MY DEAR BROTHER,
PRECIOUS indeed are all the truths of God for their own sake, and as such we should prize them, even had there been no other reason for our giving heed to the things that are revealed. It has been well said by one of those Reformers whom the Lord raised up for His own glory, and for the Church’s blessing. “The Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit; in which, as nothing necessary and useful to be known is omitted, so nothing is taught which it is not beneficial to know; whatever, therefore, is declared in the Scripture. . . we must be cautious not to withhold from the faithful, lest we appear to defraud them of the favor of their God, or to reprove and censure the Holy Spirit for publishing what it would be useful by any means to suppress. Let us, I say, permit the Christian man to open his heart and his ears to all the discourses addressed to him by God; only with this moderation—that as soon as the Lord closes His sacred mouth, he shall also desist from further inquiry. This will be the best barrier to sobriety, if in learning we not only follow the leadings of God, but as soon as He ceases to teach, we give up our desire of learning.” Calvin. (Institutes, Book iii. Chapter 21) But we have the testimony of a greater than Calvin, in the farewell address of the Apostle Paul to the Bishops or Elders of the Church of Ephesus— “I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men, FOR I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Acts 20:2626Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. (Acts 20:26).) No portion, then, of all that God has given us can we be justified in withholding from others; much more must it be incumbent on us to know all these things for ourselves.
Man, in the pride of his busy intellect, searches into the depths of natural things; he seeks to grasp all that his mind can reach or fathom; he desires to comprehend everything concerning this earth on which he treads, and all the objects, animate or inanimate, thereon—the motions of the heavenly bodies too he seeks to understand—and even searches into the nature and powers of his own mind—Science, physical and metaphysical, has a charm for him for its own sake, merely as a thing in which his intellect may expand.
How much more, then, should he who knows the truth as it is in Jesus—who has an understanding to know Him that is true—who looks on this earth as a thing cursed for man’s sake—who knows the visible heavens but as a part of the work of Him whom it is his privilege to call “Abba, Father,”—who knows that his mind and its desires are by nature enmity against God, and who sees all things here as under condemnation—how much more should the Christian look forward in joyful expectation to the day, when, “in the dispensation of the fullness of times,” God shall “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.” Now if we but knew God’s purpose of blessing, there would be much, very much, in that alone for the mind of him who is taught of the Spirit, to rest on and to enjoy; because his God and Father would be glorified therein, and that alone should be enough to rejoice our souls, if we are indeed those who have learned to discern the things that are more excellent—but when we know our portion in these things, that our privilege is to have fellowship in them (even as it is written (Rom. 8) “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ”) then have we far more reason to lay hold of them, to anticipate them as ours, (having received the earnest of this inheritance—the Spirit of God,) and to walk as those who look for such things, and who in the light and glory of them can rejoice, even though now in unredeemed bodies, and in a condemned world, and perchance in heaviness through manifold temptations.
Marvelously indeed has Satan prevailed in blinding the Church of God as to “what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance iris the saints.” Although unable to pluck the sheep of Christ out of His protecting hand, and unable to deprive them of those things which are theirs, secured in Jesus—he has most grievously hindered them from realizing their true position, by causing them not to receive aright the whole counsel of God.
Nothing can more concern us as individuals than God’s revealed purposes; there we see disclosed to faith our future allotment of blessedness; and in this knowledge we learn what our present place is, both as individuals, and as the Church of God, preserved in Christ Jesus—“WHEREFORE, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”— “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.” (2 Pet. 3)
These exhortations had once their practical force on the Church, and nothing but the forgetfulness and ignorance of our hope and expectation—the appearing of Christ our Life—prevents their having the same now. It is indeed a cause for thankfulness that many of the saints of God have learned even now the power of these things, and have thus been enabled to testify of them (“I believed, and therefore have I spoken,”) but on those, whose hearts have been so brought to acknowledge these truths, an especial responsibility rests—that of testifying faithfully to them, (not as matters whereon we may speculate, but as important practical truths;) and of showing their operation as sanctifying principles.
You will, I think, fully agree with me as to the extent and weight of this responsibility, and I trust that it is with some feeling of its true importance that I would now press it. To be witnesses for God is a place of privilege, and as such it ought (in this, as in other things) to be regarded. It is our place to testify to the world—that it is already condemned, but that in the blood of Jesus there is salvation for every one who believeth—and to the Church—that their position ought to be “like unto men who wait for their Lord;” and at the same time, by practical separation from evil, we should show the sanctifying power of these truths of God.
Let not those who have been taught to “wait for God’s Son from heaven” shrink from this their responsibility, but seek to fulfill it as unto the Lord, in the power which his Spirit giveth; “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye KNOW that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:5858Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58).)
Chapter 7:2.—And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea; saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Ezek. 9:2, &c.—And one man among them was clothed with linen; with a writer’s inkhorn by his side;.......and the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the Cherub whereupon He was, to the threshold of the Louse; and He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; and the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh, and who cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof.
Ver. 9 After this I beheld and lo, a great multitude whom no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Zech. 14:16.—Every one that is left of all the nations shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts; and to keep the feast of Tabernacles.
Lev. 23:40.—Ye shall take you on the first day [of the feast of Tabernacles] the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees.
Jer. 3:17.—At that time (i.e. when Israel shall be restored) they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord: and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.
Ver. 23.—Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
Psa. 68:20.—Our God is the God of salvation.
Zech. 9:9.—He (Christ) is just, and having salvation.
A most striking analogy seems to me to be here exhibited between the things in heaven and the things on earth. As all that are left of the nations on earth shall be gathered unto Jerusalem, (which shall then be called the Throne of Jehovah,) to worship, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles—so do, these, the redeemed of every nation, appear to be gathered around the Throne of God, worshipping, and as it were, keeping the feast of Tabernacles in heaven.
Often do we see in the New Testament, plainly set before us, the analogy that there is between us, the Church of God, and Israel in the wilderness; they were going forward in order to enter into their rest; even so “we who have believed, (εισμεθα) are going towards rest.” (Heb. 4:33For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (Hebrews 4:3).) The feast of Tabernacles was given to Israel as a memorial of their sojourn in the wilderness; (Lev. 23:4343That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:43)) and thus it seems to me, that we have here the memorial feast kept by the redeemed; (—the antitype of the things on earth—) when they shall have fully entered into that “rest which remaineth for the people of God.”
The people of Israel appear to have hitherto observed this feast very imperfectly; if indeed they did at all from the time of their first entering upon the possession of the land promised to their fathers, until the return of the remnant after the captivity; see Neh. 8:1717And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. (Nehemiah 8:17). This seems to confirm the supposition that the chief reference of this feast is prospective; and that it will be fully and truly kept when Israel, being restored to the favor of God, shall be the source of blessing to the nations of the earth; and when the Church of God shall have received that heavenly inheritance, of which the Spirit of promise, dwelling in those who believe, and by whom they are sealed, is the earnest. This heavenly and this earthly blessing appear to be synchronous, both being consequential to the Lord. taking to Himself His great power.
Ver. 11.—And all the angels stood round about the throne and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God.
Psa. 103:19, &c.—The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens......Bless the Lord, ye His angels who excel in strength.
Isa. 6:2.—The seraphim, each one bad six wings, with twain he covered his face.
Ver. 14.—These are they that came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes (στολας), and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Isa. 1:18.—Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Ex. 29:20.—Then thou shalt kill the ram and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about; and thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar ... and sprinkle it Aaron, and upon his garments (LXX. στολη) and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be sanctified, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
Garments sanctified by blood appear to be a characteristic mark of those who are constituted Priests unto God. Aaron and his household were thus set apart; although Aaron was first, by himself alone, consecrated with the Holy anointing oil without blood. (Ex. 29:77Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. (Exodus 29:7).) Thus Christ (typified by Aaron) could, without needing any sacrifice, from His own inherent holiness, receive the Holy Ghost; even as when He was baptized, the Spirit was seen descending upon Him, and the voice of the Father was heard witnessing to His acceptance; as also it is written, “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit.” But that the household of Aaron might be consecrated as his associates in the priesthood, blood was needed; a sacrifice was provided upon whose head they should lay their hands, and whose blood was sprinkled upon them, and thus they became separated unto God. So it is with the Church, the household of the true Aaron; they are sanctified. by the blood of the one sacrifice for sin. Jesus, who stood before God inherently holy, for the sake of His Church entered on His priestly ministration by blood-shedding, that they might be united with Him therein; their priesthood is through Him; even as that of Aaron’s sons was from their being associated with their father, as it is said, “he shall be sanctified, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.” So is it written of Believers, “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:1111And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11).)
Ver. 15, &c.—Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among them; they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Psa. 134:1.—Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord.
Psa. 23:6.—I shall dwell in the house of the Lord to length of days.
Ex. 29:45.—I will dwell among
the children of Israel, and will be their God.
Isa. 49;10.—They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for He who hath mercy on them shall lead them; even by the springs of water shall He guide them.
Ps. 23:1.—The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters.
Mic. 5:4.—He shall stand and feed [His flock LXX.] in the strength of the Lord.
Isa. 40:11.—He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd.
Isa. 25:8.—The Lord God will wipe
away tears from off all faces.
Isa. 65:19.—I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
The above quotations from the Prophet Isaiah are spoken of Israel, at the time of their restoration to the favor of the Lord; their application in the Revelation to the redeemed, shows how striking is the analogy existing between “the patterns of the things in the heavens” and “the heavenly things themselves;” glorious as are the descriptions given in Isaiah of the blessedness of God’s earthly people, they are but the shadowing forth of the blessedness of God’s heavenly people—His Church; even as the Tabernacle and its vessels of earthly ministry were but a faint typifying of heaven itself; Israel will have glory, but the Church of God a glory far excelling in greatness and in blessedness.
The end of this chapter (or rather the first verse of the 8th) Concludes the vision which commences in chapter 4. This chapter contains some circumstances connected with the concluding events in the 6th. We know that the vision so concludes, because we find the time of blessing here brought in, which cannot be until after the judgments are past, and Christ hath taken His kingdom, and then shall His ransomed saints obtain their purchased possession.
It is important to notice, that whenever in this Book we come to the time of the Lamb possessing His great power, there we may be sure that we arrive at one and the same definite point of time; and after that a new vision commences; until in chap. 19 the power of the Lord Christ, and His recompence to His enemies are detailed; and then (in chap. 20) we find the blessing of the saints and other events spoken of continuously; but it is always the power of God that is displayed, until we come to the manifested. glory of the Lamb.
Chapter 8:3, &c.—And another angel came, and stood. at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar which is before the throne; and the smoke of the incense ascended before God, with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel.
Lev. 16:12.—He shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from of the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail; and he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat.
Ex. 30:8.—And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, (the altar of incense) a perpetual incense before the Lord.
Ex. 40:26.—He put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail.
Psa. 141:2.—Let my prayer be set before thee as incense.
The angel standing offering up incense before God, appears in a priestly character; like Aaron within the rail on the day of atonement, and himself or his household at other times in the holy place.
Prayer is in Scripture connected with incense; thus it is written of Zacharias, “that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord; and the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.” (Luke 1:88And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, (Luke 1:8).)
It was with the incense that the prayers of the people came up acceptably before God, and so are those of the ransomed saints accepted through Him who stands in the presence of God for us, and who Himself ever liveth to make intercession for us.
Ver. 5.—And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it unto the earth; and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Ezek. 10:2.—He spake unto the man
clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub,
and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter
them over the city. And he went in my sight.
Ver. 7.—The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast unto the earth, and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up.
Joel 2:30.—Blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
Ex. 9:23.—And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along the ground. Ver. 25.—The hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field, only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
The former of these citations from the Old Testament appears to be (whether in itself literal or symbolical) direct prophecy; the other a typical action.
Ver. 8, &c.—And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures that were in the sea and had life, died.
Jer. 2:25.—Behold I am against thee,
O destroying mountain, saith the Lord;
which destroyest the whole earth; and I
will stretch out my hand. upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
Ex. 7:20.—All the waters that were in the river were turned into blood; and the fish that was in the river died, and the river stank.
Ver. 11.—The third part of the waters became Wormwood, and many men died of the waters because they were made bitter.
Jer. 9:15.—Behold I will feed them, even this people, with Wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Ver. 12.—The third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars.
Ezek. 32:7.—I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark, and I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
Ver. 33.—Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth.
Ezek. 2:10.—Lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
Chapter 9:2.—He opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace: and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth.
Ver. 4.—It was commanded them that they should hurt ... only those men who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads.
Isa. 14:31.—There shall come from the north a smoke.
Ex. 10:14.—And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened.
Judg. 7:12.—The Midianites. . . lay along the valley like locusts
( אדבה LXX. ακρις) for multitude.
Ex. 8:23.—I will put a division between my people and thy people.
Ex. 12:23.—When He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
Ezek. 9:6.—Come not near any man upon whom is the mark.
Ver. 6.—And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Jer. 8:3.—Death shall be chosen rather than life, by all the residue of theta that remain of this evil family.
Ver. 7, &c.—And the shapes of the locusts, were like unto horses prepared for battle. . . their teeth were as the teeth of lions... and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Joel 2:4.—The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen so shall they run.
Joel 1:6.—A nation whose teeth are as the teeth of a lion; and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion.
Joel 2:5.—Like the noise of chariots upon the tops of mountains shall they leap......as a strong people set in battle array.
There is much in the woes that follow the sounding of the seven angels, that bears a strong resemblance to the plagues of Egypt, as well in the woes themselves, as in this, that as the Egyptians and Israel were distinguished by God, the latter being preserved from those things which fell on the former, especially in the exemption from the slaughter of the first-born, when the blood on the lintel caused the Destroyer to pass by; so here those sealed are spared—sealing in Scripture is spoken of the Spirit (the witness to the blood)—“in whom
Ver. 11—And he said unto me, Thou must prophecy against (επι) many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Jer. 1:9—The Lord said unto me, Behold I have put words in thy mouth; see I have set thee this day over (LXX επι) the nations, and over the kingdoms.
The commission given here to John, embraces much of those to Ezekiel, and to Jeremiah. The particulars of the delivery of the “little book” and of its being eaten by the Apostle, are almost identical in their detail, with those in Ezekiel. And in the charge of prophesying “over the nations,” he receives that which had especially belonged to Jeremiah. And truly with regard to the nations and the kings of the earth we find. nothing here recorded as their future history but evil, until their opposition to the Lord and hi is Christ is consummated by their being assembled by the agency of Satan at Armageddon; when Jesus shall take to Himself His great power, and shall reign—when His enemies shall be made His footstool; and then those who have been separated. unto Him as “a peculiar people,” from out of all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together in blessed fellowship with their glorified Lord. Surely the knowledge of these things ought to cause us to take heed to our ways, that we may realize even now our separated position, separate from the world—separate unto God; that we may in nothing be entangled by those things which we know (because in the light of God’s Truth we have so seen them) to be contrary to our Lord and Master. May the Lord teach us (in the knowledge of our own weakness) to seek His strength through Christ, that we may walk as risen with Him.
Chapter 11:1.—And there was given me a reed like unto a rod; and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar.
Ezek. 40:3.—Behold a man... with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
41:13.—He measured the house.
40:47.—He measured the altar which was before the house.
The symbolical action of measuring appears to me to denote preservation; the temple, &c. in Ezekiel is measured when the time of Jerusalem’s blessing is arrived; and so here the temple (i.e. what is symbolized by the temple) and the worshippers are measured; this is, I suppose, analogous to the sealing of the servants of God in chap. vii; evil is coming to pass, but there are those whom God will preserve unto His kingdom and glory, who shall be kept; although all form of earthly worship. (symbolized by the court without) will be unacknowledged, and therefore allowed to be trampled down.
Ver. 2.—But the court which is without the temple is given to the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they trample under foot forty and two months. (i.e. three years and six months.)
Psa. 79:1.—O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance, thy holy temple have they defiled.
Dan. 7:25.—They (the saints of the heavenlies) shall be given into his hand until a time and times, and half a time. (i.e. three years and six months.)
Ver. 3.—And I will give power unto my TWO WITNESSES, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackloth. (i.e. for the same time as the trampling down by the Gentiles.)
Mal. 4:4.—Remember ye the law of MOSES my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb, &c. Behold I will send you ELIJAH the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
The particulars which are foretold of the “two witnesses” in this chapter, are some of the things which characterized Moses and Elijah, who also appeared with our Lord at His transfiguration. John the Baptist came “in the spirit and power of Elias,” but when the Jews asked him, “Art thou Elias?” he answered, “I am not;” (John 1:2121And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. (John 1:21).) now as John thus disclaimed being Elijah, and as he did not (in consequence of his rejection by the people of the Jews) perform that which was foretold of Elijah, so do I think that his coming is yet future, and therefore suppose that the resemblance in this chapter consists not in a mere similarity of circumstances, but in the identity of one of the witnesses with Elijah the prophet, who will (I doubt not) yet testify in Jerusalem—the other witness seems to be Moses; the law of Moses is in Malachi immediately connected with Elijah the prophet. One thing is remarkable—that Elijah was caught up in a chariot of fire; and that although Moses died, there were something peculiar about what became of his body. (Jude 99Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 9).)
Ver. 4.—These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks, standing before the God (Lord, Griesbach) of the earth.
Zech. 4:3.—Two olive trees by it.
Ver. 11.—What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick, and upon the left side thereof? (ver. 14.) These are the two anointed ones which stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Ver. 5.—And if any man desire to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies; and if any man desire to hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
2 Kings 1:10.—And Elijah answered, and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire conic down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty; and there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
Ver. 6.—These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. [i.e. for three years and six months.]
“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” (James 5:17.)
1 Kings 17:1.—And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
And have power over waters to turn them to blood.
Ex. 7:20.—Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded, and he smote the waters that were in the river; and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood.
Ver. 7.—The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war with them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Dan. 7:21.—The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.
Ver. 11.—The Spirit of life from God entered into, them and they stood upon their feet.
Ezek. 37:10.—The breath ( רוח το πνμα [ζωης] the Spirit [of life] LXX Alex.) entered into them, and they stood upon their feet.
This appears to be merely a verbal similarity.
Ver. 15.—The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; (Griesbach, the kingdom has become, &c.) and He shall reign for ever and ever.
Psa. 22:28—For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He is the Governor among the nations.
45:6.—Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.
Dan. 7:14.—There was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion.
Ex. 15:18.—The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
The twenty-second Psalm presents with peculiar vividness “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow;”—part fulfilled in our Lord’s humiliation—part unfulfilled, in His hitherto unmanifested reign over the nations—here the faith of the saints may rest, joyfully knowing that a day is yet to come when this part also shall be accomplished—when “all the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the Lord,” even unto Him, who in His agony could say “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” Then shall we with joyful lips, and unhindered by our bodies of sin, join in ascribing “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood; and hath made us kings and priests unto His God and Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever! Amen.”
Ver. 17.—We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty.......because thou hast taken to thyself thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come;
and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them that destroy the earth.
Psa. 98:1.—O sing unto the Lord a new song; His right hand, and His holy arm hath gotten Dim the victory.
Psa. 2:1.—Why do the heathen rage (ver. 5.)—Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath.
Psa. 46:6.—The nations raged; the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
Dan. 7:10—The judgment was set, and the books were opened.
(ver. 22.)—The time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Psa. 115:13.—He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
Dan. 11:44.—He shall go forth with great fury to destroy.. yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
A time is to be, when the kingdoms of this world shall belong unto the Lord: we know full well that at present it is not so, but that the world is still “in the wicked one.” (1 John 5:1919And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. (1 John 5:19)) The Lord has not as yet taken to Himself His great power, but it is a thing to be waited for, until the day of His long-suffering shall be gone by, when the rod of Christ’s strength shall be sent out of Zion, “Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.”
These things are plainly told us—that this assumption of power shall be when the rage of the nations is stirred up, when there are those ruling “who destroy the earth:”—that the power so assumed by Christ shall be continued, and shall be manifested in the destruction of those who so destroy—that then the saints shall all be rewarded.
Nothing can, I think, be more manifest, than the connection of the above quotations with the 7th of Daniel. In each we find Christ receiving power, and an unending kingdom; in each the saints receive a reward. Vain then is it for us to expect the blessing of the earth until that time; for until Christ with the breath of His mouth shall destroy the wicked, the time cannot be when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth; until Satan, “the god of this world,” be bound, the kingdom cannot be Christ’s—there is necessarily an order and consecution in these things, for (from their inherent incompatibility) they cannot coexist. The world has rejected Jesus, and still rejects Him (even when professing to honor His name), those therefore who are His, have to share His rejection, (and this is the saints’ privilege)—and to suffer from the world; in all this having fellowship with the Captain of their salvation; and when He takes His great power, when the world which has refused to acknowledge Him in grace, shall be compelled to do so in judgment—then shall His people receive their reward, sharing His glory and His dominion. “Here is the patience of the saints.”
This assumption of power marks the end of the vision.
Chapter 12:2.—She being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Isa. 66:7.—Before she travailed she
brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child ... As soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children.
Mic. 4:9, &c.—Pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail; be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shall thou go forth out of the city. . . thou shalt go even to Babylon, there shalt thou be delivered, &c.
There is apparently much more than a casual resemblance between this passage from Isaiah and that in the Revelation; contrasted as they are in circumstances, there seems much that is the same in each of them. But it is there varying circumstances that I wish particularly to notice here; the woman here seen (whatever may be thereby personified) brings forth a child with pain and sorrow; this birth is before the coming of “the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ,” (ver. 10.) This child is born, “to rule the nations with a rod of iron,” which is spoken of the saints (chap. 2) as well as of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Psa. 2) It applies to the saints wholly in their fellowship with their Master in the heavenly glory; and so here this man-child (whatever it may symbolize) receives not the earthly dominion spoken of in Isaiah, but is caught up to God, and to His throne—now the birth in Isaiah without pain or sorrow, is at the time when the Lord shall appear to the joy of those who tremble at His word, when shall be heard the voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to His enemies; when the Lord shall extend peace to Jerusalem like a river; when the day of Zion’s blessing shall have come—this difference of time is enough to account for the variation in the description, because then the circumstances of the saints and also of Israel, will be contrasted to those in which they now are.
In Isaiah, the man-child who is born is described as symbolizing “a nation,” — “shall a nation be born at once,” (ver. 8.) and this nation is spoken of as being blessed in Jerusalem—so here, I assuredly think, that the man-child symbolizes those of the Jews, who being converted by testimony in Jerusalem (see chap. 11:3.) are blessed in the heavenly glory—let this at least be noticed—their allotment is spoken of in the same terms as is that of the saints in their glorification with Jesus—and the birth is spoken of (properly allowing for the changed circumstances) like that of the nation to whom shall pertain the earthly glory—that is, the remnant of the Jews who shall be spared, and be made the blessing of the earth.
Ver. 3.—A great red dragon, having. . . ten horns.
Dan. 7:7.—A fourth beast dreadful and terrible. . . and it had ten horns.
Ver. 4.—And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.
Dan. 8:10.—It cast down some of the host, and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
Ver. 5.—She was delivered of a man-child, who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
Isa. 66:7.—She was delivered of a man-child.
Psa. 2:10.—Thou shalt rule (LXX) them (i.e. the nations) with a. rod of iron.
Ver. 6.—And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
Ver. 14.—Where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Dan. 7:25.—He shall speak great words against the Most High ( עלאה ), and shall wear out the saints of the heavenlies ( עליובין );......and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time.
The period of the power of evil exercised by the little horn in Daniel, just synchronizes with that of the affliction of the saints in this book; it is variously spoken of—forty and two months, (11:2.) twelve hundred and sixty days, (11:3.)—it is mentioned in this chapter twice, and also chap. 13:5. It has often been said that this period must mean one thousand two hundred and sixty YEARS, instead of DAYS, because these are prophetic dates; but the reasons for supposing that their literal acceptation is not to be taken appear to me to be very slight.
Dan. 9:2424Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. (Daniel 9:24).—“Seventy weeks are determined,” &c. שׁבעים שׁבעים , (Shavungim Shivngim) Seventy hebdomads, is all the force of the words, whether of years or days; thus chap. 10:2. “I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks” ימים שׁבעים שׁלשׁה (Sheloshah Shavungim Yamim) “three hebdomads of days,”—the word days is expressed in order to define the meaning, so that this passage does not support the idea attached to prophetical days.
Num. 14:3434After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. (Numbers 14:34).—“After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years.” Here the substitution of a year for a day is expressly mentioned, and the reason is given why such a representation should be made.
Ezek. 4, &c.—Here the prophet is commanded to perform a symbolical action, in which he is told, in express words, that each year is represented by a day. None of these three passages give us any ground for forming a canon of criticism, so as to state that a day in prophetic language must mean a year; sometimes (as in the case of our Lord’s resurrection) this is manifestly impossible, and it seems much more reasonable to understand a thing simply stated in prophecy literally, and not by an arbitrarily devised principle; especially in such a case as this, where the same period is spoken of in many coincident ways; for the time is stated in days, in months, and in years, all agreeing in the time—three years and six months; as literal, I should judge, as any historical date in Scripture.
Ver. 7.—There was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.
Isa. 34:5.—My sword shall be bathed in heaven.
Dan. 12:1.—And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince that standeth for the children of thy people.
Ver. 10.—Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of It is Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night.
Psa. 145:11.—They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power.
Zech. 3:1—He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
Job 1:9.—Doth Job serve God for naught? &c. &c.
Little do we apprehend aright the fearful power which Satan possesses; that he has access to God to accuse us we know from this passage. In the knowledge of this, and of our own evil, we find how great is our blessedness in having “an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,” who hath reconciled is to God by His own blood, and who “ever liveth to make intercession for us.”
Ver. 12.—Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Dan. 12:1.—There shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was
a nation, even to that same time.
The time of trouble in Daniel is when Michael stands up for the Jews; so here this woe, consequent on Satan coming down having great wrath, is when Michael shall have cast him from heaven, when he was ready to devour the child that should be born; these things seem to be thus connected.
Chapter 13:1.—I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.
Ver. 2.—And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion.
Dan. 7:3.—Four great beasts came up from the sea. (v. 7.) And it (the fourth beast) had ten horns.
v. 6.—I beheld, and to! another like a leopard.
v. 5.—Another beast, a second, like to a bear.
v. 4.—The first was like a lion.
Ver. 5, &c.—And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months; and he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to over come them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Dan. 7:8.—A mouth speaking great things.
v. 25.—He shall speak great words against the Most High; and shall wear out the saints of the heavenlies, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time.
8:10.—And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them; yea he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, and in consequence of him, (ממנו αυτν LXX) the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
v. 24.—And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
11:45.—He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain.
Chapter 5:10.—And for the majesty
which He gave him, all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him.
2:37.—Thou, O King, art a King of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and, glory; and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven, He hath given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all.
The beast seen by John combines all those in Daniel; it has the body of the third (the kingdom of Alexander)—the feet of the second (the Persian empire)—the mouth of the first (the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar)—and the horns of the fourth (the Roman empire.) All the characteristics of this beast are the same as those of Daniel’s fourth, after the springing up of the little horn—(for I should judge that we are to understand the actions of the horn to be those of the whole beast, when possessed of that horn,)—and thus it is the last Concentration of Gentile power that is here shown forth, (standing Possessed of all the authority given by God to Nebuchadnezzar,) When corrupted (as all God’s gifts become in the hand of man) to the utmost.
In Daniel three of the horns are plucked up before the little horn, so here there are seven heads, being the number of the kings left by this little horn. (ver. 24.)
In chap. 12 we find a great red dragon, as the persecutor of the saints, (this last power of evil, I should judge, as energized by Satan,) having seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns, showing, I suppose, the state and the number of the kingdoms when in the actual exercise of their power, when three kings shall have been destroyed; here the ten horns are crowned, being the number of kingdoms into which the Roman empire (the fourth beast) is yet to be divided. Many lists have been made of such ten kingdoms, but they have always been confined to the western part of the empire, and few have agreed as to what they were; the fifth and sixth centuries too, have been the date when they have been sought—now the whole of the empire is thus to be divided, (five kingdoms arising from the eastern, and five from the western branch, as shown by the toes of the image, Dan. 2) and therefore no period previous to A. D. 1453 (when the Mahometans destroyed the eastern empire,) can be assigned for this division; and certainly no such kingdoms have existed since.
In Daniel the beast is recorded from its origin; and thus, I think, its last power is shown by the springing up of “a little horn;” here the beast is seen in its last state of power, and thus the whole beast is the agent.
In chapter 11 we find the two witnesses prophesying, clothed with sackcloth for three years and a half; in chap. 12 when the dragon is cast down, having great wrath, knowing that his time is short, the woman is nourished for three years and a half, and he makes war with the remnant of her seed; in chap. 13, the power of the beast is for three years and a half which is also the time of the dominion of the little horn (Dan. 7); and which is the time mentioned Dan. 12 when “the end of these wonders” shall be.
Ver. 8.—And all those who dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world, in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.
Dan. 12:1.—There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, even every one that is written in the book.
Ver. 10.—He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.
Is. 14:2.—They shall take them for captives whose captives they were.
Gen. 9:6.—Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.
Ver. 13.—And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men; and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do, &c.
[See chap. 11:5, 6, and compare with Ex. 7:11,22; 8:7 which I think show parallel events; the time the prophecy of the witnesses clothed in sackcloth, and that of the beast being identical; i.e. three years and six months.]
Ver. 18.—Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast.
Dan. 12:10.—The wise shall understand.
Many have been the interpretations given in order to make the number 666 apply to the Papal power—λατεινος, and (when it was found that in Greek, this name was spelled without ε)ή λατινη βασιλεια, and many others; in fact, if this were the way in which wisdom is to be used, the beast might be found almost any where; but all this shows (I think) that the application has not yet been seen by the Church, because that to which it belongs is not yet manifested.
Chapter 14:1.—And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion; and with Him one hundred and forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Psa. 2:6.—I have anointed my king, upon Zion, the mountain of my holiness.
Isa. 59:20.—The Redeemer shall come to Zion.
Zech. 14:5.—The Lord my God shall
come, and all his saints with thee.
This chapter stands, I believe, by itself; and although embracing many of the things in the one previous, yet it appears to be a vision distinct from what precedes and from what follows, although embracing almost the whole of their subject matter in a small compass. The Son of Man crowned, sufficiently disconnects it from the subsequent vision.
Ver. 4.—These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Num. 3;13.—All the first-born are mine, for on the day when I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the first-born in Israel.
Ex. 12:23.—The Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood [of the Lamb] upon the lintel and the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the door; and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite [the first-born]
Ver. 5.—And in their mouth was found no guile.
Ps, 32:2.—Blessed is the man......in whose mouth (LXX) there is no guile.
Ver. 8.—Babylon is fallen, is fallen; that great city; because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Isa. 21:9.—Babylon is fallen, is fallen.
Jer. 51:8.—Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed. (ver. 7.) Babylon hath made all the earth drunken, the nations have drunken of her wine.
Ver. 9, &c.—If any man worship the beast and his image, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture (του κεκερασμενου ακρατου) into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with tire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night.
Psa. 75:8.—In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red, (חמר, ) it is full of mixture (οινου ακρατου πλρες LXX,) and He poureth out of the same; but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them, and drink them.
Psa. 11:6.—Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, (פחים burning coals) fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest; (זלעפות דוח a wind of burning blasts) this shall be the portion of their cup.
Isa. 34:10.—It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever and ever.
Ver. 14.—Behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown.
Isa. 19:1.—Behold the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud.
Dan. 7:13.—One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven. ver. 14. And there was given Him.... a kingdom.
Ver. 15.—Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Joel 3:13.—Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Ver, 19.—The angel. . . gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God; and the winepress was trodden without the city; and blood came out of the winepress.
Joel 3:13.—Come, get you down, (LXX go ye out, tread) for the press is full, the fats overflow, the wickedness is great.
Isa. 63:3.—I have trodden the winepress alone;... their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments.
It has been said by those who apply the prophecies respecting the beast (chap. 13.) and Babylon, to the Church of Rome, that it is in some measure a palliation of the evil of that system for any to understand them otherwise. The testimony of the Reformers has been resorted to, in order to support that application by their authority. The Reformers saw (and in this they were anticipated by the Franciscan Friars) that many of the MORAL FEATURES of Babylon were similar to those of the Papal Church; they therefore applied them there, fully believing that to have been intended to be designated by the Lord.
The Scripture is often capable of being thus applied in principle—warnings and exhortations addressed to particular Churches are applicable now as circumstances may arise, and thus is obtained very much of the practical counsel, rebuke, and encouragement which the Scripture affords; and so in this instance—wherever we see in any measure the features of Babylon, we can safely say, that there is that which is contrary to the Lord’s mind, even though we be unable to interpret the prophecy itself.
Those then, who (like the early Church) look to the accomplishment of the prophecies in Daniel, the 2nd of Thessalonians, and this book, in the arising of a personal Antichrist, cannot be justly charged with upholding, in any measure, the system of Popery. Because they see a wider and a further scope in these predictions, they can warn against the deceit of Satan, not only in Romanism, but in his other, and yet more destructive wiles; for it is written, “If any man worship the beast and his image, he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb!” Surely not even the most strenuous asserter of the identity of Popery and Babylon, can suppose that every one who acknowledged the authority of the Romish Church, should (without exception) perish everlastingly!
But further, I believe, that much evil and blindness have arisen in the Church of God, from the common practice of Protestants of applying to Popery everything respecting Babylon; they have thus thought that they could themselves by no possibility be involved in what is denounced in the Revelation, and therefore have not felt in its true and practical force, the necessity of separation from whatever bears the impress of Babylon.
Supposing that in this prophecy Babylon could in no sense, even of principle or application, belong to the Apostate Church. at all, yet still we should find in this chapter in “THE VINE OF THE EARTH,” that which designates it with awful clearness. The true vine, with its branches, are Christ and the Church, (John 15)—that which bears fruit unto God; and so apparently “the vine of the earth” is that which professes to bear fruit to God—that which bears the name of Christ, and is under the responsibility of the Gospel—but it is “cast into the great wine-press of the wrath of God!”
The professing Church receives this fearful doom; let not it be said then by any, that because they belong not to the Church of Rome, that because they are Protestants, they shall escape the judgment of God. The (so called) Protestant Churches do but little recognize that the whole Church is Apostate—i.e. that it has departed from the ground on which God placed it. They have too exclusively charged Apostasy upon the Church of Rome, without inquiring how far they themselves are involved in it. In Romanism it stands in its undisguised. features; but the recovery by any of the blessed truth, that a sinner is justified before God through faith in the blood of Jesus, does not necessarily show that they are no longer Apostate.
The word of warning to those gathered from the Gentiles, was, “Be not high minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He spare not thee; behold therefore, the goodness and severity of God; on them which fell severity; but towards the goodness, Of thou continue in His goodness; OTHERWISE THOU ALSO SHALT BE CUT OFF.” (Rom. 11:20-2220Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Romans 11:20‑22))
But there is a Church chosen of God unto salvation, and preserved. in Christ...Jesus; they too are mentioned in this chapter, “the first fruits unto God, and to the Lamb;” and where shall they be found? Even with the Lamb—they have been sanctified by His blood; they have gone to Him without the camp bearing His reproach—they now are united with Him in blessedness, (ver. 4,) Whatever may befall, they are secure in Jesus; “It is yet a little while, and He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry;” surely in this we can rejoice in hope, knowing in whom we have believed.
The knowledge of these solemn Truths should make us take heed that we be separate from all that is evil, whether avowedly of the world, or nominally of the Church; this I believe we are the more enabled to do the more we realize our position—“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; AND YE YOURSELVES LIKE UNTO MEN THAT WAIT FOR THEIR LORD.”
I remain,
your brother and servant in the Lord,
S. P. T.
Plymouth, March 8, 1836