and am fate.down with my Father in iis throne o. 220 n I will give him great Honour, Diznity, 4:0 Fower ; he Gal 46 þ BS. | : » Digmty, ana Power; he [1:3il 5 25 Judge the World in the Day of Judgment, 1 Cor. 6. 2. the Twelve * * Tribes of Iſrael, 31:tth. 19. 28, he ſhall be made Purraker of my Glory, Fohn 17. 22, 24. 6 But they muſt come to mv Tirooe, 2s 1 came to it. I overcame the VVorld, Sin, Death, tc Devil, and then aſcended, and fate down with my Father in his T 'rone. So they that will fit down with me in my Throne of Glory, mutt 1215 the ſame fight, and overcome, and then be crowned, littins with me 1n my Throne. : _ 22 He that hath ancar, let him hear what ths Spi- rit faith ro the Churches p. | ; þ VVe have had this in the concluſion of every Epiſtle before, vid. Chap. 2. 7,11, 17, 29. and in this Chapter, wer.6,-13. Thoſe who make theſe Churches typical of all Chriftian Churches, from the time John had this Revelation, and prophetical of the Com- plex1on of the Chriſtian Churches in all Ages, fay, That the Church of . Laodicea typifieth the Churches towards the' end of the VVorld till Chriſt cometh; but this neceſſitateth them to think there ſhall be no ſuch pure, and glorious ſtate of the Church, juſt before the end of the VVorld, as many believe there ſhall be, but that the ſtate thereof ſhall grow yet worſe and worſe, of a Lardicean temyer ; ſo as when Chriſt cometh, he ſhall hardly find Faith on the Earth, For my part, I could allow the ſeven Epiſtles to be t1picz! ind Prophetical, but can by no means judge them to be purcly Propheti- cal, believing there was ſuch Churches when 7ohn virote © and that their Complexion is in the firſt place deſcribed in theſe Epiſties, though poffibly, as Face anſwers Face in a Glais, fo ſucceeding Churches have anſwered, and ſhall anſwer the Face of theſe Churches, even to the laſt day. This Chapter concludes John's firſt Viſion, In the following Chapters we have a Repreſentation in Vifions of what 115 to hap- pen 1n the World more remarkably, with reterence to tie Church of God, from the year 95, to the end of the World. There are very different Opinions about the Fpocha, or the time when the Viſions began to be fulfilled. My Opinion is, it began
ſoon after John had the Viſion, for it is twice ſaid, Chap. I. 1. and
22.6, That theViſi5ms were to be about things that ſhall come t9 paſs, (not that were come to paſs) and that ſhortly ; but we cannot fix the certain year, which maketh the Interpretation difficult.
_ Thereare alſo divers Opinions how far in this Book the Revela- trons go, that concern the ſtate of the Church under Rome-Pagan, and where they begin, that foretel the ſtate of the Church under Antichriſt, But of theſe we ſhall ſpeak more particularly as we go along with the ſeveral Chapters.
. GCHAF. IV
A Revelation of what ſhall be hereafter, rt. A Throne in Hegven,
with the Glory of God ſitting on it, 2, 3. Round about it, 24, El- ders, with Thundrings and Lightnings, 4, 5. Before it a Sea of Glaſs. Ih the midſt, and round about it four living Creatures, 6, with many Eyes and Wings, 8. Rendring Praiſe and Glory to Gol, Y=—IT |
Fter this a I looked b, and behold, a door was k. opened c in heaven d - * and the fr{t yoice » (15; which I heard, waz, as it were, of a trumpet talking 19. © with me e ; which ſaid, Come up hither f, and I will ſhew thee things which muſt be hereafter g. ; & After I had the firſt Viſion mentioned, chap. 1. and h:d writ- ten, what it was the Pleaſure of God I ſhould write to the Churches, 19 a Book, perceiving the way God deſigned to reveal himſelf to me, was by Viſion : þ I looked again, hoping, and being delirous to ſee ſomething further, as to the Mind of God. c I ſaw the Hea- vens opened, as Matth. 3. 16. 4s 7. 56. d He, doubtleſs, mean- eth the third Heavens. Such a Viſion, as to this particular, 70/n had at Chriſt's Baptiſm, Matth. 3. and Stephen when he was ſtoned. e He alſoheard the Voice of one ſpeaking aloud to him, like the Voice he heard, ch. 1. 10. f Which ſaid, Come up hither into Hea- ven, the new Hieruſalem which is above; as the old Hieruſalem ſtood upon an Hill, or riſing, Ground, ſo as they who went thither, are conſtantly ſaid to go up, Ifa. 2. 3. 4&s 11. 2. Gal. 1.17,18. and 2.1. g Not which have been, (for to what purpoſe had that been ?) but which ſhall happen hereafter both to my Church, and to her Ene- mies : from which appears, that God did not here ſhew his Prophet the DeſtruRion of AHteru/alem, (for that was already paſt in the time of -7itus Veſpaſian the Roman Emperour, about the Year 69, or 70, after the Incarnation) this (as all confeſs) was in Domitian's time, about the 11th or 12th Year of his Reign, about 25 or 27 Years after that was paſt, which makes the Notion of two late Annota- tors very ſtrange. | > 2 And immediately I was in the ſpirit h, f and + #-« 5, behold, a throne was ſet in the heaven,and oze fate on 25.519. the throne 7. | h-In an Extafie, as Paul, 2 Cor.'12. 2. and Peter, Affs 10. 10, and Ezeb. chap, 3. 12. and himſelf was both before and after this, chap. 1. 10. and 17. 3. and 21.10, j God ts conſtantly deſcribed 1n the Prophetical Viſions, as ſitting upon a Throne, to denote his Power and Dominion, that he is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Sex Dan. 7. 9, &c. | 3 And he that ſite, was, to 160k upon, like a jaiper and ſardine ſtone &; and there way 4 riinbow round 4bour the throne, in ſight like unto an emerauld 7. b Tis
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Chap. IV,
* Ch.5.18.
+ Ch. 1. 4. - & 5. 6.
REVEL
& This is all but a Deſcription of the Glory of God, as he appear- ed to 7ohn in this Vitzon ; the 7alper-ſlone is famous for its/Tranſpa- rency, and variety” of colours it offereth to the Eye, and may figni- fie the various, and infinite PerteQions of God. The Sardine-ſtone is red, and of a bloody colour, which may fignife the Power, Ju- iiice, and Terror of God, ! The Rainbow was the Sign of God's Covenant with Noah, ftgnifying his being ſo far reconciled to the World, as that he would not again deſtroy it by V Vater, Gen. 9. 13- The Emerauld is green, and pleaſant to the Eye, fo as this Viſion of G:a repreſents God powerful, juſt, and good, and of various and jaanite PerteR&ions,