The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 162

oae .r &be ...ta; ou of t1uJ - -Z. (Re- 13,, or B()tne qualifying parliale: but, on the vised Venion). The iruiertion of "88Ve.n" eontiwy, it is en.ctly the e:r.preeaion 1188d ·of (f,....,l) u Bllpported by A, B, 0. N, and our Lord's ad'fent in eh. :r.:r.ii.1'/, to, "The othem; Vulgate, Do Dien's Syria.o, Andreas, .Arethaa, · Primasius, Viotorinua, Ethiopic. Spirit and the bride ear, Come," 8'o. Thougll there ia much ruuon m this coutention, yet. (On t.be right of the Lamb to open the seals, on the whole. the weight of e ~ • aee on eh. Y.) A.Jld. l heatd, u it were the stated al:iove, JUakes it probable ·UiM·· the. llOiae .r tJuuider, one of the four beasts; 11entenae is addreeaed. to St. John. . the f70im of tm.mdBr ••• /ov.f' lioi"fl crea,. Ver. i.-t6.nd I eaw. The wmal bthoho- wrea (Revised Venion). (For the /ow tion to a new. viaion, or a apecial htnre ol li«Rg bft..g., see on ah. iY. 6.) Here each a vilion (aee on eh. iv. 1). AJld. beholll a living being invites attention to the revela- white hone. Th& whole v.lsion,ap~ to twn of the futme·of that creation of which be f01111ded on that of Zeoh. i. 8-11. W1aile they are 1tll representative. The thunder ia ill alwaya typioal . in the Revelation ol the usual aooompe.nimen.t of a special reve- heavenly things (cf. eh. L H, ·"Hi■ •hain lation of the Divine will, and indicative of were white;" eh. ii. 1'1, "a white atone;'-' the majesty of ·him whose will :Is declared eh. iii. 4, 5, 18; iY. 4; ti. 11, and "fii. 9, lS, (see eh. x. Sand :r.iv. 2; also E:r.od. :r.iL 16: "white garments;,. eh. xi.Y. H, •white Act.s ii. 2). Nothing in the te:r.t warrants cloud;" oh. :r.i:r.. 11, H. "white h01'888;'" 111 in' pnriicnlariziug the four living crea.- oh. XL 11, "white throne"), and indeed turea in theee four invitations uttered by in the whole of. the New Testament; (of. them. though many writen have en- Miltt. xvii. 2; nmi 8; John u. 12; .Aota deowm,i1f. t.o do ao. Thus, adopting the i. 10), the only e:r.ceptions being ~it; v. 8G order in eh. iv. 7, they have supposed that and John b. 85. The lio,w,· throughoat the 6rat voice was uttered by the lion. since the Old Teafament, ia emblematio. of war. the revelation of the lint 111!111 :Is distin- Among the Romans a tDAiu hone waa the guished by the prophecy of victory. The aymbol of victory. And he that eat on Jdm. 1111e1-ificial nature of the aecond. living being On a oonsiden.tion of the whole of, the -the:eteer-is tho,,.ght to be connected with visions attending the opening of Dze. -Ja. the slaughter predicted under the &eeand. it aeems best to interpret thia tiaion u. a -1 by the vision of war and pe:rsecution. symbolic representation of theabatrac& idea The man is CDDBiitered typical of the heresy of the Ohurob as a victorious body.. In a which it is believed the third seal prediots, aimilar wa.y the following appearances lllli and especially of the false opinions concern- typical of war, famine, •and death. Some ing the Incarnation; while the eagle is re- interpret the rider to mean Ohriat himaelf- garded 88 a aymbol of resurrection and the a sense not materially different from that harbingtll' of the final victory of the jnst given above, since by the ~ of 0 ~ over the death and Hades of the fourth 888L the ·Ohurch colleetively and Christiana in~ 8&7fnlr, Come ad tee. The Revised Ver- dividaally are enabled to triumph: and in. aio1r omits "and -." The Textus Be- hi.a body, the Ohuroh, Obrist trimnphll. 'l'hia ceptus, without any apparent authority, appe1trance is repeated, with additions, at ob. ieade 'Epxcru iral /JA,-rr., " Come and see." :r.i:r... 11. The revelation thua begin8 and "'E,xo11, "Come." simply, is read in A, 0, P, ol088B with an 888lll'&llce of viotory.· God'■ li>urteen cunives, aeveral vem.ona, two end is attained in a myaterioaa vn.y. Many mallll8eripts of A.ndreaa, etc.; while'Epxo11 trials and afflictions 816 to trouble the oanh. iral ~ .. Come and behold," is found in N, but through all God iB working to bring hia B, thirty-tour cursives, various vemons (in- Church triumphantly through the Btrnggle. clading the Ooptic); two m1museripte of And what is true of the Cliureh aa a wliole .Andrea&, etc.; and the Syriac omits 'Epxo11y is true of each individual aouL Those. to •Come." 'l'he autboritiea are thus very whom St. John wrote could not understand. even11, ·balanced; bat the addition of nl 13., 88 many now do not nndentand, for what even if not warranted, BeelllB to indicate that purpose God permitted them to auffilr. For the sentence was generally considered to be such St. John's message ia intended. to be addreaaed to St. John; and wa.s intended a.a a support: not, indeed, by removing p ~ an invitation to him to witness the appear- trouhlea, but by declaring the final 'fiotmy ances which aooompanf.ed the brellking of of those who endnre to the end.. Thna, theRt the seals. Alford contends that· the cry, 88 a preparation for the W088 to be revealed; •• Come," is addressed, on behalf of creation, and 88 an encouragement after . disolOlllng to the Lord Jesus, and is a petition to him the proapeot of prolonged trial, the Yieioa to speedily bring thel8 thinga to Fflll8, that of the Church triumphant iB 'l'Ouohsafed. bis own advent may follow.. In support of both at the beginning and the end of ibe Ibis, Alford remarb that there ia no example Revelation; Biaping j,nd othen nadentud of the uae by St. John of"Epxo11 in the selll!II of" Gome and aee," "Come hiUier." without and ReuM ~er-~• the viawn aaa penonillcation of war; Bengel i~ IQe&DI cou11• 18f THE .REVELATION Oli' ST~ JOJm THE DIVINE. [c:ur•.vi. l'"'-cl1.