The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 522

in- the synagogue, a." clerk " or " precentor" to cond act the devotions of the worshippers; it becomes very improha~e that such a ter_m or title. would have. been employed to describe the· presiding elder fJf a Christian ChW'.ch. Turning to t!J,e: Old TeiiiaIQ.!!Ut.,, it is true that the word ''angel" is used in a higher &epse (Hag. i. 18; MaL ii, 7)t \ieillg. employed .~ deecribe the messengers of God; but the usage here is cillfe~t. "It. is conceivable. indeed, that a bishop or chief pastor should be called an ·angel, or m81!S6nger of God, or of ChriAt, but he would hardly be styled an angcl- of the Churol\ over which he presides" (Lightfoot, • Epistle to the Philippians,' p. 197). Thus: t_h11 interpretation under consideration appears scarcely satisfactory. Others have though~ the word "angel" is not to be applied to the individual presiding elder, but to. the whole minia~ry of the Church treated as one. This view, though in some SCIJ'C8 approaching nearer to the truth, can hardly be sustained without considerable modifi- oe.tion. Others, again, fall back upon Jewish authorities; aud see in the angels th~ gµardian angels of the Churches. "In Daniel every nation has its ruling angel ; •and, according to the rabbins, an angel is placed over every people." The angel, tbenj would be a literal real angel, who has the gµardianship of the Church in question. . .In_ popular thought, then, the angel would be one of the good angelic be,ings whOll4! ~pecial duty it was to bear up the Churcll under its trials, by such providential mi11istrie11 a& were needed and ordered. There are some difficulties in accepting this interpretation. In particular, the language of rebuke. which is addr8838d directly t.o the BI\gel himself~ the threatening to remove his oandlestick, for.example-sounds meaningless. But here it is that we may inquire wheiher the ang<>l of a particular community, nation, or people is to be understood always of a good and powerfol bein_g sent fo1·th by the Almighty to love and watch over it. It is believed that this view does not satisfy the case. It is certain that Daniel represent., the guardian angels of nations as opposed to each other; and- not co-operating always .for the same great .and good end. ." 'l'he prince [guardian angel] of the kingdom of Persia withstood me," is t~e language addressed to Daniel hY, him whose face was like. lightning (Dan-. x. 13). Such passag89 seem to suggest that the "angels " are the powers in the spiritual ,11phere corresponding to the peoples or cam. muniiies in the earthly. _ If tlle Church at Ephesus has left its fint love, the apgel is spoken of as sharing the same fault. T.he influences seen on the spiritual side corre- spond with those at work in thp actual earthly community. The angel of the Church or of_ the individual thus becomes their manifll,Station in the heavenly sphere. For all our life is thus double ; our actions have an earthly meaning, and also a:. h!)!Lvenly i what they touch of worldly interests gives tLem their earthly meaning, what they touch of l!J)iritual welfare is their heavenly meaning. Like the planets, we lie half in shadow and half in light. From the earthly side the world meaning of our actions lies \n ~ light, and their spirittl41 value or force ia only dimly seen as it liea in at least partW 11hadow; but, seen from the heavenly side, the position is reversed, the worldly aigni• ficance of human aotion is cast into comparative shade, the 11Ctual spiritual influences of them are m>ught into clear light, and it is the spiritual significanoe of our actio114 which reveals what we are; in this is concentrated the trne force which we are exerting. Seen from the heavenly side, the angel of our life. mingles in the great spirit.ual war. and takes i~ pan as a combatant there; while on the earthly side we are seen carrying on our daily occupations. Measured on the earthly Bide, the balance la not 11truck; there ie inconsistency in us; we are partly good and partly bad, IIOJll!ltimes helping, aometimes hindering the work of God on earth, aa we judge; but the actual resultant of these inconsistent powers is seen in the heavenly sphere, either helping or thwarting -thecaw:e vf good. Thus we aredoublecombatant.&-in the world, for our livelihood, for our ease, for our advancement; in the heavenly, for good er for evil. And it is on the lpiritual side that we lie open to spiritual influences; here, where our true self is seo11 more clearly than anywhere else, are the appoal,i to our better nature, as we say, m~ powerful; here he who holds the stare in hill right hand makes his voice to be heard when he addresaes, not merely the Church or the individual, l;)ut the angel of the Church; here he calls them to aee that there is a war in heaven, in which all are oom~ batanta, b.it in which he is the Captain of our salvation. Here too, on the. heavenly side, are the wounds of the rplrltual and better nature more plainly seen ; the olfence or blow given to the little one of Christ is not notleed on the earthly side, but the inner Mt.llm 18 ~ ~ud th'> wound is BeeQ in_ i_ta r1IAl dimeMiom in the preeeuco e/. 682 1'IlE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [CB. xxn. 1-21.