By Nick Poulios
Religion and everything philosophical about religion, started during the prehistoric period when people faced with ignorance, and covered with fears about what they could not explain, begun the journey of believing in something bigger than themselves, gods that deserve their obedience and servitude.
We see this at the extreme when the Greeks, who while able to explain that all matter is made of atoms, they worshiped not one, but twelve gods, who were there to help them anytime there was something difficult to deal with. In fact, gods were there regardless of human difficulty; there was even a god to join the wine party!
We have made progress with regards to the teachings about morality but they still carry some unexplained, if not unwise – unwritten laws that do not make sense. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; he that without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her (from the woman adultery story), seem to imply that only non-sinners are allowed to punish. Hence the dilemma about how imperfect societies are supposed to punish their sinners. Even Jesus’ authority to forgive implies that people who had to be done wrong were left without compensation. We also see the gender bias in the woman adultery case, where Mosaic Law required that her male partner must also undergo the stoning. But where is he?
Then, we have the miracles. If we define a miracle as modification or alteration of the expected and/or established course of things, this of course would involve anything and everything, from apples falling inversely from the ground to the trees, tides going into the seas, to the sun rising in the west, etc., etc. The presentation of a miracle has to have two derivatives: one has to do with the laws of physics being violated, and the second has to do with the observation that the party witnessing this miracle is suffering from infinite imagination.
Modern day miracles, the Harry Houdini types, or the UFO sightings, have to be put in contrast to the ones described in the New Testament. Just about all types are being witnessed today, with the exception of course of the resurrection. We have been told that Jesus managed this task three times: one by raising Lazarus and two by raising the daughter of Jairus and three by raising himself. Following the “Murder at Golgotha” reasoning of forensic investigator, you would think that someone would have taken the time to interview all survivors and document their amazing extra-humane experience. In any case, what happened to them? Why did they vanish from history?
Questions about Jesus, and in general about religion are of paramount importance, given the cost of human life and sacrifices that humanity has endured over thousands of years. One can accept the fact that Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, and by most accounts suffered a brutal death. But, what about his father, what about God? What about paradise or the afterlife? What if there is God but not afterlife? What about if there is afterlife, but not God?
What about humans? Are they to remain mortals? Latest scientific discoveries have shown that life, in its primitive ameba form, can be artificially recreated. Religion on the other hand, claims to know all about “the end”, a process of thought known as “eschatology”. In the end, we are all after the truth, although the truth can take several interpretations depending on the ends that intends to justify.
The Greeks proclaim “know thyself”, i.e., you need to learn about yourself, your inner-soul, first, if you are to know anything about anything else. After all, the truth is not a function of possessions, nor are possessions required to know the truth. It is rather a process, the truth, that takes you to a place where you perhaps have never expected to arrive, but nevertheless have painstakingly worked to get there – and when there, you feel fulfilled.
One wonders how the brightest minds approach these concepts. For example, how would Einstein feel about Jesus, religion? According to Einstein, “science is the century-old endeavor to bring together by means of systematic thought the perceptible phenomena of this world into as thorough-going an association as possible. To put boldly, it is the attempt at the posterior reconstruction of existence by the process of conceptualization.”
How does the idea of an omnipotent personal God stand up to the might accumulation of science? For one thing, the idea that God is able to help man while in solace and guide towards the good deeds is not necessarily unreasonable. However, this is where the weaknesses appear with respect to defending beliefs and feelings and taken them in a dogmatic sense; if God is omnipotent, then everything we do, every action we take, everything we think is the result of his work. And if this is the case, how can men be held accountable for their actions, if these actions are God’s anyway?
Assuming that punishments and rewards are the results of our actions, then one would conclude that God holds himself accountable, i.e., punishes himself. Some would argue that this is precisely why Jesus came to our world, to serve as the extension of God, hence allow us to sin and in the process take the punishment himself. But, it has been argued before that if Jesus is godly, punishment offers no pain, no deterrent, so how does this help humanity? There is obviously a duality here, good and evil, right and wrong, and how you see each one evolving is relative to where you are sitting and observing the world while the world is evolving.
In the end, perhaps it is not so important if Jesus was a man, god or Son of God, or even whether his existence is a myth. What is important is whether we live our lives according to some order, an order that follows a reasonable approximation of the true values Jesus presumably taught us to live by. If we do that, the world will be a better place and perhaps we can spend more time thinking about how to do good in this world – and less about the afterlife. We know – or at least have an approximate knowledge of, our small-immediate world, and we can therefore spend time trying to improve it, rather than spending time and resources planning for some unknown afterlife.
The above is a synopsis from the book that bears the same title. If you’d like to obtain a copy, please visit: http://www.JesusChristianPassion.blogspot.com
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As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back.
(Luk 14:33 KJV) So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Though the disciples of Christ are not all crucified, yet they all bear their cross, and must bear it in the way of duty. Jesus bids them count upon it, and then consider of it. Our Saviour explains this by two similitudes; the former showing that we must consider the expenses of our religion; the latter, that we must consider the perils of it. Sit down and count the cost; consider it will cost the mortifying of sin, even the most beloved lusts. The proudest and most daring sinner cannot stand against God, for who knows the power of his anger? It is our interest to seek peace with him, and we need not send to ask conditions of peace, they are offered to us, and are highly to our advantage. In some way a disciple of Christ will be put to the trial. May we seek to be disciples indeed, and be careful not to grow slack in our profession, or afraid of the cross; that we may be the good salt of the earth, to season those around us with the savor of Christ.
But the application of this parable here is to the consideration that ought to be exercised when we take upon us a profession of religion.
(Luk 14:33 KJV) So likewise whosoever he be of you,….
Let him be ever so forward to follow me, to make a profession of me and of my Gospel, and to become a disciple of mine: Solomon saith, With good advice make war;
(Pro 20:18 KJV) Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
for he that draws the sword throws away the scabbard; so with good advice enter upon a profession of religion, as those that know that except you forsake all you have you cannot be Christ’s disciples;
(Luk 14:33 KJV) that forsaketh not all that he hath;
when called to it, relations, friends, possessions, estates, and what not, which is an explanation of,
(Luk 14:26 KJV) If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
(Luk 14:33 KJV) he cannot be my disciple;
he is not in fact one, and is not worthy to be called one. that is, except you count upon forsaking all and consent to it, for all that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution, and yet continue to live godly.
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As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back.
(Isa 64:6 KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
The people of God, in affliction, confess and bewail their sins, owning themselves unworthy of his mercy. Sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Our deeds, whatever they may seem to be, if we think to merit by them at God’s hand, are as rags, and will not cover us; filthy rags, and will but defile us. Even our few good works in which there is real excellence, as fruits of the Spirit, are so defective and defiled as done by us, that they need to be washed in the fountain open for sin and uncleanness.
There was a general corruption of manners among them: We are all as an unclean thing, or as an unclean person, as one overspread with a leprosy, who was to be shut out of the camp.
(Isa 64:6 KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing,….
Or “we have been”; so all men are in a state of nature: man was made pure and holy, but by sinning became impure; and this impurity is propagated by natural generation, and belongs to all, none are free from it; and there is no cleansing from it but by the grace of God and blood of Christ: all are not sensible of it; some are, as the church here was, and owns it, and the universality of it, and compares herself and members to an “unclean thing”, on account of it; so men, defiled with sin, are compared to unclean creatures, dogs, and swine, and to unclean persons; to such as are covered with loathsome diseases, and particularly to leprous persons, and who may be chiefly intended here; they being defiled and defiling, loathsome and abominable, their disease spreading and continuing, and incurable by physicians; hence they were separated from the company of men; and the words may be rendered, “as an unclean person”, as such were by the law: or we are, in our own sense and apprehension of things; and this may respect not only the impurity of nature, but a general corruption in doctrine and manners among the professors of religion; such as was in the Jewish church about the time of Christ’s coming.
The body of the people were like one under a ceremonial pollution, who was not admitted into the courts of the tabernacle, or like one laboring under some loathsome disease, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot nothing but wounds and bruises,
(Isa 1:6 KJV) From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
We have all by sin become not only obnoxious to God’s justice, but odious to his holiness; for sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates, and cannot endure to look upon. Even all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
(Isa 64:6 KJV) And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
which is to be understood not of the righteousness of some persons in the church, which lay in outward rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices, which were no righteousness before God, and could not take away sin; and were indeed on many accounts, as they were performed, loathsome and abominable;
(Isa 1:11 KJV) To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
or of others that lay in outward legal duties and works of the law, which were not done from right principles, as well as not perfect; and so, because of the impurity, imperfection, pride, and vanity, that appeared in them, were abominable to the Lord: but of the righteousnesses of the church herself; not of the righteousness of Christ, which was made hers by imputation; for this is not rags, but a robe, the best robe, and wedding garment; much less filthy, but pure and spotless, beautiful and glorious, as well as a proper covering; but then, though this is the church’s, and all true believers’, by gift, by imputation and application, yet its is properly Christ’s and is in him, and is opposed to their own righteousness; which is what is intended here, even the best of it; such works of righteousness as are done by them in the best manner; they are “rags”, not whole, but imperfect, not fit to appear in before God, and by which they cannot be justified in his sight; they are “filthy” ones, being attended with imperfection and sin; and these conversation garments need continual washing in the blood of Jesus; this is the language not of a natural man, or of a Pharisee, but of a sensible sinner, a truly gracious soul. The words may be rendered, “as a menstruous cloth”, as some; or “as a garment of spoil or prey”, as Aben Ezra, rolled in blood, either in war, or by a beast of prey; or as a foul plaster or cloth taken off a sore, with purulent matter on it, as others; or any other impure and nauseous thing. Hottinger thinks the word has some affinity with the Arabic עדד, which signifies “running water”, such as the water of a fountain or well; so that the sense may be, that the church’s righteousness was like a cloth, so polluted and spotted that it could not be washed out clean but with clear and running water; and, in every sense in which it may be taken, it serves to set forth the impurity and imperfection of the best righteousness of men, and to show that their works are not the cause of salvation, the church had an assurance of in the preceding verse:
“The best of our persons are so; we are all so corrupt and polluted that even those among us who pass for righteous men, in comparison with what our fathers were who rejoiced and wrought righteousness,
(Isa 64:5 KJV) Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
are but as filthy rags, fit to be case to the dunghill. The best of them is as a brier.” “The best of our performances are so. There is not only a general corruption of manners, but a general defection in the exercises of devotion too; those which pass for the sacrifices of righteousness, when they come to be enquired into, are the torn, and the lame, and the sick, and therefore are provoking to God, as nauseous as filthy rags.” Our performances, though they be ever so plausible, if we depend upon them as our righteousness and think to merit by them at God’s hand, are as filthy rags – rags, and will not cover us – filthy rags, and will but defile us. True penitents cast away their idols as filthy rags,
(Isa 30:22 KJV) Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
odious in their sight; here they acknowledge even their righteousness to be so in God’s sight if he should deal with them in strict justice. Our best duties are so defective, and so far short of the rule, that they are as rags, and so full of sin and corruption cleaving to them that they are as filthy rags. When we would do good evil is present with us; and the iniquity of our holy things would be our ruin if we were under the law.
They acknowledge their afflictions to be the fruit and product of their own sins and God’s wrath. 1. They brought their troubles upon themselves by their own folly: “We are all as an unclean thing, and therefore we do all fade away as a leaf, we not only wither and lose our beauty, but we fall and drop off”
(Isa 64:6 KJV) and we all do fade as a leaf;
or “fall” as one; as leaves in autumn: this is to be understood of a great part, and perhaps of the greater part, of the visible members of the church; not of true believers and real members, for these are rooted in the love of God, and in Christ, and have the root of the matter in them, the true grace of God; and therefore, though they meet with many blustering storms, yet do not cast their leaf of profession; indeed there may be, as there often are, decays and declensions in them; but rather this is to be interpreted of carnal professors, with which, at this time, the church abounded, who had no true grace in them; and so dropped their profession, and became like trees whose fruit withered, were without fruit; or like trees, in the fall of the year, which are without fruit, and shed their leaves,
(Jud 1:12 KJV) These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
(so the word signifies) “as leaves in autumn; our profession of religion withers, and we grow dry and sapless; our prosperity withers and comes to nothing; we fall to the ground, as despicable and contemptible; and then our iniquities like the wind have taken us away and hurried us into captivity,
(Isa 64:6 KJV) and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away;
as a leaf falling from the tree is carried away with the wind, which it is not able to withstand; so formal and carnal professors are carried away, through their sins, with the wind of persecution, and apostatize: or rather for their sins the Jews were carried captive, as before, to Babylon; so now by the Romans into various countries, where they are dispersed at this day; to which this passage may have some respect. “Iniquities” are put for the punishment of them; so the Targum, “and, because of our sins, as the wind we are taken away.” As the winds in autumn blow off, and then blow away, the faded withered leaves,”
(Psa 1:3 KJV) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
(Psa 1:4 KJV) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Sinners are blasted, and then carried away, by the malignant and violent wind of their own iniquity; it withers them and then ruins them.
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The prophet complains to God of the violence done by the abuse of the sword of justice among his own people and the hardships thereby put upon many good people. The servants of the Lord are deeply afflicted by seeing ungodliness and violence prevail; especially among those who profess the truth. No man scrupled doing wrong to his neighbor. We should long to remove to the world where holiness and love reign for ever, and no violence shall be before us.
God has good reasons for his long-suffering towards bad men, and the rebukes of good men. The day will come when the cry of sin will be heard against those that do wrong, and the cry of prayer for those that suffer wrong. They were to notice what was going forward among the heathen by the Chaldeans, and to consider themselves a nation to be scourged by them. But most men presume on continued prosperity, or that calamities will not come in their days. They are a bitter and hasty nation, fierce, cruel, and bearing down all before them. They shall overcome all that oppose them. But it is a great offence, and the common offence of proud people, to take glory to themselves. The closing words give a glimpse of comfort.
We are told no more in the title of this book than that the penman was a prophet, a man divinely inspired and commissioned, which is enough (if that be so, we need not ask concerning his tribe or family, or the place of his birth), and that the book itself is the burden which he saw; he was as sure of the truth of it as if he had seen it with his bodily eyes already accomplished.
(Hab 1:2 KJV) O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
(Hab 1:3 KJV) Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
Here, in these verses, the prophet sadly laments the iniquity of the times, as one sensibly touched with grief for the lamentable decay of religion and righteousness.
(Hab 1:2 KJV) O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!….
The prophet having long observed the sins and iniquities of the people among whom he lived, and being greatly distressed in his mind on account of them, had frequently and importunately cried unto the Lord to put a stop to the abounding of them, that the people might be brought to a sense of their sins, and reform from them; but nothing of this kind appearing, he concludes his prayers were not heard, and therefore expostulates with the Lord upon this head:
It is a very melancholy complaint which he here makes to God, that no man could call what he had his own; but, in defiance of the most sacred laws of property and equity, he that had power on his side had what he had a mind to, though he had no right on his side: The land was full of violence, as the old world was,
(Gen 6:11 KJV) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
The prophet cries out of violence,
(Hab 1:2 KJV) even cry unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
either of violence done to himself in the discharge of his office, or of one man to another, of the rich to the poor; and yet, though he cried again and again to the Lord, to check this growing evil, and deliver the oppressed out of the hands of their oppressors, it was not done; which was matter of grief and trouble to him. iniquity and grievance, spoil and violence.
In families and among relations, in neighbor-hoods and among friends, in commerce and in courts of law, every thing was carried with a high hand, and no man made any scruple of doing wrong to his neighbor, so that he could but make a good hand of it for himself. It does not appear that the prophet himself had any great wrong done him (in losing times it fared best with those that had nothing to lose), but it grieved him to see other people wronged, and he could not but mingle his tears with those of the oppressed. Note, Doing wrong to harmless people, as it is an iniquity in itself, so it is a great grievance to all that are concerned for God’s Jerusalem, who sigh and cry for abominations of this kind. He complains that the wicked doth compass about the righteous.
(Hab 1:4 KJV) for the wicked doth compass about the righteous;
to hurt him or ensnare him, and by frauds and wicked artifices, and false witnesses, to carry a cause against him:
One honest man, one honest cause, shall have enemies besetting it on every side; many wicked men, in confederacy against it, run it down; nay, one wicked man (for it is singular) with so many various arts of mischief sets upon a righteous man, that he perfectly besets him. That the kingdom was broken into parties and factions that were continually biting and devouring one another. This is a lamentation to all the sons of peace: There are that raise up strife and contention, that foment divisions, widen breaches, incense men against one another, and sow discord among brethren, by doing the work of him that is the accuser of the brethren.
(Hab 1:3 KJV) and there are that raise up strife and contention;
in the kingdom, in cities, in families; in one man, brother, friend, and neighbor, against another; which occasion lawsuits, and in them justice is not done, as follows. It may be rendered, and “there shall be and is a man of strife”; so Japhet: “and he shall raise up contention”; one man given to strife will and does use great contention in communities, civil and religious.
Strifes and contentions that have been laid asleep, and begun to be forgotten, they awake, and industriously raise up again, and blow up the sparks that were hidden under the embers. And, if blessed are the peace-makers, cursed are such peace-breakers, that make parties, and so make mischief that spreads further, and lasts longer, than they can imagine. It is sad to see bad men warming their hands at those flames which are devouring all that is good in a nation, and stirring up the fire too. That the torrent of violence and strife ran so strongly as to bid defiance to the restraints and regulations of laws and the administration of justice, Hab_1:4.
(Hab 1:4 KJV) Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
Because God did not appear against them, nobody else would; therefore the law is slacked, is silent;
(Hab 1:4 KJV) Therefore the law is slacked,….
Is not put into execution against offenders: the civil magistrates, whose office it is to do justice according to law, are dilatory, and do not proceed with vigor and spirit against the transgressors of it, and in favor of honest and good men oppressed: or “it intermits”, or is “intermitted”; it is like a man whose pulse beats low, and is scarce perceived, which is a sign that he is not in good health as the body politic is not, when the law, which is the soul of it, is not suffered to take place, and do its office. So the Targum, “the law languishes;” loses its force and vigor, and is ready to expire; which is a sad symptom of the bad estate of a commonwealth. It breathes not; its pulse beats not (so, it is said, the word signifies); it intermits, and judgment does not go forth as it should;
(Hab 1:4 KJV) And judgment doth never go forth;
at least not right, to the justifying of the righteous, acquitting the innocent, and giving the cause on the right side; condemning the wicked, and punishing offenders as their crime deserves: it never appears as it should do; it is either not done at all, or done badly and perversely: no cognizance is taken of those crimes, no justice done upon the criminals; nay, wrong judgment proceeds; if appeals be made to the courts of equity, the righteous shall be condemned and the wicked justified, so that the remedy proves the worst disease.
(Hab 1:4 KJV) therefore wrong judgment proceedeth;
the cause is given on the wrong side, against a good man, and for a wicked man; all these things the prophet saw with grief, and complained of to the Lord, from whom he has an answer in the following verses:
The legislative power takes no care to supply the deficiencies of the law for the obviating of those growing threatening mischiefs; the executive power takes no care to answer the good intentions of the laws that are made; the stream of justice is dried up by violence, and has not its free course. That all this was open and public, and impudently avowed; it was barefaced. The prophet complains that this iniquity was shown him; he beheld it which way soever he turned his eyes, nor could he look off it: Spoiling and violence are before me.
(Hab 1:3 KJV) For spoiling and violence are before me;
in my sight and presence, though a prophet, and notwithstanding all my remonstrances, exhortations, and reproofs; such were the hardness, obstinacy, and impudence of this people; to such a height and pitch of iniquity were they arrived, as to regard not the prophets of the Lord. The Targum is, “spoilers and robbers are before me:” or, “against me”, as in the text; these sins were committed against him, he was injuriously used himself; or they were done to others, contrary to his advice and persuasion:
Note, the abounding of wickedness in a nation is a very great eye-sore to good people, and, if they did not see it, they could not believe it to be so bad as it is. Solomon often complains of the vexation of this kind which he saw under the sun; and the prophet would therefore gladly turn hermit, that he might not see it,
(Jer 9:2 KJV) Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
But then we must needs go out of the world, which therefore we should long to do, that we may remove to that world where holiness and love reign eternally, and no spoiling and violence shall be before us. That he complained of this to God, but could not obtain a redress of those grievances: “Lord,” says he, “why dost thou show me iniquity?
(Hab 1:3 KJV) Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance?….
That is, wicked men, and such as give a great deal of trouble vexation, and grief to others, by their rapine and oppression; suggesting that he could not turn his eyes any where, but such persons presented themselves to his view; and that their wicked actions were performed by them openly and publicly, in the sight of all, without any shame or fear. So the Targum, “why do I see oppressors, and behold those that do the labour of falsehood?”
Why hast thou cast my lot in a time and place when and where it is to be seen, and why do I continue to sojourn in Mesech and Kedar? I cry to thee of this violence; I cry aloud; I have cried long; but thou wilt not hear, thou wilt not save; thou dost not take vengeance on the oppressors, nor do justice to the oppressed, as if thy arm were shortened or thy ear heavy.” When God seems to connive at the wickedness of the wicked, nay, and to countenance it, by suffering them to prosper in their wickedness, it shocks the faith of good men, and proves a sore temptation to them to say, We have cleansed our hearts in vain (Psa_73:13),
(Psa 73:13 KJV) Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
and hardens those in their impiety who say, God has forsaken the earth. We must not think it strange if wickedness be suffered to prevail far and prosper long. God has reasons, and we are sure they are good reasons, both for the reprieves of bad men and the rebukes of good men; and therefore, though we plead with him, and humbly expostulate concerning his judgments, yet we must say, “He is wise, and righteous, and good, in all,” and must believe the day will come, though it may be long deferred, when the cry of sin will be heard against those that do wrong and the cry of prayer for those that suffer it.
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He is called a Lion, but he appears as a Lamb slain. He appears with the marks of his sufferings, to show that he pleads for us in heaven, in virtue of his satisfaction. He appears as a Lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes; perfect power to execute all the will of God, and perfect wisdom to understand it, and to do it in the most effectual manner.
(Rev 5:6 KJV) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Here, the apostle beholds this book taken into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to its being unsealed and opened by him. Here Christ is described, by his place and station: In the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and of the elders.
(Rev 5:6 KJV) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts,….
These words, “in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts”, are left out in the Syriac version:
(Rev 5:6 KJV) and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb;
John, upon the intimation given him by the elder, lift up his eyes, and with great earnestness looked about, and saw the person he pointed at, though not in the form of a lion, but in the appearance of a lamb, to which Christ, both in the Old and New Testament, is often compared; and that very aptly, for his innocence and purity of nature; for his harmless and inoffensive conversation; and for his meek and humble deportment throughout the whole of his life; and for his patience at the time of his sufferings and death; and for his usefulness both for food and clothing to his people; and chiefly for his sacrifice for them, typified both by the passover lamb, and by the lambs of the daily sacrifice: hence it follows, He was on the same throne with the Father; he was nearer to him than either the elders or ministers of the churches. Christ, as man and Mediator, is subordinate to God the Father, but is nearer to him than all the creatures; for in him all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily. The ministers stand between God and the people. Christ stands as the Mediator between God and both ministers and people. The form in which he appeared. Before he is called a lion; here he appears as a lamb slain.
(Rev 5:6 KJV) as it had been slain;
or “as having been slain”; Christ had been really slain by the wicked hands of the Jews, and not in appearance only; the as, here, is not a note of mere similitude and likeness, but of reality and truth;
(Joh 1:14 KJV) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
but he was now risen from the dead, and therefore is said to have been slain some time before, though now alive; and he appeared to have the marks of his sufferings and death upon him, as he had after his resurrection the print of the nails and spear, in his hands, feet, and side; and he was as a lamb that had been newly or lately slain: and it may denote the continued efficacy of his blood, to cleanse from all sin, and of his sacrifice to take it away; he was as a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, with respect to the continual virtue of his blood and sacrifice; and he will be, on the same account, the Lamb as it had been slain, unto the end of the world.
The position and situation of this Lamb were, he “stood in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders”; he “stood”, being risen from the dead, and ascended up into heaven, but was not as yet set down upon the throne with his Father, but was very near it; he stood before it, ready to be placed upon it, and receive his power and his kingdom; he stood between the throne, and between the living creatures, and the elders, being the Mediator between God, and his church, and people; he, appeared before the throne for them, as their advocate, and stood ready to give them all the assistance, and to do them all the good he could: and this his situation may also denote, that he is continually in view, is always in the sight of God, as the Lamb that had been slain; his blood is carried within the vail, is sprinkled upon the mercy seat, and is always in sight, and calls for peace and pardon; and God the Father always looks upon it, and to his righteousness, sacrifice, and satisfaction, on account of his people: moreover, his being in the midst of the four living creatures, and elders, may signify his presence in his churches, and with his ministers, which he has promised them to the end of the world. This Lamb is further represented:
He is a lion to conquer Satan, a lamb to satisfy the justice of God. He appears with the marks of his sufferings upon him, to show that he interceded in heaven in the virtue of his satisfaction. He appears as a lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes, perfect power to execute all the will of God and perfect wisdom to understand it all and to do it in the most effectual manner; for he hath the seven Spirits of God, he has received the Holy Spirit without measure, in all perfection of light, and life, and power, by which he is able to teach and rule all parts of the earth.
(Rev 5:6 KJV) as having seven horns;
it is very unusual for a lamb to have horns, and especially seven: these horns are expressive of the power of Christ, of his dominion and government, even of his kingly power and authority; so kings are signified by horns;
(Dan 8:20 KJV) The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
and Christ himself is called the horn of David, and the horn of salvation,
(Psa 132:17 KJV) There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
and signify, that upon his resurrection from the dead, and ascension to heaven, he was made and declared Lord and Christ; and the number “seven” expresses the fullness and perfection of his power and authority, having, as Mediator, all power in heaves and in earth given him; and what is above all power, might, dominion, and every name in this world, and that to come; and may have some relation to the seven states of his churches in so many periods of time; and show not only that he has power sufficient to protect and defend his people in all times, and to push at and destroy his and their enemies, but to open the then sealed book, and unloose the seals: and as another qualification for this work, it follows,
(Rev 5:6 KJV) and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth;
which some understand of angels, and of a sufficient number of them, which belong to Christ, and are at his command, and who are ready to do his will, and to be sent forth by him, into the several parts of the earth, to execute his pleasure: but these rather design the Spirit of God and his gifts, which Christ received without measure, both in his human nature, at his incarnation, and after his resurrection from the dead, and ascension; which he bestowed on his apostles and ministering servants, whom he sent forth into all the world, to preach his Gospel with them; and which he has, more or less, ever since continued to do. The Ethiopic version reads in the singular number, “and this is the Spirit of God which is sent into all the earth”;
(Rev 1:4 KJV) John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
these “seven eyes” may design the perfect knowledge of Christ, his foresight of future events, and his all wise providence, which is always and everywhere concerned to fulfill and accomplish them; so that he is every way qualified to take the book of future events, as to the church and world, and reveal it, open and explain it, and fulfill the things contained in it;
(Zec 3:9 KJV) For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
The Father put the book of his eternal counsels into the hand of Christ, and Christ readily and gladly took it into his hand; for he delights to make known the will of his Father; and the Holy Spirit is given by him to reveal the truth and will of God.
(Rev 5:7 KJV) And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
He is described by his act and deed: He came, and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne, not by violence, nor by fraud, but he prevailed to do it,
(Rev 5:5 KJV) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
he prevailed by his merit and worthiness, he did it by authority and by the Father’s appointment.
(Rev 5:7 KJV) And he came,….
He drew nigh to the throne of God, he engaged his heart to approach unto him, and came up even to his seat, which a mere creature, without a Mediator, cannot do:
(Rev 5:7 KJV) and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne;
(Rev 5:1 KJV) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
it being given unto him,
(Rev 1:1 KJV) The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
and a commission and authority to open it, and make it manifest to others, and to accomplish the several events, in the several periods of time, it points unto. God very willingly and justly put the book of his eternal counsels into the hand of Christ, and Christ as readily and gladly took it into his hand; for he delights to reveal and to do the will of his Father.
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Such desires, if not soon answered, turn to grief and sorrow. If John wept much because he could not look into the book of God’s decrees, what reason have many to shed floods of tears for their ignorance of the gospel of Christ! of that on which everlasting salvation depends!
(Rev 5:4 KJV) And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
He felt a great concern in himself about this matter: the apostle wept much;
(Rev 5:4 KJV) And I wept much,….
Not so much on his own account, because he feared his curiosity would not be gratified, and that strong desire answered, which were raised in him upon sight of the book, and increased by the angel’s proclamation; but for the sake of the church of God, whose representative he was, and to whom the knowledge of this book, and the things contained in it, he judged must be very useful and profitable. The Ethiopic version reads, “and many wept”; many of those that were about the throne, as well as John: it was a great disappointment to him.
(Rev 5:4 KJV) because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon;
because there was no creature in heaven, earth, or under it, that were of dignity and authority, as well as of ability, to open the book by unsealing it; and read and deliver out the prophecies in it upon the taking off of every seal; and so not to look into it, and foresee and foretell what was hereafter to come to pass, in the church and world: the phrase of being worthy to look on it seems to be Jewish; of the book of the generation of Adam,
(Gen 5:1 KJV) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
the Jews say that “it descended to the first man, and by it he knew the wisdom which is above; and this book came to the sons of God, the wise men of the age, מאן דזכי לאשגחא ביה, “whoever is worthy to look in it”, knows by it the wisdom which is from above.” The whole verse is left out in the Alexandrian copy; and the phrase, “to read”, is neither in the Vulgate Latin, nor in any of the Oriental versions.
By what he had seen in him who sat upon the throne, he was very desirous to see and know more of his mind and will: this desire, when not presently gratified, filled him with sorrow, and fetched many tears from his eyes.
Here observe, those who have seen most of God in this world are most desirous to see more; and those who have seen his glory desire to know his will. Good men may be too eager and to hasty to look into the mysteries of divine conduct. Such desires, not presently answered, turn to grief and sorrow. Hope deferred makes the heart sick.
We need not weep that we cannot foresee future events respecting ourselves in this world; the eager expectation of future prospects, or the foresight of future calamities, would alike unfit us for present duties and conflicts, or render our prosperous days distressing. Yet we may desire to learn, from the promises and prophecies of Scripture, what will be the final event to believers and to the church; and the Incarnate Son has prevailed, that we should learn all that we need to know. Christ stands as Mediator between God and both ministers and people.
The apostle was comforted and encouraged to hope this sealed book would yet be opened.
(Rev 5:5 KJV) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Here observe, who it was that gave John the hint: One of the elders.
(Rev 5:5 KJV) And one of the elders said unto me,….
The Ethiopic version reads, “one of these elders”; that is, one of the four and twenty elders that were round about the throne; not the first of the four and twenty books of the Old Testament; nor the patriarch Jacob, because of the prophecy concerning Shiloh, Judah’s son, which stands in,
(Gen 49:10 KJV) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
nor Moses, who spoke of the Messiah as the great prophet of the church; nor John the Baptist, who pointed out the Lamb of God; these are all fancies and conjectures. It was one of the members of the Christian church, who was near the throne of God, had communion with him, and knowledge of his will, who in this visionary way is represented as comforting John under his sorrow and concern, and giving him information: and sometimes persons of superior abilities may receive instruction from meaner persons, as did Apollos from Aquila and Priscilla: the same said unto John,
(Rev 5:5 KJV) weep not;
cease sorrowing, do not be cast down, nor despair; God had revealed it to his church. If angels do not refuse to learn from the church, ministers should not disdain to do it. God can make his people to instruct and inform their teachers when he pleases. Who it was that would do the thing – the Lord Jesus Christ, called the lion of the tribe of Judah,
(Rev 5:5 KJV) behold the lion of the tribe of Judah;
by whom is meant Christ, who, according to the flesh, was to come of the tribe of Judah; and certain it is, that our Lord sprang from thence: and he is said to be the lion of that tribe, in allusion to the prophecy concerning Judah,
(Gen 49:9 KJV) Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
where he is said to be a lion, an old lion stooping down and couching, and on whose standard was the figure of a lion. Christ may be compared to one, because of his great strength, he being the mighty God, the able Saviour, and strong Redeemer, and protector of his church and people, and the avenger of their enemies; and because of his courage and intrepidity when he engaged with Satan, and his principalities and powers, when he bore the sins of his people, sustained his Father’s wrath, and the terrors of death set themselves in array against him; and because of the fierceness of his wrath, and fury against the wicked, and for his generosity and lenity towards those that stoop unto him, and obey him. So the Jews say, that “of Messiah, the son of David, who comes forth from Judah, is it said, “Judah is a lion’s whelp”;” and a little after, Messiah, the son of David, who is אריה, “a lion”, shall be on his right hand, and Messiah, the son of Joseph, who is an ox, on his left hand; so the word of the Lord frequently, in the Chaldee paraphrase, is said to be a lion. According to his human nature, alluding to Jacob’s prophecy,
(Gen 49:10 KJV) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
and the root of David according to his divine nature, though a branch of David according to the flesh.
(Rev 5:5 KJV) The root of David;
in like manner is Christ called the root of Jesse;
(Isa 11:10 KJV) And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
and the meaning either is, that he is a branch that springs out of the roots of Jesse and David, is David’s son and offspring, according to his human nature;
(Rev 22:16 KJV) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
or that he is David’s Lord, according to his divine nature: and the metaphor of a root well agrees with him as Mediator, he being hidden out of sight, and unknown to a natural man; and may denote his meanness in his state of humiliation, when he was as a root out of a dry ground; and because he is the root from whence all the elect of God spring, in whom they have their being, and by whom they are bore and supported, and from whom are derived to them all the blessings of grace, all their spiritual life, holiness, fruitfulness, and perseverance.
Now this illustrious Person, so described; He who is a middle person, God and man, and bears the office of Mediator between God and man, is fit and worthy to open and execute all the counsels of God towards men.
(Rev 5:5 KJV) hath prevailed;
or overcome all difficulties, being one of worth and value, of great authority and ability:
(Rev 5:5 KJV) to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof;
and deliver out all the prophecies in it, and fulfill them; and this through the merits of his blood, and in consequence of his sufferings and death: hence, in the next verse, he is represented as a lamb as it had been slain; and the four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders, put his worthiness to take the book, and open it, upon his having been slain, and having redeemed them by his blood,
(Rev 5:9 KJV) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
And as he, upon his resurrection from the dead, had all power in heaven and in earth given him, as Mediator, for the protection of his church, so he was deserving; and it was fit and necessary that he, as the great prophet of the church, should have and deliver out the prophecies concerning the state and condition of his redeemed ones in all ages.
And this he does in his mediatorial state and capacity, as the root of David and the offspring of Judah, and as the King and head of the Israel of God; and he will do it, to the consolation and joy of all his people.
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The creatures cannot open it, nor read it; the Lord only can do so. Those who see most of God, are most desirous to see more; and those who have seen his glory, desire to know his will.
(Rev 5:2 KJV) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
He heard a proclamation made concerning this sealed book. The crier was a strong angel; not that there are any weak ones among the angels in heaven, though there are many among the angels of the churches.
(Rev 5:2 KJV) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,….
This was not the uncreated angel, Jesus Christ; for he is after spoken of as the lion of the tribe of Judah, and as the Lamb in the midst of the throne, but a created one; though who he was, whether Gabriel, as some say, because his name signifies the strong or mighty One of God, is not material to be known; angels are said to be mighty, and to excel in strength: this is called so here, chiefly with respect to his voice, which he, by reason of his great strength, exerted so loudly, as to be heard by all the creatures in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth however, this was not John the Baptist, but if a minister of the Gospel, rather some one since, making the following proclamation:
This angel seems to come out, not only as a crier, but as a champion, with a challenge to any or all the creatures to try the strength of their wisdom in opening the counsels of God; and, as a champion, he cried with a loud voice, that every creature might hear. The cry or challenge proclaimed was, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
(Rev 5:2 KJV) who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Suggesting, that if there was any such person, that he was desired to come, and do it; and it seems, that he must not only be one of power and ability, but of dignity and authority, a person of greatness and worth, from whence his ability arises; as he ought to be that can engage his heart to draw nigh to God, and take a book out of his right hand, this mysterious book of the Revelation, as it was indeed while sealed; and open and explain it to others, unseal it or exhibit it, as it afterwards was in the following scenes and visions, and gave a view of all that is contained in it; and not only so, but fulfill and accomplish all the prophecies in it; and who can, or is worthy to do all this, but he that sits at the right hand of God, and who is God as well as man? and this proclamation was made to stir up an earnest desire in John, and all the saints he represents, to know what was in this book; and to show the impotence of all creatures to make any discovery of it; and to illustrate, and set off with a greater foil, the glory, excellence, ability, and worth of Jesus Christ. There seems to be an allusion to the president of the temple calling to the priests under him, to attend to the several parts of service assigned them, saying unto them, מי שזכה, “whosoever is worthy, let him” do so and so.
If there by any creature who thinks himself sufficient either to explain or execute the counsels of God, let him stand forth, and make the attempt.
But even good men may be too eager and hasty to look into the mysteries of the Divine conduct.
(Rev 5:3 KJV) And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
None in heaven or earth could accept the challenge and undertake the task: none in heaven, none of the glorious holy angels, though before the throne of God, and the ministers of his providence; they with all their wisdom cannot dive into the decrees of God:
(Rev 5:3 KJV) And no man in heaven,….
Or “no one in heaven”, whether angels, or the souls of departed saints; neither the one nor the other know anything of what is to come, until it is revealed unto them: none on earth, no man, the wisest or the best of men, none of the magicians and soothsayers, none of the prophets of God, any further than he reveals his mind to them:
(Rev 5:3 KJV) nor in earth:
among all the men on earth, even those of the greatest sagacity and penetration, the wise, the prudent, the scribe, the disputer of this world, such who are most conversant with books, and have the greatest reach into the things of nature, or of grace: none under the earth, none of the fallen angels, none of the spirits of men departed, though they should return to our world, can open this book. Satan himself, with all his subtlety, cannot do it;
(Rev 5:3 KJV) neither under the earth;
the dead buried there, good or bad; which may be said agreeably to the notions of the ancient Jews, who believed the immortality of souls, and that they were rewarded or punished, υπο χθονος, “under the earth”, according to their virtue or vice in life: or the devils in hell; or whoever on the earth are influenced by them, as magicians, sorcerers, soothsayers, and necromancers: the creatures cannot open it, nor look on it; they cannot read it.
(Rev 5:3 KJV) was able to open the book, neither to look thereon;
or in it, so as to read it, understand it, and show to John what was in it; for the sense is, there was no creature in heaven, earth, or hell, who were masters of the deepest knowledge, and made pretensions to any, that were able to foresee and foretell things to come; or to exhibit the prophecies in this book, and represent them to John in the manner they afterwards were, and much less to accomplish them. God only can do it.
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The apostle saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, a roll of parchments in the form usual in those times, and sealed with seven seals. This represented the secret purposes of God about to be revealed. The designs and methods of Divine Providence, toward the church and the world, are stated, fixed, and made a matter of record. The counsels of God are altogether hidden from the eye and understanding of the creature. The several parts are not unsealed and opened at once, but after each other, till the whole mystery of God’s counsel and conduct is finished in the world.
(Rev 5:1 KJV) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
Hitherto the apostle had seen only the great God, the governor of all things, now, he is favored with a sight of the model and methods of his government, as they are all written down in a book which he holds in his hand; and this we are now to consider as shut up and sealed in the hand of God. Observe the designs and methods of divine Providence towards the church and the world are stated and fixed; they are resolved upon and agreed to, as that which is written in a book. The great design is laid, every part adjusted, all determined, and every thing passed into decree and made a matter of record. The original and first draught of this book is the book of God’s decrees, laid up in his own cabinet, in his eternal mind: but there is a transcript of so much as was necessary to be known in the book of the scriptures in general, in the prophetical part of the scripture especially, and in this prophecy in particular. God holds this book in his right hand, to declare the authority of the book, and his readiness and resolution to execute all the contents thereof, all the counsels and purposes therein recorded.
(Rev 5:1 KJV) And I saw on the right hand of him that sat on the throne,….
Of this throne, and who it was that sat upon it;
(Rev 4:2 KJV) and one sat on the throne;
not the trinity of persons in the Godhead, which some think are signified by the three precious stones in Rev_4:3,
(Rev 4:3 KJV) And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
the jasper, sardine, and emerald; for, as distinct from him that sat upon the throne, the Lamb is said to be in the midst of it, and the seven spirits of God are said to be before it: nor is Jesus Christ intended, and his two natures; his divine nature by the jasper, and his human nature by the red and blood colored sardine; since he, the Lamb, is represented as in the midst of the throne, and is often distinguished from him that sat upon it;
(Rev 5:6 KJV) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
but God the Father is designed, who sits on the throne, though not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit, yet in distinction from them. This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version.
And who had “in” his right hand, or “at”, or “upon” his right hand, as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, lying by, or near his right hand; though according to,
(Rev 5:7 KJV) And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
the book appears to have been in his right hand, as our version, and others render it:
This book in the hand of God is shut up and sealed; it is known to none but himself, till he allows it to be opened. Known unto God, and to him alone, are all his works, from the beginning of the world; but it is his glory to conceal the matter as he pleases. The times and seasons, and their great events, he hath kept in his own hand and power. It is sealed with seven seals.
(Rev 5:1 KJV) a book written within, and on the backside, sealed with seven seals:
This book was very much like Ezekiel’s roll,
(Eze 2:9 KJV) And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
which was written פנים ואחור, “within” and “without”, before and behind, and indeed it was in the form of a roll: the manner of writings in those times was on sheets of parchment, which, when finished, were rolled up in the form of a cylinder; hence a book is called a “volume”. This book seems to have consisted of seven rolls, to which was annexed seven seals; and there being not room enough within, contrary to the common way of writing, some things were written upon the backside of the outermost roll; and such writings were by the ancients called “Opistographi”: and the word is used by them sometimes for very prolix writings.
By this book some understand the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which were written in rolls;
(Heb 10:5 KJV) Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
and which came out of the right hand of God, and were given forth by him; and being written within, and on the backside, may denote the fullness of them, they containing a variety of matter, useful and profitable, for different purposes; or else the literal and mystical, or spiritual meaning of some parts of them: or, as others think, the more clear explanation of the books of the Old Testament, by those of the New Testament; and its being sealed may signify the authenticity of those writings, having the seal of God’s truth, and the impress of his wisdom, power, and goodness on them; and also the hidden sense and meaning of them, they being, especially in the prophetic and spiritual part of them, a sealed book to natural men, and of which Christ is the truest and best interpreter; but then this book was opened, and looked into, and read, and, in some measure, understood, even by the Old Testament saints, and had been before this time expounded by Christ, concerning himself; yea, he had opened the understandings of his disciples to understand those Scriptures, and had counted them, and others, worthy to open and explain this book to others, and had sent them into all the world for this purpose; and for the same reasons it cannot be understood of the Gospel published to Jews and Gentiles, the one within, and the other without; rather therefore the book of God’s decrees is here meant, which respects all creatures, and all occurrences and events in the whole world, from the beginning to the end of time; and so Ezekiel’s roll, according to the Targum;
(Eze 2:10 KJV) And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
which was written before and behind, signified that which was מן שרויא, “from the beginning”, and which דעתיד למהוי בסופא, “shall be in the end”, or hereafter. This book God holds “in his right hand”, as the rule and measure of all he does, and of the government of the world, and which he constantly fulfils and executes; and its being written “within and without” may denote the perfection and comprehensiveness of it, it reaching to all creatures and things, even the most minute; and its being “sealed” shows the certainty of its fulfillment, and the secrecy and hiddenness of it, until accomplished; though it seems best of all to understand it of that part of God’s decrees relating to the church and world, particularly the Roman empire, which from henceforward, to the end of time, was to be fulfilled; and so is no other than the book of the Revelation itself, exhibited in the following scenes and visions; and this may be truly said to be in the right hand of God, and from thence taken by the Lamb, it being the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, Rev_1:1;
(Rev 1:1 KJV) The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
and may be said to be written, both “within and on the backside”, to show that it contains a large account of things, a long train of events to be accomplished; as also to signify, that it regards the church, and the members of it, who are those that are within, in the several ages of time, and the world, or those that are without; for this book prophecy regards both the state of the Roman empire, and of the Christian church; and its being “sealed” shows the authenticity, certainty, and also the obscurity of what was contained therein; and with “seven” seals, with respect to the seven periods of time, in which the prophecies in it are to be fulfilled.
This tells us with what inscrutable secrecy the counsels of God are laid, how impenetrable by the eye and intellect of the creature; and also points us to seven several parts of this book of God’s counsels. Each part seems to have its particular seal, and, when opened, discovers its proper events; these seven parts are not unsealed and opened at once, but successively, one scene of Providence introducing another, and explaining it, till the whole mystery of God’s counsel and conduct be finished in the world.
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The great dragon will collect all his forces, to make one desperate struggle before all be lost. God warns of this great trial, to engage his people to prepare for it.
(Rev 16:16 KJV) And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
By their internal nature, spirits of devils; by their works, doing miracles; by the errand they are sent, and go upon, to gather the kings of the earth to the battle of God Almighty, which they succeed in;
(Rev 16:16 KJV) And he gathered them together,….
Or rather “they gathered them together”, as the Syriac version renders it; for though the verb is singular, a noun plural goes before it,
(Rev 16:14 KJV) For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
and the same spirits that are there said to go forth, to gather the kings; these will gather them together; will persuade the Papal, Pagan, and Mahometan powers, the remains of them in the several parts of the world, to join together, and make one effort for the reviving of their declining, and almost ruined interests: for which purpose they will be brought together to the field of battle – a place called Armageddon;
(Rev 16:16 KJV) into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon;
which may be the same with Har-megiddo, the mountain of Megiddo; for the Hebrew word הר is read “Ar” by the Greeks; so the city Argarize is interpreted the mountain of the most High: and in the valley of Megiddo Josiah was slain. and this refers either to the slaying of Josiah, which occasioned such mourning, that it became proverbial for any great sorrow;
(2Ch 35:22 KJV) Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
where it is called the valley of Megiddon; or rather to the slaughter of Sisera’s army at the waters of Megiddo, by Barak, and all the kings in alliance with him,
(Jdg 5:19 KJV) The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
suggesting that the same would be the fate of these united powers. Some derive the word from גדהון and חרמא, which signify “the destruction of their troops”, or “armies”; and so designs not any place, that has been or is, but which will be so called from the issue of this battle:
This place had been famous for two events of a very different nature, the former very happy for the church of God, the latter very unhappy; but it shall now be the field of the last battle in which the church shall be engaged, and she shall be victorious.
And since it is an Hebrew name that will be given it, it may lead us to conclude it will be somewhere in Judea, and very likely no other than the valley of Jehoshaphat, where all nations will be gathered; and which is called the valley of decision, where will be the day of the Lord, and multitudes will be slain,
(Joe 3:2 KJV) I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
though the name will suit any place where there will be a defeat of these enemies; but this vial only brings them together; the utter destruction of them is reserved for the next.
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Christians differ, as to their views of the times and seasons of events yet to be brought to pass, however on this one point all are agreed, Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, will suddenly come again to judge the world. To those living near to Christ, it is an object of joyful hope and expectation, and delay is not desired by them.
(Rev 16:15 KJV) Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
The warning which God gives of this great and decisive trial, to engage his people to prepare for it,
(Rev 16:15 KJV) Behold I come as a thief,….
These are the words of Christ, inserted in a parenthesis in this account, before it is concluded, to acquaint his people with his near and sudden approach, and to give them a word of caution and exhortation in these times of difficulty; for he is the Lord God Almighty, who sent forth these angels to pour out their vials, and whose judgments are applauded as righteous,
(Rev 16:1 KJV) And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
and who so often says “I come quickly”;
(Rev 22:7 KJV) Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
and which is to be understood not of his spiritual coming, which will be already at this time, but of his personal coming: and which will be “as a thief”: as it is often expressed,
(1Th 5:2 KJV) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
not in the bad sense, to steal and kill, and to destroy, though Christ’s coming will issue in the everlasting destruction of the wicked; but the phrase is designed to express the suddenness of his coming, and the surprise of it:
(Rev 16:15 KJV) blessed is he that watcheth;
against sin, the lusts of the flesh, and the cares of this life, lest they bring a sleepiness upon him, and so the day of the Lord come upon him at an unawares; and against Satan and his temptations, who goes about seeking whom he may devour; and against his emissaries and false teachers, who lie in wait to deceive; and blessed is he also who is wishing and waiting for the coming of Christ, and so, being ready, will enter with him into the marriage chamber, and partake of the supper of the Lamb:
(Rev 16:15 KJV) and keepeth his garments:
either his conversation garments, unspotted from the world, and whenever defiled washes them, and makes them white in the blood of the Lamb; and keeps them from being stripped of them, by those who would lead them into sinful ways; or that keeps and holds fast the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and garments of his salvation, which are the righteousness of the saints, that fine linen clean and white, that white raiment which only can cover their nakedness, that the shame thereof does not appear,
(Rev 19:8 KJV) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
(Rev 16:15 KJV) lest he walk naked;
ערום מן המצות, “naked of the commandments”, or good works, according to the Jewish phrase; having lost, or dropped his conversation garments:
(Rev 16:15 KJV) and they see his shame;
or lest, being naked, he be exposed to shame and confusion, yea, to everlasting ruin and destruction;
(Mat 22:12 KJV) And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
the allusion is to the burning of the garments of those priests who were found asleep when upon their watch in the temple: the account that is given is this; “the man of the mountain of the house (the governor of the temple) goes round all the wards (every night) with burning torches before him; and in every ward where the person does not stand upon his feet, the man of the mountain of the house says to him, peace be to thee; if he finds he is asleep, he strikes him with his staff, and he has power to burn his clothes; and they say (in Jerusalem) what voice is that in the court? (it is answered) the voice of a Levite beaten, and his clothes burnt, because he slept in the time of his watch; R. Eliezer ben Jacob says, once they found my mother’s brother asleep, and they burnt his clothes:” now imagine with what shame the poor Levite so served must appear the next morning among his brethren, with his clothes burnt, and he naked; and with greater shame and confusions must he appear at the last day that is destitute of the righteousness of Christ.
It would be sudden and unexpected, and therefore Christians should be clothed, and armed, and ready for it, that they might not be surprised and ashamed. When God’s cause comes to be tried, and his battles to be fought, all his people shall be ready to stand up for his interest and be faithful and valiant in his service.
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