The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 65

neBB (Matt. viii. 6, 14 ; ix. 2 ; Mark vii. 80). the reius and the heart ( comp. Rom. But perhaps we should rather compa.re such vu1. 27; Ps. vii. 9; Jer. xi. 20; .u. 12). expressious as " oost in to prison, into the But lpuvtfv in this connexion, is a New sea,, into the fire, into Gehenna" (Matt. xviii. Testament word; the LXX. do .not use it, SO; xxi. 21: xviii. 8, 9). It may be doubted bu~ ?,,-&(.,iv, a word which is not, fount,iu wheiher there is any significance. in the fact the New ·Testament, or· llo,aµ&.(rn'i etii. that her sin is spoken of as ..-opv,ia (ver. 21), 'Epeuviv ooours thrice in St. John's.writing>< whereas -those who sin with her are said (John v. 39; vii. 52), and thrice ds,,,whel'i /J-1/•XEIJ«v. Idolatry is spoken of ,both as (Rom. viii. 2.7; 1 Oor. ii 10;- l Pen. i. ll). whoredom and Qs ooultery. In the one cu,se We need uot attempt to make any sharp it is Q contrast to the marriage tie between distinction between the rei7,s, which were God and his faithful worshippera ; in the believed to be the seat of the. desires, and other it is a violation of it. Jezebel antici• the heart, which sometimes representa, th-, pates the harlot of eh. xvii., as Balaam an- affections and sometimes the conscience. ticipates the false prophet of eh. xiii. The Put together they are equivalent to .•: the remarkable construction, "repent out of" devices and desires of our own hearts." (µercvoijuru i1<), is pecu}ia.r to this book (vers. And I will give to each ,of you. From the 21, 22; ix. 20, 21; xvi. 11; but in Acts angel of the Church the Lord turns abruptly viii. 22 we have p.eTav61/f}'ov iur6, and in Heb. to the individuals in the Church (comp. vi. 1 we have p.eTv.volco &..-6 (compare the Matt. xvi. 27; Rom. i,i. 6). converse, µeT«vola. ,ls, Acts xx. 21). "Her Ver. 24.-But to you I say, to the· rest in works " is to be preferred to " their works." Thyatira. The "and" after "I say" in the Af,.,.ijs might easily be changed to a/mi,,,, Authorized Version is a false reooiog, which either accidentally, owing to the preceding it shares with the Vnlgate and Luther: "to lp-yo,11, or deliher.ttely, because it seems you'' and "to the rest " are io apposition. strange to talk of repentillg from the worlrn Which know not the deep things of Sat.an, of another person. But the point is that as they say. Two questions confront us those who have become partttkers in her here, and it iB not possible to answer either sins have abandoned their own works for with certainty: (1) Who is it who sa.y hers; and it is therefore from her works something? (2) What is it that they say? that they are bidden to repent (compare (1) Note that "say" (Revised Versi,;m), "my works" in ver. 26). not" speak" (Authorized Ver,ion), is right; Ver. 23.-And her children (placed first, the Greek is lli-youu,11, not ,\a,,\ovuw. '.l'he in emphatic distinction from those who nominative to "say" may be either the have been seduced into temporary conuexion faithful in Thyatira, " who have not this with her) I will kill with death. With doctrine," Wld who show thdr detest;ition o.1rol<'revw iv ltavciml', comp. LXX. in Ezek. of it by calling. it "the deep things of xxxiii. 27 and Lev. xx.10; and 611vcimp nllev• Satan;'' or the holders of this doctrine, who nt'T'w, Matt. xv. 4 and Mark vii. 10; the profess to be in the possession of profound phrase recurs in eh. vi. 8. Those who have knowledge of a mysterious kind.· Of these not merely been beguiled into sin by her, two the former is ra.ther tame in meaning. bot are united to,her in a permanent moml Moreover, we should have expected "as ye rellltionship (John viii. 44), shall perish in say" to harmonize with "to you I say." some signal manner hy the visitation of Therefore we may suppose that it is those God. Thus we have three pl\rlies marked who have this doctrine wbo are indicated in off:, (1) Jezebel herself, the source of all "as they say." (2) What, then, did they the mischief; (2) her children, who are say ? Did they -00.ll their doctrine "deep even Sllt'h as herself; (3) her victims, who things," which the Lord here enlarges into have been led astray by hel'. She and her " deep things of Satan," in order to declare children are to be visited with sickness and its true character? Or did they themselV!1,i death, because they will not repent, and the call their knowledge "the deep things of others with tribulation, if they do not Satan," which they fothomed in ozder to repent. Her doom and that of her children prove their mastery over them? The former is certain; that of her victims may yet be seems better. It is, improbable that auy averted. Moreover, the one seems to be sect, nominally Chri.tian, would in,so many final, the other remedil\l. And all the words claim special knowledge of"the deep Churches shall know; literally, ·sliall come to things of Satan," Bather, he who condemns k1141w, shall learn by experience. 'fhis .tate- the "synl\gogue of Satan" (wr. 9) at ment seems conclusive with regard to the Smyrna, and the "throne of Satan" (~er. purpose of these epistles. Although ad- 13) at. Pergamum, here QOndemns the dressed to local Churches at a particular "deep things of Satan" at Thyatinl. . In crisis, they a1'tl for the instruction of "all any case, "deep things " ii the p,romin!lllt the Ohurohea" throughout the world, and thought. It is some early.farm of Gn011tici!lry. ,lin1t1ghout all time. Re which searcheth that. is indfoat<:d. awl ,w Jmow from vadollf OU:fli. f-211.). · THE BEyBLATION OF ST•. JOHN TllE pzy!NE,:· ft7