A PARAPHRASE AND NOTES ON THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. SECT. I. The preface, and dedication to the seven churches in Asia; includ- Rev. I. 1. HE Revelation Tof Jesus Christ, to him, to shew unto REVELATION I. 1. i. Rev. i. 1 HIS is the book of the revelation of Jesus CT. Christ; even that revelation, which God which God gave un- his Father gave to him for wise and holy purhis servants things poses, to shew to his servants the things which which must shortly must shortly be; many of which are to be very come to pass; and be sent and signified quickly accomplished, and the rest within a it by his angel unto period of time, which, when compared with his his servant John: reign in the heaven of heavens with all his saints and people, is only a short and very inconsiderable duration. And sending the discovery of these things by his angel, whose office it was to raise extraordinary signs and representations in his imaginations, he signified them to his servant John, who had indeed been distinguished 368 i. Rev. The inscription to the seven churches in Asia; SECT. by his Master's affection in the days of his flesh; insomuch that he even lay in his bosom, and was styled, by way of eminence, the dis1.1 ciple whom Jesus loved : And who, being 2 Who bare record 2 honoured with so important a message, failed of the word of God, not faithfully to declare it: but testified the of Jesus Christ, and and of the testimony word of God, which in those prophetic visions of all things that he came unto him, and the testimony of Jesus saw. Christ, (whose messenger the angel was,) ex3 actly reporting whatever he saw, Happy [is] 3 Blessed is he that he that attentively readeth, and they that obe readeth, and they diently hear the words of this prophecy, and who that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, fixing keep those things their mind upon them, and duly regarding which are written them; for the time of their accomplishment therein: for the time [is] at hand. 4 is at hand. be to come and from And considering the particular manner in 4 John to the sevwhich they were addressed by our blessed Lord, en churches which in some of the first of these revelations, JOHN unto you, and are in Asia: Grace dedicates and inscribes this account of the peace, from him whole, to the seven churches, which are in the which is, and which proconsular Asia, at Ephesus, Smyrna, Perga- was, and which is mos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Lao- the seven spirits dicea; wishing that grace in the richest abun- which are before his dance, and peace in all the variety of its bless- throne: ings, may [be] with you all from the great God, the fountain of all blessings, even from him, who is, and who was, and who is to come, possessed of invariable Divine attributes and perfections; and from the seven spirits, which are before his throne, and appear as emblems of the various operations and endowments of that 5 And from Jesus one blessed Spirit by whom they are actuat- Christ, who is the And from Jesus Christ, the true and faithful Witness, and 5 ed ; From him who is, and who was, &c.] The learned Grotius is of opinion, that the nominative case not being varied into what the grammarians call a genitive, as the common rules of grammar require, is designed to represent the everlasting veracity and invariableness of God, and the unchangeable majesty of Christ in the testimony of his gospel, and the glory of his kingdom. b The seven spirits before his throne.] Some have explained this of the seven arch angels, and urged it as an instance of invocation to them; but we may rather sup pose the Spirit of God to be symbolically represented by the seven spirits before the throne; as it is a view very agreeable to the genius of this emblematical book. This, as Bishop Burnet observes, in support of this opinion, (see Burnet on the articles, p. 39,) is most consistent with the prohi bition of prayer to the angels. And if we do not suppose this to be the case, it will be a great difficulty to account for the omission of the Spirit, whose dignity must, on almost every hypothesis, be allowed far superior to that of the highest created angels. See Mr. Lowman in loc: and an ascription of praise to the Redeemer : 369 i. Rev. the First begotten of faithful Witness, whose testimony is ever to be sECT. the dead, and the received with the most religious regard, as bePrince of the kings of the earth. Unto ing the First born from the dead, the first who him that loved us, rose to die no more, and who as the eldest Son and washed us from of the family of God, is gone to take possession our sins in his own of the inheritance for himself, and in the name blood, of his brethren; even from him, who is the supreme Ruler of all the kings of the earth, and who knows how to humble them in their proudest career, and defeat their mightiest opposition to his kingdom, by deposing one, or exalting another, at his sovereign pleasure; and even removing them by a single act of his will, not only from the thrones they fill, but from the world they inhabit. This glorious Person let us all adore, conscious of our infinite obliga. tions to him; and say to him who hath loved us with the most unparalleled affection, and hath condescended so low, that he hath washed us, from the otherwise indelible stains of our sins in his own most precious blood, having shed it to make satisfaction and atonement for them; 6 And hath made And in consequence of this, hath made us kings 6 us kings and priests and priests to his God and Father, that we should unto God and his reign with him in eternal life, and enjoy the Father; to him be glory and dominion perpetual pleasure of worshipping before him for ever and ever. in his heavenly temple, and in the mean time Amen. i. 5 be trained up for it by offering spiritual sacrifices: to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever, throughout the endless ages of eternity: amen: so let it be, for the honour of our Lord, as well as the comfort of his people, to whom he is more dear, than it is possible any sepa7 Behold, he com- rate interest of their own can be : And so it 7 eth with clouds; shall be; for behold and observe with suitable and every eye shall regard, he is, as it were, even now coming in that pomp and majesty in which he himself described his appearance, with the clouds of heaven, in power and great glory; the day is so near at hand, that it may be said to be already come; and however men may affect to overlook and neglect him, and his interest now, every eye shall then see him, and every other He is coming in the clouds, and every befall the Jews, when the destruction of eye shall see him.] It is surprising, that Dr. Whitby should interpret these words as relating to the temporal calamities to Jerusalem was long since past. And whatever slaughter was made of the Jews in Lybia, Smyrna, Alexandria, and 370 Rev. i. 7 Who declares himself to be the Alpha and Omega. SECT. object which at present invites their regard, see him, and they shall utterly vanish; even all they who have also which pierced him; and all kinpierced him shall behold him, and they that con- dreds of the earth demned him shall be arraigned at his tribunal; shall wail because of and all the tribes of the earth, who have rejected him; even so, Amen. his government, and opposed his interest, shall mourn because of him, shall lament that fatal opposition, by which, instead of prevailing in the least against him, they have only effected their own destruction. "Yea, Lord, we repeat our joyful accent: amen: come, Lord Jesus, in the clouds of heaven; take to thyself thy great power and reign; thy people shall lift up their heads with joy and triumph, being infallibly assured, that their complete redemp8 tion is approaching." And to confirm their 8 I am Alpha and faith and hope, let them hear him speaking as Omega, the Beginit were, by his own majestic voice from him, ing, saith the Lord, ning and the Endand saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the which is, and which beginning and the end: I was before all worlds, was, and which is to and shall continue the same, when all the rev- come, the Almighty. olutions of this world are over, and the final scenes relating to it shall be concluded. I am the First and the Last; I am he, saith the Lord Jehovah, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the eternal, the unchangeable, the Almighty Author, Supporter, and Disposer of all things. other places afterwards, it could by no means be called, the coming of Christ in his clouds by way of eminence : even though that phrase might be allowed applicable to remarkable temporal vengeance, inflicted by the providence, and in the cause of Christ. All the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of him.] In this verse, is prefixed the great moral, which the whole book is designed to illustrate; namely, that though there should be great opposition made against the cause and kingdom of Christ, yet it should be utterly in vain; and his kingdom should triumph in the most illustrious manner; so that all who had opposed it, should have the greatest reason to mourn. And as this series of Divine prophecy begins, so it ends with this sentiment, and with the joyful consent of his faithful servants to this glorious truth, which should fill the enemies of Christ with such terror and dismay. Compare chap. xxii. 20. I am the Alpha, &c.] This has been interpreted by many as spoken by the Father: but it will be very difficult to give sufficient proof of it. Most of the phrases, which are here used concerning this glorious Person, are afterwards used concerning our Lord Jesus Christ; and alongalag, though in ecclesiastical writers of the earliest ages, generally, so far as I can find appropriated to the Father, may, according to the Syriac version, be rendered, He who holds, that is, superintends, supports, and governs all; and then it is applied to Christ, Col. i. 17: Heb. i. 3. But if, after all, the words should be understood as spoken by the Father, our Lord's applying so many of these titles afterwards to himself, plainly proves his partaking with the Father in the glory peculiar to the Divine nature, |