Connecting this figure with the death, and mourning, and famine that are to come in one day, when she is to be utterly burned with fire, we may expect a sudden and awful ruin upon Rome, as great as came upon Sodom of old. The continuance of the judgment is declared in the next words :-" And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth" (ver. 22–24). Oh, how awful is this doom of Rome! How awful the guilt of those who are endeavouring to Romanise our Church! They are saying, Come into her, when the Lord is saying, Come out of her. THE CLOSING SCENES OF THE TIMES OF HAVING thus revealed to us the judgment of Rome, the Apocalypse exhibits in glorious vision the heavenly part of the battle of Armageddon :-" And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are His judgments; for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, and the four beasts, fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. xix. 1–6). “Hallelujah" is introduced here for the first time, either in this book or in the whole New Testament. Jah is the Divine name with especial reference to Israel. The heavenly Jerusalem is about to come down to earth; the earthly Jerusalem is about to be restored, and therefore the cry is heard from heaven, Hallelujah—i.e., Praise ye the God of Israel. They praise Him for the blessedness of salvation; they praise Him for the righteousness of His judgments. Again they say, Hallelujah, praise ye the God of Israel, and her smoke rose up for ever and ever. The whole glorified Church unite in this song of praise, and adopt the Hebrew words, Amen, Hallelujah. As before, the Church is represented in its priestly and in its regal character, as the twenty-four elders and the four beasts. Their worship is to Jesus as "God sitting upon His throne." From that throne Jesus speaks as a man: "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great." There then arises a universal cry in the anticipation of the impending kingdom of God:-" And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready" (ver. 6, 7). The use of Hallelujah four times, by "the Jew first, and also by the Gentile," is analogous to its use in the Paschal Psalms (cxvi. cxvii. cxviii.), which Jesus sang with His disciples in the supper-chamber. The 117th Psalm is the only place where the Gentiles, as such, are called upon to say Hallelujah. Those blessed scenes are introductory to the marriage of the Lamb:-" Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God" (ver. 7-9). The bride's robes are said to be bright (λaupòs). L As we have already seen, they were made white in the blood of the Lamb: here they are bright. A remarkable statement is added: "The fine linen is the righteous deeds (Sikaιópaтa) of the saints." In paradise they had been executing the offices of mutual love and social relationship, and had been serving (Marpevovтes) day and night in the heavenly temple. All this had brightened their spotless robes and made them ready to be the bride, the Lamb's wife. John was overwhelmed with the glory of this scene, and with thankfulness to the angel who showed it to him. He fell at his feet to do him reverence and show his gratitude. The angel rebuked him, telling him to reserve all such reverence for God. In this we see a great difference between the orientalism of the Old Testament and the occidentalism of the New. Daniel accepted the reverential honours of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. ii. 46). All Israel, in one act of prostration, worshipped Jehovah and King David (1 Chron. xxix. 20). In the New Testament, Peter refused what Daniel accepted (Acts x. 25, 26); and here the angel prohibits all religious reverence to any but to the Lord alone. This brands with great guilt the idolatry of the corrupted Church-Eastern and Western. John then sees all the saints returning with Jesus as "God's host"-Mahanaim (Cant. vi. 13):-" And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew but He himself: and He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name was called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. xix. 11-16). Such is to be the heavenly side of the scenes of the battle of Armageddon. We now come to the summons to all birds of prey to the last slaughter:-" And I saw an angel standing in the sun and cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come, and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great, God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great" (ver. 17, 18). : These words are almost identical with Ezekiel xxxix. 17-20:-" And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God, Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the |