and dnoured them, "From God• la dead, 11111&11 and great, etaud before God; omitted in A, a few enm.vea, and Primasins, t1WJ dead,- t1WJ great and the -U. ,tandi,ag but appean in N, B, P, l, 7, and most 0111'• before the tMOM. All the dead, good and Nves and versions; but these authorities bad, ae in Matt. xxv. 31-33. Thie iJJ the vary in the position of the added clause. general resurrection: what St. John might So in oh. :d. :lire devours the enemies of the have oalled the seoond resurrection, with two witnesses. This sentence iB introduced in connection with the description of Gog regard '° the godly, who have ollll8 before risen to a life with Christ (see on ver. fi). and Magc:>g, following the aooountof Ezekiel, Now, those who would not voluntarily ehare where the same punishQlent iB foretold (see 'in the :llrst resnrrec'tion are compelled to Ezek. x:uviii 22; xxxix. 6). n is probable, 1hare in the 110Cond. And the book■ were therefore, that nothing more definite is opened. Omit the artiole(c£ the description intended than to convey the general idea in Dan. vii. 10). And another book was that God aids and protects his Chnreh even opened, whioh is the book of life. ·This while on earth. He, as it were, gives the book has been f;equently referred to (oh. iiL. enelnies of hiJJ people a foretaste, while here 5 : xiii. 8; xvii. 8). The idea is not un- on earth, of their future punishment of the common throughout the Bible (cf. Pe. lxix. Jake of :lire (see also on the eeal•visions). 28 ; Dan. xii. 1 ; Luke x. 20). And the Ver. 10.-And the devil that deceived dead were judged out of tllote things whioh them .-as cast into the lake of fire and b;im.- wue written . in the book■, according to stone, where the beut and the false prophet their ,works, · Both tlie godly and the un- are, a.nd shall be tormented day and night godly. "The books" show fully why for ever and everj and they akall be tcwmented. certain names are Beleoted and inscribed in The last clause shows that this is the final the " book of life." Here is enfoJOOd again judgment and punishment of the devil. the lesson with which the Apocalypse opens Thue at this verse is completed the whole in the epistles to tlie seven Churches. viz. aeries of visions commencing at; oh. xii., in that the reward will follow according to the which are set forth the origin and progress wor ka (cf. oh. ii 5 ; iii. 15, eto.). of the influence of evil, and the final termi- Ver. 13.-And the sea gave 11,p the dead nation of the oonllict between God and his which were 1n it. It is difficult to decide Chlll'<'h on tl1e one hand, and the devil and upon the exact signification of this olause. hie adherents on the other. It remains now (1) It may be inserted in order to show the only to shadow forth the BUrp888ing glory universal n&tureof this resnrreotion,although of ihe Minta in their everlasting home, and it may not, in conjunction with· the next thus t.o bring the book to a oonoluaion. Thie, part of the vel'88, constitute a strictly logical therefore, ie the theme of the remaining cl8118ification of the dead. (2) The ,sa being ehapters. (On "the devil that dooeivet.h a type of the ungodly nations, the sen- them,'' see on ver. 3 : and on " the Ja.ke of tence may mean those spiritwlly dead, but Are and brimstone," eee on oh. xix. 20.) living on the earth at the time of the jndg- BhaU be tonnented (ef. Matt. viii. 29, "Art ment. The next c~use seeIDS t.o support thou come hil.her to torment 1111 befole the this view. And death a.nd hell delivered time?"). up the dead whioh were in them;. deatl · Ver. 11.-And I saw a great white throne. and Hadu (see eh. i. 18: vi. 8). As in eh. .,ftid I saw; introducing a new phase of the vi. 8, the two-really one-are mentioued vilion (ef. ver. 1, eto.). A lirolMI is seen aa separatel_y, the latter being looked upon as in ch.iv.2; iUsgreae, perhaps, byeomparison the guard-house of those whom the former has with those mentfoned in ver. 4 : uihite, seized. This clause, taketi in conjunction bc00use this is the colour of purity and all with the preceding one, may mean-From heavenly virtues (of. eh. L 14 : ii. 17 : iii. the ungodly nations, those physically living 4, etc.). And him that eat on it, from whoae but spiritually dead were called up for judg• face the earth a.nd the heaven .fled away; ment, and also those who were actually a.nd there was found no place for them. dead, having been seized by death and Hadea. The true reading, " before the throne.'' in And they were judged every man according the following verse ma.kes it olear that God to their works, A solemn repetition of ver. the Judge is here intended. Perhaps from 12 (which see). Matt. xxv. 31 and John v. 22 we must infer Ver. li.-And death and hell were cast that God the Son is meant. The destruc- into the lake of fire j death and Had.ea (see tion of the world is complete-" no place is on ver. 13). Lake of ji1"6 (9ee on ver. 10). found for them;"they are annihilated. .Such This ia described in accordance with St. an event is nearly always portrayed in the Paul's teaching. " The last enemy that description of the last judgrnent in the shall be abolished is death " (I Cor. xv. 26, Apocalypse and in the New Testament Revised Version). Death and Hadu, though generally (of. oh. xvi. 20). in reality abstre.otions, are here personified. Ver. 12.-And l saw (see on ver. 11) the Thi• ii the ■eoond deatll. Add [even] thtJ oa. tt 1-15.) 'l'BE REVELATION 011' ST. JOIIN THl!l DIVINE. 475
laks o/ jlr& Sl Jolin baa not used the the l!eCOlld ·resurrection b the 1e1urreotion ph1'811e, " the flnt death," hu, he baa alluded of all men, and the beidowal of eternal lit• io the fact. The first death is the actual upon the jnat. death of the body, and which is the natural Ver. 15.-And whosoever wu not folLlld :result of that spiritually dead state into written in the book of life was out into 'Which, since the Fall, man is bom, and whieh the lake of fire ; and 'I any uiaa t10I. ek. is therefore, as it were, his normal state. This is practically a. reiteration of what baa In a similar manner, the fint resurrection is been twice bef0?8 110lemnl7 userted (see the riaen spiritual life of conversion: while vera. 12, 13).