cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood. 9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. 10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon a third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; Christ, or a prophet, leading multi- reader may think, it would have been tudes astray, and causing their de- much better, if the writer of the Apocstruction. He falls in the midst of a alypse had seen fit to use plain lanblaze of divine judgments. What guage, which would have been more would more fitly represent such an easily understood. We reply, this individual, than "a great mountain style of writing has a very different burning with fire?" and what would appearance to us from that which it more fitly represent his fall, in answer presented to the people to whom it to the faith and prayers of the Chris- was addressed. They were used to tians, than the fall of the mountain it; and instruction could well be coninto the sea? Jesus told his follow-veyed to them by such means. Our ers, if they had faith, "ye shall say object is not to find fault with the unto this mountain, Be thou removed, style of the Apocalypse, but to exand be thou cast into the sea; it shall plain it, according to the best of our be done;" Matt. xxi. 21. Does not means and ability, by the help of the reader see, that the judgments other parts of the word of God. Stars, coming on the Jews, being represent- we said, are sometimes used to reped by a mountain removed from its resent good men and sometimes bad. base, agrees precisely with the meta- At one time the star signifies a conphorical language of the sixth chap-queror; Numb. xxiv. 17: "There shall ter, which, in point of subject, is the predecessor of this: "And every mountain and island were moved out of their places ;" 14. There is a congruity in the metaphors through this whole connection. come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth." At another it signifies the rulers of the church; Rev. i. 20, "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." Wicked apostates are said to be "wandering stars," that go from light into outer darkness. The fall of the King of Babylon was represented as the fall of a star from heaven. The figure is very striking. He was proud and aspiring: he exalted himself greatly, even "above the stars of God;" he said, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, -I will be like the Most High." But he was brought down to destruction; and after his debasement it was said to him, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [or morning star] how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations;' Isa. xiv. 12. The fall of the star 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. mentioned in Rev. viii. 10, 11, may well represent the overthrow of some leader, some false Christ, some principal one among the seditious, or the zealots, who led his followers into bitter suffering and death. The Jews were the prey of the ambition of such unprincipled men, and had been for some time before. See Acts xxi. 35: "Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?" ¶ Third part of the rivers. -The destruction is a partial one, preliminary (as we have before said) to the great and final overthrow of the nation. Our Saviour assured his followers that previous to the great event, false Christs should arise, and lead the people astray. They should "show great signs and wonders ;" Matt. xxiv. 24; they should be greatly lifted up; and if the fall of bad rulers and wicked men from eminent places was represented in prophetic style by the fall of stars, [as it surely was,] why may not the fall of some leader, among these false Christs, be represented by the fall of a star from heaven? But the judgment as yet was only partial. 12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, comb, and her mouth is smoother 12. Third part of the sun. - Under the sounding of the fourth angel, the woes seem to be still more tremendous and alarming. It is not now the destruction in part of the trees, or the grass, or the fountains of water; but greater far than that, it is the destruction of the third part of the sun, the moon and the stars. These stand for the highest earthly dignitaries, and the most glorious places. What, then, may this represent more fitly than the tumults in the very 11. Name of the star is called Worm- city, and in the temple, - the holy wood.- The star of which we are place; which we know were carried speaking, was called "Wormwood," on there before and during the siege to show its effect. It brought the by the Roman armies? It had been deepest bitterness of anguish upon the represented, in the preceding chapter, people when it fell. Perhaps the that "the sun became black as sackfigure of bitterness was originally cloth of hair, and the moon became drawn from Exod. xv. 23, 24. Idol- as blood, and the stars of heaven atry was a root of bitterness or worm- fell unto the earth;" verses 12, 13; wood to the Jews, and brought upon which we interpreted to signify great them severe judgments. See Deut. civil and political changes. In the xxix. 18. In describing to young verse before us, as we have said, it is men the lips of the strange woman, the third part of the sun, moon and Solomon says, they "drop as a honey-stars that are smitten." Without, and the day shone not for a third | loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to part of it, and the night likewise. the inhabiters of the earth, by 13 And I beheld, and heard reason of the other voices of an angel flying through the the trumpet of the three angels, midst of heaven, saying, with a which are yet to sound! therefore, being presumptive in the application, we think it perfectly safe to say, that this denotes, not the full destruction of the high powers of the Jewish state, but commotions among them, so that their power was partly stricken down, and they were thereby more easily made the prey of their enemies without the city. We shall have occasion to show, before we close our examination of the part of the Apocalypse which relates to the Jews, that, so far as human judgment can decide, had it not been for the contentions among the Jewish leaders, both in church and state, their city never could have been overthrown. trates endeavored by stripes and torture to restrain him; but he still cried with a mournful voice," Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" This he continued to do for seven years and five months together, and especially at the great festivals; and he neither grew hoarse, nor was tired; but went about the walls and cried with a loud voice, "Woe, woe to the city and to the temple;" and as he added at last," Woe, woe also to myself," it happened that a stone from some sling or engine immediately struck him dead. Let it be observed, that the woes denounced by him were not those which had happened under the first four trumpets, but those which were to happen under the last three. "Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are YET to sound." Notwithstanding, however, the close similarity between the angel and this personage in Jerusalem, it is by no means certain he was referred to by the revelator. In the scenery of the chapter, the angel may have been introduced merely to show that three out of the seven woes remained to be fulfilled. This will introduce us to the THREE WOE TRUMpets. 13. Angel flying through the midst of heaven. The term angel is applied, in the Bible, to any being, or thing, sent out of God for a special purpose. To fly in the midst of heaven, may signify flying in the air, between heaven and earth, or it may signify moving about among the powers of heaven, which had been mentioned in the preceding verse. T¶"Saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe." The figure of the angel, in this case, may have been introduced merely to announce that three woes remained to be fulfilled; or possibly it may have reference to a singular Jewish personage, who appeared in Jerusalem, in the midst of the greatest tumult, a description of whom we 1. And the fifth angel sounded. take from Josephus. What that his- Of the seven angels who were to torian reckoned the most horrible of sound their trumpets, as described in all, was one Jesus, an ordinary fel- the seventh seal, viii. 3, the sounding low, who came to the feast of taber- of four has been mentioned in the nacles, and ran crying up and down preceding chapter. Three more woes the street day and night, "A voice remain, as mentioned in the last verse from the east, a voice from the west, a of that chapter, -"Woe, woe, woe, to voice from the four minds, a voice against the inhabiters of the earth, by reason Jerusalem and the temple, a voice against of the other voices of the trumpet of the bridegrooms and the brides, a voice the three angels, which are yet to against all the people." The magis-sound." We have hitherto followed CHAPTER IX. A CHAPTER IX. ND the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from the order of events as described by the Saviour in the 24th of Matthew, and to that we shall still adhere; for it seems that in describing the woes that fell upon the Jews, the revelator made that order of events the groundwork of his description. In the 8th chapter, we found a description, couched in the highly metaphorical language of that book, of the intestinal divisions and tumults of the Jews; and of the fall of the leaders in these rebellious and sectional uprisings. For the Saviour's premonition of those events, see Matt. xxiv. 23-28. Let us now quote the next section of the Saviour's prophecy : "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;" Matt. xxiv. 29, 30. Observe, these events happened immediately after the appearance of the false Christs and leaders, who broke the Jewish nation into factions and led them astray. This weakened their power, which was represented by the smiting of a third part of the sun, moon and stars. But the great calamity is about to come. The sun and the moon shall be totally darkened; the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. TI saw a star fall. A star fell from heaven, or, as Dr. A. Clarke says, "An angel, encompassed with light, suddenly descended; and seemed like a star falling from heaven." We think this the idea to be conveyed; heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottom for, 1st. This is not the star "Wormwood," of which we treated in the commentary on the preceding chapter. No name is given to this star; it is a pure orb of light. 2d. It had a commission from above; "to him was given the key of the bottomless pit." Who gave the angel, or star, that key? See Rev. i. 18: "I am he that liveth and was dead [Jesus ;] and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." It is "he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth;" Rev. ii. 7. He gave the key to the angel who descended from heaven. 3d. This seems to be the same angel mentioned Rev. xx. 1: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand." As the giving the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter signified giving him authority to bind and loose, (Matt. xvi. 19,) so the giving the key of the bottomless pit to the angel, signified giving him power to let loose the hordes confined there. 2. Bottomless pit. - This is solely an Apocalyptical expression, and occurs Rev. ix. 1, 2, 11; xi. 7; xvii. 8; xx. 1, 3. What strange ideas have filled the minds of Christians concerning this pit. And after all, we are obliged to say that the original phrase does not warrant the translation bottomless pit. The true signification is, the well of the abyss, or deep within a deep. It is an intensive expression to represent the deepest abyss, —a hyperbole, like that of Milton, "And in the lowest depth, a lower deep, Still threat'ning to devour me, opens wide." But it is only in two cases (Rev. ix. 1, 2) out of the seven mentioned above, that there is even the slightest ground less pit; and there arose a smoke | great furnace; and the sun and out of the pit, as the smoke of a the air were darkened by reason for pretence that the word bottomless ing more than giving men permission is a just translation; for in the other to come up from beneath, from a low five cases the word abussos (abyss) estate, from among the commonality, stands by itself, without any attempt from the multitude, which is freto increase its force; and in these quently represented by the sea; and cases the word abyss would convey an angry multitude by the waves of the exact meaning of the original the sea. Open to me the gates of word. When we read (Luke viii. righteousness;" Psa. cxviii. 19. To 31) that the demons besought our open the doors of heaven, is to cause Lord "that he would not command the rain to descend; lxxviii. 23; them to go out into the deep," it might Ezek. xxxvii. 12; Zech. xi. 1; Mal. as well have been translated bottom-iii. 10; Acts xiv. 27. To open the less pit here as in the Apocalypse, for bottomless pit, then, was to give the it is precisely the same word in the hosts permission to come upon Judea. Greek. And yet who does not know Being looked upon as scourges, they that by "the deep," in that place, was were said to come from beneath. meant the sea of Galilee, on the shores There is no word in the English lanof which the transaction occurred? guage that so well conveys the sense The phrase abyss, or depth of the of the Greek word as abyss. ¶ Smoke abyss, in the case before us, is purely out of the pit. This is but a part of metaphorical. When it is said (Rev. the scenery to represent the gloom xiii. 1) that a beast rose up out of the that was to spread itself over the sea, it means precisely the same as in land, when the hosts of the enemy Rev. xi. 7," the beast ascendeth out issued, as it were, out of the abyss, to of the bottomless pit." As all bless- overrun Judea. Sun and the air ings, in the view of the Jews, came mere darkened. - In further carrying down from above, so Scourges, out the metaphor, smoke is said to although under the wise direction of arise out of the abyss, like the smoke God, were supposed to come up from of a great furnace, "and the sun and beneath. In the former case God the air were darkened by reason of the is said to "open the windows of smoke of the pit." How closely does heaven;" Mal. iii. 10; in the latter, this resemble the language of Jesus, to unlock the depth of the abyss, or already quoted, "Immediately after the bottomless pit. This is all, we the tribulation of those days shall the are confident, that the expression sun be darkened," &c.; Matt. xxiv. means. The word pit is often used 29. And how exactly does this agree metaphorically in the Scriptures. To with the description of the prophet be abased, to be cut off, to be Joel: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, destroyed, is to go down into the pit; and sound an alarm in my holy Job xxxiii. 18, 24, 28, 30; Psa. ix. mountain : let all the inhabitants of 15; xxviii. 1; xxxv. 7; xl. 2; cxix. the land tremble: for the day of the 85; cxl. 10; Prov. xxviii. 10; Isa. Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; xxiv. 16-23. The latter passage a day of darkness and of gloominess, a specially will show, that by pit, in the day of clouds and of thick darkness, as metaphorical sense, is meant a low the morning [fogs or vapors which state, beneath the common state of prevail before the sun rises] spread man. To come up out of the pit, was upon the mountains ;" Joel ii. 1, 2. to come up from beneath. Jesus was With such guides we feel a strong from above; his enemies, the Jews, confidence in referring the chapter were from beneath; John viii. 23. before us to the events connected with Opening the bottomless pit was noth- the destruction of Jerusalem. There |
