The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 367

aervant, or the servant of selfishness and sin ?-has to be sett.led. When all the clamour of passion and the might of temptation are resisted, and the heart goes over to the Lord's 11ide, that has been the spiritual fulfilment of thi1 mysterious vision, II. WHAT OAKE OF rr? This is given not here, but in eh. xix. 17-21, where the. utter discomfitur, of Ohrufs ffltmies is told of in the vivid, graphic way com11,on in this book. Yes, the l11Bt great conflict shall be a triumphant one for Christ's Church.. Oftentimes now the Church, in this or that part of the battle-field, seems to be worsted; but, at the last, victory "all along the line " shall be the Lord's, and, through him. hers also. And in those spiritual Arms.geddolll! which to-day are fought, and every- day, there, too, victory is the Lord's. Let the noble arm_v of martyrs tell. Let all- who have witnessed faithfully for him say, "If he who will be with his people iu the last decisive battle be with us now, then all the unclean spirits of hell, all the devil's might and power, bearing down against us shall leave us the victor still." III. WHAT LED TO IT? Two facts, and very suggestive ones, are named. 1. The di-yingup of Euphrates. (Ver. 12.) That was an apparent providential preparation and prospering of the devil's purpose. Such things do happen. Some have thought that the drying up of Euphrates means tbe conversion of the East, the coming to the Lord'>! help against the mighty, of those remote lands. ' But wh&t is told of here is part of the sixth vial of jndgment; it is not a manifestation of grace, but of wrath. Therefore we understand by this symbol a seeming furtherance of evil designs by pl'Ovidential means. When Jonah went to flee from the presence of the Lord, there was a ship at. Joppa ready for him. When men determine they will follow evil ways, how smooth the path becomes I FaciUs descensus, etc. How m~ny aids and abettors they meet with! A way being easy, a Euphrates dried up, a bai-rier removed, i. no proof tbat God approves that way. Israel murmured for quails, and they h.:td them, and died. These " kings of the east," who were part of the 11;reat aggregate of kings told of in ver. U, like the rest, had been persuaded to this awful war by the "unclean spirits" (ver. 13). And lo, it seemed as if it were certainly the right and wise thing to do; for here wa~ the great hindrance taken out of the way-Euphrates was dried up. Woat a Eu!Jhrates against evil a Christian home, or religious surroundings, or God-fearipg friends, or wholesome public opinion, may be ! But God's providence may take these away from you, and so that barrier against sin be put out of the way. But God does not mean you to sin on that account, nor will he excuse you ifyo11 do. 2. 7'hepower of tM unclean spirits. They are said to have been" like frogs." (1) Whom do they repre88nt1 See whence they issued. (a) From the dragon; that is. the devil. Therefore the unclean spirit that thence came forth represents the malignant, wicked spirit that ever opposes itself against God. (b) From "the beast;" that is, the world in its hostile manifestations against Obrist•s Church. It was represented chiefly by Jerusalem and Rome in St. John's day. {c) From the false prophet, or the beast from the sea (eh. xiii. 11); that is, the superstitions, lies, and manifold deceits of heathenism, whereby the people were beguiled and bound to the will of the godless world, which is emphatically called "the beast." Malignant hate, worlrlly power and policy,. deceit,-these are the three frog-like, unclean spirits. (2) What do they do, They persuade the nations to war against Christ. They are a sort of hellish trinity: the spirit of the dragon as opposed to the Father; of the beast, as opposed to the Son; of the false prophet, as opposed to the Uoly Ghost (Hengstenberg). (3) And they are likened to "frogs," partly because of the Egyptian symbols which are prevalent. in this chapter, and this wad one of their pla.,,,<T\les. Also because of their loathsomeness-mud aud .mire their habitation, hideous in appearance, repulsive and abhorrent everywhere. Thus would St. John excite detestition of these spiritual evils, which he likens to these loathsome creatures. (4) And these -spirits are at work still, aud do yet the same deadly work in leading human hearts to fight against God. Dnes not that old serpent, the devil, &till stir up hard thoughts of God, and make God's " Law " the very "strength of sin"? And the spirit of" the beast," the world, its manifold opposition to Christ, how conscion ■ we sit are of its working day by day I And that of the false prophet, that second beast, which gave his strength to the first-how, in the subtle sophistries, the plausible philosophies of the day, the deceitful handling of Divine truths, the pandering to our lower likings, whfoh so many of the popular teachings are chargeable with, do they DCK beguile and seduce many hearts into opposition to God and to his Christ? With- 408 THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [0:11. xvi. 1-2L