YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE LIBRARY OF THE DIVINITY SCHOOL LECTURES ox THE APOCALYPSE; CRITICAL, EXPOSITORY, AND PRACTICAL : DELIVERED BEFORE THE fUinraitij nf Gnmbriligt; BEING THB HULSEAN LECTURES FOR THE YEAR 1848. • CHR. WORDSWORTH, D. D., CANON OP WESTMINSTER; FORMERLY FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND POBLIC ORATOR OF THB UNIVERSITY. FROM THE SECOND LONDON EDITION. PHILADELPHIA: HERMAN HOOKER, SOUTHWEST CORNER OP EIGHTH AND CHESTNUT STREETS. 1852. Maxaptog o avayvyv^(Jx(ov, xai ot axawwtzs tfovj ^oyovj 7*975 rtpotyqfHas, xai fyipoivtss to, Iv avfij yBypa/x/.isva. Apocalyp. i. 3. Maxapcoj 0 T'jjpwv tfovj ' 'A.O'yws tfjjs rtpof|i37t£t'a$ -foii /3t^3Xtou toviov. Apocalyp. xxii. 7. Apocalypsis Joannis tot habet sacramenta quot verba. Farum dm pro merito voluminis. Laus omnis inferior est. In verbis singulis multiplices latent intel- ligentise. S. Hieronymus ad Faulin. Ep. j.. torn. iv. p. 574. IBAAC ASHMEAB, PRINTER. TO THE STUDENTS os the UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, AND OP ALL OTHER SCHOOLS AND SEMINARIES ' OF SOUND AND USEFUL LEARNING, Site Kitscribeti THESE LECTURES ON A BOOK PROVIDED BY THE DIVINE GOODNESS FOR THEIR GUIDANCE, WARNING, AND ENCOURAGEMENT, IN THE TRIALS OF THE LATTER DAYS. PREFACE The Present Volume forms the Sequel and Conclusion of the Author's Hulsean Lectures "on the Canon of the Holt Scriptures of the Old and New Testament and on the Apo crypha." The greater portion of the present Discourses was preached before the University of Cambridge in the months of April and October, 1848 ;* and they are now published in compliance with the injunctions of the pious and learned Founder of the Lectureship, the Reverend John Htjlse. In some of the following Lectures reference will be found to an Appendix, which the Author had intended, in the first in stance, to add to this Volume ; but, as the printing advanced, it was found that it would swell the work to an inconvenient bulk ; and it will therefore be embodied in a separate Volume, which will shortly be published,! and which will also contain the Apocalypse, in the original Greek, from the best Manu scripts, and a revised English Version, and Harmony, with Notes. In this Edition a Discourse is added " On the Prophecy of St. Paul concerning the Man of Sin." Cloisters, Westminster Abbey. * They were also preached at Westminster Abbey, in the same year. f [This has now been published.] TABLE OF CONTENTS. LECTURE I. On the Doctrine of a Millennium. Introduction Characteristics of the Apocalypse; Seal of the Bible General acknowledgment of its Genuineness an3 "Inspiration primitive times ..... Subsequent ambiguities ; how to be accounted for Origin of the doctrine of a Millennium . . From Judaistic preconceptions, generally Cerinthus ...... Papias, Oral Tradition ..... The Montanists . . . Literal interpretation of prophetical, figurative, language From the Rabbinical idea of a Sabbatical Millennium On the authority of Irenaeus in this matter Influence of this doctrine on the Apocalypse A Parallel in the case of the Epistle to the Hebrews Caius, the Roman Presbyter Reflections on the above facts Recovery ...... Origen ...... Dionysius of- Alexandria .... Congress and Conference on the Millennium Its result . . . • • • St. Jerome — His language concerning a Millennium St. Augustine— His language on the same subject The doctrine of a Millennium called heretical Not known in the Church for a thousand years PAGE 21 22ib. 23 1 ib. 24 ib. ib. ib. 25 2628 29 ib.3031 35 ib. ib. ib.ib.33 34 35ib. viii Table of Contents. PAGE Testimonies on this subject, of Cornelius a Lapide, Tillemont, Dr. Barrow, Dr. Hammond, Bishop Andrewes . • 35, 38, 68 Dr. Lightfoot 43,55,58 Revival of this doctrine — Its results . . • • ^6 ib. ib. 24 ib. 38ib. ib. ib. 39 40 Its effects on the Apocalypse . Judgment of the Catholic Church on the Millennium Judgment of eminent continental Reformers on the same subject Judgment of the Augsburgh Confession . Judgment of the Church of England . Article of King Edward VI. . Thirty-nine Articles ...... English Liturgy ...... Warnings against this doctrine .... Pleas of its advocates — Reply .... This doctrine, grounded on Judaistic notions, on oral tradition, and on erroneous notions of the Plan of the Apocalypse . . . ib. The true view of that Plan, and -especially of the Twentieth Chapter 41 How Scripture is to be interpreted .... 43 The Millennarian doctrine " repugnant to Scripture" — Proof of this . 44 And to the teaching of the Church . . . 35,47,65,70 Apology for some ancient Millennarians ; their case very different from that of modern ones; ..... 48 LECTURE II. On the Doctrine of a Millennium, Recapitulation .. . . . . .50 Warnings to younger students concerning Scripture Interpretation 52 What is Scripture ; and what is not . . . ib. Interpretation of the Twentieth Chapter of the Apocalypse . . 53 How and when Satan was bound .... 54 Objections answered . . . .r . .56 The first Resurrection . . , . . . 58, 65, 470 How the Saints reign, and to them judgment is given . . 61 Other objections stated and answered • ... 65 1. What is meant by the word Resurrection . . 58, 65 2. What by a thousand years ..... 67 Bishop Andrewes . . . ¦ . . . .68 Scriptural Parallels— Exposition of the Fathers . . .68,69 Practical application . . . . . . . 70 The last persecution ...... 72 Table of Contents. ix LECTURE III. On the Genuineness and Inspiration of the Apocalypse. Subject proposed . . . ... Language of some Modern Critics on this subject Proofs of Inspiration from the peculiar character of the Apocalypse Spurious " Books of Revelation", -.'* Argument from them ...... Language of the Apocalypse concerning itself Inference from this . . . . . . The persons addressed in the Apocalypse ; and in what terms "Angels of the Church" . , . . \ . Arguments from this HoV was the Apocalypse received by the Bishops and Asia, to whom it is addressed Papias . . . ¦ . Testimony of Justin Martyr at Ephesus Melito ...... St. Irenaeus . . .1 . A mark of heresy, not to receive the Apocalypse Reflections on this evidence .... Date of tlie Apocalypse .... Evidence of St. John himself ..... Canon of Council of Toledo, on reading the Apocalypse in the Church ...... Eusebius . . . ... Internal Evidence .... Arguments from Style . . . Argument from the Apostolic Benediction Practical Reflections .... PAGE 75 ib. 7677 ib. 78 ib. 70ib.80 Churches of 82—84 82 83 8485 86 ib.8788 90 it. 91 , > ib- "88, 92 . 92 LECTURE IV. On the relation of the Apocalypse to the Canon af Scripture. Introductory Remarks ...--• Doctrinal finality of the Apocalypse .... Argument thence derived against the advocates of Rationalistic and KJomish Development . Its canonical finality ...••¦¦ The Seal of the, Bible ....-• Illustration and confirmation of this from Apocalyptic Symbols Cautions respecting the Exposition of the Apocalypse Symbols in Chap. IV. . • • 95 96- ib. 9798 98 99 100 Table of Contents. PAGE The Rainbow . . . . ¦ 100 The Crystal Sea . . 101 Tlie Seven Spirits ib. The Voices and Thunders .... . ib. The Four Living Creatures 102 The Four-and-Twenty Elders . 10? Application of the Exposition of these Symbols 104 St. John's office in closing the Canon of Scripture . 106 Symbols in Chap. XI. .... 106 The measuring Reed, Kaneh, or Canon, 107, 111 The Rod . . . . . . 108 Inferences therefrom ..... . ib. The Two Witnesses .... 108 Not individual Persons .... 110, 174, 192 The Two Olive Trees .... 108—132 The Two Golden Candlesticks . ib. Relation of Scripture to the Church Ill Conclusion ...... . 114 LECTURE V. The Coming of Christ, Introduction The Lord's Day in the Apocalypse The piercing Of Our Lord's side . Inferences from .... " He who came'' .... How Christ came by blood and water How Christ now comes by blood and water Doctrine of the Sacraments ...... The piercing of our Lord's side, how made subservient to the proof of our Lord's Resurrection, and of our Justification, and of our future ^Resurrection ....... Practical Exhortations ...... 115 116, 129117 118 119 120121123 126 129 LECTURE VI. Exposition of the Apocalypse ; Plan of the Apocalypse ; the Seven Epistles and the Seven Seals. Aids for the Exposition of the Apocalypse . . . 132 I. The Apocalypse itself— Remarks on the " Authorized Ver sion" • 133 II. The Hebrew Prophets ..... 134 Table of Contents. xi III. Uninspired Expositors-Ancient Interpreters IV. More recent Commentators Literal Interpreters Plan of the Apocalypse . . ,< The Twentieth Chapter TJie Seven Epistles The number Seven . The Two-edged Sword . What is represented by the Seven Churches Order of the Epistles The Hidden Manna . The White Stone The Morning ^Star . The Seven, Seals The Sealed Book, or Roll Inference from its description The First Seal The colour White in the Apocalypse, and its opposites The Second Seal The Third Seal The Fourth Seal The Fifth Seal . The Sixth Seal Figurative character of these Prophecies St. Peter's exposition of Joel ii. 28 Inferences from it . Use of " Catchwords" in the Apocalypse Twelve times Twelve ; what it signifies The Seventh Seal . . - . Practical Reflections on the Seals PAGE . 134135 . ib. 136 . 137 138 . ib. ib. 139, 205 141 . ib. 142 . ib. ib. . ib. 143 . ib. , 144 . 145 ib. . 149 150 . ib. ib. . 151 ib. 152, 213 154 .'¦ 155156 LECTURE VII. The Seven Trumpets)' Introduction— Temple- Worship , How the Trujnpets differ from the Seals Use of Repetition in Prophecy . . , Sacred Trumpets .... Seven Trumpets ; reference to the Capture of Jericho Woe-Trumpets The First Trumpet ..... "A third part" . . : 159160 ib. ib. 161 162 i\ ib. xu Table of Contents. PAGE The Second Trumpet ...-•• 163 " The Mountain;" the " Sea;" " They who have Life" , . 163; 212 " The Ships" destroyed . . . - -16* The Third Trumpet ...... ib. "Falling Stars" ....... 165 "Wormwood" — " Inhabiters of Earth" ib. Early Heresies ....... 166 The Fourth Trumpet ...... 167 The Fifth Trumpet ....... ib. The Locusts . . . . - . . 168 The Sixth Trumpet .... . ib. Erroneous mode of interpreting it . ... . 169 Modern Exposition of . . . . - . . ib. If Babylon is to be interpreted spiritually, Euphrates {the river of Babylon) must not be understood literally . . . ib. The Four Angels ; " loosed for the hour" ib. How they are bound ; and yet not bound . . . . ib. Design of physical impossibilities in the Apocalypse . . ib. Proofs that the Four Angels are of God ;' and that their army is the Army of God . . . . . . .170 How the Word of God becomes a Woe . . . 172 Parallelism between the Vision of the Two Witnesses, and that of these Four Angels and their Army ' . . . . 173 Both Visions represent the Second Woe .... 174 Both Visions represent the diffusion and power and majesty and vic tory of the Word of God . . . . . . ib. Fulfilment of the Prophecy ..... 175 How the Four Angels are loosed at the, Euphrates . . . ib. Illustration of the prediction of this Trumpet from the prophecies of the Old Testament ...... 176 Practical Reflections ...... 178 LECTURE VIII. History o/Holy Scripture. Connection of the Sixth Trumpet, with what follows The "Opened Lesser Book" in the hands of Christ How to be interpreted .... " The roaring of the Lion" .... "The Seven Thunders," echoing the Voice of Christ How "their Voices" were sealed by St. John How the Book was taken and eaten by him Why bitter . , ' ' . 180, 187 . 181 ib. . 183 ib. . 184 185 . 186 Table of Contents. xiii PAGB Connection of the Opened Book, and of the Seven Thunders, with the preceding Vision of the Four Angels loosed at the Euphrates . 187 Their connection, also, with the Symbols following . . ib. The "measuring Reed" . . . . . 187 Why "like a Rod" . . . . .188 Supposed Solecisms in the Apocalypse . . . . ib. The Grammar of Inspiration . ' . . . . ib. The word Jew . . „ . . . . ib. The term Gentile . ..... ib. Facility and Beauty of the Transition in the Apocalypse . . 189 "The Two Witnesses" '. . ib. "The Two Olive Trees" . . . . . . ib. Whyon/yTwo . . . . . .190 Peculiar use of the definite Article in the Apocalypse 181, 191, 201 The power and majesty of the Two Testaments . . • 190 Warred on by "the Beast" . . . . . .191 Slain in" the Great City" . . . . . 192 The dead body of the Two Witnesses; meaning of this expression . ib. How " the Great City" has Warred on the Two Witnesses . 193 And has not allowed *' their dead body" 1o be put into " Monuments" ib. The Second Woe . . . . . . 194 Its attendant circumstances ...... 195 Parallelism between the History of Scripture and the Church . 197 Concluding Remarks . . . , . , ib. LECTURE IX. History o/the Church. *' The, Woman clothed with the Sun" and crowned with " Twelve Stars" .198 Her sufferingSi first from Roman persecution , . . 199 The male child, who rules the nations with "a rod of iron" . ib. Figure of transference in the Apocalypse » . . ib. Her flight in the Wilderness . . . • • ¦ 20O What are " the Two Wings of the Great Eagle" - ¦ 201 The Bible placed on an Eagle in Churches .... 202 The 1260 Days ...-¦•• ib* Digression concerning the meaning of Numbers in the Apocalypse 2C2 The Year-Day system . . ' . • • . ib. Signification of Apocalyptic Numbers . . •. • »b. . 208 . 154,203 . 206 138, 183, 204 . 206 205 . 208 . 199,209 xiv Table of Contents. PAGE -A Third part" 162,203 The Number Four, and Four times Four . • 169, 203 The Number Five The Number Twelve The Number Six .... The Number Seven The Number Three and a half The 1260 Days, 42 Months, or 3J Years Inferences from this Inquiry . " The Red Dragon" The Earth helping the Woman — Constantine • 210 The rise of the Beast with Seven heads and ten horns from the Sea ib. Its interpretation . ..... 211 The phrase " as Kings" . . . . - • ib. The Sea 212,163 The removal of the Mountain, which was cast into the Sea, is follow ed by the rise of the Beast from the Sea . . . 212 St. Paul's prophecy ....... ib. On the term " the Antichrist" . . . . . ib. Use of Catchwords connecting the Apocalypse with other parts of Scripture, e. g. with the Book of Daniel . . . 213 The Second Beast, or "False Prophet" . . . .214 Interpretation ....... 215 "They who have not been defiled with Women" . . 218 Romanism will survive Rome . . . . . 219 The Six Angels . . . . . . . ib. Recapitulation of the Two last Discourses, with reference to the pre sent times . . . : . . . . 221 LECTURE X. Introduction to the Prophecies concerning Babylon in the Apocalypse. Interpretation of the Prophecies in Chapters XIII. XIV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. and XIX. of the Apocalypse .... 224 Serious and solemn nature of this subject .... 225 Pleas urged on the ground of Charity .... 226 What true Charity is. Appeal to St. John and to the Holy Spirit . 228 How it Will be best exercised in the present case . . 227 Earnest Appeal to all members of the Church of Rome . . 229 Condition of those who have fallen away to Rome . . ib. Duties of Clergy and People, with respect to the Apocalypse, espe cially in the present times ..... 230 Table of Contents. xv PAGE Preliminary explanations: — 1. Concerning salvability in the Church of Rome . ib. 2. Concerning opposition to the Church of Rome . . 231 3. Assertions of the most eminent Divines of the Church of England concerning these Prophecies . . ' . . 232 Subsequent misuse of these Prophecies by other persons 233 Consequent reaction . . . . . ib. Inferences from these facts .... 234 4. The Allegation considered :— that, if Rome is aimed at in the Apocalypse, they who derive their Holy Orders from Rome are involved in her condemnation ' . . 235 5. Rome may be a Church, and yet Babylon . . . 236 6. Civil connections with Rome, their influence . . 237 Instructirns, Admonitions, and Practical Warnings, founded on these Apocalyptic, Prophecies : — . I. Vindications of the Church of England from the charge of Schism . . ." . . . .238 Roman Unity — its character . . ib. Duty of each particular Church, as shown in the Apoca lypse . . , . . . . 239 The Apocalypse an inspired Vindication of the Reformation and of the Church of England ... 240 Why these Prophecies concerning Rome were written . 241 II. The Apocalypse leads us to hope that many members of the Church bf Rome may receive the truth ; but it forbids us to look for Union with the Church of Rome . . 242 It makes us fear for her, and for ourselves from her . 243 Bishop Butler's warning concerning Rome . . ib. III. Endowment of Romanism, pleas for, considered . . 244 LECTURE XI. Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse is the City o/Rome. Design and uses of the Apocalyptic Prophecies concerning Babylon 247 Claims of Rome . . ' - . . . . • • 248 Do these Prophecies concern the Church of Rome T . . 249 Consideration of the argument, that they do not concern her, because all do not agree that they concern her; and because she denies that they concern her ....-- 250 What the true question is . . • • • 251 Divided into two parts . . . • • • ^ XVI Table of Contents. Do they concern the City of Rome? Reply in the Affirmative : — I. From the words "the Great City," existing in St age, and to exist in our own . II. " The City on Seven Hills" . Reference to Roman Poets Reference to Coins . . • Use of Classical Studies III. " The Woman is that great City which reigneth" Reference to Roman Poems and Coins . IV. " Babylon"— " Mystery" Physical and historical parallel between Babylon and Rome Especially with reference to the Jews Rome called Babylon by the Jews of St. John's age Their popular tradition concerning the fall of Rome Its reasonableness .... Testimony of early Christian Writers on this subject Why they wished well to the Roman Empire PapiasDate (of place) of St. Peter's First Epistle St. Irensus Tertullian .... St. Jerome . . St. Augustine Victorinus Other Writers Recapitulation and Conclusion PAGB ib. John's 252 253 ib. 254 ib. 255 ib. 256 ib. 258 259 ib. 260 261 ib. ib. ib. ib. 262 263 ib. 264 ib. 265 LECTURE XII. Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse is the Church o/"Rome. Citation from Bellarmine, Baronius, and Bossuet, identifying the Apo calyptic Babylon with the City of Rome . . . 269 Distinction drawn by them . . . . . . ib. Assertions of other Romish Divines .... 270 General agreement, that Babylon is the City of Rome. Is 6he also the Church of Rome? ..... ib. Argument of Bossuet . '. . . . . ib. Reply . . 271 Novelty of Bossuet's interpretation ..... 273 On the supposition that his interpretation were true, what would be the consequences? . . . . . . ib. Table of Contents. xvii page Truth of the other alternative ..... 274 Appeal to some who allege that the main conflict of our own times is not between one form of Christianity and another, but between Christianity and Unbelief ...... 276 Reference to Hooker and Bishop Bull . . . ' , . 277 Aim and uses of Christian Prophecy .... 276 Other objections to the prevalent Romish hypothesis concerning ' these Prophecies . . . . . . 277 The other alternative true . . . . . 278 The common Romish hypothesis further disproved . . . 279 This hypothesis disavowed, as untenable, by some Romanists . 282 ~Their theory refuted by reference to St. John . . . ib. Roman Divines profess Unity, and affirm that they have an infallible guide for the Interpretation of Scripture, and yet are not agreed in interpreting the prophecies of Scripture concerning Rome itself 283 Proofs that the Babylon in the Apocalypse is the Church of Rome . ib. Babylon, "the great City'' of the Apocalypse, is called the Harlot, and is therefore some faithless Church . . . . ib. Bossuet' s objections stated and answered . . . 284 She is also called a " Jerusalem" . . . . . 286 She is also contrasted with " the Bride" or faithful Churcb? ; . ib. Contrasts, in the Apocalypse ; " The Lamb" and "the Beast" . ib. Proofs that this harlot or faithless Church is the Church of Rome 288 Reference to the Arguments in -the la6t Lecture which identify the Harlot City with the City of Rome . . . ib. Further proofs that the Harlot in the Apocalypse is the Church of Rome . . . . . . , ' . . ib. I. Her claims to implicit faith . . . . ib. II. Her persecutions . . . .- . 289 III. Her spiritual Fornication ..... 290 Her relations to Princes and Civil Governments . ib. Hooker ....... ib.. Case of Great Britain and Ireland . . . 291 IV. Her names of Blasphemy . . . ¦ ihi V. Her elaim of Double Supremacy . . . 292 " Name and Number of the Beast" . . . ib. VI. Other Proofs:— External appearance : Scarlet, pearls, gold, &c. . 294, 298 Reference to the " Ceremdniale Romanum" on this sub ject . . . . ¦ • 298 Adoration, by prostration and kissing . . 295, 300 Who is like unto the Beast ? explanation of these words 295 B 299 301 xviii Table of Contents. , PAGE Inthronizatibn and Adoration of the Pope on the Altar of God, " in the - Temple of God" ' . . • • .299 How predicted and typified in Scripture ; Prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, Our Blessed Lord, and St. Paul .... 295—298 First public appearance of the Pope in the eyes of the Church and the World Observations on this evidence . • • • • Prophecy of Zechariah concerning the Epha Words serving to connect these Prophecies together . 213, 303 Observations on the Prophecy of Zechariah . • • 304 Recapitulation and Conclusion . """ LECTURE XIII. The Seven Vials. Reference to Egypt and the Exodus . 310 The Vials are poured out on the Spiritual Empire of the Beast, and resemble the Plagues of Egypt . . . • • 312 Why these Plagues here inflicted by Vials. Meaning of the word 313 General Exposition of the character of these Spiritual Plagues . ib Reference to St. Paul . . . The First Vial . . >. The Second Vial The Third, Vial . The Fourth Vial ..... The Fifth Vial ...... The Sixth Vial ..... Who are "the Kings of the East ?" What is " their Way" which is to be prepared ? What is " the great river Euphrates," and how is it to '» be dried up" " that the Kings of the East may pass over ? . . 321 — 324 What is meant by " the East" . 322 " The Unclean Spirits like Frogs" . . ¦ 324 — 327 Strange Confederacy of the latter days . . . 326, 337 How foretold by St. Paul 327 Its aim ........ ib. The Fall of Babylon . . , . . . .328 Preparations of the strange alliance for the conflict of Armaged don ....... 328—337 The Beast and the False Prophet survive Babylon . . 329 What is meant by " Armageddon" .. . . . 331,337 Issue of Armageddon ; Triumph of Christ . . . 337 . 314315 . 316 ib. . 317 319 . ib. 321, 324 . 321 Table of Contents. xix PAGE Design of the Twentieth Chapter of the Apocalypse . . 338 Last efforts of Satan .. 339, 344 His final overthrow and, punishment .... 339 The Last Judgment ; The Lake of Fire ; The Heavenly City . ib. Practical Warnings and Admonitions dictated by these Prophecies, in reference to the present time . . • . 340 — 346 LECTURE XIV. Concluding Discourse. The Apocalypse, an inspired Manual of Christian Faith and Practice 348 Internal evidence of its Inspiration . . . . . ib. Its special uses in the present times . . ... 349 Its testimony on the great Articles of the Christian Faith • . ib. The first Resurrection ..... ib. Peculiar uses of the Apocalypse ..... 350 I. It displays the Unity of Holy Scripture . . 351 II. It displays the Unity of Design in the means employed by Divine Providence for assuring mankind of the Inspira tion and Integrity of Scripture .... 352 III: It exhibits the divinity, power, and majesty of Scripture 355 IV. It teaches that Scripture ought to be the rule of all Civil Government ..... 356 It inculcates the duty of affirming the Supremacy of the Divine Law in Civil Government . . . ib. Ultimate triumph of that Law . . - . 357 V. It shows the full and final character of Christianity . ib. VI. It exhibits the sufficiency of Scripture as the Rule of Faith ib. VII. It teaches the true relation of the Church to Scripture, and of Scripture to the Church . . . 358 • Errors now prevalent on this point . . . ib. How guarded against by the Apocalypse . . 360 VIIL It teaches the true character of the Christian Church . 362 Errors now prevalent on this point ib. IX. It conveys Divine instruction concerning Church Govern ment . . . . ¦ • • 363 X. It gives Divine instruction concerning the erroneous notion of the existence of one Visible Head in the Church; and concerning the alleged necessity of Union with one ^ Visible Head ..... ib. Its warnings and exhortations to the members of the Church of England . . . • .364 xx Table of Contents. page On the claims and confidence of the Church of Rome 367 XI. The Apocalypse teaches the necessity of holding the true faith, and of holiness of life, as well as of avoiding error ...... 368 XII. It teaches the probable nearness and certainty of a Judg ment to come ; and of Eternal Rewards and Punish ments ....... 369 Conclusion ........ 370 On St. Paul's Prophecy concerning the M an of Sin . . 375 LECTURE I. Rev. xx. 1 — 3. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit &nd a great chain iri his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old ser pent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast hinvinto the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a^ seal upon him, that">he should deceive the nations no more, tilj, the thousand years should be fulfilled ; and after that he musl^beiloose'd a little season. The Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation, closed the Ca non of tne Old ¦and New Testament ',* and, in this respect, 'it demands special attention. " The peculiarities also, of. its style, and the solemn import of its; prophecies, require the most .ear nest reflection. And the circumstances of the' eventful period in which, by God's Providence, our lot is cast, cannot fail to draw the mind of the devout and thoughtful Christian to- seri ous meditations on the prophetical portions of Holy Scripture, especially the , Apocalypse ; jand'if there is; any portion more ,than "another of the Sacred Volume which ought to be ap proached with sober and reverential awe, it is' assuredly this mysterious book. Hence, therefore, they, whose office it is rightly to divide the word of truth, are, solemnly bound, as oc- * It is tt\ivtala ¦£%; ¦¦'Xapytos fii,fS%o;,\ as it is called by S. Gregory Nyssen, torn. iii. p. 601, de EphTaemo, , Lampe Proleg. ad Joann. i. cap. 5, § 13, p. 80. Ames Theolog. i. c. ,34, § 35.: jCanonem V. T..constituerunt Prophets: et Christus Jpse suo testimonio- approbavit. Canonem N. ,T. obsignavit Apostolus Joannes divina auctoritafe instructus Apoc. xxji. 18, 19. Vetustiores Apocalypsin' pro Sieitb universe Scripture habuerunt. Anon, ap. Allatium de libris Eccles. Grae- corum, p. 48. ©EOkoyixij 5' 'ArtoxaAv^is itduv'Si^pa.yif.Ttifvxe fijaSf lrjs 7taa^;- filfl'KOV. 22 On the Doctrine [lect. casion offers, to provide such instruction for their hearers as may serve to guide them to a profitable study, of the words of this prophecy. These considerations appear, to me of so much weight, that, being now enabled and invited by the reverend and learned the Trustees of the Hulsean Lectureship to resume the former ar gument,, commenced and pursued in the Lectures of last year, concerning the CanOn of Holy Scripture, I propose to devote the time allotted me to the Apocalypse; and to conclude the whole with a summary of what has been said in the preceding discourse^ concerning the Canon of the Old and New Testa-' MENT.- ]¦¦ ,. , May the Holy Spirit, Who spake by the Prophets* and de scended .in tongues of fire on the Apostles, and Who sheds His bright beams of light upon the Church, so illumine our minds .with HisheaVenly radiance, that we may have grace to perceiv& the truth,, and power to declare the same !„. The proof of the Inspiration of the Apocalypse is involved in the question of its right interpretation : and upon the present occasion, it will, be my 'endeavour tp show, by a remarkable ex- * ample, that this divine book has been brought into discredit by a false interpretation, concerning a question of solemn impor tance.; and that its honour has been vindicated, and its autho rity retrieved, and can only be maintained, by a true Exposi tion. This, as will be seen, is a Very interesting inquiry, and leads to the moat instructive results both in doctrine and in practice. There is scarcely a book in tkeTvhole Bible whose genuine ness and inspiration were more strongly attested on its first ap pearance than the Apocalypse. No doubts whatever seem 'to haye been entertained on these points. This I propose to show more at lehgth on another,* occasion. Suffice it now to say, that Papias, Justin Martyr, IrenseuSj Melito — that is, , eminent teachers in the Church, in the next age to that in which it wals * See below, Lecture III. i.] of a Millennium." 23 written — proclaim that its" writer was St. John, the, beloved Disciple of 'Christ.^ ' ¦ Such was then the voice of the Church!. And yet it is no less true, that' in the third and fourth Centu ries of the .Christian era. many private persons, and even Churches, especially in Orier^taV, Christendom, questioned its ca- nonicity. For example,* St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, does not mention- it in his catalogue of tho Canonical books of 'the New Testament; nor does St. '- Gregory of Nazianzum. $t. Amphiloehius* Bishop of Iconium,f speaks ^f it as'pf doubtful authority;! audit does not appear in the .Canon ascribed to the Council of Laodicea, in the fourth century. ' Are hot these things* it may be asked,; somewhat strange? Can they be accounted for ? If -so, by what means ? Can itbe shown that these doubts, to' which we have now referred, dp not in any degree invalidate the proof, that the Apocalypse. is the work of St. John and the Word of God? . " ¦¦ In'reply 'to these inquiries,, let me first .remind you that the Jews of our "Saviour's time, misunderstanding the' figurative language of ' ancient prophecy, imagined' that .the Messiah would' be an earthly" Potentate, and 'that ' he would rule in triumphant ' majesty in the city of Jerusalem for a period' of a thousand, years.§ You "will remember nalso, that in the first and seeo.nd cen- * Cate'ches. iv. xxXvi. p. 66, ed; Bened.' ,,, + The original words of these Authorities will be. found in'' the Appendix to " Lectures on the, Canon." - + It has been asserted) by some, modern- learned writers^bn ,^he Apocalypse, that it is never quoted .by St. Chrysostom. This is a mistake : there is an evident allu sion to it in his first homily on St. Matthewf ;' and Suidas, in voce • 'luavvrfr, says, $i%ttai, 6 XpuaotrT'0^,0; rip Artoxd%v^t,v. ; '' . f Lightfoot, i. pi 209, ed,. Ifi84. Hottinger. Hist. Ercl. i. p. 152. Incunabula Qhiliasmi in Talmiide sunt qfeerenda; ' Buxtorf. de Syhag. Judaic. *-c- xxxvi. XtW Hzt; nuirierus inysticus' apud Judsos : " M'essi'av flies sunt mille anni " say the Rabbis; see the authorities cited by Mede, Works, book v. chap. iii. p. 892 ; by Western, Nov.- Test. ii. p. 836, in Apoc^xx, 2. , Sex annoriim millibus durabit hie rhtmdus ; veniet Messias tempore matutino millenarii sexti. Dies Septimus re spondent milleniri 7mb quod totum Sabbatjim est. -, < , ,. 24 On 'the Doctrine , [lect. turies there were many false teachers who corrupted the Gospel by amalgamating it with Judaism. One of the most, celebrated ot 'these1, Cerinthns,. is characterized by the Ecclesiastical histo- rian Eusebius asan Haeresiarch, an£ an enemy* of Holy Scrip- ture; and it" is recorded, tha.t. such was St. John's al>horrenc(M>f his opinions, that he w6uld not remain in his company, nor even abide with him under the same ropf.Jj" Cerinthus embraced the Jewish tenets concerning a temporal Messiah, who would reign gloriously for a thousand years in the earthly Jerusalem. According to: these notions, Paradise ^was to be revived in Palestine. The Saints were to "be raised from their graves, and to enjoy in Sion a millennial banquet of EJysian bliss: ' This doctrine, thus transferred from the, Synagogue into the Church^ was eagerly embraced by the enthusiastic followers of Montanus in Phrygia.J Nor was this all. Some even eminent in the Church espoused it.. Of these one of the first was Pa pias, Bishop of Hierapolis, in the second century. He, we are "informed by Eusebius,' was a man of ardent zeal, but of slender judgment.§ ; It is' also recorded of him — indeed, he states it of himself — that he did »not 'set so much Table ~on what he read, even in the Scriptures themselves, as on what he heard from oral tradition.\\ He' gave currency in his writings to certain * Euseb. iii. 28 (quoting Caius,) i*0po? wtap^oj/ tats ypafyals tov Qtov.' See Isadorus Grig, viii., Cerinthlani,' a Cerintho nuncupati, mille annos post resur- rectionem in'voluptate camj£ futuros prsedicant, unde et Grace Chiliaste; and S. Augustine De H»res. viii. p. 40; ed. Bened. Paris, 1§37. Audiendi non sunt (says S. Jerome, in his recension of Victorinus. in Apocalyps. Bibl. Patr. Max. iii. p. 421) qui mille anhorum regnum terrenum confirm'ant, qui cum Cerintho hsretico sapi- urit. See also Nicephor. H. E. iii. 14, concerning Cerinthus, the promoter of Chiliasmi + Euseb. iii. 28. }_ Gieseler, Eccl. History, § 46, observes that Phrygia was the cradle of Mon- tariism and Millenarianism, which, he aJds, was taught in spurious writings. (Cf. § &o.) ¦ ; , , ¦ ,% Euseb. iii. 39. ,atyo&pa irjuxpos iSv tov vovv. |] . Euseb. iii. 39.' °v I^P ia ^x *w» fieftiiui f-oaootov pi iu$tteti> vitt)jxftf2av<}* ^btjoi' rartapa £wtHf$ $towJ$ xai jttipqviDfs. * ' I-] of a Millennium. 25 fantastical fables,* which he had- received on hearsay; one of which was the, doctrine of a, millennial reign of Christ on earth. This tenet, it is added, he imputed to Apostolic language, which he had erroneously -understood . in , a literal and material,! whereas it was spoken in a figurative and spiritual sense.J The facts and doctriSies of "Holy Scripture ha, ve been allego rized- into' shadowy parables by ihe wild and destructive licen tiousness of spme§ expositors; but on the other hand, the literal interpretation of what: is spoken figuratively in Holy Scripture, ' especially" by- the Prophets, has been one of > the, most prolific sources of error. It generated the carnal notions current among the Jews in our Saviour's age concerning the Messiah's temporal reign oil earth; and so it was One. of the most power ful hindrances to the reception of Him Whose kingdom is not of this world. It; suggested the question of St. John , himself , and of. his brother, St. James : " Grant, Lord, that we may sit, the one at Thy right hand,, and the other on Thy left, in Thy kingdom;" and it is remarkable that our Blessed Lord appears to have given, in the present chapter, the twentieth, of the Apo calypse, rightly understood, ,a correetzon of those earthly no tions concerning Himself and His- kingdom — a correction so much the more striking, because , it is supplied > by St. Jo Jin, who, as we know from the petition just quoted, once enter tained the Jewis h, notion, of -a millennial kingdom of the.Mes- siah on earth, and. aspired to fill a place' of eminence and dignity in. it..|j • ' , '* Euseb. iii".. 39. 'eiivatp.itapafioXo.s, xai aVha jivBixivttpa, iv ot; j;aia8a twa ^ tyrjsw ItXiv tdeadat, /ietfa tr/v ix vixpuv' avdtrtasw, ao>)j.att,xw$ trti Xpuji'ou fiatsi- ¦hitas iTti tavtrjai tijf yjjis vkoBt^aojXivtjf. ,' f Euseb. jii. 39. *a iv vTioSeCy/iasv jxveitixys riprytiva py dvvsupaxw. - '$ Hpttinger; Hist. Eccl.i.p. 154jHan0v. 1655. Hajus setitentiaj (Chiliasticas) auctor traditur Papias, scriptor quidem vetustissimus, sed; teste EuseTjio (Hi. 39,) exigui judfeii homo, qui neglectis Scriptis Apostolicis diligenter sectabatu'r tradi- tibnes isehiorum :,et,ita hunc errprem alkgpricis loqu'endi modis. Prophets et Joanni cumprimis in Apocalypsi usitatis deceptus, imbibit. § See Rosenmiiller, Hist. Interp. iii. 41— 52,iand Bp. Marsh on the Interpreta- tion.of the Bible, L.ect. vi. and ix. J Very excellent are the observations of the learned Dr. Solomon Glasse on this 26 On the Doctrine [lect. So /deeply rooted was this expectation of a temporal reign, even in the heart's of the Apostles, at the very close of Christ's mi nistry, that the last question which they are recorded in Scrip ture to have addressed to Him was,-.-" Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"*- Again,.this liieral mode of interpretation produced another misapprehension concerning St. John himself. "If I will that he tarry till' I come, what. is that to thee?" said our Blessed Lord of Him. "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that "that disciple should not die." They understood literally what our Lord had spoken figuratively:,. It was for St. Peter to follow Christ to the cross,; but for St. John to tarry till Christ came, and took Him to himself by a natural death: and, in a higher spiritual sense, St. John was to tarry in the world, jn his Gospel and in his Apocalypse, which reveals the history of the Church even to the end ; and thus St. John tarries with us till Christ comes. Still further: It is well. known that an opinion was enter tained by many of the Jewish Rabbis, '_ fronr whom it was borrowed ' by some early, Christian teachers, that , as the world was created in six days, which were succeeded by a seventh of rest, so it would endure fpr six millenary periods, to be followed by- a Sabbatical Millennium.! It will appear, from these con- subject, and Very necessary to be, considered in the present times: — Philpl. Sacr. Amst. 1711, Praef. p. 23. Si tropicus sermo proprie fuit intellectus, absurdissima- rum opinionum monstra peperit. In ipssi Christi schola mditatem discipulorum ejus, et pracoriceptam de regno terreno opinionem inter alia ortum ex eo sumpsisse certum est, quod vaticinia. Prophetarum quibus illi regnum Messise magnified, admo- dum describunt, et ad illustrandam ejus amplitudinem spiritualem metaphoris utun- tur, ut propria dicta cum vulgo J^udaeo.rumintellexerunt. Eandem originem Chi- liastarum 'error obtinet, in ipsis statim Eculesrae incunabulis, et sequentibus, quern et nosiro hoc seoo a nonnullis Christi de nomine glbriahtibus revocation novimus : dum scilicet ea qua." a Prophetis de Ecclesia: gloria et pace verbis a rebus terrenis desurhptis sunt prsedicta, propria accipiuntur, atque ex lis, per suave somnium, Ec clesia: ' status formatiir ejusmodi, ut triumphos meros agat, et pace temporali sine afflictionum obturbaritium nube fruatur, atque ita iter ad legnuin coelorum ajfiic- lionibus consecratum praecludjtur, alra aperta via. quam neque Christus instituit neque, suos docuit-. - ' * Acts i. 6. Compare Luke xvii. 20. f See the passages in Cornel, a Lapide, Wetstein, and Vitringa, in Apoc. xx.; !•] of a Millennium. , 27 siderations, thi^t many of the primitive Christians, especially those of Jewish extraction, were predisposed to misunderstand, in a; carnal sense, the prophecies concerning the Second Ad vent : and we Shall not be surprised, that such an exposition of the twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse should have been adopted by Cerinthus, who is called by the Fathers half a Jew;* or by Papias, who was more' eminent for zeal than for some other qualities which are requisite in an interpreter of Scripture j^or" by others, however learned, who passed from the Synagogue into the Church. Such, then, was the origin of the doctrine of the, Millennium. Papias, by reason of his piety and antiquity,, exercised great influence. Eusebius! expressly testifies that the propagation of this dogma'was mainly due to him. We- need not wonder that it should have been embraced by Tertullian, whose Monta- nistic bias prepossessed! him in its; favour'; nor that it should have been, in some respects, sanctioned by Justin ' Martyr ? jyhen : we xeqollect his Jewish extraction, and ,his Platonic§ training •; nor that it should have been adopted by Lactantius, who and the recent observations of Abbe\ Gaume, in his Preface to his Histoire de la Soeiete, pp. 132 — 137., The rernark of. St. Augustine,' that the other six days (Gen. i.) are said to have consisted of, a morning and evening, but that evening is not mentioned in the case of the seventh day (De Civ. Dei,xx. c. 7,) ought to sug^ gesf a more spiritual application of the history. ' • Epiphan. 'hares.' 28. Philastr. hseres. 36. Damascen. -hsres. 28,. JVerisimite est (says Gerhard; L c. xxxii.,) hoc suum Millennii dogma ex Synagbgse mammil- lis suxisse. '¦ f Euseb: iii.,. 39. Cf. Gennad. . (flor. 480) de Eocl. Dogm. c. .25, ap. S. August. torn. viii. p. 1699. Appendix, ed. Paris, 1837. The following is from Fleury Hist. Eccl. Liv. iii. c. 15 \t—" Papias eriseignoit qu'apres'la resurrection des' morts, J. C. rtgneroil corporellement sur la terre pendarit millions. Ce qui venoit de quelques traditions qu'il avoit mal entendues, ayant prisaupied de la lettre aes expressioris figurees. Car il avoit I'esprit fort petit. Cependant son antiquity et son amour pour la tradition luiont acquis une telle autoritd que de grands hommes Font suivi dans cette erreur des MilUnaires." , - ¦ * See Tertullian c. Marcion, 24, where' he appeals to " apud fidem novsepro- phetise Sermo." § Plato.de Rep. x. p. 761, E.: Phsedr. p. 1'223, D. Virgil. Mii. vi. 748. ¦ 28 On the Doctrine [lect. appears to have derived it from the Sibylline oracles;* nor even that it' should have found, to a certain extent an advocate' in -Irenaeus, paying, as he himself- informs us, a tribute of re spect to Papias, the companion of Polycarp, the scholar of St. John.! i Let us /pause here to observe two facts. I. First ; that, no doubt was entertained by any of these parties, to whom we have now referred, concerning the genuine ness wad. inspiration of ., the Apocalypse. They all received it as a work ,of the Apostle and Evangelist, St, John. And to * Inst. vii. 24 and 26 ; vide Betul. ad loc. Cf. Casaubon Exerc. Baron, i. n. xviii. f Ireii. v. xxxiii. ¦tavifa Hartlas, 'ladvvov axav&tqSi Hdkvzaprtov Si aratpoj yeyovus, dp^ocoj dv^p. , What is stated above in these Lectures seems to me to be a sufficient answer to the argument drawn from the authority of Iremcus and Papias. . But, if some should think it improbable that any persons living near the age of St. John, arid associates of his scholars, should not understand correctly a passage in tbe Apoca lypse ; and that later expositors should interpret it more accurately, let them be de sired to observe, 1. That St. John's office in the Apocalypse was that of a Prophet, and not of an Interpreter .• and that as Daniel did not , understand the meaning of his own visions (Dan. xuV8, viii. 27,) so St. John himself was called to see and to u#i7e,hut not to explain, except so far as the Angel enabled him to do so. 2. It may seem strange to some, but it is certain tbat even in some matters of fact, St. John was. belter understood by the fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries than by his own scholars and their associates. Irenaeus himself says (Lib. ii. c 39,) that our Blessed Lord's ministry, which commenced in his thirtieth year, extended to the fiftieth year of his age; and he adds, " that all his own predecessors who had associated with St. John in Asia, bear witness that St. John himself delivered this tradition to them" Could ^ie say more than ^this on this point 1 does he say so much concerning the' Millennium ? If now we turn to tbe writers of tbe fourth and fifth centuries, we find Eusebius (H. E. i. 10) rightly affirming tbat the dura tion of our Lord's ministry was not four years; and Tbeodoret (ad Dan. ix. torn. ii. p. 1260, ed. Hal. 1770) asserts, that it was three years and a half,- which he justly argues from the four passovers in St. John's own gospel- This is another striking proof, may we not' call it a providential, one — of the ne cessity of, searching the iScriptures ,¦ and of the insufficiency of oral tradition. If Irenaus did not correctly interpret St. John's^ Gospel, in an historical matter, and if he appeals to his predecessors for a wrong interpretation of it, he might surely be in error as to a mysterious point of doctrine in the Apocalypse: and as it is due to him to believe, that, if he had lived after Eusebius and Theodpret, instead of !•] of a Millennium. 29 speak' only of' one of theht, Papias.* Whatever may be thought of his authority with respect ^to a question of doctrine, yet it must be regarded as high} concerning this matter ofi fact. He might easily, from previous impression, or from defect of judg ment, or insufficient care, be deceived as to the meaning of a particular passage in such' a. book as, the Apocalypse! But, living as he did at Hierapolis, in Asia, the country to which the Apocalypse was first sent; and within, a few years after it was written, he could foot easily have been mistaken with regard to the fact of its authorship. ' And when we'remeifrberthathis affirmation is corroborated, as! we shall show hereafter, by other witnesses of" the same country. and age, and by internal^ evidence, his testimony appears to prove beyond the possibility of a doubt that the author of the Apocalypse was St.' John. • II. "The, second circumstance to which I refer is this : No sooner were Millenarian doctrinestimputed. to the Appealypse, than th'e Apocalypse itself declined in repute. . I do not say that it was rejected.. But it was felt that these Millenarian doctrines were inconsistent with the general teach ing of Holy Scripture;, and hence many in the Church began to show-symptoms of restlessness and perplexity concerning the Apocalypse,., to which these doctrines were ascribed. And it may be added, that the feeling of distrust and anxiety, pro duced by the same causes, still lingers in the minds of some even to this day, and operates to the prejudice of this divine book. . . , '/. "* ¦.'.'¦¦ The.case of the Apocalypse in tbis respect is similar to that of the Epistle, of the Hebrews./ Both these books were received as divine as' soon as they were written.' But doctrines, incon sistent with the plain,drift of Scripture taken as a whole; were imputed .by spme persons to them both:, . The Novatian heretics before them, he would have sided'with them in the former matter, and, if, he had lived after Origen, Dionysius.'St. Jerome, and St." Augustine, .he would .have been, of their mind, and pf that of the whole Church, in the • latter.- . . * . Papias .received it as inspired (se? Andr. Prpleg-.in Apoc.) Irenseus, who, cites Papias, palls it the work of ,St.;John, iv, 20.. v. 26. v. 30. See Euseb. v. 8. f See below, Lecture III. 30 On the Doctrine [lbct. # fixed on the: sixth chapter pf the Epistle to the Hebrews. Here they entrenched themselves, and planted the standard of their. heterodoxy. , So the Millenarians thought themselves' impreg nable in the, twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse. And what was the consequence ? Both these books of Scripture, being thus misinterpreted, were in danger of being discredited, and were rejected by some even otherwise orthodox writers. Instead of examining whether these two books did ov did not teach the erroneous doctrines ascribed' to them, the persons, to whom I now refer, were un happily overreached by the bold assertions of their opponents, and cut short the jnatter by surrendering these books as apo cryphal. - Thus, for instance,, Caius* a celebrated Roman. Pres byter' at the commencement of the third century, in his contro versy with ' Proclus, a follower of ' Montanus, abandoned the Epistle to the, Hebrews, And it is remarkable, that -the Mon- tanists, who built their stern unrelenting discipline of penance on the sixth chapter of that Epistle^ based their, Millenarian doctrines on the twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse; andthat- this same Boman Presbyter, who gave up the Epistle to the Hebrews,! not only surrendered the Apocalypse, but even was carried so far, in his hatred of the Millenarian doctrines im puted to it, as to ascribe it, either in whole or in part, to the Judaizing heretic, Cerinthus. J * Flor". a. d. 210. Cave, i. p: 100. Routh. Rel. Sacr. ii. 3. f S,J£ierprt Vir. HI. Caius dicit Epistolam aclHebraeos Pauli non esse: Q£MilL Prolog, in Apocalyps. p. 595. Ita res habet. Sub annum Christi 2 lOmum (neque eratm ante de Libri hujus auctoritate controversiam moverat quisquam, quod sciam, preetef Marcionem), Caius Ecclesia; Romans Presbyter, ubi dogma de Millennio commendat um videret Apocalypseos testimonio in disputation? contra Proclum, lib- rum ilium non Eyangelista-Joannis esse dixit sed Cerinthi. Por similar reasons, the Epistle to the Hebrews was not read in the Church of Rome. See the passage, Philast., in Appendix Avof " Lectures on the Canon," No. xvi.; and. Sulpicius Severus, cap. xxxi., says of the Apocalypse, " A plerisque aut stultd aut impie non recipitur." ~i Euseb. iii. 28. vii. 25. In both which passages the punctuation ought to have been amended, and then no occasion Would ,have existed for the difficulty imagined by Lardner (i. p. "6.41, ed. Lond. 4to, 1815), and Moses Stuart (§17, p. 286, Edinb. 1847)) end others. The true punctuation of the latter passage is, Ov% ortuj *u>v l] of a Millennium. 31 For such reasons as these, doubts' were entertained in th;e Church of Rome concerning these books. And let us observe, in passing, that if the Church, of Rome had really been, as she professes to be, the sole Guardian of Scripture, and if Scrip ture depended, upon her for its authority, as she pretends, then Christendom would have been in great danger, of losing two Books of the; New Testament, — the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Apocalypse. Next, let us remark the subtlety- of the Arch-Enemy of man in his aggressions against the Word of „ God. He. not only m- ^spjred heretics to compose false -books, and to propagate them as Scripture, but he. tempted them to pervert Scripture by false interpretations : and thus he 'made Scripture itself appear to be heretical. Nor was this all : , he, tempted- even such pious men as Papias unwittingly to abet their artifices* by an overweening zeal for oral tradition;" and the tempted such learned men as- Caius to abandon portions of Scripture, because they had been peryertad.by heretics ! . v . ¦ Let us observe; also, the striking fact, t,hat_ this very chapter —'-the twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse — in. which Satan is represented as a captive, bound by the chain in the hand of Christ, and as cast by Him into the bottomless 'pit, was per- 'Vgrted.by Satan into an occasion of triumph to himself against the Church, in causing thereby the temporary and partial re jection of the book in. which the prophecy of his own doomris contained.* Behold here,. my beloved brethren, a most striking proof of Satan's craft and of human weakness ! But, now,- mark the glorious operation of Gfod'S Providence in vindicating His own Word ! ¦' The manner in which -the Epistle to the Hebrews was re-, aytoetoKavrwu,' a%\~.oiS' cftuj "tan oytyMJ % tuiv since that time all are accounted heretics who main tained it. , • _ . i 36 On the Doctrine [legt-. nium was revived.* It soon bore its fruits. It, showed itself not only in religious .fanaticism, but also in civil licentiousness. Some who held it in that age, and in the next century, affirmed that the! era of the Pifth Monarchy had now dawned on the world ; that all other governments mnst be overthrown to make way for the reign of the Elect;, and that they themselves, we're the Saints, the glories of whose Millennial reign were predicted in such glowing colours in the Apocalypse. The confusions which 'they produced in our own Church and Nation are well known to you. Let me pass from them to re mind you, that no,', sooner was the Millennium again preached from the Apocalypse, than the' Apocalypse again declined in repute. Some great' men of that age fell into the error of Caius. Instead of , correcting the error of those who misinter preted the Apocalypse, they visited their offence on the Book which they had misinterpreted, and rejected it, instead of re futing them. Thanks be to God, such was not the spirit of the Church- of England. She rejected the human misinterpretation, and re tained the divine Book. By acknowledging, as she does, the authority of the Creeds, she condemns the doctrine of the Mil lennium. That doctrine, is irreConcileable with the assertion, that when Christ cometh again, He will come to judge all men ; that He shall com6 from the place where He now sitteth, at the right hand, of the Pather, to judge both the quick and dead; that is, to judge those who are alive on the earth, and those who are in their graves ; and that " His kingdom," — the king dom which will then be gloriously established, — shall not be merely for a thousand years, but "shall have no end;" and that, to cite the words of the Church in the Athanasian Creed, at Christ's "coming, all men" (not the Saints only, but) "all men, shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give an ac- * By Augustirius VVeber and the Westphalian Anabaptists (see Sleidan. Coiri- ment. x.) of Munster (see their work entitled " Restitutio totius mundi,") arid by Joannes Erasmi, the Arian, and Nathanael jElianus, David Georgius, and others. See Jansenii Cone, Evang. c. 1?3. Gerhardi Loci Communes, xxxii. § 74, torn. ix. p. 329, ed. Genev. 1636. *•] of a Millennium. 37 count of their own works ; and that they that have done good shall go" {not into the Millennial mansions of an earthly Jeru salem, but) "into life everlasting; and they thnt,have done evil into everlasting fire." This is the, Catholic Faith. It is not the doctrine of the Millennium.* Nor was this alh In the year 1530, the Millennarian doctrines were censured by the most eminent among the continental Reformers, Me- lancthon,! Luther, and others, in, the Augsburgh Confession.^ "Christ," say they in that -public Formulary of Faith, *' will come to judgment, and will raise all men, both bad and good; and -we condemn those who are now propagating the Judaistic opinion, that,. before the General Resurrection of the Dead, the Saints .will reign on earth."§ Calvin says, " The error of the Mnienarians is too puerile to . deserve or require refutation.]! Nor does the Apocalypse give any countenance to them." * The language of Andreas, Bishop of Cappadpcia,in the sixth century, con cerning the doctrine of the Millennium, is very emphatic. Bibl. Patrum Max. torn. v. pag. 627. Primam ex morrjiis Resurrectioriem solis Sanctis propriam futuram dixerunt rquo nimirum in hie crassa et caliginosj terri in qui illustria fortitudinis et patientia? spechnina ediderant Mille anriis glorii et honore potiantur ; post hoc autem tempus elapsum universalem omnium, hoc est non justorum tantum, verum etiam peccajtorum, Resurrectionem fore, i Sed Ecclesia neutrum horum recipit : oti, ovSiv lovlwv ij *Y.xxVr{ala SeScx-eav rttprftov ia-tt. xai fli-ysw, says Arethas, p. 816. ! Melaricthon (de furoribus et deliriis Anabaptistafum,) Tom. i. Anabaptistse affirmant oportere ante novissimum diem in terris regnum ChrisfTtale existere in quo pii dominentur. + Confess. August. Pars i. Art. xvii. p; 14, ed. Hase. Lips. 1837., The original words are, " Damnant alios, qui nunc spargunt Judaicas opiniones, quod ante re surrectionem mortuorum, pii regnum mundi occupaturi sink" § The two most learned Lutherans, Martin Chemnitius and John Gerhard, speak in similar terins of Millenarianism, See. Chemnitz de Lect. Pltrum, Loc. Corn ed. 1690, p. 2, where he calls " opinio Chiliastica" an " error in fundamento." The words of Gerhard will be quoted below. Chiliasm was also confuted by.Osiander contra Puccium, Tubing, 159,3, and by Cramer dp regno Christi, p. ii. c. 4. B Calvin, Inst. iii. xxv. 5, p. 171, ed. Tholuck. 1835. " Chiliastarum commen- tum puerilius est quam ut refutatione vel indigeat vel dignum sit Nee illis suffra- 2 38 On the Doctrine [lect. Still more ; The Church of England reprobated the doctrine of a Millennium, in a special* Article, in [the reign of King Edward VI., in the year 1552. "They (she says) that go about to revive the fable of he^eticks, called Millenarii, he repugnant td Holy Scripture, and cast themselves headlong into a Jewish dotage." She condemns it also in her fourth Article, where she says that " Christ ascended into heaven, and there sitteth, until He return to judge all men, at the last day."f And further : This doctrine is at variance with the Public Prayers of the Church of England. It is irreconcileable with the language of the Collect for the first Sunday in the season of Advent, in which she prays, "that . at the last day, when Christ shall come again in His glorious Majesty to judge' the quick and dead, we may rise to the life immortal." It is irreconcileable with the prayer in the Order for the Burial of the Dead, that Christ would "shortly accom plish the number of His elect, and hasten His kingdom; that . we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of God's holy name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss in body and soul in His, eternal and everlasting glory." Such, then, is the judgment of the Church of England con cerning the Millennium; It is unnecessary to remind you that she entitles the Apoca lypse, " The Revelation of St. John the Divine." Thus she rejects the Millennium, and receives the Apoca lypse. gatur Apocalypsis, (xx. 1) ex qua errori suo colorem induxisse certum est." I do not however charge the modern Cbiliasts with some of the errors which Calvin ascribes to. their predecessors : but call attention to his view of the twenty Chapters of the Apocalypse. * See it in Cardwell's Synodalia, i. p. 17, and p. 33. f Cp. Bishop Andrewes (Serm. xvi. on the Resurrection). " Christ riseth with ascendo in His mouth ; no sooner risen but He makes ready for His ascending straight. This, if there were nothing but this, were of itself enough to make the idle dream of the old and new Chiliasts to vanish quite, who fancy to themselves I wot not vyhat earthly kingdom here on earth somewhat like Mahomet's Paradise, and will not hear of ascendo after they have risen till a thousand years at least This is none of Christ's rising, I am sure. So let it be none of ours." I.} of a Millennium. 39 We should have been very unmindful of our duty, if we had not entered on this subject with feelings of reverent devotion for the Divine Word, and with an earnest desire of confirming your faith. in its- integrity and inspiration^ and pf increasing your gratitude to! God for enduing our own Church with grace and wisdom,, and enabling her to be a faithful witness and keeper of Holy Writ. What a high dignity. is this! What a glorious privilege! Yes; and believing with her that the Word of Almighty God is yea and amen,* so that it cannot be inconsistent- with itself; and that, likeits Divine Author, it has no variableness or shadow of turning ; and that, in her words,., " the doctrine of the Millen nium is. repugnant to Soly Scripture;" and that if it could be ^proved from the Apocalypse,. -the Apocalypse would not be Scripture ; and knowing, as we do, from the history of the Church, that wherever this doctrine has been imputed to the Apocalypse, the Church has been in peril of losing the Apoca lypse; and seeing with sorrow that this doctrine has been re vived in this our day, and is now propagated with industrious zeal, therefore ^we would say, with affectionate and respectful earnestness, to, all who suppose that1 they find , the; Millennium in the Apocalypse, — Be -on your guard; .beware lest: you, lose the Apocalypse. Take heed lest you cause others to lose it. Remember the belief , of the one has produced the rejection of the other. ¦• Remember, too, what first led to the ascription of that doctrine to the Apocalypse — oral Tradition; Tradition, , contrary to God's written Word. You justly charge Rome with making the. Word of Gfod of nonceffeet by 'her traditions. Take heed lest you give a "triumph to Rome, and bring discredit on yourselves, by preaching this doctrine derived from oral tradi tion,— tradition, it is true, commended- by Papias, Justin, and Irenaeus, and exercising a wide and dominant influence; and so teaching the Church, by a memorable example, how unsafe . it is, in matters of doctrine,, to abandon the solid substance of the . * 2 Cor. i. 20. 40 0:n the Doctrine [lect. Divine Oracles, and to catch a* ''the airy shadows of human memories.* ¦ . -Take heed, also, lest you, who belong to a Protestant Cbureh> and revere the principles of the English Reformation, expose yourselves to a charge of inconsistency, by maintaining a doc trine condemned by the most eminent Reformers, and by the Church of England herself. - Take heed, likewise, lest you give encouragement to the reck lessness or supineness of profligate or thoughtless men, by flat tering them with a delusive hope that -the day of their great accpunt will be prorogued for a thousand years after tiie coming of t Christ, But the advocate of Millenarian doctrines may perhaps allege that he does not desert the Word of* God : that he clings to it : that he believes the Apocalypse to be Scripture ; and that he finds the Millennium there. It is no fault of mine (he may pro ceed to say) if this doctrine displeases some, or leads them to reject the Apocalypse, < I believe the doctrine, and I receive the Book; and I love the Book, because it contains the doctrine. I appeal to the Twentieth chapter. There Jesus Christ descends from heayen : He chains Satan for a thousand years ; the souls of the just live ; this is the first resurrection : they reign with Christ a thousand years on earth in the new Jerusalem ; they are set on thrones, and judgment is given them : then Satan is loosed for a little season to deceive the nations, to gather them to battle, to war with the Saints ; and then Satan is vanquished and bound for evermore ; and the rest of the dead are raised, and the universal judgment ensues : and the righteous ascend to heaven, and the wicked are cast into hell. ' Here, he affirms, is the doctrine of the Millennium; "and I hold that doctrine;" he , says, "because I find it in the Apoca lypse, and because I believe the Apocalypse to be the Word of God." * Gerhard Loci Theol. ix. p. 322, speaking of the Millennium, Sic memorabili Papire exemplo Deus Ecclesiam monere voluit, quam peficulosum sit inccrtas tradi- tioHes prsetermissis Scripturis scqui. See above, p. 28, and p. 32, note. r.] of a Millennium. 41 Such is the language of those who maintain a Millennium. - We have spoken already' of two causes of the Millenarian error j and now we are led to mention a third.' This is to be found in an incorrect view of the plan of the Apocalypse. The advocates of this doctrine 'have commonly supposed that the Apocalypse is,- if we may so speak; a continuous prophetical history, flowing on in a regular chronological stream from the beginning' to the end.* This being their theory, they are ne cessarily led to- regard the events of the twentieth Chapter as subsequent to those of the, nineteenth ; and since the nineteenth terminates with the destruction of the Beast and the False Pro phet, and with the great Victory of 'Christ in the mystical con flict of Armageddon, they cannot conceive that the twentieth chapter refers to events of earlier date, or indeed to any thing else than a period posterior to that great triumphant catastro phe. But this theory is, I am persuaded, very erroneous. The Apocalypse is not a, consecutive Prophecy. Rather, it is to be regarded as a synoptical system of co-ordinate Prophecies. And so it was regarded by the Ancient Expositors. They perceived that it consisted of frequent anticipations and frequent recapit" ulationsfi that is, they saw that the inspired Writer, borne as it were on the wings of. the Spirit, hastened on to future event's, which he would again describe more fully hereafter ; and that, when he had arrived at, the brink of the consummation of all things, he suddenly returned, either to the first age of Christi-, anity, or to .some intermediate point; and then, beginning, as it were, from a fresh source, travelled down by a new stream; and that he did this at several successive times. For example: they did not imagine that' the addresses to the' * See more on this subject below, Lecture VI. ' f Thus, e. g. Bede Prolog, in Apoc. Juxta consuetudinem libri istius usque ad sextum numerum ordinem custodit, et, prastermisso , septimo repapikilat. Sed et ipsa recapitulate pro ,'locis intelligenda e?ti ' Aliquandp enim ab origine Basslonis (sc. Christi,) aliquando amedio tempore, aliquandd de sola^ noyissima, pressura, autnon multd .ante^ dicturus tecapitiila. t. Illudtamen fixum'servat, ut a sexto recapiiulet. - i 42 On the Doctrine [lect. Asiatic Churches are to be limited to those seven Dhurches, but in their opinion, they are to be applied by a figurative expan sion' to the Christian Churches of every age and country. - Again: the period of the seven Seals, according to them, extends, to the end of time; and, with the opening of the se venth, the Evangelist commences again at the initial point from which he had before proceeded ; and he declares more fully in the Trumpets, what he had before revealed in the Seals. So, again, after the sounding of the sixth Trumpet, he re ceives the' open Book,* and reverts to an earlier period, whence he advances forward ; anch after the sounding of the seventh Trumpet he returns to the first origin of the Church,! and traces its history, with reference to a particular power — that of the Beasts-even to the end. He then returns to speak of the seven Vials, J to be poured on the Empire of the Beast ; then he reverts to describe more fully the judgment of the Harlot seated on the Beast ;§ and thence he proceeds to the eve of the end. This is the close of the nineteenth chapter. .And what now is the subjeet of the Twentieth Chapter ? The; Seals being all opened, the Trumpets having all sounded, the Vials being all poured out, he re-ascends once more, and once for all,|| in order to declare what Christ had done for His Church, even from His incarnation ; how He had bound Satan; how He had preserved His faithful servants in every age ;** * Chap. x. 8. f Chap. xii. i Chap. xv. 1. § Chap xvii. 1. 1 1[ Bede ad loc. Recapitularis ab origine plenius exponit quomodo supra dixerit. Haymo'ad loc. Revertitur ad superiora, id est ad ea qua ante advent urn Christi facta stint* , In hdc enim prophetid non servafur ordo Historise. Angelus hie est Dominus Jest/s Chhistus qui de ccelo descendit, quia homo factus fortem alh'garit et eos qui fuerunt vena irse fecit vasa misericordias. Clavis abyssi discretio signi- ficatur qua Deus aliquando ssevire permittit contra Ecclesiam : et sicut clavi ape- rietur ostium et iterum clauditur, sic Diabolus et ejus membra modd ssevire perinit- tuntur, modd exire prohibentur. Per catenam vero" Dei pptestas significatur quae omnia cingit, Omnia complectitur, quam habet in manu, id est in potestate Vebbi, " per Quod omnia facta sunt." ** Idem, 1. c. Millenarius numerus in Scriptura pro perfectione rei poriitur. De- cies enim deni centum fiunt, qua? jam figurap lana est: decies autem centum Mille, r- J of a Millennium. 43 how He had done Sis part, and would do so unto the end, that all men should be saved: how He had. offered heavenly glories to all who are true to Him: how even out of the mouth of babes and sucklings He has ordained strength;* and thus. He showed that the failings and miseries of men, which had been described in such vivid colours in "the preceding visions of this book, were due to themselves' alone ; and that all God's acts toward man were done in equity and love. This twentieth chapter, then, is the summing-up of the whole Revelation.! Viewed in this light, it is in perfect harmony with; the-whole. It is the moral epilogue of this sublime drama. And when so regarded, it. gives no countenance to Millenarian notions. Let us now return to examine the reasons above pleaded' in behalf of these opinions. ¦ , On these allegations I would first observe, that the greatest Caution is to be used how we attempt to build any, doctrine on an isolated passage of Scripture A doctrine which is based on one text of Scripture will generally be found to rest on no text at alL : Scripture is not so poor as to have only a few syllables to bestow on an article of Faith. , We are specially and solemnly warned in Scripture that prophecy is of no pri- ¦ vote interpretation. We are commanded "to compare spiritual things with spiritual; and to interpret Scripture, not from one passage, but according r to the proportion- of faith — -that is, according to the symmetry pf the whole — -and' not to mar that proportion by an interpretation at variance with it. Now, to repeat the words of our own Church, it cannot, I think, be denied that the; doctrine of the Millennium is " repug nant to Scripture." ' Scripture-teaches us that Christ, who has appeared, once on ~ qui numerusin altitudinem surgens solidam figuram reddit, et dmne significati tempus a Domini passions ad finem sseculi. * Ps. viii. 2. | Bede in loc. Recapitulans ' ab origine plenius exponit quod supraY dixerat Lightfoot, on Rev. xx., well says': " This chapter containeth a briefview of all the times froiri the rising of the Gospel to the end of the world." 44 On the Doctrine [lect. earth for our salvation, has ascended into Heaven, thefe to pre pare a place for His faithful people; that the many mansions promised to them are not in an earthly city, but in His Father's house: that the Saints, when raised from the dead, will be equal to the Angels, and will therefore be .citizens of Heaven; that being lifted, up on high, He draws all men to Him; that He who has been taken up into Heaven will remain in Heaven till the restitution of all things; that as He ascended into. Heaven, so He -will come, in like manner, with His Holy Angels, once again, and only once, not to reign on earth, but to awaken, not the Saints only, but all men from their graves, and to judge the world. That, day, in which the Saints will arise from the dead, is called by Christ Himself the last day. " This is the Father's will, (says He,) that of allwhich He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.'- And observe, He calls the day of judgment also the last day. "He that rejecteth Me hath one that judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Therefore, there will be no Millennial interval between the Resurrection of the Saints and the Universal Judgment : no ; they will take place on one and the same day —the last day. " In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," " the Lord shall descend with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God;" "and the dead shall be raised." " The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels." " The hour is coming (as He Himself says) in which, not the righteous only, but all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that, have done evil, unto the resurrection of damna tion." "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this (not a Millennium, but) the Judgment." " The Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His Angels, and then He shall reward every man according to his works ;" and "Whosoever shall, have been ashamed pf Him and of His works, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He shall come in His glory." " The Lord Jesus shall judge the quick and *•] of a Millennium. 45 the dead at His appearing." "When the. Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the Holy Angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be, gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one frpm another." Such are the words of our future Judge Himself : from them it appears, that, when He comes again, they " that sleep in the dust of the earth. shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.*" Still further: It is clear -also from Scripture that the present mixed state of things will continue, as it now is, to the Day of Judgment, and will be immediately succeeded by that day. The tares and the wheat will grow tpgether in the field of the world, even unto the Harvest) which is the end of the world— % the Last, the Great Day. The Lord of the Harvest will then send forth the Reapers, ,who are -the Angels, to gather up the tares, and to bind them in bundles, to burn them, and to, store the wheat in His Barn, So, again, the chaff will remain mixed with the grain on the threshingrflbor of this world till the Judge comes, with the fan in His hand, to purge His floor, % and to winnow the one from the other. The good and bad fish will remain together in the net of the Ohurch, till it is drawn to shore, and then the good will be gathered into vessels, and tfre bad be cast away.% The bad and good guests will remain at table together till' the King comes to see them, || and to cast the man without the wedding garment into outer darkness.- The wise and- foolisji virgins, slumber and sleep, till at , midnight a * Dan. xii. 2. See the conclusions of S. Hippolytus, writing in the third century, B. P. M. p. 257. ¦' After that the abomination of desolation has been revealed, and the world hastens to its close, what tben,rerriai-ns but the coming of our Lord and Saviour from heaven to execute just judgment on all who do not believe on Him ? Then the. trumpet will sound,, and every nation and language and tribe will arise in the twinkling of an eye, to stand before the just 'and terrible Judge. . . . . And the King of kings shall be revealed ; and aU- flesh, bad and good, shall see Him." f Matth. xiii. 30— 39. * Matth. iii. 12, - § Matth. xiii. 48. II Matth. xxii,! 10, 46 On the Doctrine [lectv cry is made, and' the Bridegroom comes : and they that are ready go into the marriage, and the door is shut.* These Parables show that the present mixed' state of things will con tinue till Christ comes; and that then a full and final separa tion will take place :. and they teach us plainly the solemn truth, that there is no Millennial gulf betwixt Time and Eternity. Again: what was the language of the Apostles? When the Thessalonians were expecting the immediate re-appearance of Jesus Christ, what did St. Paul say? Did he tell them a Mil lennium would first ensue ? , No '; he that letteth will be taken away. The Man of Sin would then be revealed, the Son of Perdition; and in due time, the Day, of the Lord will come — come suddenly — not after a fixed period — but like a thief in the nighi.-f What, again, did St. Peter teach? Was it that the heavens and earth, as they now are, would be kept in store, re served, for-the habitation of Christ in this lower world? No; they are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judg ment ;% and then the Saints of God, as St. Paul§ teaches, who are alive, will be Caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, (not to, dwell with Him. on earth,) and so be ever with the Lord. What, in fine, does St. John teach in the Apoca lypse itself? At the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, that is, a short time before the' coming of Christ, the voices in heaven say, "Thy wrath is come, and the time, or season,]] of the dead to be judged; and that thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the Prophets, and to the Saints."** Therefore the Re- * Matth. xxv. 1—12. f 2Thess. ii. 1 — 8. It appears probable that St. Paul, in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, (2 Thess. ii. 2.) alludes to Millenarian notions, propagated by Judaizers in Thessa'lonica, (Acts xvii. 5. 13. 1 Thess. ii. 14.) which abounded with that class. '' See Gieseler, Eccl. Hist. § 60. They studiously propagated the opinion that " the day of the Lord was at hand," and appear to have forged an Epistle in St. Paul's name, to countenance that notion. Many other spurious writ ings were current, which were fabricated with this view. ' * 2 Pet. iii. 7. § 1 Thess. iv. 17. II xaiphs tuv vfxpcoi',' xpiflijvat,, ** Rev. xi. 18. See "Harmony," p. 91. I.J , of a Millennium. 47 ward of the Saints and the General Resurrection will be con temporaneous. And, again, we there, read' that Christ will come suddenly— come quickly — come as athief in the night; that, " behold, He cometh. in the clouds, and that every eye will see Him, they also who pierbed Him."* Such is the teaching, of Holy Scripture, not in, one isolated passage, nor in one single book, but throughout the New Testae ment; and I now leave it to you to deeide, whether' this-language; can be reconciled with the doctrine of a Millennium., Next, as we have seen,! this doctrine. is repugnant to the teaching of the Church. The Church is the Guardian, of Scrip ture; it is also its divinely; appointed Interpreter; and that man has but little judgment, and ought to have less authority, who sets lip his, own private opinions against the public judgment and authority of the Church. If the doctrine of the Millennium be true, it is a most im portant doeCrirve; and being so, it would doubtless , ha, ve found its place in the public confessions of the Church. But there is no Creed in Christendom in, which it "is fonnd; on the other hand, it is contradicted by the Creeds received in the Universal Church; and' if it were a true' doctrine, then Christ's promises to His ChurchJ would have failed. ¦ Some persons in the Church, we' allow,1 did once hpld tins doctrine. But they were not the Church. § We should do wrong to them and ourselves, if we permitted them to have dominion over- our faith.]] St. Cyprian erred in the matter of ' heretical baptism. St. Augustine erred concerning the;author- ity of certain Ecclesiastical books; and he erred in some other respects: and he had the courage and the wisdom publicly id avow and to retract his errors. Butnone of the Fathers erred * Rev. i. 7. ! Above, pi 37—39. 4 John xvi. 13. xiv. 26. § Neander Eccl. Hist. ii. 324. (fiose's Translation.) " We are nof to under stand that Chiliasm (or Miilenarianism) ever belonged to the universal, doctrines of the Church." ||2 0or. i. 24. 48 On the Doctrine [lect, so far as to imagine himSelf infallible, or to persist in error when proved to be such. Let us not, "therefore, be told that certain of the early writers of the Church, for instance, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian, and Irenaeus, and Lactantius, believed a Millennium, and that therefore it is true. But let it be shown in Scripture. Let it be shown to bave ever been the faith of the Church. It may be shown in the writings of some few Fa thers in onerOr-two centuries; and we can show how it came into those writings ; by oral tradition, and from the dreams of Judaism, and from an incorrect view of the Apocalypse. It may be shown in Papias : but let it be shown to us in Clement, in Ignatius, in Polycarp — the disciples of St. John. Remember, when the grandsons of St. Jude, the brother of our Lord, were brought before the Emperor Domitian, in the very age in which the Apocalypse was written,* (for, as Herod feared the first coming, so the Emperor feared the second coming of Christ,) and when they were asked by the Emperor concerning Christ and His kingdom, their reply was — not that there would be a Millennium, in which Christ would reign with His Saints on earth, but they said ; " His kingdom will not be on earth, but it will be angelical and heavenly. It will appear, when He shall come in glory to judge the quick and dead, and to give every man according to his works." Such were their words to the Roman Caesar. But why dp we speak of particular testi monies?, As we have said, the doctrine, when broached, was examined by a diligent search into Scripture, and it was con demned, as we have seen, by the Church Universal in her Creeds. And it is due to such wise and holy men as Irenaeus and Justin, to conclude, that if they Lived after, instead of be fore, such examination and public sentence of the Church, they would have reformed their opinion by her judgment ; and, in stead of setting up their own notions against it, they would have sided with Origen, and Dionysius, and Eusebius, and Je rome, and Augustine, and with every theological writer, with- * Euseb. iii. 20. I.], of a Millennium. 49 out exception, of any reputation, for a thousand years, from the fifth to the fifteenth century. We must pause here fox the present. ; What the true inter pretation is of the twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse re mains to be seen; and this will be Considered in the next Lec ture. LECTUEE II Rev. xx. 1 — 8. I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his- hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which i§ the Devil, and Sa(;an, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set his seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled : and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : arid I s.aw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, arid which had not worshipped the beast, neither bis image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that bath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to de ceive the nations. In pursuing our argument on the authority of Holy Scrip ture, we were led in our first Discourse to commence an inquiry into the genuineness and inspiration of the Apocalypse. It - was stated, ¦ on that^ occasion, that in the age in which it was written the Book of Revelation was received as aii inspired work of the Apostle and Evangelist St. John. The question was then proposed, How came it to pass that in the third and fourth centuries doubts were entertained by some concerning its divine authority ? To this a reply was found in the fact, that a portion of this book — the Twentieth Chapter — was misinter preted, and made to bear av sense repugnant to the general tenour of Holy Scripture; and that this misinterpretation owed its origin to Judaizing prepossessions and to oral tradition, and On the Doctrine of a Millennium. 51 to an incorrect view of the plan of the -Apocalypse; that it consisted nr imputing to that chapter the doctrine commonly called the doctriije of- a Millennium; that is, of , a personal reign of our Saviour Christ, tpgether with His Saints, on earth, for a peripd of a thousand years before the General Resurrec tion and the Day of Judgment. , . ' , . It was observed, that no sooner Was this doctrine imputed to the Apocalypse, than, the Apocalypse itself declined in repute ; - and -that, unhappily, some persons, instead, of refuting the hu man misinterpretation, rejected the divine Book ; but that in course of time the misinterpretation was refuted ; the doctrine of a Millennium was exploded ; and that no sooner was this the case, than the Apocalypse arose to its former position. You were reminded,- alsoy that for a period of ten centuries, that is, from the middle of the fifth to that of the fifteenth, there was scarcely a Church -or person of any note in Christendom who did not receive the Apocalypse,1 . or did not reject the Millenni um ; and that by our own Church the former is acknowledged to :be inspired, and the latter condemned as heretical. , This doctrine, however, it is well known, has been revived, in our own time, and is ,now.prbpagated with industrious zeal, and appears to -have laid a strong hold on: the public mind: and for this reason also, as well as from its intimate connection with our present subject, the Apocalypse, we were led ,to bring the doctrine of the Millennium to. the test of Holy Writ ; and we found (to adopt the language of our own Church) that it "is repugnant to Scripture." Now, since, in the words of our" twentieth Article, " one place in Scripture" may not be so(; expounded "that it be re pugnant to another, "—and therefore, much more, one passage may not be so interpreted that it contravenes the general tenour of Scripture,— we conclude that, whatever may -be the true meaning of the twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse, the doc trine of the Millennium cannot be. We -may not always -be able to discern the real sense of a passage of Scripture,, but we are bound to believe, that its frue sense, when discerned, would be1 seen to be1 in perfect harmony with the whole tenour 52 On the Doctrine [lect. of Holy Writ. We are often blind, but Scripture is always consistent. It is also our duty to expound the dark places of Scripture by the clear ones, and to -interpret the single texts of Scripture by the whole proportion of Faith; and therefore we greatly err, if we take up a single chapter of such a mysterious book as the Apocalypse, interpreted by us according to our own notions, and spread it like a thick cloud over the broad light of Scripture, instead of letting in the bright beams of Scripture to illumine and disperse the Cloud.* We woujd also remind you, my younger hearers, of what is too often forgotten, that a wrong interpretation of Scripture is not Scripture; and that it is only the true meaning of the Bible which can properly be called the Bible; and that they cannot be said to be really zealous for the perfection and suf ficiency of Holy Writ, who would impose upon you their own notions of Scripture as Scripture They do, in fact, substitute human imaginations, for the Divine Word; and so they make Scripture to be very insufficient and imperfect; and when they speak of Scripture as sufficient and perfect, they are not con tending for the sufficiency and perfectness of Seripture, but for the sufficiency and perfectness of their own wit. Therefore let me earnestly exhort you to be on your guard. Exercise your reason ; use all the aids of learning ; but lean not on your^own understanding.^ Be not carried away by any private notions concerning the sense of an isolated passage of Scripture, but compare spiritual things with spiritual. Re member that Scripture, as a whole, is your Rule of Faith, and receive nothing, as the sense of any particular passage which is at variance with this Rule : and since, as we have seen, J the1 doctrine of a Millennium cannot be reconciled with Scripture as a whole, beware how you receive it. Remember, also, that Almighty God has not only given us Scripture as our Rule, but He has also vouchsafed to us a * Tertullian well says, Adv. Prax. u. 20. Tribus capitulis totum Instrumentum utriusque Testamenti volunt cedere : cum oporteat secundum plura intelligi pauci ora. Proprium hoc est omnium hiereticorum ; pauca adversus plura defendunt f Prov. iii. 5. +> Above p. 43 47. n.} . of a Millennium. 53 guide for its application; namely, the Christian Church. In the words of our twentieth Article^ '-' the Church hath authority in controversies of Faith." Do not then imagine that &ny pri vate interpretations of Scripture are to be received as Scrip ture, if they are opposed to what the Church declares in her Creeds to be the true sense of Scripture. And inasmuch as the Doctrine of the Millennium is inconsistent with Scripture, as interpreted by the Church in the Creeds, (as was shown in the last Discourse,*) let no private persuasions beguile you to adopt it. By so doing, you would not only einbrace a doctrine fraught with pernicious results, but you- would be giving up the' fundamental principle' of Christianity. Scripture, as inter preted by the Universal Church, would cease to be your Rule of Faith ; and when- this, foundation is gone, the whole fabric falls. Bearing in mind these necessary cautions, let us now, pro ceed to examine the Twentieth Chapter of the Apocalypse. " I saw an Angel come down from heaven, having, the key, of the^bpttomless pit and a great chain in his- hand. And he laid hold' on the dragon, that old .serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him- into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set his seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should he, fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."" ; This Angel, it is confessed by all, is no other than Jesus Christ, the Angel of'Gt.od's Presence-,— the Angel of the Cove nant. He has the key qf the bottomless pit. He himself says, "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and,. behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and I have the keys of Hell and of Death.", Of Him it was prophesied that He, the seed of the woman should bruise the Serpent's head. He, has, a great chain in His hand, 'and with it He binds Satan. Such Christ ap peared to the eye of faith whe'nHe came down from heaven. "For this purpose," says St, John, "the Son of God was * Above, p. 37— 39, 47— 50. 54 Of the Doctrine [lect. manifested, that' He might destroy the works of the Devil." Christ proved His power over Satan at the Temptation. Then He va-nquished him who had vanquished Adam and all his race.* After the conflict, the Devil departed from Him ; and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him. He then shed abroad the light of His glorious gospel on those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death; to open their eyes, and to turn them frpm darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. He went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the Devil ; for God was with Him. He cast out Devils with the finger of God. The Devils . owned His power: "Art thou come to torment us before the time?" On one occasion "he suffered not the Devils to speak." On another, "they besought Him to suffer them to enter into the swine." And not only did He thus exercise dominion over Satan in His own person, but He gave it to others, His Apos tles and Disciples. " He gave them power and authority over all Devils." He thus put the chain into their hands, and em powered them to bind Satan. " The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the Devils are subject to us through Thy name." And therefore Christ exclaimed, "I beheld.Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Now is the judgment of this world : now shall the Prince of this world be cast out." Further, let us remember that Christ Himself supplies us with this interpretation of the passage before us. He employs the same figure of speech : He speaks of binding Satan. Thus we recognise the chain in His hand. How can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. Christ came upon Satan, and overcame him, and took from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divided his spoils. He de livered Satan and his angels to chains of darkness. By His death upon the cross Christ destroyed him that had the power •¦ " From this day" (says Milton; very truly, speaking of the Incarnation, Ode on the Nativity, xviii., and interpreting Rev. xx,) " The Old Dragon underground In straiter limits bound,. Not half so far casts his usurped sway." H-3 «f a, Millennium. 55 of death, that is, the Devil. He spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. He delivered "us who were captives arid bondsmen of the prince of the power of the air, and chained our enemy in his dark prison-house. And, "when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men ;" enabling them also "to wrestle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against :spiritual wicked ness in high places ;" and' " He bruised Satan under their feet." Thus Christ bound Satan, and cast him into the. bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set his seal Upon him, in order that he, should deceive the nations no more. Such was Christ's act and deed. And if Satan still has power in the world, (as doubtless he has,} this, let us remember, is due to maw, and -not to God. It is because men sleep, -when, God bids them to watch ; 'therefore the Enemy comes. - But the Devil is chained to all, iwho'dp not loose him,- by their own sin. Put on the whole armour of God ; and ye will be able to stand against the wiles, and to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. -Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. I give unto you eternal life, and ye shall never perish, neither shall any pluck you out of My hand. He that is begotten of God keep eth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him hot. They in whom the word of God abideth,, are strong, and have overcome the wieked one. The Gates of Hell shall never prevail against the Church. Lo, I am with you always, eVen to the end of the world. Let us remember, also, that in other, signal ways Christ at His coming chained Satan, who^ had chained the nations. "Bel boweth down, and Nebo stoopeth," before whom myriads had lain prostrate. The Idols whose altars had reeked with human blood were cast to the moles, and to the bats. The Oracles are dumb. Pagan Temples become Christian Churches. Basilicas are now Cathedrals. The Cross, once the scandal of the world, floats on the banners of armies, and is set on the diadems of kings.* * Compare Lightfoot'u Sermons, Vol. ii, p. 1056, p. 1171, and p. 1235 } three sermons all very strong against modern Millenarian notions. 56 On the Doctrine [lect. It is indeed argued by some, that it is not true that Satan was or is bound during the Papal sway; But this objection arises from a misunderstanding of our text. - It is not said that Christ, rendered ii impossible for the Devil to deceive ; but that He did His part, " in order that he should not deceive."* . It is true, Christ does not destroy man's free will, and force him to-be-saved; but no one who considers what Christ has done, and never ceases t,o do, for the World, by His Sufferings, His Example, His Word,- His Sacraments, and His Church, will say that He has omitted ariy thing for the deliver ance and protection of men, whose state in this world is one of probation, from the power and wiies of the Devil. fWhat could have been done more to His vineyard, that He has not donej in it? The corruptions of Popish times and countries are no proof that Christ did not bind Satan " in order that he should not deceive men;" but they show that men have despised what Christ has done for them, and have loosed their" Enemy, who was bound by Christ, and have revolted from Christ to be the slaves of Satan. And yet, notwithstanding all this, Christ has maintained His Church in the world, and does maintain it, and will maintain it even to "the end. Thus He has bound Satan, in order that he should not deceive the World. On the whole, then, we see this wonderful fact : Christ, Who was prefigured by the Serpent of brass, is lifted up on the cross. * Such is the the true rendering of Rev. xx. 3, "IN A fvrf 7t%avt]atij precisely as in Rev. vi. 2,. l&fKBs vixuv, xai INA Ktxijffjj. Surely it will not be alleged here also, that Christ did not conquer in Popish times. See Note to the Habmost of the Apocalypse, chap. xx. 3,*p. 108. f Isa. v. 4, i The note of Aquinas here is worthy of attention. Nonne modo Diabolus se- ducitl Sic (i. c. yes i) cos qui nolunt bene uti armis sibi a Christo dot is, vel quse darentur, si vellcnt. Ante passionem autem non habebant homines tanta ad jutoria, quia tunc non erat tanta gratia, nee tarn efneacia sacramenta, nee exemplum Christi, nee passio sua ; modo aperta est Janua, unde modo ligatus est, respectu temporis quod prrecesserit Christi adventum et passionem : and it may be added, respectu temporis quod succedet, saviente Antichristo. n.] of a Millennium. 57 He appears to be lifeless: He, expires : He is taken down from the cross, buried, a captive, it would seem, of Satan ; chained by death; laid in the lowest pit, in a place of darkness and in the deep,* and so fast in prison that, it ;might be thought, He could not getforth.\ A seal is set upon the stone on the pit's mouth,t and a guard is stationed to keep Him. In a word, Christ appears to be in the very state in which Satan is de scribed in our text. And what then? > "He looses the pains of death, because it is not possible that He should be holden of it."§ " He breaks the gates of' brass, and smites the bars of iron asunder. "|j He raises Himself from the dead. And through His "death, which the Devil had devised for hi^ own aggrandizement,- Christ destroys' him -who had the power of death, the Devil.** He plucks out its sting, and swallows up death in victory.^. Thus He Who was typified by the Serpent of brass, "being lifted up on the cross by the malice of Satan, nails Satan himself to the cross ; and having been lifted up in tiie wilderness of , this world, He heals the deadly wounds in flicted by the Old Serpent of fire, and restores the wandering nations to life and health and joy. i " And I saw Thrones, and they sat" upon them, and Judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast; neither1 his image, neither had received his mark, upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and. they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived' not again until the thou sand years were finished. This is the first Resurrection. Bless ed and holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection ; on such the second death hgth no -power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years; "JJ ' , ' Let us now consider these words. * Ps. lxxxviii. 5, J Ps. lxxxviu. 8. * Matth. xxvii. 66. § Acts ii. 24. , ] Ps^cviii 16. ' **Heb.Ji.l4. ff Isa. xxv. 8. 1 Cor. xv. 54. , *+ Rev. xx. 4— 6. 58 On the Doctrine |>ect. First, let us observe, that they are not spoken of the bodies of the saints, but of their souls.- . I saw the SOULS of them who had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus. This must be care fully borne in mind, because the error of the Millenarians is mainly due to a neglect of. this distinction. They imagine a bodily* resurrection, whereas St. John speaks of a spiritual one.f Secondly. It is not said that these souls lived again, but that they lived' and reigned with Christ. It is clear, then, that What is here said, is spoken not of a corporeal, but Of a spiritual Resurrection. ' Thirdly. It is not said that Christ reigns with His saints, but that they reign with Him. He is in heaven, and will there remain till He comes to judge, when all true believers will be -caught up to meet Him in the air. Therefore what is here said is spoken not of an earthly, but heavenly. Resurrection- - Fourthly. Let us recollect, that such is the nearness and dearness of all faithful Christians to Ghrist, that His exalta- , tion is represented in Scripture as theirs. Christ said to Saul, when persecuting the members of His Church, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? And he says to us, " Inasmuch as ye do it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye do it unto Me." And as Christ suffers with His members on earth, so are they * Compare ch,-,v. 9, which is. the best comment on this passage; see also Light foot, Harmony of New Test, on Rev. xx. " Here is a Resurrection, but not of bodies, but of souls. The souls of those that were beheaded for the witness of Je sus lived and reigned ; and this is called the first Resurrection." He observes that there is some figurative language in Ezekiel xxxvii. ; the latter part of which book resembles the latter part of the Apocalypse. There is a spiritual resurrection ; Gog and Magog; and a new Jerusalem in both. Many of the Jews erroneously understood, Ezekiel's Vision of the Dry, Bones literally, as many Christians inter pret the first Resurrection in a like sense. It may be added, that " the second death"- is a phrase used by the Jews. Onkelos renders Deut. xxxiii. 6, thus: " Let Reuben live, and not die ; i. c. the second death." See Lightfoot in Rev. xx. f S. Aug. in C. D. xx. 7. De duabus resurrectionibus Joannes Evangelista in Apocalypsi eo modo locutus est, ut earum prima, a quibusdam nostris non intellec- ia, irisuper etiam in quasdam ridiculas fabulas verterelur. rt-J of a Millennium. 59 glorified with Him in heaven. He is persecuted in them ; and they reign viith Him,.' And what now, my brethren, is the spiritual Resurrection of the Christian ? Our natural condition is one of Death* By nature we are spiritually dead : but Christ, Who is the Prince of Life,f hath quickened us who were dead in trespasses and sins.J He giveth Life unto the world.§ He that hath the Son,, hath life. || Therefore Our first or spiritual Resurrection is our "death unto sin, and new birth unto righteousness;" it is our engrafting into the. true Vine** — our incorporation into the body of Christ. *By one spirit we are all baptized into one body, the body of Christ, which is His Church, ff Buried with Him in baptism, (says St. Paul,) we are raised with Him through the faith of the operation of God, Who hath raised Him from the dead. J J And again : We are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been, planted together in the likeness of His Death, we1 shall be also in the likeness of His Resurrection. • If one (Christ) died for all, then all died ; and He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again. . Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new crea* ture. I am the Resurrection and the Life (says our Lord.) He that believeth in Me, though he, were dead, yet shall he lire ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die. Be- * The word vexpoi, is especially used by St. John in a spiritual sense. See the remarks of Mr. Grinfield^Schol. Hellenist. Apoc. iii. p. 795. f Acts iii. 15. * Eph. ii.'l. § John vi. 51. j. 4. v. 26. vi, 39. || .1 John v. 12. ** John xv. 1. ft 1 Cor. xii. 13. Eph. i. 2'2. Col. i. 24. ii Col. ii. 12. — Cassiodorus in Apoc. p. 239. Primam resurrectionem dicit in fide, qua renacimur ex aqua et- Spiritu. Sancto,- in quji secunda mors non habet locum. Permanet autem generaliter fidelium in Christo sacerdotium, donee con stitute temporis quantftas impleatur.— Bede, p. 429. Resurrectio prima, utique qua r^surgimus per baptismum. Sicut prima mors est per peccata, sic prima resurrectio, per remissibnem peccatorum. 60 On the Doctrine [lbct. cause I live, ye shall live also. If a man keep My saying, he shall never taste death. Such, then, is the first Resurrection.*' '¦ And why, you may ask,, is it called the first Resurrection ?f Because it precedes the Resurrection of the Body ; and be cause it is the opposite of the Second Death; which is the cast ing of soul and body into the Lake of fire. The erroneous application of the present passage of the Apo calypse to a mere bodily resurrection, instead of to the spiritual regeneration which is effected byour incorporation into, "the mystical body of Christ, which is the blessed company of all faithful people;" and the consequent supposition that the saints of Christ will be raised in person, in1 order. to reign with Christ for a thousand years on earth, and that other men will not be raised till this period has expired, — is a natural result of low and inadequate notions of our baptismal privileges and obliga tions,, and of the sacred duties and inestimable blessings of Church-membership and. Church-unity; and wherever unworthy notions are entertained on these momentous points, there the doctrine of a Millennium may be expected to prevail. Let us now pass on to observe, that our spiritual adoption into the mystical Body of Christ is only the beginning of our Christian life ; it is the new birth, that is, it is the entrance into the new life. ' Baptism is the door, by which we enter into Christ's , Church. But the door is not the. house. There must not merely be new birth, but a new life. There must be not only the mark of- Christ imprinted on the forehead, but there must be the spirit of Christ moving in the heart, and bringing forth the work of Christ in the hand. This is the first Resurrection. * See Schpjla ap. Cramer, oi fiipos iv trj rtpurij avaatdeti, t^onrfs, that is says the Commentator, "they who have part in the resurrection from the death of dead works, these are blessed ; over these the second death, i. c. death eternal, will have no power." See, also Arethas, cap. lxii. t S. Aug. de C. D. xx. 6. Resurrectiones dua: sunt : -una prima, qua? et nunc est, et animarum est; alia secunda, qua? in seculi fine futura est, nee animarumsed corporum est, qua> per ultimum judicium alios mittet in secundam mortem, alios in earn vitam qua? non habet mortem.' H.] , of a Millennium. 61 We rose with Christ, to live with Christ: and Christ assists us in this work by manifold gifts and. graces. In the Holy Com munion of the body and blood of Christ, the Christian soul re ceives spiritual strength from Him, and is- knit -more closely to Him. There we dwell in Christ, and Christ with us. We are Orie with Christ, and Christ with us. Thus'the soul, which was born again in Christ, lives with Christ. It, is dead to sin, and is ready to suffer for Christ, and knows.no other object of wor ship than Christ. '.'I saw the souls of them that were behead ed for the witness of Jesus, and which had not worshipped the Beast,, neither his image, neither had received his mark in their foreheads, or in their , hands," — that is, who^ had not broken their oath of allegiance to Christ either in word or deed ; — " and they lived and reigned' with Christ a thousand years." This is the first Resurrection. Behold its glorious privileges. How great is the happiness of those who are indeed crucified to the world, and are risen with Christ, and who walk with Him in newness of life ! Such is their intimatp union with Christ, that Almighty God. deigns to say that they are partakers of His blessedness and exaltation. They are joint-heirs with Him. Wherever the head- is, there is the Body also. Of His fulness they have all received. As the Apostle says, " When we were dead in sins, God hath quicken ed us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."* They, says St. Paul, u which receive abundance of grace and of the gift. of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."' " To him' (says Christ) that overcometh, will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne." And the true children of the Church on earth afe caught, up to Grod and His throne.. Hence to them who die in the Lord there is no death; they have passed from death into life; their life is hid with, Clirist in * " The very name of Head" (says Bpl Pearson on the Creed, Art. vi.,p. 284) " hath the signification not only of Dominion but of Union ; and therefore, while we look upon Christ, at the right hand of God, we see oursekes in heaven. How should we rejoice, yea'how should we tremble, at so great an honour!" 62 On the Doctrine t [lecT. G}od. The Saints who are dead do not cease to be members of Christ. "No: Christ (says St. Paul) died, to be Lord both of the dead and living. They do not taste of death. Death hath no dominion over -them. How blessed a thing it is to ¦ reflect that our fathers and brethren, who have fallen asleep in Christ, and have departed in God's holy faith and fear, are not dead; -that they rest from their labours and their works do follow them.* They are with the Saints of old, — with Martyrs, Evangelists, Apostles, Prophets, and Patriarchs ; they are with Christ, " and they have come unto mount Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of Angels, to the Church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God -the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant."! These all live in Christ} and by virtue of His Judicial and Sacerdotal and. Royal power, they too, as members of Christ, and as dwelling in Him and He in them, are — in a certain, ineffable sense, not as yet to be grasped by our weak' intellects — a chosen generation, a Royal Priesthood ;% they are made unto Grod Kings and Priests.% I saw Thrones, and they sate upon them, and Judgment was given them. Our Blessed Lord expressly says, that the Judg ment of Satan was already begun at His own Incarnation.' Now is the judgment of this world. ]] Now is the Prince of this world judged.** ¦ And now, even now, ft the Saints of Christ judge the world ; yea, according to St. Paul's words, they judge Angels, the Angels of Satan. The Saints of God prove, by their faith and holiness and steadfastness, that the * Rev. xiv.*13. f Heb. xij. 23. $ 1 Pet ii. 5. 9. § Rev. v. 10. This ascription to Christians, of what ia properly only true of Christ, is the basis of one of the seven famous rules of Tychonius for the interpre tation of Scripture j of which Bede, in Pref. in Apoc, thus speaks : — Septem quoque regulas TyChonii, viri inter suos eruditissimi, quibus ad intelligendas Scripturas stu- diosi plurimum adjuvantur, breviter commemorandas putavi. Harum prima de Domjno et ejus corpore (Ecclesia) est; quando a Capite ad corpus, vel a corpore transitur ad Caput, et tamen ab uni eadcmque. person^ non receditur. This rule is of very frequent application in the Apocalypse. || John xii. 31. ** John xvi. 11. ff 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3, iv ijilv xpivrtal 6 Kocfjitos, says St. Paul. H-J of a Millennium. 63 fall of Satan and of his Angels was due to their own sin : they show, by their virtues, that God is good, and that His grace is sufficient for all -those who pray to Him^ trust in Him, and obey Him; and that it is made perfect in their weakness,* and that His commandments are not grievous ;"f and having been tprtured, tempted, afflicted,! tormented, and having resisted even unto bloodj and having come forth more than conquerors,§ they judge the world. || They condemn it of blind , infatuation, and of base ingratitude to God, The life and death of the Saints is the judgment of the world. - Again ; in another sense, the Church of Christ now judges the world. She has received from Christ thelpower of the keys;** the power of binding and loosing ;tt and whatever she does on earth, orderly and rightly, in the ministry of remitting or re taining sins, is ratified by Christ in heaven.. Thus, even noio, the Saints of God sit upon thrbnes, and. to them judgment is given.%% Yet more; in another manner the Saints of God: are even now seated upon Thrones, and-judge, the world. .. In the precepts of the Law, in : the; revelations of Prophets, in the melody of Psalms, in the fnstruction of Proverbs in the Old Testament, the Twenty-four Books 'of which were believed to be represented by the twenty-four§§ Elders sitting enthroned in heaven; and in .the four Gospels typified by the four living CherubimlHI on which the Throne , of God is set; and in the *, 2 Cor. xii. 9. t x John v- 3- *'Heb. xi. 35, 37; xii. 4. % Rom. -viii. 37. || Haymo ad loc. Per: sedes. generalis Ecclesia ex'primitur: per sessores duode- cim Apostoli, etamnes qui perfectam illorum vitam imi'tati sunt, feranimas de- ¦ collatorum plenitudo intelligitur '- omnium sanctorum, sive sciljce't spirituallter in anima sunt mortui, sive corporaliter pro Domino jugulati. ** Matth.xvi. 19.' fj- Matth. xviiii 17, 18. J John xx. 23. .H Bede in loc. Ecclesia jam seilet judicans, quae a suo Rege meruit audire Qusecunque ligaveris super terram. perfect harmony with the general teaching of Holy Writ. And such, let me add, is the interpretation which is authorized by the consent ' of the Church. Ever since the question was examined, as it was in the third and fourth centuries, there was but one prevailing voice for jnore than a thousand years.* Origen, Dionysius, Jerome, Augustine, Philastrius, AndrCas, Arethas, Primasius, Oassiederus, Bede,: Haymo, Aquinas, and many others,' agree in this exposition ; and from the fifth, to the • fifteenth century. scarcely any author of credit can be cited as having counte nanced any other. - ' But it must not be concealed that two objections have beeii made, by. some modern critics, f to this interpretation. I. First, it is alleged, that we read in our text, the. rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were finished: and that this, we allow, is said pf the general Resurrection, that is, of a bodjly resuscitation : and,' that therefore, it is added, if we will not be inconsistent, we ought to interpret the first resurrection, also, not of a spiritual, but, of a corporeal revivification. If the words life and resurrection have a physical, meaning in one place,, they must, it is said, have a similar meaning in -the other^ In this conclusion we cannot agree. Our Blessed Lord, you will remember, uses on one occasion the words " Let the dead bury their dead," where, it is acknowledged, the word dead if employed in two senses, a spiritual and a physical one. And, again, "He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it ;" where the" word life is used in a double sense. It seems also that the Author of the Apo calypse has1 studiously warned his readers that he uses the word Uijius Sacebdotis. De quibiis Apostolus Petrus, Plebs, inquit, sancta, regale sacerdotium. 1 Pet. ii. 5 9. * See above* Lecture I. p. 19 : and compare Andreas in Bibl. Patrum Max. v. p. 626;' Primasius Bibl. Pat. Max. x. p. 331; Cassiodorus Complexiones in Apocal. Rot. 1723; Bede, vol. xii. p. 428, ed. Giles; Hayino ad locr, Ambrosius Ansbertus, A. D. 8,90, Bibl. Pat. Max. xiii. 620 ; Aquinas ad loc.' f e. g. Bishop Newton in loc. 66 On the Doctrine [lect. lived in a double sense ; for he says, " I saw the souls of them that were beheaded ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," where life and reign' is ascribed to the soul, and not the body ; -whereas when he speaks, as he afterwards does, of a bodily 'Resurrection, he does not mention the soul, but says, " The rest of the dead live not* till the thousand years are finished." It deserves special notiee, that there is a passage in St. John's own Gospel which refutes the objection just mentioned, and establishes the true interpretation. Our Blessed Lord saysf concerning the first, or spiritual, Resurrection: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead (that, is, the spiritually dead in trespasses and sins) shall hear the voice of the Son of God ; and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life, in Himself." This He says concerning the quickening of the. sow?. J Our Lord then proceeds to speak of the second, or G-eneral, Resurrection, that of the Body: "The Father hath given to the Son authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.§ Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrec tion of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." In the former of these two passages a spiritual Resurrection • ol toi.jr.oi tuy vi,xpuvroix H£rjand He giveth you "the power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy ; and nothing shall by any means hurt you," § if you be -followers of that which is good.\\ Therefore let nothing affright you. Welcome difficulty, welcome ' danger, welcome death, if they bring you to Christ! "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for Thou, 0 Lord, art with me ; Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me."** You have all been baptized into the spiritual Body of Christ, which is His Church ;you have thus been " made members of Christ, children of Gody and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven."' Blessed therefore, so far, are ye; for you have been admitted to have part in the first Resurrection.^ But remem ber, the words are, Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the, first . Resurrection. You cannot be, blessed,%\ unless you, are holy. .You- cannot have a permanent part in the first Resur rection ;unless you walk in newness of life. "If ye are risen with ^Christ, seek those things which are above."§§ It is tain for yon to have been born into Christ, unless you live with * Deut. viii. 15. f,Ps. lxxiv. 13. i Ps. xci. 13. § Luke x. 19. || 1 Pet iii. 13. ** Ps. xxiii. 4. ' - ff Haymq ad loc. Felix est qui dum adhuc vivit in corpore a morte animffi re- surgit; ille post in came feliciter jesurget, qui in hac vita a mentis suae morte re- surrexit. $$ Bede ad loc Beatus, qui servaveri,t, quo rcnatus est. §§ Col. iii. 1. 72 On the Doctrine [lect., Christ, in Christ, and for Christ. Nay, it is worse than vain ; for, if having been born again, you fall back into the death of sin,— if having been delivered from ,the fetters' of Satan, you make yourself the slave of him who is Christ's prisoner^you re volt from Christ, "and crucify the Son of God afresh, and put Him to. an open shame." Then Christ Himself has said of . you, Your last state is worse than the first. Then your lot will not be in the first Resurrection, — 'but in the second Death. Remember, ' therefore, from what death youliave been quick ened] and into what life. " Reckon ye yourselves dead indeed untp sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Mortify your members that are upon the earth. Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies, that ye should obey, the lusts thereof; but yield yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead.",. Remember that you have been exalted to heavenly places with Chrigt. While you look upon Christ sitting at the right hand of God, yOu see yourselves. How should you rejoice, yea, how should you tremble at the thought ! Therefore, be risen with Christ ; seek thpse things which are above ; purify your selves,; even as He is pure. Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will indeed have ascended with Christ ; then you will live and reign with Him ; .and of you it will then be said, Blessed and holy are ye ; for ye have part in the first Resurrection. Once more:, let us -bear.in mind that all this is true of all Christians in every age, and particularly in one of storm and peril like our own. We know, from the Scripture before us, that Satan will be loosed before the Great Day.- Compared* with what he will be then, he is now said to be chained. Hence we learn, how fierce he will then be. When he is loosed, he will then show how deadly his power is; and then we shall know and feel how much we owe to that Mighty Angel, Jesus Christ, who once came down from heaven, with the key of the * Haymo ad loc. Tunc diabolus ille quasi exiet seducere, quia comparatione illius seductionis ista quae nunc agitur seductio esse denegatur ; solvetur modico tempore, et totis viribus saeviet contra electos. II-] of a Millennium. 73 bottomless pit and with a great chain in His hand, and who bound Satan, and cast him intp the bottomless pit. , We know that Satan will be loosed; and then it will be proved once more,^4;t will be proved once more for all, — by Christ's victory over him, how strong Christ is. He who- has come down once to bind Satan, will come down again, to cast him finally into the lake of fire, where he will be tormented for ever and ever. But, in the mean-while, during the time, in which Satan is loosed, many alas! we know, will fall from. the faith, fall like stars from heaven ; many will worship the Beast and his image: they will give themselves to a strong delusion i and will believe the strange doctrines, and admire the lying wonders, of the False Prophet; and will receive his mark on their foreheads and on their hands. Most miserable destiny! But they who are Christ's, will stand. For them God will JBght. God's power will be" mocked. , His Name will be blasphemed. The Nations of the earth will rise against Christ, and will be gathered. to battle against Him; they will compass the camp and the beloved city ; and many of its faithful citizens will win the crown pf martyrdom, and be slain for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God. But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God ; and there shall no torment touch them. Though dead, they live : they live and reign with Christ. And, finally, fire will come down from heaven, and consume the foes of Christ. His victory will then be achieved, and the glory of His servants will be complete. " The Devil will be cast into the lake of fire, where the Beast and False Prophet are; and they shall be tor mented day and night, for ever and ever. And then the Judg ment will be set; and alLthe dead, both small and great, will be raised, and stand before God ; and every man will be judged according to his works." Whether these great events are now near at hand, we can not confidently say. Enough,' assuredly, there is in the present state of the world* to warn us of Christ's coming. We cannot prophesy; but we must all pray. We .must all watch. We must all labour. We must all love. Whether we now see the beginning of these things or no, is uncertain ; but we shall cer- 74 On the Doctrine of a Millennium. tainly see the end. We shall see Christ at His coming. "Be hold, He cometh in the clouds ; and every eye shall see Him ; they also which pierced Him." We shall see the Throne set, and the Books opened. We shall all be judged. And may God, of His infinite mercy, grant, that then you may see your names, written in the Book of Life I LECTUKE III. Rfivi i. 9—11. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos,, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great' voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and.the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the: seven churches which are in Asia. Having endeavpured.on two former occasions to clear away the objections raised by some to the divine authority of the Apocalypse, on ' the ground of the .ambiguous language of certain persons jespecting it in the third and fourth centuries, t propose now to examine the' evidence of its Genuineness and Inspiration. This is a most important inquiry. Some, critics in our, own day, especially on the continent of Europe** having affirmed, in very confident terms, that the Apocalypse ought npt to be received as the work of the Evan gelist St. John. c A belief in the genuineness and inspiration of the Canonical books of Scripture is the groundwork of our faith and hope ; and whatever weakens this foundation, undermines the fabric of Christianity. Therefore, on general grounds, this question demands' our serious attention. * Particularly Lucke,; Bretschneider, Ewald, De Wette, Schott, Credner, &c. "If" (says Lticke, Comment.ar. Uber die Schriften d. E v. Joannes, iv. p. 388.) " St. John wrote the Gospel which bears,his name, he cannot be the Author* Of the Apocalypse." De Wette Einleit. § 189, and Ewald Comment, p. 76, say the same thing, in similar language. 76 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. Besides,-the, Apocalypse itself has a peculiar character: it foretells the future. If it is indeed the Word of God, then no one can question the reality of a Future Judgment, and of Heaven and Hell. All these are here portrayed in the most vivid colours ; and proportioned to. their importance is that of the present question concerning the Authority of the Apo calypse. " Once more. In these Discourses we receive the Apocalypse as the Word of God. We build upon it as such. We shall hereafter have occasion to show how safe and impregnable a fortress it affords us against the fierce assaults of sceptical Phi losophy, ungodly Polity, and corrupt Religion, by which we are now assailed." It therefore concerns us all to know that our , house is founded on ar Rock ; that the Apocalypse is true ; that it Js based on the everlasting foundation of Him who was, and is, and will never cease to be. In pursuance of this desigijy.Iet me call your attention, in the first place, ¦ to a strong presumptive proof of the divine autho rity of the Apocalypse. The Apocalypse completes the Canon of Scripture; and, with reverence be it said, the Sacred Canon would be imper fect without it. This arises from the peculiar character of this Rook., Almighty Cod, has been, pleased to say, that He will do no thing, but He revealeth His secrets to His servants the Pro phets.* Therefore it was reasonably to be expected that some prophetical Book, revealing, the future history of the Church undpr the New Dispensation, would be given' by God to her, in 'the same manner as prophetical books for a like purpose were vouchsafed under the Old Dispensation. But, no Book of the New Testament, except the Apocalypse, possesses a prophetic character; no such prophetical Book has ever been received by the Christian Church, except ' the Apocalypse ; and therefore we conclude, that the Apocalypse * Amos iii. 7. -in.] of the Apocalypse. 77 is a Canonical Book, and was even necessary for the completion ,of the Canon. ' H . Let us now open the Apocalypse, It presents itself to us as the Revetation, of Jesus Christ. Such are its first words. ,. Is it a genuine Revelation, or no ? At the commencement of the Christian era, as we learn from ancient accredited* witnesses, there were many superstitious and heretical books in circulation with such titles as the follow ing;— The Revelation of Peter. The Revelation of. Paul. , The Revelation of Thomas. These were spurious Revelations, purporting to come from Apostles of Christ, But, they have their value, as proving to us the existence of some genuine Apostolic Revelation- at that time. . No one forges counterfeits of imaginary coins : the false medal indicates that there is a genuine one, of a similar form, in circulation. The glass reflects the jewel; the shadow fol lows the substance. Now, there is not, and never has been, any Hook of Revelation in existence- which the Christian Church has recognized as a genuine Apostplic work,- except the Apoca lypse. "Therefore the Apocalypse is the true Revelation. It is the sterling coin, of which those other Revelations were coun terfeits. And thus the frauds of heretical utterers of base money serve to prove the truth of the divine archetype. 'We proceed now a step further. . Every one who opens -the Apocalypse must be struck with its commanding tone and majestic dignity. . It proclaims- itself as the Revelation of Jesus Christ. " Hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches f suck is the' conclusion of each of the se veral letters to the seven Churches. " Blessed is he who read eth and keepeth the words of this prophecy. I testify unto * See the account of twelve different Apocryphal Books of ApocaIypse,,or Re velation in Fabricius, Codex Apoc. N. T. Pt. ii. p. 935, and the authorities cited by Jones on the Canon, i. p. 26—33, and by Ltfeke, Commentar. p. 45—50. 78 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this hook; and if any man shall take away the. words out of the book of this prophe cy, God shall take stway his part out of the -book of life." Such is the solenin language of the Apocalypse concerning itself. , Are not these words from Heaven ? Agaim Not only does the Author thus lay claim to inspira tion, but he professes to exercise a gift peculiar to Almighty God. He predicts the future. He lays open a long avenue of events, rising up one after another in clear perspective through the interval of time, extending from that Lord's day in which he was in the Spirit upon the shores, of the isle of Patmos even to the Day, of Doom. He opens the gates of Heaven ; he dis plays the Throne of the. Most "High ; he places us amid the an gelic-hierarchy, and bids us listen. to seraphic melodies^ he sounds the trumpets of God's judgments, and pours out the vials of His wrath on a guilty world ; he calls us to witness the destruction of the seven-hilled Babylon ; he unseals the bottom less pit; he discloses the dark abyss ; he shows us the awful scenes of the general Resurrection and of the Day of Judg-) ment: in a word, he; reveals the future, till Time is lost in Eternity. What, therefore, must we now say? One of two alternatives: either the author of the Apocalypse is divinely inspired, o^else, with reverence be ifsaid, he is guilty of profanely usurping the name and attributes of God. Let us now advance still further. If We survey the opening chapters ofthe Apocalypse, we find that they consist of epistolary addresses, directed to the seven angels of seven Churches in seven celebrated cities in that re gion of the world, which, in the language of the New Testament, is called Asia. This Asia, you will bear in mind, is not the vast tract of Asia according to the modern acceptation of the Word, but it is, in Roman language, Procpnsular Asia,, or ni-] of the Apocalypse. 79 Lydia.* -It was a province of npt more than one hundred miles square, watered on the north by the river Caycus, on the south by the* Maeander, and bounded on the east- by the Phrygian hills, and on the west by the Mediterranean sea. We take for granted,^what no one, I suppose, here present will eall in question,— that the angels of these seven Asiatic Churches are their several chief pastors, the ¦messengers' of the- Lord: of Hostsrf ih&t is, as Christian antiquity witnesseth, their respec tive Bishops. J ,, - The language addressed by the author of the Apocalypse to these Angels or Bishops is very remarkable. He speaks to them with the Toice of authority;, he, treats them as 'his own inferiors^; and he regards them as responsible to himself. He rebukes thehi sharply, for the failings of their Churches in doc trine or in, discipline. Be it further, observed, that these letters were addressed to the Angels of the Churches in order that they might be read openly in those Churches.§ , ; • t\ Thus these rebukes were public.1 It is also worthy of remark, 'that, in his original Greek, the epithets, (such as dead, hot, cold, poor, rich, blind, .naked,]] and the like,) which the writer uses to 'characterize the quality,and condition of these several Churches, agree in gender not' with the feminine word Church, as might have been expected, but . * See Archbishop. TJssher's Treatise " On the. Original of Bishops and Metropo litans," Oxford, 1641, p. 53—96. The whole of this essay is y.ery pertinent to the Apocalypse. tMal.ii. 7. Hag. i. 13. i Bede, Explan. Apocalyps. in cap. i. .Septem stellseangeli sunt septem ecclesiarumt Id est^rectores ec'clesiarurri. Sa- cerdos enim, ut Malachias ait angelus Domini exercituum est. — So Aquinas, cap. i. Septem stellas, septem Episcopqs Ecclesiarum, per quos intelligantur universi prae- lati qui sunt electi., Cap.i. p. 35, Angelas dicit' Episcopos propter- eminentiam vitas quam debet habere praelatus. — See also Abp. Ussher, 1. c. § See Lightfoot in Rev. iii.. The phrase " Aiigel of the Church" is equivalent, he observes, to "pa* rvhtr " the Miriister of the Synagogue," who took care fot the public reading of the Law and the Prophets; and these Epistles are sent accordingly to the Minister's in the several Churches, to beiread openly in the congregation. | In Chapters ii. and iii. 80 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. with the masculine word Angel. They are all masculine ; not one feminine. So that the address to the Churches is personal to their several Angels. The author lays on each Angel the failings of his particular Church, and thereby (we may remark in passing) he gives, a most solemn view of Episcopal Responsi bility. ^ , Observe now more closely how he speaks of the seven Churches thus personified by their Chief Pastors. He remon strates with Ephesus for having left its first love. The Angel of Pergamos is reproved for conniving at the doctrine of Ba- - laam. Thyatira, is" censured for suffering a Jezebel to teach. Sardis has a name to live, but is dead. Laodicea is neither hot nor cold. For all these faults and cprruptions the Angels of the- respective Churches are held accountable, and are reproved publicly by the Writer, of the Apocalypse. Again; he gives them advice, as a father would to his child ren. , He; exhorts them to strengthen the things that remain: he promises them rewards for fidelity and perseverance. If they fall away, their candlestick shallbe removed; but he that overcometh shall eat of the fruit of the tree of life, and shall receive a crown of never-fading glory. Who now, it may be "askedj is he, that comes forth from the shores of Patmos to address this language of reproof to the venerable Bishops, of Asia ? Who shall summon them before him, as to a judicial tribunal ? Who pronounce "such verdicts upon them? Can it be any ordinary man, who thus speaks and acts? Cain a Layman, can a Presbyter, can even a brother Bishop address such language as, this to the Chief Pastors of the Asiaticj Churches ? to men who have received their commis sion from the first followers of Christ, and have had the hands of Apostles laid on their heads ? In those early days at least, when respect for constituted authority was regarded as a part of religion ; and when they were severely censured, who intruded into the province of others,* and uttered rash judgments con cerning their spiritual Guides.; such language from an inferior, * aM,otfpioErtKjxoj(ol, 1 Pet. iv. 15. ^•J of the Apocalypse. 81 or even from an equal, to Christian Bishops, would have been impossible.- We are brought,- therefore, to this conclusion: either the Author of the Apocalypse was: some person who stood in a peculiar, and, we add, in the unique relation of an Ecclesiastical Superior to these Asiatic Angels; or else we must cbnfessthat, m employing such language as that' in which he addressed them, he usurped the prerogative of an office whiph no faithful Christian would have dared to invade. It may indeed be said, that a person, inferior in dignity to- the Seven Angels of Asia, might still have been employed by Almighty God to exhort, and reprove them,, as Samuel was em ployed tb rebuke Eli. This is indeed possible; and this suppo sition, let me observe, concedes the divine mission of the Writer; that is, it grants the very point at issue-— his Inspiration: At the same time, though it be allowed to he!p0ssible, that an inferior should be authorized and commissioned by God to re buke a superior, and that publicly ; yet it is much more pro bable that He, who is the Lover of Ordery especially in his Church, should have employed the Ministry of a Superior, ap^ pointed by himself, to rebuke" and eoitect an inferior, Either, therefore, the Writer of the Apocalypse was inspired by God, and (as we apprehend, and shall hereafter show) supe rior to the Seven Angels ; or else he assumed a f unction which did not belong to him, and he- acted in a manner irreconcile able with Christian duty ; and the Apocalypse would have been rejected by those to whom it, was sent. We shall inquire presently, how it was treated by those to whom it was sent. In the mean time we observe, , that this authoritative and inqrepatory tone, to which I have already ad verted;, must, we conceive, be regarded as presumptive evidence of the superior- dignity and divine authority of the Writer. , By using it, he, proves that he is persuaded of the vajidity of his own claim to Inspiration. ' He will not prophesy smooth things to the Churches: he will not bribe the,Angels by flattery. No. He^ will tell them the truth, even at the risk of. offending "some, or of creating opposition from all. Observe,' too, how he does, 82 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. what no forger would ever have done; he challenges examina tion' of his own claims. He praises one of the Churches, that of Ephesus, for having tried and convicted a false prophet, and thus invites them to examine his own prophecy. " I know thy works, that thou canst not bear them that are evil : thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars."* He thus courts- a scrutinizing examination of fhis.-own credentials. Hie will take good care, that no one shall ever be able to say, that the reception of the Apocalypse was due to any persuasive arts of the writer, and not to its be ing from God. - We are now arrived, at a very interesting point in our inquiry. Hoio wasvthe Apocalypse received by the Seven Angels and Seven Churches Tof Asia ? Happily we haye abundant materials for a reply to this question. Our first witness is Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, a cityat a very few miles distance from Laodicea, one of the Seven Churches. He was, also, a disciple of St. John, and a con temporary with, and in a certain sense a colleague of, the Seven Angels, whpiri the Author of the Apocalypse addressed."}" He was very diligent in , collecting memorable facts concerning the Apostles, andtheir works: and he received the Apocalypse" as the work of the Evangelist St. John. J His testimony is of greater value, on account of his nearness * Rev. ii. 2. -j- lren. v. 33. TLaftiac, ludyyav axovatrji, Ilolvxaprtov Si iraipoi Euseb. iii. 39. S. Hieron-. Catal. Script, xviii. Tom. iv. p. 109, and Epist ad Theodoram, iv. p. 581. See above, p. 28. i As the fact of this testimony of Papias has been recently questioned by some, it may be necessary to state that not only do Andreas and Arethas (Prolog, in Apo calyp.) prefer to Papias, as vouching for the inspiration of the Apocalypse ; but Ire- na;us, who .unhesitatingly affirms it to be St. John's, refers to Papias as among his authorities (Hasr. v. 33 :)' and Eusebius speaks of the doctrine of Papias proceeding from oi a,TC0"S *oi ' Attop'toT.ov avti}* tlvat teywv. 8.4 . ; _ On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. Churches, the city in which St. John passed fa great part of his life,! in which he died, and in which he was buried.* This testi mony, therefore, of Justin Martyr is of great value; and it. con firms the proof,' that St. John was the Author of the Apocalypse. We pass next to the evidence of Melito. He was, Bishop of one- of the Seven Churches, Sardis, in the second century; a successor, therefore, of one of the Seven Angels addressed in the Apocalypse. The witness of Sardis and its Bishop cannot be. suspected of partiality; for Sardis, again, is One of the Churches which is rebuked with great severity in the Apoca lypse. Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.~\ And the character of Melito stands pre-eminently high both for piety, . and learning. He is, therefore, a very credible witness. It is a very pleasing reflectidn, that the reproofs of the Apocalypse were not without their fruits : and probably the pious vigilance , of Melito, the Bishop of Sardis, was quickened by them. He laboured diligently for ' the souls committed to his" care ; espe cially in establishing their faith in the Word of God. "He showed- a most laudable, zeal with regard to the Canon of the Old Testament. , In order to assure himself and his Church of Sardis concerning the Books' of the Ancient Scriptures, as re ceived by the Churches of Palestine, he visited that country in person, and he has given the result of his critical inquiries in a very interesting and Taluable Epistle. J And it cannot be sup posed that he who,- we see, was so diligent and circumspect in , his inquiries concerning the Old Testament, would have been less careful respecting the New, and especially concerning that particular Book of the New Testament, the Apocalypse, which contains an address to his. own predecessor, arid" to his own Church ; and to which, on other grounds, his best consideration must have been given, for he wrote a Commentary^ upon the Apocalypse. , , * S. Justin. Dialog, c. Tryphbne, c. 80, 81. See also S. Hieron. Catal. c. ix, f Rev^ iii. 1, * Euseb. iv. 26. S. Hieron. .Catal. c. xxiv. See "Lectures on the Canon," Lect. iii. p. 76, and Appendix; No. V. § Euseb. iv. 26. S. Hieron. Catal. xxiv. in. J of the Apocalypse. 85 The evidence, therefore, of Melito is very important. He also received the Apocalypse as the work of St.. John. The latest witness to whom we shall here appeal is St. Irenaeus. He was probably a native of Asia Minor, whence he migrated to France, where he became Bishop of Lyons towards the close of the second century. In his youth. he had been acquainted with St, Polycarp, who was placed in the see of Smyrna by the Apostles, and, as some affirm, by St. John him self;* and who is supposed by learned men — for instance, by Archbishop TJssher — to, -be no other than the Angel of the Church of Smyrna, who is addressed in the Apocalypse. In his great work against heresies, published only about ten years after St. Polycarp's martyrdom, Irenaeus refers to the Apocalypse.")" He mentions ancient Manuscripts of it, which he himself had examined; and he speaks of a particular read- ing% of a particular passage§ in the Apocalypse, (that concern ing the number of the Beast,) as being confirmed by the authority of those "who had "seen St. John face to face." In this single work he quotes the Apocalypse no less than twenty times; he makes long extracts from it; and speaks of it in the most unhesitating manner, as inspired Scripture, and as the work of. St. John. .The testimony of Sfc' Irenaeus is of more .value, because it was probably derived from Asiatic Bishops; for example, from Papias, whom he mentions as an authority, and especially from St. Polycarp,)|\ whose life, like that -of his Master, St, John, "seems to have been providentially prolonged to almost a patri archal duration, in order that he might be a witness of the liv ing Voice of Apostolic Teachings till the Written Word was generally diffused. Sueh, then, is the testimony from the country** to which the * Tertullian. de Prascr. c. 32. S. Iren. iii: 3, 4. ap. Euseb. v. 20. cp. Euseb. iv. 14. S. Hieron. Catal. S. c.xvii. + Clinton, Fasti Romani, 4. y. 166. 'Cave, i. p. 66, 67. de Irenso. tin*, v. 30. cf. Euseb. v. 8. § Rev. xiii. 18. | Euseb. iv. 14. v. 20. " Mr. I. C. Knight, in p. 12—15 of an ingenious Essay ,on the Apocalypse, ,5 86 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. Apocalypse was originally sent ; such, we say, is the contem porary witness of the Asiatic Churches to which it was addressed. Next : bp it carefully remembered, that not a! tittle of evidence of a contrary kind can be adduced from those Churches, and from that age. No' doubt, whatever' was entertained by the Apocalyptic Churches- concerning the inspiration and genuineness of the Apocalypse. On the. cbntrary, those were condemned as hold ing heretical opinions, the Alogi, for instance, of the second century, who denied the Apocalypse to be St. John's-.*^ Very striking are the words of Tertullian, at the close of the second century: — "We can appeal to the Churches which are the foster-children of St. John; for though Marcion, the heretic, re-- „ jects his- Apocalypse, jet the series of the Asiatic Bishops de rives its origin from St. Jphn."f All the Apocalyptic Churches ascribed the, Apocalypse to St. John. Let us now pause here for a moment, and consider the facts before us. A Writing, claiming to, be from heaven, dictated in language of the most Solemn and sublime kind, predicting future events, presenting, as it were, a series of .pictures of the World's His tory to the end of Time, is sent to Seven Apostolic -Churches of the most distinguished cities in the light and splendour of Asia:- . to Ephesus, the rich emporium of the East ; to Smyrna; the nurse of Poets; and to Sardis, the ancient residence of Kings. It purports to come from an exile on the barren rock of Pat mos, an isle almost within sight of Ephesus, and therefore very .accessible to those to whom the book is sent; it speaks in the voice of authority to those Churches, andv to their spiritual Rulers; it pronounces judicial sentence upon them; it rebukes (Lond. 1842,) has shown reason for believing, that St. Ignatius, in Epist. ad. Philad 6, imitated the words in Rev. iii. 12, which, he observes, were addressed to the same Church, that of Philadelphia; and therefore St. Ignatius, the friend of Polycafrp, and schqlar of St. John, may be added to the -witnesses in favour of the inspiration of the Apocalypse. ' * Epiphan. Ha;res. li. 3, 4. 32, 33. Philastr. Hares, lx. al. 13. f Tertullian, c. Marcion. iv. 5. See ibid. iii. 14. ill-] of the Apocalypse. 87 their failings, and commends their virtues ; it promises blessings to those who receive the words of its own prophecy, -and de nounces eternal woe on all who add^to, or> take away from it. In a word, it speaks to men as being itself from God. And what isthe result,? This Book--with these claims, reproofs, promises, and threats — is received by all these Churches as the Word of God; and is ascribed by them to the beloved Disciple, the blessed Apostle and Evangelist, St. John. Such is their testimony; and they could not have been de ceived in this matter. St. John was no stranger to them. He • lived and he died among' them. If then the' Apocalypse is hot from God, and if it is not the work of St. John, it cannot be imagined that the Apostolic Churches of Asia would have con spired to receive it. fl:heir' duty, both to God and to the Apos tle, require them not to do so. So far from receiving it, the Angels of these Churches,- with one voice, would have protested against it. Not only they would not have recognized it as di vine, not Only they would not have received it as the work of St. John, but they would have condemned it as falsely ascribed to the Apostle, and impiously laying claim to the incommuni cable attributes of God. It would have taken a place among -those spurious Revelations (to which we have referred) which were ascribed by heretics to. Peter, Paul, and Thomas ; and the World would have heard no .'more of the Apocalypse of St. John. , We are now arrived to the point of our argument, at which we are led to observe, that .we have other evidence — I mean silent evidence — in behalf of the inspiration and genuineness of the Apocalypse ; and this evidence is of the most cogent ' kind-;1 for it is the evidence of St. John himself. The Apocalypse was published at the close of the reign pf the Roman Empdrbr Domitian ;* that is, about the year pf our * "Historia nota est,' says Bede, Explan. Apocalyp's. in cap. i. "Joannem a Domitiano Cassare propter evangelium in hanc 'insulam rejegatum ; cui tunc con- grue secreta datum est cceli penetrare, cum certa terrarum spatia negabatur. exce- 88 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. Lord 95. Some have assigned an earlier,* but no one a later, date than this. Now it is certain that St. John survived till the reign of the Emperor Trajan ;f thatis, till, or beyond, the year of our Lord 100. Some authorities place his death so lpw as the year 120. J Certain, also,' it is, that in, or soon after, the year 100, when he had returned from Patmos, the^ Bishops of Asia, that is, the Angels of the Seven Churches, , whom the Author of the Apocalypse had addressed, came to St. John at Ephesus, to which city he returned after his -banishment in Patmos, and where he then resided, and. that they brought to him copies of the three Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, and desired of him a public declaration of his Apos tolical judgment concerning these Gospels; and that St. John , openly pronounced these three Gospels to be Authentic, Genu ine, and Inspired ; and that, at the earnest request of the same Asiatic Bishops, St. John composed his own Gospel, as the full and final consummation of the Evangelical Volume. § This well-attested fact proves that the Apostle St. John, aged as he then was, was not only blessed with full intellectual vigour during his ej?ile in Patmos, but that his faculties were preserved unimpaired after his Teturn to Ephesus, and that he was in habits of intercourse with the Angels of the Seven dere." — Lampe, Prolegom. ad Joann. 61, 62, says: " Tota antiquitas in eo abundi consentit quod Domitianus exilii Joannis author fuit." Cp. Vitringa, Anacr. ad Rev. iv. 1, and vi. 1. * The use of the Pauline Benediction, Rev. i. 4, xxii. 21, is a conclusive proof, that it could riot have been written under IVero. See "Lectures on the Canon," p. 233, 234. f Hieron. -Script. Eccl. v. Joannes. i' S. Chrysostom (1) in S. Joann. Homil. torn. viii. p. 130, Appendix, ed. Paris, 1728. i^opwstof o Iuwotjs -irto bd/ictiavov lis tr)v vrjsov tijv xa\av,uivvv Jldt- fwv yt,yvifai, 6"m» tbv %oyoy tov ©joj, xai ixx%rjtslav avyypdfyei >"» tSti^tv a-uru a Otoj xai Aiioxd%y$iv fii>atrjplu>y} titstta xai raj ayioj r'ptij crtictoXas . . . lita irtave%0Hiv -rtjs ijjopias xataKaufidvsi, tip "Eipjaoi/, xaxtlai Siatplfiav ovv- ¦iattti, to. ~S.vayyk%{,ov uv itZiv exatov, Siapxiaas f'ws oXuv ixatov tlxoaiv. See other authorities in Lafnpe's Prolegomena. 4 See the. authorities in "Lectures on the Canon," Lect. VI. p. 156, 157, and Photii Bibl. 254. ill.] of the Apocalypse. 89 Churches of Asia for some years after the Apocalypse was written. Now, it will be remembered that St. John was the last sur viving. Apostle of Christ, and that he was also Metropolitan of Asia ; and Eph'esus, the civil capital of Asia, was his abode or Metropolitan See, from which he administered the ecclesiastical affairs of the Province of Proconsular Asia, or Lydia, in which all the seven Churches were situated.1 It will be recollected, also, that St. John not only took an active part, as from his Apostolic character and office might be expected, in authenti cating genuine Scriptures, as we have just seen ; but that, as might also be expected, he exerted no less, vigilance and* autho rity in condemning supposititious books, pretending to be Scrip ture. - In one of his Epistles he says, " Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the Spirits whether they are of God : for many deceivers are gone forth into the World."* And it is expressly recorded of him, that when a writing, professing to be a canon ical history of the Acts of St. Paul, had been composed by a presbyter of the city of Ephesus, St. John convicted the Au thor, and condemned the book.f , Suppose now, for argument's sake, the Apocalypse. not to be inspired,, and not to be written by St. John. Here is a book, speaking, as it were, from Heaven ; speaking in tne name of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit; speaking to the Bishops and Churches of Asia ; that is, to those of St. John's own province ¦;¦ and arrogating the very functions which belonged to St.- John himself, and to him alone; assuming the office, .of administering rebuke and correction to the Bishops of St. John's own jurisdiction. Even if any one can bring himself to imagine that the seven Asiatic Angels— devout and holy men, like Polycarp--w6uld have' tolerated such presumptuous usurpation, (which is, indeed, incredible,) no one, I apprehend, will suppose, that the one Asiatic , * 1 John iv. 1. f See " Lectures on the, Canon," Lect. V. p. 160. 90 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. Archangel — I mean St. John— would have borne it. No ; he would have treated the author of the Apocalypse as he treated Cerinthus. He would have condemned him as he condemned the Asiatic presbyter ; and we should have known the author of the Apocalypse only as a second Diotrephes.* , On the whole, then, we conclude, from the voice of the An gels, and from the silence of the Archangel, that the Apocalypse is inspired, , and that its Author is St. John. Before we confirm this conclusion by a brief appeal to inter nal evidence, let us observe, that this primitive testimony could npt be invalidated by more recent allegations of a contrary kind, even if those allegations did not admit of being easily refuted on other ground in addition to those of lateness in time. Concerning this matter of fact, I mean the genuineness of. the Apocalypse, the testiihpny of the Asiatic Churches of St. John's own age is worth more than allthe opinions of all sub sequent time. The truth also is, that all sceptical surmises on this matter, which are but slight and partial, maybe easily accounted for. First, (as we have shown,) from the errone ous imputation of Millenarian doctrines to the Apocalypse, which cast a temporary cloud over it; and, next, from the reserve practised by some Churches, f (as, indeed, by our own,) not publicly reading' the Apoealypse in their religious assem blies;;); whence it came to pass, that the Apocalypse was not inserted in some lists of Books to be read in the Church, and thence by some it was erroneously imagined not to be Canonical. But these allegations, and all others of a like tendency, soon lost all credit ; and the primitive belief concerning the inspira-. tion and genuineness of the Apocalypse became universal. In the prophetic words of Eusebius,§ — "Though men dispute * 3 John 9. f Cone. Laod. can. lx. Other (Jhurches pursued a different course. By a de cree of the Fourth Council of Toledo, (a. n. 633, can. xvii.) a Presbyter was liable to excommunication, if he did not read the Apocalypse in the Church at a certain period of the year. See Apjpkniiix K, p. 203. i See Hooker, V. xx. 4, with Mr. Keble's note. § Euseb. iii. 24. I][i-] of the Apocalypse. 91 on this side and that concerning the Apocalypse, yet assuredly in dup time its claims will be acknowledged, on the ground* of primitive testimony" . , If now we open the Book itself, every thing there harmonizes with this belieft The Author, calls himself John. I John, who am also your brother and companion in tribulation.% John, to the Seven Churches which are in Asia.% I John saw these things, and heard them.]] Whom would this name, placed' thus by -itself, without any epithet or accompaniment, suggest ? Whom but the Apostle and Evangelist, St. John ? He, and he alone, was John; their brother, and their pastor, and their guide: and no one else, in his age, writing to St. John's own Ohurches^ovld. have ventured $6 assume the name of John, in this bold , and unqualified simplicity. Again : the Author writes from the isle of Patmos, where he was, for the testimony of the Lord Jesus; and we know that St. John was banished to that island by the Emperor Domitian, when he persecuted the Church.** It may be asked, perhaps, Why then dpes he not call himself an Apostle? We ask, in reply, Why does not St. James? Why does hot St. Jude? Why does not St. John himself, in his Epistles ? The name John would suffice to identify him ; and, by withholding the title of Apostle, and calling himself only a servant of God, and their brother in tribulations^ he would show, that though he had the. gift of prophecy, and was permitted to understand all mysteries, and. to speak with the tongue of An gels, yet he was not elated above measure by the' abundance! of * See also St. Jerome, ad Dardan. Ep. 129. f I have not entered into the question of alleged discrepancy of style between the Apocalypse and St. John's Gospel. (Euseb. vii. 35.) This has been already no ticed in "Leetures on the Canon," ix. p. 220-2, and has been well, discussed by Guerike, Einleitung in das N. T. £ 60, p. 555. And after all, the subject of the Apocalypse' is so different from that of the Gospel, that arguments from style axe scarcely admissible here. No one would argue from the Satires of Horace that he did not write the Odes. And yet how different is the style ! * Rev. i. 9. §Rev.i.4. B Rev. xxii. 8. "See above, p. 87. ; * 92 On the Genuineness and Inspiration [lect. his Revelations; and the more ho was exalted by God, the' more he would humble himself with men. The secret of the Lord, is among them that fear Him; and mysteries are revealed- to the meek. Further: the Author of the Apocalypse, modest as he is. in the description of himself, speaks, as we have seen, to the An gels of Asia with all authority^ he distributes praise and blame like a Ruler and a Judge. Nowj there was only one person then alive in the whole world who was entitled to use this lan guage ; and that one person was not only entitled to use it, by his double character as the last surviving Apostle, and as Me tropolitan of Asia,, but he was mOst solemnly bound to use it. By reason of his office, he was obliged, in duty to Christ, who called him to it, to speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. He was bound to be no respecter of persons; to be instant in season, out of season; to reprove, rebuke, exhort. This one person was St. John. Again : we find that the Author of Jhe Apocalypse, who writes to the Seven Angels, Or Bishops, gives them an Apos tolic Benediction, — The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, "And without all contradiction" (says the Apostle) ^'the less is blessed of the better, or greater." Therefore, again, we infer that the writer of the Apocalypse is some one greater than the Bishops of Asia. He is some one entitled to bless them. Now, there was one person in the world, and one alone, who, in a spiritual sense, was greater than the Bishops of Asia, and so was entitled to bless them, and might justly be expected to do so ; and that person was St. John. I leave it, my brethren, to you to consider the remarkable propriety which characterizes the divine selection of St. John, and particularly of St. John such as he was at Patmos, for the treatment of such sublime subjects as those which are contained in the Apocalypse. His Gospel proclaims what a divine spirit was in him. Who so fit as he to , speak of the mysteries revealed in the Apoca lypse ? in>] of the Apocalypse. 93 He was the beloved Disciple. He had been admitted to our Lord's most private retirements ; to the most solemn scenes of His sufferings and sorrow. He had, been with Him on the Mountain of Transfiguration, in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the High Priest's hall, and at the Cross. All his brother Apostles had now been taken away by death. He was left the last. He was now a prisoner and an exile in a lonely island. As the winds blew, and as the waves dashed on the rocky shores of Patmos, so the storms of the wprld were now beating against the rock of the Church. But the aged. and lonely Apostle was -blessed and cheered. with glorious visions. He was visited by Jesus Christ. The exile from- the world beeame a citizen of heaven ; and the barren cliffs of Patmos were made more beautiful than Paradise. The Man of Sorrows,, whom St. John had seen in his agony at Gethse mane, He whom, he had seen standing bound before Caiaphas, crowned with thorns, mocked by Herod, condemned by Pilate, pierced by the soldier, and dying on the- Cross, was now seen by him enthroned in heaven, and adored by myriads of Cheru bim and Seraphim kneeling before Him. "I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." He is seen chaining Satan, and casting him into the gulf of fire. He is seen coining in the clouds of heaven to judge the world. " Blessed (says St. Jphn) is, he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein." Jlvery one, my beloved brethren, who endeavours to inter pret the Apocalypse, has special need of St. Paul's Caution; Let him that prophesieth, (that is, expoundeth,) prophesy ac cording to the proportion of faith. Let him not interpret any one passage' so that it be repugnant to the general tenour of Holy Scripture, but let him, take care that the sense he ascribes to it be in harmonious unison with the oracles of God. Vou will also carefully bear in mind, my younger hearers, that in the interpretation of Scripture, and especially of the Apocalypse, the judgment of the ancient Church is of very great weight. In later times, the Apocalypse has been made an arena of theological controversy; and its sense has been . sometimes made to vary with thp bias of its several expositors. Under these circumstances, it is very fortunate for us that we are able to appeal to the judgment of, ancient Christian Inter preters, who were ^ wholly exempt, from the partialities and pre judices of our own age; and. that thus we. can retire from the strife Of modern ipolemics to the calm retreats of Christian , Antiquity. Especially, too, it is g/ providential . circumstance, amid the unhappy differences which have made the divine Apocalypse a subject of contention; between the Reformed Churches and' the Church of Rome, that we are able to refer to early Western liters — that is, to writers of the ancient Rdman Communion, —who cannot be suspected of any hostility to Rome, nay, rather who were much, prepossessed in her favour as she then was,- and whose testimony on the points at issue is not liable to any ex ception from her. Their judgment, therefore, is of great weight; and it is very desirable that.it should be resorted to: indeed it is much to be 100 On the relation of the Apocalypse. LEtfr.] regretted, that many modern Expositors of the Apocalypse have been so much fascinated :by their own theories concerning it, that they have overlooked the valuable materials which Chris tian- Antiquity supplies for its illustration. Bearing in mind these cautions, let us now proceed to ob serve, that the heavenly Visions of the Apocalypse open (in the Fourth Chapter) with a Revelation of the celestial mansions, and of the Most High seated upon his Throne,. , The Throne is canopied, as it were*, by a Rainbow, in sight like unto an Eme rald : it is flanked on either side by seats,, on which are seated Four and Twenty Elders, wearing golden crowns,, and clothed in white. Lightnings, thunders, and voices issue from the throne. Seven lamps burn before it, which (we are instructed) are the Seven Spirits of God. Before it, also, is a crystal sea. Under the throne and about it are four beasts, or, rather Liv ing Creatures, as the word ought to be rendered; to suggest a reference to the living, creatures in the parallel passage of the first and tenth chapters of the Prophet Ezekiel ; and also to obviate all possibility of confusion with the two monstrous beasts in the latter part of the Apocalypse^. These Four Living Creatures are full of eyes, and each has six wings: and they rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those living creatures give glory to him that sitteth on the Throne, the four and-twenty elders fall down and worship him that liv eth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying, Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive the glory and the honour and the power : for Thou hast created all things, and* for Thy pleasure they are and were created." In. this glorious Vision, the ancient Church recognized and adored the Triune God, enthroned, King of the Universe. In the arched iris spanning the divine throne, she beheld an emblem of His severity blended with love ; in it she saw the dark showers of His Judgments gilded by the bright beams of His Mercy. The heavenly Bow spake to Her of the Deluge, the' shipwreck of the world for sin; it spake to her also of calm and sunshine after the storm. Iv0 to the Canon of Holy Scripture, 101 It spake of hope and reconciliation with God; it spake also of the Day-spring from on high; and of man's sinful nature irradiated with orient colours, by the Sun of Righteousness* It spake to her of the Incarnation of Christ. In it, descending, as it were, by an angelic ladder, ',' Mercy and Truth seemed met together; 'Righteousness and Peace kissed each other. Truth flourished out of the earth; and Righteousness looked down from heaven, "f Such were the thoughts suggested to her mind by the Rain bow arching-over the throne in heaven. Again : To her eye the crystal spa symbolized the pure waters of Christian baptism, through which we' enter the presence . of God. The sea is like crystal, because of inward purity as well as outward washing.% The whole sea of the Christian life must be as lucid as its surface ;§ and the baptismal water is consolidated, by the operation of God's Grace on man's Free will, into, a precious stone, strong and clear as crystal. The , heavenly font is set, before the Divine Throne. The new birth 3f the Christian is" effected by water and the Holy Ghosti And therefore the sevenfold gifts|| of tiie Holy Spirit, specially im parted in thfe Apostolic Rite of Confirmation,, are before the throne, to , prepare the soul for the presence of irod. The Seven lamps burn before the throne. The Christiaf )~toul is afeo in structed in God's law, encouraged by his promises, and warned by his judgments. These are signified by the, voices, the light nings, and- thunders, which issue from the throne of God: for thunder, is God's' voice; the Law was given with thunder and lightning from Sinai;** and our Lord named St. John a Son of Thunder, \\ when he called him to his Apostolic office of preach ing the Gospel.JI. * Mai.' iv. 2. f Psalm lxxxv. 10, 11. * 1 Pet. iii. 21. | Bede ad loc. Propter fidem veri baptismi refertur ad vitrum in quo non aliud videtur exterius quam quod gestat interius. Crystallo quoque, quod de aqua in glaciem et lapidem pretiosum efficitur;, baptismi gratia figuratur. 1 Isaiah xi. 2. ** Exod. xix. 16. ft M?rk iii: l7' , ii See Theophyl. in Marc. iii. 17. •; vloos Ppovtys ovarii, wS li*ya%oxr[pvxas xai OWKoyixatdtovs. 6 102 On the relation of the Apocalypse [lecti What, now, is to be said- of the Four Living, Creatures, with figures like the Cherubim, winged, and. full pf eyes, upon which God himself is enthroned? In them the Ancient Church beheld a figure of the Fonr Gos^ pels. They had been represented under this image by the Prophet Ezekiel,* in his vision at the river of Chebar: and now they are viewed again bySt. John in Patmos. This inter pretation, which recognizes the four Gospels in the four living creatures of heaven, dates from the age and school of St. John himselfl It is found in the writings of St. Irenaeus, f the scholar of Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, and is sanctioned, by the almost unanimous authority of the greatest teachers of the Eastern and Western Churches. - Many here present will remember with pleasurable emotions, how it has found its way into the region of Christian Art, and has hallowed the pencil of the Painter, and the chisel of the Sculptor, and has Served to raise the thoughts of thousands from the strifes and stains of earth' to the peace and' purity of ; heaven. And it will have there presented to your minds a most striking testimony, (made more remarkable by the corruptions of an adulterated Christianity, with which it is too often sur rounded,) that th,i winged and myriad-eyed Word of God, as preached in the T ,ospbl of Christ, is the basis of the Heavenly Throne; and that, as God formerly manifested His Glorious Presence in the Schechinah on the Mercy-seat of the Ark, shaded by the golden wings of the four Angelic Cherubim, in the Hply of Holies, in the Ancient Temple, which was the figure of heaven itself, so in the Christian Church He is now pleased to dwell on the four living Cherubim of Evangelical Truth. * Chapters i. and x. f Irenaeus, iii. 11. See -also S. Victorinus, B. P. M. iii. 416. Quatuor animalia IV sunt Evangelia. — S. Jerome, iri two beautiful passages cited in Appendix A. to " Lectures on the Canon," No, XIX. h and i. Andreas, 1. c. p. 597. Berengau- dus ad Apoc, iv. 7 — 10. Aquinas ad loc. Quatuor animalia scilicet Evangelistse, And Haym'o says, Nulli dubium, quin luec animalia Dominum J. C. significent, et omnes sanctos, pratique quatuor Evangelia. — See other authorities in " Lectures on the Canon," p. 151. IV-3 to the Canon of Holy Scripture. 103 Next, what shall we say of the Four and Twenty .Elders, seated on either side of the throne of God ? As the Four Living Creatures represent the Four Gospels, so we are led by analogy to anticipate that the Four and Twen ty Elders represent the older Dispensation. And it is a remark able fact, of which we are reminded by Christian1 Antiquity that the Old Testament Scriptures, according to one' . of the most commonly received modes of Jewish reckoning, (by which the Twelve Minor Prophets are reckoned as one book, and the two books- of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles as one each, and some other similar arrangements are made,) Consist, on the whole, of Four and Twenty Books.* In the Twelve wells of Water and Seventy Palm-trees, at Elim, where the Ancient Church encamped in the wilderness,! the Christian ChurchJ saw afterwards a type of herself, pro tected by the shade and refreshed by the waters of the doctrine preached by' the Twelve Apostles and Seventy Disciples of Christ. And, as the Apostles of Christ are called in Scripture "The Twelve;"§ as,, again, the Greek Version of the Old Tes tament is called the Septuagint, or " The Seventy," from the Seventy-two Elders or Interpreters* so the body of the Law and the Prophets is often entitledby the Israelites, " The Twenty - four." Indeed this title, Esreem-Arba, or uThe Twenty- four," * commonly prefixed to Hebrew Bibles, to indicate their contents; and so, to the ear of an Israelite the name " Twenty- four" would suggest the Old Testament Scriptures; just as to the Christian, " The Twelve" represent the Apostles of Christ. And these Books of the Old Testament are called, in the Apo- * See " Lectures on the Canon," Apperidix, p. 57. f Exod. xv. 27. i S. Hieron. Epist. ad Fabiol. torn. ii. p. 590. De XLII Mansioriibus. Nee dubium quin de XIX Apostolis sermo sit, de quorum fontibus derivatae aquffi totius mundi siccitatem rigant. Juxta has aquas LXX creverunt Palmae, quas et ipsos secundi ordinis intelligirnus Praceptores. — Venema de Methodo Proph. 104. Deus concessit XII Pontes et LXX Palmas, i. e. Scripta Appstolorum et Evangelistarum, e quibus veram doctrinam ad solatium abunde petere possunt Christiani. § ol SuiSixa- Matth. xxvi. 20. Mark xiv. 20. Luke xxii. 47. John vi. 71. 1 Cor. xv. 5. 104 On the relation of, the Apocalypse [lect. calypse, the Twenty^four Elders, because they signify the Elder Dispensation, as contrasted with theivew Testament. This interpretation, which indentifies the Twenty-four Elders with the Old Testament, was current in the Christian Church* for more than a thousand years. But when, in .the sixteenth century, at the Council of Trent, the Church of Rome disturbed the order, and marred the number, of the Canonical Books of the Old Testament, by adding to them the Apocrypha, as of equal authority ; although, to cite the memorable words of St, Jerome, the Apocrypha " do not appertain to the Twenty-four Elders, whom St. John represents as "adoring the Lamb, and casting their crowns before His throne," — then this interpreta tion was suppressed;, But it is our duty to revive it- And, now, behold what a noble picture is here presented to us of the divine, dignity and awful majesty of the Holy Scriptures ! They are the Throne of God. They are the Zodiac of the Sun of Righteousness. With what reverent love, therefore, ought we to regard them ! How diligent ought we to be in hearing and reading them ! How zealous and resolute in obeying them ! Behold, again, what a glorious picture is here displayed to ns of the aim and end of * Victorinus, B. P. M. iii, 417. Viginti quatuor faciunt tot numeros quot et Seniores. Sunt autem libri Veteris Testamenti qui accipiuntur ViginlP Quatuor, quos in Epitomis Theodori invenies — See also Victorinus, Schol. in Apoc p. 55. ed. Gallandii. A most importarit Testimony against the Trent Canon. Victorinus is of the Third Century. So Primasius, B. P. M. x. p. 296. Veteris Testamenti Libros canonical auctoritate suscipimus tanquam XXIV Seniores tribunalia praesi- dentes. — So Ambrosius Ansbertus, B. P. M. xiii. p. 464. Quia prioris Testamenti XXIV Iibris utitur, quos auctoritate canonica suscepit, in quibus eliam Novum Testamentum revelatum accipitur, idcirco in XXIV Senioribus Ecclesia figuratur. — So .Bererigaudus ad loc. and ad iv. 8. Per sedilia XXIV Libri Veteris Testa menti designantur. — Bede, Explan. Apocalyps.in cap. iv. Singula eorum habebant alas senas aliter. Abe sense quatuor animallum, quy)." — S.. Amphilochius (Append. No* xvii.) ends his verses enumerating the books of Scripture oitos &Jj,ev&sataio{. Kaxuiv av eit].,tuv Otoftvsvatav ypa^wv. Bp. Cosin, on the Canon, i. says, " The Books, of Scripture are therefore called/ Canonicafb ecause they have in all time^ been acknowledged by God's Church to be the Infallible RuiE of burEaith." See Galat. vi. 16.! - -J- Aquinas in Apoc. xxi. Per arundinem auream intelligitur Sacra Scriptura. -rCf. Vitringa, Anacrisis, p. 453. .Galamus .mensorius, quo dimensio paragenda est, haud dubie est Verbum Dei, Lex et Testimonium, Lex regni Christi, unicus Canon et norma veri. . , , . i Rev. ii. 27, xii. 5, xix. 15, cf: Hebr. i. 8, /5a(3Sos ivBitrfloi- § Berengaud. ad Rev. ii. 24. Virga ferrea Evarigeliu'm figurat, qua omnis error Jestructus est. See also ad xxi. 6. J John x. 35. *• Matth. xi. 7. 108 On the relation of the Apocalypse [lect. iron in the Apocalyptic words, — He will rule the nations with, a' Rod of iron.* The word for he will rule is Ttoipavsl, that is, He will guide as a. Shepherd does his flock: and so this rod becomes a pastoral crook. Hence we see the true character of Holy Scripture. It is a Reed for measuring, a Rod„of iron for strength and correction, and a shepherd's Staff for guidance, retrieval, and support. This measuring Reed St. John takes in his hand, and metes' out the Sanctuary ; showing thereby that the limits of the Faith of the Church are traced by the Reed of Scripture ;f and that "whatever is not read in Scripture, nor can be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man as an Article of Faith. "% Next, St. John is informed that the outer part of it and the Holy City will be trodden by the. Gentiles for a certain time. Then Almighty God, having spoken of the measuring Reed, and of the admeasurement of the Church, immediately pro ceeds to say, — " I will give power to My Two Wi*3168868* an^- they sh^ll .prophesy a thousand two hundred and three-Score days, clothed in sackcloth. These two Witnesses, (he proceeds to say,) are the two Olive trees$ and the twof Candlesticks, standing before the God of the earth. "§ It will now be asked, What are these Two Witnesses ? And why are they here represented as Olive Trees emptying oil into the golden Candlesticks; and what connection can they have with the measuring Reed, and with the mensuration of the Church ? How is this apparently sudden transition to be ac counted for? In reply to this inquiry, we are reminded by the ancient In terpreters that the word here rendered Candlestick]] is the same * Rev. xix. 15. See also Ps. ii. 9. Micah vii. 1 4, in LXX. -)- Victorinus says well on this subject (B. P. M. iii. :) Potestatem dicit quam Joannes dimissus (a careere) exhibuit Ecclesiis. Nam Evangelium postea, scripsit, cum essent Valentinus et Ebion et caeteri schote Satana? diffusi per orbem, conve- nerunt ad Joannem de finitimis provinciis omnes, et compulerunt ut ipse testimoni. um scriberet. Hsec est arundo et mensura fidei. + Thirty-nine Articles, Art. VI. § Rev. xi. 1 — 4. || frvgma. The English reader will remember that it is a lamp, fed with oil. IT-] to the Canon of Holy Scripture. 109 as that employed in the Greek Version of the twenty-fifth chap ter of Exodus, where God gives to Moses directipns for the making of the Golden : Candlestick, according to the pattern shown to him in the ^Eount, with .seven branches and seven lights, or lamps, to be fed with oil* and to stand in the Holy Place, which was the figure of the Church, on Earth, and to illu minate it with its rays. The same word is used also by the Prophet Zechariah, in the fourth chapter, in his Vision of the seven-branched golden .Can dlestick,, fed by seven pipes, with oil .flowing down from- two Olive Trees,! "the one on the, right hand of the Candlestick, and the other on the left. "J Thus the Law and the .Prophets prepared imagery for the Apocalypse. From the Apocalypse itself we learn that the Candlestick, as dispensing light represents the Church, which diffuses the beams of Divine Truth.§. The seven Candlesticks (says St. John) are the seven Churches. And, in the same passage, our Blessed Lord, the great Head of the Church, is displayed to us, arrayed in a long vesture," that is, in his sacerdotal attire, walking in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks, that is, observing the state of the Churches, whether they burn brightly. with the pure and lumi nous flame of true doctrine, or are dimmed with errors and cor ruptions. A Candlestick, therefore, represents a Church in the discharge of its office of shedding forth divine light. ' And how and whence is this light received ? Let St. John inform us. I will give power to My Two Witnesses, says Almighty God, * Exod. xxv. 31—37. xxxvii. 17. See.Heb; ix. 2. ¦J- Zech. iv. 3, Siio i'halai lrtdvu>. ttu-rjjs. i. Zech. iv. 1 — 4. See Hengstenberg'? Christologie, § 5221 % Henee St. Irenaeus borrows his own language concerning the Church Univer sal, v. c. 20 : Ubique Ecclesia prsedicat veritatem ; et h»c est £rttd/iv%ds Lucerna, Christi bajulans lumen. See also'S.Gregor. Mag. lib. i. Horn. vi. in Ezekiel. That irtt duv%os, and, not i-Ktd^vxo^ is the true reading in Irenaeus, is clear from other considerations, and from Zech. ivr 12, tuv /w&tripav tuv zpvS&v, said of the seven branched i.vx"'^ 110 On the relation of the Apocalypse [iect. and- they shall prophesy (or preach): These are the Olive Trees,- and the two Candlesticks standing before the God of the Earth: an expression which again connects this Vision with that of Zechariah, where we read,—" What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves ? Then said the Angel, These are the two an ointed ones that stand before the Lord of the whole earth."* And St. John says, — The testimony of Jesus is thS spirit of prophecy ;f intimating thereby that the word prophecy is used in the sense of Evangelical Preaching. What, now, are the two Witnesses,' and two Olive Trees? Somejnterpreters, you are aware, suppose them to be two Persons. Enoch and Elias are specified by some. Others ad duce more recent names. But the prophecy aims higher, and reaches further than the person and existence of any child of man. J It is in dignity, divine ; and in duration and extent, universal. The ancient Church, expounding the Apoealypse, remember ed the words of God to Moses concerning the seven-branched •Golden Candlestick of the Tabernacle; she recollected the vision of Zechariah; she had before her eyes that prophet's seven-branched Candlestick, fed with oil by pipes from the two Olive Trees; she recollected, also, that St. John himself has given a key to the meaning of the symbolical Candlesticks; and she knew full well' that, in ¦ the words of Isaiah, she, herself, being the Church of God, must look for light to the Law and to the Testimony; and that, if she speak not according to this word, it is because there ii no light in, Aer;§ she knew, also, in the language of St. Paul, that she hath received this ministry not to preach herself, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and that God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkneSs, has shined into her heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God * Zech. iv. 14. f Rev. xix. 10. i See seventh page from end of Lect. VII. and Lect VIII., and notes in Har mony, p. 104, chap. xi. 8, 9. § Isaiah viii. 20. Iv-] to the Canon of Holy Scripture. Ill in the face of Jesus Christ, so that the light of the glorious Gos pel of Christ, who is the Image of /God, should shine through out the World.* The Church, we say, considering these things, as she looked on the two Golden Candlesticks fed by the two Olive Trees, saw herself illumined by the Two Testaments;! The Scrip tures of the Two Testaments are her Olive Trees, planted in the House 0f the Lord, J ever flourishing 'with fresh leaves for the healing of. the nations,^ ever bearing the emblems of peace, ever pouring forth the oil of gladness,; and ministering the food of light. And 'in the form and office of the Two Candlesticks she saw her own character and ministry, under the Two dispen sations, — the Law and the Gospel, — as being therein the di vinely constituted Gtiardian, Keeper, and "Interpreter of the Word of God. Like them, the Church is to be of pure, gold ;. like them, she is to be firmly set on a solid basis in the presence of God ; like them, she is to be „ visible to all; like them, to extend' her branches far and wideband to diffuse her light, and irradiate the world. Her thoughts must all be upward. Her light must aspire tp heaven. Her feet are on the rock ; her heart is among the stars. ,. s, - Let us also observe , that, like1 the seven-branched Golden Candlestick, the Church, has no light in hers'elf. She can #0 nothing without the Olive Trees. If the golden tubes, which connect her bowls with their branches, are choked, then she will burn dimly; if they are broken, she is eclipsed, and the Tabernacle of the World is dark. - We now perceive that the transition in the Apocalyse, from the measuring Reed to the Two Witnesses ,-and Two Olive Trees, far from being abrupt, is very natural and easy. The Two Testaments eontain all things necessary for salva- * 2 Cor. iv. 1—6. ,f Similarly Vitringa Ariacr. p. 468. Olese figurant Spiritum Sanctum (ut liquet ex., v. 6.) dona et gratiarri suam communicantem per medium Verbi Dei divisi in Libros Veteris et Novi Testamenti. i Psalm Iii. 9.' § Rev. xxii. 2. 112 - On the relation of the Apocalypse [lect. tion; they constitute the Rule or Canon of Scripture ; they are the measuring Reed of the Church.* ¦ That measuring Reed is put by the Angel of the Covenant Christ himself, into the hand of St., John; for St. John, /the last-surviving Apostle, was specially appointed by Christ to authenticate and consummate the Canon of Holy Scripture, and thus to fix the faith of the Church. The reed measures the Sanctuary, and so exhibits to us the sufficiency of Holy Scripture. And in the Connection of the Olive Trees and the Golden Candlesticks, we behold a true picture of the. relation of the Church to Holy Scripture, and of Holy Scripture tp the Church., This, as you well know, is, and long has been, a much-con troverted matter; and perhaps no better, no more vivid, repre sentation can be given of it, than in the Candlesticks fed, by the Olive Trees.f The Church of Rome, you are aware, would persuade us that we owe the Scriptures to her, and that if we would believe in their Inspiratitfn, we must ^acknowledge her authority. She even affirms that Scripture derives its validity from -her sanc tion. It is Scripture, she says, because she has canonized it. So that, according to her theory, the Word of God owes its ex istence, as sucjb, to the Church of Rome.J What is this, but to invert the whole order of things ? It is not to imbibe light from the divine Olives, but it is to attempt to light up the living Olive Trees from the dead, Candlestick. Again : the Church of Rome will not allow the divine oil of Scripture to flow freshly, freely, and fully; no, sheclogs'up the * The connection of " the Seven Thunders" (Rev. x. 3. 5) with all these Scrip tural Symbols will be considered in a subsequent Lecture, Lect. VIII. f Primasius, x. p. 314. Ecclesia duorum Testamentorum lumine radiata forma- tur. And Bede, p. 385. — Anonym, ap. S. Aug. Opp. iii. p. 3130. Duo Cande labra Ecclesia, est; pro Numero Testamentorum dixit duo: ita et ex Septem Candelabris una Ecclesia est. Nam Zacharias (Zech. iv. 2, 3) unum Candelabrum vidit Septiforme j et has duas olivas, id est, Testamenta, infundere oleum Candela- bro, id est, Ecclesiffi. — -See also Bishop Andrewes, (c. Bellarmin. cap. 11,) who concurs in the opjnipn that the two Witnesses signify the two Testaments. See Afi-endix I. p. 176—187. i See " Lectures on the Canon;" p. 14, note. ***¦] to the Canon of Holy Scripture. 113 pipes, arid thickens the liquid stream of pure,. doctrine with the admixture. of corrupt traditions. , What is this, but to mar the Candlesticks, to make the wicks fungous, and the light dim, and the air fetid and gloomy, and the nations blind ; a,nd to incur the Wrath of Him who walketh in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks,* and t'd tempt Him to remove her from her place ? My beloved brethren, let us pray for her, and let us watch for ourselves. , Almiglty God,' let us be sure, does- enlighten his Church by the oil poured from the Olive Trees of the Two Testaments. He is the only source of light: He is the Father of Lights.^ In His light we see light. Let us not imagine, then,- that we can illuminate ourselves. The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God:% He has also set the Golden Candlestick of his Church in the World, to be the recipient of his light,, to, keep it ever burning, and to convey and diffuse it far and wide. We receive Scrip ture through the Church ; and what has not passed through its sacred Pipes, even from the beginning, — what has not come to, us by the, golden tubes of its faithful testimony, — we do not acknowledge as Scripture.§ , But, the Chureh has no light of her own. If God should with draw the supply, or if she obstructs the channel, her light wanes and dies. . But he ^graciously pleased to pour a peren nial stream of the oil of spiritual truth and grace in his Written Word; and the Son of Man, the Great High Priest, is ever walking ' in the midst of his Church, warning her to keep her lights burning ; and we are sure that the light so given, though it may be dimmed, will never die. Lastly, the irreverent and contemptuous treatment which, the Word of God will receive, and which, alas! it is receiv ing, from the World, is portrayed by St. John, in this divine * Rev. i. 13. ii. 1. -j-. James i. }7. Psalm Xxxvi. 9. i 1, Cor.ii. 11. § Thirty-nine Articles, Art. VI. " In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose au thority was never any doubt in the Church" ' 114 On thfi relation of the Apocalypse, $c. prophecy ; and the final triumph of that Word is revealed also. Let us, therefore, be on our guard ; let us be made wise thereby. The Two Witnesses may prophesy in sackcloth. The Two Testaments* may be assailed Jby Satan, and impugned by men, as the One Testament was by the type of Antichrist, Antio- chus Epiphanes ; and. as Both were by Diocletian. Their warn ings may be despised ; their commands may be broken ; they may seem as dead; their carcasses may be trodden underfoot (as the Apocalypse prophesies) in the streets of Spdpm and of Egypt, the figures of a rebel World. They that dwell on the. earth may rejoice over them, because the Two Witnesses tor- - men'ted them. The Kingdoms of this World may imagine that the Word of God slumbers ; that all its precepts are obsolete ; its lightnings all extinct, and all its thunders spent. Nations may enact Codes, and frame Constitutions, which treat that Word as dead. Men may busy themselves in endeavouring to prove that, the Two Witnesses are not inspired; and they may proudly dream that they have reduced them to silence, by, scoffing sneers or sceptical sophistry. Others may withhold the Word of God, and prohibit its circulation, and stifle or adulte rate its testimony by human traditions and legendary fables. But the Scriptures cannot be. broken ; the Two Witnesses are immortal. They may appear to be dead, but they still live and breathe ; they will rise up again ; the Spirit of God will animate them ; they will stand again on their feet,,and they who see them will fear. They will be raised in triumph to heaven, like EMas, on a chariot of fire. " All flesh is grass : the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.?'t /'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Christ's Word shall not pass, away. "J * Anonym, ap. S. Aug. iii. 3129. Dabo Testibus meis, id est, Duobus Testa- mentis; et prophetabunt diebus mccix. numeru^novissimae persecutionis et futura: pacis et totius temporis a Domini passione. t-lsaixl. 6— 8. lPet.i. 24. t Luke xxi. 33. LECTURE V. Rev. i. 7. Behold, He cometh with" clouds ; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him. , ' The present' Season, in which we commemorate the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of our Blessed Lord and Saviour, breathes, as it were, a solemn spirit into , the thoughts, ' and gives a holy direction to the pursuits of all who live under the sacred influence which is exercised by Almighty God himself upon the soul through the ordinances of the Church. And no faithful member of her Communion can, it may bp supposed, be ignorant of the inestimable benefitsr^-moral; intellectual, and spiritual — which he may receive by yielding his heart, as it were, like a willing instrument, and even, if we may so speak, like the harp and lute of the Divine Psalmist, to be played upon by a spirit from Heaven, and tov be, attuned, to holy melodies in the regular ministries of religion. The subject in which we are now engaged lends itself readily and cheerfully to this spiritual guidance ; and we proceed,, therefore, without further«prelude, to invite you to some medi tations on the Apocalypse, which are in accordance with this solemn anniversary. St. John introduces his Revelation with these solemn words,* "I was in the isle that is called. Patmos, for the word of God, * Rev. i. 9, 10. 116 The Coming of Christ. [lect. and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.* The Weekly Festival on which the Church celebrates tne resurrection of her Lord was that day on which it pleased our glorified Redeemer to give His Revelation^ to his Servant John," * Some learned men have imagined that the Lord's Day here, is the Day of our Lord's coming to judge ; which is not rtfi-ipa KupioOTj, but tjpipa K-upiou. But KuptoucjJ tjfiipa is rightly rendered die Dominica, the Lord's Day, as Kvptaxov Stirtvov, 1 Cor. xi. 20, is the Lord's Supper. There is ample evidence to show, that the first day of the week (pia aaftfidtav) was called the Lord's Day (K-uptn*^) in the second century. St.- Ignatius (ad Alagnes. u. ix.) contrasts the Jewish Sab bath with the Christian' Lord's -Day : St. Irenaus appears to have used the word in a fragment ap. Quaest, ad Orthod. cxv. (ap. Justin. Martyr. Opera, p. 490, ed. Bened.) Melito, Bishop of Sardis, in the second century, wrote a book " on the Lord's Day," rttpi Kvpraatfjis, (Euseb. iv. 26,) which shows that this was then the recognized and general name of the day. Hieron. De V. 111. xxiv. Cf. Routh's Reliquiae i. p. 107, 1 14, 129, 168, 176, 419. The word is used in a letter of Dio nysius of Corinth, (ap. Euseb. iv. 23,) and by Clem. Alex. .(Strom, v. p. 712, ed. Potter.) So it was rightly understood by Victorinus and tbe Author of the Synopsis Sacra Scripturae, ascribed, to Athanasius, torn. iii. p. 200. The article trj is omitted in some' MSS. In the words of Bishop Pearson on the Creed, Art. V. " From the resurrection of our Saviour and the constant pfactice-of the Apostles, the .first day of the week came to have the name of the Lord's Day, and is so called by St. John, who says of himself in the Revelation, (Rev. i. 10,) I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. This I take., to be without question that status dies which is mentioned by Pliny, in- his Epistle (lib. x. Ep. 49) to Trajan (A. D. 104.) Affir- rnabant hane fuisse summam vel culpa vel erroris Christianorum, quod essent soliti stato die ante lucem convenire, carmenque Christo quasi Deo canere." We find dies Dominicus, in Tertullian de Idol. c. 14, A. D. 200^, which is a translation, of qpipa K.vpCaxrj. I conceive that the words of Nicephorus (vii. 47)~ concerning Constantine, r)v E/3patot jtpu/trjv tl%oy r/fiipav, L'EM.uvis S' ^Xta, aviBiVto, Kvptojsjji' xatuaii- liaSh, do not mean that he gave the name Kuptouej; to the first day of the week, (which is untrue : see Dion. Alex. ap. Euseb. iv. 23; Routh, Rel. i. 368,) but that he publicly established that name. They who otherwise interpret it, neglect the force of the proposition xata. It is well known that this day is now called Kupiax»j in the Levant; and it has been so called there from the days of St. John. It may be observed, that in addition to the general fitness of holy Visions to a holy day; there is a special aptitude in the Visions of the Apocaxypse to the first day of the week. For all these Visions— the Seals, the Trumpets, the Vials— are grouped iri sevens, and they naturally begin on the first day of Seven, the birth-day of the Church, whose History they unfold. f Rev. i. 1. v] The Coming of Christ. 117 and to- announce to him what the Spirit saith unto the Churches,* and what things must be hereafter vf And it has been thought by some that the Lord's Day on which these Visions were re vealed, was not only the weekly, but the yearly Festival of the Resurrection; that it was that festival on which we are now- met together, — Easter Day. % Withthese reflections, let us proceed to observe, that in the Apostle and Evangelist St. John, to whom we ascribe -jthe Apo calypse, we possess the best companion, and the most faithful guide through the scenes of the eventful history which now occupies our thoughts. He was the disciple whom Jesus loved ; he leaned on the bosom of our Lord at supper ;§ he was with Him in Gethsemane ; he followed Him to the. High Priest's Hall ; and he alpnp of the Apbjstles stood' at the Cross of Cal vary, and heard the last words of the Son of God. To him our Lord bequeathed his Sorrowing mother, and that disciple took her to his own home;||' and, doubtless, St. John heard from the lips of the blessed Mary a recital of those things which, she had kept and pondered in her heart.** He was the first of the Apos tles at the tomb of his risen Lord : he was with Him in Gali* lefe, after the Resurrection ; and on the Mount of Olives he witnessed Christ's Ascension upon the clouds of heaven: '"'This is the disciple who testifieth of these things; and.we know that his testimony is true."ff In the words of the Apocalypse (chosen for our text) we find a reference toa particular circumstance in the crucifixion of of our Lord,^— "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him." Of the four Evangelists, St. John is the only one who records this circum stance of the piercing "of our Lord's side; and on him, as well it might, it made a deep impression: "When the soldiers came to Jesus, says he, and saw that he was dead already, they brake mot his legs:1 but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his * Rev. ii. 11. f Rev- i- 19- •'* See Hammond in loc. $ John xxi. 20. f John xix. 27. «*Lukeii. 19. fr John xxi, 24. 7 118 The Coming of Christ. [lbcT. side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. And, adds the Evangelist, he that saw it (speaking of himself) bare record, and his record is true :. and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.* Eor these things were done, that the Scrip ture should be. fulfilled, a bone , of him shall not be broke'n. And again another Scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced." ' The reference in the Apocalypse ¦ to this circumstance, the piercing of our Lord's side, may justly be regarded as confirm ing the identification of its author with St. John ; and this corroboration will appear more strong, when we remember, that the Eyangejist in his citation in his Gospel from the Prophet Zechariah, They, shall look on Him whom they pierced, deserts the Greek Septuagint Version, f and resorts to the Original Hebrew, which is here difiefent from it; and that precisely the same thing is done in this same citation by the Author of the Apocalypse, "Every eye, shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him:" and that, both in the GoSpel and the Apoca lypse, the Hebrew is rendered, by the same word, and that an uncommon one, J in Greek. This circumstance in the Crucifixion is-not merely to be re garded as the accomplishment of a very remarkable prophecy concerning the Messiah ; and as proving two most important facts, — namely, the reality of the human nature of our suffer ing Redeemer, and the certainty of His death upon the Cross. In both these respects, doubtless, it is very important. Nor is it only,, also, a theme for affectionate sorrow, and pious medita tion, as fulfilling the prophetic announcement made to Mary, the Virgin Mother, by the aged' Simeon, at the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and- rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts « John xix. 32—37. f Compare Bp. Pearson on the Creed, Art. IV. p. 201, note, ed. 1715. i i%ixivVtiWos, The Comer. § Matt. xi. 3. John vi. 14. | John x. 8.- -John viii. 58. ' 120 The Coming of Christ. [lect. Wood is the life;"* and again, "Without shedding of blood there is no remission." f The first Testament, as the Apostle to the Hebrews shows, was dedicated with blood and water. % AIL the legal purifications and oblations derived all the efficien cy they possessed from Christ, and from His death. It wasj if we may so speak, the Water and the Blood, shed frpm our Lord's side upon the cross, which imparted all the virtue to all the Water and the Blood poured out in the sacrificial rites of the Levitical Law in the Temple at Jerusalem, and in the Taberna cle of the Wilderness. Yes ; and,- we may add, to the Patri archal sacrifices at Bethel, and on the plains of Mamre, and on the hill of Moriah, and on Mount Ararat ; and to the sa crifice of Abel on the borders of Paradise. So this is He that came by water and by blood, even Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. % St. John also says — It is the Spirit that beareth witness; because the Spirit is truth. How is this? The Spirit of faith infused into the hearts of Patriarchs and Prophets, and of all true believers under the Levitical and Patriarchal dispensations-, enlightened their eyes with heavenly radiance, and enabled them to see the illustrious glories of the Gospel in the dim shadows of their own ordinances. By this, as the Apostle speaks, " they saw the promises afar off, and embraced them."j| " They rejoiced to see the day of Christ ; they saw it, and were glad."** They beheld the day in which, as the Prophet Zechariah says, " a fountain would be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for. uncleanness. "ft Yes, a fountain opened in the bleeding side of the Son of David, in the City of David. They foresaw the time when God " would sprinkle clean water upon them, and they should be clean ; and from all their filthiness * Gen. ix. 4. f Heb. ix. 22. i Heb. ix. 17, 19. % Rev.xiii. 8. B Heb. xi. 9, 10. 13— 26. »• John viii. 56. ft Zech. xiii. 1. v-] , The Coming of Christ. 121 He wciuld cleanse them, and give them a new heart; and put a new spirit within them."* This then is He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. That is, this is the One, Only, , Universal Messiah ; He who came not only by Apostles and Evangelists, but by Prophets and Pafriarchs; He who now comes, and will come to all ages forward to the end of time ; and who also came to all the chil dren of Godr in all ages, backward, from Calvary even to Pa radise. Such are the clouds on which the Divine > Comer, Jesus Christ, came, comes, and will come ;f the clouds in the heaven of His Church: from which he poiirs% down the spirit of grace and supplications upon his people ; and makes them turn their eyes, and hearts, in penitential love, to him ; and by which he sends " a gracious rain upon his inheritance, and refreshes it when it is wCary."§ Let us consider now, specially, 'the prospective, meaningof these words* How do they concern ourselves f What did St. John intend to impress upon our minds when he wrote, " One of the soldiers pierced his side, and forthwith there came out blood and water ?" and when he added the solemn declaration,. " and he that saw it bare recprd, and his record is true : and he knoweth that he -saith true, that, ye might believe ?" In reply, let us observe,, that the Christian Church owes her life to Christ's death. " Christ loveth the church, and gave himself for, it," says St.. Paul, "that he might sanctify it with the washing of water by the wofd."|| "According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration;, and renewing of • Ezek. xxxvL 25, 26. f As St. Aiigustin sajrs, Epist. cxcix. 45, . Venit nunc in totd hdc hard novissi- ma Christus in Suis membris tanquam in nubibus vel in tota ipsa Ecclesia\ qua; est Corpus Ejus, tanquam in nube magna fructificante in universo mundp, ex quo coepit pradicare et dicere, Agile poenitentiam, appropinquavtt enim regnum cash- rum.— Matt. iv. 17. So also Aquinas, fallowing Haymo, in Ecce venit cum Nu bibus i i. e. Sanctis, qui pluunt per pradicationem, coruscant per miraculorum ope- rationem, elevati fiunt per mundanorum abdicationem j volant per altam contempla- tionem. — Isa. lx. 8r Qui sunt isti qui ut iiubes volant. ', i Zech. xii. 10. § Ps. Ixviii. 9. D Eph. v. 26. 122 The Coming of Christ. [lect. the Holy Ghost."* "He hath purchased the Church with his own blood." f And again': "Ye were redeemed, not -with cor ruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the -precious blood ©f Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. "J; "He hath loved us, and washed us from our sins with his own Wood."§ As the mother of all living, Eve,f| — the figure of the Churchr — was formed from the type of Christ, Adam, upon whom, as we read, " the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall, and he slept;"** so the Church, the Spiritual mother of all living, owes her being to the Second man, Jesus Christ, the Lord from heaven,^ slumbering in the sleep of death upon the Cross.J.J Again : naturally, as men, as St. Paul asserts, all of all na- . tions of the earth are made of one blood,%% that of our first parent, Adam ; so spiritually, as Christian men, we all derive our life' from the one blood of the second Adam, Jesus Christ. And how is this life communicated ? Eve was formed from the ¦side' of Adam when he slept, and thence mankind derives its being. So, concerning the second Adam, we read, "One of the soldiers, with a spear, pierced his side, and forthwith came there eame out blood and water ;" and "This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ;" and "It is the' Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." The life of the Church is due to the death of Christ ; and it is communicated by means of those quickening, refreshing, and strengthening Sacraments, which Christ has appointed for the conveyance of the virtue of his death, and which were significantly represented by the stream of blood and water which flowed from his pre^ cious side, when he offered himself a Lamb without blemish or • Tit. iii. 5. f Acts xx. 28. i 1 Pet i. 19. Heb. x. 29. § Rev. i. 5. || Gen. iii. 20. ** Gen.ii.21. " -(-)- 1 Cor. SY. 47. tt Christ's death may well be called a slumber, for He was soon to be awakened from it. He was to rise, again. — Hooker, V. Ivi. 7. " The Church is in Christ, as Eve was in Adam ; yea, by grace we are every one of us in Christ, and in His Church, as by nature we are in our first parents. God made Eve of the rib of Adam ; and His Churoh He frameth out of the very flesh; the very wounded and bleeding side, of the Son of Man." 4'§ Acts xvii. 25. v-] The. Coming of Christ. 123 spot* a pure, perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice upon the altar of the Cross, - And why, it may now -be asked, do we affirm that ii is so communicated? Because Christ himself has been pleased to assure its of the fact; and it is not unworthy of observation; that he had' assured us of it (as the Church herself has ever believed) by the same Evangelist and Apostle Oho' saw His side , pierced, and forth with there came out blood and water. It is in the Gospel of the beloved disciple, St. John, that Christ says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of Water and; of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."f Again ; it is in the Gospel of St. John, that Christ declares, "Verily, Verily,, I. say unto you, Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of God,- and drink, his Blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath eternal life, and I will raise' him up at the last day; for My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed. "J Certain, then, it' is, that we derive our , natural life from Adam, sleeping in Paradise ; and no less 6ertainJs it, -that, our spiritual life is derived from Christ, slumbering on the Cross ; and it-is also certain that, as our naturaliife is conveyed from Adam through Eve, formed from his side, so our spiritual life, is conveyed to us by -means of the Sacraments which Christ himself has been pleased to institute in his Church for that pur pose, and- which derive their efficacy from Christ's death; when He shed Blood' and Water from His precious side on the Cross. Behold,- then, the glorious view thus opened to our eyes. Contemplate Jesus Christ dying on the Cross at Calvary. See Him there lifted up, like" thp brazen serpent lifted up by God's command on the pole in the wilderness. § See Him there dis played publicly, crucified in the sight of thousands at the great Paschal feast at Jerusalem;- stretching out His divine hands, :as it were in love and mercy, to embrace the World. See His * l Pet. i. 19. t J°tm ffi- 3- 5- . * John vi. 53, 55. § Numb. xxi. 8. John iii. 14. 124 The Coming, of Christ. [lect. sacred side pierced, and streams of life thence flowing forth, streaming backward through all ages, even to the fall of man, hallowing all the sacrifices of Blood and Water in the Levitical and Patriarchal Churches, and flowing forward, in living rivers of Paradise, in the Baptismal Waters and Blood of the Eucha rist ; thus blessing and refreshing all of every age of the Church, and animating and uniting them all, as living branches, in one spiritual Vine,* and as fellow-members, communicating, and, as it were, knit and woven together by veins and arteries in one Body, the Body of C»RlST.t Thus, while we stahd with the Evangelist St. John on Cal vary, 'and look on Him whom our sins have jpierced, we see in Christ crucified the One Fountain and Well-spring of all the grace that now flows, ever has flowed, or ever will flow, to men, whether in Legal Sacrifices or in Evangelical Sacraments; we behold the One Source of all spiritual life to all who by faith and obedience have been,. or ever will be, justified and sanctified upon earth, and hereafter glorified in heaven. Thus, also, we learn to behold the present in the past, and to read our own history in that of the ancient People of God. When they marched from Egypt to Canaan, God smote the stony Rock in the desert, "and the water gushed out, and the streams flowed in dry places.f" In that smitten Rock we be hold CbeIST pierced. "They drank, of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Bock was Christ."§ In those streams issuing from, the hard cliff in the sandy- desert, and re freshing the people in their weary pilgrimage, and making herbs and flowers to grow and blossom on their banks, we see the sacramental graces which flow from the wounded side of the Rock of Ages,\] our loving Saviour ; and which, when received ¦vrith the affectionate yearnings of love and desire which ani mate the heart of the true Israelites, whose souls are athirst for the living God, as the heart desireth the water-brooks,** change * John x^ 1. f 1 Cor, xii. 12, 13. Col. i. 24. i Psalm lxxviii. 21. cvi 40. § 1 Cor. x. 4. I Isaiah xxvi. 4, margin. ** Psalm xiii. 1. v.] The Coming of Christ. 125 our Carmels into Sharons, and make the desert of our life to blossom as the rose. No one will here imagine that in thus asserting the use and necessity of Sacraments, where they may be had, for spiritual health and everlasting salvation, we are thereby asserting that Salvation is necessitated by Sacraments. No ; Sacraments are not physical causes, but moral instruments; of salvation ; and unless they are received" with the. dispositions which God re quires as the conditions of their efficacy, they are unavailing, Vain, and fruitless, yea, they will aggravate our guilty and increase our condemnation. And, alas ! we all know that the grace of God is too often received in: vain. We know that, of those who dipped their vessels in the fresh streams which gnshed from the rock and flowed on the sand in the desert, and drank — they, themselves, and their cattle---from the fresh river, many rebelled against God, and their carcasses fell in the wilderness.* They were destroyed of the destroyer. ,f And they. were figures of us.% But, did they who drank not, live ? This is the question for. us. All who receive Sacraments are not saved by Sacraments. But will they, who reject them live ? They who refuse the Table which God spreads for them in the wilderness,^ and they who will not dip their vessel in the stream which flows in the dry places, bow will they live ? The clouds belong to God, and not to them. The rock is deaf,, un less he speaks to it. . They are wanderers in the desert. They may die, though they; drink; but if they refuse to drink, will they — 'Can they— live ? Nor, again, let it be imagined, that,, in thus affirming the necessity of Sacraments where they may be had, we are ascrib ing any inherent power ov essential virtue to Sacraments. No:' the necessity of Sacraments arises not from any thing existing absolutely in, them,* but from our obligation to obey Christ. We cannot be saved without obedience to our Saviour. And * Heb. iii. 17. , t1 Cor- x- 10- i tvMi ^«». , 1 Cor. x. 6, 11. § Psaln» lxxv$- 20- 126 The Corning of Christ. [lect. since he has been pleased to institute-Sacraments, and has commanded them to be received, therefore they are necessary. And, again, though we do not ascribe intrinsic efficacy to them, yet we do ascribe infinite power -and divine virtue to him. We affirm that his death is the source, the only source, of Spiritual life to us. And it has, pleased him that this virtue should be conveyed' to us by the channels of Sacraments. And therefore all who confess that spiritual life is derived only from Christ's death, must affirm. Sacraments to be necessary. But we no more suppose that Sacraments are the origin of Spiritual life, than we imagine the serpent of brass to have been the cause of health to the wounded Israelite. - No : like it, they are the divinely appointed means of health, and derive their efficacy from Christ's death. And what the Wise Man says of the brazen sPrpent, is true of Sacraments : " He that turned him self towards it, was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by Tree, Thou that art the Saviour of all."* We now pass on to observe,that in the piercing of our Lord's side on the Cross we have not only a proof of his death, and a visible, significant token of the source of all spiritual life, and a lively representation of the sacramental means by which it is conveyed; but we have also a permanent proof of his Resurrec tion; and therefore a pledge of our own. And how doeS this appear ? ¦t Let the same Evangelist reply. St. John informs us that one of the eleven Apostles, Thomas, was not with them on the evening of the Besurrection when JesuS came and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. And when afterwards the other Disciples said unto Thomas, We have seen the Lord, he replied, that he would not be convinced of his Resurrection, unless certain specific evi dence, diptated by himself, was given him of the fact. He would not be Content to know that our Lord had appeared in a human body : what he required was, to be convinced that our • Wisdom xvi. 7. v.] The Coming of Christ. 127 Lord had, appeared alive in the same human body as that in which he had suffered on the Cross. - And how was this to be ascertained? By the wounds he had received upon tlie Cross. "Except," says the doubting Apostle, I shall see in his hands the print of the, nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." As much as to say; Theseiare the criterions and cognizances by which his identity is to be established : let me see these tokens, and I will be convinced. And of these, the wound in the side was the most conclusive. For the two malefactors crucified with- Jesus had their hands nailed to the Cross, as well as Jesus; but no one had been pierced- but Jesus. Our Lord, who was not present, in person when Thomas spake, no sooner appeared to the Eleven on the following Lord's Day, than he, replied' to the words, and complied with the wishes, of the wavering Apostle. " Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it, into My side : and be not' faith less," but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." Thus we perceive that the wound, which Our Lord received from the soldier's spear, has- served, under God's Providence, as the means of establishing^ the great fact of Our Lord's Resur rection, and of assuring us of our justification- by his blood ; and we belieye and affirm with the Apostle, that God "raised up Jesus from the dead, who was delivered for -our sins, and was raised again for our Justification." God, by raising Christ from the dead, has acknowledged that satisfaction has been made to his justice by Christ's death. By this His Almighty favour, declared in Christ's Resurrection, he has announced to the world that he has accepted the world's proxy. Therefore,' in the Resurrection of Christ, not only was Christ's own natural body revived,' but also his spiritual body, the Church, was raised to' life. She arose from bondage to li berty, from death to life, from shame to glory. Hence in Our baptism, in which justification is exhibited to us, we not only 128 The Coming of Christ. [lect; spiritually undergo the death and burial of Christ, as Scripture teaches, but we also rise with Christ. "Know ye not, (says, St. Paul,)' that so many of 11s as were baptized into Jesus Ohrislwere baptized into his death ? There fore we are buried with him by-baptism into death : that like as Christ was raised' from the dead' by the glory of the Father, even so we' also should walk in newness of life. We are buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation, of God." Hence, too, we are assured of our own future Resurrection. As Christ was raised with His body, so shall we, also, rise again with our bodies. "For Christ, (says the Apostle,); is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that sleep. For as in Adam alldie, so in Christ shall all be made alive." Again: St. Paul says of himself, " I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. I always bear about in the body the Dying of the Lord JeSus." The faithful servant of Christ bears about with him the marks of his dying Saviour; by being crucified to the world. And, let us consider, also, the wonder ful fact, that Christ himself ever bears in his own body the marks of his death. In the same body in which he was cruci fied, in the same body he rose frpm the dead, in the same body he was seen by St. Thomas and all the ApoBtles, and by five hundred brethren at once, in the same body he ascended into heaven. He now bears these marks, the marks of his own death, even on His Royal Throne, in the sight of Angels and Archangels, at the right hand of God.. He is not ashamed of the wounds'he received for our sake. The proof of his death is inscribed there ; it is engraven on his precious side ; and the proof of His Death is the proof of His Resurrection. It is no more the stigma of his shame ; it is the badge of his power1 ; the record of his love ; the trophy of His Triumph over Death, Hell, and the Grave. To take up the Patriarch's strain : Not only are his words written in a book — the book of the ever* lasting Gospel; but the great facts of his Death and Resurrec- tionare graven with an iron pen in the Rock; graven by the v.] . The. Coming of Christ. 129 soldier's lance on the Rock of Ages, there to be read by the .eyes of nien and angels for evermore-* And what next does the Patriarch say ? The sequel is so lemn, and Significant. " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand atthe latter day upon the earth : and though- after my skin worms destroy this' body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom my eyes shall behold, and not another."f Yes; "every eye shall see him; they also which pierced him;"J Let us endeavour to realize to ourselves this fact. Let us represent to ourselves the future circumstances of the great day — the EastPr-Day" of the World. § Then we shall all be raised from our graves,, and behold him who died for us and rose again; and, behold, he is alive for evermore:]] He will then come upon the clouds of heaven*. We shall look on him whom we have pierced. We shall see the wounds he received for our sake. "'For he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes' we are healed."** If we could give, a voice to that precious blood which flowed from them, "and speaketh- better things than that of Abel;"ft if those wounds could speak, what how would be their language to us ? - . < ¦ .- /, . You have. felt indignant, it may be, with the Gentile soldier, who pierced your Lord's side. But consider yourselves. He was the soldier of Caesar, you are the soldiers of Christ He had not seen what, you see ; he had not received what you en joy., He knew not that his lance fulfilled a prophecy, and proved that he whom he pierced is Christ, He had no St. Jphn to teach him the meaning of those saCred streams which gushed from the wounded side of the Son of God- Bat you have been quickened by Christ's death. , Even now, in a certain sense, the text has been fulfilled to • 1 Job xix. 22—24. f Job xix. 25—27. * Rev. i, 7. § Among the Interpreters who suppose that the "Revelation" was made on Easter Day, (see above, p. 117,) may be mentioned Eichhorn ad loc. (i. 10.) See aiso Ro&nmiiller, and Suicer v. Kupiaxij. | ' Rev. i. 18. *•- Isaiah liii. 5. tt Heb- *"• %i- 130 The Coming of Christ. [lect. you. Christ, who will come hereafter on the clouds of heaven with his holy angels, has come, and comes daily to you on, the clouds of Apostles and Prophets.* You have seen Him whom you have pierced. You are' compassed with a cloud of witnesses^ You have been baptized into .Christ's, death : and "your life has been hid with Christ in God.% You have been bathed in that water, and cleansed by that blood, which flowed from his pre cious side. You hear the words of St. John. You are invited to drink of the cup of salvation, and to be refreshed with manna from heaven. You have' been instructed by the doubts of St. Thotoas, and by the faith of St. John. You have seen, the proof of Christ 's resurrection ; and, in that, the earnest of your own. How, then, are you acting? Are you risen with Christ? Are you walking in newness of life ? Do you mortify your members' on the earth, and set your affections on things above? Do you remember the terms of the covenant to which you were pledged at your baptism? or do you think little of them? Have you forgotten what Christ has suffered for you; and have you, despised what He has purchased for you ? Are you of those who, by" an ungodly life, as the Apostle says, " crucify afresh the Son of God, and put Him to open shame ;" and who " count the blood of the covenant, wherewith they were sancti fied, an unholy thing, and do despite to the spirit of grace?" Then thou art the mam Not the Roman soldier with his lance, but thou, the so-called Christian soldier with thy sins, art the fittest object of thine own reprobation. Thou hast pierced, and art piercing, Christ. Therefore condemn thyself ; mourn over thyself ; look with a contrite heart, and streaming eyes, on Him whom thou hast pierced. Think what anguish thy sins have cost Him. Think on the heinOusness of sin, which de- manded such a sacrifice. Think, therefore, of the punishment due to it hereafter. Let Him henceforth be Thy Lord and Thy God. Prayt6 Him for pardon. Pray to Him for Grace. * Berengaudus in Rev. i. 7. Venit cum nubibus. Possunt per riubes Apostoli csterique Pradicatores intelligi. See above), p. 121. f Heb. xii. 1. ' ' $ Col. iii. 3. v.] The Coming of Christ. 131 Pray for a clean heart. Pray for love, like His. Bear the cross for Him, as He bore it for Thee. Bear the marks of His death on thy heart, as He bears them in heaven. Suffer with Him, as He suffered for Thee. Dwell in heart and soul with Him. Meditate on His invincible Might, and awful Majesty. See in His Wounds the proof of His Victory. They proclaim that He has vanquished Satan, and burst the bands of death,- and broken in pieces the powers of darkness, and raised Him self; and that He will raise thee; and that "all who are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man,* and shall come forth." And then, when all the dread scenes described in the Apocalypse shall be displayed before us ; when the smoke of the bottomless pit shall ascend from, beneath, and the gates of heaven be. opened above ; when. " the sear shall give up the dead in it, and death1 and the grave shall deliver ' up the dead in them; when the dead, small and great, shall be raised, and stand before God, and the throne be. set, and the books opened, and. every one be judged ;"f and when "every eye shall- see Him,,,they plso which pierced Him;"" then God grant that we may see Him with joy; then, "when Christ, who is our* life, shall appear, may we also appear with Him in glory \"% * John y. 28. .-)¦ Rev. ix. 1, 2. xiv. 11.. xix. 3. xx. 12. xx. 13. i Col. iii. 4. ' . LECTURE VI. Rev. i. 1. LThe Revelation of Jesus Christ' It is my purpose on the present occasion to state to you what appears to me to be the true view, of the plan of the. Apo calypse ; and to illustrate it by ,an Expository Comment, which will be continued in subsequent Discourses. What is the design of the Apocalypse? This, I am- aware, is a difficult question, and one on which very different opinions have been entertained by Interpreters' of great learning and ability ; and it is, therefore, far from my intention to pronounce a confident judgment upon it. The re sult of my inquiries is offered, with due deference, for your con sideration, and with a deep sense of 'the need of caution and sobriety, and of prayer for spiritual illumination, in the treat ment of this solemn subject. Let me premise a, few words concerning the subsidiary means for the Exposition of the Apocalypse. I. The first place must be here assigned to the Apocalypse itself. It is its own best Interpreter. Every sentence* of this Book is pregnant with meaning.' The more it is studied, the more will this be found to be the case. Not a word ought to pass unnoticed. There are indeed many passages in it which at first appear obscure; but there is scarcejy one which, after * The learned Henry More says very truly, -(Rook v. 15,) "There never was any book penned with that artifice as this of the Apocalypse, as if f very word were weighed in a balance before it was set down." VI-J Exposition of the Apocalypse. 138 careful examination, will not be seen to be explained by other portions or phrases in this same Book. Here I would earnestly' exhort voir,' my younger hearers, not to content yourselves with the English Version of the Apoca lypse, but to have constantly before 'your eyes the Original Greek, in some good critical Edition, where the Various Read ings are carefully noted,---as, for instance, inthaVof Griesbach* or of Scholz.f It would be invidious to specifythe numerous errors which have been committed by modern Expositors, through neglect of this necessary precaution. Any, one who undertakes to expound the Apocalypse from bur English Ver sion alone, will deceive himself, and mislead others. It is no disparagement to 'our Authorized- Version of the Apocalypse to say, that it admits of considerable improvement.! This may be easily accounted for from the- nature of the case. The Apocalypse,, from its peculiar character, is more difficult to render accurately than any other Rook of the New. Testament : and from , the circumstance of its npt being publicly read in the Ghurch of England, our Translators appear to have been less familiar with it than with the rest of the Sacred Volume. ' Be sides this, fewer Manuscripts of it exist than of any other Book of the New Testament ; and very few of these Manuscripts§ had been; collated,|| ,and' hence the Text was not so- well settled, when our Translation was made. * 2 vols, 8vo. Lond. 1786. ! f 2 vols. 4to. Lips. l<830-6. Since the above was written, an Edition of, the AvoCAtTPSE,.cQntaining all the collations- of Scholz,' and others n'ot.included in his work, has been published by,the Author of these Lectures. Lond. 1849. i In the Hiemosy of the Apocalypse, and in the Notes to it, which are in corporated in the Edition mentioned in the preceding note, the passages are speci fied which appear to require revision. I. § The Complutensian Editor had only one MS; of/the Apocalypse ; Erasmus had only one, and that a mutilated one ; R. Stephens had only two, and they were of a very inferior character, and were not accurately collated :' so that the " Lectio recepta, quavab Erasmianis editioiiibus prpfluxit, admodum infirmo nitatur tibicine ;" and 'from this our Translation was made. See Wetstein; Proleg. ad Apocalypsim, and the Author's Preface to his Edition of the' Apocalypse, Lond. 1849. - || Hence, when Dr. Bentley published a specimen, of his new edition of the Greek Testament, (which, it is deeply to be regretted, was never completed,) he selected 8 134 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. II. Next in order— for interpreting the Apocalypse— must be placed the ancient Hebrew Prophets, especially as read in the Septuagint Version, which was used by all the Churches to which St. John wrote. You, my younger friends, will be surprised and charmed with the light which' they reflect on the Apocalypse.* Let them be your Commentators. You will perceive' how St. John. the Divine adopts their glowing imagery.: how he takes up the prophecies of David, Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zecha riah, and of other Hebrew Seers, as if they were earlier chap ters of his own Apocalypse: how he adds his prophecy as a sequel and continuatipn to theirs ; or rather, to speak more correctly, how the same Divine Spirit, Who spake by the Prophets in the Old Testament, completes His own work by the Book of Revelation in the New. ' Let me exhort you thus to obey St. Paul's precept, Compare spiritual' things with spiritual. Let this be your Rule of In terpretation. Compare the Apocalypse with itself, and with the Hebrew Prophets ; and you will be taught by God to under stand His own language. In His lightyou, will see light.-f III. To speak now of human Interpreters. The Apocalypse has employed the pens of learned and able Expositors in every age of the Church. It has been illustrated by the pious labours of ancient Bishops, Martyrs, and Doctors^ — Irenseus, Victo rinus, Jerome, Augustine, Primasius, Andreas, Arethas, Hay- mp: — it has been elucidated by the learning and acumen of Bede and Aquinas; and by the erudition and intelligence of later -Commentators, who are too numerous to be specified. But I cannot forbear to notice the elaborate Comment of Campe- gius Vitringa, distinguished alike by solid learning and Chris- for this purpose the last chapter of the Apocalypse. See his " Proposals," in Bent- ley's Works, ed.Dyce, iii. 4-75 — 496. Bp. Monk's Life of Bentley, ii. 122. * See " Parallela Apocalyptica," p. 886, of Mr. Giinfield's Scholia Hellenistka ;, Pars Altera. j- Psalin xxxvi. 9. i A brief notice of the Ancient Commentators on the Apocalypse will be; found in Appendix A iri the Edition mentioned above, pp. 162, 168, Note 3, and Note 1. VI-] Exposition of the Apocalypse* 135 tian moderation.* And in this our ¦ own University, we are forcibly -reminded of the " illustrious names of Mede, More, Lightfoot, and Newton, which Will ever be honourably associa ted with the history of Apocalyptic interpretation. ' Many dis tinguished names of contemporaneous Expositors will oceur to your own minds; and of their labours Posterity will judge. These various Interpreters may be distributed into two classes: one consisting of those who have employed the figura tive mode of Interpretation; the other composed of those who have preferred the-literaL The Ancient Expositors belong, for the most part, to the former class ; the 'Modern, to the latter. Each class has its peculiar uses, aind, may serve as supplemen tary and corrective to the Other. I cannot, disguise my opinion that in recent times the literal mode has been often carried too far; and has ' produced low * and unworthy notions concerning this glorious Book. It seems to have been forgotten that the Apocalypse is a divine Poem: Through the abuse of the literal method of interpretation, the spiritual, uses of the Apocalypse have 'Often been in danger of being. lost. You will not therefore, fail, I trust, to consult the Ancient Expositors. In them, it is true, you may find much which will , require the exercise of a sober judgment ; and the Modern en joy some advantages which they did, not possess. But I cannot doubt that there is much of the expository teaching of the primitive. Christian Church treasured up in the Commentaries of the earlier Interpreters ; and this' assuredly is of great value. And it is certain that the tone of these earlier Expositors is of a reverent and elevated character ; one suited to the high dig nity of the subject; one hallowing and spiritualizing the thoughts.; one produced by careful study of the Apocalypse and of the figurative language of Hebrew Poetry; one sugges tive of trufe Interpretations; one which raises the mind to a serene atmosphere and heavenly altitude, and not depressing it into lower and cloudier regions, which would have been spurned * The title of Vitringa's , Work is "Anacrisis Apocalypseos.'' The edition to which I refer is the third, Leiicopeta, 1721. 136 Planofthe^Apocalypse. [lect. by the Divine Evangelist, whose spiritual flights are well, typi fied by those of the soaring Eagle, which gazes on the sun. To speak now of the Plan of the Apocalypse. First, then, let me declare my conviction that the Apocalypse is not a progressive prophecy, flowing, in a continuous stream of historical sequence. , , The design, of the writer appears to me to be this. He traces a rapid prophetical sketch, which carries him from Ms own age to the eve of the consummation of all things.. Hastening onward to the conclusion, he slightly touches,, or wholly omits,*- many things things which, will afterwards engage his attention. He then returns to the point from which he had started; he ex pands what he had before contracted ; iie fills np what he had drawn in outline; he treats the, same period in a new relation; he turns aside from the main traokinto digressions and epi sodes ; he reverts frpm these by-ways into the high road, and again moves onward: and in this manner he arrives at the game point as- that winch he had reached in his first journey ; and thus, at several times proceeding from the same initial point, he travels , downward, not in parallel lines, but in paths more or. less devious or winding, and in roads of a different kind: some presenting a view of suffering; some of judgment; some displaying a prospect of the History of the Word of God; some of the' Church of God, both visible and invisible;, some opening, , as it were, a wide panorama of 'afflictions under the tyrannous sway of a proud and prosperous Apostacy; others exhibiting the downfall of this Mysterious Empire, and of all its adherents; and the final subjection of all terrestrial and infernal Powers to the dominion of Christ. * St. John, by his practice, has given weight to Horace's precept concerning true poetical order, (Ars Poet. 44,) — Ordinis hfflc virtus erit et venus, aut ego fallor ; Ut jam nunc dicat, jam nunc debentia did ' Plerdgue dijferat, et prsesens in temptis omittat. * Bossuet well says, on Rev. vii. ; C'est une chose ordinaire dans I'Apocalypse, de montrer premierement les ehpses en g^n^ral et plus' confus^ment comme de loin, pour ensuiteles declarer par ordre et dans un plus grand detail. Vl- J Plan of the Apocalypse. 137 Let it not, however, be imagined, that because the Apoca lypse i? not /composed on the plan of a regular History, its several parts are not closely connected together. A beautiful harmony pervades the whole. Its transitions may at first seem to be abrupt; but the fact is, they are all natural and easy. Every portion (as I shall endeavour to show)' is 'joined to the rest With exquisite grace and consummate skill., To sum up all. The Author having been brought, in the manner we have described, by several tracks to the, same glori ous catastrophe*, re-ascends once for all, in the Twentieth Chapter, and gives in one glance a brief Summary of what had been done by Christ for His Church, from His Incarnation to the end. He shows that Christ came from heaven in order to bind Satan; that He did bind him, and gave men power to overcome him ; that he made them partners of His victory, and inheritors of His 'glory; A^d-thus the Inspired Writer obviates any objections which might otherwise have beenraised from the calamities which he himself had' revealed in the Apocalypse. He vindicates Christ, and shows that all the sufferings of the world are due to its own wickedness ; that 'after repeated warn-, ings they are sent by God as- chastisements for sin, and as calls to repentance.* Thus, for example, he teaches, that the, Decian and Diocle tian persecutions were permitted by God to try the ; faith and to correct the worldliness of the Church ; that the incursions of Goths and Vandals into Europe and Africa were instruments in his hands for punishing heresies -and schisms ; that, heresies themselves werei chastisements for sin; that the Mahometan woe was a scourge for idolatry.. Thus he justifies the ways of God to man. He also shows that nbthing can harm those ,who are sealed with. the seal of God; for they are united for ever With Christ; they are enthroned in heaven with him. • And having" thus given the Christian moral of the Whole Apoca lypse, he then, at length, takes a step which he had not taken before. Hp crossed the gulf which separates Time from Eter- « See more on this subject above, Lecture I. pp. 40, 41. 138 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. nity. He displays the Last Judgment: He mounts from the Earthly Church to the Heavenly City. He unfolds the gates, of the New Jerusalem, And thus he exhibits' the immensity of God's love; and excites the courage and invigorates the faith of Christians in every age with a view of eternal joy. Such, I apprehend, is the Plan pf the Apocalypse.* In illustration of this- view, I might remind you that the same mode of treating - a similar subject is pursued "by the ancient Hebrew Prophets, , whose footsteps St. John follows very closely ; for example, by Daniel, f who hastens to the end of his prophecy, and then returns to exhibit it in wider expan sion and minuter detail.^ But I proceed ; and, in order to test this opinion concerning the Apocalypse, I would invite you t,o accompany me in brief analysis of this sublime Book. On the present occasion, we shall begin. at its opening; and speak of the Seven Epistles and Seven Seals. At the very commencement of the Revelation, the writer anticipates the end: Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him; and they also which pierced Him .§ Jesus Christ is then' represented as the Alpha and Omega; the first and the last;]] and so, as will be seen, all the parts of the Revelation begin and end with Christ. He is displayed as the great" High Priest.** . His hair is like that of the Ancient of Days.-ff Out of His mouth goeth a sharp two-edged * This view'of this Book is,confirmed by the testimony of the Ancient Church. The earliest Interpreter of the Apocalypse writes thus clearly on this point. Vic torinus in Apoc. vii. 2. Non aspiciendus est ordo dictorum, quoniam sape Spiritus Sanctus ubi ad novissimi temporis- finem percurrerit,.rursus ad eadem tempora redit, et supplet ea qure minus dixit. Nee requirendus est Ordo in Apocalypsi, sed intel- lectus sequendtfs est eorum qua propheiata sunt. — So Primasius, ad Apoc. in fine, says, In tubis grata repetitione suo more describit f Lightfoot, ad cap. xii. " As Daniel, in chap. ii. gives a general view of his own times to the coming of Christ, in the four Monarchies, and then handles the very same thing again in another scheme, and then something plainer, and then doth explain at large, and more particularly, some of the most material things that he had touched in those generals," so St. John in the Apocalypse. i See Daniel, chip. vii. 9—28. § Rev. i. 7. || Rev. i. 8, ii. 8, xxi. 6, xxii. ,13. ** Chap. i. 13. ft Rev. i. 14. Dan. vii. 9. VL] The Seven Epistles. 139 sword* which is the Word of God.\ He holds in. His hand the -seven Stars, which are the Angels, or Ministers, of the Churches.% He walks in the midst of the seven golden Candle sticks, which are the Churches.% He has the keys of hell and of death.]] He commands St. John to write what he sees,iand send it to the Seven Churches of Asia** Seven Epistles are dictated to these seven Churches ;tt and each of these seven Epistles com mences with the words, I know thy works-; each .contains a -promise, from Christ to him that overcometh ;%% and each ends with the word?,— He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches. §§, Let us observe here, that there were many|||| more than seven Churchs in Asia when St. John wrote; but that he "addresses only seven.*** These seven Churches are represented.as seven Candlesticks. The candlestick in the Temple consisted of seven branches, and, seven "being the emblem of completeness,'-|-tt re presented the Universal Church. Similarly each of these Seven * Rev. i. 16. Isa. xi. 4, xlix. 1, 2. Luke xiii. 3. Eph. vi. 17. Ps. cxlix. 6. f The following is a remarkable comment on this passage, dating from the end of the second century. Tertullian,, contr. Marcion. iii. 14. Apostolus 'Joannes in Apocalypsi ensem describit ex ore Dei prodeuntem, bis-acutum, prajacutum, quern intelligi oportet sermonein divinum, bis, acutum Duobus Testamentis, Legis et Evangelii. — Berengaud. ad loc. Gladius duo acumina habere visus est, quia doc- tores duorum Testamentorum doetrinis ef uditi, facile hostes devincunt ; et quod de ore Domini procedere visus est, significat quod Ipse dixit, (Matth.x. 20,) Non enim vos estis qui loquvmini, sed,Spiritus Patris Vestri Qui loquitur in vobis. i Chap, i.16, 20 V Rev. i. 13, 20. || Rev. i. 18. ,' , ** Rev. i. 11. f -j- Rev. ii. iii. ii Rev. ii. 7, 11,17, 26; iii. 5, 12; 21. cp. xxi. 7, and 1 John v. 4, 5. See Har mony, pp. 74, 75. ' §§ Rev. ii. 7^11, 17, 29; iii.' 6, 13,22. Oil e. g. Hierapolis, Tralles, Magnesia, Colossa:., . *** It has been observed that St. Paul, as well as St. John, writes to Seven Churches; and. in them, to all Christians. See S. Cyprian, de exhort martyr.. c. 11, and note in next page. ' . - ._ fff Andreas ad loc. Sea tov^ij3SofiaSixov aptdjiov to tuv artrtvtazov 'Exxty- oiuv igjjfiuve tOwi&os. . See S. Cyprian, adv. Jud. i. 20. -Septenarius numerus (says Vitringa,,p. 35) est numerus Universitatis. 140 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. candlesticks represents a Church ; and, taken together in their sevenfold unity, they typify the Catholic Church, formed of all the particular Cnurchs in all ages and countries of the world. And what is addressed to each of the seven Curches is said to be the Voice of the Spirit to the Churches; and St. John is commanded to send to them his Apocalypse, which reveals what would take place, long after these Asiatie.Churches would have disappeared. Hence it is rightly concluded that these Epistles to the seven Churches are not to be regarded as in scribed only to them, but that they are the Voice of the Holy Spirit to all the Churches pf Christendom, even to the end of time,* and that all are bound to hear what the Spirit saith in them- and that Christ's all-seeing Eye knows and observes the works of every Church in every age, that the faithful of Christ in every age are able. to overcome. - Somef expositors, you may be aware, would carry this prin ciple of extension still further. They regard the seven Epis tles as prophetic description of spven successive states of the Christian Church, in seven different consecutive periods- of time following in the order of the seven Epistles, from the Apostolic age to the consummation of all things. I cannot doubt that St. John wrote these Epistles for the edification of all Churches;' and that every Church may see * Bede, Explan. Apocalyps. in cap. i. Et mitte 'septem-Ecclessiis, &c Non in his tanium locis fuit tunc Christi Ecclesia, sed in septenairio numero omnis pleni- tudo consistit. > Et Apostolus Paulus septem scribit Ecclesiis; non tamen iisdem quibus et Joannes. Et licet ista septem loca figura sint totius Ecclesia septiformis, tamengesta sunt in. his specialiter qua increpat aut laudat — The ancient Canon of the Roman Church (ap. Routh. R. S. iv: p. 2) says, Joannes in Apocalypsi licet septem Ecclesiis scribat, tamen omnibus dicit. So Victorinus Petab. : Quod uni dicit, omnibus dicit. BefengaUdus ad Rev. i. 4. Per septem Ecclesias una Ec clesia Catholioa designator ; who rightly adds : Totus hie liber in septenario numero consistit,, sicut sunt .septem Ecclesia:, septem candelabra, septem stellse, septem 1am- pades, septem cornua Agni, septem oculi, septem sigilla, septem Angeli tubis eanen- tes, septem tonitrua, septem Angeli phialas habentes. Et draco qui diabolum, et beslia quae Antichristum designat, uterque' septem capita habuisse visus est, et totus liber in septem Visiones distinctus est. f For example, Vitringa, Anacrisis, p. 31 sqq., and Venema de Methodo Prophet. pp. 55 — 60. On (he other hand, see Witsius Miscell. Sacr. p. 702. vi.] The Seven Epistles. 141 herself reflected, as in a mirror, in one or other of these Epis tles. But it seems to. me very questionable, whether the order of these Epistles is prophetical. Their order appears rather to be ecclesiastical; civil, and geographical.. First,* Ephesus is addressed as the Asiatic Me tropolis, and as the nearest Church Jo Patmos, whence St. John wrote ; then the" other Churches on the western coast of Asia; then those in the interior. In fact, they are all ad dressed in the precise order in which they Would occur to a person writing from Patmos. These Epistles are impressed, with what we may call the an ticipatory character of the Apocalypse. Eor example, in' the Epistle to the Church of Pergamos, — "To him who overcometh, I will give," says Christ, "to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone ; and in the stone a new name,f which no man knoweth, saving^ he. that re ceiveth it. '"J And again : " I will write upon him the name of My God, and the city of My God, which is the' New Jerusa lem which comejA down. out of heaven. "§ And again .*-',' I will give him the, morning, star." |j, These expressions appear obscure at first, but they are clear ed up in subsequent. portions of the Apocalypse. First, as to the hidden manna. In later parts of the Apo- calypsej frequent references occur to the victories of Joshua. Now, when Joshua, and the people led by him, entered Canaan, it is expressly recorded that the manna, which had fed them, in , the wilderness, ceased; neither had they manna any more.** It was hidden. In another sense, too, it was hidden. If was laid up in the ark in the Most Holy Place, as a membrialfor future generations.ft - It w^s hiddden as a mystery,, in God's Oracle. Uut it reappeared in its spiritual reality in the Divine Joshua, Jesus Christ. JJ f am: the -true bread which came down from heaven, says Christ; and this true bread, this hidden * Aquinas ad loc. Prima dirigitur Episcopo Ephesi, quae erat Metropolis. f Isa. lxii. 2.. bvo/ia ib xawbv, LXX. + Rev- "¦ }"• §Rev.iH.,12. ' I Rev. ii. 28. ** Joshua v. 12. ¦ft Exod. xvi. ,33— 35. ** J'°hn *"¦ 33> 4S», 58' 142 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. manna, is promised to all faithful Israelites-, who follow that heavenly Joshua. And the white stone, the stone of absolution from original and actual guilt,* is also promised to all who are named with the name of Christ ; that is, who, being enrolled in his service, and so ' made free, and signed with his Cross at Baptism, continue "His faithful soldiers and servants to their lives' end;" for they' are inheritors of joys such as eye hath not seen nor ear heard; they communicate in the ineffable glory of Him who is described, in, a later vision, as the great Conqueror, leading his armies on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean and white; and He has a Name written that no man knew but He himself. What the New Jerusalem is, is fully explained by St- John hereafter ;f and at the close of the Apocalypse, our Lord says, "I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. "J Thus the earlier parts of the Revelation anticipate the latter, and the latter explain the former. ' ,The Epistles to the Seven Churches, are followed by the Seven ..Seals. In order td conceive this Vision, we must imagine a Roll of parchment wrapped round a cylindrical wand, and sealed with seven Seals. It could not be perceived that, the Roll had seven Seals, till it was unfolded ; and St. John calls it a Roll sealed 'with seven Seals,§ by anticipation. When one Seal js broken, a portion of the -Roll is unwrapped, and its contents are dis closed; then a' second Seal is broken; and so on, till the seven Seals are opened,, and the whole Volume is unrolled. What, then, is the design of this Roll ? ¦ It presents the History of the conflicts of the Church, || from St. John's age to the- day of doom. This Volume, be it observed, is represented as sealed; that * Mos erat antiquus niveis atrisque lapillis His damnare reos, ill is absolvere culpa. Oi). Malt. xv. 41. ¦j- Rev. xxi. 2. $ Rev. xxii. 16. § Rev. v. 1. || Bede ad loc. " Conflictus et triumphos Ecclesia reserat futuros." vi.] The Seven Seals. 143 is, its contents are concealed from human eye ; and it is true', for it is impressed with the, divine signet: it contains & perfect History, for it is sealed with seven Seals ; it is in the hand of Him who sitteth on the throne;* and nd one can' open it but the Lamb.f Hence we learn that all the fortunes of the Church are in God's hand ; and that nothing can happen to her but by His providential dispensation ; and that Christ alone is worthy to reveal the inscrutable counsels of Gpd';| for He is the Word of God.§_ ¦'--*'. This mysterious Volume is not traced with alphabetical characters, but with hieroglyphical symbols. The first symbol is exhibited, at the opening of the first Seal, and the -second symbol at the second Seal; and each symbol portrays in order the state of the Church in that period to which it refers ; and so on, in succession, till we are brought, with the opening of the seventh Seal, to' the- final condition of the Church on earth. Here we pause, to remark, that, as was before noticed, the inspired- Writer in the very beginning of the Revelation hastens to the end: then he returns, as we have seen, and addresses spiritual admonition, in seven Epistles, to the Universal Church ;' then he reverts again, and reveals to the Church a "rapid view of her own -History in seven pictures, "displayed under the seven Seals. To speak now df these Seals. At the opening of the first Seal, a voice is heard from one of the four Living Creatures, Come and see.' A .similar voice from another of the Living Creatures in succession is heard at the opening. Pf the three following Seals, Come and see. This was the, invitation, by which, as St. John informs us, Philip invited Nathanael to Christ: Come and see. It indicates that, the pvents revealed are great and wonderful : it consoles the Church with the assurance, that ' however she may suffer, the voice of the Gospels will survive ; and that all her sufferings will be for her own good, and for Christ's glory; and that, therefore, they * Chap. v. - 1. f Chap. v. 5, 9. i Cf. Isa. xxix. 11. ' § John il 1,18. 144 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. are spectacles which the true Christian may rejoice to come and see * The first Seal is opened. Behold a Warrior riding, crowned as a King, mounted on a White Horse, the Horse of Victory, armed with a Bow ; and He goes forth conquering, and to con quer. ,...'' ¦ In the Apocalypse white, is the colour of what appertains to Christ,, and to HimaloneJ[ Thus we read of His hair white as wool. He promises to His faithful followers a white stone": they will walk, with Him in white. He rides' on a white, cloud: they follow Him on white, hprsps. His spouse is attired in white. Hp sits on a* great white throne. The Royal Rider, then, on the White Horse, is Christ. The Bow, in His hand, arej Apostles, Evangelists, and Teachers, who are Christ's instruments in advancing His king dom. This is the 'interpretation of the Holy Spirit Himself by , the Prophet Zechariah, / have bent Judah for Me, and filled the bow with Ephrair%.,% where Judah and Ephraim represent the true servants of Gpd.f Christ bends His bow, when he ordains and sends His ministers to the spiritual battle,|| and fills their quiver with the arrows of His Word.' Whatever, then,, may be the sufferings of the Church in the following Seals, the Messiah, her Lord, is invincible. He is most Mighty: as the Psalmist says, " He prospereth with. his honour: he rides on, because of his ^ word; and his right hand shall teach him terrible things. * His narrows are very sharp ; *• Veni, Vidi, Vici, may therefore be his reply. ¦j- The words Ae-kxos, white, occurs fifteen times in the Apocalypse, and in this book is applied to what appertains to Christ, and never to any thing eke. ' i See Arethas and A;quteas ad, loc. Aojjus yincit cum Arcu Scriptures. — Hay- mo : Sagittffi sunt divina Eloc-uiai. Per Equum album debemus intelligere Corpus Dominicum ab omni peccato mundum. See also Vitringa's note. .§. Zech. ix. 13. ivitnvd Sc, 'lovSa, l/ia-ufu, tis to%ov Xn.'krfla tbv 'Etypaijx, against ta tixva tuv 'EMajwo*-, i. e. against gentile foes. || See also Habakkuk iii. 8, 9. VI-] The Seven Seals. 145 the people shall be subdued unto him ; his Seat endureth for ever."* This Rider is identified with Christ by one of the later Vi sions of the Apocalypse. " I saw heaven opened, and behold a White Horse : and he that sate upon him- was called Faithful and True."f The. first Rider then is Christ. He it is who rides conquer ing, and in order that he may conquer. % He who says to his Ohurch, " In the world ye shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. "§ The^colour White, in the Apocalypse, appertains, as we have said, to Christ. Whatever then is contrary to white is opposed to Christ. This leads us to the interpretation of the next Seals. The Second symbol is a Red horse, and his Jtider bears a sword; not a barbarian falchion, but an imperial sword. |f This sword, as St. Paul teaches us, is the emblem of Civil Pow er : He beareth not the Sword in vain.** This Seal, then, with its red horse and drawn Sword, prefigures Satan,ff shedding the blood of Christians by the sword of the Pagan Emperors, of Rome, X% especially from Decius to Diocletian ;§¦§ that is, from A. D. 249 to A. D. 303. The Third Seal displays a Black horse ; and " he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand ; and I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say, A measure of wheat * Psalm xiv. 4—6. f Rev. xix. 11. i 'iva vaijavi " fa order that He may conquer," are the words 'of the original. § John xvi. 33. || fia^mpa. not poutyaia. ** Rom. xiii. 4. oix dxij ti\v jjidxaipav tyopil. j f f Cp. Zech. i. 7 — 17. Hengstenberg Chr-istologie, § 501. > H Hay ma ad loc, per Domitianutn ef eseteros ; and Joachim, p. 114, (reverse,) Equus rufus est Romanorum exercitus. In- sessore isto intelligendi sunt Romani Imperatores. Quantum vero sanctorum sanguinem Romani effuderurit Imperatores Dioeletianus maxime et Maximianus ! See Lactantius de Morte Persecutorum, c. 7—24. Euseb. iibb. viii.— x. §§ Cf. Rom. viii. 36. Psajm xliv. 22. 146 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil and wine." . This symbol must be understood in a spiritual sense.* It relates not to secular markets, but to the bread of life, and to the meat that perishefh not.f To interpret it of natural wheat and barley is to fall into the error of the Disciples, who, when our Lord told them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, thought that he spoke of the leaven of bread-X The horseman, we see, is on a black horse: he is therefore opposed, to Christ, whose horse is white. Here Satan holds in his hand — not a sword, as the preceding rider on the reel, horse —but a Balance, the emblem of Justice. While, therefore, he practises wrong, he professes ,right.§ The figure is derived from the Prophet Hosea : "The Balances of deceit are in his hands ; he loveth to oppress. "|| But, in order that no one may be deceived by his aspect and -gesture,' a Voice is heard from the four Living Creatures beneath the Throne of God — that is, from the four Evangelists,** — proclaiming, " Ameasure of wheat for, a penny, (or denarius,) and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the c°m and wine." To understand this warning Voice, we must remember that the penny, or denarius, was a day's wages; and that the mea sure here mentioned, ft is the chcenix, which was the eighth part * Seo(Arethas in, Cramer's Catena, p. 268, who has well expounded it. f John vi. 27, 35. 4 Matth. xvi. 6, 12. § Auctor anon. ap. S. August, ad loc. well says : " Habet stateram in manu ; quia dum fingit se justitiam tenere, per simulationem ltedit." || Hosea xii. 7. ** See above, Lecture IV. — Aquinas ad loc. Concors doctrina iv. Evangelio- rum : Ex hoc patet quod recurrendiim est ad doctrinam sacra paginae in adversis temporfbus. , -ft The'symbol is fofiov Stly/ia, says Arethas. A soldier's daily pay was a dena rius. Tacit. Annal. i. 17. The a;otoi| weighed two librsc, and contained on eighth part of a jxaSiot : it was an ^fitpijsta. Vpo$jJ. See Diog. Laert. viii. 8. Athen. iii. p. 90, E. Slaves had, an allowance of four modii, or thirty-two choenices a month; (See ad Cic. de Off. ii. 17.) A modius was usually sold for a denarius, sometimes for half a denarius. Cjc. Verr. iii. 81, and Divin. c. 10. VI-J The Seven Seals. 147 of a modius ; and that a modius of wheat did not usually sell for more than a denarius : so that wheat is represented here as eight times its usual price, and that a day's allowance of wheat for one man would exhaust all his day's wages; that is, there is a great spiritual scarcity; "a famine of hearing the word of the Lord;* a leanness of soul :f and barley is three times as cheap as wheat ; that is, degenerate doctrine is much more plentiful than true.J What, then, is the meaning of this emblem ? The first mode by which the Evil One had attempted to de stroy the Church' was by the Sloord of Pagan Persecution. This, therefore, was represented under the former Seal. But God mercifully put an end to the sufferings endured by the Church from open violence ; the Roman empire was Christian ized. Then the Opponent of Christ resorted to another mode of attack," more insidious and not less deadly -r— Heresy. §' The former Seal then having displayed Persecution from without, it follows that; the present Seal exhibits Heresy from within. \ And what is the fact ? — what does this Seal display ? The Foe of the Church' appears no longer now with the 'war like Sword in his hand, but he holds the peaceful Balance. Yet Satan is opposed to Christ, who is on the White Horse, no less when Satan rides on the black horse than on the red horse; no less with the Balance in his hand^than with the Swprd. He raised up many persons, especially in the Eastern Church, such as Arius, 1 1 (a. d. 318,)' Nestorius, (a. d. 428,) and Euty- * Amos viii. 11. , f Psalm cvi. 15. i The xpt-Br) ii contrasted with aitos, just" as Dinarchus was called o xpiBwos Arifioaeivtji (see Ruhnkeri Rutil, Lup. vii. v. p. 88:) and hortfeo pasci was a mili tary punishment. Liv. xxvii. 13. Differt (says Joachim in h. loc.) inter triticum et hordeum, quod triticum est hominum ho-t&eum jumentorum. §' See, Theodoret, Eccles. Hist. i. 1 ; who, indirectly, by, a recital of facts, sup plies a very striking comment on -this Seal. || Joachim in loc. In Equo nigro Arianorum intelligendus est clerus : Statera est disputatio liters qua abutuntur haeretici.— Anselm (Bishop of Havilburg, a.,d. 1 145.) Hi sunt haeretici qui in manu dolosam statera'm tfutinantes- habent; asqui- tatem de fide disputando proponunt, sed minus cautos levissimQ vel minimi verbi 148 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. ches, (a. d. 448;) and after them many more in succession, who were skilled in the intricate subtleties of scholastic dialec tics ; and, being shrewd and subtle disputants, they inveigled many' by sophistical syllogisms and plausible professions 'of Equity, holding, as it were, a Balance in their hands, and weighing spiritual doctrines in the scales of human Reason; and thus, under a 'specious pretence of scrupulous regard for logical accuracy, and philosophic calmness, and intellectual acumen, corrupted the saving doctrines of Divine Revelation ; and, while feigning a zeal for Justice, destroyed the Truth.* We may extend this, emblem still further. It may be applied to some Ecclesiastical Synods of later times ; such; for example, as those of- Constance, Basil, Florence, and of Trent, in which there was a pomp of Justice, but the work of Death. In them the pure grain of God's Word was not liberally measured^ out to Christ's household, but was weighed^ in the Balance of human Traditions, and was treated as of less weight than those Traditions : in a word, there was in them a semblance of Equity, but, in fact, the cruel hand and heart which make a famine for the soul. This power is represented as mounted on a Black HorSe — dark with error and sin and death. What, then, is the guide and comfort of the true Christian ? The. Warning Voice of the Gospel ; which detects the artifice of Satan, and which follows the heels of the sable Rider, with a pondere fallunt. He mentions Arius, Sabellius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Bonatus, Photinus, Manes. * See Hooker V. xiii. concerning " Arius, a subtle-witted, and a marvellous fair- spoken man;" and on the~Arians generally S. Ambrose de Fide, i. 8. "Omnem vim venehorum suorum in dialecticd disputatione constituunt Sed non in dia lectics!, complacuit Deo salvum facere populum suum." — Socrat. i. 5. "Apstoj, av^p obx apotpoj r% Sia%sxtixrjs 7.iaxni — Epiphanius (Hares, p. 809) says of the Anomoaans, " They exhibit the Divine Nature by means of Aristotelic syllogisms and geometrical data." ^ So Euseb. v. 28, concerning Artemas and his followers: " Abandoning the inspired Writings, they devote themselves to geometry," symbolized by the £tiy6s of the Apocalypse. f Luke vi. 38. , * Lightfoot in loc. " Here corn for scarcity is weighed, like spicery, in a pair of VI.] The Seven Seals. 149 declaration of his true character. The Balance may be in his hand, but Hunger is in his rear. Therefore, the faithful Church will not be deceived : she will hear the warning voice ; she will not weigh the truth in the scales of deceit, but in the unerring balance of the Word of God.* .Here then, I conceive, we have a compendious History of Heresy, and of the sufferings of. the Churph, from its -specious and cruel arts. And, here the stewards of the Great House- , bolder may read their own duty; which is, to dispense to every one, without grudging, his spiritual meat in due season ;f and not to elevate the human Will and Reason, in a Pelagian spirit, so as to disparage the sacramental influences— the J Oil and WineJ — of Divine Grace. This Heavenly Voice, is also raised for the consolation of the true Christian. ¦ Whatever may be the fraud and power of Satan hi the pro pagation of strange Doctrines, the voice, of the Gospel will never cease to be heard ; and he will never be able to hurt the Sacraments' of Christ. The next Seal opens a still, mo re dismal picture. A pale, or, rather, a ,livid§ Horse appears. Its rider is Death ; and Heir follows. with him ; and he has power over the fourth part of the earth, to destroy with, the Sword,, and with .hunger and death, and with the Beasts of the earth.. Here is a grievous and manifold persecution.. The Sword now mentioned is not the imperial Sword,,, but the barbarian Scimitar, jj It refers to furious ravages committed by savage * The comment of Joachim deserves to. be cited. Hteretici quadam statera utun- tur, sed abutuntur in disputando ; legimus enim in Nicaena Synodo plures conve- nisse philosophos qui astutia dialectics artis fidem Catholicam impugnarent. Sed quo vult pergat Phildsophus : tu tene tuum pondiis ; tu serva numerum quern au- disti. This Seal'is also very applicable to the Scholastic and Rationalizing Theology of later times, and of our own day,. f Matth. xxiv. 45. Luke xii; 42. , i Primasius ad loc. In vino etoleb vim Sacramentorum prohibet violari. § %%u>pbs, expressing the ghastliness of violent death. 1 Not pdzaipa, gladius, but jio/ityaia, framea. 9 150 Exposition of the Apocalypse. ' [lect. tribes,— Goths, Vandals, Saracens.* It portrays sufferings produced by Spiritual famine.f It exhibits evils consequent on the suppression, of God's Word by a .corrupt Church. It re veals her wickedness in feeding the starving soul with hungry husks of fanatical, fables. It speaks of the calamities to be produced' by the Beasts, that is, by the two Anti-Christian Beasts, which, according to the manner of the Book of Revela tion, are supposed tp be already known to the reader, as they are to the writer, and which will be described more fully here after in the latter parts of the Apocalypse.J" So ends the Fourth Seal. The Fifth reveals the souls of the Martyrs who have been slain in the previous persecutions for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held, and which cry from beneath the altar, on which their blood has been spilt. ":How long, O Lord, 'holy and true, dost Thou not avenge our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?" They who dwell on the earthy be it observed, is a frequent expression in the Apocalypse,§ and always- designates those who have not" their hearts in heaven, but are of the earth, earthy; and are opposed to the children of the kingdom of heaven. And, They who were slain receive white robes, and they must rest a little longer till the number of, their brethren and fellow-servants, who are to be offered up as victims,- as they were, is fulfilled ;|| and then their happiness will be complete. ' The Sixth Seal reveals a great revolution— an earthquake, darkness, and the falling of stars from heaven. The present is a proper place for offering some remarks on the figurative character of these prophecies. * Joachim, p. 116. Quis tam recte' Mors appellari potuit quam homo flleper- ditus lylahumetes qui tot millium hominum factus est causa mortis 1 fAmosviii.il. i Rev. xiii. 1—11.' This word Beasts, here introduced, is a chronological catchword, and shows that this Vision belongs also to the time of the Sixth and Seventh Trumpets, when these Beasts exercise power, cp. note 1, p. 190, and see " Haemont of the ArocAiTPSF.,'' p. 80. § Rev. iii. 10. xi. 10. xiii. 8. xiv. 6. xvii. 8. cp. Luke xxi. 35. |j Rev. vi. 11. VI.] The Seven Seals. 151 St. Peter* thus. speaks ontheday of Pentecost :, " This is that which was spoken by the- prophet Joel ;f And it shall come to pass in the lastdays, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh : and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams : and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days pf My Spirit ; and they shall prophesy." Mark now what follows. "And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath ; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. The Sun shall be turned into darkness, and the Moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come." Thus we are taught by an inspired Apostle not to expect a literal fulfilment of the'phophecies in this Seal, which describe a great elemental convulsion. We are not to look for any ter rific changesin the heavenly bodies before Christ's' second com ing. But these prophecies are spiritual, and to be understood . spiritually. This is very necessary to be remembered, lest "our mind's, eye should not be open to the, signs of our Lord's coming, and so its signs should be no signs to us; and lest we should look for other signs than the true onep; and then that day should eome upon us unawares. J It will so come on the World. Upon the World it will come as a Thief in the night ;,§ but we are to take heed,'lesi that day should overtake us as a.thief.]\ In another respect also St- Peterfe interpretation is very im portant. > ,'¦.., - It puts into our hands a divine key for the unlocking of these prophecies. This key is divine: but with us it is in human hands, and must be used with great care, and under, divine -guidance. By this I mean, that . we ought not to assign to any passage of Scripture a spiritual meaning, , which is not authorized** • Acts ii. 16. , t Joe! "• 28- I * Luke xxi> 3i- § 1 -Thess, v. 2. 2 Pet. iii. 10. Rev. iii. 3. xvi. 15. || 1 Thess. v. 4. . ** See Waterlaiid's Scripture Vindicated, Works, vi". pp. 18—20. Jones on the Figurative Language of Holy Scripture ; Theol. Works, iii. 1—191. 152 Exposition of the Apocalypse. '• [lect. either directly by Scripture, or by way of rational induction from Scripture. We must use the key, and use it aright. If we take these prophecies in a literal sense, we do not use the key.: if we give them a spiritual sense, unauthorized by Scrip ture', we use it amiss. , Let us how return. The Sixth Seal is opened. Here we enter the domain of un fulfilled prophecy, and must tread with caution. A great Earthquake ensues. This Earthquake is described hereafter more fully under the Sixth Trumpet,* and again under the Seventh Vial :f and thus, if we may so speak, it serves as a CatchwordX to connect all these together. Like other words and phrases in this Book, serving for the same purpose, it rivets events together where they are contempora neous, and thus enables us to fix the chronology of the Apoca lypse. § The Earthquake having been announced in the Sixth Seal, a great convulsion|| takes place. The Sun becomes like sack cloth; the- whole Moon as blood; that is, the light of Christ is obscured,** and the Church will seem to be eclipsed-; the Stars fall to earth, as the fig-tree Casteth its green figs when tossed by * Rev. xi. 13. See " Harmony," p. 86. § 31. , , f Rev. xvi. 17— 21. i These catchwords are marked by a particular type (called Clarendon) in the " Harmony of the Apocalypse," in Vol. ii. of these Lectures. See " Harmony," p. 70. § Cp. Vitringa, p. 738, who has observed this synchronism of some of the events offhe Sixth Seal and the Seventh Vial. Let the reader peruse Rev. vi. 12 — 17, and xvi. 17 — 21, and he will see the grounds of this opinion. || Victorinus ad loc. ' Ipsa est persecutio novissima, — to be followed by the ex tinction of all Antichristian Powers. So Arethas, pp. 277, 278, Cramer, and Aquinas, ad cap. vi. Hrec est persecutio tempore Antichristi. ** Haymo and Aquinas ad loc. ChristusJux hominum et angelorum factus est obscurus, non in se, sed in omnibus quibus claritas ejus est occulta : tempore Anti christi non apparebit magnificentia Christi.. Saccus est signum villitatis. The Two Witnesses prophesy in sackcloth, at the same time. Rev. xi. 3. — The com ments of Aquinas on the whole of this passage are very striking. Pages 172-r- 175. ed. 1549. vi-] The Seven Seals. 153 the wind.* That is, many who endure but for a timerf not being ripened by grace, will fall from the faith. The unfolded volume of the heavens, once bespangled with constellations, is rolled up as a scroll, and can no longer be read. Mountains are moved; Islands are sunk; the Kings and Rulers of the Earth hide themselves in. caverns; that is, in a spirit of despe rate infatuation they take refuge in the dens of worldly policy, and like the Kings flying from- Joshua to Makkedah, they cry to the mountains and. to the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the wrath pf the Lamb 5 for the Great Day of His wrath is come, and who can stand ?" J Such is the description of the great civil and ecclesiastical Earthquake and Storm, which, in a later part of this divine Prophecy, is called the conflict of Armageddon; and which, as appears from other parts of the Apocalypse, will change§ . the aspect of things in this world, and terminate with the total de struction of the foes of Christ. Immediately after it, four Angels appear, who hold the four winds pf heaven, and are commanded not to* loose their blasts, " till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. "|] Here * Isa. xxxiv. 4. f Mark iv. 17. i Rev, vi. 12. 17. Cf. Isa. ii. 10. 19. Jer. iv. 29. Dan. iii. $4. iv. 33. Hos. x. 8. Luke xxiii. 30. See " Harmony;" pp. 86, 87. $ The following is the comment of Bede on the Sixth Seal : — Et vidi cumaperuuset, sigillum sextum, &c] Sexto sigillo patefacto novissi- ma persecutio nuntiatur, et sicut Domino sexta feria crucifixo, mundum tenebris et pavore concuti. Et sol foetus est niger tanquam saccus.] Tanquam Christi vel operta poten- tia, vel doctrina tcmporaliter obscurata, vel a defensione sit velata,' cum ministri An tichristi in servos Christi grassari sinuritur. Et luna tota facta est sicut, sanguis.] Ecclesia solito amplius pro Christo san- guinem fundet. Tota autem dixit, quia in toto orbe erit novissimus terrae-motus. Et stellse veciderunt super terram, &c] Qui coelestes in ecclesia specie tenus fulgent, vento novissima persecutionis impulsi terreni fuisse probabuntur. Quorum bene opera grossis, tmmaturis videlicet et inutilibus et caducis fici fructibus, compa- rantur. Et caelum recessit sicut liber involutus.] Sicut liber involute mysteria quidem intus, sed foris non apparentia continet, sic et tunc ecclesia suis tantum cognita, persecutionem discrete vitans recedet, et ut ab extraneis abdita non videatur. 1 Rev. vii. 1. 154' Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect.; is another catch-word, and it connects the Sixth Seal With the Sixth Trumpet, when, as we shall see hereafter, these Angels again appear, and are then loosed.* The* Saints of God are now gathered from the four winds* of heaven. The number of the elect is now complete. - It is described as twelve times twelve thousand, a number expressing the consummation of the Apostolic Church.f JiZwho hold the faith, and keep the com mandments, delivered by Jesus Christ to his Twelve Apostles, are inhabitants of the Heavenly City* which is Twelve thousand furlongs square; and its walls are Twelve times Twelve cubits high ; and it has Twelve Gates, which are inscribed with the names of the Twelve Tribes, and Twelve foundations, and on them the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb.% In the pass age before us, all these faithful Christians arerepresented as com ing from every "Nation and Tribe and Tongue; and though their number had before been specified as definite, (as Twelve times Twelve Thousand, a Thousand from each of Twelve Tribes, one hundred and forty-four thousand,) yet, since it represents the Apostolic Church of every age and clime, which consists of the true seed of Abraham and David," the Israelites indeed, those who are Jews inwardly, the true citizens of the "heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother of us all," and in order that no one may suppose that this number is to be understood literally, as if the elect were limited to so small a body as twelve times twelve thousand, it is now described as " a great multitude, which no man can number ;"§ and they have "come forth * Rev. ix. 13, 15. f Berengaud. ad loc. Duodecies duodeni fiunt centum quadraginta quatur. Om nes igitur qui fidem duodecim Apostolorum custodiunt actusque imitantur hi hoc numero consistunt. — See also Aquin. in loc. Omnes electi usque ad finem mundi. i Rev. xxi. 14. 17. See " Harmony," pp. 92—94. § Some, modern Expositors have imagined that the 144,000 are different from the innumerable company ; but the ancient Interpreters rightly perceiving their identity. Berengaudus in loc. says : Per turbam qum numero comprehenditur, electi- designantur, et quia multi sunt vocati, pauci electi, (Matth. xx. 1 6,) non im- merito numero designator. In coelesti verd beatitudino ubi singulis temporibus ex omnibus gentibus congregantur, tanta efncitur multitudo, ut nulla numero compre hend! possit. So Aquinas, p. 199, and Vitringa, p. 307. Nee est, quod in eo quis VI-] The Seven Seals. 155 from great Tribulation, and are clothed in White Robes, and have Pahns of Victory in their hands," and join in a triumphal doxology to God and to the Lamb. Thus ends the Sixth Seal.* The number here specified of the Saints, a 'hundred and forty-four thousand, is also, if we may repeat the expression, another catchword, and serves to connect the close -of the period of the Sixth Seal with, the latter part of the period of the Sixth Trumpet, in which it is said, "I saw the Lamb standing upon Mount Sion, and. with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having the name of His Father written upon their foreheads." The Seventh, or last, Seal is now opened; and how differ ent are its contents from those of the other Seals! "There was Silence in heaven,1 about the space of half an hour." How sublime is this repose! After, the six days' toil of the Church, the peaee of the Eternal Sabbath begins; and the opening of this Seal is like the Sabbath-bell of Eternity. But this peace is as yet represented only by Silence ; Silence of half an hour. And why ? Because itis not to be described now, but will be revealed more fully in the latter part of the Apocalypse, f The writer is now called away, to prophesy again. He must not yet dwell on the joys of Heaven : he has other prophecies to deliver concerning the sufferings of Earth. He must not yet speak of Glory, but, of Judgments. He is snatched away by the Spirit hsreat, turbam eleetorum Joannem hie facere innumerabilem, cum jam ante signa- tos comprehendisset numero cxliv. millium. Numerus ille erat my sticus et allego- ricus, et vere significabat totam eamque maximam multitudinem Eleetorum. * The reader is here referred to an Exposition of the Seals by Anselmus Havel- bergensis, a Bishop of the twelfth century, which will be found in D'Achery's Spi- cilegium, vol. i. p. 161, from which extracts are inserted in Appendix B, pp. 118—; 120 of the Supplementary Volume to these Lectures. ¦j- Victorinus says very well, ad Apoc. viii. 1. Per hoc silentium media? hors significatur inithim quietis seternse, sed partem intellexit quia interrupto silentio earn per ordinem repetit. Nam si esset juge silentium, hie finis narrandi fieret. See also Aquinas and Bede, p. 201. 156 Exposition of the' Apocalypse. [lect. from the Silence of the Seventh Seal, to listen to the terrible blasts of the Seven Trumpets.* Here we pause for the present ; and we only add two practi-, cal reflections on the Seals. In the first Seal we saw Our Blessed Lord and Saviour arrayed as a mighty Warrior, crowned, riding in triumph on a white horse, conquering and to conquer. Such He appeared at the period of the First Seal; that is, in the primitive age of Christianity. And if now we turn to the last Vision of earthly things at the close of the Apocalypse, He there re-appears to our sight. There is the same white horse ; the same Warrior. ifI saw heaven opened; and, behold, a white horse; and He that sate upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righte ousness He doth judge and make war. On His head were many crowns. And he was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, and His name is called The Wokd of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him on white horses. And out of His mouth goeth, a sharp sword : and He treadeth the winepress of the wrath of God." Behold here the majesty and glory of Christ. AH earthly powers will be shaken ; but His throne is immoveable. He rides on conquering and to conquer. All worldly things will pass away ; but His years will not fail. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. The succeeding Seals display to us Satan, the Adversary of Christ and His Church. Christ, we have seen, is ever one and the same. He is ever on the white horse ; ever pure, ever true, ever victorious. But Satan changes his form and colour. He is first terrible, on a horse of blood, and brandishes a sword. He * I insert here the remarkable, Exposition of the Seven Seals, given by the abbot Joachim (ad Apocal. p. 6) in the beginning of the thirteenth century. Apertio primi sigilli a Resurrectione Domini ad obitum Joannis Evangelists : secundi, ex ' eo tempore ad Constantinum Magnum : tertii, ex eo ad Justinianum : quarti, ex eo ad Karolum : quinti, ex eo ad prresentes dies, in quibos, initiate apertione sexti, percutienda est nova Babylon ; completa vero apertione sexta, erit sabbatum Dei sanctum. vi.] ( The Seven Seals. 157 next appears on a black horse, and holds a balance. He then comes forth on a pale horse, with Death and Hell,* and Hunger' and Beasts in his train. Christ is ever the same: but Satan assumes different shapes and colCurs, and has different weapons and allies, to suit the temper of the times. When he is foiled in one device, he resorts to another. He knows where men are most' vulnerable, and assails them accordingly: and so it will ever be to the end of the World, when, having exhausted all his arts, he will (like the fabled Proteus after all his changes) return to his originaj shape, and fiercely persecute the Church! f But now look at the end. The day will 'at length come when all his efforts will be de feated. Look, I say, again at the close of the Apocalypse. He who is on the White Horse has subdued all His enemies. The two Beasts, J the allies of Satan, are taken by Christ, and cast alive into the lake of fire. Death and Hell are cast into the lake of fire'; which is. the second death And Satan himself is cast into.the lake of fire, to be tormented for ever and ever. We are taught by these Divine Visions how History ought to be written, and how it ought to be read. History generally, I say, and not only Church History, because, as our Lord s^ys, the Field is the World, .that is, the Church is universal in time and, place, and whatever concerns the World concerns the Church, and whatever concerns the Church 'concerns all men. Let me exhort you, my younger, brethren, to study History accordingly. Contemplate its events not only as facts teaching civil wisdom, but regard them as St. John teaches you to re gard them; that is, as the workings of two opposite' powers, the power of Christ on one side, and the power of Satan on the other. Thus the earlier Christian Histories treated- them ; and here, it appears to me, is their great excellence. They looked oh Persecution, and Heresy, and Superstition, and Infidelity, as the weapons Of Sa^an against Christ. In them they saw the Evil One riding, as it Were, on the red horse, and the black * Or the Grave rather ; "AtSjjs. f See Rev. xx. 8, 9; i The Beast and the False Prophet ; that is, the two Beasts. See Rev. xiii. 1,11. 158 Exposition of the Apocalypse. horse, and the pale horse, against Him who sitteth on the^ white horse. Do you likewise ; and thus you will study History' with the spirit of St: John. - Lastly : to whom do you now belong ? Whom are you fol lowing ? Him who rideth for ever on the white horse ? or him who sitteth, now oh the red horse, now on the black, now on the pale horse? Christ or Satan? Doubtless, in this world Satan has strong allies and terrible weapons ; the sword, famine,, the beasts, the grave. But, respice finem. Have your eye fixed on the end. Where will you be hereafter ? With those who follow Christ on white horses? or with the Beasts, the Grave\, and Satan, who will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the Second Death ? LECTURE VII. , Rev. viii. 2. I saw the Sevea Angels which, stood before God ; and to them were given Seven Trumpets. We proceed now from, the Seven Seals to the Seven Trumpets. First; Heaven is opened; the heavenly Temple appears like that on Earth; the prayers of the Saints are offered in a Golden Censer by the Great High. Priest- of the Ghurch, as sweet-smelling incense,*' on the Golden Altar of Incense, in the Holy Place before tiie Veil ; and the fire is taken from the censer, 3,nd cast on the earth. Thence are heard Voices, and Thunders, and Lightnings, and an Earthquake. These are emblems of the preaching of God's Word, which is clear as a Voice, loud as Thunder, quick as. Lightning, and powerful as an Earthquake. Then the Seven Angels prepare to sound: and so the Voices of the -Trumpets are represented as ensuing from the prayers of the Saints, offered by Jesus Christy and from the preaching of his Gospel. Thus, whatever their" sound may portend, they will all serve for the manifestation of the greater glory of God,, and for the final good of .his -Church. * The incense of perfume (suffitus aromatum : see Exod. xxx. 34—38 ; xxxv. 6 ; xxvii. 29,) was offered, on the golden altar in; the Holy Place of the Temple, by the Priests twice a day, and was an emblem of Prayer. Ps. cxli. 2. Malachi i. II. It was composed in a specific manner, and kindled with fire from the great brazen altar of burnt sacrifices (altare Holocaustomra,) which stood in the outer court. 160 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. What then, it may be asked, is the purport of the Seven Trumpets, and how do they differ from the Seven Seals?* They do not, I believe, differ in time. They do. not, I con ceive, succeed the Seals ; but synchronize with them.f Not that the periods of the Seven Trumpets correspond to the pe riods of the Seven Seals, respectively; but that the whole period of the Trumpets is the same as that of the Seals. They do however differ in kind. Let us consider how. Among the Israelites, the Trumpet was an instrument serv ing for ecclesiastical, civil, and military purposes. It was employed to convoke the People ;J to give notice of the com mencement of the march of the Tabernacle ; to announce the New Moons, and. the beginning "of the year, and the solemn Jubilees; to give warning of an enemy's approach, and to sound the alarm of war.§ The Law was given from Sinai with the voice of the Trumpet exceeding loud.]] Especially, in the Seven Trumpets of the Apocalypse, there appears to be a reference to the history of the capture of that * Per Sigilla (says Aquinas, ad cap. vi.) signantur septem occulta, qua erant homiiiibus ignota de septem statibus Ecclesise. Primum de primitivo statu, per Christum praedicantem : Secundum de persecutione Ecclesia, tempore Martyrum per infideles: Tertium de Ecclesia; persecutione per hsreticos; Quart urn de persecu tione Ecclesia: per falsos fratres. . Per aperfionem sigillorum designator manifestatio horum oocultorum. Cf. Bede, Explan. Apocalyps. in cap. vi. In primo igitur sigilloj decus.Ecclesiae primjtiva:. In sequentibus tribus, triforme contra earn bel- Ium. In quin to, gloriam sub hoc bello triumphatorum. In sexto, ilia quae ventura sunt tempore Antichristi, et paululum superioribus recapitulatis. In septimo, cemit initium quietis jeternse. f Bede ad cap. viii. Nunc reeapitulat ab origine, eadem aliter dicturus. Repetition is the characteristic of Scripture Prophecy, and intimates certainty (see Gen. xii. 2.) Events briefly touched in the Seals, are afterwards presented in another larger form in the Trumpets and Vials, just as the subject of the dreams of Joseph and Pharaoh was repeated and enlarged, (Gen. xxxvii. 5 — 11, xii.) and as the same subject is presented to Daniel with growing expansion in successive Visions. See Dan. ii. 31 — 45; vii. 2—25; viii. 3—25; xi. 36—40, and the arrangement of these Visions in parallel columns by Dr.*Hales, Chronology, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 536. i Numbers x. 1 — 10. See Pococke's Works, i. 256, on Joel ii. and Amos iii. 6, ed. 1740. § Amos iii. 6. 1 Exod. xix. 16 ; xx, 18. VII-J The Seven Trumpets. 161 great city, which is one of the Scriptural emblems of the Anti christian Power, the city of Jericho ; after the fall of" which the people of Israel marched victoriously under the command of Jesus, the son of Nun,. to take possession of Canaan, the type of Heaven. According to God's • command, Joshua compassed the city of Jericho Six times on six successive days. First went the armed men, then seven Priests with seven Trumpets of rams' horns, then came the Ark; then the people followed. On each of the six days the Priests blew.. the trumpets once, and the people were silent. But on the seventh day, the seven Priests, and the people with them, compassed the city seven times; and at the seventh time, when the Priests blew the trumpets, all the peo ple shouted with a great shout; and the wall of the city, fell down flat, ^,nd the people went up and took the city.* Such was the fate of Jericho. This History illustratesf. the Apocalyptic Vision of the Seven. Angels and Seven Trumpets, and confirms the belief that the Six Trumpets announce successive Judgments of God on the walls and powers' of the JerichpS of this world,! till at length they will all J fall flat, when "the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the Arch angel and the Trump of, God."§ Let us also observe that, with regard to Three of these Trum pets — the last Three — it is expressly said by the flying Eagle H in mid-heaven, that they are harbingers of Woe. Woe± Woe, Woe, to the dwellers on the earth — that is,. to those who have * Joshua vi. 1—20. f This prophetic character of the fall of Jericho was perceived by the ancient In terpreters. See Berengaudus'ad Rev. i. 15. Septimo die eircumeuntibus Sacerdo- tibus cum Area Jericho atque vociferantibus, muri ceciderunt, omnisque populus cum rege suo~interfectus est, quia prasdicanlibus in fine mundi Prsedicatoribus -. Veritatis, omnis civitas diaboli destnietur. Concerning the other references in the Apocalypse to the victories of Joshua,' see below, Lecture XIII. Bede ad cap. viii. Ecclesia gloriam saecul-i tubis-coelestibus quasi muros Hiericho dejeetura. So Aqi- nas, p. 223, and Joachim, p. ,123. i 2 Cor., x. 4, 5. § 1 Thess. iv. 16. 1 Cor. xv. 52. J act ov is the "reading of the best MSS. 162 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. their affections - set on earthly*; things — from the remaining Voices of the trumpet of the Three Angels, who are about to sound !f The Trumpets, then, are prophetic of Judgments from heaven, on the enemies of God and the Truth. Thus the Trumpets differ from the Seals, which contain a rapid view of the conflicts and sufferings of the Church. At the same time, we must carefully remember that the Book of Bevelation is not a Civil History. And the Trumpets are not to be expected to announce political events, as such. They are the Voice 'of Angels of God to the Church of God. On the whole, it maybe affirmed that the Seven Epistles speak the language of Correction ; the Seven Seals, of Conso lation; the Seven Trumpets, of Commination; and the Seven Vi?ils, of Condemnation. What, then, d6 the several Trumpets portend ? The First announces a judgment upon the -Earth; that is, as we supppse, on those who do not belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. It (announces Hail, Fire, and Blood, cast upon the Earth; and the burning of a third part, J that is, a great part, Of the.Trees and all the Green grass. It appears to predict the woes which fell, like a storm of hail and fire, on the Boman Empire, .and afflicted the princely oaks and tall cedars of that proud- Dynasty, § and withered up its pomp and glory like green grass scorched by the sun,|| in the second, third, and fourth centuries, when the Empire was a prey to the fire and sword of military violence, and torn by contending factions, and gradually approached its dissolution. * See Rev. iii. 10; vi. 10; xi. 10; xii. 12; xiii. 8; and the note from Lightfoot be low in p. 163. •(- Rev. viii. 13. i A third part : i. e. a large portion. See Schoettgen, Hor.Hebr. p. 1115. The expression occurs often in the Apocalypse. Cf. viii. 7 — 12. ix. 15, 18. xii. 4. § Isa. ii. 13. x. 17, 18. in LXX. || Isa. xl. 6 — 8. Tlie voice said, cry. And he said, What shall I cry ? Jill flesh is gratis. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth .- because the spirit of the Lord bhweth upon it .¦ purely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth : but the Word of our God shall stand for ever. vn.] The Seven Trumpets. . 163 Thus the judgments of the First Trumpet are a chastisement on Pagan Eome for the woes she inflicted on the Church in the Second Seal. The Second Trumpet follows naturally from the first. - It also concerns the Earth. It announces the uprooting of a great Mountain, burning with fire ; and its projection into/the Sea. The removal of a volcanic Mountain,* and the casting of it.-. into the cold and flowing Ocean, is emblematic of the convul sion of some great consuming Power, which' appeared to be firmly fixed on a solid basis; and the >. precipitation of it into another very different element, one of fluidity and dissolution. f In the ancient Scriptures the great Empire of Babylon is called a, destroying Moy,niain, and it is threatened with re moval by the prophet Jeremiah ; J and Babylon in the Apoca lypse is a figure of Rome;§ and' therefore this Vision appears to represent the subversion and dismemberment of the -Boman Empire by the Goths, Vandals, and Huns, and its decomposi tion or' melting away into a confused Sea of various powers, which were long agitated bj the winds and waves of tumultu ous vicissitudes.) | The consequences of this Mountain's removal into the sea are thus described in the Second Trumpet : — - The third part of the sea became Mood: and the third of the creatures in the sea, they who had life, died : and the third of the ships was destroyed. The dissolution of the . Boman Empire was attended by infi nite carnage-. So far is clear ; the remaining words are more smysteripus. The sense of them is spiritual. ., They who had life, is rather to be interpreted, they who - clung, to life, they , who preferred' it to Christ,** they died spiritually. *. See,Rev. xvi. 20. Matth. xvii. 20. Zech. iv. 7. f Psalm xlvi. 2. i Jerem..li. 25. • § See below, Lectures XI. and XII. , || Hence in Rev. xiii. the Beast is said to ascend from the Sea. ,. , ** td s%ovta ^u^a-ft those which, in our Saviour's' words, do not lose their life> 164 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. The Goths and Vandals, we must remember, were infected with the Arian. heresy, and they promulgated it with the sword, and thus were the cause of spiritual death to thousands. 1 And, it is added, a third part of the ships was destroyed. The word here used in the original for ships is not the com mon vais, Or navis, but is that employed by the Evangelists, de scribing, the Apostolic vessel, tamov* in which Christ taught. And here, and in two other places of the Apocalypse, this word ships, by a Natural figure, appears to designate Churches ;f and the word here used for they were destroyed, is that commonly employed by the sacred writers to describe heretical corrup- tion.% A third part of the ships was destroyed, seems there fore to signify that many of the Apostolic Churches were "corrupted by heresy, which we know, to have been the conse quence of the Gothic and Vandal ineursions and persecutions -throughout a great-part of the Boman Empire.§ This interpretation is confirmed by what follows. The Third, Angel sounds; a great Star, burning like a torch, falls from heaven, on the third part of the rivers and fountains. His name is Wormwood,' and the third part of the water be- but find, save, or kpep it, (Matth. x. 39. Luke xvii. 33. John xii. 25 ;) which , have a name to live, and are dead .• the word sxa is used in this sense of, holding, clinging to tenaciously, in the Apocalypse, vi. 9 ; xii. 17 ; that is, the carnally-minded, ol tyv%t,xoi, as opposed to the spiritually-minded, ot !tvtv/jiati,xoi. 1 Cor. ii. 14 ; xv. 44. James iii. 15.' Jude 19, tyi>%i,xoi t"eiua /irj axovtts. This Judgment, then, is for animal voluptuousness, camal-mindedness. This interpretation is confirmed by the ancient expositors. Hence to s%ovta 401^015, who are neuter animals, i. e. not worthy of the name of men, are contrasted with the male children of the Church (Rev. xii. 5 ;) such as oix tfydrtqaav t%v fyvxrjv avtuv o^pt Oavdtgv. Rev. xii. 11. * Which is never called, rai;. Indeed, I believej the word «*uj only occurs once in the New Testament, Acts xxvii. 41 . f vfkola iv tij <8aXdstirj, said of merchandise of spiritual things. Rev. xviii. 17 — 19. So "to buy and sell" is to have spiritual commerce or communion. Rev. xiii. 17. i The word is SiefSdpri, which is Specially, applied to false doctrine. See 1 Tim. vi. 5, av9pa7to.t SuqiQappevoi, tbv *oiij>. See also Rev. xi. 18. § Under Genseric, a. n. 477, and Huneric, a. b. 484, and Thrasimund. See the contemporary History of Victor Vitensis in Ruinhart's Historia Persecut. Vandal. 1694, and Vitringa Anacr. p. 100. vii.] The Seven Trumpets. , 165 comes wormwood; and many die, from the waters; because they were made bitter. A Star, in the language of the Apocalypse, is a Minister of the Church. The Seven Stars are the' Angels of the Seven Churches;* that is, chief Ministers of the Seven Churches. Heaven, f in the Apocalypse, is the^ Church. A Falling StarX is therefore, emblematic of a false Teacher. He is here said to be like a torch, because he is not a ,Star, he has no heavenly light in himself; he smoulders with earthly smpke and furious rage. And Wormwood, which, is very bitter, and in certain cases§ produces convulsions,, delirium, epilepsy, and death, is here, as in other places of Scripture, descriptive of false doc trine.]] ' Take heed, says Moses, when he warns the Israelites against corrupt doctrines and practices, -"lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and Wormwood."** { And so God says by, Jeremiah: "Because the prophets cause My ^people to err, behold, I will feed them with Wormwood. "ft He will choose their delusions, %\ and punish them with their own de-» vices. And St.. Paul, in the same spirit, Says, "Look diligently lest any fail of , the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness, springing up, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. "§§ The effect" of heretical Wormwood is to poison the waters of life, and to change the sweet Sdoas of Scripture into deadly Marahs, arid to destroy the souls of men with bitter streams.|)|| * Rev. i. 20. + Lightfoot, ad Rev. xii.} following the Ancient Interpreters, says, "rHeaven,a\l along in this book, is the Church ; tlie inhabiters of the Earth are the worldly ¦ ones." i Such, among the Jews, was.Bar-Cochba, sonofa star, a. d. 132, tlie Pseudo- Messiah, called, after his failure, Bar-Cozba, son of a lie. § Ad vermes expellendos adhibitum. See- Michaelis Suppl. 1453 ad Deut. xxix; 8 || Haymo in loc. Absinthium, i. e. doctrina hau-eticorum. — So Aquinas. ** Deut. xxix. 18. f -j- Jer. xxiii. 15. See also Amos v. 7. vi. 12. it Isa. lxvi. 4. §§ Heb. xii. 15. See also Acts viii. 23. |||| Bede ad loc. Tertia tubadesignat hffireticos. ecclesia decedentes, Sancts Scrip turas flumina cofrumpentes. 10 166 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. A great Star fell from heaven, and became Wormwood ; that is, one who was set by God, like a fixed star, in the clear vault pf the Church* to give light to men, fell from his place, and became a wandering meteor, to which is reserved the blackness of darkness ;f and instead of guiding the Ships of the Churches before-mentioned over the Sea of the World with the steady light of true doctrine, he fell into the rivers and wells of the waters of Salvation, and embittered the Scripturesf themselves with heretical interpretations, and destroyed the souls of men with the. deadly infusion.. Hence we may interpret this Vision. The fall of great Luminaries, for example, of an Arius, § a Nestorius, or an Eutyches, and other HeresiarchsJ shooting from their spheres in the Church, and infecting the wells of Salvation with pestilent heresies, concerning the Person and Nature, of the Son of God; the defection of a Donatus,|| who threw his venom into the baptismal laver of Regeneration ;**±— this is what is predicted by the lapse of the great Star, whose name was Wormwood. Thus we are taught to- regard Heresies in their true light; that is, as punishments for men's sins; and -grievous punish ments they are, even in a temporal sense, as was seen in the * Lightfoot ad loc. " The third- Trumpet brings the Star ' Wormwood' upon the rivers and fountains of Wafers, which seemeth to denote the grievous heresies that should be in the Church,' which should corrupt and embitter the pure springs of Scripture, the fountains of truth." Anonym, ap. S. Aug. Hrec stella corpus est multarum stellarum de coelo, id est, Ecclesia, cadentium. So Aquinas : Stella est c tclus hffireticoruin. f Jude 13. i Aquin. p. 247, in fontes .- i. e.in Evangelicam et Apostolicam et Propheticam doctrinam quae sunt quasi fons et origo fidei et morum : flumina ,- Scripturarum expositiones. § Among others, Joachim, p. 128, (reverse,) thus interprets it: "In diebus Con- stantini Arius unus de magnis luminaribus coeli osse putabatur. Tertiam aquarum partem infecit Arius et vertit in saporem Absintbii, quoniam per errorem ejus cor- rupti fuere sacerdotes et Episcopi adhterentes sibi." 11 Auctor ap. S. Augustin. in loc. Hoc in his qui rebaptizantur intelligi potest. ** Titus iii. 5. vii.] The Seven Trumpets. 167 fury of the Arian* Vandals, of the Asiatic Monophysitestof the African Circumcellions : we are taught also, to view them as trials of, our faith, hope, and love; and so, -as serving to the manifestation of God's grace and glory, arid to the final purifi cation of His Church. There must be heresies, says the Apos tle, that they which are approved may be made manifest /among you.\ Let me here offer a remark Concerning the They will be overthrown by the foolishness of preaching j** by the rams-horn trumpets of the Gospel: "not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts."tt ' £< Cur weapons are not carnal, but mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strongholds."JJ It is expressly 3aid of Christ's Saints, "They overcame by the blood of Christ, and by the Wqrd of their testimony. "§§' Is it not, also, true that God, the Lord of Sabaoth, does in deed come with His mighty Angels, in His glorious Gospel? — that to the eye of faithr He is there seen surrounded" with myriads of Cherubim and Seraphim; and that to those who reject His Word Our God is a consuming fire?]]]] - Is it not also true that even now, in a certain sense, this- Apocalyptic Vision of Christ and His Angel Horsemen has begun to be fulfilled ? The temporal power of Rome has been weakened; and so, * -Matth; xxiv. 14. Mark>iii. 10. f 2 Thess. ii. 8. * a Thess. i. 7, 8. § Dam vii. 10,11,' Compare Rev. xix. 19, 20. H Reges, (says- Joachim, p. 8.,) qui v.enturi sunt auxilio Besfe, suhjicientur haud dubium superati gladio Christi, non tam ferri quam Verbi. ** 1 qor, i. 21. ; ff. Zech. iv. 6. ** 2 Cor. x.,4.. . ~§$Rev.xii. 11. B|| Deut. iv. xxiv. 24. Heb. xii.,29. 176 Exposition -of the Apocalypse. [leCt." the Scriptures, which were enthralled by her, have been freed. Thus, the Angels have been .loosed which were bound -at the river Euphrates^ Again the Word of God has been translated into all lan guages. Thus the Angels have been loosedi. By the aid of Printing they have been multiplied innumerably. Thus, also, the Angels have been loosed. The Scriptures, in swiftness and strength, like an Army of Horsemen, are now sweeping over the, .world- " Their sound is gone forth into all lands, and their words unto the Ends of the world."* These are the Chariots of God's Power. This is His Host. Christ, the Word of God, is with them, and leads them on to Victory. Let us also be sure that 'this Propagation of the Gospel is," , to those who reject or despise it, a terrible Woe. The imagery and language of the Apocalypse, as we have said, is derived from that of the Prophets of the Old Testa ment; and the interpretation now offered of the Sixth Trumpet receives light from a very sublime Vision in the book of the Prophet JoeLf ¦ This Vision,' like that in the Apocalypse, is introduced with the sound of the Trumpet. ," Blow ye the trumpet in Zion," says the Prophet ;-" sound an alarm in My holy mountain ; let all the inhabitants of the earthj tremble, for the day of the Lord is at hand." Then the Lord's army is revealed. "A fire devoureth before them, and behind them the land burneth. .The appearance of them is as the appearance of Horses, and as Horsemen shall they run. Like the noise of , Chariots on the tops of the mountains shall they leap ; like the noise of a flame of fire, that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array." Their power and prowess is thus described. Then it is added — v " And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army ; for * Psalm xix. 4. f Joel ii. 1 — 11. i ol xatoixovvtts tijV yrjv, LXX. vii.] The Seven Trumpets. 177 His camp is very great; for He is strong that executeth His Word ; for the Day of the Lord is great and terrible, and who can abide it?" St. John, I conceive, refers to this Vision; and there -are some ./remarkable verbal parallelisms, as well as real coinci dences, between his description and , that of the Prophet Joel, especially as read in the Septuagint Version.* The ' Prophet Zechariah also represents Angels, the Minis ters of ' Christ, f as Horsemen, in one of his first Visions.-! And the Prophet Habakkuk exclaims, " Thou, didst ride, 0 Lord, upon Thine Horses, and Thy Chariots of Salvatipn.§ Thy bow was made quite naked, even Thy W°rd. Thou didst walk through the sea with Thine Horses, through the heap of great waters." Y ' .The interpretation, now proposed, of the Sixth Trumpet, or Second Woe, is also remarkably confirmed by other passages in the Apocalypse. In the first Seal, aS we have seen, Christ goes forth as a Royal Warrior on a White Horse, conquering and to conquer.]] And, just before the final consummation j One like- the Sow of Man is displayed, having on His head- a golden crown, and in His hand tf sharp sickle.** Another Angel also appears with a sickle; and the Earth is reaped; and the Vintage begins. .And then we read, — " The Winepress, was trodden without the city; and blood came out of the Winepress, even unto the bridles of the Horses."ft ' This mention ^of Horses, in connection with the Winepress, seems at first very obscure ; but when we -remember the Angels' ' Horses of the Second Woe, it becomes clear. And this passage of the Apocalypse is illustrated, also, by a, * e. g. Joel ii. 4,- opdffij. iftTtav r) opaffis avtiov, xai Z>( yrtrttis avtui xataSiu- %ovtaw Rev. ix. 16, 17, o dptSfibs atpatzv[idtav toil , IrtrtiXm) . . . xai ovta; siSov tm>$ iitrtov$ iv tv\ opatff t. f Vitringa, p. 247. Ubi Equites sunt Angeli, Christi Ministri. i Zech. i. 8, 10, and Zech. vi. 5 — 7. § Hab. iii. 8, 9, 15, % irtrtaaia aw XatrjpCa,. J - Rev. vi. 2. - ** Rev. xix. 14. ff Rev. xiv. 20. 17£ Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. sublime description of the Prophet Zechariah, whom' St; John imitates very closely in the Revelation; or, to speak more truly, both were filled with same Divine Spirit. The Prophet, speaking of the same great conflict as St. John, when the power of Christ shall be revealed as that of a mighty Conqueror, compares him to a Warrior at the headof a great army; and speaks, as St. John does, of the-bridles.of the Horses. " In that day shall there be upon the' bridles* of the Horses Holiness to the Lord,'- . s Again : there is another passage still later in the Apocalypse, which confirms the exposition we have given of the Sixth Trum pet. . "I saw heaven opened," says St. John, after the pouring out of \the Sixth Vial, at the. great conflict of Armageddon, " and, behold,; a White Horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and He judges and wars in righteousness ; and His eyes are as a flame of fire, and on His head many crowns ; and He has a name written which no one knows but himself; and He is clothed- with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word , of . God.. And the armies in heaven followed Him on White Horses ; and they were clothed with linen, white and pure. And from His mouth goeth, forth a sharp sword, that with it He may smite the nations ; and He will rule them with a rod of fron. And He treads the Winepress of God's Wrath, "t , . ' Then follows the destruction. of the Beast and False Prophet, and of the powers of the Earth who have been gathered to gether against Christ. | .All these descriptions -refer, I believe, to the same period, that of the Sixth Trumpet, or the Second Woe. Thus we see Christ is represented as a Mighty Warrior riding to Victory, and his army with him, mounted on horses, an in numerable host ; and Christ, so leading them to the conflict, is called, The Word of God. Therefore, in the Vision of the Victorious Army of Horse- * Zech. xiv. 20, ini tbv ^dxiiw tav litrtou "'Ayto* tu Kvpiu. f Rev. xixi 11—15. cp. Rev. xvi. 12:— 16. i Rev. xix. 19, 20. VII. J The* Seven Trumpets. , 179 men revealed at the Sixth Trumpet, we recognize the triumph of Christ and of his Word. . , All these testimonies of God himself in Scripture serve to inculcate a momentous truth, the power and majesty of his Word, and the great sin .and peril of despising it. Therefore, well might the Sixth Angel take up the trumpet, and sound, Woe to the World. Woe to the World, because of offences !. Woe to the World, for its neglect of the Gospel ! 0 ! that men would hear the heavenly blast now sounding in their ears !¦ Nations have' rejected the Gospel. ' Senates have trodden it under foot. Philosophers have dpnipd its inspiration. Even Churches have, bound, the Angels, and. killed the Wit nesses. And yet the Gospel is the Voice of God. The Word, of God' is the Army of God. Alas,! for all who despise, it. Eternal death is their doom. Listen then to the Angelic trum pet; thetrump of Woe.; for the Gospel will judge the world. When the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, with 'the Voice of the Archangel and the Trump of God,* then the Word which He has spoken in the Gospel, the same will- judge us in that day.\ * 1 Thess. iv. 16. '¦[ John xii. ,48, LEO THRU YIII Rev. x. I, 2. ( I saw another mighty Angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud : and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. - And he had in his hand a little book open. The divine 'writer of the Apocalypse, having arrived at the verge- of the final' ponsummation, pauses for a time after the Sixth Trumpet ; and another Vision is presented to him, which places him again at an earlier period of his prophecy. He has described, under the Sixth Trumpet,* the loosing of the Four Angels which were bound atf the great river Euphra tes; and he has displayed the glorious triumph of their innu merable army- This Vision, as was stated in our last discourse, represents the free progress, tremendous power, and glorious victory of the Word of God in the last times ; and the great sin and .peril of despising it. We now proceed to observe that the Vision of the Four Angels, so interpreted, introduces, in a most apt and beautiful manner, the-next portion of the Apoealypse, which may be en titled a prophetic History of the Word of God from thp first ages of "Christianity; and so places again in, the time of St. John himself.f This will now engage our attention. St. John sees a mighty Angel,§ clothed with the cloud of Divine glory, and crowned with the Rainbow, || the emblem of * Rev. ix. 15. f Irti. i See " Hahmofy of the Apocalypse," pp. 78 and 86. § Rev. x. 1. a; "Ipis, as in many MSS. the article is intended to identify the Angel with Him on the Throne. Rev. iv. 3. ' VIII.] History of Holy Scripture. 181 Divine mercy and justice.* His countenance is like the sun, and His feet as columns of fire, for strength. He holds in his Hand a small. Roll opened ;$ and He places His right foot on the sea, and his left on the landy and cries with a loud voice j like the roaring of a Lion. At His" cry, The Seven Thunders utter their voices. They are called the Seven Thunders,} as if they were well known. St. John was about t,o write what they had said ; but he hears a Voice from heaven, crying', Seal the- things which the- Seven Thunders spake, and ¦write them not. , , The mighty Angel, then lifts His right hand to heaven, and swears, by the Eternal Creator, that there shall be ho subse quent delay, § but that the Mystery of God, which He had preached- as a Gospel |) to His servants the Prophets, shall be fulfilled in the days of the Seventh Angel, when he shall sound the Seventh Trumpet. , ' The Voice from' heaven, then commands St. John to take the opened Roll. : St. John gsks ther Angel for it, who gives It to him; saying, " Take, and eat it ; it will embitter thy belly, but it will be sweet in thy mouth." And so it was. And the Angel says, " Thou must ^prophesy again before many Peoples, and Nations,, and Tongues, and Kings." - What now,, it may be asked, is this Opened Rolli which is ¦ given to St. John ? It has been generally regarded by modern Expositors, as a part of St. John's own prophecy; and as , containing the predic tions which follow, and so" as, constituting a portion, or sequel, of the sealed Book, which was in the hand of the Lamb.** ' This opinion seems liable to grave objections. The Little Book here mentioned is opened, and not sealed, (and therefore, does -not refer to the future, -but to the past; and it" is 'wholly distinct from the Sealed Book, in form, and in time of delivery. * See above, p. 101, ,f fiififcapiSiov dviuyix.ivov, Rev. X. 2. ^( . i 'AI lata ^povtai. The reason of the drtich\omMei in, the Authorized Ver. sion) will appear from what will be now said concerning them. ' ' § XpoVos ovx lotai Z« Rev. x. 6. Here xpovoj; is delay. "See Lightfoot ad loc. arid'Vitringa, p. 434. . •-. . , "Rev. vi. 1. Vitringa; p. 426. | svjjyys%iCf. ' 11 182 - Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect* To be brief: There is one fact which ought never to be ab- sent from .the mind of the reader and Expositor of the Apoca lypse. It is this. That St. John was specially appointed by Christ to close the Canon of the New Testament. Here we have a clue to the right interpretation of many passages, which would otherwise be obscure; and among them to the present. ¦ The true meaning of the little opened Book is, I believe, to be ascertained by reference to St. John's office in completing the1. Canon of Holy Scripture; and this Vision is intended to give Divine sanction to that important act, and to assure the Church that the, New Testament,* as completed and sealed by St; John, comes from the hand of the great Angel of the Co venant,, whose countenance is. as the Sun,f whose head is arch ed over by the Rainbow, the emblem of Mercy and Justice, and who is clothed in the cloudj of heavenly majesty, who treads all earthly things under Ms feet, and walks on the waves, and rides on the storms, of this world ; to " whom all power in heaven and earth is ;given"§— Jestjs Christ. In confirmation of this opinion, we may observe that the Book is not sealed as a prophetic book, but opened, that he may run that reads it]] — opened in the hand of Christ, who said to his Apostles, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gos pel to every creature."** Thus the Book of the Gospel was opened. , Besides, the Gospel is opened in another sense ; because what was hidden in the Old Testament is revealed in the New.f\ St. Jphn himsplf, in another passage of the Apocalypse, repre- * Primasius ad loc. In hoc libro aperiorNovi Testamenti revelata claruisse vide- tur gratia. f Rev. i. 16.- i Rev. x. 1. xiv. 14. § Matt, xxviii. 18. I Hab. ii. 2. *« Mark xvi. 15. ff Some of the older Interpreters, though not referring to Sti John's office in sealing the New Testament Canon, yet expound the Opened Book as Scripture. Thus Aquinas, p. 299 ; Libram Apertum; id est Scripturam, librum in quo legitur quicquid est salutis; et est Liber qpertus, quia Ipse Dominus pradicando populo manifestavit secreta mysteria Scripturse : suis documents aperuit Discipulis Scrip turam, et per Eos alii*. vni.] History of Holy Scripture. 183 sents the Gospel as opened to the eyes of all., " I saw an An gel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting- Gospel to preach to every nation." Let us observe, als6, the opened Book 1S in the^hand of Christ-; a,nd it is called ^apt'dW. And the first word of the first, Gospel is fr'fftos "The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ ;" and the New Testament is a fiipxaplSiov, or Lesser Bobk^ as compared with the pipipov',1 Bible, or Biook; the name with which the Old Testament ;was designated by the Jews, aS the whole Scripture is by, us. When Christ, "who is the Lion of the tribe °f Judah," the Divine Ariel, has uttered his voice, then we read,, "the Seven Thunders uttered their voices ; thatis, their voices are here represented, as derived fro'm Christ, who is the Word of, God, As the Prophet Amos says, " The Lion hath reared, who wdl not fear ? the Lord God hath Spoken, who can but pro phesy?"*' Here it is not to be forgotten that our Blessed Lord, who is represented in the Apocalypse as a Lamb,\ is also described as a Lion.% That is, he is not only innocent and gentle, but he is also strong and terrible., It is much to be feared that many among us are apt to forget this. Many dwell on the promises, but overlook the terrors, of the Gospel. They cheer themselves with the sunshine of Christ's mercy, but are not alarmed by the thunders of his judgment. They rejoice in his amazing Love, but tremble not at his awful Majesty. Hence they are betrayed into frreverent and profane familiarity with- his holy name. They presume on the. gentleness of the Lamb. Let them fear the wrath of the Lion. This is one important warningto be derived from this Divine Vision, To return, — , '¦','- t' * Chap. iii. 8. See also Hosea xi. 10, and Pococke's notes on that passage, Works, ii. p. 543 : " Christ's roaring as a Lion, what is it, but the preaching of the Gospel?" * \. ' f Rev. v. 6, 8, 12, 13. vi. 1, 16. vii. 9; and 4n twehty-pne' other place's of the Revelation. i Rev. v. 6. x. 3. , ' 184 Exposition of the Apocalypfe. [lect. It may now be asked, What, are the Seven Thunders ? How do they find a place here, in connection with the Open Book pf the New Testament ? Observe here, the thunders speak :* they articulate ; and the word Thunder, or the Voice of GocLf is, in the Apocalypse, a symbol of Evangelic and Apostolic Teaching, derived from God himself. Our Lord himself gave this interpretation of the Word when he called the Apostle and' Evangelist St. John, a Son of Thunder. X , I conceive, therefore, that the Seven Thun ders here represent the Seven Apostolic and Evangelical writers of the New Testament ; St. John's predecessors in writing ; namely, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. Paul, St. James, St. Peter; and St. Jude,§ ¦ , These seven derive their Voice from Christ ; they speak from him. The Seven Thunders are the Voice of God.[| ' - In the present Vision, ' St. John' is commanded-^Koi to write the same things as the Seven — but to seal what they had writ ten. And this he did in fact. St. John, both as an Evangelist and Apostle, refrains from repeating what his predecessors had said. He had another oflice, that of supplying what they omit ted, and of sealing what they wrote.** ' The expression to seal, in Scripture language, signifies to * Rev. x. 3, 4. i%d\i^aav $uwx; iavtuv. f Hebraicum Vox, saepe est Tonitru. RosenmuUer ad Rev. iv. 5. Out of the Throne of God proceedeth Thunders, and Lightnings and Voices. i Mark iii. 17. See Lampe in Joann. i. p. 24. § This interpretation is quite consistent with what will be said below (Lect. IX.) concerning the number Seven', as employed in the Apocalypse. Seven is used in definitely, with respect to the future, buinot to the present or past. It is definite, historically ; indefinite, prophetically. The reason of' this is obvious. For exam ple, it was very necessary that the Church should know that the Canon, of the Scripture of the New' Testament is composed of the writings of seven persons, and sealed by the .eighth ; here, then, Seven is definite. But it was not necessary for her to know how many Churches would constitute the Catholic Church ; there, then, Seven is indefinite. p || Haymo ad loc. Clamavit Leo primus, deinde Tonitrua locuta sunt: id est, prius preedicavit Christus, deinde Apostoli. ** "Lectures on the Canon," ' Lect. XI. p. 285. Viii.] History of Holy Scripture. 185 make an end of, to fulfil, to complete, to secure, to appropriate, and to declare an appropriation, to avOuch, to confirm. Thus, twice in the same verse of the Prophet Daniel*—" Seventy weeks are .appointed to seal up sins, and to seal up prophecy, and to anoint the inpstiHoly:" -The Jews sealed the stone of the sepulchre to^make it sure.'f "Him^ God the Father has sealed," says Christ of Himself :J "He that receiveth His tes timony has set to his. -seal that God is true."§ The Saints in the Apocalypse are said to be sealed]] mth the seal of God on, their foreheads.** - , . The Prophet Mala'chi; the last writer of the Old Testament, is called by the Jews its Seal. And St. John is the Seal of the New.|t His, Gospel is the '-Seal of the Evangelical; his Apoca lypse is the Seat of the Apostolical, Canon. Hence the con cluding Wprds of his Gospel,, and of his Apocalypse, have' one and the same final and valedictory^ J character. This, act of sealing is -here represented' as done by divine command,: "I heard a voice from heaven^ saying to me, (says St." John,) Seal what the Seven Thunders have spoken." Therefore, by these words, Almighty God sets, His own Seal to the.New'Testament by the hand' of St. John: He says to St. John, "Bind up the Testimony; Seal the Law among My Disciples:"§§ and what we receive from St. John, we receive from God. , v This is'' a most important result. ; To proceed. St. John is commanded to take and eat the Roll. . . What does this signify? It means, that he must make it his own, "and incorporate it. Just as Sti Peter is commanded to arise, kill, and eat the ani- * See Lowth, Daniel ix. 34. f Matt, xxvii. 66. See also Rev. xx. 3. fJohnvi. 27. § John iii. 33. > Cf. Ezek. ix. 4. Hagg.ii.,23. **.Hev. vii. 3. ff See above p. 21, and pp. 98^ 99. . H See John xx. 30,. 31. xxi. 24, 25. Rev. xxii. IT— 2L Cf. Lampe, Proleg. in Joan. i. v. ^§ xiii. xiv. §§ Isa. viii. 16, LXX.' toil tyavipol esoyttdt, o% a^payi^qficvoi tbv No/to*. 186 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. mals, which he had regarded as unclean** let down in a vessel from Heaven, and thus to incorporate those symbols of Gentil- ism with himself the Apostle of the Jews, and to declare their union in Christ, so St. John must take and eat the book.. This he did, by publicly adopting and authenticating what had-been written by the preceding Apostles and Evangelists, and by add- ing his own Gospel, Epistles, and Apocalypse, to givef nil Stat ure and complete organization to the sacred body of Apostoli* and Evangelical Teaching.f This Book is represented as sweet in his mouth as keney: for, as the Psalmist says, "0 how sweet are Thy Words unt© my -throat, yea, sweeter than honey unto my mouth !"J But it embitters his belly. The word rendered belly is *oiu'a,§ that is, the natural man. The preaching pf God's Word to" a thankless world will bring sorrow with it to the natural man. As Ezekiel says, in the parallel passage to that now before us — they 'to whom the message is to be delivered are a rebellious house; or, as the Septuagint thrice fepeatsthe expression, an embittering house :|| and St. John himself explains this phrase, in the beginning of the -Apocalypse, by showing, that the preaching of the Word was the cause of , bitterness -to himself. "I John, (he says,) who am also your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience, of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos (ah exile ahd a prisoner), for the Word of God, and fpr the testimeny of Jesus Christ." Thus the Gospel of Christ was made bitter to his flesh and blood. This interpretation of the meaning of the Opened Book, and of the Seven Thunders, is confirmed by what follows; and this * Acts x. 13—15. f See " Lectures on the Canon," Lect. VI. and Lampe ad Joann. i. p. 80 : Ap- paret Joannem pracedentia Evangelia inspexisse, et ab iis quae jam perscripta in illis essent studhse abstinuisse. , i Psalm exix.,103. § xoala, as opposed in Scripture to the Spirit. See Rom. xvi. 18. 1 Cor. vi. 13. Phil, iii, 19.— Aquinas well says, ad loc. Amaricabit ventrem tuum, id es», carnem infirmam ; molliorem partem corporis. See Jerem. iv. 18, 19, q xaxCa cov fiixpa , . . . trjv xoAiow, tfijv xoiXtcw pou afryw. U oixos »taportixpai,Vw«>, Ezek. iii. 9, 26, 27. vni.] History of Holy Scripture. 187 Vision serves, when so explained, as an introduction to St. John's Prophetic History of Holy Scripture. We are now also enabled to perceive the connection of this Vision with the preceding one— the loosing of the four Angels. That Visipn prefigures the triumphs of the Gospel It natu rally introduces the History of the Gospel, represented by the Open Book; and we shall now see that this Vision, in its turn, naturally lead's, to what follows. Thus these Visions serve to show that the Apocalypse is composed with systematic exact ness, and that a beautiful harmony pervades the whole. Let us see how this appears.1 The next Vision is thus de scribed: A measuring Reed,* like unto, a RoD,f is ,placed in St. John's hand; and he is commanded to measure with it the sanctuary ofGodX and the altar, and . those who worship there. He must not measure the outer court; but omit, it; "for it is given to, the Gentiles who (it is .added) willtread| the holy city for forty-two months. And I will give power to my Two Wit nesses, (it is said,) and they shall prophecy (that is, preaph) one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in Sack cloth." And then it is added: "These are the Two Olive Trees, and the Two Candlesticks which stand before the ; God of the Earth." We have spoken of this Vision on a former occasion. || Our present purpose is to present a synoptical view of the Apoca lypse; and therefore, referring to what, has been said before, for the grounds of our Interpretation, we proceed to -state briefly >he Exppsition. The^ Reed — the Hebrew Kaneh, a reed, whence the word Canon is derived— is an emblem of the Canon — or Rule — of * xdlapos, cap. xi. 1. f pdpSos. - ,* vaos, § Not tread under foot, as in the Authorized' Version, but walk in; that is, be members of the Visible Church. " The phrase is from the LXX. Version of Isaiah i. 12, tli l%(t,i\tYiOi tavta ix tuv %npuv v/uov, itaislv 'trpi ai%.tiv Moi; cf. Luke xxi. 24, where 'Isfovaabijit has a spiritual,, as well, as a literal sense, and signifies that the Church will be " a mixed dompany," a floor covered With chaff and Wheat, till the time of the final winnowing;, a field, in which are wheat and tares, till the Harvest. ' H See above, Lecture IV. p. 107. 188 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. Holy Scripture, completed and s,ealed by St. John, This Reed is said to be like unto a Bod ; the Bod of iron frequently men-" tioned in the Apocalypse.* That is, Scripture, though it measures as a Reed, yet is not frail and quivering as a reed. It is not, as some Romish writers! have ventured to call it, " a Lesbian rule," or " rule of lead," which may be easily bent and twisted many different ways. No, it is a, Rod of iron,% which cannot be bent or broken, but will break all its foes in pieces, like a potter's vessel- With it St. John is commanded to mea sure the Sanctuary and the Altar, and those who worship there. Properly speaking, the Reed itself gives the .command. The original words are,§ A reed was given me saying, Rise, and measure the , Sanctuary. The Beed speaks. It is inspired. The Spirit is in it. It is the Word of God. And it measures the Church : the Canon of Scripture is the Rule of Faith. The outer Court and Holy City is given to the Gentiles, &nd is not to be measured, but to be cast out. Here, we must ob serve, that, as the word Jew in the Apocalypse is never to be interpreted literally, but always figuratively : that is, it signifies a true Confessor^ of the Faith, one who is a Jew inwardly,*?1 an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guilerff a sincere Christian-; so the, Word GentileXX is to be understood in a * Chap. ii. 27. xii. 5. xix. 15. f Albert Pighius and others, quoted in " Sequel to Letters on the Church of Rome," tetter JV. p. 84. i Haymo ad loc. In Virgi reetitudo Seripturse intelligitur. — Berengaudus ad Rev. ii. 27. Virga ferrea Evangelium figurat qui omnis error destructus est. § Rev. xi. 1. IS&Bri fiot, xoka/ios Xiyav is the reading of the best MSS. There are many such expressions in the Apocalypse. They have, by some, been called barbarisms! But they are above Rules: — theirs is the Grammar of Inspiration. — What can be more sublime than the phrase dnb tov 6 uv xai bijv xai 6 tp^o/twoj, (ReV. i. 4,) showing the unchangeableness — the jndeclinability — of the Deiiy ? This is observed by Arethas. Wherever the reader meets in the Apocalypse with a phrase which seems a solecism, let him take it for granted, that it contains some great and solemn truths,, and that the singularity of. the phrase is designed to call his attention to theln. - I See Vitringa, Anacr. pp. 79. 137. 303. 451. 454. '** Rom. ii. 89. ff John i. 47. ++ See Heidegger, Myster. Bab. ii. 90- l8v>i sunt Christiani ^vxueot, hypocritse , zizania. VIII-3 History of Holy Scripture. 189 figurative sense, as a nominal* Christian — a member of the Christian Church, in word, but not in deed. This Vision, then; represents a mixed and corrupt state of the Visible , Church on earth : it leads us to expect (what we ^ see) that some parts of the field of the Church will ,bp overgrown with tares— some parts of its floor be nearly covered with chaff. But it also teaches- us, that a separation of the grain and chaff will one day be made.- And how will it be effected ? By the Word of God. The Reed of Scripture measures the Church. Scripture is the fan by which Christ will thoroughly purge His floor. ,f -His own Words will be like Angels, by Which Hp will separate the Tares from the Wheat at the "Day of the Harvest.! Let us pause here to observe,' that at first sight the transi tion, from the four Angels bound at the Euphrates to the Open Book, seemed 'abrupt. And what connection, we were inclined to- ask, could the Open Book have with the Seven Thunders, and they with the Reed ? I have now endeavoured to show that" all these transitions arevery natural. One of these em blems suggests tiie others. The loosing . of the Gospel intro duced the History of the Gospel. The Gospel is a Book open- to ali; and the words of the Seven Thunders, who sound in, the New Testament, Were sealed by Christ through St. John. . It was placed in his hands. The Word- of God so sealed is the Rule of Faith — it is the measuring Beed of the Church. Let us proceed to pbserve, that the same Word of God, which is the Rule of Faith and the Rod pf His Power, is the Testi mony or Witness of God to the World, and is contained in the Two Testaments;! and therefore next appears in the Two Witnesses. ,. - : The ignominious treatment which the Word of , God would receive from an ungrateful World is predicted in the Vision be- v. • l * Bede' ad loc. Hi qui nomine tenus Ecclesise junguntur, et nee altari nee Sanc tis sanctorum appropinquant, a regulfi Evangelii projecti gejitibus sociantur. Omnis enim gloria fllise. Regum ab mtus. Ps. xiv. 14. f Matth/iii. 12. -Luke iii. 17.' :; ^ Matth. xiii. 41. § See above, Lect. IV. p. 108,— Haymo in loc. Bene Ecclesia in duobus Tes- tibus figuratur propter duo Testamenta. 190 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. fore us, by the mournful garb of the Two Witnesses, who are- represented as preaching in Sackcloth; and this appears to be another, catchword, connecting this Vision with the Sixth Seal, when the Sun (that is, Christ) becomes black as sackcloth* ,_ . ¦ Let us also observe, how beautiful is the next transition from the -Two Witnesses to the Two Olive Trees. 'The Word of God, which is the measuring Reed of Faith, and the iron Rod of Right, and God's Witness to Men, is also the channel of Oil, that is, of Grace, and Light, and Peace to the Church, and by the Church to all.. The Two Witnesses are the Two Olive Trees which feed the Two Candlesticks of the Church with living oil, and so illumine the Tabernacle of the World.f - Next, we remark that these Olive Trees . and, these Candle sticks are only two; that is, God has revealed Himself under the Law and under the Gospel. They entwine their branches together in a loving embrace. J No other Religion, consigned to written Documents, is from God : no third Witness is to be expected from Him. Thus all these symbols follow in natural sequence, and teach divine truths. ,' To proceed. ' - The Two Witnesses, we read, have Divine Power. r If any one depises them, fire cometh out of their Mouth, and consumeth their enemies. They can shut heaven, like Elias, and exclude all who reject them. The dews of divine grace are withheld from all who scorn them. The heavens are brass, the earth is iron to their foes.§ The Waters|| of salvation become blood to revilers or sc6ffers of Scripture. To them the Blessing is a Bane; the Scripture a Scourge; Preaching a Plague; the Word a Woe. * Rev. vi. 12. See " Harmony," p. 86|, §§ 31 and 37. f For. further illustration of this exposition, see the authorities cited by Bishop Aridrews, and inserted in Appendix I. pp. 176 — 187 of my Edition of the Apoca lypse, Lond. 1849,. ; , , i See XXXIX Articles, Art. VII. , ' § Deut xxviii. 23. || Aquinas, p. 331. Aqua doctrinro cbnvertitur malis in sanguinem, id est in pec- catum, quia ex hoc quod ipsi audacter pradicabunt, mali fient pejores et in eos cru- deliores. viii.] History of Holy Scripture. - . 191 We see more of their History in this Vision. The Beast, it is said, which comes forth from the abyss, will make War with them, and overcome them, and destroy them. Here is a pro phetic anticipation. (Aa yet we. have heard nothing of the Beast in this, Book* Yet he is1 called the* Beast.' And Why? Be cause he had been described by the. prophet Daniel, f and he is fully described hereafter, in the Apocalypse. $ And this is the manner of the Author of the Apocalypse. Hp sees, the whole subject at a glance. He, therefore, says The Beast._ Thus, l)y a single Word, he goes back, and appropriates the prophecies of the Old Testament, and thus he shows that all the predictions of Scripture are from One and the same Spirit; and he goes forward, and touches rapidly, and passes oh, knowing that he will return, and display the same subject more, fully in the se quel. He sees the pastr present, and future at once. That is, he is inspired by Godr v / - ,' . Here, then,, the Beasl; is described as the Enemy of Scrip ture. He makes war upon the Two Witnesses while they are executing their oflice, §' and kills them; and their dead body * Rev. xi. 7, to Bripiov, the Beast. This use of the Article is very frequent with the Writer of the Apocalypse. It is a proof of his Inspiration and of Scripture-Unity ; for it indicates 'the object (not yet described by himself, but either described already in Scripture by some other inspired Writer; or to be described hereafter by himself) as already visible to the eye pf the Writer, and brings all times into one Present. Bishop Middleton (on the Greek Article, p. 636) has noted several places in the Apocalypse where the use of the Article seemed to him anomalous. All these may, I conceive, be explained on this one principle. They are examples of what I would call the prophetic use of the Article. Thus,, Rev. iv, 4, in many MSS. slSov tovs dxd'e^tiodapat jipsfffJufspous, who had not been mentioned, but.are described here after. Thus again, as pi irtta fipavtai, x. 3j the Thunders, of which more here after; so xi. 8, 7t6%ia; tijs u*yd%ij{, to be described afterwards ; xi. 12, iv trj ve^i%ij, the cloud of Christ's glory. See xiv. 14. So xix. 20, «s tip, Up.v^v, the lake of fire to be described afterward in xx. 10, 14, 15'; xxi. 8. Lastly, xii, 14, 6vo rttipv yc; tov dftoi tov usyd%av,i. e, of Christ (cp. Deut. xxxii. 11. Exod. xix. 14;) intimating that the idea, not, familiar to the reader, has been long before the mind of the Writer. - fDan. vii. 11. * Rev. xiii. 1. xvii. 3-12. § Rev. xi. 7, btav t&Aaaei tijv' pqptvplav aituy, not (as in the Authorized Version) " when they shall have completed their testimony." " Non in sensu com- 192 , Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. lies in the street of the great city in which their Lord* was crucified. And it remains, unburied, it is said, three days and a half.f ¦ Observe this expression, — their dead' body. St. iJohn does not say bodies,X but body. How is this ? The. Two Witnesses have but one body. They Twain are one flesh. The reason is clear. The Two testaments are one.,§ They are wrijtten by the Same Hand; they are the words of the same Spirit. Next remark, here is another anticipation, — -The great City i What great City? you may ask. It will, we reply, be fully described hereafter. " , , ' Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great City.|| That great City is divided into three parts.**' Woe, Woe to that great City, Babylon, the strong city ! in one hour is her judgment come-tt" Woe, Woe, to that great City, clothed in fine linen; and purple and scarlet! XX in one hour her wealth is Spoiled. And again, "The Woman that thou sawest seated on the Beast with seven pletp, sed in complete- sumendum est." Grotius, ad loc See also Mede and Dr. Henry More's note here. * K-iiptos aituv " their Lord" (not Kiipw rjinuv) is the reading of the best MSS. : it intimates that their lot is like Christ's, and that the Two Testaments are His Word. ,f Rev.xi. 9, 11. , i Not'rttu/iata, (bodies') as 'in Author. Vers, but 7ttuua (body) is the reading : of t,he best MSS. in .xi. 8. It is observable that ittupata does occur ante, xi. '9, as well as Tttdfia twice,- xi. 8, 9. This seeming anomaly was intentional, and re minds us that the Witnesses ate two and yet one. The two Testaments make One Book. Bat it cannot be explained oh any theory which supposes the Witnesses to be Enoch and Elias, or some two other, persons. In fact, the apparent incompatar bilify was intended to suggest to the reader, that; the interpretation must be,, not literal, but spiritual. These impossibilities (if I may so speak) are very frequent in the Apopalypse^, and such is their design. See abo«e, Lect VII. § S. Jerome in Esa. xxx. Omnis Scriptura sancta unus liber appellator. Cp. XXXIX Articles, Art. VII. "The Old Testament is not contrary to the New," &c, against the Manichaeans and M arcionites. _|| Rev. xiv. 8. Haymo in loe. Civitas magna, qua? Babylon vocatur, in qua , diabolus regnat ; ubi Dominus^eOrwn crucifixus est. Quod enim Dominus extra portas est passus significabat, quia Christus in suis -membris in toto mundo erat passurus. ** Rev. xvi. 19. ff Rev. xviii. 10. ii Rev. xviii. 16. See also 19, 21. •Vni.]* History of Holy Scripture. 193 heads and ten horns is that great City which reigneth. oyer the Kings of the Earth."* , The words, '.'that great city," occur nine times in the Apocalypse, and are applied to Babylon, and to no other city.f This great City (as will, be shown in subse quent Discourses!) is no other than Bome- in her. secular and spiritual character: and the. Beast personifies the power which she has abused for savage and unholy purposes ; and by which she has crucified the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame$ , . ' < FWith the bitterest sorrow we, -say it, but it must he said,—; -She- has waged' war against the Two Witnesses. . She has placed her own traditions on a par with them. She has made them' her slaves. . She: has' added her human Codicils, as of equal valuej to the Divine Testaments. She, has spoken contemptu ously of them. , She has stifled their voice... « She has refused to let them speak in their own language. She, has. forbidden the Nations to- hear them in vernacular tongues.|f She has not allowed their bodies to be put, into Monuments.^ The -original word of the Apocalypse here** is not *a$.eiJ5..but y-vn^a, and is to.be rendered, not graves,f f but a Monument-; XX that is, she has laboured that the sacred body of the Two Witnesses may not be committed, to the immortal Monuments of Editions, ver nacular Translations, and Expositions ; and so the words of the Witnesses be engraven on the memory of Man, and on the* heart, of the World. And wonderful it is, that she' has not flowed their body to be put into p, single Monument; not a • Rev.xi. 8; xiv. 8. xvi. 19. xvii. 18. xviii. 10, 16, 18, 19,, 21. f In, chap. xxi. 10,, they are applied, in the Authorized Version,. to the New Je rusalem. . But this is hieorrect. See note on the'passage in the Harmony, in vol; ii. of the present Work,, p.' 1 10. i Lectures X. XI. XII. , , , § Heb. vi. 6. | Full proof of these assertions has been given elsewhere. See Letter IV. of the " Sequel'\of " Letters on the Church of Rome,'' and Letters III. IV. V. VI. ** Rev. xi. 9. ' i ff As iri the Authorized- Version, Rev. xi. 9., ii Another, proof of the oneness~ 6f the two Witnesses ; and a Monument is, pro perly a Memorial ; Aquinas says well, "Ne eorum" memoria habeatur, quia monu- menla sunt ad memoriam." " Monumentum," says Haymq, "quod mdneat." 194 Exposition of the Apocalypse.^ [lect. single Editioiiof the Original Scriptures of the Two Testaments has ever been printed at Bome, that great City which calls her self the Mother and Mistress of Churches.* But a great triumph is promised to the Two Witnesses. Their body remains unburied in the street of the great City for three days and'a half. Their Lord had said to His Apostles, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the World, shall rejoice., But 'your sorrow shall be turned- into joy.'-'f And we readj that the World will rejoice over the Two Witnesses as dead, because they tormented it as -Elijah did Ahab, who said to the Prophet, §^-0 mine enemy! 'The World will say — it now says, " Let us lie in wait' for the righteous, he upbraideth us with our offending the law: he pro- fesseth to/have the knowledge of God, he calleth himself the child of God, He was made to reprove our thoughts. He is grievous unto us even to behold. Let us examine him with torture; let us condemn him' with a shameful death . . . Such things they did imagine, and were deceived."|] But now a memorable change ensues. "After three days and a half, we read, the Spirit' of life from God enters into the Two Witnesses, and they stand on their feet, and great fear falls on them who see them. And they ascend to heaven on the cloud of God's glory ; and there is a great Earthquake, and a tenth of the great City falls, and many are slain ;-^— which is the Second. Woe."** r As it was with Christ, so .with His Word. It is despised and rejected by many; by' prophets, princes, priests, and people. Christ was crucified on .the Sixth Day of the week: and the Sixth Seal, and the Sixth Trumpet, — that is, the last age,ft — * This fact was, I believe, first observed by the learned author of the "Life of Pope Pius V.," p. 171— the Rev. Joseph Mendham. f Jojin xvi. 20. i Rev. xi. 10. § 1 Kings xxi. 20. \ Wisdom ii. 12—21. ** Rev. xi. 11—14. ff Joachim, p. 133. Quod Evongelistse narrant, Christum traditum in manus peccatorum in fine quinii diei, die vero sexto crucifixum, sic erit in fine Vti tern- viii. J History- of Holy Scripture.. 195 the eve of the everlasting Sabbath, — is marked in the Apoca lypse, as a time, of rebuke and blasphemy against His Holy Word. Its foes" will exult over it as deiad.* But the: Spirit of God is in it; it rises, and stands erect. , They who see it will tear, like the Soldiers at Christ's 'Se-pvlchxerf who did shake for fear,. and became as dead men. '.It will be Caught up to heaven' on the cloudX of Christ's glory ; and Its enemies will see its triumph. And there Will be a great earthquake,^ as at Christ's Besurrection; and a tenth part of the great City will fall, as Jerusalem fell in a few years after His Ascension.; and many will perish in the earthquake,, and many will glorify God. This is the Second Woe, the Sixth Trumpet, and the Sixth Seal; the Eve, of the End; || Thus we are brought again to the point at which we closed our last Discourse. * And now the Divine Writer proceeds, a step further. The Seventh and last Trumpet sounds : this is the third and last Woe- r It is briefly announced as follows : . " The- Seventh Angel sounded ; and there were loud voices . in heaven, saying, The Kingdom of this World has become- the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever."** This .earries us beyond the time of the Spiritual Armageddon to be described in the Seventh Vial.ff - Then ensues a gratulatory, doxology from the Twenty-four Elders to God, for having put forth His own might, and taken / ' - ' l ,''-.-. ' pons Ecclesise, et in sexto, quia tunc solvendi sunt filii tenebrarum, scilicet infideles. So, p. 176. Ut Christus passus est die sexloiet Sabbato requievit, ita in sexto tempore Ecclesise complebitur passio Corporis Christi mystiei, et erit, post hoc, Sab batum gloriosuin. * The dead 'bodies of Thy Servants, 0 God, have they giveh.to'be meat unto the fowls of heaven,-, the Flesh, of Thy Saints unto the Beasts of the earth- ', Their' blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, and there, was none to bury them. Psalm Ixxix. 2, 3. , f Matth. xxviii. 4. * ttj vtf&toi. Rev. xi. 12. cf. Rev. i. 7; x. 1; xiv. 14—16. § Matth. xxviii. 2. I Rev. xi. 14. •« Rev. xi. 15. ft Eev. xvi. 16, xix.' 18, 19. 196 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. to Himself His power and kingdom ;¦ and because the time has arrived in which His enemies are to be put down, and the saints rewarded, and the Bead judged,.* ¦ Thus, then, we are brought to, the Tribunal of Christ. There is no intervening Millennium. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after; this i the Judgment."-)" p .', Next, the Holy Place of Godin heaven is opened, and there appears the Ark of the Covenant in His Holy Place.t Thus we are reminded 'again of Joshua's Victory over" Jeri cho ; in the. history of which we read, " Let the seven priests sound the seventrumpets, and let the Ark of the Covenant fol- iow.,r§ Here, again, St. John pauses, as if trembling at the prospect of the dread catastrophe,. and, after his manner, reverts for a time to a former position, and begins to prophesy again. The scene is changed. He has traced, as we haVe seen, the prophetic history of Holt ScRipttjrk He has revealed the astonishing fact, that the World would not be thankful for that blessed gift of God ; that Scripture would be treated with con tumely, in the same manner as its Divine Lord. And thus he has warned the Christian not to be dismayed or staggered by this strange and sad spectacle, when it should be displayed. He now returns to the first age of Christianity, in order to deliver a parallel prophecy concerning the reception in the world of the divinely-appointed Guardian, Witness, and Inter preter Of Holy Scripture; that other blessed gift of God to man, the Christian Church. He reVeals to her what she herself must expect. || That. Vision will next engage our attention. * Rev. xi. 18. ' f Heb. ix. 27. See also 2 Esdras xiv. 35. i Rev. xi. 19. § rj xi3utb; tys.St-ae^xvs, Vers. LXX. Josh. vi. 7. Let,the, reader examine the sixth chapter in "this Greek version, and he will be struck with its prophetic adaptation to the Apocalypse, chapters viii. ix. x. xi. || Bede ad loc. Hactenus de Angelis tuba canentibus : Nunc recapi tulat a na- livitate Domini. . viii.] History of Holy Scripture. 197 Suffice it to observe at present, that the parallel- between the fortunes of Scripture and the Church is marked by a chronolo gical characteristic, as follows : r We have seen that the Two Witnesses prophesy, or preach, in sackcloth, one thousand two hundred and sixty days.* Si milarly tlie Woman, — that is"; the Church, f — to be described in the following Vision, is in the wilderness for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.% More will be said, in the next Discourse, concerning the signification of these numbers. In the mean time we learn, from their correspondence, that Scripture and the Church must suffer together. It is not possible to injure the one Without in juring the other.. They have one and the same Lord ; one and the same cause ; one %hd the same career ; and as their suffer ings coincide, so also will their Victory. * Rev. xi.3. f Hay mo. Ecclesia, mulier ; sponsa Christi, credendo ; operibus inharendo, uxor: vocibus praedicando, mater ; toties enim parit Christum, quo ties officio pra- dicatioms membra ejus ad fidem et operationem informat i Rev. xii 6. 12 LECTUEE IX. Rev. xii. 1. There appeared a great Wonder in heaven ; a Woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and upon her.head a crown of twelve Stars. A WOMAN is seen clothed with the Sun, treading on the Moon, and crowned with twelve Star's.* This is the Church, f the Bride, the Queen at Christ's right hand,X clad in the robe of, Christ's righteousness, § surviving all the changeB|| of Earth, and having her broWs encircled with the starry diadem of Apos tolic Doctrine and Discipline.** This is her crown of Victory and Boyalty. With this she shines in the dark night of Er- -ror and Unbelief. Nothing can take this crown from her head. • See this yision iri Habmokt1 of the Apocalypse, p. 79. f Aquinas ad loc. Luna, rerum temporalitas, qua) subjacet mutationi sicut Luna. i Psalm xiv. 10. § See the excellent Scholium of Methodius in Cramer's Catena Sid Apocalyps. p. 352. H Primas. ad loc. Ecclesia Christo induta calcat mundi mutabilia. — Aquinas ad cap. xii. Ecclesia? est indumentum et ornamentum Christus. Rom. viii. 14, In- duimini Jesum Christum. ** Haymp ad loc. Corona stellarum xii. i. e. xir. Apostolorum, qui sua prac- dicatione tenebras infidelitatis fugant et lumine veritatis auditores illuminant, per quos omnes Gentes, qua? in circuitu hujus mundi sunt, crediderunt in Christum, et Ipsum Caput victoriam de toto mundo portavit. — Aquinas ad loc. Victoria per coronas significatur : dicitur ha?c corona esse in Christo (Ecclesia? Capite,) cujus milites fuerunt Apostoli. 2 Cor. ii. 14, Deo gratias, Qui semper triUmphat nos in Jesu Chrisfo. , History of the Church relatively to Rome. 199 She cries, travailing in childbirth, and pained to be delivered. In this lower world, the Church, like Eve, brings forth children in sorrow.* Be in pain, says the Prophet Micah, and labour to bring forth, 0 daughter of Zion, like a woman in travaiLf And, behold, a^great. red dragon, J having seven head's and ten horns, whose tail sweeps down from heaven a third of the stars,§ stands before ,the woman which Was ready to be delivered, in order to devour her child as soon as it was born. The Woman, persecuted by the Dragon, .brings . forth, we read, a male child, to rule the nations with a rod of iron; and her child is .snatched up to God and to His throne". At first sight these words appear applicable only to Christ.|| Butj we must remember, that what is true primarily of Christ alone, is, by virtue of His union with all true members of His body, and by reason of, the working of His grace, transferred to them. Hence St. Paul says, My Utile children, of whom I travail in( birth again, until Christ be formed in you.** So, in a. figurative sense,- the-Churchft is in labour with children till Christ be formed within them. This -figure of transferrCnce is of very frequent occurrence in the Apocalypse. Christ is our King and Priest : and It represents all. His true members as Kings and Priests to God.JJ And you will remember, that in * Gen. iii.' 16. f Micah iv. 10. cf. Isaiah lxvi. 7 — 10. l&tyvye xdi ctfxtv apatv. i Vitringa ad Apoc. p. 522. Draco, hie notat Diabolum, qualem se exhiberet in Romano Imperio, cujus character est septiceps etdenieomis.— Haymo says, ad cap. xiii. Per septem capita omnes reges intelliguntur £11 i subditi ; per decern cornua omnia regria. — Aquinas in loc. Cornua decern; omnes perversi, Legis decalogum impugn antes. § Stelhe cadunts (says Augustin. ep. cxix.) quoniam multi qui gratis fulgere videbantur, persequentibus cedent et cadent. — Haymo ad loc. Illi designantux p?r Stellas de coelo abstractas qui prius lucere videbantur in Ecclesii. H Psalm ii. 9. < ** Gal.iv. 19. ff This is well expressed by Primasius, ad loc, " Hie, Caput Ecclesia? Christus in singulis membris dicitur nasci. — Omnes enim. qui in Christo Jesu p'aptizati estis Christum induistis, (Gal. iii. .27,) ei raptus est filius,- ad Deumet qdthronupi Ejus. Licet in capite Christo pra?cesserit, congruit tamen et corpori Ejus. Hinc ilia? voces Apostoli, Qui nos resuscitavit et cohsidere fecit in cwlestibus (Eph. ii. 6,) et conversaiio nostra in calls est. (Phil. iii. 20.) tt Rev. i. 6. v; 10. xx. 6. See above, Lect. II. p. 60, note. .200 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. the Apocalypse Christ himself applies to all true .believers the words, which are literally true of himself alone* — " He that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, to him, will 1 -give power over the nations, »and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken in pieces.-); Thus Christ himself interprets the Vision before us. And ¦frhat is this rod of iron f It is, as was before Said, J - the inflexible rule of Christ's Word. With it the male§ child ren, the inasculine spirits, of the Church, || being endued with power by Christ,' rule the Nations, that is, they overcome the World; with it they shiver, into atoms the potter's vessels — that is, the pafthy, brittle theories, of .corrupt Beligion and carnal Philosophy;, and, having- performed their mission on earth like Elijah, like him they, are caught up to heaven. They are .exalted in a glorious apotheosis, and are made to sit in heavenly places, with Christ.** " To him that overcometh," saith Christ, in the Apocalypse,- " will I grant to Sit with Me in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne. "ft Thus the children of the Church are caught up to Heaven. But the Church herself remains on earth to the end. The Woman, We read,, flies into the Wilderness, where she ' " has a place prepared her by G°d, that they may nourish her one thousand two hundred and sixty days." •St. John, having thus described the term of .the pilgrimage of the Church, reverts to an earlier point — to the beginning of < * Rev. ii. 26, 27. f Haymd ad loc. De omnibus electis potest intelligi qui in Sub Capite accepe- runt potestatem ut regant gentes virga ferrea et confringendi eas tanquam vas figuli. i Lecture VIII. p. 188. § Bede ad loc Semper Ecclesia, dracone licet adversante, Christum parif ; mas- culum autem dicit, yictorem diaboli qui fmminam vicerat. . . . Ecclesia quotidie gignit ecclesiam, mundum in Christo vincentem. , . || Haymo in loc. Masculus in bonam partem accipitur, quia significat membra Christi qua? quotidie parlt sancta Ecclesia. Recte autem sancti sub nomine mas- cuhirum cornprehenduntur, quia/oWi'ier contra adversa istius seculi pugnant, sicut fecerunt sancti Apostoli et Martyres. "Eph. i. 20. ffRev.mV21. IX.] History of the Church relatively to Rome. 201 her pilgrimage. And why? To remind us that the Church, when persecuted by Satan, has always had- an invincible1 Pro tector, who has vanquished the Dragon. ; There was war in Heaven:*- Michael and his Angels fought with'the Devil and. his Angels'; and the Dragon,'the old Ser pent was cast out.\ And a Hymn of Victory was heard in Heaven. This" is the conquest achieved by the, Son of God at His incarnation— "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven.f Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out."§ The Devil being vanquished by Christ, attacks His Church. And the two wings of the great-Eagle,]] we read, are given her to fly from the face of the Dragon- to the Wilderness unto her place, where- (it is. said) she is nourished, that is, fed with heavenly food J as the Ancient Church in the Wilderness was nourished with manna, which Was the type of the True Bread which came down from Heaven.** " She is nourished for a time, times, and half. % time."tt — that is, three .years and a half; which is the same period as the twelve hundred and sixty days,XX before mentioned, or. the forty-two months, during which the Holy City will be trodden by the Gentiles^ What, now, are ther Two Wings of the Great Eagle?' The Eagle is the natural foe of the Dragon ; and the Church of Israel is said, in. Scripture, to be-borne from Egypt concerning 'this dif ficult question, which involves another :¦- — , - j What is the true interpretation of the Numbers used in the Apocalypse? Many recent learned expositors, you are aware, regard each of these Days as a Year; and, having fixed an interior limit, they proceed to date this period, so formed, from that. limit; andthus they suppose that they are able to determine the times and seasons,X even to the end. This theory seems to rest on a very insecure basis. It is founded on an erroneous estimate of tEe meaning of the num bers employed in this book. / If we may so speak, the numbers of the Apocalypse, and especially those which refer to future times,% which are not for men to know, represent certain ideas (resting on historical or natural basis,) and not precise quantities. Thus,) for example, instead of saying a large part, it; com- * This symbol has received a beautiful practical exposition in the usage of the Church to place the Bible on the two wings of an Eagle, and to read the Lessons therefrom. f Deut. xxxii. 11. Isa. xl. 31. * Acts i. 7. Matth. xxiv. 36. §. I say "which refer to future times" because the numbers which refer to the past, or to any legitimate or necessary object of human knowledge, are to be under stood 'literally. Thus the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth (xvii. 9) are to be understood literally. So the four Living Creatures, tbe twenty-four Elders,'and the seven Thunders. These numbers were very fit and important to be known; therefore they are specified, and are to be interpreted literally. See above, Lect. VIII. p. 184. IX.] History of the Church relatively to Rome. 203 monly speaks of a third part. For instance, the third part of the trees was burnt up: the third part of the sea became blood: the third part of the creatures died: the third part of men were slain;* and hj many other places. None can imagine,- that this is to be understood literally. No; this is the language of Poetry, which avoids what is vague, and loves what is distinct. Thus, again, the number pour is an exponent of all space. Hence we read of the four corners of the earth ;f and the four wmds.% The' heavenly - City, that is, the Universal Church, glorified, is four square.^ . And to signify the universal des truction, of God*^ &es in the mystical Armageddon, it is said that the. blood from the winepress of His fury flowed to four times four hundred furlongs.]] This, I conceive, cannot be understood literally. So, again, the number twelve in the Apocalypse,, being the number of Christ's Apostles, represents the Ar>ost61ieity of the Church. Thus, the Woman is here displayed as crowned with twelve stars; so, the Holy City has twelve foundations, and twelve gates,; the tree of life bears twelve fruits ; and the Elect of God consist of twelve thousand, sealed out of each of Twelve Tribes. Assuredly it wouldJbe a very great error to imagine that the Elect of God are limited to this number. -, Indeed the Apoca lypse itself forbids us to do so ; it declare? them to be innumer able ;** therefore the number, twelve times twelve thousand is * Rev. viii. 7—12 ; ix. 15, 18 ; xii.''4. f Rev. vii. 1. i Rev. vii. 1. § Rev. xxi. 16. See the note to the HABWurxyin Vol. ii., on Rev. iv. 6. H Rev. xiv. 20. ** Cf. .Bede, Pref. ad Apoc. Legitimos autem numeros dicit : quos eminentius divina Scriptura commendat, sicut septenarium, vel denariumj vel duodenarium, quibus plerumque vel universitas 'tempofisi vel rei alicujus perfectio designator. Sicut septies in die laudem dixi tibi, nihil est aliud, quam semper laus Ejas in ore meo. (Psalm cxix. 164 ; lxxi. v.)' Tantundem autem valent, et cum multipli- cantur sive per denarium : siput septuaginta et septingenti: sicut decern per decern, centum; sicut duodecim per duodecim, centum quadraginta quatuor:, quo numero significatur universitas sanctorum in Apoealypsl. — See.above, Lect. VI. p. 154-5. 204 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. npt to be takpn literally. It does hot express a quantity, but a quality. It indicates- that this rgreat, this innumerable^ com pany, are all united in one faith, and by the same sacraments, — the faith taught, and the sacraments administered, by the Twelve Apostles, of Christ. The same idea is expressed in the twelve stars, twelve foun dations, twelve gates, and twelve fruits. That these expressions represent an idea may be inferred from our Lord's own words to his Apostles : " Ye shall fit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."* And yet He says, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a Devil ?"f , One of the twelve was a traitor; and so the quan tity-was marred: vbut the idea remained: they were still "the Twelve," and so they are called in Holy Scripture— " the Twelve."X The Apostohcity of the Church is unimpaired. . It is still built upon twelve foundations ; for we read, " the wall of the C^y has Twelve foundations, and in them the names of the Twelve Apostles- of the,Lamb."§ The same principle must be applied to the Thousand years* during which Satan is said to be bound.] | They who thence infer a literal Millennium misconceive the spirit, and overlook the, manner, of St. John, They forget that the Apocalypse is not a prose History, but an inspired Poem, a divine Prophecy." The ancient Expositors pursued a safer course when they re cognized an idea, and not a precise quantity, in this perfect** number of ten centenaries ; by which, as we have already seen, ft they understood the entire time between the, first Advent of Christ and the full revelation of Antichrist, whatever that time . ' . ' '' may be, which is known to God alone. So again," with respect to the number Seven in the Apoca lypse. It indicates an idea,-^-that of completion. * Matth. xix. 28. - f John vi. 70. i Matth. xxvi. 20. Mark xi. 11. Luke ix. 1. John vi. 71. Acts yi. 2. 1 Cor. xV. 5, et passim. , h Rev. xxi. 14. || Rev. xx. 2. ** Septenarius (says Aquinas ad Rev. xi.) significat universitatem, millenarius perfectionem sive in bono, sive in malo. ff See above, Lect. II. p. 65. ix.] History of the Church relatively- to Rome. 205 There were many more than Seven Churches in Asia when St. John wrote ; but he addresses seven only, because he writes . in them to all the' Churches of all places and all times. 'Simi larly, we read/ of Seven Angels,, as representing all Ministers of the Gospel : seven spirits express the full effusion df the Holy Ghost : seven seals exhibit all the sufferings of the Church : seven trumpets proclaim' all Gpd's judgments on iier enemies ': seven vials pour out all God's Wrath on the mystical Babylon : and many other' septenary combinations there are, all expres sive of ^completion ; all, ending in some great consummation, just as the Hexaemeron of Creation terminated in the Sabbath of God. Similarly, in order, that we may understand that the triumph of the Two Witnesses will be complete, we have a- combination of the two numbers, seven and a thousand.* There were slain' of men, we read, seven thousand ;\ . and the remnant were affrighted, and gave, glory to the God of .heaven. '• Let us now apply these observations to the period of twelve hundred and sixty days. ' These 1260 days equal forty-two months, or three years and ' a half; and they are mentioned under all these terms in the Apopalypse. The Holy City ii trodden by, the. Gentiles forty-two. Months.X It is given to the Beast, to exercise his power% forty-two months.]] The Two Witnesses preach in sackcloth 1260 Days.** The Woman is in the Wilderness 1260 itaysyffand she is also Said; to be in the Wilderness a time,fimes, and half a time; that is, three years and a .half. JJ Now, if we examine the records of Scripture, we find that;. the period of three years and a half represents an idea; one of spiritual toil, pilgrimage, and persecution. •Rey.xi. 13. f Haymo : " Septenarius numerusi ssepe pro universitate ponitur, atque ideo in septem millibus hominum omnes reprobi.'ihtellignntur." \ ( i Rev. xi. 2. , § rtoiojscu. . | Rev. xiii. 5. ** Rev. xi. 3. ff Rev. vi. 6. tt Eey. xii. 14. 206 Exposition of the Apoealypse. [lect. Eirst, it may be observed, that three and a half> being the half of seven, which is ^he' number of completeness, represents a seini-perfect state ; one of transitiorrand probation. , In illustration of this, it may be remarked here; that the body- of the Two Witnesses remains unburied three days and a half* r ¦ The same kind of opposition to the Apostolic, number Twelve may, perhaps,' be thought to exist in the half of that number, Six; and: to exhibit itself in the remarkable combination of Six Hundreds, Six Tens, and Six Units, whieh cpnstitutethe number of the name of the Beast.f - Let us pass to fapts. , Three years and a half, or forty-two' months, or 1260 days, are, as w6; have seen!,: the time of the pilgrimage of the Woman in the Wilderness, that is, of the Church in her trials.^ This number§ forty-two connects- her with the History of the Israel- itish Church in the Wilderness. Its haltings are enumerated in the Book of Numbers,|| and they are Forty-two. And all these things (says St. Paul) happened to them as types of us.** They foreshadow the history of the Christian Church in her pilgrimage through the Wilderness of this World to the pro mised. land of Heaven. Again: "I tell' you of a truth," Bays Our Blessed Lord, "many, widows were in Israel in the days of EHas> when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when -great famine' was throughout all the land, "ft And St. James says, " Elias prayed it- might not rain ; and it rained not on the Earth by the space of three years and six months." J J , It also pleased God to strengthen the type, if we may so speak,, by assigning the same duration of three years and a half to the persecution of the Church ,of Israel by Antiochus Epi- phanes. * Rev. xi. 9, 11. ( f Rev. xiii. 18. i Primasius ad loc. Numerus xlii Mansionum Christianitatis omne tempus designat. , § By Haymo in Apoc. lib. ii. iv., and Aquinas, 323. || Num. xxxiii. 1—50. »» 1 Cor. x. 6—11'. ff Luke iv. 25. ^ James v. 17. ix.] History of the Church relatively to Rome. 20.7 St. John's precursor,* .Daniel, had named that period as the duration of that persecution. He had also identified it with the future time of the trials of the Christian Church, which are more fully described by St. John1.!- Thus the very mention of three years and a half to the ear of an Israelite had an ominous sound. It was his chronological symbol of suffering, l ¦ And to us Christians there is another reason why it should be identified with a time of trial, since, as some ancient Wri- tersj assure us, and there, is good reason to beheve,§ this period of three years and a half]] was the duration of the earthly Ministry of Him, — the great 'Prophet, ths Divine Witness^ "Who was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief "** and who, as Daniel prophesied, caused the sacrifice of the Temple to cease in the midst of a week by his own oblation on the cross, ft .." • See Josephus, B. J. i. c. 1. Lowth on Dan. xii. 7. Vssher's Annals, pt. ii. Prideaux, Connexion, ad a. d. 168, 165. , , f See Lowth on Dan. vii. 25. , , i Euseb. i. 10. Theodoret, on Dan. ix. 27. ii. p. 1250, ed. Hal. Cf. Melito ap. Routh. R. S.i. 136. , .. . § See, on Dan. ix. 27,' Hengstenberg's Christology, §:754 — 765.. * . || Some of the Fathers also supposed that this was the duration of the " flight in Egypt" of the Virgin Mother and her Divine Child. See Catena Cramer, p. 358i 366. .-** Isa. liii, 3. r - ff Dan. ix..27.— Lightfoot Harm. N. T. ad cap. xi. "The forty-two months;" " 1260 days," and a "time, times,and a half time;"' are but borrowed phrases from Daniel, who so expresses the three and- a half-years of Aritiochus'- persecution (Dan. xii. 7 ;) and they mean times of trouble, and are used- to express that, arid Jhot any fixedtime. The Jews have learned to make the same construction of it .-and this also, thatrcomfort might stand up against mercy, was the time of our Saviour's Ministry. Christ preached three and a half years jri trouble, (cp. also Lightfoot on Matth. iii. 16.) So the Two Witnesses in sackcloth; He having' finished his ministry was slain; so they. He revived and ascended; so they likewise. Their case is paralleled with Christ's, their Master's. See also Lightfoot's -Chorographi- cal Inquiry, chap. vi. sect, iv. " This waste of sacfed things by Antiochuslasting for three years and a half, the Jews retained that very number as famous, iSas- much that they often make use of it when they would express any thing very sad and afflicting. . . And perhaps it had been much for the reputation of the Commen tators upon the Book of Revelation, if they had looked upon that number and the 208 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [legt.: Hence this period of three years and a half, forty-two months, or 1260 days (resting on a' solid historical basis,) is employed in the Apocalypse as a typical exponent of an idea ;, just as the' numbers four, seven, twelve, and twelve times twelve, do not represent a precise sum, but a well-defined prin ciple.* We observe, in passing, that the Locusts of the fifth Trum pet are said to have power to injure the five months.^. This number also expresses an idea. It designates the time of the duration of the Deluge,% and indicates that the Locusts would cover the world, like the flood; but that the Ark of the 'Church would float, upon the waters; and rest securely, when they were .abated. I do not venture to affirm,, that the Church may not be called hereafter to endure intense suffering for three years and a half, and so a second, literal, fulfilment be given to this prophecy ; but, on the whole, we arrive at this conclusion, that We cannot safely deduce any precise arithmetical results, with regard to the future, from this number of three and a half years, forty- two months, or 1260 days.^ Let us not, however,, imagine that these numbers are super fluous. , Nothing in Scripture is so. "God has ordered all things in measure and number and weight.|| We cannot now forty and two months, and the thousand two hundred and sixty days as spoken allusively, and not applied it to any precise or determinate time." See also his Serm. on Dan. xii. 12, p. 1250. Vitringa, pp. 449, 463. 1 Mace. xiii. 50, 51. * Haymo in loc. Dies 1260.] In hoc tempore Ecclesia in soktudine a curis temporalium refum quiescente, pascunt earn Doctores exemplo et doctrinaper E pis- tolas, Evangelium et expositiones librorum pabulo divini sermonis. Sicut Anti- christus 1260 diebus reghabit, ita et Christus 1260 diebus, i. e. tribus annis et di- midio prsedicavit, ideoque totum praesens tempus possumus accipere per hoc mime- rum a quo divina prsedicatio ccepit. Desertum populi ex JE gypto egressi significa bat banc vitam, in qua pascimur vero Manna, id est, corpore, Christi ; adsunt quoque igniti serpentes, &c. — See also Aquinas. ' fRev.jx. 10. i Gen. vii. 24. viii. 3. § I do not advert here to the supposed period of " an hour, a day, and a month, and a. year." (Rev. ix. 15.) They fyho understand this literally cannot have carefully considered the Greek original. ' 1 Wisdom xi. 20. IX.] History of the Qhurch relatively to Rome. 209 understand all the harmonies of the divine Arithmetic, yet some we can. These numbers in the Apocalypse are of great use. They do not indeed gratify the cravings of human curi osity. They do not enable us to construct a prophetical Ephe- meris, or an Apocalyptic Almanack. But they present to us Certain parallelisms. They: show that the sufferings of Scrip ture Coincide with thosepf the Church, and. with the Empire of the Beast,* They remind us of our own ignorance, , and of God's knowledge, - They teach us patience. They tell us that the days of man are few, and that a Millennium is but a moment to the, Eternal - They warn us that We are not to expect, sabr batical perfection in this World. ¦ They have also an analogical value. They remind us that here we are to look for trials- trials suSh as those endure'd by the Ancient Church of Israel in her forty-two soj our nings in the wilderness £— trials" such as those endured by Elias under Ahab, by the Maccabees under Antiochus, and by Christ from his own countrymen. And they encourage us with the joyful' assurance, that if 'wp are true to Christ, and maintain his catise With zeal, courage, and charity, then, though we suffer, We shall conquer .also ; that, our suffer ings will soon bp over ; that they will appear like a few days ; then even for us there will be a chariot of fire, and a heavenly Feast of, Dedication^ and a cloud of heavenly glory, and an eternity of joy. ; ' We now return to the train of the Prophecy. '. "And the red Dragon (we read) poured a flood after the Woman, to drown, her ; but the Earth helped- her, and drank up the flood. f And the Devil departed, to make war with the remnant of her seed, which kept the commandment of ' God.J ' The power „ of the red Dragon here is the same as that before * The true temper of a Christian, in regard to future " times and seasons," is beautifully portrayed in the admirable letter of St. Augustine to Hesychius,, De firie Sxculi, Epist., cxcix. ^ ' 'f Cf. Isaiah viii. 7. dvdyn Kiiptos i$ -ifidj to SSap tai Ttota/iovtb ioxv- fbv xai rtoTw, tbv (3affiila' *wi' 'Aoavpiuv- ,; , , - i Rev. xii. 15— 17. ¦' 210 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. represented in the- second seal, as. riding, with a sword in his hand, on a red* horse— the horse pf fire and blood— the power of Bome. Here we see the stream of Boman persecution, with Which the Devil endeavoured to overwhelm the Church in the first ages of Christianity. Then the Waters,— the deep waters of the proud, — would have drowned her, and the stream went over hersoul.f' But the 'Earth helped the Woman,; and swallowed up the stream; that is, the Boman Empire J beeame Christian, and the Church was protected 'by the civil power; and, therefore the Devil departed, to devise some other mode of attack, upon the Church. Hewon found what he desired. This is now revealed by St. John. He proceeds With the Vision of the Church, and dis plays a new" Form of Danger to her.§ He stood on the shore of the sea, and 1 saw a Beast rising from the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, ancl on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a name of Blasphemy. And the Dragon (that is, the * In both passages the word is the same, rtvpfibi, red as fire. f Psalm cxxiv. 4. i Constantine, in one of his letters to Eusebius, speaks of the Dragon being eject ed from the government of the World by God's Providence and his own ministry — tov Spdxovtos ixsivov drtb trjs 1W xoivCtv Sioixqottis -rov ®tov tov fityistov rtpwola ypitlpa -Si irt^pfoia ixSun%0svtos. — De Vit. Const, ii. c 46. And Constantine placed before the vestihuleuf his palace a representation of the cross over his own head, and of the Dragon beneath him, thrust down to the abyss. — iii. is. 3. tbv ij;8poi) xai '7tol.ifu.ov 6rjpa^ tbv tijv ixx^rjelav toil- ©eo£ Sia ttji tuv ddiav Ttofaopxtjtsavta tvpavviSof, xatd f3i>9oi tycpopcror rtowjffdf iv , Spa- xovtos jiopcjwj" Spdxovtu .ydip av%bv ,jcai oxolUov. o$w iv rtpotyTjtuv @Eoi /3c- fihois- dvuriyopsvi td Xoyta. Seo xai fiaaiXfvs vrtb toi$ a-i-roiJ xai fuv .ojbtov rtosi jSeTlei- rttrtapfiivbv xatd fiiaov tov xvtovs |3i>0oi{ tt SaXdoojjs artifilit-p- fUvyv Sia- tr[$ xripoxvtov ypa^ws iSst,xw tfotj rtaat, tbv Spaxovta, twSe itjj tbv .d^iavyj tov tutv dv8po>7tav -ylvovj rio-hi/jiov aivtttbfit voj. A. D- 313 Constantine issued his edict at Milan in favour of the Christians; he decreed the observance pf the Lord's Day, A. D. 321 ; from A. D. 323 the heathen symbols disappear from his coins. The adoption of the sacred monogram, the La- barum, was another public profession, of Christianity. Heathen sacrifices were pro hibited by Constantius A. D. 353. § He, i. e. the Dragon. See Notes to the Harmony, xiii. 1, Rev. xiii. 1, 2. IX.] History of the Church relatively to Rome. 211 "Devil) gave him his power, and his throne^and great authority . This Vision is afterwards expounded by St. John himself, as follows : — "I saw a Woman sitting on a scarlet Beast, full of names of.. .Blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."* Andagain:f "The seven heads are seven Mountains, wherethe Woman sit teth;"! and, they are seven Kings, or Kingdoms, or forms of Government ;§ for so the word>is used in the parallel place of the prophet Daniel, ||, where the Boman Empire is called a King, and also a Kingdom. And the ten horns are ten Kings, which have not yet received power, but will receive** it, as Kingsff (that is, with" the name of Kings, but not with undividedKingly power), at the same time with the Beast. And the Beast is from,X$ that is, proceeds from,, the seven heads or forms- of Go vernment, and he is himself the Eighth Head; and the Woman who sitteth upon the, Beast is that great Gity which hath dp- minion over the Kings, of the, earth.%% -This Vision, being thus, explained, as to its main features, by St.- Jphn himself, admits of but One interpretation; and, as we shall show-more fully hereafter, 1 1 1 1 it has been so clearly fulfilled in the world, and this fulfilment is so wonderful, and so far be yond the reach of all human, prescience, that any one who will •Rev. xvii. 3. - „: f Rev. xvii. 12. i oTtav if yvw[ xdBrjtai irt abtZiv. Rev. xvii. 9. § The seven successive forms of Government of Rome. /-\. ByKingjs, 2. Con- - suls. 3. Dictators. 4. Decemvirs. 5. Military Tribunes. 6. Emperors. 7, The German Emperors, who were Kings of Italy. See Tacit, Annal. i. cap. 1, and Vitringa, p. 596. ' || Daniel -vii. 17, 23. _ See also Vitringa, p. 591. Baffitetj ~vijf yrjs, Kings.of the Earth, is a phrase, used in the Revelation for all the Powers of Earth generally, whether monarchical or no, especially as opposed to Christ, the King of heaven. ** }jj,nfidvovai,, present; i. e." prophetically, ff us |3ii(j#i«s,^very descriptive of- the divided allegiance which is paid under the Papacy to Kings, who give their power to the Beast. Rev. xvii. 13.— See Hei degger. Myst Bab. ii. 311, "tanquam reges, adeoque precarii, servientes," vassals of the See of Rome, -which, in the person of Pope Innocent III, (Epist. i. 401,) compared the Kingly power to the Mbon,'and the. Papal to the Sun. ** Rev. xvii. 11. ,i '' §§ Rev. xvii. 18. II) In Lectures X. XI. Xn. t 212 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. carefully, consider the -matter, must assuredly confess that the eyes of the writer of the Apocalypse were illumined ; by the Spirit of God. There are certain subordinate pointsy in it, on which we shall now say a few words. The place from which this Beast arises is the Sea. Now, if we revert to the Second Trumpet, we find that it announced the-removal of^a great burning Mountain into the Sea.*- This word Sea connects the present Vision with that Trumpet. „ ' - > -¦ The Mountain was the Boman -Empire, and this Sea, as we have said, was the tumultuous Element of Various States into which the great mountain of the Boman Empire was plunged, and in which at was, as it. were, quenched and liquefied* and from this' Sea the Beast arises. : Here you. will remember that St^Paul, in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, thus writes :f Ye know what withholdeth or hindereth (tb xdttzovj, that the Lawless one (o oVo/to?) should be revealed in his due season. But (adds the Apostle) it hin dereth only.(ttovov) till he, who now restrains,X shall be removed, and then (xai' tots) the Lawless one (that is, the Beast) will be revealed. , , The most eminent Ancient Eastern and Western Expositors recognized the Imperial Power§ of Bome in the obstacle which restrained the Bevelation of the Lawless one ; and they taught * Rev. vii. 8. See " Harmony," § 19 Mid § 22, and above, Lect VH. p. 163. f 2 Thess. ii. 3 — 8. + o sofExcw. § Chrysost. ad loc. ;. also Theophylact. ad loc. ; Jerome on Dan. vii. ; and Ep. ad Algas. Qu. 2. See also Tertullian, De Resurr. Carnis, c. 24; Hippolyt de- Anti christo, c. 49 ; Cyril. Catech. xv. 6. 8 ; and cp. Bp. Andrewes, c Bellarmin. c x. p. 235 ; Mede's Works, p. 657. Let me say here once for all, that in my opinion — 1. The Beast of,the Apocalypse, and the "Man of Sis,'' described by St. Paul, 2 Thess. ii. 3 — 13, are identical; and are a spiritual anti-christian power, and may be termed an Antichrist. 2. But The Asttichbist mentioned in the First and Second Epistle of St. John (1 John ii. 18—22. iv. 3. 2 John 7,) is an infidel power, distinct from the " Beast" and " the Man of Sin." The Word Antichrist is not found in any other book of Scripture besides the two Epistles of St John. ix.] History of the Ohurch relatively to Rome. 213 that; on the dissolution of the Empire, represented here , by the removal of the Mountain, and the casting of it into the Sea, the Lawless one would be revealed. -< ; -The .seven Heads represent the seven forms of civil Govern ment to which Bome was subject before, the Papacy arose. One of these heads is described as wounded and healed,'-;* and we know- (to cite the words of Bishop Andrewesf) that the Im perial power, which was broken by the Goths and Vandals, re vived with all its former strength in -the Papal/' The Beast is said' to have , been, and hot to 6e, .although he is :J that is, the Papal power pre-existed, in its secular greatness, in the Im perial; although in another, Spiritual sense it had not yet arisen ; and the 'Beast is said to be from the seven heads, and to be himself the eighth, that is, to be a form of. Government, which will succeed on the disappearance of the seventh Head. In a word^the prophecy declared that, the Mountain of the Soman Empire must first -be cast into the Sea; and then the Beast of the Roman Papacy would rise from the Waves. -. An important remark arises here., Your attention has been already drawn to the catchwords which connect one part of the Apocalypse with another^ This observation' must, be, extended further. The Apocalypse itself is connected, by like catchwords, with the Prophecies of the Old Testament ; especially as read in thp Greek Septuagint Version. • A remarkable one occurs in the passage .before us. ! , The Beast; we read, makes war with, the Saints, and has a mouth speaking great things,]] stoma, aaaotn mepaaa. * Rev. xiii. 3. f Bp. Andrewes, c. Bellarman. p. 287. " Romse Imperium, quod graviter afflic- tum a Gothis et-Vandalis, curata tamen plagaejus vires pene pristinas post recepit,-' cum exurgeret de novo et graridesceret , in, serie Paparum Romanus Antichristus Ibi caput, ibiplaga capitis,- piaga lethalis, ibi plagas cura.1' See Appendix I. to Vol; ii, of this Work. i Rev. xvii. IS, xalritp iativ where .xai rcdpietai.,. anil he will appear, is the reading of many MSS., and is received by Griesbach ' and Scholz. :The sense 0£- this is obvious. § See above, Lecture VI. p. 152. I "Rev. xiii. 5. 13 214 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. Refer now to Daniel's Prophecy, concerning the .horn which riseth in the midst of the ten horns of the fourth monarchy or, Roman empire. This horn, we read, makes war with, the Saints, and has a mouth • speaking- great things, stoma AAAOTN MErAAA.* Thus St. John knits on his Apocalypse to the Book of Daniel ; and identifies the Beast of the one with the little Horn of the other. f A second Beast is next described by St. John, which has two horns like a Lamb,X but speaks as a Dragon. The Word Dragon occurs twelve times in the Apocalypse, (besides the present passage,) and is always applied to Satan. And the word Lamb occurs twenty-nine times in the Apocalypse, and is always applied to Christ. . Every one, therefore, of sound critical judgment must, I think, admit that this Second Beast cannot he a heathen or infidel power, (as some imagine,) but re presents some form of. Christianity. Having horns like a Lamb, and speaking as a Dragon, it combines an outward sem blance of Christ with the fierce spirit of the Evil One. How, it may be asked, does this Beast differ from the former, which has been just described ? The former Beast, I reply, is the depository of Power ; and the latter labours for the aggrandizement of that Power.§ Hence it is that the words "it was given"]] are repeatedly * Such are Jhe words in Dan. vii. 8, in the LXX; and also in the Version of Theodotion. f Similarly St. John joins his own Gospel to that of his predecessors by catch words. Thus (xx. 1,) he speaks of " the stone," i. c. the stone mentioned by St Matthew xxvii. 60. Mark xv. 46. Luke xxiv. 2. i Haymo ad cap. xiii. Agnus, Christus- est, de quo Joannes dixit, Ecce Agnus Dei. Duo ejus cornua sunt innocentia, et vita pura, doctrina et miracula; ista simulabunt se habere, ministri Antichristi. § St. Iren. v. 28, commenting on this passage, well describes the second Beast as the 'Tstipaartiet^i,- pr Armour-bearer of the first Beast. || Observe the following passages, xiii. 2. tSuxtv aitu 6 Spdasuc 4 USaxev i^ovaiav fu Brjpiuu 5 iSbdt] ait H tstopa f.a'M>vv /iiydxa. ,5 iS69v aitu rtowjffou fifvas tiaeapdxovta Svo. IX,] History < of 'the Church relatively to ;Rome. 215 applied by St. John to the fprmer Beast, while the expression "he works"* characterizes the latter. The ' seeond Beast works for the former Beast, to. whom the.povber is given. This. second Beast is described as compelling all to worship the, former Beast, and to receive his mark, and not allowing any to buy or sell, who have not the mark or the name of the fprmer Beast. .. ' In Scripture, a Prophet is a Preacher; and this Second Beast, which has the semblance of a Lamb,t is called by St. John the False Prophet, that is, the Teacher or Preacher of a corrupt Christianity4 He is a Wolf in Sheep's clothing.^ 7 £oo(fy airu Ttols/xov rtowjaai fictd t^v dyiuv xai vixijaai aitoif. 7 ISoStj avtu i^oveoa irti ndeav tyvXqv. * Remark the following passages, xiii. 12. tijv'itovoiav tov Ttputtov S^plao 7iaGav 7toi(i ivartiov aitov. 12 rtoiu tqvjyqv xat Hovf Hpoaxvvovvtas iv aitij Iva Ttpoaxwijcaai ' to Bripiov. , , 13 rtbist, OTjfLEia fxiyd%a. 13 Iva. xai rtvp 3tbw[ xatapaiveiv- 14 Gypsta Ttovrinai Eviartiov tov Biqplov.-, 14' hiyit. Ttoiyjaat dxava tw Stjpla, , 15 rtowjcr^ baot, dv ihil lipoexvvijauigt, . . . i'va aitoxtav Suiffi. 16 7ioi£i 7tavta$ . . , iva- owtfw aitoi,$ ^apay^ua ircl tiji, #£tp6$ cm5- t,Ctv tqs 6f5ta$, ^ l7fi tuv [izturtcov. ', 17 xai , i'va firjttu^ Svv^ai dyopdcai x. t: %• f The comment of Primasius (Bishop of Adrumetum, in Africa, in the middle of the sixth century,), on this passage1 is very observable, as showing that^ even be fore their fulfilment, these prophecies were supposed to point — -not to an infidel or -heathen power, but to a form of Christianity.. "Haec bestia duo cornua Agni" sitniBa, duo Testamenta, Vero Agno eompetentia, sibi usurpare tentavit. -• Ut draco tamen loqui dicjtur, quia in hypocrisi, id est, in simulatione. Veritatis decipit, Ag-. numfingit, ut Agnum invadat, id est, Christi corpus. . . . Potestatem prions bestise faciebat. . ¦ Astante enim populo faciunt Prscpositi, quod diaboli voluntati proficiat, sub velamento nypocrisis Ecclesise. . . Claret utramque bestiam unum , corpus esse, et unius nequitis cultum exercere, ut sequentis bestiae hypocrisis priori bestise militare dicatur . . . ilia bestia sibi, simulate1 Agni nomen usurpat. Haec simulatio eousque pravaluit ut terreni seducti propter signa bestise, ipsi bestis miser- abili assensu faventes, mutua se'devotione cohdrtentur "bestial imaginem fabricare, sicut qui jam non testament dubitandum quod vere ipse sit Christus, cum sit in An tichristo diabolus . . . cui ut Deo honorem seslimant defefendum." ... A wonder ful Exposition ! i Rev. xvi. 13. xis. 20. xx. 10. % Matth* vii. 15. 216 , Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. Observe also, these two Beasts live and die together. They have the same doom at the same time.*. When all these things are considered, it will, lam persuadedy be thought reasonable tp concur with those Expositors-)- who see - in the Second BeastJ a personification of the Papacy acting by those particular Orders, calling themselves Behgious Orders, and so wearing the semblance of the Lamb, and denominated "Preaching or Prophetic Orders','— I mean the Dominican and Franciscan, and after them the Jesuits— which have laboured with all their might and ability to advance the Papal claims to Omnipotence and Infallibility. § This they have done, with delegated authority from Bome, mainly by the Tribunal of the Inquisition,|! calling itself the "Holy Office," professing to pro pagate the Gospel: bearing an olive branch in one hand, and a drawn sword** in the other, — thus uniting the Lamb with the Dragon. This they have also done, by imposing unrighteous oaths and monstrous confessionsff of Faith, which may truly be called marks of the Beast, J| in which implicit. faith in, and obe- * Revi xix. 20. f See Vitringa, p. G13. See also this exposition illustrated in an excellent Ser mon, by Dr. Geo. Hickes (published by Spinckes), in his Posthumous Discourses, Sermon iii. pp. 58^90. Xond. 1726. ,+ Limborch. Histor. Inquisitionis, p. 39. Circa A.D. 1200 Papa (Innocent IH.) instituit Ordines Dominica'norum et Franciscanorum qui contra hseresea prsedica- rent. — The Franciscan Order, A. D. 1207, sanctioned by Pope Innocent III.. A. D, 1209, the Dominican, also under Innocent III. Pope Honorius, in Ms bull to Dominic, speaks of the Dominicans as "pugiles fidei." Cp. Vitringa, pp. 613,614. These drders were called "fulcra et sustentacula Eeclesise Pontificias." SeeUssher de Succ^EccI. cap. ix. § ix. § Paul IV. (says'Onuphrius in vit.) said that "the authority of the Papacy leant on the Inquisition" (hoc unb niti sedis Apostolicse aathoritatem). ' Cp. Corn. Agfipp. de Vanit. Scient. c. 96, and Heiddegger. Myster. Babyl. ii. 283 ; who call? them Religious Orders, the " adminicula et munimenta" of the Papacy. || See Sarpi's and Limbofch's History of the Inquisition. ** See the plate in Limborch, p. 373, and ibid. p. 3T0. ff A brief acco ant of some of these savage and portentous Confessions maybe seen in Letter IX of the Sequel of the Author's Letters to M. Gondon. Marvellous is the 'applicability to them of St John's words, — T/iey cause the earth and the dwellers therein Id worship the first beast, and to make an image to him ;'and tp receive his mark on their right hands or their foreheads. See Rev. xiii. 12 — 17. +t Petrus Olivi apud Baluz. Misc. i. p. 250. Perillam Bestiamintelligitur Pseudo- ix.] History of the- Church relatively to Rome. ,217 dience to, — not Scripture; but — the Boman Pontiff, is made the main article ; and not allowing any to btiy or sell — that is, not permitting any one to exercise any ministry in the Church,* unless he binds himself by an oath pf unqualified obedience to the Papal See. The Trent Creed, of Confession of Pius IV., which is at this day, and has been for near three' centuries, im posed on all the Clergy, secular and regular, pf the Church of Bome, and which setting out with the Creed of Nicsea,. adds to it Twelve Articles unknown io the primitive Church,— thus joining the Lamb with, the Dragon,— -.must be called' a Symbol* pf the False Prophet, f St. John, we see, describes Two Be'asts. The most striking characteristic of Papal Boine is its twofold character :', it claims two Supremacies. It wears the Imperial Tiara and the Sacer dotal Mitre. It bears two Swords. ' Upon the whole, then, we conclude that, as in the Seals, the Arch-Enemy of man is represented - as a Bider on different Horses; J so, in the two Beasts, are two personifications of the Papacy in its two forms — Civil and Ecclesiastical. - , These two Beasts appear to be foreshown by Our Lord Him self, who says, "There shall arise false Christs, and false Pro phets, and shall show great Signs and Wonders.§ The former Beast in the Apocalypse assumes divine power— he is a. false Christ. The latter teaches and imposes, false doctrines, for the Papa cum suo Pseudo-Prophefeu — This was written iri the fourteenth century. See Appendix D. ' ' " * Haymo ad. cap. xiii. Nemopoterit venderedulemer,e\ Prasdicatidnegoiia com- paratur :, nemo poterit prxdiqate nisi qui fidem bestise tenuerit; et ad cap. xvi. Character bestise fides Ejus intelligitur ; Numerus est Hominis, (says Aquinas,) nan Deii super ipsius Divinitatis potehtiara extoltetur, ita ut homo peccator. (homo peccati, 2 Thess. ii. 3.) — Joachim^p. 168. Pradicatores dicuntur venditores, audi- tores autem emptores, qui suscipiunt verbum. f The words of Aquinas on this passage are very remarkable: — Et vidi quasi dicat,.ita'rriib.i ostensum est quomodo Antichristus persequetur Ecclesiam per Prin- cipes (the first beast), ostensum mihi etiam. est quomodo earn perseque,tur per suos Prsedicaiores. i Rev. vi. 4—8. " Harmony," p. 78—80. § Matth. xxiv. 24. 218 Exposition of the Apocalypse. - [lect. maintenance of that assumption : he is a false Prophet;* and is so called here by St. John. The description of these two Beasts is followed by a Vision of the Victory of the Lamb, and of the Twelve times twelve thou sand with him; that is, the Apostolic Church, f These, says, St. John, "are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are Virgins." Here is another anticipatory reference to what follows. They have not been defiled with women.% What women ? it may be asked. If we proceed, we read of the Wo man seated on the Beast, and of the harlotry§ of the Woman, with whom the Kings of, the earth commit fornication. And soon We see her displayed1 in all her meretricious splendour.|J Here, then, is the reply.** This Vision of the One hundred and forty-four thousand * The interpretation of the Abbot Joachim is, here, very remarkable, p. 10. Caput erit ille Antichristus, qui^icut Christus dictus est Rex et Propheta, ita et ipse se nuntiabit esse. See also p. 7. Assimilatur destructio Babylonis destructioni Roms. P. 117. Babylon in apertione sexfi sigiRi accipiet malum quod in quinto contulit aliis, et duplo magis.- P. 133. Antequam reveletur Antichristus oportet desolari Imperium Romantum, quod ei resistit ne reveletur. P. 167 and 168. Ut prima Bestia habitura est quendam magnum Regem secta sua sic prsedlcta Secunda Bes tia seu Pseudo-propheta egredietur de sinu Ecclesise. P. 173. Tradenda est ipsa Meretrix Babylon et imperium Romanorum Bestise. P. 198. Roma est ilia civitas magna, et nova Babylon et meretrix ; in qua civitate etiam peregrinatur Hierusalem civitas sancta. Et (p. 168) habitura est quendam magnum Praelatum quasi sit Universalis Pontifex in toto orbe terrarum, ut ipse sit ille Antichristus de quo dicit Paulus, (2 Thess. ii. 3,) Extollitur et adversatur super omne quod dicitur Deus aut quod excolitur,itautintemph Dei sedeat, ostendens se tanquam sit Deus. These interpretations of Joachim (A. D. 1200) are the more striking, because they are contained in a work inscribed to a Roman Pontiff. Some other similar passages concerning the Church of Rome (e. g. MuKer auro inaurata quas cum terre princi- pibus fornicator, Romana Ecclesia ista est) from Joachim's other writings, will be found in Appendix C'in the Second Volume of .the present Wojk. f See " Harmony," p. 92, 93. i The critical reader need not be reminded that this use of the Plural for the Singular is very frequent in the New Testament, as in classical authors. See Matt. ii. 20. Acts xviii 28. 18. — Bentley's Sermon ii. on Atheism, and Glassii Phil, Sacra. p. 282. 421. § Chap; xv. 8. I Chap. xvii. 1—7. ** Compare Rev. xv. 2. IX.] History of the Church relatively to, Rome? 219 shows us that we have been brought to the period'of the Sixth Seal ; the eve of the end. ; .;, - A recapitulation now takes place. An Angel appears flying, in the mid heaven, and haying in his hand the Everlasting Gospel — a remarkable contrast to the great City vaunting herself Eternal, which is a name of .blas- phemy.* , "He has the everlasting Gospel to preach to all Na tions and Tongues ; and he cries, " Fear God, and give Him glory; for the hour pf his judgment is come."f This confirms the interpretation before given, J- concerning the Second Woe. The loosing of the four angels at the river of Babylon — the rising of the Two Witnesses— and -the Preach ing of the Everlasting Gospel to all the World, appear to re fer to the same period; and to describe the free spread of the Holy Scriptures: in every tongue, as a Witness to the World, and as a. -Woe to their Enemies, — -and then shall the ,end cothe.% :-.•<- , Another Angel, follows ; announcing the fall of Babylon. || This appears to be in the time of the Seventh" Vial, — when Babylon comes into remembrance before God.**. Babylon is destroyed: but the Beast still remains. -Bomanism will sur vive Bome. ¦ A third Angel -warns the world against worshipping the Beast, or receiving his; mark; and declares the eternal punish ment due to that sin. ft And a Voice from Heaven- is heard, saying, "Write, Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord : 'yea, now, says" the Spirit^ that they may rest from their la bours ; and their works follow them.''|t - , One like the Son of Man appears, sitting on a white cloud, haying, a golden .crown, that is, as King of kings, and bearing a sickle in his hand. And a 'fourth Angel prqppeds from the , • Rev. xiii. t Rev- xiv- 7- i See above, Lecti VJI.-p. 168—179. l. < §-"Matt. xxiv, 14. - || Rev,, xiv. 8. ** Rev. xVi.19. ff Rev. xiv. 9— 12. H Rev. 'xivl 13. dtidptt,, voi, %eysi to Ilvsvfia. This is a prophetic en couragement, promising immediate rest to all. who suffer for Christ. 220 - Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. Sanctuary, and cries, "Put in thy sickle; and reap; for, the time pf harvest is come."* • A fifth Angel comes forth with a sharp sickle: 1 A sixth Angel, follows, having power over the fire (that is, the fire which will consume the world ;); and he cries to the An gel with the sharp sickle, f " Put in thy sickle, and reap ;"- and the Angel ,doeskso, and " gathers the grapes of the Earth, and casts them into the Winepress, of the Wrath of God: and the Winepress is trodden without, the city, and blood comes forth from the Winepress up to the bridles of the horsesj for a thou sand and six hundred furIongs.§ What Horses are these ? Let us refer back to the Sixth Trumpet, or Second Woe. There the four Angels are described as accompanied with innu-r merable|| Horsemen. Thus, one obscure passage explains another : and again we see a mark whereby to ascertain our place in the course of the Prophecy. This is the spiritual conflict of Armageddon-** At or soon after it the Beast' and False Prophet are destroy ed. .. . But the Dragon still remains.ft What, it may now be asked, is the peculiar character of these six Angels, who are thus- introduced, in succession ? They aire Messengers of Warnings preceding the Advent of Christ. Hence, they are described as crying with a loud voice * Rev., xiv. 15, 16. f Milte falcem acutam. Victorinus here notes: De gentibus perituris in Ad- ventu Domini. He understands this of the end. i See above, p. 177^—9. Compare Joel ii. 4, sqq. and Joel iii. 12,"sqq. in the LXX. Where the Horses ... the Harvest, and the Winepress are described. Sixteen hundred furlongs ; Victorinus ad loc. well interprets this : Per omnes mun di quatuor partes : quaternitas enim est coriquaternata, sicut in quatuor faciebus et quadriformibus et rotis quadratis. It indicates the completeness and universality of the Victory, as the one hundred and forty-four thousand denote the consummation of the number of the Elect. " Per stadia mille sexcenta omnis summa reprobo- rum exprimitur per orbem quadripartitum," says Haymo ad -cap. xiv. § Rev. xiv. 16, 20. || Rev. ix. 16, 17. See Le,ct. VII. p. 168, to end. ** Rev. xix. 11. See " Harmony," p. 87. ff Rev. xix. 20. lx.J History, of the Church relatively to Rome. 221 to awaken a slumbering World* with the alarm of impending Visitation. Here we rest for the present, and review the Visions, which we have been contemplating in the two last Discourses. Eirst/yfe have seen, the- prophetic' History of Holy Sckip: ture revealed by the Spirit to. St. John. We have seen its divine origin — its awful dignity, and its tremendous power like that of an immense and invincible Army. We h^ve seen that it is the Channelf of divpe grace; the Bule, of faith and prac tice; the Sceptre of God's Kingdom ; the Bod of His Judg ment ; His Witness to the World. \ - • We haye also seen St. John's divine prophecy concerning, its reception in this world. And he enables us' to foresee its fu ture triumph^ and the woes which will overtake all who degpise ijt. Marvellous, indeed, is the fulfilment which this Prophecy has already received, and is now receiving. It might have been expected that the Word of the great Creator and , Sovereign Lord of the World would have gained; ready attention, and un7 qualified love, and, universal obedience Trom his creatures and subjects* But no. St. John-reveals a different result. And so it has come to pass. The, Written Word has been treated in the same manner as the Incarnate Word. The Herods and Pilates of Earth have conspired against it; and it'haS been set at nought: by the Scribes and Pharisees of the ;Grpat, City. , * Observe the 1st Angel, (xiv. 6) — nSov ayysftov rtstio/isvov, %syovta iv ^avrj juydxtj, *OBH0HTE x. t. %.~ 2nd Angel (xiv. 8)^ayyta.os qxo'kovBries Aiyaoj', EnESEN x. t. %• 3rd Angel (xiv. 9)— tpltos ayyEtaj , qxo%ov8tjetv, Xtyav iv ^ayij fM-yatof, EI TIS TO ©HPION rtpo'sxvvii x- t. %. xai ^xovaa"qiu>V7Ji x. *¦ %¦ rPATON, Maxdpcoi, ol vtxpol'x.', t. 7t. 4th Angel' (xiv." 1 5) — ayvrtos i\fpddev . • ¦ xpd£u>v iv qnvij .litydlrf, IIEMiFON to SpiHavov 6ov ,x- t. %. , , 6th Angel (xiv. 18)— i^uvijee 'xpavyij. usyd^, Xeyav,, nElVWON x. .* %. f This word Channel— Canalis— is to be added to the, 'derivatives (mentioned above, p. 107, 187) .of the Hebrew Kaneh, a reed, which word is used to describe the branches, or channels of the Holy Candlestick, Exod. xxv. 31—36. xxxvii. 22, which is a type of the. Church illumined by, the Word of God. 222 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. Let us here adore God's long-suffering, and bewail man's sin. G,od,is justified: man is silenced. And let no one be staggered if it shpuld he his lot to see other outrageous insults heaped on the Word of God. We see *ts present sufferings ; and so one part of the pro phecy is shown to be true:' and, let us remember, Si. John predicts, that as the Word suffers with Christ, so it will rise again, ascend, and reign with Him. .Therefore,-' lek'us not be dismayed by the treatment of the Word on earth.; but let us raise pur eyes, and contemplate its glory in Heaven. Above all, let us take heed to ourselves T let us fear; the Word ; let us believe the Word; let us obey the Word— or the Word will he ourWoe. Secondly, St. John reveals to us the History of the Church. Some, you are aware, affirm,' that temporal felicity and amplitude of earthly dominion are notes of the true Church;* and they argue that their own Church is the spouse of Christ, because it has enjoyed worldly prosperity, and has long ex ercised secular sway. ' But how different is thp language of St. John ! He represents the Apostolic Church, the Spouse of Christ — the Spiritual Qupen, as a Pilgrim and Exile upon earth. - She is the Woman in the Wilderness. On the other hand, the Woman who sits enthroned as a Queen upon many waters, which are peoples, and multitudes, and nations,^ is not the Bride, but the Harlot —not Sion, but Babylon. We learn from the Apocalypse, that the true Spouse "of Christmust suffer. She must suffer like her divine Lord; from infidel powers, and from a corrupt Church. Who would, have believed his report ? How incredible .was all this when St. John- wrote ! But this prophecy, also, has been alreadyin part fulfilled, and is now in course of fulfilment. The Church, "built on the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone," has been * Bellarmine de Notis Ecolesias, lib. iv. c. 18. Ultima nota est feUcifas tempo- ralis- f Rev. xvii. 1. 15. IX.] History tf the Church relatively to Rome. 223 beleaguered by foes from without and from within, ever since. the day of her building. She has been assailed by the Arch- Enemy of man — first, with heathen arms, and then with the weapons of Heresy, Superstition, and Infidelity. . She has been driven into the Wilderness. "- Alas ! is not this true ? Has not this prophecy been verified? is it not now fulfilled in our own eyes ? -Are not the, Nations of the World at this hour treating all Beligions as equally true ? Do not some of them endow Judaism side by side with Chris tianity ? And in the great work of National Education, are they not setting at defiance Christ's own commission to His Ghuich-^Teach all Nations, Peed My Lamb's? Are they not denying, that Christ's Spouse is the- Mother of Christ's child ren -? .. Are they not taking -away her children rand His from her breasts and from her knees, and depriving them of the pure niilk of the Word, and of the spiritual food, pf thp Sacraments, and of, the Line upon. Line, Precept upon Precept of Christian Creeds and Catechisms? Are they not giving them away to false Mothers? Instead of strengthening Sion, are they not rebuilding Babylon ? , And has not the treacherous Harlot spoiled the Spouse even of her name, and palled herself the Catholic Church ? , , Thus the Woman is in, the Wilderness. But, ' Michael and 'his Angels me stronger than Satan and, his, angels. She is still clothed with the Sun, and treads on the Moon, and" is crowned with twelve stars. She still shines in* the night of the world. God appoints her a place. He leeds her with, heavenly manna in the desert. He bears her on the Two Wings of the Great Eagle through the vast wilderness. In her present suffer ings she sees a pledge of her future glory. Eor these trials have been, predicted -by St. John ; and he, who has predicted them, has also revealed her triumph. The one have been, and are ; the other will be. Therefore, though she is in the Wilder ness, she does not faint. She' loves to be like her Lord. She looks for severer trials yet. The Chnrch will be like Christ, even to the end. She will have her' Gethsemane— her Calvary. But beyond them all she sees the Mount pf Ascension— the cloud of glory — the crystal sea^-the Throne of God. LECTUKE X. Rev. xiii. 9. If any man have an ear, let him hear. (- ' It has been shown in previous discourses that the Apoca lypse, or Book of Bevelation, is rightly received as a work of the Evangelist St. John, and that it holds a peculiar place as the Seal of the whole Bible, and I would now invite your atten tion to some striking visible proofs of its Divine Inspiration. The Apocalypse, is a prophecy; and it has now been in the world for, nearly eighteen centuries. The question therefore naturally ^ arises,— Have any of its predictions been fulfilled ? If they have, then, among other important deductions from that fabt, we have in such fulfilment a clear demonstration of its divine origin; and also we have presumptive evidence that the other predictions of the Apocalypse, concerning the Last Great Things — Judgment, Heaven, Hell, and Eternity— will be fulfilled likewise. Besides, the Apocalypse, as might, readily be shown,* is a Manual of Christian Faith and Practice, and, if it is inspired by God, then we have here another proof of the divine origin of the doctrines^ of the Gospel, and of the truth and importance of Christianity. Yon perceive then that this question is a most momentous one— -" Have the prophecies of the Apocalypse been fulfilled ?" It has been my endeavour to offer some reply to it already * And as is shown in the last Lecture of the present volume. Introduction to the Prophecies-, fie. 225 by an expository comment, on this Book; and with this view, we have commenced at the opening of the Apocalypse, and have proceeded as far as the thirteenth chapter. Here we resume our. undertaking; and it is _ our hope to prosecute it to the close of, these Lectures. At this point,' in the course of our Exposition, we pause to observe, that the particular prophecies which will now engage our attention, and to which the .present Discourse is designed as- introductory, are fraught with the most 'solemn warning and admonition to us all. ¦ What then are these prophecies to which we now refer? and how have they been fulfilled ? Our reply is as follows : , Having been led in these Dispourses to devote the best facul-< ties at command, to this solemn Subject, I should , feel myself guilty of culpable dereliction of duty in the sight of -Almighty God, if I did not, declare 'my. conviction that the prophecies contained in the' Thirteenth, Fourteenth, v Sixteenth, Seven teenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Chapters of the Bevelation of -St. John the Divine, and which describe the guilt, and por tray the punishment,' of the "mystical Babylon, have been partly accomplished, and areincourSe of complete accomplish ment in the Church of Bome. - < > - This, I well know, is a very grave assertion; and ought not to-be made without the most seriouS deliberation. - The Church-of Rome, my brethren, was planted. by Apostles of Christ ; it was" watere'd by the blood of Martyrs ; it was fos tered -by dews from heaven. For many years, in succesion,' its fajth was spoken of through the whole world.* It was long' the burning and shining light of Western- Christendom. ¦ To affirm then that this Church, haying' been once espoused. as a chaste Virgin I to Christ by Apostolic hands; has been" false to her plighted, troth ; that she: has forgotten. the love of her espousals ;X that she has played- the harlot:1 that she has allured,' and still allures, the nations of the earth to spiritual * Rom. i. 8. f 2 Cor. si. 2. . # Jer. ii. 2. 226 Introduction to the Prophecies •" [lect. adultery; that she is portrayed by the Holy Spirit in the Apocalypse as a second Babylon; that she is designated by Him— not, as she claims herself to he, the Mother and Mistress of all Christian Churches — but as the Mother of spiritual for nications and' abominations of the earth;* and to make this assertion publicly; in this the Church of a Christian University, is to venture upon an act which involves thp deepest responsi bility; and which cannot be performed, except with feelings of awe, and emotions of bitterest sorrow. But this assertion, my brethren, is now, solemnlyj deliber ately made ; made, under an imperative sense of duty; made in your ears, in the presence and House of God. Some, I am aware, may exclaim, How uncharitable is such an accusation ! how inconsistent with the mild and loving spirit of the Gospel, to arraign a Christian Church, one so distin guished as the Church -of Bome, for amplitude, dignity, and antiquity; and to brand it with such an ominous name — to characterize it as Babylon ! But, we reply. Who wrote, the Apocalypse ? The Apostle and Evangelist St. John. He was a Son of Thunder ; but he was the beloved Disciple of Christ : he was the Apostle of Love. And this divine Boanerges fulmined forth God's judgment in love. As the rolling thunder breaks forth from the dark summer- cloud, and as the cloud is gilded with radiant sunbeams, and as the electric storm purifies the air, so the thunders of the Apo calypse peal forth from the clouds of divine wrath, but they bear a message of love. " Bepent," they say; "do thy first works ; and I will give thee the Morning Star. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten ; be thou zealous, therefore; and repent. Behold I stand at the door."f Again; we ask,; Who moved St. John to write the Apoca lypse ? The Holy Spirit of God. If any man hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Ohurehes-X Assuredly,- my beloved brethren, it is not uncharitable in us * Rev. xvii. 5. f Rev. iii. 19,20. * Rev. ii. 7, 11, 17, 29 ; iii. 6, 13, 22. x.] Concerning Babylon in the Apocalypse. 227 to declare, What the Spirit of Peace dictated to the Apostle of Love. - Nay, rather, we should be guilty of grievous sin,; we should be doing what in us ,lies to frustrate St. John's labour pf love; we should be, resisting the Holy Ghost ,;•_ we should bp. forfeiting the blessings promised; in thi Apocalypse to all who- read and keep the words of this prophecy,* if we failed to proclaim what, by the voice of St. John, it has pleased God to reveal. - ; ... j.. ' , They, let us be assured, are not foyers of peace, or of their own and other men's souls, who ," build-up a wall, and daub it. with untempered mortar ;"f and*' speak smooth things, and prophecy deceits," J: and say, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace ;"§' for-- it is written, "0 son of man, If thou dost ,nqt speak to; warn the wicked "from his~ way, that wicked man shall die jn his iniquity; but his bipod. will I require at thy hand."J| And " He that flattereth his neighbour, spreadeth a net for his feet ;"** but? "He that reb.uketh a man, shall. afterwards find more favour than, he that flattereth with his tongue, "ff Still further': If the Church of Bome be indeed right in her assertion, that out of her pale- there, is no salvation ;XX if -it be really true, that she cannot err, and will never fail ;:if she has indeed -been' constituted by Jesus Christ to' i be the unique De pository and supreme Arbitress of the Faith, then assuredly it is a very-perilous thing to be Separated from her, and we ought not to loose an hour before we join her communipn. , But if, on the other hand; as We now, affirm, and shall bere- „ after proceed to prove, the Apocalyptic prophecies concerning Babylon do indeed point at her, then, by uniting, ours elves with Bome, ,we should sever ourselves, from St. John ; then,' by com municating with her, we should rebel against the Holy Ghost. Yes, my beloved brethren, we have received the Apocalypse * Rev. i. 3; xxii. 7. , , f' Ezek. xiii. 10. i Isaiah xxx. 10. $ Jer. yi. 14. 11 Ezek. xxxiii. 8. , ,_ ' ** Prov. xxix. 5. ff Prov. xxviii. 23. ii In the Trent Greed, — " Extra banc fidem nemosalvus esse potest." 228 Introdudtion to the Prophecies [lect. from the hand of St. John, who calls it the Revelation of Jesus Christ,* and the voice of the Spirit to the Church. We have it in our hands, and we point to it, and say, — Here we have a positive ..command from Almighty God not to partake of her sins, lest we also receive of her plagues. The inspired Exile, , the divine Evangelist, upon the shore of Patmos, not only addressed the . Seven Churches^ of Asia, but he now speaks to us: he speaks to the Church of England, and to all the Churches of Christendom : " If any man worship the Beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, whieh is poured out without mixture into the . cup of His indignation ; and he' shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the pre-. sence of the holy Angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." We have also a. divine assurance, for ourselves', that, in not communicating in the sins of Bome, and in warning others -how they venture to do so, we are obeying Christ himself; for, here, says St. John, is the patience, of the Saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. ' Thus,1 then,, we see in the Apocalypse a strong appeal to our charity. Christian love longs, above all things, for the salva tion of souls. It prays and labours that they may escape God's judgments, and especially that they may be saved from such fearful woes— the torments of the lake of fire — which are denounced by God upon Babylon. How, therefore, would it rejoice that these prophecies should now be duly pondered by all the, members of the Church of" Bome ! How thankful would it be that the words of the Apostle, who was miraculously res- Cued from the fiery furnacef at Bome, to see these Visions, should have > power; by God's grace to pluck them as brands from the fire.X -^et us a^ Pray> Pray earnestly, to God that this may indeed be so ! Especially too, as years roll on, and as the judgments re served for Babylon draw nearer and nearer, and as, it may be, • Rev. i. 1. f Tertuillian de Praescr.. Hseret. c. 36. i Zech. iii. 2. X.] Concerning Babylon in the Apocalypse. 229 in the events of pur own day, we feel the; tremblings of the, earthquake which will engulf her, and behold the flashing forth of the fire which will consume her, true Christian Charity will put, on Angels' wings, and will hasten with a Seraph's- step ; and Will be like the heavenly Messengers despatched Hby God to Lot in Sodom ; and will lay hold on the hands of those who, linger, and will urge them forth from the door, and will chide their delay, and will exclaim, — Arise ! what dost thou here ? Take all that thou hast, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of this city.* And what, therefore, shall we^ -say of those, our beloved friends, our own brothers and sisters in- Christ, who have' been nurtured with the same milk of the Gospel at the breast of the ,same -Mother with ourselves; who have breathed the same prayers ; who have knelt before the same altars, and have walked with us side by side in the courts of our own Jerusalem ; and have been beguiled by seductive arts ; and have been car ried away captive— ^las ! willingly captive — to Babylon ; some of whom, we doubt not, When they awake from the dream. in whieh they are entranced, and' recover from the first paroxysms of perversion, and when they calmly compare their present - state with the past, rue secretly the sad change, and,, by the waters of Babylon sit down and weep, when they remember thee, 0 Sion ! What, my brethren, shall we say of them ? It may be, that we' ourselves might have prevented their fall. It may be,ithat we h^ve even hastened it by our coldness and carelessness. Shall we do nothing for their recovery ? shall we not remember them in our prayers? shall we not endeavour to restore them in the spirit of meekness ? Shall we not, even with tears, implore them to listen— not to us,, but— to their Everlasting Saviour, their Almighty King and Judge, speaking in the Apocalypse by the mouth of the Evangelist St. John ¦'? Shall we ;not point to the cup of wrath in God's right hand, ready to be poured out upon them ? Shall, we not say,, in the words of the Pro- * Gen. xix. 12—16. 14 230 Introduction to the Prophecies [lect. phet,-^" Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest ; because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction." The Book of Bevelation, thus viewed, as it ought to be, is a divine Warning of the peril and- unhappiness of all who are enthralled by Bome. And its prophetic and comminatory uses ought to be pointed out by all Christian Ministers, and to be acknowledged by all Christian congregations. They, whether Clergy or People, forfeit a great blessing and incur great danger, who neglect these divinely-appointed uses pf the Apocalypse, particularly in the present age, when the Church of Bome is employed with more than her usual activity , in spreading her snares around us, to make victims of her de ceits, prisoners of her power, slaves of her will, and partners of her doom. Still further, and much more : A Minister of the Gospel, when led in the discharge of his duty to treat specially of the Apocalypse, would be bptfaying his sacred trust, if he did not call the attention of his hearers to these prophecies which occupy so large a portion of this Sacred Book ; and which, for reasons that he. will state publicly, he is fully persuaded have been fulfilled, or are in course of fulfillment, .io- the Church of Bome. He would be guilty of the heinous sin of handling the word of God deceitfully; and, in St. Paul's language, he would not be pure of the blood of the souls of his hearers, as not declaring to them the whole counsel of God; he would be chargeable with taking away from the words of St. Johns prophecy ; and so would be in peril of having his own name blotted, out from the book of life, if he failed to lift up his voice, and to blow the trumpet of the Gospel with no uncertain sound, and to proclaim publicly and solemnly, in accents which cannot be mistaken, that the Babylon of the Apocalypse is no other than the Church of Bome. In discharging this responsible duty, he must, however, crave not to be misunderstood. I. Having a deep sense of the. danger of those who dwell in Babylon, he will never venture to affirm that none who have x.] Concerning Babylon in the Apocalypse. 231 dwelt there could be saved. The Apocalypse itself forbids him. On the very eve of its destruction the voice from heaven says, " Come out pf her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sius, and that ye receive not of her plagues." And so,: we doubt not,, God ever has had, and now has, some people in Babylon. Some, doubtless, there were in former times' in our own \&nd who had not the blessed privilege which we enjoy of hearing the voice, Come out of her. They had not the warnings of the Gos pel; to them it was almost a sealed book. And this, too, is even yet, the case with, many in foreign lands. And, since responsibilities vary with privileges, and God judgeth men •according to what they have, and not according to what they have not,* therefore Christian Love, which hopeth all things,f will think charitably, and, if it speak at. all, will not speak harshly of them. J '¦ . - All this we readily allow. But then we must not shrink from asking. What will be the lot of those who hear the voice, Come out of her, and yet do not obey it ? . And what will be their portion, whp,: — when the voice says, Come out of her, — go in to Babylon, and dwell there ? , i II. Again: the Minister of the, Gospel, to whose case we have referred, is obliged, for fear of misrepresentation, to say, that he readily acknowledges, and openly professes, that Chris tianity does not consist in hatred of Rome. We are ¦ not of those,- who; in the words of an eminent Writer, § " consider the Christian Beligion no otherwise than as it abhors and reviles Popery, and who value those men most, who do it most furiously." No; the Gospelis a divine Mes sage .of Peace on earth, and good will towards men.]] The * Luke xii. 48. 2, Cor. viii. 12. f 1. Cor. xiii. 7. i Compare the wise and charitable sentiments of St. Cyprian, Epist. Ixiii Si quis de antecessoribus nostris vel ignoranter vel simpliciter non observavit et tenuit quod nos Donates facere exemplo suo et magisterio docuit, potest simplicitati ejus de indulgentia Domini venia conTA." xi.] Is the City of Rome. 259 cession to the Boman Capitol; and even now they are seen at Eome, carved in sculpture on the marble sides of the arch of Titus, the Imperial Conquerer of Jerusalem. And what now, it may be asked, was the language of St. John's own age on this solemn subject? Did it or did it not, recognize Bome in Babylon ? To speak, first of the Jews. So strong was their sense of the analogy between these two Cities, that the very name which they commonly gave to Bome was Babylon.* They felt that in their own History God Himself had identified the two. And it may be added, as very remarkable, that, as the Restoration of the Jews by Cyrus did not take place until Babylon was taken, and then immediately ensued, so it is, and has long been, a deeply-rooted opinion and a common proverb among the Jews, that "the Bedemption of Israelf cannot be accomplished before Bome is destroyed." And when we consider the stumbling- blocks;): which the Church of Bome places in the way of the con version of the Jews, by adding the Apocryphal Books, as Can onical Scripture, to the Old Testament,§ and by her adoration of the Blessed Virgin and of Saints, Angels, and Images, — idolatrous practices, which the Jews, having once so severely suffered for Idolatry, regard with deepest abhorrence, — we cannot but believe, with humble submission to the mysterious counsels of Divine Providence, that there is a solemn truth in this their popular conviction, and that the spiritual Bedemption of Israel will be ushered in by the downfall of Bome. To proceed : How were these Chapters of the Apocalypse understood by Christian writers immediately succeeding St. John? * Sehbttgen. Hor. Hebr. i. p. 1125. Wetstein in Apoc. xvii. 18. Winer Bib- lisch. Realwbrterbuch, ii. p. 395, "Schondie Ji«fcre pflegten das ihnen verhasste Rom Babylon zu nennen." Cp. Mede's Works, p. 902. f R. Kimchi in Abdiam tain nywn mnn diin win ay cum devastabitur Roma (Edom,) erit redemtio Israeli. See the authorities in the preceding.note. The opinion of the Rabbis is, that this destruction will be by fire. See the autho rities in Vitringa, p. 792, note. i See Sandys, Europse Speculum, p. 243, ed. 1673. § See Hulsean Lectures on the Canon of Scriptures, IV. p. 109—114. 260 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. Before this question is answered, one remark must be made. When St. John wrote, Bome was Queen of the World, and whenever she looked on Christianity, it was with an evil eye. St. John himself was in will a martyr for the faith; he wrote his Apocalypse in banishment, in Patmos, to which he was sent a prisoner, for the testimony of Jesus Christ.* He could not speak clearly concerning Eome without exasperating her.f The same observation applies to early Interpreters of the Apoca lypse. To identify Bome with Babylon would probably have been represented as treason against her. And we know that the followers of Christ were commonly regarded and described by Boman writers as ill-affected to her, and even as the cause of her calamities. Now, mark the reply which was made to such allegations as these by the ancient advocates of Christianity. They did not deny that Bome was aimed at in their prophecies; but they averred that it was their bounden duty and interest to wish well to the existing Empire of Bome; because, to use St. Paul's language to the Thessalonians,!; the Imperial Govern ment letted, that is, hindered, or postponed, the rise§ of another * Rev. i. 9. f Hence St. Jerome (ad Algasiam, Qu. xi. vol. iv. p. 209) explains the reserve of St. Paul in 2 Thess. ii. 3. Si aperte audacterque dixisset, Non veniet Anti christus, nisi prius Romanum deleatur Imperium, justa causa persecutionis in orientem tunc Ecclesiam consurgere videbatur; and Remigius, B. P. M. viii. 1018. Obscure locutus est ne forte aliquis Romanorum legeret hanc Epistolam et excitaret contra se aliosque Christianos persecutionem illorum qui se putabant semper reg- naturos in mundo. i 2 Thess. ii. 6, 7. § Tertullian de Resurr. Carnis. u. 24. S. Chrysostom and Theophylact on 2 Thess. ii. S. Hippolytus de Antichristo, c. 49. S. Hieron. in Dan. vii. 8, ad Algas Qu. xi. ad 2 Thess. ii. 7, in Hierem.'xxv. 26 : Eum qui nunc tenet Romanum Im perium ostendit. S. Jerome's declaration ad Dan. vii. is very striking ; for he says, that omnes Scriptores Ecclesiastici tradiderunt, quando regnum est destruendum Romanorum, then the little horn of Daniel, i. e. the beast of the Apocalypse would arise. S. Aug. de Civ. Dei, xx. c. 19. S. Cyril. Catech. xv. 6, 8. Ephraem Syrus, Serm. Ascet. i. p, 44, Rom. 1732. — td Sixa xipata (says Andreas, Catena Cramer, p. 435) Sixa flaafails ccvat faoiv ix trj$ 'Papalav ap^ijj dvaatijeo- fiivovi iv tolf iexdtois xaipois, uv iv fi&sa 6 ' Avtlxpictos cwau-rtjffET/at, tb Si ^ij tb "kafitlv anitov; fHatst&iiav, aM.' i^auaiav i!>s /3aat&tt$, Sid tb dvlSpoff- xi.] Is the City of Rome. 261 Power; to which they could not wish well, inasmuch as it would be more injurious to the Gospel, than the Heathen Empire of Bome. Let all these things be candidly considered, and it will ap pear very remarkable, that we should have so large an amount of testimony from the early Christian Church that the Babylon of the Apocalypse is Bome. Beginning with St. John's own age, we- find that one of his own Scholars, Papias, an Asiatic Bishop, was so much impress ed with the reality of this identity, that he even supposed, with .others of the same time, that the Babylon from which St. Pe ter dates his first Epistle* was Bome.f This erroneous suppo sition was doubtless caused by the popular belief concerning Babylon and Bome, and proves, very remarkably, how strong that belief was. Another ancient witness on this subject is Irenaeus. He was one of the disciples of Polycarp, the scholar of St. John, and one of the most learned among the writers of the Eastern Church of that age ; and he lived and died in the West, at Lyons in Gaul, of which he was Bishop. Beferring. to the Apocalypse, he says that the world must wait till the Boman Empire is divided into several kingdoms, signified by the ten Horns of the Beast ; and that when these kingdoms are increas ing in might, then a great power will arise, which will overawe these kingdoms, and will be the Abomination of Desolation, and will be characterized by the number of the Name of the Beast predicted by St. John. And, proceeding to speak of this num- tov xai axiuSts trjs fiaai'kilas avtuv fytjSiv. . . A very remarkable Scholium. — Cf. Remig. in Bibl. Pat. Max. viii. 1018: His verbis demonstravit Apostolus Thessalonicensibus non prius venturum Dominum ad- judicium quam regni Romani destructio fieret, quod jam nos impletum vidimus, et Antichristus appareret in mundo. * 1 Pet. v. 13. f Euseb. ii. 15. tov Metpxov nvufiovtviw tbv Tlitpov iv tij itpotipa iitia- to'hai «jj» xai awtd%ai tyaaiv iii' aitrjs 'P10/M7S, atiiuuvctv ts tovt aitbv tijr lioXw tpoitixutspav BajJuJiwva npoatiitbvta (1 Pet. v. 13.) — S. Hieron. in Asa. xlvii. 1 : Non ipsam Babylonem quidam sed Romanam urbem interpretantur quae in Apocalypsi et in Epistola Petri spiritualiter Babylon appellator. 16 262 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. ber, he adds, that it is wiser to be patient, till the Prophecy is fulfilled, than to pronounce confidently upon it ; but that, in his own opinion, the word Aatehes, Latinus, which contains the requisite number, expresses that Anti-Christian power. And why, you may ask, does he fix upon this word ? " Because the Latins, or Romans, are they who now reign;" alluding mani festly to the words of St. John, "The Woman which thou sawest is that great City, which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth."* It is therefore clear that Irenaeus interpreted the prophecies of St. John, concerning the Woman on the Seven Hills, the Woman which reigneth, the Woman which is " Babylon^ the Mother of fornications," of no other City than Rome; and, we might add, he did not apply them to Pagan Bome, for he expressly says that the Antichristian power represented by that uame was not yet come.f The most learned of the Christian Fathers of the Latin Church of that age was Tertullian. He affirms that the Chris tians of his day pray for the duration of the Boman Empire.X And why ? Because its fall would be marked by the rise of an Antichristian power. And in two places of his works he uses these words : — " Names are employed by us as signs. § Thus Samaria is a sign of Idolatry, Egypt is a symbol of Maledic tion, and, in like manner, in the writings of our own St. John, * S. Iren. v. 30. p. 448, 449, ed. Grabe. I here insert a testimony from Hippo lytus, a scholar of Irenaus, (Phot. Cod. 121,) Bishop of Aden, Portus Romanus in Arabia, (see Cave i. 102,) de Christo et Antichristo, § 36, ovtos 'ladwr/s iv 1 dtfia tr) vrjsa uv opa 'Aitoxdhv^iv pvatrjfitM) typixtuv . . . JiiyE /tot, /»o- xdpn laavvq, Aitoatote tov Kvpiov, ti tlSis xai tfxavoas 7tipi Ba,3i7.w>-oj; . . . ait?; Vaf> "5 i&piai, referring to St John's banishment by the Roman Emperor. f S. Iren. v. 30. si aM.0 ? %uv bvo/xa ' AvtlxpiOto; itevactai. i Tertullian. Apol. c. 32. Est et alia major necessitas nobis (Christianis) orandi pro Imperatoribus, etiam pro omni statu Imperii rebusque Romanis, quippe qui vim maxiraam universo Orbi imminentem Romani Imperii commeatu scimus retardari (alluding to St. Paul's 6 xatix<°v, he that letteth.) Hence, in cap. 39, he says : Oramus pro Imperatoribus ... pro rerum quiete, pro mor& finis. And see the nota of Rigaltius. | Tertullian. adv. Jud. c. 9 ; and adv. Marcion. iii. c. 13. XI.] Is the City of Rome. 263 Babylon is a figure of the Roman City, mighty, proud of its sway, and fiercely persecuting the Saints." *¦ Who, again, a more competent authority on this subject than St. Jerome, who spent many years at Bome, and was Secretary to a Bishop pf that city? He recognizes Bome in Babylon. He speaks of her as the Harlot of the Apocalypse. " When I dwelt in Babylon,"* he Says, " and resided within the walls of the Scarlet Adulteress, and had the freedom of Bome, I un dertook a work concerning the Holy Spirit, which I proposed to inscribe to the Bishop of that city." Again, in his Exposi tion of the Prophet Isaiah, f he says, — "The spiritual Babylon which sits in scarlet on the seven hills, whose plagues we read in the Apocalypse, will be levelled with the dust." And again, on the same Prophet, he says, that some interpret the Daughter of Babylon " not of Babylon itself, but of the Boman City, which (he adds) is specially called Babylon in the Apocalypse ; so that all that is said by Isaiah concerning the fall of Babylon may be referred to the ruin of Bome." And, " Oh mighty City," he exclaims ; " City, Queen of the World, debase not thyself by Vice, but exalt thyself by Virtue. Imitate Nine veh: Bepent: so thou mayest escape the malediction which Christ has denounced against thee in the Apocalypse."} We turn now to the other luminary of that age, St. Augus tine. In his greatest work, that "On the City of God," he calls Bome "a Second Babylon." — "Babylon," he ' says, "is a former Bome, and Bome a latter Babylon. Bome is a Daugh ter of Babylon, and by her, as by her Mother, God has been pleased to subdue the world, and to bring it under one sway."§ Such is his testimony. If also we refer to those who have composed Commentaries * S. Hieron. ad Paulin. in librum Didymi de Spir. Sanct. torn. iv. p. 494, ed. . Bened. Paris, 1706. f S. Hierom in Esai. c. 24, torn. iii. p. 209, et in Esai. c. 48, torn. iii. p. 343. i Ad Jovin. ii. ad fin. torn. iv. p. 228 ; written a. d. 393 or 394. See also ad Marcellam, Ep. xliv. torn. iv. p. 551 ; where he identifies Rome with the Apoca lyptic Babylon. § S. Aug. de Civ. Dei, xvi. c. 17. xviii. c. 2. c. 22. c. 27. 264 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse ' [lect. on the Apocalypse, we find the same interpretation meeting us from various -Quarters, and from the earliest times, and con tinued in an uninterrupted series down to our own day. The earliest extant Commentary on the Apocalypse is by a Bishop and Martyr of Pannonia, Victorinus, in the third cen tury. He says, — " The City of Babylon, that is, Bome ; the City on seven hills, that is, Bome ; and, the Kings of the Earth will hate the Harlot, that is, Bome."* Not to mention more authorities, the same language is echoed from the East in the Commentaries of two Bishops of Cappa docia, Andreasf and Arethas ; the former of whom expounded the Apocalypse in the sixth century ; and from Italy and Bome itself by Cassiodorus,J first a Senator of that city, and then an Ecclesiastic ; and from Africa by Primasius,§ a Bishop of Ad- rumetum, in the sixth century. Thus we have appealed to the best Expositors in the best age of the Church — of whom some lived before Bome had be come Christian, and some after — who were exempt from the partialities and prejudices of modern times, and who, to say the least, had no personal reasons for inventing and promulgating such an Interpretation as this, but had many inducements to •See S. Victorinus in Apoc. Bibl. Pat. Max. iii. p. 416. 419, 420. f Arethas (Cramer Catena, p. 427 :) itopn/v ti\v rtaXatay in i o.rfyooi Pu,uiyr. p. 429, BapuXwra ij xai aiti\v tfjv 'Pia/iijv tijv naXaiai- jj xai tfjv viav. See also p. 430. — Andreas, Bibl. P. Max. v. 623, where he asserts that " most of the ancient Interpreters in the Church affirm that the Apocalyptic prophecies con cerning Babylon regard Rome;" and that when " Antichrist appears, it will be as Sovereign of Rome, and (in the opinion of some, p. 628) in the Temple, or Church, of God." These testimonies from Andreas and Arethas are recorded by them as expositions of others. i See his Complexiones in Apocalypsim, xxv. p. 235. Meretricem sedentem supra Besliam, qua? habebat capita septem, nonnulli de Romana volunt intelligere civitate, qua* supra septem montes sedet, et munduni singulari ditione possidet. § Primasius Bibl. Patr. M. x. p. 326. Romam qua? super septem montes prffisi- det significans . . . Roma: nomine tolius regni potentiam figurat. This is the generalizing theory suited to the ago of the author, when Rome had ceased to be Pagan, and was not as yet what she has since become ; and what no man could have foreseen, and no Christian would have believed, that she would become. xi.] Is the City of Rome. 265 suppress it — and we find that they declare, that the Babylon of the Apocalypse is Bome. At this point we pause. It cannot be expected that writers, in communion with Rome, should after this epoch be ready to acknowledge that Christian Bome is Babylon. For Bome now began to fulfil the Apocalyptic prophecies concerning Babylon. At the beginning of the seventh century the then Boman Pontiff, Boniface III., eagerly solicited* and obtained from the Emperor Phocas the title of Universal Bishop; the assumption of which, a few years before, had been denounced as blasphe mous and Antichristian by one of his own predecessors, Gre gory I ;f and thus he displayed to the world the lineaments of that mysterious Power which was seen by St. John in -his pro phetical Visions, and has been portrayed in the ApocalypSe. From the seventh century to the present hour, this title of Universal Bishop, then sought for and assumed, has been worn by the Boman Pontiffs ; and it has developed itself in all the plenitude of its meaning, which falls little short of a claim to temporal and spiritual Omnipotence. In conclusion ; We have in our hands a Book, dictated by the Holy Spirit to St. John, the beloved Disciple, the blessed Evangelist, the last surviving Apostle, — a Book predicting events from the day in which it was written even to the end of time ; a Book specially designed for the warning and instruc tion of the Church, and commended to her pious meditation in the most solemn and affectionate terms. This Book is the seal of the Bible : it is the farewell gift, the last bequest, of Christ to the Church. In it we behold a description, traced by the Divine finger, of a proud and prosperous Power, claiming uni versal homage, and exercising mighty dominion : a Power en throned upon many waters, which are Peoples, and Multitudes, and Nations, and Tongues ;| a Power arrogating Eternity by * "A Phoca obtinuit, magna, tamen contentione," says Platina in vita Bonifacii, p. 79, ed. 1626. f Gregorii Epist. iv. 32. v. 20. v. 29. v. 43. vii. 27. vii. 31. vii. 34. ix. 68. torn. ii. ed. Bened. Paris, 1703. \ Rev. xvii. 1. 15. 266 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. calling herself a Queen for ever ; a Power whose prime agent, by his lamb-like aspect, bears a semblance of innocence and purity, and yet, from his sounding words and cruel deeds, is compared to a Dragon :* a Power beguiling men from the pure faith, and trafficking in human souls,f tempting them to com mit spiritual adultery, alluring them to herself by gaudy colours and glittering jewels, and holding in her hand a golden cup of enchantments, by which she intoxicates the world, and makes it reel at her feet. This Power, so described in the Apocalypse, is identified in this divine book with (1) a great City. This City is described as (2) seated on seven Hills. It is also characterized as (3) that great City which (4) in the time of St. John reigned over the Kings of the Earth. And (5) it is represented as Babylon. - Having contemplated the five characteristics of this prophetic description, we pause, and consider — with humble and devout prayers to the Holy Ghost for spiritual illumination — What City in the world corresponds to it ? It is not the literal Babylon, for she was not the Queen of the Earth in St. John's age. It is some City which then existed, and would continue to exist , almost to the end of time. Among the Cities which then were, and which still sur vive, one was seated on seven hills. The name of each of her seven hills is well known. She was universally recognized in St. John's age as the seven-hilled City. She is described as such by the general voice of her own most celebrated writers for five centuries ; and she has ever since continued to be so characterized. She is represented as such on her own Coinage, the coinage of the World. This same City, and no other, then reigned over the Kings of the Earth. She exercised Universal Sovereignty, and boasted herself Eternal. This same City re sembled Babylon in many striking respects ; — in dominion and wealth, in geographical position and historical acts, especially with regard to the People of God. This same City was com monly called Babylon by St. John's own countrymen. And, * Rev. xiii. 11. f Rev. xviii. 13. xi.] Is the City of Rome. 267 finally, the voice of the Christian Church, in the age of St. John himself, and for many centuries after it, has given an im partial and almost unanimous verdict on this subject ; and con firms the judgment pronounced, in clear and solemn tones, in this Divine Book, by the Holy Spirit of God, — that the Seven- Hilled City, that Great City, the Queen of the Earth, Babylon the Great, of the Apocalypse, is no other than Bome. LECTURE XII. Rev. xvii. 7. And the Angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou- marvel 1 I will tell thee the Mystery of the Woman. In the preceding Discourse we commenced an exposition of the prophecies contained in the Thirteenth to the Nineteenth chapter of the Apocalypse ; and it was shown that they refer to the City of Rome. We now advance a step further in the argument ; and our present inquiry is, v Whether these prophecies refer to Bome in her spiritual as well as temporal character, that is, whether they concern her, not only as a City, but as a Church ? In examining this question we shall be careful to impute no thing to the Church of Bome on private authority. All that we shall assert concerning her shall be derived from her own accredited documents and public acts. And we shall endeavour to prosecute the inquiry in a spirit of charity as well as of truth, never forgetting that these awful prophecies were dicta ted by the Holy Spirit of Peace to the Blessed Apostle of Love. These predictions are full of warning and instruction to all in the present times ; and, if they have been fulfilled, then, as you have been already reminded, we have here another convincing proof that the Apocalypse is from God, and that all its remain ing prophecies concerning a Judgment to come, and concerning Eternal bliss, and Eternal woe, will be fulfilled likewise. Let us then examine them with the seriousness they deserve, and with humble prayer to the Holy Spirit to "cast His bright beams of light" upon our minds, that they may be "enlighten- Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse, fie. 269 ed by the doctrine of the blessed Apostle and Evangelist St. John." The great City, the City on the Seven Hills, the City which in the age of St. John reigned over the Kings of the earth, the mystical Babylon enthroned upon many waters, this, we have already seen, is, and can be, no other than the City of Rome. And Rome it was acknowledged to be by the concurrent voice of the Christian Church in the age of St. John, and for many centuries after it. So strong, indeed, is the evidence of this identity, that Bo mish Divines have not been able to resist it. It is enough to mention three most eminent among them, — Bellarmine, Baroni us, and Bossuet.* " St. John in the Apocalypse," says Cardi nal Bellarmine, f "calls Bome Babylon; for no other city be sides Bome reigned in his age over the Kings of the Earth, and it is well known that Bome was seated upon seven Hills." "It is confessed," says Cardinal Baronius,J "that Bome is signi fied in the Apocalypse by the name of Babylon."-, And the language of the celebrated French Prelate, Bossuet, § in his Exposition of the Book of Bevelation, is : " The features (in the Apocalypse) are so marked, that it is easy to decipher Bome under the figure of Babylon." Such is the avowal of the most learned Divines of papal Bome. How, then, you may inquire, could they acknowledge Bome to be the Apocalyptic Babylon, and yet remain in her commu nion? The answer is, they affirmed that what St. John predicted of Babylon, and of the Woman seated upon the seven Hills, con- * Similar avowals might be cited from other eminent Romish Divines, e. g. Sal- meron, Alcasar, Maldonatus, Cornelius a Lapide. f Bellarmine de Rom. Pont. ii. c. 2. § Praeterea, torn. i. p. 232, ed. Colon, 1615. i Baronius, Annal. ad A. D. 45, num. 18. § Bossuet, Pr£f. sur I'Apocalypse, § vii. C'est une tradition de tous les Peres que la Babylon de I'Apocalypse c'est I'ancienne (?) Rome. Tous les Peres ont tenu le meme langage. Avec des traits si marques c'est une enigme aisde a d£- chiffrer que Rome sous la figure de Babylone. 270 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. cerned Bome only as a City, and not as a Church. And, they added, that it respected Bome while yet heathen, but did not refer to it as Christian. This was their hypothesis. But it is worthy of remark, that this solution did not satisfy other Bomish Theologians. Indeed the Apocalyptic prophecies concerning the seven-hilled Babylon are> and ever will be, a problem which cannot be solved in an uniform and satisfactory manner by those who remain under her sway. Another theory, then, has been resorted to; it is alleged by some* Bomish Divines that these Prophecies have not been fulfilled in pagan, any more than in Christian Bome ; and that they wait for their accomplishment till the last days, when an Anti-Christian Power, they say, will arise in Bome, and persecute the Church. On all hands,' however, one point is clear, namely, that these prophecies do concern the City of Bome. Do they also regard the Church of Bome ? This is our present question. It is answered in the negative by Bomish Divines. It is alleged by them, for instance by Bossuet, that the an cient Christian Fathers did indeed identify the Apocalyptic Babylon with the City of Bome, but not with the Church of Bome : and he adds that there is no person of judgment who will not prefer the interpretation of the ancient Fathers to that of modern, and especially Protestant, Expositors. To this we reply — The Fathers who lived in the first three centuries, that is, who flourished before Bome became Christian, discerned the City of Bome in the Apocalyptic Babylon ; so did the Fathers who lived in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, when Bome had become Christian. And we follow the Fathers as far as they go. We, with them, see the City of Bome in Babylon. But here we make a distinction. St. John was inspired by the Holy Ghost ; he was a prophet, and was enabled to foresee and to foretell what the Church of Bome would become. But • E. g. Cornelius a Lapide, Ribera, Viegas, Lessius, Menochius, and others. XII.] Is the Church of Rome. 271 the Fathers were not Prophets ; they knew her only as she was in their own age ; and we do not pretend that the Church of Bome was then, what alas ! she is now. The Fathers, for instance, Could not foresee that Bome would add Twelve New Articles to the Nicene Creed, and that she would impose them as terms of communion, and as necessary to salvation. Heaven forbid that they should have supposed this to be probable ! Indeed one of our strongest objections to the Church of Bome is, that she enforces doctrines which the An cient Fathers never knew, and which (as the Bomish advocates of the " Doctrine of Development" now allow) she herself knew not for many centuries !* And, if she had held these doctrines in the days of the ancient Fathers, then our argument against the novelty of these doctrines would fall to the ground. Our answer therefore is : — We do not pretend that, in the age of the Fathers the Church of Bome was Babylon ; but we affirm that she became Babylon by adopting and enforcing doc trines which neither they nor she held or dreamt of in their age ; and that by now holding many strange and corrupt doc trines, and by anathematizing all who will not receive them, she proves herself to be» Babylon. And we hesitate not to add, that if the Fathers were alive, they would join with us in af firming her to be Babylon. Bossuet misrepresents the interpretation which identifies the Church of Bome with Babylon. He calls it, " the Protestant interpretation;" by which he means that it is a modern in terpretation, contemporary with, or subsequent to, the Befor mation. This is a great mistake. No sooner did the Church of Bome * As is exemplified, in a most striking manner, by the present Pope's Encyclic of Feb. 2, 1849, putting it to the suffrages of the Romish hierarchy whether, "the, Immaculate Conception" should now be made an article of Faith. For the history of this doctrine and the principles it involves, see the . Author's " Seq.cel of Letters to M. Gondon." Lett. x. (of Sequel). The Bishops of France are said to have already pronounced in favour of the Pope's proposition, and, whatever the result of the votes may be, and the Pope's judgment upon them, the putting of the question by the Pope is an assertion of power in the present Church of Rome to create articles of Faith. 272 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. begin to fulfil the Apocalypse, than that fulfilment was pro claimed. Dating from Pope Gregory the First, who made a prophetic protest against the title of Universal Bishop at the close of the sixth century, we can trace* a succession of such witnesses to this day. In that series we may enumerate the celebrated Peter of Blois, the Waldenses, and Joachim of Calabria,f Ubertinus de Casali, Peter 01ivi,J Marsilius of Padua, and the illustrious names of Dante§ and Petrarch. So far from it being the case that this interpretation dates from the Beformation, the truth rather is, that it produced the Beformation. The fact undoubtedly is, and it is a very remarkable one, that, on the one hand, no sooner did the Church of Bome begin to fulfil the Apocalypse, than that fulfilment, as we have said, was recognized and proclaimed by some Expositors ; and so we could now cite a series of witnesses in favour of what Bossuet calls the Protestant Exposition, from the seventh century to the present day ; and, on the other hand, all the ancient Expositors agree in identifying these prophecies with some heretical Church. And though the destruction of heathen Bome was a most strik ing event, yet not a single|| witness of any antiquity can be^ * See the authorities in Wolfii Lectiones Memorabiles, ii. p. 839 — 841; also in i. 376, 384, 408, 418, 429, 438, 443, 488, 597, 600, 610; and in Gerhard, Con- fessio Catholica, p. 583, sqq. ed. Francofurti, 1679. See also Abp. Ussher de Christ. Eccl. Success, c. ii. p. 36. t. v. p. 109. c. vii. p. 196. Illyric. Catal. Test p. 1558. Grosstete, Bp. of Lincoln, ap. M. Paris, ad a. d. 1253. The Bishop's dying words on this subject are very striking. See also Allix, Hist of the Churches of Piedmont, p. 207. f See Appendix C. i See Appendix D and E. It must be remembered, also, that only they who were ready to incur great perils for the truth would venture to promulgate this Ex position. Peter Olivi was condemned as a heretic, and the Sarabaites were burnt for teaching " Ecclesiam Romanam magnam esse meretricem." See Appendix D, p. 143, and Appendix E, p. 144, 145. § See the numerous passages collected from Dante by Wolf, p. 610 — 613; from Petrarcha, ibid. p. 677 — 684; and from both in Signor Rosetti's Spirito Antipapale. Lond. 1832. || Pitmasius, Bede, Haymo, Aquinas, and Ambrosius Ansbertus, who lived either xii.] Is the Church of Rome. 273 cited in favour of the Exposition of Bossuet and his co-reli gionists, which sees a fulfilment of the predictions of the Apo calypse concerning the destruction of Babylon in the fall of Heathen Bome. Indeed, that exposition is a very modern one ; it is an after thought ; and has been devised by Bossuet and others to meet the other, which they call the Protestant interpretation. In a word, the identification of the Apocalyptic Babylon with an cient Heathen Rome is an invention of modern Papal Rome. Let us now suppose, for argument's sake, with Bossuet and the great body of Bomish Interpreters, that the predictions of the Apocalypse do not concern Bome as a Church; and that Bome is what they affirm her to be, a pure Church ; the " Mo ther and Mistress of all Churches;" and that there is one thing needful for all men, — namely, to be in communion with Bome. What then is the state of the case ? I. Here is the Apocalypse, a Book revealing the History of Christianity from the Apostolic age to the day of doom, and specially designed for the edification and comfort of the faith ful in the dangers and difficulties which awaited them. Under such circumstances as these, nothing would have been more na tural, nothing, wp may almost add, more necessary, than that St. John should have said to the followers of Christ, You will, I foresee, be assailed by violence from without, and by heresies from within ; you will be tempted to swerve from the faith. But be of good cheer, you have an Infallible Guide. There is one Church which cannot err, and will never fail, — the Church of Rome. Bome is now a Heathen City, the Queen of Pagan ism] but, God be praised, she will, ere long, become. the Capi^ tal of' Christendom. And the Church of Bome is, by Christ's appointment, the Mother and Mistress of Churches. He who now rules at Bome is a pagan prince ; but let a few centuries elapse, and the Sovereignty of Bome will pass into other hands : before the corruptions of Rome became flagrant, or wrote under her influence, ge neralize some of these predictions into denunciations against Heresy ; but not one of them supposed them to have been fulfiled in Heathen Rome. 274 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. it will be swayed for more than a thousand years by the Bishop of Bome. He is infallible; the arbiter of the Faith; the Centre of Unity ; the Vicar of Christ. One thing is needful : remain in communion with him. Obey him ; then nothing can harm you. You will be bleSsed for evermore. What a simple rule ! how easy of application ! Can it be supposed, that the author of the Apocalypse would not have commended it ? Can it be imagined, that St. John — or, rather, the Spirit of God — would have observed a profound silence on this most momentous matter ? that He would not have breathed a syllable about it ? And yet, if the Church of Bome is not the Harlot City, if she is not Babylon, then she is not even once mentioned in the Apocalypse ! Indeed it is expressly af firmed by Bossuet, that there " is not a single trace of her in this whole book."* Her very existence is ignored. And yet the Apocalypse is a prophetic History of the Church; and Bome is the Mother and Mistress of all Churches. How incredible ! But there is another alternative ; that alternative is true. Bome is described in the Apocalypse. The Holy Spirit is not silent concerning her. He speaks largely of her. He reveals her in distinct form and colours ; He displays her as Babylon, f II. Let us again put the same case. Let these prophecies concern Bome as a pagan City, and not as the papal Church. What then ? Here are divine prophecies — prophecies large and full — commended in the most solemn terms to the pious meditation of the Church, even till Christ comes ;J and yet they can afford warning and comfort, only to a few for a short period after they were published. For Pagan Bome was sacked in the year of our Lord 410, little more than three hundred * Bossuet, Pref. § viii. II n'a aucune vue d'une Eglise. Les Protestants n'ont pu trouver dans I'Apocalypse la moindre marque d'une Eglise corrompue. Pref. x. he calls " Rome une Eglise, dont ii n'y a aucun vestige dans tout le livre." f The reader is here referred to a small tract by the learned Dr. Townson, (Works, ii. 239—312, ed. Churton, Lond, 1810,) on "Babylon in the Revela tion," which he cannot fail to peruse with interest and advantage. i Rev. xxii. 19, 20. xii.] Is the Church of Rome. 275 years after the Apocalypse was written ; and then, we are told by Bousset and other Bomish Divines, Babylon fell ! What a lame fulfilment of these predictions ! Give every advantage to the supposition. Allow that they were believed by some of the early Christians to be consummated in Heathen Bome ; — which is not the case ; — then what follows ? Some few Christians are instructed by them ; and, observe, instructed to do what? To avoid the Idolatry of Heathen Bome. Not to sacrifice to Jupiter ! Not to burn incense to the statue of the Boman Emperor ! What ! Did they need a new prophecy from Patmos to teach them that? St. Peter and St. Paul had done this. All the Apostolic martyrs had done this. The Apocalypse was not necessary to save them from Apostacy. No ; with reverence be it said, here was no worthy crisis for the intervention of the Holy Spirit of God. But now change the hypothesis. Suppose Babylon to be, not a pagan City, but a corrupt Church, such, alas ! as Bome is. Then all is clear. Here is a new form of evil. Spiritual Idolatry; an Antichrist* sitting in the Church. And such an Antichrist; one clothed as an Angel of Light. Teaching error disguised as Truth. Hiding deadly corruptions under the fair forms of Antiquity, Sanctity, Unity, and Universality. A Har lot claiming to be the Bride. Babylon professing to be Sion. An Antichrist pretending zeal for Christ, and gilding all his sins with the glorious name of Christ. Here is a strong delu sion, one that may ensnare the world. Here is a fit occasion, an urgent exigency, for the interference of the Holy Ghost. Here is a most profitable exercise of his Divine Office of pro phecy, guidance, and warning to the Church. Behold here a fit Mission for the Comforter ! And, if such a corrupt Church as we have now described has at any time existed, and has continued to exist for many * As was before said, p. 212, the author of these Lectures does not identify the Apocalyptic Beast with the infidel Antichrist mentioned in St. John's Epistle. ( 1 John ii. 18, 22 ; iv. 3 ; 2 John 7.) The one ought, he is persuaded, to be regarded as distinct, and not to he confounded with the other. It must be remembered, how ever, that St. John says (1 John ii. 18,) "there are many Antichrists." 276 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. centuries, and does now exist in the world ; yes, has so existed, and does still exist, at Rome: and if the Apocalyptic Babylon is confessed on all hands to be the City of Bome, then we here see a conclusive proof that the Babylon of the Apocalypse is not only the Boman City, but the Boman Church.* III. At this point, we feel constrained to address a few words to some excellent persons, who affirm that the real con flict in our own times is not between one form of Christianity and another, but between Christianity and Infidelity ; and who either overlook these prophecies of the Apocalypse altogether, and seem to forget their existence in the Canon of the Scrip ture, or else draw them aside from their aim, and are even im patient with those who retain them in their true direction. Alas ! it is too evident that we have much to dread from Infidelity; their fears in this respect are ours. We allow also that the Antichrist briefly noticed by St. John in hisf Epistles is an Infidel Power. But it is not the main end and aim of Prophecy, to warn men now against Infidelity, any more than it was formerly, against Paganism. Infidelity proclaims itself. And Christ has pronounced his sentence in a clear and solemn voice, once for all, against Unbelief : "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned."{ Any subsequent voice could only weaken the force of this divine Verdict. But it is the legitimate aim and end of Christian Prophecy, to warn the world against the insidious designs and mysterious * The following is the remarkable conclusion of Peter John Olivi, a Monk of the Franciscan Order in the thirteenth century, in his Postils on the Apocalypse. " Per hanc sedem Bestise designator carnalis Ckrus in hoc quinto tempore regnans et toti Ecclesias prsesidens .... unde et quidam putant quod tam Antichristus mys- ticus quam proprius erit Pseudo-Papa, Caput Pseudo-prophetarum. Hkc mulier stat hie pro Romand gente, et imperio tam prout fuit quondam in statu paganismi quam prout postmodum fuit in fide Christi, multis tamen criminibus cum hoc mun do fornicata. Vocatur ergo Meretrix Magna." Other equally striking passages from these Postils will be found in Appendix D; they may be compared with the citations from the Abbot Joachim, of the twelfth century, in Appendix C. f See preceding note, p. 275, 212. i Mark xvi. 16. xii.] Is the Church of Rome. 277 workings of deadly error, masked under the specious guise of Beligion. Satan is never so much to be feared as when trans formed into an Angel of Light.* And even because Infidelity is to be dreaded, this warning was necessary, to be given; for the state of those who use Beli gion as a cloak for sin and error is worse than that of Heathens,f and corrupt Beligion is the most prolific source of Atheism.J Looking, then, at the previous declarations of Scripture con cerning Infidelity, and at the true ends of Christian Prophecy, and at the perils of the World from Infidelity, and at the lan guage and spirit of these Apocalyptic prophecies, we feel per suaded that the form of Anti-Christianism contemplated by them is not a heathen or infidel, but a religious, one. IV. We pass to another point. The Woman, who is called the Harlot, § sits on the Beast as on a throne, that is, governs it,, and is supported by it. The Beast is represented as having ten Horns]] bearing Crowns,** which, we are taught, are ten * 2 Cor. xi. 14. f Hooker, Sermon v. 9. " Mockers (Jude 18) are they that use Religion as a cloak ; who kiss Christ with Judas, and betray Him with Judas . . . who use truth to subvert truth, yea, Scriptures themselves fo disapprove Scripture . . . Surely the condition of these men is more lamentable than is the condition of Pa gans and Turks." t In the present times, all will do well to ponder the words of our great English Divine, Bp. Bull. Speaking of certain Romish corruptions, he says, "Wise men have thought that the authors of these romances in religion were no better than the tools of Satan, used by him to expose the Christian Religion, and thereby to intro duce Atheism. And indeed we are sure, that the wits of Italy, where these aborhi- nable deceits have been, and are, chiefly countenanced, were the first broachers of Infidelity and Atheism in Europe, since the time that Christianity prevailed in it." Bp. Bull, Serm. iv. vol. i. p. 106, ed. Oxf. 1827. § Heidegger's note deserves attention: (Myst. Babylon, i. 53.) "Meretrix a Bestia distinguenda est. Meretrix in Bestia sedet eamque regit, subjicit, et ad faci- enda imperata flectit Bestia, multitudo regnum constituens, meretricem f}aatd£ii . . . Eadem utrobique Babylon: sed parte imperante et parente discreta." || These Ten Horns, as Mede observes; are not to be ' regarded as distributed among the Sev«n Heads, but as all issuing from the Seventh Head. ** Rev. xiii. 1. The word, here rendered crowns is o'laSjj/tai'a, the emblem of royalty, distinguished from atifyavbs, (Rev. vi. 2,) the crown of victory. Both are are ascribed to Christ. See Rev. vi. 2 ; xix. 12. 17 278 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. Kingdoms ; and these, it is added, had not received power in St. John's age, but were .afterwards to receive it, at one hour, that is, together, at one time,* and with (or allied with) the Beast. Now, if we imagine the Woman on the Beast to be Heathen, and not Christian Bome, where were these ten kingdoms, which did not exist in St. John's age, and which were to arise and re ceive power together and be allied with Heathen Bome ? It was destroyed before such kingdoms arose. None can be found to correspond to St. John's description. But now adopt, again, the other supposition. Let the Beast, with the Woman enthroned upon it, represent a Church. Let it represent the Church planted on the Seven Hills on which the Woman sits ; let it represent the Church of Rome. Then all is plain. The prophecy is wonderfully fulfilled, and is proved to be divine. When the Empire of Bome fell, new king doms arose from its ruins. The ten horns of the Beast sprouted up ; then the Church of Bome increased in strength ; and these kingdoms received power with her. And look again at the prophecy. These kings, we read, give their power and strength to the Beast. They reign, as kings, at the same time with the Beast. As kings — that is, they are called kings — but the Beast is the real Sovereign of their subjects. And what is the fact ? The European kingdoms which arose at the dissolution of the Boman Empire did sur render themselves to . the dominion of the Church of Bome. Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Hungary, France, Bel gium, Spain, Portugal, and our own England, for many centu ries, were subject to the Papacy. The Woman who sat upon the Beast had her hand upon the ten Horns, and held them firmly in her grasp. She still treats them as her subjects. The Papal coins proclaim this. " Omnes Beges servient ei." " Gens et B,egnum, quod tibi non servierit peribit."f Such are her claims, declared at the Coronation of every Pontiff : * Rev. xvii. 12, p£w> upoi), pita tov Briplov. So ulpo linpaopov, iii. 10, and see xvii. 13, 17, fiia yvuturi. f Sec Numismata Pontificum, PariB, 1679, p. 50, 58. xii.] , Is the Church of Rome. 279 " Know thyself the Father of Kings and Princes, Ruler of the World." These are the words with which he is addressed,* when the Tiara is placed on his brow. And thus, in this very subjection of the kingdoms of the earth to Bome, in this her amplitude of dominion and plenitude of felicity, of which she has vaunted herself for so many generations as a proof that she is favoured by Heaven, we recognize another proof that the Babylon of the Apocalypse is no other than the Church of Bome. V. Still further : These Horns, or kingdoms, which received power together with the Beast, will one day rise against it, and tear the flesh of the Harlot, and burn her with fire, f Now, again, for argument's sake, let the Woman on the Beast be Heathen Bome. Then, we readily allow, that Alaric with his Goths, Attila with his Huns, Genseric with his Van dals, Odoacer with his Heruli, did indeed sack the city of Bome.J But when did they ever receive power together with Bome ? when did they give their power and their strength to Heathen Bome ? Never. If, therefore, the Woman upon the Beast is only the City of Pagan Bome, then the Prophecy of St. John has failed. But the marvel predicted by the Apoca lypse is this — and a stupendous mystery it is — that some of the powers which received strength with the Beast, and gave up their might to it, they, under the over-ruling sway of God's re tributive justice, will one day rise against the Woman seated on the Beast, and tear her flesh, and burn her with fire.§ And, what is still more awfully marvellous, they will do this, although they will league with the Beast and with the False Prophet against Christ:]] and they will destroy Babylon, not for love of Sion ; not for the maintenance of God's truth, or for the ad- * These words were addressed to the present Pope, Pius IX. See Letters to Gondon, Lett XII. p. 317. Cp. Banck, Roiaa Triumphans, p. 271. f Rev. xvii. 16. i Alaric, a. d.410 ; Attila, a. d. 452 ; Genseric, a. d. 455 ; Odoacer, a. n. 476. § Rev. xvii. 16. || Rev. xvii. 13, 14. xix. 19. See "Harmony," p. 87, § 32 and § 48, and below, Lecture XIII. « 280 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse t [lect, vancement of His glory; but in a mysterious transport of indigr nation, and in a wild ecstasy of revenge ; and when they have done the deed, and have, destroyed Babylon, they will weep over her.* Such is the Prophecy of St. John. This portion of it re mains to be fulfilled. But Pagan Bome has long since ceased to be. Therefore, these predictions cannot concern Pagan Eome : but they do concern the seven-hilled City Bome ; and, therefore, they point at Papal Bome : and the Woman upon the Beast is not Heathen Bome, but it is the City and the Church of Papal Bome. VI. Again : Let us look forward, and examine the Apoca lyptic Prophecy, which describes the state of the mystical Ba bylon after her fall. . Her condition, we are taught in the Apocalypse, will then be like that of the literal, the Assyrian, Babylon after its destruction. The Prophet Isaiah says of Babylon, when deso late : " Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. "f And Jeremiah predicts, " Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing.''^ So St. John prephecies of the mystical Babylon ; — " Baby lon the great (he says) is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her ; for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Now, let it again be imagined, for argument's sake, that Babylon is the Heathen City of Bome. Bome was taken, at several times, by the Goths and the Vandals ; let its capture by them be, as is alleged by Bomish Divines, the fulfilment of St. John's Prophecy, Babylon is fallen ! What then is the consequence ? Bome is become " the habitation of devils, and * Rev. xviii. 11. f Isa. xiii. 21. i Jer. li. 37. xn.] Is the Church of Rome. 281 the hold of every foul spirit." Will this be allowed by the Bomish Divines ? Bome the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, "the cage of every unclean and hateful bird!" No : we do not say this ; and in their language' Bome is even now "the Capital of Christendom," "the Holy City," the "spiritual Sion." They call her Sovereign, "the Supreme Pontiff," "Holy Father;", his States, "the States of the Church ;" and his throne, " the Holy See." VII. Again ; how can it be said that Bome " is burnt with fire?" and that "the smoke of her burning ascends to hea ven?"* Has the voice of harpers and musicians ceased within her ? has she been taken up, " like a great millstone^ and plunged in the sea ?"f ' No : the voice of melody is still heard in her princely palaces ; they are still adorned with noble pic tures and fair statues. The riches of her purple and silk and scarlet, and pearls and jewels,! are still displayed- in the splen did attire of her Pontiff and his hierarchy in their solemn con claves. The cavalcades of horses and' charibts,§ with gorgeous trappings, and the long trains Of her religibus processions, still move along her streets; the clouds of frankincense still float in her Temples, which on high festivals are hung with tapestry and brocade and gay embroidery; her precious vessels still glitter on her Altars ; her rich merchandise of gold and silver is still purchased ; her dainty and goodly things are not yet departed from her. She still sits as a Queen, and glorifies herself, and says, " I am no Widow, and shall see no sor row."!] She wears the title of the Divinity^ and calls herself Eternal. Here, therefore, we are brought to the same conclusion. The Babylon of the Apocalypse is Bome. Pagan Bome it cannot be. It 'is Papal Bome. But it may now be said : True, the Apocalyptic Prophecies * Rev. xviii. 8, 9. t CP- Rev- xvui* su i Cp. Rev. xvii. 4. xviii. 12 — 16. § Cp. Rev. xviii. 12. I Cp. Rev. xviii. 7. 282 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. have failed of their effect, if Babylon be interpreted as repre senting the Heathen City of Bome. Still, it may be alleged, it does not necessarily follow that they concern Papal Bome, inasmuch as it is possible that the City of Bome may cease to be Papal, and that then it may be destroyed in the manner de scribed in the Apocalypse. This^ as we have before said,* is the theory of some Bomish Expositors, who perceive the insurmountable difficulties embar rassing the hypothesis, which has now been examined; and which has been, and still is, maintained by their most eminent Divines. That Bome will again be heathen, and propagate heathenism with the sword, this is an alternativo to which, we confidently affirm, no advocate of the Church of Bome could ever be driven, except by desperation. And, what is more, it is irreconcilea ble with the words, of St. John. The Beast, he says, on which the Woman sits is one of the Seven Kings, or forms of Boman Government; five of which had then fallen, the sixth then was, and the seventh was to con tinue but -a short time;f and then the Beast which is of, or from, the seven is to arise, and is to be itself the eighth. J Hence it appears that the Beast was' to appear at no great distance of time from St. John's age. All the five preceding powers, or forms of Government, had not occupied so great a period of time as eight centuries ; for Bome herself had not existed so long when the sixth or impe rial power arose, which was in being when St. John wrote. And now the Apocalypse has been written for nearly eighteen centuries. And can any one imagine that the eighth head has not yet appeared ? More might be said against this hypothesis ; but it does not require further notice. We shall make one reflection, and dis miss it. * Above, p. 270. f Rev. xvii. 10. i Bp. Andrewes ctra Bellarrnin. cap. xii. p. 289. Plagam accepit caput septimum, plaga curata revixit octavum, Romanus Pontifex, caput regno (i. e. tiara) redimi- tus. xii.] Is the Church of Rome. 283 It has sometimes been alleged by Bomish Divines, as an ob jection to the interpretation which recognises the Papal Church in Babylon, that they who agree in this opinion are not all of one mind in expounding other parts of the Apocalypse. This is true. But what is the case with those who bring this charge ? I mean, with the divines of Rome. They are not agreed in their exposition even of that portion of the Apocalypse which concerns Rome. Their faith rests on the assertion, that they have an unerring guide at Bome for the exposition of Scripture ; and yet, as we have seen, a large number of them affirm that these prophecies of Scripture have been fulfilled in a Bome that has been; others of them deny this, and say that they wait for their fulfilment in a Bome that will be. Is this Unity ? is this Infallibility ? Next, it may be observed, that the discrepancy of those who differ in some points of an Exposition affords presumption in favour of the truth of that Interpretation in which they agree. It shows that their agreement is not the result of collusion, con spiracy, or coercion, but of conviction. To proceed. We have seen that the Apocalyptic Babylon is not Pagan Bome. We pass now to the positive part of our argument, and show that it is Papal Rome. I. The City seated on the Beast is called the Harlot; and this is the spiritual name for a faithless Church. Such is Christ's love for His faithful people, that He is pleased to speak of His own relation to them under the endear ing term of marriage. The Church is His spouse.* I have espoused you as a chaste virgin to Christ, says St. Paul to the Corinthians, f Hence spiritual unfaithfulness to Christ is re presented in Scripture as adultery. This idea runs through the Apocalypse. In the Church of Pergamos there are said to be some who hold the doctrines of Balaam, and cause others to commit fornication. X At Thyatira there is a Jezebel, who, by her false teaching, seduces Christ's * John iii. 29. Eph. v. 23—32. f 2 Cor. xi. 2. * Rev. ii. 14. 284 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. -servants ; and they who commit adultery with her are threat ened with tribulation.* And, on the other hand, the faithful who follow , the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, are said to be Virgins, and not to have been defiled with women ;f that is, not contaminated with the stain of spiritual adultery. The name harlot, therefore, describes a Church, which has fallen from its first love, and gone a whoring after other Lords, and given to them the honour due to Christ. But here it is said by Bomish Divines, — If a faithless Church had been intended by St. John, (1) he would have called her, not a harlot, but an adulteress ; and (2) he would not have desig nated her by the name of a heathen city, Babylon, which never knew God, but by the name of some city, such as Samaria; which once knew Him, and fell away from Him. Bossuet, who makes these two objections in his celebrated comment on the Apocalypse, affirms them to be so strong, that they are fatal to the hypothesis^ which identifies the Harlot and Babylon of the Apocalypse with the Church of Bome. A strange assertion, which may be refuted briefly as follows. I. A faithless Church may be called an Adulteress, because she forsakes God ; but she may be, and often is, called in Scrip ture a Harlot, when she goes a whoring after other gods. Thus Isaiah exclaims concerning Jerusalem, the ancient Church of God;§ How is the faithful City become a harlot! And Jeremiahy Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers. || And Hosea, Though Israel play the harlot, let not Judah offend.** The word, you will remember, which is used for harlot by St. John in the Apocalypse is ttopv^.ff And this same word (*°'pv>7) or its derivatives, is used in the passages just quoted, and is • Rev. ii. 20, 22. f Rev. xiv. 4. i Bossuet, Preface sur I'Apocalypse, vii — ix. "Le syst&me des Protestans (says he) est renverse de ibn 15> 286 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. of Eome be that Church, then the heathen name Babylon, ascribed to her, is designed by the Holy Spirit to show 'the enormity of her sins. II. The Harlot then represents a Church; and she is named Babylon. And Babylon is called the Great City. She is so named twelve times* in the Apocalypse ; and no other city is there called the Great City. Now, the Great City, which is the city of the Beast, who persecutes the Witnesses, and in whose street their body lies, and which is Called, spiritually, Sodom and Egypt,f is also called the City in which their Lord was erucified-X That is, it is also spiritually called a Jerusalem, a Church of God. Therefore the Harlot is a Church.% III. This is also clear from the following considerations. The Apocalypse abounds in contrasts. One must be noticed here. The Lamb, who is called 'Auvbs, and never 'Apviw, in St. John's Gospel, is called 'Apriov, and never 'Aiivb^ in St. John's Apocalypse, in which 'Apviov occurs twenty-nine times. And wherefore does 5 'Ativbi here become tb 'Apvlovl To contrast Him more strongly with tb ©rjplov; that is, to mark the opposi tion between the Lamb and the Beast. Another most striking || contrast, connected with that which has just been noticed, is the following : — * Rev. xi. 8; xiv. 8 ; xvi. 19 bis; xvii. 5, 18; xviii. 2, 16, 18, 19, 21. f Rev. xi. 8. i Rev. xi. 10. § Vitringa's remarks (p. 477) are conclusive on this point. Roma dicitur Ba bylon causa idohlatrise, dicitur JEgyptus (xi. 8) ob tyrannidem in populum Dei, dicitur Sodoma (xi. 8) causa corruptionis morum,- sed et spirituaUter dicitur Hierosolyma (xi. 8) quippe in qua Dominus mystice dici queat crucifixus esse (id est, in membris suis.) Ex quo facile colligimus Romam hie intelligi non Paganam sed Pseudo-Christianam, quia neutiquam probabile est Spiritum Sanctum Romam Paganam comparaturum esse cum Hierosolymis. I It is even still more striking in the original ; where it is aided by an exact cor respondence of syllables and accents. On one side is, The Harlot and the Beast 'H nOPNH KAI TO ©HPION, on the other, The Bride and the Lamb, 'H NTM*H KAI TO 'APNION. See Rev. xxi. 2, 9 ; xxii. 17. XII.] Is the Church of Rome. 287 In the Visions of the Apocalypse, on the one side, we behold a Woman,* clothed with the Sun, which is Christ ; and tread ing on the Moon, that is, surviving all the changes and chances of this lower world ; and having -her brows encircled with twelve stars — the diadem of Apostolic faith. She is a Mother; and her child is caught up to heaven. On the other side, we see another Woman, arrayed in worldly splendour, enthroned on many waters, and having on herfore- headf the Name Mystery; Mother of Abominations of the Earth. Again : on the one side, we see the former Woman driven into the wilderness, and persecuted by the red Dragon. On the other side, we see the second Woman, enthroned on seven hills, persecuting, and sitting on the Beast, who receives his power from the red Dragon. The former Woman is the faithful Church. What is the latter Woman, who is contrasted with her, and is called the Harlot? Is she not a faithless Church? Let, us pursue the contrast. The former Woman appears again, after her pilgrimage in the wilderness of this world is over. Her sufferings . have ceased. Look upward. Her glory is revealed in the close of the Apocalypse. The Woman in the wilderness has now be come the Bride in Heaven. She is Christ's Church glorified ; If any one can have any doubt of St. John's intention to identify the Woman on the Beast with a faithless Church, let him read the following description : — xai rfkQtv us ix tiov eiitd dyy£7.iov tiov l^ovz'toi' tdf iiita $taXa$, xai, ihahqat flit ipm 7,iyiav, Asipo, Oci'fuj aoi tb xplfia t'ijfiiopv^s tr>$ /isyai,iis - . . Kai, drtiivsyxi ps sii Ip^jiov iv rivivuatC xai eiSov yvvalxa xaBr^ivrpi iiti Brjpiov xbxxwov. (Rev. xvii. 1, 3.) And then let him compare it with the "words which describe the faithful Church in glory: — Kai rpJdtv lis ix tuv irtta dyyiXuv tuv l%6vtuv td; iitta q>id- fc<*S, ... xai i^d^TjOt /ist i/novi %.iyov, Afipo, Sfi'iu ooi trfv vififriv toil dpviov tr/v yvvalxa. Kai ditrpiiyxi fit iv itvcvfiati iii bpoi ftiya xai v^r;- S161/, xai eSeiU fwt trjv iib\iv tifv dyiav 'UpovaaXijft. (Rev. xxi. 9, 10.) * Rev. xii. 1. See " Harmony," § 22, and above, Lecture IX. p. 254. f Rev. xvii. 1. See " Harmony," § 29. The words, Mysteby, Babylojt the Great, inscribed on the Harlot's forehead, appear to be a contrast to the words, 288 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse. [lect. His spouse purified. She is arrayed in fine linen, pure and white. She is called the Holy City, the new Jerusalem.* Now look below at the Harlot sitting on the Beast. She is arrayed in scarlet, and pearls, and jewels, and gold. She is called Babylon,' the Great City.f Behold once more. What is the end ? Look upward : Heaven opens its golden portals to receive the Bride. i Look downward : Earth opens its dark abyss to engulf the Harlot. How striking is this contrast ! And what is the result? As the first Woman, the Bride, the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, represents the faithful Church, so the second Woman, the Harlot, the great City, Babylon, represents a faithless Church. The question now is, — What Church ? At this point all the evidence comes in which was laid before you in the last Discourse. It was then proved that the City on seven hills — the City which reigned in St. John's age — the City called Babylon in the Apocalypse,. — is the City of Rome. The answer, therefore, is : The Woman represents the faith less Church in the City of Rome. Is this result confirmed byfacts ? Let us inquire. The Woman enthroned on the Beast holds a golden cup in her hand, with which she intoxicates the World. Does this apply to the Church of Bome ? I. Almighty God has distinguished men from the brute crea tion by the endowments of Beason and of Conscience ; and He commands men to use them, and not to give them away. But the Church of Bome requires men to sacrifice them to her will. And then she pours into their minds a delirious draught of strange doctrines, with which she makes their heads dizzy, and Holiitess to the Lobs, written on the forefront of the Mitre of the High Priest. (Exod. xxviii. 36—38.) • Rev. xix. 7, 8 ; xxi. 2, 9, 10. f Rev. xvii. 4, 5. xii.] •' Is the Church of Rome. 289 their eyes to swim, and their feet to stagger ; and this swoon like pbrensy she calls Faith ! II. Again: the Woman is represented, as drunken with the blood of Saints. And when I saw her, says St. John, I wondered with great admiration.* Now, if the Woman were heathen Bome, past or to come, why should St. John wonder? It is no wonderful thing that a heathen city should persecute the Christian Church. St, John had seen the blood of Christians spilt by imperial Bome. She had beheaded St. Paul, and had crucified St. Peter. He him self had been a martyr in will,-f and was now an exilej by her cruelty. .Therefore he could never have wondered with great admiration, if the Woman was heathen Bome- But that a Christian Church — a Church calling herself the "Mother of Christendom," "the spiritual Sion," "the Catholic Church" — ' should be drunken with the blood of the Saints, this is indeed a prodigy; and at such a spectacle as that well might St. John wonder with great admiration. . Has, then, the Church of Bome stained herself with the blood of Christians ? Alas ! has she not erected the prisons, and prepared the rack, and lighted the fires, of what she calls " the Holy Office of the Inquisition" in Italy, Spain, America, and India? Does she not at this day laud one of her canonized Popes, Pius the Fifth, in her Breviary, § as an inflexible Inquisitor ? Has she not en graven the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day on her own coins, 1 1 and represented it as a work done by an Angel from heaven ? Did not her Pontiff go publicly to Church to return thanks to God for that savage and treacherous deed ?** * Rev. xvii. 6. f Tertullian de Prascr. xxxvi. Hieron. adv. Jovin. u. xiv. i Rev. i. 9. Tertullian 1. c. Origen ad Matth. p. 417. Euseb. Chron. Domit. xiv. H. E. iii. 18. Hieron. Ser. Eccl. in Joanne. § Breviar. Rom. v. Maii, ed. Ratisbon. 1840 ; and p. 662, ed. Paris, 1842. || Gregorii XIII. Mumismata Pontif. p. 87, ed. Paris, 1679. ** See Lord Clarendon's Religion and Polity, p. 427. I am informed, through a learned person, that a copy of the Service used on this occasion is now in the Bod leian Library. 290 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse £lect. What would St. John have said to this ? Would he not have justly wondered with great admiration, that such acts should be done under the auspices of one who calls himself the successor of St. Peter, and the Vicar of Jesus Christ ? III. Again : the Woman is represented as enticing the Kings of the Earth to commit fornication with her ;* and they are said to give their power and strength to the ' Beast,f on which she sits. This assuredly does not apply to heathen Bome. She re ceived the gods of all Nations into' her Pantheon. Even the reptile deities of Egypt found a place there. She would have opened wide her doors to Christianity, if Christianity had been content to be enshrined with Heathenism. But these words of the Apocalypse are strikingly character istic of Papal Bome. She has trafficked and tampered with all the Kings and Nations of the Earth. In the words of the immortal Hooker;^ " she hath fawned upon Kings and Princes, and by spiritual cozenage hath made them sell their lawful authority for empty titles." Yes, she has caressed and cajoled them with amatory gifts of flowers, pic tures, and trinkets, beads and relics, crucifixes, and agnus Deis, and consecrated plumes and banners. She has drenched and drugged their senses with love-potions of bewitching smiles and fascinating words ; and has thus beguiled them of their faith, their courage, and their power. ' Like another Delilah, she has made the Samsons of this world to sleep softly in her lap.§ She has then shorn them of their strength. And she has captivated, and still captivates, the affections of their Prelates and Clergy, by entangling them in the strong and subtle meshes of Oaths of vassalage to herself, and has thus stolen the hearts of subjects from their Sovereigns, and has,made Kingdoms to hang upon her lips for the loyalty of their People ; and so in her dream of universal Empire she has made the World a fief of Bome. x es, my brethren, and such is the spell with which she still * Rev. xvii. 2. xviii. 3. f Rev. xvii. 13. i Hooker, Serm. v. 15. § Judges xvi. 19. xn.] Is the Church of Rome. 291 enchains Nations, that even they who are excommunicated by her, and whose heroic Virgin-Queen was anathematized by her as an Usurper,* and whose land is now partitioned out into Papalf Dioceses, as if it were a Boman Province, and the names of whose . greatest Cities are given away by her as if they were Italian villages, are fain to seek intercourse with her without requiring any - retractation of—the unrighteous oaths which she imposes on English subjects, or any revocation of the imprecatory anathemas which she has denounced on English Sovereigns ; and as if it were possible for us to sever what she declares indissolubly united — her temporal and spiritual sway. IV. Again : the Woman is described as sitting on a scarlet? coloured Beast, full of names of Blasphemy. X Has not Bome fulfilled this prophecy ? The colour§ itself is one reserved to her Pontiff and Cardinals, Of this we speak not now. How does she designate herself? As Infallible, In defectible, Eternal. Are not these names of blasphemy ? Some expositors have imagined that names of Blasphemy must indi cate an infidel power. But this notion is erroneous.|| Blas phemy in the New Testament specially denotes an assumption of what is divine.** And the name which Bome claims for her self, are not they usurpations of the incommunicable Name Iff » * See the Bull Regnans in excelsis of Pius V. against Queen Elizabeth. I! u liar. Rom. vii. p. 99. f See Sequel of Letters to M. Gondon, Letter xii. i Rev. xvii. 3. 7 § See Appendix H, p. 164, 5. Ceremoniale Rom. iii. sect. 5, c. 5. Ruber color pracipuc ad Papam pertinet. Paul II. made it penal for any one to wear hats of scarlet (bireta coccinea) but Cardinals : and he gave them scarlet trappings for their mules and horses. See Platina, p. 312. Vitringa, p. 758. Heidegger, i. p. 432. Platina in Greg. IV. Coccinatos nunc aspiceres non homines tantum (Ecclesias- tici ordinis), quod Ieve fortasse videretur, sed equos et jumenta. See below, p. 391, 398. I Arising, like so many other errors in Apocalyptic Interpretation, from substitu ting the English Version in the place of the Original. See above, Lecture VI. p. 132. ** Grotius ad Matth. ix. Dicitur hie Sxaa^uslv non qui Deo maledicit, sed qui quod Dei est sibi arrogat . . . ff See on this point generally Jacksorfs Works, i. p. 352—589. On "the asser tions of the Romish Church whence her threefold Blasphemy springs." 292 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. "When that which is temporal claims Eternity, this," says St. Jerome,* " is a name of blasphemy." And when she withholds the Word of God, and bestows honour on those who revile it, calling it, "imperfect; ambiguous, a mute Judge, a leaden Bule," and by other opprobrious names,f which cannot be re peated here, is she not guilty of blasphemy against the Diving Author of Scripture? And when, with, the cup of her own sorceries in her hand, she takes away the cup of Blessing in the Lord's Supper, which Christ has commanded to be received by all ;X and when she makes men drink of the one, and will not allow them to drink of the other, is not this an act of blas phemy against the Son of God? V. Again: the Harlot in the Apocalypse exercises both temporal and spiritual , sway. She is enthroned upon many waters, which are Nations and Peoples. § She has kings at her feet. She makes them drink of her cup. She trades in the souls of men.]] It is said of the Beast on which she sits as a queen, and of which she is, as it were, the Governing Power, $iat by the agency of the second Beast, he causeth all, both small- and great, to " receive his mark, and that no one may buy or sell, save he, who has the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast ; for it is the number of a man, and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."** The latter part of this remarkable description has been the subject of much earnest inquiry; it is a topic of great interest and importance, but, at the same time, one of so difficult and mysterious a character, that I do not venture to pronounce an opinion upon it from this place. * S. Jerome ad AJgas. xi. f See some of them cited by Bishop Andrewes and Bellarmine, cap. xi. p. 259, 260, and Casaubon, Ann. Exerc. Baron, i. xxxiii. Letter iv. of Sequel of Letters to M. Gondon. i John vi. 53. Matth. xxvi. 26, 27. Mark xiv. 23. § Rev. xvii. 5. , || Rev. xviii. 13. "Harmony," p. 88. ** Rev. xiii. 16—18. " Harmony," p. 82. xn.] Is the Church of Rome. 293 Beserving that for another mode of communication,* I pro ceed to observe, that these passages of the Apocalypse show that the Harlot combines temporal and secular sway ; and that this union of civil and religious supremacy is a very striking characteristic ; and it applies to Bome, and to Bome alone. The Church of Bome sits as a Queen upon many waters, which afe peoples, and nations, and multitudes,, and tongues.f She claims two swords. Lord, behold! here are two swords.X One of her Pohtiffs,§ has" interpreted these words of St. Peter as authorizing her double sway. She holds in her hands the two keys — the emblems, as she asserts, of universal power. |j * See Appendix G, p. 151. On the name and number of the Beast. In further illustration of the opinion there propounded, it may be observed that XP, the first two letters of Chhist, which formed the imperial monogram of Christian Rome, are the first two radicals ol ^apay/ia, the word used for mark in the Apocalypse. Also, these two letters XP, when considered arithmetically, constitute Sevew Hundred, — a perfect Apocalyptic number. (See above, p. 263, 4.) But XS;1, the number of the Beast, equals 666, and represents an imperfect. number, a triple falling away (duootaaia,') from septenary perfection, in hundreds, tens, and units. (See above, p. 205.) I may add that the Monogram represented in the Appendix, p. 160, is not the badge of any one individual Pope, but of the Papal See; it is the official stamp, used "quoties nova cuditur moneta.'' And we have our Lord's authority for regarding Coinage as an image of power. Matth. xxii. 20. f Rev. xvii. 15. — The present Pontiff, in an address to the People of Rome, thus speaks : " C'est un grand don du Ciel, parmi tous les dons qu'il a proih'gue's a l'ltalie, que nos trois millions de sujels aient deux cents millions de freres de toute langue et de toute nation. C'est la ce qui dans d'autres temps, et au milieu de'la confu sion de tout le monde romain, a fait le salut de Rome. • " Benissez done l'ltalie, 6 grand Dieu ! Benissez-la de la benediction que vous demandent pour elle les saints a qui elle a donne le jour, la Reine des saints qui la protege, les apfitres dont elle garde les glorieuses reliques, et votre Fils, fait homme, qui a voulu que cette Rome fut la, residence de son representant sur la terre. " Donne a Rome, pres Sainte-Marie-Majeure, le 10 fevrier 1848. " Pius PP. IX." i Luke xxii. 38. § Boniface VIII. in Unam Sanctam. Extrav. Com. Lib. i, Tit viii. Jus Canon. torn. ii. p. 1159, ed. 1839. || See Uoniface VIII. ibid. Ore divino Petro data suisque successoribus in ipso, Quem"confessus fuit, petra firmata, dicente Domino ipsi Petro, Quodcunque liga- veris. Matth. xvi. 18, 19. 18 294 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect.. The Boman Pontiff is twice crowned, once with the Mitre, his symbol of an universal Bishoprick, and once with the Tiara, in token of Imperial Supremacy. He wears both diadems. There is indeed a Mystery on the forehead of the Church of Bome, in the union of these two Supremacies ; and it has often proved a Mystery of Iniquity. It has made the holiest Mysteries sub servient to" the worst Passions. It has excited Bebellion on the plea of Beligion. It has interdicted the last spiritual consola tions to the dying, and Christian interment to the dead, for the sake of revenge, or from the lust of power. It has forbidden to marry — and yet licensed the unholiest Marriages.* It has invoked blessings on Begicides and Usurpers. It has trans formed the anniversary of the Institution of the Lord's Supper into a season of malediction, f It has changed the hill of the Vatican into a spiritual Ebal,J from which it has fulmined curses according to its will. Other very important characteristics must now be noticed. VI. The Woman in the Apocalypse is said to be seated on a scarlet beast ;§ to be also clad in scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;]] and her merchandise is said to be in gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple and silk,** and scarlet; and after her de struction they who weep over her cry, "Alas ! alas ! the Great City, which was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. "If This description of the Woman's dress is so definite, and is repeated with such emphasis, that it is manifestly intended for the purpose of identification. Such, then, is her attire. Bearing this in mind, let us pro ceed to consider the following evidence. * Heidegger, i. p. 49,7. See Sandys, Europe Speculum, p 37, arid p. 49. " On Princes' Marriages,'1 and " On Adulterous and Incestuous Marriages." f In the Bulla, " In Coend Domini." i Deut. xxvii. 13. § 8ijpi,ov xoxxivov, Rev. xvii. 3. — Coccineus color est ruber ncutus, (says Pliny. N. H. xxi. c. 8) qualis rubedo micat in rosis. Victorin. ad Apoc. xii. 3, coloris rubei, id est coccinei. || Rev. xvii. 4. •* gqpixiv. ff Rev. xviii. 12, 16. x"-] ' is the Church of Rome. 295 Divine honour is claimed for and given, to the Beast on which she Sits : They worshipped the Beast, saying* Who is like unto the Beast? The word here interpreted to worship is upaaxwilv, which literally signifies to adore by prostration and by kissing; as described in the divine words, " Yet I have left me seven thou sand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth whieh hath not kissed him."f This word i*po«™™ occurs twenty-four times in the Apoca lypse. In ten of them it designates adoration paid to Al mighty Gob : and in nine others it describes the adoration Claimed for the Beast and his image: and thus it shows, that he exacts what is due to. God, and, as the Angel warns St. John, not due to Angels, but to God alone-X This is blasphemy. Observe, next, the votaries of the Beast say, " Who is like unto the Beast ?" This is a challenge to God Himself. Lord, says the Psalmist, "Who is like unto Thee?" and again, "0 God, Who is like unto Thee?" and, "Among the gods, there is none like unto Thee, 0 Lord; there is none can do as Thou doest." It is, also, a parody of the name of the Angel Prince, the conqueror of Satan and his angels, Michael, Which means Who is as God? Eemember, too, that this expression, Who is like unto the Beast ? the watchword of the worshippers of the Beast, affords a striking^ contrast to the words emblazoned on the standard of the Maccabees, those courageous soldiers against Antiochus Epiphanes, the type of Antichrist, — Who among the gods is like unto Jehovah? from which badge the Maccabees derived their name§. Becollect, now, that Babylon is a type of Bome ; and it is said to the King of Babylon, "How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to * Rev. xvii. 4. f 1 Kings xix. 18. * Rev. xix. 10. xxii; 9. § It was derived from the Hebrew words, Exod. xv. 11. See Grot. Prasf. in 1 Mace Buxtorf de Abbrev. Prideaux, Connect, part ii, bk. iii. ad ann. 166. 296 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. the ground* which didst weaken nations ! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will, ascend into heaven ; I will exalt my Throne above the stars of God : I will sit also upon the Mount of the congregation ; I will be like unto the Most High- Yet thou shalt be brought down to helL"* In this passage, the Mount of the congregation means the Temple of GoD.f Let it be remembered also that the Woman sitting on the Beast is called the Mother of abominations. X The word abomination,^ fiSiwyna, in Scripture., designates an object of idolatrous adoration ; and the prophecy of Daniel, pre dicting the pollution of God's Temple by the setting up in it of the abomination of desolation,]] was fulfilled in the first instance (b. c. 168) by the Antichristian King, Antiochus Epiphanes, who placed an idol upon the altar of God in the Temple at Jerusalem ; or, as the Book of Maccabees expresses it, set up the abomination of desolation on the altar :** thus defiling God's House, and making it desolate ; that is, banishing from it God's true worship, and his worshippers. ft This prophecy was to have a second fulfilment in Christian times. " When ye shall see (says our Lord) the abomination of deso- latipn spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in the Holy Place ; whoso readeth let him understand." This prediction of our Lord had, no doubt, a partial fulfil ment at the destruction of Jerusalem ; but it had. a deeper and more general meaning; as is suggested by the solemn words, •"let him that readeth, understand." * Isaiah xiv. 12—15. f The original signifies the Mount of God's presence ; the Sanctuary of His Temple. See Bp. Lowth ad loc. i Rev. xvii. 4, 5. § yipu. res abominandi. Dan. ix. 31; xii. II. See Vitring. Anacr. p. 607, 759, Hengstenberg, Christo!.. 703, 708. | fibi-Kvyjia trii ipjj/utiotus. Dan. xi. 31. * * 1 Maccabees i. 54. ff Cf. Prideaux's Connection, Part ii. Books ii. and iii. especially from b.c. 175, when Antiochus Epiphanes succeeded his brother, to n. u.,164, in which year An tiochus died. xn.] Is the Church of Rome. 297 And this opinion is confirmed by the prophecy of , St. Paul, concerning the Mystery of Iniquity.* " Then (says the Apos tle) shall the Man of Sin, (or that Lawless One) 6 dvouos, he re vealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or is worshipped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God."The words here rendered, so that he sitteth in the Temple of God, are xaBCaai Ut vabv, —a very remarkable expression. 1*065, it is well known, is the holier part of the Temple, — the Sanc tuary, where the Altar is ; and xaBlaai els vabv, words involving motion, signify to be conveyed or to convey himself and take a seat in the Holy Place of the Temple of God, or the Christian Church.f * 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. For a further examination of St. Paul's prophecy concerning the Man of Sin, see the- Discourse added at the close of the present Volume, f Those persons who infer from this passage, that the Temple of Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and that the Man of Sin will sit therein, may be desired to observe, that there are about twenty-five passages in the Acts of the Apostles where the Jewish Temple iscalled ispbv, but not a single one where it is called vabs, nor is thtire one, in any of the Apostolic Epistles, where it bears this name. The vab; tov ©sou, in the mouth of an Apostle speaking, to Gentile Christians concerning the future, cannot mean the Jewish Temple, and can only mean the Christian Church. Com pare Macnight's note on this passage (2 Thess. ii. 2, 3.) " The sitting of the Man of Sin in the Temple of God signifies his being a Christian by profession, and that he would exercise his usurped authority iii the Christian Church." To those who argue, that if Rome is the Temple of God, it cannot be Babylon, I would respectfully commend a careful study of the Third Book of Hooker's Ec clesiastical Polity, especially chapters i. and ii. ; and to the allegation that the Man of Sin must be a single person, I would say, that neither the Woman treading on the Moon, (Rev. xii. 1,) nor the Woman sitting on the Beast, (Rev. xiii. 3,) is an individual Person, nor is supposed to be so by any Expositor. , Lastly, they who argue that the falling away ($ diioetapla, 2 Thess. ii. 3) can only apply- to an infidel Power, may be reminded of the LXX. version of Deut. xxxii. 15. Jer. ii. 5, 19; iii. 14. Esa. xxx. 1; lix. 13, 14. Dan. ix. 9, where aqlatanai and its derivatives are used to describe the backsliding and disobedience of God's ancient Church; and the word rt-to rebellis fuit, (whence the name of Nimrod; the prince of Babel and Babylon,) is translated by aipi cf. Josh. xxii. 22. Num. xiv. 9. Neh. xix. 26. 298 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. Let us now pause, and review the evidence before us; The abomination of desolation, as we have seen, was the placing of an idol upon the Altar in God's Temple ; and Our Lord speaks .of this abomination of desolation, as still to be ex pected ; and St. Paul predicted the appearance of a Power, which he calls Mystery, claiming adoration in God's Temple, — taking his seat in the Sanctuary of the Church of God,* show ing himself that he is God. Let us -also remember that Daniel's word abomination,f which describes an object of idolatrous worship, is adopted by the Apocalypse ; and that, in tike manner, St. Paul's word Mystery, is appropriated by it; and that both these, words are combined in the Apocalypse, in the name of the Woman, whose attire is described minutely by St. John, and whose name on her forehead is " Mystery, X Babylon the great, Mother of abo minations of the Earth." Let us now inquire, whether this description is applicable to the Church of Bome. With this view let us refer; — not- to any private sources— but to the authorized " Book of Sacred Cere monies" of the Church of Bome. This Book, sometimes called " Ceremoniale Bomanum," is It is remarkable^ that Pope Gregory I., speaking of the title " Universal Bishop," says, " hanc elationem primus Apostata invenit" Ep. vii. 27. p. 873. Is the Church of Rome Babylon of the Apocalypse 1 This is a distinct question from — Is Popery the 'ditoataaia described by^St Paul ? But, if Rome be Babylon, then St. Paul's word, ditoetaala, is not too strong for Popery. * ~vabv ®iov (says Theodoret ad loc.) * as IxxV^jeia; d>v6/iaeiv, iv atf itpotS- piai/ dpftaath — In templo, id est in Ecclesia Dei, says Bp. Andrewes adv. Bellarmin. cap. ix. p. 225, 226. It is very surprising, that the doctrine maintained by the most learned Prelate of the English Church, should now be censured by some as puritanical. For confirmation of the opinions propounded above, it will suffice to refer to the ninth chapter of the Bishop's work, which is especially commended to Students in Theology by BishopJeremy Taylor, in his very interesting and valu able letter lately discovered by Dr. Todd. See Vol. ii. of the present work, Appen dix I. p. 166. Hooker, Serm. v. 15, calls the Roman Pontiff " the Man of Sin, and Son of Perdition," and in the Dedication prefixed to every Bible printed in England, during the two last centuries and more, the Pope is styled by the same title, " the Man of Siri." f pSitoiyfio- i Rev. xvii. 5, 7. xii.] Is the Church of Rome. 299 written in Latin, and was compiled three hundred and thirty years ago, by Marcellus, a Boman Catholic Archbishop, and is dedicated to Pope Leo X.* Let us turn to that portion of this Volume which describes the first public appearance of -the Pope, on his election to the Pontificate. ¦ We there read the following order of proceeding, f , "The Pontiff elect is conducted to the Sacrarium, and divested of his ordinary attire, and is clad in the Papal robeg." ¦ The colour of these is then minutely described. Suffice it to say, that five different articles of dress, in which he is then arrayed, are scarlet. Another vest is specified, and this is covered with pearls. His mitre is then mentioned ; and this is adorned with gold and precious stones.- , Such, then, is the dress in which the Pope is arrayed, as Pope, and in whieh he first appears, as such. ' Befer now to the Apocalypse. We have seen that scarlet j pearls, gold, and 'precious stones are thriee specified by St. John, as character izing the mysterious power portrayed by himself.J But we may not pause here. Turn again to the Ceremoni- ale Romanum. The Pontiff elect, arrayed as has been described, is con ducted to the Cathedral of Rome, the Basilica, or Church of St. Peter. He is led to the Altar ; he first prostrates himself before it and prays. Thus he declares the sanctity of the Altar. He kneels at ' it, and prays before it, as the seat of God. What a contrast ensues ! We read the following : » , " The Pope rise's, rand, wearing his mitre, is lifted up by the Cardinals, and is placed by them upon the Altar — to sit there. One of the Bishops kneels, and begins the Te Deum. In the mean time the Cardinals kiss the feet and hands and face of the Pope." Such is the first appearance of the Pope in the face of the Church and the World. * Romse, A. D. 1516. f See the original words in Appendix H- p. 163 of the present work. i See above, p. 297. 300 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. This ceremony has been observed for many centuries ; and it was performed only two years ago, at the inauguration of the present Pontiff,* Pius IX. This ceremony is commonly called by Boman writers, the " Adoration." f It is represented on a Pontifical coin, with the legend,," Quern creant, adorant."X Observe the nature of this homage. It is by kneeling, and kissing the face, and hands, and feet. And what is St. John's word, nine times used to describe the homage, paid to the rival of God? It is npoexwilv, to kneel before and kiss. Next, observe the place in which this adoration is paid to the Pope. The. Ternple of God. Observe the attitude of him who receives it. He sits. Observe the place on which he sits. The Altar of God. Such is the inauguration of the Pope. He is placed by the Cardinals on God's Altar. There he sits as on a Throne. The * See Letters to M. Gondon, Letter xii. p. 315, 3rd edit f See Histoire du Clerge', &c., dedicated to Pope Clement XI. Amst. 1716. Vol. i. p. 17. Quand 1'electiOn est faite, le Pape est conduit a la Chapelle, ou il rejoit {'adoration des Cardinaux. Ensuite ii est porte assis dans le Siege Pontifical a rfglise de; S. Pierre et pose" sur I'autel , . . ou il ref oit encore publiquement Vadoration. Compare Lettenburgh's Notitia Curiae Romans, 1683, p. 125. " Portatur Pon- tifex in sede Pontificali ad S. Petrum, poniturque supra altare majus, ubi salutatur osculo pedis, manus, et oris a Cardinalibus ; peracta adoratione descendit Pontifex ex altari." " Roma," (says Heidegger, Myst. Bab. i. 537,) " phrasis ilia adorare Papam, in quotidiano usu est." Various books have been written by Romish Divines, — Mazaroni, Stevanus, and Diana, — "De adoratione et osculo pedum Pontificis." See Heidegger, Myst. Bab. i. 511, 514, 537. At the Coronation of Pope Innocent X., A. D. 1644, which is described with- great minuteness by Banck, Roma Triumphans, Franeker. 1656, the following "formula adoratidnis" was addressed, in his own name and that of the Clergy of St. Peter's, by the arch-priest Cardinal Colonna, on his knees, to the Pope: "Sanctissime et Beatissime Pater, Caput Ecclesise, Rector Orbis, . . . cui chives regni ccelorum sunt commissse, quern Angeli in coelis reverentur, portx infe- rorum timent, totusque mundus adorat, nos Te unice veneramur, colimus et ador- amus, et, noS omniaque nostra paternre et plus quam divinse^ dispositioni ac curs submittimus." . . . (Banck, p. 384.) An engraving representing the Adoration may be seen in Picart, Ceremonies, i. p. 296. i Numismata Pontificum, Paris, 1679, p. 5. xii.] Is the Church of Rome. 301 Altar is his footstool ; and the Cardinals kneel before him, and kiss the feet which tread on the altar of the Most High. Let us turn again to St. John. The power described by Him is Mystery, and is called ' the mother of Abominations. And the word Abomination is identified in Scripture With idol's ; and, in the prophecies of Scripture, it describes a special form of idolatry. The Abominations of desolation, as we have seen, prefigures the setting up an object of idolatrous adoration on the. Altar in the Temple of God. Such was the, idol set up by Antiochus in the Jewish Tem ple.* . And our Lord's words concerning the Abominations of desolation, compared with those of the Apostle St. Paul, re specting the mystery of Iniquity, or of Lawlessness,, predicted the rise of a power, exalting itself above all that is called God, or is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God — or, is conveyed to the sanctuary of God, and there placed to sit — showing himself that he is God. The following questions therefore arise here : I. Has not the Church of Bome fulfilled the Apocalypse in the eyes of men, and does she not proclaim her own identity with the Woman in the Apocalypse, even by the outward garb of scarlet, gold, precious stones, and pearls, in which she invests . her Pontiff at his election, and in which she then displays him to the world? .. -' , II. And has not she fulfilled the Apocalypse, and proclaimed her own identity with the Woman whose name is Mystery, the Mother of Abominations, by commencing every Pontificate with making the Pontiff her own idol, by lifting him up1 ojn the hands of her Cardinals, and by placing him on God's Altar, and by kneeling before him, and kissing his feet? Does;she * And although this abomination was actually set up by him, yet it was due to the sins of (he Jewish Church, polluting their own Temple by idolatrous worship, and thus was set up by them. Had they remained holy, the Temple would have been their safeguard : being defiled by \hem\ it became ah abomination. " The Jews more than the heathen, were the authors of its ruin and of that of the city. See Hengs- tenberg, Christol. 703—710. Let Rome read the parallel, and hear the warning. 302 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. not make herseif the Mother of Idolatry, by paying such adoration as this in the person of the Cardinals, and by receiv ing it in the person of her Pope ? And, by her long practice of this particular form of abomination, has she not identified herself with the Apocalyptic power, whose name is Mystery, and also with the "Mystery of. Iniquity," described by the Apostle St. Paul as enthroned with bold impiety in the'Temple of God; and by placing her Pontiff to be adored, like the Most High, in God's presence on God's Altar in the Christian Church, as Antiochus Epiphanes placed an idol to be adored on God's. Altar in the Temple at Jerusalem, has she not iden tified him with Lucifer, the King of Babylon, whose pride and fall are portrayed by Isaiah,* and with the Abomination of vdesolationf spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, and by our Blessed Lord Himself? Let these questions be considered carefully. They niay be further elucidated by reference to another very striking prophecy. Zechariah, whose spirit appears to have, been imbibed, as his language, is adopted, by St. John, beholds, in one of his Visions, an Epha, or Measure, and a Woman seated in it.| An Angel points to the Woman, and says, " This is Lawless ness" 'ANOMIA. Such is the word in the Septuagint. Thus speaking, he presses her down in the Epha, and places a mass of lead on her mouth. Then two women appear, who have the spirit in their wings, and they take up the woman in the Epha, and carry her away. The Prophet asks whither they are taking her. The Angel replies, to Babylon. What, now, is the meaning of this Vision ? It is spiritual. The Epha is a measure, the symbol of equity. With this * Cf. Witsii Miscell. Sacr. p. 650, lib. iii. c. 2. f The following was written in the twelfth century: "Dictum Danielis noho convenit mqdernis Prslatis et EcclesiaB Rectoribus; videlicet Cum videritis desola- tionem." Joachim Abbas, in Jerem. c. 37, i Zech. v. 5. xii.] Is the Church of Rome. 303 measure, -well filled and running over, the Woman ought to have dealt out the spiritual food, the hread of life, to God's people ;*"but she is not Equity, but Lawlessness, and the Epha is not full, but empty : she neglects her duty, and she is punish ed by the instrument with which she has sinned, the Epha ; it is empty, and she is placed in it, and her mouth is stopped with lead. That isj the faithless Church is silenced, and removed from her place, and made desolate ;-^carried td Babylon; or, as the Septuagint expresses it, a house built for her in the land of Babylon." f Observe,, the Woman is called Lawlessness. This word, "Lawlessness," is a -prophetical word,J which connects the predictions of Zechariah arid St. Paul, in the same manner as the words "Abomination" and "Mystery" connect those of Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John. Our Lord, in the same prophecy as that in which he speaks of the setting up of the Aboniination of desolation, speaks also of the overflowing of Lawlessness.^ And St. Paul, in the prophecy before mentioned, calls the power, which claims adoration, by the same name. He entitles it the Mystery of Lawlessness, And he designates its head, the Lawless one. Thus the Apostle adopts the language of Zechariah, as made ready for, him in the Greek Version. He identifies the Mystery of Lawlessness with the Woman described as Lawlessness by that Prophet. And now turn to St. John: he ajso adopts the Prophet's imagery and language. The Woman whose name is Lawless ness, as, described by Zechariah, is carried in the Epha to Ba bylon, and placed there. And the Woman in the Apocalypse is Babylon: III. Another question then arises ; Has not the Church of Bome, by suppressing God's Word, instead of dispensing it, identified herself with the Woman in the empty Epha, the wo-, r *, The reader will perceive some points of resemblance between this Vision and the Third Seal. See above, p.. 145., f Zech. v. 1 1. - - * See above, p. 212. § 'Avpfiia. Matth. xxiv. 12. , 304 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. man whose mouth is stopped with lead, whose name is Lawless ness, and whose house is Babylon; and has she not thus, also, identified Herself,in another respect, with the Mystery of ^Law lessness, as portrayed by St. Paul, and with Babylon, as des cribed by St. John, which will be cast into the sea like a mill stone,* never to rise again ? The same Prophet, Zechariah, uses a remarkable expression in another place, Woe to the iDQLf Shepherd IX that is, to the Pastor, who is adored in the place of God. "Woe to the idol Shepherd, that leaveth the flock ! the swbrd shall be upon his arm, and uponthis right eye : his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened."! Such is the voice from heaven to the idol Shepherd : and such is the woe denounced on him who boasts himself to be the Universal Shepherd,|| and sits as an idol,** on the Altar in the Temple of God, and is worshipped in the place of God. We pause here, and sum up what has been said. Either the claims of the Church of Bome are just; or they are not: If they are, she is infallible, and indefectible. She is the Mother and Mistress of all Christian Churches. Her Pontiff is the Universal Pastor;; the Centre of Unity; the Father, of the Faithful ; the Supreme Head, and Spiritual Judge of Chris tendom. " And it is the duty of all to obey him. * Rev. xviii. 21. f the word is S'Sx, used for a vain thing, an idol, in Lev. xix. 4. 1 Chron. xvi. 26. Psalm xcvi. 5; xcvii. 7. Isaiah ii. 8, 18, 20, and elsewhere. i Zech. xi. 17. § Zech. xi. 17. [| Petrus Asilus de Tyrann. Antichristi (ap. Wolf. Lectiones, ii. 824) says, Papa sibi soli sumi Pastoris nomen, ideo fit ut impleatur prophctia Zacharia? de Pastore stultd, quem B. Hieronymus Antichristum in extremis diebus comparentem et Christi gladio succumbentem vel succubiturum interpretatur. ** Heidegger, Myst. Bab. ii. p. 546. Ceremonia qua Papa in altafi Templi D. Petri sedens a Cardinalibus cemuis adoratur divinum cultum apertissjme\ redolet. Cum Papam sic in altari consistentem .adorant quid aliud quam Deum seu idolum suum (Zech. xi. 17) ibi divino cultu prosequuntur? xii.] Js the Church of Rome. 305 Now, we hold in our hand the Apocalypse of St. John ; the Revelation of Jesus Christ;* the Voice of the Spirit to the Churches ;f the prophetic' history of the Church ¦ from the Apostolic age to the Day of Doom. In it St. John places us at Bome : he points to its Seven - hills : he shows us the City enthroned upon them : he retains us there while' he. reveals to. us its future history,- even to its total extinction, which he describes.! I. If, now, Christ has instituted a spiritual supremacy, and fixed an Infallible Authority anywhere, it may reasonably be supposed that .St. John, hr revealing the future History of the Church, and in providing guidance and- comfort for her, under all her .trials which he predicts, would not have failed to notice such supremacy and authority. II. If Christ has settled that. Pre-eminence at Rome, St. John, when speaking especially and copiously of her, and tracing her history, even to the day when she will be burnt with fire, and her smoke ascend to heaven, could not have omitted to mention it. III. If St. John's awful description of the doom and deso lation of the Harlot.applies to the Heathen City of Bome ; and if the Church of Bome is what she herself aflirms — the true Spouse of Christ, the Mother of all Churches — assuredly St. John would have taken great care that no reasonable man should ever be able to impute to the Christian Church of Bome what he intended for the Heathen City of Bome. Let us bear carefully in mind that the Apocalypse is the Voice of the Holy Spirit to the Churoh. Now what is the fact ? L Not a word does St. John say of the existence of any Supreme Visible Head of the Church. II. Not a word does he say of the Church of Rome being ' the centre of the Unity— the Arbitress of Faith— the Mother and Mistress of Churches. Not a word does he speak in her • Rev. i. 1. t Rev- "• 7> n> 17> &c i Rev. xviii. 1—24. 306 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse [lect. praise. Indeed her advocates say that he does not mention her at all !* How unaccountable is all this, if, as they affirm, Christ has instituted such" a Supremacy, and if he has placed it at Bome. But now take the other alternative. Let the claims of the Church of Bome be unfounded ; then there, is no medium, they are nothing short of blasphemy; for they are claims to Infalli bility and Universal Dominion, which are Attributes of God. And now we again open the Apocalypse. What do we 'find there ? j We see there a city portrayed — a great City — the great City, the Queen of the Earth when St. John wrote ; the City on Seven Hills — the City of Rome. At Rome, then, we are placed by St. John. We stand there by his side. This city is represented as a Woman ; itis called the Harlot. It is contrasted with the Woman in the' Wilder ness, the future Bride in- Heaven ; that is, with the faithful Church, now, sojourning here, and to be glorified hereafter. The Harlot persecutes, with the power of the Dragon ; the Bride is persecuted by the Dragon : the Harlot is arrayed iri scarlet, the Bride in white c the Harlot sinks to hell, the Bride ascends to heaven. The Bride is the faithful Church; the Harlot, contrasted with her, is a faithless Church. The City, then, which is called a Harlot, is a faithless Church; and that City is Rome. This Harlot City is represented as seated upon many waters, which are Peoples,, and Nations, and Tongues. Kings give their power to her; and commit fornication with her. She vaunts that she" is a Queen for ever. Thus she is displayed as claiming a double supremacy. Now^ look -at Rome. SJic, she alone of all the Cities that are, or ever have been, asserts universal supremacy, spiritual and temporal. She wields two swords. She wears two dia dems. And she has claimed tins double power for more than a thousand years. " Buler of the World" — " Universal Pastor" * See above, p. 274) note. xn.] 7s the Church of Rome. 307 — rthese are the titles of her Pontiff. She boasts that sheis the Catholic Church ; that she is alone, and none beside her on the earth : she affirms, that her light will never be dim, her Caridlestick never removed. And yet sheteaches strange doc trines. She has broken her plighted troth, and forgotten the love of her espousals. She. has been untrue to God. She has put on the scarlet robe and gaudy jewels and bold look of a harlot, and gone 'after other gods. She canonizes men, and then worships them. She has endeavoured to make the. Apes- ties untrue to their Lord, and the Blessed Mother of Christ into a rival of her Divine Son. She prays to Angels, and so would make them instruments of dishonour to the Triune God, before whose glorious Majesty they veil their faces. She dei fies the Creature, arid so defies the Creator. St. John, when he' calls us to see the Harlot-city, the sevbn- hilled City, fixes her name on her forehead — Mystery — to be seen and read by, all. And he says, Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy.*. Her title is Mystery, a secret spell, bearing a semblance of sanctity : a solemn rite, which promises bliss to those who are initiated in it : a prodigy inspiring, wonder and awe into the mind of St. John : an intricate enigma, requiring for its solu-. tion the" aid of the Spirit of God.- Heathen Bome persecuting the Church was no Mystery. But a Christian , Church, calling herself the Mother of Christendom, and yet drunken with the blood of ..saints — this is indeed a Mys- ¦ tery. , A Christian Church boasting herself the Bride, and being the Harlot ; styling herself Sion, and being Babylon— this is indeed a Mystery. A Mystery indeed it is, that, when'sA^ says to all, " Come unto me," the voice from heaven should cry, ¦V Come out of her, My People." A Mystery indeed it is, that she who boasts her sanctity, should become the habitation of devils: that she who claims to be Infallible, should be said to corrupt the earth : that a self-named Mother of Churches, should be called by the Spirit the Mother of Abominations : that she • Rev. i. 3 ; xxii. .7. 308 Whether Babylon in the Apocalypse, fie. who boasts to be Indefectible, should in one day be destroyed, and that Apostles should rejoice at her fall :* that she who holds, as she says, in her hands the Keys of Heaven, should he cast into the lake of fire by Him who has, the Keys of hell. All this, in truth; is a great and awful Mystery. Nearly Eighteen Centuries have now passed away, sinCe the Holy Spirit declared, by the mouth of St. John, to the Church, that this Mystery would be revealed in that City which was then the Queen of the Earth, the City on Seven Hills, — the City of Bome. The Mystery was then dark, dark as midnight. Man's eye could not pierce the gloom. The fulfilment of the prophecy seemed improbable, — almost impossible. Age after age rolled away. The mist which hung over it became less thick. The clouds began to break. Some features of the dark Mystery began to appear, dimly at first, then more clearly, like Moun tains at daybreak. Then the form of the Mystery became more and more distinct. • The Seven Hills, and the Woman sitting upon them, became more visible. Her voice was heard. Strange sounds of blasphemy Were muttered by her. Then they" became louder and louder. And the golden chalice in her hand, her scarlet attire, her pearls ^,nd jewels, glittered in the Sun. Kings and Nations were seen prostrate at her feet, and drinking her cup. Saints were slain by her power. And now the prophecy became clear, clear as noon-day; and we tremble with awe at the sight, while the eye reads the inscrip tion emblazoned in large letters, "Mystery, Babylon the Great," written by the hand of St. John, guided by the Spirit of God,, on the forehead of the Church of Bome. * Rev. xviii. 20. LECTUKE XIII. Rev. xv. 5^8. xvi. 1—21,* After that, I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: and the Seven Angels came out of the temple, haying the Seven Plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave unto the Seven Angels seven boldest vials full" of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the Seven Angels were fulfilled. , ' '\ Arid I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the Seven Angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God. upon the earth. And the first went, and poured Out his Vial upon the earth ; and there fell a noi some and grievous soie upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. And the Second Angel poured out his Vial upon the sea ; and it became as the Hood of a dead man : and every living soul died, in the sea. And the Third Angel poured out his Vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink ; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous iare thy judgments. And the Fourth Angel poured out his Vial upon the sun : and power was given unto him to scorch' men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. > And the Fifth Angel poured out his Vial upon the seat of the beast: and his kingdom was full of darkness ; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blas phemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not " of their deeds. And the Sixth Angel poured out his Vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and • See " Harmony," p. 84— 87. 19 310 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kibgs of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of* devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his gar ments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And they gathered-)- them together in the place called in the Hebrew tongue AllMAOKunOS. And the Seventh Angel poured out his Vial into the air ; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings : and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup' of the wine of the fierceness of Hi's wrath. And every island fled away, and the mounfains were not found: And there fell' upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the~ plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. St. John, having conducted us to the brink of the final catastrophe, at the close of the Fourteenth Chapter of the Apocalypse^ returns, according to his manner, J and places us again at a higher point in the prophecy. I saw another sign in heaven, Seven Angels, having the seven last-plagues ; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.§ He beheld a sea of glass, mingled with fire, and those who had triumphed over the Beast, and His image, and His mark, and the number of His name, holding in their hands harps of God, " and they sing the song of Moses, the Servant of God, and the Song of the Lamb. "|| They are here represented as the true, spiritual, Israelites, delivered from the Egyptian bondage of Sin and Satan, and * Rather evil spirits. The true reading is, Satuoviuv, not Sai/ioVuii/. f The Authorized Version reads "he gathered them ;" but the nominative to evvrryaycv is *o nvivnata, i. e. the Unclean .spirits gathered the Kings. i A uctor Anon. ap. S. August. Horn. xiii. Sanctus Joannes solito more re- capitulat. § Rev. xv. i. | Rev. xv> «_ xn*-] The Seven Vials. 311 looking back, as it were, on the waves of a Bed Sea, which is calm as glass to' them, but tinged with the blood of their Ene mies. And they sing a song like that of Moses, the Servant of God, on the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.* " The depths have covered them ; they sank into" the bottom as, a stone, "f And this Song is called the Song Cf The Lamb; for "they overcame by the.blqod of the" Lamb, and by Word of their testimony."! Such is the anticipatory declaration of the result of the great •conflict. The" struggle is now to be described. The same' figure is preserved ; the scene is Egypt : and the tyrannical Empire, of the Beast iff scourged by Plagues, like those which fell on Pha raoh and his people. These plagues are called Vials. § What does this term mean ? "For a reply to this inquiry, let us refer to the history of the Egyptian plagues. We there- find that " the Lord said unto' Moses and Aaron, Take to you ashes of the furnace,' and let Moses sprinkle it to ward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh; and it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil|| break ing forth with blains upon man arid upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so. And the Magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils ; for the boils were upon the Magicians, and upon all the house of Pharaoh."** The first of the Seven Plagues of the Apocalypse is a boil upon all who have the mark of the Beast, ff ' Exod. xv. 1 — 19. f Exod. xv. 5. Comp. Rev. xviii. 21. i Rev. xii. 11. , § Rev\ xv. 1. 7. xvi. 1. \ I This Plague rs the sixth in the Literal Egypt, and the first in the Spiritual,- the reason of 'Which appears to be, (as has peen remarked by Lightfoot,) that this plague infested Jannes and Jambres, the Egyptian magicians, (2 Tim. iii. 8,) so that they Could not stand before Moses, and it intimates that the judgment is di rected principally against the most eminent False-teachers, and dealers in lying wonders, in the Spiritual Egypt. ** Exod. ix. 8—1 1. ft ReT- xv.i- 2- 312 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. , The word used by St. John to describe this plague is the same as that in the Septuagint Version of the book of Exodus ;* and. so it connects the Apocalyptic Plagues with those of Egypt, Next, what is to be said of the instruments used in the Apo calypse "for the outpouring of these plagues — the Seven Vials ? Moses and Aaron, as we have seen, were, commanded to take ashes from the furnace, and Moses was ordered to sprinkle them toward heaven. Such was the Egyptian Plague. But in the Apocalypse we' see the heavenly, Sanctuaryf open, and seven Angels come forth, arrayed in priestly attire ; and One of' the Four Living Creatures puts into their hands Seven Golden Vials^ full of the Wrath of God; and the Holy Place is. filled with smoke from the Glory of God and His power ; and no one can enter the Holy Place, till the plagues are poured out. The First Angel pours his Vial on the Earth; the Second on the, Sea; the Third on rivers and fountains ; the Fourth on the Sun; the Fifth on the Throhe of the Beast; the Sixth on the Great River Euphrates; the Seventh and Last in the air.X There is this difference, then, between the Action in the book of Exodus and that in the Apocalypse ;. that the one is perform ed on earth by Moses with common fire ; and the other by Angel priests, with holy fire in the heavenly Temple ; and it is per formed with holy Vessels, $>«& • Thus we are brought to contemplate again the Vision which was before presented to us under the Sixth Trumpet,** or Second Woe, where the heavenly Voice exclaims, Loose the Four Angels who are bound, or irirprisonedj' at the great river, the river EuPHRATES.ff ^And the Angels, we read, were loosed who were preparedXX for the hour, and the day, and month, and year. This Vision has been already interpreted§§ as signifying ., a loosing and diffusion of the Gospel, consequent on the de cline of the power of Bome; and these two passages, in which the Euphrates is mentioned, illustrate each other. Who now are the Kings of the East ?. We are not to imagine here any earthly Monarchs or Em perors. The expression is figurative, and to "be understood spiritually. The words rendered Kings from the East are ol Basail? ol dub dvato^s falm: that is, the Kings from the rising oftheSun.\\\\ ' * % SS6;. Acts ixl 2; xix. 9, 23'; xxii. 4; xxiv. 14," 22. f Luke iii. 4. * itoipdeuf. „ \ Eph. vi. 15. • , II ""* itoiuaoBv. ** This is observed by Lightfoot, (Harmony ad 16c.) who says, " The -drying up of Euphrates for theKings of the East, under the Sixth Vial, seems to speak much to the tenor of the Sixth Trumpet, the loosing of the Four Angels wjiich were bound at Euphrates." ff Rev. ix. 14. ** JjtoiiMtiuvoi- §§ In Lecture VII. p. 168 to end. II Rev. xvi.,12. 322 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. The Sun is Christ. '¦' The ,dew of his birth is of, the womb of the morning."* He is "the Sun of Bighteousness, rising ,with healing on his wings."f He is "the Day-spring from on high. "J In the book of the Prophet Zechariah, God says, "I bring my servant, the East;"§ and, "Behold the Man: His name is the East."|| In the Apocalypse the Church "is clothed with the Sun,"** that is, with Christ; and the Angel who seals the elect "comes from the rising of the Sun ;"ft and Christ says; " I Jesus am the bright and Morning Star ;"|J and, , "To him that overcometh, I will give power over the nations ; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ; and I will give him the Morning Star."§§ Christ is" the Light of the World ;|||| and he promises that " the Bighteous shall shine as the Sun, in the kingdom of his Father."*** Further ; in the book of Joshua, in the description of his entrance and that of the Israelites into Canaan, it is said "that Israel passed over Jordan on dry land, the Lord having dried up the water of Jordan before them ;"ftt an(i thence crossing the dry bed. of the river frpm^Ae East, they marched, and en camped toward the rising of the Sun before Jericho,JJJ which * Psalm ex. 3. f Mai. iv. 2. See also above, p. 318. i Luke i. 78, 'ANATOAH ii atyovj. § 'AvatoXr), or Sun-rising, i. e. Christ, Zech. iii. 8, in LXX. \ Amfotoj, Zech. vi. 12, in LXX. ** Rev. xii. 1. ff Rev. vii. 2. a Rev. xxiirl6. §§ Rev. ii. 27.— Bede, Explari. Apocalyps. in cap. ii. [Et dabo Mi stellam ma- tutinam.] Christus est stella matutina; qui nocte seculi transacta lucem vitz Sanctis promittit et pandit aeternam, III John viii. 12. *** Matth. xiii. 43 fff Joshua iv. 22, 23, iiti fypas Siipy 'loparfl. tbv 'lopSdvrjv tovtov, cwto|i;- pavavto$ Kvptou tov ©cot) ^uuiv tb vSiop T*o{j lopSdvov ix toi Epitpoa&iv avtuv and v. 1, dits^rjpavs Kiipios 6 ©565 tbv 'lopSdvrjv itota/iov. The parallel in the Apocalypse is, xvi. 12, o kxtof ayvrtos i%i%tt ti\v ijuaXjp ,avroO iiti to* itota/j.bv tbv /iiyav jLvfypdtrjv, xai i^tjpdvBrj tb i'Sup avtoi Iva itbipaoBt) ij 06*65 toiv j3txaiftiiov tZiv diib dvatoxijs vplov- Hi Joshua iv. 19, xatietpatoxiSivvav ol vloi 'lapaij'K iv FoXyd-Koi; xara fiipo; tb .xpbf 'HAlOT 'ANATOAA2 aitb trjs 'Ispi*u>. Cp Joshua i. 15, nipav tov 'iopoaxov iii" "ANATOAQN 'HAIOT. " If we look on Joshua when Ruler of Israel," (says Bp. Pearson on the Creed, Art. II.) « there is scarce an action of his which is not clearly predictive of our Saviour.'' xin.] The Seven Vials. 323 they afterwards took and destroyed. Here, doubtless, ¦ is a figure of the future triumph of the Spiritual Joshua, and of His j victorious host, marching from the sun-rising, over the river's dry bed; and here we see a strong . confirmation of our interpretation of the passage' before us ; arid the more so, be cause, as we have observed, there is a striking parallelism between the history of the fo,ll of Jericho, as described in the book of Joshua, and the results of the Trumpets in the Apo calypse.* And now, as to the word Kings — Kings of the East, whose Way is prepared. .Christ, as we see, promises to give the Morning Star to His faithful followers, He, the Sun of Bighteousness, will make them shine as the Sun ; that is, he will make them partakers of his own Glory'. So Christ, the King of Kings, makes them co-heirs of his Kingdom. He makes them Princes in all lands-X Such is the language of the Apocalypse : "To Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth: unto Him that loved us, and washed us from , our sins in his ; own blood, and - hath made us Kings and Priests unto God, and his Father'; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. "J "He hath made them unto our, God Kings and Priests, and they reign on theEarth."§ Therefore, "the Kings from, the East,"' or Sun-rising, whose Way is prepared, are the faithful soldiers of Christ;|| Their Kingdom is to serve Christ. , It is a solemn thing to speak of the future. This, however, * Lect. VII. p. 161. f Psalm xiv. 17. i Rev. i. 5. § Rev. v. 10. 1 Pet. ii. 9. 1 Aquinas ad.loe. Jib ortu Soils, i. e. Ipsius qui est Sol Justitis, Malachi iv. 2.— Auclor Anon. ap. S. Aug. Ut prxparetur via eorum, scil. qui sunt ab ortu Soils,, id est, Chritto.— Bede ad (cap. xvi, Sancti, Reges sunt quibus/Euphrate siccato, via panditur Orient's.— Haymo ad loc. Reges, sancti intelliguntur : ut -autem his regibus prsparetur via, prius siccatur aqua Euphralis, quia, nisi nequitia malorum fuerit consummata, nequaquam ad judicandum apparebunt. , In alia trartslatione habetur, ut pra:paretur via venienti Regi ab ortu'Solis, Chkisto scilicet, de, quo Propheta (.Zech. vi. 12) dicit, Ecce Vir, Oriens nomen Ejus.— Aquinas in loc. Ut'praparetur via Regibus', id est, fidelibus Christianis, qui in Reges inuncti sunf in ' baptismo ; omnes in regnum Dei et sacerdotium ungimur gratia spiritali. 324 Exposition of the Apcalypse. [lect. we may affirm, that the drying up of 'the. Euphrates, that is, the decline of Bome's Supremacy, will open the way for a new and glorious manifestation of the power of the Gospel, both arhopg Jews* and Gentiles. Thus " the Way" will be prepared for "the Kings of the East." And what now follows ? When the river is being dried up, and a road thus opened for the Gospel, we behold a new form of infernal agency. "I saw from the mouth of the Dragon, and from the mouth of the Beast, and from the mouth of the False Prophet, three unclean spirits, like unto Frogs ; and they are spirits of devils, working miracles, and go forth to gather the Kirigs of the Earth and the World to the Battle of that Great Day ; and, they gather them to the plaee called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. "f Here we are reminded, again, of the plagues of -Egypt. "Aaron stretched his hand Over the waters of Egypt, and Frogs came up and covered the land. J The land brought forth Frogs; yea, even in their Kings' chambers. "§ Doubtless this figure of the Frogs in the Apocalypse -has a spiritual meaning. It describes men of grovelling minds, im pure spirits,]], who will come forth in the dim twilight and sad eventide of the World,** unclean spirits, j"f who dwell, as it were, in the slime and quagmires of sordid cogitations, strangers to the clear light and fresh streams of divine Truth; loving the slough of debasing lusts and the misty glimmerings of false Phi- * Some of the grounds of this opinion are stated in " Lectures on the Canon," Lect. iv, p. 109— 114. f Rev. xvi. 13—15. "Harmony," f 39. i Exod. viii. 7. § Psalm cv. 30. fl Bede ad loc. Hi spiritus ranis similantur, animantibus loco, visu, molestoque strepitu horrentibus, qux quum aquarum incoke videantur, in coeno et luto volu- tantur. * • Primasius ad loc. Istis Pseudo-prophetis ranarum more tanquam animantibus coaxantibus nocte erroris latratu convcnit perstrepere. ff Rev. xvi. 13, itvivfiata dxdSapta, ix toi eto/mtos toi Spdxavtot, x. i- *. ff. toi Btjpiov, x. I. t. ff. toi tyvSQTtpofyijtov — Cf. Zech. xiii. 2, iv *«j sj/utpot ixitvt] f£o?.o8pn5 what is very strange, some of those powers, who will be instruments in God's hand for destroying her, wilLafterwards weep over her.|j * See Rev. xvi. 13—16, describing the preparations for Armageddon, and xvi. 19, describing the Seventh Vial, when Babylon falls; and then see xix." 2, 3—19, where the issue of the conflict — afteT that fall — is described. " Harmony," p. 87, § 39, §41, §47, §48. " , ff'Eph. ii. 2. vi.12. i Rev vi. 12-^17. ix. 13—24., Cp. xi. 11—14. <• Harmony," pp. 86, 87. : § Rev. xvii. xviii. xix, || Rev. xviii. 8. •'* Rev. xvii. 16. xviii. 19. ff Rev. xviii. 1—3, 21. ft Rev. xviii, 9, 10. XHI.] The Seven Vials. 329 A caution is required here. We are not to imagine that the, fall of Bome will be the ex tinction of^Bomanism. .We see that Babylon falls, but the Beast and. False Prophet survive.* It is indeed, said that the great city, that is, the mystical Ba bylon, will be divided into three parts ;f and, God be thanked ! we are thence permitted to cherish the delightful hope, that many will hear the heavenly warning, Come out of her, and be not partakers of her sins, and will so escape her plagues.X No greater blessing can be imagined' for us than that we should be in any degree instrumental in rescuing some from, the fire. " Brethren, if any do err from the truth, and one con vert him: kt him knbw that he which converteth the sinner frOm the error of his way shall, save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." § Many alas ! however, of the promoters and adherents of Bo^ manism will see the awful dooin of Bome, and will not be warned by it. Their hearts, like Pharaoh's . will be hardened by God's judgments ; they will go on in their infatuated' career. Many, also, of the Powers of Earth will be leagued with the Beast and the False Prophet against' Christ, |j and, will march on in a frantic career to the- great, conflict of Armageddon.**. The circumstances of , this dread. encounter can only be por trayed in the language of St. John. First, the preparation for it is described: "T saw three un clean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working mira cles, which go forth toto the kings of the -earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle' of that great day: of God Almighty: And they gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon, ft These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them : for He * Rev. xix. 1, 2, compared with Rev. xix. 19, 21. f Rev. xvi. 19. » i Rev. xviii. 4. § James v. 19. || Rey. xvii. 14. ** Rev. xvi.. 14. xix. 19. ff Rev. xvi. 13, 14, 16. " Harmony," § 41. 330 \ Exposition of the Apocalypse. > [lect. is Lord op Lords, and King of kings; and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."* This is the general description. It is repeated more fully as follows: "I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; arid He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,' and in righteousness He doth.judge and make war. His eyes were a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns ;f and He had a name written, that no man knew but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name, is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in hea ven followed Him upon white horses, elothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the Nations ; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron : and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness, and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on" His thigh a name written, King op kings, and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he eried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of Kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, free and bond, both small and great."J Then the issue of the conflict is. announced : " I saw the Beast, and the Kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and, against His army. Arid the Beast was taken, and his ally the False Prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the Beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant • Rev. xvi. 14;. f Literally " many diadems," itoto.d Sia&qpata, of which one crown is com posed; Christ's crown is made of all the diadems in the world. The Papal tiara is a crown composed of three diadems. It is remarkable that the Little Horn is said to overcome three horns, or three kingdoms, Daniel vii. 8, 24. * Rev. xix. 11—18. " Harmony," p. 87, § 47 b. XHL] The Seven Vials., 331 were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of His mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their flesh,"* Such is the great conflict of Armageddon. Here it "will be inquired, What is meant by Armageddon ? St. John refers us to the Hebrew tongue, /and there the word Harf signifies a Mountain ; and it is- rightly affirmed that Ar mageddon is a word forined by St. John to signify a defeat and slaughter, such as that of the Kings of Canaan at Megiddo, in the region, of Galilee, J wrought by a miraculous interposition of Almighty God, discomfiting the vast and terrible army of Sis era and his confederate Princes. "The Kings came and fought, then fought the Kings of Ca naan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. They (the armies of God) fought from heaven ; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera."§ The Holy Spirit, by the mouth of David, specially speaks of these Kings as types of God's foes,, in their sin and doom. " Do Thou to them as unto the Madianites; unto Sisera, and, unto Jabin, at the brook of Kison ; who perished at Endor, and became as the dung of the earth." || These Kings had oppressed Israel, and were routed by the army of God at Megiddo; and in like manner, earthly powers, will rise against Christ and His Church, and be defeated , in a marvellous manner, in a great encounter, which is called by St. John Armageddon. It must be observed, that King Josiah was defeated and'mor- tally wounded at Megiddo;** and though Josiah was a pious King, yet it must be remembered that, when at Megiddo, he ,was disobeying a divine , command, given him by the Prophet Jeremiah.ft He was endeavoring to repel Pharaoh-Necho, who was marching towards the river Euphrates, to besiege Babylon; * Rev. xix. 19— 21. " Harmony," § 48. fin. i It belonged to Mannasseh. See the authorities in Raumer, Pales'tina,.p. 105. § Judges v. 19, 20. II Ps?lm lx»iii. 9. •• 2 Chron. xxxv. 20.. ' ff 1 Esdras i. 25— 32, where the LXX has UayiSSa, Mageddon. 332 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. and so Josiah, the King of Jerusalem, was acting as an ally of the King of Babylon.* Thus Megiddo, or Mageddo, was a name, made ready for St. John, to denote the scene of a sudden and mysterious defeat and slaughter of God's foes, and of the allies of Babylon. , This explanation, is satisfactory, as far as it goes;, and if must be carried further. St. John, in the Apocalypse, expresses ideas by Hebrew terms. Thus, for example, the word Jew is always used in the Apo calypse in a spiritual sense, founded on its Hebrew etymology, which indicates one who confesses and praisesf God — a true Christian. , , Another reference to Hebrew etymology is found in the word Abaddon,f formed by St. John to describe the Angel of the bot tomless pit ; and derived from a Hebrew term, signifying per di- tion. Another Hebrew Term is Hallelujah,^ Praise ye the Lord, used four times in the Apocalypse. || Observe, also, St. John here specially calls our attention to the Hebrew etymology, by saying that the place is called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Armageddon is formed of two Hebrew words ; the one signi fying a Mountain,** the other, a cutting to pieces ;ff and thus it means the Mountain, of excision or of slaughter.fX * A warning, be it observed, to England, not to be leagued with Rome. f Rev. ii. 9 ; iii. 9. min, confessus est, laudavit. Cp. Gen. xlix. 8, and Vitring. Anacr. p. 79, 137, 304, 454. i jyiaK. So also the word Nicolailan, (Rev. ii. 6, 14, 15,) from vixcfoaos, (vixdv tbv 7.aov,) appears to be derived not from Nicholas, a proper name, but from the Hebrew Balaam, Bilpm; Dy1?^, from, qjj pSfl, {penitus absorpsit, perdidit, popu- lum,) and to mean a follower in the way of Balaam, tlie Son of Bozor, who loved th$ wages of unrighteousness. (2 Pet. ii. 15. Jude II. Numb. xxxi. 16.) See Eichhprn in Apoc. i. p. 74, and RosenmuUer, Rev. ii. 6. § nV-iSSn. II Rev. xix. 1, 3, 4, 8. •* -n. f f From lie, exscidit. See Vitring. p. 731. it Lightfoot and Vitringa, who. were the, first of modern Interpreters that called attention to this etymology, do not seem to have been aware that they had been an ticipated by Andreas and Arethas ad loc. (and in the Ancient Greek Catena, Cra- xiii,-] , The. Seven Vials. 333 When the Prophet Zechariah- is speaking, of the destruction " of all nations that, come against the City of God," he says that "there will be a great mourning in the valley of Megid don;"* and Megiddon is there translated by the Septuagint Interpreters, cut up, or destroyed.f The word Armageddon, then, signifies a mountain of 'slaugh ter ;X and it connects the judgments predicted in the Apocalypse with, those foretold by the Hebrew Prophets. •If we refer to the third chapter of the .Prophet Joel, from the ninth verse to the end, we there see a sublime description of the gathering together of the foes of Christ, and of, their final overthrow. Multitudes ! Multitudes ! exclaims the Prophet, in the valley of decision. The word here rendered decision is one which signifies thresh ing, bruising, cutting, and crushing :§ and the words rendered valley of decision, axe translated by the Septuagint,' valley of judgment. \\ It is observable, also, that God says by the Prophet Joel, in the same place, that- " He will gather all nations, and bring them downintb the valley of Jehosha,phat,"** And again; "Let the -heathen come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about."ft' In the word Jehoshaphatt there isan historical reference to" a mer, ps 420,) and also by (Ecumenius, ibid. p. 552, who deserve to be cited. Catena, Cramer, p. 420, xvi. 16, tbiiov tbv xa'tM/iivov 'Ej3pa.'iffri 'Ep/taysSw* toiiov viv tbv xaipbv dxovotiov tu. seoiipw toivvv tovtZt ol drfo, rtovrjpuv itvivudtav duatyfiivfH xata7Mu.i3wji6p.svoi, imtovtai ' SiaxoH^- toito .yap , ^Ep^aysSuiv i/ 'EppaixiJ Tiiit.5 els *(jv''EjL!lo8o Sidtextov SiaitopBus-voixivij votlv xaps^se.'— (Ecumenius,ibid.p.562,*6'Ap^»y(8iiv Siaxojiri n SiaxoittouivV ipurivmttai, ixd yap td \Bvrj ewojyofiiva ixxdiitioBai vtiiiv dxo%avBov. • Zech. xiii 9. f LXX. Zech. xii. 11, pWoj iv litSla ixxoato^iivov, i Lightfoot, Harmony N. T. on Rev. xvi. " The word Armageddon signifies a Mountain of men cut to pieces." § Joel iii. 14." ynnn pofB. The vnn was a threshing instrument, formed with revolving cylinders, armed with sharp pieces of iron. See Jahn Archaeol. Bibl. § 64. || LXX- xoiAas Slxvs- TheodotiOn, xplatas- "Joel iii. 2. ff Joel iii. 12. 334 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lecit. signal and miraculous slaughter, of God's enemies in "King Jehoshaphat's reign;* just as in the word .Megiddo there is an historical reference of the same kind. And, in both cases, there is something more. Megiddo means destruction; and Jehoshaphat signifies judg ment of God. All nations cannot be gathered together to one valley, or- to one mountain, on earth. Hence it is rightly concluded, that the Valley of Jehosha phat here mentioned is a general term for a signal execution of God's Judgmentf on all His enemies throughout the world-if In a word, the gathering together of the nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, is the same as the gathering together to Armageddon. v , ' i * 2 Chron. xx. 1—26. f See R. David Kimchi in loc. Nominatur vallis Josaphat de nomine judicii : sic quoque expressit Jonathan. In vallem decisionis judicii. i Mercerus ad Joel iii. 19. Aperte hie indicat non certo loco esse conclusain hanc Vallem Josaphat, sed esse earn ubicunque Dominus de impiis Ecclesiam perse- cutoribus poenas sumit, et eos concidit. — Pococke's Works, ed. Lond; 1740, Com mentary on Joel, p. 337. , " Coming to appear in the presence of the most high God, may well be styled a coming up, wherever it be. The place whither they are here summoned is called the Valley of Jehoshaphat ; as likewise above, ver. 2," Where, in the opinionof some, "God in his appointed lime (p. 321) will, in the sight and presence of His Church, execute openly judgment on their enemies, according to whom, in the valley of Jehoshaphat is all one as in conspectu Eccle- sise. As Muhsttr speaks, ob exerium Dei judicium (contra Ammonitas et Moa- bitas) in eo loco, in generate etasit vocabulum, in allusion to that judgment in that place wrought on the Ammonites, Moabites, and others (2 Chron. xx.,) in answer to the prayers of King Jehoshaphat ; the name therefore given importing the judg ment of God passed into a general name, common to any place where He should in like manner show His power in vindicating His Church and people, on His and their enemies, by minding them of what He then did, giving them assurance that He both could and would still do the like for them, as occasion should require. It is therefore applied to the place and time, where and when God had executed, or shall execute, any signaf judgment on the enemies of His Church in their sight, or for their sokes. "The MS. Arabic Version, done by a Jew, notes that this Valley of Jehoshaphat had several names: viz. — 1. The Valley of Decision. 2. 77ie Valley of Rephaim, or Giants. 3. The King's Dale. (Gen. xvi, 17.) 4. The Valley of Slaughter. 5. The Valley of the Son of Hinnom. (Jer. xix. 6.") xni.] , The Seven Vials. 335 The parallelism between the prophecies of Joel and St. John is remarkable in other respects. ¦ The conflict is compared by both to a Winepress, and to a Harvest. The words of Joel* are, "Proclaim ye this among the Gen tiles, (that is, the enemies of Christ,) Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come' Up ; beat your ploughshare^ into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears : let the weak say, I am strong." '-' That ip, let Earth- rebel against Heaven. "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, arid gather yourselves round about." Then the Prophet turns to the armies of God ; " Thither cause Thy mighty ones to come up, 0 Lord." Then God Himself speaks ; " Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat ; for there will I sit to judge the heathen." Then He sends forth His own Angel-armies to the conflict, as to a day of Harvest or Vintage. , " Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe : conie, get you down; for the press is full, and the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. "Multitudes, multitudes in the. Valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near, in the Valley of decision." Such is the prophecy of Joel : now let us hear St; John.f " I looked, and behold a*white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. " And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat oh the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for. the Har vest of the earth is ripe. "And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth ; and the earth was reaped. * Joel iii. 9, 10. t Ke*- xiv- 14~ ?°- 336 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. ' " And another angel came out of the temple which is in hea ven, he also having a sharp sickle, "And another angel came out from, the altar/ which, had power over the fire ; and cried with a loud" cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp "sickle, and gather the Clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gath ered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the Wrath of God. " And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." Such is the language of St. John. It may now be inquired, Why is the scene of this conflict called a Valley by the prophet Joel, and a Mountain by St. John? It is called a Valley in one place, and Mountain in another, for the same reason as the Conflict itself is called a Vintage, and a Harvest, that is, in order that we should not imagine that these prophecies are to be understood literally. The Valley of Jehoshaphat and the Mount of Megiddo, or Armageddon, are npt to be regarded as any one place on earth ; nor do they represent any one event; but a general, open rising of the enemies of God ;* a marshalling together of some Rulers and Nations against the Lord and against His Anointed ;f a marohing forth of some earthly Powers under the proud banners of Infidelity ; an open league, of the Dragon, the Beast, and the Ealse Prophet; that is, an unholy union of Christian psalms with shouts of blasphemy, a profane junction of saoraments with * Primasius ad loc. Non quod ex toto orde in unum locum colligunt, sed quod unamquamqne gentem in loco habitationis sua; volunt militare. — Bede ad loc. Non ex toto orbe in locum unum congregati sunt, sed suo quaeque gens in loco sanctos impugnant. — Haymo ad loc. Nunquid ad unum locum venturi sunt 1 Non ,- sed in unum consensum. Hsec est novissima persecutio, quando Diabolus et membra ejus aperte pugnabunt contra Ecclesiam. f Psalm ii. 2. XHL] The Seven Vials,- 337 sacrilege, and of the Cross, of Christ with the symbols of Anti christ,- ' , ' This gathering together is said to be a Mountain; fo? they who thus associate themselves are swollen with pride, and elated with confidence1; and they rise up against the Mountain of the Lord's House* the Church of God, the Holy Hill of Zion, upon which Christ is set as King, f- But this their Mountain will sink into a Valley — it will yawn, , as it were, into a gulf of misery, an abyss of shame — a Gehen na, or Valley of Hinnom ;| and so the Gatherings of Arma- geddon will be Multitudes, Multitudes,. in the Valley of Led- ' sion ! ? We are thus brought to the conclusion, that the Apocalyptic Armageddon is not "any spot in Judaea, (as some have thought,) or in Italy, (as others have imagined,) but it is the World' at large,§. wheresoever men associate themselves in a League of ungodly Polity and corrupt Religion ; and that the words, they gathered them together to Armageddon are a figurative expres sion, fwhich means, they gathered -them together for final and 'total destruction, .||_ Here let us pause and look back. What has the Vision revealed ? Babylon falls. But the Beast and Ealse- Prophet still re main: they form a league with the Dragon, that;is> with Infi del powers, and gather themselves together to the great conflict of Armageddon. This confederacy is routed in a marvellous manner. The Beast and Ealse Prophet are cast into, the lake of fire.** But still one foe remains— the Dragon, Satan, ff the Arch- Eriemy of man. Here we arrive at the close of the Nineteenth Chapter • * Isaiah ii.. 2. Micah i v. 1. f Psalm ii. 6. t onn w § Mercer well says, (ad Joel iii. 23,) Vallem Josaphat circumstahtiaj totum Mun- dum sic appellari ostendunt, non angulum Jutes. " || Igitur (says Michaelis ad. loc.) exereitum in montem Megiddo colligere, ideni est ac intemecione cum; delere.. ** Rev. six. 20. tt Rev. xx. 7, 10. 338 , Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. What now is done by St. John in the Twentieth ? In the Seals, in the earlier part of the Apocalypse,* he had given a rapid sketch of the History of the Church, from his own age to the day of Armageddon ; in a word, he had given, a ".prophecy to, the end of the World. "f- And now, having dis played all that intervenes between his own age and the close of that great conflict, he ascends, in the Twentieth Chapter, once more to his own time, and gives a short view of the History of the Church, from the Incarnation of Christ to the final over throw of the Evil One. We have seen already, on a former occasion,! how an erro neous view of the structure of the Apocalypse has led to a mis interpretation of the Seals, a,ndto the imputation of the doctrine of a Millennium to the. Twentieth Chapter of the Apocalypse. The true view of the Twentieth Chapter is this:§ — St. John having displayed the sufferings of the Church in the Seals, and God's judgments in the Trumpets, and in the History of the Two Witnesses, and of the Woman in the Wilderness, and of the mystical Babylon, and, finally, of the great conflict of Arma geddon ; and having thus displayed the melancholy workings of human corruption, under various forms of Paganism, Heresy, Superstition, and Infidelity,^-reascends to the first age of Christianity, and shows how Christ, who had been represented in the first Seal as a Royal Warrior on a White Horse, the Horse of Victory, conquering and to conquer — had come down from Heaven with the key of the bottomless . pit, and a great chain in His hand ; how he had bound Satan and triumphed over him even from the beginning, and had delivered men from his grasp, and enabled them to be free ; and how, by the Apos tolic commission, Go and baptize all nations — He had, in His divine will and desire, made all men members of His own mys tical Body — the Church ; how He had thus raised them from * Chaps, vi. vii. " Harmony," pp. 78, 80, 86, 92. f Such is the exposition of the Church of England in the heading of the Sixth Chapter, containing the Seals, in the Authorized Version. i See above Lecture I. p. 40, and " Harmony," § 50, p. 89 § See above, Lecture VI. p. 187. xiii.] , ' The Seven Vials. 339 the death of, sin by a spiritual resurrection ; how He had made them Kings and Priests to God in himself, and had delivered • them from the second death; andliow He would never cease to exercise His divine office of protection and salvation during the whole period of. the World's history, represented by the coin- plete number of a thousand years ; and how they who suffer for Him could never taste, of death; and, how fierce soever might ,be the- rage of the Dragon,, whether working by the sword of Paganism, the wormwood of Heresy, or the plague and famine of Unbelief, or by the sorceries of a corrupt Christianity, yet that Cheist never had left— and never would leave — 'Himself without a witness, and that they who are true to Him are more than Conquerers, and may be of good cheer,' for He has overcome the World. > Having shown all this, St. John proceeds at once to the end. Satan (he says) will be loosed, and will " go forth to deceive the Nations, in the four corners cf the earth Gog and Magog, to gather them to battle;"* and they will beleaguer ''the beloved city : and fire will come down from Heaven to devour them, and Satari will be cast into the lake of fire, where the Beast and Ealse Prophet are."f He then reveals the awful transactions of the Univeksal Judgment ; X and describes the glory and blessedness: of the Heavenly C1ty;§ and pronounces his Apostolic benediction on all who do Christ's commandments, and keep the sayings of this Book.\\ And he concludes his divine Apocalypse, as he had begun, with declaring }ts heavenly origin and universal ap- plicatiori — I, Jestjs.j have sent mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the Churches.**.' V t > i Let us now make some practical reflections. It would be presumptuous to affirm confidently that the pro- * Lightfoot, Rev. xx. He calls the enemies of the Church Gog and Magog, the title of the Syro-Grecian monarchy of Antiochus -Epiphanes. See also Ezekiel xxxviii. xxxix. f Rev. xx. 7— 10. " Harmony," § 52. i Chap. xx. 12—15. "Harmony," § 54. § Rev. xxx. 10—27. 1 Chap. xxii. 14, 7. ** Rev. xxii. 16. cp. Rev. i. 1. 340 Exposition of the Apocalypse. - [lect. phecies of the Sixth and Seventh Vials, wrhich we have been considering, are aptually at this present time, in course of ful filment. On the other hand, it would be sinful to neglect the evidence of such an accomplishment. , ' Blessed are they that hear the words of this prophecy:* and our Lord asks, Can ye not dis cern the signs i of the'' times If .Besides, in this Vision of the Vials a special admonition, is inserted by Christ, showing the suddenness of the judgment, and the need of watchfulness-^- " Behold, I come as a thief j blessed is. he that watcheth,-and keepeth his garments,^ lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. "§ •This is the warning from Christ — " I counsel thee to buy of Me white raiment"— the pure robe of Christian faith and'holi- n-ess — M that thou mayest beclothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness' do not appear."|| First, then, as, to the former part of these prophecies— the drying up of the Euphrates, in order that the way of the Kings of the East might, be, prepared. They, doubtless, who look for a literal drying- up of some natural rivei*, in order-that some Oriental Monarchs may march over its bed, will deny that this prediction is now in course of fulfilment. But such an anticipation is groundless. No such Eastern Sovereigns will ever appear. The Euphrates flows, and will flow ori; and we might wait for ever on its banks expecting dum defluat amnis ; at ille Labitur, et.labetur in omne volubilis'ffivum.** We have said already, that by the great river Euphrates we must understand the mighty flood of the, mystical Babylon— the supremacy., of Borne. * Rev. i. 3., f Matt. xvi. 3. i The allusion is thus explained by Lightfoot. (Harm. N. T. ad, loc.) " Behold, I come as a thief ,¦ blessed is he' that watcheth, and keepeth his garments. The Priest that walketh refund- the Temple guards by night, had torches oorne before him j and if he found any one asleep upon the guard, he burnt his clothes with the torches." (Middoth, cap. i. hal. 2.) § Rev. xvi. 15. Q Rev. iv. 18. ** Hor. 1 Ep. 1. ii: 43. ilIL] The Seven Vials. 341 And now let us ask, Is there not a strange movement on its waters •? Do they not seem to be sinking ? Are they not part ing asunder like, the waves of Jordan, smitten before Joshua, when he marched from the Eastern bank and. pitched on the East of Jericho ? Dp we not, even now, behold, in the opening of the whirlpool, some traces of " a Way for the Kings of the. East" over them ? May we not say, that a High Road is ap pearing, in which the Army of the true Joshua,— the Everlast ing-King, the Sun of Righteousness,— -will proclaim the glad tidings of salvation,, and prepare the way of the Lord f What, then" is the, lesson for us ? Christ is the Light of the World. He is the Lay spring from on High. We, therefore, must be children of light. We must be " Kings of the East." And how may this be ? By love, holiness, and truth. The weakening of the Papal Power, and its alliance with new elements, will prove an occa sion for the wider spread of the Gospel, and also in other cases, for the greater growth of Infidelity. Some who are freed from the thraldom of Rome will embrace the Truth. But many on the other, hand, will be in great danger of falling from Super stition into Unbelief. Here, then, is an appeal for your Christian faith and charity. Let us despair of none. Let us pray for alb Let us implore the great Shepherd, who left His Father's house to seek ¦ the lost sheep, that it may please Him to "bring into the way of truth all such as have erred and are deceived." Let us endea vour to restore them in the spirit of meekness.* Let us take up the words of the Prophet, " Go ye out of the midst of Ba bylon, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord."f Thus we may make them to be " Kings vf the East." , , • This, is, indeed, a work which specially concerns the "Min isters and Stewards of God's Mysteries." You, my brethren and fathers in Christ, are solemnly charged to prepare the Way • Gal. vi. 1. t Jer- "• 4^- 21 342. Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. of the Lord by sound learning, pure doctrine, and holiness of life. You are eminently privileged to be Kings of the East.* And, Heaven be praised ! here is an office for all. Let all the faithful sons and daughters of the Chur.ch.of England endeavour to show, by their example, that the Truth, as taught by Christ to His Apostles, still exists in the worhL Let us commend it to others by our zeal, faithfulness, and union, in Evangelical Faith, Apostolic discipline, and Catholic love. Thus we shall be Kings of the East. Thus the bed of Eu phrates will be a Highway for Christ. We proceed to the second part of this prophecy. A solemn caution is necessary here. It is imagined by some, that the power of the Papacy is now spent, and is about to expire. . This appears to be a very erroneous supposition. It is, indeed, true that the Papal power cannot be exercised in the same manner as formerly : it has received some wounds ominous of its doom ; but, at the same time, it has found, and is now finding, new occasions, new instruments, and new allies ; and so it will make itself felt again to a degree, which will strike the world with amazement. The subversion of Thrones, and dissolution of Dynasties, the abrogation of laws which, till now, had kept the Papacy in check, the proclamation of universal Liberty of speaking, writ ing, and printing, and of public and secret association— the abandonment of Religion by some governments, disqualifying themselves thereby to deal with, matters of. Religion — have already given fresh life and new impulse to the Papacy. Its adherents have thus been enabled to rally and organize them selves with a strong and mysterious energy ; and so are prepar ing the way for its development with renewed force. AH this is perfectly clear, and we ought to be prepared for its results. * Aquinas ad loc. Hxc via ? Ab Ortu Soils, id est, ex eo quod Christus orie- tur magis ac magis in cordibus ipsorum per gratiam, qui est Sol irradians super sequentes Se. Ego sum Lux Mundi. Convertentur enim quidam Christiani tan dem qui prius Antichristo adhxserant, et ad hoc juvabit prffidicatio. xiii.] The Seven Vials. 343 - Nearly eighteen centuries ago, St. John, prophesied that the Beast would asCend from the Sea.* And so it did. The Papacy arose to power amid the waves and" storms which broke forth on the dissolution of the Roman Eriipire. It grew to .grandeur by the weakness of Governments. And now, "after a lapse of more than a thousand years, there is a similar crisis. There is again a Sea — rand, Rome again is rising from it. ' The Apocalypse warns us that the Beast and False Prophet will survive, when Babylon — the seat of empire— is overthrown. It reveals to us, that there will be an alliance between the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet ; and that their emis saries will go forth, and work miracles, and gather an army against Christ. Let, us, therefore,, not be staggered by strange combinations. We may expect to hear — indeed we do hear — immoral theories propounded in the name of Liberty, and infidel doctrines preached in the name of Religion. God Himself is invoked to sanctify breaches of His own Law. Sortie who profess to be lieve in Him, -and some who boast that they do not believe in Him, are leaguing together against -Him. Here are the un clean spirits which issue forth froia the mouth of the Dragon, the Beast, and the Ealse Prophet. And what is their office ? To gather ^together the Kings of the Earth ;f that is, to muster the powers of this World against the Kings of the East; to levy the enemies of Christ in a godless conscription, and to marshal them for the battle of that great vday, the battle of Armageddon. Those, who look for an Armageddon in some earthly conflict, will be slow to believe that this prophecy is now in course of fulfilment. But the true Armageddon is spiritual. It is a general defiance of Heaven. * Rev. xiii. 1. See above, p. 213. f Aquinas ad, cap. xix. Reges Terrx, id est, pseudo-Apostolos qui videbuntur reges aliorum per doctrinam et etiam per potentiam : et dicit terrse, quia non quse- rent nisi terram homines terreni, ad faciendum proelium per blasphemias, per doc- trinas erroneas, per miracula et alia multa, quibus studebunt Christi fidem extinguere. 344 Exposition of the Apocalypse. [lect. And what shall we say? Is it riot probable that the prepa rations for this warfare haye already begun ? What shall we think, when we, see that some Nations of Christendoin no longer promote the Religion of Christ? Christ Himself has declared, All Kings shall bow down before Me, all Nations shall do Me service;* but they venture to proclaim, as one of their principles of national Law, of which they vaunt and glory, that all Religions are equal in their eyes; and so Christendom itself appears to be ready, and almost eager, to erase the cross of Christ from its forehead, and to make itself a Pantheon. What, again, are the words of men, blending the holiest names with unholiest acts, making Christianity a watchword of Revolution, and using the Gospel itself as a lever to shake the World, and even, if it were possible, to subvert the throne of God? Are there not here some sounds of a gathering together of armies, some blasts of the trumpets of war, some unfurlings of hostile banners, some noise of chariots and trampling of horses rushing to the battle ? In a word, is not the World at this hour on the eve of an Armageddon. Observe now what follows. The plague of the Frogs was the last effort of the magicians of Egypt. The going forth of the unclean spirits, like frogs,. from the Dragon, the Beast, and the. False Prophet, to gather their forces together against Christ, will, it is probable, be the final struggle of their united powers. Their confederacy will be routed in the mystical conflict of Armageddon. Then, says St. John, " The Beast will be taken, and his False Prophet, that wrought miracles before him ; . . . and these both will be cast alive into the lake of fire."t But then the Dragon, or Satan, will remain ; and he will no longer use any specious arts ; he will return to the form he wore in the first Seal, and will wage an open war with Heaven. * Psalm lxxii. 11. f Rev. xix. 20. xm0 The Seven Vials. 345 His doom is also revealed. TheKJDevil will' be cast into the lake of fire, where the Beast and False Prophet are* Christ's victory will then be coriiplete. The Kingdom of. this World will become the Kingdom of the Loed arid of Hi& Christ.! Finally, why were these awful truths revealed ? Not to indulge a vain and prying curiosity. Not to gratify any craving appetite for feverish excitement. Not to raise in us any proud conceits of Pharisaic self-righteousness. Not to provoke in us a spirit of wrath or hatred against those errors we ought to deplore with tears, and whose union with ourselves, iri Christian truth,and holiness, we ought to desire with prayers of devout affection. No. But to teach us our duty. To make us more thankful for our blessings, and more zealous to preserve them, and more careful to use them, and more desirous to, communicate them. To make us mourn with shame and sorrow for our neglect and abuse of them. To make us fear, lest we lose thema To in struct us all, from the highest to the lowest, that our only safety, both public and private, consists in following Christ. "Be wise, therefore, 0 ye Kings; be learned,, ye that are Judges of the Earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him with reverence. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and so ye perish from the right way, if His wrath be. kindled, yea, but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust- in Him."$ These things were also revealed to. warn us that a time of peril awaits us. We must expect severe trials. We must be prepared for fierce conflicts. We must, therefore, arm ourselves with the whole armour of God.% You, my younger friends, are entering the career of life at a time when your Christian faith and fortitude will be severely tried. Take this divine Book with you. Go with St. John. Go with the beloved Disciple. He will teach you not to be seduced by the alluring arts, or led captive by the corrupt doc- * Rev. xx. 1-0. t Eev- xi- 15> * Psalm ii. 10-^12. § Eph. vi. 11—13. 346 Exposition of the Apocalypse, trines, or deceived by the lying wonders of false Ghrists and false prophets.* He will teach you not to associate yourselves with others in any ungodly confederacy or unholy enterprise^ on any spepious pretence of Liberty, Expediency, or Religion. He will teach you not to follow a multitude to do evil,f but to pro mote God's glory at any sacrifice, by reverence of His Name, by belief in His Word, and by obedience to His Will. So you will be Christ's faithful soldiers and servants. So you will be beloved Lisciples. So you will be like St. John. Then, let the whole World be arrayed against you in the fury of a wild Armageddon, you will be more than conquer ors-X Christ will protect you. The King- of kings and Loed of lords will, fight for you. He will lead you with His victorious army to the glorious mansions of the heavenly Jerusalem, and will give you a crown of glory which fadeth not away. * Matth. xxiv. 24. f Exod. xxiii. 2. i Rom. viii. 37. LECTURE XIY. Rev. i. 3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy. " All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profit able for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness) that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."* These words of the'Holy Spirit are peculiarly appropriate to the Apocalypse. . , The Apocalypse presents itself to us -as the Revelation of Jesus Christ, t " I am the First and the Last. I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. "J It is the voice of the Holy Spirit. " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.§ Such is its tone, sueh its authority — Divine. Again : the Apocalypse is1 a Prophetical book ; it is the only prophetical book of the New Testament ; and in this respect demands especial attention. True, indeed, it is, that from the mysterious nature of its contents sonie have imagined that it is rather, to be regarded with distant veneration, than to be made the theme of public exposition.|| Doubtless it is to be contemplated with feelings, • 2 Tim. iv. 16, 17. t Rev- s- l- i Rev. i. 17—18. § Rev. ii. 17. | It may, on the contrary, be anticipated that if an occasion should arise for the 348 Concluding Discourse. [lect. of reverential awe, and to be treated with holy caution and sober seriousness, and to be studied with a careful eye to other parts of Holy Writ, arid to the whole tenour of Scripture, and with fervent prayer for heavenly light to the Holy Spirit, who shed His bright beams upon the eyes of St. John. Let it be so read, and we do not scruple to affirm, that this Divine Apocalypse will then be found to be full of practical in struction. . It will become a holy Manual of Christian Faith and Practice, " profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc tion, for instruction in righteousness" in every age of the Church, especially in our own. " Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy." Indeed, to a reflecting mind here is one of the most striking proofs of its Inspiration. It receives ari ever-growing adapta tion to the future, as the future rises into the present.. If care fully studied, it -will be seen to be endued with spiritual foresight,; and to be fraught with anticipatory protests and prophetic cautions against errors in doctrine and practice, which did not arise in the world till many centuries after it was written. Like a holy Oracle, it affords us a Divine solution pf great con temporary questions ; it relieves us from anxieties which would otherwise distress us ; it decides difficult controversies agitated in our own age and in our own ears. Not only does it resolve our doubts, and rescue us from error, but it leads us in the way of truth. And this it does not by cold abstractions, but by vivid pictures and glbrious Visions. It enlightens us with a heavenly SChechinah. And thus, in all our spiritual conflicts, and in our hours of sadness and sorrow, in all our trials and tempta tions, behold, the blessed Eva,ngelist St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, he who was an exile in Patmos, and was there cheered with heavenly sights and angelic sounds, comes, reconsideration of that question, the Church of England would probably be led to read the Apocalypse in the public congregation. In so doing she would be follow ing some ancient Churches, which enjoined it to be read and expounded. Legimus in Apocalypsi Joannis (says St. Jerome in Psalm cxlix.) quae in Ecclesiis legitur et recipitur, neque inter Apocryphas scripturas habetur, sed inter Ecclesiasticas. See further proof of this in Appendix K, p. 203, On reading the Apocalypse in the Church. XIV.] Concluding Discourse. 349 as it were,, and joins himself to us, and Comforts us in our soli tudes ; and so, according, to the words . of our Lord, he tarries with us till Christ comes.* It has been my ,endeavour on former occasions to lay before' you the evidence of the Genuineness and Inspirationt of the Apocalypse, and to show that the proof of its divine origin is' confirmed in a remarkable manner by the fulfilment of its pro phecies. I now purpose, at the close of these Discourses con cerning the Canon of Scripture, and on the Apocalypse of St. John, to display, in a summary manner, and in some degree by way of recapitulation, the great practical uses of the Apoca lypse to ourselves in the present day. Here I might invite you to consider the testimony borne by the Apocalypse to the great Articles of the Christian Faith. It teaches in the -clearest terms" that God is -One, arid alone to be .worshipped ;f that He is the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things ;§ that in the One Godhead are three Divine.Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ;|| that the honour due to the Father is to be given to the Son ;** that the Son of ' God is perfect man ;ft that He is the first born of the dead, and liveth for ever ; XX an(l that we are justified by His blood ;§§ that He is our Great High Priest and King;|||| and that by virtue of our baptism into His mystical body, we, if we are indeed risen together with Him in the first or spiritual resurrection*** of a * John xxi. 22. f Above, Lecture III. p. 75. i Rev. iv. 8. v. 13. xix. 10. xxii. 9. §Rev. i. 8.iv. 11. y. 13. II Rev. i. 8, 11, lT.'ii. 7, 8, 11, 23. iii. 1, 6, 14. xvii. 14. xix.12, 13, ** Rev. v. 12, 13. vi. 16. vii. 9, 10. xi. 15, xix. 1. ff Rev. i. 5. v. 5. xxii. 16. ' 4* Eev' »¦ 5> 1S; §§ Rev. i. 5, 6. iii. 18. v. 9. vii. 14. ^ |||| Rev. i. 5, 6. 13. 20. vii: 17. xix. 12, 15, 16. *** Rev. xx.,5, 6. On the first Resurrection and the doctrine of a Millennium. The importance of this subject, and the high authority of Bp. Axmewes as a Theologian, will more than justify the insertion of the following extract (in confir mation of the opinions stated in Lecture II.) from the Sermons of that great Prelate ' (on John xx. 23, p. 50, ed., 1641, Append.) which may be joined with his judgment, concerning the doctrine of a Milled ium, as quoted above, p.,38 and p. 68, Note. « The Scripture (Rev. xx.) maketh mention of a first and second death, and from 350 Concluding Discourse. [lect. new life, are made Kings and Priests;* and that we reign with Him, whether we live or die, being joined together in the blessed Communion of all the Saints of every age ;f that He is King of kings and Lord of lords, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last; J that He will put all enemies under His feet, and will reign for ever and ever ;§ and that He will judge all men according to their works, || and will award to every one either everlasting bliss or everlasting woe.** r On all these cardinal doctrines the Apocalypse speaks in language which cannot be misunderstood ; and on this ground it claims 'most devout attention. But, our present concern is with what is peculiar to the Apo calypse ; , and this being the case, let us remark. — them two, of 2. first and second Resurrection. "Both, expressly, set down in one verse, Happy is he that hath his part in the first resurrection .- (Rev. xx. 6.) for over such the second death hath no power. Understanding by the first (death) the death of the soul by sin, and, by the first resurrection,' the rising thence to the life of grace : by the second (death) the death of the body by corruption, and, by the second resurrection, the rising thence to the life of glory. " Christ truly is the Saviour of the whole man, both soul and body, from the first and second death. "But beginning first with the first, that is, with sin, the death of the soul and the rising from it. So is the method of Divinity prescribed by Himself. First, to cleanse that which is within (the soul,) then, that which is without (the body.) And so is the method of Physic, first to cure the cause, and then the disease. Now the cause (pr as the Apostle calleth it,) the sting of death is sin. Therefore, first to remove sin, and then death afterwards. For, the cure of sin being performed, the other will follow of his, own accord. As St John telleth us, He that hath his part in the first resurrection, shall not fail of it in the second. The first resur rection therefrom sin,, is it which our Saviour Christ here goeth about, whereto there is no less power required than a divine power. For look what power is ne cessary to raise the dead body out of the dust, the very same every way is requisite to raise the dead soul out of sin. For which cause the remission of sins is an article of faith no less than the resurrection of the body. For, in very de'ed, a re surrection it is, and so it is termed no less than that" Such is the language of Bp. Andrewes. See also Bp. Hall's " Revelation unre- vealed," p. 921, and Abp. Leighton, 1 Pet. ii. 2, and the Authors cited above in Lect. II. p. 58—65. * Rev. i. 6. iii. 21. v. 10. f Rev. xx. 4, 6. i Rcv.i. 8. ii. 8. xxi. 6. xxii. 13. § Rev. xix. 15, 19, 20. H Rev. xx. 11, 12. xxii. 12. •• Rev. ii. 11, 25—28. iii. ifi. xx. 13—15. xxi. 8. xxii. 15. xrv:.] Concluding Discourse. 351 I. The view it displays of the Unity of Holy Scripture. Between the events described in the opening of the Book of Genesis and those at the conclusion of the Apocalypse the in terval cannot be less than about six thousand years. Observe, now, there ere the same characteristics in both these books. One is reflected in, the other. The Book of Genesis reveals to us Almighty God, the Creator of all things very good; Adam, formed from the earth; Eve, taken from his side ; the Serpent in Paradise ; Man tempted, and driven from Eden ; and the way of the Tree of Life guarded by a flaming sword; and a promise made in mercy that the seed of the Wo man should bruise the Serpent's head. Such are the first re cords of Holy Scripturei Pass now from the first chapters of Genesis to the last chapters of the Apocalypse. The same God is revealed, seated on his throne : Heaven and Earth adore Him : Man also is there, Adam is there in Christ, the Second Adam : Eve also is there, in the bride of the Second- Adam, the Church: Paradise also is there, not lost, but regained: and the Tree of Life is there, no longer fenced with a flaming brand, but open to all for the healing of the nations, and pro mised to all who overcome. We see. also there' the Dragon, that Old- Serpent. According to the first prophecy, of Scripture he has bruised the heel of the Woman's Seed^ Christ has been- wounded and slain; but He liveth, and was dead; and, be hold, He is alive: for evermore, and has the keys of hell and of death ; and He. has now bruised the Serpent's head, and He chains him, and opens the bottomless pit, and casts the Old Serpent into the lake of fire and brimstone, there to remain for ever.* Here we see striking evidence of Unity in the whole texture of the Sacred Volume ; and when we consider how long a pe riod of time separates the events of the Book of Genesis from those of the Apocalypse, we recognize a remarkable confirma tion of the fact, that the History and the Prophecy are from the same Divine Hand, and that the Events themselves which X * Rev. xx. 10. 352 Concluding Discourse. [lect. they describe are under the control of. Him with "whom a thousand years are as one day."* II. The next point, to which we would advert, is the evi dence afforded by the Apocalypse of Unity of Design in the method adopted by. Divine Providence to assure the World of the Inspiration and Integrity of Holy Scripture. Between the date of the composition of the Book of Gene sis and that pf the Apocalypse more than fifteen hundred years intervened. We have already seenf that the Inspiration of the Book of Genesis and of the other Books, of the Pentateuch was declared and ratified by God in a special manner. As soon as it was written, the Law of Moses was consigned to the Holy of Ho lies; and thus its sanctity was attested, and its integrity se cured. The other Books of the Old Testament were delivered to the keeping of the Priests and' Levites, and were preserved in the Temple, and publicly read to the people; and were authentic cated by Almighty God, through the instrumentality of an in spired perSon, Ezra, after the Captivity, and were preserved entire by continual reading in Synagogues, and by multiplica tion of Copies and Translations, which were disseminated in all parts of the World.J Thus the Inspiration of the Ancient Scriptures was guaran tied by Almighty God, and their integrity was guarded by Hirii, through the" agency of His Ancient Church. And when the Divine Head of the Church appeared in the world in our human flesh, He confirmed this Witness of the Church: He acknowledged the Scriptures then in the hands of the Jews, and commanded them to be received by all as the Word of God.§ " Jesus of Nazareth (says St. Peter to the Jews) was ap proved of God among you by miracles, and wonders, and signs, * 2 Pet iii. 8. Ps. xc. 4. f See "Lectures on the Canon," Lect. II. p. 27 — 29. i See ibid. p. 34—46. § See ibid. p. 46—49. Xiv.-] Concluding Discourse1. 353 whicii God did by him iri the midst of you, as ye. yourselves also know."* "He was declared to be the Son of God with power, according tp the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection of,the.dead."t Christ's Witness, therefore, to the Inspiration and Integrity of the^Old Testament Canon is the Witness of God himself. " Now, therefore, let proud and wicked men (if such, alas ! is their will) assail this or that'Book of the Old Testament, "and let Satan direct all his Weapons against it. The Old Testa ment is based on a rock, which cannot be shaken. That Rock is Christ. You perceive, how simple and, at the same time, how com plete, is the method which Divine Providence has employed for assuring us of the divine origin and inviolate integrity of the Old Testament. ¦ The Witnpss of Christ. This is a testimony which the weakest can use, and which the strongest can never overthrow. And it covers the whole of the Old Testament. You will, also, observe that we Christians have clearer evi dence of the Inspiration and Integrity of the Ancient Scrip tures than even the/ Jews themselves, — to whom, in the first instance, were Committed the oracles of God, — have, or can hare, till they embrace Christianity. Eor we have Christ's testimony to" their Scriptures. We have the Witness of Him who" fulfilled those Scriptures. We have the witness of the In carnate Word to the divinity of the Written Word. Such is our proof of the Inspiration and Integrity of the Books of the -Old Testament. ,Let us now pass to the Books of the NBW Testament. They were addressed to Christian Churches, that they might -be there read publicly together with the Books of the Old Testament, and as of equal authority with them. They were so read in those Churches, in all parts of the World ; and have continued to be so read, even to this day. Let us remember, also, that, as the. Books of the Old Testa ment were written by persons . appointed by God, and were • Acts ii. 22. f Rom.i. 4. 354 Concluding Discourse. [lect. canonized by inspired men, and ultimately by our Blessed Lord himself, so those of the New Testament were all written or authenticated by Apostles of Christ. Thus St. Peter canonizes St. Paul's Epistles, by calling them "Scripture."* Arid-St. Paul testifies that all Scripture, that is, every book which was received by the Apostles and read by the Church as Scripture, is given hy Inspiration of God.f St. John, the beloved Disciple, he who leaned at sup per on the bosom of Christ,— he whp was with Christ at the Transfiguration, in Gethsemane, and at the Cross — he to whose care Jesus, at his death, committed his own Mother — he who was to tarry till Christ came — he was specially chosen by Christ to assure the Church of the Inspiration of Holy Scripture- All the Books of the New Testament had been written and were, publicly read in religious assemblies of the Church many years before St. John was called to his rest. His rife seems to have 'been providentially prolonged, that he might close the Canon of Scripture, and seal it with his Apostolic seal. St. John wrote his Gospel' as the consummation! of the Evan gelical History; and his Apocalypse is "the Seal§ of the Bi- ble;" and thus, in this Book, which is the Revelation of Jesus Christ and the Voice of the Spirit to the Churches in all places, and even to the end of time, we have an assurance from Heaven itself of the Inspiration and Completeness. of Holy Scripture. And in the identity of the means employed ever since Scrip ture has existed, for conveying this assurance — that is to say, in the public witness of a Visible Church and of its Divine Head — we recognize a proof that the same Divine Being who dictated Scripture, has watched over it for more than three thousand years, and will watch over it to the end. These facts ought never to be absent from the mind of the reader of the Apocalypse. As we have seen,|| they afford the clue for the interpretation of passages otherwise obscure, and they fill him with spiritual delight, when he observes how the • 2 Pet iii. 16, 16. See Lectures on the Canon," Lect. VII. p. 167. f 2 Tim. iii. 16. i See " Lectures on the Canon," p. J57. % Above, p. 21. || Above, Lect IV. p. 110, &c. Lect. V. p. 230. XIV-] Concluding Discourse. 355 whole structure of the Apocalypse harmonizes with its peculiar character as the seal of the Bible, and with the office to which its author, St. John, was divinely called, of closing the Canon Of Holy Scripture. ¦ .. , HI. The heavenly origin and tremendous power of the Two Testaments is vividly depicted in the first Vision of the Apoca^ ly'pse. Christ appears arrayed in his sacerdotal attire, as our Everlasting High Priest, walking in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks ; that is, guarding the Churches, and observing, whether they burn brightly with . the light of Scriptural doc trine; and out of His mouth goes a two-edged sword-.* Both Testaments proceed from the mouth of Christ ;f and they are. the "sword of the Spirit, which/' says St. Paul, "is the Word of God ; yea, the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than, any two-edged sword, piercirig even to the dividing asun der of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart."J Let us, therefore, fear the Two Testaments. Woe to him who despises them. "The Lord will cut him in sunder, and appoint him a portion with the unbelievers."! - ' You will scarcely need to be reminded, that we do not use these symbols of the Apocalypse as proofs, but as confirmations and illustrations of truths proved from other sources.' We ap peal to them as mementos of those truths : and we regard this divine book as a rich storehouse of parables, placing these great truths before the eye so" Clearly and beautifully, that • they charm the mind with their grace, and rivet them in the memory. To proceed. . Look again at the Apocalypse. God has sent His Two Witnesses into the World. He has given us the Two Testaments. And He has revealed in the Apocalypse, that it will be with, the Written Word as it was with the Incarnate Word. He came unto His own, and His own received Him no*. H The Witnesses preach in sackcloth. They are trodden under foot : they appear to be dead. Yet they are alive.' The • See above, Lecture VI. p. 139. , , t Eev- l le ' "• 12> 16' *Heb.iv.l2. § Luke xii. 46. I John i. 11. 356 Concluding Liscourse. [lect. breath of God is in them : they are caught up to heaven in triumph to His throne.* - , ( Whatever then may be the ignominy with which the Two Witnesses are' treated on earth, yet they enjoy great dignity in God's presence. On earth they wear sackcloth, but in heaven they are clothed in. white raiment, and wear crowns of gold, and sit near the throne of God. I See the Four-and-Twenty Elders — the emblems pf the Old Testament — crowned in glory near the seat of God.f See the Four living Cherubim, winged and full of eyes — the four-fold Gospel— the Throne of God Himself. And in the united halle lujahs of the Law and the Gospel, we hear the song of Glory to God, which is echoed for ever and ever with one consent by both Testaments. Therefore be not deceived, be not confounded. Look not at the World judging the Word, but look at the Word judging the World. If Scripture is despised on Earth, remember it is en throned in heaven.- Be comforted. Take courage. Love not the World, but obey the , Word. And when the World is no more, the Word's glory will be yours. IV. Again: some now affirm, that Civil Governments may safely regulate themselves by other Eules than the Word of God. Not so the Apocalypse. It represents National plagues as proceeding from National contempt of the Two Witnesses.f It thus teaches that true Beligion is the only basis Of National Welfare. Righteousness exalteth a Nation.% The Word of God is the. only safeguard of the rights, of man, it is the only power which can never be broken, and which will destroy all who resist it. It is the special duty of the Clergy to maintain these prin ciples, and to protest against the opposite errors. But some, alas ! who recognize these truths, despair of their reception. The World, they say, has pronounced against them. They, * See abQve, Lecture IV. p. 109. Lecture VIII. p. 190. f See above, Lecture IV. p. 102—105. % Rev. xi. 5, 6. § Prov. xiv. 34. XIV-] Concluding Discourse. 357 therefore, will no longer maintain them. They say they will accept the present,, and not, dream of the future, nor yet lament the past. That is, they prefer ^popular error to unpopular truth. ' Popular" errors have many advocates — popular' truths require no advocates : unpopular truths demand powerful advo cates, and scorn weak ones. And the unpopular truth, which we have just enounced,, (the supremacy of God's law in States,) has an inspired advocate in the Apocalypse. It reveals that, whatever men may think, say, or do, the kingdoms of this world will become the king dord of the Lord and of His Christ. This truth will one day be received by all. Who among us will not then wish to have sided with St. John and 'with Christ? Who will not then he ashamed to have despaired of the future, and to have accepted the present ? Who, therefore, will not labour now for that glorious corisurimiation which will be cele brated hereafter by angels in heaven ? V. Again : some there are who, venture to say, .-that the Gospel of Christ was suited for other times,— but is now worn out by age; that the World has made great progress, since Christianity was first preached, and that it has outgrown and outrun the Gospel. But look at the Apocalypse. Here also we see a prophetic warning against this error. Behold one of its final Visions.- See the winged Angel flying in the vault df heaven. What does he bear in his hand ? Any new message;? any fresh revelation from God ? No. " I saw an Angel flying in the. midst of heaven, having the Gospel to preach unto every nation, and kindred, and people." And how is the Gospel de scribed? By what name is it called ?—" The Everlasting Gospel." Be, therefore,' on your guard. - Look not for any new systems Of Religion, or revised Constitutions of Christi anity. Think not that to be temporal, which God calls eternal. Holdfast the Everlasting Gospel. So you may -be an Angel now; proclaiming it to the World. So you will; be an Angel hereafter, celebrating and enjoying, its glory for evermore, VI. Again.; some, you are aware, there are, who would im pose upon us articles of -Faith which are not contained (and which they allow' are not contained) in the Written Word of 22 358 Concluding Discourse.' [lect. God,, nor c?in be proved thereby; and who affirm that we can not be saved -unless we reeeive these articles ; and they will not communicate with any who do not receive them. On the other hand, our assertion is, that Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation,* and that we should peril our own souls if we received, as of necessity to salvation, any articles of Faith whic.h.are. not contained in Scripture. Such is our assertion : and we see in the Apocalypse a con- firmatioii of this truth, and a protest against the contrary error. St. John ,is commanded to measure the Church. An instru ment is put into his hand for that purpose — a measuring Eeed> "There was given me a. reed like unto a rod, saying, Rise, and measure the Temple "of God."f This measuring Reed, as we have seen, is the Canon of Scripture.J Thus we, are. reminded that the Canon of Scripture is the Rule of Faith, and that whatever lies beyond the lines traced by it is no article of Faith. VII. We pass to another point. Some of the worst errors of our own time proceed from want of due attention to the relation of the Church to Holy Scrip ture. On the one hand, many persons, eminent for. learning, espe cially among' the Biblical Critics of Germany and Switzerland, appear to forget the important fact, that, . ever since the Word .of God has been written, it has been committed by Him to the custody of the Church. I speak, of course, of the Church as the Congregation of faithful men from the days of Abel to our own, — that is, of all who, before the Incarnation, believed in Christ.aboutto come, and, after it, believe in Him having come. These critics seem to know nothing of the great truth already stated,§ that the Church was founded by God, and exists, and will continue to exist on earth until the end, for the great pur pose of guarding Scripture, and of" diffusing it, and of assuring , the world of its Inspiration. • XXXIX Articles! Art VI. , f Rev. xi. 1. , i See above, Lecturo IV. p. 106— 108, and Lecture VIII. p. 187 — 189. % See above, p. 352—354. XIV-] Concluding Discourse. 359 It is, we say,- deeply to be deplored, that many Theological Writers of our own age have neglected these plain principles of the. doctrine of Christ. And what is the result ? . Some among them receive the Bible into their hands nearly in the same manner as that with which they would handle a manuscript recently disinterred at Herculaneum. , They jdis- euss and dissect it, as >if it were a literary document, which ex isted only as material for the exercise of their ingenuity — and notj as it is, "the Word of God, authenticated by the Churph of God, acknowledged by the Son of God, and dictated by the Spirit of God. No wonder, that they who thus treat it should be the victims of their own presumptuous blindness; and that, in their irre verent folly, they should affirm that they discern blemishes in it, as if its Author were fallible, and they omniscient ! and that they should, venture to reject this or that Book of the Bible, which was received by Christ himself ! -The same remark must be extended, " with certain qualifica tions, to some other parties. Many of our own nonconformist brethren, and some even of our own communion, who have little respect, for the authority of the Visible ChurGh, and appear almost tp forget that it is a di vine institution, founded for the guardianship and authentica tion of Scripture, and who resolve their belief of the inspiration of ^Scripture into their, own individual convictions, do, -in fact, incur great risk of .making shipwreck of their faith in the di vine authority of Scripture, and of causing others to do. the same ; and they wilh,. we hope-, receive in good part an earnest entreatythat they would review their opinions and reform their teaching on this important point. Here is one fatal result of forgetting the relation Of the Church to the Bible. On the .other side there are consequences no less disastrous. The Church of Rome, here, as in other cases, beginning with truth, makes truth itself the occasion of error ; and so the error is more subtle and more dangerous. 360 Concluding Discourse. [lect. She perceives rightly that God has been pleased to employ the ministry of the Church for the authentication of the Bible; but upon this truth she builds two errors. First, she claims to he the Church, and assumes the attributes which belong to the Church and to its Divine Head'. Secondly, . she makes Scripture to -depend on her for its au thority ; whereas Scripture is authenticated by the Church, but is not derived from hv Thus,, for example, she would oblige us to receive the Apoc- raphal Books of the Old Testament as inspired, because she has decreed that they are so ; although it is certain that they were never so received by the Jewish Church, to whom were committed the Oracles of God, nor by the great Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. Let us now turn to the Apocalypse. Here we have a divine protest against both these errors, and a divine assertion of the Truth. In the tenth chapter, St. John receives iri his hand the Open Book of the New Testament ; the Voice of Christ is heard, which is echoed by the Seven Thunders, that is, by the Seven Writers of the New Testament ; St. John seals what they have written, and closes the New Testament Canon. He then holds the measuring Reed,, of which we have already spoken,* — the Canon of Scripture, — the Rule of Faith,^and then he speaks of the Two Witnesses ; and then, by another transition, equally easy, he passes on to describe Two Candlesticks, — seven-branch ed Candlesticks of Gold, like that in the Temple, — standing between Two Olive Trees, , which feed the Two Candlesticks with oil, and enable them to diffuse light. The Candlesticks, as St. John teaches us, represent Church es ; and most beautiful is the emblem. Of pure gold, standing on the firm basis of faith, spreading forth her branches, diffus ing light, burning towards heaven ; such is a Church. And whence does she derive her light ? From God. He is the Father of lights. And how is this light conveyed ? By the • Lecture IV, p. 107. Lecture VIII. p. 187. XIV-] Concluding Discourse. 361 Word of God. "Thy Word is a lantern to my feet, and a light' unto my paths." From the Two Olive Trees, the symbols of peace, the chan nels of the oil of gladness, of the uriction of grace from above, the ministers, of light and joy, — yes,, from the two ever-living fountains of oil, from the ever-verdant Olive Trees of the Two Testaments, from them the Two Golden Candlesticks,, or the Two Churches of the Old and New Covenant, derive their light. , Both these Churches and Testaments stand side, by side, showing that the Old Testament is not contrary* to the New-, nor the New to the Old. The Law and the Gospel weave their branches and blend their light together, and the same God is Author of them" both. Having this heavenly vision before our eyes; we. say,, on the one hand, to those who overlook the office of the Church as the -Keeper of the Word ; observe, God employs, and ever has em ployed, the Candlesticks to diffuse the light from the Olive- Trees. ' That is, He has appointed His Church to receive, guard, interpret, and disseminate Scripture ; and whatever has been always so guarded land authenticated by the Charch,'that we believe and are certain to be Scripture ; or, in the language of th6 Sixth Article of the Church of England, " In the name of the Holt Scripture we do understand those Canpnical Books ef the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the CHURCH."f On the other hand, to the Church of Rome we say, Look at the Two Candlesticks standing between the Two Olive Trees, and fed with oil by them. Look ¦ it the Church between the Two Testaments. The Candlesticks do not give light to the' Olive Trees, but the Olive Trees pour oil into the golden pipes of the Candlestick. ' The Church does not give authority to the Word ; but through the Church the Word illuminates the World. You claim to be the Universal Candlestick. This you are not. You are indeed a Candlestick, a Candlestick in danger * XXXIX Articles, Art. VII. t Art- VL 362 Concluding Discourse, [lect. of removal. And by presuming to say that you alone are the One Candlestick, and that you give light to the Olive Trees of God's Word ; and by affirming that* to be Oil of the Divine Olive Trees which is not, you disobey and dishonour Him who walketh in the midst of the Candlesticks, and you provoke Him to remove you from your' place. Thus we have a prophetic protest in the Apocalypse agairist these two opposite errors ; and the truth is here presented to lis not with didactic formality, but, like our Lord's similitudes, .in a "beautiful picture, drawn in so lively a manner that a. child may understand it; and that, when once understood, it can never be forgotten; VIII. Let us advert further to the prophetic teaching of the Apocalypse concerning the Church. Here also we have warn ings against opposite errors, and a clear statement of the truth; Some, you are aware, would represent the Christian Chureh as a loose congeries of discordant elements, without any fixed organization of doctrines, sacraments, or ministry. Here is the error of distraction., On the other hand, the Church of Rome" would bind every one in obedience to herself. She would make all to bow before the Roman Pontiff. Here is the error of false unity. Both these dangerous errors' are condemned by the Apoca lypse. To those who do not regard the Chureh of Christ as a united and well-organized Body, we would say, Behold under what figures she is presented to us by St. John ! ' She is displayed as the Holy City, the Heavenly Jerusalem. She is revealed as the Woman clothed with the Sun, mantled,, that is, with the glory of Christ. And though in this world she is beset with infirmity, through the weakness of man and the fraud of Satan; though she is driven into the wilderness, yet she is fed with manna from1 heaven ; she is wafted on the two Eagle-Wingsf of * i. d. the Apocrypha. f See above', p. 201. Christ, regarded in his royal character, is the Eagle, the xiv.] Concluding Discpurse. 363 God's Testaments into all lands, and, when her pilgrimage is over, she appears again in the Apocalypse, cleansed from the taints of this world, and shining in snow-white purity, prepared as the Bride of Christ adorned for her Husband;* and is re ceived into His presence amid the Hallelujahs of Heaven. Will ,any one say that the Church, portrayed by St. John iri such beautiful and celestial colours, advanced by Christ to such a Royal Dignity, the Queen at His Right hand, is a mere human Institution ? A mere perishable, fabric, put together by chance, like an Epicurean World coalescing from the wild hur ricane of atoms ! God. forbid! He does not so build for Eter nity. And what is the witness of St. John? He speaks of one doctrine that of the everlasting Gospel; and Christ by his mouth commands all the Churches of the World to hold that fast, till He comes. Keep My word, hold what thou hast re ceived: And he displays to us the Two Sacraments ; Baptism, the crystal sea in Heaven, through which we enter the pre sence of Godj this is the First Resurrection, and the Saerament of the Lord's Supper. " If any man hear My voice, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with Me." . IX. Again. As to Church Government. " Hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches." To whom does the Spirit address these words ? To the Angels of those Churches, And who were the Angels ? Their Chief Pastors,.— their Bishops. The Holy Spirit reproves many of those Angels, but He does not reprove any,of them for being Angels. ' He reproves Bishops, but not for being Bishops, Nay, He feCognizes them as such. He regards, them as the personifications of their respective Churches ; and what He says to their Churches, He addresses to them. Thus He owns Episcopacy as the form of Church Government instituted by Himself. > X. We turn now to those who speak of the Church of Rome as the Catholic Church, and would bring all men. under the sway of the Roman Pontiff. Eta, of Birds; as He is the Lion, the King of Beasts (see above, p. 183 :) and as He is the AOrOS or WORD, the Two Testaments are His two wings. * Rev. xxi. 2. 364 Concluding Discourse. [lect. Look at the Appcalyptic Churches. They are Seven, and by their Seven-fold. Unity they represent the Universal Church, made up pf particular Churches : and what is said by Christ to them, is notto be understood as said to them exclusively, but as addressed to every Churchin Christendom.* Now, let us ask, Were the seven Churches of Asia subject to the Bishop of Rome;? No. Was any one of them so, sub ject? Not one. They were all governed by St. John, and one 'f like the Son. of .man walked in the midst of the Candle sticks," and, ordered St. John to "write, to the Angels", of each Church. That is, every, Church in Christendom is go verned by Christ : and it is instructed by Him, not through the Bishop of Rome — but through its own Bishops; it is.re- ' sponsible to them, and through them to Chri&t. , Observe also, these Churches- are Seven : and the errors of one ^Church do not justify those of another. Thyatira must repent, although Sardis be dead. And so, though Rome re tains her errors, we must forsake ours, and hold the Truth. Each Candlestick must, look to itself, and fear its. own re moval. We cannot live, by Unity in Death. Remember, also, the Seven Churches of Asia are now no more. Their Candlesticks have been removed. . Here is a warning to us; and to the Church of Rome we say, Here is a solemn warning to you, lest their fate be yours — "Remember whence thou art fallen ; repent, and do thy first works, or I Will remove thy Candlestick out of its place. "\ Cease to claim Universal dominion : cease to boast, that the Roman See is the Rock of the Church. Behold the Church displayed by St. John. She does not wear the Papal tiara, but is crowned with twelve stars : she does not sit upon the se ven hills, but she has "twelve foundations, and on them are written the names of the twelve Apostles of,, the Lamb. "J * See above, p, 139. f Rev. ii. 5. i -This twelve-fold Apostolic universality of the Church, as contrasted with the Papal unity, is also brought out in the number of the sealed, who are 12 X 12,000. Rev. vii. 4. xiv. 1. XIV0 Concluding Discourse. 365 If, therefore, any of you, my beloved brethren, should ever feel shaken in your allegiance to the Church of . England, or be fascinated by the claims of Rome, you will find divine guidance in the Apocalypse. We thank God, and we can never thank him enough, that the Church.of England does not impose any unscriptural terms of communion; that she holds in her hands the Scriptures pure and entire ; that she administers,' the Sacraments . fully and freely cyan Apostolic Priesthood ; that she keeps the Catholic Faith as embodied in the three Creeds, and possesses a Liturgy. such as Angels might love to use. But we do not say that the Church, of England is perfect. , No : there are tares mixed with the wheat in every part of the visible Church. We are on earth, and not in heaven ; and we are subject to the infirmi ties of earth. In this world, we " dwell in Mesech, and have our habitation in the .tents of Kedar." "In this, world, the Church of Christ is the Woman persecuted by the Dragon, and driven by him into the Wilderness, subject to manifold persecu tions, offences, and trials, from within and without. But the Church in the, wilderness , " brings forth a man child,", who has power to "rule the nations with a rod of iron," and is " caught up to God and His throne-" Such will be the lot of " the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." So the true Church, and so now the Church of England, when persecuted bythe powers of Eril, and when, like Eve, "bringing forth children in sor row," and "in travail with them till Christ be formed in their hearts," has never failed to bring forth masculine spirits, who have been endued with power by Christ to shatter the earthen vessels of godless theories with the iron rod of, God's Word; and they have been caught up to Christ in a glorious apotheo sis. And, therefore, if you. are true to Him, in this our wil derness of doubt and danger,, even Persecution itself will give you wings for heaven. And, that you may not be perplexed by the lukewarmness of many who profess the truth, or be exasperated by the tyranny of evil men, and so, in a fit pf jweak and irritable impatience, 366 Concluding Discourse. [lect. fall into schism, — observe the Apocalyptic Churches. Though under the government of St. John and of Apostolic Bishops, yet not one of them is free from blemish. Christ " doeS not find their works perfect."^ He notes their errors in doctrine, and reproves their defects in discipline. And what follows ? Does He advise their members to quit them ? Does He exhort them to pass from Ephesus or Sardis to Rome, and to find peace and perfection there ; or to join any other communion ? No : He commands them to repent^ to watch, to strengthen what re mains, to abide in the truth, to be faithful unto death: This, is His exhortation to ms. Hold fast the truth. "Iri patience possess ye your souls."f Edify the Church of England by ho liness and love. Pray . for her : labour for her ; be thankful for the privileges, the inestimable privileges, which you enjoy iri her Communion. : Use them aright ; and you will save your self and others.J Rerijark also, that the Apostle St. John had before his eyes many Churches' requiring , reformation, Churches of his own age and under his own jurisdiction j rand yet to them he says little, compared with what he speaks concerning the future condition of another Church, riot in his "own province, the Church of the City on Seven Hills— the Church of the impe rial City, — the Church of Rome. He contrasts her, in her degenerate and corrupt state, with the Woman 4n the wilderness and with the Bride in heaven, that is, with the Church militant and with the Church trium phant : and he calls her the harlot. He contrasts her also with the spiritual Sion, and calls her Babylon. He reveals her his tory, even to her fall, And wherefore does he speak so largely of her? Because being inspired by the Holy Ghost, he foreknew what she would become..' He foresaw how imposing her claims would be ; how extensive her sway; how powerful her influence'; how dangerous her corruptions; how deadly her errors; and how awful her end. * Rev. iii. 2. f Luke xxi. 19. i 1 Tim. iv. 16. xiv'.] Concluding Discourse. 367 Therefore, he uplifts the veil which hung before the future; and he displays her in her true colours.- He, writes" her name on her forehead — Mystery, Babylon the Great. Heroes this in love, and in desire for our salvation. He does it,, in order tbat.no one may be, deceived by; her; that no one may regard her as the Bride, since Christ" condemnsher as the Harlot;" and that none should dwell in her as Sion, since God will destroy her as Babylon. > The Church of Rome holds in her hand the Apocalypse-*— the Revelation ef Jesus Christ.. Wonderful to say, she acknow ledges it to be divine. " Marvellous too, she founds her claims on those very grounds. 'which identify her with the faithless Church,— the Apocalyptic Babylon. Your " " notes of the Church," we say with St. Johri in the Apoealypse to' the Church of Rome, are. marks of the, Harlot. You boast of uni versality, and she is "seated -em, many waters, which are Nations and Tongues. You arrogate indefectibility, and she says thai she" is a Queen for ever. You vaunt temporal felicity, and she has kings at her feet. You pride yourself on working miracles, she makes fire io descend from heaven. You triumph' in the union of your members^ in one supreme Head, and she makes all, to receive her mark, and worship her image, and to drink of her cup. If, then, you are' untrue to Christ — if you have' violated your spousal engagements, and have gone after other lords— your trophies of triumph are the stigmas of your shame ; the very claims which you make to be Sion confirm the proof that you are Babylon. Therefore, .let us not be weak, in the faith; let us not be-oon- ' founded by the temporal, prosperity, arid the long impunity, of Rome. It was prophesied hy St. John,- that she would have a wide/and-enduring sway; that God, in his long-suffering tb her, would give her time to repent, if haply she would repent; that .he would heal her, if .she would be- healed; , but that, alas ! she would not repent, and that her sins would -, at length ascend to heaven,lnd that she would come, in remembrance before God. And ivhen that awful hour shajl arrive^ then, woe to the Preachers of the Gospel, if they have not. taken up the warn-' 368 Concluding Discourse.- [lect. ing of St. John, and sounded the trumpet of alarm in the ears of their .hearers, " Come out of her, niy people, and be not par takers of her sins, lest ye receive also of her plagues.* Another caution is here given by St. Johm Some may now be in danger of being deluded by the confi dent language and bearing of Rome. They may imagine that a cause: pursued with such sanguine reliance may be good. But remember the parallel — Babylon. Its streets echoed with music; its halls resounded with mirth and revelry; the king's guards were intoxicated, at the gates of the city and at the very doors of. the palace, and the vessels of , God were on the tables at the royal banquet, when the fingers of a man's hand came forth from the wall, — and Babylon fell! • So Rome may be most infatuated, when most in peril. She may exult with joy, and be flushed with hope, and be elated with triumph,, her Princes and her Prelates may vaunt her power, and make new aggressions, and display new corruptions, and be entranced in a dream of security, when her doom is nigh. And as the great river, the river Euphrates, the glory and bulwark of Babylon, became a road for the conqueror of the city, so the swelling ; stream of Rome's temporal and spi ritual supremacy, which has now flowed on so proudly for so many centuries, and has served for her aggrandizement, may be in God's hands the means and occasion of her destruction and final desolation. Two remarks, and we haVe done. The sins of Rome are to be avoided ; but this is not all. Love of the truth is something more than hatred of error. We shall not be saved by the destruction of Rome. Here is another use of the Apocalypse. XI. It not only guards us against error, but it teaches us the truth. It exhorts us not to receive the mark of the Beast on our foreheads and on our hands ;f and it also teaches us that We must profess the faith and do the work of the Lamb. We must wear the cross on our foreheads, and bear it on our * Rev. xviii. 4. f Rev. xix. 20 ; xx. 4. xrv.] Concluding Discourse. 369 shoulders. We must not worship , the False Prophet, and we must obey the True. We must flee frpm Babylon, and.dwell in Sion. We must 'avoid the Harlot, and belong to the Bride. We must imitate the purity of her attire, and her virgin mo desty. We must not sully our Christian robe with sin; and when sullied, it must be washed with tears of repentance and in the blood of Christ. We must walk in white.* ^ ¦ Otherwise, we have no part- in the. heavenly city — "Blessed are they that do the commandments of Christ.f He that over cometh shall inherit all things; J but there shall not enter into the holy city any thing that defileth or worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which" are written in the Lamb's < book of Life,"§ The uribelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and all liars, these, says St. John, " shall have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is- the second death."|| XII. Lastly, we have seen how signally, those wonderful prophecies which concern one Church have been; in a- great measure, already fulfilled ; and from the divine character of the, Apocalypse, and from the fulfilment of those prophecies, we are sure that the other awful predictions of the Book of Reve lation which have not yet been fulfilled will, one day— we know not how soon — have their perfect accomplishment. " Of that day and of that hour knoweth ho man."t"f It is, indeed, a solemn thought, that very little of the Apoca lypse remains to be fulfilled, and that, therefore, the time to the end is probably very .short, compared with that which has passed since St. John wrote. And in the time which remains, severe trials are foretold by him. The suns of mighty empires darkened; the stars of the world "falling from heaven, like unripe figs from a tree tossed by -tie wind;"tJ the Third and. last Woe— the most dreadful: "Woe— still remains. The great Earthquake,- such as never be- • Rev. iii. 4. f Rev. xxii. 4. i Rev. xxi. 7. § Rev. xxi. 27. || Rev. xxi. 8; xxii. 15. •• Matt. xxvi. 26. ff Matt. xxiv. 36. #Rev.vi.l3. 370 Concluding Discourse. [lect. fore was felt, still remains. Physical calamities still remain, and, what is more dreadful, the league of mighty powers con spiring against Christ. Therefore let us be prepared. Let- no -form of danger seem strange to us. Let no evils affright or confound us. Let "us not be daunted by the vast array and by the proud exultation of irreligious forces; rather, let us ' recollect' that these things are predicted by St. John ; and let us see in them another proof of the truth of these prophecies, and, consequently, of the truth of Christianity.'. Let us remeinber that we are warned by the Apocalypse that men and nations will combine against Christ and His Church in the last age of the world, as they did on the eve , of the crucifixion, and as the Kings of Canaan fought against the armies of God ; that they will rise up against the Lord's Anointed for the last conflict of a fierce Armageddon, and that Christ will scatter them all, for He is King of kings and Lord of lords.- He will vanquish the Powers of this World, which will "flee from His face,' and say to the moun tains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from, the wrath of the Lamb." He will take the Beast and the False Prophet, and will cast them into the bottomless pit; and, finally, He will con sign Satan for ever to the same prison ; and He will reward His faithful soldiers with endless glory. Whom will ye follow ? In which camp will ye serve ? Under which banner will ye fight ? Whom will ye obey ? Christ,- or Antichrist ? Which will- ye choose ? Yictory, or Shame ? The crown of Angels, or the, chains of fiends? Judgment, Heaven, Hell, and Eternity are foretold in the Apocalypse. The Apocalypse is .from God. God is true. Therefore Judgment is certain, Hell is certain, Heaven is cer tain, Eternity is certain! "Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him. I saw a great White Throne, and Him that sat upon it ; and I saw the dead, small and grfeat, stand before God, and the books were opened ; and another book was opened, which is the book of life : and they were judged every man according to their works. And whosoever , was not written in the book of life was cast into the lake of xiv.] Concluding Discourse. 371 fire. And I heard a voice from heaven sayirig unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord: Even so. saith the 'Spirit, for they rest from their labours ; and their works follow them. They shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more ; and God shall wipe all tears. frOm their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor pain ; they willbe glad and rejoice; they shall be satisfied with 'living, .fountains of heavpnly joys ; and the glory of God shall lighten them, and they shall reign with Christ for evermore." Therefore, with Angels and Archangels, and; with all the company of Heaven, we laud and magnify Thy, glorious Name, ever more praising Thee, and saying, Holt, Holy, Holt, Lord God of Hosts : Heaven and Earth are full of Thy glory : Glory be to Thee, .0 Lord, most High. Amen. > ON THE PROPHECY OP ST. PAUL, CONCERNING THE MAN OF SIN, 23 ON THE MAN OF SIN 2 Thess. ii. 3—8. Let no- man deceive you by any means ; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of sin be revealed, the Son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth- himself above all that is called God, or ihat is wor shipped, so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things -1 And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the Mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he "be taken out of the way. And then shall that \yicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His Mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His Coming. No one can have heard this very solemn portion of Holy Scripture, which has been" read to us in the second lesson of this evening's service, without feeling a deep interest. in the myste rious prophecy which it contains, and without inquiring whether it has been fulfilled ; — and, if so; what its accomplishment, has been, and what its bearings are on the duties and destinies of man ? It will be now my endeavor to suggest a reply to these ques tions. They are, confessedly, very difficult ones, and it ill becomes any one to speak of- them without careful reflection and earnest prayer for illumination from above. What will now be offered to your consideration is the result of patient inquiry ; and may God grant, that if the conclusion arrived at in this Discourse is erroneous, none may be misled by it; — but if it is true, then may it be blessed by Him to His glory and your spiritual good. Two different explanations of this prophecy of St. Paul have been given by Scriptural Expositors. 376 On the Man of Sin. I. By some it, is asserted, that this prediction points to an Infidel Power, which has not yet been fully revealed. II. Others affirm, that this prophecy refers to a Spiritual Power, and to a Power which has long been, and is now,. in .ex istence — the Roman Papacy. Let us consider, first, the former of these two opinions ; which claims careful attention, on account of the learning and inge nuity of some by whom it has been maintained. Does this prediction concern an Infidel Power ? I. In behalf of the affirmative it is replied, that St. Paul is here speaking of the same Power as that described by the Apos tle St. John, in his first and second Epistles, and that St. John there characterizes that Power as "the Anti-Christ," that is,. the open adversary of Christ, and as denying the fundamental articles of Christianity. " Every Spirit, (says St. John in his first Epistle,) that oonfesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God. And this is that Spirit of Anti-Christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come."* And again: "Many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Anti-Christ."f And again: "Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ ? he is Anti-Christ, that denieth the Father andthe Son."J Such are1 the words of St. John in his two Epistles. What can be clearer (it is asked) than that St. John is here speaking of a power which has thrown off all semblance of Christianity — one that denies God, and defies Christ ? Anti- Christ, then, is an Infidel Power. But whatever, may be the errors of Rome, whatever her corruptions and superstitions, yet she does not disbelieve the incarnation of Christ, she does not deny the Father and the Son ; she believes in both, she adores both. How tben can she be Anti-Christ ? and how can the Roman Papacy be the power described by St. Paul ? • 1 John iv. 3. ¦j- 2 John 7. Rather, " the deceiver and the Antichrist," ,<5 7Chdvo$ xai 6 'Avt<,- xpwros- i 1 John ii. 22. On the Man of Sin. 377 2. Again, it is said, the Power portrayed by St. Paul is designated by St. John in the Book of Revelation as " the Beast ;" and of him it is there said, that he hath "a mouth speaking great things, and. blasphemies, and he openeth his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His\Name."* He, speaks blasphemy.. What then can be-plainer, it is asked, than that St. John is there describing a Power which tramples under foot, the truths of the Gospel, and uplifts its voice in bold impiety against the name of Christ ? Does this affect Rome ? Great and grievous may be her abominations, but the most in veterate prejudice and the blindest bigotry cannot venture to assert, that she has opened her mouth in blasphemy, against God. Does she not erect altars and temples to God and Christ? does- she not worship them in Litanies, and invoke them in bene dictions ? Let not then the description of St. John be applied to her. The- cause of truth can never be served by the sacri fice of love; nay, rather, by ungrounded imputations against her, we, who are members of the Church of England, should damage the cause which we desire to uphold, and should place ourselves in jeopardy, by unjustly accusing Rome. 3. Further, it is urged that St. Paul in the prophecy before us, leaves little doubt of bis own intention to describe an Infidel Power. Some of. the first Christians imagined that the day of Judg ment was at hand. But St. Paul undeceives them. " We be seech you, brethren, — by the coming (op, rather, concerning the coming) of our Lord Jesus Christ, and concerning our gather ing together unto Him, in the clouds, that ye be not soon shaken in your mind (or rather, from your right judgment), or be trou bled, neither by Spirit, nor by word, rior by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." He then informs them that something else must appear first. "Let no man deceive: you by any means, says he, for that day," — that is, the day-of Christ's SeCOnd advent td judge the World,— '-ishall not come, except there' come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition." , * Rev. xiii. 5, 6. 378 On the Man of Sin- He calls it, you see, a falling away, or, as the original ex presses it, still more forcibly,* the falling aWay, the great Apostasy. Now, Apostasy (it is observed) is not a corruption of Religion, but a denial of it. The Emperor Julian is called "the Apostate; "arid why? Because he renounced Christianity;, because he reviled the Faith, and persecuted the Church. Let Rome be guilty of strange errors and heinous iniquities, -yet who can presume to say that she' has renounced Christianity, that she has apostatized from the faith, that she is another Julian"? Let us not be transported too' far by our zeal, let us not be hurried too fast by our impatience against her ; let us quell our rage, and check our vehemence ; let us deplore her errors, but let us not exaggerate them. Let us pray that she may retain those articles, of the Truth which she still continues to hold, and that she may clear them from falsehood and cor ruption, and be united with ourselves in the profession of the true Faith; ' 4. Let us pass to another point : it is maintained also, in be half of the same conclusion, that the power described by St. Paul is not a body corporate, like the Roman Church, nor a succession of persons like the Roman Pontiffs, but a single In dividual. The Power, they observe, described by St. Paul is expressly called by him ua Man:" the Man of Sin, the Wicked One, the Son of Perdition. Accordingly, it is added, the types of this Power were personal. One of them was Antiochus Epi phanes, the Syrian King, the Infidel Persecutor of the Jews: he who set up the heathen statue in the Holy Place, and com pelled the people of God to violate the Law and blaspheme the name' of God.f Here, then (it is said,) is additional evidence that the Power described by St. Paul cannot be Rome. 5. Another argument to the same effect is as 'follows. The power described by St. Paul places'itself in the Temple of God. " He sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is * jj ditosia,al,o» f See above, Lecture XII. p. 296. On the Man of Sin. 379 God." When these words were written by St. Paul,* the Temple of Jerusalem was still standing; that, (it is said,) and no other, was the Temple- of God. Therefore, (it is added,) in order that this prophecy may be fulfilled, the Temple of Jeru- salem^vvill one day be rebuilt, and an Infidel Power or Person will there, establish himself, and claim divine honour. 6. Onee more. An argument to the same effect is drawn from our own concessions. We, who are members of the Church of England, affirm Rome to be a corrupt Church; but still we acknowledge her to be a Church. The Chufch of England admits the validity of her Baptism and of her Holy Orders.1 We charitably hope that many may be saved in her communion. How can all this be (it is asked) if Rome be apostate, and if the Roman Pontiff be Anti-Christ ? Cari per sons be saved who look on Anti-Christ as their spiritual head? May we flatter them that they can ? Can Anti-Christ baptize in the Name of Christ ? Can a community be a Church, and yet a synagogue of the Evil One ? Such are the main arguments of those who believe that St. Paul's prophecy has not yet been fulfilled; and who affirm that it does not concern any society or succession of persons bearing the name of Christians, and, particularly, does not regard the Church of Papal Rome, but points at some single Individual, who will openly profess, and forcibly propagate, Infidelity. Let us exainine these arguments. 1. It is taken for granted in them that the Power Or Person called "Anti-Christ," or "the Anti-Christ," by St. John in his Epistles, and there described by him as rejecting the doctrine of the Incarnation, and denying the Father and the Son, is the same Power or Person as that described by St. John in the Book of Revelation, and by St. Paul in our text. But this is a gratuitous supposition, and for my own part, I am persuaded that it is a very erroneous one. • j,. tj. 53. See Bp. Pearson's Annales Paulini, ed. Churton, p. 384. 380 On the Man of Sin. It is carefully to be observed that the word " Anti-Christ?' does not occur even once in the Book of Revelation, nor in St. Paul's Epistles, nor, in fact, in any part of Holy Scripture, except only in the "First and Second Epistles of St. John."* In. one of thcjse Epistles St. John says, "There are many Anti- Christs." f And the " Anti-Christ," of which he Speaks in them, is a Power or Person who openly denies the Father and the Son. He is an avowed Infidel. St. John draws his character in three or four words. There is no " Mystery" in him; all is clear and open: he defies the power, and denies the being, of God. This, then, we may regard as certain, that St. John in his two Epistles is not speaking of any Power which professes Christianity ,— is riot speaking of any spiritual Power,— and, consequently, is not speaking of the Church of Rome. It must, however, be remembered, that the word "Anti- Christ" signifies opposing Christ; and that St. John says there are "many Anti-Christs ;" and if that Church opposes Christ, then it is one form of the many Anti-Christs, though it is not the Anti-Christ there specially characterized by St. John. Hence, also,, w6 perceive why some of the Ancient. Fathers, especially those who wrote in the Latin Language, which has no definite article, sometiriies speak of the Man of Sin in St. Paul's prophecy, and of the Beast in the Apocalypse as " Anti- Christus:" and many modern writers have adopted the lan guage of the Fathers in this respect. It must also be remembered, that the early Fathers, viewing all these prophecies from a point long anterior to their fulfil ment, would see them, as it were, blended together, and that it is only by a nearer inspection and minuter scrutiny that their distinctive characters are recognized. But to return. This, we repeat, is elear, that St. John in his two Epistles,is describing a Power or Person avowedly In fidel : and though the world has seen — especially in the last and present centuries — many forerunners and shadowings forth * 1 John ii. 18, 22. iv. 3. 2 John 7. f 1 John ii. 18. On the Man of Sin. 381 of this Infidel Power or Person, whom St. John calls " The Anti-Christ," yet it seems probable that this Power or Person has not yet been fully revealed in the gigantic stature of all his fiend-like enormity. How soon he may appear, God only knows.* Let, then, the words of -St. John in his- Epistles he kept apart, as they ought to be. Let us not intermingle them with other expressions of Scripture to which they have no affinity, lest by such, a confusion we involve ourselves in error, and introduce perplexity into the interpretation of the Word of God. This being premised, let us now proceed to inquire, whether St. Paul in our text, and . St. John in the Apocalypse, are not speaking of one and the same Power ? and, if so, whether the Power, there described "by these two Apostles, is not vested, not in an Individual, but in a Society, arid in a Succession of Official Persons? and whether it is not professedly Christian, and not Infidel f and whether it is not a Power already in ex istence, and enduring not for a few years, but for many centu ries, and having its seat, not at Jerusalem, but at Rome ? In this investigation let us carefully bear in mind that the Holt Spirit writes with more than human exactness. His least words are to be scrupulously weighed. Verbal criticism, applied to Scripture^ is a faithful guide to divine Truth. 1. Here, then, first let us observe, that in" describing this Power, St. Paul uses a remarkable word. , He calls it a "Mts tert;" the Mystery of Iniquity. The Mystery of Iniquity (he says) doth already work.f Let us mark now that St. John in the Apocalypse twice de signates the Power, which he there describes, by the same word as its proper name, " Mtstert." Upon her forehead was * If a conjecture may be permitted on this mysterious subject, it seems probable that the full Revelation of the Anti-Christ of St. John's Epistles belongs to a time subsequent to the fall of Papal Rome, (Rev. xvi. 19. xviii. 1-24,) and alsb sub sequent to the destruction ofthe Beak andFalse Prophet;, see above, p: 329 (Rev. xix. 20 ;) and coincides with the open war of Satan against the. Church,- which is to be consummated by Satan's full and final overthrow. (Rev.xx. 8,10.) f 2 Thess. ii. 7. 382 On the Man of Sin; a name written', Mtstert. And ' again : I will tell thee the Mtstert ofthe Woman and ofthe Beast that carried her.* Hence we derive one inference, that the two Apostles,- using the same ivord as a name, are speaking of the same power. Let it also be remembered, that the word Mtstert — whether derived, as some suppose, from the Hebrew, f or, as others think, from the Greek— signifies something sacred and secret, (such as the Ancient Mysteries were,) and that it is used more than- Twenty times in the New Testament; and always in that sense, and therefore it cannot refer to an openly infidel Power, — which is any thing but a Mystery, — but designates one profess ing to be religious/ such as a corrupt Church. 2. St. John describes the same power as a "Man." The number of the Beast (says -he) is the number of u Mak.| Similarly St. Paul also calls the' Power which he describes, a Man, the Man of Sin, the Son' of Perdition. This coincidence also corroborates the proof that the two Apostles are speaking of one and the same Power.§ 3. Let us also observe that the" very remarkable words, "the Son o-f Perdition," are used in this prophecy by St. Paul, and that they are found in one other, and only in one other, place of the New Testament, namely, in St. John's Gospel :\\ and that they are there applied by our Blessed Lord not to an Unbeliever, not to an Apostate, but to one of His own Apostles, one who., a few days before his death, communicated with Our Lord Himself in ' the Holy Eucharist ; one who sold Him. for money, and yet confessed Him to be innocent, saying, I have betrayed the innocent blood,** — and of whom it was spoken prophetically by the Holy Ghost, Let his Bishoprick another take.ff Thus the Holy Spirit, who writes always with * Rev. xvii. 5, 7. f Casaubon. Exerc. xvi. sect. 43., Drus. ad Ephes. i. 9. * Rev. xiii. 18. § Similarly Daniel identifies the Little Horn (Dan. vii. 8) with the Power here described by St. John and St. Paul, by saying that it had the eyes of a Mtir (as well as a mouth speaking great things, cp. Rev. xiii. 5.) || John xvii. 12. ** Matth. xxvii. 4. ff Psalm cix. 8. Acts i. 20. On the Man of Sin. 383 minute precision, and commands us io. compare things spiritual with spiritual* as our best clue lor. understanding Scripture, seems by this name-"«fe Son of Perdition"— to point at some Apostolic person, some Christian Bishop,'one who, confesses Christ, and yet is treacherous to Him. And if this be the case with the Bishop of Rome, then this name, "the Son of Perdi tion," may designate him. 4. Another verbal coincidence must, be observed here. The Mysterious Power described by St. John in the Apocalypse is twice said byhibi to go untfo Perdition.f Thus it is connected again with the Son of Perdition iri St. Paul. 5. It is universally- allowed that the seat of the Mysterious power, described by St. John in the Apocalypse, is Rome. St. John himself has determined that point. He identifies it with the City which was Queen of the Earth in his own age. " The Woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the earth. "J This City was Rome. And again : " The seven heads are Seven mountains on which the woman sitteth."§ -This is, and can.be, no other City than ROME."t| , The questions therefore arise, Is Rome the seat of the Power described by St. Paul? and when did that Power ap pear ? These inquiries admit of a sure reply. Let us refer to the words of the Apostle in our text. '-' Re- ¦ member ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you.these things ? And now ye know what withholdeth, (or restraineth) that he might be revealed in his own time. For the Mystery of Iniquity doth already work:, only he who now letteth (or restrairieth) will let, until he be taken out, of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed."** » 1 Cor. ii. 13. f tli dTtuteiw, Rev. xvii. 8, 1 1. - St. Paul's expression is, vlbs artutelo*. , -c - ia § Rev. xvii. 9. i Rev. xvu. 18. " || See above, Lecture XI. p. 245-267. For- Roman acknowledgments of this fact, see Lecture XII. p. 268, 269. ** 2 Thess. ii. 5, 6, 7, 8. 384 On the Man of Sin. If, then, we can discover who he that letteth was, upon whose removal the Man of Sin was to be revealed, we may ascertain the time and place in which the Man of Sin was to appear. So far is clear. , And here a remark must be made. When we1 first read the prophecy in the text, we may perhaps feel somewhat disappointed. If we knew who he that letteth is, we should know who the Man of Sin is : and since (as he himself says) St. Paul had told the Thessalonians orally who he that letteth was, why (we may ask) does he express himself with so much reserve on this point in the text ? Why may not we read plainly in the Epistle what they had heard distinctly from St. Paul's lips, and what he conjured them earnestly to remember? On considering this matter, we are led to conclude, that there must be some reason arising from the peculiar character of him that letteth, which rendered it fit for St. Paul to write darkly concerning him in a letter, though he had spoken clearly of him by word of mouth., We shall soon see what this reason was. Let us recollect that this Epistle to the Thessalonians, like all the' other Epistles of St. Paul, was received and read pub licly in the Ohurch, from the time inwhich it was written, and that it has continued to be so read from that hour to the pre sent day.* " I charge (or adjure) you by the Lord (says St. Paul) that this Epistle be read unto all the holy brethren :"f and, " If any man obey not our word by this Epistle, note that man, and have no company with him."J Now, when this Lesson was read in the Church to the primi tive Christians, as it has been read to-day in this Church to ns, it is certain that the hearers would naturally inquire — who he that letteth was? If they did not themselves know, they would, when coming out of the Church, have asked the Reader, or the Preacher, or some of the elder members of the congregation. — Of whom does the Apostle speak in these words ? Observe, now, St. Paul expressly affirms that many of the * See Lectures on the Canon of Scripture, Lect vii. p. 171 — 174. f 1 Thess. v. 27. * 2 Thess. ii. 15. On the Man of Sin. 385 Thessalonians did know what he meant by the phrase he that letteth: He himself had told them, and he reminds them that he had done so. "Remember ye not, (he says,) that, when I was yet with you, I told you. these things ? And now ye kriow what withholdeth, (or letteth,) that the Man of Sin might be revealed in his own time." There is but one impediment to his appearance. " Onlt he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the Way, and then shall that Wicked be re vealed." Observe also, St. Paul, in this very chapter,* gives them a special charge to " keep the traditions which they had been taught by him ,by word," among which this tradition concern ing him ivho letted was one of a most solemn and important character. It is clear then, On the whole, that the periodic recurrence of this Lesson in the public readings of the Church, a Lesson con taining this remarkable prophecy, and appealing to the know ledge of his hearers, would have kept alive this knowledge in the Church, and have propagated it throughout Christendom. If, therefore, we can ascertain what it was which they knew concerning him that restrained, we shall have a solution of the problem. Providentially this is the case. The earliest Christian wri ters declare, almost with one voice,f that he who letteth was the Heathen Empire of Rcme. * Ver. 15. f " That which hindered this, appearing was according to the general opinion of Antiquity the enlireness of the Roman Empire. That this, to xatczov is the Roman Empire, Alcazar brings in plenty of Witnesses out of Malvenda— Tertullian, Chry sostom, Ambrose, Jerome, Austin," Theophylact,, CEcumenius. To which he adds Anselmus, Haymo, Strabus, Thomas, Lyranus, Caietan, Bellarmine, Suarez, and Pamelius." Dr. H. More's Works, p. 690, ed., 1708, book ii. c. 19. See also the authorities quoted at large in Mede's Works, book iii. ch. xiii. p. 656, 657. " Agree: ably to this" (says Mede) " ia St. Paul's epocha, 2 Thess. ii> 7, who tells us that as soon as the Imperial Sovereignty of Rome, which to hindered, should be taken out of the way, then should that wicked one be revealed." See also Lectures on the Apocalypse, Lect. XI. p. 261 and 26^ and Archdeacon Harrison on the Pro- phecies, p. 301, 352. 386 On the Man of Sin. Hence the primitive Christians prayed* with special earnest ness for the duration of that Empire ; for they knew, from this prophecy of St. Paul, that on the dissolution of the Empire,— that is, when he who then letted had ceased to let,— then the Man of Sin would be- revealed. You now see the reasonf why St. Paul used the periphrastic terms, Ye know what letteth, or restraineth. He might- indeed have said unreservedly, " The Roman Empire will fall, and when it falls, the Man of Sin will appear in its place. This is the only obstacle to his appearance. The Empire will fall, and he will arise in its room." St. Paulniight, I say, have written thus, and this would, have been plain language. But, let us remember, this Epistle was to be read, publicly. It was to be circulated throughout the world. It would pass into the hands of heathens, of Roman Citizens and Senators, of Praetors and, Consuls, perhaps of the Emperor himself, — " When the Roman Empire falls." These words would, have had an ominous sound in the ears of Nero, "When the Empire falls!" The Romans thought it would never fall. The Caesars deemed that their Empire was eternal. "Imperium sine fine dedi," was the lan guage of their national Poet. J What does this babbler say ? they would have exclaimed on reading such words from St. Paul, "When Rome falls." They would have been fired with fury against him : they would have raised a storm of persecution. Christianos ad Leones ! would have been the cry. St. Paul was ready enough, as his death proved, to shed his blood for the truth; but he had wisdom as well as zeal, he had charity as well as courage, and would not wantonly expose himself, and still less would he'recklessly expose. his friends, to persecution, or tempt his eneniies to the sin of being persecu tors. , He therefore acted here upon his own maxim, I speak unto wise men, judge ye what Isay.§ He was content to refer ( * See above, Lectures on the Apocalypse, p. 262. f This reason for St. Paul's reserve was recognized by the Ancient Corn'men- tators. See the, words of St. Jerome and Remigius, quoted in the Lectures on the Apocalypse, p. 260, note. i Virg. ^En. i. 283. § 1 Cor. x. 15. On the Man of Sin. 387 the matter to the/knowledge of the Thessalonians, and so to leaye .it. " Remember ye not that when I, was yet with you I told you these things?" He knew what had been communi cated to them by himself, and he was. certain that it would be preserved by his hearers, and so all the purposes of his pro. phecy be answered; and therefore he speaks as he does, "Now ye know what letteth that he might be revealed in his own time." And to imagine that what St. Paul told them was not preserved, is scarcely consistent with a belief in the. foreknow ledge of the Holy Ghost, who inspired the Apostle. The words -of St. Paul, The Mystery of iniquity doth already work, lead us to conclude that this mystery would ere long be revealed. Nearly eighteen centuries have elapsed since these words were written, and surely none can suppose that the Mys tery which then worked, has not been revealed now. Since also the Apostle says, that he who then letted, that is, the Ro man Empire, was the only* obstacle to its revelation, and that, as soon as that impediment was removed, then that wicked should be revealed, it is clear that the Power described by St. Paul was to rise on the removal of the Roman Empire, ,and iri the place of that Empire, just as, when one dynasty is- removed, , another succeeds in its room.f ' -Remark now how marvellously these features of St. Paul's description coincide with those of the picture of the Beast drawn by St. John in the Apocalypse. There the Mountain of the .Roman Empire is. removed into the Sea,X and from the Sea the Beast on which the Woman sits, arises. § And again he describes the Beast as bearing ten horns, and in Scripture * ^toj/ov o xats%uiv dpti 'da; ix (lioov yivrjta,i, xai tots arfoxa'kvfySvjBitai i aj/0^05. 2 Thess. ii. 7, 8. •j- It is observable that St. Paul's words, he shall consume that wicked with the breath of His mouth, are derived from the prophet Isaiah, speaking of Christ. (Isa. xi. 4.) He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked; and'that these words ofthe Prophet are thus explained in the old CKaldep ' Paraphrase, "The Wicked: that is, the Romah." Lightfoot's Works, ii. 296. * Rev. viii. 8. § Rev. x. iii. 1. 388 On the Man pf Sin. language, horns signify kingdoms.* And, as we have seen, the Throne of the Beast is the ruling City of St. John's age, the City on- Seven Hills — Rome. And therefore these "ten Horns are the Kingdoms into which the Roman Empire was to be dividedf at its dissolution, and so the Beast and his power is represented by St. John in the Apocalypse, as coming up in the place of the Empire of Rome. J ^ * Dan. ™. 24. -f- It seems unnecessary to specify ten particular kingdoms, into which the Ro man Empire was divided,!, or even to demonstrate that it was divided into precisely ten Kingdoms. The most ancient passage of Scripture in which the propheey of the future division of the RomanEmpire is foundtis the Vision ofthe Image (Dan. ii. 42,) where these Kingd )ms are represented by the toes of the Image. Being toes, they must be ten. Hence, wheri this dismemberment is" described in other successive prophecies, viz., Dan. vii. 7, 8, and Rev. xii. 3; xiii. 1 ; xvii. 3, 12, this denary number is retained : and thus number ten connects all these prophecies to - gether, and serves to show that they all point to the same object. The same is the design of the Chronological characteristic, " a time, times, and half a time" (Dan. vii. 25. Rev. xii. 14,) three and a half years, or "forty-two months," or " 1260 days." That this term is not to be understood literally, is clear from the fact ofthe duration of all the other three Monarchies being only for two times (sas ~xaipou xai xcupov. Dan vii.12.) One of its main uses is to identify the subject of the prophecies iii which it is found, and to rivet them all together. i Similarly in the Vision of the Image; the prophet Daniel represents the fourth Monarchy, or Roman Empire, as divided into ten toes (ii. 42,) or subor dinate kingdoms ; and again, in another Vision, the same Empire appears as a Beast bearing ten horns or Kingdoms ; and in the midst of these ten horns, the little horn, with the eyes of a Man, and a mouth speaking great things (who absorbs the power of the Beast into himself) rises up (Dan. vii. 7, 8, 20, 24, 25.)! St. Ire naeus thus connects these visions of Daniel with the prophecies of St, Paul, and of the Apocalypse. " Daniel novissimi regni (i. e. quarti, sive Romani) finem respi- ciens,' id est novissimos decern Reges, in quos divideretur regnum illorum, super quos Fiiius Peiiditionis venieV cornua dicit nasci Bestir, et alterum cornp pusillum nasci in medio ipsorum,*t tria cornua de piioribus eradicari a facie ejus.'7 Iren. v. 26. " Manifestius adhuc etiam de novissimo tempore, et de his, qui sunt in eo, decem REGintrs, in quos diviietuii quod mrac regnat Imperium (i. e. Ro manum,) significavit Joannes Domini discipulus, in Apocaltpsi, edisserens quae fuerint decem cornua qua; a Danieee visa sunt." ffen. v. 26. He then cites Rev. xvii. 12, — 14. St. Jerome's comment (written about a. n. 407,) on Daniel's Vision, cap. vii. 8. S. Hieron. Opera, iii. p. 1101) is to the same effect, and is still more striking, because it founds itself on a consent of ancient Expositors, " Ergo dicamus, quod' omnes Scriplores Ecclesiastici tradiderunt, quando regfium destru- endum est Romanorum, decem futuros reges, qui Orbem Romanum inter se divi- On the Man of Sin 389 Therefore we arrive at the conclusion, that- the Apostle St. £aul m the chapter before us, and the Apostle St. John in the Revelation, are describing one and the same Power, and that the Power described by them is one which was to arise at the dissolution of the Rdman Empire, and was- to exercise dominion at Rome in its place.* I now leave it to you to decide what that Power is. We must not however omit to notice the arguments, recited in, the earlier part of this Discourse, in favour of the opinion which does not recognize in these prophecies a succession of per sons, like the Roman Pontiffs; nor a corporate society like the Romish Church; nor a Christian Power; but sees in them an Individual, who renounces and rejects Christianity. ' 1. The Man of Sin, it is said, must be a single person. This, assertion is confuted by the passage before us. He that letteth is not an Individual, but a succession of persons, viz., the Roman Emperors, the Heads of a Corporate Society, cor responding, in many respects, with their Successors, the Roman Pontiffs. And as he that letteth is a public person, or series of persons, so is he that sitteth, also. Refer also to St- John' in the Apocalypse. He there speaks dant, et undecimuiri surrecturum esse regem parvulum qui in tres reges de decem regibus siirreciurus sit, . . . quibus interfectis, etiam septem alii reges victori colla, submittent. Et Ecce, ait, oculi quasi, oculi Hominis erant in cornu, isto . : . et os loquens ingentia; est ¦enim, ' Homfl. pEccA-rr, filius perdItionis (2 Thess. iu 2,) ita ut in templo Dei sedere audeat faciens se quasi Deum.' " These Expositions, written -many years before the fulfilment of the Prediction,, supply a proof that an assertion commonly made, that Scripture Prophecy is to- be interpreted only by. its accomplishment, is not to be understood without some im portant limitations. * In the Lectures on the Apocalxpse, (pp. 150, 152, 213,) the reader's attention Jhas been drawn to the catchwords, whieh connect portions of the Apoca lypse with each other, and also prophecies of the Old Testament, and show the identity of some of the Subjects ofthe Visions seen by Daniel and other Ancient Prophets, and by St, John. In the present Discourse I have endeavoured to apply this principle. But the results cannot be presented so clearly as in a tabular view, like the following, where it will, I think, be seen, that St. Paul's prediction con- 24 390 On the Man of Sin. of "the Woman" in the Wilderness,* and of the " Woman" sitting on the Beast, f In neither case does the word " Woman" signify an individual; but it means a Church. And as " Woman" signifies a Personified Society in St. John, so does "Man" in cerning the Man of Sin, is in like manner connected by catchwords with that of Daniel concerning the Little Horn, and with that of St. John concerning the Beast : and thus their identity is indicated : — DANIEL. (Cap. vii.) The Little HonN rises up in the midst of the ten horns — which are ten kinks (vii. 7, 'J4), arising out of the head of the fourih Beast (vii. 23 ; vii. 8, 20) — who rises from a sea (vii 3), and is the fourth kingdom (vii. 17), or Roman Empire (cp.Dan.ii.40— 44). The Little Horn differs frdm arid is more stout than the othf r horns (vii. 20, 24) ; is a King (vii. 24), has the eyes of a Man; (vii. 8.) has a mouth speaking GREAT THINGS (vii. 8,11, 20), the power of the Beast is centred in him (vii. 2ft), and so the little horn is (in fact tlie beast ; makes war with th* saints and frk- tai ls against them (vii. 21). SPEAKS GREAT WORDS against the .most High, and wears out the saints of the most Bhb (vii. 25), persecutes during a time, times, and half a time (i. c. Til HE*. AID A HALF TEA II s, vii. 25.) the bkVst (whose power subsists in the Little Horn) is si.ai>, and his body given to tii K pi iik ^yii.l 1). * Hev xii. I, 6. ST. PAUL. ST. JOHN. (2 Thess. ii.) (Revelation.) The Man of Sis The Beast rises as soon as he that rises .from sea (xiii. 1)> letteth is taken away (ii. into which the ^Mountain 6,7). a Man (ii. 3). a Mtstert (ii. 7). (of the Roman Empire) was cast (viii. 8). has ten horns (xiii l,xvii.3, 12), which have crowns and are ten kings (xiii. 1. xvii. 12), who receive power with the beast, and give their strength to him (xvii. 12, 13, 17). has the number of a Man (xiii. 18): sitteth in the Temple of is the seat of the Woman, God, or Church, and is whose name is Mtstert worshipped as God (ii. works signs, and lying wonders (ii..9). kxaitetii himself above all that is called Gud (il. 4,. is son of perdition (ii. 3). shall be consumed with spirit of Christ's' mouth (ii. 8). (xvii. 5, 7), the seat ofthe harlot or corrupt Church (xvii. 3), and is worship ped (xiii. 4, 8), has a mouth speaking great things (xiii. 5). worketh great wonders by agency of the second beast (xiii. 12, 13). ~ OPENS HIS MOUTH IN III.ASPIIIMT AGAINST GOD (xiii. 5, 6), full of names Of BLASPHEMY (Xvii. 3), wars against the Faints (xiii. 7), and coxai'KRs them (xi 7), nets forty- two months, or thkks AMI A HALF TEAHS (xhl. 5), goeth unto perdition (wii. 8. II). the harlot sitting upon him is utterly burned with fiiie (xviii. 8). the benst is cast into a bike ol fire (xix. 20. xx. 10). \ Rev. xvii. 3. On the Man of Sin. 391 St. Paul. And let us add, a Christian Society is meant by both the Apostles.* 2. The next allegation is, that the words, the, Apostasy, or the falling away, cannot be applied to a Church, but must refer to an Infidel Power. To this we. reply, that the word " Apostasy" is very fre quently applied to a Church, namely, to the Churches of Israel and Judah,f in the Greek version of the Old Testament, on account of their rebellion against God ; and similarly it may be applied to a Christian Church, which is faithless to Christ, although, as the Churches of Israel and Judah did, it may still retain a Priesthood and a Temple, and may profess that it alone holds the truth. "Apostasy" is not incompatible with belief. The Devil is the great Apostate : but i$ is expressly said in Scripture, that the devils believe, and tremble-X "3. Next it is said that the expression of St. John, a mouth speaking blasphemies, cannot refer to a Christian Chureh, but plainly characterizes open Impiety. To this we answer; The word, "blasphemy," in Scripture, not only means an open utterance of impious language against God, but it signifies an assumption, or an ascription to others, of those attributes which belong to God alone. Hence, when the Jews said to our Lord, "Thou blasphemest," they did not thereby mean, that He was uttering any thing openly against God. No ; they used this term when He forgave sins, because Who can forgive sins, but God only? He claimed Divine Power. § And if he had claimed it wrongly, this claim was Blasphemy. Hence also, they Said on another occasion, "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, because that thou being man makest thyself God."j) * In like manner, « a Beast" is declared to be " a Kingdom", in Dan. vii. 17, 23, and is also called "a King," ibid. vii. 24, LXX Version. f See the passages in Mede's Works, book iii. ch. ii. p. 625, and in Lectures on the Apocalypse, Lecture XII. p. 297, note. , , .. , Q §' Matt ix. 2. i James u. 19. 3 | John x. 33. 392 On the Man of Sin. Again, when Christ said to the High Priest, " Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the Right Hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven," the High Priest rent his clothes and said, He hath spoken blasphemy.*: He hath claimed for himself what belongs only to God. And if this claim was not a just one, it was blasphemy. A Church therefore is guilty of blasphemy, if it "ascribes to Saints or to Angels, or to any other Creature, honors which are due to" the Creator alone; and a Christian Pontiff is guilty of blasphemy, if he assumes to himself powers and honors which belong to God. Whether this is done by the Church and Bishop of Rome has been already considered, f and will appear further before we have done. 4. The next allegation concerns ourselves. The Church of England admits the validity of the Baptism and the Holy Orders conferred by the Church of Rome. How' then (it is asked) can the Roman Pontiff be "the Son of Per dition?" To which we reply, Remember who is called "the Son of Perdition" by our Lord Himself; Judas, an Apostle, a Christian Bishop. Of him our Lord Himself said, One of you is a devil.X Yet the Baptism administered by Judas was as valid as that administered by St. John himself, though the latter was a Son of Thunder, and the former the Son of Perdi-. tion. St. John did not re-baptize those who had been baptized by Judas. As far as Judas held and taught the truth St. John communicated with him. He communicated with him in the Last Supper : he communicated with him in confessing Christ's innocence : but he did not communicate with him in betraying Christ: he did not communicate with him in his perdition. In like manner, as far as Rome still holds the_ truth, we com municate with her ; but we do not communicate with her in her sins ; and with God's help we will not communicate with her in her doom ; for the voice from heaven cries in our ears, * Matth. xxvi. 64, 65. f See Lectures on the Apocalypse, Lect. XII. p. 271, note, p. 291, 299, 300, and note. i John vi. 70, 71. On the Man of Sin. 393 " Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."* 5. The last allegation is, that the Power described by St. Paul, sitteth in the Temple of God; and that when these words were written, the Temple at Jerusalem was standing, and that, therefore, the seat of the Power is Jerusalem, and not Rome. The Temple of Jerusalem, doubtless, Was called by the Jews " the Temple of God." But it never was, and, never could be, so designated by a Christian Apostle writing to Christians, especially concerning the future, as St. Paul writes here. To him and to them "the Temple of God" was "the Church of Christ:" and a single glance at the words of the original will show that St. Paul is here speaking, not of the Jewish Temple, but of the Christian Church.f He sitteth. in the Temple of God. The word here used by St. Paul for Temple is not 'iepon, but naos ; and naos is never used by any Christian ApostLe writ ing to Christians to signify the Jewish Temple, but always to designate the Church. Here then, we see another proof that St. Paul's " Mystery of Iniquity" is not an Infidel Power, but a Christian one. It does not sit in a profane place, but in the Temple of God, that is, in the Church. The qtiestion therefore is, Does any Christian Power or Per son sit iii the Church " as God, showing himself that he is God ?" Does not the Church of Rome call herself the only true Church ? Does she not say, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are we?X Does not the Roman Pontiff claim power to make new articles of Faith, and dictate new terms§ of Salvation? Does he not thus sit on the throne * Rev. xviii. 4. + St. Paul expressly says that " the House of God" is "the Church ofthe Liv ing God." 1 Tim. iii. 15. So o «w>s tov ®tov, in Rev. iii. 12, is the Church. ''It is an observation of Bochart," (says Macknight, ad loc.) "that after the death of Christ the Apostles never called the Temple of Jerusalem ' the Temple of God,' but as often as they used that phrase they always meant the Christian Church. 1 Tim. iii. 15. 1 Cor. vi. 19. 2 Cor. vj. 16. Ephes. ii. 19— 2L" See also the passages to the same effect quoted by Bishop Andrewes from St. Jerome, Chrysos tom, Thebdoret, Theophylact, in Appendix I. to Lectures on the Apocalypse, p. 1 69. i Jer. vii. 4. § Se<> *DOVe. P- 316, 394 On the Man of Sin. of God, the only Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy ?* Does he not sit in the Temple and preach a new Gospel, and so incur the denunciations of St. Paul, "If even an angel from heaven — preach to you any other Gospel than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed V'f This is strong language ; but it is the language of St. Paul, it is the language of the Holy Ghost. What has the Pope done even in the present year ?J Has he not proposed to decree that the Virgin Mary is exempt from Original Sin,§ in defiance of the teaching of Scripture,|| and in despite of Christ Himself, who is alone holy, harmless, undefiledt separate from sinners?** And does he not propose to make this to be an Article of Faith ? And is not this an outrage against Christ and against Scripture, and against the Holy Ghost, the Author of Scripture ? And if this is not to sit in the Church "as God showing himself that he is God," yea, if it be not even to desire to have himself obeyed and honored in the place of God, it is difficult to say what is. And further still. For many hundred years to this day the Roman Pontiffs have literally fulfilled the prophecy of St. Paul. When Cornelius the Centurion fell down at Peter's feet, and worshipped him, St. Peter forbad him, saying, Stand up, I myself also am a man.ff But the self-called successors of St. Peter sit in the Temple of G°d as Gods. For many centuries, each of them at his inauguration has taken his seat in God's Church, upon God's Altar, and so sitting has been adored by men falling down before him, and kissing his feet.fj * James iv. 12. f Gal. i. 8, 9. i In his Encyclic Letter " to the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops ofthe Catholic World," dated Gaeta, Feb. 2, 1849. § The words of the Pope are, " Ut ab A postolica sede tandem aliquando solenni judicio decerneretur sahctissimam Dei genitricem, omniumque nostrum amantissi- mam matrem, Immaculatam Yirgincm Mariatn absque labe originali fuisse con- ceptam.1' 1 See Sequel of Letters to M. Gondon, Lett. x. p. 226—230. ** Heb. vii. 26. ¦(-(¦ Acts x. 26. a See above, Lect. XII. p. 295—304. On the Man of Sin. 395 Such, my brethren, is our interpretation of this wonderful prophecy. In so expounding it, I am proposing no new opi nion, but I am following the judgment of the Church of Eng land, who in the Dedication prefixed to every copy of her Bible applies St. Paul's words to the Roman Pontiff, and calls him " the Man of Sin." We pause here. This prophecy (as we have now seen) has been marvellously fulfilled ; and its fulfilment is one of the most striking proofs of the truth of Christianity. No one whose eyes were not il lumined by light from heaven could have foreseen what St. Paul has predicted in this chapter. And in the accomplish ment of his prediction we see an irrefragkble proof that the Apostle was inspired by the Holy Ghost, and that the doctrine preached by him is not the word of man, but of God., Therefore let us be sure that the remaining portion of this prophecy will one day be fulfilled also. Sooner or later " the Lord shall consume that wicked one with the breath of His mouth, and shall destroy him with the brightness of His com ing. Here, again, St. Paul joins his brother Apostle, St. John. "The Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet ,that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the Beast. * These both were cast alive into the Lake of Fire."f One word more, and we have done. It is not for me, my brethren, to speak in this place con cerning Romanists in foreign countries. My mission is not to them, but to you. To you then let the warning be addressed which is dictated by the words of St. Palul. Some even among ourselves speak of Romanism as a safe religion for those in this country who fall away to it. Some favour it; some encourage it; some would endow it; some would represent it as a matter of indifference whether we be- • Cp. Daniel vii. 11. t^. xix. 20. 396 . On the Man of Sin. long to the Church of England or to the Church of Rome. In this solemn question we have now appealed not to uninspired men, but to St. Paul ; we have inquired of the Holy Ghost : we have heard the verdict of God- Thence we conclude as follows ; — If the Mystery of iniquity is the same thing as the Mystery of godliness ; if the Man of Sin is a Man of God; if the Son of Perdition is an Heir of Salvation ; if deceivableness of un righteousness is the same thing as godly sincerity ; if strong de lusion is the same thing as sound persuasion ; if to believe a Lie is the same thing as to hold the Truth ; if to be in peril of condemnation is the same thing as to be saved ; if to be con sumed with the spirit of Christ's mouth is the same thing as to hear from Christ's lips the joyful words, " Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you;" then Ro manism is a safe religion ; then it is not dangerous to encou rage it ; then it is a matter of little moment whether you be long to the Church of Rome or to the Church of England ; — but not otherwise. THE END.