The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 290

Veni,.7......12;-War aftd triumph. The. heavenly things ("in heaven") are again represented by a battle-a war. There is ever contention on the earth between those forees. t.Jiiu;. are evil and those that are Divine. . The history of the human race is the history, of an undying stru~- struj!gle between the heavenly and the earthly elements; the g,·od and the bad; the flesh and the spirit. Here the whole contending foroee are leagued under two grtat captains, " Michael" and " the dragon." "Michael and his angels going forth -to war with the dragon;" and " the dragon warred and his angels." ·, l'here i5 no difficulty in deciphering their names:. "Michael" is the angel of the· Locd---:" Who ia like God." ltis he who enters "the strong man's house, 11,nd spoils his goods;" he that "brings to nought him that bath the power of.death, that is, the devil; " he who " was manifested for this purpose, that he might destroy the works.-af ,tbei.defil'~ Yea,,it is he, the "King of kings and Lord .of lords;" And the·:drag.on is. expresllly affirmed (ver. 9) to be -"the old serpent, he that is called the Devil &nd Satan.".• This scene is· the central l!C8ne of the entire book, and represents the ceaseless strife. . The iswe is not don btful. For the comfort. of the Church; in all ages: of her strife, "the great voiee in heaven" proclaims "the salvatio11i and the power, and ,the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ." The struggle is else,. where depicted. Here is the simple word of triumph. 1. "They [the dragon and his angels] prevailed not." 2. They were cast out: "Neither was their place found any more·•in- heaven." 3. They were utterly routed: "The ~ t dragon was C&!!t down,"· i• and bis angels were cast down wi.th him.'' ·· 4. The tnumphant reign of. the Redeemer follows: "Now ·ill come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, aruMhe authority of his Christ.'' The words of the great chorus lise to our lips, "An<i·'he·whall reign for ever and.ever." 5. The lliC<luser is silenced: "Who is he that condemeth? '!. 6. The triumph is traced to its true soun:e. (1) " They overcame him .because of the blood of the Lamb, and (2) beca.U118 of the word of their teati- mony ; " aud (3) because of their entire· self-devotion: ~ And they loved not their M even unto death.". 7•. The consequent heavenly jubilation : "Therefore rejoice, 0 heaverlll) nd ye that dwell in. them." Truly he is ble8118d who reads and understands ~eae words. Herein the final triumph of the heavenly over the earthly, '11a eensual, tM • • ~ ia diatinotl7 depicted and undeuiabl7 allirmed.~~ 0,. .  ,:Verai,lS.-17,;;..,,,;&ifdy --•Satanie petllC~ ,The anacipatecl..cW~<:M- already elreoted in ihe .Dlvi~ oounsei.-.e~,the wrath ,of :1;be .,.._,who-.~ 81811NClly Lis own condemnation and aubjugat.ion In that "blood .of. the Lam~"!wlucb. the-hands of bis own" cruel and wicked" onea ahed. The time of hi.11:power,ia limited;, it; is.t• a.short time!' Sa.tan will rage his hour, and persecute the. woman..,, ;Thua, we are brought back to the earlier patt<>fth visi011, and we behold'."""' : ,••I ·. :·_, , J.,.'l'Jril BATANIO P.BBIIBOUTION 01" TH•- CBtmOB 01" Go». John is -11peaking·<>ut.,o{ the depths to the Church ill illl ages, .·during which the. sa.me Vlirulent spirit-ahall yent. itaelt · Bow often has the little ilock had to look upon these wotds,. when the: ia-VllD0\18 wolf hu scattered and devoured and tom l It mast needs be that;: ,p.eraecutiou come. The heavenly spirit meets with ,so great an .oppositio11, in the eartbl;y, thl,t. there can- be no conoord.. The great promise made to .the,,d~and, "What shall Jn1:;have therefore?·• clo■ea with the dreaa announooment--"~:with--persecutioDIJ,"- .It,._enr ■o; buinotonlyso. . . ·· , , , ,..,-1 . .,, "; ., .. " II. TRB DIVttE PROTBOTIOl!I' OJ' THB PDSl!:OUTED ~cnuBOH. . The Lord. Pr9-ri.dts.wr his own: "Not a hair of your head.shall perish." 11.'he iafety bf the Churcli1it~pri,- 11enWd by her dwelling and nourishment. in the wildemellB. The persecuted,Ohuroh ftiell uto her place. ~God has prepared for her - place of. safety.. · She" files with,;winp he too hu1given. Ah I he "bears on eagles' wings" aa of:old~,, He has _;prodded a place---rather a condition, or state-on earth, for bis own.. Ria one. of ondill'IUl.ae. •JS co11ld1not be one-of luxurious aelf..indulgence,'which. the ,.cit.y~life ·wouW'rep~t- ,. They,toved not their lives.'' .- It is a condition of,sufferiugi of den4al, and pri'1'J1.tion, They take up the·er(J!IS. . 'l'he words are so interwoyen with our_ common~. tha.t the, figure is become. familiar to' us. alL .But.God 1~nourishes" his ,peop)A;in ,th,ejr wnaeroess-life., He feeds them with 'man~bread fr,om ihea.ven.:; :He l0111ve1t,~ neither does lie forsake them,- rJ.'he old words,,come to;our thought.sVf'l'hey 11will dwell aafely in the wilderness ; " "I will &l,_llll'B :her1 and, bring her into: tb1t wild~ and speak comfortably unto her; 1'. •'"Who ia -.ihill. that oom,~h qp from the,'lrlld$:D• leaning upon her Beloved ?" It is- the place of discipline and training and hlll'dship. of testing and r,utting •to the proof, , Bu.t. it is the plaee ofbleasi11g.. Through it he l ~ b his people like· a. :flock•. He ,goeth,before them; an:d ia their Rearwwd~t.b.11b-.Def111100 and Sa.wation. , .He will safely, and, gently lead them even to: the laed of ~n.i-. :JCbe wildemess-days· shall end. There is a limit. , : It i,s but for .f' a Ji ma_ and times, fdld.•lf , time."_;,;,B.-G. , -,.·.; ,, , · Vers.11----6.-Bqcial Ohristlwod, aiul,~lfiendhood,,: !'Alld,.ther8 appel\~ ,a:~ wonder in hea.ven," 'etc. Wha.t strange objeets .the ·,htUQAn; imagination oan~o•t<!• or ln:a passive-state receiveJ What a remarkabledream·or -,-isiQn this is.of the-..a ~ hennit on Patmosl "A woman ar:ra.yed,with the sun,·with tile, moon -~.,hll: ftet, ·and a crown of 1/welve stars around her head,. brings forth -a Jllll.n-tibil<l, ,,,A :Jmp iearlet dmgoo with ten horns ahd seven diademed heads,,_whose tail sweeptiaft,r,lt.,t\4 third part of the stars to th&'earth, stands before her to devour the. 1;hild,tli.ee-lll®lff.t it i s ~ since the child is:.to rule the nations with. a rod. of.iron. But t,be old.ld,~ snatched tip to the tbroneof God; and the woman files-into tb.8 -wilderu,ess, wli.-ahe ia nourished for twelve. hundred and sixty days." I shall take this strange creat,W"Q,_of the imagination as! have taken the other viaions-not ..to repref.',ent tl).ings of wbi<i~,wf know nothing, but to illustrate eome important realities with which w~ are mor~ or }l:!1111 acquainted. There are two subjects here-,-(1) social C,'hrist1wod,. and (2) ,aocial,:~d- lwod. ,· . . . . ,' : ' ?..; L SooliL CmnsTROOD. By •• social Ohrbithood ." l mll8ll the exist(lnce, of , ~ , i l l a human society, or in a community <Jf men. I Wl8 this language in pr-ef11wice, t9 th, '8rm "Church.'' for that term now, alllll I seldom re_pr~ts .Christ~,.but ~.il/41 reverse. The exprBBSions in the Episcope,l. commuujty, ," QUt , Church," ·aqd, ln the. Nonconformist domain," (1W" Churches,'.' &rll,:aJesl,Jar 11gougb;frorµ rep~u.ting Obrist, either in bis doctrines, ethics, or spirit. &l,f-sacrificing love -~ the ,4ll!ll!WCB. rA Ohmthood; -b11t where do we find that, either in:" our OburcJa!: or. "ow OhJlfChe&"? Ohristhood is peace, eternal antipathy to 11ll anger,. re:1e1.l,~ll)~!lt...ambitio,11, ~ . · ~ •~our C4m-ch" gives war.\\ sanction, aliceJ1ce, a blessi.ng, . ',l'he word <CChu;tll~" there- a: be, in its conventional sense, I repu~~ aa <>alum.1~1J!:i1, Chr,is~: P~~,t-~Ti'~  theratoa, to tB111trat.e,_IOftal ·.CAns~.tw.o .reJJW"kt:.are suggested•oonoerning~,the 1M1ety,or1commU11.ityin whieh-Ohrillt-livea and works. L.Ie f a g ~•. "A ~omq. clotied"farrayed] witli the '1nm; ami the moon under.. her feet; Jlolld upon lier Ji«.d .,a cro'ihl ·oftwelve stars~ (ver. l); It is encireled with the. solar beams of Divine ,truth. Bcme&thJ.the·feet is the world. · It treads down all worldlineu in'its .spirit .Mid aim,. Around its brow, as a _l)llerless diadem, are twelve stars. The ff"tH Church '4: a :oom~ inllility of Ch.-istly mefl-Ohristly in id~ spirit,• and pursuit--;-is the .most glorious objelli-under the grand heavens. It reveals mope of God than allthe globes'th&t roll tmough. imn:lensity. ·It is a glo,wu.a Church. The conventional Church is al crawling -roophant ;!tlte true Church iu crowned sovereign. 2. Itsi mtdtiplyi'll,fJ, '' She being with·ckifd.,oiied, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered~ (ver. 2). The.. trua Chutcll',uinot.sterile or barren, buU,therwise; it is fecundant and multiplying. Three are remlll'KS suggested coni:erning its offoipring: (1) .It is brought forth in pi1,in. , « In pain to be delivered." " All life," it has been said, "dawns in anguish, BO!IOrding to thediatr(Gen,ilit 16)/' There is an angoish of the -Chureh which. OhristJaid upon her:;-it.,is the lll.w,of..her life that she musCbring forth Christ to the wotld, but she c\l.nnotJwork deliverance without :knowing ,1uffering. · Paul. speaks of .himself as ".1ra,,. vaillng, in. birth." ·Who knowa the angui&h of those _earnestly etrgaged ir;i endea~uring to; Jor.m -Obrist in· men, and to 'briµg him forth? What is genuine, pempnal religion but Christ iD 1nen, working within them· to "will and to do ,his ,awn.good.,pleasll¥8!' P (2) It ·is -blwght ·forth- to govem. "And she brought forth & man-ohikl,who was to rule all natlon1 with a rod ot iron" -(ver. 5). Evei-y Ch.riBtly con'V!lrt is lli'ule!'-"-is born to rnle. Servility and: fl1lllkeyiam in aU its fotmt!I are foreign to its insthtcts and spirit. •.His instiriots ·and! bearing a.re i\nperia.l.1..:All the offspring oLthe true Churd1 &Pe:~gs.. a11 ~eU .aa "_pHeata-,unto God." (~/ It is _destined .for '.Divine fellowlibip. •• ·~nd 'her child was oa.ught•.ttp "IIIRO' God, and to his throne" (Ter. 5). What.ever might be the trials of th•rtruly OhristLy,;.htte is the end. Sublime destiny thit, "God hli.th raised us up ~ther; aitd,made uS: stt·together in heavenly places fa. Ghrist; J'eru.~- ,;Though. the :mother had lh :her trials ·and persecutions to .flee untoi the ''·Jwiild~'f. _e'i'en the~. ~he was secure.. •~ She had: a place prepared of ,God.~ · .,: , ..-, ' rn-~ PIBNDHOOD.· Not only is there,a sooi~y on srth in which Christ is, bu.t there ia a; society i'a which the devil· ii.,. ".And there appeared adother .~onder i.11 h-.ven-~ and!•behold ·a great ,red dragon, ha.mg seven lreads," etc. There ia ae trul:J a social fiendhood as there is a social Christhood. The "great red dragaii,'! 'the old 119rpent, the "prince of the power of the air," works in the children of disobedience Mr&\'ywhl!RI. 'fwo fao~ are .suggested., by tmi. highly aymbolic '8.ild ·prooably iunin:ter- l)reflli.bk:desoription here given ,of this fterid .. in,.human. ,aooiety. 1. Hi& pjsamtan«f# ~fldwer. (1) Enormous power of:intellect. ;. "Seven heads." .. T-he deTil Jias 1111&~:amount of human intellect at hi■ command than. Ohl'ist·; sevenfold, perailven• tfli'I!; aoi:ei · (2) EnormOlll-powercof-ficm. .:"Ten-horns." Homa are1.he f!IJlbleme M';f,t~ ' Ho~ mighty is the devil amongst men! He works in ,all.. the .payies &Bd ~ of the world. (3) Enormoua power of ~ e . 11 Seven crowns [diadems] ilpan his ~ " ·: The- human world-abounds with chiefs and princelets,.. and,~ and queens ; but in how many is .there Christhood?. · · The "great red dragon "' seema. to inastet most, if not all; the "kingdom of Satan" Ill all but world-wide. (4) Enormow, power of mischief. "And his tail drew [drawetb) the third pa.rt of tne stars o{.hea.vcl!Jil; and did ·llBl!t them to the earth." There are stara in the moral firmament of the hum.a.Ji •u}/smrs :of .sooial love, of reverent piety, of moral intuition, of spirituaUnsight, of infinite worship. These atars So.tan sweepa away, and leaves us to grope our wa.y in nootumal gloom. Where &N· these ·sws Belin in the political management of. England to=da.y?-: Truly we are walking in darkness and have no light.I 2. Hi, .dew.mined ~ fo. <11wiathood.. 'It is said1 · "The dra.gon Btood -before the, woman which wiui.Niildy io be delivered, for to devour her child.as soon as it was born." It is a.gainst Ohrist-tn,his true Church. Christ; mhis few but multiplying progeny, that tw. ••.great :red~" stood. , ·. . ' . .. . , ., . . . . ·· OoNCJ.tJ&IOll'. This determined and active antilgoniBln between IIOCial ,Clu:isthood and IOClal fiendhood is a commentary on the old t.ext, "I will put enmity between thee and 1 Bead in the journals of the time tlie conduct of our army amongst thit Bondan811; • t. Ula 1'Wk .titled," BpoiliiiJ the Egyptianl.' · ' · , · .. , · -· oe:. xn. 1-17.] TIIE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. 827