Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty the earth, is a common periphrasis of to teach any particular theological the Hebrew and New Testament wri- tenet. It was not the design he had ters for THE UNIVERSE, (ta pan, or in view. He was seeking to show ta panta, the ALL, the WHOLE.)" the praise of which Christ was worBut further, when John is speaking thy; and he represented all beings in of those redeemed on earth, he says the universe, especially those who they came "OUT OF every kindred, had been, and who were to be, reand tongue, and people, and nation;" deemed by him, as joining in his ver. 9. But not so here in ver. 13. praise. One can scarcely conceive There is no reference made to the why he should have done this, why OUT OF; the WHOLE (ta panta) are he should have used the expressive represented as praising God and the language he employed to represent Lamb. Mark the language: "Every all intelligent beings, if he had becreature which is in heaven, and on lieved, as some Christians in this day the earth, and under the earth, and do, that a large portion of those for such as are in the sea, and ALL THAT whom Jesus died will never, either ARE IN THEM, [there is an intentional in time or eternity, receive any benavoiding of the OUT OF,] heard I say-efit from his mission. Supposing the ing, Blessing, and honor," &c., &c. revelator to have entertained the Why should John summon less opinions of the Calvinistic divines, than all intelligent beings? Can any is it probable that he would have reason be assigned? Would his plan used the language which he did use? have been rendered any more perfect If they were engaged in a work by summoning a part only of the of the imagination, to describe the human race? Those who maintain honor that Jesus shall receive, would that his language had respect to a they summon all intelligent beings, part only, ought to feel themselves without distinction, and represent able to establish the following three them all as joining in ascriptions of points: First, they should show, that praise to Christ? It is highly im the language employed by John was probable. It seems to us very unreasuch as a man would naturally use sonable to suppose that the revelator in speaking of a part of the human did not intend to embrace all intellirace. Second, they should show, that gent beings in his description; the for a part to be called on to praise whole form and force of his language Christ, and not the whole, was more tend to show that he did mean to consistent with the plan which John embrace them all. then had in his mind, than if the whole had been thus called on. And who will undertake that? Third, they should show, that for a part to be called on, and not the whole, was more consistent with the character of the Lamb of God, and the objects for which he labored as the mediator between God and men, than if the whole had been thus called on. We do not suppose, that John's purpose in the passage we have considered was 14. The four beasts said, Amen. They responded most devoutly to the worship rendered by every intelligent creature. Four and twenty elders fell down, &c. - This is the conclusion of the grand scene which the revelator's fancy had conceived. heaven and earth, indeed the whole universe, are described as worshipping, in the most devout and solemn manner, him that liveth forever and ever. ¶ Liveth forever and ever. — All elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. This phraseology may be applied to the Father or the Son. In this case, we think Jesus was intended. CHAPTER VI. In the fifth chapter we had an account of the book sealed with seven seals, (ver. 1,) which the Lion of the tribe of Juda (viz., Jesus Christ) "prevailed to open, and to loose the seven seals thereof;" ver. 5. In the chapter before us, we have an account of the opening of the seals, and of the events which were revealed thereby. There is, however, this exception, that after the opening of the sixth seal the events described in all the seventh chapter took place, and the opening of the seventh seal is not made known until we come to the eighth chapter, ver. 1. The whole account, it must be remembered, is allegorical. By the opening of the seals, one after the other, is intended, we think, the making known of the events to the revelator. He was permitted to "come and see" what was "shortly to come to pass." As he had been previously ignorant of these events, the book in which they were said to be written was a sealed book to him. The contents were hidden; and the events being then future, no man could reveal them,- no man could break the seals, no one could do it except the Son of God. The time had come for breaking the seals, and for making the events known. We are now to proceed to the description of the things future, -- the prophetical parts of the Apocalypse. In i.-19, John was directed as follows: "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter." At the beginning of chap. iv. the revelator said, "After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the CHAPTER VI. ND I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, first voice which I heard, was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter;" iv. 1. The whole of the fourth and fifth chapters are taken up with John's imaginary description of the dwelling-place of God, the court of heaven, the appearance of the Lamb, the praise rendered to him, &c. &c.; so that it is not until we come to the sixth chapter, that we find the description of the things that were to be hereafter. They were future in the time of John; but yet not far distant. They were "shortly to come to pass." We have said that we have now come to the prophetical part of the Apocalypse. It is a prophecy in the form of allegory, like that of Daniel. And there is one remarkable fact, which ought to be most deeply impressed upon the reader's mind, viz., that the facts disclosed in this section of the Apocalypse are the main or principal facts which were disclosed by our Lord in his memorable prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke, but most fully by the first named. The revelator scarcely records a fact, in regard to the destruction of Jerusalem, which may not be found in our Lord's prophecy style is different, although our Lord did not neglect, in his description, the use of metaphor. The revelator, however, carries the metaphorical style much further; it spreads into the allegorical, in his hands; and his images are to be ranked among the boldest and loftiest ever conceived. To show how strictly he followed our Lord's prophecy, let us take notice of the events which our Lord foretold. These events were as follows: The 1st. The PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL, and its prevalence among all nations. "And this Gospel of the kingdom 1. I saw. - The revelator's vision still continued. ¶ The Lamb. - He saw the Lamb open one of the seals. The Lamb had prevailed to open the seals; i. e., he had obtained power to do it, and he had made it manifest that he had that power; v. 7, 8. One of the seven seals. He opened one of the seven seals, and John heard a voice, like as of thunder, which was that of one of the four living creatures, (Rev. iv. 6,) saying to him, "Come and see;" i. e., there is something further for thee to know. Thunder, by a very natural metaphor, was regarded by the ancients as the voice of God. See John xii. 28, 29. The sound thereof comes from heaven; it is full of majesty; and we know of noting on which men might more radily fix as a representative of God's voice, than this. 2. A white horse.-John, in this connection, introduces four horses, whose colors were white, red, black, and pale; verses 2, 4, 5, 8. We shall proceed to ascertain what these four horses represent; and we shall follow the laws by which we ought to be governed, in interpreting scriptural 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown metaphors. The horse is a noble animal, and was employed by the ancients, as well as the moderns, in war. Job's description of the warhorse (in the 39th chapter) is highly poetical, and of great power. A man starting on any expedition, in the days of the revelator, would most probably take a horse to ride upon; and hence the going forth of a horse represented the commencement of an expedition, and its progress in the world. John, perhaps, obtained the metaphors of his four horses from Zech. i. and vi. In the latter chapter the prophet has four horses, of different colors, to represent different expeditions. The nature of the expedition, whether it be for good or for evil, is to be determined by the color of the horse. White being the symbol of joy, felicity and prosperity, and white horses being used by victors on their days of triumph, are the symbol of certain victory and great triumph upon that account. THe that sat on him.. Who it is rides on the white horse of the Apocalypse, may be learned by consulting Rev. xix. 1116: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh : was given unto him: and he | the earth, and that they should went forth conquering, and to kill one another: and there was conquer. given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. 3 ́And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And 4 And there went out an- | I beheld, and lo, a black horse; other horse that was red and and he that sat on him had a power was given to him that pair of balances in his hand. sat thereon to take peace from a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." The "word of God" is precisely what John called Jesus; Gospel i. 1; 1 Epis. v. 7. It was Jesus, then, who sat on the white horse; and he had a bow, the sign of strength and victory, and a crown, the sign of royalty. And he went forth in his kingdom, conquering and to conquer. See Psa. xlv. 3-7. Here is described the introduction of the kingdom of Christ, and the establishment of the Gospel among men. Jesus rides forth as King of Zion, with the sign of power, royalty, and victory. This, then, being descriptive of the going forth of Jesus as King in Zion, and the progress of his kingdom in the world, agrees with one of the signs which Jesus said should precede the destruction of Jerusalem. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come;" Matt. xxiv. 14. 3. Second seal. The opening of the second seal called out a remark from the second beast; and he, like the first, said to the revelator, "Come and see." Another sheet was unrolled, and the revelator saw further signs. 4. Horse that was red. — After having described the introduction and success of the gospel, (mentioned in Matt. xxiv. 14,) the revelator saw, on the opening of the second seal, another horse, not white, but red, the sign of blood and slaughter. And power was given him who sat thereon 6 And I heard a voice in the to take peace from the earth. This is certainly the metaphor for WAR. Hence it is said, "They shall kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword," showing us the second particular which we have proved was mentioned in Matt. xxiv., viz., WAR. ¶Take peace from the earth, or from the land. Here, not the whole earth, but the land of Palestine, is specially denoted, which was entirely overrun with war in a few years after the Apocalypse was written, agreeably to the prophecy of our Lord; Matt. xxiv. 6. 5. Third seal. · When the third section of the roll, or third seal, was unfolded, the third beast said, "Come and see." There is a symmetry preserved here; the first beast speaks of the opening of the first seal, the second of the next, and so on. And what did he see? A black horse. Black is the sign of affliction, disaster and anguish. The object of the revelator was to represent famine. But no color would exactly represent that; and therefore the usual color for dismay and mourning was selected. But to make the metaphor the more definite, the rider, upon the horse, bears a sign in his hand. ¶A pair of balances. - And what do these represent? Every one knows that balances are used wherewith to ascertain the weight of any article; and we shall discover, in the next verse, that the balances were the sign of scarcity. 6. A voice. Some voice came from among the four beasts. ¶ A midst of the four beasts say, A | the fourth seal, I heard the voice measure of wheat for a penny, of the fourth beast say, Come and three measures of barley for and see. a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell 7 And when he had opened measure of wheat for a penny. Gro- seals there was no beast to respond, the tius and others have observed, that a whole four having been consecutively chanix of corn, the measure here brought forward. mentioned, was a man's daily allow- 8. A pale horse. There seems to ance, as a penny was his daily wages; be a reference here to Ezek. xiv. 21, so that if his daily labor could earn where the prophet speaks of God no more than his daily bread, with- sending fourscore judgments upon out other provision for himself or his Jerusalem, viz., "the sword, and the family, corn must needs bear a very famine, and the noisome beast, and high price. But whatever may be the pestilence, to cut off from it man the capacity of the chanix, which is and beast." Paleness is the sign of difficult to be determined, as it was weakness, sickness, fainting. ¶Name different in different times and coun- that sat on him was Death. We quote tries, yet such care and such regula- again Dr. Hammond: "It was a pale tions about the necessaries of life horse and a rider thereon, signifying imply some want and scarcity of great death or mortality, whether them. Scarcity obligeth men to ex- by extraordinary ways of death, the actness in the price and measure of sword and famine, or by that ordithings. In short, the intent of the nary known way of pestilence, folprophecy is, that corn should be pro-lowing (as it ordinarily doth) upon vided for the people, but it should be distributed in exact measure and proportion.- (Bishop Newton.) See Whittemore on the Parables, p. 261, for further information on these subjects. See also Campbell on Gos., Dis. viii., p. i., sec. 4. Dr. Hammond says, "The scarcity of corn is such, that the price of a man's day's labor will buy no more than is wont to be thought sufficient for a man's food in a day; and if he eats that all himself, there is nothing left to provide for wife and children," &c. &c. Wheat, barley, oil and wine, were with the eastern nations of antiquity the chief supports of life. Here, then, we have a description of FAMINE, which was mentioned in Matt. xxiv. as one of the signs preceding the destruction of Jerusalem. 7. Fourth seal. Here is the same symmetry as before; the fourth beast gives out the invitation at the opening of the fourth seal, "Come and see." At the opening of the other these two, and sweeping away many. And these three horses, in the last three rolls, that is sword, famine, and death, or pestilence, (all named together in this matter, Matt. xxiv. 7,) should destroy the fourth part of the land of Judea, men and beasts, or else should make such a vastation that the wild beasts should increase, and be too strong for the inhabitants there. And all this but a forerunner of the far greater destructions that should afterwards be wrought among them at the siege of Titus." So far Dr. Hammond.¶ Hell followed with him. The word here translated hell occurs in the Apocalypse four times; i. 18; vi. 8; xx. 13. 14. In all these cases it is associated with death. The expression is particularly strong in the verse before us, "hell followed with him." Under the two preced ing seals, the revelator had described war and famine, fruitful sources of death. His object in the metaphor we are considering was to show how |