Page images
PDF
EPUB

of polemical controversy. This very remarkable and solemn warning is given to all time. Those exegetes who add to the text will be punished, as set forth in the seven plagues. He "that heareth" is put for an exegete or commentator.

19. Καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων τοῦ βιβλίου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφελεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ.

19. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things which are written in this book.

Those who take away from the text will be deprived of the heavenly rewards described in the Book. The honest exegete, who reverently strives to bring out the meaning of the Book, may go astray, and yet incur no penalty. He may take confidence from other passages: "Blessed is he that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy (R. i. 3); where ȧvayiwokov points to exegesis. (See also R. xxii. 7, notes.) "And he that heareth, let him say, Come." (R. xxii. 17, where see notes.)

20. Λέγει ὁ μαρτυρῶν ταῦτα, Ναὶ, ἔρχομαι ταχύ. Αμήν, ἔρχου, κύριε Ἰησοῦ.

20. He that giveth testimony of these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

There is running through this Book a note of expectation, of something coming. "For the time is at hand" (R. i. 3). It may be supposed that this is a reflection of the parousial ideas prevalent in the time of St. John. There could be no such thought in the minds of those who had read and understood this Book. They would know that "the second coming" lay at least a thousand years beyond the fall of Rome.

If we bear in mind the genesis of the Book in the mysterious hour, long foretold, when the Roman eagles were gathered to the destruction of Jerusalem, if we bear in mind the peculiar position of the Hebrew Nazarene Church, the Church of the Elect, in relation to the Old Law and the New Kingdom, if we bear in mind the prophecy of Daniel and the emotion which passing events had excited in the minds of the Nazarenes, we can understand the meaning of this expectancy. In the description of the fall of Jerusalem (Chap. X.) an angel swears "by

...

him that liveth for ever and ever . . . that time shall be no more" (i.e., that there shall be no further delay), that when "the seventh angel . . . shall begin to sound the trumpet, . . . the mystery of God shall be finished, as He has declared by His servants the prophets" (R. x. 6, 7). And when the seventh angel sounded the trumpet, there were great voices in heaven saying, "The kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and his Christ's, and he shall reign for ever and ever. Amen." (R. xi. 15.) The transference of the kingdom of this world from the Israelites and the Old Law to Jesus Christ and the Gentiles is apparently in view in these last words, "I come quickly."

But side by side with these reflections there runs another train of thought, not conflicting with them, which leads to an eschatological conclusion. If we consider that this Book has been a mystery to the Church and the world from the end of the first till the end of the nineteenth century: if we consider that when the mystery was unveiled in our own time, it was found that the predictions of the Book had been fulfilled down to its last lines: it is reasonable to conclude that its last lines may have a special appeal to the twentieth century. "Behold I come quickly" is the warning addressed to the close of the Philadelphian age of the Church, in which we live (R. iii. 11). It occurs three times in the epilogue of this Book; it may be a trumpet-call to the twentieth century.

21. Ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησου Χριστοῦ, μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, ̓Αμήν.

21. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all. Amen.

(S. omits XplorоÛ, Táντшν, and Amen.)

The final blessing of S. John is somewhat in the epistolatory style of the Apostles. See Rom. xvi. 24; 1 Cor. xv. 23. But he calls down the blessing of Jesus Christ on "all the saints,” where Tv άyiwv refers to "the camp of the saints," as last seen, at R. xx. 8, surrounded by the forces of Satan.

ABADDON, 238

Abercius, 218

INDEX

Abomination, the, 114, 253; "abominations," 325, 389

Abraham, rock of, 208

"Aẞuroos, 232 f., 238, 256, 362, 363, 374

Accusation, 335, 337

Accuser, the, 272
"Add to," 398
Adiabene, Queen, 63
Αδικείν, 205, 216

Adoration (see λατρεύειν) Προσκυνεῖν: the ancients, 193, 201; angels, 220; the Synagogue, 173; devils, idols, 243; Temple, 250, 263; dragon and Beast, 281, 289, 298; God, 296, 394; all nations, 307, 348; fellowservant, 351, 393; not, 364; angel, 393

Adultery, 159 Ælia, 57

Afflict, 314

"Ayiot, 49, 91, 198, 224, 225, 264, 283, 285, 314, 326, 344, 346, 350, 370, 400 Agrippina, 61

[blocks in formation]

Amethyst, 386

*Αναγινώσκω, 126, 399

Ananus, 260

Ancients, 105, 189, 193, 198, 199, 201; dramatic use, 201, 220; explain, 221, 263, 294, 348

Andreas, 43, 89, 96, 120

"Angels" of Church, 100; of Apocalypse, 123, 124, 323, 385, 392, 393, 397; meaning, 138; laxvpós, 195, 245, 335, 344, 381; numbers, 199; trumpet, 224; dramatic use, 201; four, 215, 240; another, 216, 224; adore, 220; seven, 224; of pit, 238; rebel, 269; dragons, 271; thrown down, 272; flying, 296; of fire, 225, 303; plagues, 308; of waters, 315; having key, 362; twelve, 382; measure, 385; standing in sun, 356 Anger, nations, 264; dragon, 276 Ανοίξαι, 195, 196, 198, 202 Antichrist by S. John, 18 f.; Polycarp, 24; S. Irenæus, 26, 84; Hip politus, 28; medieval, 45, 46, 252 Antimontanists, 25, 27, 30, 40 Antioch, 23, 81

:

Antipas, 150 f.
Antoninus Pius, 72, 84
Apameia, 185

Apocalypse: Name of book, 85;
meaning, 123; papyrus MS,, 13,
119; length, 119; written in Greek,
13, 120; object, 12, 87; chapters,
43 113, 120; copies, 120; text, 121;
original copies, 14, 15; written at
Patmos, 13, 130; destination, 14,
103; addressed to servants and
angels, 12, 13, 123, 392; Christian
dogmas, 83; difficulties and dan-
gers, 14, 81, 109, 124; concealed,
15, 22; seen, 58; understood at
Rome and Jerusalem, 15; publi-
cation, 23; mistaken, 23, 26, 31, 95;
rejection in the East, 40; rein-
stated, 41; Antichrist, 254; a pro-
phecy, 392, 394
Apollo, 286
Apollonius, 7, 25

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Battle, 236, 237; in heaven, 271;
kings of earth, 319, 331; Satan's
last, 368

Bear, 279

Bear, to, 140, 141

Beast, the: Number, 15, 291; name,
15; Irenæus, 26; in Greek, 39; dis-
covered, 45; explained by gema-
tria, 90, 92 f.; of abyss, 256, 328; kills
witnesses, 256; from the sea, 278 ff.;
adored, 283; image of, 289, 299,
364; kingdom, 316; mouth, 318;
supports scarlet woman, 325, 327;
hariolation, 328; will reappear,
328; goes to destruction, 329;
helped by ten kings, 333; at Arma-
gedon, 357; cast into hell, 359; tor-
mented, 271

Beast from earth.
Prophet
Beasts, 340
Beatus, 43

Bed of sickness, 159

Bede, Venerable, 8, 43

See the False

Beginning, 130; creation, 178; and
end, 380, 396

Beheaded, 364

"Behind," 98, 132, 133

Behold, 128, 147, 173, 177, 183, 378, 379,
395

Benary, 92

Benediction, 193, 200, 221
Berengaud, 43

Beryl, 386

Bewail, 129, 338

Bibles: Greek, 40; S. Jerome, 42;
Haydock's, 121; Coyne's, 121;
opinions, 280; copied, 364; Douay,
121, 332, 370, 396

Βιβλίον, 133

Bind, 362

Birds, unclean, 335, 356, 359
Bishops, 104, 110, 146, 152, 155
Bisutun, 94

Bithynia, 68

"Bitter," 230, 249
Black Death, 44, 161

Blasphemy, 91, 146, 281, 282, 290, 307,
315, 316, 323; names of, 278, 325
Blessed, 126; are the dead, etc., 300;
is he, 320, 367; called to the mar-
riage, 350; keeps the word, 392;
wash their robes, 396

"Blind," 180
Blood, cleansing, 128, 222; conquer-
ing, 272; of the Lamb, 273; wine-
press, 304; sea of, 227, 312; dead, 312
Blood of martyrs, 208, 210, 396
Bloodshed, 226, 227, 255, 314; rivers,
312; to drink, 314; of prophets
and saints, 346; of servants, 347;
on garment, 353

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

Brother, 130

"Burning," 135, 229, 230, 332, 338;
of Rome, 50, 343
Burgundians, 78, 80, 331, 358

Burial, 71; Jewish, 49, 257, 261, 357
Butler, Alban, 8, 71
Butler, Dom., 75
Buy, to, 181, 339

Cæsar worship, 10, 12, 47 f., 68, 277,
281, 283, 286, 289, 291, 368, 381
Cæsars: title, 29; line, 93, 329; Cæsar-
ism, 363
Caius, 23, 27

Calés, Rev. J., S.J., 286
Calf, 191
Caligula, 48

"Called," 331

Camp of saints, 82, 370

Candlesticks, 58, 97 f., 133, 134; sym-
bolism, 138 f.; removed, 142; re-
stored, 146; "Two," 254; taken
to Carthage, 333

Canisius, B. P., 166

Canticles, 198; new, 294; of Moses,

306; the Lamb, 306

Carthage, Councils of, 42

Cassiodorus, 43, 121, 220

"Cast" into sickness, 159; into hell,

[blocks in formation]

Chalcedony, 386
Chalons, battle, 358
Chapman, Dom., 67, 315
Chapters, 44, III, 120, 239
Chariots, 216, 237, 340
"Charity (first)," 141, 157
Chase. Bishop, 86
Chastisement, 182
Cherubims, 191

Children, 160; child-birth, 268; of
Israel, 152
Chiliasm, 23, 30
Choenix, 205

Chorus, the, 116, 198, 202, 221, 263,
306, 347, 348

Christ, 123, 125, 128, 130; His king-
dom, 263; power, 272; reign, 364;
priests, 367; our Lord, 400. See
Jesus

Christianity, Gentile, 23; spread, 47
Christians: Name, 23; Hebrew, 4;
a sect, 49; Judæan, 8; in pagan eyes,
51, 63, 65, 68; under persecution,
86, 87; position, 63 f.; suffer with
Rome, 154; early views, 366
Chronology, 17
Chrysolite, 134, 386
Chrysoprasus, 386
Chrysostom, S., 41

Church, the: Seven ages, 96 f., 100;
revelation of, 103, 127, 133; all, 160;
letters, 108, 138, 397; in Asia, 101;
109, 127; pride and luxury, 72, 75,
153, 158, 166; Western, 25, 160;
sufferings, 147, 213; a woman, 267
ff.; triumphant, 382, 387; foun-
ders, 383

Church buildings, 21, 75, 105
Cicero, 327
Cinnamon, 340

Cities, Gentile, 323

City, Beloved, 82, 370; Holy, 251,
378, 382, 383, 385, 399; great, 256,
322, 339 341, 343; dominion over
kings, 334; fell, 262; made in o
parts, 322; mighty, 339; wall 386;
gates, 387, 396; outside, 305
Civil War, 58

Clarmontane Codex, 42

Claudius Cæsar, 41, 48, 49, 89, 124
Clemens Romanus, 22; Epistle, 66 f.,

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »