xxxix. 2), would invade the Holy Land after the return from the exile,

ch. xxxviii. 8‒12. It is commonly supposed that they were _Scythians_, residing between the Caspian and Euxine Seas, or in the region of Mount Caucasus. Thus Josephus (_Ant._ i. 6, 3) has dropped the Hebrew word _Magog_, and rendered it by Σκύθαι――_Scythians_; and so does Jerome. Suidas renders it Πέρσαι――Persians; but this does not materially vary the view, since the word _Scythians_, among the ancient writers, is a collective word, to denote all the north-eastern, unknown, barbarous tribes. Among the Hebrews, the name _Magog_ also would seem to denote all the unknown barbarous tribes about the Caucasian mountains. The fact that the names Gog and Magog are, in Ezekiel, associated with Meshech and Tubal, seems to determine the locality of these people, for those two countries lie between the Euxine and Caspian Seas, or at the south-east extremity of the Euxine Sea (Rosenmüller, _Bib. Geog._ vol. i. p. 240). The people of that region were, it seems, a terror to Middle Asia, in the same manner as the Scythians were to the Greeks and Romans. Intercourse with such distant and savage nations was scarcely possible in ancient times; and hence, from their numbers and strength, they were regarded with great terror, just as the Scythians were regarded by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and as the Tartars were in the middle ages. In this manner they became an appropriate symbol of rude and savage people; of enemies fierce and warlike; of foes to be dreaded; and as such they were referred to by both Ezekiel and John. It has been made {434} a question whether Ezekiel and John do not refer to the same period, but it is not necessary to consider that question here. All that is needful to be understood is, that John means to say that at the time referred to there would be formidable enemies of the church who might be compared with the dreaded dwellers in the land of Magog; or, that after this long period of millennial tranquillity and peace, there would be a state of things which might be properly compared with the invasion of the Holy Land by the dreaded barbarians of Magog or Scythia. It is not necessary to suppose that any particular _country_ is referred to, or that there would be any one portion of the earth which the gospel would not reach, and which would be still barbarous, heathen, and savage; all that is necessary to be supposed is, that though religion would generally prevail, human nature would remain essentially corrupt and unchanged; and that, therefore, from causes which are not stated, there might yet be a fearful apostasy, and a somewhat general prevalence of iniquity. This would be nothing more than _has_ occurred after the most favoured times in the church, and nothing more than human nature would exhibit at any time, if all restraints were withdrawn, and men were suffered to act out their native feelings. _Why_ this will be permitted; what causes will bring it about; what subordinate agencies will be employed, is not said, and conjecture would be vain. The reader who wishes more information in regard to Gog and Magog may consult Professor Stuart on this book, vol. ii. pp. 364‒368, and the authorities there referred to. Comp. especially Rosenmüller on Eze. xxxviii. 2. See also Sale’s _Koran_, Pre. Dis. § 4, and the _Koran_ itself, Sura xviii. 94, and xxi. 95. ¶ _To gather them together to battle._ _As if_ to assemble them for war; that is, a state of things would exist in regard to the kingdom of God and the prevalence of the true religion _as if_ distant and barbarous nations should be aroused to make war on the church of God. The meaning is, that there would be an awakened hostility against the kingdom of Christ in the earth. See Notes on ch. xvi. 14. ¶ _The number of whom |is| as the sand of the sea._ A common comparison in the Scriptures to denote a great multitude, Ge. xxii. 17; xxxii. 12; xli. 49; 1 Sa. xiii. 5; 1 Ki. iv. 20, _et al._

§ c.――_Condition of things in the period referred to in ver. 7, 8._

(1) This will occur _at the close_ of the millennial period――the period of the thousand years. It is not said, indeed, that it would be _immediately_ after that; but the statement is explicit that it will be _after_ that, or “when the thousand years are expired.” There may be an interval before it shall be accomplished of an indefinite time; the alienation and corruption may be gradual; a considerable period may elapse before the apostasy shall assume an organized form, or, in the language of John, before the hosts shall “be gathered to battle,” but it is to be the _next_ marked and prominent event in the history of the world, and is to precede the final consummation of all things.

(2) This will be a _brief period_. Compared with the long period of prosperity that preceded it, and _perhaps_ compared with the long period that shall follow it before the final judgment, it will be short. Thus, in ver. 3, it is said that Satan “must be loosed _a little season_.” See Notes on that verse. There is no way of determining the time with exactness; but we are assured that it will not be long.

(3) What will be the exact state of things then can be only a matter of conjecture. We may say, however, that it will _not_ be (a) necessarily _war_. The language is figurative and symbolical, and it is not necessary to suppose that an actual and bloody warfare will be literally waged against the church. Nor (b) will there be a literal invasion of the land of Palestine as the residence of the saints and the capital of the Redeemer’s visible empire, for there is not a hint of this――not a word to justify such an interpretation. Nor (c) is it necessary to suppose that there will be literally such nations as will be then called “_Gog_ and _Magog_,” for this language is figurative, and designed to characterize the foes of the church――as being in some respects formidable and terrible as were those ancient nations.

We may thus suppose that at that time, from causes which are unexplained, there will be (a) a revived opposition to the truths of religion; (b) the prevalence, to a greater or less extent, of infidelity; (c) a great spiritual declension; (d) a combination of interests opposed to the gospel; (e) possibly some new form of error and delusion that shall extensively prevail. {435} Satan may set up some new form of religion, or he may breathe into those that may already exist a spirit of worldliness and vanity――some new manifestation of the religion of forms――that shall for a limited period produce a general decline and apostasy. As there is, however, no distinct specification of what will characterize the world at that time, it is impossible to determine what is referred to any more than in this general manner.

(4) A few remarks may, however, be made on the _probability_ of what is here affirmed, for it seems contrary to what we should suppose would be the characteristics of the closing period of the world. The following remarks, then, may show that this anticipated state of things is not improbable:――(a) We are to remember that human nature will then be essentially the same as now. There is no intimation that man, as born into the world, will be then different from what he is now, or that any of the natural corrupt tendencies of the human heart will be changed. Men will be _liable_ to the same outbreaks of passion, to be influenced by the same forms of temptation, to fall into the same degeneracy and corruption, to feel the same unhappy influences of success and prosperity as now, for all this appertains to a fallen nature, except as it is checked and controlled by grace. We often mistake much in regard to the millennial state by supposing that all the evils of the apostasy will be arrested and that the _nature_ of man will be as wholly changed as it will be in the heavenly world. (b) The whole history of the church has shown that there is a liability to _declension_ even in the best state and in the condition of the highest spiritual prosperity. To see this we have only to remember the example of the Hebrews, and how readily they apostatized after the most striking manifestation of the divine mercies; the early Christian church, and how soon it declined; the seven churches of Asia Minor, and how soon their spirituality departed; the various revivals of religion that have occurred from time to time, and how soon they have been succeeded by coldness, worldliness, and error; the fact that great religious denominations, which have begun their career with zeal and love, have so soon degenerated in spirit, and fallen into the same formality and worldliness which they have evinced who have gone before them; and the case of the individual Christian, who from the most exalted state of love and joy so soon often declines into a state of conformity to the world. These are sad views of human nature, even under the influence of true religion; but the past history of man has given but too much occasion for such reflections, and too much reason to apprehend that the same things may occur, for a time, even under the best forms in which religion may manifest itself in a fallen world. Man’s nature will be better in heaven, and religion there, in its purest and best form, will be permanent; here we are not to be surprised at _any_ outbreak of sin or any form of declension in religion. What has often occurred in the world on a small scale we may suppose may then occur on a larger scale. “Just as on a small scale, in some little community like that of Northampton, as described by President Edwards, after the remarkable sense of God’s presence over the whole town had begun to wax feeble, the still unconverted persons of it, though subdued and seemingly won over to Christ, would by little and little recover themselves, and at length venture forth in their true character; so it will be, in all probability, on a vast scale, at the close of the latter day. The unconverted portion of the world――long constrained by the religious influences everywhere surrounding them to fall in with the spirit of the day, catching apparently its holy impulses, but never coming savingly under its power――this portion of mankind, which we have reason to fear will not be small, will now be freed from these irksome restraints, no longer obliged to breathe an atmosphere uncongenial to their nature” (Brown on the _Second Coming of Christ_, p. 442). “No oppression is so grievous to an unsanctified heart as that which arises from the purity of Christianity. A desire to shake off this yoke is the true cause of the opposition which Christianity has met with in the world in every period, and will, it is most likely, be the chief motive to influence the followers of Gog in his time” (Frazer’s _Key_, p. 455). (c) The representations of the New Testament elsewhere confirm this view in regard to the latter state of the world――the state when the Lord Jesus shall come to judgment. “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Lu. xviii. 8. “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of {436} his coming?” 2 Pe. iii. 3, 4. “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape,” 1 Th. v. 2, 3. See especially Lu. xvii. 26‒30: “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. _Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed._”

9 And [624]they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

9. _And they went up on the breadth of the earth._ They spread over the earth in extended columns. The image is that of an invading army that seems, in its march, to spread all over a land. The reference here is to the hosts assembled from the regions of Gog and Magog; that is, to the formidable enemies of the gospel that would be roused up at the close of the period properly called the _millennial_ period――the period of the thousand years. It is not necessary to suppose that there would be _literally_ armies of enemies of God summoned from lands that would be called lands of “Gog and Magog;” but all that is necessarily implied is, that there will be a state of hostility to the church of Christ which would be well illustrated by such a comparison with an invading host of barbarians. The expression “the breadth of the land” occurs in Hab. i. 6, in a description of the invasion of the Chaldeans, and means there _the whole extent of it_; that is, they would spread over the whole country. ¶ _And compassed the camp of the saints about._ Besieged the camp of the saints considered as engaged in war, or as attacked by an enemy. The “camp of the saints” here seems to be supposed to be _without_ the walls of the city; that is, the army was drawn out for defence. The fact that the foes were able to “compass this camp about,” and to encircle the city at the same time, shows the greatness of the numbers of the invaders. ¶ _And the beloved city._ Jerusalem――a city represented as beloved by God and by his people. The whole imagery here is derived from a supposed invasion of the land of Palestine――imagery than which nothing could be more natural to John in describing the hostility that would be aroused against the church in the latter day. But no just principle of interpretation requires us to understand this _literally_. Comp. He. xii. 22. Indeed, it would be absolutely _impossible_ to give this chapter throughout a _literal_ interpretation. What would be the _literal_ interpretation of the very first verses? “I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the _key_ of the bottomless pit, and _a great chain_ in his hand; and he laid hold on the _dragon_ and _bound_ him.” Can anyone believe that there is to be a literal _key_, and a _chain_, and an act of seizing a _serpent_, and _binding_ him? As little is it demanded that the passage before us should be taken _literally_; for if it is maintained that this should be, we may insist that the same principle of interpretation should be applied to every part of the chapter, and every part of the book. ¶ _And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them._ Consumed them――fire being represented as _devouring_ or _eating_. See Notes on ch. xvii. 16. The meaning is, that they would be destroyed _as if_ fire should come down from heaven, as on Sodom and Gomorrah. But it is not necessary to understand _this_ literally, any more than it is the portions of the chapter just referred to. What is obviously meant is, that their destruction would be sudden, certain, and entire, and that thus the last enemy of God and the church would be swept away. Nothing can be determined from this about the _means_ by which this destruction will be effected; and that must be left for time to disclose. It is sufficient to know that the destruction of these last foes of God and the church will be certain and entire. This _language_, as denoting the final destruction of the enemies of God, is often employed in the Scriptures. See Ps. xi. 6; Is. xxix. 6; Eze. xxxviii. 22; xxxix. 6.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the [625]lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet _are_, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

{437} 10. _And the devil that deceived them._ See Notes on ver. 3, 8. ¶ _Was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone._ In ch. xix. 20, it is said of the beast and the false prophet that they were “cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone.” Satan, on the other hand, instead of being doomed at once to that final ruin, was confined for a season in a dark abyss, ch. xx. 1‒3. As the final punishment, however, he is appropriately represented as consigned to the same doom as the beast and the false prophet, that those great enemies of God, that had been associated and combined in deceiving the nations, might share the same appropriate punishment in the end. Comp. ch. xvi. 13, 14. ¶ _Where the beast and the false prophet |are|._ Notes on ch. xix. 20. ¶ _And shall be tormented day and night for ever._ Comp. Notes on ch. xiv. 11. All the great enemies of the church are destroyed, and henceforward there is to be no array of hostile forces; no combination of malignant powers against the kingdom of God. The gospel triumphs; the way is prepared for the final consummation.

§ d.――_Condition of things in the period referred to in ver. 9, 10._

(1) There will be, after the release of Satan, and of course at the close of the millennial period properly so called, a state of things which may be well represented by the invasion of a country by hostile, formidable forces. This, as shown in the exposition, need not be supposed to be literal; but it is implied that there will be decided hostility against the true religion. It may be an organization and consolidation, so to speak, of infidel principles, or a decided worldly spirit, or some prevalent form of error, or some new form of depravity that shall be developed by the circumstances of that age. What it will be it is impossible now to determine; but, as shown above (§ c, (4)), it is by no means improbable that this will occur even at the close of the millennium.

(2) There will be a decided defeat of these forces thus combined, _as if_ fire should come down from heaven to destroy an invading army. The _mode_ in which this will be done is not indeed stated, for there is no necessity of understanding the statement in ver. 9 _literally_, any more than the other parts of the chapter. The fair inference, however, is that it will be by a manifest divine agency; that it will be sudden, and that the destruction will be entire. We have no reason, therefore, to suppose that the outbreak will be of long continuance, or that it will _very_ materially disturb the settled order of human affairs on the earth――any more than a formidable invasion of a country does, when the invading army is suddenly cut off by some terrible judgment from heaven.

(3) _This_ overthrow of the enemies of God and of the church will be _final_. Satan will be “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, to be tormented day and night for ever.” The beast and the false prophet are already there (ch. xix. 20); that is, they will have ceased long since, even before the beginning of the millennial period (ch. xix. 20, compared with ch. xx. 1‒3), to have opposed the progress of truth in the world, and their power will have been brought to an end. Satan now, the last enemy, will be doomed to the same hopeless woe; and _all_ the enemies that have ever opposed the church――in all forms of Paganism, Mahometanism, Popery, and delusion――will be destroyed for ever. The world then will have peace; the church will have rest; the great triumph will have been achieved.

(4) For reasons stated in the Analysis of the Chapter, V. (c), it is possible that there will be a long period of continued prosperity and peace between the events stated in ver. 9, 10, and the final judgment, as described in ver. 11‒15. If so, however, the purpose of the book did not require that that should be described at length, and it must be admitted that the most _obvious_ interpretation of the New Testament would not be favourable to such a supposition. Comp. Lu. xvii. 26‒30; xviii. 8; 1 Th. v. 2, 3; 2 Pe. iii. 3, 4. The great glory of the world will be the millennial period; when religion shall have the ascendency and the race shall have reached its highest point of progress on earth, and the blessings of liberty, intelligence, peace, and piety, shall have during that period been spread over the globe. In {438} that long duration, who can estimate the numbers that shall be redeemed and saved? That period passed, the great purpose contemplated by the creation of the earth――the glory of God in the redemption of a fallen race, and in setting up a kingdom of righteousness in a world of apostasy――will have been accomplished, and there will be no reason why the final judgment should not then occur. “The work of redemption will now be finished. The end for which the means of grace have been instituted shall be obtained. All the effect which was intended to be accomplished by them shall now be accomplished. All the great wheels of Providence have gone round――all things are ripe for Christ’s coming to judgment” (President Edwards’ _History of Redemption_).

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the [626]earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

11. _And I saw a great white throne._ This verse commences the description of the final judgment, which embraces the remainder of the chapter. The first thing seen in the vision is the burning throne of the Judge. The things that are specified in regard to it are, that it was _great_, and that it was _white_. The former expression means that it was high or elevated. Comp. Is. vi. 1. The latter expression――_white_――means that it was _splendid_ or _shining_. Comp. 1 Ki. x. 18‒20. The throne here is the same which is referred to in Mat. xxv. 31, and called there “the throne _of his glory_.” ¶ _And him that sat on it._ The reference here undoubtedly is to the Lord Jesus Christ, the final Judge of mankind (comp. Mat. xxv. 31), and the scene described is that which will occur at his second advent. ¶ _From whose face._ Or, from whose presence; though the word _may_ be used here to denote more strictly his _face_――as illuminated, and shining like the sun. See ch. i. 16, “And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” ¶ _The earth and the heaven fled away._ That is, as the stars, at the rising of the sun, seem to flee to more remote regions, and vanish from human view, so when the Son of God shall descend in his glory to judge the world, the earth and all other worlds shall seem to vanish. Every one must admire the sublimity of this image; no one can contemplate it without being awed by the majesty and glory of the final Judge of mankind. Similar expressions, where the natural creation shrinks back with awe at the presence of God, frequently occur in the Bible. Comp. Ps. xviii. 7‒15; lxxvii. 16‒19; cxiv. 3‒5; Hab. iii. 6, 10, 11. ¶ _And there was found no place for them._ They seemed to flee _entirely_ away, as if there was _no_ place where they could find a safe retreat, or which would receive and shelter them in their flight. The image expresses, in the most emphatic manner, the idea that they entirely disappeared, and _no_ language could more sublimely represent the majesty of the Judge.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the [627]books were opened: and [628]another book was opened, which is _the book_ of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, [629]according to their works.

12. _And I saw the dead, small and great._ _All_ the dead――for this language would express that――the whole race being composed of the “small and great.” Thus, in other language, the same idea might be expressed by saying, the young and old; the rich and poor; the bond and free; the sick and well; the happy and the unhappy; the righteous and the wicked; for all the human family might, in these respects, be considered as thus divided. The fair meaning in this place therefore is, that _all_ the dead would be there, and of course this would preclude the idea of a _previous_ resurrection of any part of the dead, as of the saints, at the beginning of the millennium. There is no intimation here that it is the _wicked_ dead that are referred to in this description of the final judgment. It is the judgment of _all_ the dead. ¶ _Stand before God._ That is, they appear thus to be judged. The word “God” here must naturally refer to the final Judge on the throne, and there can be no doubt (see Mat. xxv. 31) that this is the Lord Jesus. Comp. 2 Co. v. 10. None can judge the secrets of the heart; none can pronounce on the moral character of all mankind, of all countries and ages, and determine their everlasting allotment, but he who is Divine. {439} _And the books were opened._ That is, the books containing the record of human deeds. The representation is, that all that men have done is recorded, and that it will be exhibited on the final trial, and will constitute the basis of the last judgment. The imagery seems to be derived from the accusations made against such as are arraigned before human courts of justice. ¶ _And another book was opened, which is the |book| of life._ The book containing the record of the names of all who shall enter into life, or into heaven. See Notes on ch. iii. 5. The meaning here is, that John saw not only the general books opened containing the records of the deeds of men, but that he had a distinct view of the list or roll of those who were the followers of the Lamb. It would seem that in regard to the multitudes of the impenitent and the wicked, the judgment will proceed _on their deeds_ in general; in regard to the righteous, it will turn on the fact that their names had been enrolled in the book of life. That will be sufficient to determine the nature of the sentence that is to be passed on them. He will be safe whose name is found in the book of life; no one will be safe who is to have his eternal destiny determined by his own deeds. This passage proves _particularly_ that the righteous dead are referred to here as being present at the final judgment; and is thus an additional argument against the supposition of a resurrection of the righteous, and a judgment on them, at the beginning of the millennium. ¶ _And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books._ The records which had been made of their deeds. The final judgment will proceed on the record that has been made. It will not be arbitrary, and will not be determined by rank, condition, or profession, but it will be according to the record. ¶ _According to their works._ See Notes on 2 Co. v. 10. The fact that the name of anyone was found in the book of life would seem, as above remarked, to determine the _certainty_ of salvation; but the amount of reward would be in proportion to the service rendered to the Redeemer, and the attainments made in piety.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and [630]hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

13. _And the sea gave up the dead which were in it._ All that had been buried in the depths of ocean. This number in the aggregate will be great. If we include all who were swept off by the flood, and all who have perished by shipwreck, and all who have been killed in naval battles and buried in the sea, and all who have been swept away by inundations of the ocean, and all who have peacefully died at sea, as sailors, or in the pursuits of commerce or benevolence, the number in the aggregate will be immense――a number so vast that it was proper to notice them particularly in the account of the general resurrection and the last judgment. ¶ _And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them._ That is, _all_ the dead came, from all regions where they were scattered――on the land and in the ocean――in this world and in the invisible world. “Death and hell” are here personified, and are represented as having dominion over the dead, and as now _delivering_ up, or _surrendering_ those who were held under them. On the meaning of the words here used, see Notes on ch. i. 18; vi. 8. Comp. Notes on Mat. x. 23; Job x. 21, 22; Is. xiv. 9. This whole representation is entirely inconsistent with the supposition that a large part of the dead had been already raised up at the beginning of the millennial period, and had been permitted, in their glorified bodies, to reign with Christ. ¶ _And they were judged_, &c. All these were judged――the righteous and the wicked; those buried at sea, and those buried on the land; the small and the great; the dead, in whatever world they may have been.

14 And [631]death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

14. _And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire._ Death and Hades (_hell_) are here personified, as they are in the previous verse. The declaration is equivalent to the statement in 1 Co. xv. 26: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is _death_.” See Notes on that passage. The idea is, that death, considered as the separation of soul and body, with {440} all the attendant woes, will exist no more. The righteous will live for ever, and the wicked will linger on in a state never to be terminated by death. The reign of Death and Hades, as such, would come to an end, and a new order of things would commence where _this_ would be unknown. There might be that which would be properly called death, but it would not be death in this form; the soul would live for ever, but it would not be in that condition represented by the word ᾅδης――_hades_. There would be _death_ still, but a “second death differs from the first, in the fact that it is not a separation of the soul and body, but a state of _continual agony_ like that which the first death inflicts――like that in intensity, but not in kind” (Professor Stuart). ¶ _This is the second death._ That is, this whole process here described――the condemnation, and the final death and ruin of those whose names are “not found written in the book of life”――properly constitutes the second death. This proves that when it is said that “death and hell were cast into the lake of fire,” it cannot be meant that all punishment will cease for ever, and that all will be saved, for the writer goes on to describe what he calls “the second death” as still existing. See ver. 15. John describes this as the second death, not because it in all respects resembles the first death, but because it has so many points of resemblance that it may be properly called _death_. Death, in any form, is the penalty of law; it is attended with pain; it cuts off from hope, from friends, from enjoyment; it subjects him who dies to a much-dreaded condition, and in all these respects it was proper to call the final condition of the wicked _death_――though it would still be true that the soul would live. There is no evidence that John meant to affirm that the second death would imply an extinction of _existence_. Death never does that; the word does not naturally and properly convey that idea.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was [632]cast into the lake of fire.

15. _And whosoever._ All persons, of all ranks, ages, and conditions. No word could be more comprehensive than this. The single condition here stated, as being that which would save _any_ from being cast into the lake of fire, is, that they are “found written in the book of life.” All besides these, princes, kings, nobles, philosophers, statesmen, conquerors; rich men and poor men; the bond and the free; the young and the aged; the gay, the vain, the proud, and the sober; the modest and the humble, will be doomed to the lake of fire. Unlike in all other things, they will be alike in the only thing on which their eternal destiny will depend――that they have not _so_ lived that their names have become recorded in the book of life. As they will also be destitute of true religion, there will be a propriety that they shall share the same doom in the future world. ¶ _Written in the book of life._ See Notes on ch. iii. 5. ¶ _Was cast into the lake of fire._ See Notes on Mat. xxv. 41. That is, they will be doomed to a punishment which will be well represented by their lingering in a sea of fire for ever. This is the termination of the judgment――the winding up of the affairs of men. The vision of John here rests for a moment on the doom of the wicked, and then turns to a more full contemplation of the happy lot of the righteous, as detailed in the two closing chapters of the book.

§ e.――_Condition of things referred to in ver. 11‒15._

(1) There will be a general resurrection of the dead――of the righteous and the wicked. This is implied by the statement that the “dead, small and great,” were seen to stand before God; that “the sea gave up the dead which were in it;” that “Death and Hades gave up their dead.” All were there whose names were or were not written in the book of life.

(2) There will be a solemn and impartial judgment. How long a time this will occupy is not said, and is not necessary to be known――for time is of no consequence where there is an eternity of devotion――but it _is_ said that they will be all judged “according to their works”――that is, strictly according to their character. They will receive no arbitrary doom; they will have no sentence which will not be just. See Mat. xxv. 31‒46.

(3) This will be the _final_ judgment. After this, the affairs of the race will be put on a different footing. This will be the end of the present arrangements; {441} the end of the present dispensations; the end of human probation. The great question to be determined in regard to our world will have been settled; what the plan of redemption was intended to accomplish on the earth will have been accomplished; the agency of the Divine Spirit in converting sinners will have come to an end; and the means of grace, as such, will be employed no more. There is not here or elsewhere an intimation that beyond this period any of these things will exist, or that the work of redemption, as such, will extend into the world beyond the judgment. As there is no intimation that the condition of the righteous will be changed, so there is none that the condition of the wicked will be; as there is no hint that the righteous will ever be exposed to temptation, or to the danger of falling into sin, so there is none that the offers of salvation will ever again be made to the wicked. On the contrary, the whole representation is, that all beyond this will be fixed and unchangeable for ever. See Notes on ch. xxii. 11.

(4) The wicked will be destroyed, in what may be properly called the _second_ death. As remarked in the Notes, this does not mean that this death will in all respects resemble the first death, but there will be so many points of resemblance that it will be proper to call it _death_. It does not mean that they will be _annihilated_, for _death_ never implies that. The meaning is, that this will be a cutting off from what is properly called _life_, from hope, from happiness, and from peace, and a subjection to pain and agony, which it will be proper to call _death_――death in the most fearful form; death that will continue for ever. No statements in the Bible are more clear than those which are made on this point; no affirmation of the eternal punishment of the wicked _could be_ more explicit than those which occur in the sacred Scriptures. See Notes on Mat. xxv. 46, and 2 Th. i. 9.

(5) This will be the end of the woes and calamities produced in the kingdom of God by sin. The reign of Satan and of Death, so far as the Redeemer’s kingdom is concerned, will be at an end, and henceforward the church will be safe from all the arts and efforts of its foes. Religion will be triumphant, and the affairs of the universe be reduced to permanent order.

(6) The preparation is thus made for the final triumph of the righteous――the state to which all things tend. The writer of this book has conducted the prospective history through all the times of persecution which awaited the church, and stated the principal forms of error which would prevail, and foretold the conflicts through which the church would pass, and described its eventful history to the millennial period, and to the final triumph of truth and righteousness; and now nothing remains to complete the plan of the work but to give a rapid sketch of the final condition of the redeemed. This is done in the two following chapters, and with this the work is ended.