THE second trouble comes on the sea. The sea is the unformed mass of nations. (Jer. 51:4242The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. (Jeremiah 51:42); Dan. 7:88I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7:8).) A mountain is a kingdom in symbol. (Isa. 2; Dan. 2) A kingdom falls from the organized earth among the unformed nations under the judgment of God: its incorporation marks off a third of the nations for destruction; and one third of those not of the nations, yet living by them, are cut off; and one third of the traffic by the nations ceases, for so would be the death of the fish and destruction of the ships.
The third trouble is upon the rivers and fountains. A great star, which is a leader or ruler (Num. 24:1717I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. (Numbers 24:17)), or teacher (Rev. 1), fell from heaven. That heaven is the symbol of that which has rule is clear from Gen. 1:6,6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. (Genesis 1:6) as gathered from its antitype, and from (Gen. 37:9-119And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. (Genesis 37:9‑11)) Joseph's dream: for the work of God in creation—matter, as recorded in Genesis 1, is exactly in analogy the same as His work in the development of the work of redemption—the wonders of each successive day in creation being types of the wonders of each successive dispensation. The distinctive feature of the second day in creation was the firmament, as dividing the waters from the waters; and the distinctive feature of the second, or antediluvian dispensation (of which we read from Gen. 4:11And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. (Genesis 4:1) to 8:14, inclusive), was the introduction of rule among the children of men as connected with the heavens. As to Gen. 37:9-11,9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. (Genesis 37:9‑11) we have the sun and moon and stars (Israel and the twelve patriarchs), as that for which and by which all order on the earth was regulated. This great teacher then descends with full authority, as coming thence where the authority of rule is; and He has a great show of light, being, as it were a lamp that burneth. In Matt. 25:3, 4,3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (Matthew 25:3‑4) we have the lamp as the symbol of profession: “They took their lamps,” &c. In Psa. 119:105,105NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105) we have, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths,” as showing the thing connected with God. The force of “a lamp that burneth,” as expressing bright light, is shown by Isa. 62:1,1For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. (Isaiah 62:1) where it is said that Zion's salvation in the latter day shall be “as a lamp that burneth” while the connection of the lamp with wickedness is shown by Prov. 13:9: “The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.” (See also chap. 20:20.)
This great teacher, sustained with power and accredited by a great show of light, falls upon a third of the rivers and fountains. By a fountain I understand “doctrine.” “The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” (Prov. 13:1414The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (Proverbs 13:14).) “The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” (Prov. 14:2727The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27).) I might refer also, I think, to (Zech. 13:11In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. (Zechariah 13:1)) the fountain opened to the house of David, &c., for sin and for uncleanness, as meaning doctrine of truth in power; and in the same way, to Rev. 21:6; 7:176And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)
17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:17). And by rivers I understand the proceeds of these hidden springs and resources of doctrine or truth, whether in the concrete the waters themselves, or the channels through which they flow, or the teachings by which they were proclaimed. And thus Ezek. 47:5,5Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. (Ezekiel 47:5) and the parallel passages, as Joel 3:1818And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. (Joel 3:18); Zech. 14:8,8And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. (Zechariah 14:8) show the flowing forth on earth, as Rev. 22:1, 2,1And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1‑2) the flowing forth in heaven, of those fountains previously referred to, even the river of God.
His name was Wormwood. In Deut. 29:19, 20,19And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: 20The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. (Deuteronomy 29:19‑20) He that hears the curses of the law, and says, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst, is likened to a root that beareth gall and wormwood. See also the strange woman, Prov. 5:44But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. (Proverbs 5:4). In Jer. 9:15,15Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. (Jeremiah 9:15) wormwood seems the bitter results of disobedience, even being scattered among the heathen. See also Jer. 23:1515Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. (Jeremiah 23:15). Here, as in Amos 5:7,7Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, (Amos 5:7) “Ye who turn judgment to wormwood,” seems to mean the corruption of the waters, resulting in the death of those that drank thereof.
The fourth angel. On the symbolic meaning of the sun, and moon, and stars, I know not that I have anything to add to what was said under the last trumpet. If those remarks be correct, the result of this fourth trump will be obscuring judgment upon one-third of that which rules in that day on the earth, followed by an angel, or eagle] crying, Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the other angels which are yet to sound.
As the four first seals are marked off from the three last, so here we have a similar division of the trumpets into four and three. In both cases, of the seals and trumpets, the four first are more general in character than the three last.
Chapter 9—The fifth angel sounds. The object of this trumpet, as a whole, is evidently to bring torment for a limited time, and limited extent, upon all men, save the one hundred and forty-four thousand. The symbolic force of a star, and its fall from heaven to the earth, have been looked at. To him was given a key, the insignia of power, to open the well of the abyss. That there is a difference between “the well of the abyss” and “the abyss” I do not say, though I think it well to notice, that while here it is φρέαρ τῆς ἀβύσσου, in verse 11, and in chapters 11, 17, and 20 it is merely the abyss which is mentioned. I incline to think that there is a difference, the abyss opening into hell itself, the well of the abyss opening merely into the deep parts of the earth.
The pit was opened, and thence ascended a large and thick volume of smoke as from a furnace.
I do not see definitely what “the well of the abyss” means, though the smoke ascending from it, as a thing from beneath, and from such a place, seems to impress the mind with the idea of the manifestation of an infernal origin.
Smoke, as the accompaniment and consequence of fire or “discernment” in the widest application, would have a variety of meanings, though all of them having one leading common idea. The smoke of Edom going up forever (Isa. 34:1010It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. (Isaiah 34:10)) would be the abiding proof of God's having acted thereunto upon His discernment of its state, &c.
Isa. 7:44And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. (Isaiah 7:4). The two tails of these smoking firebrands would express persons manifestly used as plagues. The smoke (Isa. 4:55And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. (Isaiah 4:5)), as of the cloud of smoke, was just the same as to the subject there—the manifestation of the presence of God. I cannot pass by the beautiful allusion here (Sol. 3: 6), the Bridegroom being likened to a pillar of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense. In Rev. 8:44And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. (Revelation 8:4) the smoke of the incense ascending up is the manifestation of God's approbation of the incense:
In Rev. 15:88And 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. (Revelation 15:8) the temple is filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power, on the seven vials full of the seven last plagues being given forth. Here, in chapter 9, I take that the smoke is just the expression of the place whence it comes, being under judgment, and of the darkening tendency of what shall proceed thence, as the parent or nurse of the locusts thence issuing, and the smoke is” as the smoke of a great furnace,” I suppose as expressing the fullness of its volume; the result was, that the sun and the air were darkened thereby.
The air is, I believe, the symbolic mode of expressing universal connection with the earth, when looked at as not connected definitely with God.
[Eccl. 10:20,20Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. (Ecclesiastes 10:20) A bird of the air shall carry the voice]. Matt. 8:20,20And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Matthew 8:20) The birds of the air have nests—see also 13:32; Mark 4:3232But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. (Mark 4:32); Luke 9:5858And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Luke 9:58); Eph. 2:2,2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2) the prince of the power of the air; just as the word heaven is used in connection with the word fowl, Jer. 7:33; 16:4; 19:7; 34:20; 15:333And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. (Jeremiah 7:33)
4They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. (Jeremiah 16:4)
7And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. (Jeremiah 19:7)
20I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. (Jeremiah 34:20)
3And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. (Jeremiah 15:3); Ezek. 29:5; 31:6, 13; 32:4; 38:205And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. (Ezekiel 29:5)
6All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. (Ezekiel 31:6)
13Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: (Ezekiel 31:13)
4Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. (Ezekiel 32:4)
20So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. (Ezekiel 38:20); Dan. 2:38,38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (Daniel 2:38) &c.
I conceive also that the sun is thus used, not as where the moon and stars are also mentioned, but as express—sing in like manner universality, as we find “under the sun” so constantly used in Ecclesiastes: “What profit is there in any labor under the sun?” “There is no new thing under the sun,” &c., and 2 Sam. 12:12,12For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. (2 Samuel 12:12) “I will do this before Israel and the sun.”
Out of the smoke, thus darkening the sun and the air, came forth locusts.
Locusts were among the plagues of Egypt (Ex. 10:4-194Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 5And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: 6And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh. 7And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? 8And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go? 9And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. 10And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. 11Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. 12And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. 13And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 15For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only. 18And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord. 19And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. (Exodus 10:4‑19)), and were known always as a plague. (Deut. 28:3838Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. (Deuteronomy 28:38); Psa. 105:3434He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number, (Psalm 105:34).)
In Prov. 30:27,27The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; (Proverbs 30:27) the order of the locusts (“the locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands") is spoken of, and in Nah. 3:15, 17,15There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts. (Nahum 3:15)
17Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. (Nahum 3:17) the number “make thyself many as the locusts.... thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as grasshoppers"); but these locusts are symbolic, for they are monsters most incongruous in their parts. The power they had of harming was not natural to them, it was given, “power as the power of a scorpion.” To harm the grass of the earth, the green things or trees (that is, to do the common works of their race), these locusts are prohibited, and limited to tormenting men—not to kill them, but to torment five months, with the anguish of the scorpion sting.
By this I understand the infliction of some such things as the mark of the beast; something which, while it circumscribes man's liberty in a painful way, at the same time has a poisoning effect upon his soul. If the marauding nation spoken of in Joel 1 and 2 are the same as these locusts, they come up against the land, ranging over its precincts, under a Satanic influence; for, God having then set to His hand to restore, Satan is seeking to binder. It strikes me that in the days of our Lord, when the remnant (issuing in the church) which corresponded with this 144,000, which shall (in the time we are now reading of) be delivered from the power of these plagues—that the remnant, I say, was delivered by its allegiance to the Lord from some such thing. If any man confessed Jesus to be Christ, he was to be, ipso facto, ἁποσυνάγωγος. Again, such edicts as we read of in Dan. 3 and 6 by Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, both of whom were of the stock which, in the day of these trials, shall be blossoming in wickedness, may also be considered. If the scene of these scorpion-stings be the land and its precincts, and any such thing be that referred to, we can see and understand it; for a Jew of very moderate attainment in Judaism would feel anguish and vexation of soul enough to make him hate life and choose strangling rather, though he might not refuse to submit. Many a thing in England the Hebrew nation has to submit to as the Jesuit of collision between its peculiar polity and the lenient laws of England. They are obliged, for instance, by a special covenant before marriage, to do away with their ability of acting upon part of their law. And we know how time was, when in Spain edicts were passed with a view of forcing the Jews to leave the country spontaneously, or to compromise their consciences.
The object of the description of their appearance seems to be to mark their monstrous character, and characteristics; yet this was universal, that, wherever they came, the result was “the tail and sting.” The description runs thus:—
lst.—In shape they were “like unto horses prepared for battle.” Horses were prohibited to Israel (Deut. 17:1616But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. (Deuteronomy 17:16)), and they were brought from Egypt. (1 Kings 10:2828And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. (1 Kings 10:28).) Pharaoh is compared to a horse rider. (Ex. 15:2121And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. (Exodus 15:21); Isa. 2:77Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: (Isaiah 2:7); Zee. ix. 10.) The Assyrian hosts were famous for horses. (1 Kings 20:20, 2520And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. (1 Kings 20:20)
25And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. (1 Kings 20:25) Kings 18:23.) Thus they represent strength (Job 39:19:; Psa. 147:1010He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. (Psalm 147:10)), swiftness (Jer. 4:1313Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. (Jeremiah 4:13); Hab. 1:88Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. (Habakkuk 1:8)), fearlessness (Job 39:1818What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider. (Job 39:18); Jer. 8:66I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle. (Jeremiah 8:6)), majesty (Esther 6:88Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: (Esther 6:8)), and strength in the battle. (Prov. 21:3131The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord. (Proverbs 21:31); Jer. 6:23; 8:16; 12:5,23They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. (Jeremiah 6:23)
16The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. (Jeremiah 8:16)
5If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? (Jeremiah 12:5) &c.)
2nd.— “On their heads crowns of gold,” expressing manifest and conscious dominion, for the crown is the symbol of royalty, priesthood, and victory, passim.
3rd.—They had faces like men's faces.” From the use of the face (Ex. 34:29; 33:1129And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. (Exodus 34:29)
11And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. (Exodus 33:11); Ezek. 10:14; 41:1914And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. (Ezekiel 10:14)
19So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. (Ezekiel 41:19); Rev. 4:66And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. (Revelation 4:6)) I understand this as intelligence; and from its connection with man, who (as contrasted with woman in the next clause) personates lordship, they have manifest intelligent lordship.
4th.— “They had hair like the hair of women,” (length of hair,) being perhaps the badge of luxuriousness, or beauty (2 Sam. 14:2626And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. (2 Samuel 14:26); Isa. 3:2424And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. (Isaiah 3:24)). The reference to women definitely may be the assertion of the appearance of weakness (Isa. 3:12; 19:1612As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. (Isaiah 3:12)
16In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it. (Isaiah 19:16)), or (1 Cor. 11 The hair as for a veil) apparent subjection.
(Continued from page 176.)