PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Revelation
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 232,308 words · 199 reading sections
Revelation 12:8
Revelation 12:8 Ver. 8. And prevailed not,.... That is, the dragon, or the devil, and his angels, prevailed not against Michael and his angels; but, on the other hand, were conquered by them, as the above tyrants were by Constantine and Theodosius: some copies read in the singular number, "and he prevailed not", as th…
207 wordsSECTION 122Revelation 12:9
Revelation 12:9 Ver. 9. And the great dragon was cast out,.... From heaven, or from power and authority in the Roman empire, namely, the devil, where he had long presided; it is observable that Constantine himself speaks of "the dragon" being removed from the government of the commonwealth by the providence of God, an…
616 wordsSECTION 123Revelation 12:10
Revelation 12:10 Ver. 10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,.... Which was a song of praise on account of the victory obtained by Michael and his angels over the dragon and his, or for the overthrow and downfall of Paganism in the Roman empire; for by "heaven" is meant the empire, now become Christian, or the …
5,929 wordsSECTION 124Revelation 13:1
Revelation 13:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 13 This chapter contains a description of the Romish antichrist, under the figure of two beasts, the one representing him in his civil power, the other in his ecclesiastical power. The first beast is described by its origin, the sea, and by the monstrous shape its several pa…
1,774 wordsSECTION 125Revelation 13:2
Revelation 13:2 Ver. 2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,.... To which the Grecian kingdom is compared in Da 7:6; because of that rapidity and swiftness with which Alexander overran the world, and set up this monarchy; and to which the Roman Papal monarchy bears some resemblance; for as the Grecian mo…
842 wordsSECTION 126Revelation 13:3
Revelation 13:3 Ver. 3. And I saw one of his heads,.... Not the Capitoline mountain, or the Capitol, the temple of Jupiter, built on that hill, which was burnt by lightning in the times of Titus, and magnificently rebuilt by Domitian, which was a thing past, and of no such moment as to be taken notice of here; nor any…
509 wordsSECTION 127Revelation 13:4
Revelation 13:4 Ver. 4. And they worshipped the dragon,.... The devil, in the idols, images, angels, and saints departed, to whom they give adoration, as did the Gentiles, whose successors they are, and whose name they bear; see 1Co 10:20; which gave power unto the beast, as in Re 13:2; and they worshipped the beast…
269 wordsSECTION 128Revelation 13:5
Revelation 13:5 Ver. 5. And there was given unto him a mouth,.... The beast is said to have a mouth before, like the mouth of a lion, Re 13:2; but now he was moved and stirred up by the dragon, the devil, to open it, not only in a cruel and voracious way, but in a haughty, lying, and blasphemous manner: and this was g…
583 wordsSECTION 129Revelation 13:6
Revelation 13:6 Ver. 6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,.... By sitting as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God; by suffering himself to be called by the name of God, God on earth, Lord God the pope, and to be worshipped as God; and by assuming infallibility, giving out that he can…
6,077 wordsSECTION 130Revelation 14:1
Revelation 14:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVALATION 14 This chapter contains three visions; one of the Lamb on Mount Zion, another of the three angels preaching against Babylon, and the third of the harvest and vintage. The vision of the Lamb is in Re 14:1, which is no other than Christ, described by his similitude, as a Lamb…
1,218 wordsSECTION 131Revelation 14:2
Revelation 14:2 Ver. 2. And I heard a voice from heaven,.... The same with the voices heard in heaven upon the sounding of the seventh trumpet, Re 11:15; as the voice of many waters; very loud, and uttered by a great multitude of people, signified by waters in this book, Re 17:15; the same with those that praise the …
324 wordsSECTION 132Revelation 14:3
Revelation 14:3 Ver. 3. And they sung as it were a new song,.... The song of redeeming grace; the same with that in Re 5:9; see the note there: this is to be understood of the 144,000, who sung it before the throne, and before the four beasts and the elders; that is, publicly in the church, the ministers and members …
320 wordsSECTION 133Revelation 14:4
Revelation 14:4 Ver. 4. These are they which were not defiled with women,.... With the whore of Rome, and her harlots, she is the mother of; while the kings and inhabitants of the earth were drunk with the wine of their fornication, or committed idolatry with them, which is spiritual fornication, and is here meant by …
520 wordsSECTION 134Revelation 14:5
Revelation 14:5 Ver. 5. And in their mouth was found no guile,.... Or "a lie", as the Complutensian edition, the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions read; by which may be meant idolatry, for idols and idolatrous practices are often called lies, and lying vanities; see Jer 16:19; and the …
332 wordsSECTION 135Revelation 14:6
Revelation 14:6 Ver. 6. And I saw another angel,.... This is to be understood not of one of the ministering spirits so called; for though wings are sometimes ascribed to angels, and Gabriel is said to fly swiftly; and though they desire to look into the mysteries of the everlasting Gospel, yet the preaching of that is…
929 wordsSECTION 136Revelation 14:7
Revelation 14:7 Ver. 7. Saying with a loud voice,.... These ministers shall lift up their voice like a trumpet, and cry aloud, and deliver out the Gospel fully and faithfully, with great authority and power, and with much vehemence, zeal, and fervency: fear God; or "the Lord", as some copies, the Vulgate Latin and Ar…
504 wordsSECTION 137Revelation 14:8
Revelation 14:8 Ver. 8. And there followed another angel,.... A "second", as the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, and the Syriac version add; and the Arabic version reads, "and the second angel followed"; another set of Gospel ministers, who will immediately follow upon the former, proclaiming the fall of …
7,124 wordsSECTION 138Revelation 15:1
Revelation 15:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 15 This chapter is a preparation to the pouring out of the seven vials, and contains a vision of the seven angels in heaven that should do this work, of a chorus of harpers on this occasion, and of the same seven angels coming out of the temple, and receiving the vials, in o…
1,090 wordsSECTION 139Revelation 15:2
Revelation 15:2 Ver. 2. And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire,.... Not baptism, but rather the blood of Christ, which may be compared to a sea, for its abundant virtue and efficacy in cleansing from all sin; and to a sea "of glass", since in it are clearly seen free justification, full pardon, peace …
891 wordsSECTION 140Revelation 15:3
Revelation 15:3 Ver. 3. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God,.... Not that in De 32:1 but that in Ex 15:1 and the sense is, either that they observed the law of Moses, which he as a servant in the Lord's house faithfully delivered, and kept it distinct from the Gospel, and did not blend them together, as…
568 wordsSECTION 141Revelation 15:4
Revelation 15:4 Ver. 4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord,.... At this time the people of the Jews shall seek after Christ, and fear him and his goodness; the forces of the Gentiles shall be brought into Zion, whose heart shall then fear, and be enlarged; the fear of the Lord will be in all places, and in all men, both …
329 wordsSECTION 142Revelation 15:5
Revelation 15:5 Ver. 5. And after that I looked,.... That is, after John had seen the above vision, he looked again, and saw what follows: and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; this does not refer to heaven itself, the antitype of the holy of holies, which is opened by the bl…
595 wordsSECTION 143Revelation 15:6
Revelation 15:6 Ver. 6. And the seven angels came out of the temple,.... By which it appears, that they are such who are of, or belong to the church of Christ; and are either ministers, or members of churches, who will be the executioners of God's wrath upon the beast, and his followers; some copies, and the Compluten…
584 wordsSECTION 144Revelation 15:7
Revelation 15:7 Ver. 7. And one of the four beasts,.... Or living creatures: now we hear of them, as of the four and twenty elders, under the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Re 11:16 with which this vision is contemporary; these living creatures are the ministers of the Gospel; See Gill on "Re 4:6" and this was one, o…
1,256 wordsSECTION 145Revelation 16:1
Revelation 16:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 16 This chapter gives an account of the pouring out of the seven vials by the angels; their orders for it are in Re 16:1. The first angel pours out his vial on the earth, the effect of which is a noisome and grievous sore upon the followers of antichrist, and the worshippers…
1,726 wordsSECTION 146Revelation 16:2
Revelation 16:2 Ver. 2. And the first went,.... The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "the first angel", and who undoubtedly is meant, who readily and cheerfully obeyed the orders given him, as did the rest; by this angel cannot be meant Pope Adrian, as Lyra, a Popish interpreter, imagines; for a pope would never hur…
680 wordsSECTION 147Revelation 16:3
Revelation 16:3 Ver. 3. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea,.... Not literally; and so does not design the stagnation of it, which it is thought will be before the general conflagration; see Am 7:4 nor is it to be understood of the sea of this world, and the men of it, who are like a troubled sea; bu…
310 wordsSECTION 148Revelation 16:4
Revelation 16:4 Ver. 4. And the third angel poured his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters,.... Which also is not to be literally understood of a stagnation of them, before the burning of the world; nor of the destruction of Popish fleets and navies, such as the Spanish armada in 1588, and others since; but r…
221 wordsSECTION 149Revelation 16:5
Revelation 16:5 Ver. 5. And I heard the angel of the waters say,.... So we read in Jewish writings {t} of an angel that was amyd arv, "the prince of the sea", and of angels that were over the waters, and others over fire {u}; though here is designed not one of the Mym ykalm "angels of the water", that presided ove the…
403 wordsSECTION 150Revelation 16:6
Revelation 16:6 Ver. 6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,.... Which shows that rivers and fountains cannot be literally understood, but men are designed, wicked and bloody men; and it is notorious to all, how much of the blood of the saints, of the preachers of the Gospel, of the prophets and witnes…
117 wordsSECTION 151Revelation 16:7
Revelation 16:7 Ver. 7. And I heard another out of the altar say,.... That is, another angel that came out of the altar; see Re 14:18 and who represents the souls under the altar, whose blood had been shed by the above persons; compare with this Re 6:9 though, there, such whose blood had been shed by Rome Pagan are de…
156 wordsSECTION 152Revelation 16:8
Revelation 16:8 Ver. 8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun,.... Not literally; and so designs not a violent heat, which shall go before, and be a preparation for the burning of the world; nor any sore famine arising from it, which would be common to all, good and bad; but mystically: some understand…
602 wordsSECTION 153Revelation 16:9
Revelation 16:9 Ver. 9. And men were scorched with great heat,.... Burned with rage against the followers of Christ; were filled with envy at the success of his Gospel, and with fury and madness at the ruinous condition of the antichristian state, being deprived of its head, and chief officers: and blasphemed the nam…
346 wordsSECTION 154Revelation 16:10
Revelation 16:10 Ver. 10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast,.... The beast is the same with that in Re 13:1 and which again shows that to be one and the same: the seat or throne of the beast is Rome, which, when the empire was Pagan, was the seat of Satan, or the dragon, Re 2:13 and wh…
6,440 wordsSECTION 155Revelation 17:1
Revelation 17:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 17 This chapter contains a vision of a beast, and a woman on it, and the interpretation of it; one of the seven angels that had the seven vials proposes to John to show him the whore of Babylon, the Jezabel before spoken of, who sits on many waters, with whom the kings and i…
921 wordsSECTION 156Revelation 17:2
Revelation 17:2 Ver. 2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,.... These are the ten kings, who being of the same mind, and of one religion, the Popish religion, gave their power, strength, and kingdom to the beast, Re 17:12 and have been enticed by the whore of Rome to commit spiritual fornicati…
215 wordsSECTION 157Revelation 17:3
Revelation 17:3 Ver. 3. So he carried me away in the spirit,.... Not in body, as if he was removed from the isle of Patmos to some other place; but in a visionary way, just as Ezekiel was carried between earth and heaven, in the visions of God, to Jerusalem, Eze 8:3. It was represented to the mind of John, to his spir…
991 wordsSECTION 158Revelation 17:4
Revelation 17:4 Ver. 4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,.... Which may be expressive of her grandeur, authority, and power, sitting as a queen, and sovereign in the empire, ruling over kingdoms and nations in it; and also of her bloody disposition to the saints, with whose blood she is afterward…
392 wordsSECTION 159Revelation 17:5
Revelation 17:5 Ver. 5. And upon her forehead was a name written,.... As the high priest had on his mitre upon his forehead written, holiness to the Lord, Ex 28:36 only a different inscription from that; the allusion is thought to be to harlots, who not only used to put their names over their doors, but some of them u…
590 wordsSECTION 160Revelation 17:6
Revelation 17:6 Ver. 6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints,.... To see a woman drunk is a shameful sight; but to see one drunk, not with wine, but with blood, is monstrous, cruel, and shocking; the sword, when it devours, and is satiate, is said to be drunk with blood, Jer 46:10 but for a woman t…
533 wordsSECTION 161Revelation 17:7
Revelation 17:7 Ver. 7. And the angel said unto me,.... The same as in Re 17:1 wherefore didst thou marvel? which is not said by way of reproof, as questions of this kind sometimes are, Ac 3:12 for John did not wonder at her with a sinful admiration, so as to have her in great veneration, and to do homage and worship…
6,830 wordsSECTION 162Revelation 18:1
Revelation 18:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 18 This chapter gives an account of the fall of Babylon, and of the lamentation of many, and of the joy of others, by reason of it; which account is published by several angels: the first that declares her fall is described by his original, descending from heaven; by the gre…
764 wordsSECTION 163Revelation 18:2
Revelation 18:2 Ver. 2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice,.... Which shows not only the vehemence and affection of the ministers of the word, who will publish what follows, but the greatness and importance of it; and this loud voice may be, as for the sake of the whole church in general, that all may bear, so …
587 wordsSECTION 164Revelation 18:3
Revelation 18:3 Ver. 3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,.... That is, all the nations of the Roman empire, the European nations, otherwise the Pagan and Mahometan nations have not; but these have, being made to drink by her, and made drunk therewith, that is, with her idolatries;…
353 wordsSECTION 165Revelation 18:4
Revelation 18:4 Ver. 4. And I heard another voice from heaven,.... Either of another, or of the same angel, or rather of God, or Christ himself, since the persons addressed are called his people: saying, come out of her, my people; meaning either his elect ones, till now uncalled, being such whom God had chosen for h…
482 wordsSECTION 166Revelation 18:5
Revelation 18:5 Ver. 5. For her sins have reached unto heaven,.... Or "have followed unto heaven"; one after another, in one age after another, until they have been as it were heaped up together, and have reached the heavens; the phrase denotes the multitude of them, God's knowledge and notice of them, and the cry of …
168 wordsSECTION 167Revelation 18:6
Revelation 18:6 Ver. 6. Reward her even as she rewarded you,.... This is spoken to the people of God, who are before called out of Babylon; and the chief of them are the seven angels with the seven last plagues of the wrath of God, and the same with the ten kings that will burn the whore with fire; these are called up…
578 wordsSECTION 168Revelation 18:7
Revelation 18:7 Ver. 7. How much she hath glorified herself,.... And acted the proud and haughty part in exalting herself above all emperors, kings, and princes, above all kingdoms and states, and also above all churches, assuming arrogant titles, and even blasphemous names; see Re 13:1 and lived deliciously: in a ve…
6,260 wordsSECTION 169Revelation 19:1
Revelation 19:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 19 This chapter contains the triumph of the saints over Babylon, and their thanksgiving to God because of his judgments on her; the marriage of Christ and his church, and a battle between him and his and her enemies, with the success of it. The congratulations are first of a…
1,234 wordsSECTION 170Revelation 19:2
Revelation 19:2 Ver. 2. For true and righteous are his judgments,.... As in See Gill on "Re 15:3", See Gill on "Re 16:7": this is to be understood of God's judgments in general, and is a reason of the attribution of praise and glory to him; which may be said to be true, because, being threatened, are now fulfilled; an…
219 wordsSECTION 171Revelation 19:3
Revelation 19:3 Ver. 3. And again they said, Alleluia,.... Or a "second time" they said it; they began and ended their solemn worship and service with it; so some psalms begin and end with this word, translated in the Old Testament by the words "Praise ye the LORD", as in Ps 106:1 &c. and the repeating of the word sho…
220 wordsSECTION 172Revelation 19:4
Revelation 19:4 Ver. 4. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts,.... Mentioned in Re 4:4 and who represent the churches of Christ and ministers of the Gospel in the several periods of time, these join in the chorus, and praise the Lord on the account of the destruction of Rome, and ruin of antichrist; so th…
205 wordsSECTION 173Revelation 19:5
Revelation 19:5 Ver. 5. And a voice came out of the throne,.... Not from God the Father, that sat upon it, for the phrase, praise our God, could not be said by him with propriety and pertinence; but rather from Christ, the Lamb, in the midst of the throne, who as Mediator could say of him to his people, my God and yo…
351 wordsSECTION 174Revelation 19:6
Revelation 19:6 Ver. 6. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude,.... Even of all the servants of the Lord, and them that fear him, small and great; a vast multitude of converted Jews and Gentiles, in the several parts of the world, who in answer to the voice out of the throne, which came with great pow…
516 wordsSECTION 175Revelation 19:7
Revelation 19:7 Ver. 7. Let us be glad, and rejoice, and give honour to him,.... The saints particularly; the converted Jews will call upon one another to express their gladness at the glorious display of Christ's kingly power and authority, and at the destruction of his enemies, and the happy and comfortable state of…
561 wordsSECTION 176Revelation 19:8
Revelation 19:8 Ver. 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen,.... Or "Byssine": the "Byssus", of which fine linen is made, is said to grow on a tree, in height like to a poplar, and its leaves like a willow, and to be brought out of Judea into Egypt, which the Egyptians used in most of their…
5,898 wordsSECTION 177Revelation 20:1
Revelation 20:1 INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 20 This chapter contains the binding of Satan, the saints' thousand years' reign with Christ, the loosing of Satan again, the destruction of him, and the Gog and Magog army, and the last judgment: the angel that is to bind Satan is described by his descent from heaven; by hi…
1,173 wordsSECTION 178Revelation 20:2
Revelation 20:2 Ver. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon,.... By whom is meant not Paganism, for that was destroyed in the Roman empire under the sixth seal, and was the consequence of the war between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his; and before this time it will be destroyed in other parts under the sixth …
1,990 wordsSECTION 179Revelation 20:3
Revelation 20:3 Ver. 3. And cast him into the bottomless pit,.... Or deep, into which the devils desired they might not be sent, and which they dreaded as a torment, it may be, because a place of confinement, Lu 8:31 for this is called a prison, Re 20:7 and is distinguished from the lake of fire, into which the devil …
563 wordsSECTION 180Revelation 20:4
Revelation 20:4 Ver. 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,.... Besides the throne of God the Father, and the throne of glory, on which the Son of God sits, and the twelve thrones for the twelve apostles of the Lamb; there will be thrones set, or pitched, for all the saints, Da 7:9 who will sit on them, in the …
1,786 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.