Chapter XV
AND I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the [459]wrath of God.
1. And I saw another sign in heaven. Another wonder or extraordinary symbol. The word sign here――σημεῖον――is the same which in ch. xii. 1, 3; xiii. 13, is rendered wonder and wonders, and in ch. xiii. 14; xvi. 14; xix. 20, miracles. The word is not elsewhere found in the book of Revelation, though it is of frequent occurrence in other parts of the New Testament. See it explained in the Notes on ch. xii. 1. Here it is used to denote something wonderful or marvellous. This is represented as appearing in heaven, for the judgments that were to fall upon the world were to come thence. Comp. ch. xi. 19; xii. 1; xiv. 1, 6, 13, 14, 17. ¶ Great and marvellous. Great and wonderful, or fitted to excite admiration――θαυμαστὸν. The subsequent statements fully justify this, and show that the vision was one of portentous character, and that was fitted to hold the mind in astonishment. ¶ Seven angels. Comp. Notes on ch. i. 4. ¶ Having the seven last plagues. The article here, “the seven last plagues,” would seem to imply that the plagues referred to had been before specified, or that it would be at once understood what is referred to. These plagues, however, have not been mentioned before, and the reason why the article is used here seems to be this: the destruction of this great Antichristian power had been distinctly mentioned, ch. xiv. That might be spoken of as a thing now well known, and the mention of it would demand the article; and as that was well known, and would demand the article, so any allusion to it, or description of it, might be spoken of in the same manner, as a thing that was definite and fixed, and hence the mention of the plagues by which it was to be accomplished would be referred to in the same manner. The word plagues――πληγὰς, from πληγή――means properly a wound caused by a stripe or blow, and is frequently rendered stripe and stripes, Lu. xii. 48; Ac. xvi. 23, 33; 2 Co. vi. 5; xi. 23. It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament, except in the book of Revelation. In this book it is rendered wound in ch. xiii. 3, 12, 14; and plagues in ch. ix. 20; xi. 6; xv. 1, 6, 8; xvi. 9, 21; xviii. 4, 8; xxi. 9; xxii. 18. It does not occur elsewhere. The secondary meaning of the word, and the meaning in the passage before us, is a stripe or blow inflicted by God; calamity or punishment. The word “last” means those under which the order of things here referred to would terminate; the winding up of the affairs respecting the beast and his image――not necessarily the closing of the affairs of the world. Important events were to occur subsequent to the destruction of this Antichristian power (xix.‒xxii.), but these were the plagues which would come finally upon the beast and his image, and which would terminate the existence of this formidable enemy. ¶ _For in them is filled up the wrath of God. _ That is, in regard to the beast and his image. All the expressions of the divine indignation towards that oppressive and persecuting power will be completed or exhausted by the pouring out of the contents of these vials. Comp. Notes on ch. x. 7, where the word rendered filled up――ἐτελέσθη――is rendered finished.
2 And I saw as it were a [460]sea of glass [461]mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory [462]over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the [463]harps of God.
2. And I saw as it were a sea of glass. In ch. iv. 6, a similar vision is recorded――“And before the throne there was a sea of glass, like unto crystal.” See the Notes on that passage. The sea of glass here means a sea clear, pellucid, like glass: an expanse that seemed to be made of glass. There it was entirely clear; here it is mingled with fire. ¶ Mingled with fire. That is, a portion of the sea was red like fire. It was not all clear and pellucid, as in ch. iv. 6, but it was as it were a tesselated expanse, composed in part of what seemed to be glass, and in part of a material of a red or fiery colour. In the former case (ch. iv. 6), the emblem was designed {353} to represent the pure worship of heaven without reference to any other symbolic design, and hence the sea is wholly clear and pellucid; here, in connection with the purpose of furnishing an appropriate symbol of the divine majesty, there is united the idea of punishment on the foes of God, represented by the fiery or red colour. If it is proper, from conjecture, to suggest the meaning of this as an emblem, it would be that the foundation――the main element――of all the divine dealings is justice or holiness――represented by the portion of the sea that seemed to be glass; and that there was, in this case, intermingled with that, the image of wrath or anger――represented by the portion that was fiery or red. The very sight of the pavement, therefore, on which they stood when worshipping God, would keep before their minds impressive views of his character and dealings. ¶ And them that had gotten the victory over the beast. Ch. xiii. 11. That is, they who had gained a victory in times of persecution and temptation; or they whom the “beast” had not been able, by arts or arms, to subdue. The persons referred to here, I suppose, are those who in the long dominion of the Papal power, and amidst all its arts and corruptions――its threats and persecutions――had remained steadfast in the truth, and who might thus be said to have gained a victory――for such victories of piety, virtue, and truth, amidst the corrupting influences of sin and error, and the intimidations of power, are the most important that are gained in this world. ¶ And over his image. See Notes on ch. xiii. 14, 15. The meaning is, that they had not been led to apostatize by the dread of the power represented here by the “image of the beast.” In all the attempts of that power to subdue them――to intimidate them――to induce them to give up their attachment to the truth as it is in Jesus――they had remained steadfast in the faith, and had triumphed. ¶ And over his mark. See Notes on ch. xiii. 16. Over all the attempts of the beast to fix his mark upon them, or to designate them as his own. ¶ And over the number of his name. See Notes on ch. xiii. 17, 18. Over all the attempts to fix upon them that mysterious number which expressed his name. The general sense is, that in times of general error and corruption; when the true friends of Christ were exposed to persecution; when every effort was made to induce them to become the followers of the “beast,” and to yield to the corrupt system represented by the “beast,” they remained unmoved, and adhered firmly to the truth. The number of such in the aggregate was not small; and with great beauty and propriety they are here represented as rejoicing and giving thanks to God on the overthrow of that corrupt and formidable power. ¶ Stand on the sea of glass. That is, before God. They are now seen in heaven, redeemed and triumphant. ¶ Having the harps of God. Harps that pertained to the worship of God; harps to be employed in his praise. See Notes on ch. xiv. 2.
3 And they sing the [464]song of Moses the servant of God, and the [465]song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; [466]just and true are thy ways, thou King of [467]saints.
3. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God. A song of thanksgiving and praise, such as Moses taught the Hebrew people to sing after their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. See Ex. xv. The meaning here is, not that they would sing that identical song, but that, as Moses taught the people to celebrate their deliverance with an appropriate hymn of praise, the redeemed would celebrate their delivery and redemption in a similar manner. There is an obvious propriety here in referring to the “song of Moses,” because the circumstances are very similar; the occasion of the redemption from that formidable Antichristian power here referred to, had a strong resemblance to the rescue from Egyptian bondage. ¶ And the song of the Lamb. The hymn which is sung in honour of the Lamb, as their great deliverer. {354} Comp. Notes on ch. v. 9, 10, 12, 13. ¶ Saying, Great and marvellous |are| thy works. See Notes on ver. 1. The meaning is, that great power was evinced in redeeming them; and that the interposition of the divine goodness in doing it was marvellous, or was such as to excite wonder and admiration. ¶ Lord God Almighty. This would seem to mean the same thing as the expression so common in the Old Testament, “Jehovah, God of hosts.” The union of these appellations give solemnity and impressiveness to the ascription of praise, for it brings into view the fact, that he whose praise is celebrated is Lord――the JEHOVAH――the uncreated and eternal One; that he is God――the creator, upholder, and sovereign of all things; and that he is Almighty――having all power in all worlds. All these names and attributes are suggested when we think of redemption; for all the perfections of a glorious God are suggested in the redemption of the soul from death. It is the Lord――the Ruler of all worlds; it is God――the Maker of the race, and the Father of the race, who performs the work of redemption; and it is a work which could be accomplished only by one who is Almighty. ¶ Just and true. The attributes of justice and truth are brought prominently into view also in the redemption of man. The fact that God is just, and that in all this work he has been careful to maintain his justice (Ro. iii. 26); and the fact that he is true to himself, true to the creation, true to the fulfilment of all his promises, are prominent in this work, and it is proper that these attributes should be celebrated in the songs of praise in heaven. ¶ |Are| thy ways. Thy ways or dealings with us, and with the enemies of the church. That is, all the acts or “ways” of God in the redemption of his people had been characterized by justice and truth. ¶ Thou King of saints. King of those who are holy; of all who are redeemed and sanctified. The more approved reading here, however, is King of nations――ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν――instead of King of saints――τῶν ἁγίων. So it is read in the critical editions of Griesbach, Tittmann, and Hahn. The sense is not materially affected by the difference in the reading.
4 Who[468] shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou [469]only art holy: for [470]all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest:
4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord. Reverence and adore thee; for the word fear, in the Scriptures, is commonly used in this sense when applied to God. The sense here is, that the judgments about to be inflicted on the beast and his image should and would teach men to reverence and adore God. There is, perhaps, included here also the idea of awe, inasmuch as this would be the effect of punishment. ¶ And glorify thy name. Honour thee――the name being put for the person who bare it. The sense is, that, as a consequence of these judgments, men would be brought to honour God, and to acknowledge him as the Ruler of the earth. ¶ For |thou| only |art| holy. That is, in these judgments he would show himself to be a holy God; a God hating sin, and loving righteousness and truth. When it is said that he “only” is holy, the expression is used, of course, in a comparative sense. He is so pure that it may be said that, in comparison with him, no one else is holy. Comp. Notes on Job iv. 18; xv. 15. ¶ For all nations shall come and worship before thee. That is, as the result of these punishments inflicted on this dread Antichristian power, they shall come and worship thee. Everywhere in the New Testament the destruction of that power is connected with the promise of the speedy conversion of the world. ¶ For thy judgments are made manifest. To wit, on the beast. That formidable power is overthrown, and the grand hindrance to the universal spread of the true religion is now taken away. Comp. Notes on Is. xxvi. 9.
5 And after that I looked, and behold, the [471]temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
5. And after that I looked. After I had seen in vision the redeemed thus referred to, celebrating the praises of God, I saw the preparation made for the execution of these purposes of judgment. ¶ And behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony. Not the whole temple, but only that part to which this name was given. The word tabernacle――σκηνή――means properly a booth, hut, tent, and was the name commonly given {355} to the tent or tabernacle that was erected in the wilderness for the service of God. See Notes on Ac. vii. 44. The same word came naturally to be applied to the temple that was reared for the same purpose in Jerusalem. It is called the “tabernacle of testimony,” because it was a testimony or witness of the presence of God among the people――that is, it served to keep up the remembrance of him. See Notes as above on Ac. vii. 44, where the same Greek phrase is used as here――rendered there “tabernacle of witness.” The word temple here――ναός――does not refer to the whole of the building called the “temple,” but to the holy of holies. See Notes on He. ix. 3. This was regarded as the peculiar dwelling-place of God; and it was this sacred place, usually closed from all access, that now seemed to be opened, implying that the command to execute these purposes came directly from God himself. ¶ In heaven. That is, that part of heaven which corresponds to the most holy place in the temple was opened; to wit, that which is the peculiar residence of God himself. ¶ Was opened. Was thrown open to the view of John, so that he was permitted to look, as it were, upon the very dwelling-place of God. From his holy presence now came forth the angels to execute his purposes of judgment on that Antichristian power which had so long corrupted religion and oppressed the world.
6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
6. And the seven angels. See Notes on ver. 1. ¶ Came out of the temple. Were seen to come from the temple; that is, from the immediate presence of God. ¶ Having the seven plagues. See Notes on ver. 1. Each one intrusted with a single “plague” to be executed upon the earth. The meaning here is, that they were designated or appointed to execute those plagues in judgments. The symbols of their office――the golden vials――were given to them afterwards, ver. 7. ¶ Clothed in pure and white linen. The emblem of holiness――the common representation in regard to the heavenly inhabitants. See Notes on ch. iii. 4; vii. 13. Comp. Mat. xvii. 2; Lu. ix. 29; Mar. xvi. 5. ¶ And having their breasts girded with golden girdles. See Notes on ch. i. 13. The meaning is, that they were attired in a manner befitting their rank and condition.
7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
7. And one of the four beasts. See Notes on ch. iv. 6, 7. Which one of the four is not mentioned. From the explanation given of the design of the representation of the “four beasts,” or living creatures, in the Notes on ch. iv. 6, 7, it would seem that the meaning here is, that the great principles of that divine government would be illustrated in the events which are now to occur. In events that were so closely connected with the honour of God and the triumph of his cause on the earth, there was a propriety in the representation that these living creatures, symbolizing the great principles of divine administration, would be particularly interested. ¶ Gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials. The Word here used――φιάλη――means properly, “a bowl or goblet, having more breadth than depth” (Rob. Lex.). Our word vial, though derived from this, means rather a thin long bottle of glass, used particularly by apothecaries and druggists. The word would be better rendered by bowl or goblet, and probably the representation here was of such bowls as were used in the temple service. See Notes on ch. v. 8. They are called in ch. xvi. 1, “vials of the wrath of God;” and here they are said to be “full of the wrath of God.” The allusion seems to be to a drinking cup or goblet filled with poison, and given to persons to drink――an allusion drawn from one of the methods of punishment in ancient times. See Notes on ch. xiv. 10. These vials or goblets thus became emblems of divine wrath, to be inflicted on the beast and his image. ¶ Full of the wrath of God. Filled with that which represented his wrath; that is, they seemed to be filled with a poisonous mixture, which being poured upon the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun, the seat of the beast, the river Euphrates, and into the air, was followed by severe divine judgments on this great Antichristian power. See ch. xvi. 2‒4, 8, 10, 12, 17. ¶ Who liveth for ever and ever. The eternal God. {356} The particular object in referring to this attribute here appears to be, that though there may seem to be delay in the execution of his purposes, yet they will be certainly accomplished, as he is the ever-living and unchangeable God. He is not under a necessity of abandoning his purposes, like men, if they are not soon accomplished.
8 And the temple was [472]filled with smoke from the [473]glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
8. And the temple was filled with smoke. The usual symbol of the divine presence in the temple. See Notes on Is. iv. 5; vi. 4. ¶ From the glory of God. From the manifestation of the divine majesty. That is, the smoke was the proper accompaniment of the Divine Being when appearing in majesty. So on Mount Sinai he is represented as appearing in this manner: “And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly,” Ex. xix. 18. The purpose here seems to have been, partly to represent the smoke as the proper symbol of the divine presence, and partly to represent it as so filling the temple that no one could enter it until the seven plagues were fulfilled. ¶ And from his power. Produced by his power; and the symbol of his power. ¶ And no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. Till those vials had been poured out, and all that was indicated by them was accomplished. The meaning here seems to be, that no one would be permitted to enter to make intercession――to turn away his wrath――to divert him from his purpose. That is, the purpose of punishment had been formed, and would certainly be executed. The agents or instrumentalities in this fearful work had been now sent forth, and they would by no means be recalled. The mercy-seat, in this respect, was inaccessible; the time of judgment on the great foe had come, and the destruction of the grand enemy of the church was certain. The point, therefore, at which this vision leaves us is, that where all the preparations are made for the infliction of the threatened punishment on the grand Antichristian power which had so long stood up against the truth; where the agents had prepared to go forth; and where no intercession will ever avail to turn away the infliction of the divine wrath. The detail follows in the next chapter.
XVI. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER
The previous chapter had described the preparation for the last plagues that were to come upon that mighty Antichristian power to which this series of prophetic visions refers. All is now ready; and this chapter contains the description of those seven last “plagues” under which this power would reel and fall. These “plagues” are described as if they were a succession of physical calamities that would come upon this Antichristian power, and bring it to an end; though perhaps it is not necessary to look for a literal infliction of such calamities. The course of the exposition thus far will lead us to regard this chapter as a description of the successive blows by which the Papacy will fall. A part of this is still undoubtedly future, though perhaps not far distant; and, in reference to this, and to some portions of the remainder of the book, there may be more difficulty in satisfying the mind than in the portions which pertain to past events.
The chapter comprises statements on the following points:――
A command is issued from the temple to the seven angels, to go and execute the commission with which they were intrusted, ver. 1.
The first angel pours out his vial upon the earth――followed by a plague upon those who had worshipped the beast and his image, ver. 2.
The second angel pours out his vial upon the sea――followed by the death of all that were in the sea, ver. 3.
The third angel pours out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they become blood. This is followed by an ascription of praise from the angel of the waters, because God had given to those who had shed the blood {357} of the saints blood to drink, with a response from the altar that this was just, ver. 4‒7.
The fourth angel pours out his vial upon the sun, and an intenser heat is given to it to scorch men. The consequence is, that they blaspheme the name of God, but repent not of their sins, ver. 8, 9.
The fifth angel pours out his vial upon the very seat of the beast, and his kingdom is full of darkness. Men still blaspheme the name of God and repent not of their sins, ver. 10, 11.
The sixth angel pours out his vial upon the great river Euphrates. The consequence is, that the waters of the river are dried up, so that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. The writer sees also, in this connection, three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, that go forth into all the earth to gather all nations to the great day of the battle of God Almighty, ver. 12‒16.
The seventh angel pours out his vial into the air, and a voice is heard answering that “it is done:” the time of the consummation has come――the formidable Antichristian power is to come to an end. The great city is divided into three parts; the cities of the nations fall; great Babylon thus comes up in remembrance before God to receive the punishment which is her due. This terrific scene is accompanied with voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake, and with great hail――a tempest of wrath beating upon that formidable power that had so long stood up against God, ver. 17‒21. The detail of the actual destruction of this power is carried forward in the subsequent chapters.
Chapter XVI
AND I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven[474] angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
1. And I heard a great voice out of the temple. A loud voice out of the temple as seen in heaven (Notes on ch. xi. 19), and that came, therefore, from the very presence of God. ¶ Saying to the seven angels. That had the seven vials of wrath. Notes on ch. xv. 1, 7. ¶ Go your ways. Your respective ways, to the fulfilment of the task assigned to each. ¶ And pour out the vials of the wrath of God. Empty those vials; cause to come upon the earth the plagues indicated by their contents. The order in which this was to be done is not intimated. It seems to be supposed that that would be understood by each. ¶ Upon the earth. The particular part of the earth is not here specified, but it should not be inferred that it was to be upon the earth in general, or that there were any calamities, in consequence of this pouring out of the vials of wrath, to spread over the whole world. The subsequent statements show what parts of the earth were particularly to be affected.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial [475]upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous [476]sore upon the men which had the [477]mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
2. And the first went. Went forth from heaven, where the seat of the vision was laid. ¶ And poured out his vial upon the earth. That is, upon the land, in contradistinction from the sea, the rivers, the air, the seat of the beast, the sun, as represented in the other vials. In ver. 1, the word earth is used in the general sense to denote this world as distinguished from heaven; in this verse it is used in the specific sense, to denote land as distinguished from other things. Comp. Mar. iv. 1; vi. 47; Jn. vi. 21; Ac. xxvii. 29, 43, 44. In many respects there is a strong resemblance between the pouring out of those seven vials, and the sounding of the seven trumpets, in ch. viii., ix., though they refer to different events. In the sounding of the first trumpet (ch. viii. 7), it was the earth that was particularly affected in contradistinction from the sea, the fountains, and the sun: “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth.” Comp. ch. viii. 8, 10, 12. In regard to the symbolical meaning of the term earth, considered with reference to divine judgments, see Notes on ch. viii. 7. ¶ And there fell a noisome and grievous sore. The judgment here is specifically different from that inflicted under the first trumpet, ch. viii. 7. {358} There it is said to have been that “the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” Here it is that there fell upon men a “noisome and grievous sore.” The two, therefore, are designed to refer to different events, and to different forms of punishment. The word rendered sore properly denotes a wound (Hom. Il. xi. 812), and then, in later writers, an ulcer or sore. It is used in the New Testament only in the following places: Lu. xvi. 21, “The dogs came and licked his sores;” and in Re. xvi. 2, 11, where it is rendered sore, and sores. It is used in the Septuagint, in reference to the boils that were brought upon the Egyptians, in Ex. ix. 9‒12, and probably De. xxviii. 27; in reference to the leprosy, Le. xiii. 18‒20, 23; in reference to the boil, ulcer, or elephantiasis brought upon Job, ch. ii. 7; and in reference to any sore or ulcer, in De. xxviii. 35. In all these places it is the translation of the word שְּׁחִין shehhin――rendered in our English version boil, Ex. ix. 9‒11; Le. xiii. 18‒20, 23; 2 Ki. xx. 7; Job ii. 7; Is. xxxviii. 21; and botch, De. xxviii. 27, 35. The proper meaning, therefore, is that or a sore, ulcer, or boil of a severe and painful character; and the most obvious reference in the passage, to one who was accustomed to the language of Scripture, would be to some fearful plague like that which was sent upon the Egyptians. In the case of Hezekiah (2 Ki. xx. 7; Is. xxxviii. 21), it was probably used to denote a plague-boil, or the black leprosy. See Notes on Is. xxxviii. 21. The word “noisome”――κακὸν, evil, bad――is used here to characterize the plague referred to as being peculiarly painful and dangerous. The word grievous――πονηρὸν――bad, malignant, hurtful――is further used to increase the intensity of the expression, and to characterize the plague as particularly severe. There is no reason to suppose that it is meant that this would be literally inflicted, any more than it is in the next plague, where it is said that the “rivers and fountains became blood.” What is obviously meant is, that there would be some calamity which would be well represented or symbolized by such a fearful plague. ¶ Upon the men. Though the plague was poured upon “the earth,” yet its effects were seen upon “men.” Some grievous calamity would befall them, as if they were suddenly visited with the plague. ¶ Which had the mark of the beast. Notes on ch. xiii. 16, 17. This determines the portion of the earth that was to be afflicted. It was not the whole world; it was only that part of it where the “beast” was honoured. According to the interpretation proposed in ch. xiii., this refers to those who are under the dominion of the Papacy. ¶ And |upon| them which worshipped his image. See Notes on ch. xiii. 14, 15. According to the interpretation in ch. xiii., those are meant who sustained the civil or secular power to which the Papacy gave life and strength, and from which it, in turn, received countenance and protection.
In regard to the application or fulfilment of this symbol, it is unnecessary to say that there have been very different opinions in the world, and that very different opinions still prevail. The great mass of Protestant commentators suppose that it refers to the Papacy; and of those who entertain this opinion, the greater portion suppose that the calamity referred to by the pouring out of this vial is already past, though it is supposed by many that the things foreshadowed by a part of these “vials” are yet to be accomplished. As to the true meaning of the symbol before us, I would make the following remarks:――
(1) It refers to the Papal power. This application is demanded by the results which were reached in the examination of ch. xiii. See the remarks on the “beast” in the Notes on ch. xiii. 1, 2, 11, and on “the image of the beast” in the Notes on ch. xiii. 14, 15. This one mighty power existed in two forms closely united, and mutually sustaining each other――the civil or secular, and the ecclesiastical or spiritual. It is this combined and consolidated power――the Papacy as such――that is referred to here, for this has been the grand Antichristian power in the world.
(2) It refers to some grievous and fearful calamity which would come upon that power, and which would be like a plague-spot on the human body――something which would be of the nature of a divine judgment, resembling that which came upon the Egyptians for their treatment of the people of God.
(3) The course of this exposition leads us to suppose, that this would be the beginning in the series of judgments, {359} which would terminate in the complete overthrow of that formidable power. It is the first of the vials of wrath, and the whole description evidently contemplates a series of disasters, which would be properly represented by these successive vials. In the application of this, therefore, we should naturally look for the first of a series of such judgments, and should expect to find some facts in history which would be properly represented by the vial “poured upon the earth.”
(4) In accordance with this representation, we should expect to find such a series of calamities gradually weakening, and finally terminating the Papal power in the world, as would be properly represented by the number seven.
(5) In regard now to the application of this series of symbolical representations, it may be remarked, that most recent expositors――as Elliott, Cunninghame, Keith, Faber, Lord, and others――refer them to the events of the French revolution, as important events in the overthrow of the Papal power; and this, I confess, although the application is attended with some considerable difficulties, has more plausibility than any other explanation proposed. In support of this application, the following considerations may be suggested:――
(a) France, in the time of Charlemagne, was the kingdom to which the Papacy owed its civil organization and its strength――a kingdom to which could be traced all the civil or secular power of the Papacy, and which was, in fact, a restoration or reconstruction of the old Roman power――the fourth kingdom of Daniel. See Notes on Da. vii. 24‒28; and comp. Notes on Re. xiii. 3, 12‒14. The restoration of the old Roman dominion under Charlemagne, and the aid which he rendered to the Papacy in its establishment as to a temporal power, would make it probable that this kingdom would be referred to in the series of judgments that were to accomplish the overthrow of the Papal dominion.
(b) In an important sense France has always been the head of the Papal power. The king of France has been usually styled, by the popes themselves, “the eldest son of the church.” In reference to the whole Papal dominion in former times, one of the principal reliances has been on France, and, to a very large extent, the state of Europe has been determined by the condition of France. “A revolution in France,” said Napoleon, “is sooner or later followed by a revolution in Europe” (Alison). Its central position; its power; its direct relation to all the purposes and aims of the Papacy, would seem to make it probable that, in the account of the final destruction of that power, this kingdom would not be overlooked.
(c) The scenes which occurred in the times of the French revolution were such as would be properly symbolized by the pouring out of the first, the second, the third, and the fourth vials. In the passage before us――the pouring out of the first vial――the symbol employed is that of “a noisome and grievous sore”――boil, ulcer, plague-spot――“on the men which had the mark of the beast, and on them which worshipped his image.” This representation was undoubtedly derived from the account of the sixth plague on Egypt (Ex. ix. 9‒11); and the sense here is, not that this would be literally inflicted on the power here referred to, but that a calamity would come upon it which would be well represented by that, or of which that would be an appropriate emblem. This interpretation is further confirmed by ch. xi. 8, where Rome is referred to under the name of Egypt, and where it is clear that we are to look for a course of divine dealing, in regard to the one, resembling that which occurred to the other. See Notes on that passage. Now, this “noisome and grievous sore” would well represent the moral corruption, the pollution, the infidelity, the atheism, the general dissolution of society, that preceded and accompanied the French revolution; for that was a universal breaking out of loathsome internal disease――of corruption at the centre――and in its general features might be represented as a universal plague-spot on society, extending over the countries where the beast and his image were principally worshipped. The symbol would properly denote that “tremendous outbreak of social and moral evil, of democratic fury, atheism, and vice, which was specially seen to characterize the French revolution: that of which the ultimate source was in the long and deep-seated corruption and irreligion of the nation; the outward vent, expression, and organ of its Jacobin clubs, and seditious and atheistic publications; the result, the dissolution of all society, all morals, and all {360} religion; with acts of atrocity and horror accompanying, scarce paralleled in the history of men; and suffering and anguish of correspondent intensity throbbing throughout the social mass and corroding it; that which, from France as a centre, spread like a plague throughout its affiliated societies to the other countries of Papal Christendom, and was, wherever its poison was imbibed, as much the punishment as the symptoms of the corruption within.” Of this sad chapter in the history of man, it is unnecessary to give any description here. For scenes of horror, pollution, and blood, its parallel has never been found in the history of our race, and, as an event in history, it was worthy of a notice in the symbols which portrayed the future. The full details of these amazing scenes must be sought in the histories which describe them, and to such works as Alison’s History of Europe, and Burke’s Letters on a Regicide Peace, the reader must be referred. A few expressions copied from those letters of Mr. Burke, penned with no design of illustrating this passage in the Apocalypse, and no expectation that they would be ever so applied, will show with what propriety the spirit of inspiration suggested the phrase, “a noisome and grievous sore” or plague-spot, on the supposition that the design was to refer to these scenes. In speaking of the revolutionary spirit in France, Mr. Burke calls it “the fever of aggravated Jacobinism,” “the epidemic of atheistical fanaticism,” “an evil lying deep in the corruptions of human nature,” “the malignant French distemper,” “a plague, with its fanatical spirit of proselytism, that needed the strictest quarantine to guard against it,” whereof, though the mischief might be “skimmed over” for a time, yet the result, into whatever country it entered, was “the corruption of all morals,” “the decomposition of all society,” &c. But it is unnecessary to describe those scenes farther. The “world has them by heart,” and they can never be obliterated from the memory of man. In the whole history of the race there has never been an outbreak of evil that showed so deep pollution and corruption within.
(d) The result of this was to affect the Papacy――a blow, in fact, aimed at that power. Of course, all the infidelity and atheism of the French nation, before so strongly Papal, went just so far in weakening the power of the Papacy; and in the ultimate result it will perhaps yet be found that the horrid outbreaks in the French revolution were the first in the series of providential events that will result in the entire overthrow of that Antichristian power. At all events, it will be admitted, I think, that, on the supposition that it was intended that this should be descriptive of the scenes that occurred in Europe at the close of the last century, no more expressive symbol could have been chosen than has been employed in the pouring out of this first vial of wrath.
3 And the second angel poured out his vial [478]upon the sea; and it became as the [479]blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
3. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea. So the second trumpet (ch. viii. 8), “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood.” For the meaning of this as a symbol, see Notes on that verse. ¶ And it became as the blood of a dead |man|. “Either very bloody, like a mangled corse, or else coloured, as it were, with the dark and almost black blood of a dead man” (Professor Stuart, in loco). The latter would seem to be, most probably, the meaning; implying that the ocean would become discoloured, and indicating that this was the effect of blood shed in great quantities on its waters. In ch. viii. 8 it is, “the sea became blood;” here the allusion to the blood of a dead man would more naturally suggest the idea of naval conflicts, and of the blood of the slain poured in great quantities into the deep. ¶ And every living soul died in the sea. In ch. viii. 9 it is said that “the third part of the creatures that were in the sea died, and the third part of the ships were destroyed.” Here the destruction is more general; the calamity is more severe and awful. It is as if every living thing――πᾶσα ψυχή ζῶσα――had died. No emphasis should be put on the word soul here, for the word means merely a creature, a living thing, an animal, Ac. ii. 43; iii. 23; Ro. xiii. 1; 1 Co. xv. 45. See Rob. Lex. sub voce, c. {361} The sense here is, that there would be some dreadful calamity, as if the sea were to be changed into dark blood, and as if every living thing in it were to die.
In inquiring into the proper application of this, it is natural to look for something pertaining to the sea, or the ocean (see Notes on ch. viii. 8, 9), and we should expect to find the fulfilment in some calamity that would fall on the marine force, or the commerce of the power that is here referred to; that is, according to the interpretation all along adopted, of the Papal power; and the proper application, according to this interpretation, would be the complete destruction or annihilation of the naval force that contributed to sustain the Papacy. This we should look for in respect to the naval power of France, Spain, and Portugal, for these are the only Papal nations that have had a navy. We should expect, in the fulfilment of this, to find a series of naval disasters, reddening the sea with blood, which would tend to weaken the power of the Papacy, and which might be regarded as one in the series of events that would ultimately result in its entire overthrow. Accordingly, in pursuance of the plan adopted in explaining the pouring out of the first vial, it is to be observed that immediately succeeding, and connected with, the events thus referred to, there was a series of naval disasters that swept away the fleets of France, and that completely demolished the most formidable naval power that had ever been prepared by any nation under the Papal dominion. This series of disasters is thus noticed by Mr. Elliott (iii. 329, 330):――“Meanwhile, the great naval war between France and England was in progress; which, from its commencement in February, 1793, lasted for above twenty years, with no intermission but that of the short and delusive peace of Amiens; in which war the maritime power of Great Britain was strengthened by the Almighty Providence that protected her to destroy everywhere the French ships, commerce, and smaller colonies; including those of the fast and long-continued allies of the French, Holland and Spain. In the year 1793, the greater part of the French fleet at Toulon was destroyed by Lord Hood; in June, 1794, followed Lord Howe’s great victory over the French off Ushant; then the taking of Corsica, and nearly all the smaller Spanish and French West India Islands; then, in 1795, Lord Bridport’s naval victory, and the capture of the Cape of Good Hope; as also soon after of a French and Dutch fleet, sent to retake it; then, in 1797, the victory over the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent; and that of Camperdown over the Dutch; then, in succession, Lord Nelson’s three mighty victories――of the Nile in 1798, of Copenhagen in 1801, and in 1805 of Trafalgar. Altogether in this naval war, from its beginning in 1793, to its end in 1815, it appears that there were destroyed near 200 ships of the line, between 300 and 400 frigates, and an almost incalculable number of smaller vessels of war and ships of commerce. The whole history of the world does not present such a period of naval war, destruction, and bloodshed.” This brief summary may show, if this was referred to, the propriety of the expression, “The sea became as the blood of a dead man;” and may show also that, on the supposition that it was intended that these events should be referred to, an appropriate symbol has been employed. No language could more strikingly set forth these bloody scenes.
4 And the third angel poured out his vial [480]upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
4. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters. This coincides also with the account of the sounding of the third trumpet (ch. viii. 10, 11):――“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters.” As to the meaning of the phrase, “rivers and fountains of waters,” see Notes on that passage. We found, it was supposed, in the application of that passage, that the invasion of the Roman empire by Attila, king of the Huns, was referred to, affecting mainly those parts of the empire where the rivers and streams had their origin. The analogy would lead us, in the fulfilment of the passage before us, to look for some similar desolations on those portions of Europe. See Notes at the close of ver. 7. ¶ And they became blood. This would properly mean that they became as blood; or became red {362} with blood; and it would be fulfilled if bloody battles were fought near them, so that they seemed to run blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, [481]Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
5. And I heard the angel of the waters say. The angel who presides over the element of water; in allusion to the common opinion among the Hebrews that the angels presided over elements, and that each element was committed to the jurisdiction of a particular angel. Comp. Notes on ch. vii. 1. ¶ Thou art righteous, O Lord. In view of the judgments that reddened these streams and fountains with the blood of men, the angel ascribes righteousness to God. These judgments seemed terrible――the numbers slain were so vast――the bloody stream indicated so great slaughter, and such severity of the divine judgment; yet the angel sees in all this only the act of a righteous God bringing just retribution on the guilty. ¶ Which art, and wast, and shalt be. That is, who art eternal――existing now; who hast existed in all past time; and who will exist ever onward. See Notes on ch. i. 8. The reason why this attribute of God is here referred to, seems to be that the mind of the angel adverts to it in the changes and desolations that were occurring around him. In such overturnings among men――such revolutions of kingdoms――such desolations of war――the mind naturally turns to one who is unchanging; to one whose throne is from everlasting to everlasting. ¶ Because thou hast judged thus. Hast suffered these wars to occur that have changed rivers and fountains to blood.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and [482]thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
6. For they have shed the blood of saints. The nations here referred to. They have been engaged in scenes of bloody persecution, and this is a just recompense. ¶ And prophets. Teachers of religion; ministers of truth. It is not necessary to understand the word prophets here in its technical sense, as denoting those who are raised up by God and sent forth as inspired men, but it may be understood in its more common signification in the New Testament as denoting teachers of religion in general. See Notes on Ro. xii. 6; 1 Co. xiv. 1. ¶ And thou hast given them blood to drink. To wit, by turning the streams and fountains into blood, ver. 4. Blood had been poured out in such abundance that it seemed to mingle with the very water that they drank. This was a recompense for their having, in those very regions, poured out so much blood in persecuting the saints and prophets――the pious private members of the church, and the public teachers of religion. ¶ For they are worthy. That is, they deserve this; or this is a just recompense for their sins. It is not intended that those who would thus suffer had been individually guilty of this, or that this was properly a punishment on them; but it is meant that in those countries there had been bloody persecutions, and that this was a fit recompense for what had there occurred.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, [483]Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
7. And I heard another. Evidently another angel, though this is not specified. ¶ Out of the altar. Either the angel of the altar――that is, who presided over the altar (Professor Stuart), or an angel whose voice seemed to come from the altar. The sense is essentially the same. The writer seemed to hear a voice coming from the altar responding to what had just been said in regard to the judgment of God, or to his righteousness in bringing the judgment upon men, ver. 5. This was evidently the voice of some one who was interested in what was occurring, or to whom these things particularly appertained; that is, one who was particularly connected with the martyrs referred to, whose blood was now, as it were, to be avenged. We are naturally reminded by this of the martyr-scene in ch. vi. 9‒11, in the opening of the fifth seal, though it cannot be supposed that the same events are referred to. There “the souls of those that had been slain for the word of God” are represented as being “under the altar,” and as crying to God to “avenge their blood on them who dwelt on the earth.” Here a voice is heard with reference to martyrs, as of one interested in them, {363} ascribing praise to God for having brought a righteous judgment on those who had shed the blood of the saints. They are both, for similar reasons, connected with the “altar,” and the voice is heard proceeding from the same source. In regard to the meaning of the word altar here, and the reason why the martyrs are represented in connection with it, see Notes on ch. vi. 9. ¶ True and righteous, |are| thy judgments. Responding to what is said in ver. 5. That is, God is “true” or faithful to his promises made to his people, and “righteous” in the judgments which he has now inflicted. These judgments had come upon those who had shed the blood of the martyrs, and they were just.
In regard to the application of this there are several things to be said. The following points are clear:――(a) That this judgment would succeed the first-mentioned, and apparently at a period not remote. (b) It would occur in a region where there had been much persecution. (c) It would be in a country of streams, and rivers, and fountains. (d) It would be a just retribution for the bloody persecutions which had occurred there. The question now is, where we shall find the fulfilment of this, assuming that the explanation of the pouring out of the first vial is correct. And here, I think, there can be no mistake in applying it to the events bearing on the Papacy, and the Papal powers, which followed the French revolution. The next material event, after that revolution, was the invasion of Italy, where Napoleon began his career of victories, and where he first acquired his fame. At this stage of my examination of this passage, I looked into Alison’s History of Europe to see what events, in fact, followed the scenes of confusion, crime, blood, atheism, and pollution in the French revolution, and I found that the next chapters in these eventful scenes, were such as would be well represented by the vial poured upon the rivers and fountains, and by their being turned into blood. The detail would be too long for my limits, and I can state merely a summary of a few of the chapters in that history. Ch. xix. contains the “History of the French Republic from the fall of Robespierre to the establishment of the Directory”――comprising properly the closing scenes of “the Reign of Terror.” Ch. xx. contains an account of the campaign in Italy in 1796, embracing, as stated in the summing up of contents in this chapter, the “Battles of Montenotte, Millesimo, Dego; the passage of the bridge of Lodi, and fall of Milan; the siege of Mantua, and the battle of Castiglione; the battles of Caldero and Arcola; and the battles of Rivoli and Mantua.” This is followed (ch. xxiii.) with an account of the campaign of 1797, which closed with the fall of Venice; and this is followed (ch. xxvi.) with an account of the invasion of Switzerland, &c. It is unnecessary to dwell on the details of the wars which followed the French revolution on the Rhine, the Po, and the Alpine streams of Piedmont and Lombardy. The slightest acquaintance with that history will show the propriety of the following remarks:――(a) These wars occurred in regions under the influence of the Papacy, for these were all Papal states and territories. (b) These scenes followed closely on the French revolution, and grew out of it as a natural consequence, and would be properly represented as a second “vial” poured out immediately after the first. (c) The country is such as here supposed――“of rivers and fountains”――for, being mostly a mountainous region, it abounds with springs, and fountains, and streams. Indeed, on the supposition that this is the land referred to, a more appropriate description could not have been given of it than is found in this passage. One has only to look upon a map of Northern Italy to see that there is no other portion of the world which would more naturally be suggested when speaking of a country abounding in “rivers and fountains of water.” The admirable map of this region prefixed to the volume, for which I am indebted to the work of Dr. Alexander Keith, on the Signs of the Times, will clearly illustrate this passage, and the corresponding passage in ch. viii. 10, 11. Let anyone look at the Po and its tributaries on the map, and then read with attention the twentieth chapter of Alison’s History of Europe (vol. i. pp. 391‒424), and he will be struck with the appropriateness of the description, on the supposition that this portion of the book of Revelation was designed to refer to these scenes; for he cannot but see that the battles there described were fought in a country in every way corresponding with the statement here. (d) This country corresponds with the description here given in another respect. In {364} ver. 5, 6 there is a tribute of praise rendered to God, in view of these judgments, because he was righteous in bringing them upon a land where the blood of saints and prophets had been shed――a land of martyrs. Now this is applicable to the circumstances supposed, not only in the sense that Italy in general had been the land where the blood of martyrs had been shed――the land of Roman persecution, alike under Paganism and the Papacy――but true in a more definite sense, from the fact that this was the very region where the persecutions against the Waldenses and the Albigenses had been carried on――the valleys of Piedmont. In the times of Papal persecution these valleys had been made to flow with the blood of the saints; and it seemed, at least, to be a righteous retribution that these desolations of war, these conflagrations, and these scenes of carnage, should occur in that very land, and that the very fountains and streams which had before been turned into blood, by the slaughter of the friends of the Saviour, should now be reddened with the blood of men slain in battle. This is, perhaps, what John saw in vision: a land where persecution had raged, and the blood of the holy had flowed freely, and then the same land brought under the awful judgments of God, and the fountains and streams reddened with the blood of the slain. There was a propriety, therefore, that a voice should be heard ascribing righteousness to God for avenging the blood of the saints (ver. 5, 6), and that another voice should be heard from the “altar” of the martyrs (ver. 7) responding and saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.” (e) It may be added, to show the propriety of this, that this was one of the series of events which will be found in the end to have contributed to the overthrow of the Papal power; for a blow was struck, in the French invasion of Italy, from which Rome has never recovered, and sentiments were diffused as the result in favour of liberty which it has been difficult ever since to suppress, and which are destined yet to burst out in favour of freedom, and to be one of the means of the final destruction of the power. Comp. Alison’s History of Europe, vol. i. p. 403.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial [484]upon the sun: and power was given unto him to scorch men [485]with fire.
8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun. Toward the sun, or so as to reach the sun. The effect was as if it had been poured upon the sun, giving it an intense heat, and thus inflicting a severe judgment upon men. This corresponds also with the fourth trumpet (ch. viii. 12), where it is said, that the “third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars.” For the general meaning of this symbol see Notes on that place. The idea is, that a scene of calamity and woe would occur as if the sun should be made to pour forth such intense heat that men would be “scorched.” It cannot be supposed that the sun would be literally made hotter, or that the exact nature of these calamities would be that men would be consumed by its rays. ¶ And power was given unto him. To the sun. The meaning is, that a calamity would follow as if such an increased power should be given to its rays. ¶ To scorch men with fire. Literally, “And it was given him to scorch men with fire”――that is, with heat so great that it seemed to be fire. The Greek word――καυματίσαι――meaning to burn, to scorch――is used in the New Testament only in Mat. xiii. 6; Mar. iv. 6; Re. xvi. 8, 9, in all which places it is rendered scorch and scorched. Compare, however, the use of the word καῦμα, in Re. vii. 16; xvi. 9; καῦσις, in He. vi. 8; καυσόω, in 1 Pe. iii. 10, 12; and καύσων, in Mat. xx. 12; Lu. xii. 55; Ja. i. 11. The notion of intense or consuming heat is implied in all the forms of the word; and the reference here is to some calamity that would be well represented by such an increased heat of the sun.
9 And men were [486]scorched with great heat, and [487]blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and [488]they repented not, to give him glory.
9. And men were scorched with great heat. That is, as above expressed, calamity came upon them which would be well represented by such heat. It is said that this calamity would come upon men, and we are to suppose that it would be such that human life would be particularly affected; and as that heat of the {365} sun must be exceedingly intense which would cut down men, we are to suppose that the judgment here referred to would be intensely severe. ¶ And blasphemed the name of God. The effect would be to cause them to blaspheme God or to reproach him as the author of these calamities; and in the fulfilment of this we are to look for a state of things when there would be augmented wickedness and irreligion, and when men would become worse and worse, notwithstanding the woes that had come upon them. ¶ Which hath power over these plagues. Who had brought these plagues upon them, and who had power to remove them. ¶ And they repented not. The effect was not to produce repentance, though it was manifest that these judgments had come upon them on account of their sins. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 21. ¶ To give him glory. To turn from sin; to honour him by lives of obedience. Comp. Notes on Jn. ix. 24.
In regard to the application of this the following things may be remarked:――(a) That the calamity here referred to was one of the series of events which would precede the overthrow of the “beast,” and contribute to that, for to this all these judgments tend. (b) In the order in which it stands it is to follow, and apparently to follow soon, the third judgment――the pouring of the vial upon the fountains and streams. (c) It would be a calamity such as if the sun, the source of light and comfort to mankind, were smitten, and became a source of torment. (d) This would be attended by a great destruction of men, and we should naturally look in such an application for calamities in which multitudes of men would be, as it were, consumed. (e) This would not be followed, as it might be hoped it would, by repentance, but would be attended with reproaches of God, with profaneness, with a great increase of wickedness.
Now, on the supposition that the explanation of the previous passages is correct, there can be no great difficulty in supposing that this refers to the wars of Europe following the French revolution, the wars that preceded the direct attack on the Papacy and the overthrow of the Papal government, for these events had all the characteristics here referred to. (a) They were one of a series in weakening the Papal power in Europe――heavy blows that will yet be seen to have been among the means preliminary to its final overthrow. (b) They followed in their order the invasion of Northern Italy, for one of the purposes of that invasion was to attack the Austrian power there, and ultimately through the Tyrol to attack Austria itself. Napoleon, after his victories in Northern Italy, above referred to (comp. ch.xx. of Alison’s History of Europe), thus writes to the French Directory: “Coni, Ceva, and Alexandria are in the hands of our army; if you do not ratify the convention I will keep these fortresses and march upon Turin. Meanwhile I shall march to-morrow against Beaulieu, and drive him across the Po; I shall follow close at his heels, overrun all Lombardy, and in a month be in the Tyrol, join the army of the Rhine, and carry our united forces into Bavaria. That design is worthy of you, of the army, and of the destinies of France” (Alison, i. 401). (c) The campaign in Germany in 1796 followed immediately this campaign in Italy. Thus, in ch. xx. of Alison’s History, we have an account of the campaign in Italy; in ch. xxi. we have the account of the campaign in Germany; and the other wars in Europe that continued so long, and that were so fierce and bloody, followed in quick succession――all tending, in their ultimate results, to weaken the Papal power and to secure its final overthrow. (d) It is hardly necessary to say here that these wars had all the characteristics here supposed. It was as if the sun were smitten in the heavens and power were given to scorch men with fire. Europe seemed to be on fire with musketry and artillery, and presented almost the appearance of the broad blaze of a battle-field. The number that perished was immense. These wars were attended with the usual consequences――blasphemy, profaneness, and reproaches of God in every form. And yet there was another effect wholly in accordance with the statement here, that none of these judgments brought men to “repentance, that they might give God the glory.” Perhaps these remarks, which might be extended to great length, will show that, on the supposition that it was intended to refer to those scenes by the outpouring of this vial, the symbol was well chosen and appropriate.
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the [489]seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of [490]darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
10. And the fifth angel poured out his {366} vial upon the seat of the beast. The previous judgments had been preparatory to this. They all had a bearing on this, and were all preliminary to it; but the “seat”――the home, the centre of the power of the beast――had not yet been reached. Here, however, there was a direct blow aimed at that power, still not such yet as to secure its final overthrow, for that is reserved for the pouring out of the last vial, ver. 17‒21. All that is represented here is a heavy judgment which was merely preliminary to that final overthrow, but which affected the very seat of the beast. The phrase “the seat of the beast”――τὸν θρόνον τοῦ θηρίου――means the seat or throne which the representative of that power occupied, the central point of the Antichristian dominion. Comp. Notes on ch. xiii. 2. See also ch. ii. 13. I understand this as referring to the very seat of the Papal power――Rome――the Vatican. ¶ And his kingdom was full of darkness. Confusion――disorder――distress, for darkness is often the emblem of calamity, Is. lix. 9, 10; Je. xiii. 16; Eze. xxx. 18; xxxii. 7, 8; xxxiv. 12; Joel ii. 2. ¶ And they gnawed their tongues for pain. This is a “most significant expression of the writhings of anguish.” The word here rendered gnawed does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, nor is the expression elsewhere used in the Bible; but its meaning is plain――it indicates deep anguish.
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of [491]their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
11. And blasphemed the God of heaven. The same effect which it was said would be produced by the pouring out of the fourth vial, ver. 9. ¶ Because of their pains and their sores. Of the calamities that had come upon them. ¶ And repented not of their deeds. See Notes on ver. 9. Comp. ch. ix. 21.
In regard to the fulfilment and application of this, the following general remarks may be made here:――(a) It would succeed, at no great interval probably, what is referred to under the previous “vials,” and would be one in the series tending to the same result. (b) It would fall directly on the seat of the authority of the “beast”――on the central power of the Papacy, according to the interpretation of the other symbols; and we should look, therefore, for some calamity that would come upon Rome itself, and still more specifically upon the pope himself, and those immediately around him. (c) This would be attended with deep distress and darkness in the Papal dominions. (d) There would be an increase of what is here called “blasphemy;” that is, of impiety and reproaches of the Divine Being. (e) There would be no repentance produced. There would be no reformation. The system would be as corrupt as it was before, and men would be as much under its influence. And (f) we should not expect that this would be the final overthrow of the system. That is reserved for the outpouring of the seventh and last vial in the series (ver. 17‒21), and under that the system would be overthrown, and would come to an end. This is distinctly stated in the account of that “vial;” and therefore we are not to expect to find, in the application of the fifth “vial,” that the calamity brought upon “the seat of the beast” would be such that it would not recover for a time, and maintain, apparently, in some good degree, its former power and influence.
With this view of what we are to expect, and in connection with the explanations of the previous symbols, it seems to me that there can be no hesitation in applying this to the direct attacks on the Papal power and on the pope himself, as one of the consequences of the French revolution, and to the calamities that were thus brought upon the Papal States. In order to show the appropriateness of this application, I will state a few facts which will show that, on the supposition that it was the intention in this symbol to refer to the Papal power at that time, the symbol has been well chosen, and has been fulfilled. And, in doing this, I will merely copy from Alison’s History of Europe (vol. i. pp. 542‒546) a few statements, which, like many that have been quoted from Mr. Gibbon in the former part of these Notes, would seem almost to have been penned in view of this prophecy, and with a view to record its fulfilment. The statement is as follows:――
“The Ecclesiastical States were the {367} next object of attack. It had long been an avowed object of ambition with the Republican government to revolutionize the Roman people, and plant the tricolour flag in the city of Brutus,” and fortune at length presented them with a favourable opportunity to accomplish the design.
“The situation of the pope had become, since the French conquests in Italy, in the highest degree precarious. Cut off by the Cisalpine Republic from any support from Austria; left by the treaty of Campo Formio entirely at the mercy of the French republic; threatened by the heavings of the democratic spirit within his own dominions; and exposed to all the contagion arising from the complete establishment and close vicinity of republican governments in the north of Italy, he was almost destitute of the means of resisting so many seen and unseen enemies. The pontifical treasury was exhausted by the immense payments stipulated by the treaty of Tolentino; while the activity and zeal of the revolutionary clubs in all the principal towns of the Ecclesiastical States was daily increasing with the prospect of success. To enable the government to meet the enormous demands of the French army, the principal Roman families, like the pope, had sold their gold, their silver, their jewels, their horses, their carriages――in a word, all their valuable effects; but the exactions of the republican agents were still unabated. In despair they had recourse to the fatal expedient of issuing a paper circulation; but that, in a country destitute of credit, soon fell to an inconsiderable value, and augmented rather than relieved the public distress. Joseph Bonaparte, brother to Napoleon, had been appointed ambassador at the court of Rome; but as his character was deemed too honourable for political intrigue, Generals Duphot and Sherlock were sent along with him, the former of whom had been so successful in effecting the overthrow of the Genoese aristocracy. The French embassy, under their direction, soon became the centre of the revolutionary action; and those numerous ardent characters with which the Italian cities abound, flocked there as to a common focus, from whence the next great explosion of democratic power was to be expected. In this extremity, Pius VI., who was above eighty years of age, and sinking into the grave, called to his counsels the Austrian general Provera, already distinguished in the Italian campaigns; but the Directory soon compelled the humiliated pontiff to dismiss that intrepid counsellor. As his recovery then seemed hopeless, the instructions of government to their ambassador were to delay the proclamation of a republic till his death, when the vacant chair of St. Peter might be overturned with little difficulty; but such was the activity of the revolutionary agents, that the train was ready to take fire before that event took place, and the ears of the Romans were assailed by incessant abuse of the ecclesiastical government, and vehement declamations in favour of republican freedom.
“The resolution to overturn the Papal government, like all the other ambitious projects of the Directory, received a very great impulse from the re-ascendent of Jacobin influence at Paris, by the results of the revolution of 18th Fructidor. One of the first measures of the new government was to despatch an order to Joseph Bonaparte at Rome, to promote, by all the means in his power, the approaching revolution in the Papal States; and, above all things, to take care that at the pope’s death no successor should be elected to the chair of St. Peter. Napoleon’s language to the Roman pontiff became daily more menacing. Immediately before setting out for Rastadt, he ordered his brother Joseph to intimate to the pope that three thousand additional troops had been forwarded to Ancona; that if Provera was not dismissed within twenty-four hours, war would be declared; that if any of the revolutionists who had been arrested were executed, reprisals would forthwith be exercised on the cardinals; and that, if the Cisalpine Republic was not recognized, it would be the signal for immediate hostilities. At the same time ten thousand troops of the Cisalpine Republic advanced to St. Leon, in the Papal duchy of Urbino, and made themselves masters of that fortress; while at Ancona, which was still garrisoned by French troops, notwithstanding its stipulated restoration by the treaty of Tolentino to the Holy See, the democratic party openly proclaimed the ‘Anconite Republic.’ Similar revolutionary movements took place at Corneto, Civita Vecchia, Pesaro, and Senigaglia; while at Rome itself, Joseph {368} Bonaparte, by compelling the Papal government to liberate all persons confined for political offences, suddenly vomited forth upon the capital several hundreds of the most heated republicans in Italy. After this great addition, measures were no longer kept with the government. Seditious meetings were constantly held in every part of the city; immense collections of tricolour cockades were made to distinguish the insurgents, and deputations of the citizens openly waited on the French ambassador to invite him to support the insurrection, to which he replied, in ambiguous terms――‘The fate of nations, as of individuals, being buried in the womb of futurity, it is not given to me to penetrate its mysteries.’
“In this temper of men’s minds, a spark was sufficient to occasion an explosion. On the 27th of December, 1797, an immense crowd assembled, with seditious cries, and moved to the palace of the French ambassador, where they exclaimed, ‘Vive la République Romaine!’ and loudly invoked the aid of the French to enable them to plant the tricolour flag on the Capitol. The insurgents displayed the tricolour cockade, and evinced the most menacing disposition; the danger was extreme; from similar beginnings the overthrow of the governments of Venice and Genoa had rapidly followed. The Papal ministers sent a regiment of dragoons to prevent any sortie of the revolutionists from the palace of the French ambassador; and they repeatedly warned the insurgents that their orders were to allow no one to leave its precincts. Duphot, however, indignant at being restrained by the pontifical troops, drew his sword, rushed down the staircase, and put himself at the head of one hundred and fifty armed Roman democrats, who were now contending with the dragoons in the courtyard of the palace. He was immediately killed by a discharge ordered by the sergeant commanding the patrol of the Papal troops; and the ambassador himself, who had followed to appease the tumult, narrowly escaped the same fate. A violent scuffle ensued; several persons were killed and wounded on both sides; and, after remaining several hours in the greatest alarm, Joseph Bonaparte, with his suite, retired to Florence.
“This catastrophe, however, obviously occasioned by the revolutionary schemes which were in agitation at the residence of the French ambassador, having taken place within the precincts of his palace, was, unhappily, a violation of the law of nations, and gave the Directory too fair a ground to demand satisfaction. But they instantly resolved to make it the pretext for the immediate occupation of Rome and overthrow of the Papal government. The march of troops out of Italy was countermanded, and Berthier, the commander-in-chief, received orders to advance rapidly into the Ecclesiastical States. Meanwhile, the democratic spirit burst forth more violently than ever at Ancona and the neighbouring towns, and the Papal authority was soon lost in all the provinces on the eastern slope of the Apennines. To these accumulated disasters the pontiff could only oppose the fasts and prayers of an aged conclave――weapons of spiritual warfare little calculated to arrest the conquerors of Arcola and Lodi.
“Berthier, without an instant’s delay, carried into execution the orders of the Directory. Six thousand Poles were stationed at Rimini to cover the Cisalpine Republic; a reserve was established at Tolentino, while the commander-in-chief, at the head of eighteen thousand veteran troops, entered Ancona. Having completed the work of revolution in that turbulent district, and secured the fortress, he crossed the Apennines; and, advancing by Foligno and Narni, appeared on the 10th of February before the Eternal City. The pope, in the utmost consternation, shut himself up in the Vatican, and spent night and day at the foot of the altar in imploring the divine protection.
“Rome, almost defenceless, would have offered no obstacle to the entrance of the French troops; but it was part of the policy of the Directory to make it appear that their aid was invoked by the spontaneous efforts of the inhabitants. Contenting himself, therefore, with occupying the castle of St. Angelo, from which the feeble guards of the pope were soon expelled, Berthier kept his troops for five days encamped without the walls. At length, the revolutionists having completed their preparations, a noisy crowd assembled in the Campo Vaccino, the ancient Forum; the old foundations of the Capitol were made again to resound with the cries, if not the spirit, of freedom, and the venerable {369} ensigns, S. P. Q. R., after the lapse of fourteen hundred years, again floated in the winds. The multitude tumultuously demanded the overthrow of the Papal authority; the French troops were invited to enter; the conquerors of Italy, with a haughty air, passed the gates of Aurelian, defiled through the Piazza del Popolo, gazed on the indestructible monuments of Roman grandeur, and, amid the shouts of the inhabitants, the tricolour flag was displayed from the summit of the Capitol.
“But while part of the Roman populace were surrendering themselves to a pardonable intoxication upon the fancied recovery of their liberties, the agents of the Directory were preparing for them the sad realities of slavery. The pope, who had been guarded by five hundred soldiers ever since the entry of the republicans, was directed to retire into Tuscany; his Swiss guard relieved by a French one; and he himself ordered to dispossess himself of all his temporal authority. He replied, with the firmness of a martyr, ‘I am prepared for every species of disgrace. As supreme pontiff, I am resolved to die in the exercise of all my powers. You may employ force――you have the power to do so; but know that, though you may be masters of my body, you are not so of my soul. Free in the region where it is placed, it fears neither the events nor the sufferings of this life. I stand on the threshold of another world; there I shall be sheltered alike from the violence and impiety of this.’ Force was soon employed to dispossess him of his authority; he was dragged from the altar in his palace, his repositories all ransacked and plundered, the rings even torn from his fingers, the whole effects in the Vatican and Quirinal inventoried and seized, and the aged pontiff conducted, with only a few domestics, amid the brutal jests and sacrilegious songs of the French dragoons, into Tuscany, where the generous hospitality of the grand-duke strove to soften the hardships of his exile. But, though a captive in the hands of his enemies, the venerable old man still retained the supreme authority in the church. From his retreat in the convent of the Chartreuse, he yet guided the counsels of the faithful; multitudes fell on their knees wherever he passed, and sought that benediction from a captive which they would, perhaps, have disregarded from a ruling pontiff.
“The subsequent treatment of this venerable man was as disgraceful to the republican government as it was honourable to his piety and constancy as the head of the church. Fearful that from his virtues and sufferings he might have too much influence on the continent of Italy, he was removed by their orders to Leghorn, in March, 1799, with the design of transferring him to Cagliari in Sardinia; and the English cruisers in the Mediterranean redoubled their vigilance in the generous hope of rescuing the father of an opposite church from the persecution of his enemies. Apprehensive of losing their prisoner, the French altered his destination; and forcing him to traverse, often during the night, the Apennines and the Alps in a rigorous season, he at length reached Valence, where, after an illness of ten days, he expired, in the eighty-second year of his age, and the twenty-fourth of his pontificate. The cruelty of the Directory increased as he approached their dominions, all his old attendants were compelled to leave him, and the father of the faithful was allowed to expire, attended only by his confessor. Yet even in this disconsolate state he derived the highest satisfaction from the devotion and reverence of the people in the provinces of France through which he passed. Multitudes from Gap, Vizelle, and Grenoble flocked to the road to receive his benediction; and he frequently repeated, with tears in his eyes, the words of Scripture: ‘Verily, I say unto you, I have not seen such faith, no, not in Israel.’
“But long before the pope had sunk under the persecution of his oppressors, Rome had experienced the bitter fruits of republican fraternization. Immediately after the entry of the French troops, commenced the regular and systematic pillage of the city. Not only the churches and the convents, but the palaces of the cardinals and of the nobility, were laid waste. The agents of the Directory, insatiable in the pursuit of plunder, and merciless in the means of exacting it, ransacked every quarter within its walls, seized the most valuable works of art, and stripped the Eternal City of those treasures which had survived the Gothic fire and the rapacious hands of the Spanish soldiers. The bloodshed was much less, but the spoil collected incomparably greater, {370} than at the disastrous sack which followed the death of the Constable Bourbon. Almost all the great works of art which have since that time been collected throughout Europe, were then scattered abroad. The spoliation exceeded all that the Goths or Vandals had effected. Not only the palaces of the Vatican, and the Monte Cavallo, and the chief nobility of Rome, but those of Castel Gandolfo, on the margin of the Alban Lake, of Terracina, the Villa Albani, and others in the environs of Rome, were plundered of every article of value which they possessed. The whole sacerdotal habits of the pope and cardinals were burned, in order to collect from the flames the gold with which they were adorned. The Vatican was stripped to its naked walls; the immortal frescoes of Raphael and Michael Angelo, which could not be removed, remained in solitary beauty amid the general desolation. A contribution of four millions in money, two millions in provisions, and three thousand horses, was imposed on a city already exhausted by the enormous exactions it had previously undergone. Under the direction of the infamous commissary Haller, the domestic library, museum, furniture, jewels, and even the private clothes of the pope were sold. Nor did the palaces of the Roman nobility escape devastation. The noble galleries of the Cardinal Braschi, and the Cardinal York, the last relic of the Stuart line, underwent the same fate. Others, as those of the Chigi, Borghese, and Doria palaces, were rescued from destruction only by enormous ransoms. Everything of value that the treaty of Tolentino had left in Rome became the prey of republican cupidity, and the very name of freedom soon became odious, from the sordid and infamous crimes which were committed in its name.
“Nor were the exactions of the French confined to the plunder of palaces and churches. Eight cardinals were arrested and sent to Civita Castellana, while enormous contributions were levied on the Papal territory, and brought home the bitterness of conquest to every poor man’s door. At the same time the ample territorial possessions of the church and the monasteries were confiscated, and declared national property――a measure which, by drying up at once the whole resources of the affluent classes, precipitated into the extreme of misery the numerous poor who were maintained by their expenditure, or fed by their bounty. All the respectable citizens and clergy were in fetters; and a base and despicable faction alone, among whom, to their disgrace be it told, were found fourteen cardinals, followed in the train of the oppressors; and, at a public festival, returned thanks to God for the miseries they had brought upon their country.”[492]
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon [493]the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was [494]dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates. On the situation of that river, and the symbolical meaning of this language, see Notes on ch. ix. 14‒21. The reference there was supposed to be to the Turkish power, and the analogy of interpretation would seem to require that it should be so understood here. There is every reason, therefore, to suppose that this passage has reference to something in the future history of the Turkish dominions, and to some bearing of the events which are to occur in that history on the ultimate downfall of the Antichristian power referred to by the “beast.” ¶ And the water thereof was {371} dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. That is, as the effect of pouring out the vial. There is an allusion here, undoubtedly, to the dividing of the waters of the Red Sea, so that the children of Israel might pass. See Ex. xiv. 21, 22. Comp. Notes on Is. xi. 15. In this description the Euphrates is represented as a barrier to prevent the passage of “the kings of the East,” on their way to the West for some purpose not yet specified; that is, applying the symbol of the Euphrates as being the seat of the Turkish power, the meaning is, that that power is such a hindrance, and that, in some way that hindrance is to be removed as if the waters of an unbridged and unfordable river were dried up so as to afford a safe and easy passage through. Still there are several inquiries as to the application of this, which is not easy, and, as it refers to what is still future, it may be impossible to answer. The language requires us to put upon it the following interpretation:――(a) The persons here referred to as “kings of the East,” were ready to make a movement towards the West, over the Euphrates, and would do this if this obstruction were not in their way. Who these “kings of the East” are is not said, and perhaps cannot be conjectured. The natural interpretation is, that they are the kings that reign in the East, or that preside over the countries of the eastern hemisphere. Why there was a proposed movement to the West is not said. It might have been for conquest, or it might have been that they were to bring their tribute to the spiritual Jerusalem, in accordance with what is so often said in the prophets, that under the gospel kings and princes would consecrate themselves and their wealth to God. See Ps. lxxii. 10, 11: “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him.” So also Is. lx. 4‒6, 9, 11: “Thy sons shall come from far.――The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.――All they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense.――The isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them.――Thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.” All that is fairly implied in the language used here is, that the kings of the East would be converted to the true religion, or that they were, at the time referred to, in a state of readiness to be converted, if there were no hindrance or obstruction. (b) There was some hindrance or obstruction to their conversion; that is, as explained, from the Turkish power: in other words, they would be converted to the true faith if it were not for the influence of that power. (c) The destruction of that power, represented by the drying up of the Euphrates, would remove that obstruction, and the way would thus be “prepared” for their conversion to the true religion. We should most naturally, therefore, look, in the fulfilment of this, for some such decay of the Turkish power as would be followed by the conversion of the rulers of the East to the gospel.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of [495]the dragon, and out of the mouth of [496]the beast, and out of the mouth of [497]the false prophet.
13. And I saw three unclean spirits. They assumed a visible form which would well represent their odiousness――that of frogs――but still they are spoken of as “spirits.” They were evil powers, or evil influences (ver. 14, “spirits of devils”), and the language here is undoubtedly designed to represent some such power or influence which would, at that period, proceed from the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. ¶ Like frogs――βάτραχοι. This word does not occur in the New Testament except in the passage before us. It is properly translated frogs. The frog is here employed clearly as a symbol, and it is designed that certain qualities of the “spirits” here referred to should be designated by the symbol. For a full illustration of the meaning of the symbol, the reader may consult Bochart, Hieroz. P. II. lib. v. cap. iv. According to Bochart, the frog is characterized, as a symbol, (1) for its rough, harsh, coarse voice; (2) on this account, as a symbol of complaining or reproaching; (3) as a symbol of empty loquacity; (4) as a symbol of heretics and philosophers, as understood by Augustine; (5) because the frog has its origin in {372} mud, and lives in mud, as a symbol of those who are born in sin, and live in pollution; (6) because the frog endures all changes of the season――cold and heat, summer, winter, rain, frost――as a symbol of monks who practise self-denial; (7) because the frog, though abstemious of food, yet lives in water and drinks often, as a symbol of drunkards; (8) as a symbol of impudence; (9) because the frog swells his size, and distends his cheeks, as a symbol of pride. See the authorities for these uses of the word in Bochart. How many or few of these ideas enter into the symbol here, it is not easy to decide. We may suppose, however, that the spirits referred to would be characterized by pride, arrogance, impudence, assumption of authority; perhaps impurity and vileness, for all these ideas enter into the meaning of the symbol. They are not here, probably, symbols of persons, but of influences or opinions which would be spread abroad, and which would characterize the age referred to. The reference is to what the “dragon,” the “beast,” and the “false prophet” would do at that time in opposing the truth, and in preparing the world for the great and final conflict. ¶ Out of the mouth of the dragon. One of which seemed to issue from the mouth of the dragon. On the symbolic meaning of the word “dragon,” see Notes on ch. xii. 3. It, in general, represents Satan, the great enemy of the church; perhaps here Satan under the form of heathenism or paganism, as in ch. xii. 3, 4. The idea then is, that, at the time referred to, there would be some manifestation of the power of Satan in the heathen nations, which would be bold, arrogant, proud, loquacious, hostile to truth, and which would be well represented by the hoarse murmur of the frog. ¶ And out of the mouth of the beast. The Papacy, as above explained, ch. xiii. That is, there would be some putting forth of arrogant pretensions; some loud denunciation or complaining; some manifestation of pride and self-consequence, which would be well represented by the croaking of the frog. We have seen above (Notes on ver. 5, 6), that although the fifth vial was poured upon “the seat of the beast,” the effect was not to crush and overthrow that power entirely. The Papacy would still survive, and would be finally destroyed under the outpouring of the seventh vial, ver. 17‒21. In the passage before us we have a representation of it as still living; as having apparently recovered its strength; and as being as hostile as ever to the truth, and able to enter into a combination, secret or avowed, with the “dragon” and the “false prophet,” to oppose the reign of truth upon the earth. ¶ And out of the mouth of the false prophet. The word rendered false prophet――ψευδοπροφήτου――does not before occur in the book of Revelation, though the use of the article would seem to imply that some well-known power or influence was referred to by this. Comp. Notes on ch. x. 3. The word occurs in other places in the New Testament, Mat. vii. 15; xxiv. 11, 24; Mar. xiii. 22; Lu. vi. 26; Ac. xiii. 6; 2 Pe. ii. 1; 1 Jn. iv. 1; and twice elsewhere in the book of Revelation, with the same reference as here, ch. xix. 20; xx. 10. In both these latter places it is connected with the “beast:” “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet;” “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are.” It would seem, then, to refer to some power that was similar to that of the beast, and that was to share the same fate in the overthrow of the enemies of the gospel. As to the application of this, there is no opinion so probable as that it alludes to the Mahometan power――not strictly the Turkish power, for that was to be “dried up,” or to diminish; but to the Mahometan power as such, that was still to continue for a while in its vigour, and that was yet to exert a formidable influence against the gospel, and probably in some combination, in fact, if not in form, with Paganism and the Papacy. The reasons for this opinion are: (a) that this was referred to, in the former part of the book, as one of the formidable powers that would arise, and that would materially affect the destiny of the world――and it may be presumed that it would be again referred to in the account of the final consummation, see ch. ix. 1‒11; (b) the name “false prophet” would, better than any other, describe that power, and would naturally suggest it in future times――for to no one that has ever appeared in our world could the name be so properly applied as to Mahomet; and (c) what is said will be found to agree with the facts in regard to that power, as, in connection with the Papacy and with Paganism, constituting the sum of the {373} obstruction to the spread of the gospel around the world.
14 For they are the [498]spirits of devils, [499]working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of [500]the whole world, to gather them to the [501]battle of that great day of God Almighty.
14. For they are the spirits of devils. On the meaning of the word used here, see Notes on ch. ix. 20. It is used here, as it is in ch. ix. 20, in a bad sense, as denoting evil spirits. Comp. Notes on Mat. iv. 1, 2, 24. ¶ Working miracles. Working what seemed to be miracles; that is, such wonders as to deceive the world with the belief that they were miracles. See Notes on ch. xiii. 13, 14, where the same power is ascribed to the “beast.” ¶ |Which| go forth unto the kings of the earth. Which particularly affect and influence kings and rulers. No class of men have been more under the influence of Pagan superstition, Mahometan delusion, or the Papacy, than kings and princes. We are taught by this passage that this will continue to be so in the circumstances referred to. ¶ And of the whole world. That is, so far that it might be represented as affecting the whole world――to wit, the heathen, the Mahometan, and the Papal portions of the earth. These still embrace so large a portion of the globe, that it might be said, that what would affect those powers now would influence the whole world. ¶ To gather them. Not literally to assemble them all in one place, but so to unite and combine them that it might be represented as an assembling of the hosts for battle. ¶ To the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Not the day of judgment, but the day which would determine the ascendency of true religion in the world――the final conflict with those powers which had so long opposed the gospel. It is not necessary to suppose that there would be a literal “battle,” in which God would be seen to contend with his foes; but there would be that which might be properly represented as a battle. That is, there would be a combined struggle against the truth, and in that God would appear by his providence and Spirit on the side of the church, and would give it the victory. It accords with all that has occurred in the past, to suppose that there will be such a combined struggle before the church shall finally triumph in the world.
15 Behold, [502]I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk [503]naked, and they see his shame.
15. Behold, I come as a thief. That is, suddenly and unexpectedly. See Notes on Mat. xxiv. 43; 1 Th. v. 2. This is designed evidently to admonish men to watch, or to be in readiness for his coming, since, whenever it would occur, it would be at a time when men were not expecting him. ¶ Blessed |is| he that watcheth. Comp. Mat. xxiv. 42‒44. The meaning here is, that he who watches for these events, who marks the indications of their approach, and who is conscious of a preparation for them, is in a better and happier state of mind than he on whom they come suddenly and unexpectedly. ¶ And keepeth his garments. The allusion here seems to be to one who, regardless of danger, or of the approach of an enemy, should lay aside his garments and lie down to sleep. Then the thief might come and take away his garments, leaving him naked. The essential idea, therefore, here, is the duty of vigilance. We are to be awake to duty and to danger; we are not to be found sleeping at our post; we are to be ready for death――ready for the coming of the Son of man. ¶ Lest he walk naked. His raiment being carried away while he is asleep. ¶ And they see his shame. Comp. Notes on ch. iii. 18. The meaning here is, that, as Christians are clothed with the garments of righteousness, they should not lay them aside, so that their spiritual nakedness should be seen. They are to be always clothed with the robes of salvation; always ready for any event, however soon or suddenly it may come upon them.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
16. And he gathered them together. Who gathered them? Professor Stuart renders it, “they gathered them together,” supposing that it refers to the “spirits”――πνεύματα――in ver. 13, and that this is the construction of the neuter plural with a singular verb. So De Wette understands it. Hengstenberg supposes {374} that it means that God gathered them together; others suppose that it was the sixth angel; others that it was Satan; others that it was the beast; and others that it was Christ. See Poole’s Synopsis, in loco. The authority of De Wette and Professor Stuart is sufficient to show that the construction which they adopt is authorized by the Greek, as indeed no one can doubt, and perhaps this accords better with the context than any other construction proposed. Thus, in ver. 14, the spirits are represented as going forth into the whole world for the purpose of gathering the nations together to the great battle, and it is natural to suppose that the reference is to them here as having accomplished what they went forth to do. But who are to be gathered together? Evidently those who, in ver. 14, are described by the word “them”――the “kings of the earth, and the whole world;” that is, there will be a state of things which would be well described by a universal gathering of forces in a central battle-field. It is by no means necessary to suppose that what is here represented will literally occur. There will be a mustering of spiritual forces; there will be a combination and a unity of opposition against the truth; there will be a rallying of the declining powers of Heathenism, Mahometanism, and Romanism, as if the forces of the earth, marshalled by kings and rulers, were assembled in some great battle-field, where the destiny of the world was to be decided. ¶ Into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. The word Armageddon――Ἀρμαγεδδών――occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is not found in the Septuagint. It seems to be formed from the Hebrew הַר מְגִדּוֹ Har Megiddo――Mountain of Megiddo. Comp. 2 Ch. xxxv. 22, where it is said that Josiah “came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.” Megiddo was a town belonging to Manasseh, although within the limits of Issachar, Jos. xvii. 11. It had been originally one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Jos. xii. 21), and was one of those of which the Israelites were unable for a long time to take possession. It was rebuilt and fortified by Solomon (1 Ki. ix. 15), and thither Ahaziah king of Judah fled when wounded by Jehu, and died there, 2 Ki. ix. 27. It was here that Deborah and Barak destroyed Sisera and his host (Ju. v. 19); and it was in a battle near this that Josiah was slain by Pharaoh-Necho, 2 Ki. xxiii. 29, 30; 2 Ch. xxxv. 20‒25. From the great mourning held for his loss, it became proverbial to speak of any grievous mourning as being “like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon,” Zec. xii. 11. It has not been found easy to identify the place, but recent searches have made it probable that the vale or plain of Megiddo comprehended, if it was not wholly composed of, the prolongation of the plain of Esdraelon, towards Mount Carmel; that the city of Megiddo was situated there; and that the waters of Megiddo, mentioned in Ju. v. 19, are identical with the stream Kishon in that part of its course. See Biblical Repository, vol. i. pp. 602, 603. It is supposed that the modern town called Lejjûn occupies the site of the ancient Megiddo (Robinson’s Biblical Researches, vol. iii. pp. 177‒180). Megiddo was distinguished for being the place of the decisive conflict between Deborah and Sisera, and of the battle in which Josiah was slain by the Egyptian invaders; and hence it became emblematic of any decisive battle-field――just as Marathon, Leuctra, Arbela, or Waterloo is. The word “mountain,” in the term Armageddon――“Mountain of Megiddo”――seems to have been used because Megiddo was in a mountainous region, though the battles were fought in a valley adjacent. The meaning here is, that there would be, as it were, a decisive battle which would determine the question of the prevalence of true religion on the earth. What we are to expect as the fulfilment of this would seem to be, that there will be some mustering of strength――some rallying of forces――some opposition made to the kingdom of God in the gospel, by the powers here referred to, which would be decisive in its character, and which would be well represented by the battles between the people of God and their foes in the conflicts in the valley of Megiddo.
As this constitutes, according to the course of the exposition by which we have been conducted, an important division in the book of Revelation, it may be proper to pause here and make a few remarks. The previous parts of the book, according to the interpretation proposed, relate to the past, and thus far we have found such a correspondence between the predictions and facts which have occurred as to lead us to suppose that these predictions have {375} been fulfilled. At this point, I suppose, we enter on that part which remains yet to be fulfilled, and the investigation must carry us into the dark and unknown future. The remaining portion comprises a very general sketch of things down to the end of time, as the previous portion has touched on the great events pertaining to the church and its progress for a period of more than one thousand eight hundred years. A few general remarks, therefore, seem not inappropriate at this point.
(a) In the previous interpretations, we have had the facts of history by which to test the accuracy of the interpretation. The plan pursued has been, first, to investigate the meaning of the words and symbols, entirely independent of any supposed application, and then to inquire whether there have been any facts that may be regarded as corresponding with the meaning of the words and symbols as explained. Of this method of testing the accuracy of the exposition, we must now take our leave. Our sole reliance must be in the exposition itself, and our work must be limited to that.
(b) It is always difficult to interpret a prophecy. The language of prophecy is often apparently enigmatical; the symbols are sometimes obscure; and prophecies relating to the same subject are often in detached fragments, uttered by different persons at different times; and it is necessary to collect and arrange them, in order to have a full view of the one subject. Thus the prophecies respecting the Messiah were many of them obscure, and indeed apparently contradictory, before he came; they were uttered at distant intervals, and by different prophets; at one time one trait of his character was dwelt upon, and at another another; and it was difficult to combine these so as to have an accurate view of what he would be, until he came. The result has shown what the meaning of the prophecies was; and at the same time has demonstrated that there was entire consistency in the various predictions, and that to one who could have comprehended all, it would have been possible to combine them so as to have had a correct view of the Messiah, and of his work, even before he came. The same remark is still more applicable to the predictions in the book of Revelation, or to the similar predictions in the book of Daniel, and to many portions of Isaiah. It is easy to see how difficult it would have been, or rather how impossible by any human powers, to have applied these prophecies in detail before the events occurred; and yet, now that they have occurred, it may be seen that the symbols were the happiest that could have been chosen, and the only ones that could with propriety have been selected to describe the remarkable events which were to take place in future times.
(c) The same thing we may presume to be the case in regard to events which are to occur. We may expect to find (1) language and symbols that are, in themselves, capable of clear interpretation as to their proper meaning; (2) the events of the future so sketched out by that language, and by those symbols, that we may obtain a general view that will be accurate; and yet (3) an entire impossibility of filling up beforehand the minute details.
In regard, then, to the application of the particular portion now before us, ver. 12‒16, the following remarks may be made:――
(1) The Turkish power, especially since its conquest of Constantinople under Mahomet II. in 1453, and its establishment in Europe, has been a grand hindrance to the spread of the gospel. It has occupied a central position; it has possessed some of the richest parts of the world; it has, in general, excluded all efforts to spread the pure gospel within its limits; and its whole influence has been opposed to the spread of pure Christianity. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 14‒21. “By its laws it was death to a Mussulman to apostatize from his faith, and become a Christian; and examples, not a few, have occurred in recent times to illustrate it.” It was not until quite recently, and that under the influence of missionaries in Constantinople, that evangelical Christianity has been tolerated in the Turkish dominions.
(2) The prophecy before us implies that there would be a decline of that formidable power――represented by the “drying up of the great river Euphrates.” See Notes on ver. 12. And no one can be insensible to the fact that events are occurring which would be properly represented by such a symbol; or that there is, in fact, now such a decline of that Turkish power, and that the beginning of that decline closely followed, in regard to time, if not in regard to the cause, the events which it is supposed {376} were designated by the previous vials――those connected with the successive blows on the Papacy and the seat of the beast. In reference, then, to the decline of that power, we may refer to the following things:――(a) The first great cause was internal revolt and insurrection. In 1820 Ali Pasha asserted his independence, and by his revolt precipitated the Greek insurrection which had been a long time secretly preparing――an insurrection so disastrous to the Turkish power. (b) The Greek insurrection followed. This soon spread to the Ægean isles, and to the districts of Northern Greece, Epirus, and Thessaly; while at the same time the standard of revolt was raised in Wallachia and Moldavia. The progress and issue of that insurrection are well known. A Turcoman army of 30,000 that entered the Morea to reconquer it was destroyed in 1823 in detail, and the freedom of the peninsula was nearly completed by the insurgents. By sea the Greeks emulated their ancestors of Salamis and Mycale; and, attended with almost uniform success, encountered and vanquished the superior Turkish and Egyptian fleets. Meanwhile the sympathies of Western Christendom were awakened in behalf of their brother Christians struggling for independence; and just when the tide of success began to turn, and the Morea was again nearly subjected by Ibrahim Pasha, the united fleets of England, France, and Russia (in contravention of all their usual principles of policy) interposed in their favour; attacked and destroyed the Turco-Egyptian fleets in the battle of Navarino (September, 1827), and thus secured the independence of Greece. Nothing had ever occurred that tended so much to weaken the power of the Turkish empire. (c) The rebellion of the great Egyptian pasha, Mehemet Ali, soon followed. The French invasion of Egypt had prepared him for it, by having taught him the superiority of European discipline, and thus this event was one of the proper results of those described under the first four vials. Mehemet Ali, through Ibrahim, attacked and conquered Syria; defeated the sultan’s armies sent against him in the great battles of Hems, of Nezib, and of Iconium; and, but for the intervention of the European powers of England, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, by which he was driven out of Syria, and forced back to his proper pashalic, Egypt, he would probably have advanced to Constantinople and subdued it. (d) There has been for centuries a gradual weakening of the Turkish power. It has done nothing to extend its empire by arms. It has been resting in inglorious ease, and, in the meantime, its wealth and its strength have been gradually decreasing. It has lost Moldavia, Wallachia, Greece, Algiers, and, practically, Egypt; and is doing nothing to recruit its wasted and exhausted strength. Russia only waits for a favourable opportunity to strike the last blow on that enfeebled power, and to put an end to it for ever. (e) The general condition of the Turkish empire is thus described by the Rev. Mr. Walsh, chaplain to the British ambassador to Constantinople:――“The circumstances most striking to a traveller passing through Turkey is its depopulation. Ruins where villages had been built, and fallows where land had been cultivated, are frequently seen with no living thing near them. This effect is not so visible in larger towns, though the cause is known to operate there in a still greater degree. Within the last twenty years, Constantinople has lost more than half its population. Two conflagrations happened while I was in Constantinople, and destroyed fifteen thousand houses. The Russian and Greek wars were a constant drain on the janizaries of the capital; the silent operation of the plague is continually active, though not always alarming; it will be no exaggeration to say that, within the period mentioned, from three to four hundred thousand persons have been swept away in one city in Europe by causes which were not operating in any other――conflagration, pestilence, and civil commotion. The Turks, though naturally of a robust and vigorous constitution, addict themselves to such habits as are very unfavourable to population――the births do little more than exceed the ordinary deaths, and cannot supply the waste of casualties. The surrounding country is, therefore, continually drained to supply this waste in the capital, which, nevertheless, exhibits districts nearly depopulated. We see every day life going out in the fairest portion of Europe; and the human race threatened with extinction in a soil and climate capable of supporting the most abundant population” (Walsh’s Narrative, pp. 22‒26, as quoted in Bush on the Millennium, 243, 244). The probability now is, that this gradual decay {377} will be continued; that the Turkish power will more and more diminish; that one portion after another will set up for independence; and that, by a gradual process of decline, this power will become practically extinct, and what is here symbolized by the “drying up of the great river Euphrates” will have been accomplished.
(3) This obstacle removed, we may look for a general turning of the princes, and rulers, and people of the Eastern world to Christianity, represented (ver. 12) by its being said that “the way of the kings of the East might be prepared.” See Notes on that verse. It is clear that nothing would be more likely to contribute to this, or to prepare the way for it, than the removal of that Turcoman dominion which for more than four hundred years has been an effectual barrier to the diffusion of the gospel in the lands where it has prevailed. How rapidly, we may suppose, the gospel would spread in the East, if all the obstacles thrown in its way by the Turkish power were at once removed!
(4) In accordance with the interpretation suggested on ver. 13, 14, we may look for something that would be well represented by a combined effort on the part of Heathenism, Mahometanism, and Romanism, to stay the progress and prevent the spread of evangelical religion. That is, according to the fair interpretation of the passage, we should look for some simultaneous movement as if their influence was to be about to cease, and as if it were necessary to arouse all their energies for a last and desperate struggle. It may be added that, in itself, nothing would be more probable than this; but when it will occur, and what form the aroused enemy will assume, it would be vain to conjecture.
(5) And in accordance with the interpretation suggested on ver. 15, we are to suppose that something will occur which would be well represented by the decisive conflicts in the valley of Megiddo; that is, something that will determine the ascendency of true religion in the world, as if these great powers of Heathenism, Mahometanism, and Romanism should stake all their interests on the issue of a single battle. It is not necessary to suppose that this will literally occur, and there are no certain intimations as to the time when what is represented will happen; but all that is meant may be, that events will take place which would be well represented by such a conflict. Still, nothing in the prophecy prevents the supposition that these combined powers may be overthrown in some fierce conflict with Christian powers.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, [504]It is done.
17. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air. This introduces the final catastrophe in regard to the “beast”――his complete and utter overthrow, accompanied with tremendous judgments. Why the vial was poured into the air is not stated. The most probable supposition as to the idea intended to be represented is, that, as storms and tempests seem to be engendered in the air, so this destruction would come from some supernatural cause, as if the whole atmosphere should be filled with wind and storm; and a furious and desolating whirlwind should be aroused by some invisible power. ¶ And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven. The voice of God. See Notes on ch. xi. 19. ¶ From the throne. See Notes on ch. iv. 2. This shows that it was the voice of God, and not the voice of an angel. ¶ Saying, It is done. The series of judgments is about to be completed; the dominion of the beast is about to come to an end for ever. The meaning here is, that that destruction was so certain, that it might be spoken of as now actually accomplished.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a [505]great earthquake, [506]such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
18. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings. Accompanying the voice that was heard from the throne. See Notes on ch. iv. 5; xi. 19. ¶ And there was a great earthquake, &c. See Notes on ch. vi. 12; xi. 19. The meaning is, that a judgment followed as if the world were shaken by an earthquake, or which would be properly represented by that.¶ So mighty an {378} earthquake, and so great. All this is intensive, and is designed to represent the severity of the judgment that would follow.
19 And the [507]great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the [508]cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
19. And the great city was divided into three parts. The city of Babylon; or the mighty power that was represented by Babylon. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. The division here mentioned into three parts was manifestly with reference to its destruction――either that one part was smitten and the others remained for a time, or that one form of destruction came on one part, and another on the others. In ch. xi. 13 it is said, speaking of “the great city spiritually called Sodom and Egypt”――representing Rome, that “the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand” (see Notes on that place); here it is said that the whole city, in the calamities that came upon it, was divided into three portions, though it is evidently implied that, in these calamities, the whole city was sooner or later destroyed. Professor Stuart (in loco) supposes that the number three is used here, as it is throughout the book, “in a symbolical way,” and that the meaning is, that “the city was severed and broken in pieces, so that the whole was reduced to a ruinous state.” He supposes that it refers to Pagan Rome, or to the Pagan Roman persecuting power. Others refer it to Jerusalem, and suppose that the allusion is to the divisions of the city, in the time of the siege, into Jewish, Samaritan, and Christian parties; others suppose that it refers to a division of the Roman empire under Honorius, Attalus, and Constantine; others to the fact, that when Jerusalem was besieged by Titus, it was divided into three factions; and others, that the number three is used to denote perfection, or the total ruin of the city. All that, it seems to me, can be said now on the point is, (a) that it refers to Papal Rome, or the Papal power; (b) that it relates to something yet future, and that it may not be possible to determine with precise accuracy what will occur; (c) that it probably means that, in the time of the final ruin of that power, there will be a threefold judgment――either a different judgment in regard to some threefold manifestation of that power, or a succession of judgments, as if one part were smitten at a time. The certain and entire ruin of the power is predicted by this, but still it is not improbable that it will be by such divisions, or such successions of judgments, that it is proper to represent the city as divided into three portions. ¶ And the cities of the nations fell. In alliance with it, or under the control of the central power. As the capital fell, the dependent cities fell also. Considered as relating to Papal Rome, the meaning here is, that what may be properly called “the cities of the nations” that were allied with it would share the same fate. The cities of numerous “nations” are now, and have been for ages, under the control of the Papal power, or the spiritual Babylon; and the calamity that will smite the central power as such――that is, as a spiritual power――will reach and affect them all. Let the central power at Rome be destroyed; the Papacy cease; the superstition with which Rome is regarded come to an end; the power of the priesthood in Italy be destroyed, and however widely the Roman dominion is spread now, it cannot be kept up. If it falls in Rome, there is not influence enough out of Rome to continue it in being――and in all its extended ramifications it will die as the body dies when the head is severed; as the power of provinces ceases when ruin comes upon the capital. This the prophecy leads us to suppose will be the final destiny of the Papal power. ¶ And great Babylon. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. ¶ Came in remembrance before God. That is, for purposes of punishment. It had been, as it were, overlooked. It had been permitted to carry on its purposes, and to practise its abominations, unchecked, as if God did not see it. Now the time had come when all that it had done was to be remembered, and when the long-suspended judgment was to fall upon it. ¶ To give unto her the cup of the wine, &c. To punish; to destroy her. See Notes on ch. xiv. 10.
20 And [509]every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
{379} 20. And every island fled away. Expressive of great and terrible judgments, as if the very earth were convulsed, and everything were moved out of its place. See Notes on ch. vi. 14. ¶ And the mountains were not found. The same image occurs in ch. vi. 14. See Notes on that place.
21 And there fell upon men a great [510]hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
21. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven. Perhaps this is an allusion to one of the plagues of Egypt, Ex. ix. 22‒26. Comp. Notes on ch. xi. 19. For a graphic description (by Com. Porter) of the effects of a hail-storm, see Notes on Is. xxx. 30. Comp. Notes on Job xxxviii. 22. ¶ |Every stone| about the weight of a talent. The Attic talent was equal to about 55 lbs. or 56 lbs. Troy weight; the Jewish talent to about 113 lbs. Troy. Whichever weight is adopted, it is easy to conceive what must be the horror of such a storm, and what destruction it must cause. We are not, of course, to suppose necessarily, that this would literally occur; it is a frightful image to denote the terrible and certain destruction that would come upon Babylon――that is, upon the Papal power. ¶ And men blasphemed God. See Notes on ver. 9. ¶ Because of the plague of the hail. Using the word plague in allusion to the plagues of Egypt. ¶ For the plague thereof was exceeding great. The calamity was great and terrible. The design of the whole is to show that the destruction would be complete and awful.
This finishes the summary statement of the final destruction of this formidable Antichristian power. The details and the consequences of that overthrow are more fully stated in the subsequent chapters. The fulfilment of what is here stated will be found, according to the method of interpretation proposed, in the ultimate overthrow of the Papacy. The process described in this chapter is that of successive calamities that would weaken it and prepare it for its fall; then a rallying of its dying strength; and then some tremendous judgment that is compared with a storm of hail, accompanied with lightning, and thunder, and an earthquake, that would completely overthrow all that was connected with it. We are not, indeed, to suppose that this will literally occur; but the fair interpretation of prophecy leads us to suppose that that formidable power will, at no very distant period, be overthrown in a manner that would be well represented by such a fearful storm.
XVII. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER
This chapter properly commences a more detailed description of the judgment inflicted on the formidable Antichristian power referred to in the last chapter, though under a new image. It contains an account of the sequel of the pouring out of the last vial, and the description, in various forms, continues to the close of ch. xix. The whole of this description (ch. xvii.‒xix.) constitutes the last great catastrophe represented under the seventh vial (ch. xvi. 17‒21), at the close of which the great enemy of God and the church will be destroyed, and the church will be triumphant, ch. xix. 17‒21. The image in this chapter is that of a harlot, or abandoned woman, on whom severe judgment is brought for her sins. The action is here delayed, and this chapter has much the appearance of an explanatory episode, designed to give a more clear and definite idea of the character of that formidable Antichristian power on which the judgment was to descend. The chapter, without any formal division, embraces the following points:――
(1) Introduction, ver. 1‒3. One of the seven angels intrusted with the seven vials comes to John, saying that he would describe to him the judgment that was to come upon the great harlot with whom the kings of the earth had committed fornication, and who had made the dwellers upon the earth drunk by the wine of her fornication――that is, of that Antichristian power so often referred to in this book, which by its influence had deluded the nations, and brought their rulers under its control.
(2) A particular description of this Antichristian power――represented as an abandoned and attractive female, in the usual attire of an harlot, ver. 3‒6. She is seated on a scarlet-coloured beast, covered over with blasphemous names――a beast with seven heads and {380} ten horns. She is arrayed in the usual gorgeous and alluring attire of an harlot, clothed in purple, decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, with a golden cup in her hand full of abomination and filthiness. She has on her forehead a name expressive of her character. She is represented as drunken with the blood of the saints, and is such as to attract attention and excite wonder.
(3) An explanation of what is meant by this scarlet-clothed woman, and of the design of the representation, ver. 7‒18. This comprises several parts: (a) A promise of the angel that he would explain this, ver. 7. (b) An enigmatical or symbolical representation of the design of the vision, ver. 8‒14. This description consists of an account of the beast on which the woman sat, ver. 8; of the seven heads of the beast, as representing seven mountains, ver. 9; of the succession of kings or dynasties represented, ver. 9‒11; of the ten horns as representing ten kings or kingdoms giving their power and strength to the beast, ver. 12, 13; and of the conflict or warfare of all these confederated or consolidated powers with the Lamb, and their discomfiture by him, ver. 14. (c) A more literal statement of what is meant by this, ver. 15‒18. The waters on which the harlot sat represent a multitude of people subject to her control, ver. 15. The ten horns, or the ten kingdoms, on the beast, would ultimately hate the harlot, and destroy her, as if they should eat her flesh, and consume her with fire, ver. 16. This would be done because God would put it into their hearts to fulfil his purposes, alike in giving their kingdom to the beast, and then turning against it to destroy it, ver. 17. The woman referred to is at last declared to be the great city which reigned over the kings of the earth, ver. 18. For particularity and definiteness, this is one of the most remarkable chapters in the book, and there can be no doubt that it was the design in it to give such an explanation of what was referred to in these visions, that there could be no mistake in applying the description. “All that remains between this and the twentieth chapter,” says Andrew Fuller, “would in modern publications be called notes of illustration. No new subject is introduced, but mere enlargement on what has already been announced” (Works, vi. 205).
Chapter XVII
AND there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the [511]great whore that [512]sitteth upon many waters:
1. And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials. See Notes on ch. xv. 1, 7. Reference is again made to these angels in the same manner in ch. xxi. 9, where one of them says that he would show to John “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” No particular one is specified. The general idea seems to be, that to those seven angels was intrusted the execution of the last things, or the winding up of affairs introductory to the reign of God, and that the communications respecting those last events were properly made through them. It is clearly quite immaterial by which of these it is done. The expression “which had the seven vials,” would seem to imply that though they had emptied the vials in the manner stated in the previous chapter, they still retained them in their hands. ¶ And talked with me. Spake to me. The word talk would imply a more protracted conversation than occurred here. ¶ Come hither. Gr., δεῦρο――“Here, hither.” This is a word merely calling the attention, as we should say now, “Here.” It does not imply that John was to leave the place where he was. ¶ I will show thee. Partly by symbols, and partly by express statements; for this is the way in which, in fact, he showed him. ¶ The judgment. The condemnation and calamity that will come upon her. ¶ Of the great whore. It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to represent a city under the image of a woman――a pure and holy city under the image of a virgin or chaste female; a corrupt, idolatrous, and wicked city under the image of an abandoned or lewd woman. See Notes on Is. i. 21: “How is the faithful city become an harlot!” Comp. Notes on Is. i. 8. In ver. 18 of this chapter it is expressly said that “this woman is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth”――that is, as I suppose, Papal Rome; and the design here is to represent it as resembling an abandoned female――fit representative of an apostate, {381} corrupt, unfaithful church. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 21. ¶ That sitteth upon many waters. An image drawn either from Babylon, situated on the Euphrates, and encompassed by the many artificial rivers which had been made to irrigate the country, or Rome, situated on the Tiber. In ver. 15 these waters are said to represent the peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues over which the government symbolized by the woman ruled. See Notes on that verse. Waters are often used to symbolize nations.
2 With[513] whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. Spiritual adultery. The meaning is, that Papal Rome, unfaithful to God, and idolatrous and corrupt, had seduced the rulers of the earth, and led them into the same kind of unfaithfulness, idolatry, and corruption. Comp. Jer. iii. 8, 9; v. 7; xiii. 27; xxiii. 14; Eze. xvi. 32; xxiii. 37; Ho. ii. 2; iv. 2. How true this is in history need not be stated. All the princes and kings of Europe in the dark ages, and for many centuries were, and not a few of them are now, entirely under the influence of Papal Rome. ¶ And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. The alluring cup which, as an harlot, she had extended to them. See this image explained in the Notes on ch. xiv. 8. There it is said that Babylon――referring to the same thing――had “made them drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication;” that is, of the cup that led to wrath or punishment. Here it is said that the harlot had made them “drunk with the wine of her fornication;” that is, they had been, as it were, intoxicated by the alluring cup held out to them. What could better describe the influence of Rome on the people of the world, in making them, under these delusions, incapable of sober judgment, and in completely fascinating and controlling all their powers?
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a [514]scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, [515]having seven heads and ten horns.
3. So he carried me away in the spirit. In vision. He seemed to himself to be thus carried away; or the scene which he is about to describe was made to pass before him as if he were present. ¶ Into the wilderness. Into a desert. Comp. Notes on ch. xii. 6. Why this scene is laid in a wilderness or desert is not mentioned. Professor Stuart supposes that it is because it is “appropriate to symbolize the future condition of the beast.” So De Wette and Rosenmüller. The imagery is changed somewhat from the first appearance of the harlot in ver. 1. There she is represented as “sitting upon many waters.” Now she is represented as “riding on a beast,” and of course the imagery is adapted to that. Possibly there may have been no intentional significancy in this; but on the supposition, as the interpretation has led us to believe all along, that this refers to Papal Rome, may not the propriety of this be seen in the condition of Rome and the adjacent country, at the rise of the Papal power? That had its rise (see Notes on Da. vii. 25, seq.) after the decline of the Roman civil power, and properly in the time of Clovis, Pepin, or Charlemagne. Perhaps its first visible appearance, as a power that was to influence the destiny of the world, was in the time of Gregory the Great, A.D. 590‒605. On the supposition that the passage before us refers to the period when the Papal power became thus marked and defined, the state of Rome at this time, as described by Mr. Gibbon, would show with what propriety the term wilderness or desert might be then applied to it. The following extract from this author, in describing the state of Rome at the accession of Gregory the Great, has almost the appearance of being a designed commentary on this passage, or is, at anyrate, such as a partial interpreter of this book would desire and expect to find. Speaking of that period, he says (Decline and Fall, iii. 207‒211):――“Rome had reached, about the close of the sixth century, the lowest period of her depression. By the removal of the seat of empire, and the successive loss of the provinces, the sources of public and private opulence were exhausted; {382} the lofty tree under whose shade the nations of the earth had reposed was deprived of its leaves and branches, and the sapless trunk was left to wither on the ground. The ministers of command and the messengers of victory no longer met on the Appian or Flaminian Way; and the hostile approach of the Lombards was often felt and continually feared. The inhabitants of a potent and peaceful capital, who visit without an anxious thought the garden of the adjacent country, will faintly picture in their fancy the distress of the Romans; they shut or opened their gates with a trembling hand, beheld from the walls the flames of their houses, and heard the lamentations of their brethren who were coupled together like dogs, and dragged away into distant slavery beyond the sea and the mountains. Such incessant alarms must annihilate the pleasures, and interrupt the labours of a rural life; and the Campagna of Rome was speedily reduced to the state of a dreary WILDERNESS, in which the land is barren, the waters are impure, and the air is infectious. Curiosity and ambition no longer attracted the nations to the capital of the world; but if chance or necessity directed the steps of a wandering stranger, he contemplated with horror the vacancy and solitude of the city; and might be tempted to ask, Where is the Senate, and where are the people? In a season of excessive rains, the Tiber swelled above its banks, and rushed with irresistible violence into the valleys of the seven hills. A pestilential disease arose from the stagnation of the deluge, and so rapid was the contagion that fourscore persons expired in an hour in the midst of a solemn procession which implored the mercy of Heaven. A society in which marriage is encouraged, and industry prevails, soon repairs the accidental losses of pestilence and war; but as the far greater part of the Romans was condemned to hopeless indigence and celibacy, the depopulation was constant and visible, and the gloomy enthusiasts might expect the approaching failure of the human race. Yet the number of citizens still exceeded the measure of subsistence; their precarious food was supplied from the harvests of Sicily or Egypt; and the frequent repetition of famine betrays the inattention of the emperor to a distant province. The edifices of Rome were exposed to the same ruin and decay; the mouldering fabrics were easily overthrown by inundations, tempests, and earthquakes; and the monks who had occupied the most advantageous stations exulted in their base triumph over the ruins of antiquity.
“Like Thebes, or Babylon, or Carthage, the name of Rome might have been erased from the earth, if the city had not been animated by a vital principle which again restored her to honour and dominion. The power as well as the virtue of the apostles resided with living energy in the breast of their successors; and the chair of St. Peter, under the reign of Maurice, was occupied by the first and greatest of the name of Gregory. The sword of the enemy was suspended over Rome; it was averted by the mild eloquence and seasonable gifts of the pontiff, who commanded the respect of heretics and barbarians.” Comp. Rev. xiii. 3, 12‒15. On the supposition, now, that the inspired author of the Apocalypse had Rome, in that state when the civil power declined and the Papacy arose, in his eye, what more expressive imagery could he have used to denote it than he has employed? On the supposition――if such a supposition could be made――that Mr. Gibbon meant to furnish a commentary on this passage, what more appropriate language could he have used? Does not this language look as if the author of the Apocalypse and the author of the Decline and Fall meant to play into each other’s hands?
And, in further confirmation of this, I may refer to the testimony of two Roman Catholic writers, giving the same view of Rome, and showing that, in their apprehension also, it was only by the reviving influence of the Papacy that Rome was saved from becoming a total waste. They are both of the middle ages. The first is Augustine Steuchus, who thus writes:――“The empire having been overthrown, unless God had raised up the pontificate, Rome, resuscitated and restored by none, would have become uninhabitable, and been a most foul habitation thenceforward of cattle. But in the pontificate it revived as with a second birth; its empire in magnitude not indeed equal to the old empire, but its form not very dissimilar: because all nations, from East and from West, venerate the pope, not otherwise than they before obeyed the emperor.” The other is Flavio Blondas:――“The princes of the world now adore and worship as {383} perpetual dictator the successor not of Cæsar but of the fisherman Peter; that is, the supreme pontiff, the substitute of the aforesaid emperor.” See the original in Elliott, iii. 113.
¶ And I saw a woman. Evidently the same which is referred to in ver. 1. ¶ Sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast. That is, either the beast was itself naturally of this colour, or it was covered with trappings of this colour. The word scarlet properly denotes a bright red colour――brighter than crimson, which is a red colour tinged with blue. See Notes on Is. i. 18. The word here used――κόκκινον――occurs in the New Testament only in the following places:――Mat. xxvii. 28; He. ix. 19; Re. xvii. 3, 4; xviii. 12, 16――in all which places it is rendered scarlet. See Notes on Mat. xxvii. 28 and He. ix. 19. The colour was obtained from a small insect which was found adhering to the shoots of a species of oak in Spain and Western Asia. This was the usual colour in the robes of princes, military cloaks, &c. It is applicable in the description of Papal Rome, because this is a favourite colour there. Thus it is used in ch. xii. 3, where the same power is represented under the image of a “red dragon.” See Notes on that passage. It is remarkable that nothing would better represent the favourite colour at Rome than this, or the actual appearance of the pope, the cardinals, and the priests in their robes, on some great festival occasion. Those who are familiar with the descriptions given of Papal Rome by travellers, and those who have passed much time in Rome, will see at once the propriety of this description, on the supposition that it was intended to refer to the Papacy. I caused this inquiry to be made of an intelligent gentleman who had passed much time in Rome――without his knowing my design――what would strike a stranger on visiting Rome, or what would be likely particularly to arrest his attention as remarkable there; and he unhesitatingly replied, “The scarlet colour.” This is the colour of the dress of the cardinals――their hats, and cloaks, and stockings being always of this colour. It is the colour of the carriages of the cardinals, the entire body of the carriage being scarlet, and the trappings of the horses the same. On occasion of public festivals and processions, scarlet is suspended from the windows of the houses along which processions pass. The inner colour of the cloak of the pope is scarlet; his carriage is scarlet; the carpet on which he treads is scarlet. A large part of the dress of the body-guard of the pope is scarlet; and no one can take up a picture of Rome without seeing that this colour is predominant. I looked through a volume of engravings representing the principal officers and public persons of Rome. There were few in which the scarlet colour was not found as constituting some part of their apparel; in not a few the scarlet colour prevailed almost entirely. And in illustration of the same thought, I introduce here an extract from a foreign newspaper, copied into an American newspaper of Feb. 22, 1851, as an illustration of the fact that the scarlet colour is characteristic of Rome, and of the readiness with which it is referred to in that respect:――“Curious Costumes.――The three new cardinals, the archbishops of Thoulouse, Rheims, and Besançon, were presented to the president of the French Republic by the Pope’s nuncio. They wore red caps, red stockings, black Roman coats lined and bound with red, and small cloaks.” I conclude, therefore, that if it be admitted that it was intended to represent Papal Rome in the vision, the precise description would have been adopted which is found here. ¶ Full of names of blasphemy. All covered over with blasphemous titles and names. What could more accurately describe Papal Rome than this? Comp. for some of these names and titles the Notes on 2 Th. ii. 4; 1 Ti. iv. 1‒4; and Notes on Re. xiii. 1, 5. ¶ Having seven heads and ten horns. See Notes on ch. xiii. 1.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked[516] with gold and precious stones and pearls, [517]having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations of filthiness of her fornication:
4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour. On the nature of the scarlet colour, see Notes on ver. 3. The purple colour――πορφύρα――was obtained from a species of shell-fish found on the coasts of the Mediterranean, which yielded a reddish-purple dye, much prized by the ancients. Robes dyed in that colour were commonly {384} worn by persons of rank and wealth, Mar. xv. 17, 20; Lu. xvi. 19. The purple colour contains more blue than the crimson, though the limits are not very accurately defined, and the words are sometimes interchanged. Thus the mock robe put on the Saviour is called in Mar. xv. 17, 20, πορφύραν――purple, and in Mat. xxvii. 28, κοκκίνην――crimson. On the applicability of this to the Papacy, see Notes on ver. 3. ¶ And decked with gold. After the manner of an harlot, with rich jewelry. ¶ And precious stones. Sparkling diamonds, &c. ¶ And pearls. Also a much-valued female ornament. Comp. Notes on Mat. vii. 6; xiii. 46. ¶ Having a golden cup in her hand. As if to entice lovers. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. ¶ Full of abominations. Of abominable things; of things fitted to excite abhorrence and disgust; things unlawful and forbidden. The word, in the Scriptures, is commonly used to denote the impurities and abominations of idolatry. See Notes on Da. ix. 27. The meaning here is, that it seemed to be a cup filled with wine, but it was in fact a cup full of all abominable drugs, leading to all kinds of corruption. How much in accordance this is with the fascinations of the Papacy, it is not necessary now to say, after the ample illustrations of the same thing already furnished in these Notes. ¶ And filthiness of her fornication. The image here is that of Papal Rome, represented as an abandoned woman in gorgeous attire, alluring by her arts the nations of the earth, and seducing them into all kinds of pollution and abomination. It is a most remarkable fact that the Papacy, as if designing to furnish a fulfilment of this prophecy, has chosen to represent itself almost precisely in this manner――as a female extending an alluring cup to passers by――as will be seen by the engraving on this page. Far as the design of striking this medal may have been from confirming this portion of the book of Revelation, yet no one can fail to see that if this had been the design, no more happy illustration could have been adopted. Apostate churches, and guilty nations, often furnish the very proofs necessary to confirm the truth of the Scriptures.
Illustration: Medal of Pope Leo XII.
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, [518]MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF [519]HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
5. And upon her forehead. In a circlet around her forehead. That is, it was made prominent and public, as if written on the forehead in blazing capitals. In ch. xiii. 1 it is said that “the name of blasphemy” was written on the “heads” of the beast. The meaning in both places is substantially the same, that it was prominent and unmistakable. See Notes on that verse. Comp. Note on ch. xiv. 1. ¶ |Was| a name written. A title, or something that would properly indicate her character. ¶ Mystery. It is proper to remark that there is nothing in the original as written by John, so far as now known, that corresponded with what is implied in placing this inscription in capital letters; and the same remark may be made of the “title” or inscription that was placed over the head of the Saviour on the cross, Mat. xxvii. 37; Mar. xv. 26; Lu. xxiii. 38; Jn. xix. 19. Our translators have adopted this form, apparently for the sole purpose of denoting that it was an inscription or title. On the meaning of the word mystery, see Notes on 1 Co. ii. 7. Comp. Notes on {385} 1 Ti. iii. 16. Here it seems to be used to denote that there was something hidden, obscure, or enigmatical, under the title adopted; that is, the word Babylon, and the word mother, were symbolical. Our translators have printed and pointed the word mystery as if it were part of the inscription. It would probably be better to regard it as referring to the inscription, thus: “a name was written――a mysterious name, to wit, Babylon,” &c. Or, “a name was written mysteriously.” According to this, it would mean, not that there was any wonderful “mystery” about the thing itself, whatever might be true on that point, but that the name was enigmatical or symbolical; or that there was something hidden or concealed under the name. It was not to be literally understood. ¶ Babylon the great. Papal Rome, the nominal head of the Christian world, as Babylon had been of the heathen world. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. ¶ The mother of harlots. (a) Of that spiritual apostasy from God which, in the language of the prophets, might be called adultery. See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. (b) The promoter of lewdness by her institutions. See Notes on ch. ix. 21. In both these senses, there never was a more expressive or appropriate title than the one here employed. ¶ And abominations of the earth. Abominable things that prevail on the earth, ver. 4. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 20, 21.
6 And I saw the woman [520]drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her I wondered with great admiration.
6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints. A reeling, intoxicated harlot, for that is the image which is kept up all along. In regard to the phrase “drunken with blood,” comp. Je. xlvi. 10. “The phraseology is derived from the barbarous custom (still extant among many Pagan nations) of drinking the blood of the enemies slain in the way of revenge. The effect of drinking blood is said to be to exasperate, and to intoxicate with passion and a desire of revenge” (Prof. Stuart, in loco). The meaning here is, that the persecuting power referred to had shed the blood of the saints; and that, in its fury, it had, as it were, drunk the blood of the slain, and had become, by drinking that blood, intoxicated and infuriated. No one need say how applicable this has been to the Papacy. Compare, however, the Notes on Da. vii. 21, 25; Re. xii. 13, 14; xiii. 15. ¶ And with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. Especially with their blood. The meaning is, that the warfare, in which so much blood was shed, was directed against the saints as such, and that, in fact, it terminated particularly on those who, amidst cruel sufferings, were faithful witnesses for the Lord Jesus, and deserved to be called, by way of eminence, martyrs. Comp. Notes on ch. ii. 13; vi. 9; xi. 5, 7. How applicable this is to the Papacy, let the blood shed in the valleys of Piedmont; the blood shed in the Low Countries by the Duke of Alva; the blood shed on St. Bartholomew’s day; and the blood shed in the Inquisition, testify. ¶ And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. I was astonished at her appearance, at her apparel, and at the things which were so significantly symbolized by her.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of [521]the woman, and of [522]the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? He was doubtless struck with the appearance of John as he stood fixed in astonishment. The question asked him, why he wondered, was designed to show him that the cause of his surprise would be removed or lessened, for that he would proceed so to explain this that he might have a correct view of its design. ¶ I will tell thee the mystery of the woman. On the word mystery, see Notes on ver. 5. The sense is, “I will explain what is meant by the symbol――the hidden meaning that is couched under it.” That is, he would so far explain it that a just view might be obtained of its signification. The explanation follows, ver. 8‒18. ¶ And of the beast that carrieth her, &c. Ver. 3.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall [523]ascend out of the bottomless pit, and [524]go into perdition, and they that dwell on the earth shall [525]wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
8. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not. In the close of the verse it is added, “and yet is”――“the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” There are {386} three things affirmed here: first, that there is a sense in which it might be said of the power here referred to, that it “was,” or that, before this, it had an existence; second, that there was a sense in which it might be said that it is “not,” that is, that it had become practically extinct; and third, that there is a sense in which that power would be so revived that it might be said that it “still is.” The “beast” here referred to is the same that is mentioned in ver. 3 of this chapter, and in ch. xiii. 1, 3, 11‒16. That is, there was one great formidable power, having essentially the same origin, though manifested under somewhat different modifications, to one and all of which might, in their different manifestations, be given the same name, “the beast.” ¶ And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit――ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου. On the meaning of the word here used, see Notes on ch. ix. 1. The meaning here is, that this power would seem to come up from the nether world. It would appear at one time to be extinct, but would revive again as if coming from the world over which Satan presides, and would, in its revived character, be such as might be expected from such an origin. ¶ And go into perdition. That is, its end will be destruction. It will not be permanent, but will be overthrown and destroyed. The word perdition here is properly rendered by Prof. Stuart destruction, but nothing is indicated by the word of the nature of the destruction that would come upon it. ¶ And they that dwell on the earth. The inhabitants of the earth generally; that is, the matter referred to will be so remarkable as to attract general attention. ¶ Shall wonder. It will be so contrary to the regular course of events, so difficult of explanation, so remarkable in itself, as to excite attention and surprise. ¶ Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. See this explained in the Notes on ch. xiii. 8. The idea seems to be, that those whose names are written in the book of life, or who are truly the friends of God, would not be drawn off in admiration of the beast, or in rendering homage to it. ¶ When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. That is, the power that once was mighty; that had declined to such a state that it became, as it were, extinct; and that was revived again with so much of its original strength, that it might be said that it still exists. The fact of its being revived in this manner, as well as the nature of the power itself, seemed fitted to excite this admiration.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The [526]seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
9. And here |is| the mind which hath wisdom. Here is that which requires wisdom to interpret it; or, here is a case in which the mind that shows itself able to explain it will evince true sagacity. So in ch. xiii. 18. See Notes on that place. Prof. Stuart renders this, “Here is a meaning which compriseth wisdom.” It is undoubtedly implied that the symbol might be understood――whether in the time of John, or afterwards, he does not say; but it was a matter which could not be determined by ordinary minds, or without an earnest application of the understanding. ¶ The seven heads are seven mountains. Referring, undoubtedly, to Rome――the seven-hilled city――Septicollis Roma. See Notes on ch. xii. 3, (d). ¶ On which the woman sitteth. The city represented as a woman, in accordance with a common usage in the Scriptures. See Notes on Is. i. 8.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
10. And there are seven kings. That is, seven in all, as they are enumerated in this verse and the next. An eighth is mentioned in ver. 11, but it is, at the same time, said that this one so pertains to the seven, or is so properly in one sense of the number seven, though, in another sense, to be regarded as an eighth, that it may be properly reckoned as the seventh. The word kings――βασιλεῖς――may be understood, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, (a) literally, as denoting a king, or one who exercises royal authority; (b) in a more general sense, as denoting one of distinguished honour――a viceroy, prince, leader, chief, Mat. ii. 1, 3, 9; Lu. i. 5; Ac. xii. 1; (c) in a still larger sense, {387} as denoting a dynasty, a form of government, a mode of administration, as that which, in fact, rules. See Notes on Da. vii. 24, where the word king undoubtedly denotes a dynasty, or form of rule. The notion of ruling, or of authority, is undoubtedly in the word, for the verb βασιλεύω means to rule, but the word may be applied to anything in which sovereignty resides. Thus it is applied to a king’s son, to a military commander, to the gods, to a Greek archon, &c. See Passow. It would be contrary to the whole spirit of this passage, and to what is demanded by the proper meaning of the word, to insist that the word should denote literally kings, and that it could not be applied to emperors, or to dictators, or to dynasties. ¶ Five are fallen. Have passed away as if fallen; that is, they have disappeared. The language would be applicable to rulers who have died, or who had been dethroned; or to dynasties or forms of government that had ceased to be. In the fulfilment of this, it would be necessary to find five such successive kings or rulers who had died, and who appertained to one sovereignty or nation; or five such dynasties or forms of administrations that had successively existed, but which had ceased. ¶ And one is. That is, there is one――a sixth――that now reigns. The proper interpretation of this would be, that this existed in the time of the writer; that is, according to the view taken of the time of the writing of the Apocalypse (see Intro., § 2), at the close of the first century. ¶ And the other is not yet come. The sixth one is to be succeeded by another in the same line, or occupying the same dominion. ¶ And when he cometh. When that form of dominion is set up. No intimation is yet given as to the time when this would occur. ¶ He must continue a short space――ὀλίγον. A short time; his dominion will be of short duration. It is observable that this characteristic is stated as applicable only to this one of the seven; and the fair meaning would seem to be, that the time would be short as compared with the six that preceded, and as compared with the one that followed――the eighth――into which it was to be merged, ver. 11.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
11. And the beast that was, and is not. That is, the one power that was formerly mighty; that died away so that it might be said to be extinct; and yet (ver. 8) that “still is,” or has a prolonged existence. It is evident that, by the “beast” here, there is some one power, dominion, empire, or rule, whose essential identity is preserved through all these changes, and to which it is proper to give the same name. It finds its termination, or its last form, in what is here called the “eighth;” a power which, it is observed, sustains such a peculiar relation to the seven, that it may be said to be “of the seven,” or to be a mere prolongation of the same sovereignty. ¶ Even he is the eighth. The eighth in the succession. This form of sovereignty, though a mere prolongation of the former government, so much so as to be, in fact, but keeping up the same empire in the world, appears in such a novelty of form, that, in one sense, it deserves to be called the eighth in order, and yet is so essentially a mere concentration and continuance of the one power, that, in the general reckoning (ver. 10), it might be regarded as pertaining to the former. There was a sense in which it was proper to speak of it as the eighth power; and yet, viewed in its relation to the whole, it so essentially combined and concentrated all that there was in the seven, that, in a general view, it scarcely merited a separate mention. We should look for the fulfilment of this in some such concentration and embodiment of all that it was, in the previous forms of sovereignty referred to, that it perhaps would deserve mention as an eighth power, but that it was, nevertheless, such a more prolongation of the previous forms of the one power, that it might be said to be “of the seven;” so that, in this view, it would not claim a separate consideration. This seems to be the fair meaning, though there is much that is enigmatical in the form of the expression. ¶ And goeth into perdition. See Notes on ver. 8.
In inquiring now into the application of this very difficult passage, it may be proper to suggest some of the principal opinions which have been held, and then to endeavour to ascertain the true meaning.
{388} I. The principal opinions which have been held may be reduced to the following:――
(1) That the seven kings here refer to the succession of Roman emperors, yet with some variation as to the manner of reckoning. Prof. Stuart begins with Julius Cæsar, and reckons them in this manner:――the “five that are fallen” are Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius. Nero, who, as he supposes, was the reigning prince at the time when the book was written, he regards as the sixth; Galba, who succeeded him, as the seventh. Others, who adopt this literal method of explaining it, suppose that the time begins with Augustus, and then Galba would be the sixth, and Otho, who reigned but three months, would be the seventh. The expression, “the beast that was, and is not, who is the eighth,” Prof. Stuart regards as referring to a general impression among the heathen and among Christians, in the time of the persecution under Nero, that he would again appear after it was reported that he was dead, or that he would rise from the dead and carry on his persecution again. See Prof. Stuart, Com. vol. ii., Excur. iii. The beast, according to this view, denotes the Roman emperors, specifically Nero, and the reference in ver. 8 is to “the well-known hariolation respecting Nero, that he would be assassinated, and would disappear for a while, and then make his appearance again to the confusion of all his enemies.” “What the angel,” says he, “says, seems to be equivalent to this――‘The beast means the Roman emperors, specifically Nero, of whom the report spread throughout the empire that he will revive, after being apparently slain, and will come, as it were, from the abyss or Hades, but he will perish, and that speedily,’” vol. ii. p. 323.
(2) That the word “kings” is not to be taken literally, but that it refers to forms of government, dynasties, or modes of administration. The general opinion among those who hold this view is, that the first six refer to the forms of the Roman government――(1) kings; (2) consuls; (3) dictators; (4) decemvirs; (5) military tribunes; (6) the imperial form, beginning with Augustus. This has been the common Protestant interpretation, and in reference to these six forms of government there has been a general agreement. But, while the mass of Protestant interpreters have supposed that the “six” heads refer to these forms of administration, there has been much diversity of opinion as to the seventh; and here, on this plan of interpretation, the main, if not the sole difficulty lies. Among the opinions held are the following:――
(a) That of Mr. Mede. He makes the seventh head what he calls the “Demi-Cæsar,” or the “Western emperor who reigned after the division of the empire into East and West, and which continued, after the last division, under Honorius and Arcadius, about sixty years――a short space” (Works, book iii. ch. 8; book v. ch. 12).
(b) That of Bishop Newton, who regards the sixth or imperial “head” as continuing uninterruptedly through the line of Christian as well as Pagan emperors, until Augustulus and the Heruli; and the seventh to be the Dukedom of Rome, established soon after under the exarchate of Ravenna (Prophecies, pp. 575, 576).
(c) That of Dr. More and Mr. Cunninghame, who suppose the Christian emperors, from Constantine to Augustulus, to constitute the seventh head, and that this had its termination by the sword of the Heruli.
(d) That of Mr. Elliott, who supposes the seventh head or power to refer to a new form of administration introduced by Diocletian, changing the administration from the original imperial character to that of an absolute Asiatic sovereignty. For the important changes introduced by Diocletian that justify this remark, see the Decline and Fall, vol. i. pp. 212‒217.
Numerous other solutions may be found in Poole’s Synopsis, but these embrace the principal, and the most plausible that have been proposed.
II. I proceed, then, to state what seems to me to be the true explanation. This must be found in some facts that will accord with the explanation given of the meaning of the passage.
(1) There can be no doubt that this refers to Rome, either Pagan, Christian, or Papal. All the circumstances combine in this; all respectable interpreters agree in this. This would be naturally understood by the symbols used by John, and by the explanations furnished by the angel. See ver. 18: “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Every circumstance combines here in leading to the conclusion {389} that Rome is intended. There was no other power or empire on the earth to which this could be properly applied; there was everything in the circumstances of the writer to lead us to suppose that this was referred to; there is an utter impossibility now in applying the description to anything else.
(2) It was to be a revived power; not a power in its original form and strength. This is manifest, because it is said (ver. 8) that the power represented by the beast “was, and is not, and yet is”――that is, it was once a mighty power; it then declined so that it could be said that “it is not;” and yet there was so much remaining vitality in it, or so much revived power, that it could be said that it “still is”――καίπερ ἐστίν. Now, this is strictly applicable to Rome when the Papal power arose. The old Roman might had departed; the glory and strength evinced in the days of the consuls, the dictators, and the emperors, had disappeared, and yet there was a lingering vitality, and a reviving of power under the Papacy, which made it proper to say that it still continued, or that that mighty power was prolonged. The civil power connected with the Papacy was a revived Roman power――the Roman power prolonged under another form――for it is susceptible of clear demonstration that, if it had not been for the rise of the Papal power, the sovereignty of Rome, as such, would have been wholly extinct. For the proof of this, see the passages quoted in the Notes on ver. 3. Comp. Notes on ch. xiii. 3, 12, 15.
(3) It was to be a power emanating from the “abyss,” or that would seem to ascend from the dark world beneath. See ver. 8. This was true in regard to the Papacy, either (a) as apparently ascending from the lowest state and the most depressed condition, as if it came up from below (see Notes on ver. 3, comp. ch. xiii. 11); or (b) as, in fact, having its origin in the world of darkness, and being under the control of the prince of that world, which, according to all the representations of that formidable Antichristian power in the Scriptures, is true, and which the whole history of the Papacy, and of its influence on religion, confirms.
(4) One of the powers referred to sustained the other. “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth,” ver. 9. That is, the power represented by the harlot was sustained or supported by the power represented by the seven heads or the seven mountains. Literally applied, this would mean that the Papacy, as an ecclesiastical institution, was sustained by the civil power, with which it was so closely connected. For the illustration and support of this, see Notes on ch. xiii. 2, 3, 12, 15. In the Notes on those passages it is shown that the support was mutual; that while the Papacy, in fact, revived the almost extinct Roman civil power, and gave it new vitality, the price of that was, that it should be, in its turn, sustained by that revived Roman civil power. All history shows that that has been the fact; that in all its aggressions, assumptions, and persecutions, it has, in fact, and professedly, leaned on the arm of the civil power.
(5) A more important inquiry, and a more serious difficulty, remains in respect to the statements respecting the “seven kings,” ver. 10, 11. The statements on this point are, that the whole number properly was seven; that of this number five had fallen or passed away; that one was in existence at the time when the author wrote; that another one was yet to appear who would continue for a little time; and that the general power represented by all these would be embodied in the “beast that was, and is not,” and that might, in some respects, be regarded as an “eighth.” These points may be taken up in their order.
(a) The first inquiry relates to the five that were fallen and the one that was then in existence――the first six. These may be taken together, for they are manifestly of the same class, and have the same characteristics, at least so far as to be distinguished from the “seventh” and the “eighth.” The meaning of the word “kings” here has been already explained, ver. 10. It denotes ruling power, or forms of power; and, so far as the signification of the word is concerned, it might be applicable to royalty, or to any other form of administration. It is not necessary, then, to find an exact succession of princes or kings that would correspond with this――five of whom were dead, and one of whom was then on the throne, and all soon to be succeeded by one more, who would soon die.
The true explanation of this seems to be that which refers this to the forms of the Roman government or administration. These six “heads,” or forms of {390} administration, were, in their order, Kings, Consuls, Dictators, Decemvirs, Military Tribunes, and Emperors. Of these, five had passed away in the time when John wrote the Apocalypse; the sixth, the imperial, was then in power, and had been from the time of Augustus Cæsar. The only questions that can be raised are, whether these forms of administration were so distinct and prominent, and whether in the times previous to John they so embraced the whole Roman power, as to justify this interpretation――that is, whether these forms of administration were so marked in this respect that it may be supposed that John would use the language here employed in describing them. As showing the probability that he would use this language, I refer to the following arguments, viz.: (1) The authority of Livy, lib. vi. cap. 1. Speaking of the previous parts of his history, and of what he had done in writing it, he says: “Quæ ab condita urbe Roma ad captam eandem urbem, Romani sub regibus primum, consulibus deinde ac dictatoribus, decemviris ac tribunis consularibus gessere, foris bella, domi seditiones, quinque libris exposui.” That is, “In five books I have related what was done at Rome, pertaining both to foreign wars and domestic strifes, from the foundation of the city to the time when it was taken, as it was governed by kings, by consuls, by dictators, by the decemvirs, and by consular tribunes.” Here he mentions five forms of administration under which Rome had been governed in the earlier periods of its history. The imperial power had a later origin, and did not exist until near the time of Livy himself. (2) The same distribution of power, or forms of government, among the Romans, is made by Tacitus, Annal. lib. i. cap. 1: “Urbem Romam à principio reges habuere. Libertatem et consulatum L. Brutus instituit. Dictaturæ ad tempus sumebantur. Neque decemviralis potestas ultrà biennium, neque tribunorum militum consulare jus diu valuit. Non Cinnæ, non Syllæ longa dominatio: et Pompeii Crassique potentia cito in Cæsarem, Lepidi atque Antonii arma in Augustum cessere; qui cuncta, discordiis civilibus fessa, nomine principis sub imperium accepit.” That is, “In the beginning, Rome was governed by kings. Then L. Brutus gave to her liberty and the consulship. A temporary power was conferred on the dictators. The authority of the decemvirs did not continue beyond the space of two years: neither was the consular power of the military tribunes of long duration. The rule of Cinna and Sylla was brief; and the power of Pompey and Crassus passed into the hands of Cæsar; and the arms of Lepidus and Antony were surrendered to Augustus, who united all things, broken by civil discord, under the name of prince in the imperial government.” Here Tacitus distinctly mentions the six forms of administration that had prevailed in Rome, the last of which was the imperial. It is true, also, that he mentions the brief rule of certain men――as Cinna, Sylla, Antony, and Lepidus; but these are not forms of administration, and their temporary authority did not indicate any change in the government――for some of these men were dictators, and none of them, except Brutus and Augustus, established any permanent form of administration. (3) The same thing is apparent in the usual statements of history, and the books that describe the forms of government at Rome. In so common a book as Adam’s Roman Antiquities, a description may be found of the forms of Roman administration that corresponds almost precisely with this. The forms of supreme power in Rome, as enumerated there, are what are called ordinary and extraordinary magistrates. Under the former are enumerated kings, consuls, prætors, censors, quæstors, and tribunes of the people. But of these, in fact, the supreme power was vested in two; for there were, under this, but two forms of administration――that of kings and consuls; the offices of prætor, censor, quæstor, and tribune of the people being merely subordinate to that of the consuls, and no more a new form of administration than the offices of secretary of the state, of war, of the navy, of the interior, are now. Under the latter――that of extraordinary magistrates――are enumerated dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes, and the interrex. But the interrex did not constitute a form of administration, or a change of government, any more than, when the President or Vice-president of the United States should die, the performance of the duties of the office of president by the speaker of the senate would indicate a change, or than the regency of the Prince of Wales in the time of George III. constituted {391} a new form of government. So that, in fact, we have enumerated, as constituting the supreme power at Rome, kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and military tribunes――five in number. The imperial power was the sixth. (4) In confirmation of the same thing, I may refer to the authority of Bellarmine, a distinguished Roman Catholic writer. In his work De Pontiff., cap. 2, he thus enumerates the changes which the Roman government had experienced, or the forms of administration that had existed there: 1. Kings; 2. Consuls; 3. Decemvirs; 4. Dictators; 5. Military Tribunes with consular power; 6. Emperors. See Poole’s Synop., in loco. And (5) it may be added, that this would be understood by the contemporaries of John in this sense. These forms of government were so marked that, in connection with the mention of the “seven mountains,” designating the city, there could be no doubt as to what was intended. Reference would at once be made to the imperial power as then existing, and the mind would readily and easily turn back to the five main forms of the supreme administration which had existed before.
(b) The next inquiry is, what is denoted by the seventh. If the word “kings” here refers, as is supposed (Notes on ver. 10), to a form of government or administration; if the “five” refer to the forms previous to the imperial, and the “sixth” to the imperial; and if John wrote during the imperial government, then it follows that this must refer to some form of administration that was to succeed the imperial. If the Papacy was “the eighth,” and of the “seventh,” then it is clear that this must refer to some form of civil administration lying between the decline of the imperial and the rise of the Papal power: that “short space”――for it was a short space that intervened. Now, there can be no difficulty, I think, in referring this to that form of administration over Rome――that “dukedom” under the exarchate of Ravenna, which succeeded the decline of the imperial power, and which preceded the rise of the Papal power;――between the year 566 or 568, when Rome was reduced to a dukedom, under the exarchate of Ravenna, and the time when the city revolted from this authority and became subject to that of the pope, about the year 727. This period continued, according to Mr. Gibbon, about two hundred years. He says, “During a period of two hundred years, Italy was unequally divided between the kingdom of the Lombards and the exarchate of Ravenna. The offices and professions, which the jealousy of Constantine had separated, were united by the indulgence of Justinian; and eighteen successive exarchs were invested, in the decline of the empire, with the full remains of civil, of military, and even of ecclesiastical power. Their immediate jurisdiction, which was afterwards consecrated as the patrimony of St. Peter, extended over the modern Romagna, the marshes or valleys of Ferrara and Commachio, five maritime cities from Rimini to Ancona, and a second inland Pentapolis, between the Adriatic coast and the hills of the Apennine. The duchy of Rome appears to have included the Tuscan, Sabine, and Latian conquests, of the first four hundred years of the city; and the limits may be distinctly traced along the coast, from Civita Vecchia to Terracina, and with the course of the Tiber from Ameria and Narni to the port of Ostia” (Dec. and Fall, iii. 202). How accurate is this if it be regarded as a statement of a new power or form of administration that succeeded the imperial――a power that was, in fact, a prolongation of the old Roman authority, and that was designed to constitute and embody it all! Could Mr. Gibbon have furnished a better commentary on the passage if he had adopted the interpretation of this portion of the Apocalypse above proposed, and if he had designed to describe this as the seventh power in the successive forms of the Roman administration? It is worthy of remark, also, that this account in Mr. Gibbon’s history immediately precedes the account of the rise of the Papacy; the record respecting the exarchate, and that concerning Gregory the Great, described by Mr. Gibbon as “the Saviour of Rome,” occurring in the same chapter, vol. iii. 202‒211.
(c) This was to “continue for a short space”――for a little time. If this refers to the power to which in the remarks above it is supposed to refer, it is easy to see the propriety of this statement. Compared with the previous form of administration――the imperial――it was of short duration; absolutely considered, it was brief. {392} Mr. Gibbon (iii. 202) has marked it as extending through “a period of two hundred years;” and if this is compared with the form of administration which preceded it, extending to more than five hundred years, and more especially with that which followed――the Papal form――which has extended now some twelve hundred years, it will be seen with what propriety this is spoken of as continuing for a “short space.”
(d) “The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven,” ver. 11. If the explanations above given are correct, there can be no difficulty in the application of this to the Papal power; for (1) all this power was concentrated in the Papacy, all that revived or prolonged Roman power had now passed into the Papacy, constituting that mighty dominion which was to be set up for so many centuries over what had been the Roman world. See the statements of Mr. Gibbon (iii. 207‒211), as quoted in the Notes on ver. 3. Compare also, particularly; the remarks of Augustine Steuchus, a Roman Catholic writer, as quoted in the Notes on that verse: “The empire having been overthrown, unless God had raised up the pontificate, Rome, resuscitated and restored by none, would have become uninhabitable, and been thenceforward a most foul habitation of cattle. But in the pontificate it revived as with a second birth; its empire in magnitude not indeed equal to the old empire, but its form not very dissimilar: because all nations, from East and from West, venerate the pope, not otherwise than they before obeyed the emperor.” (2) This was an eighth power or form of administration――for it was different, in many respects, from that of the kings, the consuls, the dictators, the decemvirs, the military tribunes, the emperors, and the dukedom――though it comprised substantially the power of all. Indeed, it could not have been spoken of as identical with either of the previous forms of administration, though it concentrated the power which had been wielded by them all. (3) It was “of the seven;” that is, it pertained to them; it was a prolongation of the same power. It had the same central seat――Rome; it extended over the same territory, and it embraced sooner or latter the same nations. There is not one of those forms of administration which did not find a prolongation in the Papacy; for it aspired after, and succeeded in obtaining, all the authority of kings, dictators, consuls, emperors. It was in fact still the Roman sceptre swayed over the world; and with the strictest propriety it could be said that it was “of the seven,” as having sprung out of the seven, and as perpetuating the sway of this mighty domination. For full illustration of this, see the Notes on Da. vii. and Re. xiii. (4) It would “go into perdition;” that is, it would be under this form that this mighty domination that had for so many ages ruled over the earth would die away, or this would be the last in the series. The Roman dominion, as such, would not be extended to a ninth, or tenth, or eleventh form, but would finally expire under the eighth. Every indication shows that this is to be so, and that with the decline of the Papal power the whole Roman domination, that has swayed a sceptre for two thousand five hundred years, will have come for ever to an end. If this is so, then we have found an ample and exact application of this passage even in its most minute specifications.
12 And the [527]ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
12. And the ten horns which thou sawest. On the scarlet-coloured beast, ver. 3. ¶ Are ten kings. Represent or denote ten kings; that is, kingdoms or powers. See Notes on Da. vii. 24. ¶ Which have received no kingdom as yet. That is, they were not in existence when John wrote. It is implied, that during the period under review they would arise, and would become connected, in an important sense, with the power here represented by the “beast.” For a full illustration respecting the ten “kings,” or kingdoms here referred to, see Notes on Da. vii., at the close of the chapter, II. (2). ¶ But receive power. It is not said from what source this power is received, but it is simply implied that it would in fact be conferred on them. ¶ As kings. That is, the power would be that which is usually exercised by kings. ¶ One hour. It cannot be supposed that this is to be taken literally. The meaning clearly is, that this would be brief and temporary; {393} that is, it was a form of administration which would be succeeded by one more fixed and permanent. Anyone can see that, in fact, this is strictly applicable to the governments, as referred to in the Notes on Daniel, which sprang up after the incursion of the northern barbarians, and which were finally succeeded by the permanent forms of government in Europe. Most of them were very brief in their duration, and they were soon remodelled in the forms of permanent administration. Thus, to take the arrangement proposed by Sir Isaac Newton, (1) the kingdom of the Vandals and Alans in Spain and Africa; (2) the kingdom of the Suevians in Spain; (3) the kingdom of the Visigoths; (4) the kingdom of the Alans in Gallia; (5) the kingdom of the Burgundians; (6) the kingdom of the Franks; (7) the kingdom of the Britons; (8) the kingdom of the Huns; (9) the kingdom of the Lombards; (10) the kingdom of Ravenna――how temporary were most of these; how soon they passed into the more permanent forms of administration which succeeded them in Europe! ¶ With the beast. With that rising Papal power. They would exercise their authority in connection with that, and under its influence.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
13. These have one mind. That is, they are united in the promotion of the same object. Though in some respects wholly independent of each other, yet they may be regarded as, in fact, so far united that they tend to promote the same ultimate end. As a fact in history, all these kingdoms, though of different origin, and though not unfrequently engaged in war with each other, became Roman Catholics, and were united in the support of the Papacy. It was with propriety, therefore, that they should be regarded as so closely connected with that power that they could be represented as “ten horns” on the seven-headed monster. ¶ And shall give their power and strength unto the beast. Shall lend their influence to the support of the Papacy, and become the upholders of that power. The meaning, according to the interpretation above proposed, is, that they would all become Papal kingdoms, and supporters of the Papal power. It is unnecessary to pause to show how true this has been in history. At first, most of the people out of whom these kingdoms sprang were Pagans; then many of them embraced Christianity under the prevailing form of Arianism, and this fact was for a time a bar to their perfect adhesion to the Roman see; but they were all ultimately brought wholly under its influence, and became its supporters. In A.D. 496, Clovis, the king of the Franks, on occasion of his victory over the Allemanni, embraced the Catholic faith, and so received the title, transmitted downward through nearly thirteen hundred years to the French kings as his successors, of “the eldest son of the church;” in the course of the sixth century, the kings of Burgundy, Bavaria, Spain, Portugal, England, embraced the same religion, and became the defenders of the Papacy. It is well known that each one of the powers above enumerated as constituting these ten kingdoms, became subject to the Papacy, and continued so during their separate existence, or when merged into some other power, until the Reformation in the sixteenth century. All “their power and strength was given unto the beast;” all was made subservient to the purposes of Papal Rome.
14 These shall [528]make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb [529]shall overcome them: for he is [530]Lord of lords, and King of kings: and [531]they that are with him are [532]called, and [533]chosen, and [534]faithful.
14. These shall make war with the Lamb. The Lamb of God――the Lord Jesus (Notes, ch. v. 6); that is, they would combine with the Papacy in opposing evangelical religion. It is not meant that they would openly and avowedly proclaim war against the Son of God, but that they would practically do this in sustaining a persecuting power. It is unnecessary to show how true this has been in history; how entirely they sustained the Papacy in all its measures of persecution. ¶ And the Lamb shall overcome them. Shall ultimately gain the victory over them. The meaning is, that they would not be able to extinguish the true religion. In spite of all opposition and persecution, that would still live in the world, until it would be said that a complete triumph {394} was gained. ¶ For he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. He has supreme power over all the earth, and all kings and princes are subject to his control. Comp. ch. xix. 16. ¶ And they that are with him. The reference is to the persecuted saints who have adhered to him as his faithful followers in all these protracted conflicts. ¶ |Are| called. That is, called by him to be his followers; as if he had selected them out of the world to maintain his cause. See Notes on Ro. i. 7. ¶ And chosen. See Notes on Jn. xv. 16, and 1 Pe. i. 2. In their steadfast adherence to the truth, they had shown that they were truly chosen by the Saviour, and could be relied on in the warfare against the powers of evil. ¶ And faithful. They had shown themselves faithful to him in times of persecution, and in the hour of darkness.
15 And he saith unto me, [535]The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are [536]peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
15. And he saith unto me. The angel, ver. 7. This commences the more literal statement of what is meant by these symbols. See the Analysis of the chapter. ¶ The waters which thou sawest. See Notes on ver. 1. ¶ Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. For an explanation of these terms, see Notes on ch. vii. 9. The meaning here is, (a) that these waters represent a multitude of people. This is a common and an obvious symbol――for outspread seas or raging floods would naturally represent such a multitude. See Is. viii. 7, 8; xvii. 12, 13; Je. xlvii. 2. Comp. Iliad, v. 394. The sense here is, that vast numbers of people would be subject to the power here represented by the woman. (b) They would be composed of different nations, and would be of different languages. It is unnecessary to show that this, in both respects, is applicable to the Papacy. Nations have been, and are subject to its control, and nations speaking a large part of the languages of the world. Perhaps under no one government――not even the Babylonian, the Macedonian, or the ancient Roman――was there so great a diversity of people, speaking so many different languages, and having so different an origin.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, [537]these shall hate the whore, and shall [538]make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and [539]burn her with fire.
16. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast. Ver. 3. The ten powers or kingdoms represented by those horns. See Notes on ver. 12. ¶ These shall hate the whore. There seems to be some incongruity between this statement and that which was previously made. In the former (ver. 12‒14), these ten governments are represented as in alliance with the beast; as “giving all their power and strength” unto it; and as uniting with it in making war with the Lamb. What is here said must, therefore, refer to some subsequent period, indicating some great change in their feelings and policy. We have seen the evidence of the fulfilment of the former statements. This statement will be accomplished if these same powers, represented by the ten horns, that were formerly in alliance with the Papacy, shall become its enemy, and contribute to its final overthrow. That is, it will be accomplished if the nations of Europe, embraced within the limits of those ten kingdoms, shall become hostile to the Papacy, and shall combine for its overthrow. Is anything more probable than this? France (see Notes on ch. xvi.) has already struck more than one heavy blow on that power; England has been detached from it; many of the states of Italy are weary of it, and are ready to rise up against it; and nothing is more probable than that Spain, Portugal, France, Lombardy, and the Papal States themselves, will yet throw off the yoke for ever, and put an end to a power that has so long ruled over men. It was with the utmost difficulty, in 1848, that the Papal power was sustained, and this was done only by foreign swords; the Papacy could not probably be protected in another such outbreak. And this passage leads us to anticipate that the period will come――and that probably not far in the future――when those powers that have for so many ages sustained the Papacy will become its determined foes, and will rise in their might and bring it for ever to an end. ¶ And shall make her desolate and naked. Strip her of all her power and all her attractiveness. {395} That is, applied to Papal Rome, all that is so gorgeous and alluring――her wealth, and pomp, and splendour――shall be taken away, and she will be seen as she is, without anything to dazzle the eye or to blind the mind. ¶ And shall eat her flesh. Shall completely destroy her――as if her flesh were consumed. Perhaps the image is taken from the practice of cannibals eating the flesh of their enemies slain in battle. If so, nothing could give a more impressive idea of the utter destruction of this formidable power, or of the feelings of those by whom its end would be brought about. ¶ And burn her with fire. Another image of total destruction. Perhaps the meaning may be, that after her flesh was eaten, such parts of her as remained would be thrown into the fire and consumed. If this be the meaning, the image is a very impressive one to denote absolute and total destruction. Comp. Notes on ch. xviii. 8.
17 For [540]God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, [541]until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
17. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will. That is, in regard to the destruction of this mighty power. They would be employed as his agents in bringing about his designs. Kings and princes are under the control of God, and, whatever may be their own designs, they are in fact employed to accomplish his purposes, and are instruments in his hands. See Notes on Is. x. 7. Comp. Ps. lxxvi. 10. ¶ And to agree. See ver. 13. That is, they act harmoniously in their support of this power, and so they will in its final destruction. ¶ And give their kingdom unto the beast. Notes, ver. 13. ¶ Until the words of God shall be fulfilled. Not for ever; not as a permanent arrangement. God has fixed a limit to the existence of this power. When his purposes are accomplished, these kingdoms will withdraw their support, and this mighty power will fall to rise no more.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is [542]that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
18. And the woman which thou sawest. Ver. 3. ¶ Is that great city. Represents that great city. ¶ Which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Rome would of course be understood by this language in the time of John, and all the circumstances, as we have seen, combined to show that Rome, in some form of its dominion, is intended. Even the name could hardly have designated it more clearly, and all expositors agree in supposing that Rome, either as Pagan or as Christian, is referred to. The chapter shows that its power is limited; and that, although for purposes which he saw to be wise, God allows it to have a wide influence over the nations of the earth, yet, in his own appointed time, the very powers that have sustained it will become its foes, and combine for its overthrow. Europe needs but little farther provocation, and the fires of liberty, which have been so long pent up, will break forth, and that storm of indignation which has expelled the Jesuits from all the courts of Europe; which has abolished the Inquisition; which has more than once led hostile armies to the very gates of Papal Rome, will again be aroused in a manner which cannot be allayed, and that mighty power, which has controlled so large a part of the nations of Europe for more than a thousand years of the world’s history, will come to an end.
XVIII. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER
This chapter may be regarded as a still further explanatory episode (comp. Anal. to ch. xvii.), designed to show the effect of pouring out the seventh vial (ch. xvi. 17‒21) on the formidable Antichristian power so often referred to. The description in this chapter is that of a rich merchant-city reduced to desolation, and is but carrying out the general idea under a different form. The chapter comprises the following points:――
(1) Another angel is seen descending from heaven, having great power, and making proclamation that Babylon the great is fallen, and is become utterly desolate, ver. 1‒3.
(2) A warning voice is heard from heaven, calling on the people of God to come out of her, and to be partakers neither of her sins nor her plagues. Her torment and sorrow would be proportionate to her pride and luxury; and her plagues would come upon her suddenly; {396} death, and mourning, and famine, and consumption by fire, ver. 4‒8.
(3) Lamentation over her fall――by those especially who had been connected with her; who had been corrupted by her; who had been profited by her, ver. 9‒19. (a) By kings, ver. 9, 10. They had lived deliciously with her, and they would lament her. (b) By merchants, ver. 11‒17. They had trafficked with her, but now that traffic was to cease, and no man would buy of her. Their business, so far as she was concerned, was at an end. All that she had accumulated was now to be destroyed; all her gathered riches were to be consumed; all the traffic in those things by which she had been enriched was to be ended; and the city that was more than all others enriched by these things, as if clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, was to be destroyed for ever. (c) By ship-masters and seamen, ver. 17‒19. They had been made rich by this traffic, but now all was ended; the smoke of her burning is seen to ascend, and they stand afar off and weep.
(4) Rejoicing over her fall, ver. 20. Heaven is called upon to rejoice, and the holy apostles and prophets, for their blood is avenged, and persecution ceases in the earth.
(5) The final destruction of the city, ver. 21‒24. A mighty angel takes up a stone and casts it into the sea as an emblem of the destruction that is to come upon it. The voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers would be heard no more in it; and no craftsmen would be there, and the sound of the millstone would be heard no more, and the light of a candle would shine no more there, and the voice of the bridegroom and bride would be heard no more.