PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Revelation
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 232,308 words · 199 reading sections
Revelation 6:7
Revelation 6:7 Ver. 7. And when he had opened the fourth seal,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; that is, when the Lamb had opened it, or took it off, as in Re 6:1; I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see; this living creature was that which was like an eagle, and was on the north side of the…
246 wordsSECTION 62Revelation 6:8
Revelation 6:8 Ver. 8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse,.... An emblem either of the state of the church, pale not with persecution, as some think, for through that it was red; but with the hypocrisy and superstition of many of its members, who were paving the way for the man of sin, and on account of whom the ch…
1,510 wordsSECTION 63Revelation 6:9
Revelation 6:9 Ver. 9. And when he had opened the fifth seal,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; here is no beast speaking here, nor horse and rider presented to view; it was now a very dark time both with respect to the church of God and ministry of the word, and the Roman empire. This seal refers to the time…
745 wordsSECTION 64Revelation 6:10
Revelation 6:10 Ver. 10. And they cried with a loud voice,.... With great ardour and fervency, being very pressing and importunate; and which shows that they were awake, and not asleep, and that the soul does not sleep with the body in the grave, or is after the death of that in a state of insensibility and inactivity…
283 wordsSECTION 65Revelation 6:11
Revelation 6:11 Ver. 11. And white robes were given to everyone of them,.... The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read in the singular number, "a white robe", and so does the Syriac version; as a token of their innocence, that they did not suffer, or were slain, for any capital crime or immorality they were guilty o…
3,789 wordsSECTION 66Revelation 7:1
Revelation 7:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 7 This chapter contains a vision seen at the end of the sixth, and at the opening of the seventh seal, which expresses the security of the saints in all ages following, the praises of angels and men on that account, and the happiness of all the people of God in the millennium…
1,426 wordsSECTION 67Revelation 7:2
Revelation 7:2 Ver. 2. And I saw another angel,.... Not Constantine, who came from the eastern parts to the empire, with the true knowledge of God, and the authority of God to propagate it; and who repressed the four angels, or evil spirits, contention, ambition, heresy, and war, from doing the mischief they otherwise…
717 wordsSECTION 68Revelation 7:3
Revelation 7:3 Ver. 3. Saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,.... That is, as yet, for their commission was not contradicted, nor taken away by Christ; and at the time appointed, at the blowing of the several trumpets, they let loose the winds, and let in the Goths, Hans, and Vandals, the Saracens…
719 wordsSECTION 69Revelation 7:4
Revelation 7:4 Ver. 4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed,.... And therefore could be sure of the exact number, which did not depend upon his sight, and telling them, in which some mistake might have been made, but he heard the number expressed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty, [and] four…
266 wordsSECTION 70Revelation 7:5
Revelation 7:5 Ver. 5. Of the tribe of Judah [were] sealed twelve thousand,.... Judah is mentioned first, because Christ sprung from that tribe, and the pure worship of God was preserved in it; and that itself was preserved a distinct tribe until the coming of Shiloh; its name signifies "praise God", Ge 29:35; and sho…
245 wordsSECTION 71Revelation 7:6
Revelation 7:6 Ver. 6. Of the tribe of Aser [were] sealed twelve thousand,.... "Asher", which the Septuagint pronounce "Aser", as here, signifies "blessed", Ge 30:13; as all the sealed ones are, blessed with all spiritual blessings, with grace here, and glory hereafter. Of the tribe of Nephthalim [were] sealed twelve…
160 wordsSECTION 72Revelation 7:7
Revelation 7:7 Ver. 7. Of the tribe of Simeon [were] sealed twelve thousand,.... The name of this tribe signifies "hearing", Ge 29:33; and such an hearing as is attended with obedience; and denotes the spiritual and practical hearing of the Gospel by those who hear, and understand, and believe, and practise what they …
164 wordsSECTION 73Revelation 7:8
Revelation 7:8 Ver. 8. Of the tribe of Zabulon [were] sealed twelve thousand,.... Which signifies "dwelling", Ge 30:20; and was the tribe in which Christ had his dwelling, and where he much conversed; and may denote his gracious inhabitation, as well as that of God the Father, md of the Spirit, among the saints and se…
278 wordsSECTION 74Revelation 7:9
Revelation 7:9 Ver. 9. After this I beheld,.... What follows is a distinct vision from the preceding one, and is not a continuation of that, as if the sealing of the Jewish believers was designed by the former, and the sealing of the Gentiles in this latter; whereas in this vision there is no mention made of sealing, …
4,957 wordsSECTION 75Revelation 8:1
Revelation 8:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 8 This chapter contains the opening of the seventh seal, and the things that followed on it, and particularly the sounding of the first four trumpets. Upon the opening of the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for half an hour, Re 8:1; then follows a vision of seven ang…
992 wordsSECTION 76Revelation 8:2
Revelation 8:2 Ver. 2. And I saw the seven angels,.... Not the seven spirits of God, Re 1:4; their names, as well as their office, differ; nor the ministers of the word, though these are often called angels in this book, and blow the trumpet of the Gospel, and lift up their voice like a trumpet; but the angelic spirit…
379 wordsSECTION 77Revelation 8:3
Revelation 8:3 Ver. 3. And another angel came,.... The Ethiopic version adds, "from the east", as in Re 7:2; pointing to the same angel, and who is intended: for not a created angel, as Gabriel, or any other, is meant; nor any mere man, at least not Pope Damasus, who lived in Constantine's time, as Lyra thought; nor C…
1,605 wordsSECTION 78Revelation 8:4
Revelation 8:4 Ver. 4. And the smoke of the incense,.... For the incense being put, as it was used to be, upon burning coals of fire, caused a smoke to arise like a cloud, Le 16:13; so that the whole house, or temple, was filled with it {d}: [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God out of the …
207 wordsSECTION 79Revelation 8:5
Revelation 8:5 Ver. 5. And the angel took the censer,.... The golden one before mentioned, the use of which was to take and carry in it burning coals of fire: and filled it with fire of the altar; of burnt offering, for upon that, and not upon the altar of incense, fire was; the allusion is to the priest "that was w…
514 wordsSECTION 80Revelation 8:6
Revelation 8:6 Ver. 6. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets,.... Given them, Re 8:2; prepared themselves to sound; they stood up, took their trumpets in their hands, and put them to their mouths; this was giving notice of what was coming upon the earth, and a kind of warning to men, and a call upon them …
472 wordsSECTION 81Revelation 8:7
Revelation 8:7 Ver. 7. The first angel sounded,.... Or blew his trumpet: and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood; somewhat like one of the plagues of Egypt, Ex 9:23; in which was hail mingled with fire, only no blood, but what was caused by its fall on man and beast. Some have thought the Arian heresy is…
797 wordsSECTION 82Revelation 8:8
Revelation 8:8 Ver. 8. And the second angel sounded,.... His trumpet: and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; by which is meant not the devil, as some think; called a "mountain" from his height of pride, a great one from his might and power, and a "burning" one from his great wrath an…
528 wordsSECTION 83Revelation 8:9
Revelation 8:9 Ver. 9. And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea,.... The fishes; by whom men are meant, the inhabitants of the Roman empire; see Eze 29:4, where by fish the Targum understands mighty princes and governors: and had life, died; were put to death by these savage and barbarous people, who…
161 wordsSECTION 84Revelation 8:10
Revelation 8:10 Ver. 10. And the third angel sounded,.... His trumpet: and there fell a great star from heaven; not Mahomet, as some think, for this time is too soon for him, who rose up under the fifth trumpet; nor Arius, for whom it is too late, who lived in the times of Constantine; and still less Origen, who live…
624 wordsSECTION 85Revelation 8:11
Revelation 8:11 Ver. 11. And the name of the star is called Wormwood,.... Because of the bitter afflictions, sorrows, and distresses which it was the instrument of; just as Naomi called herself Mara, because the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her, Ru 1:20;and the third part of the waters became wormwood; that is, th…
1,300 wordsSECTION 86Revelation 9:1
Revelation 9:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 9 This chapter gives an account of the blowing of the fifth and sixth trumpets, and of the effects following upon them. The fifth angel blows his trumpet, and a star falls; the key of the bottomless pit is given to him, which being opened by it, out of it comes smoke to the d…
1,198 wordsSECTION 87Revelation 9:2
Revelation 9:2 Ver. 2. And he opened the bottomless pit,.... With the key that was given him; he made use of his universal power over all bishops and churches, enacted laws, issued out decrees, made articles of faith, and imposed them on men's consciences, and obliged all to submit to his hellish principles and practi…
597 wordsSECTION 88Revelation 9:3
Revelation 9:3 Ver. 3. And there came out of the smoke locusts the earth,.... Not literally, for these locusts might not meddle with the grass, nor any green thing, or tree, as locusts do, only men, Re 9:4; and had a king over them, Re 9:11; which locusts have not, Pr 30:27, though the allusion is to such, which spawn…
931 wordsSECTION 89Revelation 9:4
Revelation 9:4 Ver. 4. And it was commanded them,.... The locusts, by Christ, who has a sovereign power over all men, and lays them under the restraints of his providence: that they should not hurt the grass of the earth: true Christians, private believers, it may be those of the lower class; who for their numbers, a…
525 wordsSECTION 90Revelation 9:5
Revelation 9:5 Ver. 5. And to them it was given that they should not kill them,.... As the power of the locusts was limited with respect to the persons they should hurt, so with regard also to the mischief they should do; for even those whom they were suffered to annoy they might not kill, that is, utterly root out an…
808 wordsSECTION 91Revelation 9:6
Revelation 9:6 Ver. 6. And in those days men shall seek death,.... Or desire to die, as Job did: and shall not find it; or shall not die: and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them; death will be preferred to a miserable life; it will be chosen rather than life, Jer 8:3. The ravages of the Saracens, the…
92 wordsSECTION 92Revelation 9:7
Revelation 9:7 Ver. 7. And the shapes of the locusts [were] like unto horses,.... The heads of locusts, especially of some of them, are very much like the heads of horses: and here they are compared to horses prepared unto battle; as they are in Joe 2:4. The horse is a warlike creature, swift, strong, and courageous,…
428 wordsSECTION 93Revelation 9:8
Revelation 9:8 Ver. 8. And they had hair, as the hair of women,.... Some locusts have smooth, others hairy heads {n}: this fitly points at the Arabians or Saracens, who, as Pliny says {o}, used to wear long hair without cutting it, and attired as women, and have their names also from women: they were called Hagarenes,…
288 wordsSECTION 94Revelation 9:9
Revelation 9:9 Ver. 9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron,.... Alluding to the hard skin of the locusts, with which nature has fenced it {q}; see Joe 2:8; and denotes the armour with which the Saracens were accoutred: and if to be understood of the western locusts, the hardness of their hearts,…
315 wordsSECTION 95Revelation 9:10
Revelation 9:10 Ver. 10. And they had tails like unto scorpions,.... Locusts are said to have the tail of a serpent, and of the vipers of the earth {u}; See Gill on "Re 9:3", See Gill on "Re 9:5". And there were stings in their tails; either in the baser sort of them, the Saracens and Papists; or in their doctrines, t…
125 wordsSECTION 96Revelation 9:11
Revelation 9:11 Ver. 11. And they had a king over them,.... Which natural locusts have not, Pr 30:27; by whom is meant the false prophet Mahomet, who was at the head of the Saracens, and led them on to commit the outrages they did; and is believed in by the Turks to this day, as the great prophet of God, and by them p…
485 wordsSECTION 97Revelation 9:12
Revelation 9:12 Ver. 12. One woe is past,.... One of the three woe trumpets, the first of them; that is, in the vision which John had of it, not the thing itself designed by it: [and] behold there come two woes more hereafter; under the blowing of the sixth and seventh trumpets.…
53 wordsSECTION 98Revelation 9:13
Revelation 9:13 Ver. 13. And the sixth angel sounded,.... His trumpet: and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God; the allusion is not to the altar of burnt offering, which was covered with brass, but to the altar of incense covered with gold; and hence here, and elsewhere, it is…
384 wordsSECTION 99Revelation 9:14
Revelation 9:14 Ver. 14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet,.... The sixth trumpet, which was given him, and he had prepared himself to sound, and had sounded: loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates; not the four angels in Re 7:1; they stood upon the four corners of the earth;…
3,540 wordsSECTION 100Revelation 10:1
Revelation 10:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 10 This chapter contains a vision of an angel of a wonderful appearance, the voices of the seven thunders, and an order to John to take the book in the hand of the angel, eat it, and prophesy. The angel is described by his strength, a mighty one; by his descent from heaven; …
1,729 wordsSECTION 101Revelation 10:2
Revelation 10:2 Ver. 2. And he had in his hand a little book open,.... By which is meant not the Bible, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament; or the book of the Gospel, the substance of which lies in a little room, and is no other than the preaching of Christ, and him crucified, as God's way of salvation; and w…
507 wordsSECTION 102Revelation 10:3
Revelation 10:3 Ver. 3. And cried with a loud voice,.... That all might hear, and to show earnestness and affection, and that it was a matter of great importance, as well as to denote the certainty of it; what he said is not expressed, but seems to be the book of prophecy, or what regarded the state of his church and …
218 wordsSECTION 103Revelation 10:4
Revelation 10:4 Ver. 4. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices,.... Or declared all they had to denounce upon the enemies of Christ and his church: I was about to write; John taking particular notice of what they said, and believing it might be for the advantage, comfort, and support of the church of Ch…
582 wordsSECTION 104Revelation 10:5
Revelation 10:5 Ver. 5. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth,.... His right foot being on the one, and his left foot upon the other, as described in Re 10:2; lifted up his hand to heaven; the Oriental versions read, "his right hand"; and so some copies, and the Complutensian edition: the ma…
151 wordsSECTION 105Revelation 10:6
Revelation 10:6 Ver. 6. And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever,.... That is, by the living God, who is the true God: and is so described to distinguish him from idol gods, who have no life nor breath in them; and to assert the excellency and perfection of his nature, who has life in himself originally, and ind…
1,029 wordsSECTION 106Revelation 10:7
Revelation 10:7 Ver. 7. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,.... This is an exception to what the angel had said and swore to, that time should be no longer; "but", or "unless", or "except the time of the voice of the seventh angel", as the Ethiopic version renders it; when …
1,954 wordsSECTION 107Revelation 11:1
Revelation 11:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 11 This chapter contains the order to measure the temple of God; an account of the two witnesses, their prophesying: and power, their slaying, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, with what followed upon it; and the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and the effects of that.…
2,106 wordsSECTION 108Revelation 11:2
Revelation 11:2 Ver. 2. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not,.... The allusion is to the court of the Israelites, where was the great crowd and company of worshippers, even the national church of the Jews, called by Ezekiel the outer court, Eze 42:14, and which was measured in Eze 42…
931 wordsSECTION 109Revelation 11:3
Revelation 11:3 Ver. 3. And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses,.... By whom are meant, not Enoch and Elias, as some of the ancient fathers thought, who, they supposed, would come before the appearance of Christ, and oppose antichrist, and be slain by him, which sense the Papists greedily catch at; nor are the S…
769 wordsSECTION 110Revelation 11:4
Revelation 11:4 Ver. 4. These are the two olive trees,.... Or represented by the two olive trees in Zec 4:3, which there design Joshua and Zerubbabel; and who in laying out themselves, their gifts and wealth, in rebuilding and finishing the temple, were types of these witnesses, the ministers of the Gospel, in the suc…
293 wordsSECTION 111Revelation 11:5
Revelation 11:5 Ver. 5. And if any man will hurt them,.... Do any injury to their persons, or properties, oppose their writings, blaspheme their doctrines, and hinder their ministrations; whoever; they be, whether they be any that live among them, or in other parts; whether they be secret or open enemies; or whether t…
827 wordsSECTION 112Revelation 11:6
Revelation 11:6 Ver. 6. These have power to shut heaven,.... For these have the keys of the kingdom of heaven given them, and whatever they bind or loose on earth is bound or loosed in heaven; or in other words, having the true key of knowledge in matters, both of doctrine and discipline, given them, whatever they dec…
962 wordsSECTION 113Revelation 11:7
Revelation 11:7 Ver. 7. And when they shall have finished their testimony,.... For Christ, his truths and ordinances; when they are about to finish it, and almost concluded it, even towards the close of the 1260 days or years, in which they must prophesy in sackcloth: or else their testimony and their prophesying may …
10,455 wordsSECTION 114Revelation 12:1
Revelation 12:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVALATION 12 This chapter contains a vision of two wonders or signs seen in heaven, a woman and a dragon, and an account of what followed thereon, war both in heaven and earth. The vision of the woman is in Re 12:1, who is described by her being clothed with the sun; by her having the…
2,403 wordsSECTION 115Revelation 12:2
Revelation 12:2 Ver. 2. And she being big with child,.... Which may be expressive of the fruitfulness of the church in bearing and bringing forth many souls to Christ, and which were very numerous in this period of time, when it was said of Zion that this and that man was born in her; and particularly of her pregnancy…
259 wordsSECTION 116Revelation 12:3
Revelation 12:3 Ver. 3. And there appeared another wonder in heaven,.... Or "sign"; which represents the woman, or the church's adversary, Satan; not that he was in heaven, in the third heaven, the place of glory and happiness, for out of that he had been cast long ago; but in his great power and authority here on, ea…
858 wordsSECTION 117Revelation 12:4
Revelation 12:4 Ver. 4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth,.... So Solinus {e} speaks of dragons that have power not only in their teeth, but in their tails, and do more hurt by striking than by biting; and the great serpent, which Attilius Regulus and his army foug…
574 wordsSECTION 118Revelation 12:5
Revelation 12:5 Ver. 5. And she brought forth a man child,.... Not Christ, literally and personally considered, or Christ in his human nature, as made of a woman, and born of a virgin, which was a fact that had been years ago; but Christ mystically, or Christ in his members, who are called by his name, because he is f…
909 wordsSECTION 119Revelation 12:6
Revelation 12:6 Ver. 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness,.... Not as soon as she was delivered of her child, which is not reasonable to suppose, and would have been improper if not impracticable; nor indeed was this flight until after the war was over, mentioned in Re 12:13; nor until the dragon and his angels w…
590 wordsSECTION 120Revelation 12:7
Revelation 12:7 Ver. 7. And there was war in heaven,.... Not in the third heaven, the habitation of God, the seat of the angels and glorified saints, there is no discord, jars, and contentions there, nothing but peace, love, and joy; but in the church below, which is militant, and has in it as it were a company of two…
840 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.