Chapter 9

The same hour, is the time of the slaughter of the witnesses. Its epoch was to be marked by a great political revolution, which, in the Apocalypse, is symbolized by an earthquake. In the year in which Christianity was suppressed by France, they beheaded their king, abolished the monarchy, and entirely revolutionized the government. In the reign of terror following, the best blood of the nation was shed like water, and no man of influence could consider his life secure. Men, women and children were dragged before the revolutionary tribunals, had their accusations read to them, and were immediately condemned, and hurried off in crowds without a trial, to be shot, drowned or beheaded. At Lyons thirty-one thousand persons were thus slain; at Nantes thirty-two thousand,—and throughout France in proportion. The number thus slain, has been estimated at over one million,—a number hardly credible, and which might well be symbolized by seven thousand—a perfect number. Well might the remnant be affrighted, and hasten to give glory to the GOD of heaven, by the restoration of that book, the setting aside of which had involved them in such dire calamities.

The tenth of the city which fell, must be the tenth of the Roman hierarchy, which is symbolized by the city. With the suppression of religion, the Catholic church was prohibited, with all others. France was one of the ten kingdoms, and the overthrow of the church in France, would be the fall of one-tenth of that city.

Thus passed the second woe—the prelude to the third woe, which cometh quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world hath become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Anointed; and he will reign for ever and ever. And the twenty-four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We thank thee, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and who wast, because thou hast taken to thyself thy great power, and reigned. And the nations were enraged, and thy wrath is come, and the season of the dead, when they should be judged, and a reward should be given to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, small and great; and when thou shouldest destroy those, who destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant in his temple appeared, and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.”—Rev. 11:15-19.

The seventh, like the preceding trumpets, marks an epoch from which an era dates. “The days of the voice of the seventh angel” (10:7), are indicative of a period of time to follow its sounding, in which will be fulfilled the events predicted of that era.

The voices in heaven, which immediately follow its sounding, are prophetic utterances of events then to transpire; and are distinct from the response of the elders. When Christ “shall be revealed from heaven,” he will be accompanied “with his mighty angels,” 2 Thess. 1:7. He will descend “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God,” (1 Thess. 4:16); and the shout is evidently that of the attending angels, symbolized by those voices, which will announce the revolution which is to be made in the empire of the earth, and of the substitution of the kingdom of God in the place of human governments.

The kingdom here established, is the long promised consummation, foretold by prophets, and anticipated by saints of every age. It is that predicted by Daniel, when he says: “In the days of these kings shall the GOD of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44. He also “saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.... And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” _Ib._ 7:13, 14, 27. It is that referred to in the simple petition, “Thy kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10), which was to be the great object of our prayer till the final consummation; which the disciples thought was to appear immediately, when they journeyed towards, and were nigh to, Jerusalem, and which misapprehension the Saviour corrected by the parable of a nobleman going into a far country to receive for himself kingly authority, and to return, Luke 20:12. It is that respecting which they inquired, as the SAVIOUR was about to be taken from them, if he would at that time restore it to Israel, (Acts 1:6); and to which the apostle refers, when he declares to TIMOTHY that the Lord JESUS CHRIST will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and kingdom, 2 Tim. 4:1.

“Thy kingdom come! Thus, day by day We lift our hands to God and pray; But who has ever duly weighed The meaning of the words he said?”

This kingdom is to be an eternal kingdom: “He will reign for ever and ever.” This is in accordance with the declaration in Daniel, that “the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever,” Dan. 7:18. To its eternity Nathan testifies when he says to David, “Thy house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever,” 2 Sam. 7:16. Though this was spoken to David, it was to be fulfilled in Christ; for we read in Luke (1:32, 33), “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” It is predicted in Isaiah, that “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end; upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth, even forever,” Isa. 9:6, 7. To the Son the Father saith, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever,” (Heb. 1:8); and the blood-washed throng ascribe to him “glory and dominion for ever and ever,” 1:5, 6.

“Thy kingdom come! O day of joy, When praise shall every tongue employ; When hate and strife and war shall cease, And man with man shall be at peace. Jesus shall reign on Zion’s hill, And all the earth with glory fill; His word shall Paradise restore, And sin and death afflict no more. God’s holy will shall then be done By all who live beneath the sun; For saints shall then as angels be, All changed to immortality.”

The four-and-twenty elders,—symbolizing those who are redeemed “out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation,” 5:8, 9,—at the establishment of the kingdom, are to be made “kings and priests,” and are to “reign on the earth,” 5:10. They are “saints of the Most High,” who are to “take the kingdom,” and possess it “forever.” With the announcement of its establishment, they immediately respond with glad hosannas, which spontaneously and unitedly burst forth from the enraptured hosts of the ransomed ones, as they find themselves clothed upon with immortality, and in the joyful presence of their Lord. They are raised from the dead at this epoch; or are among the living who will then be translated, as says the apostle:

“Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, _at the last trump_,”—the last of the seven;—“for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

The nations who are angry, will be the nations out from whom the righteous are taken, and who are left to the recompense of their reward;—“when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe,” 2 Thess. 1:7-10.

The heathen had raged, and the people imagined a vain thing. The kings of the earth had set themselves, and the rulers taken counsel against the Lord, and against his anointed. Now the time of their anger is to end: the time for the exercise of the wrath of Jehovah upon them, has arrived, and they are filled with fear, consternation, and shame. The time has come when the dead are to be avenged,—when those who had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held, whose souls under the altar during the fifth seal, cried with a loud voice, saying,

“How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (6:10) find their expectations answered, and the destroyers, or perverters of the earth, in like manner perverted and destroyed. This winds up the kingdom of Satan on earth; his reign terminates, and his subjects are banished. The absence of all the wicked, with the transfiguration of all the righteous living and resurrection of the just, leave for subjects only those who have passed the period of their probation, and are introduced into the everlasting kingdom of God.

The opening of the temple in heaven, and the presentation of the Ark of the Covenant, symbolize the unfolding of the mystery, in which the administration of God may have been shrouded, making apparent all which may have been inexplicable in his dealings with men; and rendering evident the verity of his promises to his chosen ones.

The voices, lightnings, thunders, earthquake, and hail, are appropriate symbols of the plagues which will fall upon the wicked. These are fearfully depicted in the Scriptures. God says to Job, “Hast thou seen the treasures of hail which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war,” 38:22, 23. Judgment then will be laid “to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies. The Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones,” Isa. 28:17.

This prepares the way for the purification of the earth as foretold by Peter (2 Pet. 3:12, 13), the restitution of all things (3:21), the new heavens and new earth (21:1), the descent of the saints (21:2), and the kingdom of God on the earth, 21:3. Assuming the correctness of the view here given, how near to the time now present does it seem to fix the consummation!

“So shall the world go on, To good malignant, to bad men benign, Under her own weight groaning: till the day Appear, of respiration to the just, And vengeance to the wicked; at return Of him—thy Saviour and thy Lord: Last in the clouds from heaven, to be revealed In glory of the Father, to dissolve Satan, with his perverted world; then raise From the conflagrant mass, purged and refined, New heavens, new earth, ages of endless date, Founded in righteousness, and peace, and love, To bring forth fruits, joy, and eternal bliss.”—_Milton._

“The world shall burn, and from her ashes spring New heavens and earth, wherein the just shall dwell, And after all their tribulations long, See golden days, fruitful of golden deeds, With joy and love triumphing, and fair truth.”—_Ib._

The Woman and Dragon.

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. And his tail dragged the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman, who was about to be delivered, to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a male child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was snatched up to God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the desert, where she hath a place there prepared of God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”—Rev. 12:1-6.

With this chapter commences a new series of events, extending through the entire gospel dispensation; the former series being terminated by the events of the last trumpet.

The heaven, where these great “wonders” are exhibited, must symbolize the theatre of their fulfilment—the station to be occupied by the agents symbolized, which must be as conspicuous as heaven is relatively high above the earth.

The woman, according to the use of the symbol in other places, must be a representative of the church. As the harlot on a scarlet-colored beast (17:3), is a symbol of a corrupt and apostate church, so a virtuous woman is a chosen symbol of the true church.

The “Jerusalem which is above is the mother” of all true Christians (Gal. 4:26); she is also “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (21:9); and “the remnant of _her seed_,” are those “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” v. 17. Her robe of light, her position above the moon, and her crown of stars, indicate her greatness and glory.

The epoch symbolized, as appears from the relative position of the woman and dragon, is evidently just prior to the first advent of the Messiah, when his coming was eagerly anticipated and ardently desired by the church, and the Roman power had thereby been excited to jealousy.

The church is the same in all ages, comprising only the true people of God; all of whom will have part in the first resurrection, 20:6. The Jewish church was continued by the breaking off of unbelieving branches, and the grafting in of believing Gentiles with believing Jews, who alike partake of the root and fatness of the same olive-tree, Rom. 11:17.

Previous to the first advent, the Jewish church occupied a high political position, above that of the inferior officers of state, and was in the enjoyment of imperial favor. Patriarchs and prophets—the messengers of the church—were stars in her crown of rejoicing, 1:20. From the utterance of the prediction that the woman’s seed should bruise the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), the coming of the promised deliverer was the great desire of the church. Even Eve exclaimed, at the birth of her first-born (_literally_), “I have gotten _the_ man from the Lord,” Gen. 4:1. For his coming,

“Kings and prophets waited long But died without the sight.”

They “inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow,” 1 Pet. 1:10, 11. “Many righteous men desired” to see his day (Matt. 13:17); Abraham rejoiced and was made glad at its prospect, when in the distant future (John, 8:56); and Hezekiah lamented that because of death he should not see “the Lord in the land of the living,” Isa. 38:11.

The seventy weeks indicated to the Jews the time of “the Messiah, the Prince,” Dan. 9:26-27. When these were near their termination, to the pious and devout Simeon who was “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” it “was revealed by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ,” Luke 2:25, 26. And the opinion was so general, that when the _Baptist_ preceded him, “the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or no,” Luke 3:15. This expectation is testified to by the Jewish historians Philo and Josephus; and it was that which so troubled Herod, when wise men came, saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” Matt. 2:1-3.

The belief that some remarkable personage was about to appear in Judea, was not confined to Palestine, but extended to Egypt, Rome, Greece, and wherever the Jews were scattered abroad. Says Suetonius, a Roman historian: “An ancient and settled persuasion prevailed throughout the East, that the Fates had decreed some one to proceed from Judea, who should attain universal empire.” And Tacitus, another Roman historian, says: “Many were persuaded that it was contained in the ancient books of their priests, that at that very time the East should prevail, and that some one should proceed from Judea, and possess the dominion.”

The great red dragon sustains a relation to the woman, analogous to that sustained by the nondescript beast (of Dan. 7:7), to the saints of the Most High; and his position respecting the man-child is like that of the exceeding great horn (Dan. 8:9), to the Prince of princes, Dan. 8:25. Like the beast referred to, the dragon has ten horns; and its characteristics indicate that it also symbolizes the Roman empire,—“the fourth kingdom upon earth,” Dan. 7:23. The dragon is a monster serpent. “That old serpent” who seduced Eve (Gen. 3:5), “called the devil” (Matt. 4:1-12), and “Satan” (2 Cor. 2:11), “who deceiveth the whole world,” is an appropriate representative of Rome.

The “head” of a beast, sustains a relation to the beast analogous to that of the government to the people of an empire. It is that by which the beast is directed and governed. When distinguished from the body of the beast (Dan. 7:11), according to the analogy, it must be understood as a symbol of the directing and controlling power, in the kingdom indicated by the beast. Several heads on the same beast, on this principle, must indicate the several forms of government to which the nation is subject. As these cannot be contemporary, like the divisions of a kingdom represented by the horns, they must be successive. To suppose they represent different governments, destroys the analogy, and makes them separate beasts, instead of heads of the same beast; and no government can be subject to more than one head at the same time.

The “seven heads” of the dragon, then, symbolize the directing and controlling powers which ruled the Roman empire,—the seven successive forms of government under which it existed. Rome was founded about B. C. 753, from small beginnings, on the summit of Mount Palatine, and gradually increased in extent, till it spread over seven hills: the Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, Esquiline, Cœlius, and Quirinalia; and its population of about three thousand in the time of Romulus, increased to about two millions in the time of Augustus Cæsar.

Previous to the subversion of the empire, Rome existed under different forms of government, as follows:—

1. _Kingly._—The first government established was a monarchy, and lasted two hundred and forty-four years, under seven kings, viz., Romulus, Numa, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Tarquin Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Tarquin the Proud, who was afterwards expelled from the throne. This was denominated the infancy of the Roman empire.

2. _Consular._—In B. C. 509, the constitution of Rome was remodelled, and the executive power committed to two consuls, to be elected annually. This commenced the “Commonwealth of Rome.”

3. _Dictatorial._—The office of dictator was the highest known in Rome, and was only resorted to in cases of emergency. He was elected for six months only, and usually resigned his authority, which, for the time, was nearly absolute, as soon as he had effected the object for which he was chosen.

4. _Decemviral._—In B. C. 451, the government was so changed, that, instead of the two consuls, the government was committed to ten men, to be chosen annually, and jointly exercise the sovereign power. After two years the decemvirs were banished, and the consular government was restored.

5. _Tribunitial._—In B. C. 426, Rome having become a military state, military tribunes were substituted for the consular power, till B. C. 366, when the latter was again restored.

6. _Pagan Imperial._—With the battle of Actium, B. C. 31, the Roman Commonwealth terminated; and Augustus Cæsar united in his own person not only the offices of Consul, Tribune, &c., but also that of _Supreme Pontiff_,—the head of the pagan hierarchy. This last office, says Gibbon, “was constantly exercised by the emperors.” Thus were united the highest civil and ecclesiastical powers of the state.

7. _Christian Imperial._—In A. D. 312, the government was revolutionized, by the accession of Constantine to the throne. He effected important changes in the relations of the people to the monarch, opposed idolatry, and by the introduction of Christianity, effected a political change in the laws and administration of the empire. This continued, with a slight interruption under Julian the Apostate, till the subversion of the Western empire, A. D. 476.

Mr. Elliott, in explanation of the first five heads, says: “I adopt, with the most entire satisfaction, that generally-received Protestant interpretation, which, following the authoritative statement of Livy and Tacitus (the latter great historian, St. John’s own contemporary), enumerates kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and military tribunes, as the first five constitutional heads of the Roman city and commonwealth; then as the sixth, the Imperial head, commencing with Octavian.”—_Horæ Apoca._, vol. III., p. 106, 4th ed.

Those heads are shown to symbolize seven forms of government, by the explanation that “they are seven mountains where the woman sits on them [mountains also symbolizing governments], and are seven kings,” 17:9, 10. And they are shown to be successive, by the fact that, when John wrote, the first five had passed away, one only then existed,—the Pagan Imperial,—and the other head was then in the future, 17:10.

The “ten horns” also symbolize kings, or dynasties; but, unlike the heads, instead of being successive, they are contemporaneous. According to the explanation, they had received no kingdom when John wrote, and were all to exercise power at the same time: “The ten horns which thou didst see, are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour with the wild beast,” 17:12. These will be more particularly noticed in connection with the thirteenth chapter, and there shown to be the ten contemporaneous governments which succeeded to the dominion, on the subversion of the Western Empire. See p. 169.

The “seven crowns” on the heads of the dragon, indicate that the acts here symbolized, would be fulfilled during the period when the sovereignty of Rome should be vested in the forms of government symbolized by the heads, and not during that symbolized by the horns.