the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains: the revelator said, "Every mountain and island were moved out of their places," it means, we think, as is expressed in the following verse, that the leaders, being in rebellion against God, were put down. fear, the wrath of God and the Lamb. Hide us from it, they cry. This phraseology seems to make it the more certain that the revelator was treating of the woes coming upon Jerusalem; for our Lord applies the 15. And the kings of the earth. · same, in his memorable prophecy, to The kings of the earth, the great the time of those woes. "But Jesus, men, the rich men, the chief captains, turning unto them, said, Daughters of the mighty men, and every bond- Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep man and every free-man, &c. These for yourselves, and for your children. men, rulers high in power, repre- For, behold the days are coming, in sented by high mountains, were to be the which they shall say, Blessed are moved out of their places. ¶ Hid the barren, and the wombs that never themselves in the dens. They were bare, and the paps which never gave filled with fear; they sought to es-suck. Then shall they begin to say cape; and as dens are places of con- to the mountains, Fall on us; and to cealment, they hid themselves in the the hills, Cover us;" Luke xxiii. 28 dens, among the rocks of the moun--30. tains. But why were they afraid? Why did they wish to hide themselves? See the following verse. 17. The great day of his wrath. The word day signifies season, or time, and not a day of twenty-four 16. Said to the mountains and rocks. hours. The great time, or season, of -- Here the mountains and rocks are his wrath is come. The time of a personified; they are addressed as if nation's punishment, by the visitation they had intelligence and the power of God, is called the day of the Lord, of motion. Fall on us and hide us. — because at that time God exercises We should think, at the first glance, justice on that people; hence, the that it could be no desirable thing to phrase does not mean one and the men to have the mountains fall on same time whenever it occurs, but them. It would seem almost to make any time, or times, in which God death certain and speedy. But let us punished certain nations for their be careful to get the right view of the sins by some tremendous visitation matter. The mountains and hills are of judgment. To illustrate, we refer represented as being in motion; they to several passages of Scripture. See are "moved out of their places;" Zeph. i. 12-18. This passage refers there is a great commotion; some to the time of the destruction of the awful calamity is at hand; and the Jews by the Babylonians; and it is enemies of Jesus cry to the moun-called the day of the Lord, because tains and rocks, "Fall on us." For what purpose? To "hide us," not to kill us. In thy falling, make dens and walls round about us. Fall in such a manner as to hide us from observation. From the face of him, c.-This was the cause of their God was supposed by the prophet to have sent the armies of Babylon to destroy the nation of the Jews for their sins. It is called, by way of distinction, "that time," "the great day of the Lord," "a day of wrath," "a day of trouble and distress," 66 wrath is come; and who shall day of wasteness and desolation," "a day of darkness and gloominess," "a day of clouds and thick darkness," and "the day of the Lord's wrath," &c. Joel describes a punishment which was sent upon the Jews, in very similar language. See chap. ii. 1, 2: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations." be able to stand? sult Joel ii. 10, 30, 31; iii. 15; Isa. xiii. 10; xxiv. 23; Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8; Isa. xxxiv. 4; Amos viii. 9; Isa. lix. 9, 10; Jer. xv. 9; Isa. lx. 20. Compare Matt. xxiv. 29; Mark xii. 24, 25; Luke xxi. 25; Acts ii. 19, 20. In this last passage, and in Jcel, from which this is cited, there seems to be merely an indication of great and extraordinary changes; but in all the other passages of like tenor, the careful reader will perceive at once that calamitous events are indicated. Every one who knows what disasters the ancients connected with the appearance of eclipses, and of changes in the heavenly bodies, will easily perceive how forcible such language must be, when employed to designate occurrences yet future. An attentive consideration of the passages referred to, will show, moreover, that calamities of every kind, such as are actually brought about by locusts, war, pestilence, famine, &c., are symbol sents. Consequently, unless the context obliges to a different exegesis, (which is not the case here,) we may give to such figurative language a generic sense.". (Com. on the place.) CHAPTER VII. 12-17. We have thus gone through with this chapter, and have illustrated and supported our views of it by many appropriate quotations from the word of God. In order, however, to show that our preconceived theo-ized by such imagery as the text prelogical opinions have not biased us, in the interpretation of the language, we have given the testimony of commentators of acknowledged learning and piety, who have interpreted it in the same manner, and whose opinions on some points were very different from what our own are. But we desire, after all, to add the weight of one more name, that of a modern author, standing high in the affections and confidence of the dominant churches of New England; we mean Prot. Stuart. His interpretation of this section is precisely such as we have given, as will be seen by the following quotation: "Nothing is more frequent in the Scripture than the indication of great changes, especially great calamities, by a description of earthquakes, and tempests, and eclipses of the heavenly luminaries, or the mention of their bloody aspect, occasioned by a murky atmosphere. To obtain a full view of this usage, the reader must carefully con- I We showed, under the preceding chapter, that the events described therein, were such as were connected with the destruction of Jerusalem; that the wars, pestilences and famines, which were to precede the overwhelming calamities of that city, were foretold in said chapter. These events had been previously foretold by our Lord, in the prophecy recorded in the 24th of Matth. But there was one thing mentioned by him in that prophecy, which did not occur in the description we found in the sixth chapter, viz., the preservation of the Christians during the extermination of the Jewish nation. This is the subject mentioned in the seventh chapter A CHAPTER VII. ND after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. which we are now to consider. Other matters connected with the general subject are mentioned in subsequent chapters. Christ's judgment, it should be remembered, consisted of two parts, viz., 1st. To destroy the Jews; and 2d. To save the believing and faithful Christians. 1. Four angels. - The description here is altogether scenical. Under chap. v. 2, we have given a classification of the angels mentioned in the Apocalypse; and, by a reference to that, the reader will perceive that the angels mentioned in the verse before us are to be reckoned among the "angels of the elements." The four angels mentioned above are the angels of the four winds; in Rev. xiv. 18, we read of the "angel who had power over fire;" in xvi. 5, mention is made of the "angel of the waters;" the sun also had its angel; xix. 17. "It seems probable (says Prof. Stuart, in his Scriptural Angelology) that the passage Psa. civ. 4, and Heb. i. 7, Who maketh his angels the winds, and his ministers a flame of fire,' i e., lightning, is to be explained in reference to the views of the Jews as connected with the subject of guardian angels over the elements." Holding the four winds. - After the general view of God's judgments which had been taken in the preceding chapter, the revelator descends to particulars; and the first thing represented by him was the great care exercised by infinite wisdom, that the faithful Christians, who were mixed up with the Jews at the beginning of their calamities, were 2 And I saw another ange ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, not to be hurt; that the judgments were not to be let loose until these were distinguished from the rest, and marked, (so to speak,) that when the judgments took place, they might not be harmed. The winds are the agents of destruction. God controls them. He "gathers the wind in his fists;" Prov. xxx. 4. He sends them forth at his pleasure. The winds in the passage before us are emblematical of the judgments of God. These judgments were to be kept back for a short time. Hence John says, he saw four angels, holding the four winds, that they should not blow, to hurt the earth, until the full time had come. 2. Another angel. - This was the angel who was supposed to have the custody of the seal of God. See the classification before referred to. ¶ Four angels. The same mentioned in the preceding verse. They were commissioned to destroy, but were instructed to withhold for a season. The first angel had the seal of the living God; and he cried unto the four angels, to whom the commission of destruction had been given, to forbear for a short time. ¶ Ascending from the east. How natural to those who looked on heaven as a locality, (and this the Hebrews did,) to suppose it was situated in the east, the source of light; the place whence the sun, moon, and stars seem to proceed. The angel, with the seal of God, comes as the companion of the heav. enly bodies. 3. Till we have sealed. - Commence not the final destruction upon the land till we have sealed the servants and there were sealed a hun of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: dred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. of Judea, until the servants of God the members of spiritual Israel. If are sealed or marked for preserva- we look at the 24th chapter of Mattion. The Christians, who appeared thew, we shall find that the Son of to be in danger of being involved in man was to send his angels, with the the general calamities of the Jews, great sound of a trumpet, and they were wonderfully preserved. There were to gather together his elect from is something similar to this in the the four winds, from one end of ancient history of the Jews. When heaven to the other; Matt. xxiv. 31. the first-born of the Egyptians were These elect were saved from the slain, the houses in which the Israel- common destruction; Idem, 13, 22. ites dwelt were marked for preserva- The famines, pestilences and earthtion, and the destroying angel passed quakes, were the beginning of sorby them in mercy; Exod. xii. 21-30. rows; Idem, 8. After these things A similar procedure is recorded by came other dreadful occurrences; but Ezekiel, ix. 4: "Go through the from the great woes which fell upon midst of the city, through the midst the Jews, the faithful Christians were of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon delivered. They were gathered tothe foreheads of the men that sigh gether from all parts, and were wonand that cry for all the abominations derfully preserved from the dangers that be done in the midst thereof;" and woes that fell on the rebellious. i. e., set a mark upon the good men, As to the number of the Jews who that they may be saved in the time of were converted to Christianity, we the general destruction; see verses know it not precisely. And as we 5-11 of same chapter. This is the have said, it makes no difference same figure with the sealing the faith- what it was, for no set number is ful in the seventh of Revelations. intended by the one hundred and The winds of destruction were not forty-four thousand, since in prophecy permitted to blow, the work of destruc- and parables it is very common to tion did not begin, until the faith- put a certain number for an uncer ful were marked for preservation, - tain one. Compared with the bulk "sealed in their foreheads." Not- of the nation, the Jewish converts t withstanding every arrangement Christianity were a small part, - 1 seemed to be made by the Romans remnant, though it is probable ther for the vigorous prosecution of the were many thousands. Besides such siege of Jerusalem, yet it was for as were converted during the pe some reason delayed, until the faith-sonal ministry of Jesus, we know ful Christians had an opportunity of deliverance. God knew those that were his; and such were not doomed to destruction. This is another instance of the revelator copying his metaphors from the Old Testament. 4. An hundred and forty and four thousand. -The number one hundred and forty-four thousand is of no particular account in the understanding of the passage. By the twelve tribes mentioned in verses 4-8, are intended there were three thousand converte in one day under the preaching o Peter; Acts ii. 41. On a certain occasion, after the conversion of Paul there was a conversation among the brethren at Jerusalem as to the com paraiive success of their efforts in converting Jews and Gentiles. Pau "declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry." When the brethren heard these things, "they glorified 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed the Lord, and said unto Paul, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe," &c.; Acts xxi. 20. Compared with the whole body of the Jews, the one hundred and forty-four thousand believers, even if there were just so many, would be a small part, or remnant, not above a thirtieth part at the full valuation of them. 5-8. Of the tribe of Juda, &c. We have already given an account of the origin and of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, in our remarks under chapter iv., on the four and twenty elders. The reader is particularly referred to what is there said. The names of Jacob's sons, after whom the tribes were named, were 1 Reuben, the first-born, 2 Simeon, 3 Levi, 4 Judah, 5 Zebulon, 6 Issachar, 7 Dan, 8 Gad, 9 Asher, 10 Naphthali, 11 Joseph, 12 Benjamin. twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 28, almost everything appertaining to the New Jerusalem has the mark twelve upon it. There are twelve gates, and twelve angels to guard them; the wall of the city had twelve foundations, on which were engraved the names of the twelve apostles; the wall measured twelve times twelve cubits, &c. &c. See under Rev. xxi. 12, 14. By the use of the number twelve thousand in reference to each tribe, it is not intended to intimate that just so many were taken from each, or even an equal number from each. The certain number mentioned is not to be understood definitely. We have suggested, under ver. 4, that one hundred and forty-four thousand was perhaps somewhat near the number of Jews that had been converted to Christianity at the time the Apocalypse was written; but whether this suggestion is correct or incorrect, is a matter of very small importance in the present case. We regard the twelve thousand converts from each tribe as a mere metaphor to represent those Jews who had been brought to acknowledge the Lamb. The sealing in the forehead, mentioned verses 3 and 4, shows that those who were to be preserved were "the elect," or the Christian converts. To place a name on a man's forehead, in the style of the Apocalypse, was to show what Master he served. Hence we read, "And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads;" Rev. xiv. 1. We read, also, that they who dwell in the |