did cast them to the earth: and delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she brought forth a the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be O Lucifer, son of the morning;" xiv. 12. The dragon had power to cause many to fall from their high estate of purity and faithfulness. To devour her child. It will be seen that this was the great object of the dragon, — his first and most earnest purpose. And he desired to accomplish it speedily. He watched for the child that was about to be born, that he might devour it. of the Roman army. The horses their high stations. So Isaiah says, breathed fire and smoke and brim-"How art thou fallen from heaven, stone; and their tails were like serpents, having heads. The sole intent in that passage seems to have been to represent the horses to be as fearful as possible. So, to represent the dragon's power, it is said, "his tail drew a third part of the stars." The dragon, if he represented the spiritual power of Rome, or paganism, would, of course, have great influence among the rulers of the empire; they would be more or less under his guidance; 5. Brought forth a man-child. - This and all who have learned of the is one of the most interesting verses immense power of heathen priests, in the whole chapter. The prophet know that they could almost make said, "A virgin shall conceive and and unmake rulers at their pleasure. bear a son, and thou shalt call his They had means of guiding public name Immanuel;" Isa. vii. 14. A sentiment and controlling the public "man-child" was born. Is not this will. Such a power in the dragon, the man-child brought forth by Zion, would be well described by his draw- and mentioned in Isa. lxvi? At any ing after him the stars of heaven. rate the figures are similar: "Before John had placed the scene in the she travailed, she brought forth; befirmament, among the stars. He fore her pain came, she was delivered showed the dragon's power, therefore, of a man-child. by representing him as drawing the such a thing? who hath seen such stars. The metaphor, perhaps, was things? shall the earth be made to suggested by the passage in Daniel: bring forth in one day? or shall a "And it waxed great, even to the nation be born at once? for as soon host of heaven: and it cast down as Zion travailed, she brought forth some of the host and of the stars to her children;" verses 7, 8, of the the ground, and stamped upon them;" chapter mentioned. ¶Rule all nations viii. 10. Daniel meant by stars Jew-with a rod of iron. This man-child ish rulers. The dragon was repre- was "to rule all nations with a rod sented as very powerful; he had of iron." Who is this but the Christ? immense influence. It would seem God says of his Son, whom he had to require great power to strike the begotten: "Ask of me, and I will stars out of their places. Star stands, give thee the heathen for thine inherin the metaphorical language of the itance, and the uttermost parts of the Bible, for a ruler, an eminent person, earth for thy possession. Thou shalt as we saw in treating of the angels break them with a rod of iron," &c.; of the churches; i. 20. This dragon Psa. ii. 8, 9; Rev. ii. 26, 27; xix. 15. had power to draw many of the rulers It seems difficult to avoid the thought after him. When men are drawn that the revelator had his mind on away by bad influences, they are com- this passage in the 2d Psalm, when pared to "wandering stars;" Jude he said that the man-child "was to 13. To cast the stars down from rule all nations with a rod of iron." heaven to the earth is to degrade ¶ Unto God and his throne. - This men, to throw them down from may signify that God took Jesus Who hath heard 6 And the woman fled into man-child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and the wilderness, where she hath her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. under his peculiar protection; and that he was safe from all that God did not design that he should suffer, as if he had been caught up to God and his throne; or it may signify that Jesus, at his death, was taken up to heaven to sit down at the right hand of God. Jesus and his religion was the continued object of persecution, all over the Roman empire, wherever it was preached. His death was no hindrance to the propagation of his religion, but rather a great help to it. So signal a display of divine power was it in God, to cause the wrath of man to praise him, that even when the powers of earth succeeded to kill him, the hand of God was in it, and God was said to have "caught him up to his throne." We know that Herod, the Roman governor, sought to slay the infant Jesus almost as soon as he was born; and his mother was obliged to flee away with him into Egypt, where she remained until Herod died; Matt. ii. 12-20. But we have said God "caught him up to his throne;" and there the revelator saw him. "And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb," &c.; v. 6. Hence the throne is called from that time "the throne of God and the Lamb." The Son, from the time that the Father caught him up to his throne, was safe in heaven. Persecution could no more assail him, and accordingly we read no more of his being persecuted. But persecutions still continued. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ;" verse 17. The members of the church on earth still suffered under the wrath of the dragon. a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a 6. The woman fled into the wilderness. - It is not necessary to suppose that the woman fled into the wilderness after her child was caught up to the throne of God; but after the birth. The sense may be as follows: And she brought forth a man-child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was [subsequently, viz., at his resurrection] caught up unto God and his throne. But the woman, the mother, fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God. In this case it is possible the revelator referred to Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, who, as we have seen, fled with her son into Egypt. It is by no means certain, however, that this is the true interpretation. It may signify the retirement of the believers into obscure places, in consequence of the raging persecutions. The Hebrews used the word which we translate wilderness, to signify all places that were not cultivated, but which were chiefly destined to the feeding of cattle, and on which trees grew wild. So when wilderness is mentioned in Scripture, we are not always to imagine it to be a place forsaken, abandoned, void of cities, or inhabitants; as this word often represents the soil near a city, or village, which was appointed for a pasture, and where the plough never came. Thus, in Scripture, there are few cities which had not their wilderness, i. e., uncultivated places for woods or pastures. We need not suppose, therefore, that the Christians all rushed to one and the same place; but they resorted to obscure retreats, in the times of the greatest danger. They fled at times from one place to another, as their Master told them to do; Matt. x. 23. So Paul went from Amphipolis to Apollonia, thence to Thessalonica, thousand two hundred and threescore days. 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels is "the captain of our salvation." This war may be said to have been in heaven perhaps for two reasons. 1st. John had laid the scene of these transactions in the firmament, the field of the sun, moon and stars. The dragon was introduced first of all in that field. The war certainly was metaphorical. The whole account is of that nature. No such events actually took place among the stars. The scene was laid there in the revelator's imagination. War in heaven may thence to Berea, and thence to Athens. The Christians were not required to sacrifice their lives uselessly and rashly. They were to flee before persecution, and live and preach as long as they could, and as long as it was God's will. But they were never to hold life dearer than the cause of Christ, and were never to renounce the latter to save the former. A thousand two hundred and threescore days. The revelator merely touches upon the persecution of the woman in this place; and, intending to resume also signify a spiritual contest. This it again, he passes hastily to the sub- is the only place in the Bible in which ject mentioned in the next verse. that expression occurs. It was the The persecution of the woman is contest, says Sir Isaac Newton, beresumed, ver. 13. By the thousand tween "the Christian and heathen two hundred and threescore days is religions ;" and we quote the words as meant the time of the church's depres-expressing the idea, which, in our sion, and the triumph of the perse- view, the revelator intended to concuting power, as we have shown vey. under xi. 2, 3. It is the same season that is referred to in ver. 14, as a time, times, and half a time. This is made certain by a comparison of ver. 6 with ver. 14. 7. There was war in heaven. - War is put for spiritual contests in the Scriptures. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds," &c., &c.; 2 Cor. x. 3, 4. Paul charged Timothy "to war a good warfare;" 1 Tim. i. 28; again he tells him to "endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ;" and that "no man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him that hath chosen him to be a soldier;" 2 Tim. ii. 3, 4. And he says, in the same epistle: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith;" iv. 7. There can be no doubt that war.is often put in the Scriptures for spiritual contests. The Christian is a "soldier," and Christ Michael and his angels. - The inquiry will now arise, who was Michael? He was an imaginary leader of the Christian forces, as the dragon, that old serpent, who is the devil and Satan, (for these four terms all sig nify the same thing,) was the imagi nary leader of the opposition. Michael is mentioned in the books of Daniel, Jude and the Apocalypse. In Daniel the name seems to be applied to one of the chief princes of Persia, an amiable and excellent personage, who succored Daniel and the Jews, while they were in captivity, and rendered them very essential service; see chap. x. 13, 21. From this fact his name came to be used metonymically for the guardian of good men, who would protect the Christians in the time of their troubles, as he had protected the Jews in their captivity; Dan. xii. 1. In the figurative language of Jude, he is called an archangel, who had contended with the devil, (i. e., the opponents,) about the body of Moses, a figure to represent the Jewish church in captivity, just as the body of Christ represents the fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither Christian church. See Eph. i. 22, 23: "Gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." Col. i. 24: "For his body's sake, which is the church." 1 Cor. xii. 27: "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." Michael, in metaphor, being spoken of as the guardian of the Jewish church, (metonymically, "the body of Moses,") so is he spoken of, in the same sense, as the guardian of the Christian church; and he contended with the dragon, or devil, about the body of Christ, or the church. Hence came the battle, or spiritual contest, between "Michael and his angels," and "the dragon and his angels." The dragon fought and his angels. We have given some account of the dragon under ver. 3. The dragon was the metaphorical leader of the opposition to Christianity, precisely as Michael was of the Christian forces. The spiritual contest is described under the metaphor of earthly warfare; and therefore the spiritual forces are described under the metaphor of earthly forces. Neither Michael nor the dragon was a real being. Michael and his forces were the Christian forces; the dragon and his forces were the heathen powers, that opposed and persecuted the Christians. The dragon, the old serpent, the devil and Satan, are all used to signify the leading opposers of Christianity. The great fact to be remembered in this place is, that this account of the contest is wholly allegorical, and describes the opposition between Christianity and heathenism. 8. Prevailed not. This is as we should expect. God's truth cannot be overcome. The Christian religion prevailed in spite of all the opposition that was arrayed against it; and the opposition could not prevail. It had numbers, wealth, learning, and was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was prejudice to aid it; but it could not prevail. ¶ Neither was their place found any more in heaven. - The dragon was degraded, thrown down from his high place. John, having laid the scene of the contest in the firmament, thus gave himself a fine opportunity to describe the degradation of the dragon, by his being precipitated to the earth. Instead of succeeding in his attempt, the dragon was even further removed from the power of accomplishing it. 9. The great dragon was cast out. The dragon prevailed not; he was beaten. He was cast out of heaven; i. e., he was cast down from his place of spiritual power. The Christian religion was successful. When the seventy disciples returned to Jesus on a certain occasion, and told him of their great successes, he foresaw the ultimate triumph of his truth over all opposition, and he described the fall of that opposition in these words: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven;" i. e. from his high power. I beheld, and saw him cast down. The same figure was used to describe the fall of the king of Babylon from his throne. Isa. xiv. 1215: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." To be cast out of heaven into the earth was to be abased, be thrown down from high power and influence to weakness and degradation. The battle of Michael and the dragon was a visionary scene. to It cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which existed only in the imagination of St. John; though the circumstances intended to be described were realities. See our extract from Doddridge in our note on chapter iv. 4. Bishop Newton, we think, gives the best construction of the contest between Michael and the dragon: "This contest lasted several years, and the final issue of it was, that the Christian prevailed over the heathen religion; the heathen were deposed from all rule and authority, and the Christians were advanced to dominion and empire in their stead." The Christian religion prevailed among the leading men of the empire. There is not the slightest evidence that by "the great dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan," any other than earthly powers were intended. It is high time that all the old superstitions in regard to a super-human adversary passed away. That the devil stood for the earthly opponents of the Christians is certain; for it is said, "The devil shall cast some of you into prison," Rev. ii. 10; and of course, the power that cast the Christians into prison was intended by the devil. That power was unquestionably the leading opponents of the church, against whom the Christians had to contend. Paul said to the Ephesians, "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of THE DEVIL;" vi. 11; and then he shows who they were to contend with, in the next words: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." These rulers, these principalities, these powers, were diabolos, the devil, that old serpent, and Satan. The final and utter overthrow of the dragon is mentioned in Rev. xx. 1-3 and 7-10, to which places we refer for further remarks on this topic. We take the opportunity here to say, if the dragon of the Apocalypse signifies anything besides human adversaries, it is the only instance in the Bible in which it has such a signification. We find the dragon mentioned Psa. xci. 13: "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." Is any other than a human adversary intended here? Is not this the meaning of the passage — thou shalt triumph over all thine enemies, even the most formidable? Are not the lion, the adder, the young lion, the dragon, all put for earthly enemies? Why should the dragon be supposed to refer to a super-human adversary any more than the lion, or the adder? The dragon is mentioned again, Isa. xxvii. 1: "In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." What is meant here by the dragon that is in the sea? Was it any other than a human adversary? Adam Clarke, speaking of the animals mentioned in this verse, says: "These are used allegorically, without doubt, for great potentates, enemies and persecutors of the people of God; but to specify the particular persons or states designed by the prophet under these images, is a matter of great difficulty, and comes not necessarily within the design of these notes. R. D. Kimchi says, leviathan is a parable concerning the kings of the Gentiles; it is the largest fish in the sea, called also tannin, the dragon, or rather the whale. By these names the Grecian, Turkish and Roman empires are intended. The dragon of the sea seems to mean some nation having a strong naval force and extensive commerce.- See Kimchi on the place." So far A. Clarke. We here have the Jewish use of the metaphor. It signified earthly opposers and oppressors. The next instance in the common version in |