PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation
Alfred Plummer [1841-1926] · 535,750 words · 528 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 181
again~ existence, but against its sins and its crimes. Anger in man is necessari1y-,n evil. Hence we are commanded to be "angry and sin not." Learn from this that we turn onr greatest blessing into the greatest curse. Our optic and auricular organs ·may be BO diseased as to give to the most beautiful objects and most m…
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1ou think of th~ man who, infect~d wit~ a_ pestilen~ial. disease1 ran mali~antly. fro~ house to house 1n order to spread 1t? Sm 1s a pestilence. Thmk of the Judgments 1t has brought upon the world; think of the crucifixion of Christ, and talk no more about ihe imignifa:ancy of sin. This, then, will not enable you to ~t…
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just as in eh.. xiv. 18 an llollgel has power the Prophet Elijah. That this angel waii of over fire, and in eh. xvi. 5 we read of the like nature with the first four a.ppeura prob-. "angel of the waters;'' The ~nds have able from the words in ver. 8, ''°till we ha.Te been interpreted in two ways, neither of sealed the …
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who hold the preterist view believe the.t the spiritual sense; and it seems ·searoely the Christians who escaped the destruction credible that the' writer of the book; who of Jeruaalem are indicated by this expres- throughout insists on the fulfilment in the sion. The see.led areprob&bly those referred Christian rel…
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lion by supposing that, in accordanoe with a aealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of very commonly received opinion, antiehrist IBBaohar were aealed twelve thousand. would arise from this tribe-an opinion Though Levi was exoluded in the partition probt,.bly originated by a comparison of the of the earthly Canaan, he is…
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Testament only in this plaoo and m John and power, and might, be unto our God fol ltii. 18. Trench states the.t no symbol of ever and ever. Amen. •TM bkuiag. eto.: heathen origin is useil in the Apooe.lYJ198; tha.t is, "all blessing," etc. ('8e on..c,h. k and he conneets the pe.lm•bearing multitude 11). The terms of…
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·eodte and we undefiled, therefore, are those -t. · God's pl'8110noe .1UDong them. 111>- :who llaTe washed themselves in the blood dwelling with them, is the happineaa o( his .of fll& Lamb, ihtough which ;only their people (of. ,John xvii,, 24, "FMher, I wi,11 ·'rict0JI 'ill .posai.ble or effective. Arethas, that th…
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· llll\nifold uphea.vinge in different lands and ages is evident, not only from the oonsidera- . tions specified in preceding homilies, but also from the fa-0t that those who are seen by the apostle as "coming" out of it are from all nations, and kindreds, Blld people, and tongues. Again and again wars, famine, pesti…
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has God kept for himself" a holy seed," and bas enabled his witnenes to put on an "armour of light," from which foul error glanced off in the twinkling of an eye I This is the history of the past. 'l'his is the fact of the present. This is the forecast for the future, The same faithful care of which many can even now b…
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to observe that this passage is not necessarily a picture of the glorified state, for that will not be ushered in until the second coming of the Son of God. However true it may be lhat there is as real a continuity between it and the state here described 88 there is between the latter and their earthly life, still we n…
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tion. How often, when in this state, is the activity of the spiritual life·interrupted by the demands of the :fleshly life ! In this res:(MlCt, as well as others, the flesh lusteth against the spirit. The spirit is willip.g, but the flesh is weak. But on high,,such clogs burden the blessed ones no more. . 2. They ar…
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· HOMILIES BY VARIOUS' AUTHORS. Yel'II. !, 3.-The sealed of God. This chapter tells of a time of suspended judgrmm t. AIL things were ready. The. awful ,calamities: told of when the sixth seal wati broken are on the point of descending·upon the earth. "But a whole chapter intervenes. Might it not be apprehended t~t …
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blessed work upon us besides this. It is by him we are led to put our trust in Christ; by him we are assured that we are Christ's, and that he is ours, that we are pardoned, accepted, saved; by him also we are comforted and sustained under trial, and made posseasors of the peace of God which passeth all understanding; …
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having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." In keeping with this we find the nllUlber of the sealed that which denotes fixedness and completeness. They are all there, all delivered, not from earthly trials, but from Divine judgment&; not O!Ul of them.~ lost, Blessed are they on whom this seal of the living G…
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forty~five, or forty, or thirty; or twenty, or even ten righteous found ln,those cities," the Loni would spare them for their sake. And the Lord promised in each case, even were there only tin, that he would. And how often guilty Israel was spared·the vengeance due to their sins for the sake of Moses who interceded. fo…
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granted?. Have we not known, also, instances-do we not perpetually see 'them ?-in; which former good conduct, righteous deeds done in days gone by, have tempered the severity with which otherwise failures in present conduct would be visited? , ·How we grieve when some soldier-hero has deserved punishment I how we all f…
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Divine,displeasure shall fall and beat upon UB? Who then will be our refuge and atrength, if Christ be not? "Behold, 0 God our Shield, and look on the face of thine aQOinte<ll" When·we pray this prayer, who can we think of but the Lord Jesus Christ? He is our Shield, our Champion, our Defender. Are we, then, in him?- "…
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utterance of prayer and the declaration of Divine truth. Now, God desires such response: 1. In worship. "Let all the people say, Amen." It is the people's word; was so not alone in the Jewish Church, but in the Christian as well. Hence St. Paul pleads for the use of plain language in worship, so that the unlearned may …
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"the Amen" of our prayer ano 11ervice, then he will make that r~l which we oon only ask may be ~o. It is his endorsement of our petition. And when at length life's pilgrimage is done, and the shadows of our earthly days are deepening down into the night of death, if our hope and trust be in him who is "the Amen," then …
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, e..id saved them by his own bloo{l. None are there on any other ground, .nor can any ·~er be. On iv hat., then, a.e we relyjng JOI.' the hope we all cherish of one,da.y being \vl!,ere they are? • lL WHAT THEY DO THERE. 1. They celebrate (M hocwemg harvest-h<Yme. They carry "palms in their hands," branches of the …
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DOPE. It is a spring of pure consolation. The Divine warrant of safety each belie_ver may ever carry with him. The cruelties of men may bring him suff'ering, but not the judgments of God. Ever may the disci_ples know that when the Lord proceeda to judgtlltmt he will first sea.I hi11 own.-R. G. Vera. 9-13.-'17ie Ohurch…
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truth's sake. Thus in the midst of the earthly raging power is the persecuted Church of God assured, in all ages, of a final, a certain, and an ample reoompense.-R. G. Vers.1-3.-.A sketch of an impending judgmmt "And after these things," etc. The t.ext points t.o a judgment that is overhanging the world, entrusted t.o…
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done. The 1181'Vants of God were to be "aealed in their foreheads." The image of the -1.ing is derived from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (ix. 2-6, 11). Its object was to mark out certain persons as belonging to GoJ, and thus to save them from the miseries of the impending judgment. The effect of the seal visible in …
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the vast, the proximate and the remote, peopled and working, reaching: in regular gradation from my little being up to the ineffable throne, and all under God. IL THAT Go», IN EMPLOYING THESE AGENCIES, ENJOINS ON THEM: A SPECIAL BBGABD l'OB THE INTESESTS 01!' BEDEBM:ED M:EN IN THE WORLD. "And l saw another angel ascen…
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every nation], and kindreds [of all tribes], and people, and tongues." A.11 the men of this Parth liave their own little theatres of life and action. 'l'hey are divided by space, by time, by physical relationship, by culture-, by national distinctions, and thus become barbarians one to another. Now, from all these scen…
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EXPOSITION. heaven, the ineffable bliss of which ft la CIIAPTER VIII. impossible for mortals to comprehend, and Ver. 1.-And when. Kai a-rcw, instead of which i", therefore, symbolized by silence. 1<al 8-re (as in the other seals), is iead in A, C, In the eaine way the new name is left unex- and gives a certain indef…
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now arrived at the end; the fate of t.be in the vision of the -ls, the punishment of Church bad been in 110me measure fore- the wicked holds a 1111bsidiary place, being 1b1ulowed, and the final assurance is peal» only introduced for the purpose of demon- in heaven. That part; of the fale in 11tore for the Church ca…
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(d) The nature or the seventh -1 is un- that the Chureh'11 prnyers are offered by disoloeed, and Ulia is t.e a certain stent means of an angel, prefer to belieTe that paralleled iu the trumpets by the Bilenoe Chrillt himself is indicated. (Thwi Eade, Elliott, Primasius, Yitringa.) But, besides ooncerning the third …
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worth, think one altar only is intended, and Ver. 6.-And the seven angels which had. that it" is the altar of incense. Bengel, the seven trumpets prepared themselve11 te E.bre.rd, Vitringa, support the view given sound: This verse takes up and continues above. Bossuet says the altar is Christ, to the narrative of ve…
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path, where he would find displuyed the eastern and oentral parts. at first escaping troubles whioh have afflicted or shall afflict the visitation. Bengel sees here a type of the ungodly. It is very doubtful how much ihe wars of Tra.jan and Hadrian. Vitringa of the imagery used in this series of visions considers th…
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applieation has led to a variety of lnt.erpre- The p?eBent -English word is • corruption tations. Wordsworth and Elliott both think of tom"-mod (equivalent to t11are-mood), which that the destruetion of Roman ships is fore- may be rendered "mind-pr011erver," a. name told; the former pointing to the ships as given to…
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8: Jer. nxi S5). Thns, then, God can coming woes. De Wette and otben un- tnm even the benign influenllff of the aun necessarily understand "au angel in the a.nd planets into means for the destruction form of an eagle." De Lym in~ta it of man. In the oouutless evils which have as St. John himselt Wordsworth, relying …
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'.rhis cheering scene having been witneesed, the apostle beholds the opening of the seals resumed-6n indication of the coming of severer woes than any which have been yet recorded. At this stage, however, of the exposition it seems best to lay down the following principle: Whatever Judgments come down upon the regio…
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which he is ever witnessing. "The Lord is not slaclc," etc. (4) Nor does it imply that God is working on any other plan than that which he has lain down in the book. 'l'he revealed purposell of God as indicated in Scripture, and the plans of God as unfolded in providence, ron upon precisely the same lines (Pil. L 21; …
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L TUE AFFAIBS OJ' TIIB KmGDOH Oll' GoD TOUCH THIS EABTB A.T EVERY PODIT 01' 1'1'11 OOWCEJllilB, !!'here are two common defects among Christian people in reflecting on the things of Qod. Some concern themselves almost exclusively with the outward develop- ment of God's kingdom in national life. Others, again, are alm…
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heavens and the new earth, which will emerge when a.U tha.t must be shaken and over- thrown is put awa.y. This work is essentially a.nd exclusively constructive. 2. There is another kind of agency-the providential-which is largely tk.~tructive, which clan.re the ground for a new advance. It is this overturning force…
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That there is, in both the earlier and later series of el"ents given In the above table, a remarkable correspondence between the symbolic pictures in the text and the recorded facts of history, no one who has studied the whole matter can queijtion. Nevertheless, we cannot but agree with a remark of Archd~acon Farrar hi…
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(Gil. ·iL 4• 'l&.) The," abyl!S " WM full of ••locusts;" the "four angels• were bound iD. tlhe.great·river:E:upbrate&'· In both eases )hese were tremendous destructive forces, 4/..Imt,up • or ,-bound" foll a while. Rut they could only exert their power under J»!.ine pennisaion.. ,. Not till the command iii gitcn, to lo…
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VIL -fr 18 THE TUNCTION OF. THESE 'IVILD,DESTRUCTIVB AGENOlBS i'b OLl!IAfl TUB W,Uf OP l'BB Loim. That is implied in the whole series of trumpets, In every cial<e_ there is very much. that is swe:pt o~; of the way. ~ settle~ _in regions of forest& ha\18 fil'Bt t.q clear the tround, l!O l:s 1t wtth these overtnnung ptov…
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and the tornado of rain and wind, there ia a hush, the air all but motionlea, no mote- ment anywhere, not even the rustling of a ·leaf OI' the swaying of the com, a solemn pLU&e as if the elements were gathering up their strength preparatory to the rush and ~ of the tempest that ill so soon to break ; so here, all that…
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. purp011e fulfilled I · The Lord was wont tn take people aside tvhen he ~u1d:b1e1Hhlltt1. It ia 60 nO\V, Anti when f1l8II 'WUUld resist Uie Spirit they shun •tAeire nlenl ··,eaio;i,. 'l'he accusers of the worn au ta.ken in aduliery could not endure- the Lord's silence;'])ls . answering them· not l\ word, arid hence …
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be ipJ.port~t to 1111 to understand -what. we may on thiit mbsf thterestirlg bnt most ·-w"i91Jli .a:u\,jeQt. For we cannot think shat tl1eir work an,1 rlrini&try are fiaish~ ,!Hl~-~~t Dl>W i,\ley .lumi uothwg to d-0 with us,. nor. we with them.· We feel aure that •~revel"l!t\l ~t,lie truth. Troe, there hM. been much of…
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Angels are miln in lighter hl!')litclad, . : _ , __ ,;, High o'er oolestilll motl1ttalils wihl!,l3ll in tliglit,. · Ami men aro angeld loadc,l Cur an hour, · , · .!{ Who-wfldo_tbie miry v1ttii,and climb with pain -A·nd slippery 1tep; the bottom of the steep." '" .· ·1· . ; ,\.,.; .?.),>~. Qut on iruch a thilme as…
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, ,fer. 2.-TM ~,ym1,ol. tcTo them were given aeven trumpets." Many io11m11nenta of music are mentioned in the Bible, but the trumpet is the one- thal lltaDds onl prominent amidst them alL There are stringed instmments, of which the chief,,ia the harp; and there ani those whose sound is produced by striking the 11ttvtc…
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Vere, 3--6.-PrayeT, The vision of the opening of the seven sea.ls is completed. We are not told what took place when the seventh seal was opened, only that then there was a solemn pause--" silence in heaven for half an hour." After the opening of :~e i,ixth seal the progress of events was inte1TUpted, that the mark …
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IV. SUCH PR.A.YBBS KOVB THB HAND THAT RULES ALL TBINGII. The answer of these prayers comes in the form of command-for we mnst assume such •eommand~to sprinkle the enkindled incense on the earth. Hence the angel takes the golden censer and "fills it with the fire of the altar, and casts it upon the earth." And -then at …
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.waged. They are not extermfaated 'but tortured, as if with the stings' of BCOrpions. They would -fain die, b11t may. not; they live on and llllff'er. The invading armies, like looust. fur 11umber, power, .and,,destructiveness, waste ·and rniil and oppress them day by day. What a picture of war is. here I An,d the s…
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"Woo, ~,'woe!"' Now in villion, but often ia reality, he had doubtless se&n 1such hovering 'bil'd, and heard its bitter cry. And when we think of this vision, ·and remember-who they were on whom the judgments of God were coming, we· are reminded of our Lord's words, "Wheresoever' the carcase is, there· shall the· eagle…
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'!Yen. think of. Go to _the cells of our prisonst to lunatic asyhJ~l.!l,'io cs>nv,ict ~l'W'r' ot wher:e .motlllti:pg; the steps of the gallows on whfoh- they arff to sn~r the 111.!t penal~y. of $he Jaw,-in all such place,;, and amjd all such scenea, and. br~ded as it were on •Jao brow-of all such transgressors you.may …
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Vers. 2-5.-The-ejfcctu'ol, JJrayer. A new series-another-opens upon the view·ot the holy seer. 'l'hese are"sceues in which is symbolically represented the method 'by· whic;h the Divine prpvideuce will eiecute those sovereign purposes which aril specinlly oontemplated in the redemption or the persem1tcd Clmrch in its …
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threat of the Divi;no displmsure. 'l'he avenain" bi11 own elect. is a eall to w.en to fursake eviJ, wliile it is a,n encouragemeut. to the fuitbfnl to endure. By the disturbance· In all the world, or material sphere, moii are warned against pladng their confidence in these things which ma,y be.so.ahakQn. The ju.dgments…
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Vera. 1--6.-Soukileme, "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there wu ailence in heaven about the space of half an hour," etc. This portion of the dream ol. John, like other port.tons, has Jewish elements of thought brought into strange and grotaque combinations. In dreams there are no new objects or elements of …
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a gr&t ~from heaveD:, burnin1raa it were a bmlp, and' it fell upon the tM,td ~"al the riY«s; and upon the fountains of waters," etc. The•grea~ pa.rt:of.tli~~"iliat roD:·ovet the earth, and the wells that spring fro!» benel!,th, were embittered: and Ji<!iiionfii\ and My 'Of the humBn race expire. When the fourth trumpet…
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them was given power/' etc. Oriental& dread an advent or locusts aa one of the most terrible Tisitations; grass, trees, plants of all description, fall before them. The locusts here sketched are of an order the most terrible. A modem writer 4escribes the locWlts here as "malicious 88 soorpions, ruling 88 kings, intelli…
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EXPOSITION. thinks an apoetate Clhrlstian teach~~ i■.~ CHAPTER ix. nified ; Andreas, Bengel, and. De ~ette, be- Ver,, 1.-And the fifth angel sounded, and lieve a good angel ill intended : .others 1188 I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth; particular .emperp:rs, eto.; w.hile llengaten- a .tar from heammfal…
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haps ,l$Jlli to regard the smoke as the evil other mterpretatlons have· been suggested: in1lue™'e of the devil, which darkens men's (1) evil spirits (Andreas); (2) Roman waiB understandhigs, and from which , iMue the in Judala· (Groliu-s}: (S) the GothiQLmva,. troubles which are the result of heresy and siou (Vitringa)…
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locUBta may not hurt God'• aervantB (eee on to dlt, ad dtath ,ball ll.ee from them; •hall ver. 3). Thua we are taught that God in in no VMf! ~ U . . . and death jleethjrom :reality prell8l'Ves his own, though it may IAeln ~ Venlon): a/ tivllprinrrn. "the 80llletimee appear to man aa though the men; that i1, the unaeale…
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wan breutplatee of iron., Again, a natural world(Jobxm.6; xxviit.22; ProT.D.11; feature of the loouat is speoifteally alluded Ps.lxnviii.12). Apollyon(l&1roM6G1tJ1,prel8Dt to, in order to portray the t.errible nature of part!ciple) is the Greek l&-r•A•u1 (by which their appeannce. The horny 111bst.a.noe the LXX. renden…
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Wore the Tell (Bsod. :d. 26). Thia' altar pumahment'111 a foretalfe of hell, u IINIDII had 1:mr "horn■•• projeonng at the oornen to be foreshadowed in the "fire and .-.ola (Exod. nx. 2; aee alao Smith's • DictionarJ and· brimatone" of Yen. 17, IS,• Wordll- of tile Bihle,'.art.. "Altar"). worth and others oontend .thai …
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ftL 10). The :immber 19, of eoune, not to be -ihingll mentioned. • Tha,.thW .pUt ~ taken litenlly, but as lliirniMug an e.xeeed- again a large. but. DOt. :the largtet,· pa!l al lng gnat multitude. bd. I heard the llllDlber of them. Omit "11o11d." St. John mankind <- on eh. viii. 7). Th& 1ooaatl were forbidden to .lnl…
1,125 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.