The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 136

L THII VISION l'l.'SELF. St. John begins his account of it with a" Behold." And well may he do so. He repeats this when he sees the "throne" and him that sat upon it. Again in oh. T. 5, when he sees Jesus, the "Lamb as it had been slain." And if in like ma.nner tbi.9 vision come to us, we shall be filled, as he was, with wonder, with adoratlon, and awe. St. John sa.w: 1• .A door set open in. heaVffl. The aky was parted asunder, and in the space between, as through a door, he witnelll!ed what follows. 2. 'Ike thnme and it, Occupant. He could see no form or similitude, any more than Israel could when God came down on Mount Sinai {of. this vision and that,Exod. xix.). All that St. John sawwas one "like unto a jasper stone and a sardius." The pure, perfect, flashiDg whiteness, as of a diamond, but with the carnelian redneas, the :fiery gleams of the sardius ( of. the "sea of glass mingled with :fire," eh. xv. 2). Such was the Being who sat upon the throne-that throne, probably, as that which Isaiah saw (Isa. vi.), being ''high and lifted up,'' some stately structure befitting 80 august a court. 3. 'Ike rainbow, overarching the throne, the mild and beautiful green, emerald,-like rays predominating amid its seven-hued splendour. Then: 4. TIie assessors of him that sat upon the throne, ·On either hand of the throne were twelve lesser thrones-twenty-four in all; and upon them were seated twenty-four elders, clad in white robes, and with crowns of gold on their heads, 5. Then in the space before the throne were seen ,even bu.ming torches. Not lamps, like those that symbolized the seven Churches, and which were after the manner of the seven-branched lamp which stood in the holy place in the ancient temple; but these were torches rather than lamps, destined to stand the rude blasts of the outer air rather than to gleam. in the sheltered seclusion of some sacred edifice. 6. Then further off, beyond that central space, was the "sea of glass," like crystal. Clear, bright, reflecting the lights t-hat shone .•upon it, but not tempest-tossed and agitated, unstable and ever restless, like that sea which da.y by day the exile in Patmos beheld barring his inter- course with those he loved, but calm and strong, :firm and restful,---such was this ses. Then, also in the central space, or probably hovering, one in fT?~t, one on either side, and another at the rear of the throne, were: 7. '1.'he j<>Uf" lw,ng ones. The "four beasts," as, by the most melancholy of all mistranslations, the Authorized Version renders St. John's words, appear here to occupy the same reWiQn to the throne as did the cherubim which were upon the ark of God in the Jewish temple. Strange, mysterious, unrepresentable, and indescribable forms. As were the cherubim, 80 are these; their faces, their ey-with which it is said they" teem," so full of them are they---and their six wings, are all that -,e are told of; for the lion and ox-like upect, the human and the eagle, tell of their faces rather tban their forms, and do but little to enable us to gain any true conception of what they were. Such were the mysterioUB beings whom St. John saw in immediate attendance on him who sat upon &ha throne; and as such, standing or moving around or hovering over the throne, we cannot certainly say which. And all the while there were heard, a.s •• in Sinai in tne holy place,• voices, thunderings, and lightnings, proceeding from the throne. Such was that part of the vision with which this chapter is occupied. As we proceed we find the scene is enlarged, and more Divine trallll&Ctions take place thereon. But now aote- II. THE VEANING OP THIS VISION. And: 1. TM door set open in heaven. This tells, as did the vision of the la.dder Jacob saw, of a way of communication opened up between earth and heaven. 2. 'Ike throne and its occupant. "The whole description is that of a council in the very act of being hdd. It is not to be taken as a descrip- tion of the ordinary heavenly state, but of a special assembly gathered for a definite purpose" (cf. 1 Kings xxii. 19). And this symbol, which mingles reservation with revelation, and conceals as much as it declares, bids us think of God in his majesty, a}ory, supremacy, and as incomprehensible. " Who by searching can find out God?• It is a vision of the great God-we know that; but of his nature, substance, form, and image it tells us notning, nor was it intended that it should. But many precioUB and important truths concerning him it does tell. Of his awful glory, of his unsullied purity a:i;i.d spotless holiness, of the terror of his vengeance, of his interest in our concerns, of the worsbip and adoration of which he is worthy, and which he eter receives; of the character, condition, and service of those who dwell in his presence; of 1M minillterl 1w employ■ t and. much Jl)QH, I. 11, nmwow ~ - IA• iM THE REVELATION OF ST. JOH..,q" THE DIVINE. [OH. JV, 1-1:t.