lord, and in the certain final victory of his king- 
 dom over the world and all hostile powers ; so that it is not in- 
 ferior in this respect to the apostolic writings. But the prophetic 
 character of the book itself, a constant reference to the future of 
 the Church and the world, to the fulfilment of the kingdom of 
 God and the conflicts and catastrophes preceding it, lead to this 
 result that the Apocalypse cannot have for us a normative and 
 proper canonical authority, in the sense and degree which most 
 other books of the New Testament have, the historical as well as
 
 GENERAL INQUIRIES INTO THE APOCALYPSE. 139 
 
 the doctrinal, for the reason already before specified ; because all 
 prophetic matter, and that of the New Testament also, bears 
 more or less a poetic dress, and therefore it is difficult to 
 separate with any certainty the properly dogmatic before its 
 fulfilment, from the poetic and symbolic investiture. That is 
 the case with the Apocalypse, and in a special degree. We are 
 accustomed in general to distinguish the apocalyptic from the 
 simply prophetic, according to a late usus loquendi that pro- 
 ceeded from our book itself, although the difference is only a 
 very fluctuating one, not firm or determinate. The apocalyp- 
 tic is always prophetic, but all prophetic is not apocalyptic. 
 In general, the apocalyptic presents the future more in con- 
 crete vivid images, individually, and so pronounces upon future 
 developments something more and more definite than the power 
 for doing so properly by a true divine inspiration warrants. 
 This is the general character of apocryphal-apocalyptic lite- 
 rature as a whole, and of that also in the Bible Canon which 
 may be designated as apocalyptic ; so in the Old Testament, 
 especially the book of Daniel, and undoubtedly Ezekiel xl. 
 xlviii. ; in the New Testament, our present book. The Apocalypse, 
 as we have seen, has tried to give a closer determination of time 
 to the future coming of the Lord and the glorious appearance of 
 his kingdom upon earth. Any inquiry into such matters does 
 not correspond with the mind of the Lord, who, even after his 
 resurrection, declares that to know the time and the hour has 
 been reserved by the Father to himself alone ; and disclaims the 
 knowledge of it even for himself and the angels of heaven 
 (Matt. xxiv. 36 ; Mark xiii. 32 ; Acts i. 7). The designation 
 of time given in our book has not been verified, as we have 
 seen, by the result ; so, too, other special announcements con- 
 nected with it. Hence we are not justified by analogy in ex- 
 pecting that they will be fulfilled in the future in the manner 
 here announced. These grounds, affecting the contents and 
 apocalyptic character of the book, induce us not to place the 
 Apocalypse in the series of New Testament writings of the first
 
 140 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 rank these have in themselves full canonical normative au- 
 thority ; hut to include it in writings of the second rank, 
 possessing a more limited and subordinate authority, as a sup- 
 plementary treatise of the New Testament Canon, which has not 
 in itself sufficient value to make one draw Christian doctrines 
 from it, except so far as it appears to agree with and rest upon 
 canonical books of the first rank. In no case, however, are we 
 justified in putting it so low as is done by Luther, or in ex- 
 cluding it from the collection of New Testament books. Eather 
 does it form right well a conclusion of the whole.
 
 IV. 
 SPECIAL INTEBPBETATION. 
 
 CL i. 1, 2. 
 
 A GENEEAL announcement of the contents of the book. 
 
 Revelation of Jesus Christ. The genitive after a.iroKa\v^i<s mostly 
 stands in the New Testament (even in this combination with 
 Xptcrrou, for example, 1 Cor. i. 7 ; 2 Thess. i. 7 ; 1 Peter i. 7 13) 
 as a genitive of the object of what comes forth, is being revealed ; 
 but it cannot be so understood here (although Liicke assumes it, 
 2nd ed. pp. 23, 365, as the unveiling of Christ in his majesty, as 
 his glorious appearing) ; but is either a designation of the possessor 
 and Lord, the revelation belonging to him, as it were ; or the sub- 
 ject, the author ; in the latter way, also, we are probably to un- 
 derstand Gal. i. 12, St aVoKaXityews 'Iijo-ov. Here the revelation of 
 Christ is farther signified as one which God gave unto him, handed 
 over to him, as it were, in order to show his servants what should 
 shortly happen. It is incorrect when Heinrichs considers the 
 relative ty dependent on the infinitive Setai ; it is undoubtedly 
 dependent immediately on eSwxcv, and the following infinite 8eiou 
 on the whole preceding sentence, signifying intention ; Christ is 
 here, even in his present exalted condition, described as the first 
 Mediator who received, as it were, the revelation originally pro- 
 ceeding from the Father, to communicate it to the seer, and through 
 him to other believers. Compare on StSovcu in a similar relation,
 
 142 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 John vii. 7, 8 ; Acts vii. 38. Upon SeiKvvvai, applied to the disclo- 
 sure or revelation of the future in visions, see also iv. 2, xxii. 6. 
 In Se? lies more than peXXci ; it denotes the certainty of the phe- 
 nomenon which rests on the assumption that it is founded in the 
 counsel of God. On ev rax, see the introductory remarks, and 
 compare xxii. 6, 7, &c. It is false and opposed to the sense of 
 the hook when Ebrard understands by ev rax that what is here 
 meant in time (whether sooner or later) should quickly elapse. 
 In rots SovAois avrov, it is doubtful whether the pronoun refers to 
 
 God Or Christ ; xxii. 6, 6 $eos aTrecrraAe rov ayyeAov avrov Setat 
 
 rots SovAois avrov a Set ycveo-Oau ev rdyti, decides for the former. 
 It is false when Hengstenberg, as well as Vitringa and others, 
 understand the SouAovs alrov only of the prophets ; it is a more 
 general idea referring to believers in general. 
 
 KCU lo-T^avev K. A. There can be no doubt that the subject here 
 again is not God, but in progressive description, Christ. We may 
 take the connection with the preceding in a two-fold manner, either 
 to include the hemistich in the relative sentence and to make the 
 rjv also the object of lo-^avcv, or, as is frequent in Hebrew, to as- 
 sume a transition from the relative to the direct statement, and to 
 take from the preceding context what a Set yeveo-Oai ev rdyei suggests 
 as object. So also Hengstenberg, Ewald (Jahrb. d. bibl. Ws. viii. 
 1856, p. 106, Anm.). The verb (j^/wuveiv stands as an indication 
 of the future, not in a very clear or evident manner, but in 
 figurative speech, John xii. 33, xviii. 32, xxi. 19; cf. Acts xi. 28 ; 
 here by symbolical images. With eo-^avev is to be connected T$ 
 SouAy K. A. ; but the participle aTroo-retAas should be taken, together 
 with Sia TOU dyyeXov avrov according to the Hebrew usage T^ 
 nbo?; to send by the hand of a messenger = to send a messenger ; 
 compare Matt. xi. 4, Lachm. ; therefore, and who has = and what 
 the same, sending ~by means of his angel - by sending his angel, 
 signified it to his servant John. Zullig unites the Sia, TOV dyycXov 
 with ecn^uxvev ; but in this case the diroorreiAas would be too bald 
 and also superfluous. The angel here is he who, particularly in
 
 SPECIAL 1NTERPRETATTON. 143 
 
 the last part, from ch. xvii. onwards, shows to John the chief 
 objects in the revelation (see De Wette on our passage). 
 
 Verse 2. Who bare record to the word of God and the testimony 
 of Jesus Christ, what he has seen. The received text has 6'o-a re, but 
 the re is decidedly spurious and is wanting in A. B. C. over forty 
 cursives, Compl. Syr. Aeth. Vulg. Griesbach, Tischendorf, Lachm., 
 &c. It is wrongly defended by Ewald (see upon it his Jahrb. d. 
 bibl. W. viii. 1856, pp. 107 sqq.). From external testimony, there 
 can be no doubt of its spuriousness. Then the 6'o-a eiSe forms an 
 apposition to rov Xoyov T. 0. K. rrjv paprvplav 'I. X/a. But the in- 
 terpretation and reference are doubtful. Most interpreters take 
 it as referring to a testimony which John had given in favour of 
 the Gospel at an earlier period. So also Ewald (Jahrb. der bibl. 
 Wissenschaften, 1848-1849, p. 62) says, he had been a former 
 eye-witness of Christ and also of the gospel, announcing it 
 from Christ himself; 6'o-a 8e would then restrict and limit as 
 it were ^apTvprja-e ; an eye-witness, but not an apostle. On the 
 contrary, he refers it, in the Jahrb. d. bibl. "VV. viii. 1856, p. 107, 
 to the fact that John testifies to the Gospel in this work. So also 
 Liicke (2nd ed. Einl. pp. 239 sqq., 241 Anm.) ; Ebrard (Krit. d. 
 Evang. Gesch. pp. 1034 sqq. 1046 Commentar., cf. Stud. u. Krit. 
 55, p. 181). The expressions Aoyos rov Oeov and paprvpla 'Ir/o-ou 
 are applied to the Gospel with reference to the testimony which 
 confessors of the Lord gave to it (xx. 4, 6, 9). But even if this 
 idea were the correct one here, a more definite designation of 
 the apostle John would not be contained in it, neither with 
 regard to the Gospel written by him (as Ebrard 1. c.) nor also a 
 martyrdom suffered for the gospel's sake ; it would only be the 
 designation of a disciple of the Lord who spread the evangelical 
 doctrine and history by his attesting announcement of them; 
 which would apply to the presbyter John, if the latter (accor- 
 ding to Papias) had likewise seen and heard the Lord. If we 
 consider the connection more narrowly, it is much more probable 
 that the efiaprvprjo-fv K. A. refers only to the testimony which John 
 the seer gives in the book itself of the divine revelations commu-
 
 144 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 nicated and of the visions presented to him. Aoyos TOV Ocov is used, 
 as Aoyos is often in the LXX., for the Hebrew ^ "i? ;T, i. e. a divine 
 revelation, the prophetic words of revelation; and in ^aprvpia 
 'I. X/>. the genitive is that of subject, standing for the testimony 
 which Jesus makes known to John in this revelation ; comp. 
 xxii. 20, where Jesus in the same connection is described as 6 
 papTvpuv ravTa; xxii. 16, i. 5, where he is called 6 p,dprvs 6 TTIO-TOS. 
 The oo-o. Se refers to the phenomena which presented them- 
 selves to John in vision ; and this is much better, especially after 
 a comparison of i. 19 (ypdif/ov ovv a e?Ses), than to refer it to the 
 actions and events of the life of Jesus as witnessed by the author, 
 where one would rather expect ewpaKe or cwpaKfi, as in 1 John i. 
 2, 3. It is very unnatural when Vitringa and Ewald apply this 
 member (with the reading re) to the prophetic intuitions ; and on 
 the contrary, the Aoyov T. 6. K. p-apr. 'I. Xp. to the testimony already 
 given in the Gospel. Even with the reading re the two-fold de- 
 signation would be quite inadmissible; much more with the 
 reading without re. In the interpretation here followed, we have 
 manifestly an appropriate connection of ideas as well as progres- 
 sion. Verse 1 describes him that is the first principle of the 
 revelation God the Father him that is the first mediator, 
 Christ, whom the former made use of as his instrument the 
 angel and the person to whom he communicated it through the 
 latter, i. e. John. Verse 2 then states that John made known 
 to the other servants of God the revelation he received, through 
 the testimony given in this book ; and verse 3 suitably con- 
 cludes with the blessedness of those readers to whom the reve- 
 lation comes through John. Arethas, Andreas, Beza, Bengel, 
 rightly understand it in this manner ; and so also Liicke (Theolog. 
 Stud. u. Krit. 1836, 3. 655 sqq.), Ziillig, De Wette, Hofmann 
 (ii. 303). The aorist fpaprvprjo-e, for which Wolf and Ebrard sup- 
 pose the present must have been put in that case, Bengel rightly 
 explains by the epistolary style ; compare, for example, Philemon 
 
 19 (eyw nai~Aos lypa^a ry f^rf ^eipt).
 
 SPEC I A L INTERPRET A TION. 145 
 
 Verse 3. 
 
 Verse 3. Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words 
 of the prophecy, and keep what is written in the same, keep it in 
 their hearts, have it continually in view. The latter participle, 
 TypovvTes, applies to both at the same time, the avayivwo-Kwv and 
 the aKoiWres. These expressions refer to the fact that such holy 
 books were wont to be read in the synagogues as well as in 
 Christian assemblies, which was done by one, whilst the others 
 listened. Therefore the one in the singular, the others in the 
 plural. 
 
 For the time is near, the time of fulfilment, namely, of the 
 glorious appearing of the Lord. Compare Luke xxi. 8, Mark 
 xiii. 23, and the remarks in the Introduction. 
 
 Verses 4 8. 
 
 After this general designation of the contents, there follows 
 a special greeting of the apostolic churches of Asia, for which 
 the work is chiefly intended, with reference to the certainty of 
 the splendid and terrible future of the Lord. 
 
 Verse 4. John to the seven churches of Asia. 'Ao-ia stands 
 here, and in the New Testament generally, not as a designation of 
 a division of the world (Liicke, 420 sqq., Stud. 55, pp. 168 sqq.), 
 but of the west part of Asia Minor (Asia propria or proconsu- 
 laris), which the Komans obtained as a province by the testa- 
 ment of the King of Pergamus, Attalus III. Philometor in the 
 year 133 B.C. It properly comprehended Mysia, Lydia, Phrygia 
 and Caria ; yet the word appears in the New Testament to have 
 sometimes a more restricted sense. The seven churches are named 
 in verse 11 ; and in ch. ii. iii. special epistles of exhortation are 
 addressed to them. As it is said here at once, " to the seven 
 churches of Asia," we may perhaps suppose that these were the 
 only ones at that time in the province which had any importance. 
 Yet we may assume, on the other hand, judging from the part 
 which the sacred number seven generally plays in our book, that 
 the writer attempted with a certain design to trace back the 
 
 L
 
 H6 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Christian churches precisely to this number; so that it may have 
 been from a desire not to exceed this number, he did not include 
 a church of the district which he would otherwise have noticed ; 
 not reckoning, for example, Colossae, Hierapolis ; or a city where 
 perhaps but a small number of Christians existed. The ancients 
 themselves viewed the number seven only as a symbolical or 
 mystical designation of the collective congregations of the Chris- 
 tian Church. So the Fragment of Muratori : Et Johannes enim 
 in Apocalypsi, licet septem ecclesiis scribat, tamen omnibus 
 
 dicit. Andreas ad h. 1. : 810, TOT; fftSofj-aTiKov dpiOp-ov TO /MXTTIKOV 
 a.iravTa.)(rj c/CK/V^o-iwv <rr)fj.aiv(i)v. And Arethas : TO rutv aTravra^rj 
 
 e/cKAr/o-iwv etn^/iave TrXrjdo's. So also Ebrard, who views the seven 
 churches as a type of the collective Church in its various forms. 
 Doubtless the revelations of this book, from ch. iv. onward, have 
 no special reference directly to the seven Asiatic churches ; nor 
 can we see that these floated in particular before the mind of 
 the seer when the revelations were written ; but that was the 
 case in writing ch. ii. iii., which evidently refer specially to the 
 relations and wants of these very churches. From these circum- 
 stances we may infer that the author stood in close connection 
 with the churches of this region at the time he wrote ; that he 
 had already lived for a long time in the midst of or near them, 
 and had held a position of some importance among them. Grace 
 and peace be unto you from him who is, and who was, and who is 
 to come = from him who is, was, and will be. This is a para- 
 phrase for Jehovah, the Eternal and Unchangeable, who was 
 from eternity and will be to all eternity. The name Jehovah in 
 Hebrew should probably be pronounced rnrr, as a third person 
 of the future or imperfect of n^n ? denoting the true God as the 
 existing one ; comp. Exod. iii. 14. It has been understood later 
 as if those three tenses of the verb to be were contained and 
 expressed in the name, irn. rrjn, rP^r. So Moses Maimo- 
 nides, in More Nevochim, fol. xliii. 2 : Know that the name 
 Jehovah teaches, rPiTI nnm !Tn SiniP br, that he was, is and 
 will be. Jehovah is often paraphrased accordingly ; for example,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 147 
 
 Tharg. Pseudo-Jonath. ad. Deut. xxxii. 39 (Hebr. : Behold now 
 that I, I am he, and no God besides me) : Ego ille qui est et qui 
 fuit et qui erit. For other passages see Eisenmenger, i. p. 215. 
 Here also this designation of God has the same reference. It 
 includes 6 tp^op-tvos = eo-o/xevos, corresponding to the Hebrew 
 S3n as a designation of the future in contrast to the present, 
 the already existing; compare 1 Thess. i. 10, o/ayr) e/>x<V* V1 ? 
 /xe AAowa. Hengstenberg (on this passage, and formerly, Authent. 
 des Pentat. i. pp. 236 sqq.) will not admit of this interpretation, 
 but refers the ep^o/ievos definitely to the coming of God to judg- 
 ment, and to the establishment of his kingdom. This would 
 only be probable if it were meant as a designation of Christ, 
 who is often described as 6 e'pxo/^vos, cf. verse 7, &c. ; not, as is 
 the case here, of God himself, the Father. 6 */v is also to be 
 taken participally, and fy is only put because there is no form 
 of elfu for the partic. preterite. The whole is treated as an inde- 
 clinable noun. The received text has before 6 wv, rov (aVo TOV 6 
 wv K. A.), which is wanting in A. C. 15 cursive, also ed. Com pi. ; 
 and is omitted by Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf ; 
 instead of it, Oeov, B. 23 cursive, Victorin, Primasius, which is 
 probably a gloss. 
 
 And from the seven spirits before his throne. This is a de- 
 scription of the divine holy Spirit, according to a conception 
 which, denied wrongly by De Wette, Hengstenberg and Ebrard, 
 rests upon the passage, Is. xi. 2, to which Victorin already 
 refers. It is said there, on the future stem of the race of Jesse 
 (the Messiah) shall rest the spirit of Jehovah, the spirit of 
 wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of 
 strength, the spirit of the knowledge and fear of Jehovah. This 
 gave occasion to the later Jews, although the passage in itself 
 does not justify it, to distinguish in the one divine Spirit seven 
 chief qualities or centres of action, and to personify them as 
 seven individual spirits, for which the denomination Sephiroth 
 (rrrT'Dp) occurs later. That they are described as before the 
 divine throne, refers perhaps to the symbolic representation 
 
 L2
 
 148 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 in iv. 5, according to which they are symbolized by seven 
 lamps which burn before the throne of God. In like manner, 
 in Zech. iv. 10, seven arms of the golden candlestick denote the 
 seven eyes of Jehovah, attributed to him as a designation of his 
 all-pervading providence; comp. ib. iii. 9. Others understand 
 by the seven spirits the seven angel-princes or archangels of 
 the later Jewish theology, surrounding the divine throne. But 
 the passages, iii. 1, v. 6, would not apply to that, since it is said 
 in the former that Christ has the seven spirits of God ; while in 
 the latter the seven spirits are symbolized by the seven eyes of 
 the Lamb, which are sent into all the world. One could at 
 most suppose that the idea of these seven angel-princes passed 
 over into that of the divine Spirit, according to his modes of 
 working and powers; in such way, however, that the latter 
 element is always the prevailing one. Even this, however, is 
 not necessary or probable. 
 
 Verse 5. And from Jesus Christ the true witness. The nomi- 
 native stands here grammatically inaccurate, as an apposition for 
 the genitive ; so afterwards the dative T< dya-n-uvn K. X., which 
 perhaps was occasioned by the fact, viz. that avrw f] 86ga, which 
 follows immediately, floated before the mind of the writer, although 
 the construction there is again interrupted. The designation of 
 Christ as a /m/srvs alludes perhaps to Is. Iv. 4 (13?) and Ps. 
 Ixxxix. 38 (/cat 6 fidprvs kv ovpavQ iricrros, of the rainbow) ; but 
 refers here less to the testimony he had given while alive upon 
 earth, and sealed with his death, than to that which he presents 
 in this book concerning the future ; comp. xxii. 20, 6 paprvpCiv 
 TO.VTO. ; see above on verse 2, ^ap-rvpiav 'I^crou X/>. 
 
 The first-lorn of the dead. The e* of the received text before 
 rtov veitpwv, is wanting in A. B. C. 40 cursive, as well as Copt. 
 Vulg.; left out by Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. 
 Doubtless it is a later insertion from Col. i. 18, 6's fa-nv apx*], 
 TTpwTOTOKos IK Twv vtKpwv. Christ is often designated in several 
 relations in the New Testament as the First-born (see my Com- 
 mentary on Heb. i. 5, p. 127). The description is borrowed per-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 149 
 
 haps from Ps. Ixxxix. 28, but was applied in various ways ; here 
 and Col. 1. c. he is called the first-born of the dead, or from the 
 dead, as he arose the first from the dead, born as it were to 
 a new life, in such a manner that he is no more subject to 
 death ; COmp. 1 Cor. XV. 20, Xpio-ros ty^yeprai IK 
 
 And ike ruler of the Icings of the earth ; comp. Ps. Ixxxix. 1. c., 
 
 Who loves us and has washed us from our sins in his Uood. 
 Instead of dyairrjo-avTi, Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 have ayaTTwvrt, according to A. B. C. 38 cursive. Undoubtedly the 
 aorist would be quite suitable, who loved us, namely, has shown 
 his love to us in giving himself up for us, and has purified us 
 with his blood; yet the preponderance of Greek manuscripts 
 leads to the present, which was changed to the aorist out of 
 regard to the following participle being in the same tense. In- 
 stead of Xova-avTt,, Lachmann has Aw-avn (which Mill approves) 
 after A. C. 5 cursive, Syr. Primas, &c. Yet the other is decidedly 
 more probable from internal evidence ; comp. vii. 14, where be- 
 lievers are described as those who have made their garments 
 white in the blood of the Lamb (1 John i. 7 ; Heb. ix. 14 ; com- 
 pare also Acts xxii. 16). 
 
 Verse 6. And has made us kings, priests to his God and Father ; 
 /3ao-iAeiav, te/aets, so we should read with the Compl., Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. (instead of the received 
 /3ao-iA.eis /ecu te/seis), and according to A.C. 40 cursive, Syr. Ar, Pol., 
 Aeth. Copt. Areth. Lactant, Victorin, &c. ; the received reading 
 came from it as an emendation. The question is, how to explain 
 it. The expression, Exod. xix. 6, lies at the foundation, where 
 Jehovah says to the Israelites, Ye shall be to me D^nb rQ^pp, 
 a kingdom of priests, a kingdom in which all are individual 
 priests. Accordingly many interpreters have understood it as 
 Wetstein does, instead of ftacnXeiav iepcwv. Yet this is scarcely 
 permissible, since it would be a too ungrecian mode of expres-
 
 150 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 sion, which has no parallel even in the Apocalypse, namely, that 
 the noun standing in the genitive-relation after a noun governing 
 should experience no change in the form of the ending, according 
 to the Hebrew mode. Eather must we suppose that the writer, 
 according to another conception of that passage in Exod., took 
 D^pns as an apposition to np^pE, and so had the two-fold idea 
 that the people of God were made by the Saviour priests, as 
 well as a kingdom whose citizens should reign with their Lord ; 
 
 COmp. V. 10, 7roi^cras airrous . . . /3a(riAe?s K. tepeis, for which, with 
 
 Lachmann, read /foo-i/Xeiav KCU te/aeis. But Lachmann has besides, 
 instead of ^//.as, ed. minor, adopted ^/A?V, according to A. 4 cursive 
 (according to Wetstein the Syr. Copt. also). The ed. maj. has ^wv 
 according to C. and the probably genuine text of the Vulgate ; yet 
 here the received text is probably the genuine one. To him be 
 the majesty and power to all eternity, Amen ! Such doxologies in 
 reference to Christ in the New Testament are found several 
 times ; for example, Eom. xvi. 27 ; 2 Tim. iv. 18 ; 1 Pet. iv. 11 ; 
 2 Pet. iii. 18 ; and in reference to God and Christ at the same 
 time, Apoc. v. 13. 
 
 Verse 7. Here the leading tendency of the whole Apocalypse 
 is expressed : Behold, he comes with the clouds,- as if attended by 
 them ; in the same manner the glorious appearance of the Son 
 of Man at his coming is described in Dan. vii. 13, "333TDy spyi 
 ^n nn tt?3$ nn? *# Comp. Matt. xxiv. 30, /ecu TOTE KO^OVTCU 
 Tracrcu cu (vAcu T^S yijs /cat OI/WTGU TOV vlov TOV avOpuTrov tpyoptvov 
 
 CTTI TWV ve<eAwv TOV ovpavov. The verb />xr0ai is frequently used 
 in the Apocalypse, as well as in the other writings of the New 
 Testament, in relation to the future glorious appearing of Christ 
 (see my Commentary on Heb. x. 37, p. 713). 
 
 And every eye shall see him, in his wonder-exciting glory ; also 
 those who pierced him, or have pierced. An allusion to Zech. xii. 
 10, where, in depicting the deep repentance which would one 
 day penetrate the royal house of David and the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, it is said, sni^ -i$rn$ ^?8 ^?n), literally, " And
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 151 
 
 they look (repentant and full of anguish) upon me (or upon 
 him) whom they have pierced." Accordingly the evangelist 
 John quotes the passage, John xix. 37, where he speaks of the 
 piercing the side of the crucified Lord, and with the same 
 Greek verb as here (oi/'ovrat ets 6V e^e/cev-njo-av), whilst the LXX. 
 Zech. render quite differently by Kcn-wpx 7 ? " 011 " 1 " - This agreement 
 has been prominently urged by Hengstenberg on the place, 
 and by others, as a proof of the Apocalypse having been 
 written by the author of the Gospel. Yet two writers, entirely 
 independent of one another, might easily translate the verb "i|TT 
 by the Greek eK/cevretv, which Aqu. Symm. Theod., and in other 
 passages the LXX. too, have also put for it. Nor is there com- 
 plete agreement here, since the verb h. 1. is connected with the 
 simple accusative ; in the Gospel of John with ets. Besides, the 
 writer undoubtedly thought of all who had shown themselves 
 hostile to the Eedeemer during his life, and had helped to 
 deliver him over to death. 
 
 And shall lament, beat their breasts, in anguish and mourning 
 (KO^OVTCU ; see Matt. 1. 1.), over him appearing in such majesty ; 
 all races of the earth, the people who proved disobedient to him 
 hitherto ; yea, Amen ! 
 
 Verse 8. / am the A and the 0, says God the Lord, who is, who 
 was, and who is to come, the Almighty. What the received text 
 has after TO w, viz. dp^ K . reAos, is to be considered a gloss, 
 which Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., have left 
 out, as already the Compl., &c., according to testimonies which 
 preponderate. By Alpha and Omega, God is designated as the 
 First and the Last, that is, as the Eternal One, who was from the 
 beginning and will be to eternity = Is. xliv. 6, pttfbn \?N. 
 Tnny ^Sft; comp. xli. 4. Among the later Jews, the whole 
 extent of a thing is often expressed by the first and last letters 
 of the alphabet, s and n ; for example, Abraham observed the 
 law from N to n, or God blesses the Israelites from N to n, &c. 
 (see Schottgen, ad h. 1.) Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., 
 as already the Compl., Bengel, instead of the received 6
 
 152 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 which would be understood of Christ, have KV/JIOS 6 0eos, accor- 
 ding to A. B. C. upwards of 40 cursive, Syr. Copt. Arm. Vulg. ; 
 Hippol. Andr. Areth. aL The reference to Christ would not in 
 itself be unsuitable, from the way in which he is spoken of else- 
 where in our book (see verse 17, xxii. 13). Ewald holds to the 
 received text, but external evidences preponderate in favour of 
 the other reading. 
 
 Verses 920. 
 
 Narrative of John respecting the vision communicated to him, 
 in which he is directed to write down and send to the seven 
 churches of Asia the prophetic intuitions introduced by what 
 follows. 
 
 Verse 9. /, John, your brother and companion in affliction and 
 in the kingdom, a citizen of the kingdom of God, and, as such 
 also affected by the calamities inflicted upon the confessors of 
 the Lord upon earth. This passage confirms the fact that in 
 verse 6, the /foo-iAeiav is to be taken as a peculiar conception. 
 
 And patience of Jesus Christ, that is, the patient constant 
 waiting for the Lord, namely, his future coming and the ful- 
 filment of his kingdom ; so 2 Thess. iii. 5, May the Lord direct 
 your hearts into the love of God and cts TT/V VTTO/AOV^V TOV X/Dwn-or. 
 
 Comp. 1 TheSS. i. 3, rrjs vrrojaovrjs rrys eXiriSosTOv Kvpiov r^nav I. X/3. 
 ApOC. iii. 10, errjprjo-as TOV Xoyov TT)S VTTO/AOV^S fJ-ov. In our passage, 
 
 however, this is not the reading. Instead of 'I^a-ov Xp., others 
 read with a preposition cv vn-opovy V Xprr 'I^o-ov, or V 'Irjo-ov, 
 or e'v Xpio-ry. That means, patience, steadfast endurance in Jesus, 
 or which has its foundation in him. 
 
 Was on the island which is called Patmos,for the word of God and 
 the testimony of Jesus. The second 8ta is .probably not genuine. 
 It is wanting in A.C. 8 cursive. Copt. Arm. Vulg ; Dion. Al. Andr. 
 1. Areth. Primas., left out by Erasmus (ed. 1 3), Bengel, Lach- 
 mann, Tischendorf, &c. "We have already spoken of this pas- 
 sage in the Introduction, and remarked that it is referred almost 
 universally to the seer's banishment to Patmos, in which case
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 153 
 
 there is a proof of the identity of this John and the apostle 
 and evangelist, inasmuch as ecclesiastical tradition mentions 
 his banishment to Patmos by the Eoman emperor. The thing 
 established itself in later tradition ; and many legends attached 
 themselves to it on the island in question. The latter is one of 
 the Sporades in the ^Egean Sea, situated between Samos and 
 Naxos, now called Palmosa or Patmo ; according to Pliny, thirty 
 thousand paces or thirty Eoman miles in circumference. It is 
 usually thought to be waste and unfruitful. It is undoubtedly a 
 rocky island, without woods; but now, at least, it has gardens and 
 vines, fruit-trees and corn, especially wheat and barley ; its wine 
 is very fiery and pleasant to the taste. It has a large harbour 
 and two inhabited districts ; the lower small harbour town, La 
 Scala, and the town proper on the heights, built round the con- 
 vent of Saint Christodulos ; the number of inhabitants consists 
 at the present time of 4000 5000, far preponderating in women, 
 since the men are mostly abroad and in foreign ships. Sideways 
 from the road leading to the upper town is a grotto enclosed in 
 a little church, which is supposed to be the place where the 
 apostle John resided, and beside it a school ; many legends are 
 still related on the island of miracles which the apostle is said to 
 have performed in different places (see Schubert, Eeise in das Mor- 
 genland, 1836-37, Bd. iii. pp. 425 443). Meanwhile it is very 
 probable, as already remarked, that the entire hypothesis of the 
 banishment of the apostle John arose out of this passage of the 
 Apocalypse, and rests upon no tradition independent of it. All that 
 the oldest Church writers give concerning it is very indefinite, or 
 decidedly false so far as it is not borrowed from this passage. As to 
 the time of banishment, the oldest ecclesiastical writers who ex- 
 press an opinion upon it place it in the reign of Domitian; Irenseus 
 is among these, Adv. Haeres. v. 20, 7 sqq. (Euseb. iii. 18), although 
 he does not speak very decidedly of the banishment of the 
 apostle, but of the time of his receiving the revelation ; Victorin, 
 Eusebius iii. 18, and in his Chronic. ; Hieronym. vir. illustr. v., 
 and others. Probably also Clem. Al. Quis. dives salvetur, xlii.,
 
 154 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 and Origen, in Mattli. Tom. xvi., thought of Domitian. They 
 mention, indeed, no name, but speak of a certain tyrant and 
 Roman king, under whom John was banished to Patmos, and after 
 whose death he returned thence to Ephesus. Tertullian, also, as 
 is not improbable if one compares Apologet. v. (that Domitian 
 tried to imitate Nero's tyranny, but soon discontinued it and re- 
 called those who were banished) with Prsescript. adv. Haeret. 
 xxxvi., says that the apostle John, after he and that at Borne 
 was dipped in boiling oil without being hurt, was banished in 
 insulam. But it may be asserted in the most positive manner, 
 from the contents of the Apocalypse, as we have seen, that it could 
 not have been written under Domitian, but either under Galba, or 
 at the latest under Vespasian ; therefore, if it were the work of 
 the apostle John, and the passage referred to his banishment, it 
 is impossible that it could have happened under Domitian. If 
 the banishment of the apostle were really a fact which had reached 
 the Church Fathers independently of the Apocalypse, by actual 
 tradition, one would expect that clearer particulars about it would 
 have come to them in some credible form ; particularly the true 
 state of the case with regard to the Roman emperor under whom 
 it should be placed. That the apostle John was not actually 
 banished by Domitian, may be inferred from the silence of the 
 oldest Church historian, Hegesippus, who lived at Rome under 
 Marcus Aurelius, about 170. He expressly relates that Domitian 
 sent for some of the grandsons of Judas, the brother of the Lord, 
 but directly after set them at liberty again, and by his own edict 
 abolished all persecutions against the Christians. If anything 
 of a banishment that happened to the apostle John had been 
 known to Hegesippus, he would certainly not have omitted to 
 relate it on this occasion. And Eusebius, where he speaks of 
 this banishment, would have referred to Hegesippus for it ; a 
 writer whom he often quotes for the older Church history. But 
 if nothing was known to the older Church concerning this 
 banishment in a historical way, farther than what was believed 
 to be contained in the passage, it may be easily explained
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 155 
 
 how the thing could come to be put in the time of Domitian, 
 viz. because this emperor actually punished individual Jews 
 and Christians with banishment, though probably merely out of 
 Borne, which may be inferred from Tertullian, Apol., and Euseb. 
 iii. 10 ; Dio Cassius, Ixvii. 14, Ixviii. 1. A later assumption we 
 find in Epiphanius (Haer. li. ch. 33), that both the banishment 
 and recal of John happened under Claudius (A.D. 41 53) ; 
 which, however, can be as little historical as the other. But 
 if the entire hypothesis of the apostle's banishment does not 
 rest in all probability upon a tradition independent of the 
 Apocalypse, having taken shape merely in accordance with this 
 passage, we are then by no means dependent upon the tradi- 
 tion for its interpretation. The question is, in the first place, 
 whether the passage, viewed by itself, leads us actually to a 
 banishment, if not of the apostle, yet of the John who wrote 
 the Apocalypse. The words undoubtedly allow of such refer- 
 ence ; COmp. XX. 4, rots ^v^as TWV 7r7reAe/<to-/Avwv Sia TT)V 
 'Itjcrov /cat Sia TOV Xoyov TOV Ofov j vi. 9, ras ^u^as TWV ec 
 Sia TOV Xoyov TOV deov KCU 8ia TTJV [AapTvpiav, yv ei'^ov. Hence it 
 
 cannot well be doubted that the author might have expressed 
 himself in the manner here followed had he been banished to 
 Fatmos by a worldly power on account of the gospel and for the 
 testimony he bore to it ; or even if he had been induced to with- 
 draw, perhaps from Ephesus, to this island, because of persecuting 
 measures taken against the gospel, which, under the circumstances 
 pre-supposed in the Apocalypse, might easily have been the case. 
 But it is not necessary to refer the Sia to cause ; it may also 
 indicate object, and then it may be taken in a two-fold way ; 
 either, as Hartwig (Apologie, &c., Thl. ii. p. 55) and Koppe, that 
 he resorted to this island to make known the gospel, or to 
 receive there the divine revelation forming the contents of the 
 book. I have taken the words in this sense (Theol. Zeitschrift, 
 &c., pp. 250 sqq.), and so, at the present time, Llicke, Stud. u. 
 Krit. 1. c. (1836, 3) Einl. 2nd ed. 56, pp. 659 sqq., De Wette. 
 The Aoyos T. Ofov K. fj-aprvpia 'Irjcrov is then taken in the same way
 
 156 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 as in verse 2. It would be possible perhaps, looking at the 
 thing in such light, if the description in visions be viewed merely 
 as a literary envelope, that this announcement of place might 
 be considered like that of the day, viz. the author might have 
 named the island on account of its not too great distance from 
 his usual place of residence, as well as its loneliness and 
 romantic nature. Meanwhile there is nothing against the sup- 
 position that John, the writer of the book, had resided for a 
 shorter or longer time on this island, which perhaps was not 
 then uninhabited, and had prophetic intuitions as to the future 
 of the Church of Christ in its relation to the world, which he 
 developed in a literary form as they are presented in our book. 
 Thus much appears pretty clear in the passage itself, from the 
 eyevopjv, that he was not on Patmos at the time of his writing 
 the book. Ewald rightly agrees in this, which is denied by 
 Hengstenberg and by Liicke (2nd ed. p. 814), but, as I believe, 
 wrongly; see Stud. u. Krit. 1855, p. 213. 
 
 Verse 10. I was in the spirit on the Lords-day ;. e'v Trve^art 
 eivai denotes prophetic inspiration, such as the prophetic intui- 
 tions conveyed to him. The KV/HCXK?) t]^pa. is, without doubt, 
 Sunday, so called because the Lord arose on this day of the week ; 
 whence it appears to have been distinguished from an early period 
 by Christians, and to have been held especially sacred. Traces 
 of this may be found even in the New Testament (1 Cor. xvi. 2 ; 
 Acts xx. 7 ; comp. Ep. Barnab. xv.). Under the appellation j^pa 
 KvpiaKri, dies dominions, the day appears also in the Constitut. 
 Apost. vii. 31, 1. v. fin. ; Ignat. Ep. ad Magnes. 2nd ed. ; Dionys. 
 Cor. apud. Eusebium, iv. 23 ; Qusestion. et respons. ad Orthod. ; 
 Tertullian, &c. Others, as Eichhorn, understand in particular 
 Easter Sunday, because it appears to have been an old opinion, 
 according to Hieron. Comment, in Matt, xxiv., that Christ would 
 return on the vigils of the Passover, on Easter eve ; wherefore 
 they remained together at these vigils till after midnight. But 
 neither is Easter Sunday anywhere called ij Ki^na/cr) rj^epa by 
 the Church writers, nor are there any traces in the New Testa-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 157 
 
 ment of that day having been distinguished so early from other 
 Sundays. Wetstein, Ziillig, &c., explain it falsely : I was in the 
 spirit, transported as it were in the day of the Lord = was pro- 
 phetically carried into the time of the last things (the day of the 
 future of the Lord). 
 
 And I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, which said; 
 compare Ezekiel iii. 12, And I heard behind me a loud rushing 
 voice (Vn2 ttJ3n bip). Instead of Aeyow-?;? (referring to o-aATny- 
 yos), Aeyouo-av would be suitable for the meaning here in reference 
 
 to (fxavrjv. 
 
 Verse 11. What follows next in the received text, / am tlie 
 A and the 0, the First and the Last, including the *cu, is de- 
 cidedly spurious, according to external evidence, and is left out 
 by Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann and Tischendorf ; so 
 also in the following, rats eV 'Ao-ip, (after CKKA^O-ICUS). On the 
 contrary, Griesbach, Lachmann and Tischendorf, have adopted 
 eTrTa before eK/cA^o-icus, as also the Compl., Bengel; also after 
 preponderating testimonies. What thou seest, wilt behold ; for 
 it applies, without doubt, to the collective visions that follow : 
 Write in a book, and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus. 
 
 Verse 12. And I turned to see the voice which spoke to me, instead 
 of, to look about whence the voice came. 
 
 And when I turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. By these 
 are symbolized, according to verse 20, the seven churches as 
 representatives of the Christian Church in its individual parts. 
 The golden candlestick in the sanctuary which bore seven lamps 
 on its six arms, including the middle shaft, lies at the foundation 
 of the image ; compare Zech. iv. 2. 
 
 Verse 13. And in the midst of the (seven) candlesticks, one like 
 to a Son of Man, is the designation of a higher being appearing in 
 human form ; compare the description of Jehovah manifesting 
 himself, Ezek. i. 26 (DIN nfcTJB? ma?), and of the angel, Dan. 
 x. 16. Here the Messiah is meant, alluding to Dan. vii. 13, where 
 it is said of the Messiah, that he appeared E73 "O?. Readers 
 would think of him all the more readily under this designation,
 
 158 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 as the formula, Son of Man, had become usual as an appellation 
 of Messiah, in consequence of the passage in Daniel. 
 
 Clothed with a robe, a long garment reaching to the feet ; of the 
 kind, for example, that the priests were accustomed to wear, from 
 TTOUS and a/oeiv nectere ; the LXX. translate by it V3?p, also 0*^2 ; 
 for example, Ezek. x. 6, IvScSuKws TroS-^p^. 
 
 And girt about the breast with a golden girdle ; for this xv. 6 
 
 has, Trepie^wa-fj-evoL irf.pl TO. frrrftt] wvas xpv<ras. An imitation of 
 Dan. x. 5, T2-1N DEQ3 B^tf VDO. 
 
 Verse 14 But his head and his hair were white as white wool, 
 as snow ; compare vii. 9, where it is said of the Ancient of Days 
 (God), his garment had become white as snow, and the hair of 
 his head as pure wool. There it denotes the ancient and vener- 
 able ; here, partly the venerable, partly the pure. 
 
 And his eyes as flames of flre ; compare Dan. x. 6, 
 
 Verse 15. And his feet like fine brass ; ^a.\Ko\ifta.vov also in 
 ii. 18. The word does not appear elsewhere. For various inter- 
 pretations of it, see Bochart, Hierozoicon, ii. pp. 870 888. Most 
 probably it should be considered a vox hybrida, formed perhaps by 
 the writer himself ; composed of the Greek ^aA/cos and the He- 
 brew fnb, white = white shining brass. Less probably Ebrard, and 
 others (as Syr. Aeth.), brass from Lebanon. Again Daniel x. 6 
 probably lies at the foundation, where, after the words just quoted, 
 that his eyes were as flames of fire, it is said, And his arms and his 
 feet V7|2 nun3 ^55 = as the look of smooth (polished, shining) 
 brass. That the author had this designation in view is the more 
 likely, because the loud rushing sound of the voice is prominently 
 adduced there also, in what immediately follows. In addition to 
 Dan. L L, perhaps Ezekiel also (i. 4, 27, viii. 2) floated before the 
 mind of the writer, where biatZJn is put in a similar connection, a 
 quadriliteral that may be viewed as compounded of trni ngJn?, 
 brass, and bbi? Chald., to rub, polish, therefore = shining brass, 
 corresponding exactly to our ^a.\Ko\.Lftavov, according to this in- 
 terpretation ; the latter a literal translation of it. It is much less
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 159 
 
 probable when Ewald understands by it a kind of incense (after 
 Salmas. Exerc. ad Solin, p. 813) of fiery colour and sun-like 
 brightness. The comparison to incense is less natural. 
 
 As if made red-hot in tlu furnace, made glowing, shining and 
 glancing. Instead of TreTrvpw/xcvoi, Lachmann has . . /xev^s accord- 
 ing to A. C., which is, perhaps, an accidental mistake only. 
 
 And his voice like to the voice, the rushing, of great waters; 
 comp. Dan. x. 6 ; especially Ezek. xliii. 2 (of the majesty of 
 God), D^2n DIB bip? Ibip) ; also ib. i. 24, of the rustling of the 
 wings of the cherubim. 
 
 Verse 16. And lie had seven stars in his hand (according to 
 verse 20, the angels of the seven churches are symbolized). 
 But how we are to think of the seven stars in the hand of the 
 Son of Man, whether as rings on the fingers, or joined as in 
 a crown (so in Ziillig's picture), or in what other way, does not 
 appear. 
 
 And out of his mouth proceeded a two-edged sharp sword, 
 symbol of the powerful and penetrating influence of his speech. 
 Perhaps the Messianic passage in Isaiah xi. 4, lies at the founda- 
 tion : He strikes the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with 
 the breath of his lips he slays the godless (comp. 2 Thess. ii. 8). 
 
 And his face (fyis, like our countenance, facies, especially 
 the upper part of it, where the eyes are ; in the same manner, 
 John xi. 44 ; Jer. iii. 3, for n?Q) VMS as the sun shining in its 
 strength, as radiant as the sun when it shines in full strength ; 
 comp., in the Song of Deborah, Jud. v. 31, Those who love 
 Jehovah shall be like the going forth of the sun in its strength 
 Cirnrm K7s$n nss?, LXX. h Bwd^i afoot). 
 
 Verse 17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, and 
 he laid his right hand upon me and said, Fear not. Compare the 
 similar description in Dan. viii. IS, x. 9, 10 ; Ezek. i. 28 ii. 1. 
 In the following, some interpreters take eyw elfu by itself: lam; 
 comp. John vi. 20 ; Matt. xiv. 27. Yet it is more probable that 
 it should be taken strictly with what follows : / am the First and 
 the Last; so in reference to Christ also, xxii. 13; the former
 
 160 LECTURES ON THE APOCAL TPSE. 
 
 refers to his pre-existence before all creatures, as tlie Logos ; 
 
 COmp. Col. 1. 15, 7T/3WTOTOKOS TTCUnjS KTtCT(OS. 
 
 Verse 18. And he who is alive (falsely Grotius = ^WOTTOIWV) ; 
 and I was dead = who was dead ; and behold I am (now) living 
 to all eternity, and I have tlu keys of death and the under-world 
 = I possess the power to unlock the gates of death and the 
 under-world, and to free those confined there, to lead them out 
 of it to life, as well as to leave them in death. The gates of 
 Hades, of Scheol, are mentioned, Is. xxxviii. 10 ; and the same 
 as gates of death, Ps. ix. 14, evil 18 ; Job xxxviii. 17. Of the 
 key of death, or of the resurrection of the dead, it is said, more- 
 over (tr. Sanhedr. fol. 113, 1, and elsewhere among the later 
 Jews), that it, together with the key of birth (clavis partus seu 
 sterilium) and the key of rain, to which is added in other places, 
 as fourth, the clavis orbationis seu alimentorum, that it is in the 
 hands of God alone, who trusts it to no angel. Divine power 
 and dignity, therefore, are here claimed for the Messiah. 
 
 Verse 19. Write now what tJwu hast seen and what is, and 
 what shall happen after this, a etSes can only refer to the phe- 
 nomena which had just presented themselves to the view of the 
 seer ; and a /xeAAei yiveo-0ai to the disclosures of our book relative 
 to the future. But the meaning of a eiVi is doubtful Zlillig 
 explains it, What thou hast hitherto (since the beginning of thy 
 vision) seen and heard, and what thou now seest and hearest 
 (a eicri), and what thou shalt still farther see and hear in the 
 course of these visions ; very unlikely. Grotius, Hammond, 
 Bengel, Hengstenberg, Liicke (2nd ed. p. 401), Ebrard, refer 5 da-tv 
 to the present condition of the Church, as it is introduced in the 
 Epistles immediately following, which is confirmed by the man- 
 ner in which the a /wAAei yivr#ai /zero, ravra appears to corre- 
 spond with the a eio-t. More probably, with other interpreters 
 (for example, Herder, Eichhorn, Ewald, De Wette, &c.), it should 
 be taken in close connection with what precedes, and thus : 
 what thou hast seen and what it is = what is represented by it, 
 viz. what it signifies ; referring chiefly to the explanation imme-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 161 
 
 diately given in verse 20 of the seven stars and seven candle- 
 sticks. On the contrary, the a /AA K. X. in any case alludes to 
 the disclosures of the future, which follow later. This latter, 
 according to the meaning of the whole, should be regarded here 
 as only incidental and parenthetical, as it were : what it is, 
 together with that which will happen hereafter, viz. in the 
 following 
 
 Verse 20. The accusatives TO /jwmjpiov . . KCU rots ema. Av^vtas 
 should be taken most probably in close grammatical connec- 
 tion with the preceding, as also dependent on ypfyov, being 
 an apposition to a etSes *. a en. Less naturally, others put a 
 point after /ACTO, ravra, and take those words as standing in the 
 accusat. absoL = as to, &c. The position of the accusative could 
 not be easily explained in that case. The mystery of the seven 
 stars which thou sawest in my right hand = the mysterious stars 
 and what they signify ; comp. xvii. 7, I will tell thee TO /wmfctov 
 
 TTj? yWCUKOS K. A. 
 
 And the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are angels 
 of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are seven churches. 
 As the seven churches are at the same time representatives of the 
 entire Christian Church, the latter is symbolized in its individual 
 parts by the candlesticks, and very suitably too ; for it exists, in 
 fact, as a clear shining light in the world. But the meaning of 
 the ayyeAot of the church is doubtful. Most interpreters under- 
 stand the human directors or ministers of the churches. For 
 such explanation of the appellation, reference is made, as by 
 Grotius, to the fact that in Mai. ii. 7 the priests, and Hag. i. 13 
 the prophet himself, are designated as messengers (B S ?P) 
 of Jehovah ; comp. Eccles. v. 5. Yet it is not probable that 
 bishops should be described here as the messengers of the 
 church. Others, as Vitringa, Schottgen, Eichhorn, Ewald, &c., 
 explain it by the fact that among the later Jews "iso? rpbfl? 
 legatus ecclesise appears as appellation of a functionary of the 
 synagogue, and is then transferred to the presidents of the 
 Christian churches. Yet that appellation does pot denote the 
 
 M
 
 162 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 director of the synagogue, but one of the subordinate servants 
 belonging to it ; so that Ewald does not here understand bishops 
 of the churches, but deacons, and is of opinion that the epistles 
 are addressed to them because their business was to receive 
 epistles and to read them in public. That is a very unlikely 
 assumption, so much the more since the churches had several 
 such deacons; whereas the following epistles are always ad- 
 dressed directly to the ayyeAos of the church. Subsequently 
 Ewald modified his interpretation (Jahrb. der Bibl. W. II. 1849, 
 pp. 123 sqq.) so far, that ayyeAos was not then the usual 
 appellation of an individual president, but a designation of the 
 presidentship as such, of the mediating higher power, of the 
 typical and most active life of the church, of the representation 
 and collective capacity of the church, therefore of the church 
 itself. Yet this interpretation has too abstract a character for it 
 to be probable in a Biblical writer (see Stud. u. Krit. 1855, p. 170). 
 Ebrard understands messengers, deputies, whom the individual 
 churches, not really however, but only in vision, had sent to the 
 imprisoned apostle. This also is very improbable. It is more 
 likely that ayyAos stands here in the signification of angel, which 
 is usual in the Bible ; and that the guardian angels of the indivi- 
 dual churches are meant, as Wetstein, Bretschneider, Wahl, Zullig, 
 De Wette and others take it ; and Origen, Jerome, Greg. Nazi- 
 anzen, Andreas, Arethas, Salmasius De episcop. et presbyt. 
 pp. 182 sqq.; Gabler, De episcop. primse eccles. &c., p. 14; Liicke, 
 2nd. ed. pp. 431 sqq., &c< These are to be viewed only as repre- 
 sentatives of the churches themselves, since the contents of the 
 epistles refer to the condition of the individual churches. The 
 epistles themselves now follow 
 
 Ch. ii. iii. 
 
 As epistles of Christ to them or to their angels, dictated to the 
 seer. In each individual letter Christ is described by different 
 predicates, those in the four first being borrowed from the pre- 
 ceding description of his appearance, i. 13 18.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 163 
 
 The letters to the seven churches have in view the moral con- 
 dition of each at that time, and set out with that in their respec- 
 tive commendations, exhortations and threatenings. They are 
 conditions which have repeated themselves abundantly and in 
 different forms in the Church, as well as in Christian congrega- 
 tions, of a later time. So far these circular epistles have some- 
 thing typical of other churches and other times. But it is very 
 unnatural to view the typical and prophetic character of the 
 letters as a thing of which the writer was conscious and had in 
 view; as many earlier interpreters did, and Ebrard still does. 
 Ebrard, as already remarked, refers the four first to the different 
 conditions of the Church in regular succession of time from the 
 apostolic to the middle ages. This is an extremely unnatural, 
 insecure and false mode of interpretation. 
 
 1. Ch. ii. 1 7. Epistle to Ephesus. 
 
 This was one of the most famous cities of antiquity, on the 
 Icarian Gulf, the capital of Ionia, as well as the chief city of 
 proconsular Asia, renowned in particular for its Temple of Diana, 
 which, after having been burnt by Herostratus, was rebuilt more 
 splendidly. As happened in almost all the important commercial 
 cities of that time, so also in Ephesus, a considerable number 
 of Jews had settled there (Joseph. Ant. xiv. 10, 11, sqq. Act.). 
 The Christian church at Ephesus owes its origin to Paul and 
 his companions. The apostle, as far as we know, came there 
 for the first time on his second missionary journey, on the 
 way back from Corinth to Jerusalem. He resorted to the 
 synagogue, and conversed with the Jews, but could only stay 
 for a short time ; however, he left behind his companions 
 Aquila and Priscilla (Acts xviii. 19 sqq.). These were cer- 
 tainly very efficient on behalf of the gospel; and by them, 
 Apollos was entirely won to the Lord. Afterwards Paul him- 
 self came to Ephesus for a longer time. He discoursed at first 
 for three months in the Jewish synagogue with signal suc- 
 cess ; then, as he met with opposition while separating Che fol- 
 
 M2
 
 164 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 lowers of the Lord into a particular church, he remained in the 
 school of one Tyrannus for at least two years ; on which occa- 
 sion he converted both Jews and Greeks of the city and the 
 entire region (Acts xix.). Subsequently, when he had been in 
 Macedonia and Greece and was going again to Jerusalem, on the 
 journey thither he sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus 
 to come to him to Miletus, to bid them farewell and give them 
 admonitions. On this occasion he pointed out to them the 
 dangers which threatened the Church from persecutors as well as 
 from false teachers out of their midst (Acts xx. 17 38). Whe- 
 ther Paul came to Ephesus and the district afterwards is con- 
 nected with the decision of the disputed point as to his deliver- 
 ance from the first Eoman imprisonment, as well as the origin 
 and date of the pastoral letters. Yet we see from 2 Tim., which 
 is doubtless genuine, that Timothy was present at that time 
 in this district, and that the Church was endangered by in- 
 dividual false teachers. Subsequently, according to ecclesiastical 
 tradition, the apostle John established his seat and spent his 
 last days here. But if our view be correct about the origin and 
 writer of the Apocalypse, it is, as already remarked, possible that 
 he was not there at the time of the writing of this book ; since 
 there is no indication in this Epistle that the city was then the 
 abode of an apostle. Afterwards Ephesus was the seat of a 
 Christian Metropolitan, and is known in Church history for 
 the third (Ecumenical Synod (431), as well as for the so-called 
 Eobber Synod (449) held there. The Emperor Justinian caused 
 a splendid church of St. John to be built there. The city was 
 entirely destroyed by the Ottomans, who came about 1307, and 
 later by Timur (1402). There is now in the vicinity a small 
 village, Ajasoluk, inhabited by Turkomans, and also many ruins 
 of the old city (comp. Schubert's Eeise ins Morgenland, I. pp. 
 284313). 
 
 Verse 1. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write. Instead 
 of 'E^eo-iV^s, the right reading is, doubtless, with Griesbach and 
 others, ev 'E<eo-w, according to A.C. and 40 cursive, Vulg. Andr.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 165 
 
 Areth. Lacbmann has also (approved by Bengel and Griesbach) 
 r$ instead of -njs, according to A.C. cursive (T$ ev 'E<ecro> eK/cA^o-ias), 
 and in verses 8, 18; it would be harsh grammatically, which 
 speaks for its originality. Yet in the remaining letters he has 
 retained T^S, since TW has in its favour no external witnesses of 
 importance. 
 
 Thus speaks he who holds the seven stars in his right hand (i. 16), 
 who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks (i. 13). 
 
 Verse 2. / know thy works ; chiefly, perhaps, sacrifices for the 
 gospel ; and thy labour, KOTTOS; not merely toil, hardships, but also 
 exertion in the work itself; and thy patience; perseverance in 
 striving for, as well as in the hope of rest in, God's kingdom. 
 
 And that thou canst not bear them which are evil : that these 
 become, as it were, too irksome to thee, so that thou shakest 
 them off, repellest them from thee. 
 
 And thou hast tried, carefully proved, them which say they are 
 apostles and are not (anacoluthon), and hast found them liars ; 
 hast therefore rightly perceived what condition they are in, and 
 hast not been blinded by their pretences. Who these were can- 
 not be determined with certainty : not, as Ziillig thinks, such 
 Jewish teachers as did not at all belong to the Christian Church ; 
 nor also John's disciples, as Eichhorn supposes. Ewald thinks 
 they were the strictly judaizing teachers whom Paul had so often 
 to encounter elsewhere. But it is more probable that the writer 
 thought of the heads of those whom he (verse 6) designates as 
 Nicolaitanes ; to whom Hengstenberg also refers it. Besides, as 
 we shall see, we must also think of antinoinian teachers, a ten- 
 dency which proceeded from abuse of the Pauline doctrine of the 
 Christian's freedom from the law, to which might be joined a 
 predilection for subtle speculations of different kinds. Against 
 these persons Paul already warns Timothy (2 Tim. ii. 16 sqq.). 
 When it is said here besides, they pretend to be apostles, it does 
 not imply that they really belonged to the circle of those who 
 heard the Lord himself, or merely asserted it. 
 
 Verse 3. And hast patience, and hast laboured for my name's
 
 166 LECTURES ON THE APOCAL YPSE. 
 
 sake : in confessing me, thou hast suffered, to wit, all oppressions 
 and persecutions which were inflicted upon thee for this reason ; 
 and hast not fainted ; without being weary. This forms an in- 
 tentional play of words along with verse 2, where both /3ao-Tdav 
 and KOTTOS stand in another relation ; e/3acrrao-as here corresponds 
 
 to ov OVVQ fjao-rdfav KOKOVS, as OVK J/coTriWas Corresponds to TOV KOTTOV 
 
 o-ov, or better, as Lachmann has it, ov Ke/coin'aKas (according to 
 A. C., &c.). The received text has KCKOTrtaxas /ecu ov Ke/cp?Kas, which 
 would mean, hast laboured and art not become weary. Yet 
 predominant external testimony favours that shorter reading, 
 which is also recommended by internal grounds, because it is in 
 itself probable even by the play of words, with regard to the 
 /3ao-Taaj/, that KOTTidfav is here used in another reference than in 
 verse 2.* 
 
 Verse 4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, that thou 
 hast left thy first love; hast abandoned, let it go ; the first love = 
 such a one as thou hast cherished and shown in the earlier time, 
 when thou didst first devote thyself to my service. This love, 
 according to the context, cannot mean love to Christ (as, for 
 example, Ziillig takes it) or to God (comp. Jeremiah ii. 2), but 
 only love to the brethren, as proved chiefly by assistance and 
 charity to the needy, which Paul recommends to the Ephesian 
 elders (Acts xx. 35). The TO, Trpu>ra epyo, TTot^o-ov in verse 5 also 
 leads to this sense. Compare Matt. xxiv. 12, KCU Sia TO ir\i]6vv- 
 
 07jvat rr)v dvo/uav i/'vyTyo-erat r/ dydwny ru>v TroAAwv. It is decidedly 
 
 incorrect when Eichhorn finds in it a reproach against the 
 Ephesian Christians, that they treated the heretics too severely, 
 and no longer with previous mildness. 
 
 Verse 5. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen ; that 
 is, what was the high standpoint which thou didst occupy before 
 in love to the brethren, and hast now lost, from which thou hast 
 sunk down. For the formula iroOcv 7rrno/cas (approved of by 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, and by Bengel and Wetstein, 
 
 * ow KtK/ijjKttr was brought in by Erasmus ; compare Delitzsch, Handschriftl. Funde i. 
 p. 24.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 167 
 
 instead of the received eKTreTrrw/cos ; according to preponderating 
 external evidence). Comp. Cicero, ad Attic, iv. 16, non recorder 
 unde ceciderim, sed unde resurrexerim. 
 
 And repent and do the first works = such as thou didst to 
 the brethren in the first time of love, or if not /AeravoTjorjs is 
 easily supplied here, but at the end edi/ p) /neravor/cr^s is again 
 added somewhat pleonastically I will come unto thee = to punish 
 thee, quickly (ra-^v left out by Lachmann, Tischendorf, according 
 to A. C. Copt. Aeth. Vulg. ; the omission is also approved of by 
 Mill and Bengel). 
 
 And will remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent; 
 the candlestick is the symbol of the church, according to i. 20 ; 
 hence the removing of the candlestick denotes that the candle- 
 stick henceforth will no longer be seen in this place ; the removing 
 of the church itself so that it will no longer be recognized as 
 belonging to the Lord ; its place in the kingdom of God will be 
 given to others. Compare, for the meaning, Matt. xxi. 43, dpO-^- 
 
 crercu a< vp-tav r/ /3ao-iA,eia TOV deov K. 8o^^<rTat edvei TTOIOVVTI TOVS 
 Ka/37roi>s avTijs. Upon the formula, Kiveiv * TOV TOTTOU, comp. Apoc. 
 
 VL 14, K. Trav opes K. VTJCTOS CK rdv TOTTWV avrwv eKiv^ijcrav. 
 
 Verse 6. But this thou hast, the praiseworthy, the good, that thou 
 hatest tlie deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate; comp. 
 verse 15 (Pergamos), OUTCOS X ets KC " "^ Kparovvra<s TT)V StSa^v 
 
 NiKoXaiVwi/ 6ju,otws. This, as I believe, although others, as De Wette, 
 deny it, is clearly the same idea that is expressed in verse 14, exs 
 exec KparowTds rrjv SiSa^^v BaXaa/x. This Balaam is the sorcerer 
 Balaam, whom the Moabite king sent for to curse the Israelites 
 during their stay in his territory, but who was compelled by the 
 Spirit, instead of a curse, to repeat blessings upon them. Of him it 
 is said (Numb. xxxi. 16), in a speech of Moses, that he instigated 
 the Moabite women to tempt the Israelites to desert their God ; 
 referring to ib. ch. xxv., according to which the Israelites took part 
 in the sacrificial feasts and idolatry of the Moabites, and committed 
 whoredom with their daughters. So also in our book, in verse 14, 
 below, Balaam is reproached for having induced the Moabite
 
 168 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 king to tempt the Israelites to eat things sacrificed unto idols, 
 and to commit whoredom. Accordingly we have, ib., in the 
 KparovvTfs rrjv SiSa^^v BaAaa/z, to think of men in the Christian 
 Church who had an antinomian tendency, in contrast with the 
 Judaizers. Misunderstanding the Pauline doctrine of a Chris- 
 tian's freedom from the law, they did not think it inadmissible 
 to take part even in idolatrous feasts, and to expose their body 
 to sensual lusts ; as this was something external, and they did 
 not think themselves bound to the points of the law (Acts xv. 
 29, xxi. 25) imposed on the heathen Christians by the apostles. 
 That there were such in several Christian churches, we see from 
 the Epistles of Paul, especially 1 Cor. ; also from the Epistle of 
 Jude. Accordingly there can be no doubt in my mind, from 
 verse 15 in relation to verse 14, that the Nicolaitanes here men- 
 tioned are the same who are designated as K/aaToivres T?)V StSa-^v 
 BaXaa/x. The origin of the name Nicolaitanes is more doubtful. 
 Church writers, from Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria down- 
 ward, derive it from a head of the sect, Nicolas, thinking of him 
 who is mentioned, in Acts vi. 5, as one of the seven deacons at 
 Jerusalem, but who became involved in dangerous errors after- 
 wards ; from whom, at least, a heretical party is said to have 
 been named. Irenaeus, as well as Clement of Alexandria, thought 
 that the party continued even in their time, so that it may be 
 assumed with great probability that there really existed a party 
 having the antinomian tendency here indicated, which bore the 
 name of Nicolaitanes, whether it was that they gave them- 
 selves the name or that others called them so. According to 
 Clement of Alexandria, they held the fundamental principle that 
 one must show his contempt for the flesh by destroying it through 
 his own instrumentality, by delivering himself up to fleshly 
 lusts ; comp. Neander, Kgesch. Bd. I. (Abth. ii.) pp. 744 sqq. It 
 is not improbable that there may been a connection between those 
 Nicolaitanes in the time of Irenseus and Clement of Alexandria, 
 and the persons mentioned here ; on the contrary, their connec- 
 tion with the deacon Nicolas is in a high degree problematical.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 169 
 
 What Vitringa and Wetstein assume is very probable ; and most 
 interpreters, also Hengstenberg and Ebrard (but not Hofmann, ii. 
 323, and De Wette) assent, that the name is formed as a Greek 
 translation of Balaamites ; it being supposed that Q Vy? is com- 
 posed of 3? v>2 to destroy, to abolish (in Syriac and Arabic also = 
 vincere), and D37 people, like Ni/coAaos of vt/cav and Aaos ; as if, 
 conqueror of the people, destroyer of the people. Yet it is 
 not probable that the writer of the Apocalypse was the first to 
 make this appellation. From the way the Nicolaitanes are here 
 spoken of at first (verse 6), he appears to pre-suppose the name 
 as one already known to his readers. So also Ewald, Jahrb. viii. 
 1856, pp. 117 sqq. It may therefore be assumed that the 
 appellation of Nicolaitanes, to designate those who resembled 
 Balaam, was already current for the anti-Jewish and antinomian 
 party in these circles. The transference would be of course still 
 more easily explained if a Nicholas stood at the head of the 
 party in that district, which is possible enough in itself, but not 
 at all certain nor necessary. 
 
 Verse 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear; comp. xiii. 9 
 (similarly Christ, 6 ex wv ^ Ta a^ovo-ora), Matt. xi. 15), What the 
 Spirit saith unto the churches ; the spirit of prophecy, through 
 which the Lord who speaks here, communicates with the seer, 
 and through him, to 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 (my) God. 6 n/3v is he who steadfastly perse- 
 veres in all struggles for the kingdom of God and the pure, 
 simple gospel ; who does not allow himself to be drawn away 
 by hostile powers or heretics. The formula, gvXov T^S (o^s, is 
 borrowed from Gen. iii. 22, D^nn y??, which the LXX. trans- 
 late in the same manner. It is a designation of the tree in 
 Paradise, whose fruit imparts the possession of eternal life, so 
 that the eating of it is put for the possession of eternal life ; 
 comp. the description of eternal blessedness, xxii. 2 ; similarly 
 ib. verses 14, 19. So also among the later Jews; for example, 
 Jalkut Kubeui, xix. 2 ; Quando Deus judicat judicium veritatis,
 
 170 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 tune animam deducit in paradisum eique gustandum prsebet 
 arborem vitse ; see Schb'ttgen, ad h. 1. At the foundation of the 
 expression the idea lies that Paradise, in which man was placed 
 at creation, still exists, with the tree of life ; man is now excluded 
 from it only on account of the fall, and will again have access to 
 it in the kingdom of Christ. 
 
 2. Verses 8 11. Epistle to Smyrna. 
 
 This city was one of the most distinguished and beautiful 
 of the commercial towns of antiquity, and is so still, situated in 
 Ionia, on the ^Egean Sea, about eight miles north of Ephesus. 
 It became very rich by commerce, but the sensual morals of 
 Smyrna were proverbial. It is not known by whom the Chris- 
 tian church was founded in the city. The epistle shows that 
 the followers of the Lord belonged especially to the poorer 
 class ; and that they had much to suffer from the unbelieving 
 Jews. Precisely on that account the gospel had maintained 
 itself among them purer than in other churches. Subsequently, 
 Polycarp was bishop there, a disciple of the apostle John, whom 
 Irenseus had seen in his youth, and who, when an old man, suf- 
 fered death as a martyr ; burnt, circ. 167, chiefly, as appears, 
 at the instigation of the Jews. In Eusebius, there is an Epistle 
 to the church of Smyrna respecting him (Eusebius, iv. 15). Among 
 the Epistles of Ignatius, there is also one to the church at Smyrna, 
 as well as one to Polycarp. The town now numbers about 120,000 
 inhabitants, and doubtless, besides Turks, many (over 10,000) 
 Jews and Christians (probably about 30,000) of all confessions, 
 mostly Greeks. 
 
 Verse 8. These things saith the first and the last, which was 
 dead and is alive. That is, l^o-ev = who has again returned to 
 life. Upon this designation of Christ, see i. 17, 18, from which 
 it is borrowed. Christ is described in this aspect with regard 
 to verse 10, where he promises to give the crown of life to him 
 who serves faithfully unto death. 
 
 Verse 9. / know thy works, TO. l/jya o-ov, as verses 2, 5. Ben-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 171 
 
 gel, Lachmann and Tischendorf, however, have omitted the 
 words TO, e'pya /cat, according to A. C. 2 cursive, Copt. Aeth. Vulg. 
 Primas. Andr. in comm. Mill also approves of the omission. 
 
 And thy tribulation, in reference to persecutions, and thy 
 poverty, neediness in earthly things (but thou art rich in the true 
 abiding treasures which are reserved in heaven ; comp. Matt. vi. 
 20 ; 2 Cor. VI. 10, ws TTTW^OI, TroAAous Se TrAoirrt^ovTes, o>s pjSev 
 CXOVTC?, KCU TravTd Karexovres, ib. viii. 2) ; and I know the blas- 
 phemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are 
 of the synagogue of Satan. Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tis- 
 chendorf and others, have accepted the IK after /3Aao-#??/uav, from 
 testimony which preponderates. The blaspheming persecutors 
 of the Christians are also designated (iii. 9) in the same man- 
 ner as here. They were unbelieving Jews, very hostile to the 
 gospel. The writer himself belonged to the Jewish nation and 
 was attached to it (see Introduction) ; those who opposed the 
 kingdom of God he views as persons who unjustly assumed the 
 honourable name of Jews, since they proved that they did not at 
 all belong to the people of God, the covenant people, for whom 
 the promises given to the fathers were to be fulfilled in Christ. 
 Far from being a congregation of Jehovah, of the Lord, crwaywyr) 
 TOV Kvp[ov, Hji'T rn? or "IP, as Moses calls the Israelitish 
 people (Numb. xxxi. 16), and as the rebellious Israelites called 
 themselves (ib. xvi. 3, xx. 4), they were much more a congrega- 
 tion of Satan the enemy of God and his kingdom. Compare 
 
 John viii. 44, fy^eis eK TOV Trar/aos TOV 8ia/36Xov rre. 
 
 Verse 10. Instead of pjSev, Lachmann and others have ap- 
 proved of p), according to A B. C. 2 cursive. In the received 
 text, priStv would be accus. of the object, and a jueAAeis iraa-^iv an 
 apposition to it ; fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer, 
 which sufferings will be inflicted upon thee because of thy belief 
 and confession. Behold the devil, the enemy of God, and his 
 people, will by his servants, particularly those false Jews, cast 
 into prison some of you that ye may be tried ; comp., for example, 
 Matt, xxiii. 34, ! omov aTroKrevare K. A. Such is the divine
 
 172 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 intention in inflicting these miseries upon you, that you may 
 have an opportunity of becoming upright and keeping your belief. 
 Hence TmpaoyAoi is frequently used in the Bible in reference to 
 outward afflictions. 
 
 And ye, shall have tribulation ten days, can only be meant here 
 in an indefinite sense, for a round number, meaning a short time; 
 comp. Gen. xxiv. 55 ; Numb. xi. 19 ; Dan. i. 14. 
 
 Be ihou faithful unto death, so that thou shunnest not death 
 itself, art even ready to suffer death ; comp. Philip, ii. 8, yevdyuevos 
 VTT^KOOS p-tXP 1 ^vdroOj Oavdrov Se crravpov. 
 
 And I will give thee a crown of life, Genit. expl. Eternal life 
 as a crown of victory, a reward of battle ; comp. especially 
 
 James i. 12, paKapios dvrjp os VTrop-tvu Treipaurfiov' cm SOKI/XOS 
 yevofJLevos AI^CTCU TOV crre^avov rrjs {toyjs, oV eTr^yyeiAaro (6 Kuptos) 
 
 rots ayairwo-iv awov. Here 017 is put opposite flavaros. Precisely 
 out of death itself, suffered for the sake of the Lord, wilt thou 
 have life. But it is hardly right when Zullig interprets, " I 
 shall give thee kingly dignity in the life of Olam Habba," under- 
 standing this of a special, the highest dignity in it, to which 
 martyrs particularly laid claim. 
 
 Verse 11. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second 
 death. The second death will not harm him. The idea lying 
 at the foundation is explained by its further development in 
 ch. xx. xxi. The faithful followers of the Lord, who have fallen 
 asleep in him, will be raised at his appearing, in order to reign 
 with him in the thousand-years' kingdom (xx. 4). These shall 
 then live for ever, and shall also remain unharmed at the 
 general judgment ; whilst the wicked, raised at the general re- 
 surrection, will be thrown into the lake of fire, into which death 
 and Hades were previously thrown, and which is called the 
 second death (xx. 14, xxi. 8). Therefore it is also said in xx. 6, 
 /wxKapios KCU aytos 6 e^wv /*epos v ry avacrrao-ei ry vrpwry' ri TOVTCOV 
 o Sfvrfpos 6dva.Tos OVK fx l eowi'av ', comp. Tharg. Hieros. in 
 Deut. xxxiii. 6, vivat Euben in hoc seculo nee moriatur morte 
 secunda, qua moriuntur impii in mundo futuro. Tharg. in
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 173 
 
 Ps. xlix. 11, Quoniam videbit sapientes impios qui morte 
 secunda moriuntur et adjudicantur Gehennse. For other pas- 
 sages among later Jews on the second death, see Wetstein. 
 
 3. Verses 12 17. Epistle to Pergamos. 
 This town lay north of Smyrna, in Mysia Major, on the 
 northern bank of the river Caicus, distant about four miles from 
 the sea, formerly the residence of the kings of the race of 
 Attalus. It was also one of the most beautiful towns of Asia, a 
 seat of the arts and sciences ; it had a splendid library, which 
 was added to, especially by King Eumenes II., so that it is said 
 to have contained 200,000 volumes ; but Antony carried it away 
 to Egypt, and presented it to Cleopatra. Parchment took its 
 name from this town. There was in it a famous temple of 
 ^Esculapius, which god is therefore called by Martial the God 
 of Pergamos, Pergameus Deus. It was also the birth-place of 
 Galen. We find the first trace of a Christian church here in the 
 Eevelation. From the epistle we see that the Church at that 
 time had already suffered bloody persecutions ; besides that, the 
 freer, anti-Jewish and antinomian tendency was predominant in 
 it, together with a more decided and firmer adherence to the 
 gospel Subsequently, under Marcus Aurelius, persecutions 
 were again inflicted upon the Christians ; and Eusebius (iv. 15) 
 names several martyrs belonging to the Church. At present the 
 town is called Pergarno ; many ruins of the old one still remain. 
 Besides the Turkish inhabitants, it contains a small Christian 
 congregation of about 250 souls, who built for themselves a new 
 church some time ago. Lindsay, agent of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society in London, who visited this region in 
 1816, states the number of Christians there to be several thou- 
 sands, of whom both the Greeks and Armenians had a church. 
 Many were killed in the Greek war of freedom, when the Turks 
 landed there in the year 1823 (comp. Winer, E. W. B.; Eosen- 
 muller, Bibl. Alterthumsk. Band i. ThL ii. pp. 175 sqq., 221 sqq.; 
 Schubert, i. pp. 316, 318)
 
 174 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verse 12. These things saith he which hath the sharp sword 
 with two edges, after i. 16. This aspect of the Lord's person is 
 made prominent in the present epistle because the Lord will 
 make use of the sword of his mouth in combat with the seducers ; 
 see below verse 16. 
 
 Yerse 13. I 'know thy works. Bengel, Lachmann and Tischen- 
 dorf, have omitted the words rot l/oya o-ov /ecu here, according to 
 A. C. cursive, Copt. Aeth. Vulg. Patr. lat. Arethas and Andreas, 
 too, do not take any notice of the words in their Commentaries ; 
 and Mill supposes them spurious, which is not unlikely ; then 
 the passage runs thus : I know where thou dwellest (namely) where 
 Satan's throne is. Andreas and Arethas refer this to the idolatry 
 practised in the town. So also most later interpreters, who find 
 in it a special allusion to the worship of ^Esculapius. Such is not 
 improbable, ^sculapius was formed and so he was found in 
 the temple at Pergamos sitting upon a throne, with a rod in 
 his hand, round which a serpent twined itself. As the serpent 
 was the symbol of Satan among the Jews of that time, and as 
 Satan is also designated in our book the old serpent (xii. 9, 
 xx. sqq.), the town, on account on its worship and temple of 
 ^Esculapius with such a symbol, might readily be described by 
 writers as a seat of Satan. Others as Ewald, De Wette, Heng- 
 stenberg, Ebrard refer it merely to the severe persecutions which 
 the Christians in the town had to suffer from its inhabitants. 
 But the former reference may perhaps be connected with this, if 
 the persecution came from the worshippers of idols, who resented 
 the despising of a God esteemed so holy by them ; it is always 
 probable that the 6 Opovos TOV a-arava. has a more special reference 
 to the worship of ^Esculapius there. Zullig absurdly thinks 
 that it refers merely to the most northerly situation from Per- 
 gamos of all the churches here mentioned, because Jewish tradi- 
 tion made Satan inhabit the north. 
 
 And thou Jwldest fast my name, dost not allow the confession of 
 me to be taken from thee. 
 
 And hast not denied my faith ( = in me), even (such here is
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 175 
 
 KCU) in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, wJio 
 was slain among you where Satan dwelleth. There is here an 
 anakoluthon at least in the received text, from carelessness in 
 the mode of writing; since another relative sentence is joined 
 to the relative sentence Iv ols K. A., without the latter having a 
 finite verb: os cnre/crav^/. It would be more regular if the os 
 were not put. Lachmann, on the contrary, has omitted ev ous, 
 according to A. C. Copt. Vulg. cursive (in other witnesses ev is 
 wanting) ; then 'AvnVas would be considered as the genitive 
 instead of 'AvrtVa ; it would be treated as indeclinable ; and 6 
 jjLapTvs K. A. would stand as an apposition to the genitive, as in i. 4. 
 That may perhaps be genuine : in the days of Antipas, my true 
 witness, who, &c. As to the Antipas mentioned here, it appears 
 from our passage itself that he must have suffered death as a 
 martyr at Pergamos, perhaps not long before, in the time of Nero. 
 The older Church writers do not know anything special about 
 him. At all events the statement of a very late martyrology 
 is incorrect, unknown even to Arethas, that he suffered under 
 Domitian, having been burnt in a brazen bull made red-hot on 
 account of his testimony to Christ. His bones are said to have 
 rested in a church which now bears the name of Saint Sophia 
 (Schubert, I.e. p. 317). The assumption of Hengstenberg is quite 
 arbitrary, that the name 'AvrtVas is symbolical = who is against 
 all against the world, and that Timothy is designated. 
 
 Verse 14. But I have against thee oXiyo. a few things, something ; 
 it is not many things which are blamed, although this is a 
 heavy offence. 
 
 (That) TJwu hast there (and sufferest) them who hold the doc- 
 trine of Balaam, firmly adhere to it, who taught Balak. Instead 
 of the received TOV BaAa*, we must read, with Bengel, Gries- 
 bach, Lachmann and Tischendorf, r<p, according to A. C. cursive ; 
 although this construction of the verb SaSao-/cai/ with the dative 
 of a person is against all Greek and Hellenic usage. We can 
 hardly take the dative definitively, with Hengstenberg, who 
 taught for Balak, in favour of him.
 
 176 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 To cast a stumbling-Hock before the children of Israel - as if 
 to spread a net, to lay it down for them, whereby they would be 
 tempted to sin and to fall away from their God ; upon /3aAAeiv 
 COmp. Matt. X. 34, elp^vtjv ftdXXeiv rl rrjv yrjv. 
 
 To eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 
 See above on verse 6, on the men in the Church who are meant 
 here, on their relation to apostolic Christianity, as well as on the 
 description of them as adherents of the doctrine of Balaam, that 
 is, as those who led astray the followers of the Lord, as Balaam 
 did the Israelites in Moses's time, by representing to them that 
 the satisfying of sensual lusts and the participation in sacrificial 
 feasts of idols was not opposed to the spirit of the gospel, but 
 conformable to Christian freedom. 
 
 Verse 15. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the 
 Nicolaitanes. The received text has here, at the end, 3 /xio-u, which 
 Zullig holds to ; for which Griesbach, Lachmann and Tischendorf, 
 Compl., with the approval of Mill, and Bengel in the Gnomon, 
 have 6/ioi'us according to preponderating witnesses (A. B. C. 43 
 cursive, Syr. Copt. Vulg. Areth. Primas.) : this is without doubt the 
 genuine reading, 3 juicraJ having arisen perhaps out of verse 6. 
 Ewald reads, 3 /u<rw 6/10 tws, which has scarcely anything to sup- 
 port it. The 6/ioiws is doubtless to be attached to the preceding, 
 although it limps behind somewhat pleonastically, especially with 
 OUTWS. The relation must be thus taken : Thou hast also, as was 
 then the case among the Israelites, those in thy midst who main- 
 tain the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. It is hardly correct to 
 hold, with Bengel, De Wette and others, that the Nicolaitanes and 
 those who maintained the doctrine of Balaam were different 
 persons, and classes of seducers distinct from one another. 
 
 Verse 16. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly (comp. 
 verse 5), and will fight against them, with the sword of my mouth ; 
 with it I will cut them down, strike them to the ground, 
 namely, those seducers, together with such as listen to them; 
 which appears to have been the case, in this church at least, with 
 the greater part of the members.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 177 
 
 Verse 17. To him that overcometh will I give, of the hidden 
 manna. This is a typical expression for the enjoyment of hap- 
 piness in the Messianic kingdom, attached to a later Jewish idea. 
 According to Exod. xvi. 3234, in remembrance of the wonder- 
 ful feeding of the people in the wilderness by command of Moses, 
 a gomer of manna was put into a vessel and preserved before 
 the ark of the covenant. In the second Temple this manna- 
 vessel was wanting, as well as the ark of the covenant ; it was 
 lost, together with the ark of the covenant, at the burning of the 
 Temple by the Chaldeans, if not earlier. But since, as already 
 remarked in the Introduction (at xi. 19), the idea arose among 
 the later Jews that the ark of the covenant was not then burnt 
 or destroyed at all, but was concealed by Jeremiah, or before his 
 time by Josiah, or by some other divine arrangement, and would 
 again appear in the days of the Messiah ; the same was trans- 
 ferred to the vessel with manna also ; and it was supposed that 
 it would be again brought to light in the time of the Messiah 
 by Elias. See upon this the Talmudic and Eabbinic passages in 
 Wetstein, ad h. 1. Here the expression hidden manna is probably 
 borrowed from the belief in question; others take it without 
 such reference, merely of the heavenly, spiritual manna, in con- 
 trast with natural manna; so Hengstenberg, Ebrard, &c. Yet 
 the allusion to that Jewish tradition and idea is probable. As 
 the manna on which the Israelites fed in the wilderness is 
 called the bread of heaven (Ps. Ixxviii. 24, cv. 40), the adminis- 
 tering of the hidden manna which would appear at the advent 
 of Messiah, might be taken to denote heavenly food in the king- 
 dom of God ; participation in its blessedness. Compare John vi. 
 31, from which it may be inferred that the Jews expected from 
 the Messiah that he, like a second Moses, would feed them, as 
 his predecessor had done, with manna, the bread of heaven. 
 
 And will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name 
 written, which no man Jcnoweth, saving he that receiveth it. What the 
 image of the i/^os ACVKT) is taken from, is very doubtful. Eisner 
 and Schleusner believe it was derived from the lot, where a white 
 
 N
 
 178 LECTURES ON THE A FOCAL YPSE. 
 
 stone denotes good luck. Others as Andreas, Arethas, Grotius, 
 Eichhorn, Heinrichs, &c. find in it an allusion to the tesserae 
 honoris, which the victors in the Olympian games received, and by 
 which the right of public maintenance on the part of their native 
 town was secured to them. Yet these tesserae were not called </^</><n; 
 and the epithet Aeu/c?; is not explained by them. This induces 
 us, with other interpreters, to think rather of the custom of the 
 Greeks, who voted with white and black stones in the condemna- 
 tion or liberation of those who were accused. The white stone 
 liberated ; and the person so acquitted is also called VIKWV. Com- 
 pare, for example, Theophrast. Charact. ch. xvii. 3 : SIK-TJV vi/ojo-a? 
 KCU Aa/Ja>v n-ao-as ras i/^ovs. But as the reception of the stone 
 is here supposed to contain also a reference to participation in 
 the Messianic kingdom, one may say that the allusion is to those 
 tesserae honoris at the same time ; and so the two last interpre- 
 tations should be connected with one another, as Vitringa takes 
 it. Hengstenberg attributes no independent signification to this 
 member, to the act of receiving the white stone ; but considers 
 the stone as merely designed to bear the new name. For oj/o/xa 
 KCUVOV, comp. Isaiah Ixii. 2, where it is said of Jerusalem that at 
 its restoration it shall be named with a new name, ovofja /catvov, 
 ann DO?. Is. Ixv. 15, Jehovah will call his servants by another 
 name, ~ins D2? ; LXX., again, ovopx KO.IVOV. As far as the name 
 is considered as corresponding to the essence of the thing, the 
 conferring of a new name also denotes a change of nature and 
 relations, and in such connection, exaltation and glorification. 
 But in our passage, one may doubt whether the new name is here 
 meant as that of the believers themselves, whereby they are 
 designated as associates in the Messianic kingdom, as entitled to 
 participate in its blessedness ; or as the name of the Son of God, 
 of the Messiah, by which he is described in regard to the com- 
 plete glory wherein he is to appear at his coming. For the latter 
 acceptation, comp. xiv. 1, according to which faithful believers 
 have written upon their foreheads the name of the Lamb and his 
 Father's name; and xix. 12, according to which the Messiah,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 179 
 
 when appearing in battle with Antichrist, has a name written 
 (on his head) which no one knows except himself. Ewald takes 
 it in this manner, supposing it to mean the divine name of the 
 Father, rTJTT, according to its true pronunciation and signification, 
 which were a secret in the opinion of the Jews. He understands, 
 as Ebrard also does, i/^os to be a precious stone (the word is 
 also used in this sense) ; the former,* of such a one as the faith- 
 ful followers of the Lord are said to bear on their forehead, 
 similar to the plate on the forehead of the Jewish high-priests, 
 which had the inscription, HIIT 1 ? Krjp (Exod. xxviii. 36, xxxix. 
 30). But the expression does not lead one to think of such an 
 ornament on the forehead ; and on the whole the most probable 
 idea is, that the new name denotes those persons themselves 
 who receive the white stone in token of the honour and majesty 
 designed for them. 
 
 4. Verses 1829. Epistle to Thyatira. 
 
 Thyatira, in Lydia, on the borders of Mysia, situated on the 
 river Lycus, six to seven miles north of Sardis, was a Macedonian 
 colony. In ancient times it was called Pelopia and Evippia. 
 According to Acts xvi., the Lydia who believed at Philippi, 'to- 
 gether with her household, and showed great kindness to Paul, 
 was a seller of purple at Thyatira. Even she may have brought 
 the Gospel to her native town, and spread it farther there. But 
 Paul himself, or his companions, particularly those that went 
 from Ephesus, during his residence in it of nearly three years, 
 may have been there ; or at least people out of this region may 
 have heard him in Ephesus, and been converted by him. A 
 predominantly Gentile-Christian character of the church may 
 be inferred from our Epistle ; it appears to have been dis- 
 tinguished particularly by works of love and charity; but it 
 seems not to have hesitated in taking part in sacrificial idola- 
 trous feasts, nor to have abstained from heathen, debauchery, 
 
 * Ewald now interprets i^^ot; as "tessera hospitalis," "Gastzettelchen," upon 
 which was the name of the guest's friend who received the guest into his house. 
 
 N2
 
 180 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 nor from fleshly lust of an extra-marital kind. The members 
 even tried to justify this by intellectual sophisms, by an 
 appeal to deeper wisdom. At a later period, violent contests 
 took place in the church of this town ; it was a seat of the 
 fanatical Cataphrygians or Montanists ; and another smaller 
 party was opposed to them there, the party Epiphanius calls 
 Alogi, who rejected the Apocalypse together with the other 
 writings of John. For this they appealed, according to Epipha- 
 nius, to the fact that there was no church of Christians at 
 Thyatira. As to the obscure and ambiguous in this assertion, 
 we have already spoken in the general Introduction. At present 
 the town is called Akhissar = white castle ; according to Lindsay 
 with about 30,000 inhabitants, driving a tolerably brisk trade, 
 and with a by no means insignificant Christian congregation of 
 about 3000 souls, mostly belonging to the Greek Church, a 
 Christian school, and ruins belonging to antiquity ; comp. Schu- 
 bert, I. pp. 318 sqq. 
 
 Verse 18. These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes 
 like unto a, flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass ; after 
 i. 14, 15. 
 
 Verse 19. I know thy works, and love and faith and service; 
 SiaKovla is, doubtless, here meant of service towards sick and 
 needy persons, by contributions presented to them for their 
 bodily subsistence; in which sense SiaKovla and SiaKoveiV are 
 specially used in the New Testament. 
 
 And thy patience, and that thy last works are more than tJie 
 first, meaning, that the longer the time, the more thou dis- 
 tinguishest thyself in thy works = doubtless, works of love ; 
 n-Xfiova refers here not so much to number, multitude, as to 
 worth, excellency, greatness ; as Heb. xi. 4, TrAeiova Ova-lav. 
 
 Verse 20. Notwithstanding / have a few things against thee 
 (the received oAtya is to be omitted, according to overwhelming 
 evidence, with CompL, Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, &c., introduced from verse 14), because thou sufferest that 
 woman Jezebel (instead of the received es, according to A. B. C.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 181 
 
 36 cursive, a<eis is to be read, with Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tiscliendorf, &c. It is an unusual form, instead of 
 a^4^s, formed from a<ew, as rivets appears instead of T<$r?s ; see 
 Buttmann, Gr. Gr. I. 524 ; Winer, xiv. 3, Anm. 6th ed. p. 75 
 above. In sense it is the same as eoTs, suffer her, let her do as 
 she pleases, without checking her; comp. John xi. 48, eav a^w/xev 
 avrov ow'rws. The Coinpl., Griesbach, Lachinann, Tischendorf and 
 others, have a-ov after ywaiKa, agreeably to A. 32 cursive, Syr. 
 Andr. Areth. Prim. Probably, however, it is not genuine, but a 
 later gloss. It is wanting in Tertullian and other Latin writers) 
 which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my 
 servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrijiced unto 
 idols. Doubtless we are to consider Jezebel here only as a 
 symbolical name, after the Sidonian princess known by that 
 name, wife of the Israelitish king Ahab (about 900 before Christ), 
 who made use of the weakness of her husband, and, after his 
 death, of her two sons in succession, Ahasiah and Joram, to 
 introduce the religion of her country, the worship of Baal, into 
 Israel. At Samaria a temple was built to Baal ; and the prophets 
 of Jehovah, who opposed it with all their might, were persecuted 
 and slain, till at last the whole race of Ahab, with all the priests 
 of Baal, were murdered by Jehu, whom the prophet Elisha 
 caused to be anointed king, and also Jezebel herself, who was 
 thrown out of a window (1 Kings xvi. 19 2 Kings x.). We 
 may accordingly assume, with the greatest probability, that there 
 was at that time in the Christian church at Thyatira a woman 
 highly endowed and possessed of authority, who promoted the 
 same antinomian tendency which was predominant at Perga- 
 mos, and was able to introduce it by her influence. She 
 is called another Jezebel, inasmuch as the Beating of things 
 sacrificed unto idols is considered a participation in idolatry. 
 2 Kings ix. 22 speaks of the many whoredoms and sorceries 
 of Jezebel, and therefore she may have been regarded as a type 
 in this respect, although perhaps it is meant figuratively of 
 idolatry. Who was the woman meant here, who was denoted as
 
 182 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 another Jezebel, is unknown. Many interpreters, who under- 
 stand by the ayyeAos the church's overseer, think of his wife ; 
 from which supposition has probably proceeded the insertion of 
 <rov, which, as we have already said, is not genuine. The refer- 
 ence disappears of itself with that interpretation of the ayyeAos. 
 On the other hand, it is not likely, when other interpreters, for 
 example, Andreas, Arethas, Vitringa, Eichhorn, Hengstenberg, 
 &c., will not admit any reference to an individual woman, taking 
 Jezebel merely as a symbolical designation of the antinomian 
 false teachers. See, on the contrary, P. E. Jablonsky de Jeze- 
 bele Thyatirenorum pseudoprophetissa, in his Opuscc. T. III. 
 pp. 255 sqq. From the way in which the conduct of Jezebel is 
 characterized, it is quite inadmissible to understand by her, as 
 Ziillig does, the Jewish Church, the Judaism of the place. As 
 to the text, instead of the received rty Xeyova-av, we are to read, 
 with Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, % Aeyoixra, 
 which Mill approves (after A. C., which is confirmed by fj Aeyet, 
 B. 32 cursive, Andr. Areth.) ; and instead of the received StSao-xeiv 
 K. 7rAavao-0ai, with Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, &c., KCU <5i8ao-K K. TrAavct TOVS, according to A. B. C. 44 cur- 
 sive, Syr. Arab. Copt. Aeth. Andr. 
 
 Verse 21. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, 
 and she repented not. From the connection with the preceding 
 and following, we must not suppose that idolatry is meant here 
 merely in a figurative sense, namely, free participation in the 
 enjoyment of idolatrous sacrifices, but actual debauchery. 
 
 Verses 22, 23. Behold I will cast her into a led, upon a sick 
 bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, 
 except they repent of their deeds. And 1 will hill her children with 
 the plague; cv Oavdru, so we should take here, and in vi. 8 (O.TTOK- 
 
 TflVat, V [)0/J.<j)aiy. KCU V Al/*<> Ktti f.V OaVOLTlj) KCU VTTO TtoV 0r)pi<l)V T^S 
 
 yfjs), as 0avaTos in the LXX. often stands for "i^l, for example, 
 Ezek. xiv. 19, xxxiii. 27, &c. ; and likewise in the Thargums, 
 Nrria, Syr. Jj/.cicu- We must also understand /ioix^'ovres fj.fr 
 avr^s literally of such men in the church as this Jezebel knew
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 183 
 
 how to attract to herself, and who carried on with her an immoral 
 and licentious intercourse. And likewise by the TCKVOIS we are 
 to think of her children in a literal sense, of whom she was to be 
 deprived on account of her conduct. (Instead of Zpywv avruv, 
 verse 22 end, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, as well as the 
 Compl., Bengel, have cpywv au-nys, according to B.C. 40 cursive. 
 The received is more easily got out of it. The avrijs refers to the 
 woman, and is to be taken of the conduct which she pursues and 
 tempts others thereto the works of Jezebel as it were.) 
 
 And all the church shall know that I am he which searcheth the 
 reins and hearts; comp. Ps. vii. 10, nvbp-l ms 1 ? "jOh, Jer. xi. 20, 
 zh] nvb? "jra, and so often (the LXX. never e/oewav, but SOKI- 
 
 /Aa^etv, era^eiv, &C.) 
 
 And I will give unto every one of you according to your 
 works. 
 
 Verse 24. But unto you I say, the rest in Thyatira, as many as 
 have not this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as 
 tluy say. The adherents of the antinomian tendency attributed 
 to themselves, without doubt, a special depth of knowledge above 
 ordinary Christians w r ho considered themselves bound by the 
 moral law ; they boasted of having fully apprehended the depths 
 of Deity (TO, ftdOi] TOV Bfov; COmp. 1 Cor. ii. 10, TO Trveiym iravra 
 epew$, KCU TO. /3ddr) TOV 6eov). So also, according to Irenseus, ii. 
 38, 39, the Gnostics at that time designated their mysteries as 
 profunda Dei et profunda Bythi. Here there is an allusion to 
 the same idea which is specified as a discerning of the depths of 
 Satan. 
 
 I lay (instead of the received /3aAw Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 with Mill approving ; and Griesbach is very much inclined to the 
 same read ftdXXw, after A. C. 35 cursive, Areth. &c.) upon you 
 none other burden. 
 
 Verse 25. But that which ye have already, holdfast, keep, till I 
 come, until my appearance. Many interpreters, as Beza, Calvin, 
 Bengel, Heinrichs, Ewald (not now, however), Ziillig, De Wette 
 and Ebrard, understand the /3a/3os as troublesome, oppressive
 
 184 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 plagues, so that the meaning would be, I will inflict upon you no 
 other sufferings than those you have had until now from the 
 persecution of the adversaries of the kingdom of God. But it 
 refers much more probably, as others suppose (viz. Yictoriu, 
 Vitringa, Bretschneider, Wahl, Hengstenberg), to the claims 
 which the Lord makes on his followers, so that the meaning is, 
 
 1 lay upon you nothing more to do, only what you know 
 already as my will, not the entire number of statutes in the 
 Jewish law; in which reference it is said, in Acts xv. 28, p/Sev 
 
 TrAeov fTTiTiOea-dat vfuv /3dpos irXrjV TWV 7ravayKes TOVTWV ; COlllp. 
 
 Matt, xxiii. 4. Plato, De legg. xi. 971, 5, TO TWV TOIOUTWV vo^w 
 fidpos. The Kpa.re.iv o e'xere should be understood accordingly of 
 holding firm the precepts given and hitherto known to them. 
 But from iii. 11, where the same form occurs again, the sense is 
 doubtless, hold fast the step which you have already got to, the 
 share in the kingdom of God which you have already obtained ; 
 do not let it go again. 
 
 Verse 26. And he that overcometh, and keeps my works, as I 
 order and as they correspond to my service, unto the end, to him 
 will I give power over the nations ; he shall share in the sove- 
 reignty of Christ in his kingdom, and exercise it over the nations 
 who will not submit to him willingly; comp. 1 Cor. vi. 2, 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 12. 
 
 Verse 27. And lie shall rule them ivith a rod of iron; as the 
 vessels of a potter shall they "be broken to pieces. Verse 28. Even as 
 I have received of my Father, to exercise such power ; comp. 
 Luke xxii. 29 sqq., where Jesus promises the apostles to give 
 over to them the power consigned to him by the Father. But 
 in verse 27 there is a clear allusion to Ps. ii. 8, 9, where Jehovah 
 says to the theocratic king, designated and anointed by him as a 
 son : Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inherit- 
 ance and the -uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession; 
 thou shalt break them (D5'~il) with a rod of iron; thou shalt 
 dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Instead of B5'")i (from 
 3??n) the LXX. have expressed (KCU Troi/zcu'tis ai'rots V />a/
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 185 
 
 fl, and so the writer here, if perhaps the passage from LXX. 
 did not hover before his mind. At all events a firm, powerful 
 and strict government of the hostile heathen is meant. 
 
 And I will give him tJie morning star. The exact meaning of 
 these words is not without difficulty; xxii. 16 describes Christ 
 himself as 6 da-rrjp 6 A.a//,7r/3os 6 TT/DUHVOS. Accordingly, Yitringa, 
 Wolf, Vogel, take the meaning here = me ipsum ei dabo, myself 
 as the true morning star ; which is not at all likely, since this 
 designation of the Messiah had not appeared before. Eichhorn 
 views it as a grammatical anomaly, airrw accus. O.VTOV = I will 
 make him a shining morning star. But this is too harsh; 
 besides, one would not expect the article with it. Ewald* 
 supposes it to be explained thus : " to give the morning star " 
 means here, to impart the splendour of the morning star, 
 that splendour which the Messiah himself enjoys ; so also De 
 Wette. More probably it should be explained in comparison 
 with 2 Peter i. 19, to which Andreas already refers, by taking 
 the morning star as the forerunner and announcer of the clear 
 day = I will make the morning star dawn upon him, cause the 
 dawn of salvation to arise after the night of affliction. So also 
 Victorin : stella matutina noctem fugat, lucem annuntiat i.e. diei 
 initium. Zlillig very unnaturally understands the king of Babylon 
 by the morning star, according to Isaiah xiv. 13, and here the 
 king of new Babylon, the last and most terrible of the Jewish 
 kings to be expected, Antichrist, who shall also surrender to the 
 conqueror and be made subject. 
 
 Verse 29. Different from the three preceding epistles, this 
 and the three following close with the words : He that hath an 
 ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches since 
 the announcement of what should fall to the lot of the conqueror 
 had preceded, whilst it follows these words in the three first 
 epistles. 
 
 * So also in the Jalirb. d. bibl. W. viii. 1856, p. 98 =. make him shine as the 
 morning star ; where he thinks that the words belong after iii. 5. Now too in 
 Johannes Apocalypse, 1862, p. 145.
 
 186 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 5. Ch. iii. 1 6. Epistle to Sardis. 
 
 Sardis, south of Thyatira, at one time the very rich capital of 
 Lydia, residence of Croesus and the Lydian kings before him, on 
 the river Pactolus, at the foot of Mount Tmolus. Destroyed by 
 an earthquake about the year A.D. 20, it was again rebuilt in 
 gorgeous style with the assistance of Tiberius. A Christian 
 church here is first mentioned in the Apocalypse ; at that time 
 its members do not appear to have been distinguished for zeal 
 toward the faith or purity of conduct. Under Marcus Aurelius 
 (about 170), the apologist Melito was bishop there. The town 
 was destroyed by wars in the middle ages, especially by Tamer- 
 lane's troops, and by several earthquakes. An earthquake in 1595 
 was specially destructive to the district. In the year 1671, the 
 chaplain of the English factory at Smyrna, Smith, who visited 
 the places where the seven apocalyptic churches existed (Epis- 
 tolae dues, etc. Oxford, 1672, 8), found there a Turkish mosque 
 and a few Christians. At present, Sart is a miserable Turkoman 
 village of clay huts, but with considerable ruins, both of the 
 heathen and Christian periods. Of the former are remains of the 
 old acropolis and a temple of Cybele ; of the latter, two churches 
 (see Schubert, I. pp. 342 351). Lindsay found in the district, in 
 1816, a small village, Tater-Kony, with about forty Christian in- 
 habitants and a Christian church. 
 
 Verse 1. These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God 
 (see on i. 4) and the seven stars (i. 16). I know thy works, that thou 
 hast a name = that thou art good enough for one to believe and 
 say of thee (conip., on 6Vo//,a ex etv > Herod, vii. 138, fj Se 
 
 fj /3a<T6A.ecus, ovo/ia p.ev efye ^ s *"" A$ryvas eAawei, 
 
 Trjv 'EAAaSa) ; that thou livest and yet art dead ; both in a 
 spiritual sense ; the church passed for a Christian one, but there 
 was no true Christian life in it. Hence nothing is said here of 
 the virofjiovtj which it had shown, nor of the 0Atyis which it had 
 endured, through the fire of which it had passed and been tried. 
 Verse 2. Be watchful, rouse thyself from thy sleep of death, 
 and be continually watchful, prepared to receive the Son of Man.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 187 
 
 And strengthen the things which remain. The reading is very 
 uncertain ; the received text has, a /AeAAei aTrodavelv, that are ready 
 to die. Instead of this, there are several readings ; the most pro- 
 bable, from external testimony, is that adopted by Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf, a eptXXov a.Tro6aviv, according to A.C. 8 
 cursive, Syr. Copt. Vulg. Andr. Areth. Primas. ; and this is also 
 approved by Bengel in the Gnomon, meaning : what until now 
 was about to die, namely, those parts of the church which had 
 not entirely succumbed to death, but till now appeared to be 
 near it. This would fiot perhaps refer to the members of the 
 church of Sardis itself, who were not wholly dead, but to other 
 parties in the church which were about to die ; the Christian 
 community at Sardis should try to wake up these once more, and 
 strengthen them in the living faith. Others have, a e'jueAAes 
 cbro/SaAAeiv (B. 31 cursive, Ar. Pol. Compl.). That would mean, 
 strengthen (to thyself) the other things which thou still hast and 
 appearest on the point of losing. In the same sense substantially 
 Ewald reads, and Bengel, Gnomon, 1st ed., and New Testament 
 also inclines, a l/xeAAes cbroflaveiv, the things which remain, in 
 respect of which it is to be feared that you are dying, that you 
 lose not by death the virtues that have remained to you till now. 
 But that would be too harsh grammatically, and has no sure 
 basis in external evidence as it appears. The most probable 
 reading is that of Griesbach and Lachmann. 
 
 For I have not found thy works perfect before God ; that is, 
 not such as correspond to the measure demanded by God ; they 
 appear too light in the divine scale. Comp. iv. 12, where the 
 received 7re7rA?/pa>/x,evot (Lachmann, 7rrA?7po<o/Dr?yuevoi) stands in 
 reference to men with reAeioi (t'va O-T^TC reAeioi KCU 7re7rA?j/3W/xv04 
 ev TravTi 6eX.rjiJ.aTi. Otov). John Xvii. 13, yapa. TreTrAr/pw/Aevr/, and SO 
 
 in the New Testament frequently. 
 
 Verse 3. Remember, tlierefore, be mindful, how thou hast received 
 and heard, namely, the evangelical doctrine from which thou 
 expectest thy salvation, and which thou therefore must not allow to 
 die or perish in thee : ci'A^as and ^Kowas are quite the same here.
 
 188 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 And holdfast and repent; if, therefore, thou wilt not watch, I 
 will come (on thee) as a thief, and thou shalt not know, without 
 thy knowing, what hour I will come upon thee. On this simile, 
 comp. Matt. xxiv. 42 44 ; 1 Thess. v. 4. 
 
 Verse 4. But thou hast (still) a few names in Sardis (ovo/xara, 
 according to a peculiar usage for persons where their number is 
 
 Spoken J SO XL 13, aTre/crav^crav ovo/iara dvdpiaTTfav ^lAiaSes ITTTOI. 
 Acts i. 15, rjv 8e o^Aos ovo/xarwv ri TO airro a>s e/carov ciKO(riv), who 
 
 have not defiled their garments. As the whiteness- and purity of 
 garments are a symbol of man's holiness and inward purity (comp. 
 verse 18, xix. 8), so the dirty garment denotes not merely 
 mourning, but is also the symbol of guilt ; thus Zech. iii. 3 sqq. 
 Accordingly, when it is said that they have not defiled their 
 garments or stained them, it is meant that they kept them- 
 selves pure from the defilement of sins. Comp. Thargum on 
 Eccles. ix. 8 (wear at all times white clothes = be continually 
 joyful) : omni tempore vestes tuse albse sint ab omni immunditie 
 peccati. 
 
 And they shall walk with me in white garments, for they are 
 worthy ; in white garments, as saints, priests and angels ; comp. 
 vii. 9, 13, vi. 11. 
 
 Verse 5. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white 
 raiment (Tre/H/JaAAeo-flcu with ei/ rtvi, also iv. 4, and twice LXX.; 
 elsewhere usually with the accusative, as also frequently in our 
 book itself). 
 
 And I will not Not his name out of the book of life, will 
 leave it in the number of those who belong to life eternal; 
 according to a figure, frequently occurring in the Bible, taken 
 from the institution of an earthly state, where the names of the 
 citizens alive are registered in a book, and blotted out at their 
 death. For our expression comp. particularly Ps. Ixix. 29, 
 
 a? (LXX., fa 
 
 And I will confess his name before my Fatlier and before his 
 angels, acknowledge him as belonging to me. Comp. Matt. x. 32,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 189 
 
 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I 
 confess (not deny) also before my Father which is in heaven ; for 
 which Luke xii. 8 has, The Son of Man will confess him before 
 the angels of God ; comp. ib. ix. 26. 
 
 Verse 6. He that hath an ear, let him hear what tlu Spirit 
 saith unto the churches ; comp. ii. 25. 
 
 6. Verses 7 13. Epistle to Philadelphia. 
 
 An important town of Lydia, about five German miles south- 
 east of Sardis, also at the foot of the Mount Tmolus ; it got its 
 name from its founder, the Pergamenian king Attains Phila- 
 delphus, brother of Eumenes. It has often suffered from earth- 
 quakes. A Christian church there is mentioned only in the 
 Apocalypse. As to numbers, it appears not to have been im- 
 portant, but to have kept its faith, especially in contests with 
 the unbelieving Jews. Among the Letters of Ignatius is found 
 one to the church at Philadelphia. At a later period this town 
 of Asia Minor resisted the attacks of the Turks longest, until it 
 was conquered, 1392, by Bajased I. At present it is called 
 Allahscheher, where a church of Greek Christians of about fifty 
 families* still exists, with some small chapels and considerable 
 ruins of an older church, and of the Byzantine walls and castle. 
 (Rosenm. bibl. Alterthk. I. II. pp. 181 sqq., 233 sqq. ; Schubert, 
 I. pp. 353355.) 
 
 Verse 7. These things saith he that is holy, he that is true 
 (comp. i. 5, 6 /za/orvs 6 TTIO-TOS), he that hath the key of David, lie 
 that openeth, with this key, and no man shutteth, none other 
 daring or able to shut, and shutteth and no man openeth ov 
 
 avotyovros ovSeis KAetei, ov xAetovTOS oi58eis avotyei. This alludes to 
 
 Is. xxii. 22, where Jehovah appoints one Eliakim as overseer of 
 the royal palace in Jerusalem ; whereupon it is said, " and the 
 key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder, so that 
 he shall open, and none shall shut ; and he shall shut and none 
 
 * According to Lindsay, there were then living about one thousand Greek Chris- 
 tians, with five large churches.
 
 190 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 shall open." When the key of David is named instead in our 
 passage, the meaning probably is, that belonging to David, the 
 key carried by him ; David is viewed as the regent of God's 
 people, and as a type of the Messiah, the second David, who 
 carries this key and has power over the kingdom of God, viz. 
 without anybody preventing him, he has the power to receive 
 into and to exclude from it ; comp. Matt. xvi. 19, KCU Swo-w o-ot 
 
 ras /cXeis rrjs /JcuriAetas TWV ovpav&v. 
 
 Verse 8. / know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an 
 open door, and no man can shut it. The image of opening the 
 door appears frequently for the opening of space to Christian 
 teachers in spreading the gospel ; 1 Cor. xvi. 9 ; 2 Cor. ii. 12 ; 
 CoL iv. 13. Accordingly, many interpreters, as Grot., Vitringa, 
 Ewald, De Wette, Ebrard, understand it here in the sense of, 
 " I give thee opportunity to extend the kingdom to others also." 
 But we should then least of all expect the prseterite SeSw/ca. 
 Verse 9 also, to which appeal is made for confirmation of this 
 interpretation, does not support it, for there the subject is not 
 the conversion of the false Jews, but rather their being put to 
 fihame. It is much more likely, with other interpreters, for 
 example Hengstenberg and Eichhorn, to refer it to the opening 
 of 'the door through which this church itself got access to the 
 kingdom of God, without anybody being able to take from 
 it participation in the kingdom ; comp. Acts xiv. 27, on rjvoie 
 {o $eos) TOIS fOvecri dvpav TTIO-TCWS. 
 
 For thou hast (only) a little strength, referring without doubt 
 to the smallness of the church, as well as the unimportant posi- 
 tion of its members externally, and hast (yet) kept my word, my 
 doctrine, and liast not denied my name. 
 
 Verse 9. A manifold anakoluthon occurs here. The verb 
 
 SiSdifJLt is = M?iriD, I give, make, viz. TOVS K rfjs crwaywyrjs rov 
 
 a-a.ra.va.. Instead of TWV Aeydvrwv, the accusative (corresponding 
 to the TOVS omitted) should properly stand, TOVS Aeyovras ; the 
 genitive, less exact for the sense, is caused by the similar case 
 preceding it in rijs o-waywy^s K. A. But the 85a>/u is afterwards
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 191 
 
 taken up again in the iro?o-o> CHJTOVS, on account of the length of 
 the members intervening. Behold, I will make them of the 
 synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do 
 lie (= who wish to make themselves appear falsely as Jews, as 
 the true people of God ; comp. the same designation, ii. 9) ; 
 behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and 
 to know that I have loved thee. Consequently, I will so glorify 
 myself in thee, my true church, that even the unbelievers among 
 the Jews, who now persecute and oppose thee, shall humble 
 themselves before thee, shall recognize thy sovereignty ; comp. 
 ii. 26 sqq., where dominion over the heathen is promised to the 
 conqueror ; comp. as well, Is. xlix. 23, Ix. 14. 
 
 Verse 10. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, 
 which should probably be taken, according to the remarks made 
 on i. 9, the command to wait with patience for me, my appear- 
 ing ; comp. 2 Thess. iii. 5, the Lord direct your hearts into the 
 love of God, and as TYJV VTTOIWV-TIV TOV XpwrTou. Therefore it is 
 not necessary, with Beza, Vitringa and others, to apply the /*ov 
 to the whole conception, the command of constancy given by 
 
 me = TOV AoyOV fJLOV TOV Tr}$ V7TO[Jl.Ovfj<S. 
 
 I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which stiall 
 come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon earth ; re- 
 ferring to the time of great tribulation preceding the coming of 
 the Lord, which will overtake all the inhabitants of the earth and 
 try them. The construction rrjpflv *K TWOS, which is also found 
 in John xvii. 15 (IK TOV Trovypov), may be viewed as a pregnant 
 one = Trjpetv K. pveo-Oai IK. rtvo?. The idea of deliverance from 
 the evil is also contained in it. 
 
 Verse 11. I come, quickly, hold fast, 'keep, what thou hast (see 
 at ii. 25 where the same occurs), that no man take thy crown, the 
 crown which is now thy due ; comp. ii. 10. 
 
 Verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the 
 temple of my God, and he shall go no more out ; the subject of the 
 latter member is probably not the pillar, but the conqueror him- 
 self. It follows from this member, that the former chiefly means
 
 192 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 that such a one will receive a place as sure as it is distinguished 
 in the Church of God, here compared to a temple ; at the same 
 time it includes the idea that he himself will essentially serve in 
 upholding the building ; comp. Gal. ii. 9, ot SOKOWTCS a-rvXoi eu/at. 
 Whether, as some interpreters have supposed, there is an allusion. 
 here to the two solid and brilliant pillars which stood at the 
 entrance of the Temple of Solomon, and were called Jachim and 
 Boaz (1 Kings vii. 15 21 ; 2 Chron. iii. 15 17), is extremely 
 doubtful. One might rather suppose, with Ewald, that the writer 
 had in his mind Is. xxii. 22 sqq., where it is said (verse 23) of 
 the new keeper, that Jehovah will fasten him as a nail to a sure 
 place, so that the image used there would be here ennobled. 
 
 egepxerai here = fK/3d\XeTai, as for example, Mark ix. 29, &c. 
 
 And I will write upon him the name of my God, to designate 
 him as belonging to my God, as a true citizen of God's kingdom. 
 
 And the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, 
 which cometh down out of heaven from my God ; namely, I will 
 mark him as entitled to this seat of the blessed. On such designa- 
 tion of the New Jerusalem, see xxi. 2 (*. TT)V iroXtv r^v ajiav 
 
 'lepovcraXrjp, Kaivrjv eiSov Kara^Saivovcrav K TOV ovpavov diro TOV 6eov). 
 
 10 (similarly). In naming the New Jerusalem, a reference per- 
 haps occurs to Ezek. xlviii. 35, according to which the name of 
 the New Jerusalem would be HSK? nlrP ; so Vitringa conjectures. 
 
 And I will write upon him my new name, is probably meant 
 of the name which the Son of Man shall have written (on his 
 forehead) at his appearance in battle with Antichrist ; agreeably 
 to xix. 12, of which name it is said that no one knows it except 
 himself; comp. at ii. 17. 
 
 Verse 13. 
 
 7. Verses 14 22. Epistle to Laodicea. 
 
 Laodicea was a very considerable commercial town in Phrygia, 
 the capital of Phrygia Pacatiana, on the Lycus, situate in the 
 vicinity of Colossae and Hierapolis. It received this name from 
 king Antiochus II. Theos, in hon'our of his wife Laodice ; having
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 193 
 
 been called at an earlier period Diospolis, then Rhoas. We 
 learn for the first time the existence of a Christian church, or at 
 least of a number of Christians in this town from the Epistle to 
 the Colossians (ii. 1, iv. 13, 15). Probably the gospel had reached 
 it through Epaphras, or other men of that district, who had 
 come into contact with Paul at Ephesus or elsewhere. It may 
 be seen from Col. iv. 16 that Paul intended to send an Epistle to 
 Laodicea along with the Colossian one. Probably that is our so- 
 called Epistle to the Ephesians, which was originally written to 
 the Laodiceans and other Christians of the district. The fol- 
 lowers of the Lord consisted mostly of heathens. About A.I). 60, 
 Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake, and appears to have 
 recovered again very soon ; an event to which Tacitus refers, 
 Ann. xiv. 27 (eodem anno ex illustrious Asise urbibus Laodicea 
 tremore terras prolapsa, nullo a nobis remedio propriis remediis 
 revaluit). In the apocalyptic Epistle the church appears to rely 
 upon its wealth, but to be very lukewarm for the kingdom of 
 God ; probably it consisted in part of the wealthier inhabitants. 
 The place is now called Eski-Hissar (old castle), is inhabited by 
 shepherds; and ruins of antiquity are still to be found there, 
 partly in a good state of preservation. 
 
 Verse 14. These things saith the Amen, d^rjv is elsewhere 
 used in the New Testament as in Hebrew "JBS adverbially = 
 d\-r)0tas. It is here put for a substantive = he in whom is all 
 truth; comp. Is. Ixv. 16, ?EN Tf?.H. It is explained by what 
 follows, the true and faithful witness; on which see i. 5, 6 fj,dprv<s o 
 
 TTKTTOS. 
 
 The beginning of the creation of God, is doubtless not to be 
 explained, with many interpreters, according to i. 5, 6 ^WTO-TOKOS 
 TWV vfKpwv ; nor, with others, does the KTMTI? mean the new crea- 
 tion, the church ; but with Col. i. 1 5, TT/XOTOTOKOS Traces KTto-ecos, 
 as designating him who first proceeded from the Heavenly 
 Father, who existed before all creatures, namely, as Logos, as the 
 Word of God, therefore = 6 TT/SWTOS, ii. 8, i. 17. 
 
 Verse 15. / knmv thy works, that thou art neither hot nor cold ; 
 
 o
 
 194 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 I would thou wert cold or hot. They had accepted the gospel, 
 had not repudiated it, but without the zeal to do or to suffer in 
 any degree for it, to undergo any denial and sacrifice for it. 
 Had they been once very lukewarm with respect to it from 
 want of knowledge, it might the more readily be expected that 
 after the desired knowledge they would be roused to a lively 
 zeal on its behalf. Instead of the received efys, we must read 
 qs, with the Compl., Bengel, Lachmann, &c., according to C. 31 
 cursive, Andr. Areth. ; as 6'^eAov with the indicative (of the 
 aorist (1 Cor. iv. 8 ; 2 Cor. xi. 1), is treated as a particle of 
 wishing, in the manner of later Greek ; the Attic for it would 
 have been, eW J<eAes eTvai. Griesbach has written ys as sub- 
 junctive. Yet the subjunctive with o<eAov hardly occurs; but 
 the optative (as the received reading is) is not at all to be found 
 (according to Ewald) in the Apocalypse. 
 
 Verse 16. So' as the affair at present stands with thee, it is 
 said again in explanation, because tJiou art lukewarm, and neither 
 cold nor hot, I will spue, thee out of my mouth; I/ACO-CU, properly 
 evomere, to give out by vomiting, such as tepid water; the 
 figurative expression alludes to that and means, I will expel thee 
 with displeasure from my society. 
 
 Verse 17. on, in the beginning, might be joined with what 
 precedes as a causal particle, because thou sayest, &c. But it is 
 more likely to be (as verse 10) the beginning of the protasis, of 
 which verse 18 forms the apodosis, because thou sayest, thinkest 
 with thyself, and boastest of it ; / am rich and increased with 
 goods, and have need of nothing, I want nothing ; they boasted 
 of their earthly wealth; also of spiritual wealth, according to 
 other interpreters, as De Wette and Hengstenberg, i.e. of their 
 virtue, piety ; and did not consider how poor indeed they were 
 in true goods, those alone which are of value before God. Con- 
 versely it is said of the church at Smyrna, ii. 9, oTSd a-ov . . 
 
 TIJV TTTWXfiav, dAAa TrAowios ci. 
 
 And knowest not tliat thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, 
 and blind, and naked. Verse 18. / counsel thee to buy of me gold
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 195 
 
 tried in the fire, that tJwu mayest be rich. The emphasis is here 
 especially on the Trap e/xov. The treasures which have true value, 
 truly tend to adorn man, can only come from the Lord. They 
 are here described as gold made red-hot, and so tried by fire, 
 refined and purified. On 7re7/>o>/zevos, comp. Prov. x. 21, apyvpos 
 TreTrv/Dw^ei/os, and so the verb frequently stands for f]"}^ ; comp. 
 
 1 Pet. 1. 7, xpva-iov . . . 810. Trvpos 8oKi[j,a6{JLvov. The fK is = ^P, 
 
 on the part of fire = heated, tried by fire. 
 
 And white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the 
 shame of thy nakedness do not appear. Nakedness is the laying 
 aside of all true Christian virtue, of all that clothes the Chris- 
 tian and becomes him ; as white clothes are the symbol of 
 purity and innocence. 
 
 And anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see, 
 mayest be able to see ; now, in considering thyself rich, thou 
 provest thyself blind, wanting in proper knowledge of thyself, 
 and of thy deficiency and need, therefore thou requirest from 
 me the means of making thine eye clearer, in order to see better. 
 KoXXovpiov, for which usually KoXXvpLov, Latin collyrium, properly 
 a diminutive of KoXXvpa (a kind of bread or cake of oval form), 
 means a mass of round oblong form, used as eye-salve, both as 
 an ornament and means of cure. The word is also adopted by 
 the later Jews, V"iVf7 and fTniVf?. The word of God is often 
 described as such by them, referring to Ps. xix, 8, " The com- 
 mandment of God is pure, enlightening the eyes." 
 
 Verse 19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, probably 
 an allusion to Prov. iii. 12 ; comp. Heb. xii. 6. 
 
 Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Instead of the received 
 ffXwo-ov, we must read fr'jXeve, with Lachmann, Tischendorf 
 (according to A. B. C. 23 cursive, Arethas), which being here the 
 rarer, is probably the original form. The meaning is, be no 
 longer so lukewarm as before, but be zealous for that which 
 thou thyself knowest to be right. 
 
 Verse 20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if any man 
 hear my voice and open the door, then (Griesbach as well as the 
 
 02
 
 196 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Compl. and others have KCU before eio-eAevo-opu, after about 
 22 codd. min. ; the apodosis would then begin in the Hebrew 
 way, but the oldest witnesses have it not) / will come in to him, 
 and ivill sup, dine, with him, and he with me. The Lord is here 
 represented as going about and inquiring which of the members 
 of the Church proves himself his friend by listening to his voice, 
 and promises to unite himself in the most intimate manner with 
 such an one ; as the host's friend who finds a welcome reception 
 from the host. Instead of Kpovav (TT)V 6vpav), KOTTTCIV is more 
 usual in Attic, from the knocking at the door, which was made 
 by him outside who sought entrance. When asked by the door- 
 keeper, he mentioned his name, and made himself known as an 
 inmate or friend (^o^en/ is used of the knocking, by which some- 
 body who is within, when he opens the door, warns him who is 
 standing outside to -withdraw). 
 
 The /ecu auras fter e/ioC alludes probably to participation in the 
 happiness of the Messianic kingdom, which is often compared 
 to a feast, a marriage -feast ; comp. xix. 9, /xa/capioi ot eis TO Seiirvov 
 
 TOV dpvtov KfK\r]fj.evoi. 
 
 Verse 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me 
 on my throne, that he may take part in my kingdom and my 
 sovereignty ; comp. ii. 26 sqq., xxii. 5. 
 
 Even as I also overcame, and am set down = as I also, after 
 having conquered, obtained the victory in battle with the world 
 (comp. John xvi. 33, Jyw 1/0/1/07*0, TOV /cooy>v), have placed myself 
 with or beside my Father on his throne. Hence in xxii. 1, it is 
 Called, 6 Opovos TOV Qeov /ecu TOV apviov. 
 
 Verse 22. 
 
 So far these apocalyptic epistles, and the description of the 
 appearance of the Son of Man, who causes them to be written to 
 the churches by the seer. This appearance now vanishes. The 
 two following chapters form an introduction to the revelation of 
 the future itself afterwards given. First
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 197 
 
 Ch. iv. 
 
 The theatre is presented on which this revelation is said to 
 take place, viz. heaven, with the throne of God and its sur- 
 roundings. Thither the seer is now carried in spirit. For the 
 following description in general, namely, the events and relations 
 of the future occurring in view of the seer in heaven, we should 
 compare an idea of the later Jews, that God the Lord causes all 
 that is to happen upon earth to pass in heaven before his eyes 
 and those of his angels. Compare Maimonides, More nevochim, 
 ii. 6 : Sapieiites nostri ad id, quod Gen. i. 26, xi. 7, in nostra lege 
 legimus, ita scribunt ; si ita loqui licet, non facit Deus quidquam, 
 donee illud intuitus fuerit in familia superiori. 
 
 Verse 1. After this I looked, and behold a door was opened in 
 Jieaven, through which the seer, as it were, as promised in 
 verse 2, might ascend to heaven, and be witness of what hap- 
 pened there. Elsewhere, too, the act of opening heaven serves 
 to denote an ecstatic condition, whereby one is enabled to behold 
 God and receive a revelation of divine things. Comp. Ezek. i. 1, 
 It happened that the heavens opened, and I saw visions of God. 
 Acts x. 11, vii. 56; Matt. iii. 16. 
 
 And the first, = earlier, voice which I heard was as it were of 
 a trumpet talking to me (after i. 10), saying (instead of the received 
 Aeyotxra, Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, have Aeywv, 
 according to A. B. 25 cursive ; approved also by Mill and Wet- 
 stein, which is explained by supposing that the writer thinks of 
 the angel from whom the voice came). 
 
 Come up hither, into heaven (dvd(3a, so also among the Attics, 
 instead of the usual dvaft^Oi, imper. aor. 2 (av^v),from dvafiaivciv', 
 see Winer, xiv. 1). 
 
 And I will show thee things which must be hereafter. 
 
 Verse 2. (And) immediately I was in the spirit ; I fell into 
 ecstasy ; and by means of it, he intends to say, not in a bodily 
 manner.^ I was transported into heaven. 
 
 And behold a throne was set in heaven, was placed, as 
 frequently = perf. passive of TiOwai, positum esse.
 
 198 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 And one was sitting on the, throne, one sat. This is, as we infer 
 from the following description, God the Father, whom the seer 
 does not mention intentionally, but only represents in his appear- 
 ance and leaves it to be guessed. So also Dan. vii. 9, where he 
 is beheld as the Ancient of Days, sitting on the throne that is 
 setup ; and Ezek. i. 26 sqq. Besides this, compare with the fol- 
 lowing description the Theophanies in Is. vi. ; Ezek. i. and x. ; 
 1 Kings xxii. 19. 
 
 Verse 3. And lie, that sat was to look upon (opdo-ei = ngH?^?, in 
 appearance, to look on) like a jasper and a sardine stone ; both 
 are precious stones, named here in reference to their lustre ; 
 jasper is of different colours ; the best is purple, probably the 
 one meant here ; the o-a/oStos, which the LXX. have for the Hebrew 
 DTJN, is a red transparent stone, also called cornelian ; it bore the 
 name o-apSios because it was first found at Sardis, according to 
 Pliny, H. N". xxxvii. 7. Compare besides Ezek. i. 27, where 
 Jehovah appears as fire to look upon, surrounded by splendour. 
 
 And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like 
 unto an emerald ; comp. Ezek. i. 28, " As the appearance of the 
 bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appear- 
 ance of the brightness round about (round the divine majesty)." 
 Here the rainbow round the divine throne should probably be 
 considered a sign of divine grace and mercy; comp. Gen. ix. 13 
 sqq. Of the colours which are united in the natural rainbow, 
 green is here named, that of the emerald, probably to moderate 
 the dazzling fiery form of God ; as Pliny says, H. N. xxxvii. 5, 
 that when the eyes are blinded by any other sight, that of the 
 emerald restores them again. 
 
 Verse 4. And round about the throne (of God) were four-and- 
 twenty seats ; and upon the seats I saw four-and-twenty elders 
 sitting, clothed in white raiment ; and they had on tJieir heads 
 crowns of gold. These form, as it were, assessors of the divine 
 judgment ; as it is an idea of the later Jews that God has made 
 for himself consessum seniorum suorum, whereby they explain 
 in part the passage in Is. xxiv. 23 (when the Lord of Hosts
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 199 
 
 shall reign in Mount Sion and in Jerusalem, and before his 
 ancients gloriously, TQ3 V3|7T T?.3l). The number twenty-four is 
 perhaps chosen with reference to the number of the tribes of 
 Israel, this number being doubled with relation to the reception 
 of the heathen; perhaps borrowed also from the twenty-four 
 classes of priests and their overseers. The white garments refer 
 to their pure and priestly character ; the crowns, to their partici- 
 pation in divine government and judgeship. 
 
 Verse 5. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thun- 
 derings and voices. The </><ovcu are explained by the fipovral ; in 
 the same manner, </>ovcu Kal (Bpovral, viii. 5, xi. 19, xvi. 18. We 
 find in the Old Testament also manifestations of Jehovah gene- 
 rally accompanied by thunder and lightning; comp. Exod. xix. 
 16, Ps. 1. 3, xcvii. 1 sqq., xviii. 14. 
 
 And there were seven lamps of /ire burning before the throne, 
 which are, which symbolize, the seven spirits of God ; comp. i. 
 4 12 sqq., ii. 1. 
 
 Verse 6. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto 
 crystal. Before OdXaa-a-a, should be read, with Compl., Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., ws, according to A. 37 
 cursive, Syr. Copt. Vulg. Areth/ Victorin, &c., Latin Fathers. The 
 floor which extended before the divine throne is so designated in 
 reference to its clearness, brightness, transparency. It is also in 
 accordance with an Old Testament idea, that over the firmament 
 where the divine throne rests is the heavenly ocean, the water 
 above the firmament (Gen. i. 7; Ps. civ. 3 ; comp. Exod. xxiv. 10). 
 Moses, Aaron and the elders beheld the God of Israel, and under 
 his feet there was as it were a work of transparent sapphire and 
 as heaven itself in clearness. Ezek. i. 22, upon the heads of the 
 beasts (the cherubim bearing the divine chariot-throne) was seen 
 the form of a firmament, as the appearance of crystal, terrible, 
 stretched out over their heads. 
 
 And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were 
 four beasts full of eyes before and behind. By these (wots we have 
 to think of four cherubim, whose description here is chiefly bor-
 
 200 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 rowed from that of Ezek. i. and x., where they, four in number, 
 appear as bearers of the divine chariot-thrones, and are also de- 
 signated as wa, rri*n. They unite in themselves the form of the 
 four chief and strongest living beings upon earth man, the lion, 
 the bull and the eagle in such a manner, however, that in Ezek. 
 this fourfold form appears united in each ; for there, each cherub 
 has four faces, that of a man, that of a lion, of a bull, and of an 
 eagle; whilst in the following description this fourfold figure is 
 divided among the four cherubim. Part of our description is 
 also borrowed from that of the seraphim in Is. vi. 2, 3. It does 
 not appear very clearly how we are to conceive the position and 
 relation of these cherubim to the divine throne. A few, as Ewald 
 and Eichhorn, suppose them the same as in Ezek, bearers of the 
 throne, so that with the hinder part of their body they supported 
 the throne on its different sides and were concealed under it 
 (ev /teo-y TOV dpovov), while they looked away with their faces 
 toward the four quarters of heaven (/cv/cAy TOV dpovov). But it is 
 more likely, from the expression, that the throne formed a semi- 
 circle, the fore part open, a half-moon, within which two of the 
 cherubim stood (Iv ju.6o-o>), and the other two at the back side. 
 This idea of xwA.^ is confirmed by the way in which, in verse 8, 
 KVK\69ev stands in antithesis to ea-uOev. So also De Wette in his 
 Commentary. As to the cherubim's many eyes, see Ezek. x. 12, 
 according to which their whole body, their backs and their hands 
 and their wings, with the wheels (of the carriage), were full of 
 eyes round about. This serves to denote the continual watchful- 
 ness of the cherubim, by which quality they appeared fit to 
 guard Paradise (Gen. iii. 24). 
 
 Verse 7. And the first least was like a lion, and the second 
 least like . a /tocrxos ; the latter does not here mean a calf, ]but a 
 young, powerful bull, as it often stands in the LXX. for "Via? ; 
 e.g. Ezek. i. 10. 
 
 The third least had the face of a man (so Griesbach, TO TT/DOO-WTTOV 
 more probably, with Lachmaim, Tischendorf, T. TT/D. ws 
 , according to A. 3 cursive, Syr. Ar. Copt. Vulg. ; received
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 201 
 
 text, ws av0/>o>3ros). The meaning, at all events, is, that it had not 
 properly the form of a man, but only a face like a human one. 
 
 And the fourth least was like a flying eagle. The epithet 
 should not be particularly pressed, being merely a general desig- 
 nation of the nature of the eagle compared with the before-men- 
 tioned animals. 
 
 Verse 8. And the four leasts had each of them six wings, full of 
 eyes round about and within. In many respects the text is not 
 quite certain here. Instead of the received ef^ov, Griesbach, Lach- 
 mann and others have e\ov, as already the Compl., Bengel, &c. 
 (according to B. 21 cursive ; e'xwi/, A. 6 cursive, also speaks for it, 
 which Tischendorf has accepted, but which is probably but an 
 accidental mistake in writing). "E^ov, a partic. neuter, sing., must 
 be considered as introduced by the ev KaO' lv, if it is not meant 
 by the writer as a finite verb for uypv or eo-xov. The same critics, 
 as well as Tischendorf and also Compl., Bengel, &c., have ye/Aovo-i 
 instead of ye^ovra, after A.B. 36 cursive, Vulg. Andr. Areth. But 
 this perhaps is not meant as indicative, but as a participle, although 
 the dative would then be very incorrect. In any case it is pro- 
 bable, as respects the meaning, that the abundance of eyes spoken 
 of does not, as Ewald, Ziillig, De Wette, Hengstenberg and Ebrard 
 think, refer to the cherubim themselves, where it would be a 
 mere repetition of what was already said in verse 6 ; but to their 
 wings. The same thing is mentioned of the wings in Ezek. x. 12 ; 
 the KVK\66ev KGU eo-uOev is then more suitable = round about, 
 outwardly, from without ; and from within, on the side of the 
 wings turned to the body. As to the number of the wings, the 
 cherubim in Ezek. i. 6 have only four ; here the number six is 
 probably borrowed from the seraphim in Is. vi. 2, of which the 
 following description reminds us : And they rest not day and night, 
 saying = without ceasing, they cry day and night, Holy, holy, 
 holy, is the Lord God Almighty (Is. 1. c. verse 3, lP'np T H^Tf? Utilft 
 
 nifcav rnir:. 
 
 Which was, and is, and is to come; comp. i. 4. 
 Verses 9 11. K. 6'rav Swo-oucri . . TrecroGvTcu . . KCU /3aAoucrt. That
 
 202 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 futures are put here must be considered inexactness in the de- 
 scription. The aorist or present should have been properly put 
 to represent what happened and that repeatedly, either in this 
 vision before the eyes and ears of the seer ; or what happened 
 repeatedly in this circle of phenomena, both before and after 
 this vision. In Hebrew, the future (imperfect) would be used. 
 Yet the future should not be considered here merely as a hebra- 
 izing inaccuracy in the use of tenses, as many interpreters think, 
 such as Hengstenberg, Ebrard, even Liicke (2nd ed. p. 451) ; but 
 only that the writer, as was already assumed in the general In- 
 troduction, departed from the form of vision, so that he actually 
 thought of what is here stated as something still future, and as 
 something going on for a length of time ; and when = as often 
 as ; so also Winer (6th ed. 40, 6, p. 251). 
 
 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him 
 that sat on the throne, who livethfor ever and ever, (verse 10) tJie 
 four-and-twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, 
 and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns 
 before the throne, conscious of their weakness and unworthiness, 
 conscious that God the Lord is alone Lord, Ruler and Governor, 
 saying, 
 
 Verse 11. Thou art worthy, Lord. Instead of KV/HC, Lach- 
 mann, Tischendorf, &c., have K-upios KCU o #eos fjp.wv, our Lord and 
 God, according to A. B. (others, Kvpie 6 0e6s rj^v), which perhaps 
 is original ; the other having arisen from the idea that Christ is 
 referred to. 
 
 To take, to receive, glory and honour and power, for thou hast 
 created all things, and by thy will (810. with accus., here = 
 genitive, similarly xii. 11 sqq. and also in other writers) tliey 
 were and are created ; comp. Ps. cxlviii. 5, -1^33) rPj!? N^m?. ^a-av 
 and eKTio-Oya-av are here in this connection nearly synonymous. 
 The received text has da-l ; the rjo-av, approved by Mill and ac- 
 cepted by Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, is found in 
 A. B. C. 30 cursive, Copt. Vulg. Areth.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 203 
 
 Ch. V. 
 
 Introduction of the book, which, closed with seven seals, con- 
 tains the future of the world and the church, and a description of 
 the Lamb as the person who is able to open these seals. 
 
 Verse 1. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne 
 (one should rather expect kv, instead of eVt with the accusative. 
 
 But it is similar in XX. 1, tyovro, . . aXvo-iv pryaAr/v ri rr)v x e ^a 
 
 avrov. Perhaps it should be explained thus : the book lay and 
 the roll hung over his outstretched right hand), a book written 
 within and on the back side. For oiria-Oev is found eo>0ev in many 
 cursive and other witnesses, but it is doubtless a later elucidatory 
 emendation. What is meant is, that the book or roll was not 
 written merely on the one side, the inner, but on the other side, 
 the back. Such o-ma-Ooypa^a were rare among the ancients. 
 The same, that is here oVio-flev, is in Juvenal, Sat. i. 6, a tergo 
 scriptus. Ezek. ii. 9, 10, probably lies at the foundation of this 
 idea, where the prophet sees a hand stretched out towards him, 
 and in it a roll of a book (-ipDTfejE), which, when spread out, 
 appears as Tins') D S 3S rQinp written within and on the back side. 
 Sealed with seven seals, and thereby its contents kept closed and 
 concealed. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 34, " Is not this laid up in store 
 with me, and sealed up among my treasures ? " ("^'~>5'S5). Dan. 
 viii. 26, xii. 4, 9. For the rest, it is not quite clear how we are 
 to imagine the form of this book and the external relation of the 
 seven seals to it. At the opening of each of the seven seals 
 individually, a portion of the contents of the book is always 
 brought to view. As it appears, however, as if all the seven seals 
 were already visible at the beginning, we must imagine that 
 they were placed at the corner of the roll, at the knob of the 
 rod, but in such a way as that different parts of the roll were 
 held together by different seals. Otherwise it would be more 
 natural to suppose that the seals in the middle of the rod held 
 or closed up one part of the roll ; or also, because the book con- 
 sisted of seven single rolls over one another, that the seals closed 
 up a single roll. But then they could not all have been visible
 
 204 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 from the beginning, each time ; only one ; whence it must be 
 admitted that the seer did not perceive them immediately, but 
 only learnt the thing from the following discourse of the angel, 
 and anticipated it here. 
 
 Verse 2. And I saw a strong angel ; io-xypbs, as the epithet of 
 an angel, also in x. 1, xviii. 21, is probably meant to indicate 
 his superhuman form; proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is 
 worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof. The aios 
 includes the idea that he is able to do it, since it is bestowed by 
 God only upon him that is worthy; comp. John i. 27 with 
 Matt. iii. 11. 
 
 Verse 3. And no one in heaven (Griesbach adds avw, above, fol- 
 lowing B. 23 cursive, Syr. Copt., perhaps from Exod. xx. 4), nor 
 in earth, neither under the earth = none of all the creatures in 
 the world, according to Exod. 1. c. ; comp. below, verse 3, where 
 ri TTJS SaXao-cnys is added besides, was able to open the book, neither 
 to look thereon, viz. inside it, after opening it to see its contents. 
 For such is without doubt the meaning ; not, as Heinrichs thinks, 
 to look on the book, to endure the sight of it. 
 
 Verse 4. And I wept much (we also say so instead of 
 violently; similarly, iroXXa adverbially, Mark iii. 12, v. 10. 
 Here Compl., Bengel, Lachmann, Tischendorf, have -rroXv, accord- 
 ing to B., about 40 cursive, Andr. Areth.; comp. Luke vii. 47), 
 because no man was found worthy to open the book, neither to look 
 thereon, so that no prospect appeared at hand for him, the seer, 
 to learn anything concerning the important contents of the 
 book. 
 
 Verse 5. And one of the elders, of the number of the twenty- 
 four elders, iv. 4, saith unto me, Weep not ; behold the Lion of the 
 tribe of Judah, the root of David = the Messiah ; in the latter 
 way he is designated, xxii. 16. The Messianic passage, Is. xi. 10, 
 lies at the foundation of this ^ VT)io LXX., 17 ptfa rov 'l&ra-al, 
 where vryD stands for sprout^ and likewise for ptfa. Gen. xlix. 9 
 lies at the foundation of the former designation, where Jacob 
 describes his son Judah as a young lion, in reference to his
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 205 
 
 tribe ; compares him to a lion and a lioness. This is transferred 
 to the Messiah, who as David's sprout belonged to the tribe of 
 Judah. 
 
 Hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals 
 thereof, that is, he has deserved, received as reward, won by his 
 victory over the world (comp. iii. 21) the power and privilege 
 of opening the book. 
 
 Verse 6. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and 
 of the four beasts, and in the midst of the twenty-four elders, stood 
 a Lamb as it had been slain. Ewald explains the iv pe<r<p . . ev 
 ^o-o) = 'prw ^3 = between the throne, together with the four 
 beasts and the twenty-four elders. In the same manner also 
 Ziillig, De Wette and Hengstenberg take the meaning. But 
 after the remarks on the Iv //.eo-y rov Opovov (iv. 6), and the 
 probable form of the throne, this assumption is not exactly 
 necessary. Each Iv ^a-^ may be taken by itself; the Lamb 
 stands inside the half-circle of the throne, and therefore also in 
 the midst of the elders surrounding the throne, likewise sur- 
 rounded by them. So Ebrard rightly. Jesus is described as a 
 Lamb (6 d^vos rov Oeov) by John the Baptist, John i. 29 ; where 
 the representation of the servant of God in Is. liii. 7 lies at the 
 foundation ; comp. 1 Pet. i. 19 ; Acts viii. 32. The d>? r<ay/*evov 
 means that it presented the appearance of a lamb slain, although 
 it lived ; comp., in regard to Nero, xiii. 3. 
 
 With seven heads and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of 
 God, sent forth into all the earth, into all lands. For the latter, 
 comp. Zech. iv. 10, where the seven lamps of the golden candle- 
 stick which the prophet beholds in vision are described as 
 the eyes of Jehovah, which run through the whole earth 
 (V^n - bD5 D^ltth?). The seven spirits of God which the Son 
 of Man has, according to iii. 1, are here symbolized by his seven 
 eyes ; just as they are in iv. 5 by the seven lamps before the 
 divine throne. Seven is chosen as the number of the horns, to 
 be in proportion to the number of the eyes ; it also serves to 
 denote the strength and dominion of the Lamb. Instead of
 
 206 LECTURES OX THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 TO. dTrecrraA/jei/a, Laclimann has aTrecrraA/ievoi, after A., referring 
 to the eyes. Others, aTroo-TeAAo/teva, with or without the article ; 
 yet the received is probably the original reading. 
 
 Verse 7. And he came and took (it ; the received text adds, TO 
 /?i/3Aiov, probably a gloss, as Mill thinks ; omitted by Lachmann, 
 wanting in A. B. 30 cursive, Arm. Aeth.) out of the right hand of 
 him that sat upon the throne; verse 8, and when he had taken 
 the book, the four beasts and twenty and four elders fell down 
 before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials 
 full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. As e^ovTes cKaoros 
 stands here, the meaning .cannot be, as Eichhorn thinks, that 
 part had harps, another part vials of incense. The relative a? 
 does not refer in sense to <iaAas, as De Wette and others 
 assume, but to Ovfjadfiara. The gender is determined by the 
 object, 7r/3oo-evx<u. As to the present symbol, the daily sacri- 
 ficial incense of the priests in the Temple is viewed as causing 
 the prayers of the people standing without to ascend to God. 
 Comp. also below, viii. 3, 4, as well as Ps. cxli. 2, where conversely 
 it is said, " Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, 
 and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice;" which 
 passage, although of a somewhat different kind, may have floated 
 before the mind. 
 
 Verse 9. And tlicy sung a new song (as Enn ~V27, Ps. xxxiii. 3, 
 xl. 4, &c., a new one as it were, because among the old ones 
 there was none sufficiently worthy for the purpose), saying, Thou 
 art worthy to take the 'book, and to open tlie seals thereof: for thou 
 wast slain, allowedst thyself to be slain, and hast redeemed (us) 
 to God by thy blood (ayo/Dav, as in xiv. 3, 4 ; 1 Cor. vi. 20, 
 vii. 23 ; 2 Pet. ii. 1) out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, 
 and nation. According to the received reading with ^as (after 
 TW 0ew), which De Wette, Hengstenberg and Ebrard maintain, 
 the singers designate themselves, and appear themselves as per- 
 fected believers out of different nations. So also in verse 10, 
 according to the received reading of the text, eTrot^o-as ^as and 
 But there, without doubt, avrovs should be read
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 207 
 
 (with Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf and 
 others, after A. B. 40 cursive, Syr. Copt. Aeth. Vulg. Andr.) ; and 
 also the verb in the third person, /3ao-Aevo-own (Griesbach), or 
 more probably fiao-iXevova-i (Compl., Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 probably Mill, after A. and many cursive, Ar. Pol. Copt. 
 Vulg. Andr. Areth. al. lat.). This third person, verse 10, would 
 not, however, be natural, if here, in verse 9, the ^as were 
 genuine ; which is entirely wanting in A. Aeth. In other manu- 
 scripts and witnesses it stands before TW 0e<. Tischendorf and 
 Lachmann, ed. maj., have omitted it. But in fact ^as is in itself 
 somewhat improbable, since not merely the twenty-four elders, 
 but also the four ok, are described as those who sing; and those 
 therefore would be denoted as perfected believers who a short 
 time ago lived as men upon earth, and, according to verse 10, as 
 those who should again reign upon earth. Besides the perfected 
 believers, Christian martyrs appear below at the foot of the 
 altar, vi. 9 sqq. Probably therefore the ^as is spurious, as 
 Ewald and Ziillig think, and came in by means of later 
 transcribers, who wanted an accusative of the object. The mode 
 of writing without ^as, he has redeemed, viz. those who, out of 
 every people, &c., is quite suited to the style of our book ; comp. 
 ii. 10, iii. 9, xi. 9. 
 
 Verse 10. And hast made them unto our God, kings and priests ; 
 see on i. 6. Instead of /foo-iAcis, probably /foo-tAetav should be 
 read in this place (with Bengel, Gnomon, Ewald, Lachmann, 
 Tischendorf ; after A. Copt. Vulg. Cypr. and other Latin Fathers), 
 and they reign shall reign upon earth ; comp. ii. 26 sqq., 
 iii. 21. 
 
 Verse 11. And I beheld and heard (= heard in spirit) the 
 voice of many angels round about the throne, round the semi- 
 circle of the throne, and the leasts and the elders (before ^WVTJV 
 the Compl. has ws, which Ewald supposes to be genuine = 
 videbar mihi audire, in 28 Codd. cursive, Syr. Andr. 1 Areth. 
 Vulg. Cassiod.), and the number of them was ten thousand times 
 ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; after Dan. vii. 10,
 
 208 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 " thousands of thousands ministered here, and ten thousand 
 times ten thousand stood before them." 
 
 Verse 12. Saying with a loud voice, the whole choir, as it 
 were, taking up the song of the elders and cherubim, Worthy is 
 the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
 and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Precisely 
 seven qualities, though not strictly distinct, are here put together 
 with a certain purpose, as in vii. 12 the same seven appear, 
 only in another order, and ^v^purria instead of TTA.OVTOS, all with 
 reference to God the Father. Here the whole is meant to 
 express the idea that the Lamb is worthy of having all the 
 power and all the honour of the Father consigned to him. 
 
 Verse 13. The first m (after 6') and the a before the second 
 rri should probably, according to A. and numerous codd., be ex- 
 punged, with Lachmann, Tischendorf ; in which case the o should 
 be united with the eon, although very distant (after r/?s OaXda-a-rji). 
 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under 
 the earth (in the under- world), and such as are upon the sea (can 
 only mean here = ev ry" OaXaa-a-y ; at all events, the putting of 
 ITTI with the genitive shows that they are supposed to be at the 
 bottom or foundation of the sea), and all that are in them ; the 
 avrots here hardly refers, as G-rotius thinks, and so Hengstenberg, 
 to the beasts and living creatures in the world, but to heaven, 
 the earth and sea ; all the preceding being once more compre- 
 hended in the TO, ev avToi? iravra. It originated perhaps in a re- 
 miniscence of Ps. cxlvi. 6 which made heaven, and earth, the sea : 
 DS~)tl?!r? "b3"n^X although in the TTO.V KTia-pa v r$ ovpavy K. A. 
 another relation is certainly expressed. Ziillig is of opinion that 
 the writer wrote originally : I heard the heavens and the earth 
 and the under-world and the sea, and all which is. in them in 
 these four ; but corrected it later as we now read, abolishing the 
 somewhat bold personification, and at the same time forgetting to 
 expunge the last words, heard I, saying, Messing, and honour, and 
 glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
 the Lamb for ever and ever. Verse 14. Final chorus and Amen :
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 209 
 
 and the four beasts said, Amen. And the four elders fell down 
 and worshipped (the received text adds, &VTL ts TOUS cudWs TWV 
 cu'wvwv, which comes in from iv. 10, and is wanting in A. B. C. 
 37 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Copt. Aeth. Vulg. MS. Andr. Areth., 
 Latin Fathers; omitted by Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lach- 
 mann, &c.). 
 
 Now follows a narrative of the opening of the seals of the 
 book, and its contents, appearing in symbolical pictures. 
 
 Ch. vi. 18. 
 
 Opening of the four first seals, whereupon in succession four 
 horses with riders appear, the horses of different colours, and 
 the riders with different symbols. At the basis of this number 
 four of the horses and their colours, Zech. vi. 2, 3, probably 
 lies, although different meanings are not so prominent there in 
 individual particulars, as here. 
 
 (1) Verses 1, 2. And I saw, when the Lamb opened one of the 
 seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, so loud, one of 
 the four "beasts saying, Come (and see). Compare Ezek. viii. 9. 
 And he said to me, nS~W Ni2, LXX. eia-eXOe KCU i8e. Among later 
 Jews ST.ni Ntt is a usual formula, as often as there appears in a 
 disputation another who elucidates the subject by his state- 
 ment, or at the beginning of a new discussion. The text is 
 here, however, very uncertain, and also in verses 3, 5, 7. Lach- 
 mann and Tischendorf, have in all four passages merely Zpxov ; 
 and so Griesbach in verse 3 ; in other passages, epxov KCU ?8e ; the 
 received text in all four passages is ep^ov KCU (BXeTre. There are 
 in all four passages important witnesses (A. C., &c.) for the 
 shorter reading, tpx<>v, which De Wette also approves; and 
 probably this is the original one, which the Compl. has (in the 
 two last passages, Bengel also). Most of the witnesses who have 
 added, and behold, omit the KCU etSov. Probably KCU 5e arose 
 from the KCU tTSov, and out of it KCU fiXeire. 
 
 Verse 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 
 
 p
 
 210 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 forth conquering and to conquer. White horses were reckoned a 
 good omen ; generals in battle preferred riding on a white horse ; 
 see passages in Wetstein, ,ad h. L Thus in xix. 11 below, the 
 Son of Man, when he goes forth to make war against Antichrist, 
 appears upon a white horse. A comparison of this passage 
 makes it not improbable, as also Grotius, Vitringa, Hengsten- 
 berg, Ebrard and others assume, that the rider, who appears 
 here upon a white horse, does not (as many interpreters think, 
 also Zullig, Liicke, p. 350, De Wette) mean a tormenting spirit, 
 like the three following, a conqueror and destroyer (Zullig ex- 
 plaining the VIK.S.V by the Hebrew "OE?), but is rather a symbol 
 of the Messiah marching to victory, so that this very first sign 
 points to the final issue of the impending war between Christ 
 and Antichrist, between the kingdom of God and the powers of 
 the world and darkness. By the participle VIKUV it is intimated 
 that he goes out already as conqueror, and the o-re^avos with 
 which he is adorned, refers to that ; the KCU iVa viK^o-y points to 
 the farther victories which he is to gain. 
 
 (2) Verses 3, 4. And when he had opened the second seal, I 
 heard the second least say, Come. And there went out another 
 horse, that was fiery-red, and power was given to him that sat 
 thereon to take peace from the earth, and (sc. to cause) that they 
 (men) should kill one another, strangle ; and there was given unto 
 him a great sword. This is a general symbolical reference to 
 the wars with which the earth should be visited before the 
 future advent of the Lord. The fiery-red colour of the horse 
 signifies the blood which was to flow (comp. 2 Kings iii. 22, TO. 
 vSaTa. Trvppa. us atfM.ro), perhaps also at the same time fire by 
 which everything should be consumed. Instead of the received 
 reading, diro T^S yrjs, Griesbach has e*. r. y., as the Compl. and 
 others ; also Lachmann, ed. major, Tischendorf, after B. C. 32 cur- 
 sive, Andr. Areth. Bengel and Lachmann, ed. min., have entirely 
 expunged the preposition (rrjv flp^vrjv rrjs y^s, after A. 4 cursive). 
 The yrj is certainly not to be taken here of the (Jewish) land, but 
 of the earth in general
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 211 
 
 (3) Verses 5, 6. A Hack horse, image of sorrow, of misfortune, 
 and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. The 
 uyo? is here put in accordance with later usage (properly = 
 whatever unites ; particularly, a yoke of oxen, a cross-beam ; 
 hence a beam, and also balances themselves). The balance here 
 points to a time of want and dearth, when everything should be 
 weighed out minutely, even corn and the like, which at other 
 times was wont only to be measured ; comp. Ezek. iv. 16, "I 
 will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem ; and they shall eat 
 bread by weight (bp^a^i), and with care, and they shall drink 
 water by measure, and with astonishment." Lev. xxvi. 26. 
 
 Verse 6. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four leasts 
 say, can only mean, a voice coming from God himself. 
 
 A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley 
 for a penny. Great dearth is denoted by this. The x ""^ 
 is a corn measure, containing two sextarii, just as much as 
 was reckoned the usual daily allowance of food for one man; 
 hence in Athenaus, iii. 20, a x ^ ' ^e/oorpo^os ; it is called in 
 Suidas 17/ze/Doo-ios Tpo<$>r) ; comp. also, for example, Herodot. vii. 
 231; Odyssey, 19, 27, 28, 6's KCI/ Ipjs ye x ot/v/tK s own-i/Tai = he who 
 is at my expense, so that he receives his daily bread from me ; 
 see Bockh, Athen. Staatshaushalt, i. 99. Those who had a 
 stronger appetite could consume a loaf of several x^ VLK<s - 
 Xenoph. Anab. vii. 3, 12. A penny, about one-fifth of a thaler 
 (sevenpence halfpenny), was the wage which' a workman re- 
 ceived for a day's work, and the usual daily pay of a Eoman 
 soldier; comp. Matt. xx. 9 sqq.; Tacit. Ann. i. 1. But it serves 
 as a proof of great dearth when a male workman could only earn 
 as much as the loaf costs, what merely suffices for his personal 
 subsistence. In Sicily, at the time of Cicero, a denarius was the 
 price of a Eoman bushel of wheat, containing twelve chcenixes 
 (Cic. Verr. iii. 81) ; and a bushel of barley cost, according to ib., 
 half a denarius, so that it is eight times as dear when the 
 denarius is here given as the price of three choenixes of barley. 
 Therefore there was also a want of this inferior sort of grain, 
 
 P2
 
 212 LECTURES ON THE A POCA L YPSE. 
 
 which only the lower and poorer classes put in bread, and of 
 which a portion was accustomed to be given to the Roman 
 soldiers, by way of punishment, instead of wheat (see Winer 
 R W. B.). On the contrary, it is said, and = yet, the oil and 
 the wine thou shalt not hurt. The rider on the black horse is 
 addressed, who is the executor of the divine torments. Upon 
 dSixeiv, comp. ii. 11, and especially ix. 4. The sense can only be, 
 that there will be no dearth of such objects as belong more to 
 luxury, but are worthless amid the want of necessary bread, 
 causing that very want to be felt the more bitterly. 
 
 (4) Verses 7, 8. And Hooked, and beJiold a pale horse; so x^wpos 
 is to be taken here, pale yellow, pale ; it is taken not merely for 
 green, grass green, but also for the colour of gold, of the sick, of a 
 corpse, and frequently for an epithet of fear (xAw/oov Sees). 
 
 And his name that sat on him was death, and Jiades followed 
 him, was in his company (duoXovdeiv sc. /wra nvos, also xiv. 13, 
 and among the Attics), as he to whom death hands over his 
 prey; for both 6 flavaros and 6 $877$ are united, as also i. 18, 
 xx. 13, 14. Here death, together with hades, is personified as 
 the rider of the horse and executor of the Divine will in slaying 
 a great part of men upon the earth. 
 
 And to him (the received text has awots, and so Lachmann ; 
 for it the Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Tischendorf, al. (approved 
 by Vitringa) ; avr$ according to B., over 30 cursive, Syr. Ar. 
 Copt. Aeth. Arm. Vulg. Areth. Prim ; the plural would refer to 
 death and hades, the singular to death as the chief person ; the 
 latter has greater internal probability) was given power over the 
 fourth part of tJie earth, to kill (men) with sword, hunger, plague, 
 and by the beasts of the earth - the wild beasts. This plague 
 unites not merely those of the two preceding seals, war and 
 famine, but increases them to the highest degree, so that many 
 men are carried off; and it adds to them besides, desolation by 
 plague and wild beasts. Old Testament passages lie at the basis 
 of these four combined deadly plagues, such as Ezek. xiv. 21, 
 "When I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sw r ord
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 213 
 
 and the famine and the noisome beast and the pestilence, to cut 
 off from it man and beast," &c. Ib. v. 17; Lev. xxvi. 21 26, &c. 
 Moreover 0avaros, the second time, is decidedly meant of plague, 
 upon which see at ii. 23 ; the first time, 6 tfavaros has a more 
 general sense ; wrb TWV Otjpiwv instead of Sia. 
 
 As to the plagues here announced generally, in their relation 
 to the appearing of the Lord and to the fulfilment of God's king- 
 dom, see general Introduction. The contents of these three seals 
 are, as it were, the carrying out of the Lord's intimation, Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 7, eyep^rycrerai yap e0vos em edvos Kal ^SacriAeta CTTI ^ScrcuAetav, 
 /cat ecrovrat Ai/xot Kal Aoi)U.oi. 
 
 Verses 9 11. 
 
 Opening of the fifth seal, reference to the bloody persecutions 
 to be inflicted on the followers of the Lord by the world; many 
 of them have already perished on account of their confession, 
 but the same fate is impending over many others until the advent 
 of the Lord. This thought is here conveyed by introducing the 
 souls of the martyrs who had gone before, who impatiently ask 
 when God will take judgment for their blood from the inhabitants 
 of the earth, and by the answers they receive. 
 
 Verse 9. And when lie had opened the fifth seal, I saw under tJie 
 altar the souls of tJiem that were slain f 01- tJie word of God and for 
 the, testimony which they held; comp. for the latter, xii. 17, TO>J> 
 
 Ti]povvTd)v ras evroAas TOV Oeov Kal e^ovrwv rr)v paprvpiav 'Ir/o-ov', xix. 
 10, TWV aSeA^wv <rov TWV J^OVTWV TT)V fj-aprvpiav TOV 'L/o-ou. Here also 
 
 is found a reading, TT)V jjMprvpiav TOU dpviov r/v ix ov > B. 30 cursive, 
 Syr. Ar. Pol. Andr. ii. Areth. and so Compl. Yet an insertion seems 
 more likely than an omission ; and it is probably a later gloss. 
 
 Compare besides XX. 4, rots ^u^as TWV TreTreKeAicr/xevwv 8ta TYJV p-ap- 
 rvpiav Irjfrov Kal Sta TOV Aoyov TOV deov. The /j-apTVpia is the testi- 
 mony which they were commissioned by Jesus to bear to him, and 
 of which it might be said they had it. It is therefore not neces- 
 sary, with several, to give e'^av the signification of Kpa.Tf.lv, to
 
 214 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 holdfast ; although that idea belongs to the connection. By the 
 altar, we should most probably understand the altar in heaven 
 mentioned in viii. 3, ix. 13, where the seer found himself in the 
 spirit ; not of the altar of burnt sacrifices, as Grotius, Vitringa, 
 Hengstenberg, Ebrard, Bengel, Ziillig, think; the incense-altar 
 in heaven, as Victoria and De Wette suppose, which was con- 
 sidered the prototype of the earthly, just as the temple of God 
 in heaven was viewed as the prototype of the one in Jerusalem ; 
 comp. xv. 5, Wisdom ix. 8. Sheol, the under- world, is elsewhere 
 described as the residence of the souls of the dead. Yet, according 
 to later Jewish theology, the souls of the just have their place 
 under the throne of God, in his immediate presence ; for example, 
 Tr. Schabbath, fol. 152, 2, animse justorum sunt sub throno 
 glories. Tharg. ad 1 Chron. xxi. 15, recordatus est domus sanc- 
 tuarii supernse, ubi sunt animse justorum, &c. ; see Wetstein 
 and Schb'ttgen, ad h. 1. So the souls of the Christian martyrs 
 now appear in heaven, close to God, beneath or at the foot of the 
 altar, so that if the altar of burnt incense be meant, as many 
 conceive, it could not mean that they offered themselves as a 
 sacrifice to God. To express this thought, one would rather expect 
 them to be seen upon the -altar than under it. Much rather 
 does the residence of these souls under the incense-altar imply, 
 besides the general thought of abiding in heaven near God, that, 
 as De Wette rightly interprets, they expect, wait for, their prayers 
 to be heard, prayers symbolized by the sacrificial incense; comp. 
 viii. 3 and on v. 8. It is certainly false and not agreeable to the 
 meaning of the book when Hengstenberg understands by the 
 ^vxats here, not the immortal souls which continue to live after 
 death until the resurrection, but the murdered animal souls which, 
 according to Gen. ix. 5, are in the blood ; so that instead of souls, 
 blood might just as well have been put. Ebrard rightly declares 
 himself against such an opinion. 
 
 Verse 10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, 
 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our "blood on
 
 SPEC I A L INTERPRET A TION. 215 
 
 them that dwell on the earth ? How long will it still be until thou 
 boldest this judgment against the world on account of the bloody 
 persecutions which they have inflicted on us, the confessors of thy 
 word ? The inhabitants of the earth are here, from the connection 
 = 6 Kooytos, the mass hostile to the kingdom of God ; ov K/aiVas 
 
 KOU /c8t/C6tS = OV KptVWV /<SlKtS. 
 
 Verse 1 1. And ivhite robes were given unto every one of them, 
 evidently as a sign of justification before God, that they might 
 stand there pure before him although he had given them up to 
 death. Instead of the received reading, Jxao-Tots, for which Gries- 
 bach has airrots (according to B. 17 cursive, &c.), as also the 
 Compl., Tischendorf, CITJTOIS l/cao-T^ should probably be read, with 
 Bengel, Lachmann, Ewald, &c. (according to A. C. 19 cursive); 
 comp. v. 8, xx. 13. 
 
 And it was said unto them, commanded, that they should still 
 rest for a little season, quietly persevere, without impatient urg- 
 ing such as had manifested itself in that question, /xi/cpov is 
 omitted by Griesbach, Tischendorf, and by the Compl., Bengel, 
 according to B. 36 cursive, Ar. Pol. Aeth. Areth. Yet it may 
 probably be genuine, since the omission by later transcribers is 
 more easily explained than the insertion. 
 
 Until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren that should 
 be killed like them, as well as they, should be fulfilled. The re- 
 ceived text has TTA^/DWO-OVTCU, and so Ewald at one time. For it, 
 Griesbach and Tischendorf have TrA^pwcrwo-i, B. 40 cursive, Andr. ; 
 Lachmann, like the Compl., Bengel, &c., Tr\-t]puQS>a-i, A. cursive 
 MSS., Syr. Copt. Aeth. Vulg. The verb cannot mean the com- 
 pletion of the number of the Christian martyrs, as many inter- 
 preters take it, for then the martyrs must have been named as 
 subject, not, as is the case, the companions of those already slain, 
 who should be slain also ; but probably the completion of the 
 earthly course of individual ones. In that case the active, 
 irXrjpwa-ucn, has most internal probability = until they shall have 
 finished, namely, their course upon earth which God the Lord 
 has put upon them.
 
 216 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verses 1217. 
 
 Opening of the sixth seal, at which great natural phenomena 
 appear, such as accompany or announce the day of the Lord in 
 the descriptions of the Old Testament prophets; for example, 
 Joel iii. 3, 4, &c. ; comp. Matt. xxiv. 7, 29. 
 
 Verse 12. And I beheld, wlien he had opened the sixth seal, and 
 there was a great earthquake (comp. Matt. 1. c., Is. xxiv. 18, 19), 
 and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair; persons were accus- 
 tomed to wrap themselves in mourning in such material of a 
 dark black colour ; so the sun appears here whilst it is darkened ; 
 comp. Joel ii. 10, "The sun and the moon shall be dark," (vnf? 
 of clouds of locusts) ; and the moon became quite like blood ; it 
 appeared, at the darkening of the sun, so much the brighter, 
 with blood-red appearance; comp. Joel ii. 31, "The sun shall 
 be turned into darkness and the moon into blood." 
 
 Verse 13. And the stars of heaven fell unto tlu earth, even as a 
 Jig-tree casteth her untimely Jigs when she is shaken of a mighty 
 wind (oAwflos = grossus, of unripe figs) ; comp. Is. xxxiv. 4, " And 
 all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall 
 be rolled together as a scroll : and all their host shall fall down, 
 as the leaf falleth off from the vines and as a falling fig from the 
 
 fig tree." Matt. xxiv. 29, /ecu 01 do-re/Dts irea-ovvrai OLTTO TOV ovpavov. 
 
 For the simile of the falling off of unripe figs, see Nah. iii. 1 2. 
 
 Verse 14. And the heaven which is often compared to an out- 
 stretched tent-cloth departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; 
 see Is. L c. 
 
 And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 
 Still more strongly it is said in xvi. 20, /ecu vaa-a v^o-os e<vye /ecu 
 
 opr) ov-% fvpfdri<ra.v. 
 
 Verses 15 17. Description of the terror of men at these 
 powerful phenomena: And the, kings of the earth, and tlu great men, 
 and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and 
 every bondman, and every freeman (seven ideas, although logically 
 not very different, are here again put together, evidently inten- 
 tionally), hid themselves in the dens and rocks = crevices of the
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 217 
 
 rocks (comp. Is. ii. 10) of the mountains; comp. Is. ii. 19, "And 
 they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the 
 earth, for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty, when 
 he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Verse 16. And they say 
 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 ; 
 according to Hosea x. 8, " And they shall say to the mountains, 
 Cover us ; and to the hills, Fall onus;" comp. Lukexxiii. 30 (ac- 
 cording to Hos., LXX.), TOTC ap^ovrai Aeyeti/ rots o/aecri' Trecrere <' i^uds 
 KCU TOIS /jowois' KaXtyare rjfj.as. Grotius remarks rightly that the 
 seer puts into the mouth of the men of the earth his descriptions 
 of God and the Messiah, which are intelligible from the foregoing. 
 Verse 1 7. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall 
 le able to stand ? They shall then acknowledge that. Comp. 
 Nah. i. 6, 1s rhpa Dip; ^ ito:: "to^T ^9b. Mai. iii. 2. 
 
 Ch. vii. 
 
 Before the last seal is opened, there appears an interlude, 
 the sealing of the servants of God on their foreheads with the 
 divine seal, whereby they are marked as belonging to God, and 
 made known as persons who should be spared from the plagues 
 still to come, closed with the seventh seal, in the same manner 
 as in Egypt the houses of the members of the covenant, by being 
 marked with blood, were distinguished as those which the de- 
 stroying angel should pass over. Exod. xii. 12 sqq.; comp. also 
 Ezek. ix. 4 sqq., according to which all the pious in Jerusalem 
 are furnished with a mark on the fqrehead (n) by an angel pass- 
 ing through the city, and thereby pointed out to the destroying 
 angels as those whom they were to spare. 
 
 Verse 1. And after these things I saw four angels standing on 
 the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, 
 tliat the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on 
 any tree. It is incorrect when Herder and Eichhorn take this 
 as an intimation of deadly heat and sultriness. From verses 
 2, 3, it follows that the breaking out of the winds is supposed to
 
 218 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 bring great destruction upon the earth ; so that holding them 
 fast or keeping them back signifies that they should not exercise 
 their destroying action upon the earth for a while. The four 
 yowcu of the earth are the four extreme points of it, towards the 
 four quarters of heaven, as the earth was probably thought to be 
 a four-cornered surface. The four extreme points were supposed 
 to be, as it were, the resting-places of the four chief winds, 
 whence they break out and spread themselves over the surface 
 of the earth ; comp. Jer. xlix. 36, " And upon Elam will I bring 
 the four winds from the four quarters of heaven" (rytef? BSrpSp 
 D?$rJ) 5 Dan. vii. 2 ; Zech. vi. 5. 
 
 Verse 3. And I saw another angel descending from the east, 
 denoting here not so much the eastern quarter of the heavens 
 (as xvi. 12, xxi. 13), as the height from which he descended to 
 the earth. 
 
 Having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice 
 to the four angels, to whom it was given (the power and the charge) 
 to hurt the earth and the sea (by letting loose the four winds), 
 verse 3, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither tlie sea, nor the trees, till 
 we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads, have 
 marked with the seal of God. Among the ancients, especially 
 the Easterns, it was not unusual to brand the slave with the 
 mark of his master upon the forehead or right hand ; and so, 
 according to Herodot. ii. 113, the worshippers of a deity were 
 wont to brand themselves with his name. The servants of the 
 true living God are designated as such by the stamp of the 
 divine seal upon their forehead; and according to xiv. 1, we 
 must probably suppose the name of God and of the Lamb en- 
 graved; so that doubtless only Christians can be meant here, not, 
 as Heinrichs thinks, pious Jews as such, without any regard 
 to whether they believed in Christ or not. 
 
 Verse 4. And I heard the number of them ivhich were sealed, of 
 those who were found servants of God, and were accordingly 
 marked with the divine seal, namely = 144,000 sealed of all the 
 tribes of the children of Israel ; the CK 7rcun?s <vA?}s should be taken,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 219 
 
 as what follows clearly shows, to indicate that the whole number 
 of those sealed out of all the tribes of Israel consisted of so much, 
 12,000 out of each of the twelve tribes, as is described particularly 
 in verses 5 8. The. eo-^ayur/xcvoi is probably spurious (the ten 
 middle occurrences of it) ; omitted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 the Compl., &c., according to A. B. C. and more than 30 cur- 
 sive, Syr. Copt. Aeth. Vulg. Prim. ; the first and last time only 
 is it probably genuine. The seer hears these numbers merely 
 uttered by an angel, as the result of the sealing already implied 
 as past, since they were too many for himself to count. This 
 section presents some difficulty in various respects. In the first 
 place, as to the numbering and designation of the twelve tribes 
 themselves. The tribes of the people of Israel proceeded, as is 
 well known, and were named from the twelve sons of Jacob. 
 As the posterity of Joseph separated into two tribes, called 
 Ephraim and Manasseh, from the two sons adopted by Jacob, 
 there were properly thirteen tribes. It remained, however, the 
 prevalent custom to state the number as twelve. Then the tribe 
 of Levi, which as that of the priests was divided among the 
 others and had no peculiar connected possession, was not in- 
 cluded among them when the possessions of the tribes were 
 spoken of ; but when it was included, either Ephraim and Ma- 
 nasseh were reckoned one tribe, as Joseph ; or another was 
 omitted. So Simeon is omitted in Deut. xxxiii. ; and here the 
 tribe of Dan. But in verse 6 the tribe of Manasseh is also 
 named, and not the tribe of Ephraim, but (verse 8) that of 
 Joseph. Here a mistake in the text has been suspected; instead 
 of Manasseh to read Dan, supposing a transcriber read Mav in- 
 stead of Aav, viewing it as a contraction for Mavao-o-?}, and writing 
 the latter for it; so Gomar, also Hartwig, ii. 227 sqq. and 
 Ztillig. Ewald (Jahrb. d. bibl. W. VIII. 1856, pp. 98 sqq.) says, 
 it appears to be an original mistake (of the primitive document) 
 for Aai/. Yet Irenseus, Orig., Andreas and Arethas, read Ma- 
 nasseh, and expressly state that Dan is omitted. After the 
 exile the division of the people of Israel into tribes properly
 
 220 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 ceased; the members of the ten tribes, as a whole at least, never 
 returned to their native land ; and except the tribes of Judah 
 and Levi, only a few families preserved the registers of their 
 tribe and race with any certainty. At that time, at least, the 
 old division into tribes no longer possessed the interest which it 
 formerly had ; and although it was maintained in general that 
 the people of Israel consisted of twelve tribes, mistakes might 
 easily arise in numbering of them. As to the tribe of Dan, the 
 opinion appears to have prevailed among the Jews that, on 
 account of the worship of idols (Jud. xviii.) carried on in it at an 
 early period, it had died out, even at a remote time, down to the 
 family Hussim, and that even the latter had perished by war 
 before the time of Ezra, or was reduced to so low a number that 
 it could no longer be reckoned with the rest. In 1 Chron. ii. 
 sqq., the posterity of Dan, as well as Zebulon's, are not repre- 
 sented in the registers of the separate tribes. Some interpreters, 
 as Bengel and Eichhorn, suppose that a peculiar cabbalistic sig- 
 nification lies here in Manasseh, the name ntEDp being ety- 
 mologically = oblivioni tradens, alluding to the extinct Dan.. 
 Yet the writer hardly thought of that. But it always appears 
 an inaccuracy that Manasseh is represented as a special tribe, 
 and Joseph a special tribe also, although the posterity of Joseph 
 comprehends the Manassites as much as the Ephraimites. Yet 
 Ephraim was always considered the chief tribe of the two that 
 originated in the sons of Joseph ; for Ephraim, as elsewhere 
 Joseph, often stands for the entire kingdom of the ten tribes ; 
 and so this chief tribe might be called Joseph, even in contrast 
 with Manasseh. But there is still the question, how we are to 
 conceive the 144,000 out of the different tribes of Israel, in rela- 
 tion to the whole number of the people of God, and the innu- 
 merable company out of all nations, of which -the seer (verses 
 9 -17) says, that he beheld them standing before the throne of 
 God, having come out of great tribulation, and washed their 
 robes in the blood of the Lamb, now living under God's imme- 
 diate protection and under the guidance of the Lamb, free from
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 221 
 
 want and affliction. According to the description and relation 
 of the two sections (verses 4 8 and verses 9 17), it appears 
 most natural to understand by the 144,000 the followers of the 
 Lord from among the people of Israel; and those denoted in 
 verse 9 sqq., similar ones out of all the different nations of the 
 earth. What appears to be against this is, that in xiv. 1, 
 144,000 are also mentioned as having the name of the Lamb and 
 of the Father written on their foreheads, which refers doubtless 
 to the mark with the seal of God introduced here ; but there 
 they appear as the entire company of believers stated in round 
 numbers, those who are rijopaa-^vot d-n-o T^S yvjs (verse 3), Tjyo/aao-- 
 
 Qy\<ra.v aTro TWV dvOptfnrwV) aTrap^rj TO> 6eS> KOU TOJ dpvi(i) (verse 4). 
 
 This mode of designation gives us reason to believe that they are 
 not, as Credner Einl. i. p. 711, Anm. and Zlillig, also Baur in his 
 treatise on the Gospel of John in Zeller's Theol. Jahrb. 1844, H. 4, 
 pp. 662 sqq., assumed, Jewish Christians merely, but the entire 
 number of believers, even those from among the heathen, espe- 
 cially if we Compare V. 9, ijyopao-as T$ 6e . . . . e/c Tracnjs ^>vA^s 
 KCU yAwcrcnjs KOU Aaou KGU ?0vovs. Accordingly we might be 
 inclined to assume that the 144,000 represented here (verses' 
 4 8), mean in like manner a round symbolical number, all the 
 true followers of the Lord; and that the individual tribes do 
 not mean tribes of the people of Israel, out of each of which 
 12,000 would enter into the kingdom of God, but divisions in 
 the kingdom of God itself, appellations for its separate portions, 
 transferred from the ancient covenant people to the people of 
 God in the New Testament. It would not appear unsuitable 
 also to the entire character of our book, that, like the Jewish 
 people in general, the twelve tribes should be viewed as the 
 proper kernel and stem of the Messianic people ; the converts 
 out of other nations being merely received into these tribes. 
 For this one might also compare Matt. xix. 28 ; Luke xxii. 30. 
 We might then ask, how we are to picture the innumerable 
 company out of all nations (verse 9 sqq.) in itself, and in its 
 relation to these 144,000. Most interpreters, with Ewalcl,
 
 222 LECTURES ON THE APOCAL TPSE. 
 
 understand by it, deceased believers, Christian martyrs, those of 
 whom it is said in the call to such as were perfected earlier (vi. 
 11), that they, too, must finish their course and be killed, until 
 the time of divine wrath come for the persecutors of Christianity 
 in general. Yet there is really nothing in what is asserted of them 
 to point them out expressly as slain martyrs. Eather are we 
 induced, when it is said (verse 14) they are ot ep^op-evoi e* T^S 
 OXtyeus T^S /xeyaA^s, with Vitringa, to explain this by the analogy 
 of iii. 10, where it is said in the Philadelphian Epistles, xciyw ere 
 
 T^S upas rov ireipaa-^ov T^5 fieAXovcr^s tp^vdai eVi rijs 
 6'A^?, Trei/oacrai TOVS KaroiKovvras ri T^S yvjs, and to 
 
 understand those who shall be preserved, unhurt by the great 
 affliction which will precede the coming of the Lord ; just like 
 those 144,000 marked with the seal of God. Accordingly, we 
 are inclined to think that the innumerable company out of all 
 nations standing before the throne of God, according to verse 9 
 sqq., is identical with those 144,000 (verses 4 8) divided among 
 the twelve tribes of God's people. In this manner I took it, 
 Abhandlung, pp. 258 sqq. So also De Wette, &c. Yet the 
 assumption now appears to me very unlikely. For (a) it would 
 not be likely that after the number of those sealed (verses 4 8) 
 is expressly stated to be 144,000, the same (verse 9) should be 
 designated immediately afterwards as a multitude that no man 
 can number ; then (&) what pronounces against this conception 
 of the 144,000 in general is, that they are expressly described 
 as sealed out of all the tribes of the children of Israel. This 
 would always be unnatural if it meant that such was the whole 
 number of the members of these tribes, and not that they were 
 sealed as believers out of the entire number of the members 
 of the tribes ; in which case, believers from among the Jews only, 
 not those from among the heathen, could be reckoned. But one 
 may doubt whether the innumerable company mentioned (verse 
 9 sqq.) out of all nations, means merely heathen Christians ; or 
 whether the 144,000 out of the tribes of Israel are comprehended 
 in it. The latter is the more probable. Hence in verse 3 we
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 223 
 
 may understand the servants of God who are to be sealed of 
 believing followers of the Lord in general, both those from 
 among the Jews who form the stem, as well as those from 
 among the heathen, who attach themselves to the former. We 
 are to suppose them all marked with the seal of God, and stand- 
 ing before the throne, although the number of the former only 
 is stated. But then it cannot be denied that such representa- 
 tion differs from that in xiv. 1 sqq., in that the same number 
 here specified for those sealed out of the children of Israel, 
 is there given as the entire number of such as have the name 
 of God and the Lamb on their foreheads ; the entire company 
 of those redeemed from the earth. Neander, Apostol. Zeitalter, 
 ThL ii. (3rd ed. p. 543 Anm.), also perceived this difficulty; 
 and I do not believe that it can be solved, except by allowing 
 a certain inconsequence in the descriptions of the book, not of 
 much importance however, since the number is not meant lite- 
 rally, but is only a round symbolical one ; comp. my Beitr. z. 
 Evang. Krit. (1846), pp. 185188. 
 
 Verse 9. After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no 
 man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and 
 tongues (comp. v. 9), stood before the throne (of God) and before the 
 Lamb, clothed with white robes, as a sign of purity pleasing to 
 God, and palms in their hands, probably as a sign of the victory 
 obtained over the world and evil. 
 
 Verse 10. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our 
 God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb; it belongs, 
 as it were, to them, from them alone it proceeds. So most pro- 
 bably should it be taken ; comp. xix. 1. 
 
 Verse 11. Compare v. 11. 
 
 Verse 12. And said, Messing and glory and wisdom and thanks- 
 giving and honour and power and might is due unto our God 
 (seven nouns beside one another, as in v. 12 ; comp. ib. verse 14) 
 to all eternity (Amen ! is wanting 0. 2 cursive, Andr. Prim, and 
 others ; omitted by Lachmann and Tischendorf). 
 
 Verse 13. And one of the elders began (wre/M#g, properly an-
 
 224 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 swered = said with reference to the preceding speeches, or to 
 the thoughts of the seer) and said to me, What are these which are 
 arrayed in white robes? and whence came they ? comp. Jos. ix. 8, 
 Jon. i. 8. For the entire dramatic envelope comp. Zech. iv. 4, 5. 
 
 Verse 14. And I said unto him, My Lord (pov after Kvpn, 
 adopted by Griesbach after C. 34 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Copt. 
 Vulg. Andr. Areth. Cypr., and so Compl., Bengel, &c.), thou 
 knowest it ; and he said to me, These are they which come out of 
 great tribulation (see above), and they have washed their robes and 
 made them white in the blood of the Lamb ; comp. at iii. 4 (Sardis) 
 01 OVK ejuoAwav TO, i/x,arta airrwv. The meaning is, they stand justi- 
 fied and pure before God through belief in Christ and his expia- 
 tory death. The meaning is hardly, as Ewald thinks, that they 
 cleansed themselves by death suffered 'for tlie sake of Christ and 
 after his example. 
 
 Verse 15. Therefore are they before the throne of God, there they 
 have their place as his servants. 
 
 And serve him day and night in his temple, as his priests ; he 
 vouchsafes to accept them as his priests ; this is what is meant 
 to be expressed. 
 
 And he that sitteth on the throne will dwell over them, will erect 
 his tent wherein he is enthroned, over them, so that they are 
 screened by it. (Somewhat differently in xxi. 3, o-K^vdW //.e-' 
 
 avrtov.) 
 
 Verse 16. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; 
 neitJier shall the sun light on tJiem, nor any heat. Copied from 
 Is. xlix. 10, " They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the 
 heat nor sun smite (C3^) them ; for he that hath mercy on them 
 shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide 
 them." 
 
 Verse 17. For tJie Lamb in the midst oftJie throne shall feed tlum 
 and lead them to the living fountains of waters (the received text 
 has wcras ; for it, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, as Compl., 
 Bengel, &c. have fu^s, according to A B. 34 cursive, Areth. Andr, 
 Vulg. Areth., Latin Fathers. That is to be taken = oxras, or, at
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 225 
 
 any rate, to the water springs of life), and God shall wipe away all 
 tears from tlieir eyes ; after Is. xxv. 8, " He will swallow up death 
 in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all 
 faces." 
 
 Ch. viii. 
 
 Now follows the opening of the seventh seal ; the last, by which 
 the book of the future, or rather its last part, was kept shut. Yet 
 its contents are too comprehensive and powerful to appear im- 
 mediately and at once. It is said, first, 
 
 Verse 1, 
 
 And tvhen Tie, had opened the seventh seal there was silence in 
 Jieaven, ws ^/UW/HOJ/ (Lachmann, Tischendorf, u>s rjpiwpov, according 
 to A C.) about the space of half an hour. This does not denote a 
 very short time, as Heinrichs thinks, but rather a considerable 
 pause which entered into the course of the visions introducing 
 the future and following in rapid succession, during which every- 
 thing in heaven silently waits for the appearing of the remaining 
 contents of the book. By such description the expectation of 
 the readers is stretched toward it still more. This is doubtless 
 the object of the o-iyr) in heaven, which is not, as Eichhorn sup- 
 poses, to be compared with vii. 3, nor (with Grotius) to be under- 
 stood of a complete calm, nor even, as Hengstenberg thinks, of 
 the stilling of the rebellion of the Lord's enemies. Then it is 
 said farther, 
 
 Verse 2, 
 
 And I saw the seven angels which stand before God, the seven 
 chief angels or archangels according to a post-exile idea, probably 
 borrowed in this form, particularly as to the number seven, from 
 Parsism. The definite number seven is found already in Tob. 
 
 Xll. 15, yw ctjtu 'Pa<a^A, e?s e/c TUJV ITTTCX ayiwv ayyeAwv, ot TTpotrava- 
 <f>epovcn ras Trpocreu^as TWV aytwv KOI elcnropevovTai IVCUTTIOV T^s SO^TJS 
 
 TOV dyi'ov. Dan. x. 13, n^twnn n^iterr. 
 
 And to them were given seven trumpets ; afterwards they sound
 
 226 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 these in succession, and each time a portion of the remaining 
 contents of the book comes to light. 1 Thess. iv. 16, 1 Cor. xv. 52, 
 should be compared with this description, according to which the 
 appearing of the Lord with the waking up and assembling of 
 believers will take place at the last trumpet, at the call of the 
 archangel; comp. also Matt. xxiv. 31. But before these seven 
 angels sound their trumpets there appears again, 
 
 Verses 3 5, 
 
 a symbolical interlude, intimating that the prayers of the saints, 
 in which they express their longing for the appearing of the 
 Lord and his judgment, come before God and are about to be 
 fulfilled. Yet the description and stricter apprehension of this 
 present some difficulty. 
 
 Verse 3. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having 
 a golden censer (Ai/Java>Tos is here and verse 5 manifestly = censer; 
 elsewhere (LXX., Josephus and among later Greeks) = incense). 
 
 And there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer 
 it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was 
 before tJie throne. The golden flvcriaoT^iov in the temple at Jeru- 
 salem was the golden altar of incense which stood in the sanctuary 
 immediately before the curtain that separated the holy from the 
 holy of holies, behind which the ark of the covenant stood as the 
 seat of Jehovah's majesty ; therefore this altar of incense is de- 
 scribed as standing before Jehovah (Lev. iv. 7, xvi. 12, 18). Here 
 the altar of incense in the heavenly temple (twice, which Ebrard 
 wrongly denies, taking the first tfwiaemfciov to mean, altar of 
 burnt sacrifice) is to be taken as the type of that earthly one 
 upon which the angel offers the incense, in order to denote 
 the reaching of the prayers of the saints to the Heavenly 
 Father. The dative TCUS Trpoo-evxcus can only be taken as a dat. 
 commod., and must mean that he offered it for the prayers of the 
 saints, dedicated it as it were, to bring them to God and to make 
 them the more pleasing to him ; comp. v. 8, where it is said of 
 the incense in the golden vials of the cherubim and priests, that
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 227 
 
 it is the prayers of the saints ; they are symbolized by it; see ad. 
 h. 1. It is linguistically inadmissible to take it, with Beza and 
 Eichhorn, = h Trpou-evxais, at or with the prayers of the saints. 
 There is as little ground, with Castellio, Grotius, Heinrichs, for 
 changing the text and reading ras irpoo-evxas, that he might offer 
 these prayers on the altar ; which would not at all be natural. 
 Schottgen holds the words rats Trpoa-euxcus TWV oiyiW, both here 
 and in verse 4, to be a later gloss, which is certainly false. 
 
 Verse 4. And the smoke of the incense ascended out of the hand 
 of the angel, for the prayers of the saints, before, God ; bringing 
 them before God ; rats Trpoa-evxak is here also dat. commod., but 
 the li/wTTioi/ TOV Oeov should probably be united with the verb 
 dvef3rj, not with TOV ayyeXov (the angel standing before God). 
 
 Verse 5. And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire 
 of the altar (altar of incense) and cast it on the earth ; and there 
 arose voices and thunders and lightnings and earthquakes. The 
 proper interpretation of this act is not quite clear. Most probably 
 the fire cast down upon the earth denotes the divine judgment 
 impending over its inhabitants, as in Ezek. x. 2 sqq. Jehovah 
 commands an angel to fill both hands full of burning coals, and 
 to scatter them over the city as a symbol of its imminent de- 
 struction. But perhaps the circumstance that this fire is taken 
 from the altar of sacrifice, where the incense is offered for the 
 ^prayers of the saints, signifies at the same time, that these 
 prayers are heard through the divine judgment ; the divine judg- 
 ment refers to them. 
 
 Verse 6. 
 
 And the seven angels which hold the seven trumpets prepared 
 themselves to Now them. 
 
 Verses 7 12. 
 
 A description of what appears at the sounding of the trumpets 
 of the first four angels. Powerful natural phenomena happen 
 ia succession ; at the first trumpet, on the earth ; at the second, 
 on the sea; at the third, on the rivers and fountains; at the 
 
 Q2
 
 228 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 fourth, on sun, moon and stars ; so that each time a third part 
 is destroyed. The descriptions are of a kind that cannot be 
 meant literally, since they cannot be shaped into intuitive ideas. 
 But it is also inadmissible to refer them, as many earlier inter- 
 preters do, to single political or other events and catastrophes 
 happening upon earth, either at the time of the writing, so that 
 the seer must have had them already before his eyes, or occur- 
 ring later, so that these visions were fulfilled in them. Rather 
 should we view the contents of these visions as a general poetical 
 representation of the great revolutions of nature connected with 
 the appearing of the Lord or preceding it ; in which Old Testa- 
 ment images, taken particularly from the narrative of the Egyptian 
 plagues, lie at ' the foundation, and particulars should not be 
 specially urged. 
 
 (1) Verse 7. And the first sounded, and there arose hail andjire 
 mingled with blood, and was cast upon the earth, and it burnt up 
 the third part of tlie earth, and burnt up the third part of the 
 trees, and all green grass, namely, of the third part of the earth. 
 The words, KCU TO rptrov rfj<s y>Js KareKaij, are wanting in the re- 
 ceived text, but the Compl., &c., have them ; and Bengel, Gries- 
 bach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., have rightly received them 
 again, after A. B. 40 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Aeth. Arm. Vulg. 
 Andr. Areth. Prim. The omission was caused by the Homoio- 
 teleuton. Here Exod. ix. 23 25 lies at the foundation, where 
 Jehovah causes mingled fire and hail to rain violently upon the 
 land of Egypt, striking everything ; men, cattle, and the herb of 
 the field, and all trees are crushed. The image is here intesified, 
 for to the fire and hail, blood is added, so that the effect is 
 heightened. 
 
 (2) Verses 8, 9. And the second angel sounded, and, as it were, 
 a great mountain burning with fire, was cast into tJie sea. The ws 
 indicates, that what was precipitated into the sea looked like a 
 great burning mountain, like a volcano, without actually being 
 such. 
 
 And tJie third part of the sea became blood. Verse 9. And the
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 229 
 
 third part of the living creatures in tJie sea died (TO, e 
 an apposition to TWV /cricr/iaTwv K. A. 
 
 And the third part of the ships were destroyed. Instead of 
 8if(f>0dpr), probably Stc^Odprja-av should be read, with Compl., 
 Bengel, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Ewald and De Wette, according 
 to A. 8 cursive, Andr. This is an exaggerated imitation of 
 Exod. vii. 20 sqq., where the water of the Nile was turned into 
 blood by the rod of Aaron, so that all the fishes in it died. 
 In specifying the burning mountain, perhaps (so Vitringa) Jer. li. 
 25 also occurred to the seer, where Babylon is called a destroy- 
 ing mountain, which Jehovah will precipitate from the rock, and 
 make into a burning mountain (np^ip "inb) = burn it in fire. 
 
 (3) Verses 10, 11. And the third angel sounded, and there fell 
 a great star from heaven, burning as it ivere a lamp, and it fell 
 upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of water. 
 Verse 11. And the name of the star is called Wormwood, and the 
 third part of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of 
 the waters, because they were made bitter. Before a^iv#os, Gries- 
 bach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, as the Compl., Bengel, &c., have 
 received the article o, which the received text wants ; after A. 
 25 cursive, Areth. The omission was occasioned by this, viz., 
 that fyivOos is elsewhere feminine (also TO d\f/ivdiov) ; the writer 
 treated it as if it were masculine, as the name of the star 
 (6 da-TTjp). He describes the bitter and bitter-making quality of 
 the star, to which the idea of poison attaches, since wormwood 
 (in Hebrew n3?b) was considered a poisonous herb ; HS? 1 ? is 
 frequently named in connection with H7fcH 2?ii; comp. Jer. 
 ix. 14, xxiii. 15, "Behold, I will feed them, even this people, 
 with wormwood (rrayb), and give them water of gall (HJrfn s p) 
 to drink/' So the bitterness of the water here includes its 
 poisonous quality also. Probably (in addition to that Egyptian 
 plague) Exod. xv. 23 lies at the foundation, where the water of 
 Marah is bitter, and therefore not drinkable; which again is 
 much intensified. 
 
 (4) Verse 12. And the fourth angel sounded; then was smitten
 
 230 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 (that is, with a divine plague, TrA^y^, as in Hebrew nsn) //</ 
 third part of the sun, and the third part of the moon, and the 
 third part of the stars ; so as the third part of them (the pro- 
 noun avrwj/ refers to sun, moon and stars in common) was 
 darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the 
 night likewise. At the foundation of this lies the narrative in 
 Exod. x. 21 23, of the thick darkness which Jehovah brought 
 for three days over the land of Egypt, while all the Israelites 
 had light in their dwellings. What is meant by the darkening of 
 the third part of the celestial bodies is not quite clear. Most 
 probably they lightened a third part less clearly than with their 
 usual light. So also the not shining of the third part of the 
 day and of the night is to be taken. It was a third part less 
 clear than usual in the daytime and in the night. Conversely 
 it is said (Is. xxx. 26), that when Jehovah shall heal the 
 wounds inflicted upon his people, " the light of the moon shall 
 be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be 
 sevenfold, as the light of seven days." Yet it is also possible 
 that, as De Wette, Hengstenberg, Ebrard assume, a third of dura- 
 tion is meant. 
 
 Verse 13. 
 
 Preparation for the three remaining trumpets by means of a 
 heavenly voice, which pronounces on the earth a threefold woe 
 coming upon it. 
 
 And I beheld, and heard an eagle flying through the midst of 
 heaven, crying with a loud voice. Ivos instead of rtvos, as v. 5, and 
 as in later Hebraism "TTlfcl ; but it denotes more definitely that 
 it was a single one. The received text has ayyeAou, which is 
 firmly held by Zullig, but is certainly a later emendation or 
 gloss, instead of the genuine dcrov, which Compl., Bengel, have ; 
 and so Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., according to A.B. 
 26 cursive, Vulg. Syr. Copt. Aeth. Areth. &c. This is undoubt- 
 edly meant of an angel who flew in the form of an eagle ; tv 
 is also found in xiv. 6, xix. 17 ; it does not denote,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 231 
 
 as Grotius thinks, the place midway between heaven and earth, 
 but, according to the proper usage of language, the region of 
 heaven where the sun has its position at mid-day (so the verb 
 /ieo-ovpaveco occurs of the sun at mid-day). Here it signifies a 
 standpoint where it could be seen by all. 
 
 Woe, woe, woe,, to the inhaliters of the earth, % reason of the 
 other voices of the trumpets of tlie three angels which are yet to 
 sound. The aro indicates the efficient cause of the woe, as in Matt. 
 
 xviii. 7, oval TW /cooyx<) cwro TOJV ovcavSaA-tov. On the KaroiKovvres CTTI 
 
 TTJ-S y?ys, see vi. 10. The three-fold repetition of the woe is, as 
 the continuation shows, not without significance, meaning that 
 three woes actually come at the still remaining trumpets; at 
 each trumpet a woe ; see ix. 12, xi. 14 
 
 Ch. ix. 112. 
 
 Fifth trumpet-sound = first woe, consisting of the plague of a 
 fearful swarm of locusts ascending up out of the pit, to torment 
 for a long time in the most violent manner those men who are 
 not marked with the seal of God. It has been already remarked 
 in the general Introduction that the plague of locusts of the book 
 of Joel, which was exceedingly destructive to the land of the 
 covenant people at the time of this prophet, with which were 
 connected Messianic promises, particularly those relating to the 
 general outpouring of the Holy Ghost, lies at the foundation of 
 this description ; but the plague is very much exaggerated here. 
 Natural locusts are not spoken of, but a supernatural plague. 
 It is also false when Eichhorn, Herder, &c., incline to refer it to 
 the Jewish zealots ; or Wetstein, to the devastations of the 
 Eoman army ; or other interpreters, to some other devastating 
 army, or a definite plague of men generally. Perhaps also, be- 
 sides Joel, the plague of locusts in Egypt, Exod. x. 12 15, may 
 have floated before the mind of the writer. 
 
 Verse 1. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from 
 heaven unto the earth ; and to him was given the key of the bottomless 
 pit. Verse 2. And he opened the bottomless pit ; f/ a/^vo-o-os (pro-
 
 232 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 perly an adjective, bottomless, from d and /3wro-os = fiv9os) is 
 used substantively in the Hellenistic dialect for dnj-l, partly re- 
 lating to the depth of the sea, partly, as here, to the bottomless 
 pit under the earth, which is supposed to be the deeper the 
 farther it extends. Hence it is described as <f>peap, which is pro- 
 perly a cistern. This under-ground is specially -f/ a/Jvo-o-os, parti- 
 cularly in our book, as it is supposed to be the habitation of 
 wicked, destructive, and demoniacal beings (TO TWV Sai^oviW Sicu- 
 rrjfjM, Gregory of Nyssus, xi. 7, xvii. 8) ; and Satan, that he may 
 not disturb the Messianic rest for a thousand years, is bound 
 during that time, and thrown into the abyss (xx. 1 3) ; coinp. 
 Luke viii. 31. So there come forth out of the pit swarms of locusts, 
 forming the subject of what follows, which we are to conceive of 
 as diabolical creatures bringing destruction. In describing them, 
 the locusts of Joel only form a substratum. As to the opening of 
 the pit by a star falling down, one might suppose that this was 
 brought about by the fall of the star upon the earth. But the de- 
 scription here, compared with xx. 1, leads to the conclusion that 
 an angel descending from heaven is meant by the star. 
 
 And there arose a smoke out of the pit, as tlie, smoke of a great fur- 
 nace, and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of 
 the pit. It is false, when Eichhorn, Ziillig, &c., take this as if the 
 locusts themselves coming forth out of the pit appeared in the 
 distance like a thick smoke. The smoke goes before them, as if 
 breaking forth out of the pit, like the opening of a cavity long 
 closed, signifying the destruction which is still farther to come. 
 For the simile, see Gen. xix. 28, according to which smoke 
 ascends (out of the earth) like the smoke of an oven at the de- 
 struction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 
 Verse 3. And tJiere came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth ; 
 and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have 
 power = such power as locusts do not otherwise possess, at all 
 events only scorpions ; for whilst natural locusts are destructive 
 to the field and grass, these attack even men and torment them 
 exceedingly. The O-KO/OTIOI TT/TJ yv/s do not mean, as many think,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 233 
 
 land-scorpions in contrast with sea-scorpions, but scorpions of 
 the earth = as they are accustomed to be on the earth; and in the 
 East they are much more dangerous than in Europe, in Italy ; 
 see Winer, E. L., under Scorpion. 
 
 Verse 4. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt 
 the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree ; 
 but only (el /AT)) those men which have not the seal of God on their 
 foreheads ; who are not specified as servants of God, but appear 
 as belonging to the world, in opposition to the kingdom of 
 God. 
 
 Verse 5. And to them it was given (power and a charge ; comp. 
 vi. 4, ib. 8, with eovo-ta), that they should not kill them, but that 
 they should be tormented Jive months = that they should continue 
 to torment them so long without killing them. The five months 
 serve as a round number (like the ten days, ii. 10) to denote a 
 considerable period of time for such a plague, and are probably 
 chosen in reference to the duration of summer, during which 
 locusts, particularly scorpions, are destructive and dangerous. 
 Zlillig is of opinion that a sort of flood-plague is meant by the 
 five months, since the waters of the flood, according to Gen. vii. 24, 
 remained upon the earth for 150 days = five mouths, and those 
 waters also came forth partly out of the great deep, in the same 
 manner as the locusts here, at the opening of the windows of 
 heaven (H2T1H) to which n?J~i!S locust alludes. Yet that is too 
 far-fetched to render it probable that the writer thought of it. 
 
 And their torment (pain), that caused by them, was as the 
 torment of a scorpion when it striketh a man, with its sting, which 
 is very painful, and in the East even dangerous. 
 
 Verse 6. And in those days shall men seek death and shall not 
 find it ; and shall desire to die and death shall flee from them. So 
 much will they be tormented with pain ; comp. Job iii. 20 sqq., 
 " Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery and life unto 
 the bitter in soul ? which long for death, but it cometh not ; and 
 dig for it more than for hid treasures ; which rejoice exceedingly 
 and are glad when they can find the grave?" Moreover, in this
 
 234 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 verse, the form of description, viz. intuition in vision, is aban- 
 doned, though prevailing in the book generally, in the immedi- 
 ately preceding verses and again in those immediately following, 
 and the form of. prediction is chosen, in accordance with which 
 the verbs are made future. In the same manner, xiii. 8, xx. 7 
 sqq. Here we find also quite poetical language, with the paral- 
 lelism of Hebrew poetry, so that what Heinrichs supposes is 
 possible, viz. that it was taken from some poetical fragment now 
 lost. 
 
 Verse 7. And the shapes of the locusts were like = the locusts 
 resembled in form, unto horses prepared for battle ; comp. Joel ii. 
 4, 'inH'ia D^DID nfcTiBp. According to Niebuhr's description of 
 Arabia, it is a common proverb among the Arabs that locusts are 
 similar in head to the horse, in breast to the lion, in feet to the 
 camel, in body to the snake, in tail to the scorpion, in feelers to 
 the hair of a maiden. 
 
 And on their heads (were) as it were crowns like gold. This 
 belongs to the exaggerated delineation of these supernatural 
 locusts. The feelers of common locusts, about three-quarters of 
 an inch long, may have suggested these crowns. 
 
 And their faces were as the faces of men. From this one might 
 wrongly conclude that actual men were meant. 
 
 Verse 8. And they had hair as the hair of women, as long, and 
 hanging down, giving to their face a wilder, more frightful ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 And their teeth were as the teeth of lions, crushing everything. 
 Joel i 6, f? H^ nfo VflSI rr-iS *$tf j^ri. Pliny, H. N. ii. 29, 
 morsu omnia erodunt, et fores quoque tectorum. 
 
 Verse 9. And they had breast-plates, as it were, breast-plates of 
 iron ; so that they are difficult to wound or to kill ; comp. Joel 
 ii. 8, "Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one 
 in his path." The comparison has in view the green breasts of 
 natural locusts heightened in the middle, and attaches itself to 
 that. 
 
 And the sound of tJieir wings ivas as tlie sound of chariots with
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 235 
 
 many horses running to battle ; comp. Joel. ii. 5, " Like the noise 
 of chariots, on the tops of mountains shall they leap, as a strong 
 people set in battle array/' The noise which locusts make con- 
 sists in a burring they produce whilst flying, by means of their 
 wings and leaps. As to the grammatical connection here, iWwv 
 is not, as many understand it, an apposition to appaTuv, but de- 
 pendent upon it as a genitive ; and probably not merely TroAAwv, 
 but also Tpe^ovTwv, refer to iWwi/. Without proper grounds, Ewald 
 considers tWwi/, and De Wette appdrfov, as glosses (the former, 
 however, not now). 
 
 Verse 10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, different from 
 natural locusts. Scorpions have a very flexible tail at the hinder 
 part of the body, which ends in a curved point with which they 
 wound men and beasts ; see Winer, E. W., under Scorpion. What 
 follows runs according to the received reading, which Griesbach 
 has also retained in the text : and there were stings in their tails ; 
 and their power was, they had power, to hurt men five months. 
 But in that case nothing more definite than verse 3 would be 
 contained in it. There are many variations in the Greek manu- 
 scripts and other authorities, so that it is difficult to discover, 
 with accuracy the original reading. So much is certain, that the 
 /ecu after ovpcus avr&v is not genuine, and that /cat Kevrpa belongs 
 to the preceding ; so that it is intimated that the power is in 
 their tails to hurt men, according to the Divine will, for five 
 months. Perhaps also KCU should be read instead of ?Jv, with 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf ; therefore, they have tails like scorpions 
 and stings ; and in their tail lies their power to hurt men for five 
 montJis ; comp. Pliny, H. N. ii. 25, of Scorpions: semper cauda in 
 ictu est, nulloque momento meditari cessat, ne quando desit 
 occasioni. 
 
 Verse 11. And they had a king over them, which is the angel 
 of tlie bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, 
 but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon Destroyer. Per- 
 haps an intimation lies at the foundation of this, that locusts 
 make their destructive advances together ; in great swarms, as if
 
 236 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 they were conducted by a leader. Abaddon is properly abstr. 
 = destruction, devastation, perishing ; it also stands for the 
 place of destruction, the abyss = biNttJ. Among the later Jews, 
 it designates the innermost part of the under-world, or hell. 
 Here it is taken as a concrete, the appellation of a demon, to 
 whom the pit is given over, denoting his destructive cha- 
 racter; and is accordingly interpreted by aTroAArW, Destroyer 
 (Napoleon). 
 
 Verse 12. One woe is past ; and behold, there come two woes 
 more hereafter ; namely, at the trumpets of the two last angels. 
 It is most probable that this is not, as Ewald thinks, the seer's 
 own remark, but a voice from heaven heard by him, similar to 
 that of the eagle which in viii. 13 announces the three woes. 
 
 The description of the second woe, which appears at the 
 trumpet of the sixth angel, extends from ix. 13 xi. 14; as 
 the remark at the conclusion of this section (xi. 14), that the 
 second woe is past, and that ib. 15, that the seventh angel 
 has sounded his trumpet, clearly show. The description of the 
 second woe is divided into several sections, of which the first, 
 
 Verses 1321, 
 
 introduces the chief plague of this second woe, consisting of an 
 innumerable and fearful army of horsemen, which breaks forth 
 after four plague-angels hitherto bound in the Euphrates have 
 been let loose by Divine command ; which army kills a third 
 part of men, they having been before tormented exceedingly 
 by the plagues. It has already been shown in the general Intro- 
 duction that it is quite inadmissible to think here of the Koman 
 army of Vespasian, as Grotius, Wetstein, Herder, Heinrichs, &c., 
 do ; or to refer it generally to a plague against the Jewish 
 nation and land. At all events, it is not a poetic delineation of 
 a plague which the seer had before his eyes, but the announce- 
 ment of a future one shortly preceding the last judgment and 
 the coming of the Lord, and increasing the previous misfortunes 
 to their highest point. Those visited by it are not described as
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 237 
 
 Jews, nor represented as the people of God, but as heathens 
 and worshippers of idols. For that very reason, apart from 
 all others, the explanations of earlier interpreters appear inap- 
 plicable, and not suited to the meaning of the book, when 
 they refer it in part to the wars of the Turks and Saracens 
 against Christendom, or, as Coccejus does, to the wars of the 
 Emperor Ferdinand against Protestantism, and such like. The 
 whole description is of such a kind that it cannot well be meant 
 of any ordinary human army. It is more suitable to understand 
 it, with Andreas, of wicked demons coming before the last days. 
 For it is evidently an army of demons, let loose and led by 
 demons, which is to be sent forth against the men of the world, 
 particularly the heathen world, before the last judgment, to 
 destroy a considerable portion of them, without the rest being 
 brought to repentance, so that God's own people are taken by 
 him, and hidden from the last judgment. For what remains, 
 compare the general Introduction, pp. 108 sqq. 
 
 Verse 13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice 
 from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. The 
 horns of the altar are the projecting points at its four corners 
 (entail nfcn|3i)> perhaps from their horn-like form; and this 
 feature is transferred here to the sacrificial altar in heaven. The 
 piav is meant to indicate that it was one and the same voice, 
 although it appeared to come forth out of the four horns, by 
 means of which the sound is considered to be strengthened. 
 That the voice proceeds from the altar, where sacrifices are 
 offered to God as symbols of the prayers of the saints, denotes 
 that it was a holy, heavenly voice, and includes besides the idea 
 that these prayers are about to find their fulfilment in the 
 punishment of the adversaries of God and his kingdom. In 
 ch. xvi. 7, a voice is attributed to the altar itself, designating 
 the divine judgment as near and just. 
 
 Verse 14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, 
 Loose the four angels, which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 
 In Gen. xv. 8 and other places, the Euphrates is described as the
 
 238 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 great river, VnarT "inan. The four angels here are demons, 
 different from the four angels named in vii. 1, who hold the four 
 winds at the four corners of the earth. The Euphrates is named 
 as the district whence these demoniac troops break forth to 
 punish the world, perhaps for these reasons: (a) because the 
 idea of wasteness attaches to this region; such as one would 
 suppose the abode of demons and evil spirits, whither they were 
 banished that they might no longer hurt ; comp. xviii. 2 ; Matt. 
 jxii. 43; Tob. viii. 3, where the demon Asmodi, banished by 
 Tobias, flees into the wilderness of Upper Egypt, where Tobias 
 binds him ; so it is said of old Babylon, situated on the 
 Euphrates, in its threatened destruction (Is. xiii. 21), that 
 O^yip will dance there, which the LXX. render 8ai/xovta ; and 
 in imitation of this passage, it is said in our book (xviii. 2) of 
 the new Babylon, Eome, in reference to its destruction, that it 
 
 had become KaroiK^-n^cHov Sai/iovtwv KCU <f)v\a.Kr) vravros Trvev/xaros 
 
 aKaOdpTov. Besides, (&) this district on the Euphrates, among 
 such regions of the earth as were in some degree known, con- 
 tinued to be most independent of the Eomans ; so that it lay at 
 the nearest point whence one might suppose an army breaking 
 forth to punish the dwellers of the earth and its rulers ; comp. 
 also below, xvi 1 2. Yet we must not say, with Ewald, that the 
 seer was here thinking precisely of the Parthians and their 
 horsemen as the persons summoned to chastise the Eomans, for, 
 as already said, the army itself is not represented as a human 
 one. 
 
 Verse 15. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared 
 for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year = for every 
 time they should be commanded, to slay the third part of men. 
 
 Verse 16. And the number of the army of the horsemen (was) 
 two hundred tJwusand thousand (200 millions) ; / heard the 
 number of them; he hears the number pronounced, since he 
 himself could not with any certainty count them because of the 
 great number ; comp. vii. 4. The KCU of the received text before 
 is to be expunged, with Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lach-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 239 
 
 mann, Tischendorf, &c., after A. 28 cursive, Syr. Copt. Arm. 
 Vulg. MS. Prim. al. lat. Andr. Then the construction may be 
 somewhat different by striking out the colon after ^v/naSwi/, 
 and taking 6 api0/zos as a nominative absolute preceding: And 
 the number of the army of the horsemen, 200 millions I heard as 
 their number. 
 
 Verse 17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision. Such is 
 opao-is, as often in the LXX. and New Testament. One might 
 refer the OUTWS to what precedes : so now = in such troops. 
 But more probably it refers to what follows, to the minuter 
 description which the seer immediately gives of the horses. A 
 certain negligence always occurs in the representation ; thus I 
 saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them having 
 breast-plates, &c., instead of, thus the horses and their riders 
 were presented to me in the vision; the riders had fiery jacinth 
 and brimstone breast-plates; all three adjectives refer, without 
 doubt, to the colour of the coat of mail, which had a three-fold 
 bright colour. wKivflivos probably denotes blackish-red, corre- 
 sponding to the colour of smoke, verse 18; comp. upon the 
 word, the Lexicons of Schneider and Passow. 
 
 And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions ; and out 
 of their moutlis issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 
 
 Verse 18. By these three plagues was the third part of men killed 
 by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the toimstone, which issued out 
 of their moutlis. The description here is a sort of three-fold 
 plague, although it must be thought of as properly one. 
 
 Verse 19. For the power of the horses rests in their mouth, with it 
 they exercise their deadly action, and in their tails; for their tails 
 were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them, the heads, 
 they do hurt, injure, besides their mouth. There is no particular 
 occasion for assuming, with many interpreters (also Ewald), that 
 the writer thought of the amphisbaena in this comparison, which, 
 according to the ancients (for example, Plin., H. N. viii. 35), had 
 also a head in the tail, and in both heads poison ; the 6'/*oicu o
 
 240 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 is not = o/ioicu ou/acus o<ecov; but the meaning is, that their tails 
 were similar to snakes, especially in having a head. Besides, 
 the words KCU kv TCUS ou/ocus aurwv are wanting in the received 
 text; but Compl., Bengel, &c., and Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, &c., have rightly admitted them again, after A. B.C. 37 
 cursive, Vulg. Syr. Ar. Copt. Aeth. Andr. Areth, Prim. The 
 addition is necessary to the meaning. 
 
 Verse 20. And the rest of the men which were not killed l>y these 
 plagues, yet repented not (by discontinuing) (^eravoetv in Apoc. fre- 
 quently, is wanting entirely in John's Gospel and Epistles 
 [Ewald]) of the works of their hands, does not mean the idols which 
 they had made with their hands (as V}T nippa, Is. xvii. 8), but 
 their doings and conduct in general. 
 
 That tliey sJwuld not (still farther) worship demons (in the same 
 manner are the deities worshipped by the heathens styled in 
 1 Cor. x. 20 sqq., Deut. xxxii. 17 ; cornp. Ps. xcvi. 5). 
 
 And idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood, 
 which neither can see, nor hear nor walk (after Dan. v. 23, "And 
 thou hast praised, Belshazzar, the gods of silver and gold, of 
 brass, iron, wood and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know ") ; 
 comp. Ps. cxv. 5 8. For the rest, it is clear that the writer here 
 thought of idolaters, of heathens, not of Jews, as was already 
 remarked in the general Introduction, which, together with the 
 reasons already mentioned, serve as proofs that the army of 
 horsemen presented in the preceding verses cannot mean the 
 army of Vespasian in the Eomish-Jewish war. 
 
 Verse 21. Neither repented they of their murders, nor oftJieir 
 sorceries, nor of tJieir fornications, nor of their thefts ; <appiKeiai 
 are praestigise, magic arts, sorceries, particularly such as were 
 practised to injure others, and with the pretended aid of devils. 
 In Deut. xviii. 10 sqq., divination and sorcery of every kind are 
 forbidden to the Jews as something abominable to Jehovah, for 
 which he drives the heathen nations before Israel out of their land. 
 That Paul considered the like arts as incompatible with the
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 241 
 
 gospel is shown by Acts xix. 19, G-al. v. 20. In the Apocalypse, 
 see xxi. 8, xxii. 15. As it is here united with -iropvda., so in MaL 
 iii. 5, D^fejKap and D^tSfotp are named together. 
 
 Ch. x. 
 
 The contents of this chapter contain no progress in the pro- 
 phecy, in the development of the future, but, as it were, some 
 interludes, which, like the sealing of the servants of God at the 
 opening of the seventh seal, precede and prepare the way for the 
 sounding of the seventh trumpet and introduction of the third 
 woe ; or rather, to speak more exactly, appear between the two 
 visions relating to the future, in which the second woe is included. 
 First, there is in 
 
 Verses 1 7, 
 
 a phenomenon, the carrying out of which is not clear, but in 
 which an angel at last declares with an oath that there shall be 
 delay no longer, but that immediately at the sounding of the 
 seventh angel the mystery of God revealed by the prophets will 
 be fully completed. 
 
 Verse 1. And I saw another mighty angel (see v. 2 upon la-^vpo-s 
 as an epithet of the angel) come down from heaven, clothed with 
 a cloud, concealed in it as in a garment ; and the rainbow (was) 
 upon his head, a crown of beams, as it were, covering it (compare 
 also iv. 3). 
 
 And his face was, as it were, the sun, as bright ; comp. i. 16, KCU 
 
 ij oi^ts avrov u>s r/Aios <f>aivfi ev ry SwttfUl avrov. 
 
 And his feet as pillars of fire; comp. i. 15 (as shining brass). 
 
 Verse 2. And he had (properly, having, according to the genuine 
 reading) in his hand a little book open. This book is certainly the 
 same as that spoken of immediately below, there given to the 
 seer to swallow, which is sweet in his mouth, but after he has 
 swallowed it, it makes his stomach bitter ; whereupon it is made 
 known to him that he will again prophesy about many nations 
 and kings. But here it may be asked, in what relation does this 
 book stand to the one described at the beginning, the book of the 
 
 B
 
 242 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 future closed with seven seals ? As its seven seals were already 
 opened by the Lamb in the preceding verses, it might here be 
 represented as an open book. Only one would expect that it 
 would be distinctly intimated that the very book already de- 
 scribed is now introduced as an open one. Its designation here 
 by the diminutive /3t/3A,apSiov, appears to hint that another than 
 the fiifiXtov is meant. It is true that we have here also /3<,/2A.iov in 
 B. 25 cursive ; but the received is doubtless the correct reading, 
 as is made still more certain by verses 9, 10. Many interpreters, 
 therefore, think of another book different from the former. So 
 also Ewald, who believes (now, however, somewhat differently) 
 that the little book presented here contains nothing but the 
 destiny which threatened the holy city of Jerusalem until the 
 appearing of the Lord, and which is introduced in ch. xi. But 
 according to verse 11, we cannot doubt that the contents of the 
 book, which the seer received by swallowing, relate to the same 
 subject of which he should afterwards prophesy again; conse- 
 quently, not to the one Jewish nation merely. Most probably 
 we must regard the matter in this light, viz. that the little book 
 is not the same with the one originally closed with seven seals, 
 but another of lesser dimensions, also referring to the future of the 
 world and the church, containing that which had not yet come 
 forth in past phenomena ; the remainder of that book as it were, 
 as Bengel expresses it. It is intimated in the avewy/xevov, that 
 the contents also lay open and revealed. 
 
 And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the 
 earth. This signifies only the colossal and gigantic stature of 
 the angel ; and at the same time his position, where he might 
 be seen by all the world. 
 
 Verse 3. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth 
 is properly used of the roaring of the bull = mugire, as 
 of the lion ; yet both are applied to other animals). 
 And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. Thunder 
 is here personified and divided, as it were, among seven spirits 
 or angels of thunder, who uttered their voices together. Perhaps
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 243 
 
 (as Ziillig thinks) the number seven of the thunders, refers to 
 Ps. xxix. 3 9, where rnrP. blp stands seven times in succession 
 (as a designation of thunder). 
 
 Verse 4. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, 
 I was about to write, the contents, the signification of their utter- 
 ances, and (however) / heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, 
 Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them 
 not. Comp. Dan. viii. 26, xii. 49, where Daniel is commanded 
 to seal up the visions in part communicated, which means to 
 write them down, but to retain them sealed up till the time of 
 fulfilment which was still remote, and not to give them up to 
 the multitude before the time. Conversely, in our book (xxii. 10), 
 the seer is commanded not to seal up the words of the prophecy 
 of our book, since the time of fulfilment (6 KCU/OOS) is nigh. In 
 this passage, where he is commanded to seal up and not to write, 
 the former can only be taken in a manner corresponding to the 
 latter, that he should not make known, but keep to himself, the 
 contents of these utterances of the seven thunders, here treated 
 as articulate voices so far as they had a definite meaning, which 
 the seer knew and could have written down. It may be assumed, 
 accordingly, that the contents of these voices are not expressly 
 written down in the following verses ; and we can, at most, 
 only conjecture what they are. Most probably they contained 
 still more special divine threats about the last judgments to be 
 inflicted upon the world. The contents of the utterance of the 
 angel, not written down, are likewise of the same kind, and are 
 intimated and confirmed in their fearfulness by the utterances of 
 the seven thunders. In any case, what the angel here expresses 
 (verse 3) does not mean exactly the same as that which he 
 swears in verses 5 sqq. 
 
 Verse 5. And the, angel which I saw stand upon the sea and 
 upon tlu earth, lifted up his right (T^V 8etav is wanting in the 
 received text, but is in Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tis- 
 chendorf, and others, on sufficient testimony) hand to heaven (the 
 gesture of one who swears, as Gen. xiv. 22, Numb. xiv. 30, &c.). 
 
 R2
 
 244 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verse 6. And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever ; Dan. 
 xii. 7 lies at the foundation of this representation, " And I heard 
 the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the 
 river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto 
 heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever," 
 
 Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, 
 and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are 
 therein, that there should be delay no longer (so here xpovos, from 
 which xpovtfro-dai - to delay, to tarry). Verse 7. But in the days (at 
 the time) of the voice of the seventh angel, when he sliall begin to 
 sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to 
 his servants the prophets ; will find its fulfilment ; KCU frcXfo-dr), 
 quite a Hebrew construction, instead of TeA.eo-0?jo-eTcu. The p.va- 
 TTJ/HOV of God is the Divine counsel as to the redemption and 
 salvation of the servants of God, concealed from men and dis- 
 cerned only by immediate revelation, which will be fulfilled, 
 will be realized in a perfect way at the future coming of the 
 Lord, when the judgment of the world will take place at the same 
 time. The prophets here do not mean Christ and the apostles, as 
 Grotius and Eichhorn think, but the prophets of the Old Testa- 
 ment, to whom God already revealed this his counsel in a manner 
 more or less clear ; comp. Amos iii. 7, where it is said that God 
 does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the 
 prophets (n^ppn vimr-btf iTio nba 
 
 Verses 8 11. 
 
 Verse 8. And the voice which I heard from heaven (verse 4) 
 spake unto me again, and said, G-o and take the little book which is 
 open in the hand of tJie angel, which standeth upon the sea and upon 
 the earth. 
 
 Verse 9. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me 
 the little book. And he said unto me, Take and swallow it, devour 
 it, eat it up ; and it shall make thy belly bitter, cause a bitter 
 feeling in it ; as Job xxvii. 2, 6 iravTOKpartap 6 True/Daws pov fty
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 245 
 
 1 MaCC. iii. 7, KCU eTrt/cpave /JcHriAeis TroAAovs Kat 
 fvfftpave TO i/ 'Ia.Ku/3. 
 
 Verse 10. -<4?w / 0o& /w fo'^0 &oo& out of tJie angel's hand and 
 ate it up ; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey, and as soon as 
 I had eaten it my belly was bitter. As to the meaning of this 
 symbolical action in general, consuming or swallowing the words 
 of any one, of a doctrine communicated, and such like, signifies, 
 to receive them eagerly and appropriate them to one's self. So 
 Jeremiah says (xv. 16), that when the words of Jehovah came to 
 him, he swallowed them (abp'Sl), for they were to him as the 
 joy and desire of his heart. This is represented in Ezek. ii. 8 
 iii. 3, as a symbolical action in vision ; the prophet there sees a 
 hand stretched out to him, and in it a roll of a book written on 
 both sides with lamentations and mourning and woe ; he is com- 
 manded to eat this roll (nbtorr n bapiy-n^ bb), to feed his belly 
 with it (TO?), and to fill his bowels (T$P) with it, and then 
 to go and speak to the children of Israel ; this the prophet does, 
 whereupon it was in his mouth sweet as honey (ttfo}? *p5 ^njrn 
 plnaV). This can only imply that the prophet willingly ac- 
 cepted the word of God as sweet food, although it announced 
 sorrow, in order to make it known to the people according to 
 Jehovah's command. This passage evidently lies at the founda- 
 tion of ours. That little book appeared indeed as an open one, 
 but in the hand of the angel, without the seer himself knowing 
 its contents. It is now represented symbolically that he was well 
 acquainted with its contents, had appropriated and accepted 
 them, and was therefore able to impart them to others. But it is 
 not clear what is meant when it is said, the book swallowed was 
 sweet to the tongue but it made his belly bitter, or, after he had 
 swallowed it there was a bitter, unpleasant feeling. It has been 
 referred to the mingled feeling of joy and pain which the partly 
 joyful, partly mournful, contents of the book called forth, the 
 latter on account of the threats of Divine judgment contained in 
 it, particularly respecting Jerusalem. Yet, as we remarked already, 
 it appears improbable, from verse 11, that the Divine judgment
 
 246 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 which threatened this city or the Jewish people generally should 
 be the contents of the little book. One would rather expect 
 the idea that the contents of the book, on his first tasting it' 
 were bitter on account of the Divine threats announced; but 
 yet after he had swallowed it, the book seemed delicious and 
 agreeable to the taste on account of its purpose, the prediction of 
 the appearing of the Lord and the fulfilment of God's kingdom. 
 Yet one might, at all events, explain the manner in which the 
 case is here put, by the fact that the writer made use of and 
 retained as much as possible the description of Ezekiel ; wishing 
 to denote the bitter and melancholy feeling accompanying, by 
 what is added. The description, however, apprehended in this 
 way, does not appear quite clear or natural. From the manner 
 in which the announcement is attached to it (verse 11), that 
 the seer was again to prophesy about many nations and kings, 
 which refers to the announcing of the things contained in this 
 book, one is rather inclined to take the symbolism here in a 
 somewhat different light, namely, as intimating that, however 
 sweet the taste of the book had been to him because of its con- 
 tents, he could not keep them to himself, but must cast them up 
 again in order to communicate them to others. The effect of the 
 book in his interior compelled him to that. 
 
 Verse 11. And he said unto me, the angel, Thou must again, 
 anew, still farther, besides what thou hast already beheld and 
 what thou hast been already commanded to make known, pro- 
 phesy in reference to many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and 
 kings. iroAAois belongs to the three first nouns ; rt, with the 
 dative, cannot mean here, among the nations, prophesy to them, 
 but = de iis, in reference to them, prophesy upon them or of them; 
 as, for example, John xii. 16, e^vrjo-Orjcrav 6V t TO.VTO. r\v TT avrf 
 yeypaju/wva. It is in the highest degree improbable that this 
 should refer, as Ewald thinks, merely to the prophecy about 
 Jerusalem (ch. xi.). What is prophesied in our book of Jeru- 
 salem could not possibly be described as referring to many nations 
 and kings.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 247 
 
 Ch. xi. 1, 2. 
 
 Another symbolical action which the seer is commanded to 
 perform, with a prophecy annexed about the treading under foot 
 of the holy city by the Gentiles. 
 
 Verse 1. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod. A mea- 
 suring staff is meant. Yet it is doubtful how the signification 
 of the two nouns and their relation to one another is to be 
 understood. Some take /5a/3Sos in the definite signification of 
 a measuring staff. But that usage is not certain ; on the other 
 hand, Ka'Aap>s appears among the Greeks for a measuring reed ; 
 comp. below, xxi. 15, 16. Probably this is the meaning here, 
 and the fyiotos pafiSu serves only to denote something like the 
 size and form of the measuring rod. 
 
 Whilst it was said ; so Aeywv is to be taken = "ibfc^? ; the fol- 
 lowing should be considered as the call of a heavenly voice, and 
 (from verse 3, rots pdprvvi pav) either God's or, more probably, 
 Christ's. The received text has removed the syntactical error 
 arising from the Aeywv, by putting before it, KO.I 6 ayyeAos eio-T^Kei, 
 which words are wanting in A. and about 30 or more cursive, 
 Ar. Copt. Aeth. Vulg. Andr. Areth. Prim., &c., and are omitted 
 in the editions of Erasmus, Stephens, Bengel, as well as Gries- 
 bach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., after external evidence ; to 
 which add that according to verse 3, an angel does not appear 
 to be the speaker. It is doubtless a later insertion from Zech. 
 ii. 3, iii. 5. 
 
 Rise and measure the temple of God, and tJie altar, and them 
 that worship therein. We may doubt to what the pronoun avr 
 refers, whether to dva-iatmlpiov or to vao's; the former is the 
 nearest preceding noun, in which case the sense must be, upon 
 the altar = at, by the same (so Vitringa, Grotius). Yet it is 
 more probable that it refers to the chief idea, the temple itself. 
 
 Verse 2. But the court which is without the temple, leave out, and 
 measure it not ; for it is given unto the Gentiles : and the holy city 
 shall they tread under foot forty and two months. The meaning 
 of this verse is differently understood. First of all, the purport
 
 248 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 of the measuring is doubtful. The image of measuring is also 
 found in Ezek. xl. 1, where the prophet in vision sees a heavenly 
 phenomenon, a man, having in his hand a line of flax and a mea - 
 suring reed (rnp"n?.f? LXX. KaAa/ios ^rpov), and measuring 
 everything with it, specifies the form and condition of the new 
 temple about to be erected. Similarly Zech. ii., where the prophet 
 in vision sees a man with a measuring line in his hand, measuring 
 the New Jerusalem, as it was to be restored in a more ample and 
 glorious form after its destruction. From these types, one would 
 be inclined, with Bengel, Heinrichs, &c., to refer the measuring 
 here also to the new building to be erected in the future, to the 
 designing of a plan for a new temple in the kingdom of God. But 
 in that case the fj.eTpe.lv TOVS vpoa-Kwovvra.^ could not be easily 
 explained, and it would not be clear in what way the prophecy 
 of the treading under foot of the holy city, which can only mean 
 Jerusalem, could have been attached to this symbolical action. 
 Doubtless the measuring refers to the existing temple, and has 
 another interpretation than that in Ezekiel and Zechariah, viz. 
 the same essentially as marking with the divine seal in ch. vii. 
 The space and the men who will be excepted at the affliction 
 and treading under foot impending over the city of Jerusalem 
 on the part of the Gentiles, are denoted and enclosed by the 
 measuring ; those who will continue devoted to God. We must 
 therefore think of the temple in Jerusalem as the vaos rov Oeov. 
 As already remarked in the general Introduction, the hope 
 appears to be expressed in this chapter that Divine punishment 
 should be inflicted upon Jerusalem also, but that the city 
 should not be destroyed by it ; should rather be preserved, 
 together with the temple, until the day of the Lord ; and also 
 that the greater portion of its inhabitants should be converted 
 to the Lord. But one may doubt as to the extent of temple 
 understood here. This depends upon the meaning of the Owriao- 
 rripiov which is said to be measured, and of the avXrjs T^S ew0ei/ 
 TOV 'vaov excluded, not included in the circuit of what is to 
 be measured. Ewald, Liicke also, p. 354, take the latter to mean
 
 SPECIA L INTERPRET A TION. 249 
 
 the extreme outer court of the temple at Jerusalem, the court of 
 the Gentiles, access to which was free to the Gentiles, so that 
 much less sanctity was attributed to it than to the rest of the 
 building ; but the former understands by the flvo-iaor^/Hov, and 
 Zlillig also, the altar of burnt sacrifices which stood in the fore- 
 court of the priests. Yet it is in itself probable that, if in 
 addition to the temple, a particular part of it is prominently 
 adduced as measured out and placed under the protection of 
 God, the altar of burnt sacrifices, where bloody offerings were 
 presented, would not be adduced ; but the altar of incense, 
 where sacrifices of incense were offered, symbolizing the prayers 
 of the saints ; otherwise it would imply that bloody sacrifices 
 should be retained in the Messianic kingdom: it is only on 
 this supposition that the fact would have been made promi- 
 nent that the altar where they were offered should be taken 
 by God under his special protection. Besides, in our book, 
 TO Qvo-iao-rripiov is several times put for altar of incense, not 
 merely with the epithet TO xpwovv (viii. 3, ix. 13), but also 
 without any addition (viii. 3 the first time, and ib. verse 5), 
 and in the same sense in other passages (xiv. 8, xvi. 7, and also 
 vi. 9, as is remarked there). Then, also, it is not likely that the 
 avX-ff, which was not to be measured with the rest, should mean 
 merely the forecourt of the Gentiles; but should rather, in con- 
 trast with the temple proper, have the more restricted sense 
 which included the holy and holy of holies, the whole fore- 
 court including that of the Israelites, where the altar of burnt- 
 offering stood. The expression here may be very well taken 
 so ; only we must not translate " the outer court of the temple," 
 but the court without the, temple ; the genitive TOV vaov not 
 being dependent on ^ avXrj, as Vitringa, Ewald, Zullig think, 
 but on e(o0v itself, which is also the most obvious sense. The 
 meaning then is, that at the impending treading of the holy 
 city, the temple proper, with the altar of incense ; but not the 
 forecourt nor the altar for sacrifices of blood, should be taken 
 under God's immediate protection, implying that now, under the
 
 250 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 new covenant, the sacrifices well pleasing to God are not those 
 of blood, but the prayers of saints, the ascending of which to 
 God is symbolized by incense in the holy place. One may com- 
 pare this with Enoch Ixxxix. 38 sqq., where the seer sees the 
 old house (temple) sunk, but all the pillars, every plant (and 
 carved work), brought out of it, and the ivory of the house put 
 in one place at the right of the earth, after which the Lord 
 of the sheep brings forth a new house, putting it in place of 
 the first. As to the Tr/aoo-Kwowres, I took it to mean (Abhand- 
 lung, pp. 266 sqq.) Christians as the only true priests, inas- 
 much as access to the sanctuary proper, as well as to the 
 altar of incense, belonged only to the priests. Yet this inter- 
 pretation appears to me now too artificial, and I retracted it 
 in my Beitrage z. Evang. Krit. p. 188. In the first place, the 
 subject of the chapter in general is merely Jerusalem and its in- 
 habitants. Then the expression, 01 irpoo-Kwovvres h O.VTU, whether 
 we refer the pronoun to tfwnao-T^/oiov, or, which is more likely, 
 to the temple, does not point definitely to those who were 
 already followers of Christ, but to pious worshippers of God in 
 general. And although we cannot doubt that, according to the 
 purport of our book, we should think especially of believers in 
 Jerusalem, the followers of the Lord, yet the expression does not 
 appear to refer to them exclusively, but to include with them 
 such Jews as served their God with honest heart, though not yet 
 belonging to the Christian Church ; so that a hope is expressed 
 that they also would be led to a knowledge of the Lord and 
 belief in him ; just as a hope is afterwards intimated that the 
 greatest part of the inhabitants of the city would be converted 
 (verse 13). At all events, this measuring of the pious worshippers 
 in the sanctuary means that they are placed under the especial 
 protection of their God, who will preserve them unhurt during 
 the affliction which threatens the holy city. An explanation 
 like Hengstenberg's is quite false and against the meaning of 
 the book, which understands the temple (measured, and conse- 
 quently to be preserved) of those who are deeply imbued and
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 251 
 
 penetrated with the spirit of the (Christian) Church; and the 
 outer court, of those who have been but superficially converted, 
 and would lose even that which they have when the Church is 
 flooded by the world ; see against him, Lticke, 2nd ed., pp. 225 
 237. The ZSodrj rots edvea-t does not mean that the forecourt without 
 the temple was at that time given up to the heathen and profaned 
 by them, but that it was appointed to them, and, like the rest of 
 the city, would be trodden under foot by them. As to the manner 
 in which the prophecy against Jerusalem is here constructed, viz. 
 that it will be trodden under foot forty-two months by the Gen- 
 tiles, that is, will be given over to them during that time, and 
 maltreated by them profanely, prophecies of the book of Daniel 
 lie at the basis, where the time of oppression of the Jewish 
 people, and suppression of the worship of the true God, is stated 
 at seven half-years (= forty-two months) or half a year-week 
 (vii. 25, ix. 27, xii. 7 ; comp. viii. 13 sqq.) ; which typically re- 
 ferred to a calamity of the city preceding the appearance of the 
 Messianic kingdom, or directly applied to it as a prophecy. 
 
 Compare also Lticke, XXL 24, /ecu 'lepov o-aA^/x, e'o-TCUTraTovjuev^ VTTO 
 
 f.6vu>v ax/ 6S " TrA/q/jtoflwo-i Kaipol e#v<3v ; a treading under foot, 
 KaTa7raTer0cu, is also described as what happened to Jerusalem 
 and the sanctuary, under Antiochus Epiphanes, on the part of 
 the heathen ; Mace. iii. 45, 51, iv. 60 ; Dan. viii 13. 
 
 Verses 313, 
 
 A prophecy of two Christian martyrs, who, during the period 
 of Jerusalem's being trodden under foot by the Gentiles, appear 
 in the city and are murdered by Antichrist, but after their death 
 are wonderfully glorified by God, and therefore effect the con- 
 version of the greatest portion of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
 who continue after divine punishment. See what was remarked 
 on this section in the general Introduction. It was there said 
 that an historical fact, which the writer had already before his 
 eyes not the Jewish high-priests, Ananus and Jesus, whom 
 Wetstein thinks of, and also Herder, Eichhorn, &c. is not
 
 252 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 spoken of; but that there is a prophetic allusion to two wit- 
 nesses for the Christian faith, who should appear at the time 
 preceding the coming of the Lord, and should direct the nation 
 (particularly the Jewish), by their exhortations, to repentance 
 at his coming. An idea prevalent in the Jewish Church at 
 that time lies at the foundation, according to which it was 
 expected that some of the old prophets would precede the Mes- 
 siah as forerunners, to prepare the way for him. Naturally this 
 idea developed itself in the Christian Church in such a way 
 as that they were to appear before the return of the Lord, and 
 to succumb outwardly to the power of Antichrist. As to the 
 persons of these witnesses for the faith, it may be assumed as 
 certain, as all the ancients allow, that the prophet Elijah is one 
 of them, since the opinion was widely prevalent that he, having 
 been carried up to heaven without dying, would return at the 
 time of the Messiah, or as his forerunner (according to Mai. 
 iv. 5). The ancients generally suppose the second to be Enoch, 
 especially because it was assumed of him (according to Gen. 
 v. 24) that he was received up to heaven whilst still alive. So 
 Tertull. de animo, ch. 1.; Jerome, Ep. ad Marcellam; Ammonius, 
 in his interpretation of Daniel ; Arethas, who calls this interpre- 
 tation (Elijah and Enoch) a tradition unanimously accepted by 
 the Church, as Andreas says that noXXol TWV SiSao-Ka'Awv TOVTOVS 
 fvorja-av ; comp., farther, the apocryphal Apocalypse of John, 
 Nicodemi Evangelium, ch. xxv., and a Scholion to the Cod. MS. 
 Gr. N. T. Uffenbachianum. Yet it is more probable that Moses 
 is meant for the second (so also Ziillig), since the idea appears 
 to have been more prevalent at the time of Christ, that Moses 
 would return and precede the Messiah, besides Elijah ; comp. 
 Matt. xvii. 3 sqq., and Schottgen, Hor. I. p. 148, II. p. 544. The 
 features also of the following description of the two witnesses 
 appear to allude to the history of Elijah, as well as to that of 
 Moses, in many ways. It is certainly not accordant with the 
 purport of the Apocalypse not to understand the two witnesses 
 as individuals, as many interpreters do, but, with Ebrard, as the
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 253 
 
 law and the gospel; or with Hengstenberg, as ideal persons, 
 personifications of testimony-bearing. As to the description in 
 this section, the prophecy of the two martyrs is first given to 
 John by the same heavenly voice, namely, Christ's, which had 
 already spoken to him ; the discourse continues, and the descrip- 
 tion runs into futures as far as verse 10. Then it changes ; the 
 re-animation of the two martyrs and what is annexed to it 
 being related in aorists, as if it actually took place before the 
 eyes of the seer, therefore as a vision. 
 
 Verse 3. And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall 
 prophesy, a Hebraising form, instead of, I will give them the 
 office, the commission, to prophesy, 1260 days, clothed in sack- 
 cloth, namely, as preachers of repentance, as a sign of mourning 
 for the destruction of the people and the injury threatening 
 them. The Trpo^Tevtiv denotes entire prophetic activity in speech, 
 which is meant here at the same time to point to the future. 
 The Lord describes them as his /tap-ru/aes, inasmuch as they bear 
 witness of him, particularly of his coming ; comp. i. 5, iii. 1 4 ; 
 John i. 15. The article TO?S Svo-t iidprva-i pov shows that two 
 definite persons are meant, and that the expectation of them 
 might be supposed as a thing already known. The 1260 days 
 correspond to the forty-two months, during which Jerusalem 
 was to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles; this time is 
 meant for that of their prophetic preaching of repentance. 
 
 Verse 4. These are the two olive-trees, and the two candlesticks 
 standing before the Lord of the earth. Here the article, being 
 repeated, shows that two definite olive-trees and candlesticks are 
 meant. This refers to the vision of Zechariah, ch. iv., where the 
 prophet sees a golden candlestick (Xv^yia} with seven lamps 
 (Xvxvot), and with it two olive-trees ; the seven lamps are ex- 
 plained to be the eyes of Jehovah which run through the whole 
 world (verse 10); the two olive-trees as "the two sons of oil 
 ("in?^ \35, that is, anointed, consecrated to God), which stand 
 there before the Lord of all the earth"
 
 254 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 which is to be considered a most honourable designation, " ser- 
 vants of Jehovah." The prophet probably thought of Zerubbabel 
 and the high-priest Joshua. Here the allusion is to those two 
 witnesses who should appear before the second advent of the 
 Lord as preachers of repentance in Jerusalem. At the same 
 time they are described as the two candlesticks, alluding doubt- 
 less to that vision of Zechariah ; although but one candlestick 
 with seven lamps is spoken of there. Perhaps this candlestick 
 was also looked upon as representing the two anointed ones, and 
 therefore two candlesticks might be spoken of here. According 
 to A. B. C. and many cursive, Andr. Areth. and others, with 
 Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., the 
 article at should be accepted before Svo Xvxvtat ; and instead of 
 Oeov, with the same editions (according to A. C. 33 cursive, Syr. 
 AT. Copt. (Aeth.) Vulg. Hippol. Andr. and Areth. Prim. Victorin 
 and others), wpiov should be read, as it is found also in Zecha- 
 riah ; in any case, according to the purport of our book, God the 
 Father is meant by the Lord of the earth, not Christ, who is 
 here the speaker. Finally, instead of the received CO-TWO-CU, eo-ron-es 
 should probably be read, with Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tis- 
 chendorf, approved of by Mill (after A. B. C. 25 cursive, Vulg. 
 Areth.) ; and this inaccuracy may be explained by the fact, that 
 the writer had in his mind the men themselves, to whom the 
 words refer in Zechariah ; although here the article a.1 refers to 
 
 the X,vxyiat. 
 
 Verse 5. And if any man will hurt them, dare to do them harm, 
 fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devour eth their enemies; and 
 if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be Tailed, in 
 the manner indicated, by fire proceeding out of their mouth. Dif- 
 ferently explained by Bengel and De Wette, in consequence of that, 
 as if according to the jus talionis. The second hemistich repeats, 
 merely for emphatic confirmation, the thought expressed in the 
 first; 8i indicates that it is conformable to the Divine will. 
 Moreover, there is an obvious allusion to the history of Elijah,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 255 
 
 who destroyed twice with fire the army sent out against him by 
 the king of Israel, Ahaziah ; the fire falling down from heaven 
 at his command (2 Kings i. 10 12 ; Luke ix. 54). Since such 
 was the effect of his prayer, it is said in Sir. xlviii. 1 sqq., that 
 Elijah is a prophet like fire, whose word burns as a torch, and 
 who brought down fire (from heaven, Karvjyayev). The effect of 
 this is enhanced by the consuming fire proceeding out of the 
 mouth of the two witnesses themselves ; a sign of the great 
 power and efficacy of their words; similar to the sharp two- 
 edged sword proceeding from the mouth of the Son of Man 
 (i. 16) ; comp., besides, Numb. xvi. 35, according to which those 
 who rebelled against Moses were consumed by fire proceeding 
 from Jehovah. 
 
 Verse 6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in 
 the days of their prophecy ; this also alludes to the history of 
 Elijah, 1 Kings xvii. 18, who proclaimed that there would be a 
 drought in Israel, which also took place, so that rain, according 
 to ib. xviii. 1, did not return till three years. At a later period 
 it was customary to give the duration of this drought in the 
 round and mystical number- of seven half-years = three and 
 a half years ; so Luke iv. 25 ; James v. 17 ; and also Jalkut 
 Schimeoni ad Eeg. xvi. fol. 32 ; corresponding to the 1260 days 
 of the duration of the prophetic activity of these two witnesses 
 of the Lord, during which they have also power to shut up 
 heaven, that is, to stop all rain. 
 
 And have power over waters to turn them to Hood, and to smite, 
 the earth with all plagues, as often as they will, like Moses in 
 Egypt, to whom this doubtless alludes. 
 
 Verse 7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, at 
 the end of the period of 1260 days, during which they are 
 destined to work as witnesses of the Lord, 
 
 The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war 
 against them, attack them, and shall overcome them and Jcill them. 
 This means Antichrist, whose essence and agency are portrayed 
 at large in the second part of the book ; who is there (xiii. 1)
 
 256 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 introduced as. a beast, ascending up out of the sea, of whom it is 
 also said (xvii. 8), he will ascend out of the pit QueAAei dvafiaivfiv 
 CK T^S dftvara-ov). The description of those (verses 9, 10) who rejoice 
 at the death of the two witnesses, although they are killed in 
 Jerusalem, shows that this beast here is not a representative 
 and personification of Judaism in its hostility to Christianity ; 
 but is rather a representative of paganism or idolatry. 
 
 Verse 8. And their dead bodies (instead of the received TO, 
 , we should read here and the first time (verse 9), TO 
 after overwhelming external evidence, with Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf ; but the singular stands col- 
 lectively, like nb55, and in the same sense as the plural ; the 
 latter being genuine the second time, verse 9), shall lie in the 
 streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and 
 Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. By the latter addi- 
 tion, Jerusalem is most clearly meant. Instead of the received 
 reading, 6 KV/HOS ^/xwv, we should have, with Compl., Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., 6 K. CU'TWV, after A. B.C. 
 32 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Copt. Aeth. Arm. Vulg. Orig. Andr. 
 Areth. and others ; and the pronoun then refers to the two 
 witnesses themselves, of whom Christ might be designated as 
 lord, just as well as they styled his witnesses (verse 3). After 
 what has been remarked, these might be considered the words 
 of Christ himself, notwithstanding the description of his person. 
 Yet it is quite possible that the writer did not mean this 
 entire communication of the heavenly voice to the seer, in 
 the words spoken by the Messiah. Trvev/mriKws KaAemu implies 
 that the city, though properly having another name, resembled 
 the town of Sodom in its internal and vicious condition, and 
 is therefore punished by God with destruction ; to which city 
 the covenant people are frequently compared, when described 
 with respect to their disobedience to God (for example, in Is. 
 i. 10, " Hear the word of Jehovah, ye princes of Sodom ; observe 
 the doctrine of our God, ye people of Gomorrah "). The same 
 is the case with the land of Egypt, in reference to the hostility
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 257 
 
 and persecutions it inflicted upon the % people of God at the 
 time of Moses, even as Jerusalem now acts toward the followers 
 of the Lord. 
 
 Verse 9. And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues and 
 nations = people of every nation of the earth, shall see (sc. <n or 
 nves, as ii. 10, &c.) their dead bodies three days and an half (again 
 a round mystical number, denoting a space of several days), and 
 shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. Out of hos- 
 tility to them and the thing they proclaimed, they will by no 
 means permit them to be buried after their murder ; but they 
 will be left lying upon the street like a carcase, in token of dis- 
 grace. This was regarded by the Hebrews as a particular dis- 
 honour. 
 
 Verse 10. And they that dwell upon the earth (as iii. 10, vi.. 10) 
 shall rejoice over them, on account of their murder, and make 
 merry, and shall send gifts one to another, as is still customary in 
 the East on festive occasions ; a sign of rejoicing ; see Harmer's 
 Beobachtungen iiber den Orient. Part ii. p. 1. Compare the 
 ntao nbir, Neh. viii. 10, 12 ; Esth. ix. 19, 22 ; that is, to send 
 to those who are absent from a festival dishes (portions) of the 
 meal. 
 
 Because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the 
 earth; for this reason it is natural that the latter should rejoice 
 exceedingly at their destruction. The ftaa-avifav refers both to 
 the unwelcome matter which the preaching of repentance natu- 
 rally contained for worldly men, as well as to the plagues which 
 the two witnesses, agreeably to the power bestowed upon them, 
 were able to inflict on their adversaries and the world in general, 
 according to verses 5, 6. 
 
 Verse 11. Here, as already remarked, there is a change in the 
 description, since what happens farther to these martyrs is no 
 longer prophetically announced by the heavenly voice, but is 
 beheld by the seer in vision, as if happening before his eyes. 
 
 And after three days and an half, the spirit of life from God 
 entered into them. The breath of life was, as it were, again 
 
 s
 
 258 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 breathed into them by God ; they lived again, in proof of which 
 it is said, And tliey stood upon their feet, rose again by their own 
 act. In this picture, Ezek. xxxvii. 10 floated before the mind of 
 the writer, where it is said that when the prophet prophesied, life 
 came again into the bones of the dead, they again lived and stood 
 upon their feet (crrbfvby ITP^l -Vn?3 H-Tin cnn fctaj-n). In 
 our passage, instead of the received r avrous, we should pro- 
 bably read, with Bengel (Gnomon), Griesbach, Lachmann, Tis- 
 chendorf, ev aurois (= eis avrovs), after A. cursive, Andreas. 
 Another reading has merely awois, C. 4 cursive, and so ed. of 
 Erasmus, ed. Berg; on the contrary, eis avrovs, B. 21 cursive, 
 Vulg. Areth. Andr. 2 ; probably all a gloss from ev awrots ; comp. 
 2 Kings xiii. 21, where it says of a dead man who was thrown 
 into the sepulchre of Elisha, that as soon as he touched the 
 bones of the prophet he revived, and stood upon his feet. On 
 irvtvpa farjs compare O^n npttfo, Gen. ii. 7. 
 
 And great fear fell upon them which saw them. 
 
 Verse 12. And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying 
 unto them, Come up hither ; and they ascended up to heaven in a, 
 cloud. Here is repeated what is related of Elijah, 2 Kings ii. 11, 
 that he was carried up to heaven in a whirlwind (rnyp2 b^"} 
 D^ln), before the eyes of his follower Elisha ; either the men 
 who saw the martyrs and their re-animation, or more probably 
 the martyrs themselves, are the subject of ^Kovo-av. But the 
 genuine reading here is probably rjKova-a, / heard, which the 
 Conipl., Bengel, Tischendorf, and some other editions have; 
 and Griesbach, Ewald, Zlillig, De Wette, &c., approve. It is 
 found in B. 24 cursive, Syr. ed. Ar. Copt. Andr. Areth., and 
 might easily have been changed, according to what precedes, 
 into the received reading by transcribers who supposed that the 
 address of the heavenly voice to the seer still continues. 
 
 And their enemies beheld them. 
 
 Verse 13. And the same hour (instead of Jpa, Compl. and 
 others have ^e/>a, to which also Griesbach strongly inclines; 
 after B. 32 cursive, Ar. Pol. Andr. 2, Areth.) was there a great
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETA TION. 259 
 
 earthquake, and the tenth part of tlie city (Jerusalem)/^/, and in 
 the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand ; on 6v6/j,aTa, see 
 iii. 4. The earthquake appears here in glorification of the two 
 martyrs, and accompanying their victory over their enemies ; 
 whereupon is destroyed a part, and undoubtedly far the smaller 
 part, of the city and its Jewish inhabitants, for they are certainly 
 meant. But upon those who remain (namely, the remaining 
 Jewish inhabitants of the city, and perhaps of the Jewish land 
 in general), the thing has a different effect than the slaying of a 
 third part of men by the diabolical troop had upon the rest of 
 the men of the earth, according to ix. 20 sqq. ; for whilst it said 
 of these, that they were not converted from idolatry and other 
 vices by divine punishment, we read here of those, and the rem- 
 nant were affrighted, were afraid (Acts xxiv. 24, 25, of Felix, 
 fnfopos yevo/zevos), and gave glory to the God of heaven, the honour 
 due to him, acknowledging him in his power, justice and mercy, 
 and so were induced to become obedient to his will ; compare, 
 upon the formula, xiv. 7, xvi. 9 ; John ix. 24 ; Luke xvii. 18. 
 It cannot, therefore, be denied that a hope is intimated here 
 that, though God should inflict punishment on Jerusalem, only 
 a part of the city and its inhabitants should perish ; that such 
 as remain should amend, and the city, together with the temple, 
 be preserved until the appearing of the Lord. See on this the 
 general Introduction. 
 
 Herewith the second woe, which appears at the sixth trumpet, 
 is concluded, as is expressly stated in 
 
 Verse 14. 
 The second woe is past, and, behold, the third woe cometh 
 
 quickly ; COmp. ix. 12, ^ oval ^ pia anrfjXOev' iSov epxerai en Svo 
 
 oval pera ravra. That the mystery of God should be fulfilled 
 at the trumpet of the seventh angel, and that there should be 
 delay no longer, was also (x. 6 sqq.) confirmed by the oath of an 
 angel. The subject is now also the trumpet of the seventh angel, 
 
 s2
 
 260 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 and the voices which are heard thereupon in heaven, together 
 with the other phenomena, 
 
 Verses 1519, 
 
 lead us to expect that a description of the commencement of 
 the kingdom of the Messiah in its victory over the world, and 
 the last judgment upon the world, will follow immediately ; and 
 that with it the whole unveiling of the future will be concluded. 
 It is said, namely, 
 
 Verse 15. And the seventh angel sounded, and there were heard 
 loud voices in heaven, saying (instead of Aeyowcu, Aeyovres should 
 be read, which Mill approves, and Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, 
 Tischendorf, have received, according to A. B. 14 cursive ; in the 
 following context, instead of the received lyevovro at jBaa-iXelat, the 
 singular has much more external evidence for it, lyevero 17 /Wi- 
 Aei'a, which the Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, &c., have received, and which in fact appears more suitable ; 
 Ewald takes the plural, as the more difficult reading, for the 
 genuine one), The kingdom of the world is become that of our Lord 
 and of his Anointed (probably an allusion to Ps. ii. 2). Ziillig 
 here takes tytvcro by itself = has appeared ; and unites TOV 
 Kvpiov, &c., closely with 17 /foo-iAeia TOV Koo-fj-ov, the world-sove- 
 reignty of God and the Messiah has appeared; but this is 
 grammatically harsh and unnatural ; xii. 10 is also in favour of 
 the other acceptation, apri eyevero 17 o-wnj/oia K. r) 8vva/us K. rj 
 /3ao-iXeia TOV Oeov -t]p.wv K, -rj eovo-ta TOV X/DUTTOU O.VTOV, where 
 it is doubtless taken in this manner; and he shall reign for 
 ever and ever. We may doubt here who is meant as subject 
 to the singular /WiAeiW, God the Father or the Messiah. 
 In itself, we might very well suppose the latter; the writer 
 having thought of the noun just preceding, which would also 
 suit the sense. Yet a comparison of verse 17 makes it pro- 
 bable that it refers grammatically to the main idea, TOV Kvpiov 
 v, with which the other acceptation is connected in mean-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 261 
 
 ing, where he (our God) shall reign with his Anointed for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 Verse 16. And the four-and-tiventy elders which sat before Cfod 
 on their thrones, or sit (Lachmann has both times expunged the 
 01, after A. and several cursive ; then it would be, the twenty- 
 four elders sitting before God on their thrones; but the re- 
 ceived text is more suitable), fell upon their faces and worshipped 
 God, 
 
 Verse 17. Saying, We give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, 
 which art, and wast (the received text adds, KCU 6 epxo/^vos, 
 wanting in A. B. 32 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Aeth. Vulg. Ital. MS. 
 Andr. 2, Areth. Latin Fathers, omitted by Bengel, Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf, and approved by Mill) ; because thou hast 
 taken to thee thy great power, hast seized, which thou appearedst 
 to have resigned and to have delivered up to the prince of the 
 world. 
 
 And hast taken the sovereignty = and now reignest ; for so is 
 the aorist to be explained. 
 
 Verse 18. And the nations were angry, were enraged against 
 God and his people, and were refractory against him; this is 
 probably an allusion to Ps. xcix. 1, map inr? ^9 n 3 n ^ 
 although the proper sense is there, Jehovah is King, the nations 
 tremble; but cornp. also LXX., opyi^crOwa-av Aaot; cornp. also 
 Ps. ii. 1. 
 
 And his wrath is come, his anger is come with his punitive 
 justice ; in which relation the 0/377) of God is often mentioned. 
 
 And tlu, time of the dead, that they should be judged, can only 
 mean the time of the general resurrection of the dead and the 
 last judgment. Zlillig refers it only to the first resurrection, and 
 understands the dead as the Christian martyrs who were killed, 
 which is evidently false according to the last hemistich ; besides, 
 if they only were meant, we should not expect Kpid^vai. 
 
 And that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the pro- 
 phets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and 
 great (Lachmann has here the accusative with the last nouns,
 
 262 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 alter A. C., TOUS dyiovs K. TOVS <f>of3ovp,evov<s .... TOUS /J-iKpovs K. 
 
 TOVS jueyaAovs, which, if it be the original, can only be considered 
 a grammatical inaccuracy proceeding from great negligence on 
 the part of the writer). 
 
 And shouldest destroy them which destroyed the earth. We might 
 take the latter, who desolated the earth, caused it and its in- 
 habitants to perish by their tyrannies ; comp. Is. xiv. 20 (of the 
 king of Babylon), JTi;qn ^5 jT-iru? ^T? rs. But it is more 
 probably meant in a moral sense, who destroyed the earth by 
 their tempting to idolatry and to vices of all kinds ; comp. xix. 2, 
 
 TTJV Tropvrjv Tvjv [MeyaXrjv, 77x15 erftOeipe TTJV y?}v ev TTJ iropveuj. 
 
 Verse 19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and 
 there was seen, appeared, in his temple, the ark of the testimony of 
 the Lord. The received text has avrov (after Sia^Krys) and Lach- 
 inann also ; instead of it, Griesbach, as well as the Compl., &c., 
 have TOU Kvpiov, according to 30 cursive (Aeth.), Andr. 2, Areth., 
 which is also understood of God ; yet the received text is pro- 
 bably original. The genitive avrov (or TOV Kvpcov) may either 
 refer to Sia^ijK^s, the ark of his covenant, the covenant of the 
 Lord, or, more probably, to the whole idea, his or the Lord's ark 
 of the covenant. The contents of this hemistich itself, and its 
 connection with the development of the prophecy, have been 
 already considered in the general Introduction, and at ii. 17. 
 There is a reference to the idea, that the ark of the covenant, 
 which, since the destruction of the first temple by the Chaldeans, 
 no longer existed, had not been destroyed with it, but had 
 been previously concealed in an unknown place (by Jeremiah or 
 Josiah), and would again come forth at the time of the Messiah. 
 In this vision, accordingly, where the ark of the covenant was 
 seen in the. temple of God in heaven, an intimation appears to 
 lie, that the time of the true Messianic kingdom was now come. 
 
 And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an 
 earthquake, and great hail ; comp. viii. 5, xvi. 18, as in these two 
 places, so here, such phenomena can only be meant for an inti-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 263 
 
 mation and sign of Divine judgments upon the world ; and, 
 judging from the preceding context, of the judgment which should 
 be inflicted upon the unbelieving world at the coming of the 
 Lord. From what has preceded, we should expect that the judg- 
 ment would be introduced immediately as the third and last 
 woe, and with it the return of the Lord himself. Yet we should 
 also expect from ch. xi., since verse 7 speaks of the beast ascend- 
 ing out of the pit, viz. Antichrist, that what follows should take 
 the form of a description of the last struggle of Christ with 
 Antichrist. And such is the case. But the prophecy, before 
 describing these last conflicts of the Lord with Antichrist and 
 Satan whose instrument he is, goes back to an earlier point, 
 bringing before us 
 
 Ch. xii. 117, 
 
 how Satan proved himself from the beginning, even at the first 
 appearance of the Messiah, his furious enemy, how he sought to 
 destroy him from the first, and did not succeed, at least in de- 
 stroying his church and followers. By this means the last 
 development of the prophecy is somewhat delayed, and the 
 strained attention of the reader to it is increased all the more. 
 
 Verse 1. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, where 
 the seer still is, and where both the occurrences of the preceding- 
 visions, and that which now follows, move before him. 
 
 A woman (apposition to o-^etov ; before ywrj only a comma 
 should be put, with Lachmann and Tischendorf ; not, with Gries- 
 bach and Knapp, &c., a colon) clothed with the sun, veiled in the 
 sun as in a garment, denoting the clearest radiance; and the 
 moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 
 This entire description appears to allude to Gen. xxxvii. 9, 10, 
 where Joseph dreamed that the sun, moon and eleven stars, made 
 obeisance to him,, which is explained of his father, his mother 
 and brothers. The crown of twelve stars refers to the twelve 
 tribes of the people of God under the old covenant, which are 
 also specially adduced in vii. 4 sqq. Hence we cannot doubt
 
 264: LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 that the woman, who is called directly the mother of the Mes- 
 siah, with child, and bringing him forth, should not be under- 
 stood of the bodily mother of the Lord, Mary, but of the Church 
 of God, consisting of the tweh r e tribes of Israel under the Old 
 Testament, whence proceeded the Redeemer, according to the 
 flesh. In the Old Testament also, communities of people, lands, 
 or cities, are frequently represented as women who are with 
 child, and of whom citizens are born as children ; comp. Is. 
 Ixvi. 7 sqq., xxiii. 4, liv. 1 sqq. ; Hos. ii. 2 sqq. That this woman 
 is here represented as treading upon the moon with her feet, 
 serves only to denote her majestic elevation, without having an 
 ulterior or special significance. Yet there is probably an allusion 
 to the self-obeisance of the moon in Joseph's dream. 
 
 Verse 2. And she was with child (that is ei/ yaa-rpl cx etv ac ~ 
 cording to Hellenistic and Greek usage), and cried, travailing in 
 birth, and pained to be delivered, in the pains of birth. Therefore 
 she was just about to give birth to the Son, of whom she was in 
 travail, the Messiah, and thereupon, 
 
 Verses 3, 4. Satan considered how to destroy him. And there 
 appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold (= namely) a great 
 red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns 
 upon his heads. SpaKw, even among the ancients, is the designa- 
 tion of a particularly large and fearful sort of serpent, which 
 belongs more to the world of fable and poetry than to that of 
 fact, in the manner in which it is represented, and in Homer. 
 That Satan is conceived under the image of a serpent, rests upon 
 the narrative of the fall, and on the supposition that Satan w r as 
 concealed in the tempting serpent. It was natural, therefore, 
 .that he should be painted as a fearful dragon. The colour 
 of the dragon is also stated in Homer to be very red, II. ii. 308, 
 f-vd f<j>dvt] /j-f-ya. orr}/m SpaKwv ri vcora Sa<oii'os ', ib. xi. 40, a three- 
 headed dragon is even spoken of. So here, in a still more exag- 
 gerated way, Satan is represented as a seven-headed dragon; 
 comp. tr. Kiddoschirn, fol. xxix. 2, where it is said that a seven- 
 headed demon appeared to E. Acha. The crowns upon the heads
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 2(55 
 
 serve to denote the great power and sovereignty which he exer- 
 cises or has usurped. At to the horns, there is, among serpents, 
 the Cerastes, which has upon its head two feelers in the form 
 of small knots, described by the ancients as horns; according 
 to a Scholion on Nicander's Thesiaca (in Wetstein), there are 
 four-horned as well as two-horned Cerastes. Here the number, 
 ten, of the horns is probably borrowed from the description of 
 the beast in Dan. vii. 7. 
 
 Verse 4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of 
 heaven, snatched them away, and did cast them to the earth. The 
 stars do not perhaps mean teachers of the Church whom Satan 
 has corrupted, as many interpreters, also Grotius, understand; 
 but the whole description serves merely to denote his fearful 
 power and the huge commotion in which he restlessly, as it 
 were, prepares to corrupt the Church of God and the Messiah. 
 Dan. viii. 10 probably lies at the foundation, where it is said 
 (properly of Antiochus Epiphanes), he raised himself (waxed 
 great) even to the host of heaven (DUDEJrr Sli^nr), and cast 
 down (some) of the host and of the stars to the ground, and 
 stamped upon them. Moreover, Solinus, ch. xxx., asserts that real 
 dragons do not hurt with their mouth and teeth, but with the 
 stroke of their tail, in which their strength lies. 
 
 And the dragon stood before the woman (according to Pliny, 
 viii. 3, and Solinus, 1. c., dragons do not move along the ground, 
 like other snakes, by wriggling and twisting the body, but proceed 
 standing upright on the middle of their body) which was ready to 
 be delivered, was about to bear, 
 
 To devour her child as soon as it was born. 
 
 Verse 5. And sJie brought forth a man child (vtov appeva, ac- 
 cording to Irenseus, xx. 15, *"OT ]2. Instead of appeva, Lachmann 
 has apa-fv, after A. C., which would be very incorrect) who was to 
 rale all nations with a rod of iron; comp., on this application of 
 the passage, Ps. ii. 9, our remarks on ii. 27. After such designa- 
 tion of the Son, there can be no doubt that the Messiah is meant,
 
 266 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 as his commission is also described below (xix. 15), which passage 
 proves that the nations are those refractory ones who obstinately 
 oppose the will of God, and will not spontaneously submit 
 to his anointed One. The future in //.eAAei Troika u/v refers not 
 merely, as many think, to the time of the birth of the boy, but 
 also to that of the vision itself, as the other passage (xix. 15) 
 shows, since the ruling of the nations with a rod of iron means 
 their treatment after being completely subjected at the coming of 
 the Lord. It is incorrect, when Eichhorn, Heinrichs, understand 
 by the boy here, the youthful Christian Church existing in weak 
 infancy, after the destruction of Jerusalem and Judaism. 
 
 And her child was caught up unto God and to his throne, and 
 so concealed from the snares of Satan, who desired to destroy 
 him immediately after birth. This refers, without doubt, to 
 the ascension of Christ to heaven, so that instead of personally 
 completing his kingdom upon earth, he returns to God and the 
 heavenly Father, and is secured against all attacks of Satan ; 
 d/D7raeo-#cu of the sudden act of snatching by a higher power, 
 comp. 1 Thess. iv. 17, Acts viii. 39. 
 
 Verse 6. And the woman, fled into the wilderness, where (OTTOV . . 
 Kt likewise verse 14 = Dtt?-ntj?'$ ; the received text wants e'/cet, 
 accepted by Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, according to A. B. 
 29 cursive, Andr. 2, Areth., and so also Compl. ; approved by 
 Mill and Wolf) she hath a place prepared of God (O.TTO), that they 
 should feed her there 1260 days, instead of, she will be nourished 
 there for so long time, as it is said in the passive form, verse 14 
 
 (comp. Luke Xli. 20, ravry ry vvKrl Tfjv \l/v^r]v crov a.TraiTov<riv euro 
 
 <rov), Aramaically. The woman, as remarked on verse 1, is the 
 Church of God existing among the people of Israel under the 
 old covenant, out of which the Lord proceeded according to the 
 flesh. It was the mother of the Messiah and the foundation of 
 the kingdom of God in the New Testament. This agrees with 
 the view in our book, where, as we have seen, a hope is 
 expressed that the temple and metropolis of the old Church
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 267 
 
 would be preserved as a centre for the Messianic Church. Hence 
 the hope is expressed here, that this Church, the mother of the 
 Messiah, would be protected and preserved by God even after 
 the Messiah had been carried up to heaven. Yet this cannot 
 mean here, the mass of the Jewish nation, the fleshly seed of 
 Israel as such, or the Jewish Church so far as it formed a con- 
 trast to the Christian and was hostile to it, but only Israel Kara 
 irve.'v^a, the Church of God in Israel, which alone could be viewed 
 as the mother of Messiah, and should enlarge itself under the 
 new covenant merely by the admission of believing Genjtiles. 
 As to the description here, that the woman who fled into the 
 wilderness and was nourished there by Divine care, was farther 
 strengthened ; the old history of the covenant-people floated per- 
 haps before the mind of the writer, since they abode a long time 
 in the wilderness after their Divine call and deliverance from 
 Egyptian bondage, and were fed and maintained there by God in 
 a miraculous manner till they could enter the land of promise. 
 Perhaps, also, there was in his mind the flight of Elijah, and his 
 miraculous feeding in the wilderness at the time of the drought 
 in Israel (1 Kings xvii. 5 sqq.), or the flight of the Lord's bodily 
 mother into Egypt. The former parallel is, at all events, more 
 certain. The 1260 days are three and a half years, as it is said 
 (verse 14) in reference to the same subject, a time and times 
 (two times) and half a time = three and a half times = years. 
 This can only mean a round apocalyptic number. The thought 
 is expressed, that after the Messiah has been snatched away, the 
 Church of God will remain for a period under Divine protection 
 in peace, and will live, without being disturbed from without, 
 until Satan go forth to destroy it (verse 13 sqq.). It is hardly 
 accordant with the meaning of the book, when Zullig under- 
 stands the wilderness to which the woman retires as Lydian 
 Asia, where the Church of God was concealed from the Jews 
 in the midst of the Gentiles. But before this,
 
 26{J LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verses 712, 
 
 there is described in a very poetical form how Satan ventured 
 to pursue the Messiah even into heaven, how he was there con- 
 quered and hurled to the earth by the champions of God, so that 
 he could no longer approach the person of the Messiah ; where- 
 fore, conscious that it will soon be all over with his power in 
 general, he appears with so much the greater fury, in order to 
 destroy the mother and brethren of the Messiah still abiding 
 here. 
 
 Verse 7. And there was war in heaven ; Michael and his angels 
 fought against the dragon. Michael, one of the seven angel- 
 princes, is supposed to be the guardian angel of the people of 
 God. As such he fights (Dan. x. 13, 21, xii. 1) for the people of 
 Jehovah against the guardian-angels of the Gentiles, particularly 
 that of Persia. He also appears in battle with Satan in Jude 
 v. 9. So here in heaven, he is leader of the heavenly host that 
 withstands Satan in his persecution of the Messiah transported 
 into heaven. As to the text, the received has f-n-oXe^o-av, but 
 this is doubtless a later emendation; and the genuine is TOU 
 TroAe/irJo-cu, as Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 &c., have, after A. C. 8 cursive ; whilst B. 27 cursive, Areth. Syr. 
 Ar. Aeth. Primas, have merely TroAep'/o-ai. But this is not with- 
 out difficulty grammatically; it should probably be explained 
 as a Hebraism, as in Hebrew the gerund, even without rPrr, is 
 frequently put for the finite verb, therefore = Cflbn 1 ? (they 
 were) to fight = had to fight. 
 
 And the dragon fought and his angels = in concert with his 
 angels, the demons, as their leader. 
 
 Verse 8. And prevailed not, in the fight = bb^ $? = he was 
 defeated. The received text has lo-^ya-av in reference to Satan 
 and his troops, and so Tischendorf; for it, the Conapl., Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, &c., have the singular urxwev, referring to 
 the dragon personally (according to A. 26 cursive, Copt. Aeth. 
 Andr. aL); but then in the following context also (with Compl., 
 Bengel, Lachmann, ed. minor), instead of avrwr, we must read
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 269 
 
 ?, which the same witnesses mostly have, but not Codex A. 
 Probably the received text is here in both respects the original 
 
 One, io-^vcrav and avrwv. 
 
 Neither was their place found any more in heaven, they could 
 not, and durst not, tarry there any longer ; for 
 
 Verse 9. The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, which 
 ever since the creation of the world has been active in destroying 
 men; comp. 1 John iii. 8; John viii. 44 : so also among later Jews 
 (comp. in Wetstein) "OiEn^Lf K?n3 ; called the devil and Satan, 
 which deceiveth the whole world, who has at all times led astray 
 the whole world into the worship of idols and all disobedience to 
 God; o-aravas, the Hebrew-Aramaic appellation ("Jtt&n, }&D, H2t?p) 
 by which he is described as an adversary, viz. not merely of 
 God, but also of men, especially of the people of God. Instead 
 of it, in the LXX., and in Hellenistic Greek generally, the usual 
 designation is Sia/3oAo?, calumniator, alluding to the idea of his 
 appearing in the Old Testament, particularly in Job i. 7, ii. 2 
 sqq., Zech. iii. 1, 2, as the sceptical and malicious accuser of the 
 pious before God, who renders their virtue and piety suspi- 
 cious, and seeks to induce God the Lord to inflict punishment 
 upon them. Frequently also among the later Jews, who have 
 adopted it for Satan, the appellation "Vfriap, Kar^ywp and ->2tapp, 
 accusing. 
 
 He was cast out (the verb, which is somewhat remote, is here 
 repeated, where a closer description is meant to be added) upon 
 the earth, and his angels were cast out with him ; all of them ex- 
 cluded from heaven, and from every communication with heaven, 
 so that he can no longer influence God against men, nor any 
 longer harm those believers who have been snatched away from 
 earth ; it is only against those who still remain upon earth that 
 he will immediately vent his destructive rage. For the descrip- 
 tion itself, that Satan is cast out of heaven, comp. Luke x. 18 ; 
 John xii. 31. 
 
 Verse 10. And I heard a loud voice, saying in heaven, Now, 
 by the expulsion of Satan out of heaven, is come, salvation, and
 
 270 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, 
 because the accuser of our brethren, of the children of God among 
 men ; here are meant not so much those still living upon earth, 
 as is usually supposed, but, according to verse 11 sqq., those be- 
 lievers who are already perfected, who are assembled in heaven 
 close to the throne of God. 
 
 Which accused them before God, day and night, is cast down. 
 Ka,Tcft\ridt] is probably to be taken, cast down to the earth, not, 
 as others, prostratus, thrown to the ground = conquered ; yet 
 it is not improbable that ej3X^drj should be read, with Bengel, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf ; Mill approves ; so A. B. C. 28 cursive, 
 Andr. 1, Areth. : but this should also be taken, according to the 
 preceding, precipitated from heaven. Instead of the received 
 KOLTrjyopos, we should probably read, with Griesbach, Lachmann, 
 Tischendorf, Kar^ywp (according to Codex A.), which K. Bentley, 
 Mill, and Bengel in the Gnomon, approve, as well as Ewald, 
 &c. It is a form which does not appear elsewhere in Greek, 
 but, as already remarked, was received into the Eabbinic, 
 
 Verse 11. And they, our brethren, overcame him, and so 
 effected his expulsion, by the blood of the Lamb, by the atoning 
 death of their Lord, whereby he redeemed them from the power 
 of Satan, and purchased them for God (comp. i. 5, v. 9, vii. 14), 
 and by the word of their testimony, by the confession which they 
 fearlessly bore for the Redeemer, and their faith in him. 
 
 And they loved not their lives unto the death, they risked every- 
 thing in their confession of the Lord, and in zeal for his cause, 
 so that they were ready to expose themselves even to death, and 
 therefore effected that Satan is not heard by God, with his accu- 
 sation against them; yea, has no access to God (Sta. with the 
 
 accusative, as iv. 10). Upon OVK rj-ydirrja-av TT/V \l/v^riv avrwv, 
 
 compare Luke xiv. 26, /uo-eiv rrjv ^ v xV eavrov', comp. Acts 
 xx. 24. 
 
 Verse 12. Tlierefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in 
 them, particularly the believers who are already perfected, who
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 271 
 
 are also removed from all the attacks and persecutions of 
 Satan. 
 
 Woe to the earth and the sea (the received text, rots KO.TOIKOVQ-I 
 
 rr)v yfy K. rrjv 6dXacrcrav, IS a gloSS Ollt of rrj yrj KCU ry OaXao-a-y, 
 
 which the Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 &c., have, according to B. C. 28 cursive, or more; Syr. Arr. 
 Copt. Aeth. Arm. Andr. 2, Areth. Prim.), because Satan is come 
 down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he 
 hath but a short time, that only a short time will be allowed him 
 here to exercise his wicked power, till he shall be subdued and 
 bound by Christ at his coming. 
 
 Verses 1317. 
 
 Verse 13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the 
 earth, he persecuted the woman, which brought forth the man- 
 child; see upon this above, at verse 6, and so also for the 
 following. 
 
 Verse 14. And to the woman were given two wings of a great 
 eagle, that she might fly into the ivilderness, into her place, where 
 she (OTTOV . . CKCI, as in verse 6) is nourished for a time, and times, 
 and half a time, from the serpent. 
 
 Verse 15. And the serpent cast, shot, out of his mouth, water as 
 a flood, after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried 
 away by the flood. 
 
 Verse 16. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth 
 opened Jier mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon 
 cast out of his mouth. Manifestly a very poetical description, 
 referring to the protection which the Church of the Lord will 
 find, through divine providence, against the attacks of Satan, in 
 which individual things are not to be urged as though they 
 expressed special thoughts. It alludes, without doubt, to the 
 deliverance of the people of God at the time of Moses. The 
 stream of water which the dragon discharges against the woman, 
 in order to carry her away, but which the earth sucks in so that 
 it does not harm her at all, corresponds to the water of the Eed
 
 272 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Sea, which impeded the people of Israel in their flight, and 
 might easily have swallowed them up, but which was obliged to 
 recede before them ; the furnishing the woman with eagles' 
 wings probably alludes to Exod. xix. 4, where Jehovah causes 
 Moses to say to the Israelites, that they had seen what he did to 
 the Egyptians, and how he had borne his people on eagles' wings 
 (D'HEJ? ^g33~by) and brought them to himself; comp. Deut. 
 xxxii. 11, 12, "As an eagle fluttereth over her young, spreadeth 
 abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so the 
 Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him." 
 The article alone causes some difficulty here, TOV derov TOV ptydXov. 
 Ewald (earlier) explains it as a mere paraphrase of the superla- 
 tives = aquilse maximee. Yet it is not improbable that it is an 
 allusion to something definite, perhaps to an image or symbol 
 used in an ancient writing now lost. Ziillig thinks the article 
 should be explained by the allusion to the eagle named in those 
 passages of the Pentateuch ; but this is not very satisfactory. 
 Bengel and Lachmann have received the article at before Svo, ac- 
 cording to A. 5 cursive, Andr. Syr. ; yet this makes no difference 
 in the meaning. The manner in which the apocalyptic time of 
 three and a half years is paraphrased, on which see on verse 6, 
 is borrowed from the book of Daniel, vii. 25 (f^S ^b?^ "p^Vl 1^7), 
 xii. 7 C20:j tnyin l^iab). Besides, this is exactly the same 
 period of time as that during which, according to xi. 2, 3, the 
 treading under foot of the holy city by the Gentiles, and the pro- 
 phetic agency of the two witnesses, was to last. But here it does 
 not refer to the same relations and the same times, as Ebrard, 
 for example, assumes; but to the time immediately after the 
 ascent of Christ to heaven, which the seer himself had already 
 behind him. The former, on the contrary, refers to a time still 
 future, before the appearing of the Lord. As to the words diro 
 7iy>o<rw7rov TOV o<ews, verse 14 end, one may doubt with what they 
 are to be connected. Grotius, Vitringa, De Wette (Translation), 
 and others, connect them with Trer^rai, " that she fled before the 
 serpent," &c. Yet it is more probable, as Bengel, De AVette
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 273 
 
 (Commentary), Hengstenberg, think, that they should be connected 
 with what immediately precedes, oVov Tpefarat K. A. = where she 
 is nourished (in safety) from the serpent ; the case is here precisely 
 as ^?9E>, Judges ix. 21, "And Jotham ran away, and fled, and 
 went to Beer, and dwelt there," T^??^*? 'OSD = remote, secure, 
 "from fear of Abimelech his brother." Trora/Aoc/x^Tos is not a 
 word which occurs elsewhere, but is rightly compounded, after the 
 
 analogy of ave/io^o/a^ros. 
 
 Verse 17. And tJie dragon was wroth with the woman, with the 
 Church of God, because he was not able to destroy her ; and he 
 went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the 
 commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus. On this 
 latter designation, see viii. 9 and xix. 10. The whole description 
 leads to the idea that Christians on earth are meant, chiefly 
 Jewish Christians, believing Jews, who are here considered as 
 the stem of the Lord's confessors, with whom are joined the be- 
 lieving Gentiles, so that they also are not excluded. These 
 believers are described as the remnant of the seed of the woman, 
 evidently with reference to the Messiah born of her, according to 
 the preceding context ; therefore the meaning is, that Satan, after 
 having pursued the Messiah into heaven in vain, and endeavour- 
 ing entirely to swallow up the Church of God on earth, now 
 aimed at overcoming and destroying at least individual followers 
 of the Lord on earth. For this object he makes use of two 
 instruments, which the seer now paints as they presented them- 
 selves to him in vision, Antichrist and the false prophet. Anti- 
 christ is first introduced. 
 
 Verse 18 ch. xiii. 10. 
 
 See the general Introduction (pp. 83 sqq.) on the idea of Anti- 
 christ in general, on the dependence of his portrait in the Apo- 
 calypse upon the delineation in the book of Daniel, on the 
 modification of this idea in the Apocalypse, and on the relation 
 of the Apocalypse in this respect to other writings of the New 
 Testament, &c. 
 
 T
 
 274 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verse 18. Here the reading is doubtful The received text has 
 ea-Tadrjv, the first person alluding to the seer ; and I was placed, 
 and stood, on the sand of the sea. For it, the third singular ecrra07/ 
 is in Cod. A. C. Syr. Ar. Pol. Aeth. Arm. Vulg. Tychon. Victorin ; 
 and so the editions Aldine and Lachrnann, approved by Piscator, 
 Junius, Mill, E. Bentley and others. This would refer to the 
 dragon, and indicate that he, standing there upon the sand of 
 the sea, had observed the approach of his satellite, Antichrist. 
 But earlier interpreters rightly remarked against this, that it is 
 not at all probable the seer would have represented the dragon 
 so quietly watching or waiting ; especially as he does not appear 
 prominently in the following visions where Antichrist is described. 
 The received text is therefore most probably the original. The 
 seer is transferred in vision from heaven to earth, to the shore 
 of the sea, because, like the beast, Antichrist ascends out of the 
 sea. In Dan. viii. 2, x. 4 also, water is described as the stand- 
 point of the vision's reception. 
 
 Ch. xiii. 1. And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, liaving ten 
 horns and seven heads, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon 
 his heads the name of Blasphemy. Daniel vii. 3 also sees four 
 great beasts ascending out of the sea, which represent the 
 four world-monarchies, and this lies at the foundation here ; 
 whether it refers at the same time to the situation of Rome, the 
 Eoman capital, on the other side of the sea (from the standpoint 
 of the writer), as Ewald thinks, is at least doubtful, although not 
 quite improbable. The number of heads and horns is the same 
 on this beast as on the dragon (xii. 3) ; yet he has ten crowns upon 
 his ten horns, whereas the dragon has seven crowns upon his 
 seven heads. That depicts the horns as individual worldly 
 powers, as is expressly stated in xvii. 12. For the signification 
 of the seven heads of this beast, see ib. 9. 
 
 Instead of the received ovofw,, which Ziillig and De Wette 
 maintain, we should probably read, with Compl., Griesbach, Lach- 
 mann, Tischendorf, 6v6fj.ara, after A. B. 31 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. 
 Vulg. Areth. ; comp. xvii. 3, where this beast himself is denoted
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 275 
 
 as ye/jiov OVO/ACITWI/ /2A.a<r<??//,ias. Probably Dan. vii. 8, xi. 36, lie 
 at the foundation of this, where it is said of the enemy of Jehovah 
 and his people, that he has spoken presumptuous things, blas- 
 phemies, against the God of gods. This is here modified in such 
 a manner that the beast himself bare upon his heads the name 
 of Blasphemy (viz. against God), meaning, most probably, in- 
 scriptions, in which the beast and his heads were described, not 
 merely as rulers of the earth, but even as God and Gods, names 
 which the Eoman emperors of the time assumed. 
 
 Verse 2. And the least which I saw was like unto a leopard, 
 and his feet were as the feet of a bear (received text, apKrov ; for 
 which Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, have apKov, ac- 
 cording to A. B. C. 21 cursive, Andr. 1 ; ap/cros is the older form, 
 for which the later a/oxos is more usual, in LXX. and among the 
 later Greeks), and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. The external 
 form of the beast appears compounded of that of the four beasts 
 in Dan. vii., of which the first is a lion, the second a bear, the 
 third a leopard, and the fourth has ten horns. 
 
 And the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great 
 authority ; so that he can appear and act with the whole power 
 of Satan as his instrument. 
 
 Verse 3. The etSov, which the received text has at the begin- 
 ning after /co,i, is wanting in A. B. C. 28 cursive, Syr. Ar. PoL 
 Copt. Aeth. Vulg. MS. Andr. 1, Areth. Latin Fathers ; omitted by 
 Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. It is 
 without doubt a later insertion (see Delitzsch handschriftliche 
 Funde, 1st ed., according to which, eTSov emanated from Erasmus's 
 pen), not put by the writer himself, but to be supplied from the 
 preceding context. 
 
 And one of his heads, as it were, wounded to death, and his 
 deadly wound, his fatal wound (that is, 17 TrAr/y?) TOV Oavdrov avrov 
 where the genitive of the pronoun refers to the whole preceding 
 idea, according to the Hebrew idiom, not merely to TOV Oavdrov) 
 was healed. Therefore the beast himself appeared fatally struck 
 by the wound of one of his heads, but recovered again, contrary
 
 276 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 to all appearance. What this means follows clearly from the 
 context, and has been already explained in the general Introduc- 
 tion, 1. c. 
 
 And all the world wondered after the beast ; a pregnant mode 
 of expression, instead of, full of wonder at this event, the recovery 
 of the beast, the whole earth followed him. Eecovery contributed 
 to procure him a large following on earth. 
 
 Verse 4. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto 
 the beast ; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto 
 the beast, and who is able to make war with him ? who ventures 
 to contend with him ? The verb Trpoa-Kvvf.lv has here (according 
 to the received text) the accusative with it twice, for which the 
 Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., put the 
 dative ; the first time, according to A. B. C. 33 cursive, Andr. 
 Areth. ; the second time, according to B. C. 29 cursive, Areth. ; 
 both are admissible. Among the older Greeks, the verb is found 
 only with the accusative ; but among the later, with the dative 
 also ; so the LXX. and New Testament in both ways ; perhaps 
 the second time, the accusative Vo Orjpiov should also be retained 
 here ; as in verse 8 the accusative has the best testimony for it. 
 
 Verse 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great 
 things and blasphemies. fieydXa. are presumptuous things, in which 
 he elevated himself above every one, after Dan. vii. 8, 20, 
 p-a? bbao DD ; comp. Ps. xii. 4, nb^ rgsinp pttb. The eSo^ 
 implies that he was permitted by God himself to use his mouth 
 in such manner, for the time of his working in general. 
 
 And it was given him to continue forty-two months, to work. 
 Here the reading is not certain. The received text has TroAejuoi/ 
 TroiTjo-cu. Of this, TToXe/tov is certainly not genuine. It is a gloss 
 from verse 7, and is wanting in A. C. 4 cursive, codd., &c., Syr. 
 Vulg. Andr. Prim.; omitted in editions of Erasmus, Stephens, 
 3, Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. Some testi- 
 monies also omit TTOITJCTCU, which Mill and Bengel, in the Gnomon, 
 approve. Yet it is probably genuine. One may explain it 
 either by strictly including in it the time, to pass, to spend, forty-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 277 
 
 two months, as TTOUIV frequently means; so TTOICIV XP VOV Tl *'. 
 Acts xviii. 23, James iv. 13, &c.; or by taking Trotetv by itself, like 
 nttf^ frequently, especially in the book of Daniel, to effect, to suc~ 
 ceed ; for example, Dan. viii. 24, nfe?3n rpb^rn, xi. 28, 30, 32. 
 The forty-two months or three-and-a-half years are again taken 
 from the book of Daniel, on which see at xi. 2. 
 
 Verse 6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, 
 to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle where God dwells, 
 meaning here, without doubt, not the temple in Jerusalem, but 
 heaven. 
 
 And tJiem that dwell in heaven, have their abode there with 
 God, such as Christ, the angels, and perfected believers ; comp. 
 for the verse Dan. vii. 25, "And he shall speak great words 
 against the Most High." 
 
 Verse 7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, 
 and to overcome them. These words, KOU eSoSr? . . VIK^O-CU, are wanting 
 in A. C. 3 cursive, Andr. Iren., and are omitted by Lachmann ; 
 but they have probably been left out merely by an error in 
 copying, the eye of the transcriber having wandered from the 
 former KCU tBodrj O.VTW directly to the second; and power was given 
 him over all kindreds, and people, and tongues, and nations. 
 
 Verse 8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, 
 wJwse name is not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from 
 the foundation of the world ; comp. xvii. 8, KCU davpaa-ovTai ol KO.- 
 
 TOIKOWT6S 7Tl T^S jrj<S, (0V 0V yey/DaTTCU TO OVOfJ.0. Tl TO /3l/3A.lOV T7JS 
 
 ^corjs cbro KaTa/3oA?}s Kocrfjiov. The comparison of this passage leaves 
 no doubt that the words dVo /ccu-a/?' KOO-/XOV are not to be connected 
 with o-c/>ay/Ltvou, as Herder, Eichhorn, and earlier Protestant in- 
 terpreters think; but, as Arethas supposes, with yey/aaTrrcu, which, 
 even without that, is the only natural connection. It refers to 
 the fact, that the believers who become partakers of salvation 
 were chosen before by God. The book of life, on which see iii. 5, 
 is here called the Lamb's, as if it were kept by him or belonged 
 to him, his saints being registered in it. See v. 12, on the epithet 
 TO r</>ay pevov for the Lamb.
 
 278 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verse 9. If any man have an ear, let him hear; similarly to the 
 conclusion of the epistles, il. 3, 6 ex* " " s aKowarw ri TO irveo^a. 
 
 Aeyei TCUS eK/cA^o-tats. Here he is to attend to the following pro- 
 verbial saying, which asserts that all who practise violence against 
 their fellow-men will be recompensed in the same manner. 
 
 Verse 10. He that leadeth into captivity ; in al^p^Xwa-iav (rvvaya 
 is contained the abstract instead of the concrete, as in the Hebrew 
 "Otp and rviba (for example, rfiba nb^n, Amos i. 6). Yet the 
 reading here is not certain. Lachmann, ed. min., has ets 
 
 Aoxrtav crwayet ; ed. maj. and Tischendorf, et TIS ts cux/ia 
 (without the verb), which would then be supplied ; perhaps that 
 is the correct reading. In the codd. great diversity prevails, but 
 without affecting the meaning. Sliall go into captivity ; he that 
 killeth with the sword must (he again) be killed with the sword ; 
 comp. Gen. ix. 6, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall 
 his blood be shed." This refers, without doubt, to the beast and 
 his followers, as a consolation for the saints who are persecuted 
 by them, but who find here opportunity and exhortation to prove 
 their perseverance and faith. The following words intimate this: 
 here is = here is shown, the patience and the faith of the saints, 
 that they are not alienated from their faith by this conduct of 
 the beast, are not led astray by him ; comp. xiv. 12, wSe ^ UTTO/XOV^ 
 
 TWV dyiwv eoriv, 01 nypouvTes rots evroAas TOV Oeov xai TT)V TTKTTIV 
 V; Xlli. 18, coSe rj <ro(f)ia eort'v ; XVU. 9, wSe 6 vovs o 
 
 Verses 11 17. 
 
 Description of a second beast, the false prophet. Upon it also 
 see the general Introduction, both concerning the idea in relation 
 to Antichrist, as well as the relation which the description in our 
 book bears to other writings of the New Testament (see pp. 100 
 sqq.). 
 
 Verse 11. And I beheld another "beast coming up out of the earth. 
 That he does not ascend, like the preceding, out of the sea, but 
 out of the earth, should probably not be urged, nor has the matter 
 a special symbolic signification. Ewald finds an intimation in
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 279 
 
 it that he will not come from Borne, but will appear on the firm 
 land of Asia itself; he thinks that the writer has in view a 
 definite person, who might have disturbed the region he inhabited, 
 by pointing to Nero who should soon return as a god. Both 
 are at least highly problematical; and this assumption is: by 
 no means necessary or probable, as far as the description in 
 our book and also the present time in verses 12 17 are con- 
 cerned. 
 
 And he had two horns like a lamb = like the horns of a lamb, 
 so that he appeared a not very powerful, a harmless beast, of 
 which one need not be afraid ; comp. Matt, vii 15, Tr/Do 
 
 rwv ij/evSoirpoifr'njTuv, omves ep^ovrai Trpos ly-tcis fv IvSu/xacrt 
 Icrw^ev Se eio-i XVKOI apTrayes. 
 
 And he spake as a dragon ; cunning and crafty to lead men 
 astray ; as Satan, under the form of a serpent, tempted the first 
 pair. 
 
 Verse 12. And he exerciseth all tJie power of the first least before 
 him. This can only mean, notwithstanding his lamb-like form, 
 he exercises all the power which the first beast, Antichrist, has, 
 and which Satan lent to the latter ; and that before the same, that 
 is, before his eyes and in his service ; comp. verse 14, TO, 
 
 avrw Troirjcrai evwrriov TOV Or^piov ', xix. 20, 
 fjLela IVWTTIOV avrov. 
 
 And causeth the earth, and them that dwell therein, that is, de- 
 termines, induces them (the same construction in iii. 9, TTOI^O-W 
 avTovs, iva ^'owi K. Tr/aocr/cwr/a-owi), to worship the first beast, whose 
 deadly wound was healed (comp. verse 3). 
 
 Verse 13. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire 
 come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men, before the 
 eyes of them all, as the powerful prophet Elijah did (1 Kings 
 xviii 38 ; 2 Kings i. 10 12), imitating the latter in his agency. 
 The reading here is not certain, although the difference has 
 no essential influence on the meaning. Like Griesbach, the 
 Compl. has the tVa after KCU irvp, and Kara/Sou v# instead of irotjf 
 Yet the received reading has more authority for
 
 280 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 it ; and Knapp, Laclimann, Tischendorf, have retained it ; only, 
 
 instead of KaTajSaiveiv fK rov ovpavov, they substitute fK rov ovpa- 
 vov KaTa/3cuv,v. Then it is, he doeth great wonders, so that he 
 even causeth fire to descend from heaven upon the earth, before 
 men. This is probably the original ; so A. C. 4 cursive, Vulg. 
 Iren. Primas. 
 
 Verse 14. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, he tempts, 
 by those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the least, 
 saying to them that dwell on the earth, summoning them, bidding 
 them, that they should make an image to the beast which had the 
 wound "by a sword, and did live again ; this is e^o-e. The descrip- 
 tion of the wound by which the beast appeared to die, as a sword- 
 wound, refers to the actual manner of Nero's death, as already 
 remarked in the general Introduction. The Trot^o-ai et/cova is here 
 meant of such images as were erected to gods in their honour ; 
 so the Roman emperors caused images to be erected, to which 
 divine honour was to be paid ; the false prophet will seduce men 
 to pay such idolatry to Antichrist. 
 
 Verse 15. And it was given to him, permitted, he received the 
 power (instead of avrw, Lachmann has avry, according to A. C., 
 which is probably only an accidental error in writing, and must 
 be viewed in this light, though it may have been found so in 
 the autograph), to give life (the spirit of life) unto the image of the 
 beast,- to animate it, so that the image of the beast even spake, and 
 caused (in iroi^a-y, the false prophet is not the subject, as Eichhorn 
 thinks, but the image of the beast, as Ewald, Zullig, De Wette, 
 rightly) that all who did not worship the image of the beast 
 were killed. It is possible that this representation depends upon 
 something founded on fact, on tricks which impostors perhaps 
 had at times practised to deceive the people by the statues of 
 gods or emperors. Yet nothing definite can be shown about it. 
 At any rate it is described here only prophetically, how much the 
 powers of darkness should be effectual in procuring worshippers 
 to Antichrist ; comp. 2 Thess. ii. 9 sqq. 
 
 Verse 16. And he caused all, both small and great, rich and
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 281 
 
 poor, free and bond, to make a mark in their right hand or in their 
 foreheads. Instead of the received Suxry, which would refer to 
 the false prophet, we should read, with the Compl., Bengel, Gries- 
 bach, Lachmann, Tischendorf and others, the plural Swo-iv, ac- 
 cording to A. B. C. 10 cursive, Andr. 1 (24 cursive, Arethas, have 
 Soxrovo-tv or Swa-wo-tv) ; but this does not mean, as De Wette, 
 Ziillig, &c., suppose, that one should make for them = that 
 it should be made for them ; but the Travres are themselves 
 the subject = he induces them to make for themselves, aurots 
 = eavrois. So rightly Grotius. x/ 3a 7/ xa denotes in general 
 something imprinted, an engraved mark ; and, from what follows, 
 the name -of the beast is doubtless meant here, by whose imprint 
 on the right hand or forehead they are indicated as belonging to 
 the beast; comp. on vii. 2. Instead of TWV j&erwwwv, Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, have TO /-lerwirov, which Mill 
 also approves (so A. 25 cursive, Hippol. Aeth. Iren. Copt. Arm. 
 TOTJ /xerwTTov C.) ; IT is then immediately connected in succession 
 with the genitive and the accusative. Both constructions are in 
 this connection conformable to Greek usage; for example, ypd<j>uv 
 fvi TI and art TWOS ; see my Commentar zum Hebraerbrief, viii. 10, 
 p. 456. 
 
 Verse 17. (And, the KCU is wanting in C. 3 cursive, Syr. Arr. 
 Copt. Vulg. MS. Iren. Prim. Andr. 1, Hippol. ; omitted by Bengel 
 and Lachmann) that no man might buy or sell, save he that had 
 the mark, namely, the name of the beast, or the number of his name, 
 viz. that only those who marked themselves as his servants 
 and worshippers may carry on social intercourse in the state, and 
 generally exist. The received reading has ^ before TO ovopa, which 
 is certainly spurious. It is wanting in A. B. C. and about 30 
 cursive, Andr. Areth., in the Commentary of Hippol. Syr. Ar. Pol. 
 Itall. ; is omitted by Bengel, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. Lach- 
 mann has also TOV OVO/AUTOS, the mark of his name, according to 
 C. Syr. Vulg. It. Andr. 1, Iren. Primas. Yet TO ovopi is probably 
 the original, this like rj TOV apid^ov K. X., forming an explanatory 
 apposition to TO x^yt 10 - The number of the name can only
 
 282 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 mean, a number which lies in the name, and such a one as results 
 from taking the letters of the name together viewed as ciphers, 
 since, considering the extent of the number (verse 18), the first 
 letter of the name only cannot be meant. 
 
 Verse 18. Here is wisdom, does not mean = en sapientiam ! 
 here is deep or concealed wisdom ; but, here is wisdom shown, 
 namely, in discovering the name by the number of it just stated ; 
 therefore, here wisdom is of good avail; and correspondingly, 
 
 xvii. 9, wSe 6 vovs 6 e^wv a-o^iav. 
 
 Let him that hath discernment, understanding, count the number 
 of the beast ; for it is dpiOpos dvOpunrov. This may signify, the 
 number of a man (so Ziillig and others), in which case it would 
 imply, that it is just the name of a man, of a definite human 
 person, whom we should think of as the beast, the Antichrist. 
 But it may also signify, as others take it, a human number, that 
 is, one computed precisely in the manner in which men are ac- 
 customed to reckon, as in xxi. 17, perpov dvOpu-n-ov should be taken ; 
 comp. Is. viii. 1, " Write on the table with a man's pen." The 
 combination of this member with the preceding by -yap, agrees 
 better with this latter conception. Precisely because the number 
 is computed in the ordinary human mode, its reckoning could 
 be attributed to human sagacity; that is, to decipherment by 
 calculation, 
 
 And his number is (avrov in any case referring to the beast, 
 not to dvOpwrov, even if the former acceptation be adopted) xs> 
 that is, cgaKoo-iot, C^KOVTO. e, as also Cod. A. Compl., Lachmann, 
 have written it out ; Cod. C., caKocrt<u ; others, as Ed. Berg., eo.Ko- 
 o-ta ; but the very circumstance that the codd. which have written 
 out the number in words, differ with regard to the gender, makes 
 it probable that it was originally written in letters for ciphers. 
 Instead of the number 666, others, as has been already remarked 
 in the general Introduction, have 616, which, written with letters 
 for ciphers, would be x. This reading is still found in Cod. C. 
 and 11 (in both written out in words, ea/coo-ta,i Sexa ?) ; but it was 
 also in Greek manuscripts at the time of Ireneeus (verse 30); yet
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 283 
 
 he rejects it, and says, that in omnibus antiquis et probatissimis 
 et veteribus scripturis, the other number 666 existed, which is 
 doubtless the correct one. For the decipherment, see the remarks 
 offered in the general Introduction, pp. 88 sqq., where the interpre- 
 tation already adduced by Irenasus is specified as the most proba- 
 ble ; the one that Eichhorn has again made prominent in modern 
 times, namely, that the word Aareivos is meant, denoting heathen 
 Eomanism. The only thing which might make one doubtful 
 about this interpretation is the form Aaretvos itself, as we should 
 rather expect Aaru/os, which is also met with in Greek writers ; 
 and in Latin words, the i before a consonant is not usually changed 
 into et, although in Greek words the a is changed into a long I in 
 Latin. Yet the former has happened in individual cases, as 
 in 2a/3ew>s, HavAetvos, ^avareivos, IlaTreipios ; and we may infer 
 that the form and mode of writing AareiVos was not unusual 
 at the time among the Greeks, from the fact that such interpre- 
 tation must have been already known and diffused in the Greek 
 Church at the end of the second century ; and that Irenseus also, 
 who was by birth a Greek, probably of Asia Minor, although he 
 does not approve of it, does not at all object to the form of the 
 name. Of other interpretations, only one may be mentioned, be- 
 cause it is frequently adduced at the present time, namely, that the 
 value of the Hebrew letters in the name of the emperor Nero is 
 meant, 'p")3 "ipft or ~)Df? jtna. According to this mode of writing, 
 the letters, in conformity with their value in Hebrew, certainly 
 give this sum, p - 100, D - 60, n = 200, a = 50, n = 200, 
 1 = 6, 3 = 50. Ferd. Benary brought forward this interpreta- 
 tion in Bruno Bauer's Zeitschrift fur speculative Theol., Vol. I. 
 H. ii (Berlin, 1836), pp. 205, 206. Next, Hitzig declared, in his 
 Ostern und Pfmgsten, Sendschreiben an Ideler (Heidelb. 1837), 
 p. 3, that he had already developed the same interpretation in his 
 lectures on the Apocalypse, in the summer of 1836, intimating 
 that it could easily have reached Benary (by means of a travel- 
 ling Dom-candidat). Against this, Benary justified himself, and 
 claimed the priority (Hall. Allgem. K. Z. 1837, Aug.). Benary
 
 284 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 means, that the other reading, 616, refers to the same name, only 
 to Nero written (TO) in the Roman manner, without } at the 
 end, by which fifty less comes out. In like manner, Ed. Reuss, 
 of Strasburg (Hallische A. K. Z. 1837, IntelL-Bl. September), 
 asserts that he also had already made it public, so that it may have 
 been derived from him by report. It had escaped them, however, 
 that Fritzsche had anticipated them, and developed the same 
 interpretation six years before, in the " Annalen der gesammteii 
 theolog. Litteratur under der christlichen Kirche iiberhaupt Jahrg. 
 I. Bd. iii. H. 1 (Coburg and Leipzig, 1831), pp. 4264." Thus 
 these four scholars appear to have hit upon the interpretation, 
 quite independently of one another, a circumstance that ap- 
 pears to speak greatly in its favour. It is also very suitable in 
 itself, and corresponds with the scope of the book. Yet I do not 
 believe it correct, especially (a) because it is unlikely in itself 
 that the value of Hebrew letters should lie at the basis of this 
 number ; see, upon this, the general Introduction (p. 88) ; (&) 
 because in Jewish writings (for example, Thalm. Babyl. Gittin. 
 foL Ivi. 1), both the name of Nero P"i^2 as well as "Wp is written 
 with a yod after the first consonant. It might have been probably 
 absent from the name of Nero, but not well from "iD^p, since it 
 is here derived from the Greek Kcuo-ap. Besides, (c) it does not 
 in general appear natural that Antichrist should be described 
 here as a single Roman emperor, since he still appears as the 
 beast with the seven horns ; it is not made a prominent feature 
 till afterwards, that he is concentrated, as it were, in one of these 
 horns. Therefore I hold the other and older interpretation = 
 AaTftvos, as decidedly more probable. Ewald held also (earlier) 
 that the interpretation Aareivos should be assumed for the number 
 666 (now, however, ^na "Op); yet he appears very much inclined 
 to hold the other reading, 616, as the correct one, and interprets 
 it nn iD-'p (100 + 10 + 60 + 200 + 200 + 6 + 40 = 616). 
 For reference to various other interpretations, see "Wolf, curae ad 
 h. 1. (pp. 545551) ; Hartwig, Apologie (II. pp. 201224) Hein- 
 richs, Excurs. IV. (Tom. II. pp. 235265); De Wette. As
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 285 
 
 singular interpretations, and to be cited only for curiosity's sake, 
 are those of the modern commentators Ziillig and Hengstenberg. 
 Ziillig holds decidedly that DEp -ft? 15 D? 1 ??, Balaam, the son 
 of Beor, the soothsayer, is meant, as he is found in Joshua xiii. 22, 
 where, however, both the last words are written with 1, ^DRjip "ii3?2. 
 Even apart from this, the interpretation is entirely improbable. 
 The same remark holds good, in a greater degree, of Hengsten- 
 berg's interpretation, proposed with great confidence. He thinks 
 or knows, according to the passage, Ezra ii. 13, where in the 
 enumeration of the Jews who returned from captivity, it is said, 
 "The children of Adonikam, 666," that the name Adonikam 
 is meant, which, according to its etymological signification, " the 
 Lord arises," is peculiarly appropriate as a name of Antichrist. 
 
 Ch. xiv. 15. 
 
 The seer relates farther what was presented to him in vision, 
 namely, the company of the 144,000 chosen ones who stand with 
 the Lamb on Mount Zion, and praise God with a new song re- 
 sounding through heaven. These are they who (vii. 3 sqq.) are 
 marked with the seal of God on their foreheads ; wherefore it is 
 said here (verse 1), that they bear the name of God and the Lamb 
 on their foreheads. See on ch. vii. for a difficulty which the re- 
 lation of our passage to ch. vii. occasions ; since, in the former 
 the 144,000 are only considered as believers of the Jewish nation, 
 to which is there added an innumerable company out of other 
 nations ; whereas here they appear to be the number of all the 
 chosen ones. Moreover, this vision does not make any advance in 
 the unveiling of the future ; nor should it, as many earlier inter- 
 preters think, be referred to definite occurrences or periods in the 
 later history of the Church. It relates here only to the purity 
 and blessedness of the servants of God in general, in contrast 
 with men of the world who are tempted to worship Antichrist. 
 They are again adduced here for that purpose. 
 
 Verse 1. And Hooked, and behold, the Lamb stood on the Mount 
 Sion, and with him 144,000, having his and his Father's name
 
 286 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 written on their foreheads. The words avrov KM TO ovopa. are 
 wanting in the received text (i.e. merely the name of his Father), 
 but are in eds. Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, &c. ; are found in A. B. C. 34 cursive, Syr. AT. PoL Copt. 
 Aeth. Arm. Vulg. Orig. Method. Andr. Areth. Latin Fathers, and 
 are without doubt genuine, having been left out only by an acci- 
 dental mistake in writing, caused by the Homoioteleuton. In 
 Mount Sion, we are not, with Ewald, Ziillig, Hengstenberg, to ima- 
 gine the heavenly Sion, but the temple hill in the holy city, which 
 is indicated here as the place of assembling for the servants of 
 God. 
 
 Verse 2. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice, the 
 rushing, of many waters, of great waters, and as the voice, the 
 sound, of great thunder. The e/c TOV ovpavov also shows that the 
 standpoint of the seer is not in heaven ; and this favours the fact 
 that we have not to seek Sion in heaven as the place where he 
 sees the Lamb and the servants of God. But the voice resounds 
 from heaven in such a manner as that those servants of God hear 
 it on Mount Sion, and so learn, from heaven itself, to praise God 
 worthily, for it is the praise of God which is heard here. 
 
 And the voice which I heard was like that of Jiarpers who play 
 on their harps, namely, who sing with the accompaniment of 
 harps. So in v. 8 sqq. it is said, that the four cherubim and the 
 twenty-four elders, having harps, sang a new song (in praise of 
 the Lamb). It is not mentioned who the singers here are, but 
 evidently heavenly hosts are meant, angels, who sing before the 
 Divine throne. 
 
 Verse 3. And they sung (as it were) a new song before the throne 
 (of God), and before the four beasts, and the elders. The received 
 is (before oJSrjv) is omitted by Griesbach and Tischendorf, as well 
 as by the Compl., Bengel, according to B. 27 cursive, Orig. Method. 
 Andr. 2, Areth. Vulg. Latin Fathers ; Syr. Copt. Aeth. Arm. Ar. 
 Yet it can be less easily imagined how it came into the text, 
 than the converse ; with d>s (and so A. C. al Vulg., Lachmann) 
 it means, what they sang appeared as a new song.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 287 
 
 And no man could learn that song, so that he might appropriate 
 it to himself and be able to sing it after the heavenly hosts. 
 But the 144,000, which were redeemed from the earth, namely, to 
 
 God, as his own ; COmp. V. 9, ijyopacras TO> 0e< Iv T< al/AaT6 (TOD e/c 
 
 irao-qs (f>v\rjs K. A. We may either understand by the cbro rrjs yrjs, 
 redeemed from the earth, purchased from it, since they belonged 
 before to it as its property; or, merely, redeemed out of the 
 number of the inhabitants of the earth. It makes no essential 
 difference in the meaning ; but the latter is the more probable ; 
 
 Verse 4, ^yopdcrOr](rav OLTTO TWJ/ dvOpu>TT<av. V. 9, K Tracnjs <vAiJs K. X. ; 
 COmp. John XV. 19, e^eAc^a^v ty/,as eK TOV KOCT/AOV. 
 
 Verse 4. These are they which were not defiled with women, for 
 they are irapdevoi, virgin-like. It cannot be believed that this is 
 meant of unmarried life (as, among others, Neander, Apostol. 
 Zeitalter, 3rd ed. ii. 543 Anm.); although the writer, as was 
 already the case with many Christians in that age, may have 
 laid great weight upon celibacy. But we cannot conceive that 
 he meant to denote the entire company of chosen believers as 
 those who had wholly renounced the marriage state. It can 
 only refer to abstinence from all unchastity and whoredom, which 
 is supposed to be the constant accompaniment of the worship of 
 idols, both in the Apocalypse and the Bible. On the contrary, 
 it is taken by Ziillig too generally, as denoting those who are in 
 every respect pure, and distinguished for every kind of pious 
 duty. irapOevoi, which is also used among church writers with 
 reference to the masculine gender, alludes here only to disposi- 
 tion, virgin-like. 
 
 These are they which follow tlw Lamb whithersoever he goeth, 
 who are not afraid to follow their Lord even unto death. 
 
 These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto 
 God and to the Lamb. They are not described in contrast with 
 others who should be won over to the kingdom of God sub- 
 sequently (as Grotius, Eichhorn, Heinrichs, Ziillig, Ebrard and 
 others, take it), but, in general, as those who are separated from
 
 288 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 the mass of humanity and consecrated to God and the Lamb, just 
 as the first-fruits were separated as a consecrated gift. 
 
 Verse 5. And in their mouth was found no guile (^evSos 
 should be read, on preponderating testimony, with Compl., Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. ; the received SdAos was 
 probably occasioned by Is. liii. 9, LXX., or 1 Peter ii. 22). 
 
 For they are without fault ; a/uo/xoi = D^BJ-t, as the sacrifice 
 offered to God must be perfect. The received reading adds, 
 CVWTTIOV TOV Opovov Tov Qeov, which, from external evidence, is de- 
 cidedly spurious ; and is rightly omitted by Bengel, Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. 
 
 Verses 615. 
 
 Three angels appear successively, and then a voice from heaven 
 with announcements, admonitions and threatenings, referring to 
 the impending judgment and the blessedness of those who fell 
 asleep in the Lord. First, 
 
 (a) Verses 6, 7. An angel, who again summons all nations in 
 reference to the gospel, to worship and adore the Creator of the 
 world. 
 
 And I saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven; upon eV /teo-ou- 
 pavripaTi, see viii. 13. The aAAov is wanting in B. 25 cursive, 
 Orig. Andr. 2, Areth. Ambr. Ar. Pol.; left out in eds. of Erasmus, 
 1, 2, 3, Colin. As no individual angel was spoken of imme- 
 diately before, it is unsuitable that this one should be described 
 as aXXos ; besides which, the angel (in verse 8) who appears 
 after this one is called expressly aAAos Sevrepos, according to 
 the probably genuine reading ; and another, the third one, who 
 appears in verse 9, is called aXXos T/JITOS. It is therefore pro- 
 bably spurious, and originated perhaps in x. 1, although it has 
 A. C. in its favour, and is retained by Griesbach, Lachmann and 
 Tischendorf. 
 
 Having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on 
 the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 289 
 
 After evayyeXta-ai,, we should probably adopt, with Lachmann and 
 Tischendorf, the preposition rt, according to A. B. C. 33 cursive, 
 Orig. ; as the Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, &e., have received the 
 same preposition before irav Wvo<s, according to A. B.C. 25 cursive, 
 Orig. Andr. 2, Areth. Vulg. Syr. This construction, ewyyeyurai 
 rt tVt TIVO, is not used elsewhere, but signifies the threatening 
 character which this gospel so joyful for believers has towards 
 the nations of the world, since it at the same time announces 
 the judgment threatening the world. It is described as an ever- 
 lasting gospel, both because it was determined upon by God from 
 eternity, and because it will make good its power to all eternity. 
 
 Verse 7. Saying, with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to 
 Mm, worshipping him as the Lord alone, not the beast, Antichrist ; 
 for the hour of his judgment is come ; and worship him that made 
 heaven, aud earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. The 
 true living God of the covenanted nation is frequently designated 
 in the Old Testament as the Creator of heaven and earth, in con- 
 trast witli the lifeless gods of the heathen. 
 
 (J) Verse 8. A second angel, who announces beforehand the 
 fall of the great Babylon as having already happened, which is 
 described farther on. That this Babylon does not mean Jeru- 
 salem, but Borne, pagan Eome, to which the older Church Fathers 
 refer it, for example, Tertullian, adv. Marc. iii. 13 al., Jerome on 
 Is. xlvii. &c., may be seen from the general Introduction, p. 88. 
 Eome is described as Babylon, because it showed itself at that 
 time quite as hostile and persecuting to the people of God as the 
 ancient Babylon did to the people of the old covenant. 
 
 And there followed another angel, saying ; after aAAos should 
 be read, with Lachmann, Tischendorf, Sture/aos, according to A. B. 
 25 cursive, Syr. Andr. 1, Areth. (the same word is after ayyeAos, 
 in C. 12 cursive, Copt. Arm. Andr. ; eds. Compl., Bengel, al.) ; 
 comp. aAAos Seurepos, Eurip. Troad. 614. 
 
 Babylon is fallen, is fallen the great, after Is. xxi. 9, nbS3 
 b:n nbQ:i ; comp. Jer. li. 8 ; *} TroAis, in the received text, after 
 Ba/?vAo>v, is wanting in A. B. C. 32 cursive, as well as Compl., 
 
 u
 
 290 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c. ; comp. Dan. iv. 
 27, Mnan bin. 
 
 Because she (or which, after Compl., Bengel, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, f), according to A. C. 10 cursive, Syr. Aeth. Vulg.) made all 
 nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, satu- 
 rated them with it. ofvos rov Ovpov properly corresponds to the 
 Hebrew nnn 7^, Jer. xxv. 15 ; comp. inoq Ofo, Is. li. 17. It 
 stands there for the cup or wine of the anger of God, with which 
 he is represented intoxicating the nations in his fury, so that they 
 reel and stagger as it were, drunk with his rage ; comp. Lament, 
 iv. 21, Ps. Ixxv. 9, Job xxi. 20 ; such is the image immediately 
 below, verse 10 and xvi. 19. The same image is found in Hab. 
 ii. 15 sqq., referring to men who plunge others into ruin through . 
 their fury. It is somewhat different here and in xviii. 3. "With 
 the image another is blended which is frequently found in the 
 prophets, where conspicuous idolatrous cities, which trade with 
 other towns and nations and operate prejudicially upon them in 
 a moral aspect so that the latter are seduced to the worship 
 of idols, are described as unchaste women, who seek to entice 
 others or debauch themselves with them ; so especially Jerusalem, 
 Ezek. xvi. 15 sqq. ; Tyre, Is. xxiii. 15 17 ; Nineveh, Nahum 
 iii. 4 sqq. So below (xvii. 2 sqq.). 0vp.os cannot mean here 
 a.nger, neither the anger of God (as De Wette supposes), nor 
 that of the great Babylon itself (as Hengstenberg), but is only 
 an adjectival definition of the wine itself, fiery wine, intoxicating 
 wine. In several earlier editions (Erasmus, 1, 2, 3, therefore, 
 not translated by Luther), Colin. Berg., it is entirely omitted, 
 which Mill approves ; it might very well be wanting ; yet external 
 witnesses are not favourable to the omission ; and xviii. 3 speaks 
 for it. The following genitive TT/S Tropvetas avr^s is dependent on 
 the whole idea TOV oivov rov OV/JLOV (the fierce wine of their whore- 
 dom), and is explicative, since the whoredom itself, meaning 
 doubtless the worship of idols, is precisely the intoxicating 
 thing with which she drugs all nations ; which she has spread 
 abroad among them, as it were, by mixing with them. Jer. li.
 
 SPECIA L INTERPRET A TION. 291 
 
 7 sqq. floated here not improbably before the writer, " Babylon 
 hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the 
 earth drunken ; the nations have drunken of her wine ; therefore 
 the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed." 
 
 () Verses 9 12. A third angel, who threatens eternal pun- 
 ishment to all that worship the beast and his image. 
 
 And the third angd followed them, saying, with a loud voice, If 
 any man woi'ship the, least and his image, and receive his mark 
 (namely that of the beast mentioned xiii. 16 sqq.) on his forehead, 
 or on his right hand, 
 
 Verse 10. TJie same shall drinJc of the wine of the wrath of God ; 
 the KCU avros probably means, as Ewald thinks, he also, as well 
 as Babylon ; otherwise the KCU must be considered merely as a 
 hebraizing beginning of the apodosis. 
 
 Which is poured out without mixture into the cup of Jiis indig- 
 nation / Kf.Kepo.crp.evov aKparov forms an oxymoron ; Kfpdvw/j.i de- 
 notes the usual mixing of wine with water, as a drink among 
 the ancients, for the southern wine was considered too thick 
 and heating to be drunk otherwise ; so euvos aKparos is unmixed 
 wine, not diluted with water, therefore very strong and easily 
 intoxicating. But the verb Kepawvvat is used among later writers 
 generally of the preparation and pouring out of the wine to 
 be drunk, even wh-ere it was not mixed (see Wetstein, ad h. 1., 
 Passow s. v.) ; and so it is doubtless to be taken in xviii. 6, and 
 here. It is- incorrect, when Grotius and others, also Gesenius on 
 Is. v. 22, Hengstenberg, interpret, to mix with spices, to pepper, 
 and thereby to make it more heating and intoxicating ; still more 
 incorrect, when Ziillig, h. 1., understands ou/os aK/oaros of a mere 
 mixed essence, without wine ; heating drops, which served to 
 strengthen the wine, but are here served without the wine, as a 
 drink extremely strong and stupefying; 
 
 And he shall be tormented iviih fire and brimstone, in the presence 
 of the holy an,jels, and in the presence of the Lamb. 
 
 Verse 11. And the smoke of their torment = the smoke of the 
 fire and brimstone with which they are tormented, ascendeth up 
 
 U2
 
 292 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 for ever and ever, designating the continuance of their torment. 
 The description of Edom's destruction, Is. xxxiv. 9 sqq., probably 
 lies at the foundation, " 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;" comp. ib. 
 Ixvi. 24, where it is said of the dead bodies of the men who 
 had deserted Jehovah, " their worm shall not die, and their fire 
 shall not be quenched." 
 
 And they have no rest, from their torment, day nor night, who 
 worship tlie beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark 
 of his name. 
 
 Verse 12. Comp. xiii 10. Here (is shown) the patience of the 
 saints, who keep tlie commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus 
 ( = in Jesus, or which he has given over to them to keep) ; these 
 have an opportunity of proving that they have no participation 
 in the worship of the beast, ol Typovvrts is apposition to 
 the second wSc, which the received text has before 01 
 is decidedly spurious, according to external evidence ; it is 
 omitted by Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, which 
 Mill approves. 
 
 (d) Verse 13. Again a heavenly voice, which pronounces those 
 happy who have fallen asleep in the Lord ; to comfort such be- 
 lievers as had died before the coming of the Lord. 
 
 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Write, Blessed are tlie, 
 dead which die in tJie Lord from liencejorth, even now. There is 
 much controversy about the construction and meaning of the 
 oiTrdpTi ; but doubtless it should not, as some codices and editions 
 have it, be connected with what follows, but with what precedes ; 
 not with avoOvrio-KovTfs, as Ziillig, for example, thinks (with refer- 
 ence to the great calamity impending, which they escape), but 
 with na.Ka.pioi. Nor should it, with L. Bos., be written a^ra/m = per- 
 fecte, plane, omnino ; but airdpTi, or (with Tischendorf) OLTT apri = 
 from this time forth, that is, even now, as O.TT apri in John xiii. 19. 
 The a7ro0vi?o-Koi/Ts fvKvpty are not merely Christian martyrs, as
 
 SPEC I A L INTERPRET A TION. 29 3 
 
 Beza, Vitringa, and even Zlillig suppose, but the followers of the 
 Lord in general, who die in faith in Jesus and in his communion, 
 as 1 Thess. iv. 16, 01 veKpol ev X/DIO-TO) ; 1 Cor. XV. 18, 01 Kot/trj^evres 
 fv X/HO-TW. Even the apostle Paul was obliged to comfort the 
 Christians at Thessalonica, on account of the fate of those who 
 died from among them without living to see the return of the 
 Lord; he says that they should not be behind those who are 
 still alive. The same are here described as even now to be 
 counted happy, since they have come into closer union with 
 the Lord, and are freed from all affliction, and persecution upon 
 earth. 
 
 Yea, saith the spirit, TO vrveuyu,^ as ii. 7, 11, 17, 20, &c., 1 Tim. 
 iv. 1 ; the spirit of prophecy, which here, by way of confirmation, 
 pronounces its Amen ; Eichhorn incorrectly supposes the spirits 
 of the dead. 
 
 They shall rest from their labours, from all troubles which they 
 had to suffer on earth ; from them they shall have rest. The tVa 
 is here, as in Eph. v. 33, to be taken imperatively, and therefore 
 in this connection as an express promise. In the following 
 context, instead of ra Se, we should perhaps read, with Lachmann, 
 TO, yap (according to A. C. 3; cursive,. Syr. Vulg. Prim. August.) ; 
 for their works (those of faith and patience) do follow them, ac- 
 company them to the place where they abide, and so God will 
 secure them rest from their labours ; comp. Tract. Avoth. vi. 9, 
 Hora discessus hominis non comitantur eum argentum aut aurum, 
 &c., sed lex et bona opera. Tr.. Avoda sara, fol. v. 1, 51, Quis 
 prsestiterit praeceptum unum in hac vita, illud preecedit eum, 
 atque incedit ante faciem ejus in seculum futurum ; see vi. 8, oxi 
 
 the construction aKO\ovOeiv percn TIVOS. 
 
 Verses 
 
 Two symbolical images, both having the same signification 
 namely, to intimate that the world is ripe for Divine judgment ; 
 that this will soon be inflicted upon it. Such judgment is repre- 
 sented, first, under the image of harvest ; secondly, under that
 
 294 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 of vintage, both the gathering of the grapes and the pressing 
 of them. Divine judgment upon the earth or a nation is fre- 
 quently described under both images in the Old Testament 
 prophets. Thus both are found together in Joel iv. 12 (iii. 18), 
 " Put ye in the sickle ; for the harvest is ripe : come, get you 
 down ; for the press is full, the vats overflow ; for their wicked- 
 ness is great (the nations which Jehovah will judge in the valley 
 of Jehosaphat)." The image of the harvest is in Is. xvii. 5 sqq., 
 Amos viii. 1 sqq. ; that of the vintage and wine-press in Is. 
 Ixiii. 16. 
 
 (a) Verses 14 16. 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 crmvn, and in his hand a sharp sickle. This de- 
 scription leads us (so also Eichhorn, Liicke, p. 358, Hengstenberg, 
 Ebrard) to think of the Messiah himself, especially since he is 
 described in i. 13 as ojuoios vt<3 avfywrov (after Dan, vii. 13). Yet 
 again the aAXos ayyeAos (verse 15) leads to the idea that only 
 an angel is meant here; otherwise the angel in verses 17 sqq. 
 would be here represented in exactly similar relation to the 
 Messiah, which is not very probable. 
 
 Verse 15. And another angel came out of the temple, of heaven 
 (verse 17), which, according to xi. 19, was open, from which pro- 
 ceed also (below, xv. 5 sqq.) the angels with the seven last 
 plagues ; and, according to xvi. 1, the voice resounds, commanding 
 them to pour them out on the earth. 
 
 Crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in 
 thy sickle (comp. Joel. i. 1, iv. 12, b| VtVli?) and reap ; for the 
 hour is come to reap (the received o-ot after rjXdev is wanting in 
 Compl. and others; is omitted again by Griesbach, Lachmann, 
 Tischendorf, &c., which Mill approves ; also by A. B. C. 26 cursive, 
 Arr. Copt. Aeth. Arm. Vulg. Andr. 2, Areth. Prim.) ; for the harvest 
 of the earth is become dry, dried up, that is, already over-ripe. 
 Qcpio-fws, properly the act of reaping ; here, as frequently T?r?, 
 for the corn to be reaped. 
 
 Verse 16. And he that sat on the cloud, thrust in his sickle on
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 295 
 
 the earth, and the earth was reaped ; all that was ripe upon it 
 for Divine punishment cut down; comp. Hos. vi. 11, "Also, 
 Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee." 
 
 (6) Verses 17 20. And another angel came out of the temple 
 which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 
 
 Verse 18. And anotJier angel came out from the altar, which had 
 power over the fire,. By the altar we are to suppose the altar of 
 incense, as TO tfuo-iaoT^/oiov probably means everywhere in our 
 book (see on xi. 1); here, that in the heavenly temple, where 
 was the abode of the souls of Christian martyrs (vi. 9) ; perhaps 
 the description has regard to the fact that he had come forth 
 from the altar, and represents him as one who has just heard the 
 prayers of the martyrs, and who now, in reference to them, 
 arranges the immediate execution of judgment on the earth ; 
 comp. ix. 13. It is not quite clear why he is called the angel 
 who has power over fire, since he does not make use of it 
 here ; as in xvi. 5 an ayyeAvs TWV vSarwi/ appears. By the fire 
 we are to understand the fire of the altar of incense ; comp. 
 viii. 5, where the angel takes fire from this altar and throws it 
 upon the earth, whereupon arise lightning, thunder and earth- 
 quakes. 
 
 And cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, 
 saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather, cut off, the grapes of 
 the vine of the earth ; for her (or its, in reference to rjfs yijs, which 
 at all events is a genitive explicative) berries are ripe (rpvyav, 
 applied to the reaping of the fruits of dry fields and trees gene- 
 rally ; so also in the LXX. frequently of the vintage ; comp. 
 Luke vi. 44). poTpvs properly denotes grape-stalks with the 
 grapes on them ; o-Ta<i>A.cu, the grapes or berries on the stalks. 
 
 Instead Of ^/c^acrai' at (rra^vXal auriys, Ewald reads, i}'/c/iacrcv 17 
 
 <rra(f>v\r) TVJS y^s, to which Griesbach is also inclined ; the singular 
 is found in B. 23 cursive, Arr. Aeth. Areth.; and T>}S y??s, in 25 
 cursive, Syr. Aeth. Areth. 
 
 Verse 19. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and 
 gathered, cut off, the vine of the earth, and cast it (the cut grapes)
 
 296 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 into the great wine-press of the wrath of God, in which God in his 
 anger puts what is to be punished, for treading it under foot. 
 Instead of the received r^v ptya.\i)v, should be read, with Compl., 
 Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., rbv fieyav ; comp. 
 Liicke, 2nd ed. pp. 463 sqq. ; but this also without doubt refers 
 to rr)v Xrjvbv ; Xrjvbs is common gender, and is here treated as 
 masculine and feminine, in immediate succession, in one sen- 
 tence. 
 
 Verse 20. And the wine-press was trodden without the city ; the 
 pressing of the wine usually took place in the vineyards them- 
 selves, without the city. As this is included in the symbolic re- 
 presentation, we have probably to think of Jerusalem as the 
 woAis, signifying that Divine punishment would be inflicted on 
 the world outside the holy city. 
 
 And blood came out of tJie wine-press, flowed out ; figuratively, 
 real mead in reference to its red colour is described as the blood 
 of the grapes; Gen. xlix. 11, Deut. xxxii. 14, Sir. xxxix. 26, 
 1 Mace. vi. 34. Here the expression was the more applicable, 
 because it is the proper one for the thing itself represented, 
 meaning the blood which was to be shed by Divine punishment 
 among the men of the world, in the battle about to commence 
 against them. 
 
 Even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six 
 hundred furlongs ; this describes, in a very hyperbolical manner, 
 the great quantity of blood which would be shed at the defeat 
 of the enemies of Christ, by the space which it occupies both 
 in depth and surface, dvo is found, in specifying distance, in 
 John xi. 18, xxi. 8, as well as in Josephus and other writers. It 
 does not clearly appear how the 1600 furlongs, which are about 
 = forty German miles, are to be understood, whether merely 
 extension in one direction, in length, or perhaps as the sum of 
 extension in both directions together, in length and breadth, 
 probably the former. If the number is not to be considered 
 merely as a round one, chosen with poetic licence to denote a 
 very great space, as Victorinus, Primas., Vitringa and others,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETA TION. 297 
 
 think, it is most likely that it is meant for an average state- 
 ment of the size of Palestine, as Grotius, Bengel, Eichhorn, 
 Ewald, Ztillig and others assume = over the entire surface of 
 the Jewish land ; inasmuch as the decisive battle will be there 
 carried on against the world. What confirms this is, that Anto- 
 ninus counts 1664 furlongs in his Itinerarium from Tyre as far 
 as the Egyptian frontier-town, Ehinocolura. Yet the first sup- 
 position (a mere round number, without reference to the extent 
 of a definite country) is perhaps the more correct. Others, as 
 Hammond and Mede, take it for the supposed size of Italy, which 
 however is much larger. 
 
 Ch. xv. xvi. 
 
 The vision of seven angels, who bring the seven last plagues 
 on the earth; symbolized by the pouring out of vials full of 
 Divine anger, upon the earth. The intimation in Sirac. xxxix. 
 32 sqq. (28 sqq.) lies perhaps at the foundation of this repre- 
 sentation, where it is said, there are spirits who exist for revenge 
 (eis tKSiKrja-t,v e/cTtcn-ai), and at the time of fulfilment pour out their 
 strength (ev Kcupw o-wreXcias icr^^v fK^ov(rtv) and appease the 
 anger of their Creator. 
 
 Ch. xv. 1. 
 
 These seven plague-angels are first adduced. 
 
 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven 
 angels having the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled up the 
 wrath of God ; i. e. they were the last in which the Divine anger 
 was manifested against the inhabitants of the earth, namely, before 
 the coming of Messiah ; the 6Vi refers to ras eVxaras, since the 
 reason is here stated why these plagues are called the last. That 
 they are denoted as " having the seven last plagues," is also found 
 in verse 6, although the vials are not given to them till verse 7, 
 containing these plagues full of the Divine wrath. But the 
 contents of this verse, as Ziillig rightly takes it, are only to be 
 viewed as a sort of heading for the following vision of the seven 
 plague-angels themselves, since the seer cannot have seen the
 
 208 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 angels yet, but somewhat later, since the temple is not opened 
 till verse 5, whence they come forth, according to verse 6. "What 
 is between, verses 2 4, contains an intermediate vision, pre- 
 ceding the actual appearing of the seven plague-angels. Here, in 
 
 Verses 2 4, 
 
 is described the blessed condition of the saints, who, as con- 
 querors, resist the beast, and praise God in sublime songs of 
 praise, without having anything to fear from the impending 
 plagues. 
 
 Verse 2. And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire; 
 
 COmp. iv. 6, K. tvowrtov TOV Opovov ws OdXaa-cra vaXivrj ofj-oia KpucrraA/Xy. 
 
 Here we have probably to think of the space in front of the 
 throne of God, although it does not very distinctly appear. That 
 it is said to be mingled with fire, is not, as Eichhorn, Ewald, 
 Ziillig, De Wette, Hengstenberg and others, suppose, a token of 
 coming punishment or Divine anger, but merely serves to describe 
 the brightness with which the crystal-like surface shines. 
 
 And them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his 
 image, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass ; 
 these are they who had firmly resisted all temptation to worship 
 the beast and his image, or to adopt the number of his name, 
 and had come forth conquerors in their temptations and struggles; 
 for such is the explanation of the otherwise unusual combination 
 vi/cav K TIVOS, as a somewhat pregnant construction. These the 
 seer beholds standing on that sea, consequently before the throne 
 of God. Yet it is not perhaps correct to think, as many inter- 
 preters do, of Christian martyrs, or at least of those who died in 
 the faitk Much rather should we understand the complete body 
 of believers who firmly resisted the beast ; who are represented 
 as taken away from the last plagues about to be inflicted on 
 the world, so as not to be struck with those plagues, and standing 
 before the throne of God. 
 
 Having the harps of God - such as were used for praising 
 God ; comp. (TO!) D^btf ^ti? ^?, 1 Chr. xvi 42, 2 Chr. vii. 6.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 299 
 
 Verse 3. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God (so 
 is Moses called, Exod. xiv. 21, Jos. xiv. 7, &c.), and the song of 
 the Lamb. The proper meaning of this is not quite clear. By 
 the song of Moses, one might be inclined to imagine the song of 
 thanksgiving after the deliverance of the people out of Egypt 
 and the passage through the Eed Sea (Exod. xv.). But then 
 it is not clear what the song of the Lamb means. The song- 
 sung by them appears to mean, what is immediately described 
 (verses 3, 4) as their hymn of praise to God, which is composed 
 of single expressions out of various Old Testament passages. 
 This might be called at the same time the song of Moses and of 
 the Lamb ; and the general sense is, that they praise God in their 
 song, as they learnt it from Moses and Christ, the mediators of 
 the Old and New Testament; or also, as Ewald (earlier), as they 
 heard these singing in heaven itself, joining in their song ; but the 
 former is the more likely. 
 
 Saying, Great and marvellous are thy works (comp. Ps. iii. 2, 
 cxxxix. 4), Lord God Almighty ; just and true thy ways (comp. 
 Ps. cxix, 75, Deut. xxxii. 4, Hos. xiv. 10), thou King of the nations. 
 Jer. x. 7, D^an TJ^p. Here the received text has dyiW (instead 
 of eOv&v) ; but tOv&v in Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, 
 Tischendorf, &c., and so A. B. 40 cursive, Ar. Pol. Copt. Aeth. 
 Arm. Prim. Andr. Areth. Cypr. Patr. Lat. ; a third reading, cuwvwv 
 (C. 18 cursive, MS. Syr. Erp, Vulg., approved by Grotius, Mill 
 and others), has doubtless been derived from 1 Tim. i. 17. The 
 received reading has little in its favour (the received is an incorrect 
 Vulgate reading taken in by Erasmus ; comp. Delitzsch, 1. c.). 
 
 Verse 4. Who sJiall not fear thee, Lord ? Jer. x. 7, *f $# ^b"D. 
 Here, however, the o-e is not certain. It is wanting in A. B. C. 4 
 cursive, Aeth. Arm. Vulg. MS. Andr. Cypr., also ed. Erasmus, 
 1, 2, 3, and omitted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, which De Wette 
 approves ; it would then be, Who shall not be afraid, Lord, and 
 glorify (praise) thy name? for thou only art holy. Instead of 
 oo-tos, B. 32 cursive, Andr. 2, have aytos, and so the Compl., &c., 
 which is more suitable, for oo-ios is not used in reference to God ;
 
 300 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 yet it appears so below (xvi. 5), and is here probably genuine, in 
 the sense of ayios, as denoting the holy, the exalted, although 
 oo-ios of the LXX. corresponds better to the Hebrew TOP}. 
 
 For all nations shall come and fall down before thee, worship, 
 reverence thee, after Ps. Ixxxvi. 9, T?^ ^ntftp'H ^"ta; D?ia bs ; 
 for thy judgments are made manifest, because it is shown in them 
 how thou judgest and punishest the transgressors and refractory. 
 
 Verses 5 8. 
 
 The seven plague-angels now come forth from the temple, and 
 receive their vials full of the wrath of God. 
 
 Verse 5. And after that Hooked, and tlu temple of the tabernacle of 
 the testimony in heaven was opened. OTK^V^ TOV p-aprvpiov is the usual 
 translation in the LXX. for the sanctuary of Jehovah prepared 
 by Moses, iyin brftf, they taking "T^ia - fWTO for the testimony 
 or law of God, though it properly signifies, tent of assembly or 
 meeting. This tabernacle was the seat of the ark of the covenant, 
 and, according to Exod. xxv., made after the pattern which 
 Jehovah showed Moses on Sinai, which was subsequently under- 
 stood of the permanent model in heaven. So the heavenly temple 
 is here described as the temple of the tabernacle of testimony 
 as it was supposed to be the primitive pattern for the sanctuary 
 made by Moses, with the original ark of the covenant ; comp. 
 XL 19, K.rjvoiyr) 6 vaos TOV Oeov fv rip ovpavw /ecu ta<f>6r] r/ KI/?O>TOS 
 njs SiadrJKfjs TOV Kvpiov ev TW vaw avTOV. 
 
 Verse 6. And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the 
 seven plagues (see verse 1), clothed in pure and white linen, and 
 having their breasts girded with golden girdles. The former serves 
 to denote their purity and holiness ; the latter, their activity in 
 the approaching execution of the Divine commission ; both toge- 
 ther intimate the priestly character of these angels who come 
 out of the temple of God (Exod. xxviii. 39 sqq., Levit. vi. 3). 
 
 .Verse 7. And one of the four beasts, the cherubim, gave unto the 
 seven angels, seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God who liveth 
 for ever and ever.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 301 
 
 Verse 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. The 
 86a of God is the Old Testament n^JT TO?, according to the 
 later Jewish theology the rtt'Ot??, the splendour which God spreads 
 by his presence, which beams out from himself. But since no 
 mortal is able to bear the sight, it appears usually in theophanies 
 enveloped in a cloud or in smoke, which is therefore the sign of 
 the Divine presence. So one might view the fact of the temple 
 being filled with smoke here, merely as a sign of the majestic pre- 
 sence of God in it, as Vitringa, De Wette, Ebrard, &c., suppose ; 
 comp. Exod. xl. 34 sqq., according to which, Moses could not enter 
 the tabernacle of the covenant because the majesty of Jehovah filled 
 it, and a cloud rested upon it; 1 Kings viii. 10 sqq., 2 Chron. v. 
 14, vii. 1, Is. vi. 4. Yet it is very probable, from the connection, 
 that the smoke is at the same time an indication of the Divine 
 anger with which the plague-vials have just been filled. That 
 the smoke refers to that, is specially confirmed by the fact that 
 no one was able (on account of the smoke) to enter into the 
 temple till the seven plagues were fulfilled, i. e. till the Divine 
 anger was appeased by punishment inflicted on the world. 
 
 Ch. xvi. 1. 
 
 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the, 
 seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the seven vials of the 
 wrath of God upon the earth, i. e. accomplish on it the plagues 
 with which you are charged. 
 
 Verses 2 9, 
 
 describe the plagues which proceed from the first four vials, 
 corresponding to those which appear at the four first trumpets, 
 viii. 7 12. Here also in succession, (1) the earth, (2) the sea, 
 (3) the rivers and springs of waters, and (4) the sun, are struck, 
 not merely, as there, the third part, but altogether ; so that the 
 men of the world, the worshippers of the beast, are tormented in
 
 302 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 the most violent manner, even in a greater degree than there, 
 without being led to repentance thereby. 
 
 (1) Verse 2. And the first went and poured out his vial upon 
 the earth, and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men 
 which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped 
 his image. IA.K09 KO.KOV KO.\ irovrjpbv = "9? r n $> Deut. xxviii. 35, 
 Job ii. 7, LXX., lA/cos irovrjpov. The plague is similar to the 
 Egyptian, Exod. ix. 8 11. 
 
 (2) Verse 3. And the second (angel) poured out his vial upon 
 the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man, can only mean, 
 as of one deadly wounded (Grotius), therefore as human blood. 
 
 And every living soul (comp. n*n(n) bsj'bp, Gen. i. 20, 31) 
 died in the sea. Instead of the received <ra, we should pro- 
 bably read, with Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, ^wvys, ac- 
 cording to A. C. ; many cursives entirely omit it. Lachmann 
 and Tischendorf read also TO, before h r-g OaXda-a-y (according to 
 A. C. Syr.), where this is an apposition to -n-aa-a ^v^r] fonfc. 
 
 (3) Verses 4 7. And the third angel poured out his vial upon 
 the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood. 
 
 Verse 5. And I heard the angel of the waters say. This is 
 not, as Grotius thinks, the same angel who pours out * the vial, 
 but the angel* appointed over the water, the guardian angel 
 of the water, whose element is chiefly struck by this plague, 
 and who is able to recognize in it the Divine justice. The 
 later Jewish theology assumes similar angels as presiding not 
 merely over different nations, but also over the single ele- 
 ments and other natural objects on the earth, separate from one 
 another ; over fire, hail, the sun, &c. ; see Eisenm. ii. pp. 376 
 sqq. So a special 1E7 was assumed to preside over the water ; 
 2rn, Raging, Vehemence, is given as his name ; see Schottgen, 
 ad h. 1. 
 
 Thou art righteous, Lord, which art and wast, because thou 
 hast judged thus, hast sent forth such judgment. 
 
 Verse 6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophet*,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 303 
 
 and thou Jiast given tliem blood to drink, for they are worthy, have 
 fully deserved it. 
 
 Verse 7. And I Keard the altar say. Instead of the received 
 text, aAAov JK TOV Ova-iaa-rrjpiov, which Ziillig holds, should be read, 
 with Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, merely tfwiao-- 
 rrjpiov, which Mill approves ; according to A. B. C. 34 cursive, 
 Syr. Ar. Pol. Copt. Vulg. Vesp. Bede. The altar itself, namely, 
 the altar of incense in heaven, where the souls of believers who 
 were slain have their abode, is described as speaking, inasmuch 
 as a voice is heard out of it, whether it be of the martyrs 
 themselves or of the angel of the incense-altar (comp. on xiv. 18) ; 
 comp. ix. 13. 
 
 Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judg- 
 ments; comp. xv. 3. 
 
 (4) Verses 8, 9. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon 
 the sun, and power was given unto it (avTtp, without doubt re- 
 ferring to the sun struck by the vial, not to the angel) to scorch 
 men with fire, to burn them. At the fourth trumpet (viii. 12) the 
 heavenly bodies were partly darkened ; here, the red heat of the 
 sun is increased in a manner destructive to men. 
 
 Verse 9. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed 
 the name of God, which hath power over these plagues ; from whom 
 alone their infliction can proceed. 
 
 And they repented not, to give him glory ; to recognize him as 
 the only powerful or just judge ; for the sense, comp. ix. 20 sqq. 
 Those who survived the earthquake in Jerusalem behaved other- 
 wise, xi. 13, KCU eSwKav Soav TW defij TOV ovpavov. 
 
 (5) Verses 10, 11. 
 
 Verse 10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat 
 of the beast, upon the place of the earth where the latter had his 
 chief seat, and from whence he ruled the earth, therefore on new 
 Babylon, that is, Rome. 
 
 And his kingdom ivas full of darkness, as was the earth already 
 at the fourth trumpet (viii. 12), and as the land of Egypt was at
 
 304 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 the time of Moses (Exod. x. 21 sqq.). Here thick darkness 
 follows the excessive heat of the sun, and they, the adherents of 
 the beast on his throne, lit, chewed as it were, maimed, their 
 tongues for pain. 
 
 Verse 11. And blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their 
 pains and their sores ; it does not appear whether these are to be 
 supposed the consequence of the last-mentioned plague-vials, or 
 refer at the same time to what precedes, particularly to verse 2. 
 
 And repented not of their deeds ; oomp. ix. 20, ov 
 T(ov fpywy T 
 
 (6) Verses 1216. 
 
 The sixth trumpet should be compared with this, ix. 13 21. 
 
 Verse 12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon ike great 
 river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way 
 of the kings of the East might be prepared, who should come from 
 the far East, from the other side of the Euphrates, and would 
 therefore be impeded on their march by this river ; this obstruc- 
 tion is removed by the drying up of it. See the general In- 
 troduction on the interpretation of this vision. By the kings 
 from the East we are to understand those who, according to 
 xvii. 12, are symbolized by the ten horns of the beast, princes 
 who have power with the beast only a short time, and, in com- 
 bination with him, make war against the Lamb in vain, but 
 destroy the woman, Babylon, i. e. Rome ; which, as we have seen, 
 is connected with an idea, at that time very prevalent, that Nero 
 was to return as Antichrist, in company with Eastern, chiefly 
 Parthian, princes, and avenge himself on Rome which had cast 
 him out. For this purpose the way is prepared for these kings, 
 that they may continue their journey without hindrance, in order 
 to exercise their activity, which God the Lord permits them to 
 do for a short time. Perhaps also passages such as Is. xliv. 27, 
 Jer. li. 32, 36, floated before the writer's mind, in the image of the 
 drying up of the water of the Euphrates, where the same thing 
 is spoken of in reference to Babylon ; although in these passages
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 305 
 
 the meaning should probably be taken somewhat differently from 
 here. The destination of those kings of the East is not farther 
 spoken of. The following verses (13 16) describe how the kings 
 of the whole earth are called together by demons, to the last 
 decisive battle at the great day of God's judgment, whose quick 
 and sudden appearing is proclaimed at the same time in an inserted 
 exhortation. The summoning together of these hosts takes place 
 by means of three demons which go out from Satan, from the 
 beast (Antichrist) and from the false prophet, in the form of frogs, 
 serving to denote their uncleanness, loathsomeness and adven- 
 turesomeness ; with which we may compare Artemidor. Oneirocrit. 
 ii. 15, where frogs denote jugglers and boasters. 
 
 And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth 
 of the dragon, and out of the 'mouth of the beast, and out of the 
 mouth of the false prophet = like frogs in form; one would 
 expect a participle, KTropev6/j.eva or fK-n-opevOevTa, but it is not ex- 
 pressed, the verb being afterwards added in another construction 
 (verse 14), with the statement of those to w T hom they go out, 
 a fK-n-opevcTat ; it may be doubted whether the relative refers to 
 the member immediately preceding, irvevfj-aTa Scu/zov<W, or to the 
 rpia. aKaOapra in verse 1 3. In the latter case, eiVi yap 
 o-j/jueta would be a general parenthetical intermediate 
 sentence, they are, namely, spirits of demons, which wcn*k miracles; 
 in the former case, those spirits named in verse 13 would be the 
 subject of ei'o-i, those are, namely, spirits of demons, which work 
 miracles, ivhich go rn.it. The words as they run are not very 
 natural in either case. One might readily be inclined to consider 
 them as a gloss, as they would not be missed if wanting. Yet 
 they have every external evidence in their favour. 
 
 Which go forth to the kings of the ivhole world, to gather them to 
 the battle of that great day of God Almighty. This is understood 
 by some interpreters as if the judgment upon Eome were meant 
 (and so Ztillig, only in reference to the Jewish land, to the anguish 
 and oppression of the inhabitants of this once holy land), and 
 the kings were assembled to make war against and destroy this 
 
 x
 
 306 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 new Babylon according to Divine guidance; comp. xvii. 16 
 sqq. But even there it does not appear that Babylon will be 
 attacked by these kings of the whole world, but only by the 
 beast and the ten horns, i. e. the princes of the East from beyond 
 the Euphrates. The very description in our passage makes the 
 meaning much more probable, that they will be assembled for 
 the last battle against God, and for the last judgment which God 
 will hold upon themselves. So also De Wette. 
 
 Verse 15. This verse appears parenthetically as an inserted 
 admonition of the Lord. Beza is very rash in wishing to expunge 
 it (contrary to all external evidence), and to put it after iii. 18, 
 although it cannot be denied that it is somewhat unsuitable ; it 
 is manifestly occasioned by the allusion to the last judgment 
 (verse 13). 
 
 Behold, I come as a thief (comp. iii. 3) ; blessed is he that watcheth 
 (iii. 2, yivov yp-rjyopwv) and keepeth his garments, lest he- walk naked 
 and they see his shame. The garments probably mean those 
 which the Lord gives to his own people, with which he clothes 
 them; comp. iii. 17, 18. These we are exhorted to keep, not to 
 take them off from us in a state of intoxication or sleep, that we 
 may not be found of the Lord, at his appearing, in our natural 
 nakedness, in a state entirely unbecoming his followers. 
 
 Verse 16. The subject here is not, as some think, the sixth 
 plague-angel, or God (as Hengstenberg, Ebrard, &c.), or Satan, 
 but doubtless the Trver/xara, a eKiropeveraL K. A. Verse 14. And he 
 gathered them together, the kings of the whole world, led them toge- 
 ther into a place called, in the Hebrew tongue, Armagedon. The 
 origin and interpretation of this name is not certain. The form 
 induces us to suppose it to be compounded of ill and fa?*?, or 
 ^"iaJ?, which is also the opinion of most. Megiddo was a fortress 
 which belonged to the tribe of Manasseh. Among other things, 
 it was known by two battles and defeats which happened in its 
 vicinity, (a] by the defeat which Sisera and other Canaanitish kings 
 suffered from the Israelites under the judge Barak and Deborah, at 
 the water of Megiddo (probably the Kison), Judges iv. 15, v. 19 ;
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 307 
 
 and (6) by the defeat which the Jewish king Josiah, 611 before 
 Christ, suffered in the valley of Megiddo, from Pharaoh Necho, 
 where he himself was slain (2 Kings xxiii. 29 sqq., 2 Chron. 
 xxxv. 22 sqq.). Accordingly, the bitter lamentation (Zech. xii. 11) 
 which will be heard one day at Jerusalem is compared with the 
 lamentation in the valley of Megiddo. Hence Megiddo might 
 denote symbolically a place where a great defeat was to be in- 
 flicted, namely, by Divine judgment on the kings of the earth 
 who oppose themselves to God. The Har mighfe refer to the 
 position of the town at the foot of Carmel. Yet it cannot be 
 denied that the explanation is not quite satisfactory. Other 
 derivations are less probable (see Schleusner, s. v., De Wette. on 
 the passage). Perhaps regard was had originally to the city of 
 Megiddo, and a reference to those defeats lay at the foundation ; 
 and that the name Harmegiddon was already used in a sym- 
 bolical sense in a more ancient writing now lost, for a place of 
 defeats, a judgment-field ; in this manner it would be more easily 
 explained in our passage. It is false when Ewald thinks that 
 Harmegiddon is here an appellation of Borne itself (so also in 
 the Jahrb. d. Bibl. W. VIII. 1856, p. 80, Anm., where he thinks 
 that, as the writer already met with the name, it must have 
 been pretty well known in the writings of that time as a peri- 
 phrasis for Rome, invented by an earlier writer in reference to 
 th idea that nblTin nE1"i, Eoma magna, is according to the 
 numeral value of the letters = 'p~m in = 304). Ziillig thinks 
 the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem is meant, which is called 
 (2 Kings xxiii. 13) Mount of Corruption (JTptpp "in, an appel- 
 lation which was also applied to the ancient Babylon, Jer. li. 25) ; 
 it is called here Mount Megiddo, alluding to those great defeats 
 that happened at Megiddo in ancient history, and at the same 
 time to the etymological signification of the word from TO = 
 T73, to press, to press into heaps, ~n"T3 applied to swarming masses 
 of soldiers = a great crowding together of warlike masses. 
 
 x2
 
 308 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 (7) Verses 1721. 
 
 Verse 17. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the 
 air ; and a great voice (/wyaAi?, omitted by Lachmann, according 
 to A. 2 cursive, Cassiodor. ; wanting also in Erasmus, 1, 2, 3, Aid. 
 Colin. ; the omission approved by Mill and Bengel) came out of 
 the temple of heaven (TOV ovpavoi, omitted by Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, according to A. 2 -cursive, Syr. -Copt. Vulg. Prim. ; the omis- 
 sion approved by Mill and Bengel ; in the ed. Eras. 1, 2, 3, Aid 
 Colin., on the contrary, TOV vaov is omitted, which is wanting in 
 some cursives), from the throne (i.e. from the holy of holies, where 
 the throne of God is supposed to be in heaven), saying, It is done, 
 accomplished, the whole work, namely, which was assigned by 
 God to these seven plague-angels ; this is described as accom- 
 plished by the pouring out of the seventh vial. "What resulted 
 from the seventh vial is stated in the following verse. It is false 
 when Orotius and others understand the yeyove, fuit Eoma, which 
 it can hardly mean. Jt cannot be definitely referred to the 
 destruction of Eome considered as past. 
 
 Verse 18. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, 
 and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were 
 upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake ; ofos OVK eyevero K. A. ; 
 comp. Dan. xii. 1, And it was an evil time, nn^n? ^ "it^ 
 w^nn nyn iy via rrrnp. 
 
 Verse 19. And the great city was divided into three parts, was 
 torn asunder into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, 
 and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, was brought 
 to his remembrance (f^a-drj here passively, as in Acts x. 34 ; 
 
 al iXerjfJioa"vva.i crow ^vi']crdr](Ta.v evuririov TOV Qeov, usually 111 an active 
 
 sense, to remember), to give unto her the cup of the wine of the 
 Her ceness of his wrath. The meaning of this verse is not quite 
 clear, particularly of the first member. From the relation in 
 which both the other members stand to it, one would not be in- 
 clined to understand by the TroAts /ieyaA?7 mentioned in it, Babylon, 
 heathen Rome ; for since the yivf<r0ai eis T/HO. pepr) is undoubtedly
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 309 
 
 to be considered as a consequence of the Divine anger, it does 
 not appear natural that, after what has been just said, Babylon 
 should be divided or rent asunder into three parts ; then it is 
 immediately said, it came into remembrance before God to give 
 it the cup of fierceness of his anger = the determination to 
 punish it was renewed by God ; and as it is said in the second 
 member of the verse, the cities of the nations (heathen) fell, one 
 might also be inclined to take these in contrast with the great 
 city mentioned in the first member, so that the latter would not 
 be a heathen city. In that case Jerusalem only could be meant 
 (and so Andreas, as well as Bengel, Hofmann, &c.), which is 
 also called (in xi. 8) the- TTOA.IS ^ ^ydXrj. I have referred it to 
 Jerusalem, not indeed in the Treatise, but afterwards in my 
 Lectures (Apoc. and Introd. to the New Testament), finding an 
 intimation in this passage that, at the time of the writing of 
 the second part, the destruction of the city by the Eomans had 
 preceded ; and I understood the matter thus : at this destruction 
 of Jerusalem, Eome had again been remembered, as it were, by 
 God; and, on account of its conduct to that city, the resolve upon 
 its destruction was, as it were, renewed. Yet even if Jerusalem 
 were to be understood, this conclusion would not be sufficiently 
 authorized, for eyevero eis rpia. fitpr) would not be a natural expres- 
 sion for the complete destruction of the city by the Romans. The 
 formula may be rather referred to the city being rent asunder 
 before its destruction by the different parties which strove with 
 one another in it. Even this is not natural here, since, from the 
 connection, it is much rather to be viewed as a consequence of 
 the violent earthquake, as, in verse 11, the tenth part of the city 
 (Jerusalem) falls by an earthquake ; it would then be intimated 
 here that from this most violent earthquake, by which the heathen 
 cities fell or were destroyed, Jerusalem also suffered to a great 
 degree and was violently shaken. But that Jerusalem is not 
 meant is confirmed by the way in which, in xi. 13, the effect 01 
 the punishment inflicted upon a part of the city is expressed ? 
 viz. that the remainder (the inhabitants of the city) gave God
 
 310 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 the glory, i. e. repented. If a punishment upon Jerusalem were 
 spoken of here, one would expect it would not merely be men- 
 tioned very briefly, but be described more minutely in its effect. 
 It is therefore probable, and this is the usual acceptation, that 
 the subject of the first member is Babylon, Eome ; which is also 
 in xviii. 16 18, xix. 2, designated directly as the great city. We 
 must then understand the passage in this manner : that Babylon 
 was strongly shaken by that earthquake, although not quite 
 destroyed like other cities of the Gentiles, but that its complete 
 fall was immediately impending, and the carrying out of it on 
 the part of God was resolved upon. 
 
 Verse 20. And every island fled away, disappeared, and the 
 mountains were not found any more, had likewise sunk, disap- 
 peared, in consequence of the violent earthquake ; comp. vi. 14, 
 
 KCU TTttV 0/50S K. V^CTOS K TWV TOTTtoV O.VTWV eKlVfjO^Crav. 
 
 Verse 21. And great hail, about the weight of a talent (over 
 fifty pounds ; COmp. JosepllUS, B. J. V. XVI. 3, ra.Xa.VTia.loi fiev ^a-av 
 01 /3aAdju,evo6 Trerpoi), fell from heaven down upon men; and men 
 (instead of repenting, amending) blasphemed God because of the 
 plague of tJie hail, for the plague thereof was exceeding great. 
 
 Ch. xvii. 
 
 contains a more minute explanatidn of the beast as well as his 
 heads and horns, and also of Babylon the Great ; an explanation 
 which is given to the seer by one of the seven plague-angels, 
 who offers to show him the judgment of the great whore. 
 
 Verses 1, 2. 
 
 Verse 1. And there came one of the seven angels which had the 
 seven vials, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show 
 unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many 
 waters (the twofold TWI/ before iroXXwv and vSdrwv is omitted by 
 Lachmann, as Eras. 1, 2, 3, Colin., Bengel, according to A. 5 
 cursive, Hippol. Andr.). This woman, according to verse 5, is 
 the great Babylon whose Tropvda. (xiv. 8) was already spoken of 
 in reference to her idolatry. The description of her as sitting
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 311 
 
 upon many waters, or many great waters (for it can only mean 
 this ; comp. verse 15, ra vSaTa ov 17 iropvr) KaOrjrai), is borrowed 
 from the picture of ancient Babylon in Jer. li. 13, D^lin -?a~737 
 TijDttf. It refers to the position of the city on the river 
 Euphrates ; so here the new Babylon on the Tiber. But there is 
 at the same time, according to verse 15, a symbolical meaning 
 in allusion to numerous peoples who are united in the city arid 
 ruled by her ; comp. Nahum ii. 9, where Nineveh is compared to 
 a pool full of water, in reference to its number of people. The 
 later Jews frequently apply the water mentioned in the Old 
 Testament to nations; see Wetstein on verse 15. Besides, the 
 fact that the angel here offers to show the seer the judgment of 
 Babylon, proves that the destruction of the city is not supposed 
 in the preceding verses to have already happened, and that the 
 ei's rpia pepr) lyevero, in xvi. 19, cannot be meant, as Eichhorn and 
 others think, of its complete destruction. This passage also 
 clearly shows that Jerusalem cannot be meant, as Ziillig thinks, 
 for that city could not be described as sitting upon many waters. 
 As that description must be true in the literal sense, it decidedly 
 implies a city situated either by the sea or on a large river. 
 
 Verse 2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed 
 fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk 
 with the wine of her fornication ; see xiv. 8, " She has therefore 
 enticed both prince and nations to herself, and, by tempting them 
 to idolatry, led them into destruction." This would be a very 
 unsuitable designation of Jerusalem at that time. 
 
 Verses 3 7. 
 
 So he carried me away in the spirit, in vision, into a wilderness. 
 This locality has perhaps a symbolic reference to the destiny 
 impending over the city; comp. verse 16, ^pr/^w/^ev^v avr^v 
 
 TTOI^O-OWI ; xviii. 19, fj.if W'/D^I I'lprifjuaOi], &C. 
 
 And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured, crimson beast, 
 full of names of llaspluiny (comp. xiii. 1, KCU ri TS Ke</>aAas avrwv 
 ovd/xara /2Aao-<v?/uas, See ad h. 1. Instead of ovo/Acmov, A. 22 CUr-
 
 312 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 sive have ovo/zara; and then A. 4 cursive have the article TO. 
 hefore it ; accordingly Lachmann has ye^ovra dvd/xara /SAao-^/Ai'a?, 
 but the more probable reading would be yepov TO. ovofiara J3X.), 
 Iwmng seven heads and ten Iwrns. There is therefore no doubt 
 that this is the very beast which ascended up out of the sea 
 (xiii. 1), not as Zlillig (ii. 259 sqq.), Ebrard and others, think, a 
 different one. The crimson colour of the beast, as well as the 
 crimson-red and purple-coloured dress of the woman, are only 
 designations of the lustre which beams around her as a ruler, as 
 Grotius supposes ; comp. Pliny, H. N. xxii. 2, coccum imperatoris 
 dicatum paludamentis. Others, as Ewald, understand the colour 
 of the beast as pointing to the blood shed by it. 
 
 Verse 4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet 
 colour ; irop^vpovv and KOKKIVOV, according to the correct text, are 
 neuter adjectives placed substantively, referring to garments of 
 that colour ; as xviii. 16, also comp. xix. 8. 
 
 Decked with- gold (entirely covered, as it were, with it, instead 
 of adorned with it in the richest manner), and with precious stones 
 (A.i'005 TI/UOS = TnjT; ?3$), and with pearls (compare the descrip- 
 tion of the splendour of Tyre in Ezek. xxviii. 13), having a golden 
 cup in her hand full of abominations and the JUthiness of her 
 fornication. Instead of a/catfa/a-nj-ros should doubtless be read, 
 with Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmaun and others, TO. d*a- 
 Oapra (according to A. B. about 40 cursive, Hippol. Andr.), which, 
 according to an incorrect construction, is dependent on ye/iov as 
 well as /38e\vyfji.a.T<i)v. Both describe the contents of the cup as 
 impure, as related to the worship of idols ; with it she intoxicates 
 the nations, tempting them still farther to idolatry ; comp. xiv. 8. 
 
 Verse 5. And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, 
 Babylon the Great, the Mother of harlots and abominations of the 
 earth. So she is described by the inscription she bears on her 
 forehead, consequently by the manner in which she presents 
 herself to all the world ; as perhaps, among the Romans, whores 
 were wont to bear the inscription of their name on their fore- 
 heads. Senec. Controv. i. 2, nomen tuum pependit a fronte;
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 313 
 
 Juvenal, vi. 123. One may doubt whether //.WTT^HOV belongs to 
 the inscription itself, or is an apposition to ovo/xa ; in the latter 
 case, as Zlillig and Ebrard suppose, it should be interpreted, a 
 name which is a mystery = has a secret interpretation ; comp. 
 xi. 8, TTvevjuaTiKw?. Yet the other meaning is the more likely, in 
 which case the inscription itself signifies the mysterious and 
 allegorical contained in the name (Babylon). Instead of TTO/OVWV, 
 meretricum, some MSS. read TTO/DVWV, the masculine of TTO/DVOS ; so 
 also the Compl. and others, approved by Scaliger ; and Griesbach 
 is inclined to the same. Even this would not be unsuitable. 
 But it is more probably meant as feminine, mother of harlots, 
 leader of all others who entice to prostitution, i. e. to idolatry ; 
 other Gentile cities, chief seats of the worship of idols, being 
 thought of. 
 
 Verse 6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the 
 saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; pcOvovo-av, 
 comp. Pliny, H. N. xiv. 22 (of Antony), ebrius jam sanguine 
 civium et tanto magis eum sitiens. 
 
 And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration; I 
 could not reconcile myself to the entire phenomenon ; knew not 
 what it properly meant ; it completely astounded me. 
 
 Verse 7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou 
 marvel ? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman (= her secret 
 significance ; comp. i. 20) and of the beast that carrieth her, which 
 hath the seven heads and ten horns. 
 
 Verse 8. 
 
 The angel now gives a minuter interpretation, and first of the 
 beast. In the general Introduction I unfolded more at large how 
 we are to take this according to the words of the passage itself 
 in connection with xiii. 3, 13 sqq., and after comparing what we 
 know from other sources as to the ideas and expectations of the 
 time to which the Apocalypse belongs. It refers to the supposi- 
 tion that Nero, who had persecuted the confessors of the Lord in 
 so terrible a manner, was to return and manifest himself as the
 
 314 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 true Antichrist, so that the essence of anti-cliristiaii Romanism 
 was to reach its highest point in him, till he should be subdued 
 by Christ. 
 
 The beast that thou sawest was and is not, in this moment, in- 
 asmuch as Romanism or Roman anti-christianism, which showed 
 itself concentrated in him even during his life-time, appeared 
 broken, destroyed, after the removal or death of Nero ; and shall 
 (again) ascend out of the bottomless pit ; comp. xi. 7, TO Or^piov TO 
 
 dvaftaivov CK TI}S dftvcra-ov. 
 
 And go into perdition, shall finally himself perish, subdued by 
 Christ at his appearance, and will be cast into hell ; for such is 
 the meaning, referring to the final, self-destructive, issue of his 
 attempt against Christ and the kingdom of God ; comp. verse 
 14, xix. 20. 
 
 And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were, 
 not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world ; 
 precisely those who worship the beast, according to xiii. 8. 
 
 When they behold the beast (instead of the received text, /3Ae- 
 S, Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, have rightly 
 , which Grotius and Mill approve, according to A. B. 
 30 cursive, Andr. 2), that was, and is not, and yet is, appears 
 again. Here the received reading has /caiVe/a rrt'v, which would 
 mean, and yet he is there = although he is really there. Yet the 
 correct one is doubtless KCU Trapeo-rai ; CompL, Bengel, Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf and others, according to A. B. 31 cursive, 
 HippoL Andr. 2, Areth. Ewald (earlier) and Ziillig maintain 
 the received reading. But Ka'urep IO-TIV would be a mode of speech 
 unusual elsewhere, since KcuVep is always united with the parti- 
 ciple (see my Comment, ad Hebr. v. 8, ib. p. 85), both in the New 
 Testament and in other writers. The analogy also of the de- 
 scription in the first hemistich, besides the preponderance of 
 external witnesses, is in favour of KOI irapeo-Tai, since it corre- 
 sponds to the fifXXa dva/3cuveiv e/c Tr}s d/3vcrcrov, and One would 
 
 expect the idea expressed here that he would again appear. It 
 may be briefly mentioned that Ziillig understands the beast of
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 315 
 
 the Jewish-Edomitish kingdom in general, i.e. the Herodian, and 
 especially of the sovereignty of its last king, who was to contend 
 against the corning Messiah, and under whom Jerusalem was to 
 perish. This was not now, although the kingdom of Edom was ; 
 it had been, but had retreated, and would return, and then its 
 dominion would be again with that last king. 
 
 Verse 9. The first hemistich should not be taken, with Grotius, 
 Herder, Heinrichs and others, to mean, this is the deep, secret 
 meaning of the riddle, or, here is a deep meaning, but, here (is 
 shown) the mind which hath wisdom, here is manifested a pene- 
 trating mind in order to understand this, as xiii. 18, JSe -fj a-ofyia. 
 lo-Ttv. So also Zlillig, De Wette, Hengstenberg, Ebrard. 
 
 The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the least sitteth, 
 has his seat. That this cannot refer to Jerusalem, but only to 
 Rome, see the general Introduction, pp. 89 sqq. 
 
 Verse 10. And there are seven kings ; besides the seven moun- 
 tains, seven kings, that is emperors, are symbolized. 
 
 Five are fallen, perished, are dead, namely, Augustus, Tiberius, 
 Caligula, Claudius and Nero. One is, one of the seven, namely, 
 who followed the five fallen ones, the sixth in the series, Galba 
 or Vespasian. See general Introduction, p. 119. The other, the 
 seventh and last in this number, is not yet come, viz. as king or 
 emperor, he is still expected ; and when he cometh he must continue 
 a short space, so it is according to the Divine counsel, for that 
 lies in the Set, meaning that he will be immediately set aside or 
 supplanted by Nero, who shall return ; so that the expectation 
 is here expressed that this would take place very soon after 
 the death of the emperor, the sixth, reigning at that time, 
 whether Galba or Vespasian. According to Ziillig, the kings of 
 the Edomites are meant (Gen. xxxvi. 32 sqq., 1 Chron. i. 43 sqq.), 
 (1) Bela, (2) Jobab, (3) Husam, (4) Hadad, (5) Samla, (6) Saul, 
 (7) Baal Hanan. According to Genesis, the eighth is Hadar, but 
 according to 1 Chron., Hadad, therefore the same name which 
 was already given. These are types of the new Edomitish kings 
 over Israel, the Herodians, as Tin transposed Tin points to the
 
 316 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 name Herod, and so the first five kings are, (1) Herod the Great, 
 his three sons, (2) Archelaus, (3) Philip, (4) Herod Antipas; 
 farther (5) Agrippa I., (6) Herod of Chalcis, (7) Agrippa II. (whom 
 Justus of Tiberias, cotemporary and rival of Josephus, expressly 
 describes as the seventh and last of these kings). So the Apo- 
 calypse (A.D. 44 47) would be written under (No. 6) Herod of 
 Chalcis, as Lakemacher (Obs. Phil. P. x. 5, 6) supposes. In 
 reference to the eighth, Zlillig himself is undecided ; he thinks 
 that the writer thought perhaps of Herod Antipas (ii. 339 sqq.), 
 the murderer of John the Baptist, who was supposed to be again 
 restored to life. 
 
 Verse 11. And tlie least that was and is not, even he is the 
 eighth and is one of the seven. The IK TWI/ rra m does not mean 
 here, as Grotius supposes, and he is descended from them ; that 
 would be too insignificant ; or, which one would more readily 
 suppose, he consists of the seven, so far as they all formed but 
 individual manifestations of the essence of the beast ; but, he is 
 of tneir number, one of the seven, viz. of the five who have already 
 fallen, the last of these, and will be, on the other hand, the 
 eighth, i. e. return as the eighth. As already remarked in the 
 general Introduction, it is here implied that in Nero the character 
 of the beast, the essence of idolatrous Romanism and anti-chris- 
 tianism, appears entirely concentrated and personified, so that he 
 who is symbolized by one of the seven horns like the other 
 individual emperors, might be viewed at the same time as the 
 beast itself, embodied anti-christianism. 
 
 And goeth into perdition, from which he will not escape. 
 
 Verse 12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, 
 which have received no kingdom as yet. According to Ziillig, these 
 are the Edomitish chiefs who are named after those eight kings 
 (Gen. xxxvi. 40 sqq., 1 Chron. i. 5 sqq.) ; properly only eleven are 
 mentioned there, but the last two names were constantly united 
 into one by the Rabbins. These are types of those who should 
 suddenly appear as rulers of so many smaller kingdoms of Edom, 
 outside the borders of Judea, perhaps in Edom proper. Instead
 
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 317 
 
 of OVTTW, Erasmus, 1, 2, 3, Colin., Bengel, Lachmann, have OVK, 
 according to A. Copt. Yulg. Iren., probably not the original 
 reading. 
 
 But receive power as kings one hour with the least. Vitringa 
 takes fj.iav u>po.v, uno eodemque tempore ; comp. xviii. 8, ev p.i$ 
 
 rjfj,epa rjgovcriv at TrA^yai avrrjs. Yet it IS highly probable, as 
 
 generally supposed, that the short duration of their power is 
 meant, for an hour, for a moment = for a very short time. It 
 may also be assumed with the greatest probability, that the kings 
 meant here are the same as the kings in xvi. 12, coming from the 
 East, for whom a way should be cleared by the drying up of the 
 Euphrates ; and that it refers to the idea that Nero will be assisted 
 on his return by Eastern, particularly Parthian, rulers in his 
 hostile enterprizes. That ten of them are mentioned is only 
 caused by the number of the horns being ten, borrowed from 
 Dan. vii. 7. From the manner in which they are here spoken of, 
 they do not appear to be princes who then ruled Parthia and 
 other neighbouring lands, but as appearing at the same time with 
 Antichrist in order to support him in his attempts, and also 
 perishing with him in a short time. Ewald, on the contrary, 
 supposes Eoman governors of provinces, and considers them the 
 same as the /focriAew-t -rrjs oiKov//,evi?s oA^s, xvi. 14. This is wholly 
 improbable after what was already remarked against Ewald upon 
 the latter, and the object of their being summoned together. It 
 is not likely also that nothing farther should be said here of those 
 kings from the East, of their destination, operation and fate, after 
 the fact has been made so prominent that the way should be 
 prepared for them (into the West) by the drying up of the 
 Euphrates. 
 
 Verse 13. These have one mind, all act unanimously, with the 
 same purpose, and shall give their power and strength, which God 
 has granted them, to the beast. 
 
 Verse 14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the'Lamb 
 shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings ; 
 comp. xix 16, according to which the Lord has a name written
 
 318 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 on his vesture and on his thigh, /foo-iAeus /3ao-iA.ewv K. 
 
 Kvpitav. 
 
 What the second hemistich, KGU ot p.tr avrov K. X., means here 
 is not clear; it may either be taken as a special idea, ol per 
 avrov as the subject, the rest as predicate, "And those with 
 him, his adherents, are called, chosen and faithful." Yet that 
 would be too abrupt. More probably it should be taken with 
 others (for example, Grotius, Eichhorn, Ziillig, Hengstenberg, 
 Ebrard, Heinrichs, De Wette), to mean that the whole, ot /zer' 
 avrov . . TTIO-TOI, goes together, co-ordinate with the TO dpviov in the 
 preceding, and still belonging to the subject of the verb VIK-^O-CU 
 avvovs ; and they that are with him, contending as his hosts, are 
 called, and chosen, and faithful. 
 
 Verse 15. And he (that plague-angel), saithunto me, TJie waters 
 which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth (verse 1), are peoples, 
 and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, numerous nations of 
 different languages ; see, on this symbolism, verse 1. 
 
 Verse 16. And the ten horns which thou saivest, and tlie beast 
 (the received text has ITTI, which must be, on the beast ; for it, KCU 
 is in the Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, al., 
 according to A. B. 32 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Copt. Aeth. Vulg. 
 MS. Hippol. Andr. Prim, al., doubtless the correct reading; ' 
 brought into the text by Erasmus from the Vulgate), these shall hate 
 the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, entirely destroy 
 and strip her, so that she stands wholly naked; image and 
 subject, the idea of the woman and the city intermingle here, so 
 also in the following. 
 
 And shall eat her flesh (comp. "3 "1E75 bDM Ps. xxvii. 2, Micah 
 iii. 2, 3, "who eat the flesh of my people." <ayo/*cu only used in 
 the signification of the future) and burn her with fire. How this 
 coincides with the expectations then current, that Nero, returning 
 with his accompanying troops, should avenge himself especially 
 on the city which had cast him out, on Borne, see general Intro- 
 duction. 
 
 Verse 17. For God hath put in their Jicarts to fulfil his will;
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 319 
 
 God will make use of the evil one himself, Antichrist and his 
 companions, as instruments in performing his decree to destroy 
 Babylon. It is false when others, also De Wette, refer the pro- 
 noun avrov to the beast, Antichrist. 
 
 And to agree (these words, Kal TTOI^O-CU yvwpp piav, are omitted 
 by Lachmann, according to A. Yulg. Andr. MS., Mill also approves 
 the omission), and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the 
 words of God shall be fulfilled, i. e. until his prophecies will find 
 their fulfilment, those respecting the destruction of Babylon and 
 the future coming of the Lord, when the beast himself and his 
 associates will be defeated. On reXeLa-dai, comp. Luke xviii. 31, 
 xxii. 37. 
 
 Verse 1 8. Aud the woman which thou sawest is that great city 
 which reigneth over the kings of the earth, exercises sovereignty 
 over them. Thus Babylon is again unmistakably described as 
 Eome. 
 
 If we look back to this vision with the explanation of the 
 angel, Babylon is the woman who sits on the beast with the 
 seven heads, seven-hilled Eome, as chief seat of the worship of 
 idols and anti-christianism. But seven kings are at the same 
 time symbolized by those seven heads, individual manifestations 
 of the anti-christian idolatry depicted by the beast. One was to 
 appear as eighth king, in whom the essence of the beast would 
 be so concentrated as to be entirely one with him ; therefore the 
 eighth is not represented by a single head of the beast, but is the 
 beast itself, and this because he is the same who was present 
 among the seven (as the fifth), who shall again appear as the 
 last and extreme manifestation of idolatrous and anti-christian 
 Romanism, as embodied Antichrist, till he, together with the 
 rulers from the East appearing and disappearing along with him 
 (who are symbolized by the ten horns), succumbs to Christ 
 returning in his full glory. As to the value of this prophecy, 
 &c., see general Introduction.
 
 320 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Ch. xviii. 1 xix. 10. 
 
 The fall of the woman, Babylon the Great, already mentioned 
 in xiii. 8 (comp. xvi. 10, xvii. 16), is farther described in warnings, 
 songs of lamentation and joy, and symbolical images. Firstly, 
 
 (a) Ch. xviii. 13, 
 
 her fall is announced by an angel, as a consequence of her sinful 
 and seductive character. 
 
 Verse 1. And after these things I saw another angel come down 
 from heaven, having great poiver (= MTXV/JOS, v. 2, x. 1), and the 
 earth was lightened with his glory, with the splendour which he 
 sent forth from himself, and spread around him ; Ezek. xliii. 3, 
 trtapa rTrsn spwrn. (of Jehovah). 
 
 Verse 2. And he cried with a strong voice, Babylon the Great is 
 fallen, is fallen (comp. xiv. 8), and is become the habitation of 
 devils and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean 
 and Jiateful bird. This signifies the changing of it into a very 
 horrible, dismal wilderness ; see ix. 14. Is. xiii. 21 sqq. lies at 
 the foundation, where, among the threats of the destruction of 
 Babylon, it is said that it shall be the abode of wild beasts, of 
 D'nTJp, SaifjLovia, and screeching birds ; comp. ib. xxxiv. 11 sqq., 
 the description of the impending desolation of Edom ; Zeph. ii. 14 
 (against Nineveh). Unclean and hateful, i.e. owls, ravens, among 
 others, are abhorred, loathsome birds. Such are mentioned in Is. 
 loci citat. It is called the <vAaKr) of such beasts and demons, 
 as they are banished to this place and cannot get out of it. 
 
 Verse 3. For all nations liave drunk of the wine of the wrath of 
 her fornication (comp. xiv. 8, IK TOV otvov TOV OV/J.QV T-/}S Tropveias 
 airrr/s TTOTOTIKC irdvra lOvi]. Here Lachmann has omitted TOV otvov, 
 
 according to Aeth. Vulg. MS. Iren. ; hence, of the wrath of the 
 fornication ; yet the words are perhaps genuine), and the kings 
 of the earth have committed fornication with her ; comp. xvii. 2, 
 
 fj.fO' 7js firopveva-av 01 /Jao-tAeis rrjs y/}?. 
 
 And the merchants of tlie earth are ivaxed rich through tlw
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 321 
 
 abundance of her delicacies = by her great debauchery ; Luther, 
 by her excessive voluptuousness. 
 
 (5) Verses 420. 
 
 Another heavenly voice, which commands the people of God 
 to go out of Babylon that they may not participate in her sins, 
 and fall under the punishments which shall come upon her sud- 
 denly and with violence ; so that her lovers, the kings of the 
 earth, standing afar off from fear of her torment, and those who 
 have enriched themselves by her, lament (verses 4 19); whilst, 
 on the contrary, heaven and the saints whom God avenges on 
 her, rejoice (verse 20). 
 
 Verses 4, 5. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 
 Come out of her, my people. According to this it appears as if we 
 were to think of the voice of God himself or Christ. Yet that of 
 an angel only is meant, who (not in the following, verse 5) speaks 
 here in the name of God. It is chiefly an imitation of Jerem. li. 
 45, 'lay H2inp sis? ; comp. also ib. 6, 1. 8, where the Israelites 
 are summoned to depart out of Babylon on account of the im- 
 pending destruction of the city ; comp. Is. lii. 11, xlviii. 20. 
 
 That ye be not partakers of her sins, infected by them, seduced 
 
 as it were; COmp. Eph. V. 11, /ecu p-^ o-vyKOivcuvetre rots e'pyois rots 
 
 CtKapTTOlS TOV CTKOTOVS. 
 
 And that ye receive not of her plagues, be struck by them; see 
 Jerem. 1. c. ; comp. Numb. xvi. 26. 
 
 Verse 5. Instead of the received reading, -^KoXovOrja-av, we 
 should read, with CompL, Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, al. e'KoAAry^o-av, according to A. B. C. 33 cursive, Syr. Ar. 
 Copt. Aeth. Hippol. Andr. Areth. Patr. Lat. (vulg. pervenerunt). 
 Jerem. li. 9 lies probably at the foundation: "Her judgment (Baby- 
 lon's) (punishment, ntpptZJD) reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted 
 up even to the skies." So it is said here, for her sins have reached 
 = clung together, accumulated, unto heaven, lie so excessively 
 great aud heaped up, that it is impossible for God to overlook 
 them. 
 
 Y
 
 322 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 And God hath remembered her iniquities, has become mindful 
 of them. 
 
 Verses 6, 7. Address to the plague-angels who execute the 
 Divine punishments ; for that is doubtless the meaning. Reward 
 her, even as she rewarded = according as she treated others ; 
 oTroSiSoycu is used here the second time, like the Hebrew baa, 
 generally in reference to mutual transactions, things done to 
 others. The received text has vpiv after cbrlSw/ce, which is very 
 unsuitable ; it is wanting in A. B. C. about 30 cursive, Syr. Ar. 
 Copt. Aeth. Vulg. MS. Hippol. Patr. Lat. ; omitted by Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf ; which Grotius, Mill and Bengel approve. 
 
 And double unto her double according to her works, let her ex- 
 perience double punishment for it most richly. 
 
 In the cup which sJie hath filled = presented the wine of her 
 fornication, fill to her double = let her experience the severest 
 punishment for all her seduction of others unto the worship of 
 idols. On this two-fold application of the image, comp. xiv. 
 
 8, 10, xvi. 19, xviii. 3. 
 
 Verse 7. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deli- 
 ciously, so much torment and sorrow give her ; for she saith in her 
 heart, I sit (throned) a queen and am no widow, and shall see no 
 sorrow, not experience it ; copied from Is. xlvii. 7, 8 (referring to 
 Babylon), " And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever (rn?3 . . .). 
 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that 
 dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, naia^M 2E7M ^b 
 Vblp snS'^b 1 )." The widowhood refers perhaps to the loss 
 of the king ; here probably in reference to the kings who com- 
 mitted fornication with her, as 7rei/0os alludes to the loss of 
 children, i. e. of her inhabitants. The word is used particularly 
 respecting sorrow and lamentation for the dead. 
 
 Verse 8. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day (Is. xlvii. 
 
 9, Tn^ D^a Ban), death, and mourning (for the loss of her 
 children), and famine ; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; 
 for strong is the Lord God who hath judged her, inflicted punish- 
 ment on her. This will call forth bitter lamentation from all
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 323 
 
 who stood in close union with her, as the same angel continues 
 to describe, chiefly after the type of Ezekiel in the prophecy 
 against Tyre (ch. xxvi. sqq.). First, 
 
 (a) Verses 9, 10. Sorrow and lamentation on the part of her 
 lovers, the kings; comp. Ezek. xxvi. 16 18, xxvii. 35. 
 
 And the, kings of the earth who have committed fornication and 
 lived deliriously with her, shall bewail her and lament for her, on 
 account of her destruction, when they shall see the smoke of her 
 turning. 
 
 Verse 10. Standing afar off, continuing to stand, for the fear 
 of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that 
 mighty city, for in one hour, suddenly, in a moment, is thy judg- 
 ment come, thou art destroyed in the judgment. 
 
 (/?) Verses 11 17. Lamentation of the merchants who enriched 
 themselves by her. And the merchants of the earth shall weep 
 and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any 
 more (yo//,os, Acts xxi. 3, of cargo, from ye//,e?v, to be full, to be 
 loaded ; here of merchandise generally). 
 
 Verse 12. The merchandise of gold (the genitive explicative), 
 and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine, linen, and 
 purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all citron-wood (gvXov Owvov, 
 wood of the tree Ovia, citron, an African tree, the wood of which 
 had a pleasant smell, and was manufactured by the ancients into 
 fine household furniture, tables, &c. ; it is doubtful what tree was 
 originally meant by the word ; it was applied to our citron tree 
 only at a very late period). 
 
 And all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most 
 precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble. 
 
 Verse 13. And cinnamon, and amomum, the latter an Indian 
 aromatic shrub which, like cinnamon, was used for its fragrance 
 (the words Kai a;u,a>/xov are wanting in the received text, but are 
 adopted by Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, &c., accor- 
 ding to sufficient authority, A. C. 8 cursive, Syr. Aeth. Vulg. Ital. 
 Hippol. Pat. Lat. ; they were omitted only by accident on account 
 
 Y2
 
 324 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 of the similarity of ending with the preceding Kiva/^ov), and 
 odourSj and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine 
 flour (o-e/uSaAis, similago, the finest flour), and wheat, and beasts 
 (K-nyi/os, properly a possession, property in general, especially in 
 cattle, draught-cattle), and sheep, and (now follow again some 
 genitives, which are to be considered as dependent on yo/^ov) of 
 horses, of chariots, and of slaves, and souls of men; o-w^ara and ^v^al 
 avdpu>7ra>v are here entirely synonymous, both denoting slaves, 
 bond-men ; they are not to be distinguished with Ewald (now, 
 however, he thinks differently), so that the former signifies the 
 lowest class of slaves, who had the oversight of the horses and 
 chariots, or, with Ziillig, people of free position, who let out their 
 bodies for wages in military service or in unchastity. The latter 
 expression is from Ezek. xxvii. 13, where DIM E72? is also put for 
 slaves ; o-w/xara appears among the Greeks in reference to slaves, 
 yet mostly combined with SovXa. and the like, see Wetstein, ad 
 ll. 1. ; .COmp. Tobit X. 11, oxo/mra KCU KTrjvr) ; Gen. XXXVL 6, a-to^ara 
 TOV OIKOV avrov ', 2 MaCC. viii. 11, lovSatka (rw/iara. 
 
 Verse 14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after, the fine 
 costly fruits in which thou hast such delight, are departed from 
 thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly (the former, TO. 
 AiVa/oa, lauta, refers to the fat, the dainties at a feast, TO, Xa^Trpa, 
 perhaps to splendid dress) are departed from thee, and thou shalt 
 find them no more at all. These are not to be understood as 
 words of the merchants, but as those of the angel who addresses 
 Babylon itself. The contents also do not appear to me so inap- 
 propriate as that there is reason, with some interpreters, as Beza, 
 Vitringa, &c. (Ewald also at present), to suppose them to have 
 originally stood in verse 23, or after verse 11, or, with Ewald 
 (earlier), that the writer wrote them in the margin as borrowed 
 elsewhere, and a copier first inserted them in the text (see his 
 Jahrb. d. Bibl. W. VIII. 1856, p. 99, where he supposes a mistake 
 in the original, since the words should be placed after verse 21). 
 
 Verse 15. Tlie merchants of these things, which were made rich
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 325 
 
 by her, by selling such things to Babylon, shall stand afar off for 
 the, fear of her torment (comp. verse 10), weeping and wailing, and 
 saying, 
 
 Verse 16. Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed (hitherto) 
 in fine linen, and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and 
 precious stones and pearls. 
 
 Verse 17. For in one hour so great riches is come to nought, the 
 city with all these treasures. These words belong to the lamenta- 
 tion of the merchants, as does verse 19, end; at all events, the 
 new verse would begin more suitably with KCU Tras Kvp^pv^T^. 
 Here is described, 
 
 (y) Verses 176 19. The lament of the seamen over her fall. 
 The description is altered with respect to the preceding, since 
 this lament is no longer in the future tense in the address of the 
 angel to the seer, but in aorists, as if it took place in vision before 
 the eyes and ears of the seer. Compare, moreover, Ezekiel's 
 description of the lamentations of the sailors over the fall of Tyre 
 (xxvii. 28 sqq.). 
 
 And every ship-master, and all the company in ships, and sailors, 
 and as many trade by sea, stood afar off. The appellations of sea- 
 faring men are here accumulated. Instead of the received reading, 
 Tras IT TrAoiW 6 o/uAos, Griesbach and Lachmann, with the appro- 
 bation of Bengel, have Tras 6 eVi TOTTOV TrAewv, according to A. B. 0. 
 24 cursive, Syr. Arm. Vulg. MS. Other codd., as well as the 
 
 Compl., have Tras 6 Ivrt TWV TrAoiW TrAewv. The formula, epydfccrOai 
 
 TT)V ddXaa-a-av, exercere mare, of sailors and fishermen who work 
 the sea, as it were, whilst they navigate it and live by it, is fre- 
 quently found among the Greeks also, as Hesiod, Arrian, Appian, 
 &c. ; see ap. Wetstein. 
 
 Verse 18. And cried, when they saw the smoke of Jier burning ; 
 see verse 9. Instead of KO.TTVOV, Lachmann has TOTTOI/, according 
 to A. 1 cursive, Vulg., but not Primas. ; the received reading is 
 probably genuine, according to verse 9. 
 
 Saying, Wlw (properly, what other city) is like unto this great 
 city, namely, in reference to its present ruin, which is so fallen ; as
 
 326 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 in Ezek. xxvii. 32, Tfcp *to. It is not natural when others 
 supply fy, as De Wette ; who was like the great city. 
 
 Verse 19. And they cast dust on their heads, as a sign of the 
 greatest mourning. So did the mariners at the fall of Tyre, 
 Ezek. xxvii. 30, DiTtpfcrrbv "isy ^?1T 
 
 And cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great 
 city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea, by 
 reason of her costliness. ^ TI/XIOTTJS denotes everything precious 
 which she possesses, therefore her treasures and riches. 
 
 For in one hour is sJie made desolate. One may take the city 
 as the subject of ^p^fjuaOrj, but, according to verse 17, the n/ucm/s 
 of it also. 
 
 Verse 20. The heavenly voice again enters (verse 4). Eejoice 
 over her, heaven (instead of eir avryv, in the received text, the 
 CompL, Bengel, Griesbach, have ITT avrrj, besides 30 cursive, 
 Hippol. Areth. ; Lachmann, on the contrary, has Iv avry, with 
 A. 0., the latter Hebrew-like; in meaning all are alike), and ye 
 saints, and ye apostles and prophets ; the latter also belonging to 
 the new covenant. 
 
 For God hath avenged you on her; this is a pregnant construc- 
 tion = hath judged her, and taken revenge from her for your 
 blood. 
 
 (c) Verses 2124. 
 
 A symbolical action, viz. an angel throws a millstone into the 
 sea to represent still more vividly by it as well as the accom- 
 panying speech, the sudden and entire destruction of the city. 
 This is an imitation of Jerem. li. 63, 64, where Jeremiah com- 
 mands the prince Seraiah, who accompanied Zedekiah to Babylon, 
 when he had read the writing (against Babylon), to bind a stone 
 to it and cast it into the Euphrates, with the words, " Thus shall 
 Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring 
 upon her." Compare, besides, Nehem. ix. 11, "Thou threwest 
 them (the Egyptians) into the flood as a stone into mighty 
 waters."
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 327 
 
 Verse 21. And a mighty angel took up a stone, like a great 
 millstone (as large ; instead of p.vXov Lachmann has pvXtvov, an 
 unusual form of the adjective ; elsewhere /xuAi/cos ; according to 
 A. C. Vulg. molorem), and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus, with 
 violence, shall that great city Babylon be thrown down (op^^art, 
 impetu, by a violent attack, with force), and shall ~be found no 
 more at all, as one sees no longer a heavy stone which is thrown 
 into the sea. 
 
 Verse 22. And the voice of harpers and singers (/ZOWIKWV, of 
 musicians, a general expression), and of pipers and trumpet- 
 players, shall be heard no more at all in thee, and no craftsman 
 of whatsoever craft, no workman, shall be found any m.ore in thee, 
 and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in thee. 
 
 Verse 23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all 
 in thee, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be 
 heard no more at all in thee. Similar descriptions are frequently 
 found in. the prophets in threats against countries and peoples; 
 comp. especially Jerem. xxv. 10, in the threatening against the 
 Jews, " Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and 
 the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice 
 of the bride, the sound of the millstone and the light of the 
 candle." Comp. ib. vii. 34, xvi. 9, xxxiii. 11 ; Is. xxiv. 8; Ezek. 
 xxvi. 13. 
 
 For thy merchants were the great men of the earth ; they ruled 
 universally on earth as lords by means of their riches, and with the 
 insolence arising out of them ; comp. Is. xxiii. 8, where the mer- 
 chants of Tyre are called princes, its traders the honourable of 
 the earth. Others, as Eichhorn, incorrectly take ot //.eyio-raves rfjs 
 yrjs for the subject, and interpret, the magnates of the earth were 
 its merchants = had intercourse with it, allowed themselves to 
 be tempted by it. In this sense the expression would be very 
 unnatural. 
 
 For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived ; the second on is 
 co-ordinate with the first.
 
 323 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verse 24. And in her was found the Uood of prophets and of 
 saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. The latter 
 perhaps only means those who suffered a violent death for the 
 sake of God and his kingdom. Babylon is here described as 
 guilty of all these murders, because they proceeded from it 
 directly or indirectly ; just as in Matt, xxiii. 35 sqq., Luke xi. 
 50 sqq., all the innocent blood which from the beginning was 
 shed on the earth, is said to be avenged on the Jews at the time 
 of Christ. 
 
 (d) Ch. xix. 110. 
 
 Voices in heaven now resound, praising God for his righteous 
 judgment upon the great Babylon, and singing to him because 
 the marriage of the Lamb is come, the time of his union with his 
 Church, and the complete inauguration of his kingdom, which is 
 subsequently connected with the fall of anti-christian Babylon. 
 
 (a) Verses 1 3. After these things I heard a great voice of much 
 people in heaven, saying, HalleliLJah, the salvation and the majesty 
 and the power is of our God. This is shown quite clearly in the 
 judgment upon Babylon ; comp. vii. 10, xi. 15. 
 
 Verse 2. For true and righteous are his judgments (as in xvi. 7), 
 for he hath judged the great whore, inflicted punishment on her, 
 which did corrupt the earth with her fornication; comp. xi. 18, 
 TOVS Sia<f>Oe'ipovTas rr/v yrjv ; Jerem. li. 25, where Babylon is called 
 a destroying mountain which destroyed the whole earth, 
 !2nsrrb3TIl JTntpian. This refers to moral destruction. 
 
 And hath avenged tJie Uood of his servants on her ; comp. Deut. 
 xxxii. 43, Dip? 1^23? D?, he revenges the blood of his servants. 
 The construction IKSIKCIV TO af/xa K xpos corresponds entirely to 
 the way in which Dp3, 2 Kings ix. 7, is construed. 
 
 Verse 3. And again they said, Hallelujah; and her smoke 
 ascends for ever and ever ; it is an inextinguishable fire which will 
 consume her ; see Is. xxxiv. 10, "It shall not be quenched (Edom's 
 fire) night nor day, the smoke thereof shall go up for ever,"
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 329 
 
 V ; see at xiv. 11. The particle /cat is to be 
 interpreted, with Ewald, in such a way that this member forms the 
 continuation of verse 2 in the description of the just judgment of 
 God, which is only interrupted by the repetition of the Hallelujah. 
 
 (/?) Verse 4. And the twenty-four elders and the four leasts fell 
 down and worshipped God that sat on the throne ; Amen, Halle- 
 lujah. They form therefore the final chorus to that song of the 
 heavenly hosts which praises the justice of the Divine judgments; 
 comp. Ps. cvi. 48, the concluding doxology to the fourth book, 
 which says, " And let the people say," rr^Vpn ps. 
 
 (y) Verse 5. And a voice came out of the throne, came thence, 
 saying, Praise our God, all his servants, and those who fear him, 
 his worshippers, small and great. This is compounded of Ps. 
 cxxxiv. ("Bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord"), and 
 Ps. cxv. 13 (" Them that fear the Lord, both small and great"). 
 
 (S) Verses 6 8. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multi- 
 tude, and as the rushing of many waters, and as the sound of mighty 
 thunderings. They said (received reading, Aeyovrwv ; for which, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, ed. min., Tischendorf, read Aeyovrcs, ac- 
 cording to B. 15 cursive ; other cursive, Aeyovras, and so Erasmus, 
 Bengel and others ; perhaps, however, the received text is the 
 original, and Lachmann, 2nd ed., has again adopted it), Hallelujah, 
 for the Lord our God, the Almighty J/foo-t'Aewe, hath taken the 
 dominion, or proved himself sovereign; comp. xi. 17, "We give 
 thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art and wast, 6Vt 
 ei'A?7<as TTJV Svvapiv crov TTJV /zeyaA^v /cat e/JacrtAewas." AVe may 
 compare the description at the opening of the seventh trumpet 
 (xi. 15 19) with our passage, as the prophecy concerning the 
 development of the occurrences of the future appears to have 
 arrived at the same point here as that reached at the seventh 
 trumpet. 
 
 Verse 7. Let us be glad and 'rejoice, and give honour to him, for 
 the marriage, of the Lamb is come, the time of his espousing his 
 bride, the Church, which takes place when the Lord returns to 
 unite himself in the closest bonds with his Church in the Messianic
 
 330 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 kingdom. As the relation of Jehovah to the people of Israel or 
 to the city of Jerusalem is represented in the prophets as a 
 matrimonial one, in which Jehovah appears as the husband, the 
 Church or city as the wife (for example, Is. liv. 4 8 ; Hos. ii. 19 ; 
 Ezek. xvi. 8, and the whole chapter), and therefore the desertion 
 of them from Jehovah to idolatry as fornication and adultery, so 
 in the New Testament the union of Christ with his Church is 
 frequently designated as a matrimonial one, and their complete 
 union in his kingdom at his glorious coming as a marriage 
 (Matt. xxii. 2 sqq., xxv. 1 sqq.), till which time the Church has 
 to keep herself as a faithful bride for her bridegroom ; see 2 Cor. 
 xi. 2, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have 
 espoused you to one husband, Christ, that I may present you to 
 him as a chaste virgin." 
 
 And his wife, namely, his bride, who is now to be espoused to 
 him, hath made herself ready, prepared herself to receive him, 
 hath adorned herself, viz. with the garments that are mentioned 
 immediately in verse 8. 
 
 Verse 8. And to her was granted that she should le arrayed in 
 shining and pure linen; such a marriage garment as implies purity 
 and innocence she is to put on. 
 
 For the lyssus, the fine white linen, is the innocence, the right- 
 eousness or the virtue, of the saints ; these qualities are symbol- 
 ized by it, and if she did not possess them she could not be so 
 adorned. TO SIKCUW/AO, is properly the being justified, that is, the 
 condition in which one is SiVcuos, and as such stands before God; 
 thus Romans v. 18. The plural here refers to the number of 
 persons, the ayioi, who possess this Si/ccuuyta. Besides, by the 
 bride, the y wrj of the Lamb, we are here to understand the Church 
 of the Lord ; it is somewhat different below, xxi 2 (after the 
 completion of the thousand-years' kingdom), where it refers to 
 the New Jerusalem, the abode riming down from heaven for the 
 saints. 
 
 (e) Verses 9, 10. And he saith unto me, i. e. as follows from 
 verse 10, an angel, and perhaps the same one whose voice, ac-
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 331 
 
 cording to verse 5, resounded from the throne ; not, as Hengsten- 
 berg thinks, the angel mentioned in xvii. 1. Nor is it likely, as 
 Ewald, Ebrard think, that it is the angel of Christ mentioned 
 in i. 1, who throughout all these visions is supposed to be the 
 companion of the seer. 
 
 Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper 
 of the Lamb, who are present at it as guests, that is, who shall 
 take part with the rest in the blessedness of his kingdom ; comp. 
 Luke xiv. 15, where one says to Christ, pxKaptos S? </>aycTcu aprov 
 ev r-fj /3a<riAe6p TOV deov. ; comp. xiv. 13 for the entire description 
 of an angel commanding him to write this down. 
 
 And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God, his 
 true prophecies ; they appear to be now fulfilled. Most probably 
 the words are to be so understood, especially according to the 
 text of Bengel, Lachmann and Tischendorf, which (a} has ot 
 before aX-rjOwoi, after A. 2 cursive, and (&) rov Oeov dvi (instead 
 of C60-6 TOV Oeov), after A. B. more than 20 cursive, Areth. ; but also 
 according to the received text. It is somewhat different xxii. 6, 
 on OUTOI ot Aoyo6 Trio-rot K. dXrjOivot. These words (that God makes 
 all things new) are true and faithful, as De Wette and others 
 understand. 
 
 Verse 10. And I fell down before his feet to worship him, with 
 Divine reverence. 
 
 And he said unto me, opa prj sc. Troirjo-ys, cave ne facias, Do it 
 not ; exactly so in the passage xxii. 9, which is very similar. 
 
 / am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testi- 
 mony of Jesus ; on the latter formula, see at vi. 9, xii. 17. The 
 angel will not put himself in a higher relation to God the 
 Creator, than believers among men, the followers of the Lord. 
 But there can be no doubt, and xxii. proves it still more clearly, 
 that the genitive TWV aSeA^wv is also dependent on o-vvSovXos, and 
 is not to be taken, with Eichhorn, Ziillig, Ebrard, &c., cfs, I am 
 one of thy brethren. 
 
 Worship God, adore him, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit 
 of prophecy. From the connection, these words must assign the
 
 332 LECTURES ON THE APOCALJPSE. 
 
 reason why the seer should not fall down before the angel, and 
 why he was not inferior to him in dignity ; besides, it is said, the 
 testimony of Jesus, which the seer also had with the rest of the 
 followers of the Lord, is the spirit of prophecy, the very spirit 
 which spoke out of the angel and disclosed the future, so that 
 the followers of the Lord, who have the testimony of Jesus, have 
 the very same spirit as that of the angel, and accordingly the 
 angel might designate himself as one of their fellow-servants. 
 
 Ch. xix. 11 xx. 3. 
 
 The appearing of the Messiah, the Logos, is now depicted in 
 his triumphant glory ; the defeat and destruction of all adversaries 
 of the kingdom of God ; the casting of the beast and the false 
 prophet into the lake of fire, and the binding of Satan for a 
 thousand years. First, 
 
 (a) Verses 11 16. The appearing of the Messiah going forth 
 to battle with the nations of the earth. 
 
 Verse 11. And I saw heaven opened, since the Messiah comes 
 forth from it ; but the seer was also found in vision upon earth 
 (see xvii. 3). 
 
 And behold a white horse (see vi. 2), and he that sat upon him 
 is called faithful and true ; and in righteousness he doth judge and 
 make war ; comp. Is. xi. 4, of the Messiah, D" 1 v>7 pTf?? 1222?. 
 
 Verse 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, so brilliant and 
 consuming, as in i. 14 
 
 And on his head were many crowns, denoting his universal 
 sovereignty (comp. iii. 1) as King of kings (verse 16). Grotius 
 refers to the fact that conquerors were wont to place on their 
 own heads the crowns of the conquered princes ; 2 Sam. xii. 30, 
 1 Mace. xi. 13. 
 
 And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself; 
 comp. it 17. The name is here supposed to be written on the 
 forehead, different from that which, according to verse 16, he 
 bears on his thigh, King of kings and Lord of lords. It is a 
 name which signifies in the most exhaustive manner the whole
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 333 
 
 fulness of his majesty, sublimity and power, which no mortal 
 can comprehend in its entire extent, therefore no one knows the 
 name that expresses it. The writer did not think of any definite 
 name, as Logos, Jehovah (so Ziillig thinks, &c.), or any other 
 which may be guessed. 
 
 Verse 13. And he was clothed ivith a vesture dipped in Hood, as 
 a proof of the defeat which he inflicts on his adversaries. So 
 in Is. Ixiii. 1, Jehovah appears as a conqueror of Edom with dyed 
 garments. 
 
 A nd his name is called the Word of God ; on this see John i. 1. 
 
 Verse 14. And the armies in heaven, the heavenly hosts, the 
 armies of the angels of God, followed him upon white horses, 
 clothed in Jine linen, white and clean. 
 
 Verse 15. And out of his mouth goeth a (two-edged) sharp sword 
 (comp. i. 16, ii. 12), that with it he should smite the nations; 
 
 comp. Is. xi. 4, VQ ?$;i V^rr ron 
 
 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron (ii. 27, xii. 5) ; and 
 he treadeth the wine-press of the wine of the anger of Almighty 
 God. The KOI, in the received text, after TOV Ovpov, Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf, have omitted, as well as the Compl., 
 Bengel, al., after A. B. 30 cursive, Copt. Aeth. Arm. Vulg. 
 Orig. Areth. Iren. The genitives are then somewhat accumu- 
 lated. It appears that two images are here connected with one 
 another, that of the treading of the wine-press, which else- 
 where denotes the shedding of blood (comp. xiv. 19 sqq., Is. 
 Ixiii. 3), and that of the wine of wrath, with which God stupefies 
 men and hurls them into destruction, see xiv. 10. Here, the 
 wine-press which God treads is that of the fiery wine of his wrath, 
 in which is pressed the wine which God in his anger will cause 
 men to drink, and with which he will intoxicate them. Yet 
 perhaps TOV oivov is to be closely connected with the rrjv Xyvbv as 
 an adjective, and the TOV Ovpov rrjs opyrjs is dependent on the entire 
 idea of the wine-press ; the wine-press of the intense wrath of God 
 which he treads in his great anger, in which case men themselves
 
 334 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 are supposed to be that which is trodden, and their blood to be 
 
 the wine; COmp. XIV. 19, efSaXev ets TT)V A^vov TOU 6vp,ov TOV 6eov 
 
 TOV (j-eyav. The expression is certainly overloaded here. Yet it 
 was probably meant as we have pointed out. 
 
 V.erse 16. And he hath, he bears, on his vesture and on his 
 thigh (KCU depicts it more exactly), a name written, King of kings 
 and Lord of lords. Similar inscriptions on the thigh, specifying 
 the name or the dignity, are frequently found on old monuments; 
 see Eichhorn, Eosenmliller A. und N. M., on this passage. 
 
 (J) Verses 17, 18. An angel now calls upon the flocks of birds 
 to devour the flesh of hostile sovereigns and their bands who 
 perish in battle with the Messiah. A similar representation is in 
 Ezek. xxxix. 1720. 
 
 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, in the fullest radiance 
 and in the midst of heaven. 
 
 And he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly 
 in. the midst of heaven (xiv. 6, viii. 13), Come and gather yourselves 
 together unto the great supper of God, which God the Lord prepares. 
 Instead of the received reading, TOV peydXov, feast of the great 
 God, the text should be, with Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lach- 
 mann, Tischendorf, al., TO /*eya TOV, after A. B. many cursive, Syr. 
 Copt. Vulg. Andr. 2, Prim, (according to "Wolf, God is never de- 
 signated as 6 /xeyas in the Apocalypse). 
 
 Verse 18. That ye may eat the, flesh of kings, and the flesh of 
 captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and 
 of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, loth 
 small and great. 
 
 (c) Verses 19 21. The seer now beholds how Antichrist with 
 his troops advances against Christ, but is conquered by him and 
 thrown into the lake of fire together with the false prophet, and 
 his troops are destroyed. 
 
 Verse 19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth (those 
 in xvi. 14 sqq., called together to this battle by the three demons, 
 and probably at the same time also the kings from the East,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 335 
 
 symbolized by the ten horns of the beast, xvii. 12 sqq.). And 
 tlieir armies gathered together to make war against him that sat 
 on the horse, and against his army. 
 
 Verse 20. And the least was taken, and with him the false 
 prophet, his companion, who wrought miracles (xiii. 12 sqq.), with 
 which lie deceived tJiem that had received the mark of the least, and 
 them that worshipped his image ; they were first induced to do it 
 by his tempting them, by the miracles wrought by him. 
 
 These loth were cast alive into a lake of fire, sea of fire, burning 
 with brimstone. Into it they are now cast alive to be continually 
 tormented ; later on, Satan is cast into the same (xx. 1 0), where 
 it is called 17 Xi^v-r) TOV irvpbs KCU 0iov, and afterwards (ib. 1 5), at 
 the last judgment, after the general resurrection, all those who 
 are not found in the book of life. 
 
 Verse 21. And the remnant, the kings of the world who had 
 gone out with the beast to battle against Christ and their troops, 
 were slain with tlie sword of him that sat upon the horse, which pro- 
 ceeded out of his mouth, and all the fowls of heaven were filled with 
 their flesh, so numerous were the slain; comp.'xviii. 6. 
 
 (d) Ch. xx. 1 3. Satan is now taken from the earth that he 
 may not disturb the peace and happiness of believers during the 
 thousand-years' Messianic kingdom about to commence. For 
 this length of time he is cast into the pit, and it is shut up and 
 sealed over him, which implies, at the same time, that after the 
 expiration of that time he will again break forth, yet only for a 
 short time, in order to commence the final contest with Christ, 
 in which he shall be for ever defeated and deprived of all in- 
 fluence over the kingdom of heaven, and shall be given over to 
 everlasting torment, 
 
 Verse 1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having 
 the key of the bottomless pit (comp. ix. 1), and a great chain in his 
 hand (hanging on it ; comp., upon ri rty x W a > v - !) 
 
 Verse 2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which 
 is the devil and Satan (see xii. 9 for the entire description), and 
 bound him for a thousand years.
 
 336 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verse 3. And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut (it, 
 the pronoun avrbv in the received text, Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, 
 Lachmann, Tischendorf, rightly omit, which Mill approves ; after 
 A. 31 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Aeth. Arm. Vulg. Andr. Areth. Patr. 
 Lat.), and sealed over him, viz. over Satan cast in, tliat he should 
 deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be ful- 
 filled. By the nations, TO. Wvi), we are, according to verses 8 sqq., 
 to understand the heathen nations still remaining on the earth, 
 which are also supposed to remain there during the thousand- 
 years' kingdom, but at its most extreme and remotest points, so 
 that the citizens of the Messianic kingdom do not come in 
 contact with them, nor is their peace disturbed by them. 
 
 And after that lie must, according to the counsel of God, be 
 loosed again for a little season, set free after the lapse of the 
 thousand years ; see verse 7. 
 
 Verses 4 6. 
 
 First resurrection or awaking of the believers who shall reign 
 with Christ in the thousand-years' kingdom. See the Introduc- 
 tion as to this conception of the thousand-years' kingdom and 
 the first resurrection, as well as the historical synopsis there given 
 of the various conflicting interpretations. 
 
 Verse 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judg- 
 ment was given unto them, instead of, and to those who sat on 
 them was judgment given. At the foundation of this lies Dan. 
 vii. 9, 10, "I beheld, till the thrones were cast down, and the 
 Ancient of Days did sit. The judgment was set and the books 
 were opened." Who they were that sat on the thrones in 
 judgment is not mentioned here ; we are doubtless to imagine 
 beings in the immediate presence of God, in the heavenly senate, 
 as it were ; perhaps the twenty-four elders. But the judgment 
 itself refers only to the destination of those who are worthy to 
 participate in the first resurrection, and in the blessedness of the 
 thousand-years' kingdom on earth. 
 
 And (I saw) tlw souls of them that were bclieaded for the witness
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 337 
 
 of Jesus and for the word of Gfod (comp. vi. 9), and (in general, all 
 those) which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, nor 
 had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and 
 they lived = again lived, and reigned with Christ (the) thousand 
 years. Those believers who are still alive at the future coming 
 of the Lord are not specially spoken of here, doubtless because it is 
 supposed that they will be united with him on earth at the re- 
 appearing of the Lord; Paul (1 Thess. iv. 17) expressly treats 
 of it. 
 
 Verse 5. But the rest of the dead lived not, were not living, did 
 not revive, until the thousand years were finished ; this is the first 
 resurrection, that of believers participating in the thousand-years' 
 reign of the Messiah. 
 
 Verse 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- 
 rection ; ayios refers to the priestly character, one entirely devoted 
 to God, of the citizens of the kingdom of the Messiah, which is 
 made a prominent feature, whereby they are kept apart from all 
 impure contact with evil, and at the same time also from all 
 harm, as persons unassailable. 
 
 On such the second death hath no power (on this see ii. 11), but 
 they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him 
 (Christ) a thousand years. 
 
 Verses 7 10. 
 
 The final contest of Satan with the kingdom of God, which 
 issues in his complete destruction ; he being thrust into hell for 
 ever after it. 
 
 Verse 7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall 
 be loosed out of his prison. The description here and in verse 8 
 is changed with respect to what precedes, since the form of vision 
 is not observed, but it appears as proper prediction and therefore 
 in the future. Verse 6 occasioned it, a beatitude where the 
 blessing occurred in futures. But in verse 9 the description 
 again assumes the form of vision. 
 
 Verse 8. And he shall go out to deceive the nations which are in 
 
 z
 
 338 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 the four corners (the most extreme and distant points ; comp. 
 vii. 1) of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to 
 'battle, that is, to the battle against the kingdom of God, tJie 
 number of whom is as the sand of the sea. The prophecy in 
 Ezek. xxxviii. xxxix., lies here at the foundation, where a Gog, 
 prince of Magog, is spoken of, who at the end of the days, when 
 the people of Jehovah have strengthened themselves in their 
 land after return from captivity, will march out against them with 
 numerous hosts, but will meet with a complete defeat there. 
 Then will the time of the tribulation of the people of God be 
 properly at an end ; they will inhabit the land in perfect safety, 
 and will forget all the affliction they suffered. So the subject 
 here also is a last struggle, which, even after the expiration 
 of the thousand-years' kingdom, the people of God shall have 
 to encounter with the nations of the world which Satan will 
 summon from the uttermost parts of the earth. The names Gog 
 and Magog are also borrowed from Ezekiel, although they are 
 there related to one another somewhat differently. Only Magog 
 is there the name of a people, and appears so also in Gen. x. 2, 
 probably of a nation in the far north, which was known to the 
 Jews only by name. Gog is mentioned in Ezekiel as prince 
 of Magog, and it is not improbable what Ewald supposes, that 
 this name was first formed out of Magog, supposing that Magog 
 means land of Gog. Here, on the contrary, Gog is treated in the 
 same manner as Magog, as a collective designation of those 
 who had their dwelling-place at the farthest extremities of the 
 earth, nations outside the pale of God's kingdom. In the same 
 manner, Gog is also treated as a people (Orac. Sib. iii. 257, 450), 
 beside Magog, who are transferred to Ethiopia by the Egyptian 
 writer of this book. Among the later Jews also, Gog and Magog 
 are mostly named together as nations who will march against 
 Jerusalem and the land of Israel at the end of the world, and 
 shall then perish by the Messiah or by fire from heaven ; for 
 example, Tharg. Hieros., in Numb. xi. 27, &c. ; see Wetstein, 
 adh. L
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 339 
 
 Verse 9. And tliey went up on the breadth of the earth, from its 
 remotest corners they overflowed the earth in its entire "breadth 
 and extent ; comp. Hab. i. 6, " I raise up the Chaldeans," T^'"''!? 
 
 And compassed the camp of the saints about, the place where 
 the saints, the citizens of the thousand-years' kingdom, were 
 united, which is described as the beloved city, beloved by God, 
 city to him precious, namely, Jerusalem, as after its purification 
 it is supposed to be the seat of the Messiah and his kingdom ; 
 see upon this the Introduction, and at ch. xi. 
 
 And fire came down from heaven (from G-od) (aaro rov 0eov 
 omitted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, after A. 2 cursive, Ar. Pol. 
 Vulg. MS. Andr. 1, Prim. Patr. Lat.) ; comp. on Kara/Sou vav IK TOV 
 ovpavov a? TOU Oeov, xxi. 2 9 ; and devoured them. 
 
 Verse 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the 
 lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet 
 are (xix. 20), and they shall be tormented day and night for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 Verses 11 15. 
 
 General resurrection and judgment of the dead, namely, of 
 all those who have not had part in the thousand-years' kingdom, 
 when all who are not in the book of life are cast into hell, into 
 the lake of fire, after death and Hades itself had been previously 
 hurled into it, so that it is called the second death. 
 
 Verse 11. And I saw a great white throne, perhaps called ^eyas 
 in relation to the several thrones mentioned in verse 4, white 
 denoting its pure lustre. 
 
 And him that sat on it ; doubtless God the Father is meant. 
 
 From whose face tJie earth and the heaven fied away, and there 
 was found no place for them; they disappeared to make room for 
 a new earth and a new heaven (xxi. 1). 
 
 Verse 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before the 
 throne, and the books were opened ; according to Dan. vii. 10, the 
 books in which the conduct of each one during his lifetime was 
 recorded. 
 
 z2
 
 340 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 And another look was opened, which is the book of life ; see on 
 iii 5. 
 
 And the dead were judged out of those things which were written 
 in the books, according to their works. 
 
 Verse 13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and 
 death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them. These 
 latter signify such as were regularly buried and had thus come 
 into the lower world ; as the ideas of grave and Hades, Sheol, 
 lower world, frequently run into one another. From them, those 
 who perished in the sea are separated, the idea perhaps lying 
 at the foundation, which we find among the Greeks also, that 
 their souls do not come into Hades if they are not buried 
 above ; see vi. 8, on the connection of death and Hades. Here 
 both are denoted as possessors of the dead consigned to the 
 grave. 
 
 And they were judged every man according to his works. 
 
 Verse 14. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. 
 Here they are treated as two demons (comp. vi. 8) who, like Satan, 
 Antichrist and the false prophet before, are cast into hell, and so 
 deprived of all further influence and power over men. This is a 
 poetical expansion of the Pauline lo-xaros ex@P' 5 Karapyelrai o 
 0avaros, 1 Cor. xv. 26 ; comp. verses 5 sqq. ; Is. xxv. 8, 37b? 
 TO^b n.-ran. 
 
 This is the second death, the lake of fire; it is so named inas- 
 much as those are delivered up to it who are found persevering 
 enemies against God, even as the human race at the beginning 
 was consigned to death for its disobedience. The words rj At/xvr; 
 TOV TV/JOS are wanting in the received text, but are found in 
 Compl. al., and are received by Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, after A. B. 27 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Aeth. Vulg. MS. HippoL 
 Andr. Areth. Iren. Patr. Lat. 
 
 Verse 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of 
 life was cast into the lake of fire, into hell, where Satan abides.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION, 341 
 
 Gh. xxi. 1 xxii. 5. 
 
 The last portion of the prophecy describes at large the forma- 
 tion of the new world, and in it specially the New Jerusalem 
 as the abode of believers and the blessed, in a very poetical 
 manner, in images which are mostly borrowed from or follow Old 
 Testament representations, particularly the Mosaic description of 
 Paradise, the tabernacle of testimony, and Ezekiel on the New 
 Jerusalem in chs. xl. sqq. But individual features must not all 
 be pressed, according to the genius of our book itself, neither in 
 a literal nor an allegorical sense. First, 
 
 Verses 1 4. The new world, and particularly the new Jeru- 
 salem, is introduced. 
 
 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first, the one 
 existing hitherto, heaven and tlie first earth were passed away ; see 
 xx. 11. On the expectation of a new creation of heaven and earth, 
 
 See 2 Peter lli. 13, KCUVOVS Se ovpavovs KCU yvjv K<xivr)v Kara TO e7rayyeA/xa 
 avrov TTpoo-SoKW/JLev, ev CHS SIKCUCKTUV^ /caroi/cei. Is. IxV. 17 lies at the 
 
 foundation : " Behold I create new heavens and a new earth, and 
 the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind ; " Is. 
 Ixvi. 22 : " For as the new heavens and the new earth which I 
 will make, shall remain before me," &c. In Tr. Sanhedr. fol. 
 cxvii. 2, it is also said that God will renew the world after seven 
 thousand years, when the times of the Messiah shall have been. 
 
 And there was no more sea; it had disappeared with the old 
 earth and the old heaven; and it is implied that it will no 
 longer have place in the new creation. 
 
 Verse 2. And I saw (the received reading, lyo> 'Iwaw^s after 
 KCU, is omitted by Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, as 
 well as Compl., &c., after A. B. 30 cursive, Syr. Ar. Copt. Aeth. 
 Arm. Vulg. MS. Andr. Areth. Iren. Patr. Lat.) the holy city, the New 
 Jerusalem, descend from heaven, from God. By the very position 
 of the words in the text, adopted by Bengel, Griesbach, Lach- 
 mann, Tischendorf, where O.TTO rov Oeov is placed after e* TOU 
 ovpavov, the former are doubtless to be connected with KO.TO.- 
 v, not, as Griesbach, with ^Toi/xcur^evTyv : see verse 10,
 
 342 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 xx. 9, iii. 12 ; prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The 
 New Jerusalem coming down from heaven, from God, was 
 already mentioned above (iii. 12). It was regarded as the proto- 
 type of the earthly Jerusalem, in the same manner as the heavenly 
 temple with its sanctuaries was regarded as the prototype of the 
 earthly one ; see, upon this, Schottgen, ad h. 1., and in the Dis- 
 sertat. de Hierosolyma Coelesti, in his Hor. Hebr. et Talrn. I. 
 1205 sqq., and Wetstein on Gal. iv. 26. This heavenly Jeru- 
 salem, the prototype of the earthly city of the covenant people, 
 is here described, after the renovation of the world, and the general 
 resurrection, as the seat of the blessed ; comp. Sohar Gen. fol. 69, 
 col. 271 ; E. Jeremias dixit ; Deus S. B. innovabit mundum suum 
 et sedificabit Hierosolymam, ut ipsam descendere faciat in medium 
 sui de ccelo, ita ut nunquam destruatur. 
 
 Verse 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying (in- 
 stead of ovpavov, Lachmann and Tischendorf have Opovov, after A. 
 1 cursive, Vulg. Iren. Ambr. Aug., but not Prim. Tychon., and 
 probably not original), Behold the tabernacle, the tent, of God is 
 with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, 
 and their God himself shall be with them as their God ; comp. 
 Levit. xxvi. 11, 12 : "And I will set my tabernacle among you; 
 and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall 
 be my people ; " Ezek. xxxvii. 27 : " My tabernacle also shall be 
 with them ; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 
 The a-Krjvr) probably alludes to the tabernacle of testimony, 
 13?"iB bn'N, in which the majesty of Jehovah dwelt under the old 
 covenant. 
 
 Verse 4. And he shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (as 
 is said of the Lamb, vii. 17), and there shall be no more death; 
 see on xx. 14 ; comp. Is. xxv. 8 : " He will swallow up death in 
 victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears (n9$7) from off 
 all faces." 
 
 Neither sorrow (for loss by death, see xviii. 3), nor crying (loud 
 lament on account of violence and such like), neitJier shall there 
 be any more pain.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 343 
 
 For the former things are passed away, TO, Trpura, the previous 
 relations of the world. 
 
 Verses 5 8. And he that sat upon the throne said (God the 
 Father, see xx. 11 ; probably not, asEichhorn, Ewald, &c., think, 
 the Messiah ; Ziillig, De Wette, Hengstenberg, Ebrard, rightly 
 refer it to God), Behold I make all things new (Is. xliii. 19, 
 ntthrr nto'37 ^??n ; Jerem. xxx. 21). 
 
 And he said (pol, in the received text, is omitted by Lachmann, 
 Tischendorf, after A. B. 11 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Vulg. MS. Iren.), 
 Write, for these words are true and faithful, namely, the utter- 
 ance of God that he makes all things new ; for it is doubtless to 
 be referred to this. Because it is certain, the seer is to write it 
 down. 
 
 Verse 6. And he said unto me, It is done, the renovation of the 
 world. / am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end ; I 
 will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of 
 life freely ; comp. vii. 17. Is. Iv. 1 lies at the foundation, where 
 all who are thirsty are invited to come to the water, and take 
 freely wine and milk. 
 
 Verse 7. He that overcometh (see ii. 7, 11, &c.) shall inherit 
 this, he shall take part in it as something he has a right to, and 
 I will be his God, prove myself his God, and he shall be my son ; 
 probably meaning also, I will prove myself a Father to him. 
 
 Verse 8. But the fearful, cowardly ones, who do not persevere 
 in confessing my word through fear of the world. These are 
 essentially the same as the pusillanimous wroo-TeAAo/xlvots in 
 Heb. x. 38 sqq. 
 
 And unbelieving (the Compl., Griesbach, &c., after B. over 30 
 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Andr. 2, Areth., have KOU a/jLaproiXois, and 
 sinners, yet it is not certain), and the abominable (IfiSeXvyfjievois, 
 those who are abhorred, abominable to God, who have polluted 
 themselves with detestable crimes, as the worship of idols and such 
 like), and murderers, and whoremongers, andsorcerers, and idolaters, 
 and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with 
 Jire and brimstone, which is the second death (xx. 14).
 
 344 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 t 
 
 Verses 9 xxii. 5. 
 
 Description of the New Jerusalem itself. For representations 
 of the New Jerusalem among later Jews see Eisenmenger's Entd. 
 Judenth. II. 839 sqq. 
 
 Verses 9 14. And there came one of the seven angels, which 
 had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, 
 saying, Come hither; I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. So 
 is it most probably to be connected, TOV dpviov dependent on rrjv 
 Lachmann and others have also TOV dpviov after rrjv 
 , according to A. 3 cursive, Syr. Copt. Aeth. Vulg., &c. 
 Tischendorf, on the contrary, rrjv ywai/ca, TT)V vv^rjv TOV dpviov, 
 according to B. 25 cursive ; the woman, the bride of the Lamb. 
 Compare with the description that one of the plague angels shows 
 the seer this city, xvii. 1, according to which a similar one shows 
 him the judgment of Babylon, Sevpo, Set^w <roi TO K/afyio, Trjs TTO^VTJS 
 
 T^S fieyaA^s K. A. 
 
 Verse 10. And lie carried me away in the spirit to a great and 
 high mountain. So is Ezekiel, in the vision, xl. 2, led to a very 
 high mountain, where he sees the New Jerusalem and the new 
 temple. 
 
 And he showed me the holy city Jerusalem descending out of 
 heaven, from God, (verse 11) having the glory of God; TT)V S6av 
 TOV 6eov denotes not merely a splendour given to it by God 
 (Grotius) ; or, with others, a specially glorious splendour, but the 
 Schechina, the njr TO?, the majesty of God, who abides in 
 it, and, according to verse 23, lightens it without sun and moon ; 
 comp. Is. xxiv. 23 ; Zech. ii. 9. 
 
 Its light was like unto a stone most precious, clear as crystal, 
 that is, a very pure and clear transparent jasper; (fxtxrTrjp is 
 luminare, what gives light ; so among the Greeks it stands for a 
 window; in Phil. ii. 15, for stars. Here it denotes in general 
 that by which the city receives its light, as the present earth 
 does by the heavenly bodies ; and this is the majesty of God, 
 according to verse 23, xxii. 5.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 345 
 
 Verse 12. And had a wall, great and high, indicating the safety 
 of the city. 
 
 Had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, as keepers, 
 watchmen of the gates and therefore of the city, and names 
 written, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 Verse 13. On the east, three gates ; and on the north, three gates ; 
 and on the south, three gates ; and on the west, three gates. This is 
 formed after Ezek. xlviii. 31 34, according to which the New 
 Jerusalem will be provided with twelve gates, three gates to each 
 quarter of the heavens, and these will be called after the names 
 of the individual tribes of Israel, all which are adduced there by 
 name. 
 
 Verse 14. And the wall of the city had twelve Oe^Xiovs, founda- 
 tions, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 
 The splendour of these Otp'eXioi is described below, verses 19, 20. 
 It appears to mean that the whole extent of the wall, from one 
 gate to the other, was built on a large foundation-stone. But the 
 essential idea intended to be expressed is this, that the whole 
 structure of the wall surrounding and protecting the city, rests 
 on the foundation which the apostles of the Lord laid with their 
 testimony; comp. Eph. ii. 20, eVoi/coSo/^tfevTes eVi T< OepcXiy TWV 
 
 aTTOCTToAwV K. TTpOC^TWV. 
 
 Verses 15 21. And he that talked with me had a measure, 
 a golden rod (a measuring-rod, see xi. 1 ; in the received text, 
 fjierpov is wanting, but is adopted by Bengel, Griesbach, Lach- 
 mann, Tischendorf, as also Compl., on preponderant testimony), 
 to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 
 This measure, for knowing the extent of the city, is borrowed 
 from Ezek. xl. 3. 
 
 Verse 16. And the city liethfour squares, hath four squares or 
 corners, consequently as many sides, and those equal ; and their 
 length is as large as their breadth. This is also from Ezek. xlviii. 
 16, 17, according to which the city has the same extent in all 
 four quarters.
 
 346 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. 
 Grammatically, this should probably be understood that the geni- 
 tive SioStKa xiAtaSwv is dependent on o-raSiovs, although the con- 
 verse would be more accurate, ITTI SwSe/ca xiAia&xs crraSiW. But it 
 is too harsh to suppose the genitive dependent on TroXtv to be 
 supplied again, as Ewald and Ziillig take it ; a city of twelve 
 thousand, ad stadios = e stadiorum mensura. The twelve thou- 
 sand stadia would amount to about fifteen hundred Eonian or 
 three hundred German miles. But when it is said immediately, 
 the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal, this latter 
 can hardly mean, as Grotius, Eichhorn, De Wette, Ebrard, think, 
 that the height of all the houses or that of the entire wall was 
 the same, and the city was built so symmetrically, but only that 
 the height was the same as the length and breadth. We may doubt 
 as to whether it means that the twelve thousand furlongs are 
 the measure in all three directions together, so that four thousand 
 furlongs belong to each of them as well as to the height ; or, as 
 Ziillig, Hengstenberg, suppose, that each of these three extensions 
 amounted in itself to twelve thousand furlongs. In whichever 
 way it be taken, the great circumference of the city is implied on 
 the one hand ; on the other, its symmetry ; yet the estimates, 
 especially in reference to the height, are far too huge even for a 
 poetical description ; compare, among later Jewish writings, Bava 
 Bathra, fol. Ixxv. 2, according to which the New Jerusalem is 
 said to be at least twelve miles high ; and Schir Kabba, vii. 5, 
 according to which it is said to reach in height to the throne of 
 the Majesty. 
 
 Verse 17. And Tie measured the wall thereof, 144 cubits (namely, 
 in height), according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 
 On fjLfrpov dvOpdm-ov, comp. at xiii. 18, api6fyios dvOpbrn-ov. He 
 means to say, that the measure here given is according to the 
 one usual among men, as it is also that of the angel. Gramma- 
 tically, the fj^rpov is to be viewed as an accusative, an apposition 
 carelessly added to the preceding. 
 
 Verse 18. And the building of the wall of it was jasper. ev<5op?crt?,
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 347 
 
 properly the building in, therefore the thing built in. It is 
 found in Joseph. Ant. xv. 9, 6, of the mole erected to fortify 
 a harbour. Here, in contrast to the OepeXiovs, it can only be the 
 wall built over them, the building of the wall itself, which was 
 not of ordinary bricks or cut stones, but of jasper, referring to its 
 great lustre and splendour. 
 
 And the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass, crystal, as 
 pure and transparent ; comp. verse 21 (instead of 6/u'a, should 
 probably be read, with Compl., Bengel, Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 o/joiov, after A. B. 23 cursive, Andr. Areth. Vulg.). 
 
 Verse 19. And the foundations of the wall of the city were gar- 
 nished with all manner of precious stones, from what follows, so 
 that each single 0e//,!Aios consisted of a single precious stone. 
 Is. liv. 11, 12, lies at the foundation, but is carried out here more 
 fully, where Jehovah promises to lay the foundation of Jerusalem 
 on sapphires, and to make its entire circumference of precious 
 stones. In the representation of the individual precious stones, 
 the description of the twelve stones on the high-priest's breast- 
 plate, probably lies at the foundation; Exod. xxviii. 17 sqq., 
 xxix. 10 sqq. 
 
 The first foundation of jasper, as far as the end of verse 20. 
 
 Verse 21. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each several 
 gate was of one pearl. According to Is. liv. 12, the gates of the 
 city were to be sparkling precious stones (carbuncles, rRj^ XJ3M), 
 comp., in Wetstein and Schottgen, ad h. 1., the Talmudic passages, 
 Bava Bathra, fol. Ixxv. 1, Sanhedr. fol. 1, where precious stones 
 and pearls of thirty cubits in length and breadth are spoken of, 
 which are said to be the gates of the city of Jerusalem. 
 
 And the street of the city is pure gold, as transparent glass, 
 crystal ; comp. verse 18. 
 
 Verses 22 27. Verse 22. And I saw no temple therein; for 
 the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. Since 
 God himself, with Christ, will dwell in the city, tabernacle among 
 its citizens (verses 3, 11), no particular place or building is
 
 348 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 needed in it, in order to seek the presence of God there, to wor- 
 ship him in prayer or by sacrifice. 
 
 Verse 23. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the 
 moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the 
 Lamb is the light thereof; comp. Is. Ix. 19, 20, " The sun shall be 
 no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon 
 give light unto thee, but the Lord shall be unto thee an ever- 
 lasting light. . . . Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall 
 thy moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be thine everlasting 
 light," &c. 
 
 Verse 24 The first hemistich runs in the received text : And 
 the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, 
 KCU TO. WvTf] TWV <ra)^o/Ai'(uv fv T<J> </>om auT^s TTpnraTT/j<Tovcri. But this 
 
 is doubtless a later emendation, and we must read, with Compl., 
 Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, &c., KOU TrepiTraT^a-ova-i ra Wvr) 810. 
 rov <WTO? avxjjs, after A. 31 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Copt. Aeth. 
 Arm. Vulg. Andr. Areth. Patr. Lat. This can only mean, And 
 the nations shall walk ~by its light; they shall have no other light 
 except that beaming from the holy city; from thence it will 
 spread over the rest of the earth and lighten it also. Here the 
 idea lies unmistakably at the foundation, and the second hemi- 
 stich clearly shows it, as well as verse 26, that this New Jeru- 
 salem, the seat of the saints and blessed, in the last develop- 
 ment of the Church of God after the general resurrection and the 
 re-creating ef the heaven and the earth, will be surrounded by 
 other nations who are not members of the city of God, though 
 no longer hostilely disposed towards it, but willingly acknow- 
 ledging it. This representation has something remarkable, and 
 appears not to agree entirely with the preceding description of 
 the general judgment and the renewing of the world. But it 
 evidently has its foundation in prophetic passages of the Old 
 Testament, where the subject is the restoration of Jerusalem 
 after the captivity, and the relation in which the nations of the 
 earth appear to this city ; the idea being transferred to the new
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 349 
 
 and heavenly Jerusalem. So, in particular, Is. Ix. ; comp. verse 3 
 for our passage, TH^N 1 ? D^fa ^Vn"), " And the Gentiles shall come 
 to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." 
 
 And the Icings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into 
 it (that is, their finery, their precious things, their jewels, and 
 sparkling treasures, as THD, Is. Ixvi. 12, &c.) ; comp. Is. Ix. 5 
 sqq. and verse 11. The pronoun avruv without doubt refers to 
 the kings, not, as others suppose, to TO. Wvr). 
 
 Verse 25. Here Is. Ix. 11 lies at the foundation, where it is 
 said that the gates of the city stand continually open, shall not 
 be closed day or night, that the treasures of the Gentiles may 
 continually enter. Instead of that we have here, And the gates 
 of it shall not ~be shut at all by day, for there shall lie no night 
 there, since the glory of God without intermission lightens it, ac- 
 cording to verse 23. 
 
 Verse 26. And they, the kings of the earth, shall bring the glory 
 and honour of the nations into it ; besides their own treasures, 
 those also of their people. (Others, as Luther, Beza, De Wette, 
 Hengstenberg, take it impersonally, one will bring; yet the 
 former is more probable.) . : 
 
 Verse 25. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that 
 defileth, that is profane, nor that practises abominations and lies, 
 "but only they which are written in the LamVs book of life ; comp. 
 Is. lii. 1, Nati} bns Tto Tin-Sin; ^b. It appears that those 
 nations of the earth also who do not belong as citizens to the 
 New Jerusalem, but dwell around it, are considered as written in 
 the book of life, and not as impure or profane, otherwise they or 
 their kings would not dare to bring in their treasures. 
 
 Ch. xxii. 1, 2. And he sJwwed me a pure river of water of life, 
 clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the 
 Lamb. (uSaros wr?s, not merely living water, but water of life, 
 whereby life is continually preserved, as vAov fafjs, verse 2, tree 
 of life.) At the foundation of the description here, verse 2, lies 
 (a) the description of Paradise, Gen. ii., through which a stream 
 flows, and in the midst of which the tree of life stands ; and (&)
 
 350 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Ezek. xlvii. especially, where the subject is a spring, which, 
 rising from the temple in the New Jerusalem, becomes a river* 
 on whose banks, according to verse 12, on both sides (n^Kft n-jr.p), 
 all sorts of fruit-trees grow, whose leaves do not wither, and 
 whose fruits do not cease, which produce fruit every month, and 
 serve for food, as their leaves do for healing. Verse 2. In the 
 midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river (Ewald 
 falsely explains ev /ACO-^ rfjs TrAareia? KCU TOU Trora/xoi; = betiveen the 
 street and the river ; see at v. 6. The rov iroTa.fi.ov is probably 
 dependent on evrtvOev K. fvrevOev, and this corresponds to n-tt?-1 n$a 
 in Ezekiel), the tree of life, which bare twelve fruits (in the year), 
 yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree (serve) for 
 the healing of the nations, therefore for those also who are not 
 themselves members of the city ; referring at the same time to 
 body and soul. 
 
 Verses 3 5. 
 
 A transition to announcement by futures, which are here sup- 
 posed to be the address of the angel to the seer. And there shall 
 be no more curse ; according to Zech. xiv. 1 1, T137 n^P sb CTirn. 
 there shall be no more excommunication in Jerusalem, nothing 
 to arouse divine anger, so that he should devote it to destruction. 
 Instead of the received reading Karavadf^a, Karade^a should be 
 read (after A. B. 28 cursive, Andr. Areth.), with Compl., Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, &c. ; in the same manner as in Matt. xxvi. 
 74, instead of the received KaTava0epiTieiv, KaraO^ari^iv should 
 be read. Yet these forms are to be taken in precisely the same 
 sense as those of the received text, which are the only ones used 
 elsewhere. 
 
 And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his 
 (God's) servants shall serve him, those consecrated to him as his 
 priests. 
 
 Verse 4. And they shall see his (God's) face, and his name shall 
 be on their foreheads ; by this they are described as his servants, 
 devoted to his service.
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 351 
 
 Verse 5. And there shall be no night there, and they need no 
 candle, neither light of the sun, for God the Lord giveth them light, 
 Instead of avrovs, CTT' aurovs should be read, with Bentley, Bengel, 
 Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, after A. Iren. Patr. Lat, 
 whereby is expressed care-taking and protecting light, as in vii. 
 15, crK^vokm CTT' avrovs. 
 
 And they shall reign for ever and ever. 
 
 Verses 621. 
 
 The revelation of the future of the kingdom of God is now at 
 an end. What follows forms only a conclusion to the book, in 
 which the truth and reliability of these disclosures is specially 
 affirmed, and it is repeatedly asserted that the time of the fulfil- 
 ment of the Lord's coming is at hand. First, 
 
 Verses 6, 7. And he said unto me, the angel, who had commu- 
 nicated to him the last disclosures, from xxi. 9 onward. 
 
 These words are faithful and true, as in xxi. 5 ; the reference 
 here is chiefly to the disclosures last communicated, but pro- 
 bably at the same time to the contents of all the preceding reve- 
 lations. 
 
 And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets = from 
 whom alone the spirit of prophecy in the prophets proceeds ; the 
 received reading has, the God of the holy prophets, 6 0os r3v 
 
 dyttov 7rpo^)7jTt3v, for which, 6 6. TGJV Trvev/xaTWV TO>V TrpcxfrrjTwv is in 
 
 Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf and others, 
 after A. B. 28 cursive, Syr. Ar. Aeth. Vulg. Andr. Commentary, 
 Areth. Prim. 
 
 Sent his angel to slum unto his servant the things which must be 
 done shortly ; see on i. 1. 
 
 Verse 7. The words of Christ are in the first hemistich, but 
 those which the angel here cites are to be regarded as the angel's 
 own words, forming the second hemistich, as verse 8 shows. 
 Behold, says the Lord, / come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth 
 the sayings of the prophecy of this look; does not disregard them, 
 for his hope as well as his conduct ; comp. i. 3.
 
 352 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 Verses 8, 9. And I, John, am fie that heard these thing^ and saw 
 them, who heard these revelations through angels, and had these 
 visions. One may also, as did Ewald (earlier), take all these 
 words only as a preceding subject, in which case the KCU stands 
 before ore in a Hebraizing way, and is not expressed in transla- 
 tion. And I, John, who heard and saw these things, when I had 
 heard and seen, fell down to worship (to pray) "before, the feet of tJie 
 angel which showed me these things. It is unquestionably false, 
 when Dionysius of Alexandria (in Euseb. vii. 25) connects the 
 words /ecu Jyw 'Iwavv^s . . . /3Ae7ra>v ravra with what precedes, so 
 that the seer pronounces himself blessed. Then saith he unto 
 me, Do it not, for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the 
 prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this look ; worship 
 God. Very similar to xix. 10. 
 
 Verses 10 15. And he saith unto me. The subject is not 
 Christ, as many, on account of verses 12 sqq., take it, but the 
 angel, whose words, however, afterwards pass into the words of 
 Christ, as being introduced by him. Similarly verse 7, only that 
 there (verses 13 sqq.) they proceed farther. 
 
 Seal not the sayings of the propliecy of this look ; comp. Dan. 
 viiL 26, xii. 4, 26, where Daniel is commanded to seal the vision, 
 the words of the prophecy, i.e. withdraw it for the present from 
 the knowledge of men, because the future to which it refers is 
 still distant. Conversely, the seer is here commanded not to 
 seal the prophecy he received, but to make it known still farther, 
 because the time of fulfilment is near. 
 
 (For) the time is at hand; see i. 3. 
 
 Verse 11. Meanwhile, during the short time still remaining 
 until the glorious coming of the Lord, each one may continue in 
 his usual way of acting, corresponding to his inward character ; 
 the sinner is free to continue in his viciousness till then, as it is 
 the part of the just and pious to increase in righteousness and 
 holiness. Such is the meaning of this verse = as the wicked 
 one is free to continue in his conduct until this event, so the 
 just one is not to be tempted impatiently to abandon the path of
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 353 
 
 right. He that is unjust, who practises injustice against the 
 will of God, let him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be 
 filthy still. The received reading pwuv /WoxraTw from pun-ow ; 
 instead of it, the Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischen- 
 dorf, &c., according to B. about 30 cursive, Andr. Areth. (comp. 
 Orig.) have /Wapos /Wapeu^rw ; the form /Wapeveo-flai does not 
 appear elsewhere, and has therefore been probably suppressed. 
 The words refer to a dirty, polluting disposition and mode of 
 acting, as opposed to the ayios, dyiar0cu of the second hemistich. 
 
 And he that is righteous, pious, let him be righteous still (the 
 received text has SiKaia>#'/5Ta>, instead of which we have SIKCUOO-W^V 
 Troiryo-aTO) in Compl., Bengel, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 according to A. B. 31 cursive, Syr. Ar. Pol. Copt. Vulg. MSS. of 
 Itala, Andr. Areth. Patr. Lat. 
 
 And he that is holy, let him be holy still ; he who has abstained 
 from all profanity and devoted himself to God, let him do it still. 
 Compare, moreover, Dan. xii. 10, "Many shall be purified, and 
 made white, and tried ; but the wicked shall do wickedly" (shall 
 continue in their sin) ; and for the ideas in our passage see 
 Ezek. iii. 27, xx. 39. 
 
 Verse 12. And behold I come quickly (the Lord says again ; see 
 above), and my reward with me (as of Jehovah, Is. xl. 10 and 
 Ixii. 11, Ins "rotf nan). 
 
 To give every man according as his work shall be, in accordance 
 with his entire conduct (instead of IO-TCU, Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 have to-Tiv, after A. B. 2 cursive). 
 
 Verse 13. Comp. i. 8. 
 
 Verse 14. Messed, in the received text (and so also De Wette, 
 Ziillig, Tischendorf), are they that do his commandments, where 
 this, as well as the following, till verse 15 inclusive, is again the 
 utterance of the angel. But instead of the received text, Troiowres 
 ras evroAas avrou, Lachmann, as also Bentley, approved by Mill 
 and Ewald, have TrAwovres rots o-roAas avr^v, after A. 2 cursive, 
 Aeth. Arm. Vulg. Prim. Comment, and others ; ivho wash their 
 robes = who are cleansed in the blood of the Lamb (vii. 14), and 
 
 2 A
 
 354 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 also keep themselves pure from sin (iii. 4). This is likely, as the 
 more difficult reading ; and then this and the following may be 
 considered as. the words of Christ, as verse 16 evidently is. 
 
 That tliey may have right, or, they shall receive authority, i'va, 
 as in xiv. 13, to the tree of life, have a title to it, be admitted to 
 its enjoyment, and may enter in through the gates into the city, 
 find access to the holy city, New Jerusalem, which no wicked 
 person can, according to xxi. 27. 
 
 Verse 15. Without are, or will remain, excluded from access 
 to the holy city, dogs ; dogs were unclean animals among the 
 Hebrews ; dog is therefore used as a word of reproach, so Phil, 
 iii. 2 in reference to shamelessness. But in Deut. xxiii. 18, E'ob? 
 stands for /xaAaKot, pueri molles, men who allow themselves to 
 be abused indecently, and here it is probably so meant; otherwise 
 one must, with Ewald (earlier), Ziillig, De Wette, &c., take it in 
 quite a general sense, for unclean men of impure mind. Yet the 
 former is more probable. 
 
 And sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, 
 and all wlw love and practise lying. 
 
 Verse 16. /, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify unto you these 
 things, to make known ri TCUS CKKA^O-WUS ; this might be, ac- 
 to x. 11, with respect to the churches. So also Ziillig, inasmuch 
 as the churches were concerned in it, and the prophecy might 
 be of use to them. Yet this is not very natural. It is generally 
 understood = among or in the churches, a meaning which is not 
 without difficulty with respect to this preposition. Lachmann 
 has ev, after A. 3 cursive, Vulg. Andr. Athan. ; so also Bentley. 
 Perhaps merely reus eK/cAr/crt'cus should be read, with Tischendorf, 
 after 5 cursive, Arm. Andr. 2, Areth. as ed. Erasm. 1, 2, 3, Colin., 
 Bengel, so also De Wette, to you the churches ; these the Lord 
 here addresses at the conclusion. 
 
 / am the root and the offspring of David ; see at v. 5, on pifa, 
 in this connection, yevos stands here also, offspring, instead of 
 he of the offspring of David. Yet, as Vitringa rightly remarks, 
 there is contained in it something more significant, that he is the
 
 SPECIAL INTERPRETATION. 355 
 
 true shoot of David, who combined in himself all the high and 
 glorious things ever promised to the race of David. The Insight 
 morning star ; see on ii. 28. 
 
 Verse 17. And the spirit, the spirit of prophecy, which had 
 also descended upon John, and the bride say, Come, Lord, delay 
 no longer thy appearing. 
 
 And let him that heareth it say, Come ; each one who hears this 
 call of the spirit and the bride to the Lord may join in it and 
 make known his desire. 
 
 And let him that is athirst, come ; and whosoever will, let him 
 take the water of life freely ; see on xxi. 6 ; he who has true 
 longing for the treasures of the Lord, the Lord will not withhold 
 them from him. 
 
 Verses 18, 19. A threatening on the part of the writer to 
 those who should attempt to falsify the prophecy here com- 
 municated, by curtailing or adding to it. Perhaps Deut. iv. 2 
 lies at the foundation of this, " Ye shall not add unto the word, 
 which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it 
 that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God 
 which I command you ; " ib. xiii. 1. Yet the writer has tran- 
 scribers of his book specially in view, and wishes to prevent them 
 from making any arbitrary alterations, as was then often done, 
 especially in writings of the same prophetic kind ; so Grotius, 
 Vitringa, &c. Similar threatenings are in Irenseus ; comp. Euseb. 
 H. E. v. 20 ; Eufin. Prsef. in Orig. de Princ. And according to 
 the account of Pseudo-Aristeas respecting the LXX., after the 
 completion of this translation, they are said to have uttered 
 a solemn curse upon every one who should dare to add any- 
 thing, to transpose or to take from it. Yet the threat is here 
 so strong that Luther not unjustly was somewhat offended at it. 
 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy 
 of this book ; if any man shall add unto these things, make arbi- 
 trary additions to this prophecy, God shall add unto him the 
 plagues (a play on rm0evai) that are written in this book. Verse 
 19. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book
 
 356 LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. 
 
 of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the tree of 
 life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this look, of 
 which it treats. 
 
 Verse 20. He which testijieth these things, saith, the Lord, in 
 reference to the entire prophetic contents of the book, surely, I 
 come quickly. Amen, Come, Lord Jesus. 
 
 Verse 21. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ le with all ; after 
 TravTwv, the received text has fyxwv ; for it Griesbach, as also Coinpl. 
 and others have TWV dyiW, according to B. 31 cursive, Syr. Copt. 
 Arm. Vulg. MS. Andr. Areth. But this is probably not original, 
 as merely TTCIVTWV is found in A. Vulg. MS., and so also Bentley, 
 Bengel, Lachmann, Tischendorf. 
 
 C. Green & Son, Printers, 178, Strand.
 
 WILLIAMS AND NORGATE. 
 
 ALI (SYED AMEER). Life of Mohammed. A 
 
 Critical Examination of the Life and Teachings of Moham- 
 med, from a Mohammedan Stand-point, including Chapters 
 on Polygamy, Slavery, Moslem Rationalism, Moslem Mysti- 
 cism, etc. By SYED AMEER ALT, Moulvie, M.A., LL.B., of 
 the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law, etc. Crown 8vo. cloth 9s 
 
 APOCRYPHAL Gospels, and other Documents 
 relating to the History of Christ. Translated from the 
 Originals in Greek, Latin, Syriac, etc., with Notes, Refe- 
 rences, and Prolegomena. By B. HARRIS COWPER. Third 
 Edition. 8vo. cloth 6* 
 
 APOCRYPHAL Gospels, vide also; Gould (Rev. S. 
 
 Baring) 
 
 BAUR (F. C.) Paul, the Apostle of JESUS 
 
 CHRIST, his LIFE and WORK, his EPISTLES, and TEACHING. 
 A Contribution to a Critical History of Primitive Chris- 
 tianity. Translated from the Second Edition, edited by Dr. 
 E. ZELLER, by the Rev. A. Menzies. 2 vols. 8vo. cloth 21* 
 
 BEARD (Rev. Chas.) Port Royal, a Contribution to 
 the History of Religion and Literature in France. Cheaper 
 Edition. 2 vols. crown 8vo. 12s 
 
 BELSHAM (T.) Memoirs of the late Rev. THEO- 
 PHILUS LINDSEY, M.A. The Centenary Volume. 8vo. 
 cloth 5* 
 
 BIBLE for Young People. A Critical, Historical, 
 and Moral Hand-book to the Old and New Testaments. By 
 Dr. H. OORT and Dr. J. HOOTKAXVS, with the assistance of 
 Dr. KUENEN. Translated from the Dutch by the Rev. P. H. 
 WICKSTEED. Vol. I. Introduction and the Generations 
 before Moses. Crown 8vo. cloth 4* 
 
 Vol. II. in the press 
 
 BLEEK (F.) Lectures on the Apocalypse. Trans- 
 lated from the German, edited by the Rev. Dr. S. Davidson. 
 8vo. cloth 10s Gd
 
 2 Williams and Norgatds Neio Publications. 
 
 CHANNING and Lucy Aikin. Correspondence of 
 "William Ellery Channing, D.D., and Lucy Aikin, from 1826 
 to 1842. Edited by Anna Letitia Le Breton. Crown 8vo. 
 cloth Qs 
 
 CHANNING (Rev. Dr.) The Perfect Life. A Series 
 
 of Unpublished Discourses of William Ellery Channing, D.D. 
 Edited by the Eev. W. H. CHANGING. 2nd Edition. Crown 
 8vo. Gs 
 
 CHASTEL (E.) Christianity in the XIX Century ; 
 
 a Eeligious and Philosophical Survey of the immediate Past, 
 according to the Spirit of Jesus. By ETIENNE CHASTEL, 
 Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of 
 Geneva. Translated by the EEV. J. E. BEABD, D.D. Crown 
 8vo. cloth. 5s 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) The Hopes of the Human Race, 
 Hereafter and Here. Essays on the Life after Death. With 
 a Preface having special reference to Mr. Mills' Essay on 
 Eeligion. By FBANCIS POWEB COBBE. 8vo. cloth 7s Gd 
 
 COBBE (Miss Francis P.) Essays. Darwinism in 
 Morals, and (1.3) other Essays, (Eeligion in Childhood, Un- 
 conscious Cerebration, Dreams, the Devil, Auricular Con- 
 fession, &c. &c.) 400 pp. 8vo. cloth (pub. at 10s) 5s 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) Religious Duty. 8vo. cloth 
 
 (published at 7s Gd) 5s 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) Broken Lights. An Inquiry 
 into the Present Condition and Future Prospects of Eeli- 
 gious Faith. New Edition. 8vo. cloth 5s 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) Dawning Lights. An Inquiry 
 concerning the Secular Eesults of the New Eeformation. 
 8vo. cloth 5s 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) Alone to the Alone. Prayers 
 for Theists, by several Contributors. New Edition. Crown 
 8vo. cloth 5* 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) Studies, New and Old, of 
 
 Ethical and Social Subjects. 8vo. cloth (pub. at 10s Gd) 5s 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) Italics. Brief Notes on Politics, 
 People and Places in Italy in 1854. 8vo. cloth 
 
 (published at 12* Gd) 5s 
 
 COBBE (Miss F. P.) Hours of Work and Play. 8vo. 
 
 cloth 2s Gd
 
 Williams and Norgate's New Publications. 3 
 COQUEREL AND C. KEGAN PAUL. Two 
 
 Sermons: 1. "La Seule Chose Necessaire." By Athanase 
 Coquerel fils. 2. " What the Kising of the Dead should 
 mean." By the Eev. C. KEGAN PAUL, M.A. 12mo. 1* 
 
 DAVIDSON (Rev. Dr.) On -a Fresh Revision of 
 the English New Testament, By SAMUEL DAVIDSON, D.D. 
 Crown 8vo. cloth 5* 
 
 DAVIDSON (Dr. S.) An Introduction to the Old 
 Testament, Critical, Historical, and Theological, containing 
 a discussion of the most important questions belonging to 
 the several Books. By SAMUEL DAVIDSON, D.D., LL.D. 
 3 vols. 8vo. cloth 42s 
 
 DONALDSON (Rev. Dr.) Christian Orthodoxy 
 
 reconciled with the conclusions of modern Biblical Learning. 
 A Theological Essay, with critical and controversial Supple- 
 ments. 8vo. (pub. at 10s) Gs 
 
 ECHOES OF HOLY THOUGHTS: arranged as 
 
 Private Meditations before a First Communion. Second 
 Edition, with a Preface by the Eev. J. HAMILTON THOM of 
 Liverpool. Printed with red lines. Crown 8vo. cloth 2s Gd 
 
 EUTHANASIA. By S. D. Williams, Junr., Esq. 
 
 Reprinted from the " Essays by the Members of the Birming- 
 ham Speculative Club." Fourth Edition, with Preface and 
 Thesis by Eose Mary Crawshay. 8vo. Is 
 
 FELLOWES (Robert, LL.D.) The Religion of the 
 Universe, with Consolatory Views of a Future State, and 
 suggestions on the most beneficial topics of Theological In- 
 struction. Third Edition. Post 8vo. cloth C* 
 
 FLOWER (J. W.) Adam's Disobedience, and the 
 Eesults attributed to it, as affecting the Human Eace. 
 Second Edition, enlarged and corrected. 8vo. cloth 6s Gd 
 
 FLOWER (J. W.) A Layman's Reasons for Discon- 
 tinuing the Use of the Athanasian Creed. A Letter to the 
 Dean of Norwich, in Answer to his Pamphlet. 8vo. Is 
 
 GOULD (S. Baring) Lost and Hostile Gospels. An 
 Account of the Toledoth Jesher, two Hebrew Gospels circu- 
 lating in the Middle Ages, and extant fragments of the 
 Gospels of the first three Centuries of Petrine and Pauline 
 origin. By the Eev. S. Baring Gould. Crown 8vo. cloth 
 
 7s Gd 
 
 GRIFFITH (Rev.W.) Man's State in Nature: being 
 Simple Facts of Humanity gathered from observations and 
 the testimony of Scripture. 8vo. sewed 1*
 
 4 Williams and Norgate's New Publications. 
 
 GRIFFITH (Rev. David) The Continuity of Reli- 
 gious Development. Seven Sermons ; with an Appendix of 
 Notes. 8vo. cloth (js 
 
 HIGGINSON (Rev. E.) Ecce Messias ; or, The 
 
 Hebrew Messianic Hope and the Christian Beality. By 
 EDWAED HIGGINSON, Author of "The Spirit of the Bible," 
 "Astro-Theology," Sis Essays on Inspiration," etc. 8vo. 
 cloth (pub. at 10s Gd) Qs 
 
 HOWE (Rev. C.) The Athanasian Creed. Two 
 Discourses on the Athauasian Creed. By .Rev. CHAELES 
 HOWE. 12mo. sewed 1* 
 
 INFINITE LOVE : a Meditation. By E/3owXo C 
 
 Ba<7a>'{0TJje IS 
 
 JANET (Paul) The Materialism of the Present Day. 
 Critique on Dr. Buechner's System. Translated by Grustave 
 Masson, B.A. Crown 8yo. cloth 12s 
 
 JESUS, The, of History. (By the Hon. Sir Richard 
 Hanson, Chief Justice of South Australia). 8vo. cloth 12s 
 
 KEIM'S History of Jesus of Nazara, Considered in 
 its connection with the National Life of Israel, and related 
 in detail. Translated from the German. Vol. I. 8vo. 
 cloth 10s Gd 
 
 Vol. II. in the Press 
 
 K1RKUS (Rev. W.) Orthodoxy, Scripture and 
 Eeason : an Examination of some of the principal Articles of 
 the Creeds of Christendom. Crown 8vo. cloth Os 
 
 KUENEN (Dr. A.) The Religion of Israel to the 
 
 Fall of the Jewish State. By Dr. A. KUENEN, Professor of 
 
 Theology at the University, Leyden. Translated from the 
 
 . Dutch by A. H. MAY. In 3 vols. Vols. I. II. 8vo. cloth 
 
 each 10s Gel 
 
 Vol. III. in the Press 
 
 LAMING (R.) The Spirituality of Causation, a 
 
 Scientific Hypothesis. Crown 8vo. cloth 3s 
 
 LETTERS to and from Rome in the years .A.D. 61, 
 62, and 63. Translated by C. V. S. Crown 8vo. cloth 2s 6d 
 
 MACKAY (R. W.) The Tubingen School and its 
 Antecedents. A Eeview of the History and Present Condi- 
 tion of Modern Theology. 8vo. cloth 10s Gd 
 
 MACKAY (R. W.) Progress of the Intellect, as 
 exemplified in the Religious Development of the Greeks and 
 Hebrews. 2 vols. 8vo. cloth 24:8
 
 Williams and Norgatds New Publications. 5 
 MACK AY (R. W.) Sketch of the Rise and Progress 
 
 of Christianity. 8vo. cloth (pub. at 10* Gd) Gs 
 
 MACK AY (R. W.) Christian Perfectibility. The 
 
 Eternal Gospel ; or the Idea of Christiau Ferf'ectibiJity. 
 Crown 8vo. cloth 3s 
 
 MAN'S BELIEF, A: an Essay on the Facts of 
 
 Religious Knowledge. Crown 8vo. cloth 2s Gd 
 
 MARTINEAU (Dr. James) Religion as Affected by 
 
 Modern Materialism : an Address Delivered in Manchester 
 New College, London, at the opening of the 89th Session, 
 on Tuesday, Oct. 6th, 1874, by JAMES MAETINEATJ, LL.D., 
 Principal. 4th Edition Is 
 
 MARTINEAU (Rev. James) "Why Dissent?" An 
 
 Address. Svo. Is 
 
 MARTINEAU (Rev. James) New Affinities of 
 Faith ; a Plea for Free Christian Union. 12mo. Is 
 
 MARTINEAU (Professor Russell) The Roots of 
 
 Christianity in Mosaism. Svo. Is 
 
 MULTUM IN PARVO. Thoughts for every day 
 
 in the Year. Selected from the'.Writinga of spiritually-minded 
 persons. By the author of " Visiting tny Relations." 
 Crown Svo. cloth 2s Gd 
 
 MUST GOD ANNIHILATE THE WICKED ? 
 
 A Eeply to Dr. Jos. Parker. 12rno. Is 
 
 QUARRY (Rev. J.) Genesis and its Authorship. 
 Two Dissertations. 1. On the import of the Introductory 
 Chapters of the Book of Genesis. 2. On the Use of the 
 Names of God in the Book of Genesis, and on the Unity of 
 its Authorship. 2nd Edition. With notice of Animadver- 
 sions by the BISHOP or NATAL. 8vo. cloth 12s 
 
 REVIEW OF THE FOUR GOSPELS. Part I. 
 
 Their Evidentiary Value. Svo. Is 
 
 REVILLE (Rev. Dr. A.) The Song of Songs, com- 
 
 monly called the Song of Solomon, or the Canticle. Trans- 
 lated from the French. Crown Svo. cloth Is Gd 
 
 REVILLE (Rev. Alb.) The Devil: his Origin, 
 
 Greatness, and Decadence. Translated from the French of 
 the KEY. ALBEBT KEVILLE, D.D. 12ino. cloth 5s
 
 6 Williams and Norgate's New Publications. 
 SAMUELSON (Jas.) Views of the Deity, Traditional 
 
 and Scientific ; a Contribution to the Study of Theological 
 Science. By JAMES SAMUELSON, Esq., of the Middle Temple, 
 Barrister-at-Law, Founder and Former Editor of the Quar- 
 terly Journal of Science. Crown 8vo. cloth 4s Qd 
 
 SIDGWICK (H.) The Ethics of Conformity and 
 Subscription. By Henry Sidgwick, M.A, late Fellow of 
 Trinity College, Cambridge. 12mo. Is 
 
 SPENCER (Herbert) First Principles. Second Edi- 
 tion, re-organized and further developed. 8vo. cloth IGs 
 
 SPENCER (Herbert) Education: Intellectual, Moral, 
 and Physical. 8vo. cloth 6* 
 
 SPENCER (Herbert) Social Statics; or the Condi- 
 tions essential to Human Happiness specified, and the First 
 of them developed. Cheaper Edition. 8vo. cloth 10s 
 
 SPENCER (Herbert) Essays, Scientific, Political, 
 and Speculative. (Being the First and Second Series re- 
 arranged, and containing an additional Essay.) Cheaper 
 Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. cloth IGs 
 
 SPENCER (Herbert) Essays : (Third Series) Scien- 
 tific, Political, and Speculative. Vol. III. Including the 
 Classification of Sciences. Second Edition. 8vo. cloth 7s Qd 
 
 STRAUSS (Dr. D. F.) New Life of Jesus. The 
 Authorized English Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. cloth, 21s 
 
 TAINE (H.) English Positivism. A Study of John 
 Stuart Mill. Translated by T. D. HATE. Second Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. cloth 3s 
 
 TAINE (H.) The Philosophy of Art. By H. Taine. 
 Crown 8vo. 3s 
 
 TAYLER (Rev. John James) Letters, embracing 
 his Life, of John James Tayler, Professor of Ecclesiastical 
 History and Biblical Theology ; and Principal of Manchester 
 New College, London. Edited by the Eev. JOHN HAMILTON 
 THOM. 2 vols. in one, 8vo. Portrait. Cheaper Issue 10s Qd 
 
 TAYLER (Rev. J. J.) An Attempt to Ascertain the 
 Character of the Fourth Gospel, especially in its relation to 
 the three First. New Edition. 8vo. cloth 5s 
 
 TAYLER (Rev. J. J.) Christianity: What is it? and 
 What has it done ? Is
 
 Williams and Margate's New Publications. 7 
 
 TAYLER (Rev. J. J.) A Catholic Christian Church, 
 the Want of our Time Is 
 
 THEOLOGICAL REVIEW : A Journal of Reli- 
 
 gious Thought and Life. Published Quarterly. Each No. 
 8vo. 2s Gd 
 
 THEOLOGICAL TRANSLATION FUND. A 
 
 Series of Translations, by which the best results of recent 
 Theological investigations on the Continent, conducted with- 
 out reference to doctrinal considerations, and with the sole 
 purpose of arriving at truth, will be placed within reach of 
 English readers. A literature of a more independent cha- 
 racter, less biassed by dogmatical propositions, a literature 
 which is represented by such works as those of Ewald, Hup- 
 feld, E. C. Baur, Zeller, Eothe, Keim, Schrader, Noldeke, &c., 
 in Germany, and by those of Kuenen, Scholten, and others 
 in Holland, it is desired to render accessible to English 
 readers who are not familiar with the languages of the Con- 
 tinent. 
 
 Three Volumes annually, for a Guinea Subscription. The 
 Prospectus, bearing the signatures of Principal Tulloch, Dean 
 Stanley, Professors Jowett, H. J. Smith, Henry Sidgwick, 
 Dr. Davidson, the Rev. James Martineau, Mr. W. Clark, the 
 Revs. T. K. Cheyne, J. Allanson Picton, C. Kegan Paul, 
 John Caird, and others, may be had. 
 
 Volumes published. 
 
 KEIM'S History of Jesus of Nazara. Vol. I. 
 BAUR'S Paul, His Life and Work. 2 vols. 
 
 KUENEN. The Religion of Israel. (In 3 vols.) 
 Vols. I. and II. 
 
 BLEEK. On the Apocalypse. 
 
 In the Press, or nearly ready. 
 EWALD'S Prophets of Israel. 
 KUENEN'S Religion of Israel. Vol. III. 
 ZELLER, On the Acts of the Apostles. 
 KEIM'S Jesus of Nazara. Vol. II. 
 BAUR'S First Three Centuries of the Christian 
 
 Church.
 
 8 Williams and Norgatds New Publications. 
 TURPIE. The Old Testament in the Newe : a 
 
 Contribution to Biblical Criticism and Interpretation. The 
 Quotations from the Old Testament in the New, Classified 
 according to their Agreement with, or Variation from the 
 Original : the Various Readings and Versions of the Pass- 
 ages added, and Critical Notes subjoined (in a series of 
 Tables), containing the Hebrew Text and Septuagint Ver- 
 sion, 'and the Greek of the New Testament; with English 
 Translation. By D. M'CANMAN TUBPIE, M.A. Eoyal 8vo. 
 cloth 12s 
 
 TYLER (T.) Ecclesiastes : A Contribution to its 
 
 interpretation: containing an Introduction, an exegetical 
 analysis, and a translation with Notes. 8vo. cloth 7s Gd 
 
 TYSSEN (A. D.) The Origin of the Week explained. 
 On the Origin of the Division of Time into periods of Seven 
 days. 12mo. sewed Is 
 
 UTRECHT PSALTER. Reports addressed to the 
 Trustees of the British Museum on the Age of the Manu- 
 script. By E. A. Bond, E. M. Thompson, Eev. H. O. Coxe, 
 Rev. S. S. Lewis, Sir M. Digby Wyatt, Professor Westwood, 
 !\ H. Dickinson, and Professor Swainson. With a Preface 
 by A. Penrhyn Stanley, D.D., Dean of "Westminster. With 
 3 Facsimiles in permanent Photography. Fcap. folio 9* 
 
 WHAT DO WE KNOW? Eight Tracts on this 
 
 Question. Leaves from the Writing-Desk of an old Student. 
 Crown 8vo. cloth 3s Gd 
 
 WILLIAMS (Dr. Rowland) The Hebrew Prophets. 
 
 Translated afresh, and illustrated for English Readers. Two 
 
 vols. 8vo. cloth 22s Qd 
 
 Vol. i. The Prophets under the Assyrian Empire 10 Gd 
 
 Vol. ii. The Prophets under the Babylonian Empire 12s 
 
 WILLIAMS (Dr. Rowland) Psalms and Litanies, 
 Counsels and Collects, for Devout Persons. By ROWLAND 
 WILLIAMS, D.D., late Vicar of Broadchalke, sometime Senior 
 Fellow and Tutor of King's College, Cambridge. Edited by 
 his Widow. Fcap. 4to. cloth extra 12s Gd 
 
 WILLIAMS (Dr. Rowland) Broadchalke Sermon 
 Essays. On Nature, Meditation, Atonement, Absolution. 
 Crown 8yo. cloth 7s Gd
 
 31158012620372 A 000089967 4 
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 QUARTER IDA* 
 APR 7 1997