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reveal to the initiated, by an ingenious verbal arrangement, the dangerous secret of Nero's connection with this theme. particularly xi. 7.

Exterminans is not in the Greek.

12. One woe is past; behold there come still two more woes after these things.

There is no and, after "past," in the Greek.

13. And the sixth angel sounded the trumpet and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.

The golden altar of incense stood in the "Holy Place" of the Temple before the Ark, and was therefore in the figurative language of this Book, "before God." It had ornamental projections at the four corners, called "horns" (Exod. xxx. I, 2, 3, xxxvii. 25). Before "the eyes of" God (D.R.) is not in the Greek. The altar of holocausts was not the altar in question here. It was not golden and it stood outside the Temple proper, in the Priests' Court. See Plate V.

The sixth angel trumpet begins a new subject, separating the first woe from the two more woes, which comе, μeтà тaûтa; an expression which marks a decided change of scene. begin a new Chapter.

It should

14. Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Loose the four angels who are bound, at the great river Euphrates.

15. And the four angels were loosed who were prepared for the hour and day and month and year, in order that they might kill the third part of men.

16. And the number of the army of horsemen was twenty thousand times ten thousand. And I heard the number of them.

17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision; and they who sat upon them had breastplates of fiery hue, and hyacinthin, and sulphurous, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and from their mouths proceeded fire and smoke and sulphur.

There were Parthian horsemen at the Euphrates in S. John's time, and he had seen the pick of them in the train of Tiridates, not long before he wrote. And they had on them chain armour of gold and silver and steel. The majority were clothed in chain steel which looked fiery, or sparkling, according as it was polished or not. Ilupivovs means "fiery" or "sparkling." Some had silver armour, which might be described as hyacinthine, like the pale blue of the hyacinth. A few were golden, or sulphur hued, i.e. yellow.

C. W. King, in his book on "Persian Gems," describes uakinthos as blue, and adds that the word is of Persian origin.

Gibbon says that the army of the Persian King, Artaxerxes, who fought with Alexander Severus "consisted of one hundred and twenty thousand horse, clothed in complete armour of steel. These armies both of light and heavy cavalry threatened as an impending cloud, the eastern provinces of the declining Empire of Rome (D. and F. viii.).

Brimstone, an old English designation for sulphur, used in D.R., is not a chemical term, and it emphasises the solid form of sulphur, which is not in view here. Sulphur fumes came from the mouths of the horses, with fire and smoke, not brimstone.

18. By these three plagues was slain the third part of men, by the fire and the smoke and the sulphur which issued out of their mouths.

And does not begin this verse in the Greek, nor is "by" repeated, as in D.R.

19. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like to serpents having heads, and with them they hurt.

20. And the rest of the men who were not slain by these plagues did not repent of the work of their hands that they should nor worship demons and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which neither can see nor hear nor walk. The word Sapóvia is translated "demons" elsewhere in the Book, as it should be. Here we have devils, in D.R.

21. Neither have they repented of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thefts.

CHAPTER X

1. And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.

2. And he had in his hand a little open book, and he set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the land.

Not only is the sea mentioned first, but the angel sets his right foot upon it, showing symbolically the value of sea-power. At x. 5-8 this angel is represented as standing on sea and on land.

3. And he cried out with a loud voice as when a lion roareth and when he cried out the seven thunders uttered their voices. 4. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders have spoken and write them not.

The seven thunders are not written. Why then are they

noticed in this Revelation? Probably to show us that this revelation does not contain the whole history of the Church and the world; that the time from the end of the millennium till the day of Judgment, (which is sketched briefly in "the Book" as a period in which world powers will come up against the Church), is a long period, involving many catastrophies like those of Jerusalem and Rome.

5. And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the land lifted up his right hand to heaven.

6. And he swore by Him that liveth for ever and ever, Who created heaven and the things which are therein, and the earth and the things which are therein, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there shall be no more delay.

7. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God shall be accomplished as He hath declared by His servants, the prophets.

"His servants the prophets " explains the meaning of " His servants" and "His servant John " at R. i. 1.

8. And the voice which I heard from heaven, again spoke with me, saying, Go, take the book that is open from the hand of the angel standing upon the sea and upon the land.

up

"The voice from heaven" which ordered him to "seal the things which the seven thunders have spoken," refers back

to x. 4.

9. And I went to the angel saying to him that he should give me the little book. And he said to me, Take it and eat it up and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.

Take the book (D.R.) is not in the Greek. Karapaɣew is “to eat up" or consume.

10. And I took the book from the hands of the angel and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey and when I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Dr. Swete has Bißrapídiov, "little book," which has the strong support of A. C. P. and the context. It is sweet in the mouth to take in the knowledge of future events; but it is bitter to digest such knowledge when, as in this case, it relates to the bitter struggles of the Church with a hostile world.

II. And he said to me, Thou must prophesy again about many people and nations and tongues and kings.

Пláv means "once more" that is " again," another time. It looks forward to the Roman theme, which is contained in the "little book."

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THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM, (Herodian, B.C. 30 A.D. 70.) I Holy of Holies, 2 Holy Place.
Priests' Court, За Altar of Holocausts. 4 Women's Court 5 5 5

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6 Tower of Antonia 7 Wall

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8 Golden Gate

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Outer Court.

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