388
‘kal ot πρεσβύ-
ἔλεγον, "''᾽Αμήν
sie το]. 14. Καὶ τὰ τέσσερα Loa 1 Detached τεροι ἔπεσαν καὶ προσεκύνησαν. Amen’
:γίδων, καὶ
Apol. i. 65, 67. a See v. 5, etc.
VI. 1. ΚΑΙ εἶδον ὅτε ἤνοιξεν τὸ ἀρνίον * play " ἐκ τῶν ἑπτὰ σφρα- b> EEA > a ~ ς . F ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων ἴῷων λέγοντος ὡς φωνὴ
b See v. 11.
1For φωνης (P, 1) read φωνη [harsh ex. of nom. indep.] ACQ,, etc., And., Areth.
Ἡσ Παος. dice ar, Ες.
Ver. 14. The prologue is brought to a splendid close by ‘‘amen” from the four £@a, who have the last as they had the first word (iv. 8), followed by silent adoration from the πρεσβύτεροι. As in the liturgical practice of early Christian assemblies, so in the celestial court, the solemn chant of praise to God is suc- ceeded by the “amen” (‘ad similitu- dinem tonitrui ... amen reboat,” Jerome) ; Φ, Areth:, etc. “AIL, bring this out by reading here τὸ ᾽Αμήν. By prefacing the struggle on earth (vi. f.) with a vision of the brilliant authority and awe of heaven (ν., v.), the prophet suggests that all the movements of men on earth, as well as the physical catastrophes which overtake them, are first fore-shadowed in heaven (the underlying principle of astrology, cf. Jeremias, 84 f.) and consequently have a providential meaning. In ἵν., v. the writer takes his readers behind the scenes; the whole succeeding tide of events is shown to flow from the will of God as creator of the universe, whose executive authority is delegated to Jesus the re- deemer of his people. This tide breaks in two cycles of seven waves, the seventh (viii. 1) of the first series (vi. 1-vii. 17) issuing in a fresh cycle (viii. 2-xi. 19) in- stead of forming itself (as we should ex- pect) the climax of these preliminary catastrophes in nature and humanity, disasters which were interpreted (R. F. 237-239) as the premonitory outbursts of an angry deity ready to visit the earth with final punishment. Observe that throughout the Apocalypse wind and fire are among God’s scourges handled by angels in order to punish the earth and the waters, according to the conception preserved in Apol. Arist. 2: ‘ Moreover, the wind is obedient to God, and fire to the angels; the waters also to the daemons, and earth to the sons of men” (Ante-Nicene Library, ix. 257 f.). The visitation is divinely complete, sevenfold like Ezekiel’s oracles against the nations (xxv.-xxxii.). Apoc. vi.-ix. has, for its staple, little more than a _ poetic ela- boration of Mark xiii. 8 (cf. 24, 25),
Diist., Bj. [φωνῃ 7, 87, 93, WH, Sw. Ws.)
international complications due to the scuffling and strife of peoples, and physical disasters as a fit setting for them.
The vision of the seven seals opened (vi. I-viii. 2): vi. 1, 2, a Parthian inva- sion.
CHAPTER VI.—Ver.1. The command or invitation ἔρχου is not addressed to Christ (as xxii. 17. 20). If addressed to. the seer, it is abbreviated from the ordinary rabbinic phrase (weni et uide) used to excite attention and introduce the explanation of any mystery. The immediate sequel (omitted only in ver. 4), καὶ εἶδον, does not, however,. forbid the reference of ἔρχου to the mounted figures ; hearing the summons, John looked to see its meaning and result. The panorama of these four dragoons. (“ad significandum iter properum cum potentia ”) is partly sketched from Semi- tic folk-lore, where apparitions of horse- men (ο. 2 Macc. iii. 25, etc. s) ‘the Beduins always granted me that none living had seen the angel visions. . . the meleika are seen in the air like horse- men, tilting to and fro,’ Doughty, Arab. Deserta, i. 449) have been a frequent omen of the end (cf. ¥os. Bell. vi. 5: Sth. Or. iii. 796), partly reproduced from (Persian elements in) Zech. i. 7 f,, vi. 1-8, in order to bring out the disasters (cf. Jer. xiv. 12, xxi. 7) prior to the last day. The direct sources of vi. and ix. lie in Lev. xxvi. 19-26; Ezek. xxxili. 27, xxxiv.. 28 f., and Sir. XXXxix. 29, 30 (“fire and hail and famine and θάνατος, all these are created for vengeance; teeth of wild beasts and scorpions and serpents and a sword taking vengeance on the impious to destroy them”). An astral background, in connection with the seven tables of destiny in Babylonian mythology, each of which was dedicated to a planet of a special colour, has been conjectured by Renan (472); cf. Chwolson’s Die Ssabier, ili. 658, 671, 676 f. For other efforts to: associate these horsemen with the winds or the πας see Jeremias (pp. 24 f.). and Μ. W. Miller in Zeitr. f. d. neutest..