• The question ot the internal structure of this lection d»t nc t come before UB.
JOHN, APOSILE
JOIIX, APOSTLE
691
inTlad^aav.' The cry of the souls slain for the wojil of God and the witness wliich they held, contains another title still, b SccTrlrrris i ayiot Kal dXijOii'us (G'"). This word occurs but rarely in NT of God, and not elsewhere in St. John ; it would Deem to convey the idea of personal rel.itionsliiii, as St. Paul speaks of him.self as the s/nve of Christ (JoCXos). The word 5<rios is used 15', but the usual word for the holiness of God is, as mit,'ht be supposed, 0719!.
The various doxolo{;ics heard in heavenly places by St. John convey the same teachin{j, but with some dill'erences in expru-sion. The Elders, in their response to the ascription of the Four Beasts, say, ' Thou art worthy. Lord and our God, to re- ceive the glory, the honour, and the power, be- cause thou didst create all things, and for thj' will they were, and were created' (4"). Later on (5"). when the whole of creation responds to the angels and the elders, they ascribe blessing and honour and glory and might (t6 Kpiroi) ; the redeemed (7'°) speak of salvation (^ aurripia) ; and the angels, in response to the great multitude from every nation under heaven (7'^), say, ' Amen : Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and strength (^ lirx'^^)> ^^ unto our God for ages of ages.' All these, in various ways, assert the supreme sovereignty of God. This is specially emphasized (11" IS'-*") in regard to the judgments 01 God : the ways of God are vindicated when, after long trial, the evil is done away with, and holiness triinni)h3. So the elders, when they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and of the Lamb, say, 'Just and true are thy ways, O King of ages (15'); and again, when the waters are turned into blood (16'), St. John heard 'the an-iel of the waters saying, Tliou art just, thou which art, and which wast, the Holy, because thou hast judged these things: because they poured forth the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink : they are worthy.' And the altar responds in the same sense (Ifi', cf. 19'). The majesty of God is described symbolically at the beginning of ch. 4 ; the Father is ' He that sittethon the throne' in the centre of the heavenly place. The author does not attempt any descrip- tion of this sujireme Presence in this, or in any other of the many passages where the phrase i KaOii/xevos <rl rip 6p6i/if occurs ; he uses merely metaphorical language, and implies by so doing that God is in Himself invisible. Thus we have in this book an expansion of the old Hebrew doctrine of God : He is eternal, invisible, sujireme Creator, Ruler, and Judgi; of the world. The coherence of this with the fuller Christian doctrine of God will De obvious when we consider the functions of the Son of God.
(7) We will consider, first, the relation of the Father and the Son. It is noticeable that these names are most frequent in the lirst three chapters. The incarnate Son occupies a position of .subordi- nation. Thus in the preface to Kev we lind these words : ' The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God cave him, to show his servants' (1'). And this is Lome out in the chajiters which follow : ' I will give him authoritj" over the nations ... as I also have received from my Father ' (2''"). So He says, ' I will confess his name before my Father '(:{'') ; and in 3'^' lie draws a parallel between His own victory and triumph am! that of His followers. In S" He even sjieaks of the Father as ' My (!od ' (i 9e6t ^01). On the other hand, when St. John in the spirit on the Lord's Day sees the opening vision, the figure Spioiof vliv dvffpwirov, the Son thus manifested uses of Him- self words usually applied to the Father, the first and the last (1") ; referring to the Resurrection, so
* If %r»f In the true reading, it Ifl difncult to Me wfatt It can EDfAn bat this ; cf. Jn 1* * yiy*if i, «utm s^r r,.
that there can be no possibility of mistake, and claiming further to possess the keys of Hades and of death. Moreover, the features which St. John notes in the ligure — the Haming eyes, and two- edged sword from the mouth— are, as the messages to the various Churches show, sjTiiboIic of judg- ment. So He is the source from whom the messages to the Seven Churches come : He holds the seven stars in His right hand (i.e. the angels of the Seven Churches, 2' ; cf. I"'- '^). These phrases imply sovereignty, and the exercise of judicial ollice. The same position is conveyed by the various titles used in this pas.sage of the Son. He is 'the faithful and true Avitness ' (1° 3", cf. 1 Ti 6'^); 'the firstborn of the dead' (1»), 'the amen ' (S'*), ' the ruler of the kings of the earth ' (1°). These deal with His work on earth, with His function as fulliller of the promises of God (cf. 2 Co 1"- ^), and with its triumph over man- kind. So, too, 2' 3'. But the title ' the beginning of the Creation of God ' (3"), ' the first and the last' (1"2'), and those in which the prerogatives of judgment are as.serted (2'^- '* 3'), emphasize the Divine attributes of the Son of God (2'*). The teaching in these and similar passages precisely resembles in its ambiguity the language already noted in the Gospels. There also the Son speaks of Himself as derived and subordinate, and yet exercises functions which He also reserves for the Father. Such a phrase as Jn 5'-' ' Neither dotli the Father judge any man, but hath given all judgment to the Son,' expresses precisely the point of view of the Apocalj'pse.