The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 163

Uw-.g w,p-. repl'l)Senting.-tion, l!M Oil eh. iv. 6.) For •the omiallion of "and -," and the disoll88ion of the question to whom ihe words are eddresaeil, aee above,on ver. l. As. them Skted. some .belieYB the aecond living being here, ~cified to be the or, which, on .ac.:ouJrt of dB aacmleial character, invites the prophet to behold the result of the war which is penoni&ed by thiii•viBion. Wordsworth, inte~i~ the living ,bein~ to .mean the Go&pela; hlll'e Bees;.a reference to Sl· Luke's · Gospel, which · depieta the aulforings of Christ, and ·oonsidera that th& ox hero aummons Sl John to witneu the per- secutibn of. '1w Dlll.liym .. · · Vw. 4.-And there went out aother hoia that was ncl. The.re ia a wry general agreement tliM the red home eignideuoar ~aughter by, the sword which waa gi'\"m\ to "hiw that 1111t thereon.'' Slighhariaiions of die applicatioir occur. Wonlilwerth, fol- lowing the more ancient expoeiton, thinka ffiat only that aspect, of war•i11 intended which consists · in the l)llraeention of the 1111inta~ while·Aiford and others wonld not iedriot the meaning, bat consider that war in genenl is meant, relying upon the fot. lowing wOI'di, "that they sh&uld kill one another," and quoting our Lord'• p10phecy, "I oame..not to aend ~ but· a swonf" (Matl x. Si). .Doth 'lien _ , be eorJed. Though there, had ,ne"81' been peraeoution, .war would be one ot the great afflictione from which Ch,Wiw in 'ftriona ages suifor. and in which ·tbey need eoDBOlation; but we may well· believe that &. John,. lh writ,. ing to Ohriatiana who were themselves being grievously persecuted, should refer 11speeially to the &laughter of the ·88.lnis, 1!BDD8 of the trials infticted upon them with God's know. lodge and porllliB/qon. The;Btrfektioo, in• tended as a 11t1ppol't to those to whom ·S\'. .Tohn wrote, and . applying directly .and specially to their 'SitU&tion, baa yet.a wider application, and foresliadoWB the .fate of each mdividual Ohrilltian and the Ohm:clt in general tliroughoui all ages. And pow&i- we.s ginn to him that. eat O.ereon ill take peace from the~ea.rthi a11d .to Afrn ..tAat ,at upon kim ii _, gi- Jaim,J.o take ptnD8 Old of tM earth. The proMllll is redundant r it has no special signifiootion (see eh. ii. 26; iii. 12, 21). "'•The peace" (rl,• olpl/•1J11); thli.t is, pmoe in general, not t1u flMll6 lef't by (he first appearance.... Powlll'" (cf. eh. iT. ,llJ L 6; Tii 12).;r A few anthoritio1 omit,., "out." ... TJa.e-earth ... 'has been tll'J'O, aeonsly-restncted to the Roman empire or io .Tnda,a., The whole,W<ll'ld ii meai,t. .Ht'l'e is a 1'8ptftitiou of our, uird's pophooy,. "I mme pot to send pea,ee, bm a swonl" (Mali. L BJ.). The &llllOrd directed against the uinta of God is,'by God'~ providonce, oon- vtaied ·into m i.Bllrumen& fot·the i-etlniDg e& vt.1-1'7.J THB REVELATION ·ov· ST. JOHN TH!> DlVINlt:' JM ----------------------------------- Otbeni 911d eonvmldn of his kingdom. A.11 in the the rise of hereaa , took place. . death of Christ, Satan waa foiled .with hill accepting the hiBtoriQSJ new, yet comider own weapon, and by death eame life, so the vision to fordell famine; aud Gruti1Jli what is intended by the enemies of God to and Wetstein pomt to ihe fwnine-in the be the 8%.tennination of Chri,tianity is the reign of. Claudi1JI! as the fulfilment. Bat means of increasing and stteRgthening his itis not probable that the meaning.of the Chlttob. A.:11.d· that they Bhollld kill one book is so limited in extent ; \mi nther another; that is; that among the inhabitants that ita prophecies point to eveats. whiob of the earth aome sheuld kill others. As ba.ve happened, and are reouning, an1lwill explained 11bove, th111 includes both <the continue •to recur ontil the end of tbe;wodd. i;Jaughter of the saints and -war in ·generat We the!efQ16 understand ~-thiF•vuieit The verl:fo-4)4M"•," to sacrifice,'' is peculiar to denotes famine in tile ordinuy 88Ull&j,as, one St. John, being·found ooly in'the Revelation of the tri&ls awaiting the mmpbun. of. the llil1d in 1 ·Johnili. 12., The"us&-Of·this verT> OhtRclt .of. God-at ·w.nona· tun~ tiuriu~ the &eenl.s to imf)ly·that the vision .more imme- nuiteuee- of - ~ Oburcb., .on , eanb. ,This diately coutemplates the death of ihlil affliatioB may 'he.ppell ooneurreatly llfith. or fuartyrs. ·· And there. 'ftl give&- uto lum a i1111teeedent to,~ s.iibeequent to, any of thOIIII great 1wol'IL Here, a'gBiu, P.~'J<!Up«, though triah denoted by,ihe othervisiom;and:Em!D used al~ in a· wi~er- &eDBII, ~ilea shietiy the "iotorio:us career -Ol the Chwoh. aa fore. the eaorificle.1 knife, Ow nature.l .instrument ald•,un&r the' first see.I ; . for by suffering oftwJ al&llghtier men&ned. It is·the LXX. the Church conquers and. is made perfect '\VOrd \Jeed in Gen. ::uii: 6, ·10, ia the aecouut Alld ha that IBt. OJl him had a ,pair· ;of 11f the l!iicriflee of Isaac, where it is also balance■ in hiB hand. Zv-yds· i& rightly e1911ely .oonnected ,with o-g,ct-,.,.., ·"to IISllri- rendered".abal:anoe," as in Ezelr. xlv. 10; fJee," thi, .verb Ul!ed la this passage. . ,, · · 110t (as it primarilytueant) a .. yeke." TJle Ver. -5.-And when• he had o:penet tile idea. intended tl), ,be conveyed is that ol third seal; tr-hen M opened;· a& in the cne scarcity • great that food is weighed care. <If the 6ther seals (see 01I ver, 3). I heart! fully•,as tlOniefuin~-'l'eJY: ar& and pteeioul, tU ·Wrd beut ,ay; t1l8 t11W .Jwing bung Ui()ugn there ism yet aeomplete ahlenoe mging. · (On the Zilli~ beinf/8, see eh. iv. it) Offood, · .. · • Werdliworth takes the 4hirn 'littiagllemg to be-that with the human face, atid.• C0111ri:dera of the four lieana •n Ver. 6.-An4. I f1eanl a Vo.ice in tb8mi4ff I Mtml a.sit~,. it to be typical of the whele:vision of the wioe '" U.11 mid#~flhe1ourliflngflffldur-. third seal, by'symbolb:ing the aource of eaying •( Revised Yersiori). The speakel- ii the next trill! of the Church; namely,.the not perceived by St. John; the worda pro- rise or bernsy, wlaich lie thinks is depicted ceed from 11Gmewlwre near. the throne (but by this appeuanoe. But probably the four the esaet situation is left do11btful). wlliab living beings represent all ereation, and thllS i11 su,rrounded by the fQlll' tiYing creaturu •invite St. John to witness the troubles in (eee ·on eh. iv. 6 for the oonsideration both nore for mankind in general. (For .e. full of the position od of, the n&fiure of the eonside.ration of tbis point, eee on eh. iv, 6.) four living ereatu1'89c). ,.Alford pointa,01a Cfme and 118&, Tee majority of authoritiee the appropriaiem!e$ of theTOiee preeeeding otnit .. and &ell'' (881! the 001're8p0nding pe► from the midst; llf ·,the repreeentaliTe11 of 1oge in vel'B. I and B, where ,also ill dis- creation, when the- inten\ of the· woroa. ii eussed the question as to whOIIl the sentence to. mitigate the : woee . denounced agllinn ill addressed). And I 'beh,ml, and lo a black · .creation.· Those .who•-~tisider the home. The black ·1s typical· of woe and creatures to· be symbol1cal ot the G :i?f mourning-the reeult of the t1C11rcity fore- and •ho interpreUhis vision as a prop ea, told in the following words. 'l'his vision of heresy (see-on' ver. 5). also _,an apPt'O'" is. typical or famine ; it is the soooad· of the pria1e11ess in the faei ot the voice'il8U~ three trialll foretold-war, famine, death from amidst the living eree.tUlell, Binee :by (ef. Ezek. xiv., ~here the "founore plagues'' \he power and i'ndnenee of the GospelB 1.1'1¼ •wild bea~ts, the sword, famine,· nnd hereay i4 dispelled. • Wordsworth :reoollll J188lilenee), St. John seems to f°'retell ihe the onstotn of J)laoing the Gospels in thiJ roourreno& 'of tmee of these troubles to midst of the Sjnod in the anoien\ Cllnneilll ·try, mankbld in geneT&l, and Ghristi&'Ds1 in of theObuioh; A meuure of 'ifheat fCfr • pMticular. Tbo.se who· interpre\ _the vil!:ion ~ . ud lhree•meMU1"89 of Jlarlef ror,1, io mean 8Cl8tcity {)f faith, or in 'other words ·penny; 11 'M1Et1iz of·urheal•Jor• ~ the prevalence of heN!lly, do so on the snp- GIid thru dtamiztll'. of bar?eg Jor ,a,detwiw, poaition that the ·events denoted at. the The chamiz appeai:a to have beim tile ftibd opening of the seals follow ea.oh ·other in allotted to_ one, n111n fort, day; whfieithe historical order. They therefore assign iknariu w'Ba, '116 paf of 111 110ldierc or of. ii, these e~ta to the- period nbiequ~nt to . eomIIIOD labourer for one day{Matt. U.·I, 'A.:D. SOO, when peneeuUon had oeued, and ~ He agreed wiUt the hi1icn1ren for • JMimia, l8t1' 'l'llE REVELATION 01!' 8T. JOHN THE DIVINE. [ea. vt 1-17.