242 The Blood of Saints is found in Her. XVIII. any longer be heard in thee; for thy merchants were the great ones of the earth, for by thy sorcery were 24 all the nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who have been slain upon the earth. CHAPTER XIX. 1-10 The saints rejoice at the fall of Babylon and the establishment of the Eternal kingdom of Christ. 11-21 A vision of the Second Advent, of the last battle of Christ with the powers of evil, and the final destruction of the wicked. I AFTER these things I heard as it were a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, Alleluia; Salva2 tion and glory and power belong unto our God, for true and righteous are his judgments, because he hath judged the great harlot, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the 3 blood of his servants at her hand. And a second time they said, Alleluia; and her smoke goeth up for ever and And the four and twenty elders and the four 4 ever. 1, 2. Well may the inhabitants of heaven rejoice over the fall of the great harlot. It was high time that her carnal and mistaken reproduction of the temporal Theocracy of Israel should come to an end; and that the spiritual kingdom of Christ, that kingdom which is not of this world,' the reign of Jesus over the hearts of the redeemed by the power of faith and love, should be revealed in its full glory and beauty; 'the salvation and glory and power of our God.' It was high time that her spiritual fornication, her world-worship, should cease; and that the blood of the witnesses of Jesus should be required at her hands. 3. From this fall she shall never rise again. Such is, doubtless, the meaning of this figurative expression; although taken in connection with chap. xx. 10, it may also predict the continuance of the punishment of those who have been the chief causes of her fornication. 4. These symbols of the foun living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who sitteth upon the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice came forth from the throne saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye who fear 6 him, small and great. And I heard as it were a voice of a great multitude, and as it were a voice of many waters, and as it were a voice of mighty thunders, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God 7 Almighty reigneth; let us rejoice and be glad, and let us give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb 8 ls come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed with fine linen bright and clean, for the fine linen repre9 senteth the righteous deeds of the saints. And he saith to me, Write, Blessed are they who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb; and he ders of the Church and of every living creature of God in this world have long been before the eyes of the apostle, and have formed part of the permanent scenery of the imaginary heaven in which he has seen his visions. They now again fall down and worship Him Whom the apostle has all the while seen sitting upon His glorious throne, and they naturally take their part in the triumphant shouts of the saints of God. 5-9. There is not one of the humblest of God's faithful servants who does not rejoice at the manifestation of the regal power of Christ, and at the final and complete purification of His Church. The time of the harvest has come and the tares are finally separated from the wheat. The drag net is brought to the eternal shore and the angels are casting aside the refuse and gathering the good into their vessels. The faithful city had become an harlot . . . her princes had been rebellious and companions of thieves; every one loving gifts and following after rewards therefore God hath turned his hand upon her, and purely purged away her dross, and taken away all her tin; and restored her judges as at the first and her counsellors as at the beginning: henceforth she shall be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city,' no 10 saith to me, These are the true words of God. And I fell before his feet to worship him, and he saith to me, Be sure that thou do it not, I am thy fellowservant and (the fellow-servant) of thy brethren who bear witness to Jesus; worship God; for the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 11 And I saw the heaven opened, and, behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it called Faithful and True, and with righteousness he judgeth and maketh longer the harlot but the bride of the Lamb, because at last Zion hath been redeemed with judgments and her converts with righteousness.' 1 10. The natural impulse of the apostle is checked, and that worship is refused by the faithful messenger of Jesus which was claimed from the Son of man by the fallen angel in the wilderness at the time of His temptation. And thus one of the great crimes of the harlot was forbidden by anticipation, had not her eyes been blinded by pride so that she could not see. From the last clause of this verse we see that the fulfilment of these prophecies is intended to be the support of our faith in these trying days. And we need this support. We need everpresent miraculous evidence of the truth of a religion professing to be miraculously revealed by God Himself. The miracles of Isai. i. 21-27. Jesus were proofs of His Deity to those who saw them. But we have not seen them; and so, when the unbeliever tells us they never happened, we appeal to the fulfilment of Christian prophecy as the miraculous evidence of the veracity and Deity of Him Who gave it, and wrought them. 11-16. This is a figurative description of the Second Advent of Christ to judgment. And this reappearance of the Rider on the white horse gives unity to the whole course of these visions, which began with that of the first seal. Christ first visiting the earth is symbolised by a Rider upon a white horse, going forth conquering and in order to conquer. Then He disappears from the scene, and the battle is carried on by warriors of a very different colour, acting in His name but in a very different spirit. Some of these think to propagate the kingdom of peace 2 Rev. vi. 2. 12 war; and his eyes are as a flame of fire, and upon his head are many regal diadems; and he hath a name written which no one except himself knoweth, 13 and he is clothed with a garment dipped in blood; 14 and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed him on white 15 horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean. And a sharp two-edged sword goeth forth from his mouth, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them as a shepherd with a rod of iron; and he himself treadeth the wine-press of the fury of the 16 wrath of God Almighty; and he hath upon his raiment and upon his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. by the carnal sword; some be- visions. Here we see what will follow the reappearance in this world of the Great Conqueror, and His full and final victory over all those who have corrupted His truth upon the earth. As it has been already observed, the wreath worn by the Rider in the vision of the first seal, the plaited crown of thorns, is here replaced by the many regal diadems of Him Who comes the second time in the glory of the Father, to take to Himself His great power, and to reign for ever as King of kings and Lord of lords. The riders, too, who follow Him are no longer like the riders of the second, third, and fourth seals, but are sitting on white Rev. vi. 3-8. |