M15 The Epistle to Laodicea
M16 A Door Opened in Heaven
106 Or, _come to pass. After these things straightway_, &c.
M17 The Throne and the King
M18 The Four and Twenty Elders
M19 The Seven Lamps of Fire
M20 The Four Living Creatures
107 Or, _glassy sea_.
108 Or, _before_. See ch. 7.17. comp. 5.6.
109 Or, _who cometh_.
M21 The Creation Chorus
110 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
111 The Greek word denotes an act of reverence, whether paid to a
creature or to the Creator.
112 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
M22 The Sealed Book
113 Gr. _on_.
M23 The Lamb
114 Or, _between the throne with the four living creatures, and the
elders_.
115 Some ancient authorities omit _seven_.
M24 The Book Taken and Worship Rendered
116 Gr. _hath taken_.
M25 The Redemption Chorus
117 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
118 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M26 The First Seal
119 Some ancient authorities add _and see_.
M27 The Second Seal
120 Some ancient authorities read _the peace of the earth_.
M28 The Third Seal
121 Or, _A choenix_ (_i. e._ about a quart,) _of wheat for a
shilling_—implying great scarcity. Comp. Ezek. 4.16 f.; 5.16.
122 See marginal note on Mt. 18.28.
M29 The Fourth Seal
123 Or, _pestilence_. Comp. ch. 2.23 marg.
M30 The Fifth Seal
124 Some ancient authorities read _be fulfilled_ in number. _II Esdr._
4.36.
M31 The Sixth Seal
125 Or, _military tribunes_. Gr. _chiliarchs_.
M32 The Angels Holding the Winds
126 Gr. _bondservants_.
M33 The Number Sealed from the Tribes
M34 The Countless Multitude
M35 The Salvation Chorus
127 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
128 Gr. _The blessing, and the glory_, &c.
129 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
M36 The Great Reward
130 Gr. _have said_.
131 Or, _sanctuary_.
132 Or, _before_. See ch. 4.6; comp. 5.6.
M37 The Seventh Seal
M38 Seven Angels Given Seven Trumpets
M39 The Angel with the Incense
133 Or, _at_.
134 Gr. _give_.
135 Or, _for_.
136 Gr. _hath taken_.
137 Or, _into_.
M40 The Trumpets Made Ready to Sound
M41 The First Trumpet
M42 The Second Trumpet
M43 The Third Trumpet
M44 The Fourth Trumpet
M45 The Eagle‐Cry
138 Gr. _one eagle_.
M46 The Fifth Trumpet
139 Gr. _likenesses_.
140 That is, _Destroyer_.
M47 The First Woe Ended
M48 The Sixth Trumpet
141 Gr. _one voice_.
142 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M49 The Angel Coming Down Out of Heaven
M50 The Thunder‐Voices
M51 The Mystery of God to End
143 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
144 Some ancient authorities omit _and the sea and the things that are
therein_.
145 Or, _time_.
146 Gr. _bondservants_.
M52 The Book Eaten
147 Or, _concerning_. Comp. Jn. 12.16.
M53 The Temple Measured
148 Gr. _saying_.
149 Or, _sanctuary_.
150 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
151 Or, _sanctuary_.
152 Gr. _cast without_.
153 Or, _Gentiles_.
M54 The Two Witnesses with Power
154 Gr. _lampstands_.
M55 Their Testimony Finished
155 Gr. _carcase_.
M56 Their Resurrection and Ascension
156 Gr. _names of men, seven thousand_. Comp. ch. 3‐4.
M57 The Second Woe Ended
M58 The Seventh Trumpet
157 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
M59 The Victory Chorus
158 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
159 Gr. _bondservants_.
M60 Tokens of Judgment
160 Or, _sanctuary_.
161 Or, _sanctuary_.
M61 The Woman’s Glory and the Dragon’s Power
M62 The All‐Ruling Man‐Child
162 Or, _Gentiles_.
M63 The Woman’s Escape
M64 Michael Warring with the Dragon
163 Gr. _inhabited earth_.
M65 Satan’s Downfall Proclaimed
164 Or, _Now is the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom, become
our God’s, and the authority is become his Christ’s_.
165 Gr. _tabernacle_.
M66 Persecution of the Woman and Her Seed
166 Some ancient authorities read _I stood_, &c. connecting the clause
with what follows.
M67 First Beast—the Beast from the Sea
167 Gr. _slain_.
168 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
169 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
170 Or, _to do_ his works _during_. See Dan. 11.28.
171 Gr. _tabernacle_.
172 Some ancient authorities omit _And it was given ... overcome them_.
173 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
174 Or, _written in the book ... slain from the foundation of the
world_.
M68 An Admonition to Patience
175 The Greek text in this verse is somewhat uncertain.
176 Or, _leadethinto captivity_.
177 Or, _stedfastness_.
M69 The Second Beast—the Beast from the Land
178 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
179 Some ancient authorities read _that even the image of the beast
should speak; and he shall cause_ &c.
180 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M70 An Admonition to Wisdom
181 Some ancient authorities read _Six hundred and sixteen_.
M71 The Lamb and His Company
M72 The Incommunicable Chorus
M73 The Purity of the Redeemed
M74 The Message of the Eternal Gospel
182 Or, _an eternal gospel_.
183 Gr. _sit_.
184 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M75 The Message of Babylon’s Fall
M76 The Message of Doom for the Beast and His Followers
185 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
186 Gr. _mingled_.
187 Gr. _unto ages of ages_.
188 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M77 The Test of Patience
189 Or, _stedfastness_.
M78 The Blessedness of the Holy Dead
190 Or, _in the Lord. From henceforth, yea saith the Spirit_.
M79 The Harvest of the Elect
191 Or, _sanctuary_.
192 Gr. _become dry_.
M80 The Vintage of Wrath
193 Or, _sanctuary_.
194 Gr. _vine_.
M81 The Angels with the Plagues
M82 The Victors by the Sea
195 Or, _glassy sea_.
196 Or, _upon_.
197 Or, _glassy sea_.
M83 The Chorus of Moses and the Lamb
198 Gr. _bondservant_.
199 Many ancient authorities read _nations_. Jer. 10.7.
200 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M84 The Temple in Heaven Opened
201 Or, _sanctuary_.
202 Or, _sanctuary_.
203 Many ancient authorities read _in linen_, ch. 19.8.
204 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
205 Or, _sanctuary_.
206 Or, _sanctuary_.
M85 The Command to Pour Out the Vials
207 Or, _sanctuary_.
M86 The First Vial
208 Or, _there came_.
209 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M87 The Second Vial
210 Gr. _soul of life_.
M88 The Third Vial
211 Some ancient authorities read _and they became_.
212 Or, _judge. Because they ... prophets, thou hast given them blood
also to drink_.
M89 The Fourth Vial
213 Or, _him_.
M90 The Fifth Vial
M91 The Sixth Vial
M92 The Three Unclean Spirits
214 Or, _upon_.
215 Gr. _inhabited earth_.
M93 The Warning Voice
216 Or, _Ar‐Magedon_.
M94 The Seventh Vial
217 Or, _sanctuary_.
218 Some ancient authorities read _there was a man_.
219 Or, _Gentiles_.
M95 The Judgment of the Great Harlot
M96 Babylon the Harlot City
220 Or, _names full of blasphemy_.
221 Gr. _gilded_.
222 Or, _and of the unclean things_.
223 Or, _a mystery, Babylon the Great_.
224 Or, _witnesses_. See ch. 2.13.
M97 The Mystery of the Woman and the Beast is Told
225 Some ancient authorities read _and he goeth_.
226 Gr. _on_.
227 Gr. _shall be present_.
M98 The Kings that War against the Lamb
228 Or, _meaning_.
229 Or, _there are_.
M99 The Harlot Made Desolate
230 Gr. _hath a kingdom_.
M100 The Fall of the Great City Proclaimed
231 Or, _prison_.
232 Some authorities read _of the wine_ ... _have drunk_.
233 Some ancient authorities omit _the wine of_.
234 Or, _luxury_.
M101 God’s People Called Out of Her
235 Or, _clave together_.
236 Or, _luxurious_.
237 Some ancient authorities omit _the Lord_.
M102 The Lament of the Kings of the Earth over Her Doom
238 Or, _luxuriously_.
M103 The Lament of the Merchants of the Earth
239 Gr. _cargo_.
240 Gr. _amomum_.
241 Gr. _bodies_. Gen. 36.6 (Sept.).
242 Or, _lives_.
243 Gr. _gilded_.
M104 The Lament of the Seamen from Afar
244 Gr. _work the sea_.
M105 The Holy Bidden to Rejoice
M106 The Ruin Complete
245 Gr. _one_.
246 Some ancient authorities omit _of whatsoever craft_.
M107 The Voice of a Great Multitude
247 Gr. _bondservants_.
M108 The Hallelujah Chorus
248 Gr. _have said_.
249 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
250 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M109 The Array of the Bride
M110 The Blessedness of the Marriage Supper
M111 Worship Refused by the Angel
251 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
252 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M112 The Conqueror on the White Horse (The Beginning of the End)
253 Some ancient authorities omit _called_.
254 Some ancient authorities read _dipped in_.
255 Gr. _winepress of the wine of the fierceness_.
M113 The Call to the Birds of Mid Heaven
256 Gr. _one_.
257 Or, _military tribunes_ Gr. _chiliarchs_.
M114 The Beast and the False Prophet Taken
258 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M115 Satan Bound
259 Gr. _upon_.
M116 The First Resurrection and the Millennial Reign
260 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M117 The Blessedness of the Millennial Period
261 Or, _authority_.
262 Some ancient authorities read _the_.
M118 Satan Loosed Again and Overthrown (The War of Gog and Magog)
263 Some ancient authorities insert _from God_.
264 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
M119 The Second Resurrection and the Final Judgment
M120 The New Creation
M121 The Holy City
265 Or, the _holy city Jerusalem coming down new out of heaven_.
M122 A Great Voice Out of the Throne
266 Gr. _tabernacle_.
267 Some ancient authorities omit, and be _their God_.
M123 All Things Made New
268 Or, _Write, These words are faithful and true_.
M124 The City the Bride of Christ
M125 The Glory of the New Jerusalem from Afar
269 Gr. _luminary_.
270 Gr. _portals_.
271 Gr. _portals_.
M126 The Measure of the City
M127 The Materials of Her Building
272 Or, _lapis lazuli_.
273 Or, _sapphire_.
274 Or, _transparent as glass_.
M128 The Glory Within
275 Or, _sanctuary_.
276 Or, _sanctuary_.
277 Or, _and the Lamb, the lamp thereof_.
278 Or, _by_.
279 Gr. _common_.
280 Or, _doeth_.
M129 The River and Tree of Life
281 Or, _the Lamb. In the midst of the street thereof, and on either
side of the river, was the tree of life_, &c.
282 Or, _a tree_.
283 Or, _crops of fruit_.
M130 The Beatific Vision
284 Or, _no more anything accursed_.
285 Gr. _bondservants_.
286 Gr. _unto the ages of the ages_.
M131 The Message Reaffirmed
M132 Worship Again Refused by the Angel
287 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
288 See marginal note on ch. 3.9.
M133 The Book Not to Be Sealed
289 Or, _yet more_.
M134 Christ’s Promise to the Victors
290 Or, _wages_.
291 Or, the _authority over_ Comp. ch. 6.8.
292 Gr. _portals_.
293 Or, _doeth_ Comp. ch. 21.27.
M135 Christ the Morning Star
294 Gr. _over_.
M136 A Universal Invitation
295 Or, _Both_.
M137 John’s Witness and Warning
296 Gr. _upon_.
297 Or, even from _the things which are written_.
M138 A Last Promise of Hope and Prayer of Yearning
M139 The Blessing on the Saints
298 Some ancient authorities add _Christ_.
299 Two ancient authorities read _with all_.
300 Bacon, _Intr. to New Test._, p. 235; and _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p.
160.
301 As held by Seiss and others, following Heinrich, who make the topic
of the Revelation Christ in his Second Advent, contrary to the
generally accepted exegesis.
302 Alford, Plummer, Lee, Milligan, and others, as against Düsterdieck,
Stuart, and the preterists generally.
303 “It means the revelation which Jesus makes, not that which reveals
him.... Revelation ἀποκάλυψις is a word reserved for the Gospel; no
Old Testament prophecy is called a revelation.” Plummer, _Pulp.
Com._, Rev., p. 1; also cf. Düsterdieck, Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, pp.
94‐95.
304 “The testimony of Jesus Christ, like the revelation of Jesus Christ,
means that which he gave, not that which tells about him.” Plummer,
_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 2.
305 Simcox, _Camb. Gr. Test._, Rev., p. 41; Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev.,
p. 2; also cf. Moulton, _Intr. to Litr. of Bib._, p. 312, who says,
“A careful reading will show that these words are to be understood,
not as a part of the revelation, but as the writer’s (or editor’s)
comment upon the book.” This view, it will be seen, does not affect
the sense of the verses, but only their origin.
306 “Understanding can only know what is, has been, or will be. It is
impossible for anything to exist for understanding otherwise than as
a matter of fact it does exist in those three relations of time.”
(Kant, _Critique of Pure Reason_, Watson’s “Selections,” p. 186; or,
in a slightly different translation, Edition of Meiklejohn, p. 307).
It is important for us to note that God is thus presented as
comprehending in himself all the possibilities of existence in human
understanding.
307 For the view that the origin of this conception is to be found in
the later Jewish literature rather than in the Old Testament, see
Scott in _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 126. Swete interprets, “Here the
spirits are seven, because the churches in which they operate are
seven.” _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 6.
308 R. V. “loosed us from our sins by his blood.” “The insertion or
omission of a single letter (in the Greek word) makes the difference
between the A. V. ‘washed’ and the R. V. ‘loosed.’ The manuscript
evidence for each is very evenly balanced; the other evidence
likewise. On the whole, the old reading, ‘washed,’ seems more in
harmony with the thought of the book and with Johannine diction in
general.” _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 127.
309 “The continuous return (the coming of the Lord in the power of the
Spirit) prefacing, heralding the full manifestation of his might and
glory, is the grand theme of the Apocalypse.” Reynolds, _Pulp.
Com._, John’s Gospel, Intr., p. lxxxvi.
310 This title, Παντοκράτωρ “the Almighty,” is used nine times in
Revelation, and only once elsewhere in the New Testament (II Cor.
6:18).
311 Tribulation is the pervading undertone of the whole book. “The
moving spirit of the vision in the Apocalypse is the sufferings of
the church” (Ramsay, _The Church in the Roman Empire_, p. 295). “The
ethical keynote is patience” (_New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 129).
312 See notes on “The Place” in the Introduction to this volume.
313 “The earliest use of the name (the Lord’s day) is in this passage,”
Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 130; Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev.,
p. 5.
314 See Scott, art. “Rev.,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Chr. and Gosp._
315 “The vision of the Divine Christ in Rev. 1 dominates every
subsequent paragraph in the Apocalypse.” Reynolds, art. “Gosp. of
John,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
316 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 7; also see Thayer’s _Gr. Lex. of
New Test._
317 “The association of angels with stars was a common Semitic idea.”
(Moulton). Each star was conceived of by the Jews as having its
angel, as also every force and phenomenon of nature had its separate
angel. It is not strange, therefore, that John grouped them in his
thought.
318 Milligan, _Internat. Com._, vol. iv, Rev., p. 36; also Plummer,
_Pulp. Com._, Rev. p. 8. For the other view see Faussett, J. F. & B.
_Com. on Rev._, p. 589; Stuart, _Com. on Apoc._, pp. 460‐1; and
Trench, _Ep’s to Seven Ch’s_, p. 75f.
319 “This last image is not so strange as it appears at first sight, for
the short Roman sword was tongue‐like in shape.” Hastings’ _Dict. of
Bib._, art. “Sword.”
320 An indication of divine power as well as victory; for “it was part
of the teaching of the Rabbinic schools that the key of death was
one of four (the keys of life, the grave, food, and rain) which were
in the hand of God alone.” _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 133.
321 “The word mystery is not used in the Bible in the modern sense of
‘something that cannot be fathomed or understood,’ but on the
contrary it indicates either something which is waiting to be
revealed or that which when explained conveys understanding. In the
latter sense it comes near to our word ‘Symbol.’ And this is the
sense in which it is to be taken here and in ch. xxii. 7.” (_New
Cent. Bib._, Rev., pp. 133‐4). In the general and broader sense,
however, “The term μυστήριον in the New Testament means truths once
hidden now revealed, made generally known, and in their own nature
perfectly intelligible.” Bruce, _Exp. Gr. Test._, vol. I, p. 196.
322 See art. “Rev.”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._; also “_New Test. Doctr.
of Rev._” in the same work, vol. V. p. 334e.
323 Milligan, _Lect. on Apoc._, p. 16.
324 Asia in the New Testament (with the possible exception of Acts 2:9)
always means the Roman province of that name, which embraced only
the western part of what we now call Asia Minor, and consisted of
Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and part of Phrygia, with the islands of the
coast,—see the map in the beginning of this volume. “Asia was one of
the most wealthy and populous and intellectually active of the Roman
provinces,” Ramsay, art. “Asia.” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
325 Ramsay, _Letters to Seven Ch’s._, p. 35.
326 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 3; Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_,
Intr., p. liv, and p. 4.
327 Milligan, _Lect. on Apoc._, p. 38; _Stuart_, _Com. on Apoc._, pp.
101‐16, and Excur. II, p. 747 in same volume; also see App’x E in
this volume on the “Symbolism of Numbers.”
328 Sayce, Hibbert Lect’s on _Origin and Growth of Religion_, p. 82.
329 So Milligan, Plummer, and others—see notes in Ch. 20:2f.
330 “Probably the most striking feature of the Seven Letters is the tone
of unhesitating and unlimited authority which inspires them from
beginning to end.” Ramsay, _Letters to Seven Churches_, p. 75.
331 See Ramsay’s _Letters to the Seven Churches_, where there will be
found much accurate information concerning the seven cities that is
based upon an extended residence in those cities, and careful
personal investigation. A more concise account by the same author is
given in Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, in the separate articles upon
each city.
332 Moulton’s _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p. 196.
333 The exhortation to “hear what the Spirit saith to the churches”
applies not only to what is contained in the seven epistles, but to
the entire Apocalypse which follows. See Ramsay’s _Letters to Seven
Ch’s_, p. 38.
334 Paradise is the word used in the Septuagint for Eden. It occurs but
three times in the New Testament. It originally signified a park or
garden such as was used by Oriental monarchs for a pleasure‐ground,
but in Christian usage it becomes a name for the scene of rest and
recompense for the righteous after death. See art. “Paradise” by
Salmond, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
335 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., pp. 59‐60.
336 Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 30.
337 Pergamus, though a rarer form, is preferable to Pergamos (A. V.), or
Pergamum (R. V.) as the designation of the city, owing to its softer
sound for the English ear, though the form is otherwise indifferent.
See Ramsay’s art. “Pergamus,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._ “Ἡ Πέργαμος
is found in Xenophon, Pausanius, and Dion Cassius, but τὸ Πέργαμον
in Strabo, and Polybius, and most other writers, and in the
inscriptions; the termination is left uncertain in Apoc. i.11 and
ii.12.” Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 33.
338 “Pergamum was the first place in Asia where as early as the reign of
Augustus was erected a temple to Rome and the Emperor,” Salmon,
_Hist. Intr. to New Test._, p. 239. “An allusion to the rampant
paganism of Pergamum ... but chiefly perhaps to the new Caesar
worship in which Pergamum was preeminent and which above all other
pagan rites menaced the existence of the Church,” Swete, _Apoc. of
St. John_, p. 34.
339 “The name Balaam does not indicate a sect, but a set of principles.”
Briggs, _Mess. of Gospels_, p. 451; also see _New Cent. Bib._, Rev.,
p. 143.
340 This identification is suggested by the present author as a probable
one, for jade is the most notable white stone that was in use in
ancient times, and it is still highly prized for seals, charms, and
kindred purposes in China and the Far East. Dr. Schlieman found
implements made from the coarser kinds of it in the immediate region
of Pergamus among the relics of the oldest of the cities in the
excavations at Hissarlik, the mound of ancient Ilium, near Troas;
and a jade celt engraved with Gnostic formulæ in Greek characters is
preserved in the Christy collection. See art. “Jade,” _Encyc. Brit._
341 Trench, _Ep’s to Seven Churches_, pp. 178‐80. Trench’s view,
however, that the Urim and Thummim consisted of a single stone is
not correct, though his interpretation of this passage is as usual
very suggestive. See art. “Urim and Thummim” in Hastings’ _Dict. of
Bib._
342 See Trench, Stuart, Plummer, Lee, Scott, and others. Lange says
concisely, “Two meanings attached to the white stone among the
Greeks, viz. acquittal in judgment, and the award of some rank or
dignity.” Lange’s (_Com. on Rev._, p. 121). Swete says “The white
stone is the pledge of the divine favor which carries with it such
intimate knowledge of God and Christ as only the possessor can
comprehend.” (_Apoc. of St. John_, p. 40).
343 See art. “Signet,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
344 Hilprecht, _S. S. Times_, Sept. 10, 1904, art. “Babylonian Life in
the Time of Ezra and Nehemiah.”
345 Weizsäcker thinks the new name is “the λόγος of John’s Gospel”
(_Apost. Age_, vol. II p. 171); but by “new” is more likely meant a
hitherto unknown name. Stevens interprets it as “a symbol for the
Messiah,” (_Theol. of New Test._, p. 540). On the other hand Scott
says, “A new name stands for a new character.” (_New Cent. Bib._,
Rev., p. 143); and Ramsay regards it as “perhaps an allusion to the
custom of taking new and secret baptismal names,” (art. “Pergamus,”
Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._); also Düsterdieck thinks that the name
applies to the Christian (_Com. on Rev._, p. 148); and Swete holds
the same view (_Apoc. of St. John_, p. 40). “White” and “new” as
Trench points out, are “key‐words” in the Apocalypse (_Ep’s to Seven
Ch’s_, p. 172).
346 Ramsay explains, “There had been a Jewish colony planted in
Thyatira, and a hybrid sort of worship had been developed, half
Jewish, half pagan, which is called in Revelation the woman
Jezebel,” (_Paul the Trav. and Rom. Cit._, p. 215). Scott thinks it
“most probable that the reference is to some well‐known and
influential woman within the church at Thyatira, whose influence on
the Christian community was parallel to that of Jezebel upon Ahab—a
self‐styled prophetess, whose teaching and example were alike
destructive of Christian morality,” (_New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p.
147). Schürer also holds that Jezebel denoted a definite woman,
(Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, art. “Thyatira”). Plummer finds in the
name a unity of symbolism with other parts of the book, thus,
“Jezebel anticipates the harlot of ch. 17, as Balaam anticipates the
false prophet of ch. 13” (_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 66).
347 Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 42.
348 “To become acquainted with ‘the depths,’ (i. e. the deep things of
divinity, as they would say—called here ‘the deep things of Satan’
in irony) was an essential pretense of the Gnostics.” Düsterdieck,
Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, p. 152.
349 “I will grant him to see the Morning‐star”. Moffatt, _New Trans. of
New Test._
350 “The word used is κλέπτης a ‘thief,’ and not ληστὴς a ‘robber,’
showing that secrecy, not violence, is the point of the similitude.”
Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 108.
351 “The word ‘white’ (λευκὸς), excepting in Mat. 5.36 and Jn. 4.35, is
in the New Testament always used of _heavenly_ purity and
brightness,” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 109.
352 The “book of life” is mentioned seven times in the Revelation, an
indication of the place it occupied in the writer’s thought.
353 Ramsay, _Letters to Seven Ch’s_, pp. 377‐78.
354 Milligan, _Internat. Com._, Rev., p. 48.
355 Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 136.
356 Ramsay, art. “Sardis,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
357 Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 53; and Ramsay, art. “Philadelphia,”
Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
358 Bousset’s inference is scarcely justifiable:—“It is the tone of
immediate expectation of the end; the last great struggle throughout
the whole inhabited world is at hand; the storm is drawing near;
already the seer beholds the lightning flash”. (_New Cent. Bib._,
Rev., pp. 153‐4). Swete also interprets similarly, as referring to
“the troublous times which precede the Parousia,” and adds, “This
final sifting of mankind was near at hand.” (_Apoc. of St. John_, p.
55).
359 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 113; Wordsworth, quoted in _Bib.
Com._, Rev., p. 547.
360 Ramsay, art. “Philadelphia,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._; and his
_Letters to Seven Ch’s._, p. 400.
361 “The word ‘Amen’ is here used as a proper name of our Lord; and this
is the only instance of such an application.... The ‘faithful and
true witness’ is an amplification of the Amen”. Plummer, _Pulp.
Com._, Rev., pp. 114‐15.
362 “The origin of God’s creation.” Moffatt, _New Translation of New
Testament_.
363 “Laodicea was the one famous medical centre in Phrygia.... The
description of the medicine here mentioned is obscured by a
mistranslation. It was not an ointment but a kollyrium, which had
the form of small cylinders compounded of various ingredients, and
was used either by simple application or by reduction to a powder to
be smeared on the part.” Ramsay, _Letters to Seven Ch’s._, p. 429.
364 See art. “Laodicea” by Ramsay, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._; and Swete,
_Apoc. of St. John_, pp. 61‐2.
365 See App’x F, “The Literary Structure of the Apocalypse.”
366 See Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, art. “Stones, Precious;” also the
separate arts. in the same work on the names of precious stones
which we find in the Revelation. Plummer regards the jasper, which
is further described in ch. 21:11 as being “clear as crystal,” to be
the modern diamond, while Cheyne thinks it the opal, and Scott
identifies the sardius with our carnelian.
367 The A. V. reads, “_there was_ a sea of glass”; the R. V. renders,
“as it were a glassy sea”; and the Am. R. V. gives, “as it were a
sea of glass.” The Revisers evidently regarded the phrase as a
figurative way of describing the quiet of the sea. Alford, however,
and Swete interpret literally as “a sea of glass.”
368 Cf. Faussett, J. F. & B. _Com. on Rev._, p. 625.
369 See _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 164.
370 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 145; Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p.
68.
371 “Throughout the vision no past tense is used. The vision represents
the worship of heaven (so far as it can be presented to human
understanding) as it continues eternally.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._,
Rev., p. 145.
372 Bleek, _Lect. on Apoc._, p. 199; Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p.
145.
373 _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 163.
374 _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 163.
375 For Bleek’s view of the arrangement see notes on “The Lamb in the
Midst of the Throne,” under ch. 5:6‐8a.
376 “No one can authoritatively affirm that created beings of a lower
order than man will not in some sense share in the future life.” A.
A. Hodge, unpublished _Classroom Lectures_.
377 See in Am. R. V., I Sam. 4:4; II Sam. 6:2; II Ki. 1:9‐15; I Chr.
13:6; Ps. 80:1, 99:1; Isa. 37:16; Ezek. 10:1‐20.
378 Fairbairn regards the cherubim as typifying “Earth’s living
creaturehood, especially man, its rational and immortal head”. See
his _Typology_, vol. 1, pp. 125‐208. Plummer similarly interprets
the living beings as symbolical of all animal life, and suggests
that the human face of the cherubim represents “humanity as distinct
from the church (which is represented by the four and twenty
elders), and appears to indicate the power of God to use for his
purposes and his glory that part of mankind which has not been
received into the church.” _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 146. Also see art.
“Cherubim,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._; and for an apocalyptic
description of the cherubim, _Bk. of Enoch_ (ed. Charles), 14:11,
18; 20:7; 61:10; 76:7.
379 Stuart, _Com. on Apoc._, p. 515; also cf. Düsterdieck, and Plummer.
Other definitions, though differing in statement, have a general
similarity. For example, “The Book of Destiny” (Bacon, _Intr. to New
Test._, p. 284); “The Book of Doom” (Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev.
p. 382); “The Book of History” (_Temple Bib._, Intr. to Rev., p.
xxxvii); or, better still, “The Book of God’s Counsels” (Lee, _Bib.
Com._, Rev., p. 563). Faussett, following De Burgh, makes the book
“The Title‐deed of Man’s Inheritance Redeemed by Christ” (J. F. & B.
_Com. on Rev._, p. 602). Seiss accepts this interpretation and
explains further by reference to Jewish customs of land tenure
(_Lects. on Apoc._, vol. i, p. 266f.). The definition preferred in
the present volume is “The Book of God’s Plan for the Ages.”
380 “A Roman will, when written, had to be sealed seven times in order
to authenticate it, and some have argued that this explains the
symbolism here” (_Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev. p. 383); but this suggestion
is of doubtful value when the Hebrew use of seven was so well
established.
381 See Düsterdieck, Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, p. 207.
382 “The ability to open was a consequence of a former act of victory,
viz. the redemption.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 164.
383 “The kingship of Christ is more clearly set forth in the Revelation
than in any other part of the New Testament, though not in any
single text, but by the representations of the book throughout,”
Riddle, unpublished _Classroom Lectures on Revelation_. Also see
Pfleiderer, _Influence of Paul on Christianity_ (Hibbert Lect.,
1885), p. 130.
384 “John looked to see a lion and beheld a Lamb,” the change of symbol
seeming to indicate that “the might of Christ is the power of love.”
See Stevens, _New Test. Theol._, p. 542. “The name which most
expresses what Christ is to the Christian is the ‘Lamb.’ ” “This is
used twenty‐nine times in the book.” Porter, art. Rev., Hastings’
_Dict. of Bib._ “This is a dramatic way of expressing the truth that
the efficient factor of history is gentleness.” Dean, _Book of
Revelation_, p. 103.
385 See Bleek’s _Lect. on Apoc._, p. 200f.
386 Cf. Bisping, quoted by Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 167.
387 “This description of the glorified Lord, sublime as a purely mental
conception, becomes intolerable if we give it outward form and
expression.” (Trench, _Ep’s to Seven Ch’s_, p. 64). In fact, “No
scene in the great Christian Apocalypse can be successfully
reproduced upon canvas; the imagery ... is symbolic and not
pictorial,” (Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, Intr., p. cxxxiv.)
“Symbolism does not appeal to the pictorial sense at all, but rather
to some analytic faculty, or conventional association of ideas.”
(Moulton, _Bib. Idyls_, Intr. p. xx). The incongruity of many of
their symbols from the aesthetic point of view does not seem to have
occurred to the Hebrew mind, for with them the religious idea was
predominant. Many of the events recorded in the Revelation are
manifestly impossible except in a vision.
388 “Here we have the ideas of ch. 1. 5 repeated (i. e. of the love and
redemption of Christ) with the further thought that love like that
displayed in Christ’s death for man’s redemption is worthy not only
of all praise, but of having all the future committed to its care.
It is really a pictorial way of saying that redeeming love is the
last reality in the universe which all praise must exalt and to
which everything else must be subordinate.” Denney, _Death of
Christ_, p. 246.
389 Moulton’s _Mod. Read. Bib._, Psa. vol. i, Intr., p. xxxiif.
390 The call is most naturally understood as a call for the vision to
appear. Simcox so interprets: “Each of the living creatures by turns
summons one of the horsemen.” (_Cambr. Gr. Test._, Rev., p. 85);
Scott, also, holds the same view (_New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 176);
and Moffatt, prefers it (_New Trans. New Test._, footnote). Plummer,
however, says the call is addressed to John,—perhaps a more common
view; on the other hand Alford, Milligan, and Swete, say the call is
to Christ to come. The view that the call is addressed to the rider
is more likely correct, though the interpretation of the seals is
not materially affected by the view we may take of this part of the
symbolism. In any case, “Each living being invites attention to the
revelation of the future of that creation of which they are all
representatives.” _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 185.
391 “_Conquering, and that he may conquer._ This is the key to the whole
vision. Only of Christ and his kingdom can it be said that it is to
conquer ... only of Christ’s kingdom shall there be no end.”
Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 184.
392 _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 179; also see Mommsen’s _Provinces of
Rom. Emp._, vol. ii, p. 1 (note), Swete regards the first seal as “a
picture of triumphant militarism.” _Apoc. St. John_, p. 84.
393 “White is always typical in the Revelation of heavenly things,”
Plummer, (_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 183). “If any other than our Lord
is he that goes forth conquering and to conquer, then, though the
subsequent interpretation may have occasional points of contact with
truth ... the true key of the book is lost.” (_Alford, Gr. Test._,
vol. iv, p. 249).
394 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 185. For a different interpretation
see Milligan, _Expos. Bib._, Rev., p. 91.
395 “_A choenix of wheat for a denarius_ &c. The choenix appears to have
been the food allotted to one man for a day; while the denarius was
the pay of a soldier or of a common laborer for one day.” Plummer,
_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 185.
396 The oil and the wine are interpreted by some (as Wordsworth, and
Milligan) to mean spiritual food which will not be lacking in time
of famine; but this opinion is not sustained by anything in the
text. Swete understands the vision to forbid famine prices, and to
refer only to relative hardships—an unusual view.
397 It is doubtless true, as pointed out by Ramsay, that according to
the usual custom in celebrating a triumph “the Roman generals were
borne in a four‐horse car” (_Letters to Seven Churches_, p. 58).
This, however, does not seem to have been necessarily or always the
case, and even when so, the horses were white. Cf. Swete, _Apoc. of
St. John_, p. 84; and Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 177.
398 It is interesting to note that God is here described (v. 10) as ὁ
δεσπότης an absolute ruler, a word implying the divine might and
authority, which occurs but once in the Apocalypse, and which is
translated “Lord” in the A. V., and “Master” in the R. V. This term,
it should be understood, is “strictly the correlative of slave,
δοῦλος, and hence denotes absolute ownership and uncontrolled
power.” (Thayer’s _Gr.‐Eng. Lex. New Test._) In its present use “it
would seem to convey the idea of personal relationship, as Paul
speaks of himself as the _slave_ of Christ (δοῦλος).” (Strong, art.
“John, Apostle,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._)
399 For an interesting parallel passage in Apocalyptic literature see
_Ascension of Isaiah_, 9.7‐18, where the saints, as here, receive a
preliminary reward; also, _Bk of Enoch_, 22:5f, where the voice of
the spirits of the children of men who were dead “penetrated to
heaven and complained.”
400 “The day of the Lord” is a notable phrase in the New Testament, and
should receive our careful attention, though it only occurs twice in
the Apocalypse (ch. 6:14; 16:14). As Davidson interprets it, “The
day of the Lord is an eschatological idea; the phrase therefore
cannot be rendered ‘a day of the Lord,’ as if any great calamity or
judgment felt to be impending might be so named: the day is that of
final and universal judgment.” (See art. “Eschatol. of Old Test.”;
Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._). This view, however, must not be applied
too strictly; for while it is clear that the final day is usually
the thought in mind, yet through long and continuous use the phrase
“the day of the Lord” seems to have acquired a wider application,
and to have been applied to any striking crisis in the history of
the world, each day of the Lord being, however, a type of the final
and great day. (See Rawlinson, _Pulp. Com._, Isa., p. 228).
401 Cf. _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 124.
402 See App’x G, “Apoc. Lit.”
403 The view here given, limiting the contents of the seventh seal to
the first verse of the eighth chapter, is upon the whole the
preferable one (Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 229; Wordsworth,
_The Apoc._, p. 155; and Vaughan, _Lect. on Rev._, pp. 204‐5),
though it is disputed on exegetical grounds by Düsterdieck and
others (Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._ p. 261f.). It will be found, however,
that it is amply sustained by a broad view of the context. This
verse (ch. 8:1) might well have been included in chapter seven, at
the close of the episode of the sealed ones where it properly
belongs.
404 Lee, _Bib. Com._, Rev., p. 595.
405 Riddle, unpublished _Classroom Lect. on Rev._
406 “Three kinds of significance appear to be attached to sealing in the
Scriptures, viz. (1) to authenticate; (2) to assert ownership; and
(3) to assure safety. The significance of sealing in Revelation
seems to combine both the latter ideas.” (_New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p.
191). Possibly all senses of the term may be here included, which
gives a very forcible meaning. In Charles’ view the sealing in
Revelation is to secure the servants of God against the attacks of
demonic powers, or against the Antichrist. See his _Studies in
Apoc._, p. 130.
407 The omission of the tribe of Dan in the enumeration of the twelve
tribes of Israel has been accounted for in various ways; but most
likely it occurred as suggested by Ewald by an error of
transcription, MAN, (the abbreviated form of Manasses) being
substituted for ΔΑΝ, the correct reading. In favor of this
suggestion is the fact that the correct order of birth of the sons
of Jacob would thereby be followed, except that Joseph is placed
before Reuben because of the prominent place he occupies as the
ancestor of our Lord. See Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., pp. 207‐8.
408 Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, vol. V, pp. 394‐6; Jülicher, _New Test._,
_Intr._, pp. 287‐8; and Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 192.
409 “Perhaps no passage in the Apocalypse has had so wide an influence
on popular eschatology.” Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 98.
410 For a like passage where the sealed wear white garments, see _II
Esdr._ 2.34‐42.
411 As Trench, followed by Milligan.
412 Faussett, J. F. & B. _Com. on Rev._, p. 605; also Düsterdieck,
Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, pp. 242‐50, who aptly says, “The number
144,000 there (v. 1‐8) although not literal but schematic, furnishes
the idea of _numerability_, while here (v. 9) the _innumerability_
of the great multitude is especially emphasized.”
413 As Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev. p. 207, who says, “Here, as
elsewhere, it is the spiritual Israel which is signified.”
414 “Saved by our God, who is seated on the throne, and by the Lamb!”
Moffatt, _New Trans. of New Test._
415 “Where an explanation is made of visions which refer to the church,
the active part is taken by the elders, while angels introduce
visions of which the signification is unexplained.” Plummer, _Pulp.
Com._, Rev., p. 209.
416 “These verses (v. 16, 17) are full of reminiscences of the O. T.
Perhaps there is no passage in the whole of literature that so
combines simplicity of language and sublimity of thought as these
two verses.” Dean, _Book of Revelation_, p. 119.
417 Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 100; Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev.,
p. 195.
418 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 230.
419 For the first view see Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 238; for the
second view see Düsterdieck, Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, pp. 264‐5; also
Lange, _Com. on Rev._, p. 204.
420 Vaughan, _Lect. on Rev._, p. 207; and Stuart, _Com. on Rev._, p.
564, where they are described as “presence‐angels;” also cf.
_Tobit_, 12:15, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who
present the prayers of the saints, and who go in and out before the
glory of the Holy One”; and _Bk of Enoch_, 91:21, “And the Lord
called those seven first white ones, etc.” These instances serve to
show how the Apocalypse of John reflects the current usage of
Apocalyptic literature in his time.
421 Cf. I Thess. 4:16; I Cor. 15:52; and _II Esdr._ 6.20, 25.
422 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 398; also compare with ch. 14:7,
where these terms are apparently used as the sum of creation.
423 Cf. Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol. 4, Rev., p. 638.
424 Cf. Hos. 8:1; Hab. 1:8; and _Apoc. of Bar._ 77.19‐22.
425 Cf. ch. 20:1‐2; also see arts. “Abyss”, and “Pit”, Hastings’ _Dict.
of Bib._; and _Bk of Enoch_, 21:10; and 18:11.
426 Some find in this name a reference to Apollo, the pagan deity, and
point out that the locust was one of the symbols of his cult,
certainly a curious coincidence, but apparently not anything more
than a coincidence. See _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 208.
427 “The balance of authority seems in favor of retaining τεσσάρων
‘four,’ although the Revisers omit it. The altar of incense had four
horns projecting at the corners.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p.
265.
428 Light is thrown upon these perplexing figures by a passage in the
_Apocalypse of Ezra_ quoted by Bousset: “And a voice was heard: let
these four kings be loosed which are bound beside the great river
Euphrates, which shall destroy a third part of mankind. And they
were loosed, and there was a great commotion.” Also in the _Bk of
Enoch_ (56:5), “The angels gather themselves together, and turn
eastward to the Parthians and Medes, and stir up their kings,” as
the four angels do here. John’s conception is thus seen to be a
reflection of existing apocalyptic material. See _New Cent. Bib._,
Rev., p. 208.
429 See _Bible Com._, Rev., p. 617.
430 “The master thought of the whole Revelation.” Moulton, _Mod. Read.
Bib._, Rev., Intr. p. xxvi. “The realization of the kingdom of God
... is the end in the light of which God’s purpose in Christ is to
be read.” Orr, art. “Kingdom of God”. Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
431 Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 226; also cf. _II Macc._, 2.1‐8;
and _Apoc. Bar._, 6.7‐10.
432 “The episodes are interposed to give us an insight into the inner
aspects of the life of the church in the midst of persecution and
distress.” Ballentine, _Mod. Am. Bib._, Rev., p. 275.
433 Cf. Plummer and Alford.
434 _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 216.
435 Some, as Milligan, take this angel for Christ himself; but
“throughout the book angels are everywhere distinct from the divine
persons”, (Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv, p. 649)—a general rule that
is never deviated from and should not be forgotten. “In no passage
of the book is our Lord represented under the form of an angel”,
(Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 231).
436 “The Jews were accustomed to call thunder the seven voices, and to
regard it as the voice of the Lord.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p.
274; also cf. Ps. 29:3f; 77:18; and 104:7.
437 Humphries, accepting the modern composite view, says, “The eating of
the little book recounted in ch x. 10 suggests that borrowing from a
previous source is to be looked for in what immediately follows.”
_St John and Other New Test. Teachers_, p. 96.
438 See commentaries of Westcott, Reynolds, and others on the Gospel of
John.
439 See Thayer’s _Lex. New Test. Greek_ for the distinction between the
use of ναὸς and ἱερὸν; also art. “Temple”, Hastings’ _Dict. of
Bib._, at the beginning. The word ἱερὸν, it will be noticed, is
never used in the Apocalypse.
440 Plummer thinks that the heavenly temple is indicated, because
“nowhere else in the book do Jerusalem and the temple signify the
earthly places”,—a view that deserves weighty consideration.
441 “The outer court of the temple was the addition of Herod.... The
Gentiles might come there, though they might not pass into what was
especially the temple, and which was sacred to Israelites only. And
so it represents here all those outer‐court worshippers, those mixed
multitudes which are found associated with God’s true people
everywhere—of them, but not truly belonging to them.” _Pulp. Com._,
Rev., pp. 300‐01.
442 Stuart, _Com. on Apoc._, p. 590; and Lange, _Com. on Rev._, p. 223,
who somewhat differently regards this as a picture of “the inner and
outer church”, a thought that may perhaps be included; also see
Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 288, who says, “The temple is here
used figuratively of the faithful portion of the church of Christ
... placed in antithesis to the outer court, the faithless portion
of the visible church, which is given over to the Gentiles—the type
of all that is worldly.” Scott, _Par. Ver. of Rev._, p. 33 says,
“The inner shrine alone of the house of God is truly his, and abides
forever”; and Ballentine, _Mod. Am. Bib._, following Bp. Carpenter,
says, “As Jerusalem and Babylon ... so here the Temple and the court
of the Temple are symbols. The gospel has elevated the history and
places of the past into a grand allegory. It has breathed into their
dead names the life of an ever‐present symbolism.”
443 See Mommsen’s _Prov. of Rom. Emp._, vol. ii, pp. 214‐17, note.
444 On the return of the Jews to Palestine, expected by many as a
fulfilment of prophecy, see the very satisfactory remarks of
Davidson, art. “Eschatology”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, vol. i, pp.
737‐8.
445 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 289; Faussett, J. F. & B., _Com. on
Rev._, p. 613; Wordsworth, _The Apoc._, lect. viii; and others.
446 Cf. ch. 1:12f, where the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.
447 See Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 289f, who is remarkably clear on
this passage.
448 “The two martyrs represent the martyr church as sharing the royal
priesthood of the Messiah, and as endowed with the gifts of prophecy
and miracle‐working like the prophets of old,” Briggs, _Mess. of
Apost._, p. 318.
449 _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 291; _Bib. Com._, Rev., p. 639; Vincent,
_Word Stud. in New Test._, 1 c.; also Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv,
p. 661.
450 Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 234.
451 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 310.
452 In a footnote of the Revised Douay Version, however, the
interpretation there given is, “The church of God. It may also, by
allusion, be applied to our blessed Lady”—an interpretation to which
no objection can properly be made.
453 “This threefold description (i. e. ‘the Old Serpent, he that is
called the Devil, and Satan’) gathers up the primitive, the
prophetic, and the New Testament conception of the supreme Power of
Evil.” _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 230.
454 See Thayer’s _Gr. Lex. of New Test._
455 See Farrar, _Early Days of Christianity_, p. 527; and Stuart, _Com.
on Apoc._, pp. 627‐8.
456 Faussett, J. F. & B. _Com. on Rev._, p. 619; and Maurice, _The
Apoc._, p. 181.
457 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 312; Wordsworth, _Lect. on Apoc._,
p. 200, “St John now reverts to an earlier period.”
458 Lee says, “Verses ten and eleven commemorate by anticipation the
victory of believers.” _Bib. Com._, Rev., p. 662; Plummer, favoring
a similar view, suggests that, “The song of the heavenly voices may
be intended to end with the word ‘Christ’ (v. 10), and the following
passages may be the words of the writer of the Apocalypse, and may
refer to the earthly martyrs.” _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 312.
459 Bleek, _Lect. on Apoc._, p. 268; Stuart, _Com. on Apoc._, p. 623.
460 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 312.
461 Charles, art. “Bk of Secrets of Enoch”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
“The underlying conception here probably is that the Dragon and his
angels attempted to storm the highest heaven, and in the end were
cast out of heaven altogether.” _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 230.
462 Sayce, _Hibbert Lect’s._, (1887), p. 102.
463 Gunkel, _Schopfung und Chaos_, 1895.
464 Porter, art. “Rev., Book of”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
465 “To read the ideas of Rev. xii into the scattered Babylonian
allusions, in order to get the Marduk myth, is too fragmentary to be
relied upon as a basis for such a theory;” Moffatt, _The Expositor_,
Mar., ’09, art. “Wellhausen and Others on the Apoc.” For a statement
of Gunkel’s tradition‐historical view see art. “Rev.” in Hastings’
_Dict. of Bib._; also art. “Apoc. and Recent Criticism”, Barton,
_Am. Journ. of Theol._, Oct. ’98. Delitzsch in his first lecture on
_Babel and the Bible_ (1902) regards all references to the Dragon in
Scriptures as echoes of Babylonian mythology. Davidson in art.
“Angel”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, regards such passages containing
accounts of conflicts between God and other powerful beings as
“reminiscences of Cosmic or Creation myths.”
466 Moffatt supports the reading, “I stood” (A. V.), and in this view he
is supported by Ramsay.
467 See _Apoc. of Baruch_, 29.4 and _II Esdr._ 6.49.
468 Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 221.
469 Düsterdieck, Plummer, Faussett, and many others. Milligan is
especially clear in his exposition of this passage, _Internat.
Com._, vol. iv, p. 105.
470 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 331.
471 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., pp. 331‐2.
472 Scott makes the sea out of which the first Beast emerges to be “the
Mediterranean, from beyond which the empire of Rome rose before the
eyes of the Jews”; and the earth to be the domain of “the Roman
empire, from which came the priests of Caesar‐worship—a priesthood
native born”, which constituted the second Beast. (_New Cent. Bib._,
Rev., pp. 235 and 239). Plummer says, “The sea is the type of
instability, confusion, and commotion, frequently signifying the
ungovernable nations of the world in opposition to the church of
God.... The other beast pertains to the earth, thus dividing the
whole world between them.” (_Pulp. Com._, Rev., pp. 330 and 334).
473 Cf. _Pulp. Com._, Rev., pp. 341‐43; Faussett, J. F. & B. _Com. on
Rev._, pp. 621; and Vaughan, _Lect. on Rev._, p. 342; also Bp. of
Ripon’s “Excur. on Rev.”, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., pp. 582‐85.
474 The identity of the Second Beast with the False Prophet of chs.
16:13, and 19:20, can scarcely be doubted when both contexts are
considered, though some historical interpreters have identified the
False Prophet with Mohammed, the false prophet of Islam, apparently
without any special reason except that Mohammed is the most noted of
all the false prophets of history, whereas the False Prophet in
Revelation is the representative of all false religions in all time,
an admirable symbol.
475 We should not forget the great lesson of history here emphasized,
that the natural religions of men are always intertwined with the
civil power in heathen lands; and, also, how often in the past, even
in Christian nations, the professed faith in Christ has been
inwrought to its great undoing with the authority of the nation.
476 Salmond, _Hist. Intr. to New Test._, p. 245; Bousset, _Bib. Encyc._,
art. “Apoc”.; also Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 239.
477 The first is Alford’s view, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv, pp. 675‐79; the
second is Moulton’s _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., pp. 207‐09.
478 For a further discussion of the symbolism of the Second Beast see
notes on ch 17.
479 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 336.
480 “Philo reproached Jewish apostates for allowing themselves to be
branded with the signs of idols” (_New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 191),
an allusion evidently to the same practice as that referred to here
in Revelation, and showing that the language used is something more
than merely a figure of speech.
481 “In apocalyptic writings the interpretation, if added, is only a
less obscure form of the enigma, and not a solution of it”. Schürer,
_Hist. Jewish Peop._, part II, vol. iii, p. 47.
482 “It is difficult to understand why all this mystery should be about
the name of a dead emperor who was no favorite with Jew or Roman, or
why the name should be written in Hebrew for the Christians of Asia,
or how so prominent a name should so soon be forgotten, especially
in view of the expectation of his return, which obtained so long.”
(Dean, _Book of Revelation_, p. 151.).
483 See Salmon, _Hist. Intr. to New Test._, p. 23Of.; also Milligan,
_Expos. Bib._, Rev., p. 235; and Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p.
337. Farrar’s interpretation (following Reuss, Hitzig, and others)
is _Neron Kesar_, using Hebrew letters in the spelling and omitting
most of the vowels, as follows (see _Early Days of Christianity_, p.
540), viz:—
N=50
R=200
O=6
N=50
N(E)RON=306
K=100
S=60
R=200
K(E)S(A)R=360
This interpretation is the one now generally accepted by the
advanced school of commentators in the present day. On the other
hand if the last letter of the name (N) be dropped we have the value
of 616, which is the alternate reading in some manuscripts. Moulton,
however, says the number contains “probably a temporary allusion of
which the point is now lost” that gave a clue to the general
significance, viz. “world‐religion and superstition in
contradistinction to world‐force.” (_Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p.
209). “The non‐identification of Nero with the 666 by any early
writer is significant.” (Cowan, art. “Nero”, Hastings’ _Dict. of
Bib._). “Surely not ‘Nero Kaisar,’ but ‘Ashhur‐Ramman’!” Cheyne,
_Fresh Voyages on Unfrequented Waters_, p. 171—1914).
484 Porter, art. “Rev., Bk. of,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
485 Following the Hebrew custom of offering the first fruits to God, the
term is probably used in this figure as the symbol of that which is
given to God, though it may possibly refer to those who share in the
first resurrection.
486 “Παρθένοι ‘virgins,’ is a word equally applicable to men or women,”
Plummer, _Pulp. Com., Rev._, p. 347; also Swete regards the word
“virgins” as a metaphor for purity, as most interpreters; cf.
Thayer’s _Gr. Lex. of New Test._, for the secondary use of the term.
It is evident that the phrase “These are they that were not defiled
with women”—or “among women”—may properly be interpreted as applying
to men who were not so defiled, though it here apparently represents
a class, whether men or women, who are declared to be free from
impurity, a phrase that in such a book as the Apocalypse is more
likely to refer to that which is spiritual than to that which is
physical. Alford, however, (_Gr. Test._, vol. iv, p. 685), and
Moffatt, also, (_Exp. Gr. Test._, vol. v, p. 436), both interpret
literally as “virgins.”
487 “The writer is controverting a fear that at the advent of the
Messiah those who survived on earth would have some advantage over
those who had already died.... John, however, does not share the
current pessimistic belief that death was preferable to life ... but
affirms that if death came in the line of religious duty it involved
no deprivation.” Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev., pp. 439‐40.
488 “In Jewish Apocalyptic writings ever since Daniel, a Son of Man had
been spoken of who would come to judge the world in the clouds of
heaven,” (Pfleiderer, _Hibbert Lect._ (1885), p. 34. An early
messianic interpretation was given to the term, apparently because
of its fitness, though in Daniel’s vision “the son of man,” a figure
in human form, is understood by most late interpreters to be used as
a symbol of Israel, whose higher qualities are set in contrast with
the four beasts, and its messianic use is believed to have arisen
later, though, perhaps, soon after that period. For an instructive
discussion of this familiar title, “the Son of Man”, so difficult to
adequately interpret, see Charles’ edition of the _Bk. of Enoch_,
app’x B; also art. “Son of Man” in Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._; and
Sanday’s art. “Jesus Christ” in the same; together with art. “Son of
Man” in Hastings’ _Dict. of Chr. and Gosp._
489 “_Another angel_; i. e. in addition to those already mentioned, and
not implying that he who sat on the cloud was an angel”, Plummer,
_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 350.
490 For the first view see Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 350; Alford,
_Gr. Test._, vol. iv, p. 691f; and Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p.
187. For the second view see Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 250;
and Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev., pp. 441‐42.
491 Cf. _Bk. of Enoch_, 100.3.
492 Moulton’s _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p. 210.
493 See Intr. to Johan. B’ks., _Temple Bib._
494 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 3.
495 “The whole of God’s wrath in final judgment is not exhausted by
these vials, but only the whole of his wrath in sending plagues on
the earth previous to the judgment.” Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv,
p. 693.
496 Moulton, _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p. 198. Lange suggests that “the
crystal sea may appear as though illuminated and reddened by the
fiery glare of the Anger Vials.” (_Com. on Rev._, p. 290); Alford
thinks the fire in the sea is significant of judgment, (_Gr. Test._,
vol iv, p. 693); and Swete says, “The red glow of the sea spoke of
the fire through which the martyrs had passed, and yet more of the
wrath about to fall on the world which had condemned them.” (_Apoc.
of St John_, p. 191).
497 So Düsterdieck, Faussett, Plummer, Alford, and others; for the Greek
preposition ἐπὶ with the accusative, see Thayer’s _Gr. Lex. of New
Test._ Swete, however, regarding the sea to be of glass, interprets
“on the sea itself, which forms the solid pavement of the final
approach to the throne,” (_Apoc. of St John_, p. 192), a view which
scarcely accords with our idea of a sea.
498 Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., pp. 253‐4. Also see Westcott and Hort
in _App’x to Gr. Test._, “Notes on Select Readings,” p. 139, who
favor the Revisers’ view (λίθον); and Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p.
195, who supports the former reading (λίνον).
499 Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 254; Plummer says, “The reason of
the employment of the term ‘vial,’ or ‘bowl,’ is most likely to be
found in the expression ‘cup of God’s anger,’ in ch. 14.10.” _Pulp.
Com._, Rev., p. 392.
500 The term “the angel of the waters” reflects the apocalyptic style of
thought, for it is not unusual in apocalyptic writings to assign a
presiding spirit to natural phenomena. Cf. _Bk. of Enoch_ (ed.
Charles), 60.16‐21; also Intr. to same, p. 34. In the Apocalypse of
John, just as in other writings of the same class, we find that
“angels are associated with cosmic or elemental forces as fire and
water which they direct.” Davidson, art. “Angel,” Hastings’ _Dict.
of Bib._ Also cf. chs. 7:1; 9:11; and 14:18; in connection with
16:5.
501 “A figure possibly drawn from the action of Cyrus in diverting the
waters of the river when he took the city of Babylon.” _Bib. Com._,
Rev., p. 721.
502 Düsterdieck, Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, p. 419; also Alford, _Gr.
Test._, vol. iv, p. 700. For a different view see Milligan,
_Internat. Com._, Rev., p. 122; and Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, p. 395.
503 “All is over”. Moffatt, _New Trans. of New Test._
504 See _Ascension of Isaiah_, ch. 7, where the firmament is the abode
of evil spirits; also cf. Eph. 2:2, in which Satan is called “the
prince of the power of the air,” apparently reflecting the thought
of the time, which regarded the air as the abiding place of evil
spirits.
505 “Every Apocalyptic writer painted the final catastrophe after the
model of the catastrophes of his day, only on a vaster scale and
with deepened shadows.” Harnack, art. “Rev.,” _Encyc. Brit._; also
see _Assumption of Moses_, 10.8.
506 _Twentieth Cent. New Test. in Modern English_, ch. 15.1; the Am. R.
V. reads, “In them is finished the wrath of God”.
507 Frogs which were unclean to the Hebrews become here a fitting type
of unclean spirits.
508 See art. “Har‐Magedon,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
509 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 396. “The final world‐combat.”
Moulton, _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p. 212. See note on ch. 19:11‐21,
where this same event is again referred to.
510 See division made by Purvis in art. “Rev.”, Davis’ _Dict. of Bib._;
also the analysis given in the introductory part of _Twent. Cent.
New Test._, vol. iii, Rev., “Table of Contents.”
511 “The comparison of Rome to Babylon underlies much of Jewish
apocalyptic literature.” Chase, art. “Babylon, in New Test.”,
Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
512 Plummer gives a different idea of Babylon, interpreting it as “The
degenerate portion of the church of God ... all the faithless of
God’s church in all time”, an interpretation that is not accepted by
most commentators. _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 413.
513 See App’x A, Division V; also “Excur. on Rev.” by Bp. of Ripon,
_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 582.
514 “This practice was customary with harlots” (Juv., “Sat.”, vi. 123;
Seneca, “Controv.”, 1, 2). _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 415.
515 “The City of the World, the ideal concentration of all this world’s
splendor and wealth and might.... The Evil‐World‐Metropolis.” Scott,
_Paragraph. Ver. of Rev._, pp. 1‐2. For a convincing presentation of
this view, see Lee, _Bib. Com._, Rev., pp. 734‐45. “The Anti‐
Church”,—i. e. the world in antithesis to the church, Seiss, _Lect.
on Apoc._, vol. iii, p. 112. “By Babylon the whole ungodly, anti‐
christianized world is intended ... an ideal city, embracing all of
anti‐christianity.” Lange, _Com. on Rev._, pp. 278‐303. “Under this
one name (Babylon) ... the whole adverse force is concentrated.”
Moulton, _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p. 212. In this view of the
interpretation which is adopted in the present volume, the Harlot is
the anti‐christian world, the perpetual Babylon.
516 For other views see _Pulp. Com._, J. F. & B., _Com. on Rev._, and
_Internat. Com. in loco_.
517 As with Milligan and others.
518 This description of the Woman as “the great Harlot that sitteth upon
many waters” is evidently taken from the Prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer.
51:13), where the many waters refer to the many canals of Babylon.
Here the phrase is used figuratively, referring to the “many
peoples” (v. 15) that are subject to Babylon in the Apocalypse, and
affords a good example of the Apocalyptic use of Old Testament
symbols in a sense that is somewhat different from their original
meaning.
519 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 417; Faussett, J. F. & B., _Com. on
Rev._, p. 630; and many others. This is the common view with the
symbolist interpreters. It should be remembered that the
identification of the particular kings or kingdoms that were first
in mind in this symbolism,—for there probably were such,—is not
important; the special thought is that of _all kingdoms in all
time_.
520 “The absence of the article before ὃγδοος ‘eighth,’ shows that this
is not the eighth in a successive series, in which the kings already
mentioned form the first seven.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p.
417.
521 “The Beast is the sum total of what has been described under the
form of five kings, then one king, and then one king again.”
Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 416f. “This eighth is the Beast
himself in actual embodiment. He is ἐκ τῶν ἑπτᾶ—not ‘one of the
seven’, but the successor and result of the seven, following and
springing out of them.” Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv. p. 711. Also,
see Milligan, _Internat. Com._, Rev., pp. 127‐8. To regard the Beast
that is “an eighth,” and, of the seven, as a reference to Nero is an
anomalous interpretation that is without parallel in the book, and
cannot, therefore, be sustained.
522 “_One hour_ denotes ‘a short time’ (i. e. a time that is relatively
short in the measure of eternity). The Bible in this way constantly
describes the period of the world’s existence, especially that
period which intervenes between the time of the writer and the
judgment‐day (cf. Rom. 16:20; I Cor. 7:29; and Rev. 6:11; 12:12;
22:20, etc.).” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 417.
523 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 417.
524 See art. “Rev.”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._ vol. iv. pp. 257‐8.
525 Cf. Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 333.
526 Moulton, _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p. 212.
527 “Rome never has been, and from its very position never could be a
great commercial city.” Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv, p. 718. By the
universal nature of the figures employed it is evident to most
readers, that “the whole passage points not to any single city, at
any one single period, but to the World‐City throughout all time.”
Lee, _Bib. Com._, Rev., p. 770.
528 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 432.
529 See Chase, art. “Peter (Simon)”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
530 It is to be regretted that the Hebrew word “Hallelujah” is not used
in our Revised Version of the Old Testament as it is used in the
New, instead of the translation “Praise ye Jehovah,” especially as
it occurs in the Book of Psalms where its use is so fitting. It is
now a well‐known English word, and is entitled to a place in our
Scriptures, like the Hebrew word “Jehovah” which is recognized by
all.
531 “It has been supposed by some that we have in this incident (which
is repeated in ch. 22.8) a protest against the incipient worship of
angels which was creeping into the church.” Scott, _New Cent. Bib._,
Rev., p. 275.
532 “The book is filled with echoes of prophecy—mystic words through
which break memories of the past—that only attain their full
significance through the more perfect teachings of Christ.” Moulton,
_Mod. Read. Bib._
533 “The testimony of Jesus is the sum of the revelation made by him,
the holding of which is so often in this book the sign‐manual of the
saints.... That deposit of truth rather than deny which Christians
were prepared to die.... The testimony of Jesus thus becomes in turn
the burden of his servants’ testimony.” Scott, _New Cent. Bib._,
Rev., p. 275f.
534 Davidson, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, art. “Eschatology.”
535 “The Word” as a name for Jesus here introduced, though it occurs but
once in the book, is used elsewhere in the New Testament only by
John (Jn. 1:1 and 1:14; I Jn. 1:1), and seems to point to the
Johannine authorship of the Apocalypse. The Jews in the time of
Christ used the Greek term λόγος “The Word”, as a name for a class
of phantasmal beings whom they regarded as existing between God and
man, and through whom God was supposed to speak; for to their
thought, God was so exalted and transcendent that he could not speak
directly to men. But John uses “The Word” as a personal name for
Jesus who is both God and man, and through whom God has indeed
spoken, thus bringing God near to men and revealing his truth and
love. John took their own term and gave it a new application and a
real meaning, and thereby furnished a new thought of Christ as the
revealer of God. Cf. Thayer’s _Gr. Lex. of New Test._; and Burton
and Mathews’ _Life of Christ_, pp. 17‐18.
536 “John takes us to the unseen and heavenly side of things, and we see
the hosts of God marshalling themselves in defence of His weak and
persecuted people, God Himself standing within the shadow, ‘Keeping
watch above His own’.” Humphries, _St. John and Other Teachers_, p.
105.
537 “The word of Messiah’s mouth is the sole weapon of his victory.”
Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev., p. 468.
538 _Bib. Com._, p. 607.
539 For a strong confirmation of this opinion see Stevens, _New Test.
Theol._, p. 555; also, supporting the same view, R. D. Wilson in
unpublished _Princeton Classroom Lectures_.
540 The fact of the resurrection is constantly emphasized in the New
Testament, but it is entirely unnecessary for us to inquire into the
manner of the resurrection for that is nowhere revealed. It is quite
enough for us to know that there will be a resurrection, and that
the new body will be a spiritual body.
541 “Those who reject the idea of a physical resurrection are obliged
therefore to think of a resurrection from hades to heaven, taking
place at the close of the martyr age, and introducing those who are
thus specially honored into a state of heavenly blessedness, which
continues till the close of human history.” Brown, art.
“Millennium”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, referring to Briggs’ view
in _Mess. of Apost._, p. 357.
542 For the use of μετᾶ with the genitive, see Thayer’s _Greek‐English
Lex. of New Test._
543 “If the twelve hundred and sixty days symbolize the duration of the
triumph of heathenism, the thousand years as clearly symbolize the
duration of the triumph of Christianity”, Swete, _Apoc. of St.
John_, p. 263.
544 A. A. Hodge in unpublished _Classroom Lectures_.
545 For a more complete statement of the premillennial view see
Faussett, J. F. & B. _Com. on Rev._; Seiss, _Lect. on Apoc._; and
Alford’s _Gr. Test._, _in loco_.
546 _De Civ. Dei_, xx, 7‐9. For the prevalent symbolist view see
Milligan, _Expos. Bib._, and _Internat. Com._; Plummer, _Pulp.
Com._; and Lee, _Bib. Com._ Against this view it is ably contended
that “the interpretation of a symbolic resurrection (as that of
Israel in Ezekiel), or of a spiritual resurrection (as in
regeneration), is rendered untenable by the explicit reference to
the martyrs (cf. ch. 6.9‐11, and 19.9).” Brown art. “Millennium,”
Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
547 A careful study of this view, even when presented by so eminent a
commentator as Plummer, will convince most readers that it fails to
properly satisfy the statements of the text.
548 See Düsterdieck, Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, pp. 463‐4; and Brown art.
“Millennium”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._; also, most late
authorities.
549 Purves, art. “Rev.”, Davis’ _Dict. of Bib._
550 Salmond, art. “Eschatol. of New Test.”, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
551 Cf. _II Esdr._ 7.28‐32; and _Bk. of Enoch_, 91‐104; also the
_Slavonic Enoch_, “in which occurs the first mention of the
millennium”, (Charles).
552 “The Talmud has no fixed doctrine on this point, but the view most
frequently expressed there is that the messianic kingdom will last
for a thousand years: e. g. ‘In six days God created the world, on
the seventh he rested. But the day of God is equal to a thousand
years (Ps. 90:4). Hence the world will last for six thousand years
of toil and labor; then will come a thousand years of Sabbath rest
for the people of God in the kingdom of the Messiah.’ This idea must
have already been very common in the first century before Christ.”
Harnack, art. “Millennium”, _Encyc. Britan._
553 Fairbairn _On Prophecy_, p. 45Of.; also Gloag’s _Intr. to Johan.
Writings_, ch. on “Millennium”; Stuart, _Com. on Apoc._, pp. 702‐03;
and many other authorities.
554 “That the world’s history will terminate in the culmination of evil,
becomes from the time of Daniel a permanent factor in Jewish
Apocalyptic.” Charles, _Eschatology_, p. 121.
555 “Jewish tradition makes use of these names to indicate those nations
which are expected to war against Jerusalem in the last days and to
be overthrown by the Messiah.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, p. 473. “In
later Apocalyptic literature these are conventional symbols for the
world hostile to Israel, or to the people of God.” _New Cent. Bib._,
Rev., p. 284.
556 “The whole delineation is symbolic, and embodies spiritual truths
under material emblems.” Plumptre, _Pulp. Com._, Ezek., vol. ii, p.
306. “The Invasion of Gog, a discourse of Ezekiel which stands by
itself, is not to be interpreted as a specific prediction of an
historical event, nor on the other hand as merely a parable; but
under the typical names of Gog, Meshech, and Tubal,—suggestive of
the dimly known confines of the earth—are suggested hostile forces
however distinct, which after the many days of a future however
prolonged, may be massed in opposition to a purified people only to
fall in the holy soil by a destruction from on high, and to trouble
Israel with no more than a notable burying.” Moulton, _Mod. Read.
Bib._, Ezek., Intr., p. xiii. Also cf. Plumptre, _Pulp. Com._,
Ezek., chs. 38‐39; and Fairbairn, _Ezek. and Book of his Prophecy_.
557 See Bleek, _Lect. on Apoc._, p. 339: also Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol.
iv, Rev., p. 732, who is very clear and convincing as to the literal
nature of both resurrections; and Stuart, _Com. on Apoc._, pp.
704‐10, with Excur. vi in same volume.
558 See Salmond, art. “Eschatology of New Test.”; Hastings’ _Dict. of
Bib._; and Bernard, art. “Resurrection” in same work.
559 Scott, _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 282. In fact this view, in some
form, finds a place with many modern interpreters who do not accept
the usual symbolic interpretation of the book. Alford with his
accustomed vigor has well said, “If in such a passage the first
resurrection may be understood to mean _spiritual_ rising with
Christ, while the second means _literal_ rising from the grave, then
there is an end to all significance in language, and Scripture is
wiped out as a definite testimony to anything.” _Gr. Test._, vol.
iv. p. 732.
560 “No part of the doctrine of the New Testament has been so
inadequately developed by the church as that pertaining to
Eschatology.” A. A. Hodge in unpublished _Classroom Lectures_.
561 “There is a stern simplicity about the whole description, and just
enough pictorial detail is given to make the passage morally
suggestive.” Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev., p. 477. For
Apocalyptic conceptions of the judgment, see _Bk. of Enoch_, 51.1f.;
91.15f.; _II Esdr._ 7.32f.; and _Test. of XII Patriarchs_, Judah 25,
Benjamin 10.
562 See Düsterdieck, Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, p. 165; also Scott, _New
Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 151, who says, “This idea of a book kept in
heaven plays a great part in Jewish Apocalyptic literature, in which
it is developed to include the deeds as well as the names of God’s
people in the heavenly record.” The passage before us, however,
evidently keeps the two separate, for the book of life is
distinguished from the books of record, and is mentioned seven times
in the Revelation, indicating that it held an important place in the
Apocalyptist’s thought.
563 The time of the End is God’s secret, but the fact of the End is
clearly revealed as the point toward which all history tends.
564 Alford places ch. 21:1‐22:5 subsequent to the millennium and the
final judgment, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv, p. 736; and Faussett, who also
holds the premillennial view, aptly says, “Now is the church: in the
millennium will be the kingdom; and after that the new world wherein
God shall be all in all”. J. F. & B. _Com. on Rev._, p. 640.
565 “The biblical doctrine of salvation reaches its climax in the
conception of the redemption of the universe.” Brown, art.
“Salvation,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._ “The fact that the heavens
and the earth here spoken of are new, does not imply that they are
now first brought into being. They may be the old heavens and the
old earth; but they have a new aspect and a new character adapted to
a new end.” Milligan, _Expos. Bib._, Rev., p. 362; also _Internat.
Com._, Rev., p. 151.
566 “The description of the heavenly city is probably the most
magnificent passage in all Apocalyptic literature.... It is an ideal
pictorially described, a symbolic picture of the better day seen in
prophetic vision, and cherished with persistent hope and trust.”
Stevens, _New Test. Theol._, p. 562. “The Revelator used a redeemed
city to symbolize heaven—the Kingdom fully come.” Strong, _Challenge
of the City_, p. 199. That heaven as an actual city is, of course,
only a dream of the baldest realism.
567 Moulton, _Mod. Read. Bib._, Rev., p. 215.
568 “The plural ‘peoples’ seems to point to the catholic nature of the
New Jerusalem, which embraces many nations (cf. v. 24).” Plummer,
_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 510.
569 The idea of a New Jerusalem coming down from heaven is a familiar
one in Jewish Apocalypses. Cf. _Bk. of Enoch_, 90.28, and 29, note
by Charles; also _II Esdr._ 7.26; and _Apoc. of Bar._ 32.2.
570 As Milligan, _Expos. Bib._, Rev., p. 368; Scott, however, says,
“Though described as a city, it is really the figure of a people,
and the ‘condition localized’ in which they dwell.” _New Cent.
Bib._, Rev., p. 287.
571 “_He that overcometh shall inherit these things_ (v. 6), i. e. the
promises just enumerated. These words show the reason for the words
of ver. 6; and may be called the text on which the Apocalypse is
based; for though the words themselves do not often recur, yet the
spirit of them is constantly appearing.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._,
Rev., p. 511.
572 See Reynolds, art. “John the Apost.,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, who
says, “The speaker is now, probably for the first time in the book,
God himself;” also see Swete, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 275.
573 Verses 11‐21 describe the _exterior_, and verses 22‐27 describe the
_interior_ of the city, while verse 22f.‐ch. 22:5 further describe
the _life_ of the city.
574 “These stones are not arranged in the same order as in the
breastplate of the highpriest. Instead of this St. John has most
ingeniously disposed them according to the various shades of the
same color ... showing a technical knowledge and a minute
acquaintance with the nicest shades of color of precious stones only
possessed by persons with a practical knowledge of their nature.”
King’s _Nat. Hist. of Prec. Stones_, quoted in _Bib. Com._, Rev., p.
832.
575 “12,000 furlongs or stadia amounting to 1378 English miles”. Dean,
_Book of Rev._, p. 185.
576 For the first view see Alford, _Gr. Test._, vol. iv, p. 741, for the
second view Milligan, _Internat. Com._, Rev., p. 154.
577 “A cube was symbolical of perfection to a Jew as a circle is to
ourselves.” Moffatt, _Expos. Gr. Test._, Rev., p. 483.
578 See Smith’s _Dict. of Bib._, art. “Babylon”; and Swete, _Apoc. of
St. John_, p. 285.
579 “Life in each case is ζωή, the vital principle which man shares with
God. not Βίος, the life which he shares with his fellowmen.”
Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 52.
580 “In the old Paradise there was but one such tree, in the new one
there are many.” _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 297. For a similar idea,
not of twelve crops of fruit but of twelve trees with divers fruits
for Israel, see _II Esdr._ 2.18.
581 “By oriental usage, no condemned or criminal person was allowed to
look on the king’s face” (Esth. 7:8). Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._,
Rev., p. 488.
582 “The whole meaning and value of the New Jerusalem lies in the
presence of God with men which it guarantees.” Moffatt, _Exp. Gr.
Test._, Rev., p. 480.
583 Düsterdieck, Meyer’s _Com. on Rev._, p. 490; and Plummer, _Pulp.
Com._, Rev., p. 546. “The Revelation is begun (ch. 1.17‐20) and
ended (ch. 22.16) by Christ himself; but the main portion is
conducted by means of his angel.” _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 2.
584 “In the seventh verse, with the affirmation _Behold, I come
quickly_, the narration passes into the words of Christ himself,
just as in ver. 12 and ch. xi. 3.” Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p.
546.
585 “The present era, which is ‘a day of salvation’, is so nearly at an
end that there is hardly room for change.... The principle which
underlies the whole verse (v. 11) applies only to the moment before
the Judgment breaks, the point when the Bridegroom comes and the
door is shut, when choice is sealed and opportunity ends,” Scott,
_New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 300f.
586 “All history from the redemptive point of view is summed up in the
three sentences, He is coming, He has come, He will come again.”
Ottley, art. “Incarnation.” Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
587 “When Christ claims this title for himself, it is plainly announced
that the revelation of God in Christ, in what he was and what he
did, is the key to the issues of human life. Christianity is final.”
Ross, art. “First and Last.” Hastings’ _Dict. of Chr. and Gosp._
“The first title is symbolical; the second is borrowed from the Old
Testament; the third is philosophical. The sense is, ‘I am He from
whom all Being has proceeded, and to whom it will return;—the primal
Cause and final Aim of all history;—Who have created the world, and
Who will perfect it.’ ” Lee, _Bib. Com._ Rev., p. 840. Also cf. the
view of Bacon, art. “Alpha and Omega,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Chr. and
Gosp._
588 “The Apocalypse thus closes, as it began (ch. 1.5‐6), with a note of
ringing emphasis upon the eternal significance of Christ in the
divine plan and purpose.” Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev., p. 491.
589 Alford says, “The speech passes into the words of Christ reported by
the angel.” (_Gr. Test._, vol. iv, p. 746). Scott however, may be
right in his comment on verse sixteen (_New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p.
302), when he says, “The figure which has been behind the angel from
the beginning of the visions (ch. 1.13‐17) ... now steps forth, as
it were, to authenticate the angel’s testimony.” Swete says, “Now at
length Christ speaks in his human personal name” (_Apoc. of St.
John_, p. 305). Plummer’s comment is made with apparent reserve,
“The words are spoken as by Christ himself” (_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p.
547), though elsewhere he says more definitely, “The Revelation is
begun and ended by Christ himself” (_Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 2).
590 Plummer, _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 547.
591 Plummer says, “These words are best understood as uttered by the
writer.” _Pulp. Com._, Rev., p. 547; in Swete’s opinion “It is the
answer of the church to the voice of John in verse twelve.” _Apoc.
of St. John._, p. 306; Milligan suggests that the first clause is
the answer of the church moved by the Spirit, the second is the
words of John, and the latter half is Christ himself speaking—“an
interchange of thought and feeling between Jesus and his church”
_Internat. Com._, Rev., pp. 160‐161. There is, however, nothing in
the context that implies a change of speaker.
592 “This is the fulfilment of the duty laid upon St. John in ch. 1.1,
not an announcement of our Lord himself”, Plummer, _Pulp. Com._,
Rev., p. 548. Swete, however, regards these as the words of Jesus
himself, _Apoc. of St. John_, p. 307.
593 “It becomes a serious evil when the magnificent confidence and
certainty of St John as to the speedy accomplishment of all these
things is distorted into a declaration of the immediate coming of
the Lord and the end of the world. Time was not an element in his
anticipation. He was gazing upon the eternal, in which time has no
existence.” Ramsay, _Letters to Seven Ch’s_, p. 113.
594 _New Cent. Bib._, Rev., p. 304.
595 For a list of authorities on Apocalyptic see note under heading of
“The Form,” in the Introduction to this volume. At this point the
author feels constrained to say that the account of Apocalyptic
Literature here given reflects so largely the opinions of others
that it must be regarded, like much else in the book, as an effort
to present concisely and in his own way the best that has been said
upon the subject by many others who are more qualified to speak.
596 Bacon, _Intr. to New Test._, p. 232.
597 “It has been too readily assumed that these books are wholly without
‘evidences of the Divine Spirit leading on to Christ.’ ”
Fairweather, art. “Development of Doctr. in Apoc. Period.,”
Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, vol. 5.
598 Jülicher, _Intr. to New Test._, p. 52.
599 “The fundamental idea is the moral one ... the basis of the
religious is ethical.” See art. “Eschatol.” by Davidson. Hastings’
_Dict. of Bib._
600 “If we could grasp the underlying faiths that have clothed
themselves in these strange forms, faith in the kingship of God, and
the sure triumph of good over evil, and the heavenly blessedness of
those who hold to God’s side amid whatever shame and abuse and in
the face of death; if through the peculiar imagery and obscure
symbolism of the books we could feel the power of the unseen world
and gain a fresh sense of its reality, then this use, call it
literary, or call it devotional, would be the best use to which the
books could be put, and even most in accordance with the highest
mood and real purpose of their writers.” Porter, _Mess. of Apoc.
Writers_, Pref., p. xiii.
601 “In this weird world of fantasy, peopled by a rich Oriental
imagination with spectral shapes and uncouth figures, where angels
flit, eagles and altars speak, and monsters rise from sea and
land—in a world of this kind many Asiatic Christians of that age
evidently were at home, and there the prophet’s message had to find
them.” Moffatt, _Exp. Gr. Test._, Rev., Intr., p. 301.
602 See art. “Development of Doctrine in the Apocryphal Period,”
Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._, vol. 5; also art. “Zoroasterism” by
Moulton, Hastings’ _Dict. of Bib._
603 Zenos, art. “Apoc. Lit.,” Hastings’ _Dict. of Christ and the
Gospels_.
604 “The _deus ex machina_, an abnormal and effectual interposition of
God, is an essential feature of an apocalypse.” Humphries, _St John
and Other Teachers_, p. 92.