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Explanation of the judgment of the great harlot, xvii. entire.
Fall of the city of Rome,

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xviii. entire.

xix. 1-11

12-xx. 10.

Thus the third part ends in the middle of the twentieth chapter.

PART IV.

CHAPTER XX. 11, TO END OF THE APOCALYPSE.

FINAL PREVALENCE OF THE GOSPEL, AND BLESSEDNESS OF BELIEVERS.

The mediatorial throne established,

Death and hell destroyed,

Christ's judgment of the nations,

Enemies also destroyed, .

Descent of the New Jerusalem, and all things

made new,

Punishment of unbelievers contrasted with the

felicity of believers,

The New Jerusalem largely described,

EPILOGUE.

Angel of the Apocalypse (mentioned i. 1) assures John, at the close, of the truth of what he had shown him,

John falls to worship the angel,

This the angel forbids,

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He repeats that the time of the fulfilment is at

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10, 11

Jesus confirms the whole, especially the fact that he will come quickly,

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12, 20

Benediction, .

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21

THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE.

THE

CHAPTER I. Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his ser

CHAPTER I.

The Revelation. This book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ for two reasons; 1st, it was a revelation "which God gave unto him;" and, 2nd, it was a revelation which he made to his servant John. The word revelation here should be taken in its usual and obvious sense, as a manifestation of a thing which was before hidden or secret. The truths of the book were communicated from God to the mind of his Son Jesus Christ, and from the mind of Jesus Christ to that of John. Of the manner of the revelation it is not necessary that we speak; the fact is plainly established by the text. For other instances of the occurrence of this word, see Rom. ii. 5; viii. 19; xvi. 25; Gal. i. 12; and from the last verse quoted it will be perceived, that Paul also received the gospel which he preached "by the revelation of Jesus Christ." In profession, at least, the Epistles of Paul and the Apocalypse stand on the same ground, as it respects the authority from which they were derived. Shortly come to pass. - This is a very important point. It is stated at the very commencement of the Revelation, and is worthy of peculiar attention. One would conclude that all the matters contained in the book were to be fulfilled at no

vants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

distant day. This, however, is not to be understood as if everything mentioned in the book were future; for it will be seen by i. 19, that some things had passed, and some were then present. It could be said only of those which were future, that they were "shortly to come to pass." The fact, that the events foretold by the revelator were near, was asserted by him again and again; see i. 3. So much for the commencement of the work. At the conclusion, the nearness of the events is again repeatedly declared; xxii. 7, 12, 20. In fact, we have almost the very words at the conclusion which we have at the beginning─"The Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done;" xxii. 6, compared with i. 1. The remarks of the very learned Dr. Hammond are so valuable on this point, that we shall present them at some length:-"Having gone through all the other parts of the New Testament, I came to this last of the Apocalypse, as to a rock that many had miscarried and split upon, with a full resolution not to venture on the expounding of one word in it, but only to perform one office to it, common to the rest, the review of the translation. But it pleased God otherwise to dispose of it; for before

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testi

I had read (with that design of translating only) to the end of the first verse of the book, these words, which must come to pass presently, had such an impression on my mind, offering themselves as a key to the whole prophecie, (in like manner as, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled · - Matt. 24, 34,have demonstrated infallibly to what coming of Christ that whole chapter did belong,) that I could not resist the force of them, but attempted presently a general survey of the whole book, to see whether those words might not probably be extended to all the prophecies of it, and have a literal truth in them, viz., that the things foretold and represented in the ensuing visions were presently, speedily to come to pass, one after another, after the writing of them. But before I could prudently pass this judgment, which was to be founded in understanding the subjectmatter of all the visions, some other evidences I met with, concurring with this, and giving me abundant grounds of confidence of this one thing, that although I should not be able to understand one period of all these visions, yet I must be obliged to think that they belonged to those times that were then immediately ensuing, and that they had accordingly their completion; and, consequently, that they that pretended to find in those visions the predictions of events in these later ages, and those so nicely defined as to belong to particular acts and persons in this and some other kingdoms, (a far narrower circuit, also, than that which reasonably was to be assigned to that one Christian prophecie for the universal church of Christ,) had much mistaken the drift of it. The arguments that induced this conclusion were these: First, that this was again immediately inculcated, v. 3, for the time is nigh, and that rendered as a proof that these seven churches, to whom the prophecie

mony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

was written, were concerned to observe and consider the contents of it. Blessed is he that reads, and he that hears, &c., (saith Arethas, that so hears as to practise,) for the time, or season, the point of time, is near at hand. Secondly, that as here in the front, so c. xxii. 6, at the close, or shutting up of all these visions, and of St. John's Epistle to the seven churches, which contained them, 't is there again added, that God hath sent his angel to sher to his servants the things that must be speedily, or suddenly; and immediately upon the back of that are set the words of Christ, the author of this prophecie, Behold I come quickly, not in the notion of his final coming to judgment, (which hath been the cause of a great deal of mistake-see note on Matt. xxiv. 6,) but of his coming to destroy his enemies, the Jews, &c.; and then, Blessed is he that observes, or keeps, the prophecies of this book, parallel to what has been said at the beginning, c. i. 3. Thirdly, that, xxii. 10, the command is given to John, not to seal the prophecies of the book, which that it signifies that they were of present use to those times, and therefore to be kept open, and not to be laid up as things that posterity was only or principally concerned in, appears by that reason rendered of it, because the time is nigh, the same which had here at the beginning been given, as the reason that he that considered the prophecies was blessed in so doing."

(Intro. to Apoc.) The remarks of Professor Stuart on this point are certainly worthy of very serious consideration, coming, as they do, not only from a gentleman of very great learning, but from one whose preconceived opinions would have led him to take different ground, had he regarded it as being tenable. "In Rev. i. 1, the writer says, that God gave to Christ the revelation, in order to show his servants what should take place speedily,

3 Blessed is he that readeth, | things which are written thereand they that hear the words of in: for the time is at hand. this prophecy, and keep those

4 John to the seven churches

of God, is somewhat doubtful. It is precisely the same phrase which is used personally for Christ in xix. 13. 2d. It was a favorite practice of John, in his gospel and epistles, to speak of the gospel of Jesus as a testimony, and the preaching or publishing of it as testifying, or bearing witness, &c. 3d. By all things that he saw, John, doubtless, meant those which the angel showed unto him.

quickly. In i. 3, the author solemnly Ver. 2. Who bear record. — John bear declares, that what is written in this record of the three things here named. book is of speedy accomplishment; 1st. The word of God; 2d. The testhe time is near, i. e. the time when timony of Jesus Christ; and, 3d. what is revealed will be accomplished." All things that he (John) saw." Thus much in the prologue to the 1st. Whether the word of God here is book. The epilogue repeats three to bear the same sense as in John i. several times the equivalent declara-1, or whether it signifies the gospel tion, Behold, I come quickly; xxii. 7, 12, 20. The coming of Christ is the main subject of the book, so that the declaration here is, that what the book contains will speedily be accomplished. That such must be the meaning, is evident by appeal to similar declarations in Řev. ii. 16, iii. 11, and xi. 14. No one can doubt, that what is said is what is meant, in these last cases. As little reasonable doubt can there be, if philology is to Ver. 3. Blessed is he that readeth, be trusted, in the cases just cited in the and they that hear. When the Apocprologue and epilogue of the book. alypse was written, books were few, What tolerable meaning now can be and few persons, therefore, could given, and defended on exegetical read. Many were obliged to hear, grounds, to the declarations in ques- because they could not obtain the tion, if we suppose that the main por- manuscripts to read them. Hence tion of the book relates to events the readers and the hearers are both some thousand and more of years mentioned. The language is probathen future? And if every writer is bly designed to have special applicato be permitted the liberty of explain- tion to the churches whom John ading his own purpose, why should we dressed. But it is not he who readrefuse to John the liberty that we eth only, but readeth and keepeth. concede to all others?" (Hints So in Luke xi. 28, "Blessed are they on Prophecy, 2d ed., pp. 111, 112.) that hear the word of God and keep it." By his angel. As angels are spo-¶ For the time is at hand. What ken of so frequently in this book, time? The time when these great each one always performing a differ- events were to be fulfilled. The time ent office, it is worthy of remark, that mentioned ver. 1, and that was shortly the angel here spoken of is the one to come. Thus far the preface of the who made known the whole revela- book. The first three verses are the tion, and hence may be called the preface; and the preface contains apocalyptical angel. We shall meet three points: 1st. By whom the revewith many angels in the course of lation was made; 2d. The subjectthe book; but we shall not meet with matter of the revelation; and, 3d. this one again until we come near the The blessedness of reading and keepclose, xxii. 6, 8. ¶ His servant John. ing it. It was addressed particularly That John, the apostle, is here to that generation, to people then on meant, is shown in the introduction the earth. They were called on to to this work. read and keep the word, for the time

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