EXPOSITION. thinks an apoetate Clhrlstian teach~~ i■.~ CHAPTER ix. nified ; Andreas, Bengel, and. De ~ette, be- Ver,, 1.-And the fifth angel sounded, and lieve a good angel ill intended : .others 1188 I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth; particular .emperp:rs, eto.; w.hile llengaten- a .tar from heammfallen unto Qi,e earth (Re- berg thiµka the :figme represents not one, visecl Version); not saw a sta,- fall. (For but a number of persons, including Napo- th8' distinctive character of the last three leon. And to him was given the key of ths judgments, see. on eh. viii. 2.) "A star" bottomless pit ; of the pit. of the'. ab1111 (Re- sometimes signifies one high in position. vised Version). That ill, as WOJ:daworih Thas Numb. xxiv; 17, "There shall come explains, of the aperture by wbreh there ·u a &tar out of Jacob;" Dan. viii. 10, "And it no egress from or. ingress into the abyja east down some'of the host e.nd of the stars Chriat holds the key (eh. i. 18), ~ut for a t.a the ground." In, oh. i. 20 "the stars" are season Satan ie pe1mitted to exer(lise power. '' the angels of the. seven Ohlll'9hel!; "in Job The CWJ/38 is the abode of the deivil ii,nd his xµ:.viii. 7 the an~ls are called "stars;" in angels ; the present abode, not, the lake of Isa. xiv. 12 we have Satan referred to thus: fir11, into which they a.re 1111bseqilently ca81i "How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lu- (eh. xx. 10). ' · cifm-, son of the morning I " It seems, there- Ver. 2.-'-:And he opened the bottomle11 fore', that Satan himself Ill here referred to pit; pit of the abyes, as above; This phrase under this symbol. The trumpet.visions Ill omitted by ~. B, Coptic;.i lEthiopic, and hitherto have portrayed troubles affecting others. It is insened by A, B, many cur- the outer man : now begin ro be set forth sives, Vulgat.e, Syri.ao, Andreas. And there those ,yet more tenible visitations which,· arose a smoke out af t1lo pii, as the 81Uote of affecting his· spiritual nature, are seen more a great furnace. The 111Doke of the inll8JIIB ~y.to emanate from the devil. He baa (eh. viii. 4) pnrified the p'.!'Ayers of the l&inis, fallen "from heaven unto the earth;" that ma.king them uceptable before God ; the is, whereas formeriy heaven was his abode,, smoke which ascends from the abyss clona. · tlle sphere of his work while yet obedient 1J1en's mindll and darkena their understaqd• w God, he now has no office or power, or ings. And the lllll anct the air were darkmed entrance there, but is permitted to exercise· b:, rea.aon of the 11D.bke' ot the pit. Tm, air, what; in:ftuenoe he poss88888 on the earth (of. becoming :filled with 'the smoke, obaonred Luke x. 18, "I beheld Satan 1111 lightning the light of the 8Uli, so that both -appGll,ftld fall from heaven "). This i1 the view of dark. This darkening ot the atmoaphel!e · T«tullian. · Arethaa, Bede, Vitringa, Alford, may have bem mggeated lJy Uie deaarip- belien aa evil angel wmeant, W ordiworib Uon of she looua,t-plape (E-J.9ll. ~ US). Qt <m.•IX. 1-21.] THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE·. 163
by the "MOOUDt in Joel· ii. But it ilMhe death of the authors, fainting• the· moral llDOke, llOt the loonsts, which is here Aid atmosphere. It is true that the mie,, Ohria- .to e&tllB the obscurity;,, the .106llllt8· issue tian sometimes sutfen also ; but ~at ia an. f,:,n]j,, Old qf the lllllOke. . li is doubtful aspoot which i■ ■et forth In the vild6M' of whether we oul[ht t.o • seek II.Dy particular the seals. Here anothet view 1&-801 ·fl>rtla, int.erpretatiou ol IA, fflOb; ii is probably namely, that the ungodly al'e" til!imllelvea ouly aeeessory to the general . pictUN1. If punished, and punished severeiy;-by meldlt we may pl'llllll .the meaning so far. it is per- of this evil influence of the dllvU. Ma1')' 1