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series of prophecies in this book. Thus the desirous reader will find this great period confirmed,

1. By the prophetic numbers, which determine the line of
Kings, chap. XI, 2.

2. By the period of the third woe in the East. Chap. x11, 12.
3. By the numbers determining the times of the woman in the
wildernesss, chap. xII; in all which places the reader will
find ample grounds, to satisfy himself on this important sub-
ject.

Verse 1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

2. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and
them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over
his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his
name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and
the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy
works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints.*

4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for
thou only art holy for all nations shall come and worship
before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

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These four verses contain a summary, or brief view of the judgments of the seven vials, and their glorious result in the end. St. John first beheld seven angels, commissioned to pour out the seven vials, and then a chorus of harpers, singing the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb. This sublime scene passed in heaven, which according to the system of symbols adopted in this and the following chapter, denotes the invisible and more immediate presence of the Lord in his Church. He terms the appearance of the seven angels with their seven vials another sign, great and marvellous. Another, in reference to the appearance of the woman in heaven, chap. XII, 1. which he called a great wonder, and that of the Dragon, which is also deno

*Nonnullis Codd. legitur post Basλeus Twy, edvwv, alliis voy; ay,wy autem videtur praferendum.

minated a sμ0), sign or wonder, verse 3. ; a sign, because the whole vision represented future events; and great and marvellous, because of the important preparation and majestic arrangements, which he beheld making for the execution of this system of divine measures, and their great effects on the world. That these are seven good angels, executing judgments, each in his own department over which he presides, is evident from what we read of them, chap. XVII, 1.7. ch. XXI, 9. 15. 17. ch. XXII, 8. 9. They are the instruments of the Lord, to complete the wrath of God againts the enemies of his Church; and to break the strong holds of the powers of darkness, in the present political economy and order of things in the Christian world.

Verse 2. I saw a sea of glass mingled with fire. Here St. John had another view of the sea of glass, which has already been mentioned, chap. IV, 6. where its spiritual meaning has been explained to the pious reader of the prophetic word. This is the second principal object in this compendious view, or prelude to the seven vials. Chap. IV, 6. the holy Seer beheld this sea of glass like unto crystal, but now as mingled with fire. This sea is the aggregate and sum total of all the Revelation of God to man, as it shall then exist in his word, and in the minds and hearts of his people at the time to which this vision refers. The fire with which it is now mixed, must have given it a most beautiful and grand appearance, sparkling in all the bright and splendid colours of creation. This fire presents a most powerful and clear demonstration of the holy Ghost in all his gifts of faith, love, fervour and zeal for the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family; which will begin to animate the Church of Christ by degrees, in a superior manner, at the first dawn of

†The original idea of this figure is perhaps taken from the Schamajim Gen. 1, 1. which according to the Jewish doctors, is composed of Aesh and Majim, the fire-waters, the firmament.

Millennian day. Luke x11, 49. Acts 11, 3. Matt. III, 11, The light of the revelation will now be more clear, general and triumphant than ever before.

And them that had gotten the victory over the beast. These words refer to those valiant conquerors, and faithful combatants of Jesus Christ, who shall live at the time of the last exaltation of the Roman hierarchy, which is yet future, and will be brought about by the machinations of the false prophet, but be of short continuance. They overcome the beast, by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony against the Papal hierarchy, until death. They gain the victory over his image, made by the instigation of the false prophet, by refusing to worship it, even at the risk of life and property; and over his mark, by not even feigning to profess his religion; and over the number of his name, by not acknowledging the Papal succession, and the doctrine concerning its power and authoity in the Church. These conquerors St. John saw standing, on, upon the sea of glass; [see the original of Luke IV, 18.] which may denote that the word and revelation of God is their solid basis of faith, hope, worship and practice, to which alone they adhere, in which they live, more and abide that thus penetrated by the operations of the Holy Ghost, and endowed with vital religion and the power of godliness, they bear a loud and powerful testimony against the beast, in that time of great peril. That it is said, they had the harps of God,+ may indicate that their souls were filled with joy in the Holy Ghost, and disposed to sing the praises and glory of the Lord in his Church.

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Verse 3. They sing the song of Moses—and the song of the Lamb. The song of Moses and the song of the Lamb,

+Citharas Dei, i. e. divinis canendis laudibus attributas; vel pulcherrimas, epitheto Hebræis familiari. Beza cited by Starke. Scriptura siquidem phrasi Hebræis esitata, quicquid magnum et præ reliquis excellens est. Hypomn. Kuttner.

are here united in a summary, and expressed in the same words; neither are they different as to meaning and import, when considered either in the light of one, or the other. For they both refer to a deliverance from political and ecclesiastical thraldom. The song of Moses, the servant of God at the head of the Old Testament Church, is, no doubt, an allusion to Exod. xv, where all Israel stood upon the banks of the Red sea, shouting the praises of Jehovah, for their deliverance out of Egypt, and the destruction of Pharaoh and all his host. Moses is here called the servant of God, in a distinguished sense of the word, as more eminent than other servants of the Lord, for having been the instrument of that great Redemption of Israel. And in allusion to this song of Moses, the faithful combatants upon the sea of glass sing the song of the Lamb, on a like occasion, and in words of the same import. Pharaoh is here considered the type of the beast; Moses the type of Christ; and the plagues of Egypt, emblems of the seven vials. As Moses was the sole instrument in executing the plagues on Pharaoh and his people, so Christ executes the sore judgments of these vials; for which reason these conquerors sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. This part of the vision therefore refers to the time of the destruction of the beast, the false prophet and their adherents; when the Lord Jesus Christ shall again deliver his Church from antichistian bondage, and establish a new economy, or order of things in Church and state, as Moses did in Israel. The contents of this triumphal song are arranged under four heads; all of which tend to acknowledge and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He is represented the Lord God Almighty, from his great and marvellous works, the redemption of his Church, and the destruction of his enemies; just and true, from his ways, in accomplishing his promises and executing judgments as the acknowledged King of saints; as alone ossos, gracious, essentially and infinitely, and there

fore worthy to be feared as Lord of all, and his name glorified. All nations shall be filled with his knowledge, and the Kingdoms of the world shall swear allegiance, and worship before him, after his dıxaıwμara, laws, rights, precepts and statutes are made manifest, and his judgments executed against the prodigious powers of darkness and infidelity in those days. Thus the Revelation arranges all the unaccomplished prophecies of the Old Testament, into their order of completion, and collects them into one view, as they refer to the latter times.

Verse 5. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

6. And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

Here the great and tremendous scene itself commences. This temple is the original and prototype, according to which Moses was to direct the construction of the tabernacle, Exod. xxv, 40; which, it would seem by this expression, was a more correct pattern, than the temple of Solomon. It is called the tabernacle of the testimony, because the tables of the law and God's covernant with his people were preserved in it; which contained threatenings to the transgressors, and promises to the obedient. This temple was now opened, and seven angels came forth for the purpose of manifesting the judgnents of God against those rebels, who would not be instructed by the information and experience of near six thousand years, but always resisted the spirit of truth and followed their own devices. These were declared outlaws, and excluded from further enjoyment of the benefits of Christ's kingdom, as obdurate sinners, whom the Lord had forsaken, and pointed out as objects of his vengeance, by these ministers of divine justice. The glorious attire of these angels is, no doubt, emblematical of their high stations;

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