The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 63

deal ·cont~. aµd ~nnot, he dtiterzoined 64.7), they proe~iiut4,d:·the~ iiulue~ tq,iji_e. with,.~rtainty;. but the gen~l .sense, is seducing pt' Gad'•. peoyle ,1~. idolat,Jy, apil clll&l: · · In any case, "iµy witnellS, my faith- impurity. The sin:iilarityo(this doc~~ with ful Qn&». (Revised -:Veniion), ill more,accurate that of the NiOQlai,tans. ii obviowi; ,~i+t ~t than ..'''.1:1iy (aithf1,1l. 'niP.rtvr" J,~utp9l"ized Nicolaus (\vhioh.~ equivijentt,o-"(l()nq\i,~~ 'V!isfo:q).' ,:J.'he. ~edupli91'tfo1 or:the article ing the people'') ia in~ded as.a -~lii.ti,on i~. ~qwit, iti. St.' .Tobii's ~tfugs; bulin. of Balaiim (wh1CI1.is ~'11 eq,givatent 11, BQme - ~ 1~ pi'9<iuOOJ1 clumsmesa to repro- "lo:td. i!f tne people") is mere. (!Olljectmo. duc(l \tm:Engli~: ,, f.,d.fY'VS cl ;,.,a,,.&s occurs Tliat there were twp sect.s etdeiby side ~t })ere of Xntipas1 anl" in eh. i. 5 of Christ'; Pe1·gamum is the natural meaum!l' of tliif ;i>~~e( .hd: t ' i/itt ·:'~~- cl6otrtnei •ere : mr. 1~), t, dt~tly ~~l!'-fn_eii. : by 'be alike fn be~g',.\_tlfmtan''in and prittoillle re}>etiti_o~ ·of the hth_, I~_ the· lriiititet "lifd• lieentioW1 in. ,retdlt;,yet <there' is· no need· to den" iii'ihaife v dist1nct. '''rh~te Oi' '91>- identify them. A111.0og collntlees lllll&ll im- li.bl sb" e11Uu11i: \o'the manila' ~ ' . provement& made by ~ :Revia.e~,note the.~ iii le §A b;i' t'fie fio1'.7 Wt holies' (Ex.oil; ~ the rem!'rP,hle word EIBomcl811To,, ,whj<lh in ~ ~~- ali!O.'!(o ~e:'.ttue ~ • fhml.bea-t~ t'he Authorized' VeJSion is re11dered in ah -lvli~13·presepce 18 _npw hidden 'froIQ ua ; or different· ways, is by them rendered 0011.: !h-:, ~~erenCjJ ~ay·.b~ to, ili.e 1~, of the atk, sietently (Act~ xv. 29; xxi. 25: 1 Cor.- viii. vlltn. d's eQnt'ents. . whi>,n . 'N'ebucbadnezzar ¼, 10 • x. 19.;' eh. ii. 14, 20). .; :x.; took J\lf_~sa;lei:n (2 ~ . 22_1_ ' There was • .V~r. lli.r,,-lio. ~ thJ>~ 1118() ~e that hold. a tre.~p.on, _tha~ feremia~ ~ 1Jiqden the As in ve:@..:_18, .l\:iJ;d, 14 "hold" i$ "P".,.'" me.n_n_e., ,a:nd Qi.at it ~onld ~. brought to with th!! IICllnsat'iv!I (l!ee no~ ou ver. 13). light again in_ the Me~ie.nio ,Jnngdom. A. What does "a.la\>" mean?. Pro~bly, "4-8 share in tbOS!l things ~hfoh·~ye _sai.v ~ 111l'ael •bad Balak t() seduce them, and Balak and ea.r heard not, 11nd _to the heart of man had Balaam, eo hast thou," eto:). , Others ne-ier oceurred (1 Cor, ii.1!); will be.grantea take it,• ." As,. the C~uroh at Ephesus has to the conqueror--a. foretaste of them here, Nicolait11ns, so Jiaf\l; tho1L''. The reading of and e. full ,participation 'hereafter (comp. the Authorized Version, ~•which thing I eh. x:x.ii. 4 and; I John iii. ,2). "To ceat" bate," .must· certainly yield, to that_ or the (</>«')'Ew) is an insertion into t;he vue ·text Revised Version, "in lliie .. maniier,". which borr0,wed from yer. 7. I .will give him a is ,supported by all the', beet ·nmnuribript.i! white_ atone, e.nd upon' the stone '(l1rl 'Ml" and JleDSions. In the Greek there ill- ,mueh -.}f,tpov) a new.:ne.me written, "White" e.nd ,imila.tity between the two readings, OMI::iln "new," as Trench points out, a.re -~ey- and OM,010::il, _" In like roan,ner" refers to wor_de; in the Auoealypse; a;nd it is natural the similarity between those w~o hold the t~e.t, thel,sJtoq_ld be, so., ~lµte iii ••t~e doctrine 't1£ the Nicolaitsns, arid- those· who livery ot ~ven," where ,rh1te robes, wlnt.e hold the dt)ctrine of Bslarun:· It confirms clouds, white horses, and whit.e tbrp_nes the.view that tw.o seots are meant. abound ( eh: i. 14: : iii. 4, 5, 18 ; iv. 4: vl; 2, _ Ve,;.J~-:-Rapmt therefqre; or elle I come 11; vii. 9, 13; xiv. H: xix.·11, 14; ·xx. to thee qniokly (see on ver. 5). Some take 11). An.d "new" is almost.,a.s. frequent ,as "in like manner" with this verse:' "In "white» in the book which telis of.a new like man,;ier VIS Ephesus) repent therefore;" heaven and a new earth, In which ;iJI the but this is riot probable. Repent of having new Jerusalem; where theinhabitarite have allowec:l some.members to follow tbo ex- 11 new name, and stng, a new ton~, -and !1,mples of Bale.am and. of the Nioolaitan,s. where all things are -made_·ne;w (eh. id. 12: With the sword of my mouth (comp. oh. i v. 9: xiv. a; :ni. 1, 2, li). But in spite of 16 11nd ii. 12). It is ~fble that there is the familiarity e.nd appropriateness of the here another allusioij to Balaam; ' It was two epithets, "white" and "new," a ,11U?e with II drawn sword that the angel of the interpretation of the white stone with the Lord withstood 'liim (Numb. riii,. 23); and new na.me upon it cannot -be fonnd. with the sword that ,lie wai, slain (Numb. Trench's ·dictum, that ."this book· moves x:ni•. 8; Josh. xiii. 22). Thos.e who follow exelusively within the circle of se.ored, Bala.am in his sin sl1all_ follow him in .bis that is, of Jewish imagery and symbols," punishment: and the· Church which allows and that an. e.llnsion to heathen or profane such things will have to suffer along with customs is inadmissible, is arbitre.rJl and those who commit them (oomp. 2 Thess. cannot be proved. As already shown, there ii. 8). , _ may be ref~rences to the rites of DionyBUS, Ver. 17.-He that hath an ear (see notes to the games, and to the erown placed ~ ou ver. 7)'. To him that overcometh. Again the corpse of $ victor. Here there ma,: be it is made clear that the indhiidue.l can free an allusion t9 the white pebble of aoqinttal himself froin the corruption and condemna- used in courts of justice, or to the lot nsed tion or his Church. He may live in the in elections; and the wbrd ,j,ijcpor favours very abode of Sa.~n, and within bearing of these views. Or again, the reference may damnable dQCtrines ; yet if be overcomes be to the iel#-ra, or ticket, which the victor the wiles 1>f Sa.tan, and listens to the Spirit in the games received to admit him to the n.the,r than to the seducers, "he shall eat of tables where he we.a_ fed at the public ex- the bid~ inaliiI_~ which restores 'the spiJ:it pense. Among Jewish symbols a reference th11t the 6esh0potii of ll;gypt have weakened. to the· "stone with seven eyes" (Zech. iii. B~ shall have the wllite stone of absolution, 9) seems to be quite out of place. Never- the tru~ spiritual emancipation, wliiob the thelOllll, Tr!lnoh's explanation of the "white :Balaam1te and Nicolaitan emHncipa.tion has stone" e.s11,11 allusion to the Urim and Thum- oci~t(li'feited" (F. D. l\le.urice). "The mim, which the high priest wore behind the a.iawia, tlie hidderi manna" (see notes on square orea·stple.te of judgment hM nine\ t)iat is very ni-tra.Qtive. This precious thing by contrast to hJ!o. Jq, ih11. eplatle, in the i[!_,- well hate been .a diamond, for there opening deecription of the ~n ~f God, arid W!l8 no dia1110nd .~ong the twelve stones in" the morning star ,._.tp be given to "him of the breutplate. On each of these stones was written th~ name of a tribe; but what that ovezoometh/' A similar allUBion to the was written on the Urim iione but the worship of DionySUB ~ -.astraced in the high priest kne\v. The usual supposition epistle to Smyn11'. & T~e model"Il name of is t!iat it wu the !!aered Tetragre.mmaton- the town is. A#-HiaBar, "the white caatle," the inetfal/le _name of God. All this seems so ea.lied from the rqcky wll, over~nging to fit in singularly well with the present passage. Bu, if this explanation is t.o bold, it, on which a. fortress formerly atood. Of " he that reooiveth it" must mean he that the nine thousand inhabitants, about ihree receiveth the white atone, m.ther than he thousand are Christians, who have the trade that reoeiveth the new name. The "new of the place in their hands. The arieient nsm,e" is ncii a fresh name for.· himself (Isa. Church of St. John the Di$e has been l:tji. 2: I:z:v. 15), but a fresh revelation of turned into a mosque. God'il Name and nature, which only those who have received it can comprehend This fourth and therefore oontral epistle (comp. eh. xiv. 1: xix. 12), A variety of is the.longest of ~e seven. In some respects other exf.~!1-nations will be found in the it is the most solemn of all. Here only is 'Speakers Commentary,' Smith's 'Dic- the majestio title, " the Son of God," intro- tionary of the "Bible,' art. "Stones," in dueed. In the introductory vision the ex- Alford,, and elsewhere. Whatever the allu- sion may be, the genem.l sense is cleai-. He pression used is "Bon of man" {eh. i.13). that overoometh shall be admitted to the "The Son of God," frequent in the Gospel heavenly holy of holies, and to a glory and and Epistles of St. Johri, occurs nowhere knowledge incomprehensible t.o those who else in the Apocalypse. It may be suggested have not experienced it (1 Cor. ii 9). He by Pa. ii. 7, "Thou art my Son; this .day shall be macle a priest unto God. have I begotten thee;" for Ps. ii. 9 is Vers.18-29.-The epistle wthe OhurcA al quoted in ver. 27 (comp. also ver. 26 with Th11a.tif'A. The circuit now turns sonthwards. Ps. ii. 8). F:t0in Ephes11B to Smyrna, and from Smyrna to Pergllll)um, wu movement almost due Ver. 18.-Who hath hil eyes lib a :llame norlh. Thyatira is on the Lycus, close to ( see notes on oh. i. 14, J 5). Ver. 19.-I know thy worb ••• and thy the Roman road between Pergamum and worb. This glaring tautology iii a mis- Snrdis. It waa refounded and named Thya- translation. The Revised Ver11ion is correct tira b,: Beleullll8 Nicator, after the conquest both in the order of the words and in the of Persia by Afoxander. It was strongly rendering. We have tlrat the general state- Macedonian in population: and it is worth ment, fonnd in molli of these epistles, as- serting intimate personal · knowledge : "I noting that it is in Philippi, a city of Mace- know thy works." Then we have, in. two donia, that Lydia of Thyatira is found pairs, these works particularized, "thy love (Aots xvi. 14). An inscription in Greek and faith," and "thy ministry and patience." and J,atin shows that Vespasian restored Finally, we have the knowledge "that thy the roads thereabouts. Three other inscrip- last works are more than the first." "Thy;• in the oentral clause, belongs to all fonr tions mention the dyers ( ol /Ja,<f>••s), for which substantives. Whatever may be thought of Thyatira and the neighbourhood (' Iliad,' 1 Cor. xiii., &-yd,.,, in St. John's writings iv. 141) were so famous, to which guild must oertainly be translated" lo\"e," and not Ly<li& belonged (Acts xvi. 14). There is "charity." Looe and faith produoo as their no tlllusion to the trade here; and modem natural fruit ministrg to the sick and needy authorities dift'er as to whether it survives and patience in _enduring tribulation. tua,roi,!a, exoepting here and Heb. i. 14, nr not at the present day. Bnt the state- occurs only in the writings of St. Luke and me!1t that " large quantities of scarlet oloth of St. Paul; it is specially frequent in the are sent weekly to Smyrna" {Maodonald's Aot.s (i. 17, 25; vi. 1, 4; xi 29, etc.) and 'Life and Writings of Be. John,' p. 187) in 2 Cor. (iii. 7, 8, 9: iv. 1; v. 18, etc.). That thy last worb are more than the flrst. seeJDll to be deoisive. Apollo, the sun-god, With the ,nomentous change of 1ri\..C~va for was the ohief deity at Thyatira, where he x•lpova, this looks like a reminiacenoe of was worshipped under the Macedonian name Mate. xii. 45 (comp. 2 Pet. ii 20). · IIM[oi,a of T1rimnaa. There is, perhaps, a reference probabI1 meana more in w.lue rather ~ oi:t, ti. 1---29.] THE REVELA.TION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. 65